Razzle Dazzle Read online

  Jack was clearly shocked. Terrified would also be a good way to describe how he looked.

  I will have to coax him gently. But it is easy to see that he will be mine before too long.

  Herbert Goldstein—seated at the end of the booth closest to him—stood up. Vincent Franklin, the studio head, and Marvin Holst, one of the leading directors at Global, were also in attendance, and arranged on the curved sides of the booth. That left Jack at the far end. Roman also noted that it was obvious Holst was considering Jack for a new project. There would be no other reason for him to be there.

  “Roman! Perfect timing. Please join us.”

  Goldstein gestured for Roman to have a seat with them, and everyone scooted over to allow him to sit down. Right next to Jack.

  “Hello, Vince, Marvin. It is so delightful to see you. It’s been ages! Marvin, I didn’t see you at the party a couple weeks ago, were you in attendance?”

  In his peripheral vision, Roman could see Jack fidgeting. The boy was also doing the best he could not to make any physical contact with him, yet not sit in the director’s lap at the same time. But it was better that way—for now. Finally being this close to the man he had fantasised about night after night was bad enough. If he were to actually be touched by him, Roman was certain that even he wouldn’t be able to maintain his aloof demeanour.

  “Oh no, very sorry. I had a late night editing. I needed to get the last picture finished, so that I could begin the next. You know how it is.”

  “Indeed.”

  Goldstein spoke up. “Actually, Roman, Jack was at your party. I was wondering if the two of you had a chance to meet that night?”

  Roman turned his entire body to face Jack, his knees hitting the side of Jack’s thigh. The need to make contact with him had overcome Roman’s fear of being unnerved. Besides, Jack was doing that part so well all on his own. Roman was concerned that the poor boy might actually faint. If only they were alone, Roman would scoop him up in his arms, lay him on the bed and soothe his cares away. The picture of that in his mind made him hard and threatened to derail his composure. He brought his focus back to the question.

  “I’m sorry Jack. I can’t quite recall. There was so much going on that night, so many people. You’ll forgive me if I don’t remember whether we met or not? I was outside by the side of the house, then in the balcony by the front room. Does any of that sound familiar?”

  “Oh God…” Jack said under his breath, just enough so that Roman could barely hear him.

  Goldstein had a quizzical expression on his face, but was quickly distracted by a question Vincent asked him. Roman grinned at Jack. He refused to meet Roman’s gaze, but continued to stare at the tumbler of water that was perched on a cork coaster in front of him. But Roman didn’t care. He was touching the man of his recent dreams, their faces just inches from one another. He was close enough that he could even smell the clean scent of Jack above the heavy colognes of the other men.

  “Too bad you guys didn’t talk then,” Goldstein said turning back to them. “But no matter, it works out great that you’re here now. You see, Marvin has a new project he was going to bring to you where you play the part of an adventurer…”

  How original.

  “…seeking treasure in Egypt. Jack here would play the archaeologist that you hire to help you locate this lost fortune. Of course, there is a terrible curse attached to these riches, so on and so forth—we’ll work it all out. Jack is just about to sign with us—we’re going to have Charlie draw up the contracts this afternoon. Oh, we were also going to get Miss Trixie Fox to play your love interest. She’s been up to your place a few times before, hasn’t she?”

  Oh dear.

  “Why yes. As a matter of fact, I spoke with her at length at my party. So full of interesting information.”

  Jack grabbed his drink, but the moisture from the condensation had effectively glued the coaster to the bottom.

  “Here. Let me help you.”

  Roman placed his hand over Jack’s where he held the glass, and plucked the small mat from the bottom, setting it down. Roman was loath to remove his hold—the contact between their skin so hot and full of promise—but under the prying eyes of the studio men, he dared not tarry. Jack shook noticeably, barely able to take a swallow of his drink, and Roman was alternately pleased and sorry that he had done this to him. He didn’t want to do anything that might cause the mighty bosses to change their minds about hiring his sweet Jack. It would be worth putting up with Trixie every day if he could have Jack as well.

  The other men had been lost in their own conversation for a few minutes, so Roman was sure they hadn’t noticed anything untoward going on. Roman waved his hand, and the waiter came over.

  “A Martini, dry, two olives.”

  The waiter looked positively shocked, and was sputtering something about how that was impossible.

  “Calm down, my dear fellow, I was jesting. I’ll have a sparkling soda with lime. Gentlemen, what are you having?” He leaned into Jack slightly, and said a bit softer. “And you Jack. Would you like another drink? Possibly something less moist?”

  Jack coughed. “No, thank you.”

  His voice was quiet, and he still didn’t look at Roman. Maybe he’d gone too far. The boy was such an enigma. The only thing he could think of was that the boyfriend must have controlled him, done everything for him—dominated him in all ways.

  His cock stiffened again. How he would love to hold Jack down and do to him everything that a man could do to another man.

  Vincent piped up, “We’re fine, but we’ll be having lunch. We’d love it if you’d join us.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude on your meeting with Jack.”

  “Nah. Like Herbert said, this is perfect timing. We’ve already gone over what we needed to discuss with Jack. Let’s all enjoy ourselves, and look forward to making a picture with our biggest star and our newest star.”

  The waiter brought two sodas with lime, obviously not hearing Jack’s refusal. Vincent held up the glass he’d been drinking from already, and the others followed suit.

  “To our two stars.”

  Roman clinked his glass with everyone, saving Jack for last. This time he caught his eye, and was able to hold his gaze briefly. There was more than fear there. Jack was drawn to him too.

  If only I can get him to admit it.

  Jack had never had lamb chops before, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the mint jelly with them. He’d never even heard of mint jelly. Let alone put it on his meat. But lamb and jelly were the least of his concerns. What had started out as a nerve-racking day meeting with important Hollywood bosses about his future in the motion picture business had turned into an anxiety-filled nightmare when Roman had appeared out of nowhere.

  It had to be a coincidence, right?

  He had been almost frozen to the spot throughout the entire meal, afraid to move, lest he and Roman touch again. There had been something purposeful in the way Roman had pushed his knees against Jack’s leg. Even more mortifying was when Roman had made the comments about Jack being at the party. It was already obvious that Roman knew it was Jack who had been spying on him owing to the dinner party invite he’d received. But was he here now just to taunt him, have a little fun at his expense? Jack didn’t think he would be able to handle being on the set every day with Roman. But at the same time, Jack was just a supporting player, and Roman was the big star with his own dressing room. Surely, they wouldn’t be around each other that much?

  He wished they weren’t in a place that couldn’t serve liquor—it would have been helpful to have something to calm his jitters. But then he would have had to be careful not to say or do anything stupid. The men all shared on-set stories and laughed it up. Jack sat quietly in his spot and concentrated on not getting too close to Roman, who seemed to use every excuse he could to touch him.

  All he could think of was getting out of there as soon as possible, to end the torture that had been his entire
lunch. He was so focused on making his retreat that the excitement at getting contracted by the studio wasn’t even penetrating his brain.

  Things finally seemed to be wrapping up, and the studio chief picked up the tab for everyone. Jack had taken a taxi to the restaurant early, before anyone else had arrived, and he was trying to come up with a graceful way of exiting without everyone noticing that he didn’t have a ride. Somehow he felt self-conscious about it. He didn’t want to give them the impression that he was a nobody. Even if he was. But if he stayed behind at the restaurant, it would look a little strange. If he walked off down the street, they would know for sure he didn’t have a vehicle. Did it really matter? He wished with all of his might that Nick were there. Nick always had the answer for everything. He would probably say, ‘Aw, who cares, Jacky boy? Don’t you worry about what those mugs think’.

  That was the problem, though—Jack always worried about what everyone thought. He was a month and a half away from turning twenty, and he still felt like the kid that Nick used to call him all the time. Jack had told Nick not to call him ‘kid’ anymore after they’d made love the first time. He’d told Nick that he was a man now, and Nick had smiled and said that he was. He was his man.

  Not anymore.

  His eyes filled with tears, and if they fell, that would be a much worse impression than not having a car. He took a last swallow of his soda and tried to divert his thoughts. He turned, and saw that Roman was staring at him. It was so much worse than at the party—Roman was inches from him. Jack looked at the others, but they were engrossed in whatever it was they were talking about. Jack turned back to Roman. He smiled that same secretive grin he had that night on the balcony. Roman leaned so close to him that his lips were only a couple of inches away from his ear, his warm breath tickling the back of Jack’s neck.

  “You needn’t be frightened of me.”

  Jack inhaled sharply. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spy on you, I swear, I didn’t know you were there. I just needed some air. There were so many people, it was so loud…”

  “Shhh. I know. Why do you think I was outside?”

  Jack couldn’t believe his ears. Roman understood. “Oh.”

  “We are more alike than you can imagine.”

  Jack fiddled with his tumbler, resisting the urge to yank off his tie and open his collar.

  “Would you like me to give you a ride, Jack Stone?”

  Jack swallowed, his throat suddenly completely dry. “How do you know I need a…ride?”

  Jack felt the heat rise in his cheeks as Roman looked him up and down ever so subtly.

  “The car you took to my party belongs to the studio. From what I gather, you are a fresh arrival to our fair town. I doubt you have transportation.”

  “How…?”

  “I have my ways, my dear Jack. Especially when I want something very much.”

  Jack cleared his throat. “I’m not sure…”

  It was as though the whole room was closing in on him. He wanted to run out and breathe the fresh air, be in the open. It was the same feeling he’d had that night at the party. His body shook, and sweat broke out on his upper lip.

  “Jack? Are you all right?”

  He turned to look at Roman and could see genuine concern on his face.

  “I need to leave.”

  He said it so that only Roman could hear.

  “Of course. I’ll take care of it.”

  Jack exhaled.

  It’s going to be okay. Just breathe.

  “Gentlemen, if you don’t mind I do need to take my leave. Jack, could you tell me again where the haberdashery is from which you purchased your bowler?”

  “Uh…sure.”

  “Actually, I’m terrible with directions and addresses. Do you mind coming out with me and explaining it to my chauffeur?”

  “Okay.”

  Roman stood up, and allowed room for Jack to slide out. He was fairly impressed with how Roman had helped him to make his exit. Fortunately, he remembered his manners despite the situation with Roman, and shook everyone’s hand and thanked them for the meeting and the lunch. He followed him out of the back door, and contemplated his new problem. Being alone in a car with Roman Pasquale.

  Chapter Four

  Everything had worked out even better than Roman could have planned. Jack was safely—albeit silently—ensconced in the back seat of his Rolls. Roman relaxed against the upholstery, his body angled towards Jack, legs crossed. Jack sat rigidly, his hands folded in his lap, facing forward. Roman considered the situation. According to the address Jack had given Juan, they would be at Miss Fox’s residence in mere minutes.

  “Do you have another appointment, Jack?”

  The young man gave Roman a questioning look.

  “No. Why?”

  “Because I really would like to know where that hat was purchased. It’s quite fetching.”

  Jack’s hand went to the brim.

  “Really? Trixie insisted I wear it.”

  “Humph. Regardless, I do like it. Can you recall where you bought it?”

  “Uh, I still don’t know the city very well. Nick and I…”

  Roman could see the pain in Jack’s eyes. That did not bode well.

  “What I mean is that I’ve only been to a few places around town. But I believe we were on Melrose when we bought it.”

  Jack looked away again, and Roman resisted the urge to slide over to his side, and gather him up on his lap to pet and kiss his sadness away.

  Roman leant forward and gave his driver instructions to head to Melrose. At Roman’s movement, Jack actually shifted even farther away from him. Once he’d settled back again, Roman said, “I don’t bite you know. Unless you want me to.”

  Jack’s head whipped around, his eyes big and wide in alarm.

  Damn it Roman. Tread lightly.

  “Forgive me, Jack. I really am a rapscallion. Can’t seem to help it. But I promise I am quite harmless.” Roman chose his next words carefully. “It would seem you once had someone to take you around the city?”

  Jack barely nodded.

  “I take it he is no longer available to squire you about?”

  Still Jack didn’t speak. It would be easier to discover the location of the Holy Grail than to get him to converse about anything too personal. Roman decided to just keep asking him general questions—that had seemed to work best so far.

  “Tell me, Jack. How long have you been in our wretched little town?”

  Roman’s question seemed to garner a little more interest from Jack. He loosened up just a bit, and inclined slightly towards Roman. “Why do you say wretched? I mean, you’re like the king of Hollywood. Or somethin’.” Jack lowered his eyes.

  Roman smiled at the blush creeping up Jack’s neck and rising to his cheeks. There was also a smug satisfaction at the boy’s remark about him.

  “I would have imagined that you’ve been here long enough to understand just how unforgiving it can be. That right when you think everything is going your way, something else that you cherish deeply is utterly ripped from your hands.”

  This time, Jack kept his gaze fixed on Roman. He nodded slowly. “Yes. I do understand.”

  “You see, my dear Jack, that is why I believe we are more alike than you know.”

  Roman was dying to press Jack to answer his original question, to prod for additional information, but he knew that he would likely frighten Jack back into his shell. Their brief exchange was a beginning. Once Jack trusted him and felt more comfortable, he would probe further. Until then, just being around him would have to be enough.

  “Shall we enjoy a bit of shopping on this fine sunny day then?”

  Jack exhaled and gave him a feeble smile.

  “Sure. That sounds nice. I like Melrose.”

  “Then Melrose is where I shall take you.”

  * * * *

  Jack was certain that they’d been in at least twenty shops, and his feet were killing him. He’d never had to walk around f
or hours in fancy dress shoes before, and these pinched his toes. It was amazing to him how much shopping exhausted him, especially as he was used to working long days building and painting. In addition, there had been the curious stares from passers-by who recognised Roman, the larger-than-life movie idol. It was obvious to Jack from the way Roman carried himself, and deliberately avoided eye contact with his public, that he enjoyed every second of it. Some had been brave enough to try to approach him, but Juan, his driver, always stepped in. It all seemed quite bizarre.

  No more bizarre than the one and only Roman Pasquale spending the afternoon with me.

  How could his life have changed so much, so fast? Trixie had told him that some of the biggest stars had gone from poverty to being millionaires in just a few months. It had seemed like such a fairy tale to him when she’d told him, but he was starting to see how it could happen. How else could he have gone from wondering if he had the twenty dollar motel rent, to being offered a five hundred dollar a week movie contract on the same day that Roman Pasquale took him shopping?

  He watched Roman shyly. He was busy trying on different pairs of shoes and was so wrapped up in it that Jack took the opportunity to really observe him. His initial impression upon seeing him in person held true. He was superb. He had a light caramel complexion and impossibly smooth skin, completely without blemish. Perfectly sculpted features were the backdrop to smouldering black eyes, with just the right thickness of lashes surrounding them. Straight, full eyebrows gave him an almost severe look that was emphasised when he treated Jack to his sly grin. A strong masculine nose added to his look of strength, yet there was the smallest hint of a feminine beauty when you looked at his face in its entirety. Jack thought it might be the full lips crowned by a thin moustache that gave him that impression. Adding to all of that magnificence was the low, seductive tone of Roman’s voice, which had just the slightest Latino accent.

  Jack couldn’t deny that he was also curious about Roman’s body. It was impossible to be this close to Roman without that thought entering his head. It would have been difficult even if he hadn’t already been in lust from watching him on the movie screen. The last picture he’d seen him in, Dark Gypsy, had been so incredible sexy. Just seeing how Roman had first kidnapped then deflowered the innocent ingénue, who fell madly in love with him afterwards, made Jack weak in the knees from recalling it. Then when he’d sacrificed himself for her, it had left Jack in tears. He had felt the leading lady’s despair as if it were happening to him.