Edge of Forever: Rockstar Romantic Suspense

by Cari Quinn

  The confusion on her face melted under the pleasure of the water as he helped her stand and washed away the last of the suds. Her head tipped back when he tucked the soft stream of the showerhead between her thighs to pulse against her.

  Her topaz eyes went opaque as the orgasm blindsided her.

  He flipped the drain open and stood with her. Rinsing off quickly, he reached for a towel and slung one around his hips then bundled her in another. With infinite care, he scooped her up and brought her to their room.

  Fiona popped up from her perch on the bottom of the bed and jumped down to greet them. Izzy curled into him like she hadn’t done in weeks and he didn’t want to let her go.

  For once, he wasn’t looking for words. The silence was easy and comforting. Words would have been too intrusive. He lowered her to the floor, tossed both their towels on the back of the chair near the bed, and urged her into bed.

  It was still early, the sun had barely set, but it didn’t seem to matter. She slipped under the covers and he followed her. Conscious of the side she needed to sleep on because of her stitches, he slid his leg between hers and sighed as she nestled back into his body, pulling his arms around her.

  “I love you, Logan.”

  The lump in his chest took a long time to dissolve and he finally followed her into sleep.

  In the buttery fingers of early dawn, she stirred against him. At first it was just a little restlessness. He slipped his palm down her hip and over her belly to ease her. Holding her close was addictive and he wasn’t ready to wake up and face the day.

  A few moments later, her hips undulated against him, brushing back and forth along the tops of his thighs. She laced her fingers over the top of his, her nails teasing his palms as she drew his hand higher. Over the rise of her ribs to the fullness of her breast before slipping away so he could cup her.

  Fragile skin that had grown ever more supple with the lotions she had to use for her burns instead of the perfumed ones she had once preferred. Her nipple peaked under his palm, adding another level of awareness to his morning erection along with the endless, restless circle of her hips.

  There was no sliding back into sleep from this. He’d be hard and aching all damn day, but he wouldn’t stop touching her. He’d been starved for it for far too long.

  She brought her free hand up and sunk her long fingers into his hair. A slow, thorough skim of her fingernails along his scalp before she twisted the strands, pulling his mouth down for a kiss that wasn’t nearly as gentle as the night before.

  This was his woman opening up for him.

  Finding her way back to him.

  As tears starred her eyes, she reached her other hand between them with a familiar grip that ignited the banked fire living inside of him. He sunk his teeth into her skin, nipping where shoulder met neck.

  He tried to drag those needs down again. Just like last night he wanted to stamp himself all over her and remind her that she wasn’t on her own anymore. That she was his. That they were stronger than this awful thing that had tried to shatter them.

  He wanted to show her he could be gentle in deference to her body that was still healing. He slid his hand up higher to her neck, nudging her chin up so he could see her eyes. They were slumberous and filled with a fire he hadn’t seen in quite some time.

  She didn’t want gentle. She tucked the head of his cock into the fisting heat of her pussy and he let out a low growl.

  “Izzy.”

  “I need you, Logan.” He dragged his hand back down her breast. Her nipples were points of fire, her skin flushed. He flattened his hand on her lower stomach, hissing when she tipped her hips and he slid deeper. He groaned against the amazing strength of her inner walls as she hugged him tighter.

  Her nails bit into his scalp as she pushed back on him and finally he was all the way inside her. He scraped his teeth up her neck, panting against the strangling pleasure. It has been far too long and he was racing ahead of her. Hell, he was going to lap her if she didn’t stop that thing with her hips.

  She slipped her fingers between her thighs, grasping his shaft with fingertip pressure on each pull out and return glide into her giving body. Up around her own clit and back down to him.

  He covered her hand, the liquid heat coating both of their fingers urging him faster. His thighs slapped against the back of hers, and the sounds of her rich moans floated out into the huge loft room.

  It was the most amazing song he’d ever heard.

  His shoulder was jammed into the pillows and he unearthed his half asleep arm to wrap around her neck and shoulder to stabilize her as much as possible. She arched and he thrust into her with long, driving strokes. His muscles protested, his abs on fire, but he didn’t let up. She growled out his name and her walls fluttered over his pulsing cock. He banded his arms around her shoulders and lost himself inside of her until the room fuzzed around his periphery and he emptied himself inside of her.

  Until she stopped quaking over him.

  Until they were both so far gone that they both lay limp on their backs.

  “Oh, wow.”

  He laughed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Me neither.” She slid off of him to curve onto her side. “Oh, I’m going to pay for that exceptional orgasm.”

  He sat up. “Did I hurt you?” Dammit. He brushed his hand down her arm to her hip. “I’m sorry. I—”

  “Logan. No.” She winced as she settled onto her back and moved closer to him.

  “That face says I hurt you.”

  She covered his face with her hand and squeezed his lips together like a duck. “Listen here, Mr. King.”

  He batted her hand away. “You have to tell me this stuff.”

  “I’m okay. I’m more than okay. Remember when we did that thing on the couch and I tried to throw your back out?”

  He snorted. “Well, you’re far more flexible than I am.”

  “I didn’t kill you, did I?”

  He remembered back to the way she had used the arm of the couch for leverage and he’d gone so fucking deep inside her, his eyes had crossed. But he’d gotten tangled in the cushions of the couch and turned the wrong way. He’d held the goddamn pose because she had screamed her goddamn head off and shook like a leaf in a hurricane as she came around his cock.

  It had been worth the Advil.

  She nodded. “I see you remember.”

  He swiped his hand down her cooling skin and plucked her nipple. “I do.”

  She grinned up at him and cupped his jaw. “It was a good hurt.” The smile slid away, leaving a little sad behind her bright eyes. “An alive one.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers, tasting her pain and her grief. He took a little of it inside him as he rubbed his cheek against hers. Her arm came up around his neck and he held her tight. There was no way he would let any more pain touch her.

  Not ever.

  Twenty-Seven

  “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

  Logan opened one eye. Izzy was kneeling beside him, her eyes bright and happy. Fiona sat next to her, and she was pawing at the air, as excited as her mistress. “We went to bed like two hours ago.”

  “No, we had six hours of sleep, but that’s only because you woke me up at two in the morning for ice cream.”

  He rolled onto his side and punched the pillow until he could jam it under his chin. “It was exceptional salted caramel gelato if you want to get specific.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Hey, you didn’t mind me licking it off your nipples last night.”

  Her face flushed. “Well, no. But because of that very sticky, very delicious game, we had to take a shower at half past two.”

  He grinned. And they’d stumbled to bed well after three. They were becoming quite adept at shower and tub games. It was good to know that they were connecting again. Some late nights were rough. Memories snuck through when both of their defenses were low.

  And sleep seemed to be prime nightmare time for both of the
m. Instead of repressing the memories and tears, they often talked in the middle of the night. But he also tried to offset some late nights with fun.

  So going to bed didn’t equate nightmares.

  It was working for them. At that point, that was all he could ask for after so many weeks of misery.

  “And why are you so chipper?” As if he didn’t know.

  “We have a Skype date.”

  “Oh, right.”

  She pushed him on his back and straddled his waist. “I’m dying to see the guys.”

  He folded his arms under his head. “Should I be jealous?”

  “Maybe. Julian does have a rather delicious speaking voice. And he really turns down the bass so he’s—” Her words cut off into a giggle when he flipped her onto the bed.

  “Excuse me?”

  “What? Cumberbatch has nothing on Julian. Well, okay there’s that accent, but other than that.”

  Logan dropped his forehead onto her stomach. “You look forward to these vid chats a little too much.”

  She threaded her fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. “I do it for Fiona. She misses Cody.”

  He snorted and kneeled over her. “Is that so?”

  She nodded solemnly and looked up at the lovesick dog in question. Her tongue lolled as her tail wagged at them. “See?”

  Logan ruffled her fur and sat back on his feet. He reached over to his bedside table for his phone. It was twenty after ten. And that was about all his phone was good for up in the mountains.

  He barely had a bar of service. If he held it just right in one corner of the porch, sometimes he could get a text out. The chances of getting one back were usually on par with winning the lottery, but he tried to keep in contact a few times a day to either Zeke or Marcus.

  Fiona bumped his shoulder.

  “All right. I swear I’m getting up.”

  Izzy rolled off the bed and headed for the door. “I’m going to make breakfast.” She stopped and turned, her two braided pigtails sliding over her shoulders, making her look like a teenager. “If I come back up here and find you sleeping, you’re in trouble, buddy.”

  “If you come back up here, I’m going to find something else to do with those handles you’re sporting.”

  She laughed her way out the door and down the stairs.

  Logan took a quick shower and trimmed up his jawline a little. As much as she seemed to have enjoyed his ice cream extracurricular activities, her skin has been really abraded from his heavy scruff.

  A honeymooning couple had taken the cabin next door to them for the week and they were a little too close to his age. The wife had been giving him weird looks since they’d run into each other in the rec lodge. So he’d shaved his beard into a goatee and wore his baseball cap whenever he left their cabin.

  It had worked when they’d gone into Massachusetts for the day. He just hoped it would work here, too.

  Halfway down the stairs he smelled heaven. Izzy had a cast iron pan out and bacon was sizzling. A pile was draining on paper towels on the counter.

  He came up behind her and pushed one of her braids aside. He ran the tip of his tongue around the shell of her ear. “Smells delicious.”

  She lifted her shoulder. “That is not going to get you bacon.”

  “C’mon, just one.” He slid his hand down into her jeans, finding a barely there thong. “Well, what do we have here?”

  She wiggled back against him. “I have to do laundry.”

  He traced his fingertips over the flimsy string that curved up her hip. “I like laundry day.” He liked laundry day better when she was completely out of underwear, but this was almost as good.

  “Logan,” she said with a warning tone.

  “Am I distracting you?” He dragged his goatee up her neck to taste the skin behind her ear.

  She tipped her head back against his chest as he dipped his fingers under the front panel of her panties. “Depends on how burnt you like your eggs.”

  “Over easy.”

  “Then yes, you’re distracting me.”

  “I think you are very capable.” He circled the pads of his middle fingers over her mound then under to find her slick for him. Her nipples beaded up under her Firefly t-shirt.

  “If you make me splatter grease, I’m going to find ways to exact my revenge.”

  He laughed and slipped his hand free from her jeans, snagging a piece of bacon. “Tastes even better,” he said and licked his fingers.

  She popped him on the ass before he could get by. Because this was not the first morning they’d done this, he gathered plates and started coffee. A few minutes later, they dug into their breakfast.

  “Where are they calling from today?”

  He dipped the corner of his toast into the yolk. “I think they’re in Philly.” Part of him missed the road. The playing, the crowds. At least he’d liked the crowds once upon a time. Now, he never knew who he was going to see.

  She closed her hand over his. “Miss them, too?”

  He nodded and tossed the last corner of his toast into the air. Fiona caught it with a snap of her teeth. “They’re out on the road with Cole right now. He’s a good guy.”

  Cole Deveraux had played with him two summers ago, when he’d met Izzy. Now the country rock singer had his first hit song and was doing a mid-sized club circuit that had started the week before. It was the perfect kind of tour to keep All the King’s Men occupied. He just hated that they had to be occupied. That they weren’t working on another album or touring.

  Even if he and Izzy weren’t holed up in the back of beyond, he wasn’t even writing music, for fuck’s sake.

  Izzy laced her fingers with his. “You all right?”

  He swiped his thumb over the side of her hand. “Yeah. I just miss the idiots.”

  “Me too. So,” she stood up, “let’s clear our plates and head down to the lodge.”

  He stood up with her and palmed the back of her neck. He brought her up on her toes and kissed her. Her taste reminded him why he was doing this. Solidified the plan that he’d been following.

  When he stepped back, she blinked slumberous eyes. “What was that for?”

  “Always keeping my eye on the prize, Izzy.”

  She slipped her arms around his middle and hugged him tight for a moment before picking up their dishes and bringing them to the sink. After they cleaned up, they bundled into parkas for the brisk walk down to the lodge.

  Fiona ran in and out of the woods as she chased whatever woodland creature was still alive in all this damn cold.

  Logan pulled open the large doors and wished he could unsee all of what was before him. Including the lily white ass thrusting for all he was worth. He spun around. “Oh, hey there.”

  “What?” Izzy looked up at him with a tilt to her head. “What? Our video chat’s in five minutes.”

  “Sorry,” Logan called out over his shoulder.

  The newlyweds were laughing. “Okay, it’s safe,” said the woman.

  “Oh.” Izzy’s eyes went wide. She went on her toes and tried to look over his shoulder.

  He gave her an incredulous look and she shrugged. “What were they doing?”

  “Well, the guy was definitely getting it into the corner pocket.”

  She let out a peal of laughter and skirted around him. “Sorry, guys. We just have to check in at home.”

  The pretty blond—Tracy, he was pretty sure—blushed. “We didn’t realize anyone else was, um…coming. Oh, God, I—”

  Her husband winced. “Okay, sweetie. They got it.”

  “Right.”

  “So, we aren’t going to be doing that. At least not on that side of the pool table,” Izzy said out of the side of her mouth.

  Logan’s lips twitched.

  Tracy grabbed her sweatshirt off the felt and cleared her throat. “We’ll, uh, leave you guys to it.” She and her husband laughed and tripped over each other to get out the door. “I still say he looks like someone. I just can�
�t put my finger on it,” Tracy said in a voice that wasn’t even close to a whisper.

  Logan pulled down his ball cap. They just couldn’t catch a break. Izzy crossed to the small desk and the twenty inch monitor. She booted up and loaded the video program.

  Fiona squeezed in the small opening in the doors just as Christian’s face filled the screen.

  “Logan, how’s things?”

  He smiled back at the screen. “Good to see you, man. How’s the tour?”

  “Awesome. Cole is doing just great. He’s really killing it every night. Packed houses.”

  Logan swallowed down a lump and kept smiling. He remembered when Chris was just as pumped about one of their shows. Even if it felt a million years ago.

  Izzy dropped onto his lap and wrapped her arm around his neck. “Hi, Christian. How are my boys treating you?”

  Chris blushed. “You know how they are.”

  “Are you talking shit about us?” Zeke, with his shaggy curls, sat off to the side. Cody popped his head up and barked. Chaos ensued as the couch on the bus was filled with the rest of the band. Cole even waved as he went to the front of the bus with a sandwich in hand.

  “I didn’t know we were missing lunch!” Zeke yelled after Cole.

  He simply held up a middle finger. “I don’t feed the animals.”

  “Man, see how we’re treated? You guys need to come home. We miss you desperately.”

  Logan wrapped his arm around Izzy’s hip. “You guys look good.” They did. All of them were at the beginning of a tour, so the fatigue hadn’t set in yet. There was still excitement as they hit a new city and a new crowd.

  “How are the wilds of Mai—err, the white tundra treating you?” Zeke cleared his throat.

  Fiona nosed under his arm until her head was resting on the desk. “All right. We already got snow. There’s actual mini icebergs in the river.” He rubbed behind the dog’s ear. “Oh, and all of us miss you if you couldn’t tell.”

  Julian leaped across the lot of them, landing hard on their laps. There was name calling, rude gestures, and Julian landed on his ass in the aisle of the bus, but everyone was laughing, including him and Izzy.