Baby Love
When his brother dies, leaving him as the guardian of his baby son, Richard Martin panics. He doesn't know anything about how to take care of babies! Fortunately, the male nanny sent over by the service knows all about babies - and he also seems to know how to make Richard's heart beat faster and his breath come short...
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Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
A/N: Hey, guys, I'm starting another story because I have hit the wall that I like to call 'the writer's doldrum'. Every once in awhile I get bored with all of the stories I'm working on, and can't bring myself to work on any of them. When that happens, anything that I manage to write is a good thing. So please let me know what you think of this one, because I could really use some reviews right now to help energize me and get me excited about writing again -DL
The Way To A Man's Heart
Chapter 1
The woman hurried down the alley, the darkness surrounding her. Fearfully she stared around her, her eyes straining to see anything at all in the heavy shadows draping the alley. Her breathing panted in her throat, and she would have run if she could have seen where she was going clearly. If only she hadn’t decided to use this nasty, dark, grimy alley as a shortcut!
Suddenly, a terrible sound made her freeze in her tracks. A low, deep, growling reached her ears, and she whimpered in terror. She glanced around wildly, and a small cry escaped her lips as a hulking, deformed body moved out of the shadows and came toward her. A bit of light struck it, and when she saw clearly what was coming toward her, the woman screamed loudly and turned to run…
The great beast, its maw gaping, rushed after her. Clawed hands reached for the woman, who screamed and screamed as she ran away down the alley. The slavering creature, its golden eyes glowing with rage and bloodlust, pursued her closely. Then she tripped, and fell onto the trash-strewn floor of the alley. The beast howled in triumph and glee as it fell on her, its teeth and claws ripping as the blood flowed into its mouth. The woman screamed, this time in agony, as the beast ripped her open. Blood splattered on the dirty fur, and the white teeth were soon red as the deformed, inhuman thing began to feed on its prey…
“Cut!” yelled the director. The beast froze over the woman’s ‘body’, looking up. The director waved a hand at it. “That’s a wrap, Bill. We won’t need you anymore today. Drew! Get ready for the scene where Cathy confronts you about the fact that you’re acting strangely!” he called to the handsome young actor standing nearby.
“Got it, Cid,” the actor said, as the ’victim’ picked herself up off the ground in the alley set and went off to wardrobe to clean off the fake blood and grime that covered her body.
A bit later, the actor playing the lead character walked across the set toward where craft services had set up a table. He was starving after his very emotional scene with the actress playing his girlfriend. She’d confronted his character about why he was acting so odd lately, and he’d lied to her to cover up the fact that he was turning into a werewolf. He’d been bitten during the last full moon, and hadn’t yet come to terms with the fact that he was turning into a savage furry killer once a month.
Drew Lansing felt a rush of energy as he strode along toward the catering van and the table where the food was laid out. He was finally the lead in a feature film! Sure, it was a low-budget horror film, but it was definitely better than nothing! He’d only done TV so far before this; getting a role in a film was a step up for him. Especially the lead role. He was psyched about this whole shoot. How could life get any better for him right now?
He walked up to the table, eyeing the food set out for the cast and crew. It looked delicious today; his mouth watered as he picked up a tasty-looking sandwich loaded with roast beef and a tangy cheese sauce that delighted his taste buds when he bit into it. He looked up at the caterer, starting to say something about how delicious the sandwich was, and the words died in his mouth unspoken when he saw the man standing behind the table…
A slim, tall creature with a pair of the brightest, most beautiful eyes that Drew had ever seen was smiling at one of the crew members, and saying: “It’s an old family recipe that I modified. Meat pasties are really filling, aren’t they? Do you like the spices I added, and the fresh herbs?”
“It’s amazing,” the crew member replied. “You’re a great cook, Jarrod.”
The caterer beamed. “Thanks, Phil. Have as many as you want.”
He looked over when he became aware of Drew’s staring, his eyes(a gorgeous hazel-gold with touches of green and grey in their depths) meeting the actor’s. “Hi,” he said with a welcoming smile. “I’m new here. Bob, the old guy, hurt his back so I’ll be here for awhile. My name’s Jarrod Haines. What about you?”
“Err…Drew Lansing,” he replied with a mouth gone suddenly bone-dry. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yes, it’s really nice to meet you, too, Drew,” Jarrod said earnestly. “This is my first time on a movie set. I’m so excited! Are you an actor, or part of the crew?”
“I’m an actor,” he replied. “In fact, I’m the lead actor,” he went on impulsively, wanting to impress this oh-so-attractive caterer.
“Oh, really? Wow! That sounds exciting!“ Jarrod cried. “So you’re the guy turning into a werewolf, huh?”
“Yeah, sort of,” Drew said wryly. “There’s a stunt guy who has make-up and fake fur plastered all over him who plays the werewolf me, but the rest of the role is all one-hundred-per-cent genuine,” he laid a hand on his own chest, grinning.
Jarrod laughed. He had the best laugh that Drew had ever heard. “That’s cool,” he replied. “I can’t wait to tell Steve that I met a famous actor!”
“Well, not really famous,” Drew said self-deprecatingly. Then: “Who’s Steve?”
“My boyfriend,” Jarrod said, making his heart sink. This was SO not fair! He’d met the greatest guy ever, and this gorgeous angel had a boyfriend? Well, of course he did…who wouldn’t snap someone this great up in an instant? Drew felt glum. “Oh,” was all he said aloud.
Jarrod looked at his face and misinterpreted his expression. “I’m sorry if you have a problem with me being gay…” he began tartly.
“What? No!” Drew said as he realized what Jarrod was thinking. “I don’t have any problem with it at all. I was just thinking about something else…the next scene I’m doing,” he invented hurriedly. “I’m having trouble with remembering my lines.”
“Oh, I see,” Jarrod brightened up again. “Anyway, would you like to try one of these pasties? It’s always easier to remember things on a full stomach,” he said, his tongs hovering over the plate of pasties temptingly.
“Sure, I’ll try them,” Drew told him.
Jarrod piled several pasties and some salad fixings on a plate for him. “You need your greens,” he said with a whimsical smile as he handed over the plate to Drew. “To stay healthy.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Drew’s breath caught as their fingers brushed, and he cursed his own erratically beating heart. Falling for Jarrod was stupid; the man had a boyfriend. But try telling that to the traitorous organ in his chest! It didn’t care; in fact, it would have been happy if Drew tried to woo Jarrod away from this boyfriend. But he wasn’t going to do that. It wouldn’t be right. No matter how much he wanted to do it, it wouldn’t be right…
He tried one of the pasties. The crust was flaky, the fillings hot and tasty. He savored it, licking at his lips to get the crumbs. “This is fantastic,” he told Jarrod, who visibly preened a little.
“Thanks. My grandma taught me the basic recipe, and I’ve embellished it over the years.”
“Well, I love your grandma,” Drew said, in lieu of saying ‘I love YOU’. It would have been too early to say that anyway, even if Jarrod hadn’t been taken.
Jarrod grinned. “Gran would like that. A handsome young actor in love with her? That would have made her day.”
Drew was pleased that Jarrod thought he was handsome. “Well, it’s true. As they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” he said, thinking to himself that that’s one of the ways that Jarrod had already stolen HIS.
Drew ate the rest of his pasties, and the salad too. Jarrod watched him approvingly, when he wasn’t serving food to or talking to the other people who came up to the table to get something to eat. Jarrod’s food, and Jarrod himself, were obviously popular. Drew felt jealous of anybody else who made Jarrod laugh or smile, and scowled down at the few pieces of lettuce left on his plate moodily. He was ridiculous. Was this what falling head-over-heels in love with somebody was like? If so, it kind of sucked. But he suspected that there was nothing that he could do about it…
Drew returned to the set after he’d eaten, his mind still on Jarrod. He had to shake himself mentally to clear his head, because he had to concentrate on his lines for the next scene. And maybe if he submerged himself in his role, he’d forget the really attractive(and taken) guy that he’d just met at the catering table. This movie was a big deal for him and his acting career. He had to concentrate on it, and not on a futile attraction that he couldn’t do anything about.
He was fairly successful in his attempts to forget Jarrod, and by the time they broke for the day at almost seven o’clock, he trailed wearily to his car and climbed in. He just wanted to go home and climb into bed. He’d swing by a drive-thru and grab something to eat on his way home. Drew sighed, starting his car and pulling out of the parking lot. While being the lead role in a movie was great, it meant long hours and lots of work. Also, no personal life. So maybe it was for the best that the adorable new caterer on the set had a boyfriend already. Drew simply didn’t have the time to start dating right now.
Well, that’s what he told himself, anyway. But all of that logical, reasonable thinking flew out the window the next day when he went to the catering table to get something to eat. Jarrod was standing behind the table, smiling at the wardrobe mistress as he handed her a plate. That smile was so bright, so full of kindness and life, that his heart started beating too fast in his chest. Drew took in a shuddering breath as he forced his legs to move forward. Damn, but he could get lost in that smile!
Jarrod looked over and saw him, and that gorgeous smile widened even more. “Good morning, Drew!” he called.
“Good morning, Jarrod,” he replied, only a little thickly.
“I’ve got some pastries here that you’ll love,” Jarrod told him, waving at the array of breakfast foods on the table. “And some melt-in-your-mouth croissants. What’s your pleasure?”
‘You,’ Drew thought helplessly, but all he said aloud was: “The croissants sound good. I’m pretty hungry.”
“How about a croissant sandwich?” Jarrod asked, picking up a croissant off the tray and cutting it in half expertly. “Do you like bacon? Ham? Cheese?”
“Bacon and cheese sounds great,” Drew told him.
Jarrod used a spatula to pile eggs and bacon onto the croissant, along with a slice of real cheddar cheese. He put this on a plate for Drew, then handed it over. “Eat up. You need lots of fuel to start your day,” he said, sounding like a mother hen.
Drew hid a grin as he bit into the sandwich. It was tasty; the croissant was flaky and soft, the eggs fluffy, the bacon crisp. He made sounds of pleasure as he ate it, and Jarrod looked as pleased as a cat with a bowl of cream. He bustled away to serve someone else, and Drew leaned against the table a little as he ate his breakfast. He surreptitiously watched Jarrod the entire time; it was such a pleasant view that it made his entire morning. He knew that he was torturing himself, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
Finally, he was done. He took the last bite of his sandwich and reluctantly laid the plate down no the table. “Thanks, Jarrod; that was great,” he told the caterer.
“I’m glad you liked it. Come back for lunch. I’ve got lots of good eats for you.”
Thinking about what he’d really like to eat, Drew nodded. “I’ll be here,” he said, forcing himself to walk away. He couldn’t stay all day and moon after Jarrod. He had to get to work; and besides, the caterer would start to think there was something strange about him if he spent all his time hanging around the catering table.
Fortunately for him, he had three scenes in a row after that. And they had to shoot the second scene five times. So by the time they wrapped the third scene, it was already noon. Drew sighed wearily as he ambled toward the catering table. He’d be glad when they were finished shooting this movie. While it was great to have the lead role, it was also a lot of work.
But his spirits lifted immediately when he caught sight of Jarrod behind the catering table. He only had to see the other man’s face, and his tiredness slid away. “Hi, Drew! Welcome back. I hope you’re hungry,” Jarrod called to him as he walked up.
“I am, yes,” he replied. “What are we having?”
“Fresh, handmade pitas stuffed with grape leaves, slices of steak, and my own secret sauce,” Jarrod told him.
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll take one.”
Jarrod piled a plate with several pitas, a spinach salad with vinaigrette, and some cut up pieces of fresh fruit. He handed this to Drew, along with a bottle of spring water. He sniffed at it appreciatively. “Smells good,” he said happily, his stomach grumbling as it demanded that he devour this feast right away.
“Eat up,” Jarrod remarked, waving his hands at Drew.
“I will. Thanks,” Drew attended to his food, while Jarrod started talking to one of the crew members who had come up to the table.
Jarrod laughed at something that the person talking to him said, and Drew felt the muscles in his abdomen tighten at that bright, happy sound. He stopped chewing, a shiver passing through his body. Damn it! He wanted nothing more than to pull Jarrod away from that catering table and off into a dark corner of the set somewhere. He wanted to kiss those oh-so-kissable lips, to find out what they tasted like. He wanted…Damn it, it didn’t matter what he wanted. Because he couldn’t have what he wanted. He just had to accept that. And maybe he would, AFTER they’d finished filming and he never had to see Jarrod Haines again…
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