by Becky McGraw
He sat still for a minute when she finished, then he stood and walked slowly to the stage, never taking his eyes from hers. She got up from the stool and walked to the edge of the stage, curious as to what he thought. When he got there, he put his hands on her waist, and lifted her down to the floor, then claimed her lips in a long, heated kiss that curled her toes. He kissed her until applause sounded behind them, and the band started laughing, then he moved his lips near her ear and said in a choked whisper, “I love you, Jess…”
She swallowed hard and clamped down on the tears that surged to her throat and closed it off. Although she might think she loved him too, she wasn’t going to say the words until she knew for sure…when that would be, she had no idea. Her breath was short erratic pants, and her chest felt tight, because she didn’t want to lose him, because she couldn’t say the words. “I…um…I” she stuttered trying to force them.
Wade kissed her again, then pulled back and looked into her eyes, and said gruffly, “You say it when you’re ready, darlin’…I’m not in a hurry. I’ll wait forever for you, you’re worth it.”
Jess whimpered, then tiptoed to kiss him, telling him with her kiss what her brain refused to say out loud. Someone cleared their throat behind them then Denver said with a chuckle, “Are we done practicing? I think you two need some alone time, so Jess can write some more songs.”
After a few more seconds, Jess broke the kiss and looked into Wade’s eyes and told them, “Yeah, we’re done…we’re going home, I need to rest up for tonight.” Somehow Jess didn’t think there’d be much resting going on, though.
Jess looked at the clock on the dresser and saw it was almost five o’clock…time for her to get up and get ready for the show tonight, but she couldn’t pull herself out of the warm cocoon of Wade’s arms. He was softly snoring, but had his arms wrapped around her tight, his chin snuggled into her hair. She put a kiss on his chest, then moved her mouth to his nipple, and licked a circle around it, as she slid her hand down his stomach then stroked him.
“Mmm…” he said sleepily, then sucked in a breath and shifted his hips against her hand, hardening like steel. Jess slid her palm up to his shoulder, then straddled him and rubbed herself against his heated skin, then moaned because it felt so damned good. Slowly sliding her body down his, Jess kissed his neck, and across his shoulder, then down his chest, before she ducked under the sheet, kissing and licking her way to his hipbone, where she placed an open mouth kiss.
Moving over him, she breathed hotly over his erection, before she licked him from the base of his hardness up to the head, and a tremor passed through his body. When she took him into her mouth, he groaned loudly and his muscles tensed as his hips shot off the bed. Jess slid her arms under his thighs and cupped his hips with her hands, then moved over him, working in rhythm with his hips.
“Oh, god, Jess…” his said breathlessly in a dark agonized tone, and tried to pull her head away from him. She shook her head and pulled back, then increased her rhythm, and he whimpered, then moved his hands up and flung the sheet off of them, staring down at her. Locking her eyes with his, she slid her mouth almost off of him, and circled him with her tongue, then slid down again slowly.
His brown eyes were wild and full of fire, his jaw clenched, and his breathing was short and shallow, as he watched her love him. When she increased her pace again, he threw back his head and howled, clenching the sheet in his fists.
“Move, baby, I’m coming…” he groaned in warning, but Jess stayed right with him, until he shouted her name and his whole body vibrated, and she tasted his essence on her tongue. He laid there, breathing heavily, his hands still clutched in the sheet. Jess kissed her way up his body, then laid on top of him and cuddled into his neck.
“You sure know how to wake me up, sweetheart,” he told her then kissed her hair…my god, that was incredible…you’re incredible.”
She kissed his neck, then slid her tongue up to his ear, and nipped his earlobe. “No, you’re incredible, sugar…I love you, Wade,” she told him, because her heart finally opened up and let him inside, and her love for this man flowed through her entire being.
Wade growled, then rolled her over and claimed her mouth in a fiery kiss that told her he felt the same way. When he started kissing his way down her body, she stopped him and said, “That was for you sugar…I need to get ready to go to the bar, or I’m gonna be late.”
“Party pooper,” he said with a chuckle then kissed her belly and got up. “I’m going see if Cassie and Luke can watch Angel tonight, because I want to go see you play, that okay with you?”
“Better than okay…freaking fantastic…I can sing Take My Breath Away to you again, and we can have an encore performance of earlier, when we get home,” she purred then slapped his naked ass with a saucy grin, as she walked past.
CHAPTER TEN
When she got to the bar, and set her stuff down, Travis ran over to her. His eyes were filled with excitement and his face was flushed, when he told her, “The label from Nashville called earlier, and they’re gonna have someone here tonight to hear you!”
“Wow…that’s awesome!” she said then jumped up and down, as much as she could with the lead weight of the cast weighing her down. “Do you know who they’re sending?”
“No idea, they wouldn’t tell me, they wanted him to be here anonymously…but they said he’d heard you sing before and really liked you.”
“Oh, yeah? That’s great then, and he can hear the new stuff too…” she said with excitement building inside of her. “And maybe he’ll introduce himself after the show or something…this is fantastic, Trav…thanks for all your hard work,” she told him then leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The smile faded from his face, and he told her seriously, “I’m hoping to get you signed soon, darlin’, so I can get back to San Antonio…my boss called me yesterday wanting to know when I was coming back. I don’t have much emergency family leave left.”
“I know…and you are going back when it’s up. I’m not letting you give up your job, because of me…but I appreciate you being here for me…I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”
He kissed her cheek and said, “I wouldn’t have missed it, and I’ll always be there for you sis,” then added with fierceness in his tone, “I’m sorry we were disconnected for so long…it won’t happen again.”
“It better not, I like having you around, big brother,” she told him with a smile.
“I’ve got some calls to return, so I’ll see you at show time…” he told her, then added with a wry grin and a laugh, “I’d tell you to break a leg, but it looks like you’ve already done that.” She slapped his shoulder playfully, and he flinched then laughed then took off toward the stairs.
Nervousness crept up on her and slowly traveled along her nerve endings to clutch her heart. A music rep was going to be here tonight ,and she had to be on her A-game, because Travis was right, it was time he headed back to his life in San Antonio, and wasn’t going to be the one to keep him from it.
She hadn’t brought anything flashy to wear tonight, because honestly, she didn’t have anything that didn’t need to be dry cleaned. She did have the cash from her first paycheck from this gig stashed in her purse, it wasn’t much, but it was enough that she could go shopping somewhere in town and maybe get something special to wear.
Jess knew there was a western store in town, and it was probably still open, so maybe Jazzie would go with her, but she was going to have to be quick, the bar was filling up and she had to start playing at seven, which was in forty-five minutes.
Going to the foot of the stairs, she yelled up to Jazzie, and she came down right away, like she’d been about to come down anyway. She was dressed in a red, skin-tight spandex bandage dress with skyscraper red sequin shoes. She was way ahead of Jess, because she already had her makeup on and hair done too. “Wow, you look gorgeous, sugar.”
Jazzie spun in a circle, then gave her a big grin, and s
aid cheekily, “I thought so too.”
“And humble to boot,” she told her with a laugh. “I need to go power-shopping, can you come with me? There’s a western store a few doors down.”
“Hell yeah, I don’t turn down shopping, ever,” Jazzie said then hooked her arm with Jess and yanked her toward the back door.
They walked as quick as they could with Jess’s hobbling gait, and Jazzie’s skyscraper heels and shorter stride, then went down the alley to the front of the store and inside. For a small town store, they had a surprising selection of good quality western wear.
“Jazzie, help me — I’m thinking a white hat, white denim skirt and a pink sparkly shirt of some kind…oh and I need boots, they ruined mine at the hospital, no high heels though,” she said then added over her shoulder as she headed for the back room, “I can’t walk around quick enough, so I’ll wait in the dressing room to try on whatever you bring me.”
Jazz was quick and tossed a hot pink denim dress, with a studded yolk over the stall door, and handed over white rhinestone studded boots. The dress was a halter-type and pushed up her into the sweetheart neckline, making mountains out of molehills. She tied it behind her neck, then slid the zipper up to her waist.
The whole back was out of the dress, and it was a little short for her liking, because she would be sitting on a stool, but it was too darling to pass up. It fit her like it was made for her, she thought, as she turned side to side in the mirror. Sitting down on the corner bench, she took off her tennis shoe and slid her good foot into one of the beautiful boots, then stood up and smoothed down the dress. She grabbed the door knob and walked out to see what Jazzie thought.
Jazzie gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my god, Jessie…that’s beautiful,” she said then plopped a white Stetson with a chrome hat band on her head. “It’s perfect, let’s go pay for it and get out of here,” Jazzie said then dumped an armload of other clothes on the chair outside the room.
“Wait, let me get my other stuff…” she said then went back in and grabbed her stuff, the spare boot, and her purse. “This is probably going to break the bank, but I needed something special for tonight. Did Travis tell you the music rep is going to be at the show?”
“Yeah, he did…and it’s damned exciting, sister. We’re gonna kill it tonight,” she said with confidence Jess wished she still shared.
They walked to the counter, and she handed over three quarters of what she’d earned last week for the outfit, but she needed the confidence boost, and wasn’t sorry about it. Ducking back down the alley outside, they walked back to the bar, then in the rear exit door, and Jess sucked in a breath, because the place was packed wall to wall, and there were still people coming in the door. She didn’t know if Red was charging a cover tonight, but if he was, he was killing it. Nerves fluttered around in her belly again, and she put a hand there to settle them down.
“You’re gonna do great, girlfriend…don’t sweat it. You’ve got this,” Jazzie encouraged her. “Those new songs are gonna set ‘em on fire.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” she said then stuck her pinkie out to Jazzie, who hooked it with hers and pulled. The gesture was something they always did, a reminder that they were sister’s of the heart and would always have each others back.
Jess half-walked, half-hopped to the stairs and grabbed the rail, about to go up to the stage, when she caught a whiff of an erotic citrusy cologne she knew well, right before strong arms wrapped around her and she was lifted up, then kissed senseless.
“That’s for luck, darlin’,” Wade said in his rich deep voice near her ear. “You look so fucking beautiful, I want to take you upstairs, instead of setting you on this stage.”
“And I’m almost tempted to let you…” she said then put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. He had on his black Stetson, and a gorgeous black shirt, shot through with silver thread. “You look good enough to eat, sugar.”
“Stop that, or you really aren’t gonna sing anything other than my name tonight,” he told her with a quick kiss, then he went up the steps and set her on her feet.
She heard Den on the drums, getting in place, and Tony and Mike lightly strumming their guitars, and knew it was show time. “I’ve gotta go, sweetheart, don’t go far, because I need you around for the special songs,” she told him, then tiptoed for a kiss.
“You want a beer or something? Water?” Wade asked her, as he turned to head back down the stairs.
“Water would be great, two or three of them,” she told him with a laugh.
Wade nodded, then told her with a wink, “You got it…I’ll be right back.”
Jess turned toward the band and grinned, “Let’s get this show on the road, guys…” then picked up her acoustic and plugged it in, and lifted her new hat to put the strap over her shoulder. Walking to the mike, she introduced the band, and then herself, before they kicked off their regular set. Jess felt good up there, the dance floor was full, and Jazzie and the gang were feeling their oats and playing their hearts out for the crowd, and they loved it. People, mostly good looking cowboys, lined the stage, and whooped and hollered after every song. Wade was one of them, and he was the only one she had eyes for.
She took a short break after the final song of the first set, then hollered back to Jazzie with a smile, “Let’s do Take My Breath Away, as a final for the set.” Jazz nodded then told the others, and Jess grabbed her guitar and sat on the stool, then spoke into the mike, “Okay guys, this is a new one I wrote, and we’re playing it for the first time tonight…grab your sweetheart and snuggle up…let me know what you think!”
She grabbed Wade’s eyes with hers, and sang it with so much feeling, that her eyes teared up. Although the bar was packed, it felt like they were the only two people in there again. There was a pause at the end and she held it, oddly enough the bar was quiet, then she sang the last line a capella, “And every time you touch me…you take my breath away.”
The stone cold silence remained after her voice faded and Jess got worried. She noticed people had stopped dancing, and were just standing there staring up at them, then someone in the back of the crowd started clapping, and before long, the bar was filled with uproarious applause and shouts. Several people walked to the stage and were yelling up, wanting to know where they could buy a CD.
Grinning from ear to ear, Jess slid off the stool, and took a bow, then turned and waved her arm to the band, who she saw were also clapping wildly, then she looked at Wade and he winked at her, then grinned too. Exhilaration and adrenaline flowed through her, and Jess walked to the edge of the stage to stand in front of Wade. “Wanna help a cowgirl, down?” she asked him with a bright smile.
She felt heat scorch her skin, as his eyes ran up the length of her legs, up her body, then met her eyes. “You don’t have to ask me that twice, darlin’,” he said then ran up the steps, and picked her up, before he carried her down to the dance floor. “Can I buy the most beautiful cowgirl in the bar a beer?” he asked with a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Whatever your sellin’ honey, I’m buyin’,” she drawled then chuckled.
“Ya’ll were phenomenal, Jess…if that guy from the record label doesn’t think so, he needs to turn up his hearing aid,” Wade told her with a sexy grin, which made that damned dimple pop out, and in turn made her want to rip his clothes off right there and have her way with him.
Heady emotion clogged her throat, as she looked up into his warm gaze, and she said, “I love you, Wade Roberts…sometimes I think you’re too good to be true,” then leaned up to kiss him.
Wade bought her that beer, and he even took her for a spin around the dance floor to the canned music in between sets…standing on his boots. It was hilarious, but it worked. They played one new song at the end of each set, and they seemed to be a big success with the crowd. The show was almost over now, but the crowd was just as big as it had been when they opened the doors, people weren’t leaving. They had one song left, Angel and My Baby Girl, and
she couldn’t wait to sing it to close out the show.
“Okay ya’ll, this is our last song tonight, and it’s another one brand new one. I’m going to play it acoustically, so let me know what you think.” The other members of the band put down their instruments, then filed down the stairs to stand in the crowd and watch too.