I had to do some serious spinning to get things back on track online. Some of the bloggers weren't happy with me, and there was an undercurrent of annoyance that I'd used them to 'punish' Henry for agreeing to a PR exercise. I had to just shrug it off, and grovel to Clive, who was most definitely rather angry with me.
Henry made an enormous effort to reassure me that we'd get over our hiccup. He moved my things back into the suite, before taking me out to dinner in a cute little bistro on a quiet back street. I sipped my Chianti, and broached the subject of his ex. "So what is she like?"
"Sarah, do you really want to discuss her after the day we've both had?"
"I need to know," I countered. I wanted to find out if I could compete with her. She was a film star in her own right, I felt invisible.
"She's alright, if you like that sort of thing," he said warily, clearly worried where the conversation was going. "I didn't see that much of her to be honest, as both our schedules were pretty mad. I suppose it's why the relationship lasted as long as it did."
"She's very pretty," I blurted. I looked down into my glass, not meeting his eyes.
"With her makeup on, yes she is. Not as pretty as you though.
"I'm sorry. I'm being a bit pathetic and needy, aren't I?"
He looked sympathetic. "I see you as so together, so strong. It was a shock watching you fall apart like that. I thought you'd just see it for what it was, me doing an old friend a favour. She needed the attention."
"It was lazy PR. They could've used hundreds of other techniques for getting her name mentioned. I mean, is she planning to piggyback your profile forever?"
"I doubt it, but she just got dropped from one franchise. This new one is pretty important, it's probably her last chance."
It was news to me, and I felt a smirk of satisfaction try and creep it's way across my face. I tried to suppress it. "A bit of fake PR I can live with," mused Henry, ignoring my smug look. "What I can't forgive was the deliberate attempt to sabotage our relationship, and the disrespect she showed you. I told her all about you, so her thinking you were my PA was all an act."
"She's still in love with you?"
He shook his head. "She was never in love with me, and I wasn't in love with her. We just...got along. It was convenient, us both being in the same game, but she was what you would call an 'asshole' actor. Scrapes into the B-list, yet tries to demand all the perks and advantages that the A-listers get. I gather Angelina Jolie has a shorter rider."
I snorted with laughter. There was nothing worse than nobodies in the film world who had delusions about their own importance. I'd babysat actresses like that many times. Desperate women who tried to hold onto fame, and the trappings of it, long after their moment in the sun had passed. They tended to take their frustrations out on the people around them.
"I still think you should've listened to me and not gone along with it. Your reputation is trashed and it nearly broke us up. No friend is worth that, no matter how much she needs the fame."
He stared into his glass. "You think I haven't realised that? I felt sick when I walked into our room and realised you'd gone. My reputation can be repaired, I'd even be happy to do a hatchet job on her, you know, set the record straight. Would it make you feel better?"
I shook my head. "Just oxygen to a fame-whore. Best thing to do is ignore her. I'll do some spinning, put it out there that you discovered she just wanted publicity. Just you keep quiet and don't give her the satisfaction of feeling that her plan worked." A plan was forming in my mind, I could simply tell the bloggers the truth, that Henry had been used for publicity and in his naivety, he'd trusted her. He'd been an idiot, but she'd been the liar.
He snapped me out of my trance. "I think we should go public."
"No! I'm not prepared to get ripped apart again just yet." We were accepted as a couple by the crew, our friends and family, the people who mattered. The thought of being scrutinised by the public was horrifying. I'd read all the comments about his ex on the fan sites. The vast majority had declared her 'not good enough' for Henry. When we'd been outed before, it'd been pretty harsh reading that I had man hands, and wasn't considered pretty enough.
"At some point, we need to declare to the world that we're together," he pressed. "Now is as good a time as any. We can say that my meeting with her made me realise how much I'm in love with you. The gossips'd lap it up, especially as I never normally discuss my private life."
"They'll just think I'm second best," I warned. "They'll assume she didn't want you, so you settled for me, Miss Average."
He banged his hand on the table, making me jump. "Don't talk about yourself like that," he hissed angrily, "it drives me mad. You want to know what I see when I look at you?" He was getting mad at me. "I see a gorgeous, sexy, intelligent woman. One I want to jump on at every opportunity. One who's mind and body drive me wild with desire. Don't ever think that I'd rather have a vapid actress over you. I just wish you'd drop this 'Miss Average' rubbish and take a look in the mirror."
"That's easy for you to say, being the most beautiful man in the world, physical perfection. You've never had to worry about me running off with someone more handsome," I countered, getting cross at his cluelessness.
"True, but you could run off with someone wealthier, more intelligent, less restricted, or simply someone not in the public eye. Looks aren't everything you know. Mine will fade in time, and I'd like to think there was more to me than just a pretty face." He looked annoyed.
"True, but you've got a rockin' body too," I quipped, mainly to diffuse the atmosphere brewing between us. It worked. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Not as sexy as yours though. I've missed you," he admitted.
"Missed you too."
"I'll get the bill. I have the urge to take you straight back to the hotel, and teach you how to view yourself through my eyes." He licked his lips. I shivered.
We sped back to our hotel, barely able to keep our hands off each other. As soon as we were in the room, Henry ordered me to strip. I undressed slowly, as he lay on the bed, watching me intently. His red-hot gaze made me feel wanton, his evident appreciation left me in no doubt as to how much he wanted me.
As I slid my knickers down my legs, finally nude, he slid off the bed, throwing off his tshirt and shorts, revealing his arousal. He was Adonis himself, every plane of his body perfected, every inch of skin perfectly buffed. I wasn't worthy.
He must've sensed my hesitation, as he took me over to the mirror and stood behind me. "Look how beautiful you are," he whispered as he ran his hands over me. "Look how delicate and soft your skin is, how full and sexy your breasts are." He cupped them gently, kneading them while he pressed kisses down my neck. I stared at the two of us in the mirror, entranced by the sight of him worshipping my body.
His hands slid lower, "and this," he murmured, "drives me wild, beyond wild. I'd walk over hot coals just to see this, taste it. Have you any idea what just the scent of it does to me?" He glanced at my face in the mirror. I shook my head. "It turns me into a wild, insatiable caveman, unable to ever get enough of you." His fingers probed me gently. "Don't you think that you have the most beautiful pussy in the world?"
"It's just ordinary." It was actually something I'd never really thought about before.
"Oh no," he murmured, "it's most definitely not ordinary. There's nothing ordinary about you, any part of you. You were made to drive me wild with desire.
I stared at the image of the two of us in the mirror. I could see Henry was telling the truth. He was running his hands over me, a look of pure reverence on his beautiful face. This man was both perfect and imperfect at the same time, and he desired me above all others. There was no shyness between us, as I knew he loved every part of me. I turned to face him, and kissed him deeply, grateful for his reassurance.
"Let me love you," he implored, his voice husky with need.
"I'm yours," I told him.
