by Jill Sanders
“Hi,” she said as she walked towards the windows, buttoning up her blouse. Her reflection shooting back at her showed that her hair was a mess from his hands and she was pretty sure her lips were swollen from his.
“Hi, I’m just calling to let you know that Grant and I can’t sing this Thursday. We’re heading into Tyler to…” She stopped and said something at one of her kids, then came back. “Sorry, Gavin is going through his terrible twos. Okay, we have to run to Tyler to pick up Laura’s new bed. It seems that Gavin decided to use his sister’s bed as a trampoline. He broke the frame. It was just lucky that he didn’t bust his head in the process. Anyway, we ordered a new frame and it’s supposed to be here on Thursday. So…”
“It’s okay.” She smiled. “I understand. Actually, I was going to call you and let you know that Luke and I are going to sing this week.”
“Luke?” Alex must have walked into a more private room because it got really quiet. “Wow, so the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?” She turned back to look at Luke, who was still standing by the front door, fully clothed again.
“Sure, I mean, it’s all over town that the two of you have been seen walking back to your place every night.”
She turned and closed her eyes. “I’d forgotten…”
“Small towns,” Alex added. Then she exclaimed, “Is he there now?” When Tessa didn’t answer, she groaned. “I interrupted. Sorry. Okay, now I wish we were here Thursday to hear you. I’ll get off the phone. Bye.” Alex hung up quickly, causing Tessa to chuckle.
“Everything okay?” Luke asked from the doorway.
“Yes,” she said, rubbing her head slightly.
Then he was behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “Timing.” He sighed into her hair.
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes and leaned back, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat.
“I’d better go,” he said into her hair.
“No, don’t.” He turned her around.
“If I stay, we won’t stay clothed long,” he warned.
Her mouth started watering and she was about to nod in agreement, when he shook his head. “Just like you, I need some time.” He dropped his hands. “I think we’re set for Thursday.” He turned to go.
“Luke, are your parents still married?”
The question stopped him. “Yes. Why?”
She walked over to the sofa and fell back onto the cushions. “I thought my folks were happy. They both acted like they loved one another all the time…” She rested her head back and closed her eyes. “I remember walking into the kitchen and finding them dancing. There wasn’t any music playing.” She chuckled. “They always said they were dancing to the music in their heads.” She released a deep breath and felt the cushions dip next to her and knew he was sitting close.
“And?”
“And.” She sat up and looked at him. “This morning I caught my father sitting on his front porch flirting with my old schoolteacher.”
The room was silent for a while, then his laughter broke the silence.
“That’s what all this was about?”
She felt her teeth grind as her eyes narrowed. “It’s…”
“Flirting. Harmless, from the sound of it.”
“So, you think flirting is harmless?”
His laughter died down. “Some flirting is.”
“So, if you walked into the diner and saw me sitting in a booth with… John Drake. My hand in his lap…”
She watched his eyes narrow and heat. “That’s different.”
Her chin rose. “How?”
“Your mother’s gone.”
Her heart sunk and her breath caught.
“Tessa.” He reached for her. “I’m sorry.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “No. You’re right.” She tried to steady her breathing after the blow. Even though it was true, just hearing it still upset her.
“Hey.” He pulled her closer. “I’m sure it was harmless.” His arms wrapped around her.
“Yes,” she said into his shoulder. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Hey, how about we head downstairs and grab a beer?”
She laughed and leaned back. “That actually sounds really good.”
***
Lucas couldn’t remember being more nervous in his life. He’d never played in front of a crowd, and the place was even more crowded tonight than it had been two weeks ago. Apparently, word had gotten out that he and Tessa were doing a duet tonight.
Tessa had warned him that the entire town was gossiping about them being an item. Hell, he didn’t care at this point if everyone knew it. After the other night, he was pretty determined to enjoy the relationship ride as long as he could.
Music had opened so much for him. He no longer struggled with nightmares of the accident. Some of the guilt and anger had receded as well.
“Are you nervous?” Tessa asked. She was standing next to him in a soft white lace dress with pink cowgirl boots. He wanted to reach out and wrap his arms around her and take her to the dance floor, but the butterflies in his stomach had glued his feet to the floor.
“Hey.” Her soft voice was right next to his ear. He could feel her breath on his skin. Then she was pushing herself up against him as her arms wrapped around his waist. “Focus on me.” Her eyes locked with his. “There’s only me.”
His vision narrowed and soon she was the only person in the crowded room. He could see every shade of brown in her eyes. The fact that there was a streak of gray in each iris, caused him some pleasure. Then he noticed how the lights played over the caramel highlights in her hair. The way her lips puckered and the slight dip in her chin. His fingers reached out and ran over the sexy spot.
“Now, when you’re up there, focus on me. Only me,” she purred and he couldn’t stop himself from nodding in agreement.
Before he knew it, she was handing him the guitar and pushing him towards the stage. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright lights hitting him, but soon after, he found her in the crowd and smiled. Taking a deep breath, he began to play.
As soon as the first words were out of his mouth, the entire room grew quiet and, even though he knew every eye was on him, his eyes were locked with the only person in the room that mattered to him.
When the song ended, he blinked and chanced a glance around the room, only to realize that every woman’s eyes were wet with tears and every man was holding his woman close. There was no polite clapping. Instead, the room exploded with cheers the moment the last chord finished.
His smile was quick and before he knew it, Tessa was standing next to him with her guitar. Her face said everything. Then she was strumming with him and they were singing the duet about how her parents would dance to their own music.
People clapped as they spun around the floor. He was thankful he’d brought a drum track along, since everyone was clapping and stomping in time with the beat.
He felt a bead of sweat roll down his back and, for the first time, he knew exactly what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Chapter Ten
He was still running on the natural high a few hours later. There were three empty beer glasses sitting in front of him and two in front of Tessa. Empty shot glasses were scattered around the table.
Alex and Grant hadn’t been able to make it, but that didn’t stop everyone else he knew from showing up. He was surprised that they all stayed around after he’d sung the last song. They’d called for an encore and he’s sung a few classic Johnny Cash songs he knew.
Tessa was pretty much sitting in his lap all night and they had spent a few songs twirling around the dance floor. She’d even spun around once with her father who had shown up just before he’d gone onto the stage. The old man had cried several times during their song. During the other songs, Tessa had wrapped her arms around him.
He’d watched her closely when the old man had taken the school teacher’s hand and walked with her to the dance floor for a slo
wer song. Instead of anger, she’d watched them with anxiety. When he pulled her closer, she felt like she was about to jump out of her skin, so, he’d taken her hand and pulled her out on the dance floor, too.
He’d made sure to hold her tight and run his hands over her slowly. He’d rubbed his lips over her collar bone, until he’d felt her body melt next to his. Then he knew she’d forgotten all about her dad dancing with another woman.
To be honest, he’d even forgotten the reason for pulling her onto the dance floor, other than wanting to have her in his arms. Seeing the way her hair caught the lights flashing above them and smelling the perfume on her soft skin flooded him with a desire that outweighed anything else.
His sole purpose for the rest of the night was to see how long he could keep her next to him. When they finally called last call, he was pretty sure he’d found himself not only a new career, but a new purpose as well.
“Walk me home?” Tessa said, leaning on him as they walked out the front door.
“Try and stop me.” He smiled down at her and brushed a strand of her hair aside. She leaned on him and he wrapped his arm around her. “Besides, I parked over there, remember?”
Her smile was her answer. They walked for a moment before she broke the silence. “No one could stop talking about you tonight.” She rolled her head back and met his eyes.
“It’s your songs they were talking about.”
She broke in with a chuckle. “You can’t take a compliment.” She stopped just under a streetlight and wrapped her arms around him. “You have natural talent. Something I had to work years at”—she shook her head slightly, but the smile remained on her lips— “you just have it.” She snapped her fingers.
“Do the years of singing in the shower count?” he joked.
She smiled, then reached up on her toes and placed her lips softly on his. “You were incredible tonight.”
He waited a heartbeat. Then, with his arms wrapped around her tightly, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers. “Thanks. You were pretty amazing, too.”
She took his hand and continued walking towards her apartment. The entire town of Fairplay was dark and closed down. All the cars from the parking lot had already disappeared. Her apartment was only three blocks away from the Rusty Rail. With all of the streetlights and the full moon, the town was flooded with light. They walked in silence until they reached the bottom of the stairs.
She didn’t even hesitate. She tugged his hand until he was pressed against her. “Are you coming up?” she whispered.
“Are you sure?”
Instead of answering, she tugged on his hand lightly and he followed her up the stairs.
Over the last few days, she’d emptied all the boxes and had finished fixing the place up. He liked the paintings she’d hung on the walls, some of guitars, others of music notes. All of her art had to do with music in one way or another, whether it was hanging guitars or signed drum sticks that were matted and framed behind glass.
When she shut her front door, she didn’t stop in the living room, but continued walking back towards the bedroom. For the second time that night, nerves almost overtook him.
She stopped just inside her doorway and wrapped her arms around him. When her lips touched his, all the nerves disappeared. His hands moved to her hips, his nails dug into the soft lace fabric. Her lips were driving him crazy and soon his desire grew and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
In one swoop, he moved until she was up against the wall. His fingers pushed until the lacey dress was up past her hips. He stepped between her spread legs and rubbed himself against the silky panties she wore. His fingers dug into her soft skin, then roamed over until he could feel her sweetness.
His mouth had never left hers, but now it dipped lower so he could taste the spot just under her ear. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as he gently moved aside those silk panties. When he dipped a finger into her heat, she cried out with pleasure and he felt her hips buck.
“My god,” he groaned against her neck. The skirt of her dress fell over his hand, so he stepped back quickly and pulled until she stood in front of him clad only in white panties and a matching bra that pushed her perfect breasts together. He wanted to spend the entire night touching and tasting every soft spot.
When he came back to her, he moved one leg until her hips rested on his thigh. His lips claimed hers again as his fingers rubbed the curve of her breasts. He took his time touching, tasting. When he knelt in front of her and pushed those panties aside, he groaned at how beautiful she was.
As he touched her lightly, a soft sound came from her lips and her fingers dug into his hair, holding him tight.
He rubbed his fingers over her until he felt her legs tense, and then, when he couldn’t deny the desire to taste her, he leaned forward and ran his tongue over her soft lips.
He kissed the insides of her thighs and rubbed his mouth over every tender spot until her knees buckled. Standing, he lifted her gently into his arms and walked across the room to lay her softly on her bedspread.
Looking down at her, he knew he’d lost more than his mind just wanting to be with her. He’d never felt so strongly about making sure a woman was pleased before. Now, it was his only purpose to make sure she had every desire she’d ever wanted.
***
Lucas looked down at her after he’d done the most wonderful things to her, and she felt her entire body react to his gaze. Her nipples peaked when his eyes moved slowly over her bra. Between her legs grew damp when his eyes traveled lower.
When he moved slowly onto the bed, still fully clothed, she propped herself up on her elbows.
“How about you lose some of those clothes?” Her own eyes moved over him.
He’d looked damn sexy all night in his worn jeans, black boots, and black T-shirt. He’d been wearing a black Stetson all night, but had lost it just inside her doorway. His hair was messy from her hands, and there was light stubble covering his face, making him look a little dangerous and a whole lot sexier.
“In due time.” His smile made her glad she was not trusting her legs to keep her upright.
He reached up and tugged on her remaining clothes until she was lying in front of him completely naked. When she tried to kick off her boots, he stopped her.
“No, leave them.” That smile was something she could get caught up in. Honestly, it was hard to deny him anything when that dimple of his winked at the side of his mouth.
“I think it’s only fair that you remove one article of clothing.” She wanted to cross her arms over her chest, but the way his eyes were soaking her up made all her shyness disappear.
He leaned back and flipped his shirt over his head. That’s what she’d been wanting, her hands on his skin. To see those sexy muscles of his jerk when she ran a fingertip over them.
“Hmmm.” She held him still as her hands played over him slowly. His eyes closed and his head fell back when her fingers followed the sexy trail of dark hair that disappeared below his jeans.
She’d never seen a man with a true six-pack. When she ran a fingertip over each line, the muscles bunched and his breath hitched.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked, her eyes rushing to his.
His low chuckle caused his stomach muscles to move again in a different way. She found it totally fascinating and wanted to have it happen again.
“No, darling. You’re killing me.” He circled her wrists with his hands, then moved until she was pinned under him, his bare chest against hers. She’d lost all her ability to breathe and think. She’d thought that her nipples had gotten hard under his gaze. That was nothing compared to having his warm skin brush up against hers.
He pushed a thigh between her legs and when the denim of his jeans brushed against her private spot, she closed her eyes and couldn’t stop herself from moving her hips.
“Yes, that’s it,” he groaned next to her ear as his mouth caused more goosebumps all over her skin. “Ride me.” He flexed h
is hips. His hand locked hers above her head as the other slowly roamed over her. When his fingers pinched her nipple lightly, her hips jerked off the mattress and she pressed herself more firmly against his jeans.
Her legs wrapped around his hips as his fingers spread her once more and he dipped a finger into her wetness. She couldn’t stop the cry from breaking from her lips, nor could she have ever dreamed that with his simple touch, he’d take her to a place she’d only imagined.
“Come for me,” he growled as his mouth covered her breast. “Let go.” His mouth traveled down her belly until his lips once more covered her sex. When he placed his tongue where his fingers were moments ago, she did let go. Completely.
She was floating and spinning all at once. She was pretty sure even her back wasn’t touching the mattress anymore. All she could feel was his skin against hers. She could only hear the beating of her heart pounding in her ears and she tasted… him.
Her eyes fluttered open when his weight lifted from her.
“No.”
“Easy.” He chuckled. “Just removing my pants.”
She found the strength to watch him. He kept his eyes focused on her as he removed his boots, then peeled those sexy worn jeans from his hips.
When his sex sprang free, she held her breath and fought off the desire to run and call the whole night a mistake. Instead, she watched him crawl back onto the bed towards her. When he ripped open the condom, she realized her body was already wanting his.
Deciding to let her body take over, she closed her eyes as he moved over her. Biting her bottom lip, she waited for the pain she knew would be coming, but instead, he started kissing her neck once more.
“You taste so sweet,” he said next to her ear. “I love this soft spot… here… and here…” He ran his mouth up her neck and over to the other side to do the same. His hands moved slowly over her, igniting flames everywhere he went.
“Lucas,” she moaned. Her fingers were digging into his shoulders.
“Look at me.” He moved back. “I want to see your eyes go soft when I enter you.”