EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: Showmance

Excerpt

Rose

I wrapped myself in a towel before going to pick out something to wear. Settling on a dark blue dress that brought out the colour of my eyes, I laid it out the bed with some underwear and hold-up stockings before going to blow dry my hair. It was after my make-up was done that I pulled off the towel and began to put on my underwear.

I’d barely gotten the stockings on and was just about to pick up the bra when my bedroom door opened and I heard a masculine intake of breath.

Turning almost in slow-motion, I found Damon standing frozen in my doorway, his eyes dark as he took me in. Tiny tendrils of awareness pricked at my skin and I began to feel my nipples tighten from his stare alone.

My voice was barely a whisper. “What are you doing?”

He cleared his throat, his eyes still glued to me, before starting to apologise. “God, I’m sorry. Iggy said I’d find you in here but I didn’t know you’d be…” his voice trailed off and I realised I hadn’t made a single move to cover myself. I hurried over to my closet and grabbed a black robe before shrugging into it.

When I looked at Damon again he was flushing bright red, his gaze levelled intently on the floor.

“You can look now,” I said and he glanced up, exhaling.

“I’m sorry.”

“You already said that.”

“I should go,” he turned to leave but my voice stopped him.

“If you were going to go you should have done it while I was still naked,” I said quietly. “I’m covered now, so why don’t you just come in and tell me what you wanted. And please, shut the door.”

My voice was shaky and my tummy tight with nervous tension. It was arousing that he’d seen me half dressed, but at the same time incredibly embarrassing. Had he liked what he’d seen?

Damon went and closed the door, sealing us in privacy. The tension thickened and I suddenly realised it was probably a bad idea asking him to stay.

“I feel like I’ve barely gotten a chance to see you at all this week,” he said on a deep exhalation, still standing several feet away from me. Right then, I was thankful for the distance.

I tightened my robe and tipped my chin up. “You’ve been busy,” I replied simply, the rest of the sentence was implied. You’ve been busy – with your co-star.

As though echoing my thoughts, he went on, “I came here tonight with Alicia. I couldn’t get out of it really. I planned on just walking over since my house is so close, but then she arrived at my place with a car, insisting I go with her.”

I tried to play it cool. “Why are you telling me all this, Damon?”

He swallowed thickly before laying his dark eyes on me. “Because I want you to know there’s nothing to it. I’m not interested in her.”

I turned away and picked up a bottle of perfume from my dresser, shakily spraying some on my wrists and neck. “Like I told you before, you don’t need to explain yourself. We’re friends, but that doesn’t mean you’re obliged to inform me about your romantic life.”

“But that’s just it, it’s not romantic, not with her,” he said and took several strides across my room until he was next to me. I didn’t look at him, but instead gave him my profile. The room was so quiet; I listened to him breathe as he looked at me. A flush broke out over my neck and chest under his attention.

When my gaze flicked down momentarily I noticed he was hard. My lips parted on a small gasp. I wondered if he was aroused because of what he’d seen. The spot between my legs quivered and I instinctively clenched my thighs to dull the ache.

I caught sight of Damon’s movement from the corner of my eye as he took my hand, lifting it up and inhaling the scent of my perfume on the inside of my wrist.

“I love this scent,” he murmured and my throat grew dry.

I stood there, frozen, as he made eye contact with me before pressing his lips to the skin he’d just inhaled. Time remained still and I closed my eyes, savouring the connection.

“Would you like me to grab you a glass of wine while you finish dressing?” he murmured and I nodded, thankful for a reprieve.

“Yes, please.”

“Red or white?”

“White, thank you.”

He lowered my hand before letting go, then turned and walked out of the room. I felt like I could finally breathe again as I desperately glanced around, trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing.

Dressing. Right, I was supposed to be getting dressed. Grabbing my things, I went inside the en-suite and quickly put on my outfit. The dress fitted tightly to my form, outlining my curves and emphasising the swell of my chest. All of a sudden, I felt far too bare. After the way Damon had looked at me, devouring me with his eyes, I sort of wanted to cover up.

Running my fingers through the waves of my hair before topping up my lip gloss, I put on my heels and walked back out into the room. Damon stood by my dresser, two glasses of white in hand, as his gaze wandered from my face to my neck before roving down over my body. I was exposed to him in that moment in a way that caused an unbearable heat to simmer just below the surface of my skin.

“You look beautiful,” he said, handing me a glass.

I took it and quietly uttered my thanks before taking a seat on the bed. I needed a minute to just sit down and get my bearings. If only Damon weren’t standing there, staring at me like he wanted to ravage me. Perhaps I should have suggested we go out and join the party.

“Julian hasn’t arrived yet, has he?” I asked, looking up to find Damon’s attention trained on one of my partially opened drawers. And of course, it was my underwear drawer, a couple of my lacy undergarments on display.

He closed his eyes for a second and swallowed before answering, “No, not yet.”

“That’s a relief,” I said and took a sip of wine. “He would’ve given me hell if I missed his grand entrance.”

“Uh huh,” he replied absently and I thought he might still be thinking of my underwear.

Getting up, I placed my glass on the dresser before going to close the drawer.

“Sorry, um, I wasn’t expecting anyone to come in here.”

“No, it’s my fault. I should have waited for you to come out, but I really wanted to see you. I feel like all week everything’s been working against us.”

I smiled faintly at this. “Some higher power must be trying to keep us apart.”

Damon returned my smile. “It’s truly sadistic.”

“You’re getting better at dancing. I’ve been watching you during rehearsals.”

He tilted his head. “Hmmm, I think I could still do with a few more private lessons.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Reaching down, he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering at my neck. My phone, which was sitting on my dresser, buzzed with a text. I picked it up while Damon continued to stroke just below my earlobe. It was from Julian.

I’ll be arriving in ten minutes. Make sure everybody’s ready.

Damon must have been reading the text over my shoulder because he chuckled low.

“I thought this was supposed to be a surprise party.”

I smiled. “Yeah, just wait and see. He’ll put all the actors in the room to shame when he comes in.”

I quickly typed out a reply.

They’ll be ready. Text when you’re outside.

I tried to think of somewhere to keep my phone but my dress had no pockets. With no other choice, I slid it into the cup of my bra. Damon watched with barely concealed amusement.

“Don’t laugh. I never do this but I need my phone on me for when Julian gets here and I don’t have any pockets.”

“Would you like me to mind it for you?” he asked.

“Oh,” I said, the offer unexpected. “Sure. That’d be great, thanks. Less chance of breast cancer and all that,” I went on stupidly and was just about to take it out when Damon reached forward and I froze. He ran his knuckles over my bare collarbone, then slid his fingers inside my bra, deftly plucking out the phone. I closed my eyes and swallowed at the sensation of his warm, masculine fingers brushing my breast.

“Three, three, seven, nine,” I said, eyes still closed.

Damon laughed huskily. “Pardon?”

“That’s my pin code, so you can check the message when Julian texts.”

“Three, three, seven, nine,” Damon repeated and I opened my eyes to find him staring at me with barely concealed lust. Okay, so normally I spent a lot of time wondering whether or not a man actually wanted me, but with Damon there was no question. In that moment, at least, I knew he desired me. It was the unexpected boob sighting. That had to be the reason.

I cleared my throat and said softly, “I’d better get out there. Poor Iggy must be run ragged with all the preparations.”

“Yes, sure. I’ll follow you out in a minute if that’s okay.”

I looked at him quizzically and he motioned to the seat of his pants where he was still visibly hard. My mouth formed a round ‘O’ in realisation.

“Right, of course. Take as much time as you, uh, need,” I said, awkwardly grabbing my wine glass and hurrying out the door. When I entered the living area I exhaled heavily, my entire body tingling from the encounter in my room.

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Showmance - Recommended Reading Order

(standalone stories with interconnected characters)