Say You Crave Me (Full Moon, #4)

by Van Mol, Stefanie

  Max signals to the next person in the row who stretches his hand out to me. “Nice to meet you, Valérie. I’m Jonathan, the drummer.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Jonathan.”

  My eyes glide over the full sleeve of tattoos on his arms. I’ve seen my share of tattoos but not like this before. I’ve never seen anyone with so many tattoos, but I must say, they look good on him. I hear the door open behind us and something changes in Jonathan’s face. A small sparkle appears in his eyes which causes me to look over my shoulder at who has entered. A beautiful woman walks in our direction. She has a baby in her arms, and in front of her, a little boy runs to Jonathan.

  “Daddy,” he screams, after which he jumps into Jonathan’s arms.

  “Valérie, this is Maxim, my son.” The pride in his voice is obvious, and Maxim looks at his father as if he were a god on earth. Jonathan points to the young woman who is standing next to him. “And this is my wife, Camille, and our younger son, Vincent.”

  I shake Camille’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” She also looks at me curiously. “I’ve heard a lot about you. How nice it is that you’re here.” She bends a little forward and whispers in my ear, “I hope you are the one who can tame Max.”

  I look over my shoulder and see Max and his intense gaze, which is still focused on me. He keeps an eye on how I react to everything the band members tell me. In any case, I am already sure that I will get along well with Jolene and Camille.

  “During our evenings out, we sometimes talk about what that would be like, a woman having Max pussy-whipped. I’m looking forward to that,” Camille says cheerfully, and both John and Jonathan groan.

  I look at them questioningly. John stands next to Max, his arm still around Jolene. “Believe me when I say that you don’t want to know what the evenings with our women look like.”

  Both Jolene and Camille start laughing. “They’re not as bad as you make them out to be.”

  “Last time, both of you were so drunk that Mike had to call us to take you home because he was too busy chasing away all the men who wanted to dance with you.”

  Max looks at me. “Just so you know, you’re not going to an evening out like that, over my dead body.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and look at him angrily. “And since when have you been in charge of me? I’m a grown woman; I do what I want, when I want, where I want, and with whom I want. You’ll have nothing to say about that.”

  He growls. “We’ll see about that.”

  I want to contradict him just as the last band member appears behind him. He happily extends his palm toward me; Max takes a step aside so that I can take his hand. “I’m Tim, the second guitarist. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Tim.”

  He grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. I’m surprised when he kisses my hand gently. “The pleasure is entirely mine.” He gives Max a push with his elbow. “You didn’t tell me that the journalist who is touring with us would be so hot.”

  Max immediately pushes Tim away from me and grabs my hand. “Valérie is mine, and no one else’s.”

  Jesus, how did he get that in his head? I pull my hand out of his and turn away angrily. I walk outside toward the exit. There I see Ines standing with Steve. When she sees my face, it is immediately clear to her that I am not too happy.

  “Oh shit, I think this is my sign to leave. I’ll see you later, Steve.”

  She comes to me. “What is going on?”

  “We’re going home right now; I knew it was a mistake coming here.”

  I walk farther through the corridor with Ines in my wake. I arrive at her car and want to open the door when a strong arm slides around my waist, and I am lifted from the ground, both my feet coming up in the air. I don’t have to look at him to know who it is. His smell consumes me, and I already know that I’m in deep trouble.

  5

  Max

  Seeing Valérie here and introducing her to the whole band feels weird; unreal even. I still can’t believe she’s here. As soon as she stepped out of the red convertible Beetle earlier, I felt it again. My heart almost beat right out of my chest, I started to sweat, my mouth went dry, and my stomach somersaulted. She is what I’ve been missing all this time, my missing piece of the puzzle and now that I’ve got her here, I don’t intend to let her go ever again. I want everyone in the group to accept her. Since the band is my family, I want them to see her as part of our family too. Because that’s what she will become, a part of our family.

  When she entered the room, it felt like being struck by lightning. I know for sure that she’s mine , and I will do everything in my power to keep her here. Even though I know that won’t be easy. But hey, the most important things in life aren’t easy, so I’m willing to fight for Valérie.

  When I put her backstage pass around her neck, I was close enough to smell that familiar scent of hers—vanilla mixed with its unique Valérie fragrance. My fingers caressed the soft, sensitive skin of her neck and I can’t wait to find out if it still tastes as sweet as I remember.

  When Tim grabbed her hand and kissed it, I saw red. I know he only did it to tease me, but I couldn’t control myself. Judging by Valérie’s reaction, she was anything but happy with me. After I made it clear to Tim that I didn’t like it, I went to find her. When I enter the hallway and find it’s empty, my heart beats faster. She can’t possibly have disappeared in that short time, can she? As fast as I can, I run to the exit and see that she is almost back at the car. Just before she can reach the door handle, I put my arm around her waist and pull her against me.

  Like a madwoman, she starts hitting and kicking to get loose from my grip. But there is not a chance I’m letting her go; not now that I finally have her with me.

  “Stop resisting, Valérie.”

  “Let me go, Max. I’ve told you befor, I’m not yours. But since you, apparently, don’t understand that, I have no other choice. I’m going home with Ines and will make sure that Hard Beats sends someone else.”

  I put her feet back on the ground, turn her around until she stands with her back against the car and take a step closer to her, so she can’t go anywhere. Her chest heaves up and down, and her eyes almost spit fire at me. She wants to say something in return, but I don’t give her a chance. I press my lips on hers. At first, she pushes against my chest to push me away, but when I stroke my tongue over her lips, she grabs my T-shirt with her hands and pulls me closer to her. When she willingly opens her mouth to me, I don’t wait a second before I let my tongue slide in to meet hers.

  Her sweet taste overwhelms me. It may have been years ago, but my body still clearly remembers her, because every nerve ending comes to life. With my hand, I grab her hair and tilt her head slightly backward, so I can get easier access. This makes her come out of her haze, and she bites my lip.

  I pull back immediately and glare at her. She’s so going to regret that.

  She pushes against my chest yet again, and I carefully take a step back. “Never do that again,” she hisses. I look at her. She’s still breathing heavily, her lips red and swollen from our fierce kiss. She can say what she wants; I’m sure she feels this, too. There is only one reason why she doesn’t want to allow it.

  “I’m sure you enjoyed it just as much as I did, Valérie. I think you’re turned on.”

  Her mouth opens in shock. “Absolutely not.”

  I take one step closer to her and see how she tries to cling to the car, to hold on to it. She swallows with every step I take closer to her. When I’m just a few inches from her, I lean forward and chuckle when she closes her eyes. I bring my mouth to her ear. “So, if I were to slide my hand into your panties right now, they won’t be soaking wet? Dripping with excitement, for me?”

  We both jump when Ines clears her throat, and I giggle when she announces, “I think it’s time for me to go home.”

  I take a step aside. Holy shit! This is what she does to me. I had completely forgot
ten that Ines was still here.

  I give Valérie time to say goodbye to her girlfriend. It is clear that Ines needs some reassurance to be at ease with Valérie staying here. While Valérie takes her suitcases out of the car, Ines comes to me. She casts a glance over her shoulder to make sure Valérie doesn’t hear what she says to me.

  “I know she’ll be fine here otherwise I would never leave her with you. But Valérie has experienced a lot, so don’t rush her. Deep in her heart she still loves you, so give her some time.” I am surprised by her comment. It makes it clear to me that Valérie told her about me. But she doesn’t have to worry about a thing.

  “I will take good care of Valérie; nothing or no one will harm her as long as she is near me. I will take care of her; I promise.”

  Ines laughs at me. “Oh, I’m sure that you will. Because if you don’t, I’ll come here personally to cut off your balls.”

  With that last remark, she turns around and runs to Valérie. That girl is crazy! When I move to put Valérie’s suitcases in the trunk of my car, I notice Steve is checking out Ines.

  Valérie and Ines hug each other for a while, after which Ines gets into the car and leaves. When I close the trunk and turn around, Valérie is next to me.

  “What’s next on the schedule?”

  I take off my sunglasses and look her straight in the eyes. She fidgets with her blouse and dodges my gaze, staring at a piece of chewing gum on the ground that suddenly looks very interesting to her. I wait until she looks up at me.

  “I’ll take you to the hotel now; there a suite that has been reserved for you, and you have some time to unpack your suitcases and get ready for dinner.”

  “Do we eat in the hotel?”

  “No, I made reservations at a restaurant close to the hotel. We can walk there.” My gaze wanders over her legs to the towering heels she wears. “So, maybe it’s best you put on comfortable shoes.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest and is tapping the asphalt with the tip of her shoe. “You don’t have to tell me what I can or can’t wear, Max. You may have missed it, but I am not a teenager anymore.”

  I grin at her. “I can see that, you’ve become a woman.”

  I can almost see the steam coming out of her ears, and it only makes me laugh louder. Stomping her feet and mumbling a few curses, she walks around me and gets into the car. She closes the door so hard that it’s a miracle that the window is still in place. I put on my sunglasses and walk to the driver’s side, laughing. More than ever I know for sure that this will be the ride of my life.

  AT THE RECEPTION DESK at the hotel, everything was ready as I had indicated. The people who have been working in my entourage for a while now know that this is the way I want everything done. Valérie gets the key to her suite, and a bellhop walks with us to take care of her luggage. I am glad he has to drag the suitcases instead of me. It’s incredible how many suitcases she has with her, but I decide not to say anything about it. During the whole ride, she didn’t say a word, and even now, here in the elevator, she still keeps silent.

  When we arrive on the top floor of the hotel, we follow the bellhop to the door of her suite. The whole floor is rented out for the band. But Valérie’s room is right next to mine. That’s not a coincidence, it’s what I’ve arranged. Tim wasn’t happy when he had to change his room to make it possible, but he’s a big boy, he’ll get over it. I’m sure that his hand kiss was a little revenge for the change of room. Just thinking about that kiss makes me angry again and I make a note that I will take revenge on him the next time he brings a girl to meet the band.

  But at the moment, I have other things on my mind. I want Valérie to be as close to me as possible at all times, and ultimately, I want her to stay in my room. But all in good time; I will have to conquer her again first, and I have come up with a plan for that.

  The bellhop opens the door, and I gesture to Valérie to enter first. I walk in after her and enjoy the view of her delightful ass. She gasps for breath when she steps inside and runs straight to the window to look outside. I tip the bellhop and wait until he is outside before I turn back to Valérie who is now looking at me.

  “It’s five o’clock. I made a reservation at the restaurant for seven o’clock.” I look around at all her suitcases. “Will you be able to get ready in just under two hours?”

  She gives me an angry look. “Don’t worry about that. Thank you for your help, but I can handle it alone now.”

  This is my sign to leave. “I’ll pick you up at a quarter to seven.”

  She rolls her eyes at me, but fortunately, she is wise enough not to go against it. Whether she wants it or not, I will pick her up later. I turn around and step outside. Before I go to my room, I visit John. I knock on the door, and a few moments later the door swings open. John grins and looks at me from head to toe.

  “Glad to see that you are still in one piece. Spicy lady, that Valérie. You know how to choose them.” He opens the door a little more so I can come in.

  When I enter his room, I pat him on the back. “As if you have it so easy with my little sister.”

  “You have a point there.” He laughs. We walk over to the bed and take a seat.

  “Tell me what I can do for you but keep it short. Your sister is still in the shower, and I intend to make the most of that time.”

  I scrunch my nose. “That’s something I don’t need to know about my sister, dude.”

  “So, keep it short, I’d say. What can I do for you?”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing, John. On the one hand, I want to give her time, to take it easy. But the other part of me wants to drag her into my room and show her exactly how I feel, know what I mean?”

  I sigh.

  “When I came up with that whole plan to get Valérie here, I never expected it to be so difficult. I thought it would be easy.” Make sure she’s here, and the rest will take care of itself. “Well, that was beyond Valérie’s control.”

  “I understand how you feel, Max. But if there is something I’ve learned from my time with Jolene, it is not to force things. Give her space, and if it is predestined, she will find out for herself.”

  “Thanks, John. Well, I’ll go before I take even more of your love time.”

  When I get up, John comes after me to close the door. As I stand in the hallway, I hear the lock click behind me, and I try not to imagine what he is planning with my little sister. My eyes wander to the door of Valérie’s suite, and I imagine how she is probably naked in the shower right now. It would be very easy to go there and remind her that she missed me, too, but if I want to win her over, I will have to do it a different way and be patient.

  That’s the reason why I turn around before the temptation becomes too big, and I can’t resist. I open the door to my suite and walk to the closet. I take out one of the custom-made suits I brought with me and choose a dark blue tie. I put the clothes on my bed and go to the bathroom for a shower. If I want to keep my head straight, I need a cold shower, and I need it right now.

  I step under the showerhead and push my hair back with both hands. I hope my plan works because I haven’t yet thought about how I’m going to react if she goes home after the interviews for her article. The tension returns in my body, and I try to think of something else. I push my head deeper under the streaming water and let the showerhead massage the tense muscles in my neck. I close my eyes and imagine what Valérie would look like if she were standing here, with me, in my shower.

  Her skin shiny wet, her nipples hard and proudly pushing forward. My hands would knead and stroke her soft skin until she could barely stand on her feet. The erotic image makes me shudder, and I can’t help but take myself in my hand. With long, powerful strokes my hand goes up and down over my shaft. I feel like a naughty teenager, fantasizing about his girlfriend. As I masturbate, I fantasize about what it would be like to squat in front of her and put her leg over my shoulder. I would have free access to her pussy, and I would be able to tease, stroke and
lick it to my heart’s content with my tongue until she came screaming my name.

  With a loud moan, I spray my load against the shower wall. It’s been years since I’ve masturbated this way; usually, I find some willing fan who wants to share the bed with me, but I don’t want that anymore. I only want one person, and that’s Valérie.

  I turn off the shower and step out to dry myself. I quickly put on the clothes I have laid out on the bed. I go back into the bathroom, slick some gel through my hair and put on a little bit of aftershave. With a confident smirk, I look in the mirror one more time. I stare at a man who is sure of himself and determined to win Valérie over, and I can only agree with him.

  5

  Valérie

  It feels like I’ve opened the closet door to Narnia and ended up in a fairy tale. When I entered the suite, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the fantastic view. It overlooks a large part of the city. But not only is the view fantastic, the room is immense. When Max finally left the suite and left me alone, I took the time to walk around. I think it’s almost bigger than the house where I used to live with my mother. The suite even has a lounge with an open fireplace. And if I thought the living room and the view were fantastic, they were nothing compared to the walk-in closet. It’s just gigantic. Ines would also love this. That reminds me that I had promised to let her know how it turned out after she left. I run to my handbag, which is in the sitting area, and take out my cell phone. Between the stack of suitcases, I pull out the one containing my shoes and roll it to the walk-in closet. I take out a pair of shoes and place them in the special shoe cabinet, then take a picture of it and send it to Ines via WhatsApp.

  Valérie: I think I just died and ended up in heaven.

  Ines: Oh my God, that looks amazing. Tell me what happened after I left, that kiss looked pretty hot.

  Valérie: Max is impossible; I have no idea how I will survive the next two weeks.

  Ines: I suggest under him, in his bed.