by Daya Daniels
I press a kiss to his cheek. “These are perfect. We should frame them.”
“Yeah, we should.”
We pull up outside of a building. I grin from ear to ear when I notice that we are outside of the Woodland Park Zoo. I turn to look at Zane and he’s already smiling that panty-melting smile of his.
“The zoo. Really?” I laugh out loud.
“Yes, now get out,” he says jokingly, scooting along the seat, taking me with him.
As soon as we step outside, I stretch and take in the hot sun that beats down on my skin. The weather is warm and there’s a soft breeze. Zane throws his arm around my shoulder.
“What are we going to do here?” I ask walking alongside him.
“What do you mean?” Zane laughs. “We’re going to walk around, look at some animals, have lunch, take pictures.”
“Oh.”
An afternoon without booze?!
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.”
I look up at him, through the tears that have welled in my eyes. Zane stops walking and takes my face in his hands. My tears flow freely down my cheeks. He lets out a loud exhale and kisses my lips, pulling me to his chest.
“I know sometimes it’s a bit much to be with me, Liv, but it’s not all of me. Please know that. Believe it or not I’m just a regular guy.” He laughs. “I’m just a regular guy who wants to be with a regular girl, doing regular stuff.”
I peer into his grey eyes and the look on his face only reminds me that he’s just like me. Zane is young, with a bright future but still trying to figure things out.
“We’re just kids, Liv,” he says dropping his shoulders. “Let’s really be kids today.” He lifts a finger. “I’m told there’s an ice cream stand inside.”
I giggle, wiping my wet cheeks.
Zane starts to sing I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash, along with doing a funny dance that nearly puts me into hysterics. His eyes brighten when I join in singing the words. At first I sing softly, then it gets loud and it’s bad. Like, American Idol reject bad.
Tarver stares at us from the curb with a twisted face that makes me laugh even more. He shakes his head and laughs, leaning against the SUV.
“Let’s just have fun today, Liv,” Zane says kissing my lips.
“Okay.”
He snatches my hand and we both dash inside.
Zane
So far, we’ve had ice cream, all sorts of snacks, and hot dogs for lunch. We stroll along a stone path, basking in the sun that beats down. I pull Liv against me.
“What was your favorite?”
She looks up at me with her blue eyes. “The gorillas.”
I laugh. “Yeah?”
“Yep, the gorillas.”
“Interesting.”
Liv kicks her legs out in front of us, being silly. “I like how they’re big, strong, protective, and dangerous but they’re gentle, kind-hearted and have the ability to be sooo sensitive and incredible. So human. So loving. The mixture of all that stuff fascinates me.”
I only hum.
“It reminds me of you,” she whispers.
“When you think of me, you think of gorillas?” I belt out a laugh.
“Noooo,” she whines, quickly backpedaling. “That’s not what I mean.”
I jerk her into my side with my arm. “I know what you mean, Liv. I’m just kidding with you.”
“What was your favorite?” she asks.
I run a hand over my jaw, suppressing my laugh. “The gorillas, actually.”
“No way.”
“Yes way, seriously. It’s one of my favorite animals, not that I’ve ever had one as a pet or anything.”
“Cool,” Liv whispers.
We head into one of the souvenir shops and look around for a little while. Liv puts random stuff in the basket I’m carrying—magnets, pencils, stuffed toys—a small monkey and a fish. I stroll behind her, watching how her plump ass sways in the cute little white shorts she’s wearing. I lift my gaze back to her face when she spins around to look at me. She takes a few more steps admiring stuff on the display.
“You’re looking at my ass,” she says without turning to face me.
“Yeah, what do you expect,” I breathe out.
Liv giggles. “How’s the album coming along?”
“It’s nearly done. It’ll be done soon. We’ve finished recording what I’m sure will be a hit song and the first single to be released.”
“What’s it called?” she asks quietly, pushing herself up on the balls of her feet.
“It’s called Bare, which will be the name of the album.”
Liv’s eyes dart around. She smiles in my direction. “Bare.”
“Yes.”
“Is it about me?” she asks.
I let out a small laugh. “Yeah.” I step closer to her.
She spins around craning her neck up to look at me. Her eyes take me in. “You wrote a song about me being naked?” she asks quietly.
I give her a clever smile and edge closer to her lips, kissing them softly. “No.”
Liv blinks her pretty eyes slowly.
“I wrote a song about your heart being naked,” I whisper.
Liv only giggles and rolls her eyes.
Liv
We were thirty-three thousand feet up in the air, over some random US state, in one of the sleekest Gulfstream jets I’ve ever been on.
I’m half asleep now, only stirring awake from the sensation of warm, wet tongue on my sensitive flesh. I moan and part my legs wider involuntarily, chasing the sensation. Zane’s head is buried between my thighs. The inky strands of his hair tickle my skin. I writhe against the soft sheets and peer out the window, only to see the twinkling stars and the pulsing red light on the wing tip of the airplane, which illuminates a corner of the room.
I tighten and quiver at the sensation of him licking and lapping at my flesh. His hands slip under me squeezing my ass. He groans, which sends a vibration up my spine. A pant leaves my mouth. I grip his shoulder, while he feasts on everything I’ve laid bare in front of him. He was at the buffet and I was the special. His tongue runs along my seam, only to settle on my sensitive nub. He parts my flesh with his fingers, exposing it and sucks hard. Instantly, my thighs quiver at the sensation. I breathe out, holding on to the sheets in my hand when he does it again. I whimper and moan feeling my orgasm close. Zane mumbles something into my skin and looks up at me. I nearly laugh when I see his entire face slicked in me.
His eyes are half-shut. His nose nudges into my slit, like he’s deliberately coating himself in my juices. It’s all over his face! His tongue slides out of his mouth and wraps around the bundle of sensitive nerves where I can already feel my heartbeat. He sucks lazily and then with more purpose. I tense and gasp, when an incredible orgasm rips through me. I sit up partway attempting to contain the noises that spill from my mouth.
Zane crawls up to me and wipes his face with the sheets. He kisses me, hard, and then hovers over me, giving me a burning gaze. It’s hot and needy. I just stare at him, mesmerized by how handsome he is. His muscular arms cage me in on both sides. He reaches down and pushes his boxer briefs down. Then eases down on top of me, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he whispers.
“Oh.”
“Thought I’d wake you. Hope it’s not a problem,” he says brushing his hardness along the inside of my wet thigh.
“No, no problem.”
He dips closer to my lips with his own. I can hear his breaths and the low hum of the jet engines.
I open my mouth to speak and then swallow my words back at the feeling of him pushing into me. I moan, tearing into his triceps as he slides into me, burying himself in my wetness. A soft kiss is pressed to my lips. His tongue slides into my mouth. The kiss is deep, possessive and everything a kiss should be. I inhale the fresh scent that lingers in the strands of his hair as they brush over my face.
Zane groans and breathes heavily, each time he tunnels deep inside of me. His
lips part and quiver, before a hiss leaves his mouth. His stroke is untying me as if I’m a tight knot. Each stroke pulls on the string, which unravels me. He hovers over me, when I take in the sight of his muscular chest under the light. He’s gorgeous and man and mine.
I cup his handsome face in my hands, watching the strained expressions that take over his features. His gaze makes me feel adorable—desire spills from his lips with every sigh, moan, and gasp that he lets out. His stroke is agonizing. I clench around him hard. He pulls out quickly and drops the heavy weight of his dick on my stomach, right before he comes all over me. The python jerks one, two, three, four, five times, hard in succession with Zane’s grunts. I stare at the milky mess curiously that he leaves on my skin. He growls and pushes back into me, still hard and continues his stroke.
He slams into me with all his weight, reminding me of how big and heavy he is and how helpless I am in his grasp. I’m covered in sweat and the bed is a mess. All the pillows have somehow found their way to the floor and the comforter is gone, all while this man searches for himself deeper inside of me. He isn’t worried about our surroundings or appearances or the fact that my hair is a sweaty, tangled disaster. He just keeps muscling me into the bed, reminding me that he’s in charge. I’m just along for the ride and the ride is-fucking-intense! I think I might need a helmet.
I whimper, while tears fall from my eyes and dribble into my ears. I look up at Zane and smile. He smiles back, right before he takes a deep breath and continues to beat into me at a merciless pace. I grab at nothing, gasping for air, looking for oxygen that my lungs so desperately need but the only thing that surrounds me is him. The heat that leaves his body is enough to melt me down to nothing. All sensibility has left my brain in this moment. It’s in a cloud that floats away from me and has been replaced by lust—pure, raw lust for this man.
He whispers into the shell of my ear, “I love you, Liv.”
I open my mouth to say something but the only thing that comes out is a scream! I’m coming apart all around him, while he hammers into me like I’m a spike in the ground.
“I love you,” I cry out. “I love you, so much.”
A fierce look overtakes his face while he peers into mine. He gazes at me and nearly suppresses a loud, long moan. He breathes out, allowing me to feel him releasing everything into me.
I pull him into me for a kiss.
“You have me, liv. You have fucking all of me,” he rasps into my ear.
CHAPTER NINE
Liv
It was eight at night and I was alone. I’d spent the last day working on a few sketches, which were mostly of the band and some of the travelling I’d done. The rest were of Zane—sleeping, playing his guitar, writing music or singing. I also now had an entire portfolio that was full of pictures of Charvi, which I thought were elegant.
I pad around the apartment we have in the Aria Sky Suites, which came complete with a recording studio so that Zane could work. The place is incredible—modern yet cozy. I head across the room to look out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the far wall. I have an unobstructed view of the Las Vegas Strip, which is complete with twinkling lights, the water fountains at the Bellagio and the Eiffel Tower replica at the Paris hotel. People walk the Strip in thick lines that seem endless. This city is busy. It never sleeps and the party is always on here.
I place my hand on the cool glass, wondering when exactly my life had changed. I feel so different. I am different. I find a seat on the sofa behind me and make myself comfortable. My phone dings. I pick it up and hit the faceplate, only to find a message from Wyatt.
“Are you up?”
I giggle and text back. “Yes, of course. It’s eight o’clock.”
“Let’s go out.”
“Now?’
“Yes!”
“But where? I’m underage here, remember?”
A picture of an angry face pops up. “We’ll work it out.”
“Okay.”
“Meet me downstairs in half an hour.”
“Okay.”
I chuckle and sit up straighter in my seat. I stand, stretch and head to the bathroom and hop in the shower. When I finish up, I put on a simple white cocktail dress and slip on some tan heels. I leave my hair out. I brush some hot-pink eye shadow across my eyelids and paint clear gloss on my lips. It’s a summery look. I slip a Coach wristlet on and head downstairs.
The elevator dings and I step outside. Pretty Thing by Broods sounds through the lobby. I shimmy out of the elevator doing a dance and crash right into the arms of Wyatt.
“You look incredible, Liv,” he says, spinning me around.
“Wow,” Rose says stepping forward, behind him.
The pair look dashingly handsome dressed in fitted shirts, tailored trousers, silk neck ties and super shiny shoes.
“We’ll be your escorts for the night since you’re clearly all by your lonesome,” Wyatt says, giving me a stare.
I shrug. “I don’t know where he is.”
“Well, his loss.” Wyatt chuckles.
His gaze darts around in Rose’s direction, when he mumbles something. He looks back towards me. “We have some RR execs in town. A few might join us. I hope you don’t mind. It was a last-minute kind of thing,” he rambles on.
The three of us head out to the valet where a black SUV is waiting. I step inside ahead of the two men and make myself comfortable. Rose takes a seat across from us. I bounce in place at how excited I am. Quickly, Rose pops a bottle of Brut and pours everyone a glass.
I snatch mine from him and taste the bubbly liquid.
“Cheers, to a great night and to the almost-end of an exhausting tour!” Wyatt shouts.
I laugh and drink up. I take another sip of the liquid and giggle. Wyatt babbles on about what nightclub we should go to and everything happening on the Strip tonight. The passenger door opens, breaking my focus on him. My stomach drops when familiar brown eyes come into view.
“Hey, guys. Thanks for inviting me,” the deep voice says.
I swallow hard and shift my legs to move further towards the window.
“Liv, this is—” Wyatt begins.
“It’s no problem. You don’t have to introduce us. We’re quite familiar.” He smirks.
If there was a hole in the floor, I would’ve dove into it. No... I would’ve military-crawled into it, even if it were possible that a pit of venomous snakes were at the bottom of it.
“Liv,” he says, placing a kiss on my cheek.
I was speechless—frozen, unable to move. I shut my eyes for a moment at the feeling of his lips on my skin. When I open them, Wyatt and Rose are already looking at me like curious monkeys.
“I’m sorry. You both know—” Wyatt starts to say.
“Yes, we’ve met before but I can reintroduce myself again if it’s necessary,” he says playfully extending a hand to me.
I take it allowing him to wrap his large hand around mine. I meet those brown eyes again, still not saying a word.
“Hello, Liv. I’m Ari,” he introduces, his voice trailing off into a whisper. “In case you forgot my name.”
“Heyyyy,” I breathe out, then clear my throat when a choking sensation suddenly creeps up on me. Am I being strangled?
“Okay, well since you both know each other already, then let’s get going,” Wyatt says, with an amused smile.
Rose sighs and finishes the entire glass of champagne in his hands. Ari reaches into the console and helps himself by pouring a glass of his own.
The SUV pulls away from the CityCenter. I finish my champagne and look to the left of me, taking in Ari’s profile. He looks as good as I remember. Tall, dark hair cut short, kind brown eyes, clean-shaven with supple pink lips. That mouth of his gave me my first orgasm when I was seventeen in my parents’ limo. It was on the night my father’s lawyer, Ben Berg, received the CLAY award.
Ari was Ben’s son and set to follow in his father’s footsteps. The two of us were three years apart. He was older. A
ri was super smart and had just graduated from Yale. I didn’t realize he was already working for RR.
When I lift my head from my lap, Ari’s already staring at me. I straighten in my seat and face him head-on.
“I didn’t realize you were working with your father.”
“Yeah, for a few months now. Eventually, I’m taking over his job when he retires very soon. I think he will stay on with RR in a consulting role but I will be the one handling all the grunt work—the contracts and negotiations, etcetera.”
I nod slowly and run and hand through my hair.
“You’re a college grad?” Rose asks nudging his chin in interest.
“Yeah,” Ari huffs. “Yale actually, like my father, his father and so forth.”
Rose’s brows lift, while he bobs his head a few times. “Nice.”
I allow my gaze to rake over the dark grey Armani suit Ari wears and the custom Stefano Bemer dress shoes that go along with it. He lifts his arm to take another sip of champagne. The cuff of his tailored dress shirt edges up to reveal the platinum Patek Phillipe watch that adorns his wrist. This man was walking money.
I suppress a laugh when I realize how different he is from Zane. I was certain Ari thought he was better than Zane, even though Zane’s individual net worth was substantially more than his. Ari was only wealthy because of his father. Zane was rich from his own talent.
“You’re all grown up, Liv,” Ari says looking me over from my shoes to the hair on my head.
“Yeah,” I say flatly turning to look out the window, watching the buildings go by as the vehicle moves along slowly.
“Stanton told me you’ve decided not to go off to college.”
“Yeah,” I whisper with a grimace.
Stanton didn’t talk about me with anyone, which meant Ari had to have asked. Ari opens his mouth to ask another question but I speak before he does.
“Wyatt, where are we going?”