Work Text:
Even at 3am, the traffic in LA was still ridiculous. Leaning back against the headrest, Ian stared out of the window, watching the parade of black town cars and limos slowly transporting the pre-Oscar party attendees back to their respective hotels. Closing his eyes, he let some of the fatigue of the past week hit him, grateful that he had his own house – his own bed – to return to rather than a hotel.
Somehow he always felt more exhausted after a good vacation than before.
The slow, but steady progress of the car as it maneuvered through the brightly lit streets helped him relax even further. His peaceful doze was interrupted by the soft buzzing coming from his pants pocket, and he groaned as he was pulled back to full alertness.
“Don’t even think about it,” Nina murmured without lifting her head from his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Ian glanced down, smirking at the crinkled layers of her full skirt, splayed out haphazardly over his lap and the backseat. The instant they’d climbed into the town car, she’d abandoned the façade of Red Carpet Goddess, kicking off her heels and curling into his side like a contented cat.
“Think about what?” he asked, feigning innocence as he kissed the top of her head and tried to surreptitiously slip his hand beneath the layers of fabric to retrieve his cell phone.
“About that,” she said, grabbing his hand and stopping his not-so-stealthy progress. “No work this weekend. You promised.”
“I did not,” he protested with a laugh even as he threaded his fingers through hers and gave up on checking his messages – for now. “I don’t make promises that I can’t keep.”
Or at least not ones that were so obviously destined to fail.
“Fine,” she sighed, raising her head and propping her chin on his shoulder as she gazed at him through a thick fringe of dark lashes. “How about you make it now and I’ll help you keep it.”
Ian studied her, considering. She’d had just enough to drink to be silly and was just rumpled enough from snuggling against him during the car ride to be adorable. If he hadn’t been responsible for the generator powering the viewing party they were attending tomorrow night, he would have agreed without hesitation.
“You can help me keep it to a minimum,” he suggested instead, kissing her before she could offer up any argument. She tasted like cabernet and vanilla lip gloss as she kissed him back with more enthusiasm than he’d expected considering he’d thought that she’d been asleep only a few minutes ago.
Shifting in her seat, Nina continued to kiss him as she slipped a hand inside his suit jacket and reached into the inner pocket. “You’re a lousy pickpocket,” he murmured into her ear, chuckling softly as she ignored him and retrieved her prize. He waited a beat before smirking at her. “I didn’t lose it.”
“Forgive me for being concerned, Mr. I-Left-My-Tux-At-The-Airport,” she quipped, sliding the delicate platinum band onto her finger and admiring the clear diamonds as they sparkled in the light from the passing streetlights. “It’s a good thing that you left yours in Atlanta. Who knows where it might be now.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” he asked with a grimace, knowing that he deserved the dig. He wasn’t normally that absent-minded, but between the fiasco with his tickets to the inauguration and his forgotten tuxedo, he knew he had no defense.
How do you forget an entire garment bag at the airport?
“No, you’re really not,” Nina answered, shaking her head before tearing her gaze away from her left hand long enough to give him an impish grin that he couldn’t help but return. Capturing her hand, he held it against his chest and settled back into the seat as Nina returned her head to his shoulder.
“We should stop by Kevin’s house,” she announced a few moments later.
“At 3 o’clock in the morning?” he returned with mild incredulity. The screenwriter lived within a few miles of Ian’s house, but for some reason they rarely managed to get in a visit when they were in town.
“What, you don’t think that he’ll be awake?” she asked, lifting her head.
“Oh, he’s awake,” Ian replied. Kevin did all of his writing in the middle of the night, following some unwritten personal rule of procrastination that he lived by. Dropping a kiss on her nose, he finished, “I just don’t know that you’ll stay awake until we get there.”
Narrowing her eyes at the challenge, Nina leaned forward and informed their driver of the change in plans. Taking a detour to Kevin’s house wouldn’t take them too far out of the way – and as a bonus, it actually got them off of the freeway three exits sooner.
Apparently determined to prove him very, very wrong, Nina didn’t return to his side, choosing instead to scoot all the way over to the opposite door. Throwing her shoulders back, she straightened her skirt and smoothed down her hair, shooting him a sideways look as she folded her hands in her lap. Amused, he shook his head, studying her profile as she looked out of the window at the passing residential streets, and admired the view. Hollywood was overrun with beautiful women that weekend, but Nina Dobrev put them all to shame – even in the wee hours of the morning with her hair mussed and her dress wrinkled.
Not for the first time he counted himself lucky that she put up with him.
Fifteen minutes later, just as Nina’s head had started to bob as she lost the battle against her fatigue, the driver pulled the car over to the curb and switched off the engine. As she gathered her things, Ian climbed out of the car, making his way to her side and scanning the quiet street for the paparazzi. He knew that he wouldn’t find any – Los Angeles was overrun at the moment with celebrities much higher up the food chain than he and Nina – but it was habit to check.
Especially since she’d put her ring on.
“I told him that we wouldn’t be long,” Nina said, tilting her head toward their driver as she took his hand and stepped barefoot onto the perfectly manicured grass. Clutching her shoes to her chest, she looked up at him, her dark eyes dancing with mischief. “He said that he’d wait for us.”
“Are you sure you want to crash the man’s home at 3am?” he asked, indicating the dark house as he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. If Kevin was even home, it certainly looked like he’d turned in for the night. “What if he’s asleep?”
“That’s perfect,” she said, clutching the lapels of his suit jacket and pulling it tighter around her as she bounced on her toes. “He won’t be busy and we won’t have to share him.”
The wine and champagne were clearly still in full affect and whatever fatigue she’d felt in the car had been replaced by a sudden burst of energy that Ian knew would fade quickly. In the meantime, however, there’d be no arguing with her. Shaking his head, he slipped an arm around his waist. “Lead the way, babe.”
~*~
Closing his laptop with a sigh, Kevin Williamson dragged his hand over his face and tried to blink away the after image of the computer screen that seemed to be burned permanently onto his retinas. Nearly a quarter century into a successful Hollywood career and he still wrote like a college freshman, burning the midnight oil in high-pressure marathons to finish a script on time.
Of course, given that his subject matter of choice revolved around serial killers, vampires, werewolves and witches, the late hour was highly appropriate.
“I’m done for the night,” he vowed aloud, as if the vocalization would help him actually follow through on his decision. It was Oscar weekend and even the most dedicated showrunners had to take a weekend off on occasion. Pushing away from his desk, he rose, shutting off the lamp as he went and blanketing the room in darkness. Heading across the hall, he climbed into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin as he closed his eyes. Resolutely, he tried to shut off the part of his brain already making adjustments to what he’d just written and go to sleep.
Ten minutes later, he’d barely succeeded and was just beginning to doze off when three separate and distinct things jolted him back to wakefulness.
His cell phone chirped with an incoming text message.
A loud, forceful knock sounded against his front door.
Nina Dobrev made her presence known.
“Kevin!” she called – shouted, really – loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. “Open up!” she commanded, the smile on her face evident in her voice as she added. “It’s Nina and I want to see you!”
Squeezing his eyes shut, he fought against the grin threatening to split his face in two. Someone’s been having a good time. Shaking his head, he threw off the covers, automatically reaching for his charging cell phone, and pressing the button to bring it to life.
The text, from Ian, was short and to the point.
“Sorry. Sort of.”
With an amused snort, Kevin tossed the phone back onto the nightstand and hurried toward the front door, eager to let his unexpected guests in before Nina started pounding again and someone called the police. The instant the lock disengaged, the door flew open and a petite brunette launched herself at him.
“Kevin, it’s been forever!” she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck as he caught her and stumbled back into the room. “How are you? I missed you!”
“Hi, Ni-,”
“Your new show is awesome, by the way,” she added, steamrolling right over his greeting as she clung to him and Ian’s jacket, forgotten, slid to the floor. “I’m a couple of episodes behind, but don’t worry. I DVR’d them.” Glancing over her shoulder, she added in loud whisper. “Ian hasn’t watched it yet.”
“Guilty,” Ian admitted, retrieving his suit jacket from the entryway floor and shrugging back into it. The vest of his three piece suit was unbuttoned and his tie was long gone. No one gets out of a tie faster than that man, Kevin thought as he eased Nina down to the floor. “But I intend to catch up,” he said, narrowing his eyes pointedly at Nina before lifting his gaze and winking at the older man. “Promise.”
“You know I’m not really your boss anymore,” Kevin teased, accepting a hug from the younger man. “You can quit sucking up.”
“See, Kevin,” Nina guffawed, clapping her hands as she wandered into the living room toward the wine rack. “This is why I love you.”
~*~
Forty minutes later, Kevin opened his eyes with a start, momentarily surprised to discover that he was sharing his king sized bed before he remembered his late night visitors. When he’d returned to his bedroom to grab his bathrobe, Nina had followed him with a bottle of wine in hand and had jumped onto the bed, apparently having decided that the night’s festivities would continue in there.
He’d seen no reason to argue.
Nina had lasted through a brief run-down of The Independent Spirit Awards (amazing), the pre-Oscar party they’d attended (also amazing), and a discussion of her footwear (amazing but painful). At some point, she’d decided to document the occasion with a candid photo of the three of them – in bed no less – that she’d quickly posted to Twitter, proving that she’d had much more to drink than he’d initially thought. Eventually – predictably – she’d gravitated to Ian, curling into his side as her words had become slower and her voice softer until she’d finally succumbed to the alcohol and the late hour.
Without moving from his incredibly comfortable place under the covers, he glanced over at them. Ian had his arm wrapped around Nina, absently running his fingers through her long hair as he studied his phone. The glow of the screen illuminated Nina’s hand where it rested on his chest and even though it was her right hand, Kevin couldn’t help thinking about the glittery diamond ring that was currently making a rare appearance on her left.
Nor could he stave off the memory of the way his stomach had dropped a little over a year ago when he’d received that call from Bora Bora.
He hadn’t been surprised to hear their announcement. Okay, he had, but not because he’d doubted the depth of the love between the two of them. He’d seen countless on set love affairs over the span of his career, and he’d never seen two people more perfectly suited for each other than Nina and Ian. Their relationship was a rarity in this town, a sentiment he’d never voice outloud for fear of jinxing it.
No, their relationship hadn’t surprised him.
What had surprised him, however, had been the timing. Until that point, they’d played it cool publically, keeping each other at arm’s length save for the most guarded of moments when they’d thought that they’d been alone. He’d known that that had been Nina’s idea, an extension of her desire to build her own career and be something more than Ian Somerhalder’s girlfriend, so he’d figured that any real commitment would have sat on the back burner until the series had come to an end.
Then, he’d gotten the call from Bora Bora and all of his logic had been tossed out of the window.
Ian’s hand stilled as Nina sighed, shifting closer to him as she fell deeper into slumber. Glancing at her, he smoothed an errant lock of hair away from her face before dragging his knuckles softly down her cheek. Looking up, he caught the older man’s gaze and smirked. “I’ll get her out of here in a minute.”
“Don’t hurry on my account,” Kevin shrugged, settling back against the pillows. “All I have to do is dress up and look pretty. This is your show.”
Ian grunted softly in response as he concentrated on sending an email using only one hand. “I just have to send this while she’s asleep. She’s trying to keep me from working all weekend.”
“Good for her,” Kevin nodded. As much as Ian liked to be the caretaker in the relationship, it went both ways. If not for Nina, he probably would have lived in a constant state of emails and conference calls.
Frankly, Kevin found it exhausting just watching the man.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Barring any last-minute catastrophes, yes,” Ian replied, nodding definitively and without a hint of hesitation as he slid his phone into his pocket and turned his attention to the woman all but curled into his lap. “Nina?” he murmured, shaking her shoulder gently. “Come on, babe, we need to go.”
“Mmm,” she whined in protest, turning her face into his chest.
“You guys can crash here, you know I don’t mind,” Kevin insisted. He genuinely loved the entire cast of The Vampire Diaries – they were so refreshingly devoid of angst, despite the plethora of trysts and relationships that had happened between them.
“I know,” Ian replied, scooping Nina into his arms and sliding off the edge of the bed. Once again, Kevin threw back the covers and followed him to the door. “But if I let her sleep in her makeup, she’ll kick my ass.”
“Yeah, she would,” Kevin chuckled, opening the door and watching as Ian carried the sleeping girl down the front walk to the car waiting at the curb. Setting her gently on the ground, he opened the door and helped her inside before climbing in after her. Just before the door slammed shut, Kevin caught a glimpse of the top of Nina’s head as she laid it down in his lap.
Lingering in the doorway, Kevin waited until the red taillights of the car disappeared around the corner of the block before closing and locking his front door and returning to bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered if it was a blessing or a curse that for the second time the two romantic leads on a series of his were also involved in real life. There was no denying that their natural chemistry had added a level of intensity and appeal that no amount of clever writing, song choice or creative editing could create.
He just hoped that the honeymoon phase lasted through the sixth season.
~*~
The next morning, Nina awoke to bright sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains of the windows next to her bed. Blinking, her eyes slowly adjusted to her unfamiliar surroundings as the events of the previous day and night quickly came back to her.
She was at Ian’s house, the one he owned in LA, and it was Oscar weekend. She’d walked the pink carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards before attending the Weinstein pre-Oscar party at the Soho House.
There’d been a lot of wine.
And champagne.
Bringing a hand to her forehead, she rolled onto her back, expecting the sharp stab of pain from a hangover and grateful when it never came. With a start, she remembered their late night visit to Kevin’s house and shot out her hand toward the nightstand for her cell phone.
Had she really taken a picture of her, Ian and Kevin in bed? And shared it?
Pressing a few buttons, she checked her Twitter feed, rolling her eyes to see that, yes, she had shared her drunken antics with over three million people. Pressing a few more buttons, she saw that Kevin, Ian and Julie had commented as well and felt marginally better.
At least it wasn’t just her and Ian…
Setting her phone aside, Nina couldn’t help but grin at the memory of the look on Kevin’s face as he’d opened the door and she’d leapt into his arms. His surprise had been so worth it.
Stretching her arms over her head, she noticed that she was in her pajamas and more details of the night came back to her – stumbling sleepily down the hallway toward the bedroom as Ian held the door for her, changing out of her dress, washing her makeup off and brushing her teeth. She’d cursed the false eyelashes and every stubborn smudge of mascara the entire time, desperately wanting to crawl into bed and go back to sleep. The very last thing she remembered was Ian kissing her, murmuring goodnight as he wrapped an arm around her and tucked her against his side.
Speaking of which…
Ian wasn’t in bed. Propping herself up on her elbows, she stared at the wrinkled sheets before crawling to the end of the bed and peering out of the open bedroom door and across the hallway toward the bathroom. The door was open, the light off.
Where the hell was he?
Just then, soft voices from the first floor caught her attention, something that sounded a lot like conversation. Throwing off the covers, she climbed out of the huge bed and headed for the stairs, tugging the over-sized white t-shirt that she’d slept in down around her hips as she went.
“There’re just a few more things I want to double check, Jess,” Ian said as she peeked around the corner into the kitchen and the back of his head came into view through the open door. Bright sunlight bathed the room in a warm yellow glow. The breeze from the open window was cool, but held the promise of yet another beautiful Southern California day. Ignoring both the sunlight and the wind, Ian was sitting at the breakfast nook, hunched over his laptop, a cup of coffee cooling next to him.
Nina rolled her eyes.
So much for not working this weekend.
“Ian, I promise, everything is ready,” his assistant said, chatting with him via Skype. Sneaking silently into the room, Nina saw the blond on the small computer screen smile indulgently without coming across as patronizing. “Last year went off without a hitch and we’re doing everything the same, so there’s no reason for you to spend the whole day worrying.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him,” Nina interrupted, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as she settled onto his lap. Blocking his view of the computer screen, she waved. “Hi, Jessica,” she said, reaching for the lid. “Bye Jessica,” she added, hitting a key to end the chat session and closing the computer.
“Nina!”
“I told you,” she said, turning her back on the laptop and taking his face between her hands. “No work this weekend.”
“I can’t believe you just did that,” he said incredulously with a hint of real irritation as she smoothed her hands over his shoulders and linked them behind his head.
“Good morning to you, too,” Nina said, ignoring his frustration as she kissed him lightly on the mouth. She knew that she was being a tad childish, but she couldn’t help it. They’d been apart for five days and when they’d returned to Atlanta there had been work and planning for the weekend. Now that it was here and everything was ready, she wanted him all to herself for as long as she could have him, even if it was just for a few hours.
Dragging her thumbs along his jaw, she tried to soothe away the lines of stress around his mouth with her words. “Look, Ilaria will be here in a few hours and then I’ll be busy and you can spend the entire time on the computer or your phone or whatever,” she promised as his hands found their way around her waist and settled on her lower back. “Until then, can’t it just be you and me?”
Ian eyed her suspiciously for a moment, laughing when she stuck out her bottom lip in a mock pout. “Fine,” he acquiesced. “You win.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a grin, holding his chin so she could kiss him properly. He tasted like coffee and a hint of orange as she indulged in the feeling of his lips on hers – a sensation she never tired of no matter how many times she enjoyed it.
Her ring caught the sun as she pulled away, sparkling beautifully as she moved her hand. “You know, I’ve had this for a year and it still doesn’t quite feel like it’s mine.”
Ian raised a brow, catching her hand and bringing the ring in question to his lips. “You’d be more used to it if you wore it more often.”
“Look who’s talking,” Nina replied cheekily, pointing out his decidedly naked ring finger. “Besides, I kind of like novelty,” she continued, unsure if she ever wanted there to be a time when her beautiful ring didn’t surprise and delight her every time it caught her eye. “And until we quit being written up as “Ian Somerhalder and his girlfriend” I’m going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Ian laughed and for the millionth time, Nina counted herself infinitely blessed that she’d found him. Who else would have put up with two years of such militant secrecy and public denial, all because she was concerned about her career? “I love you,” she blurted out suddenly, hardly an uncommon phrase between them, but one that she suddenly felt she needed to say.
“I love you, too,” he replied, frowning slightly in question as he studied her. After a moment, he sighed dramatically and asked with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Can I go take a shower, or does that not fall under being at your beck and call for the next five hours?”
Nina pretended to think about it for a moment before rolling her eyes and climbing off of his lap. “Go.”
“You’re such a benevolent ruler.”
“You’ll be on the clock when you get out,” she reminded him, watching him as he made his way to the stairs. Lingering in the kitchen, she listened to the sound of his footsteps and waited until she’d heard the water splashing on the tiles in the shower before turning on her heel and snatching his laptop off of the table.
Where to hide it… Nina wondered, doing a mental inventory of every room in the house for a good place to stash the stupid thing until she was ready to share him with the world again. His luggage was too obvious, as was the dresser or the office that he’d set up in the spare bedroom. The refrigerator would probably hurt it and stuffing it between the couch cushions in the living room sounded like a recipe for disaster. In the end, she opted to keep it simple, darting into the living room and sliding it under the very low entertainment center where it couldn’t be seen from any angle. She wouldn’t let Ian look hard enough to find it there and she didn’t have to worry about it getting broken if either of them sat on the couch.
Now for his phone…
Biting her lip, Nina paused, picking up the phone from the table and eyeing it speculatively. She wasn’t sorry for cutting off his chat session with his assistant, but still…
Keeping an ear on the sounds from the bathroom, Nina brought the phone to life and composed a brief message.
Jess, it’s Nina. Sorry about before. Everything’s okay, right?
A few seconds passed before the phone beeped and Jessica’s response came through.
No worries. Everything’s FINE. :) I promise.
Nina smiled.
Good. I’ll give him his phone back in a few hours. Text ME if there’s an emergency. I’m trying to get him to RELAX.
Jess’s response was immediate.
Haha! Good luck.
By the time Ian came out some five minutes later, a towel wrapped low around his waist and water dripping onto his bare chest from his dark hair, his cell phone had been silenced and hidden in her garment bag. If she played her cards right, chances were good that he wouldn’t even ask about them. She had him all to herself.
Perfect.
Sliding off of the bed, she leapt at him as he pulled on a pair of sweats, sending them both careening back onto the mattress. Landing with an oomph, she twisted in his arms so that she could see his face. “Hi,” she said, locking her arms around his shoulders and gazing into those ridiculously blue eyes. “You smell good.”
Ian smirked, shifting his body so that they were both lying on their sides diagonally across the bed. “Well, then I guess the shower was a success,” he teased, brushing his nose against her temple as he leaned in and kissed the spot just below her jaw that tickled and made her toes curl at the same time. Whispering in her ear, he added. “So, now that you’ve got me all to yourself, what do you want to do with me?”
Nina laughed, a low, throaty chuckle as she craned her neck to give him better access. “I don’t know. What do you want to do with me?”
“Oh,” he said, trailing his hand down the side of her body and slipping his hand under the hem of her t-shirt. His touch was electric, igniting her nerve endings and sending a thrill throughout her body. “I can think of a few ideas.”
“Hmmm,” she sighed, enjoying the feeling of his hands on her bare skin. “Now that you mention it, so can I.” Coaxing his face back to hers, she kissed him slowly, settling in for an epic make out session. Five hours of lying in bed with Ian sounded like a slice of heaven.
Two minutes later, heaven was interrupted by her ringing cell phone.
“You gonna get that?” Ian asked between kisses.
“No.”
“Could be important,” he teased, even as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her again. “It is Oscar weekend, after all.”
Fuck, she thought. He’s right.
“You’re the worst,” she muttered, shoving on his chest before reaching for her phone. “It’s Kevin,” she said in surprise as the screenwriter’s name flashed across the screen. Accepting the call, she brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Morning, stranger,” the older man greeted her. “How’s the hangover?”
“Non-existent, thank you very much,” she retorted as Ian propped his head in his hand and looked down on her. Touching his face with her freehand, she stroked his cheek with her thumb. “What’s up?”
“I was hoping you and Ian could meet me for brunch. There’s a café not too far from my house that I’ve been meaning to try.”
Nina looked to Ian, raising her brows, knowing that he’d heard Kevin’s invitation. A part of her hoped that he’d nix the idea so that they could pick up where they’d left off, but the mention of brunch had made her stomach rumble.
“It’s up to you, babe,” Ian shrugged, his lips curving into a teasing grin. “I’m at your service for another…four and a half hours.”
Pursing her lips, Nina rolled her eyes. “We’d love to,” she said into the phone, getting the name and address of the place before hanging up with Kevin. Dropping her cell to the mattress, she turned to Ian and sighed. “I guess this means I have to get dressed.”
Kissing the tip of her nose, he nodded. “I guess it does.”
~*~
He was an ass.
An inconsiderate, forgetful, idiotic ass.
Taking a corner far too quickly, Ian stomped on the accelerator, focusing on the residential street as palm trees flew by the window. Nina had received a call from her publicist just before they’d left to meet Kevin and had been forced to bail on brunch. He’d taken the car to the café, while she’d walked to the nearby coffee shop for her impromptu meeting and amidst the chaos of swiftly changing plans, she’d forgotten her purse and keys at the house.
The locked house.
Kevin had received a text from Nina at the exact instant that Ian had remembered seeing her purse sitting on the kitchen counter before they’d walked out of the house. He hadn’t even waited for Kevin to explain the text before standing up from the table and running for the car.
Turning into the driveway, Ian couldn’t help but laugh at what he found. Nina was sitting on the front steps, elbow propped on her knee, head in one hand as she idly played with her phone, looking morose. Shaking his head wryly, he slowed the car. Between him forgetting his belongings all over the place and her constantly locking herself out of the house, it was a wonder that either one of them made it through the day.
They were quite the pair.
She lifted her head as he brought the car to a stop, a sheepish smile on her lips. “Babe, I’m sorry,” he apologized as he climbed out of the vehicle and shut the door behind him.
“It’s my own fault,” she said, rising to her feet and giving him room to unlock the front door. “I’m the one who left without my keys.”
“That’s true,” he admitted, holding the door for her as she slipped inside. He’d felt guilty for not reminding her to grab her purse, but now that they were back inside and the crisis had been averted, he was beginning to see how she’d created their current predicament. Raising a brow he added. “My phone’s missing.”
“It is?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, giving her a look. “I’m guessing you know that.”
“I do?”
“Yeah.” Ian nodded again, a small smile breaking out onto his face. “I’m assuming that’s why you called Kevin instead of me.”
Nina gave him a look. “Hmm.”
“Hmm?” he repeated, closing the door and tossing his keys on the hall table. Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled her to him. “Maybe you should go get it so we don’t run into this problem again.”
Wrapping her arms around him, she checked the time on her phone and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I still have an hour.”
“You’re going to milk every second out of this that you can, aren’t you?” he teased, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.
“Uh huh,” she nodded as her eyelids fluttered closed. “Don’t worry,” she added. “I told Jess to text me if anything came up and she hasn’t said a word. You’re not missing anything.”
Feeling slightly chagrined at how well she knew him and his near-addiction to his cell phone, Ian captured her mouth in a slow, thorough kiss. Shoving aside his baseless concerns over the party, he focused on the woman in his arms and everything that they could do in the hour they had before Ilaria arrived and the day really began.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Nina suggested between kisses, seemingly reading his mind. Ian needed no further encouragement, sliding his hands over her hips and lifting her off of the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he headed for the stairs, intent on getting to the bedroom as quickly as possible – although, at this point he would have settled for the living room couch.
They’d made it halfway up the stairs, Nina’s mouth doing amazing things to his, when her cell phone rang, breaking both of their concentration. Breaking the kiss, her face fell as she checked her phone.
“Shit, it’s Ilaria,” she said breathlessly, pressing a button as she swallowed, struggling to regain some of her composure before bringing the phone to her ear. “Hey, Ilaria,” she said, glancing at him longingly as he eased her down to the floor. “Really? Right now?” Nina asked, a horrified expression coming over her features as she curled her hand into a fist around the fabric of his t-shirt. “No, ten minutes would be fine. I’m…not doing anything. See you soon.”
“Let me guess,” Ian said, a smirk on his lips as Nina let out a frustrated groan and buried her face in his shoulder. “Ilaria’s on her way right now?”
“She said she’d be here in ten minutes,” she griped, pulling back and looking up at him with a baleful expression. “Which means-.”
“She’s probably pulling into the driveway right now,” he finished for her, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Ilaria was literally the only person he knew in the business who was habitually early. Not five minutes late, not on time, but early.
Trudging down the stairs, her pout was unmistakable in her voice. “So much for getting you all to myself.”
As if on cue, a knock on the front door announced Ilaria’s arrival.
~*~
Sipping her second glass of champagne, Julie sat back in the plush leather seat of the limo, finally relaxing after a frenzied morning of primping and polishing. She was no stranger to the glitz and glam of Hollywood, but she was far from a pro and the novelty of dressing up and having her hair done hadn’t worn off. Frankly, she hoped that it never did. She’d hate to get to the point where being treated like a princess was a chore.
“Oh, my god, Ian, are you serious?”
Speaking of princesses…
Julie smiled at her companions, shaking her head as Nina snatched Ian’s cell phone out of his hands and gestured with it in front of his face. “We’re in the limo on the way to the party. There’s nothing else to do.”
A bright flash illuminated the interior of the limo, making Julie blink and recoil slightly in horror. “Kevin!”
“I’m going to share that with the interwebs,” her long time partner-in-crime announced, his attention focused on his cell phone and the photo he’d just taken. “Documented proof that Ian Somerhalder is physically incapable of taking a night off. Even Oscar night.”
“Hey, I went five whole hours without working today,” Ian insisted, placing his hand on Nina’s knee as she turned toward him and put an arm around his shoulders.
“Only because I hid this thing,” Nina said, gesturing toward the phone with her left hand. A different kind of sparkle caught Julie’s eye and on instinct, she snatched Kevin’s phone out of his hand.
“Hey, I was right in the middle of a tweet!” he protested.
“You might need to take that picture again,” she muttered, scrolling through the phone to find the candid shot. Nina narrowed her eyes at her in question, prompting Julie to wiggle the fingers of her left hand. The wide-eyed horror that crossed the young actress’s face almost made Julie wish that she’d been taking video of the moment.
As Nina slipped her ring off of her finger and tucked it into Ian’s inner jacket pocket, Julie found the photo Kevin had taken. Just as she’d suspected, the ring was clearly visible and without asking for permission, she deleted it from the memory card.
“Try that again,” she said, winking at Kevin as she settled back against the seat. Nina’s momentary embarrassment quickly evaporated and a few moments later, Kevin snapped a picture again – this time without the incriminating ring – and busied himself with sharing it with the world.
“Where’s your ring?” she asked Ian, asking the actor a rare question about his personal life. A true hopeless romantic sap, Julie loved the fact that the two leads on her show were together – in theory. In practice, she tried not to think about it. Sleep was hard enough for her to come by, she didn’t feel the need to exacerbate the situation by freaking out over worst case scenarios of what could happen to the show should Nina and Ian split up.
“In Atlanta,” Nina informed her, shooting the man a look of mild annoyance. “He left it at home.”
“On purpose,” Ian added, nudging Nina with his shoulder.
“That’s what you say now,” she replied, scrunching her nose at him.
“Well, considering what happened to his tux, it was probably a good idea,” Julie shrugged.
“You too, Julie?” Ian demanded, shaking his head and struggling to keep a straight face as Kevin burst out laughing. Nina grinned, pressing her forehead to his temple and holding his face as she kissed his cheek. “I’m hurt,” he added, absently rubbing Nina’s knee. “Seriously.”
Raising her glass in a mock toast, Julie just smiled.
~*~
Gathering the train of her floor length Naeem Kahn gown in one hand, Nina took Ian’s arm in the other and climbed out of the limo. At 2 o’clock in the morning, the neighborhood was quiet and still, and it took every ounce of her self-control to keep it that way as she made her way to the house.
The past ten hours had been amazing.
Nina’s entire body buzzed with excitement and adrenaline as she waited for Ian to unlock the front door. She should have been exhausted after the last 48 hours, but instead she felt invigorated – flying high after being around and speaking to so many talented people in such a short period of time.
Everything had been perfect. Ilaria had knocked it out of the park again and Nina had felt like a goddess in her dress. The generator had powered the party without a hitch and Ian had finally been able to truly relax after they’d left and headed to Seth McFarlane’s Oscar party. She’d had the opportunity to network with some incredibly influential people in the industry as well as fangirl – quietly, just a little bit – over crossing paths with a few of her idols that she hadn’t met before. With every red carpet she walked and every event she attended, she was beginning to feel more like an actual force in her chosen field, rather than a kid with stars in her eyes.
Best. Night. Ever.
“Did you have fun tonight?” she asked Ian as he held the door open for her and she stepped inside. Slipping out of her shoes, she carefully stooped to pick them up, mindful of the form fitting dress. Holding her train in one hand and the heels in the other, she made her way up the stairs.
“Yes, I did,” he replied, close behind her as she reached the second floor landing and made a beeline for the bedroom. As much as she loved her dress – and she’d received enough compliments to know that she wasn’t alone – she really wanted to get out of it before she got the hem caught in a doorway or on a loose nail. “But I am so glad it’s over.”
Chuckling, Nina dropped her shoes by the dresser and turned around, her stomach fluttering as she took in his silhouette, backlit by the light in the hallway.
“Did I mention how hot you looked in that tux tonight?” she asked, crossing back to him and letting her train fall to the floor. Reaching up, she untied his tie and slowly removed it before beginning to unbutton his shirt. “Because you do.”
Ian smirked, framing her face with his hands and kissing her softly before beginning to tug the pins out of her hair. “Have I told you much I like this dress?” he asked, freeing the long layers from the ponytail and running his fingers through it before trailing them all the way down her bare back. Nina shivered, biting her lip to hold back a grin.
“Only half a dozen times,” she teased, abandoning the buttons in favor of wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. She wondered if he knew that the way he’d been touching her – constantly smoothing his hand down her spine or teasing the edge of the dress with his fingertips – had nearly driven her crazy.
Probably.
She’d even sat in his lap for a while, keeping her back pressed against his chest until she’d calmed her raging hormones, just so that she hadn’t had to drag him back to the limo for a quickie in the middle of the party.
She was going to have to talk to Ilaria about finding backless dresses for all of her events.
“Well, it’s true,” he whispered, returning the embrace. “You’re beautiful.”
Nina closed her eyes, swallowing the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. No matter how many times he said it, it always got to her.
“So are you,” she murmured, the words muffled against his chest. Not wanting to kill her buzz by being silly and sentimental, she pushed away and turned around. Clearing her throat, she asked. “Can you unzip me?”
“Like you need my help,” Ian scoffed, even as he did as she asked, pulling down the short, six inch zipper that had been artfully hidden in the baroque design.
“Maybe I want your help,” she said coyly, laughing as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his chest. “Ian!”
“Can’t forget this,” he said, taking her left hand in his and sliding her ring back onto her finger. Again, her stomach clenched and her eyes welled with tears.
“Too bad you don’t have yours,” she teased in an attempt to hold the tears at bay. Saying nothing, Ian let go of her hand and held his up next to hers. The polished metal band on his left ring finger flashed in the low light, eliciting a gasp from her lips as she brought her hand to her mouth. Whirling around, she stared at him. “I thought you left it in Atlanta.”
“I did,” he explained, taking her hands and holding them to his chest. “But I knew that you were disappointed, so I had it overnighted out here. It was sitting on the hall table when we came home.”
“Ian,” she said softly as she rapidly lost the battle against her emotions and a tear slipped down her cheek. Staring at the ring on his finger, she added. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know,” he said, letting go of her hands and pulling her into another hug. “But I wanted to.” Closing her eyes, Nina sank into the embrace, holding on tightly as she breathed him in. He held her for a few seconds before continuing. “The parties are over and I don’t have any ISF business tomorrow. We can spend the rest of the trip just being us instead of Ian Somerhalder and his girlfriend.”
Nina chuckled softly as he repeated her words from yesterday back to her, lifting her head to look at him through lashes heavy with tears. “That sounds perfect,” she agreed, threading her fingers through his hair and tugging him down for a kiss. As the connection deepened, his hands once again found their way to her bare back, caressing the skin and sending sparks of pleasure shooting down her spine.
No more cell phones, she thought, pushing his jacket off of his shoulders as she continued kissing him. No more guests, no more dress fittings and no more distractions. Tugging his shirt out of his pants, she vowed not to let him go until they were both in bed, breathless, naked and tangled in the sheets.
She was done sharing Ian with the world.
~*~
Hours later, Nina awoke in bed to the sound of Ian’s steady breathing. Rolling onto her side, she smiled sleepily upon finding him with his face buried in the pillow, out cold and completely oblivious to the world. After running on fumes for the past five days, he’d sleep half of the day away – which was just fine with her.
She could think of nothing better than spending the day curled up in bed with him.
First things first, she thought, untangling her bare legs from the twisted sheet and pulling it up over him as she climbed out of bed. Unable to find the t-shirt she’d been sleeping in, she settled for one of Ian’s dress shirts, shrugging into it on her way to the bathroom. Her eyes felt gritty, her skin tight and dry from the makeup she’d neglected to wash off before passing out in a haze of post-orgasmic bliss.
Buttoning a couple of buttons, Nina rolled up the sleeves of the too-big shirt and flipped on the light in the bathroom. Eager to get back to bed, she scrubbed her face, careful not to rip out any of her own eyelashes as she tugged off the fake ones, and brushed her teeth. Feeling better, she flipped off the light and padded softly back into the bedroom.
Picking up her designer dress from the floor where Ian had left it in a heap after stripping it off of her body, she laid it over the back of a chair and searched for her purse. Finding it, she retrieved her cell phone before digging Ian’s out of his pants pocket and bringing them with her back to bed.
Nina climbed back onto the mattress, grinning as Ian’s ring flashed in the moonlight streaming in through the sheer curtains on the windows. She loved when he wore it, loved what it symbolized even though she didn’t need it to know what they had.
“I love you,” she whispered, leaning over him and pressing a kiss to his temple. She giggled softly as he shifted in his sleep, wordlessly reaching out and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer as he buried his face in her side.
Running her fingers absently through his hair, she picked up his cell phone, turning off the ringer and setting it on the nightstand. Picking up her own phone, she was about to do the same when she paused. Glancing down at the sleeping man next to her, she let her thoughts wander through the past 48 hours for a moment as a grin spread over her lips. Pressing a few buttons on the phone, she stared at an empty text box for a moment before quickly composing a message.
This may be the most epic night of my life. No explanations necessary. I’ll leave it to the imagination. :)
Pressing another button, she posted it before she could change her mind, biting her lip in anticipation. Normally, she didn’t spend much time checking the comments on her Twitter or Facebook posts – she had far too many followers who weren’t able to separate her from her character – but tonight, she was curious as to what they’d say.
She didn’t have to wait long.
OMG DID YOU AND IAN GET ENGAGED?!?!?!!!?!?!
Rolling her eyes with a grin, she turned off the ringer on her phone, setting it on the nightstand next to Ian’s and sat back against the headboard. Her publicist would probably make her take it down in the morning, but she didn’t care. This was the most epic night – weekend – of her life and she didn’t care who knew it.
Well, maybe the second, she amended as she slid down beneath the covers. Turning onto her side, Nina kissed her husband one more time before closing her eyes and falling quickly asleep.