Naughty Nanny Series-Free Loving (4 page)

            “I want you.”

            The words hit Free square in the face as soon as she entered the gourmet kitchen. She was woefully unprepared for the words, as candid and open as they were. Honestly she had been expecting Travis to be put out by her morning ritual. It had been her observation that people in general were good at deflecting their own actions on others. She had expected him to rage at her about her lack of propriety or something along those lines.

            “I’m sorry?” Maybe she hadn’t heard him right.

            “Free,” Travis sighed and motioned for her to sit at the small table in the corner of the very large kitchen. “We need to talk.”

            Swallowing a large knot in her throat, Free slowly approached the table where he sat, shirtless, shoeless and so adorable it almost hurt to look at him. His hair was still damp, giving testament that he had taken a shower himself after their first little encounter this morning.

            “Look, I’m sorry about the naked yoga thing,” Free rushed to explain before he could say anything. “I promise it won’t happen again, and I would
never
do anything like that around your niece.”

            “Free, if you never did that again I would be sorely disappointed,” Travis told her, looking at her with such candor it took her breath away. “It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  Your controlled movements flowing from one pose to the other.  Your body is a work of art.”

            Yeah, right. He must have been one hell of an actor because for a minute there, Free believed it.

            “I mean it, Free.” He must have read disbelief on her face, because he grasped her hand and stared deep into her eyes. “It was…well, hell, you saw for yourself how I really felt about it.” He inhaled harshly, forcing the breath back out with a huff. Whatever he had to say apparently was difficult because he seemed to have a hard time finding the words.

            “Look, if you think this won’t work out, I understand.” And she did. She had been hired to take care of the baby, not run around trying to turn him on. The fact that she had turned him on pleased her more than she was willing to admit, but that wasn't her goal. Her goal was her school, which would be realized if she kept this job for the year she had been hired for. “I’ll call for a ride and be out of your hair by the end of the day.”

            “No!” Travis roared at her, making her jump at the vehemence in the word. She watched with something between awe and a strange fluttery feeling as he ran his hand distractedly through his hair, one hand still clutching hers. “Look, I don’t know what this thing is. I mean, the second I saw you, I…well, I wanted you. You are just so different from any other woman I have ever met.”

            Uh oh, the “you’re so different” speech. Free had been down that road once before, and she was in no hurry to go back. It was usually followed by maybe a week or two of paradise, before the other person began on trying to change her. That or, she was good enough to screw, but that was just about it.

            As much as she had always known this could never be more than a job, her heart sank a little. She had expected better of Travis. Silly that she had, she didn’t really know him.

            “Yes, well, I think it best that we deal on a professional level or not at all.” She knew she sounded a little bitter, but it was what it was. She may be unconventional, but she wasn’t stupid. “So if you think we can’t deal with each other in a normal employer/employee relationship, maybe even a friendly relationship, it’s best that I go now.”

            Tugging at her hand, she meant to walk away. Famous last words and all that. Travis didn’t let go. He sat there and stared, like he was trying to figure something out. Dang, he really was heartbreakingly handsome. There was something earnest about him, simplicity without artifice that probably translated well on screen. She could see why he was a star.

            “I promise not to try to force myself on you,” he said at last after several long, uncomfortable minutes. “But I won’t stop wanting you either. I won’t get in your way, but just remember, if you ever change your mind, my door is always open.”

            Free exhaled a pent up breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding. “Deal,” she smiled, relieved she hadn’t lost the job after all. After they got to L.A., he would be so busy and surrounded by so many gorgeous starlets, he would forget all about her. If only it would be so easy for her!

            “We are leaving for my place in L.A. in a couple of days,” Travis finally let go of her hand, but his eyes held her in place just as sure as if he had been physically restraining her. “When I’m shooting, I will want you and Lorelei on the lot in my trailer, if it’s okay with you. It’s a pretty big trailer, so you’ll have space. I just don’t like being away from my niece for long stretches of time. The schedule will be pretty demanding, I apologize in advance for that, but I promise whenever I’m not on set, you’ll be free to do…whatever.”

            Free got the feeling this conversation was hard for him. It could be wishful thinking, but the thought of her having free time didn’t seem to sit well with him.

           
Get a grip, girl. He’s not for you.

            “Good,” Free smiled with forced brightness. “I better go check on the baby now.”

            She was just about to make the perfect escape when Travis’ deep, lightly accented voice stopped her in her tracks.

            “I expect to see you tomorrow morning,” he called after that. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

            The problem was so was she.   

Chapter Seven

            The shoot was not going well. Travis grit his teeth as the director called “Cut!” yet again. That was five times in the last twenty minutes! The problem was his so-called love interest. A seasoned actress, one would think Lia Martin new better than to show up to a shoot two hours late and high as a freaking kite. To make matters worse, she stank to high heaven. How the hell was he supposed to get into the character of an ardent lover when she smelled like raw sewage?

            “Damn it!” the director, François Cubin bellowed stomping over to where Travis stood with Lia. The man’s thick accent made it sound more like “damn eat”. Lia apparently couldn’t stop giggling every time the man talked. “You are no good!” the man thundered getting right in Lia’s face. “You are like, like wet rag! Get off my set!”

            That seemed to sober Lia up.

            “What? You sound weird.”

            Poor dumb soon to be unemployed airhead. Truth was Travis was relieved. Because of her complete lack of discipline and her belief she couldn’t be replaced due to the fact she was the hottest commodity in town, Travis had spent way too much time on set the last several weeks and away from Lorelei and Free.

            Despite the fact he gave her most evenings off, Free spent her time with him and Lorelei. It had become something of a ritual for the three of them to goof off on the family room floor of his Bel Air residence. Travis found her easy to talk to, funny, and open. Best of all, he really, really enjoyed her morning exercise routine. Even knowing he was watching, every morning she was outside on her yoga mat, resplendently nude and infinitely desirable. Travis had jacked off more in the past three weeks then he ever had going through puberty. Yet, it was more satisfying then slaking his lust on some ditzy Hollywood hussy like Lia.  

            “Get off my set!” The director screamed right in Lia’s stunned beautiful face, sending flurries of handlers scurrying to get the woman away from the volatile Frenchman before something worse was said.

            “Look, I’m sorry,” Lia’s agent, who had wisely decided to hang around in a futile attempt to corral his talent, twittered as a group of burly looking men spirited Lia away, probably to her trailer to sleep it off. “We’ll get some coffee in her, maybe make her take a little nap and she’ll be right as rain this afternoon.”

            “That foreign asshole yelled at me!” Lia could be heard whining as they half dragged her away. “Ow! You’re hurting my arm. Let me go back there and remind him who his goddamn star is!”

            Travis wisely faded into the scenery with the rest of crew, waiting to see what would happen. The producer came running over, and soon the agent, the director and the producer were yelling at the top of their lungs.

            “I refuse to work with such a disaster!” The director screamed. “I want her out! Out! There are many actresses panting to be in my movies!”

            “You can’t fire her, damn it! She is under contract!” The agent was sweating bullets, but doing a damn good job of playing at outrage. “So she’s a little under the weather? She’ll be fine in a few hours!”

            “Under the weather?” The producer screamed. “She’s stoned out of her mind! You better get her to straighten up her act. There are clauses in her precious contract, asshole!”

            “No! I refuse!” the director threw up his hands. “She is worthless. I cannot work with such an empty vessel!”

            “Wait a second here,” the producer turned to the director. “We can’t afford to keep putting off the shooting. Where are we going to find a replacement who can memorize the script?”

            “I know someone.”

            The dead silence that greeted the statement made Travis realize he had spoken out loud. Damn, he hadn’t meant to. He wasn't at all sure she would do it, but Free had been helping him with his lines during breaks when he visited the trailer. She had gotten so good at it, she barely looked at the script anymore.  She was a natural.

            Truth be told, he didn’t really need help memorizing his lines. He just really liked to hear the passionate words from the script she might never say in real life. Not yet anyway.

            “You bring her tomorrow,” the director spoke as if it were a done deal.

            “Wait a minute,” the producer cut in. “We don’t know anything about this woman! Who is she, where did she come from? I’m not putting some floozy starlet in this picture until I meet her first!”

            “You both can come by my place tonight,” Travis said, mentally kicking himself. Oh well, it was too late now. Free was definitely going to kill him. “You can meet her then.”

            “No way!” the agent screamed. “You are not firing my client!”

            “You had better start praying now,” the producer fixed the man with a hard glare. “If this woman is any good, your precious Lia is not only out of a job, I will sue her ass for every dime of the advance she’s probably already snorted up her nose!”

            It was a bluff, meant to shut the agent up, and it worked, for now. The agent hurried off in a huff, probably to call a lawyer. Lia was far too stupid to come groveling for her job. Her ego would never allow it. Problem was Travis wasn't altogether sure he could talk Free into taking the job, if offered. She was so far outside what Hollywood looked for in a leading lady it wasn't even funny. But Travis knew that once they actually saw her, they would understand. Free had a kind of inner light that just drew people to her. Together they would burn up the screen.  He was so certain of that he was willing to bet his paycheck. He would just have to do a damn good job of convincing Free of that.

            “You know it’s the height of folly to work with your lover, right?” The producer, Lenny Davis, came over to talk to him after everyone else wondered off. There would be no more shooting today. The drama with Lia had killed all production yet again. “It’s the quickest way to kill a relationship.”

            “She’s not my lover.” No matter how much he wanted her to be. “She’s my nanny.”