Disguises

Disguises | EM Lynley

Race Wilcox

yanked open his trailer door, pulling his shirt

over  his  head  as  he  navigated  the  three  steps  to  his  own
private  sanctuary.  He  barely  noticed  as  the  door  swung
closed  and  slammed  shut  the  way  it  usually  did.  The
morning’s  shoot  had  gone  well,  but  the  director  had  still
asked  for  an  extra  four  takes  of  an  action  sequence.  Race
was  hot,  tired,  and  ready  for  a  cold  beer;  not  that  he  ever

drank during work hours, but he really wanted a cold beer.

He tossed the sweaty shirt onto the bed, and as he

popped open his button-fly jeans, he noticed a bright orange
envelope propped up on the dining area table. His name was
written in large, graceful calligraphy, and just the sight of it
made  him  seriously  reconsider  his  beer  policy.  He  knew
exactly  what  it  was,  but  he  ripped  open  the  envelope  and
looked anyway, feeling his blood pressure rise. It was worse
than  he’d  expected,  and  he  tossed  the  whole  thing  into  the
trash can. If they didn’t have so many fucking rules around
the set, he’d have preferred to burn it so that he could watch
the flames darken and devour the paper. But that wasn’t an
option.

He groaned loudly, continued undressing, and then

hopped into the shower where the cool water washed away
sweat and stage makeup but not his bad mood. As he

Disguises | EM Lynley

soaped himself, he thought about his options. He was pretty
fucking annoyed, which ruined his usual shower jerk-off
session, thus adding to his fury.

When Race had first heard about it, he’d thought it had

to  be  some  kind  of  a  joke.  He  hadn’t  believed  it—or  hadn’t
wanted  to  believe  it.  Now  the  orange  envelope  had  arrived,
and  he  wasn’t  any  less  annoyed,  but  he  was  starting  to

believe it. It wasn’t just an invitation; it was a demand that
he attend a party. And not just any party… his network’s

Hallo-fucking-ween party. While he usually enjoyed parties,
the truth of the matter was costumes were not Race’s thing.
Despite the fact that he was an actor and technically wore a

costume  every  day  at  work,  he  hated  having  to  dress  up  as
something,  particularly  when  it  wasn’t  voluntary.  He  hadn’t
been  cast  in  many  genre  productions,  so  almost  all  of  the
characters  he’d  played—in  film  or  on  television—had  worn
normal everyday clothes. It had been his acting that brought
them to life, not how he was dressed.

When he got out of the shower, he wrapped a towel

loosely  around  his  hips  and  shuffled  into  the  main  area  of
the  trailer.  He  barely  noticed  the  drops  of  water  that
continued  to  cascade  down  his  chest  and  back  and  drip  off
his dark brown hair. He’d call his agent! Maybe she could get
him out of it, and he wouldn’t have to go after all. He speed-
dialed  her  on  his  cell  phone  and  crossed  his  fingers  as  he
listened  to the  phone  ring,  willing her  to  pick  it up  already.
He was too angry to leave voicemail. He worked every day…
long,  hard  days,  and  his  evenings  off  were  supposed  to  be
his  personal,  private  time.  They  had  so  few  evenings  off  in
the first place that this really added insult to injury.

Disguises | EM Lynley

She picked up on the third ring, and he relayed his tale

of woe, but she was less than sympathetic.

“Considering the ratings aren’t good enough to ensure

automatic renewal for another season, it’s in your best
interests—and those of the show—to go to the damn party

and  act  like  you’re  having  a  good  time.  You  are  an  actor,
right?”  she  teased,  but  he  knew  under  her  joking  tone  she
meant  every  word,  and  next  time  he  needed  a  favor  she
might not be very forthcoming. “It’s good for your image and
for your reputation with the studio execs. The fans love you,
but  you  need  to  suck  up  a  little  bit  more  to  the  guys  who
sign the paychecks.”

“What the fuck do I pay you for?” He paced around and

the small trailer rocked slightly, its contents shaking noisily.
“Aren’t  you  supposed  to  take  care  of  this  kind  of  thing?
Arrange  my  jobs  and  keep  me  from  having  to  do  these
unbearable  events.  That’s  not  too  much  to  ask  considering
how much of my salary you get!”

“No dice,” she said in an increasingly impatient tone.

“It’s in your contract to do a reasonable number of publicity
events for the network, and this falls under that description.
A bunch of press people are on the guest list. If they want
you to be there, you had better be there.”

“It is not reasonable!“ He kicked the wall next to the bed

and heard something crash down in the bathroom, which

was  on  the  other  side.  “They’re  making  me  dress  up,  and
they want to approve our costumes in advance!” As soon as
the  words  left  his  mouth,  Race  realized  he  sounded  like  a
five-year-old  complaining  that someone  else  got the  last  red

Disguises | EM Lynley

gumdrop. He sat down on the bed with a thud and waited for
her response.

“Look, Race, when your name comes first in the credits

maybe you’ll have some leverage, but for now just suck it up
graciously, and don’t piss off any of the network people.
That’s definitely bad for your career.”

Race’s co-star Derrick Steele’s name came first in the

show’s  opening  credits,  a  fact  which  never  failed  to  annoy
Race  whenever  they  actually  watched  the  broadcast
together.  Derrick  was  easygoing  and  great  fun,  but  they
could really trash talk each other into the ground. The crew
thought  they  were  more  like  brothers  than  simply  best
friends  or  co-stars.  But  they  rarely  caught  the  show  on-air.
Usually  they  were  so  tired  from  the  long  days  of  shooting;
they were home sleeping at air time.

“You mean Derrick can get out of it?” Maybe there was

more to this name order thing than Race had originally
believed. Anger burned even brighter in his chest now.

Fucking Derrick!

“I didn’t say that. I said you can’t, so stop trying. Just

think of something you won’t mind dressing up as and have
some fun for a change. You’re too serious sometimes.”

“Oh, fuck off. And you’re fired,” he said—but with a

laugh—and hung up before she had a chance to reply.

“Did you get your invitation to the party?” Derrick came

bursting into the trailer while Race was zipping up his jeans,
not five minutes after he’d gotten off the phone with his
agent. Derrick always barged in without knocking and Race
was used to it. His co-star was also freshly showered and his

Disguises | EM Lynley

damp  dirty-blond  hair  spiked  up  in  all  directions.  The  hair
stylists  always  found  working  on  Derrick  a  challenge,  but
Race’s  neatly  groomed  dark-brown  hair  was  a  breeze  for
them.

“Yeah, I got it, and it looks like I can’t get out of it. What

about you?”

“Get out of it?” Derrick looked confused. “Why would

you want to get out of it? It’s going to be an awesome party. I
love Halloween!”

Derrick was as animated as a kid off his Ritalin

sometimes, which tended to amuse or annoy Race. At the
moment it was the latter, and he nearly glared at his friend.

“Why are you so fucking excited?” Race pulled a clean

shirt out of the closet and slipped it on.

“Deciding what costume to wear is so much fun. Then

finding out what everyone else shows up as. You get a real
insight into people’s personalities by the costumes they
choose.”

There it was in a nutshell, the reason Race hated

costume  parties.  People  always  think  there’s  some  hidden
meaning to what you’re dressed as. Race knew he was going
to  be  analyzed  and  judged  by  the  studio,  the  network,  and
the  tabloids  based  on  his  choice  of  costume.  Now  he  was
even  more convinced  it  would  be a  terrible  mistake  to go  to
the party. Derrick stared at him. He frowned and shook his
head as if he could read Race’s mind.

“Look, Race, I’ll help you pick out a costume. It’ll be

fun!” Derrick offered. He flashed his dimples and grinned in
an infectious way that Race always found impossible to

Disguises | EM Lynley

refuse. “We’ll have a great time, you’ll see!”

Derrick was so excited that some of his enthusiasm

rubbed off, and Race actually began to think going along
with him wouldn’t be so bad. Derrick was fun, and together
they always had a great time, no matter what they did. This
certainly wasn’t the first publicity event they’d been sent to,
and Derrick usually goofed around or did something dorky
for the cameras, which they ate up. It left Race looking like a
stick in the mud sometimes, but the fans seemed to love the
contrast between their two personalities.

“And Stella’s coming down for the party too!” Derrick

added as he rooted around in Race’s refrigerator for a bottle
of water. He chugged half of it in one swallow as he watched
Race finish dressing so that they could get back on set.

“Stella?” Race had no idea why the news suddenly

disappointed  him  so  much.  Stella  Reynolds  was  Derrick’s
long-term  girlfriend.  She  was  also  an  actor,  but  her  series
filmed  in  Vancouver,  British  Columbia;  so  she  lived  in
Canada most of the year. Due to their work schedules, they
maintained  a  long-distance  relationship  but  always  seemed
to have a hiatus or vacation at different times. She managed
to  make  it  down  to  Los  Angeles  about  once  a  month,  and
usually  the  three  of  them  got  on  great  together.  Race  was
included in most of their plans when she visited.

She hadn’t been down to L.A. for more than a month

though,  and  Race  and  Derrick  had  been  spending  all  their
time  off  together.  Race  had  almost  forgotten  she  existed
because Derrick hardly ever talked about her unless directly
asked.  Of  course  Derrick  would  want  Stella  in  town  for  the

Disguises | EM Lynley

party, but for some reason the party didn’t sound quite as
appealing to Race now, and he couldn’t quite put his finger
on why.

Ten

days later Race was only slightly less annoyed as he

prepared for the party. He’d gone over to Derrick’s apartment
to change, and the limo would pick them all up from there.
He was just putting the finishing touches on his appearance
with a little assistance from Stella.

Derrick probably had what would turn out to be one of

the best costumes at the party. Race was still fuming over

that  too.  And  of  course  the  network  had  loved  his  idea.  It
wasn’t  so  easy  for  Race.  Sure,  Derrick  offered  to  help  him
come up  with a  costume. He  even said  Race could  dress as
part  of  a  group  with  him  and  Stella,  but  that  certainly  was
not going to happen. It just wouldn’t look right for the three
of them to dress up together; it was bound to start rumors,
and  Race  hated  rumors  even  though  the  network  loved  the
publicity and the subsequent ratings boost they brought.

Treat us like fucking whores! Race thought bitterly. But

damn, he loved  their show, and he desperately  wanted it to
be renewed. Not just for his career, but because he truly had
never  had  a  better  gig  and  wanted  it  to  last  as  long  as
possible. He loved the show, the crew, the writers, and even
some  of  the  producers.  They  had  a  small,  vocal,  and
extremely  loyal  fan  base  that  had  turned  him  and  Derrick
into  niche  superstars.  His  role  was  fun  and  exciting,  a
constant mix of comedy, drama, suspense, and fantasy. Who

Disguises | EM Lynley

wouldn’t want to be one of a pair of intergalactic detectives?
Especially since he didn’t have to wear a fucking spacesuit
or any sort of costume.

But Race knew the best part of his job was his co-star

and best friend, Derrick Steele. Practically since the day they
met,  they  had  clicked  and  become  fast  friends—spending
almost  every  waking  moment  together  on  and  off  the  set.
Before  they  were  cast  in  the  series,  they  had  both  been  on
shows  filmed  up  in  Vancouver,  and  neither  of  them  had
many  friends  in  L.A.  at  first.  Given  their  grueling  shooting
schedule,  they  rarely  had  enough  energy  even  on  their  off
days  to  socialize  and  ended  up  spending  most  of  their  time
together. The studio and producers were grateful their stars
didn’t  get  caught  up  in  the  Hollywood  party  scene.  But  the
network  constantly  encouraged  them  to  get  out  and  play
more  in  order  to  get  into  the  news  more  often.  Was  it  any
wonder  that  Race  hated  the  network  publicity  team  and
fought them at every move?

Stella and Derrick were going to the party as Cleopatra

and  Marc  Antony.  They  suggested  Race  dress  as  Julius
Caesar and go along with them if he wanted. No fucking way
was he going to wear a little Roman general skirt thing with
lace-up  sandals  like  Derrick  planned,  and  he  certainly
wasn’t going to parade around in  public in a bed sheet and
call  it  a  toga  either.  That  was  not  the  kind  of  character  he
wanted to be. Besides, he was a little uncomfortable with the
whole  sexual  rivalry  thing  it  would  imply  if  he  went  along
with  that  suggestion.  The  three  of  them  were  good  friends,
and  Stella  and  Derrick  included  him  in  their  plans  during
Stella’s L.A. weekends on a regular basis. But that was as far

Disguises | EM Lynley

as it went. Race knew the paparazzi could twist their
Halloween costumes into some sordid threesome and splash
that in all the tabloids without thinking twice. The network
might love it, but Race was careful about his image; he didn’t
need bullshit like that to destroy a decade of hard work and
good behavior. Not to mention how it might look to his family
who lived in a perennial red state in the Bible belt.

Forget Julius Caesar. Race planned to dress as one of

his favorite movie characters, though he’d had a hard time at
first convincing the network jerkwads that it even was a
costume.

He was going as Indiana Jones.

Of course it was a costume: there was the trademark

Fedora and the whip. It wasn’t just any hat and whip, after
all. And so what if he was wearing one of the battered brown
leather jackets from wardrobe? It might not be the exact
style that Harrison Ford wore, but it was the right color and
beat up just the right amount. He also had a little army bag
like Indy wore and a gun from Props.

Race absolutely loved the hat, which had set him back a

pretty  penny.  It  totally  made  him  into  Indy.  He’d  been
wearing  it  around  practically  nonstop  since  he’d  gotten  it.
Well, at least around his apartment and in his trailer on set.
He’d  even  tried  cracking  the  whip—twice.  The  first  time  he
broke  a  lamp  in  his  apartment,  and  the  second  time  he’d
managed  to  hit  himself—on  the  shoulder.  It  sure  wasn’t  as
easy to crack as it looked. He’d just keep it strapped onto his
belt for everyone’s safety.

“Hey, Rick, what do Roman generals wear under those

Disguises | EM Lynley

little skirt things?” Race teased Derrick when he’d first seen
the costume laid out on the bed.

“It’s a tunic, not a skirt,” Derrick corrected him with his

character’s  almost  trademark  sneer.  “It’s  more  like  a
dress….”  He  wrinkled  his  nose  and  frowned  at  the
admission,  and  Race  couldn’t  help  but  laugh.  “Anyway,  it’s
not like it’s a kilt, so I’m just going to wear boxer-briefs, like I
normally do.” Derrick shrugged.

“I don’t actually think the Romans wore underwear, but

if it were me, I’d go commando. Just need to be careful not
to twirl around too much.” Race burst into uncontrollable

laughter at the idea of Derrick in a skirt—tunic—and then at
the idea of Derrick flashing the network and press people.

Now that would be worth going to the fucking party, just to
see the looks on their faces.

Of course, Stella looked stunning. She always did. She

wore a sleek black wig entwined with a gold snake
headdress, and a white gauzy dress that was tight and clingy

in  all  the  right  places.  On  Stella,  that’s  pretty  much  all  over,
Race  thought  as  he  eyed  her  abundant  cleavage.  The  dress
was  low-cut  enough  to  provide  an  excellent  view  of  that.
She’d also done an amazing job with her make-up. Dark kohl
surrounded  her  eyes  in  Cleopatra’s  trademark  style,  and
there were flecks of gold in her eye shadow and dusted along
her  shoulders  and  décolleté.  She  definitely  looked  the  part,
though  the  spell  was  broken  as  soon  as  she  opened  her
mouth.

“Race, y’all need to do something with that hair.” Stella

had grown up in Tennessee, and when she wasn’t working,

Disguises | EM Lynley

her soft Southern accent was so thick you’d need a chainsaw
to  cut  it.  Not  quite  what  anyone  would  expect  from
Cleopatra,  who  wasn’t  even  from  southern  Egypt.  Stella
stepped  back  a  pace,  cocked  a  hip,  and  scrutinized  Race’s
appearance.

“What’s the point? I’m gonna be wearing the hat the

whole time.” He slapped her hand away as she reached up to

arrange  his  hair.  Derrick  was  the  one  that  needed  remedial
hair attention; his hair always looked as if a family of crows
had  just  made  a  home  on  top  of  his  head.  Along  with  his
famous  sneer,  Rick’s  character  was  best-known  for  his
slightly bleached, dark-blond, and far-too-long hair.

“You might want to take the hat off at some point. Let

me put in some gel; that’ll minimize the hat-head issue. Now
come  over  here.”  She  boosted  herself  onto  the  counter  in
Derrick’s bathroom and pulled Race toward her by one lapel
of  his  jacket  until  he  stood  in  between  her  knees  so  she
could  get  at  his  hair.  He  was  uncomfortably  close  to  her
now.  In  the  mirror,  he  could  see  Derrick  standing  near  the
bed where his costume was still laid out. To Race it seemed
he was having second thoughts about the whole bare-legged
Roman general thing.

Derrick stripped down to his briefs—bright green with

red  and  blue  flowers—and  Race  marveled  again  at  how
ripped the guy was: perfectly shaped pecs, chiseled abs, and
enormous  biceps.  The  writers  tried  to  get  Derrick’s  shirt  off
as  often  as  possible  on  screen.  Race  worked  out  too,  with
Derrick’s  help,  but  he  never  managed  to  achieve  anywhere
near  the  result.  He  looked  great  without  a  shirt  unless  he
was standing next to Derrick.

Disguises | EM Lynley

Race continued watching Derrick’s reflection as he

turned his back to the bathroom, his back muscles rippling
and cording. Race let out a sigh. Derrick reached to pick up

the dress—well, he called it a tunic, but it was still a fucking
dress, if anyone asked Race. Derrick hesitated and then
quickly slipped out of his shorts. Race muffled a snort as he
saw Derrick’s bare ass for a moment before his friend pulled
the tunic over his head and started fussing with the rest of
the costume.

Whew, it’s getting hot in here, Race thought, and he

could feel himself starting to get hard as Stella gripped his
waist even more tightly with her knees and messed with his

hair. She was too close and she smelled really good. Stop

smelling  her!  She  was  so  off  limits  it  wasn’t  even  funny.  At
least  Race  hoped  it  was  Stella’s  proximity  that  had  turned
him  on  and  not  the  sight  of  Derrick  stripping—or  the
thought of how he looked under the tunic. Stella laughed in
Race’s  face,  and  he  got  a  whiff  of  the  fruity-girly  cocktail
she’d  been  drinking,  and  it  snapped  him  out  of  his  own
dangerous  thoughts.  Stella  was  already  pretty  buzzed.  She
didn’t have much tolerance for alcohol, and Derrick was not
going to be thrilled if she was drunk before they even got to
the party. Race regretted letting her talk him into mixing her
a second drink.

“All done,” she finally said and gave him a little kiss,

just  pressing  her  lips  against  his.  “You  look  perfect  now,
Race!  Oh,  look  I  got  lipstick  on  your  pretty  mouth.”  She
laughed again. In the mirror, Race could see Derrick was still
dressing  and  apparently  not  paying  any  attention  to  what
was going on in the bathroom.

Disguises | EM Lynley

“Just clean it off, okay?” Race didn’t want Derrick to see

him with Stella’s lipstick on his mouth. He hadn’t kissed her
back, but he’d thought about it.

“’Kay, close your eyes while I clean it up,” she giggled.

He closed his eyes and felt her rubbing his lips. “All done!”

But when he opened his eyes, he realized she’d put more
lipstick on! “Oh, pretty,” she said and started to kiss him
again while he tried to push her off.

“Stella!” Derrick was suddenly right behind Race in the

doorway to the bathroom. Shit, he probably thinks we’re

making out in here, Race thought with alarm. How the fuck
could he explain this? “Stel, just stop fucking around, and

get that lipstick off of Race. And please stop drinking, okay?”
Derrick  raised  his  voice  nearly  to  a  shout,  which  was
practically  unknown  in  Race’s  experience.  Usually  Derrick
was  easygoing  and  laughed  everything  off,  but  not  tonight.
He  wasn’t  sure  which  one  of  them  Derrick  was  more
annoyed with,  and he didn’t  want to find out.  Stella pouted
as  she  cleaned  off  the  lipstick  and  stuck  her  tongue  out  at
Derrick’s  retreating  back.  At  least  there  was  plenty  of
makeup remover available, and thankfully the lipstick didn’t
leave  a  stain  on  Race’s  lips.  That  would  have  totally  ruined
the image of Indiana Jones he wanted to project.

“Oh, Rick, you’re no fun tonight!” Stella sounded more

like a child than the Queen of the Nile. Race had never seen
her in this mood—or Derrick, for that matter—and the
evening hadn’t even started yet. He wondered if he could still
get out of the party. “Oh, baby! You look so good!” Stella said
as Derrick finished putting on his costume, her mood

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quickly swung back to light, bubbly, and half-baked.

Derrick did look good, even Race had to admit. The

tunic  was  a  bit  short,  coming  to  just  above  his  knees,  and
showed off his pale, golden-haired, and very muscular calves
perfectly—if you happened to be into that sort of thing. The
fabric  was  covered  with  gold  embroidery  and  fake  jewels,
which looked fairly realistic and very regal. A long gold-edged
cape  draped  over  his  shoulders.  He  carried  the  helmet,
which was also jeweled and sported a feathered plume down
the back. With that helmet on, Derrick would be about eight
feet tall, and Race could certainly understand why so many
nations  had  surrendered  to  the  Roman  armies.  Hell,  even
Race was ready to.

He was impressed Derrick could pull off the dress thing

so well. It  was all in  the legs. The long hours  Derrick spent
in  the  gym  paid  off,  and  he  could  display  his  legs  for  a
change.  Race,  on  the  other  hand,  absolutely  hated  showing
off his legs. He’d never quite recovered from an episode on a
previous series where he’d been forced to wear shorts.

Derrick’s cell phone rang and he clasped it to his ear,

spoiling  the  near-perfect  image  of  the  regal  Roman  general.
The  network  car  was  downstairs  ready  to  take  them  to  the
party—like  the  proverbial  carriage—and  they  gathered  up
their belongings and headed out.

The

party itself wasn’t so bad once they got inside. Of

course they had to pose for a shitload of photographs
outside, freezing their asses off in the unseasonably late

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October L.A. chill. Race struck a series of action poses for
the cameras, hoping he looked more like Indiana Jones than

he felt. Indy would never stand around modeling like this! He
wanted to crack the whip at those stupid photographers, but
he  was  afraid  he’d  hurt  himself  again,  not  to  mention  the
fuss the network would make if he actually hit anyone else.
His  agent’s  words  about  appeasing  the  suits  and  how  it
would  help  his  career  came  back  to  him.  He  widened  his
smile  and  prepared  to  suck  it  up,  vowing  to  look  more
carefully at the fine print next time he signed a contract.

Inside, nearly everyone either wanted to wear his hat or

play with the whip, and Race wasn’t exactly thrilled with all
the  attention.  He  was  still  peeved  that  he  was  forced  to  be
here  and  wasn’t  in  a  party  mood  despite  the  cocktails  at
Derrick’s. Second to costumes, dancing was high on his list
of  things  that  made  a  prostate  exam  sound  thrilling.  He’d
hoped  to  blend  in  or  hide  in  the  shadows  and  not  have  to
speak to the other guests, except for his friends.

That plan failed, and he ended up letting Stella convince

him  to  join  in  a  few  dances  with  her  and  Derrick,  but  as
soon  as  he  could,  he  escaped  to  the  bar,  standing  there
drinking  beer  and  glancing  at  his  watch  every  five  minutes.
How long did they have to stay before they could safely leave
without being reprimanded by “The Powers that Be” at their
network?

Glancing around the room, Race was angered to

discover  Derrick  didn’t  look  to  be  in  any  hurry  to  escape.
Even  more  so  than  Race,  his  costume  had  caused  quite  a
stir—especially  among  the  female  partygoers  who  loudly
admired  Derrick’s  muscular  legs  and  daring  short  tunic.  A

Disguises | EM Lynley

few  were  so  bold  as  to  attempt  to  lift  his  skirt—tunic—and
Derrick  laughed.  He  was  all  dimpled  smiles,  even  as  he
slapped  their  hands  away.  Race  chuckled  with  the
knowledge  that  Derrick  would  be  mighty  embarrassed  if
anyone did manage a look up there and felt a slight pang of
guilt  that  he’d  convinced  his  friend  to  go  commando,  but
Derrick was a big boy and could take care of himself.

Finally Derrick managed to break away from his group

of admirers and join Race at the bar. He had the helmet on
now, and Race felt like a midget next to him despite being
more than six feet tall himself. He had to admit, Derrick sure
did make a fantastic Marc Antony.

“Ready to go yet, Rick?” Race didn’t try to hide his

impatience from his best friend.

“You’re kidding, right?” Derrick pointed at Race’s beer

when the bartender came over and held up two fingers. “This
is  a great  party!  We’re having  a  blast and  it’s  still early.  We
can’t  possibly  leave  yet.”  He  took  a  swig  of  the  beer  the
bartender  placed  near  his  elbow.  “They  gave  us  a  late  call
tomorrow, so what’s the hurry?”

“Where’s Stella?” Race sipped at the fresh beer Derrick

handed him and greeted everyone who walked by with a fake

smile and a nod. He acted like he was having fun, just as his
agent suggested.

“Dunno. She disappeared. I hope she’s not puking in

the ladies’ room.”

“Yeah, sorry. I shouldn’t have made that last drink for

her.” Race glanced down guiltily at his shoes as he
apologized, and Derrick just shrugged. “There she is—

Disguises | EM Lynley

dancing with Catwoman. Is that Caitlin Kassidy? Damn, she
makes one helluva Catwoman.”

“That she does,” Derrick said with an edge to his tone

that surprised Race. He started to walk toward his girlfriend,
leaving  Race  standing  at  the  bar  on  his  own.  He  watched
Derrick  go  up  to  Stella,  who  was  slow-dancing,  cheek-to-
cheek  with  her  arms  wrapped  around  Caitlin.  She  pulled

him into the dance. Lucky bastard, Race thought as Derrick
danced with both women. He remembered some of the other
things  Caitlin  was  good  at.  A  few  years  earlier,  they’d  been
on  the  same  series  up  in  Vancouver,  when  Race  had  been
cast as her love interest for half a season. They’d spent quite
a  bit  of  time  together  off-set,  working  at  building  some

chemistry between their characters. Might check and see if

there’s still any chemistry with Catwoman later on. He smiled
and took another long pull at his beer, imagining the
possibilities.

Race finished his beer as he watched the rest of the

guests  dance and mingle.  He  was polite to  the  network and
studio suits who came up to schmooze; his agent would have
given him a gold star for his behavior. He even danced with
one  female  executive,  until  she  started  getting  a  bit  too
friendly  and  grabbed  his  ass.  He  extricated  himself  politely
and  found  sanctuary  at  the  bar.  He  caught  up  with  a  few
more actors he’d worked with in the past: either guest stars
on  his  show  or  fellow  guests  on  episodes  of  other  shows.
Sooner  or  later  it  seemed  the  same  set  of  actors  made  the
rounds  of  the  network,  ending  up  on  every  show;  so  Race
was bound to run into the same faces year after year.

Disguises | EM Lynley

He ran into a couple of his closer friends, Tim and

Baxter,  whom  he’d  known  for  years.  One  was  dressed  as  a
vampire,  which  complemented  his  dark  hair  and  fair  skin.
The  other  dressed  as  a  pirate…  a  bit  like  Johnny  Depp’s
Captain Jack, but with a lot less guyliner. They chatted for a
while  until  Race  noticed  Derrick  across  the  room  trying  to
get his attention. Finally, Derrick looked like he was ready to
call it a night, and Race’s spirits rose.

“Race, we’re gonna leave now,” Derrick told him.

Catwoman and Cleopatra were still tightly wrapped around
him, both giggling.

“Huh?” Race wanted to be sure he was getting this right.

“The three of you? Got room for me?” he asked half-
seriously.

Derrick threw him a cryptic glance, which surprised

Race. Dude’s leaving with two hot chicks, so why doesn’t he

look happier? And why didn’t he invite Race along?

“Well, uh….” Derrick stopped. Tongue-tied Derrick was

someone Race had never met before. Not too surprising since
Race had practically just asked to come along and fuck his
girlfriend. “We’re taking the car that brought us. You okay to
find your own way home?”

“Yeah, sure.” Race waved a hand nonchalantly, but he

was pissed as hell, and it had nothing to do with the car.
“Plenty of other cars or cabs.” Race smiled and nodded as
the three of them started to walk away. “Have fun!” he added
unnecessarily.

Well, fuck. Not only had Race stuck around waiting for

Derrick to leave, but there went his chance with Catwoman.

Disguises | EM Lynley

That  was  two  strikes  for  the  evening.  He  hadn’t  seriously
expected  to  hook  up  with  anyone  here,  but  now  he  was
determined  not  to  leave  alone.  He  couldn’t  let  that  happen
after  Derrick  left  with  the  two  best-looking  women  at  the
party. Race looked around. Could he find two or even three?
He  couldn’t  let  Derrick  beat  him.  It  was  a  simple  matter  of
self-respect.  Race  still  couldn’t  quite  believe  Derrick,  who

never, ever looked at other women when the guys all went
out. None of his other friends there tonight would ever let
Race live it down once they found out. He knew he shouldn’t
have come to this fucking party after all.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself he

formulated a plan. Thank God that grabby network woman

was  gone!  He’d  hate  to  have  to  rebuff  her  advances  then
leave  with  someone  else.  That  would  totally  fuck  up  his
career.  He  spotted  a  likely  candidate  for  seduction:  Eliza
Hall.  Tall,  leggy,  and  nearly  as  gorgeous  as  Caitlin,  she
looked  particularly  delectable  in  the  mermaid  costume  she

was wearing. Well, if you could call it wearing, since there

really wasn’t much of it. Yahtzee! That should be no trouble
at all; actually it was almost too easy, but she was definitely
the hottest woman at the party now. He knew that when he
danced with her—and yes, he let her talk him into dancing,
or think she’d talked him into it—that they were the best
looking couple there. No one was really surprised when they
left together shortly afterward.

A piercing

shriek woke Race up the next morning, and he

Disguises | EM Lynley

threw his alarm clock across the room, knocking over

another  lamp.  Fuck!  At  this  rate,  he’d  have  to  go  lamp
shopping  soon,  but  at  least  the  alarm  stopped  screeching.
He was alone, head pounding slightly, and his body ached in
places he barely knew he had. He had a hazy recollection of
what  had  happened  after  he’d  left  the  party  with  Eliza,  but
he had a sinking feeling he didn’t want it to get any clearer.
They’d  come  back  to  his  place,  and  all  he  could  remember
was that Eliza had worn the Fedora the entire time—and the
leather jacket for a good part of it too. He didn’t even want to
think  about  the  whip;  he  wasn’t  ready  for  that  just  yet.  He
might never be ready to think about it.

He dragged himself into the shower, and miraculously

he  managed  to  get  ready  and  be  waiting  downstairs  when
the  studio  car  came  to  pick  him  up.  Derrick  was  sitting
inside  and  held  out  a  very  large  cup  of  coffee  to  him  once

he’d  gotten  seated  and  buckled  up.  Coffffeeee,  he  thought,
reminding himself of the way the Cookie Monster might say
“cookies!” He sipped silently, feeling the caffeine reinvigorate
him  almost  as  soon  as  it  hit  his  bloodstream.  He  glanced
over at Derrick. The same old Derrick-morning-face, smiling
and  eager,  like  he  couldn’t  wait  to  get  on  set  and  pout  his
little  heart  out  at  Race  all  morning.  You  couldn’t  tell  by
looking at him what he’d gotten up to the night before, and
Derrick didn’t volunteer any information. Race was dying to
know  what  had  happened  with  Stella  and  Caitlin,  but  he
knew  asking  outright  would  cross  a  line.  Derrick  was
business-as-usual and wanted to run lines while they drove

to work. Unbelievable!

It turned out to be a good thing they did, because Race

Disguises | EM Lynley

needed  the  practice.  The  late  night  with  Eliza,  and  at  least
one  too  many  beers,  had  really  caught  up  with  him.  The
morning’s  shoot  went  horribly,  and  the  director  was  less
than  impressed  with  their  progress.  They’d  had  to  do  so
many  takes  that  Derrick  was  practically  finishing  Race’s
half-forgotten  sentences,  which  was  not  at  all  what  the
director wanted. Race struggled to concentrate on his work.

How did Derrick manage to look so relaxed and fucking

well-rested after the night he must have had? It just wasn’t

fair.  And  he  hadn’t  flubbed  his  lines—well,  no  more  than
usual—but  not  like  Race,  who  was  definitely  off  his  game
this morning, and everyone on set knew it. It only got worse
as the day wore on. He felt like crap; crap that had been run
over  by  a  steamroller  and  then  thrown  over  a  cliff.  Wile  E.
Coyote  on  his  worst  day  looked  better  than  Race  felt.  Eliza
had  folded,  spindled,  and  mutilated  him;  and  it  took  all  of
his  acting  ability  to  keep  anyone  else  from  knowing  it.  At
least  he  hoped  he’d  been  able  to  keep  it  a  secret.  He  was
pretty  sure  he  hadn’t  managed  to  hide  much  from  Derrick.
He’d  been  shooting  Race  pointed  looks—glares,  really—all
morning.  Finally,  the  director  called  a  break  while  the  crew
set up cameras and lights for the next set of shots.

“Race, you okay? You’re moving like you got hurt or

something. We haven’t even done any stunts this morning.”
Derrick caught up with Race as he started to walk toward
his trailer, the first moment they’d been alone together since
they got out of the SUV. His voice was concerned, not
annoyed.

“Yeah, well, I kind of had a rough night last night—after

the party.”

Disguises | EM Lynley

“Really?” Derrick asked with a somewhat pained

expression that Race couldn’t quite identify. Why did Derrick
care what Race did after the party? “What did you get up to?
Go out for an after party with Tim the vampire and Baxter
the pirate?”

“Uh, no, I left with Eliza Hall, and let’s just say she

really  went  to  town  with  Indy’s  whip,”  Race  said  half
laughing  and  half  grimacing.  He  turned  around  and  raised
his  shirttail  up  enough  so  Derrick  could  see  one  of  the
painful welts on Race’s back.

“Ow!” Derrick said sympathetically. “Still hurts, huh?”

Race nodded. “I know what might work on this. I have some
aloe vera gel in my trailer. It works on burns and stings, so it
might work for this.”

“Okay, thanks. It’s not like I can go to the set nurse on

this one,” Race said gratefully as they walked to Derrick’s
trailer.

“Why not? You really can’t tell it’s from a whip.” Derrick

was  attempting  to  hide  the  smile  that  fought  to  break  out
and  was  losing  the  battle.  Race  really  couldn’t  blame  him.
Had  it  been  anyone  else,  this  would  have  been  fucking
hilarious.

“Well, y’see,” Race added sheepishly as they climbed the

steps into the trailer, “it’s not the only one.”

“Ah.” Derrick closed and locked the trailer door behind

them. He went into the bathroom and came back with a
clear tube of the gel.

“See?” Race pulled his shirt off and displayed his

wounds to Derrick. There were several more welts on his

Disguises | EM Lynley

chest and back.

“Jesus fuck!” Derrick exclaimed, though there was no

trace of humor in his tone. Now he seemed to be genuinely
sorry for Race. “Let me do this for you, probably can’t even
reach some of these on your back, can you?”

“There are a couple on my legs too,” Race admitted. He

thought for about the ten-thousandth time how glad he was
that he had a close friend like Derrick, who wouldn’t
immediately make him feel like a complete asshat. He could
just imagine what Tim or Baxter would say if they found out
what had happened.

“Take your pants off and lie face down on the bed; I’ll

put this stuff on all of them for you.” Derrick waited while
Race pulled his boots and jeans off and lay down, and then
he sat at the edge of the bed and squeezed some of the clear
gel into his hand. He dabbed a bit of it at a mark on Race’s
shoulder, clearly not wanting to hurt him. “How’s that? Too
much pressure? Let me know if I’m hurting you.” Race just
shook his head, and Derrick continued dabbing. “Feeling any
better?”

“Yeah, it does. It’s nice and cool. Thanks.” Race let out a

strangled sigh.

“Now I can see why you couldn’t act your way out of a

paper bag this morning.”

“That bad?” Race really was embarrassed. He prided

himself on being professional and competent. He hated
turning in a bad performance, especially in front of the crew.
It made him feel like he was wasting everyone’s time if he
didn’t nail it on nearly every take.

Disguises | EM Lynley

“Worse. When the director sees the dailies, we’ll

probably have to re-shoot some of the scenes.”

“Thanks, I really feel better now. I don’t know what I’d

do without a friend like you.” Race’s tone oozed sarcasm.

“Race, I don’t understand. Why didn’t you stop Eliza if it

hurt? I mean, unless you like that kind of pain. Even if you
do, there are limits. But I get the feeling you’re not into that
sort of kink.”

“I couldn’t really stop her, because she had my arms

tied up.” Race felt like an idiot. “And I’ve discovered that I

don’t like this kind of thing. I thought it would be fun, but it
really wasn’t.”

“Well, it can be fun if you’re with someone who you can

trust to stop when you want them to. You need to set some
rules before you start, otherwise, that kind of game is just
dangerous.”

Race wondered how much experience Derrick had with

that kind of game but refrained from asking. Derrick shared
next to nothing about his sex life with Stella, and Race
respected his decision on that.

“I sure hope this was the best fuck of your life.”

“Not even close. It was possibly one of the worst.” Race

wasn’t even talking about the whipping. The whole thing had
been so unsatisfying even though he had come several

times. Just getting off isn’t enough anymore, he thought. He
wasn’t sure why he’d expected any more than that with
Eliza; because when he’d decided to leave with her, his main
goal had been mindless casual sex. He wished he’d just gone

Disguises | EM Lynley

home alone and jerked off, but something about Derrick

leaving with Stella and Caitlin had made him feel compelled
to  compete.  Why  had  he  been  so  annoyed  at  Derrick?  It
didn’t  feel  like  simple  jealousy  that  his  best  friend  had  left
with  two  women.  There  was  something  else  there,  at  the
edge of his consciousness and emotion, but he couldn’t put
his finger on it.

Race relaxed a little as Derrick gently rubbed the

soothing gel into the wounds on his back. His touch was so
light and delicate for someone with huge paws for hands.
Derrick was obviously doing his best to make Race feel
better, and it was working.

“Race, have you considered just trying to find someone

for

relationship,

rather

than

these

unfortunate

encounters?”

“Well, yeah, of course I have. But for now, I’m on the set

with you nearly every waking hour. I hardly seem to get any
time off except to sleep, so it’s been a bit difficult to find my
soul mate. As you can see, I’m not even all that successful at
finding a fuck mate.”

“Okay, that’s fair, I suppose. You’ll just have to try

harder  on  hiatus.  For  the  soul  mate,  I  mean.”  Derrick
managed  to  say  this  in  a  way  that  was  friendly  and
supportive,  not  preachy.  Coming  from  anyone  else  Race
would have been annoyed at being told how to live his life.

“I’d have to be really lucky to find someone as perfect for

me as you and Stella are together.”

“Yeah, lucky,” Derrick replied unenthusiastically, and

Race craned his head to see his friend had a thoughtful,

Disguises | EM Lynley

ironic expression.

“So… that reminds me, how about your night?” Race

was  glad  to  drop  the  subject  of  his  love  life.  He  decided  it
was  okay  to  ask  since  Derrick  hadn’t  just  left  with  Stella.
Now  it  was  fair  game,  especially  since  Race  had  ’fessed  up
about what he’d gotten up to with Eliza.

“Huh?” Derrick seemed surprised by the question—

even by Race’s voice—and pulled his hand off Race’s back
suddenly.

“You left with two girls, and you aren’t going to at least

tell me something?” Race was disappointed and slightly
annoyed that his friend wouldn’t share at least a tiny morsel
with him.

“Well, it was, you know, what you’d expect,” Derrick

said absently, obviously uncomfortable with Race’s curiosity.

Okay, strange answer, Race thought. He dropped it,

concentrating instead on what Derrick’s hands were doing
on his back. He’d finished putting gel on the welts on Race’s
back, and he was working on a spot on Race’s left thigh.

Mmmm. Race stopped himself just in time from moaning

out loud, but Derrick really did know how to make
everything feel better. Derrick trailed his fingers up Race’s

thigh  from  one  mark  to  another  and  suddenly,  it  felt  too
damn good. Race could feel his cock hardening, and he knew
he’d  be  supremely  embarrassed  if  Derrick  found  out.  Not
just  because  of  his  hard-on,  but  how  could  he  explain  that

he liked this so much he didn’t want Derrick to stop

touching him? Shit, how am I going to get up? I wish I could

pretend to fall asleep….

Disguises | EM Lynley

“There, that’s all of them.” Derrick stopped his gentle

rubbing, but his huge hand was still on Race’s upper thigh.
Unbidden, Race had a fleeting image of that enormous hand
wrapped around his cock. “Feel any better, Race?”

“Yeah, a lot better, thanks,” Race said in a strangled

voice and into the pillow, trying desperately to get the image
of Derrick stroking his cock out of his head. The hard-on
gave no sign of subsiding, much to Race’s mortification.

“Any more? You know, while I’ve got the stuff all over

my hands,” Derrick offered.

“Uh, yeah,” Race said with some embarrassment, lifting

his hips and awkwardly slipping his boxer-briefs down
slightly to expose the two welts on his ass—one on each
cheek.

“Race, you are lucky I’m such a good friend.” Derrick

applied aloe vera to Race’s ass, clearly trying not to laugh
and failing miserably. In fact, Race was glad Derrick laughed
at him because, thankfully, it made him lose his hard-on.

“Yeah, I am.” Race pulled his shorts back up over his

ass and rolled over onto his back. “Lucky.”

“Ow.” Derrick had clearly gotten a good look at Race’s

chest.  The  nipples  were  red  and  raw,  and  there  were  teeth
marks  on  Race’s  chest  and  shoulders.  Derrick  reached  out
and  dabbed  some  gel  onto  one  nipple,  and  then  the  other,
practically  without  thinking.  Or  so  it  seemed  to  Race,  who
just lay back and let Derrick continue with his ministrations.
It  was  an  indication  of  how  close  their  friendship  was  that
neither  of  them  thought  that  there  was  anything  strange
about  this.  Race’s  nipples  were  sensitive;  he  usually  loved

Disguises | EM Lynley

having them touched, but Eliza had practically chewed them
off. Derrick’s touch was so tender as he smoothed the aloe
vera onto Race’s nipples, circling around each one with just

the right amount of pressure and hopefully not noticing that
Race’s cock began to stir again.

Oh fuck! Race willed his body to obey and not betray

him.

“Derrick?!” A shout and a sharp knock at the door

captured their attention, and Derrick turned toward the
noise. It was Kevin, one of the producers, and Race
welcomed the intrusion that finally broke the spell Derrick’s
fingers had on him and his cock.

Derrick got up and went over to the door, while Race

grabbed  for  his  shirt.  He  didn’t  want  Kevin  to  see  him
practically  naked  on  Derrick’s  bed  even  if  there  was  a  good
reason.  Certainly,  the  hard-on  would  be  a  little  difficult  to
explain.  Opening  the  door  a  crack,  Derrick  spoke  quietly  to
Kevin, and Race could just make out the conversation.

“Rick, Caitlin didn’t report to the set this morning and

you seem to be the last one to, uh, see her….” Kevin spoke
with barely suppressed curiosity and envy. “Sorry to have to
ask you, but….”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure where she is. I didn’t see her

after, uh,” Derrick replied. “Let me make a call and let you
know if I can find out anything.”

“Okay, thanks. And we’ll be ready for you guys in about

ten.” Kevin had clearly tried to keep the conversation private,
speaking quietly. Derrick closed the door and turned back
toward the bed where Race sat, now fully clothed.

Disguises | EM Lynley

Derrick grabbed his cell phone out of his jacket pocket

and punched in a few numbers. Race got up to go, but
Derrick motioned for him to stay as the call connected.

“Stel, are you with Caitlin?” Derrick sounded annoyed,

and he paced around the confines of the trailer as he spoke.
Race  couldn’t  hear  the  other  side  of  the  conversation,  but
Derrick appeared even angrier than he had the night before
over the lipstick incident. Race felt an overwhelming concern
for  his  friend  well  up  in  his  chest.  Whatever  Derrick  was
going  through,  Race  wanted  to  help  him,  was  ready  to
support  him;  just  as  Derrick  had  taken  care  of  Race’s
injuries.  It  didn’t  matter  that  he’d  been  entirely  to  blame  in
that regard.

“Okay, well, they’re waiting for her on set. You know we

had an agreement….” Derrick raised his voice again, and
Race wondered what was going on. In the three years they’d
known each other, he’d definitely never heard Derrick like
this. “We’ll talk about that later, just make sure Caitlin—”

Stella must have hung up because Derrick didn’t say

anything else. He just snapped the phone shut and slammed
it down on the dining room table so hard that a piece flew off
and landed with a clatter on the tiled kitchen floor. Race
knew how serious the situation had become, because

Derrick just didn’t do angry unless you said something
about his family. As curious as he was about what was going
on, Race got up to go—for real this time.

“Hey, Race. You’ll need some more of that stuff later

on.” Derrick seemed to remember Race was still there, and
his voice softened as he spoke.

Disguises | EM Lynley

“Yeah, I’ll have the car pass by a pharmacy on the way

home.”

“Nah, you can’t reach most of those spots. I’ll come over

later and put some on for you, okay?”

“You don’t need to. You’ve got Stella staying and—”

“Yeah, I need to sort that out first. I’ll swing by your

place around eight o’clock, okay? I’ll definitely need a beer,
or three, later on too.”

“Plenty of beer in the fridge.” Race wrinkled his brow

and  wondered  what  Derrick  was  going  to  sort  out.  Maybe
he’d be ready to talk about it later on. For now, their break
was just about over, and they were expected back on set in
about  five  minutes.  As  much  as  Race  wanted  to  help  his
friend  deal  with  whatever  had  gotten  him  so  riled  up,  there
just wasn’t time to get into it, and Derrick didn’t seem ready
to discuss it just yet.

“It’s a date then,” Derrick agreed with a smile. “Let’s get

back to work. I hope we don’t go late tonight.”

The afternoon’s shooting went well thanks, at least in

part, to Derrick’s gel and Race getting somewhat of a break
to rest and clear his head. They were back on schedule and
finished for the day around six p.m., mainly because they’d
run out of light.

Neither of them needed to shower off any extra makeup

or blood, so they just got into the studio car and headed
home.

“See you around eight, then?” Derrick asked when the

car stopped outside Race’s apartment, and he hopped out.

Disguises | EM Lynley

“Yeah, later, dude.”

It was closer to eight-thirty when Derrick knocked at

Race’s door. Race had showered and put on a loose shirt and
some  sweatpants  and  was  lounging  around  on  the  couch,
flicking  through  basketball  games  on  the  television,  when
Derrick arrived. And it wasn’t a moment too soon either, as
the  welts  were  starting  to  hurt  again.  Race  really  needed

Derrick to put more gel on for him. It was the gel, he
reminded himself, thinking of how Derrick’s hands had felt
on his body.

“Hey,” Race said as he opened the door to Derrick.

Derrick came in and plopped himself on the couch

without  saying  anything.  They  were  close  enough  friends
that  Race  didn’t  find  that  rude,  and  he  silently  handed
Derrick a cold bottle of beer. Race knew Derrick would start
talking when he was ready. For the moment, Derrick stared
blankly  at  the  game  on  the  television,  and  Race  sat  down
next to him.

“Let me just finish this, and then I’ll put some gel on

your wounds,” Derrick said after he’d taken a few sips from
the bottle. “Are they starting to hurt yet?”

“Yeah, they are. I appreciate this, but you really didn’t

need to come all the way over here just for that.”

“Yes, I did.” Derrick took a long swig and finished the

rest of the bottle. He’d sucked the whole beer down in about
four minutes, which had to be a record. Something was
seriously bothering him; Race was certain of that. “Okay,
let’s get you fixed up. Bedroom?”

“Sure.”

Disguises | EM Lynley

Derrick followed Race into the bedroom and looked

around as Race took off his shirt and sweatpants. Race saw
him staring at the broken lamp, though Derrick didn’t say
anything about it.

“I gotta clean that up. Threw the alarm clock at it this

morning.” Race laughed at himself as he lay face down on
the bed.

“You really hate waking up, don’t you?” Derrick asked,

not quite laughing. “I thought it was just another casualty of
Eliza and the whip.”

“No, I was the only victim. As for the calls, of course I

hate them, especially the morning after I’m forced to go to
some stupid netw—”

“Yeah, I think I agree with you on that. Now.” He started

to rub some of the gel onto Race’s back.

“That sounded ominous. What do you mean ‘now’?”

“You didn’t hear about it yet?”

“Hear what? Rick, what happened?” Race pushed

himself up on his elbows and craned his neck to look at his
friend.

“About Stella.” Derrick’s voice was flat and emotionless.

He took his hand off of Race for moment.

“Stella? Is she okay?” Derrick’s tone scared him, and

Race was really worried now. “You know, I’m sorry about the
drinking and the lipstick thing. You didn’t get into a fight
over that, did you?”

“It isn’t your fault. And I know she has a thing about

lipstick.”

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“A thing? You mean she asks you to wear lipstick?”

Derrick’s comment was so odd, Race just had to ask.

“No.” Derrick laughed as if that were the most ridiculous

thing  he’d  ever  heard,  but  there  was  little  humor  in  the
sound.  “She  likes  lipstick.”  He  returned  to  the  task  of
applying  gel,  gently  massaging  it  into  Race’s  raw,  red  flesh.
The feeling of Derrick’s fingers seemed at odds with the tone
of  his  voice  as  he  continued—clearly  upset  with  Stella—but
none  of  that  anger  transmitted  into  the  way  he  touched
Race.

“I don’t get it.”

“Kissing girls. Women,” Derrick said. “Like Caitlin. They

were making out in the bathroom last night and out on the
dance floor. Stella wanted to bring her home with us last
night. I had to go along with it, or she would have made a big
scene at the party in front of the press and the network
guys.”

“Dude, girls kissing each other, then taking both of

them home from a Hollywood party is a good thing. I don’t
get why you’re so upset.”

“It totally ruins the image we’ve created. Now everyone

has  a  completely  different  impression  about  me  and  about
my relationship with Stella than what I wanted.” Derrick had
taken  his  hand  off  of  Race’s  back  again.  He  was  practically
talking  to  himself,  so  Race  just  listened  and  tried  to  figure
out what the hell he was talking about. Derrick and Stella’s
image  was  of  a  perfect,  totally-in-love,  Hollywood  dream
relationship,  but  this  wasn’t  enough  to  shatter  that.  “She
only had a few rules to follow, but the number one rule was

Disguises | EM Lynley

not to go off with anyone else when she’s out with me, and

certainly not at a network publicity event. She’s supposed to

be my girlfriend, for fuck’s sake. I’m just waiting for photos to
go public. Everyone will be able to figure out the truth now.”

“What truth?” Race waited for a reply, but Derrick

stayed silent. “Derrick, are you saying the truth is that Stella

is gay?” Race was even more confused.

“Yes. No. I’m trying to tell you that… I… am.” Derrick’s

voice was small, and Race couldn’t tell if he sounded relieved
or embarrassed at what he’d just said. Race wasn’t even
entirely certain he’d heard Derrick properly.

Race rolled over onto his back and sat up in the bed.

Derrick didn’t look at him. He just sat there staring at his
hands, his fingers still slightly covered in the clear gel.

“Wow. That was big news.” Race paused for a moment.

“Are you ashamed of that or something?”

“No,” Derrick said softly, and then “No!” more defiantly.

“Why would you ask that?”

“I guess because you never said anything about that to

me before, so you obviously didn’t want me to know. I
thought we were best friends—”

“We were. We are.”

“—and we share everything, or pretty close to it. Why

didn’t you tell me before? Or didn’t you trust me with this?”
He let his tone betray the hurt he felt. How could Derrick
keep such a big secret from him?

“Of course I trust you.” It was Derrick’s turn to look

wounded. “That’s not why I didn’t say anything. I’m not

Disguises | EM Lynley

exactly sure why. But I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth
sooner, and I’m even more sorry if I upset you because I
didn’t share this.”

“This is something pretty important, so yeah, I’m

surprised and hurt that you’re only getting around to telling
me now.”

“Does it matter?” Derrick’s eyes searched Race’s, full of

fear and apprehension.

“Matter that you’re gay? No.” Race couldn’t read the

expression  on  Derrick’s  face,  but  it  didn’t  exactly  exude
relief. Had he wanted Race to make a big fuss about it? Race
didn’t  have  any  issue  with  anyone’s  sexual  orientation.  It
wasn’t  any  of  his  business.  If  Derrick  wanted  to  keep  it  a
secret, he still should have known he could trust Race not to
tell  anyone  else.  But  somewhere,  deep  inside,  he  felt  that

hearing this about Derrick did matter, but he wasn’t exactly
sure why.

“So, we’re just going to go on like this never happened?”

Derrick’s tone was some combination of hopeful and
miserable.

“Did you expect me to go running for the hills? To throw

you out? To stop being your friend?” Race’s voice grew
louder. He knew he also needed to convince himself not to be
hurt that Derrick hadn’t trusted him. “Well, I won’t. You’re
still my best friend. That hasn’t changed. All that’s changed
is that you can finally be yourself, at least around me.”

“I’m glad I finally told you. I feel like I have to wear a

mask all the time, even around you. I should have told you a
long time ago, but once we got to be such good friends….”

Disguises | EM Lynley

Derrick paused and looked at his hands again. “I was afraid
it would scare you away from being as close, and I didn’t
want to lose that.” Derrick almost visibly relaxed now, clearly
relieved to come clean at last.

“So, now I can understand why you were with Stella, for

your public image.”

“Yeah, though I’m not sure if she hasn’t done more

damage than good recently.” Derrick sighed morosely before
he went on. “It seemed like a good idea at the time when we
first came up with the arrangement. We met on a film we did
together a few years back, and got to be pretty friendly. One
day  Stella  told  me  we  wouldn’t  ever  be  more  than  friends
because  she  didn’t  date  men.  After  she  admitted  that,  I  felt
comfortable  telling  her  about  myself.  We  got  along  so  well,

and people  thought we  were  dating, that we decided  to just
go with it, since it would help both of us out. It was such a
huge  sense  of  relief  because  she  was  in  exactly  the  same
situation  I  was.  But  now  she  doesn’t  seem  to  be  so
concerned about keeping her own secret, and I can’t let it be
known it was all a charade.”

They sat there quietly for a few moments. Derrick

seemed talked out after he’d finally explained his situation to
Race, and Race needed to absorb this new information.

“Is there anything else you’ve been hiding? Like a secret

boyfriend you’ve got stashed away somewhere?” Race didn’t
see how that would be possible, since he and Derrick spent
almost every waking minute together, but he wanted to

know. He needed to know everything now. The fact that
there were these big secrets between them made it feel as if

Disguises | EM Lynley

Derrick  was  slipping  away  from  him,  and  that  possibility
terrified  Race.  It  had  suddenly  become  clear  to  Race  how
important  his  friendship  to  Derrick  was—now  that  it  might
never be the same.

“No,” Derrick laughed and smiled shyly. The answer

pleased Race more than he could fathom. He didn’t like the
idea that someone shared more with Derrick than he could.
He  didn’t  want  anyone  to  come  between  the  two  of  them.
Since  they’d  met,  Race  had  felt  a  connection,  a  bond  with
Derrick he’d never tried to define. They simply clicked, as if
they’d always known each other. They had so many things in
common,  but  enough  differences  that  made  spending  time
with  each  other  such  great  fun.  If  anything,  Race  had
thought the bond had grown stronger over the two and half
years  they’d  known  each  other  and  worked  and  played
together.

And even when Stella visited, the three of them got

along so well that Race was included in just about all of their
plans. It had all worked out so perfectly. Race had been fine
with the idea of sharing Derrick with Stella, but he couldn’t

stand the thought of sharing him with another man. This
new information wasn’t an end to their close friendship.

Could  it  be,  instead,  an  opportunity  to  be  closer?  Race’s
mind  spun  with  possibilities  he’d  never  even  considered
before. Until now,  he hadn’t thought of  Derrick as anything
more  than  a  friend,  because  he’d  had  this  preconceived
notion  of  straight-Derrick  spending  the  rest  of  his  life  with
Stella  and  Race  being  a  part  of  their  lives.  But  now  all  the
rules  had  changed,  and  Race  could  consider  other
alternatives.

Disguises | EM Lynley

He hadn’t realized he’d been sitting there, silent, for

several minutes until Derrick’s voice penetrated the
cacophony in his head.

“Race? You okay?” Derrick had a worried look on his

face, his brow furrowed, lips pursed. “What are you
thinking? Are you really okay with this? I would hate for this
to ruin things between us.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, stop worrying.” Race laughed and

Derrick joined in, with his usual shining smile, which had
been hidden so far today. “I’m thinking you haven’t finished
putting that goop on me yet.”

Derrick looked at him, as if he’d just noticed that Race

was sitting there on the bed with him, wearing only his
boxer-briefs.

“You still want me to do this?” Derrick seemed suddenly

awkward with the intimacy of the situation.

“Yes, of course I do.”

“I thought since,” Derrick absently waved a hand,

indicating himself, “you might not want me to, you know,
touch you.”

“Well, I’d rather have you touch me than Eliza, any day

of the week.” That was true, and it made Race think as he
lay down and rolled onto his stomach. “I mean, if you want
to.”

“Yeah, I want to.” Embarrassment flashed across

Derrick’s features, and then he laughed. “Oh, that didn’t
sound too good did it?”

“No, it didn’t. I might totally misinterpret that.” Race

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joined in Derrick’s laughter.

Race had always considered himself straight. Sure, he

might have had a couple of minor experiences with other
guys along the way, but just about everyone had from what
he could tell. The idea that slowly formed in his head—of

doing something major, with Derrick—took him by surprise
at first. But the more he thought about it, the more it
seemed like the right thing, the natural progression of their
friendship.

In fact, now that he entertained the thought, a lot of

what  he’d  been  feeling  lately  finally  clicked  into  place.  The
way  he’d  thought  about  Derrick  in  so  many  inappropriate
situations,  and  how  often  he’d  become  aroused  at  physical
contact with him. Race’s inexplicable and increasing feelings
of jealousy toward Stella should have made him realize what
had  been  happening  long  before  now.  Somehow  along  the
way,  Race  had  fallen  in  love  with  Derrick  and  only  now
realized the depth and significance of their connection.

Unaware of what Race was thinking, Derrick went back

to  the  task  of  applying  the  soothing  gel  to  Race’s  inflamed
skin just as gently and tenderly as he had done before. This
time, Race let himself enjoy the feel of Derrick’s hands on his
skin,  considering  what  it  might  be  like  if  Derrick  were
touching  him  in  a  different  way.  He  thought  about  the  way
his  body  had  reacted  to  Derrick’s  touch  earlier  that  day  in
the  trailer,  and  he  realized  that  it  wasn’t  such  a  stretch  to
discover that he wanted Derrick to touch him in a whole new
way.

“Rick?”

Disguises | EM Lynley

“What?”

“Well, since we’re being all honest about things

tonight….”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to tell you that feels really good. Really, really

good.” Hey, might as well test the waters here, Race thought.

“Oh! I can stop.” Derrick pulled his hands off of Race.

“I meant it more like… I liked it and don’t want you to

stop.”  Race  wished  he  could  see  Derrick’s  face  now,  to  get
some  idea  of  his  reaction.  Race  was  even  a  bit  surprised  at
himself  that  he’d  said  anything.  A  terrible  thought  crossed
his  mind.  What  if  Derrick  wasn’t  actually  attracted  to  him?
What  if  Race’s  feelings  weren’t  mutual?  That  would  be  way
more  awkward  than  if  he  were.  But  Derrick  put  his  hand
back on Race, continuing to smooth the gel on Race’s back,
and then moved down to work on the welts on Race’s thighs.
The soft, intimate touch had the same effect on him now as
it  had  earlier,  in  Derrick’s  trailer.  Race  could  feel  himself
getting aroused again, but this time he didn’t try to fight it.

“I guess I need to do your ass now,” Derrick said.

“Okay.”

“Well, you need to pull your shorts down.”

“You can do it.”

“Race, stop fucking with me; it’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be funny. I want you to do it,” Race

said.

Derrick made a noise that indicated he was annoyed,

Disguises | EM Lynley

but he tucked his fingers into the waistband of Race’s boxer-
briefs anyway.

Race could feel Derrick’s hands shake slightly as he

slowly slid them down Race’s hips. “See? That wasn’t so
difficult. It can’t be the first time you’ve pulled a guy’s shorts
down.”

“It’s the first time I’ve pulled your shorts down.” Derrick

daubed gel on quickly and pulled the boxer-briefs back up

Race’s hips. And maybe not the last, Race mused as he rolled
over onto his back, not even attempting to hide his growing
erection. Derrick was looking at his face and didn’t notice.

“Thank you,” Race said, and he meant it.

“You know, I’m just gonna leave the—” Derrick started

to say, nervously stopping as he saw the obvious outline of
Race’s cock through the thin cotton. “Race, I told you not to
fucking tease me.”

“I’m not teasing,” Race noticed the tell-tale bulge

growing in Derrick’s jeans. “I told you I liked it when you
touched me, and I meant it. I want you to… touch me some
more.” Race’s voice went up slightly, turning his statement
into a request.

“Look, I shared something really important with you

tonight. Please don’t turn it into a game.”

“I’m not joking, and I’m sorry if you think I am. I’m

serious.”

“But we’re friends! You’re my best friend. If I… if we….”

He glanced away from Race and turned his eyes toward the

ceiling for a moment. “I don’t want to lose that. I can’t lose

Disguises | EM Lynley

that. You know you’re the most important person to me,
outside of my family.”

“You’ve never thought it could be more than

friendship?” Race had no idea where this was coming from,
but it felt like the right thing to say just then… to suggest. It
seemed like the most important thing in the world.

“You’re straight. It never seemed like a possibility, so I

didn’t want to even consider it and be disappointed.”

“Well, you were wrong about me. I guess you weren’t the

only  one  hiding  a  secret.”  Race’s  mouth  seemed  to  have
disconnected  from  his  brain.  He  had  no  idea  what  he  was
saying.  All  he  knew  was  he  definitely  wanted  more  from
Derrick than friendship, and he wanted it now.

“So, what… you’re saying you’re bi? That you’ve been

with guys before?” The surprise in Derrick’s voice was
obvious.

“Yes,” Race lied. He’d never seriously thought about

sleeping with another man before. But this was  Derrick, not
just any man.  And that made it entirely  different. He knew,
though,  that  if  he  told  Derrick  the  truth,  there  was  every
chance  that  he  would  leave.  Race  wasn’t  sure  Derrick
couldn’t believe he really wanted more than friendship. Rick
would  think  he  was  just  caught  up  in  the  moment  or
reacting  to  the  debacle  with Eliza.  Derrick  wouldn’t  want  to
do anything that would destroy their friendship. But now, it
felt  to  Race  like  there  was  only  one  way  to  save  it.  “Please,
Rick?  I  want  you  so  badly—to  be  much  more  than  just
friends.”

Derrick looked down into Race’s eyes for a moment and

Disguises | EM Lynley

must  have  believed  his  sincerity.  Race  knew  just  saying  it
wouldn’t  convince  Derrick.  But  Race’s  eyes  and  body  did.
Very  slowly  Derrick  leaned  down  and  brushed  his  lips
against  Race’s.  Their  gentle  softness  blazed  across  the
millions  of  sensitive  nerve  endings  in  Race’s  own  lips  and
nearly made him gasp out loud at the pleasure of that simple
touch.

Derrick pulled back slightly. “You’re sure about this?”

Race nodded, eyes fixed on Derrick’s, and absently

licked his lower lip at the thought of what would happen
next. He was never more sure of anything before—or more
frightened that he might have gone about this all the wrong
way.

“Do that again,” Derrick whispered.

“Do what?”

“Lick your lower lip.”

Race did, loving the way Derrick watched hungrily as

the tip of Race’s tongue swept slowly across his full lower lip,
mouth falling open. Derrick pulled Race close, wrapping his
arms around him. Then he leaned down and gently swiped
his tongue across Race’s lip, following the path Race’s own
tongue had taken, only even more slowly.

At that, Race’s cock twitched, which Derrick clearly took

as encouragement.

Race didn’t know what to say or do. Derrick’s body

against  his  felt  so  good;  he  wanted  to  respond  to  Derrick’s
tongue  but  was  afraid.  Not  of  kissing  or  touching  or  even
fucking  Derrick.  What  Race  feared  was  that  Derrick  might

Disguises | EM Lynley

stop and let go of him, and their friendship would never

recover, because that would be the worst thing in the world.

Instead Derrick focused his attention on Race’s mouth,

this time licking a trail across each lip in turn.

“Mmmm, I always thought about how gorgeous your

mouth is, and your lips taste as good as they look.”

Race had never wanted a kiss so much in his entire life.

He  let  Derrick  set  the  pace,  not  wanting  to  seem  too
aggressive  or  too  needy.  Finally,  Derrick  pressed  his  lips  to
Race’s  for  a  soft  kiss,  and  a  slight  brush  of  tongue  against
Race’s  lip,  before  taking  the  lower  lip  into  his  mouth  and
sucking  at  it.  Race  thought  he  would  explode  at  how
incredible that felt. Race let Derrick lick and suck at his lips,
feasting on them with such intensity it was as if he’d finally
been  allowed  to  do  something  he’d  wanted  to  do  for  a  very
long time.

It felt the same way to Race; it all felt so natural, so

right to be with Derrick that he marveled at how he hadn’t
figured it out or acted upon his urges sooner.

“Oh, Race. Love your mouth. Thought about it, about

this,” Derrick murmured against Race’s mouth as they
kissed, and it sent a thrill all the way to Race’s toes and all

of  his  more  erogenous  spots.  Derrick  had  thought  about  it!
Race’s  cock  was  so  hard,  he  thought  he  would  die,  and
Derrick hadn’t even gotten his tongue into Race’s mouth yet.
This  first  encounter  wasn’t  going  to  last  long,  he  thought.
Then  Derrick’s  tongue  gently  parted  his  lips,  entering  and
exploring  his  mouth.  Race’s  tongue  met  it,  and  they  spent
delicious  minutes  discovering  each  other  in  a  whole  new

Disguises | EM Lynley

way.  Derrick  was  an  amazingly  talented  kisser,  but  it  was
the  sounds  he  was  making  that  pleased  Race  even  more
than  the  sensations  taking  over  his  mouth  and  body.
Knowing that Derrick wanted this, was enjoying it, enjoying

Race, was more than enough.

Derrick’s mouth and hands trailed down Race’s throat

and  neck,  along  his  shoulders,  carefully  avoiding  the  areas
Eliza  had  damaged.  While  they  kissed  Derrick  had  removed
his  own  clothes,  and  Race  had  hardly  noticed.  Feeling
Derrick’s  naked  body  on  top  of  him,  huge  erection  digging
into  his  hip,  Race  definitely  took  notice.  He  let  his  hands
play  along  Derrick’s  smooth  muscular  arms  and  shoulders
and  back,  tracing  each  muscle  as  if  to  memorize  its
contours.  When  Derrick’s  mouth  reached  for  one  of  Race’s
painfully  sore  nipples,  it  caused  him  to  inhale  suddenly,
reminding  Derrick  to  be  careful.  Derrick  rolled  off  of  Race
and reached  for the  tube of gel,  soothing and  stroking each
nipple gently until he had Race moaning and arching up into
his  hand.  Derrick  softly  kissed  each  mark  and  welt  his
mouth  discovered,  healing  Race  with  tenderness,  as  he
moved  slowly  down  his  body.  Race  fisted  his  hands  in
Derrick’s  shaggy  mop  of  hair,  feeling  how  silky  soft  it  was.
He’d never realized that. So many things he’d never realized
about  his  best  friend  until  today.  But  now  he’d  have  the
chance to discover everything about him.

When Derrick’s lips touched his cock, the whimper that

escaped  Race’s  mouth  startled  even  him,  and  he  hoped  it
wasn’t  as  loud  as  it  sounded.  The  feel  of  Derrick’s  tongue
licking  down  the  length  and  then  back  up,  swirling  around
the head and gently poking into the slit, was unlike anything

Disguises | EM Lynley

Race had felt before. He’d had plenty of blow jobs in his life,

some of them amazing, but this time it was  Derrick’s mouth
doing  these  things  to  him,  and  that  was  still  a  bit
overwhelming. Race nearly came but he wanted this to go on
forever,  never  wanted  Derrick  to  take  his  mouth  off  of  him.

Race had no idea how much hotter it was watching Derrick
as he continued licking and sucking, and his hands explored
more of Race’s body. He felt soft fingers caressing his balls,
slowly moving farther back, ghosting around his hole before
gently touching him. Race let out a moan, surprised at how
wonderful it felt and how desperate he was for more.

“Mmmm, Rick… want you inside me,” Race said softly.

He  was  pretty  sure  he  meant  it  too.  At  first  he’d  said  it  to
avoid Derrick figuring out that Race didn’t know how to fuck
a  guy.  But  the  more  Derrick  touched  him,  and  the  more
aroused  Race  got,  he  meant  it  one  hundred  percent.  He
couldn’t think of anyone else he’d want for his first time—or
at all, really. Race was pretty sure he wouldn’t be doing this
with anyone else but Derrick, ever.

Derrick lifted his head off of Race’s cock.

“Race, the lube? And a condom?”

Huh? Race almost said out loud before he remembered

he should have all that stuff. He reached over to the drawer
of the night table, pulled out what Derrick needed, and
handed it to him. Derrick squeezed some lube into one hand
and bent back down, resuming where he’d left off with
Race’s cock. Race just lay there, letting Derrick touch him in
amazing ways and trying not to make too much noise.

A fingertip slipped its way down to whisper around his

Disguises | EM Lynley

entrance  again  then  smoothly  circle  it  a  few  times,  and  he
sighed  gently  at  the  touch.  Derrick  was  still  sucking  and
licking  at  his  cock,  and  Race  focused  his  attention  there
until  the  fingertip  poked  its  way  inside.  He  didn’t  mean  to
flinch, but he couldn’t help it. The finger slid out again, and
then in just a tiny bit. That wasn’t so bad, he thought. Race
had partners who had pushed a fingertip in before, and he’d
enjoyed  it,  but  this  was  entirely  different.  Derrick’s  finger

went a little farther in, a little more. Fuck, Derrick has long

fingers. The finger just kept going very slowly, and Race
relaxed which made it hurt only a little bit. The finger pulled
out and then went back in.

Ooh, that’s starting to feel okay—more than okay—now.

Race let out a little moan. There was some more sliding and
some  twisting  and  wiggling,  and he  could  feel  himself  being
stretched open very slowly and gently. There was only some
slight  discomfort  but  no  actual  pain.  And  every  so  often,
Derrick  would  glance  up  and  let  his  gaze  meet  Race’s,  and
Race could see how much Derrick was enjoying this, and he
spread  himself  open  even  more.  He  trusted  Derrick
completely.

So far so good, he thought, until a second finger tried to

join the first one. Race tensed up again, and Derrick stopped
moving his hand until Race relaxed. Then he began again
the sliding and twisting and wiggling. Race could feel the

fingers moving around inside him. And then—holy fuck!—
Derrick brushed up against Race’s prostate, and he thought

he’d died and gone to heaven. It felt so fucking good. Derrick
was still stretching him open, but Race wanted him to hit
that spot again and started moving his hips around, trying

Disguises | EM Lynley

to make that happen, groaning in frustration.

“Ah, getting impatient now?” Derrick chuckled and

glanced up with a smile at Race, who could only nod. He was
no longer in control of his body, and it moved of its own
accord, chasing the pleasure Derrick’s fingers offered.

Derrick again touched his lips to Race’s cock, swiping

his  tongue  along  the  length  and  finally  took  it  into  his
mouth,  tonguing  the  head  as  he  continued  to  work  his
fingers  inside.  Race  had  never  felt  anything  like  it  in  his
entire  life,  and  he  grunted  something  to  that  effect  because
words were beyond his capabilities.

Then a third finger slipped in. Race tried moving around

some more and—yes! The fingers hit the magical spot again
and… again. Then Race shuddered uncontrollably, coming
suddenly and shooting into Derrick’s mouth, surprising both
of them. Derrick didn’t manage to swallow everything; some
dribbled down his chin as he smiled up at Race, those
familiar dimples winking.

Race stared in awe at the sight of his come on Derrick’s

lips and chin. When Derrick wiped it off with a finger and
then licked the finger clean—watching that would have made
Race come if he hadn’t just done so. It was just so fucking

hot.

“You have no idea how many times I thought about

doing that too.” Derrick smiled up at Race who was still
speechless, a combination of what was arguably the best
blow job of his life and that fact that his best friend had just

swallowed his load. How much better could it be next time?
“All those breaks we had between scenes? We could have

Disguises | EM Lynley

been in one trailer or another doing this.” Derrick gave Race
a wicked grin and a chuckle, and then pushed his fingers
back inside of Race’s welcoming body. “You’re so tight. Been
a while, huh?” Derrick asked.

“Yeah, long time.” Like never.

“We can slow down, not do this yet.” Derrick slipped his

fingers out, and Race couldn’t believe how much he wanted
them back inside.

“I want to.” It was more a groan than words and Derrick

smiled, understanding Race’s meaning clearly.

“I’ll go slow then, take good care of you.” Derrick’s voice

was full of reassurance. “We can stop any time you want to.
Just let me know.” He gently inserted those deliciously long
fingers  back  inside,  working  them  around  some  more,  and
then  pulled  them  out  and  put  more  lube  on  before
reinserting them and stretching some more. Race had never
felt  anything  like  this  before  and  he  was  surprised  at  how
much  he  enjoyed  it.  He  closed  his  eyes  and  let  the  new
sensations  overwhelm  his  body,  not  even  bothering  to
suppress  his  moans.  He’d  never  expected  it  would  feel  so
incredible  and  he  wanted  more.  He  hadn’t  been  sure  just
how  far  he  was  prepared  to  go,  but  the  way  Derrick  made
him feel combined with the obvious tenderness in the way he
touched Race convinced him that he wanted this now.

“Ready?”

Race opened his eyes and met Derrick’s gaze—serious

but loving at the same time.

“Yeah, ready.” Race felt ready, and the fingers had felt

so good that he knew Derrick’s cock would feel even better;

Disguises | EM Lynley

because it was Derrick, and Derrick was going to be nice and
gentle  when  he  made  love  to  him.  Race  would  share
everything  with  Derrick  now.  Everything  Race  had  to  give:
his days, his nights, his body, his life, his love. He watched
Derrick  put  the  condom  on  and  then  move  between  Race’s
legs,  spreading  him  open  by  pulling  a  knee  out  toward  the
side.

Race suddenly felt very self-conscious and vulnerable,

until Derrick’s gaze met his again. He could see the emotion
in his eyes, the raw desire, and all Race wanted to do was let
Derrick in and give him anything and everything he wanted.

“Race, I almost don’t believe this is happening. Twenty-

four hours ago I wouldn’t have thought it was possible.
Maybe Stella didn’t fuck everything up after all. If it hadn’t
been for her, I wouldn’t have told you.”

“We would have missed out on this, then, so I’m not

sorry that Stella ran off with Caitlin.”

Derrick pressed just the tip of his cock to Race’s hole

and started to slide inside. It’s not all that different from the

fingers, Race thought. I’m really doing this! Derrick continued
to push in very slowly, as if savoring his very first sensation
of  being  inside  of  Race.  From  the  look  on  his  face—half-
closed  eyes,  biting  his  lower  lip—Race  could  tell  that  it  was
good for Derrick. He loved the way that made him feel… that
his  body  was  giving  Derrick  such  pleasure.  Race’s  eyes
widened  and  he  tensed  up  slightly  as  the  stretch  became  a
burn. Almost instinctively Derrick paused and looked deeply
into Race’s eyes with obvious concern.

“We can stop anytime you want, Race,” Derrick

Disguises | EM Lynley

reassured him as he stroked Race’s cheek with the back of
his fingers. Race closed his eyes and concentrated on the
simple gentle touch and got control of his breathing.

“No! Don’t stop, just really slowly, please.”

“You’re sure? I don’t want to hurt you. We can take

everything a lot more slowly than this, you know.”

“I want you,” Race whispered.

Derrick gazed down into his eyes and Race nodded.

Derrick resumed his movements, slowly and gradually filling
Race up, but taking his time so that Race never felt any
actual pain.

It was even better than Race ever expected once Derrick

was  completely  inside  of  him.  Race  had  never  felt  anything
like  this,  so  completely  filled  up  and  so  desired,  with
Derrick’s  arms  around  him  so  tightly.  He  could  smell
Derrick’s shampoo and for some reason that made Race even
happier.

Derrick leaned down and captured Race’s mouth in a

kiss  before  he  began  to  move  again,  very  slowly  at  first,
waiting until he could see and feel that Race was okay; then
a  bit  faster—going  in  all  the  way  on  each  stroke.  He  moved
Race’s  hips  around  and  shifted  positions  and  angles,
producing  so  many  different  sensations  that Race  just  lay
back  and  enjoyed  these  brand-new  feelings.  Derrick  kissed
Race and caressed his body, while Derrick’s cock continued
to do wonderful things inside of him.

“So… good… Rick.” Race felt his own cock stir again.

Derrick took hold of it and stroked him to full hardness with
a couple of quick movements. Race bucked his hips again,

Disguises | EM Lynley

trying to get Derrick to brush that wonderful spot inside, but
also  wanting  to  feel  Derrick’s  hand  on  him  again.  A  little
drop of sweat trickled down Derrick’s forehead and down to
the tip of his nose as he looked down into Race’s eyes. Race
looked  back,  thinking  how  many  thousands  of  times  he’d
looked into those hazel eyes, but this time he saw something
new—not  just  the  dark  want  in  the  wide-blown  pupils,  but
strong emotion. Much more than the reflection of Race’s own
feelings;  he  saw  Derrick’s  love,  and  that  made  Race  melt
inside that much more.

“Gonna come again for me, Race?” Derrick’s voice was

breathy and deep, like liquid sex.

“Yeah, oh yeah,” Race started to say, but his words

deteriorated  into  groans  and  grunts,  unintelligible  noises
that got louder and louder as Derrick pushed into him faster
and harder. He felt like he was floating in space, only aware
of the feel of Derrick’s fingers caressing the head of his cock
and  Derrick inside  him brushing  against  his prostate.  Then
he  saw  a  bright  flash,  and  his  body  exploded  in  the  most
delicious way. He felt the hot, wet splash of his own release
across  his  stomach  and  chest.  His  muscles  were  still
squeezing  around  Derrick’s  cock  when  he  heard  Derrick’s
groans,  felt  him  pumping  deep  inside,  and  he  opened  his
eyes  so he could  watch  Derrick’s face. Race  had  never seen
anything  as  beautiful  as  the  way  Derrick  looked  when  he

was  coming  inside  of  him.  Derrick  collapsed  in  a  sweaty,
helpless heap on Race’s chest, but the weight felt comforting,
not  heavy  or  oppressive  as  they  lay  together—a  layer  of
sweat  and  Race’s  come  slick  between  them—until  their
breathing slowed.

Disguises | EM Lynley

Derrick rolled onto his back and removed the condom,

tossing it in a trash can near the bed. Taking some tissues
from the night table, Derrick cleaned Race up before pulling
him close, Race resting his head on Derrick’s chest.

“Was that what you were expecting?” Derrick asked him

in a throaty whisper. Race looked up at Derrick, at the face
he knew almost as well as his own.

“No,” he said and saw Derrick’s face fall. “It was much

better.”

Derrick smiled and kissed Race for a few minutes.

“You never did that before, did you?” Derrick asked,

sounding amused.

“Yes, I have.”

“Before tonight?” Derrick clarified the question.

“Uh, no… not before tonight. You could tell?”

“Why did you lie?” Derrick ignored Race’s question.

“I didn’t think you’d stay unless I did. And I was afraid

I’d  ruined  our  friendship  by  wanting  you  so  much.  I  hadn’t
realized  myself  that  I’d  been  wanting  you  for  a  while  now.  I
just  hadn’t  understood  how  deep  my  feelings  for  you  were,
until  tonight.”  Race  reached  up  to  touch  Derrick’s  face,  to
run  his  fingers  through  the  slightly  sweat-dampened  hair.
Race decided he wouldn’t lie to Derrick anymore, ever again.
Maybe  Derrick  had  kept  the  truth  about  his  sexual
orientation  from  him,  but  Race  realized  he’d  been  lying  to
himself about  his feelings  for Derrick. He  was just  as guilty
as  Derrick of  hiding  behind a  disguise.  Keeping secrets  had
nearly  meant  they  would  have  missed  out  on  this,  on  a

Disguises | EM Lynley

future together as the closest of friends, as lovers.

“Tomorrow we need to go back to just being friends,”

Derrick told him, his tone serious. “I think it’s for the best.”

“What?” Race thought he might cry at the thought of

that, of never knowing Derrick’s touch like this again. Not

now, not after Race finally understood that he loved Derrick.
He couldn’t bear the thought that someone else would have
Derrick when he couldn’t.

“Just kidding. I couldn’t possibly give this up, even if I

wanted to.” Derrick grinned and pulled Race closer, and they
both drifted off to sleep.

They

woke up well before the alarm went off, and Derrick

made love to Race again before they took a shower together,
where  they  kissed  and  cuddled  and  laughed  under  the  hot
water  like  teenagers.  Race  didn’t  completely  understand
exactly  why  and  how  their  friendship  had  escalated  so
quickly, but he didn’t care and it seemed as if Derrick didn’t
either.  It  just  seemed  so  right,  a  natural  extension  of  the
feelings they both already had for each other. Race knew he
hadn’t  made  a  mistake  by  giving  into  his  emotions  and
instincts the night before.

Race dressed and found a clean shirt for Derrick to wear

to  the  set,  so  he  wouldn’t  have  to  show  up  in  exactly  what
he’d  been  wearing  the  day  before.  While  they  waited  for  the
studio  car  to  pick  them  up,  Derrick  brought  up  the  subject
they  had  been  discussing  the  night  before,  with  obvious

Disguises | EM Lynley

reluctance.

“I still need to figure out what to do about Stella.”

Derrick paced around Race’s living room, fists alternately
clenching and relaxing, while Race sat on the couch
watching.

“I honestly don’t see how leaving a network party with

two of the hottest chicks there could hurt your image.” Race
hoped  he  could  reassure  Derrick.  He  hated  seeing  the
expression  of  doubt  and  concern  on  Derrick’s  face  “Having
your  ‘girlfriend’  run  around  and  get  photographed  in  public
kissing another girl isn’t so good,” Derrick reminded him.

“The press will probably just chalk it up to a little too

much partying, and as long as it doesn’t happen again, you
could just continue your relationship as before. But I guess
you can’t be sure about how she’ll act in public anymore.”
Race frowned slightly.

“I could break up with her and say it’s because of her

behavior, but then she could out me just from spite if I did.
I’d effectively be outing her if I did it that way.” Derrick made
another circuit of the room.

“Why do you think she’d do that? She’s kept both of

your secrets all this time, hasn’t she? Maybe she’s as tired of
hiding  as  you  are  and  she  just  wants  to  change  the
agreement.  Sure,  she  should  have  talked  to  you  about  it
before  she  got  Caitlin  involved  publicly,  but  I  think  you
probably  need  to  sit  down  and  discuss  the  future  with  her
honestly  and  calmly.  You’ve  been  genuine  friends  all  this
time, right?” Derrick nodded, and a thoughtful look crossed
his  face.  “And  speaking  of  sitting  down:  You’re  making  me

Disguises | EM Lynley

nervous the way you’re doing laps around the living room.”

“I am?” Derrick stopped suddenly. He looked as if he

only just realized he’d been pacing.

Race patted the cushion next to him. “Take a load off

and conserve some of that energy for the set.”

Derrick sat down next to Race and looked a bit more

composed.

Race felt more relaxed too, and he enjoyed having

Derrick close to him again, but he tried not to think about

that  just  now.  There  were  far  more  important  issues  they
both  needed  to  concentrate  on.  “You  don’t  want  to  destroy
your  friendship  with  Stella  or  harm  either  of  your  careers,
right? So the way you handle this is going to determine how
the press and public react to the news.”

“I hadn’t really considered that. But you’re right. The

less  drama  there  is,  the  more  likely  it  won’t  turn  into  an
embarrassing  scandal.  If  either  of  us  does  anything  hurtful
to  the  other,  it’s  going  to  be  very  bad  PR  for  both  of  us.”
Derrick glanced around the room, his gaze drifting from one
piece of furniture to another, as if the idea of remaining still
was impossible for him to contemplate.

“What about waiting a while to break up? Then maybe

no one will connect it directly with the party.”

“Oh, that’s a good plan. I need to talk to Stella about it,

but I think she would go along with that.” Derrick sighed. “I
was so mad at her I was gonna make her stay at a hotel. But
you’ve given me a different perspective on the whole
situation. It’s not about me; it’s about both of us, and we
need to work through this together.” He leaned over and gave

Disguises | EM Lynley

Race a soft kiss. “Thank you for helping me deal with this
more rationally.”

Race felt a wave of something approaching euphoria

wash  across him as  he  realized that Derrick  needed  him as
much  as  he’d  come  to  realize  he  needed  Derrick—not
physically,  but  emotionally,  for  advice  and  support.  He
reached out to gently stroke the back of Derrick’s arm before
he replied.

“Even if you don’t work it out right away, you probably

don’t want to ask her to go to a hotel, that’s kind of public.
Someone from the press would notice, and you’d have more
explaining to do. Let her stay at your place and you can stay
here with me.” Race added an inviting smile, thinking about
having  Derrick  all  to  himself  for  a  few  days  and  nights.  He
knew their night  together had only scratched  the surface of
new  experiences  they  could  share,  and  he  was  more  than
eager to learn more.

“Thanks, I really appreciate that. Even if I can tell it’s

not motivated entirely by altruism.” Derrick leaned over and
planted another more insistent kiss on Race’s mouth. A kiss
that  ended  entirely  too  soon  for  Race’s  liking,  but  he
remembered  they  were  waiting  for  their  ride  to  the  set,  so
there  wasn’t  time to  get  distracted.  “How  about if  you  come
with me when I talk to her? Then I won’t be alone with her.
And you’ll keep me on my best behavior.”

“I will if you’re sure you want me there, but I think you

should have this discussion in private. If I go, it looks like
it’s more about us than about you and Stella.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way.” Derrick looked

Disguises | EM Lynley

thoughtful. “Do you want me to keep it a secret from Stella…
about us, I mean?”

“I think I need some time to process everything that’s

happened; so maybe that would be best, at least for the time
being. Once you and Stella work things out, you and I will

need to decide how to handle this… whatever this is.” Race
felt suddenly self-conscious in a way he never had in front of
Derrick before. Oh yes, things had definitely changed
between them, and they could never go back.

“Actually, Stella won’t be too surprised when we tell

her.”

“Why not? Does she think I’m gay?” Race realized he

actually was gay—well, bi—but it still hadn’t quite sunk in
yet.

“She knows I’ve had a crush on you and that I’d been

too afraid to say anything. She’ll be thrilled to know how it
worked out and that you were the one who started it.”

Race felt his face and neck heat up to the point that he

would  gladly  have  jumped  into  a  cold  shower.  He  had  been
the  one  to  start  things  when  he’d  admitted  to  Derrick  how
excited he’d  gotten and  that he  wanted Derrick.  What must
Stella—and Derrick—think of him?

“Hey, you’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Derrick’s smile was warm and reassuring. “You have no idea
how glad I am you did.”

Race quickly changed the topic back to Stella. “So, the

plan is for you to go and talk to her tonight after work? And
you know… I think I like you better when you’re not on your
best behavior.” Race gave a slight wink, and Derrick smiled

Disguises | EM Lynley

in return, lifting Race’s spirits. He hated seeing Derrick down
in  the  dumps  the  way  he  had  been  the  past  two  days,
stressing  about  Stella’s  behavior  and  its  possible  effect  on
his career. But now that Derrick had a plan on how to deal
with  her,  he  seemed  much  more  cheerful.  Of  course,  Race
wanted  to  think  that  the  wonderful  night  they’d  spent
together  had  something  to  do  with  the  huge  smile  on
Derrick’s  face.  Race  knew  he  probably  had  a  ridiculously
sappy-in-love  smile  every  time  he  glanced  in  Derrick’s
direction, and he better watch himself on the set, lest any of
the cast or crew figure out the direction their friendship had
just taken.

A honk in the street told them the studio car was there.

This  wasn’t  the  first  time  Derrick  had  stayed  overnight  at
Race’s, so it wasn’t completely unexpected for their driver to
find them both climbing into the back of the SUV, therefore
they  didn’t  worry  about  what  the  driver  might  think  or  say.
They  would  need  to  decide  how  to  handle  their  new
relationship in public, but that could wait for later. They still
hadn’t  really  discussed  much  just  yet  because  they’d  been
too  busy  exploring  each  other  to  think  about  anything
beyond sorting out the Stella situation.

The

day’s shooting went extremely well, with the main

problems  caused  by  technical  issues  and  not  by  distracted
actors,  which  was  a  relief  to  the  whole  crew  after  the
disastrous  filming  the  previous  morning.  The  chemistry
between  Race  and  Derrick  was  better  than  ever,  and  their
scenes  just  flowed  with  very  few  extra  takes  needed.  The

Disguises | EM Lynley

director  was  thrilled  with  their  progress  and  gave  them  an
early  lunch  break.  Derrick  and  Race  immediately  went  to
Race’s  trailer  and were  in  each  other’s  arms  as soon  as  the
door  was  locked.  They  didn’t  want  to  risk  being  found  out
just yet so they just lay together on Race’s bed, kissing and
holding  each  other,  enjoying  the  quiet  closeness  and  their
new shared secret.

After they wrapped for the day, they were driven to

Race’s where Derrick picked up his car to go back to his own
apartment  and  talk  to  Stella.  They’d  decided  it  was  best  for
Derrick  to  go  alone  for  this  particular  conversation.  Derrick
also didn’t want Stella to know that Race was anything more
than a friend until he and  Race had discussed their future.
Derrick worried that if Stella saw them together now she’d be
able  to guess  the truth.  She was  always good  at picking  up
on subtleties like that.

Race waited for Derrick to come back with some clothes,

since he’d be staying for a few days until Stella left town.

And many more times after that, Race thought with a
mischievous grin. He had plenty of ideas of how to spend the
time.

There was a knock at the door and Race let Derrick in.

Before  he  could  close  the  door,  Derrick  grabbed  him  and
pushed him against the wall for a hot, needy kiss. The force
of  it  bumped  Race  against  the  small  table  in  the  hallway,
knocking  it  over,  and  shattering  the  lamp  that  sat  there.

Fuck, not another lamp! Race thought but not really caring at
all as he gave in to Derrick’s ardor. They could go shopping
together and buy new lamps that were a bit sturdier than

Disguises | EM Lynley

the ones that Race had recently lost.

They ended up in Race’s bed, naked and hard,

devouring each other’s bodies, much more passionate and
desperate than they’d been the previous two times. As they
lay together afterward, Race was more certain than ever that
he’d made the right decision the night before.

Derrick put some more gel on Race’s welts, which were

starting to disappear. As Race lay on his back, Derrick
looked into his eyes and traced a fingertip along the bow of
his upper lip.

“Rick,” Race said softly. “I thought Marc Antony was

pretty hot. I wouldn’t mind it if he came over and conquered
some new territory for the Roman Empire.”

“That could be arranged.” Derrick laughed and kissed

Race again and again. “But I already had some idea of what I
wanted to do this weekend.”

“Oh you did? What did you have in mind?” Race asked,

suspecting it was going to be immensely enjoyable. Derrick
reached up and pulled the Fedora off the bedpost where it
was perched, settling it onto Race’s head.

“I thought it might be nice to spend the weekend in

Indiana.”

EM Lynley

works in the wine industry, though she'd rather

be writing hot, sexy man-on-man action. She spent ten years
as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a
White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern
positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with
dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back
and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in
London, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C., but the San
Francisco Bay Area is home for now.

Visit her web site at http://www.emlynley.com, her blog at
http://emlynley.livejournal.com,

her

Twitter

page

http://twitter.com/emlynley,

and

her

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/emlynley.

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Released in the United States of America
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