Underneath the Star

Chapter 1

Christopher couldn't remember the last time he had successfully snuck away from the cast and crew to be alone. Every waking second was a moment spent working, and he was growing tired of it. He just needed a quick buzz so he could finally sleep at night.

That was his reason for leaving the party the crew had organized in honor of him. They wanted to celebrate his nomination on his last film as the Academy's Favorite Lead Actor, but all he wanted was a night alone where he could drink as much as he wanted to in his suite. Because he couldn't have that, he settled on sneaking out to Midnight, the local bar. He was fortunate enough to have arrived on one of their least busy nights.

"You're back," Lukas said to him. He was the owner of Midnight and had served Christoper a total of three drinks in the past month on two separate occasions before he was found by his bodyguard. "How long do you think you'll stay out this time without getting caught?"

"Hopefully all fucking night." Christopher took the bottle of beer Lukas had opened for him and took a long sip. "Thanks, man. It feels way too fucking good to pretend I don't have responsibilities."

Despite the fact that Lukas was physically bigger, fit and bulky with visible tattoos down his arms, his large doe eyes made him appear to be innocent and guarded, which only made Christopher swallow his words. He suddenly regretted his harsh language even though Lukas had heard it all before.

"Teddy Bear," a woman said as she approached the bar, "Nora's done for the night. I better not catch you slipping any more drinks to her."

Lukas chuckled. He had earned that nickname from her when she walked into his bar a month ago and couldn't remember his first name after eight shots. Since her first night there, she had been returning almost every night to keep him company but refused to order anything. "Don't worry, pretty princess. I'll make sure she gets home."

Christopher glanced over at the woman as she slid onto a stool and continued to sip on his beer. Her attire was odd for the setting. She was dressed in a gray pencil skirt that hugged her knees tightly and a long sleeve maroon blouse with the top buttons undone. From the looks of her tangled dark hair and fading red wine lipstick, he assumed that she had been suffering from a long day.

"Pretty princess, huh?" He raised a brow and moved onto the stool right beside her, drinking in her delicate, golden skin.

"Mel is off limits," Lukas said to the man. "You can have your pick of any other woman in the bar, but she's not leaving here without me."

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Don't mind Lukas. He's just trying to prove that he can be tough, too."

Lukas glared, but he was looking at Christopher. "Trust me, princess, you don't want some hot shot movie star who's only in town long enough to give you one night."

"I thought we were cool," Christopher said with the shake of his head. "It's a shame you had all these bottled up thoughts about me, Harrison."

Melanie looked over at the man and swallowed hard. He was an umber tower of beauty—a delicate piece of art with his rich brown complexion and bright hazel eyes that held her captive within his gaze. "I knew you looked familiar."

"So, the pretty princess finally recognizes me." He leaned into her. It was a risky move with Lukas watching him closely, but when Melanie dropped her head into her hand and closed the small amount of distance between them, Lukas turned his attention to Nora to sober her up. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"I'd prefer a sober night," she said with the shake of her head. "How long are you in town for?"

"I only have four more months of filming then I'm out of here."