CHAPTER SIX
Jude
It was 10:46p.m. when my phone rang with an unknown number. My mouth was still coated with the chocolate and caramel and my cock was hard. A little detail that wasn’t going unnoticed, but was completely fucking unwelcome. There was no place for my damn arousal when it came to me and Marly. Now if I could just convince my dick of that.
My breath hitched as the phone buzzed against my coffee table. Was it Marly calling? Shoving my hand into my hair, I grabbed the phone, pressing the answer button.
“Hello?”Shit, why is my voice so graveled?
“Jude Fisher.” I recognized the deeply masculine voice immediately.
“Omar,” I responded, surprised. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to talk,” Omar said. He didn’t sound mad… he also didn’t sound all that happy.
“Where’s Marly?” I asked and immediately regretted it. Asking the whereabouts of Omar’s fiancé was probably not the best way to start this conversation—whatever this was. Then again, if Marly and I were going to do this education for a week and perhaps be in this film together, we had to find a way to become Leo and Holly without Omar being threatened.
“She told me she was going to the bar to order us a drink, but then she went back to have another caramel.” Omar chuckled. “God, I love that girl.” There was something in his voice… I noticed it when I watched Omar and Marly together at the club, too. There was affection there, absolutely. But chemistry? Sexual tension? It was non-existent.
I stretched out my legs, putting my feet up on the coffee table, sinking deeper into my leather couch. “She’s just eating the one?” I couldn’t resist asking.
There was a pause before Omar answered. “As far as I can tell, she just had one.”
A satisfied smile curved my mouth.Good girl. “What can I do for you, Omar? And how’d you get this number?”
“You’re not the only one with friends you can call in favors from. After Marly told me about the Rolex from today’s audition, I got your number from a mutual friend.”
Up until that point, Omar’s voice had been calm and collected. But instantaneously, it shifted, his voice suddenly tight, aggressive even. I swallowed, ignoring my instinct to snarl back. This man was Marly’s fiancé. The real man in her life. Whereas I was just the stand-in for a role in a movie. I had to respect the man she chose to be her life partner, while at the same time respecting Marly’s right to privacy. She was trusting me. And I needed to honor that trust.
So instead of saying anything, I slung my arm over the back of the couch, settling in for the angry fiancé lecture that was sure to come.
“Look,” Omar said. “Marly is an incredible actress. And the fact that you believe in her means a lot. To her. And me. I just want… no,needyou to know… I am all for her getting this part. But if you’re using her in any way, I will ruin you. I don’t care if it means I never get a job at Silhouette Studios. I will take you fucking down in flames with me.”
Well, shit. I could respect that. I cleared my throat. “I’m not trying to take advantage of Marlena. I believe in her. Without a doubt, I know she is best for the part. That being said, she has a lot of work to do, studying the BDSM lifestyle. And I have to tell you… if she gets the part, she and I will be doing exercises together. Exercises and scenes that are very sexual. And sensual. When we film, we’ll be naked—and I don’t just mean our bodies. Emotionally, we’ll be raw. Vulnerable. Is that going to be a problem?”
I wasn’t trying to be an asshole. But Omar had to know; he had to understand what it was going to mean for Marly to do this movie. Three months of us working closely together. Full frontal nude scenes, but even more intense would be the bonding; the chemistry we needed to discover together. Not a lot of partners could handle that kind of intimacy… even if it was only onscreen.
“What Marly and I have is special. And I trust her to do what is needed in her career. I’m not threatened by whatever onscreen or off-screen relationship you two have,” Omar said. “Marly can handle herself. But as her best friend, I’m calling to tell you I have her back. And if you do anything to threaten or hurt her within the process, you will regret that. Am I clear?”
“Understood.”Best friend. Omar called himself her best friend, not her fiancé. I couldn’t resist asking. “When you have her back, do you have it as her best friend or her fiancé?”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Both,” Omar said. “We are best friends first and always. No matter what happens. And fiancés second.”
Emotion knotted in my chest. What was that feeling clawing up my throat? Envy. I was envious of their love. Their bond. It was the very thing Layla and I had been missing in ours. We weren’t friends… we never were. Not even in the height of our passion. Our bond was purely sexual. My lust for her was the fog that clouded around us, convincing me it was love. But I didn’t fucking know what love was. Who was I to judge what I saw between Marly and Omar? Maybe that chemistry Ithoughtthey were lacking was just my own fucked up idea of what a relationship should be.
“Omar, I promise you, I’ll take care of Marly. Onscreen and off-screen. I have no intention of taking advantage of her. I only want to help her get this role and I know I can. I’m a member of the Los Angeles BDSM community and I think I can help her grasp the character even more than she already does.”
Another long pause. “Wow,” Omar said finally. “I can’t believe you told me that. It’s so… personal.”
“You deserve to know. But I’d appreciate your discretion.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
My phone pinged in my ear and I looked at the screen, seeing a text from Marly. “I need to go, Omar.”
“You have a good night.” With that, we disconnected the call.
Well, that was… interesting.
