by Cari Quinn
A few minutes later, he sank his hands into her hair and lifted her head, chuckling at the weak flutter of her lashes. “You okay?” He swallowed over the gravel in his throat. “Did I hurt you?”
“Yes.” Finally opening her eyes, she flashed him a grin that was pure mischief. “It was absolutely glorious.”
He laughed again and wrapped his arms around her waist. Now her watermelon scent brought him peace rather than pain. Her hair smelled of wildflowers, just as it always had, and that too only sweetened the moment. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Oh yes. Give me five and I’ll show you what else I think,” she teased.
When she dropped back down to his chest, he caressed her cheek, her jaw, her shoulder. He couldn’t stop touching her. Maybe if he kept touching her he could stave off the morning that had to come. It always did. “This meant everything to me,” he said, voice ragged.
“Me too.” She lifted her head. Tears brimmed on her lashes, nearly spilling over. “All I wanted was this. Just this.”
Framing her face in his hands, he tipped his forehead to hers. “Yeah.” He smudged his thumb under her eye, catching one of her tears. “You deserve so much more than me. But God, how am I supposed to give you up now?”
“You’re not,” she said fiercely. “Understand me? We’ve both given up too much for too long.” She snatched one of his hands and held it between her breasts. “You and me, we’re a team. Nothing can hurt us again.”
There were so many reasons that wasn’t true. But he went with the easy one, the one she wouldn’t hate him for. “Lila—”
“Fuck Lila. This isn’t about the band. This is about us. We were us before Oblivion existed. And we’ll be us long after they don’t.”
He glanced away, wanting that to be true so badly that he couldn’t speak. Until she said the rest.
“This isn’t just a one-time thing. We’re together now. Get that, Duffy? No going back. Tonight we made a promise to each other.”
As much as he hated having to argue, he couldn’t let this go. She needed to know what she was getting into. What he’d brought her into, willingly, because he wasn’t strong enough to keep her out. “Baby, you don’t understand—”
“Shh.” She closed his lips with her fingers and kissed the cleft in his chin. “I understand you’re mine. And I’m yours. Isn’t that right?” she demanded, almost daring him to fight the point.
But he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. How could he fight something he’d craved for so long?
He exhaled, his self-loathing growing with every passing moment. “Yes.”
“And we’re overdue on proving that to each other.” She shifted over him, rocking along his swiftly rousing cock. “I hope you took your vitamins today.”
Worlds lived behind her glittering blue eyes, ones he wanted nothing more than to explore. With her. Nothing made sense when she wasn’t at his side. The music had stopped, and right now, he didn’t need it. She was his melody. His breath and his heartbeat.
His very life, and the reason he still wanted to live it.
“Ditto.” He snagged his hand in her hair and flipped her over onto her back. Her giggle flowed over him, warm and precious and worth every sacrifice. “Better get ready, because I’m about to make up for a hell of a lot of lost time.”
Jazz woke to a softly strumming guitar. Still half-asleep, she smiled and burrowed deeper into pillows that smelled like the man she loved. She’d know the sage and cedarwood scent of his aftershave anywhere. The slightest hint of sweet smoke layered over it, a reminder of what had occurred the night before.
As if she’d ever forget the best night of her life.
Gray started to sing, his voice still husky from sleep. But his fingers were magic, like always. She grinned at the double meaning of that—oh so true—and opened her eyes, unable to wait even a second longer to look into the eyes she adored so much.
He sat cross-legged beside her, his beat-up guitar held in a loose grip. He played with such grace that she fixated on his hand for a good minute before she realized he was singing Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl”, except he’d changed the lyrics to fit the eye color of the girl in his bed.
She was in his bed.
She hugged that blissful reality to her chest, closing her eyes to allow it to fully sink in. He continued to sing, his deep voice caressing the words as deftly as the instrument he coaxed to life in his hands. Somehow he knew every word, though she’d never heard him play that song. When it ended, he slid effortlessly into his rendition of the Stones’ “Brown Sugar”. She tried to stifle her laughter but she failed.
“Okay. The first one I got. Lovely lyric change, by the way. I love it.” She popped up on one elbow. “But ‘Brown Sugar’?”
“You’re awake.” He sounded so pleased by that fact that she almost forgot her question until his smile turned wicked. “Sure you want to know why I picked that one?”
Now she wanted to know more than ever. “Yes. Tell me.”
He set aside his guitar and leaned forward, brushing his mouth over her ear. “You smell like burnt sugar. Taste like it too. Sweet and sticky all over my tongue. I’m going to write a song.” He licked the side of her neck and she shuddered. “But in the meantime, ‘Brown Sugar’ works.”
“You’re a dirty boy.” Another laugh bubbled up in the middle of all the goosebumps. “I like it.”
Expression playful, he sank his teeth into her bottom lip. “Oh honey, you have no idea.”
“But I’m ready to find out.”
“We’ll see about that.” The corner of his lip curled into that naughty smile she’d wanted to kiss since she’d first laid eyes on him. Now she could.
She could do anything she wanted with him. To him.
Accurately reading her thoughts, he tugged her on top of him, embedding his hand in her hair while the other coasted down her back to her ass. He cupped one cheek, hoisting her leg higher so that her slit flirted with the head of his prominent morning wood.
“Good morning to me,” she teased, dipping her tongue into the laugh lines beside his mouth.
“Mmm-hmm. And I’m about to have breakfast.”
He hoisted her up his body, making her squeal. He clamped his mouth between her legs, his tongue arrowing along where she’d already grown hot and damp. Just kissing him and crawling around on his body were enough to get her motor humming. But his teeth scraping lightly over her hood piercing represented a surefire booking pass to orgasm central.
She fisted his hands in his hair and wobbled as he pressed the tip of his tongue inside, scooping up her wetness and swallowing with such audible appreciation that she couldn’t fight a blush. God, this man. How could she love him this much and not just shatter from it?
Everything seemed possible with hazy morning sunshine just beginning to trickle into the room, bathing the space in a romantic pink glow. Strong hands held her still, forcing her to take every bit of the pleasure he offered. He slid one hand around to part her folds, holding them open to lash her piercing and her clit with such focused attention that she scrambled backward and caught hold of his thighs to maintain her balance.
Bent backward, on the verge of a moan or a laugh—maybe both—she looked down to find that stormy gaze caressing her naked body. Suddenly she saw herself the way he must. Breasts lifted, nipples beaded and pink. Stomach quivering with every erotic kiss.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
She feathered her fingers through his hair, slipping her hand down until it skimmed his mouth. Until her fingers trailed over his on her flesh. He kissed the tip of her thumb, sucking on it so slowly that a shudder rolled through her. “Oh God. I’m going to—”
Her cell went off, playing the Top Chef theme song that was Harper’s ringtone.
“Jesus. What the hell is that?”
“Oh shit, oh fuck, I forgot. It’s morning.” She tried to scuttle backward along Gray’s torso, but he wasn’t having it. He locked his arms around her
thighs and did some kind of roll with his tongue that set off tingles all the way down to her G-spot. “Harper,” she wailed as the phone went off and immediately started again.
“We’re busy. She can wait.”
“But I have her catering truck—”
“And I have your pussy, and I’m not done with it yet. So shh before you make me get rough.” The teasing glint in his eyes accompanied his finger flick on her clit piercing.
Then he slipped his tongue inside her again, and she couldn’t hold back her scream as he rotated her piercing in time with his excruciatingly slow mouth-fucking. He hummed in his throat and pressed on while Harper called a third time, clearly frantic.
Jazz was frantic too, for a whole other reason.
She snatched a handful of his thick, silky long hair and pulled, bearing down on his mouth without shame. He used his free hand to knead her ass, encouraging her to ride his face with abandon. There was no way she could stop now. She slipped her other hand over her breasts, tweaking her nipples as the liquid sensation in her belly turned to drowning heat.
“God, keep going.” She squeezed her knees beside his head, rocking for all she was worth. “I’m so close.” Moving over him faster, she closed her eyes and threw her head back, twisting her nipple. Almost at the crescendo. She cried out as her core contracted and scalding waves of pleasure suffused her body, going on way past the point of insanity.
And he still didn’t stop.
“Oh, no, I can’t.”
“You can. You are.” His words rumbled against her drenched slit, amplifying the endless aftershocks. “On my fingers this time.”
They slid inside her with ease, two and then three, working in concert with the same skill he employed on the guitar. He worked her hard, sliding in and out in a rhythm designed to cause her to lose her mind. Again. His lips closed over her piercing, tugging gently.
Gasping, she climaxed once more, her thighs vising to his ears as she flooded his mouth. He drank her down eagerly, licking up every bit of what she gave him.
When she was still shaking, still barely coherent, he scooped her up and flipped her on her back beneath him. “Fucking Gray sounds like an excellent idea,” he breathed, slanting his mouth over hers.
Tasting herself on his lips had to be the gateway to heaven. “Yes. I want you.”
He grabbed her thigh, pushing her leg straight up in the air. The tip of his erection nudged her where she still quivered and she moaned, already arching toward him.
A knock sounded at the door and he stilled, a mischievous light appearing in his eyes. He held his finger to his lips, indicating she should remain quiet, and shifted his hips, easing the broad head of his cock into her extremely sensitive entrance. She let out a whimper and he caught it with his mouth, swiveling his hips again to push in deeper.
“Dude, you ever coming out of there? It’s almost fucking eight. We have music to make or else Dragon Lady will be up our ass.”
Nick had to be the only rocker who didn’t believe in sleeping away the day. Unless he was just being super-dickish.
“Gimme five,” Gray called back, raising his torso and plunging farther inside her clutching pussy. “I’ll be right out.”
“Sure thing. Wouldn’t want to interrupt you.” Nick hit or kicked the door before letting out an audible curse. She might’ve been able to discern what that curse was if Gray hadn’t picked that moment to suck her eager nipple between his teeth. Her attention blinked out to everything except the fullness of the cock inside her, shoving her wide open to accept his invasion.
He rubbed over her G-spot with each pass, traveling so deep that he grunted against her breast every time he bottomed out. The flashes of pain, the exquisite burn, only increased the pressure fisting in her belly, building so swiftly that she didn’t have a chance of holding on.
“Oh fuck. You’re coming again already,” he rasped. From the bliss contorting his features, he wasn’t far behind.
“Yes. Oh yes.” Rolling her hips up to meet his strokes, she watched the storm break over his face. His jaw locked, his gorgeous eyes shuttered. And her name spilled out on the shout he muffled against her hair.
Nothing could ever be better than hearing him call out to her while he came. Nothing.
He continued fucking her, his movements languid now. Somehow they tripped the tangled wires inside her even faster than his rapid strokes had. God, she couldn’t come again. She didn’t even have enough breath left to cry out. Her hips flailed, trapped beneath his as the tension gave way. So deliciously trapped.
“That’s it, baby.” He nuzzled her neck, lifting his torso to plunge into her one more time. “Give me everything.”
She reached up to cradle his head as the final punch of pleasure swept through her system and left her quaking beneath him. She bit her lip to stifle her whimpers, realizing once he eased back to give her a dazed grin that she tasted blood.
“Holy shit.” She lifted her hand to her mouth. “I think I bit through my lip.”
He bent to kiss the cut, so gently that her racing heart turned over before going still for a breathless moment while their gazes clung. She stroked the side of his face, shocked that for once, she didn’t have to look for something to say after sex.
Between them, words weren’t necessary. They had long looks and longer kisses. They’d have longer everything from now on.
This was just the beginning, and oh God, maybe even waiting had been worth it if she could get to feel like this.
“I have to go,” she whispered as the phone started again. Guilt kicked hard in her chest. Poor Harper. She was going to kill her and rightly so.
“I know. When are you coming back to me?”
She threaded her fingers through his hair, marveling at the darkness against her pale skin. “As soon as I can.”
“Not soon enough.” He pulled out of her, causing them both to moan, and bent to grab her clothes. “No underwear? I sort of vaguely remember that but…no underwear?”
“No.” She grinned. “I couldn’t take any chances.”
“Guess not. Though I would find you sexy in a parka and snow pants.” He held up her dress and lifted an eyebrow. “I’m supposed to let you leave in this? Where’d you park anyway?”
“Two blocks down, behind some bushes.”
“Damn, total spy mode. You walked two blocks in those boots?”
“I would’ve crawled on glass to get to you. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited?”
He shifted toward her with her dress bunched in his hands. “Unless it’s the better part of a decade, you’re going to lose this contest.”
“It is. Why did we waste so much time?”
From the way he set his mouth, she didn’t get the feeling they’d be going down that road anytime soon. Maybe it was just as well. The future was what mattered now, not the past.
Swallowing deeply, she brushed her fingers over his jaw and tried again. “It’s always been you for me. Always, since long before—before he—”
The melting warmth in his expression turned glacial. “Don’t say his name. I don’t want any part of that fucker to touch us here.”
She turned her face away, hating that she’d brought even an instant of sadness into what had been such a wonderful night and morning-after. The sadness existed entirely on her part. She would never forgive herself for having any part in driving a wedge between them. From him, she felt only cold rage. “He’s your brother.”
“I don’t have a brother anymore.” He pitched what he held across the room, nailing the top of the still-open window. Her dress fluttered to the ground.
“Gray.” She cupped his shoulder. “I’m okay. I swear. He didn’t hurt me.”
“Yes, he did. I heard you screaming. I hear it in my nightmares.”
Tears filled her eyes, but not for her. His anguish ripped her open. “It was so long ago.”
“Goddammit, no.” He shoved to his feet. “It’s like it happened yesterday for me. I don�
�t care how many years pass, I’ll kill that bastard if he ever looks at you again.” He walked to the window and picked up her dress, clutching it to his chest before turning back and giving her a half-smile that didn’t begin to mitigate the fury vibrating off his body. “Sure you have to go?”
His rapid mood shift knocked her off-kilter but she tried to return his smile. She wouldn’t let anything ruin this, especially Brent. They’d fought too hard to get here. “Unfortunately, yes.” She rolled off the bed and winced at the first step. “Ow. Ouch. Someone broke me.”
That brought his grin back in full force. “Someone will make you better later,” he promised, returning to her side to tug her dress over her head.
“I just bet.” She yanked on her boots and zipped them up, then she grabbed her phone. “What am I forgetting?”
“This.” He hooked a finger in the bodice of her dress and hauled her close.
His tongue slipped in to tangle with hers, and damn if she didn’t still taste herself in his kiss. The thrill tingled from her nipples to between her legs, and she moaned, already halfway gone again. He grinned and kissed her harder, making her grin back even as their mouths moved together in perfect harmony.
Loving Gray was the easiest—and hardest—thing she’d ever done. But today it was easier than breathing. More right than anything she’d ever known.
Finally he eased away and nudged her toward the window. Must be the door to the deck didn’t work or something. “Tell Harper I’m sorry too.”
“Okay.” Still dizzy, she started to climb over the windowsill then smiled dopily over her shoulder. “Same time tonight?”
“I’ll be waiting for you.” He leaned his forearm on the casing and drew his fingertip from her mouth to her jaw. “Think I’m going to write your song today. All that sugar on my tongue, I can taste it now…” He sang softly, making her flush and screech as she darted out the window.
His laughter followed her off the deck.
Nineteen