Chapter Thirty
In near perfect silence, the entire crew had watched the final scenes being filmed. In the very last one, Smith-as Graham introduced Tatiana- as-Jo to the family he'd walked away from two years earlier. Everyone on the cast and crew had to reach for tissues, especially when the prim and proper matriarch of Graham's family had taken Leah onto her lap, kissed the child's soft hair, then softly said to Jo, who still had the streaks of pink in her hair, "Thank you for bringing my family back together, and for joining it."
Even hours later in her rental house, it was only the fear of ruining her perfectly applied mascara that kept Valentina from blubbering like a fool over the movie's end. Thankfully, she hadn't had to say her goodbyes to the friends she'd made on the set this afternoon. The wrap party tonight would give them all time to hug and laugh and reminisce and drink just a little too much together.
Over the past weeks, Valentina had begun to adjust to the spotlight, a little bit at least. She was used to holding Smith's hand in public, she'd absolutely loved spending Thanksgiving at his mother's house with Tatiana and the rest of his family, and she'd even accepted that stories and pictures of the two of them snapped by strangers in San Francisco would often end up on blogs and in newspapers.
But tonight was different.
The Maverick Group, a multinational corporation made up of a group of powerful billionaires who had a golden touch when it came to business, was the main investor in Smith's film. They were throwing the wrap party for Gravity tonight.
Most women, she knew, would be thrilled to put on a stunning couture dress made by one of the top designers in the world and to slip their feet into heels that cost more than the average month's rent in most places around the country. Valentina had never been like other women, though. Even as a girl, she'd been just a little more serious, far more likely to get excited over a book than a pop star.
Fortunately, Tatiana knew her inside and out. Her sister had gone out of her way for the past two hours to make it seem like they were simply having a fun makeover day together. Instead of going to a fancy salon for a blow-out, manicure, and makeup, Tatiana had suggested they make each other up, instead.
Of course, her sister didn't need Valentina's help. Tatiana was such a pro after all she'd learned over the past few years, that if she ever decided to give up acting, she'd have no problem launching her own hair, nails, and makeup line.
Now, Valentina tried not to see the panic in her own eyes as she looked in the mirror. Tatiana had a blow dryer in one hand, the other smoothing Valentina's hair.
"There," her sister said as she finally turned off the dryer. "Perfect." She didn't give Valentina too much time to study herself before pulling her out of her seat and handing her the shockingly gorgeous dress.
"Time for the finishing touch." Tatiana smiled as she looked down at the dress Valentina hadn't yet taken from her. "Smith has some seriously great taste. I can't wait to see it on you."
The large dress box had been yet another gift waiting on her desk this week. She loved that he hadn't stopped surprising her, and she knew he never would.
Her sister was right about his taste. The soft yellow fabric was elegant while somehow hugging all of her curves at the same time, and the bodice glittered just enough to make the dress something special. In fact, it would have been the perfect dress if not for the long slit up the side of the leg.
She took a deep, steadying breath as her sister all but shoved the dress into her hand. Telling herself to stop being such a baby, Valentina quickly slipped off Smith's button-front shirt that she'd been wearing while Tatiana did her hair and makeup, and stepped into the dress, putting her arms through the spaghetti straps. After Tatiana zipped her up, Valentina slipped her feet into the stunning heels.
She closed her eyes for a moment before turning to face her sister.
Tatiana's eyes were wide. "Val." Her pretty mouth curved into a huge smile. "You look amazing!" Her sister grabbed her hand and took her over to the full-length mirror. "Look!"
Valentina stared in the mirror with surprise. She'd expected to see a stranger. But even though she'd never been done up like this before, the woman looking back at her was the same one she saw every morning and evening in the bathroom mirror when she brushed her teeth with Smith standing right there beside her.
Granted, her hair had never looked quite so glossy or well styled, and her eyes had never seemed so smoky and mysterious, nor her mouth quite so plump and red.
A knock came at the door, followed by Smith's deep voice asking if he could come in. Tatiana called out for him to enter, which was good because Valentina's throat had gone completely dry.
She stood perfectly still as he walked in.
"Valentina."
Tatiana slipped out unnoticed as Smith stood where he was in the middle of the room and stared at Valentina. "My God, you're beautiful. I'm never going to get used to it, am I?"
Despite her own worries about how the evening was going to go, she couldn't doubt for even one second that he meant what he said. Even the best actor in the world couldn't have seemed that genuine if he hadn't really believed every word.
"Thank you." She tried to smile, but her lips had a hard time moving up at the corners.
This wasn't her first Hollywood party by any means. She'd been to dozens with her sister over the years. The difference was that she'd always been in the background, just one of the support staff for her sparkling, beautiful sister. No one had ever noticed her. She'd been as invisible as the ice sculptures melting in the middle of the vegan buffet.
Tonight, she wouldn't be invisible. And not just because of the dress, the shoes, the hair and makeup.
She'd be with Smith. On his arm. As much a target for dissection as the actors and actresses who had willingly signed up for a career in the spotlight. Yes, they'd already been in plenty of tabloids, blogs, and magazines, but this event was on a whole different level.
Before she'd met him, she'd been utterly certain that this kind of life was crazy, and that any woman who walked willingly into a relationship with a man like him was a fool. Now, Valentina was one hundred percent certain that he was worth being crazy and foolish for - worth even the terror that rode her.
And still, her heart raced and her palms dampened just thinking about all those...
She was stunned out of her frantic thoughts by the sound of the door being locked by Smith. By the time she got her brain functioning at least halfway as fast as it should, he was moving toward her and taking her hands in his. He lifted them to his gorgeous mouth, pressed a kiss to each of her fingertips, then gently turned her to face the wall while lifting her hands up to put her palms flat against the cool painted plaster.
She stood there, turning her face from the wall to look at him over her shoulder. "Smith, what are you - "
Her question slid away on a gasp as he easily found the long opening along the right side of her dress that ran from ankle to mid-thigh. It was the one part of the dress that had given her pause, more than a hint of sexy on an otherwise perfectly elegant dress. She loved how sexy she felt any time he kissed her, touched her, whispered how good she felt in his arms, relished how natural it was for her to let go whenever they were making love. But it was one thing to let her inner sensual self out in the privacy of his bedroom...it was another entirely to let the rest of the world see it.
But now, as his warm fingers ran a devastating path up her sensitive skin, she gave silent thanks for the cut of the dress. He didn't rush as he lightly caressed the skin on her upper thigh, first on the outside and then in toward her inner thigh.
From the first touch of his lips on her fingertips, her arousal had spiked. And as his hand slid over the thin lace of her thong and he cupped the sensitive flesh between her legs, she couldn't think, or worry, or even remember how those thoughts got there in the first place. All she could do was arch her h*ps into his in a silent plea for more.
Her name was a heated whisper against her neck as he answered her plea by slipping his fingers under the edge of silk and into her. His tongue traced the curve of her neck as she rocked into him, the delicious - and oh-so-unexpected - pressure quickly sending her straight into a heady cl**ax.
Still braced against the wall with her hands, her neck arched back into his mouth as a brilliantly colored fireworks display shot off inside of her.
"Beautiful." Smith's teeth found the lobe of one ear as she came apart with him pressed tightly against her back, his hand moving in a perfect rhythm between her thighs as he kept her release going on and on. "So damn beautiful."
By the time she remembered to breathe again, it came out in hard, fast pants. Everything inside her was spinning, twisting, buzzing.
His large hands were gentle on her bare shoulders as he turned her to face him. She licked the spot on her lower lip that she'd bitten into when he'd sent her reeling and his eyes were hungry as he gazed down at her mouth.
"You were worrying," he said in answer to the question she hadn't been able to ask. He lifted his hand to brush the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. "I've decided that any time I see you overthinking things, or if you start panicking over the Hollywood circus, that's what I'm going to do." His gaze darkened even further with sensual intent. "I won't care where we are, or what we're supposed to be doing. You come first, Valentina. Always."
She believed him, knew he never said anything he didn't mean. But she also knew that it was going to be a long time before she could figure out how to keep from freaking out about being in the Hollywood spotlight alongside him. If ever.
Only, instead of the usual panic that accompanied that thought, a shudder of sweet anticipation came at Smith's incredibly sexy promise about how he would help her cope with the pressure.
But it wasn't until he pressed a soft kiss to her mouth and began to step away from her that she realized the only thing he'd been concerned with was helping her, not taking his own pleasure, too.
Thank God her brain had started functioning well enough by then for her to take his hands in hers and ask, "What if I'm still worrying?" When renewed concern moved across his beautiful face, she quickly put his hand on her h*ps and brought her mouth a breath away from his to whisper, "What else will you do to make me stop?"
She felt his answering grin right before he said, "This," and took her mouth in a possessive kiss.
He deftly slid down the zipper along the back of her dress and helped her step out of it, before carefully laying it across the back of a soft chair in her bedroom. He stood holding the yellow silk in his hands, his gaze filled with awe as he took in her na**d body, now clad in only a silk thong, thigh-high, lace-edged stockings, and heels.
And then he was threading his hands into her hair and lowering his mouth to devour hers in a deeply passionate kiss. He rained kisses over her face, down her neck, her shoulders, before finally laving the peak of one breast with his tongue, and then the other.
She loved the rough scratch of his jacket against her bare br**sts as she pulled him down over her, using her calves to pull him even closer even as he slid her panties off. And this time she was the one kissing him with the passion he revealed within her more and more every time they made love. If they had more than a few stolen minutes, they might have kissed for hours, until both of them were utterly, completely desperate for more.
Very reluctantly, Smith pulled his mouth from hers and his hands from her skin to undo his tie and the buttons on his dress shirt. Valentina knew better than to help him - she needed him so badly that she was in danger of ripping the shirt off him - and curled her hands into fists on the soft bedcover to keep from ruining his dress clothes. Fortunately, he was able to undress quickly enough that it felt as if he'd barely stepped away from between her thighs to kick off his pants when he was right back with her, a condom already rolled down his thick, hard length.
A heartbeat later his hands were once again threading into her once perfectly done hair, his mouth was kissing off her expertly done makeup, and he was sliding into her on a pleasured groan. Her skin was slick against his as they moved together, Smith going deeper even as Valentina opened herself all the way up to him.
As he rocked into her again and again, and her pleasure grew higher, sharper, she forgot all about Hollywood, about billionaires and cameraman and gossip rags.
She felt as though her entire body was tightening down around him when he lifted his head from her mouth and looked into her eyes.
"I love you."
The simple vow was all it ever took to send Valentina hurtling over the edge, and Smith was right there with her, not only to catch her as she fell...but also to show her just how incredibly good it was to leap, knowing his strong, warm arms would be around her every single second.
Minutes later, as they both worked to catch their breath, and Valentina stroked Smith's slightly damp hair from where he'd laid his head across her breasts, she felt wonderfully drained of nerves.
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pulling her up off the bed, stripping off her stockings and heels, and dragging her into the bathroom for the world's quickest shower. He held her hair up out of the way of the spray as she soaped both of them up, his body responding again as if he hadn't just finished taking her.
But even though she could see that he would have also been happy to do just that, she turned off the water and reached for a towel, handing him one before taking another for herself.
Smith had never used his fame as an excuse to hide, and she wouldn't make him hide for her.
"Come on, slowpoke," she teased as she purposely dropped the towel to the tiled floor and left the bathroom to put her dress back on. "Race you to the limo."
She'd almost reached her dress when his strong arms came around her.
"I love you."
His breath whispered against her neck as he once again said the three words that never ceased to fill her with awe. Not because she hadn't believed it was possible for a movie star to love her, but because she hadn't thought it was possible for love to find her at all.
She turned in his arms, the press of their na**dness forgotten as she put her hands on either side of his face. "I love you, too."
A few minutes later, he'd zipped her back into her dress and she'd straightened the bow tie on his tux. Her hair was a lost cause and she'd had to settle for a quick lash of mascara and a swipe of lipstick, but when she and Smith finally went down to meet her sister who had been patiently waiting for them in the living room, Tatiana's eyes widened as she looked at the two of them.
"You looked amazing before, Val, but now you're simply perfect." Tatiana grinned at Smith, one good friend to another after their long weeks of working together. "Nice work, Mr. Sullivan."
He grinned back and as the three of them headed out to the limo outside, and Valentina slid in between the two movie stars who meant everything to her, instead of being terrified by the night they were about to have, Valentina felt happy.
Content.
And utterly, completely loved.