Outwardly he hardly moved, but his cock pressed against the back of her throat and under the blanket his hips bucked—once, twice, pushing in as she sucked him deep. When he pressed gently onto the back of her head, she knew he was telling her that he was about to come, so she could decide what she wanted to do. And yes, she swallowed. And no, she didn’t care if that meant anything.
Finally he lifted her, still careful not to make any noise. The smell, the taste, the heat of him had filled her, thrilled her, and the sight of his satisfied face as he lay back in the seat smiling and totally spent was the icing on the cake. He squeezed her hand and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Damn,” he whispered, brushing the hair from her face and flexing his hand from where he’d been clutching the edge of the seat to keep himself from moving.
“This is when I ask if that was okay for you,” she whispered.
His smile was a delight.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” he admitted.
“It doesn’t have to be the last time,” she reminded him as she zipped up her shorts—even as she’d already learned that there could be no planning with Blake, not even for a few days.
Now would be the time when, in some perfect dream she might have once had, he would turn and announce that he needed her, he loved her, and he was never letting her go.
But her dreams had never included blowjobs on buses, or Brazil, or men she barely knew. And she was actually comforted that he didn’t say a word. It was a relief not to have to worry about the baggage and expectations that came when two people wondered how long they were going to last. If Blake was sex and Danny was love, there was no question she’d take Blake any day she could have him.
Blake buttoned his shorts and draped the blanket over them. This time, when she leaned against him, she had no trouble falling asleep to the rolling motion of the bus and the steady rise and fall of his breathing as he nodded off, too. Rio was coming at them closer and closer each silent minute that passed.
Julia had no idea what to expect, but she knew that whatever happened wasn’t going to be anything like her long, lonely days in São Paulo, or her darker nights at home.
Chapter Eleven
Rio
Thursday
Julia had dog-eared the page in her guidebook for budget lodgings in Rio, but Blake told her to put the book away. They were approached by a throng of drivers crowding around the bus station, and he went with the one who grabbed their bags first and ushered them toward his cab.
“Hotel Copacabana,” he instructed, and did his best to haggle the rate down before they set off into the busy morning.
“Copacabana?” Julia said with eyes wide as she flipped through the guidebook. “Blake, I don’t know quite how to say this but I—”
The car turned quickly and in the back seat Blake jostled against her. He took the opportunity to reach for the book and close it.
“Nonsense, this is on me.”
He tried to use his most authoritative voice, the one he’d perfected on set for when he needed everyone to shut up and do their jobs so that he could do his. But naturally she wasn’t falling for it.
“You can’t do that,” she said, striking back with what must have been her equivalent listen here tone, the one that doubtless made countless teenagers spit out their gum, crack open their textbooks, and sit cowering until she told them what to do.
“I can, I will, and I am.”
“Your accent gets stronger when you argue,” she laughed, and he’d have said she won the tiff by completely disarming him except for the fact that they were still heading for the stretch of hotels along the famous crescent-shaped beach and there was no way he was going to let her pay.
“Making fun of the opponent won’t earn you any points,” he said, and he tried to scowl but it was hard to look unhappy when she was so damn cute in the morning, her hair disheveled from the ride even though she’d tried to smooth it out, pillow creases still on her cheek.
“I wasn’t making fun!” she exclaimed, and then leaned over and whispered in his ear even though the driver hardly spoke any English and probably couldn’t hear them, “It’s cute.”
“The opponent will remember this when we’re in our hotel room overlooking the ocean.” He winked.
“I’m serious, Blake,” she said, her tone changing once again. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering. And I’ve never stayed here, but what better excuse to stay in a nice hotel with a beautiful view on a world-famous beach than the two nights I have with you. Besides, after that hostel and a night on the bus, a comfortable bed sounds to die for.”
Julia grinned. “Okay, I’ll grant you that. But I want to go on the record that I didn’t ask for the royal treatment and have no expectations for anything you have to do for me. A tiny hostel somewhere is totally fine.”
Blake leaned over so that his hand was on hers and his breath in her ear. “There is one expectation you can have for something I’m going to do to you, but it’s definitely something I very much want.” He bit her ear gently and then slid away, looking out the window like he hadn’t said a thing. When he snuck a glance back, she was blushing furiously, a devilish light in her eyes. God he couldn’t wait to be in that hotel room, lying her back on the bed, spreading her legs…
He owed Jamie big time. The whole time he’d sat in the bus station, bags packed, waiting for his ride to Argentina, he hadn’t been able to get his friend’s words out of his mind. She said she wasn’t sure about me from the beginning…but she took the risk anyway. Jamie had been trying to tell him something. Something important.
Chris hadn’t been wearing a giant sign that read Your Future Is Here and neither had Jamie. But they didn’t go running just because there were no guarantees.
It wasn’t that Blake was looking for a relationship—far from it. He was just tired of things inevitably ending. A single night with someone forgetful couldn’t be said to end when it had hardly even begun. A night and then another day and then the thought of more nights, more days to come… Well, that was a different story.
But like Jamie had said, The only thing you can do is try. He knew he had two days left. He wasn’t going to let himself miss out because of what might happen down the road.
He was done worrying, done denying himself the things he eyed from afar but thought he shouldn’t have. Which was why he knew exactly what hotel he wanted to stay in. Blake had been traveling simply, staying at clean but basic lodgings like the hostel in Foz do Iguaçu. He’d been raised by a single mother in a small town outside Melbourne. One of the things he was most proud of was being able to buy her a house and take care of her so she no longer had to work. That was the only part that felt good about the money the show had brought in.
Kelley was the one who’d been thrilled with their newfound fame and fortune, relishing the opportunity to buy clothes without considering the price tags, eating out all the time because they could. Moving in the elite circles of actors and TV personas, Blake had started to feel like the world around him was less real, less solid than he’d once supposed. Kelley’s about-faced change proved that he didn’t want his whole life to be like that.
But it was more than the desire to stay grounded that made his stomach constrict when he looked at the checks from the broadcasting company growing his bank account even while he was abroad. While he was able to take off from work to travel the world before his next season started, he didn’t like knowing that he was only able to do it because of the success of The Everlastings. In other words, because of the appeal of Kelley and Liam together onscreen.