Page 49 of Cocky Bastard

Maybe we could remedy the lack of sex if we both felt up to it later.

Or tomorrow.

It wasn’t like I had a set date or time to go back. I would at some point, but I wasn’t going to rush. And if I needed to go shopping for a few more clothes, then so be it. I was sure I could find room in Kane’s drawers for my stuff. Or I’d just see if any of his clothes fit me.

“What are you doing in there?” Kane called and when I turned to look through to the sitting room, I could see his head popping up over the edge of the sofa, scowling at me like an angry kitten, his hair sticking up at odd angles. “I thought you were coming through.”

I chuckled as I finished making my coffee, wincing as I threw the teaspoon in the sink and it clattered loudly. “So grumpy, kitten. Do you need cuddles, is that it?”

He stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at me.

“Do I need to spray you with a water bottle?”

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

“Then don’t be so rude,” I said, walking through to the living room. As I moved around the sofa, I realised he’d made a nest of blankets and cushions, leaving space for me to squeeze in behind him so I could spoon him. On the TV, he’d queued upMy Big Fat Greek Weddingand I smiled when I saw it.

“I didn’t get to finish watching it yesterday,” he said when he saw me looking.

“That’s fine,” I said, putting my coffee down on the end table and awkwardly climbing over the back of him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”

“Seriously?”

“No. I don’t watch a lot of rom coms.”

“That’s it,” Kanan said, grabbing my arm and putting it firmly around his waist. “We’re having a sofa day and we’re watchingallthe rom coms.”

“All of them?” I asked with a smile, kissing the back of his head as I settled into place. Luckily, his sofa was big enough for the two of us to stretch out comfortably next to each other.

“As many as we can anyway. And then later we’re getting pizza.” He turned his head and kissed me. “And if I’m feeling better, I want you to fuck me too. Because how can we have said I love you and then not fucked?”

I laughed again and squeezed him tightly. “Because you had a guest. But yes, baby, I’ll fuck you.”

“Good.” He kissed me again and then turned back to the TV, snuggling down in my arms. “I love you,” he added quietly. “I really do. And I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I love you too, darling.” I kissed the back of his head again. “Now, introduce me to your rom coms.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Kane

The next coupleof weeks passed agonisingly slowly as it started to sink in that for all Henry’s threats and blustering, there was very little real chance of me getting my part back inLlewelyn.

I tried to distract myself as best I could with trips to the gym, visiting friends, talking to Miles about other parts, and making audition tapes for a couple of roles, none of which I was as excited about but I couldn’t keep moping forever. Rejection happened all the time in the acting world and as hard as it was to accept, there was nothing I could do but try and move on.

I spent a lot of time with Austin too, because there wasn’t much I couldn’t do from his house in York. He’d helped me sign up for his private gym so I could go there whenever I wanted, and he had a ton of filming and editing equipment, so it was easy to make audition tapes. And being with Austin dulled the painful ache in my chest.

It was obvious he still blamed himself for what had happened despite my insistence that it wasn’t his fault and that wankerswere always going to be wankers. But I could see it weighing on him when he thought I wasn’t looking.

All I could do was try and distract him, whether that was with a conversation, a bad joke, or sex. And I was very happy to use all three.

I’d also kept in touch with Henry, who was back in LA to do some reshoots for the latest round of his superhero franchise and seemed incredibly bored by the whole thing. He’d mentioned they’d tried to have him chemistry read against some other actors forLlewelynand he’d flat-out refused, which I was grateful for, but at some point we were both going to have to accept it wasn’t meant to be.

I’d just about reached that point, with much mental kicking and screaming, when the phone rang one Thursday afternoon.

I was sitting at Austin’s kitchen table with my laptop, editing some footage for an audition tape for a rom com that sounded more promising than anything else I’d seen, while waiting for Austin to get back from the shops. My phone vibrated beside me and I answered it without looking because I was expecting it to be my boyfriend ringing to ask me what I wanted for dinner.

But the voice on the other end definitely wasn’t Austin’s.

---