Hot as Heller (Aster Valley 3)

“You’ve filmed those kind of scenes before. In Cast in Clover season like… eight, I think, you did a tyrolean traverse over that raging river…” I let my words die off as I realized what I’d just accidentally revealed.

Suddenly, Finn Heller was wide-awake. He bolted upright in bed and poked me with a pointer finger right in the sternum. “Spill it, Sheriff McLying-Liarpants. Every single detail. And don’t you dare leave anything out.”

I played stupid. “Spill what? I already told you I’d watched it.”

His grin was nearly feral. “I didn’t realize you’d watched it enough to know specific episodes! You little faker. Acting like you had no idea who I was. I almost believed you, too.”

I sighed and threw myself back on the pillow dramatically. “Everyone knows who you are. That doesn’t mean—mpfh!”

He jumped on top of me and slammed his mouth down on mine, kissing me with renewed enthusiasm. My lips were damn near chapped at this point, and my balls were definitely done for the night. But god, his body felt good on mine, and my hands didn’t mind another exploration session. We kissed and made out for a while longer before he pulled away laughing.

“Sheriff Clover-Fan. Who knew? Me. I knew. You absolute faker. I still can’t get over it. Tell me what your favorite parts were. Wait. Let me guess. You liked it when I got arrested for breaking into the school to steal my science paper.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Served you right, punk.”

Finn raised a teasing eyebrow. “The cop sucked me off in my trailer after we filmed that scene.”

Suddenly, it wasn’t funny anymore. Finn must have seen something change in my face because he put a hand to my chest. “Woah. Woah, big guy. I was joking. He flirted with me and tried to kiss me. My mom walked in and interrupted us. Then she threatened to call the real cops on him even though we were both legal. Calm down. Besides, he was an actor. Not an actual police officer.”

I sighed. “I’m making a mental list of people I need to punch. Except I’m obviously not going to punch anyone. But I can give them a very stern look.” I gave him my stern look to show him I was serious.

We fell asleep laughing in each other’s arms.

And it was so fucking good. I never wanted it to end.

Which meant I was terrified.

16

Finn

When I arrived at work on Monday morning with a belly full of bacon and eggs Declan had made just for me, I felt like I was carrying the world’s most exquisite secret. I’d had mind-blowing sex with Declan Stone. Sheriff Stone had held me in those big burly arms of his all night long. He’d called me beautiful again and again. He’d told me I was sexy, and he’d worked hard to make me feel good over and over and over until I felt like a puddle of sticky honey begging for him to lap me up.

Declan Stone was a generous and diligent lover. And he had a big fucking dick that felt—

“What the fuck?”

I spun around and nearly dropped the two paper coffee cups I’d picked up on my way through town. Tomo, my makeup tech, had a thing for a caramel latte but rarely treated himself to it since he was saving up for a nicer apartment back in LA.

Kix stared at me like I’d turned into a green, scaly monster since I’d seen him last.

“What? You almost made me drop my coffee,” I said, moving up the steps of the trailer.

“Is that a hickey on your neck?” Kix asked with a dramatic gasp. “Like, from a human other than yourself?”

He followed me into the trailer, and I tried to hide my smug grin. Tomo was already in there waiting for me. I could hear him chatting with someone. As soon as I stepped fully inside the trailer, I saw who he was talking to.

“Mom?” I squeaked.

“There you are. I was worried sick. Come here and give me a hug.” She moved toward me in a cloud of familiar perfume. I handed the drinks tray to Tomo and wrapped my arms around her slender frame.

Lola Heller had always been a gorgeous woman by any standard, but now that she had plenty of money and lived an easy lifestyle, she was even more lovely. Part of me thought it was simply a matter of growing into her beauty, but maybe it was something else, something more mundane like a high-quality skin care regimen. Either way, she was undeniably beautiful, and she turned heads wherever she went.

She was also charming as hell. My mother could talk anyone into anything and make them think it was their idea. It was both a blessing and a curse.

“What are you doing here?” I asked when she finally pulled away. Her hands clutched my arms as she gave me a mother’s assessing once-over. Her eyes immediately spotted the mark Kix must have seen, because they narrowed for a split second. Thankfully, she kept her opinions to herself about it.