Текст книги "Child Star: Part 3"

Автор книги: J. J. McAvoy

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 8 страниц)

“It’s alright. I’m used to it. People see my size and get pretty intimidated. Austin got me some training after I got hired, but Noah Sloan is the first person I’ve been a bodyguard for,” he said with a sense of pride, and I realized then that he wasn’t Noah’s bodyguard.

No. He was the decoy. While everyone was worried about him because of his size, they were completely unaware that Noah’s real bodyguard was the thin man dressed in a bow tie right beside him.

“We’re here, ma’am,” Daniel said as he pulled to a stop in front of the hotel, then stepped out to open the doors for me.

He handed the keys to the valet before walking me in through the glass doors. There, waiting for me in the lobby, was Mayko. She wore a red pantsuit with no shirt underneath, while Antigone donned a yellow one-shouldered dress. Beside them both stood a stressed-out woman who ran up to me, causing Daniel to tense up.

“It’s fine,” I said quickly, and he moved away.

“Ms. London!” she gasped out like she was dying, reaching for my hands. “I’m Sara Lucas. Thank you for being here. We’ve been so worried after losing contact with your mother. Is she alright?”

She’s better than alright. She’s dead!

“I’m sure she is. I’m so, so sorry. Whatever you all need, I’ll be happy to help in her honor for the night.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out a photo a group of girls. “Every year, W.E.W.A. sponsors six girls from all over the world to come to America for a chance at furthering their educations. They are between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. We were hoping your mother—well, now you—could give them some words about being successful, or just any advice. Along with your mother’s acceptance speech, of course.”

“I’d be honored to,” I replied, taking the paper from her. The girls they had chosen came from Bolivia, Peru, Montenegro, and Bulgaria, and two were from the Ukraine. Beside all of their faces were short stories about their families and lives in their home countries and what they had accomplished, and I knew right then and there that I was not in any way qualified to give these girls any sort of ‘advice.’

One of them started a kindergarten for all of the women in her village to help mothers who had to work.

I looked up to find Mayko and Antigone giving me the same look. No wonder neither of them wanted to go and speak.

“Ms. London?” The woman looked at me.

“Sorry, please lead the way,” I said. She smiled from ear to ear and led the way. When she turned around, I spun back to Mayko and Antigone, smacking them over the shoulders.

“Hate you both!” I said quickly, causing them to giggle as I rushed to catch up. We stopped at a large ballroom, and Ms. Lucas secretly got us behind and to the side of the stage they had set up. The only thing blocking me from God knows how many people was a large wall of curtain.

“Just channel Mom. You know she lives for these types of things,” Antigone whispered beside me.

“Tell them they are beautiful the way they are and that type of stuff,” Mayko added, not helping me at all.

“I’m not answering you when you call anymore,” I replied, taking a deep breath, my hands shaking. This was completely different than anything I had done before—let alone anything I had done last minute.

“Right there.” Sara pointed between the slits of the curtains at a table at the front of the stage. “Those are the girls.”

Nodding, I took a breath, shaking out my hands and moving away from the curtains.

Breathe.

Breathe.

If Esther can do this, you can.

Breathe.

“Tonight, the W.E.W.A. gives this award to Esther London, who sadly could not be here tonight. However, here to accept her award on her behalf is her daughter and actress Amelia London. Please help me walk her to the stage.”

Fuck me, man.

Putting a smile on my face and trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach, I braced myself as they opened the curtains, revealing the packed room. Waving, I held my head high and walked as gracefully as I possibly could toward the glass podium. Taking the award, a glass torch statue, and shaking the speaker’s hand, I turned to face the audience and the cameras. I paused to allow the applause to die down.

“Thank you,” I said when it got quiet. Bullshit it, Amelia. “Today, I stand, as I have always stood, in the shadow of great woman and an even greater mother.”

Again, they applauded.

Nodding, I continued, “Many people have asked over the years what it is like to have Esther London as a mother, and it is very much like holding this award—in all aspects of her life, she passed the torch to me. The strength I have to stand up in the world today is because of her and her constant reminder that as women, we have work harder, though it is not fair or right. We must push ourselves in every aspect of our lives to get the things we truly want—what we deserve, in fact. I would like to thank every member of the Women Empowering Women Association for honoring my mother. I’m not biased or anything …”

They laughed.

“… because she truly is the only logical choice to me. Without her, my life would be completely different. My family will treasure this always. Thank you.” I lifted the award up.

“Tonight, not only does W.E.W.A. allow me to honor my mother, but also six beautiful young women: fourteen-year-old Elisa Rivera Vargas from Bolivia, seventeen-year-old Heloise Severiano of Peru, thirteen-year-old, Pelivanka Dobrislav of Montenegro, sixteen-year-old twins Katerina and Marynia Koval of the Ukraine, and last but certainly not least, from Bulgaria, seventeen-year-old Lala Zahari. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand with me and applaud these young ladies.”

Pushing the award to the side, I, along with everyone else, applauded them as they laughed with each other.

“I was asked to give you ladies advice, and, as the award symbolizes, to pass the torch,” I lifted it to them. “However, the more I thought about it, the less came to mind, because you wouldn’t be here today if you waited for words from others to propel you to act. Each one of you is extraordinary because you sought something and chose to make it happen despite all the obstacles in front you. So my advice is for the young girls who aren’t here today to never ask anyone permission to follow your dreams or to make a positive impact in your communities—just do it. Just be what you want to be, and eventually, you will achieve it. Should you ever forget that, we have six young women here ready to light the way for you. Thank you.”

Backing away from the podium, I walked down the stage toward the girls, giving each one of them a hug, and when the photographer came over, we all huddled together, posing.

Noah

Finally, I thought when Father Christmas himself sat down in front of me. We had been here for a good thirty minutes, and I was beginning to think I had wasted my time.

“You’re as hard-headed as your pops,” he chuckled, downing his beer.

“Don’t compare—”

“Why? You ain’t proud?” he frowned at me.

Frowning, I leaned back, eyeing him carefully. “I could think of thousand adjectives I could use, but ‘proud’ is not among them.”

“You got balls.”

“You’re the second man this week who has commented on my balls. Honestly, it’s making me uncomfortable. Do you have anything for me?”

“A smart ass, too,” he muttered. “Before I talk, what are you going to do when you find him? There is no way he’s getting out of this.”

“For fifteen, do you really give a damn?”

His eyes narrowed at me. “You might have forgotten your pops has also got a big mouth, always talking about his millionaire son who forked over thousands with a ring. You gonna have to do better than fifteen.”

Goddamn it, Frank.

“And how do I know you aren’t just messin’ with me?” I asked.

“I can call him now,” he said, pulling out his old-ass flip phone.

I couldn’t read him.

“Do it.”

The moment he hit ‘send,’ I forced it closed in his hands. “Twenty.”

“Thirty—” he began to counter.

“I’ll find him another way,” I said, standing up.

“Fine, shit, boy. Twenty-one and that’s my final offer.”

Sitting back down, I reached over when he stretched out his hand.

“Next Monday at 8 a.m., he’s going to be at Illinois International Port District to be outta port by 9 a.m.”

“Wait here. A man will come in and give you a bag. You will not look in it, and you will go somewhere I can’t see your face again,” I instructed, already standing up and heading up outside.

Austin leaned against the side of the car, looking completely out of place. He moved for me to take a seat in the passenger side.

“What are you doing?” he asked when I took out a few stacks.

“We settled on twenty-one.” I told him, handing him the bag. “It’s the Santa Claus-looking guy on the left side.”

“You bargained? You do know you’re a millionaire, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“And I’d like to fucking stay that way, thank you,” I snapped, throwing the bag at him. He caught it, shaking his head at me.

“In a strange way, I’m kind of proud,” he chuckled.

“Wait.” I got out, pulling out a few bills to put in his hands. “For the bartender.”

He stared at me for a moment and then didn’t say a word. As he headed back in, I sat back in the car and pulled out a cigarette.

He was only gone for a minute, if that, when I saw them– two of the three stooges I thought I’d dealt with earlier. They came back with friends.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

Shifting over the center divider, I sat in the driver’s seat. I leaned back as they walked past the car and into the bar. As Austin was coming out, he moved toward the driver’s side door, not seeing me, just as one them ran back out after not seeing me inside.

“Noah—” Austin started.

“Get in!” I yelled, starting the car. I locked eyes with the man across from me. He pulled out a gun as Austin pulled open the back door.

The tires skidded as I reversed quickly, the bullets bouncing off the front hood. However, one broke the through the windshield before I could get away.

“Shit. Shit. Holy motherfucking shit fuck!” Austin screamed.

“You still alive back there?” I questioned, trying not laugh when he didn’t sit up. The bullet was embedded no more than an inch above his chest in the backseat. His luck hadn’t run out, it seemed.

“I fucking hate this city!” He took a deep breath, sitting back.

I snickered. “That’s what makes it so great. It doesn’t give a shit if you like it or not.”

Not matter what, it would still be Chicago.

Chapter Six

Amelia

“Thank God,” I whispered, leaning into the car seat as Daniel closed the door.

“You were brilliant, ma’am,” Daniel said when he started the engine.

“Really? I thought it very ironic,” a man’s voice said.

My head whipped back, and there was Bo, his face only an inch from mine. Screaming, I jumped back, my hands reaching for the door handle.

“Fuckin’ Christ—never knew Noah had a thing for screamers,” he lifted a gun, pointing it toward Daniel. “Big fella, I’ma need you take a walk for a few minutes.”

Daniel didn’t move, just stared him down.

“You hard of hearing or something? Amelia, call off your man, here. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“I would believe you, but the fact that you were hiding in the back of my car with a gun makes it kinda hard!” I yelled, and he stuck a finger in his ear.

“I am right fucking beside you. Please knock off your goddamn yelling! Jesus!” he yelled back, and Daniel reached for the gun. A bullet hit the dashboard, triggering the airbag, sadly on the right. “Try that again. Fuckin’ try it. And the next one goes in your mouth. If I was gonna kill you, Amelia, I wouldn’t let you know I was here, now would I? We gotta talk, and I’m sure you don’t want muscle brain hearing about it.”

I stared at him for a second, his eyes piercing mine. Finally, I glanced back to Daniel. “Go. I’m fine—”

“Ma’am.”

“Go!”

He gave Bo one more glare, which Bo returned with his middle finger. When the door shut behind him, I focused back on Bo.

“Help me with this,” he said, trying to push the seat down, the gun waving in his hand.

“Can you drop the gun?” I asked.

“What does my brother see in a weak wench like you?” He frowned at me, finally getting the seat down in order to sit beside me.

“Did you come all this way to scare me and piss me off?” I asked him.

“I came for a favor,” he replied.

“Again, was all of this needed?” I asked, waving my hands at all the destruction he had caused in such a short time.

He glared, his jaw cracking to the side. “Do you bitch at him like this, too, or am I special?”

“I know you’re brothers. You, on the other hand—”

“I’m sorry. I thought me getting rid of your mother’s corpse would make us close. My bad. Good speech you gave there, too. I’m sure none of them would have thought they were listening to a murderer,” he shot back.

“I didn’t—”

“I ain’t an idiot, sweetheart. If it was Noah, them stab wounds would be a lot deeper. Besides, he’s a gun guy anyway,” he said as, if it was nothing, and reached into his jacket pocket. When I tensed, he rolled his eyes. “Gum. I’m trying to quit smoking. Those things will kill you.”

“I tell your brother that all that time,” I replied, almost reflexively.

He grinned like a mad man. “The day that guy quits will be the day pigs fly. It’s my bad, really. I gave him his first one for his twelfth birthday, and he’s been stuck since.”

“Twelve?”

“Yeah, you see—never mind, it’s a long story. Look, I’ve been trying to be on the lookout for our old man,” he said, apparently remembering why he broke into my car.

“Noah’s looking for him, too.”

“Really?” He sat up, nodding. “I knew he wouldn’t just leave him hanging like that.”

“What do you mean? He’s trying to get Frank to turn himself in—”

“What the fuck?” he yelled at me. The smile he had was gone, and in its place was anger as his fist hit the seat in front of me. “How can he be so goddamn selfish? Pops won’t make it in jail—”

“It’s either that or the Callahans.”

He breathed through his nose, eyes never leaving mine. “We’re family. We don’t sell each other out. I found our old man, and we are going to get him out of the States for awhile until all of this cools down.”

“He shot at cops and lost $200 million—”

“I don’t give a fuck! We don’t sell out family!” he shouted at me and then pointed at me. “And no matter how many time he fucks ya, you ain’t family either.”

“What are you—?”

“I’m saying you better remind Noah that we take care of our own before anyone else. If he doesn’t help pop get out of this, a certain W.E.W.A. award winner might just show up floating in the harbor.”

“Are you threatening me right now? How will that make him help you?”

He shrugged. “It might not. But mutual destruction helps no one.”

Now I knew why Noah didn’t want me to be around him any more than I needed to be. He was only two screws loose from going totally unhinged.

“After everything Noah has done for you, you’d turn on him like this?”

“Shut up. You know nothin’ about Noah or me. And it’s Noah’s choice if I turn on him or not. I don’t want to. I would protect him and make sure you got the blame alone, just like you deserve. But family is different. No matter what they do, you can’t just turn your back on them. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” he asked, opening the door for himself. “Pass on the message. It’s hard as fuck getting to you people through normal ways with everyone gunning for us.”

When he was gone, Daniel came back in quickly.

“Are you okay?”

I couldn’t answer. I only leaned back into the seat further, wishing I could just disappear or go back to that one night and stop Esther some other way. As Daniel drove, I glanced down at the award beside my feet. I lifted it up, running my hand over the glass.

I felt like I could hear her laughing at me.

“Daniel.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When you get the chance, get rid of this for me,” I said, throwing it in the front seat.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

Looking out the window, I saw my own reflection, and I didn’t like it. Not because I was guilty, but because I was staring at someone who had no idea what to do without help. I had given a speech telling young girls everywhere to just do whatever it is they wanted to do, yet I couldn’t take my own goddamn advice.

How do I fix this?

How do I—

Wait. I looked back at myself, the light bulb turning on in my head, and just like that, the smile returned to my face.

“Daniel.”

“Yes ma’am?”

“Don’t tell Noah or Austin about what happened tonight. I’ll give you money for the repairs. Do you understand?”

He didn’t reply.

I sighed. This was the problem with using other people’s people: they had loyalty issues. It didn’t matter if it was a stylist, driver, or bodyguard.

“Your job is to protect Noah, and me because he asked you. Well, know this: there is no other person on earth I want to protect more than Noah. But he won’t let me. Which is why he can’t know I met his brother tonight.”

“You met who?” he questioned, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror.

And just like that, Daniel became my guy.

Noah

Panic.

Sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior.

With my condition, it was dangerous for my emotions to swing drastically, and for the most part, I did a good job of keeping my emotions in check. I could stay cool sitting only a foot away from the head of the Irish mob, a bunch of thugs with knives in a bar, no problem. Hell, being shot at by said thugs—I was good. None of that scared me.

What did was walking into the hotel room where the love of my life was supposed to be and not finding her. No note, no call, nothing—just her clothes everywhere. That was fear. That was panic, and just like that, I found myself falling against the wall, my body shaking out of my control.

Shit.

Three months. I had made it three months off my meds without a single fucking attack, and one day in the city without her, I was brought to my knees.

“Ah!” I grunted out. I pulled my arms and legs to my chest, trying my best to stop the shaking.

“Noah, breathe, relax,” Austin said, stuffing another pill into my mouth. I wanted to tell him that telling someone with a disorder to relax was as fucking useful as telling a pregnant woman to use a condom. However, I couldn’t say anything given how badly my teeth were chattering together.

“Noah!”

Amelia? I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not.

“Noah!” Her hands cupped the sides of my face. Opening my eyes, I saw her. Her beautiful blue eyes stared back down at me.

Thank God.

“Shh…” she whispered, pulling me into her lap, hugging me to her chest. I listened to her heartbeat slowly, breathing in her perfume. “Shh…I’m right here. I’m right here,” she kept repeating.

I’m not sure how long we were like that, huddled on the floor of the presidential suite in some random hotel. I didn’t care. It was the best place in the world, because in those minutes, the world wasn’t fucked up. I was neither Noah Sloan, Frank’s son, nor Noah Sloan, the former child star. I was just the guy she loved. And that’s the only me I ever wanted to be. That’s what made the shaking stop.

“I love you,” I whispered once my body relaxed.

“And I you. Always,” she said softly. Reaching up, I brushed the tears that had built up in the corners of her eyes.

“You don’t have to cry every time this happens,” I said.

She frowned her at me, her bottom lip sticking out. “I don’t mean to. But I know it’s painful for you, and knowing I can’t do anything frustrates me so much.”

Snickering, I closed my eyes, enjoying her hands in my hair.

“Amelia, you don’t do nothing … you do everything.”

When she didn’t reply, I opened my eyes again to her staring at me with a mixture of lust and love in her eyes.

“It’s late. Austin left. Let’s go to bed,” she said. I sat up, taking her hand and allowing her to lead me…anywhere. I didn’t care.

When we got to the bedroom, she turned back to me. She pushed off my jacket, letting it fall to the ground with a thud. Her hands grazed my stomach as she lifted off my shirt, or at least tried to. She stepped on her tiptoes, reaching as high as she could, until I pulled it the rest of the way off, throwing it to the ground.

She kissed both sides my chest, undoing my belt faster than I thought possible. Softly, she kissed down the center of my abs.

“Ahh…” My lips parted when she grabbed my cock, freeing it from my boxers. With each stroke, I became harder in her hands, and completely breathless.

“Amelia …” I hissed as she licked the tip of my cock, and like the evil vixen she was, she grinned, glancing back up at me. Again she licked down the length of me painfully slowly, and I was powerless to do anything but watch. Her beautiful pink tongue swirled around my head over and over and over again, my cock twitching eagerly as she tortured me. Again her tongue ran down the side of me, until she got to my balls. She kissed them before making her way back up.

“Amelia.”

“Yes?” she answered. Before I could reply, she took as much of me as she could into her wet mouth.

Fuck. My eyes closed and my head tilted back as she sucked hard ... fuck … shit… I can’t. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I thrust forward once, and she grabbed the back of my knees, welcoming it.

She was going to killing me.

When I looked down at her, I could tell she was enjoying—no, loving—the fact that I had no words, only grunts and moans coming from my lips as she matched my pace with each thrust between her beautiful lips. The walls of her mouth closed in around me. If she didn’t stop, I was going to.

“Amelia, I’m—”

Ignoring me, she took my balls, massaging them with one hand and speeding up. As she did, my vision blurred. A shiver went up and down my spine as my toes curled and my grip on her hair tightened.

“Fucking … Christ!” I grunted as I came, and like she was trying to torture me, she swallowed—every drop.

“I’m never going to forget that face,” she giggled, kissing the tip of my dick before standing up again. And I still couldn’t speak.

Proud of herself, she pushed me back, and I fell like a ton of bricks onto the bed.

“Wait here,” she demanded, and I couldn’t think of where else I would rather be but right here, my chest rising and falling as I tried to relax. I kicked off my shoes and the rest of my clothes.

“Where did you go tonight?” I asked when it felt like my heart was no longer trying to escape from my chest. However, she didn’t answer.

“Amelia?”

“Yes, Mr. Sloan?” she said, stepping out of the bathroom.

She stood wearing sheer black lingerie … her hard nipples completely on display for me to see.

I need her.

I need to be inside her.

I need to hear her moan my name.

It was the only three things that crossed my mind, and it was more than enough to get me up again.

Amelia

The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, he said nothing, only walked over to me, picked me up, and threw me onto the bed like some caveman—and I loved every fucking moment of it. He kissed my neck and the top of my chest, undoing the tie holding the front of my lingerie closed.

All that effort to put it on, and it was off of me in a second as he cupped my breasts and licked circles around my nipples before taking one into his mouth, pinching it between his teeth. His other hand reached over to pinch the other one, twisting it as I held back the moan trying to escape my lips. Reaching up, I grab his hair again, my legs wrapping around him. As he moved from my nipple to my mouth, our tongues continue to roll in wet, uncoordinated, languid kisses.

His hand worked its way between my thighs, rubbing my pussy as I moaned into his mouth.

“Oh…” I gasped, our lips not even an inch apart. He didn’t wait and slid two fingers in me.

He smirked, his eyes shining with lust only for me.

“Noah,” I whimpered, rocking against his hand. I wanted more than his hands.

“Yes, Ms. London?” he mocked me. Damn him. “God, your pussy is already so wet for me, baby.”

 I had planned on being seductive, making him beg for me, but it was all shot to hell. I couldn’t fucking think straight.

“I need you,” I whispered.

“Beg me.”

“Goddamn it, Noah!”

Snickering, he pulled his fingers from me and brought his hand to my lips and without hesitation, I tasted myself on his fingertips. His eyes glazed over. Spreading my thighs, he rubbed the tip of his cock on my clit slowly before thrusting into me so hard I rose off the bed.

“Yes!” I cried out. He didn’t stop, pounding over and over again at the same wonderfully torturous pace.

“Oh,” I moaned. He kissed me, biting my bottom lip before repeating his agonizing routine. Grabbing my hips, he tilted me forward to bring me closer—if fucking possible—to him. All I could hear was our moans mixed in with the sound of our bodies slapping together. I lifted my leg up onto his shoulder as I gripped the bed, my toes curling with each fuck, the sweat rolling off his skin and onto mine.

No matter how many times we fucked like this, I would never forget how sexy he made me feel, how hot my skin became when I was with him, and most importantly, how no matter what, I always wanted more of him.

Rough.

Passionate.

Sinful.

I craved it all.

I craved Noah Sloan to the point of addiction.

Bringing my leg down, I pushed against his chest, locking my legs just above his ass until we flipped over, allowing me to ride on top of him. He grabbed my breasts as they bounced, and he sat up to bite them.

 I can’t … I … “Noah!” I cried as came. Pleasure, only pleasure, vibrated through my body so hard that I slumped over onto his chest.

“No you don’t,” he hissed, flipping me over onto my stomach. He pulled out for only a second before grabbing my hips and ramming himself into my ass.

“Fuck!” Holding on to the sheets below me, I took it, each beautiful, long thrust, the bed frame slamming into the wall.

“Yes….Ohhh…”

His hand on my neck, his body over mine, he whispered in short, shallow breaths, “You’re mine.”

“Yes,” I moaned.

“Say it.”

“I’m … I’m … fuck, Noah!”

“Say it.”

“I’m fucking yours!” I cried out.

He pace quickened as he grabbed my hips. “Come with me baby.”

He didn’t have to ask twice.

“Noah!”

“Shit … Amelia!” he grunted as he came.

Our bodies slowed until he and I both collapsed onto the bed, trying to catch our breath.

“You’re … I have no words,” he said when he pulled out of me and rolled over on his side. Smiling, I cuddled up beside him, his arm wrapping around me.

“Right back at you.”

He glanced down at me and kissed my forehead.

As he rested his head back against the pillows, I waited. After the sex we just had, it wouldn’t take long for him to fall asleep. I was spent, too. However, the only way I was going to get away with from him for a few moments tonight was with him knocked out.

“Umm,” he sighed, his grip on me loosening up.

Sitting up, I ran my hand over his face and sat there watching him as he feel deeper asleep. I felt bad not telling him the whole truth. But he did the same thing to me time and time again, all because he wanted to keep me safe.

When he was snoring softly, I got out of bed, pulling the sheet over him as I headed to the bathroom.

In the mirror, I could see light bruises, marks from his hands, that I was sure would look worse in the morning. However, I took them with pride.

I took a quick shower just to rinse off. I grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top along with a robe. Peeking my head out the door, I saw that he had shifted onto his side, but was still sleeping. Closing the door behind me, I left our room, making sure to grab the suite key as I did, before exiting down the hall and stopping in front of another door.

It was only 1 a.m., and knowing him, he would most likely still be awake for at least another hour.

I knocked loudly once, and sure enough, the door opened. Austin stared at me wide-eyed and confused. For the first time since I had met him, I saw him dressed casually, with a toothbrush in his mouth.

“Amelia?”

“I need your help, and Noah can’t know about it until afterward.”

He paused for a second before opening the door for me to come in.