I ground my center against the bulge in his crotch, making him groan my name.
“You’re going to make me walk through the lobby with a raging boner?” he panted.
“You’re going to make me walk through it with a blissed out orgasmic face. I’d say we’re even.”
Chapter 2
Dawson
All too soon, the tap on the divider signaled we were about to be at the hotel. Unable to resist, I stole one more kiss before I eased Izzy from my lap and onto the seat next to me. Not bothering to hide the maneuver from her, I adjusted my crotch. Hunger filled her eyes as she watched. It made my blood boil each time I was able to read her desire. When we’d first explored our passion as teenagers, she’d always shuttered her feelings except in moments of absolute vulnerability. But three years ago, when we decided to venture from friends to lovers, we were both all in, hiding nothing from each other.
“I want you so bad right now,” she growled in my ear.
“Believe me, flutterby, the feeling’s mutual. I hope you didn’t have your heart set on seeing anybody else tonight.”
“Just you. Every delectable inch.” She smirked and straightened her shirt.
The smile permanently cemented on my face didn’t even fade with the group of fans waiting outside the Okura when we pulled up outside. Flashes of light flickered outside the window. I squeezed Izzy’s thigh and shifted to the partition separating us from Joe and Ty. With the press of a button, the dark glass whispered down.
“Somebody must have alerted the fans that you didn’t return to the hotel with the rest of the band earlier. Sorry. You want to go in more discreetly?” Joe asked, eyeing me in the mirror.
“Yeah. I don’t want Izzy hounded, and I don’t want to get hung up signing a bunch of autographs right now.” Priorities.
“Give me two minutes,” he said, and the glass slid shut.
Moving back to my spot next to Izzy, I tucked her against my chest and just relished the feel of her against me. Over the years, we’d managed to keep our relationship on the downlow. Originally, it was by our own design. We just hadn’t wanted to be hassled. But when Izzy worked for the label to photo document one of our tours, it had been the label’s insistence that we stay out of the public eye. I’d begun to resent it though. I was tired of the world thinking I was someone I wasn’t.
The motion of the vehicle stopped, and in moments, Ty had the door opened. He and Joe moved to the rear to get Izzy’s bag and the groceries we’d stopped for on the way to the airport.
I climbed out, then held my hand into the interior to help Izzy. “You coming?”
“Not at the moment, but hopefully I will be soon,” she said with a sassy smirk.
When she put her hand in mine, I tugged her to me so fast, she collided with my chest. “Oh, you definitely will be. Over and over and over,” I mumbled in her ear. “I owe you like a month of orgasms.”
“While I’m giddy at the prospect of that, technically you don’t owe me a month of them. I mean with all the video calls, we certainly assisted each other with plenty of climaxes while we were apart.”
Over her head, I glanced at Joe and Ty, who grinned back at me, telling me they’d heard at least part of our exchange. They’d never let on to Izzy though because they’d never embarrass her like that. I shuffled her to my side then walked to where Joe and Ty waited.
“Izzy, it’s good to see you again. I’m sure I’ll catch you in the next few days or so,” Ty said as he gave her a one-armed hug.
“You’re not coming in?” she asked.
“No. The rest of the guys are heading out in a little bit. I’m going to wait with the car for them.”
“OK. Then I’ll see you later. Be safe.”
Joe, laden down with a handful of cloth grocery bags and Izzy’s suitcase, led the way to the elevator. When the doors opened, he leaned in, checking it out before letting us board. The small box was empty. Izzy and I settled in the back corner while Joe stood formidably in front of us. With one large finger, he stabbed the button for the seventeenth floor.
“You planning to stay in for the rest of the night?” Joe asked me without turning around.
“Yes. Maybe tomorrow too. At least the morning. Why?”
“The boys want to go to the Red-Light District. I’d feel better if they went with a full security team. Don’t want them finding too much trouble. But I also don’t want to leave you unprotected if you’re going out.”
“Definitely go with them. I’d feel better knowing you were keeping them safe,” I said.
Izzy turned her head so that her mouth was by my ear. “You sure you wouldn’t rather go with the guys? Sounds like the perfect place for a rock star to be seen.”
Most of the time she was totally secure in our relationship, but occasionally it seemed as if there were these little doubts about why I’d choose to spend my time with her. Leaving one arm wrapped around her abdomen, anchoring her to me, I ran the other one up and down her arm, comfortingly.
♪ “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction
“Even if you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be heading to the Red-Light District. Going there doesn’t appeal to me. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Her beautiful lips turned down in a frown.
My mouth hovered near her ear, so I could speak directly into it, “Unless I went with you.”
She squirmed in my arms at the prospect but stayed silent.
“We’ll talk about it later. First, we have more important things to take care of.” I pressed my lips to the sensitive spot right behind her ear, eliciting shivers from her.
Ding. The elevator came to a halt on the seventeenth floor.
Once we were inside my suite, Joe set the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter and deposited Izzy’s suitcase in the living room next to the staircase. Izzy and I both toed off our shoes, a habit both our parents had engrained in us since we were kids.
“Need anything else before I round up the guys and head out?” He moved toward the door.
“Nah. I think we’re good. I’ll check in with you tomorrow if we’re going to go anywhere.” I gave him a one-armed bro hug. “Thanks for picking up Izzy for me.”
“No prob.” Joe pulled Izzy into a hug. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Missed you all too,” her words were muffled against his chest.
“Hey now, hands off my girl.” Playfully, I tugged her back to me.
He chuckled all the way out of the suite and into the hallway.
Once Joe left, I said, “Let’s put the groceries away, then I’ll give you a tour.”
“Your room is big enough to warrant a tour?” Her brow quirked up at me.
The suite reserved for us was the biggest I’d ever stayed in. And I’d stayed in some nice places ever since our second album dropped to huge acclaim. “Oh yeah. Wait ‘til you see it. There are lots of surfaces for us to make use of. But groceries first.”
“You sure you don’t want to go out with the guys? I wouldn’t be mad if… you know… you wanted to go… um… watch one of those shows.”
She was staring at her feet and twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers.
“Isabelle, look at me.” I hadn’t used her real name in years, so it caught her by surprise. Wide green eyes met mine. “Yes, this is serious enough that I pulled out your real name. So, pay attention. I don’t want to go out with the guys to the Red-Light District. Or anywhere else for that matter. Maybe when I was nineteen I would’ve jumped at the chance. But ever since you and I decided to go all in, I have had zero desire to go clubbing or partying or anything with the guys. I might grab a beer with them on occasion at a bar. And I attend the mandatory meet and greets hosted by the label and the parties thrown by radio stations. But the entire time, I’m counting down the minutes until I can get back and call you. Does the record label hate it? Yes. They want me more visible. They want me partying and living the rocker lifestyle within reason because it makes
for good publicity. But I don’t give a crap. We’re almost done with our contract, so they can go eff themselves. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good. Now let’s put these away.” I gave her a quick kiss before I turned my attention back to the kitchen.
I reached into one bag and pulled out strawberries, whipped cream, grapes and cheese. Working together, we put the items in the fridge. Then I unearthed a box of expensive chocolates, several bottles of Mt. Dew, a couple bottles of wine, ranch dressing and bar-b-que sauce.
“They sell Mt. Dew in Amsterdam?”
“I had Joe take me to this American specialty store, so I could stock up on your favorites. Then we hit up a couple other places to get some authentic Dutch treats.” Peeking in one of the last two bags on the counter, I carried it over by her suitcase. When I got back to the kitchen, she was pulling out a loaf of truffle cheese bread, a dozen oliebollen and ontbijtkoek with butter for breakfast in the morning.
Izzy folded the empty bags and stuck them on the shelf in the corner by the fridge. Reaching for her delicate hand, I intertwined our fingers, relishing in how they fit together like puzzle pieces. “Now for a quick tour. Obviously, this is the kitchen.” I tugged her through the doorway and to the left. “That’s the dining room table, I’m guessing. Or maybe for conferences. Who knows? We’re not going to need seating for eight in here. But it is a nice large surface for us to use.”
She ran her fingers across the shiny, light tan fabric of one of the chairs. Leaning forward, she sniffed a bloom perched in a vase on the table. The centerpiece was a beautiful rainbow of tulips, heavy on pink at my request. With a twist of a knob on the wall, sparkling lights twinkled from the crystal chandelier suspended on long cables from the second story of the suite.
She gasped. “There’s an upstairs to your room? How much did this cost?”
“The hotel actually comped our rooms this time and offered this one to me since we agreed to play a five-song set in their bar upstairs last night.”
“Wow. That’s awesome. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t reserved this one just because I’m visiting. You already spent so much flying me here.”
“Make no mistake about it, I’d have paid for this suite for your visit no matter what. You deserve to be treated like a queen all the time. My queen.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but I silenced her with a soul-searing kiss. Her fingers slipped beneath the hem of my shirt, digging into the flesh of my back, pressing me closer. I was desperate for her. The tour of the suite was probably going to be cut short at the rate we were going. Forcefully, I tore my mouth from hers. “Come on, let me finish showing you our little slice of heaven.”
I led her to the right into the living room which had a couple of couches, chairs with matching ottomans, a large square table, flat-screen TV and windows looking out over the city. Izzy flopped backwards onto the couch and moaned at the softness of the cushions. She looked so inviting sprawled on the couch.
Yanking her back up, I grinned. “Tour’s not over.”
“We could take a little detour,” she said seductively, running her fingers in the edge of my waistband.
Quickly, I trapped her hand in mine. “Nu-uh. The first time I’m buried in you after a month without you is going to be on a bed where I have room and when I can take my time.”
Her lower lip jutted out in an adorable pout, which I thumbed gently. “Come on.”
With a dramatic sigh, she followed me. Twisting the silver knob on the door set in the corner, I showed her a bedroom. Two full-sized beds lined one wall while windows lined the other. The covers on the bed closest to the door were rumpled.
“Oooo, a bed,” she exclaimed and started to dive on it.
“Not this room.”
“But that’s your shirt right there,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, I tried sleeping in the master bedroom last night. But I kept reaching for you in my sleep and coming up empty handed. So, I moved down here halfway through the night. We might break in these beds at some point during your visit. But not first.”
She snatched up my discarded shirt and spun toward the door.
“Don’t you want to check out the view from the windows?”
“No. Right now, the only view I want is you naked above me. So, take me to bed or lose me forever.”
I busted out laughing at her Top Gun quote.
“Is that even a possibility?” I asked her seriously as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“What?” Her head tilted back slightly to gaze deeply into my eyes.
“Losing you forever?” My heart ached at the mere thought of it.
Her fingers ran across my jaw. “Not in this lifetime or the next.”
The need radiating between us was a pulsing, living entity that couldn’t be denied or ignored any longer. “Rest of the tour can wait. I need you.”
Scooping her up in my arms, I dashed up the stairs.
She squealed and laughed. “Don’t drop me.”
“Never. I’ve got you.” It was more than a promise for the moment. It was a promise for forever. One of these days I was going to convince her of that. Ignoring the burn in my legs from running up the floating glass steps, when I reached the top, I turned in the direction of my destination.
♪“I Get Weak” by Belinda Carlisle
“Wow,” she breathed out when she caught sight of the sleeping area of the master suite. “You were busy.” I’d bought three dozen kaleidoscope roses arranged in three vases from a florist who hand dyed them in her shop. They were placed strategically around the room. There was also a bouquet of pink knockout roses on the headboard. And the bed was covered in pink rose petals.
“I wanted you to feel how much I love you when you got here. So, the three vases of kaleidoscope roses represent the three years you’ve officially been mine. I had them hand dyed because I knew you’d appreciate their beauty, and they’re a good representation of all the color you’ve brought to my life. And the big pink bouquet has one rose for every year you’ve had my heart. So, eighteen.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. I carried her over to one of the colorful arrangements and set her on her feet. With a delicate touch, she stroked one of the blooms. “I’m glad I brought my camera. I’ve never seen anything so stunning.”
“I have,” I whispered in her ear as I rested my chin on her shoulder and admired her. I inhaled deeply, breathing in her sweet scent. “Mmmm. You smell good enough to eat.”
“It’s Happily Ever After,” she replied.
“Do you still like it?” It was a total gamble when I custom designed a perfume for Izzy. But man, it was the perfect fragrance for her.
“I love it. It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” My lips trailed across the sensitive skin of her neck, leaving a variety of kisses in their wake—soft, hard, pecks, open-mouthed, nibbles and licks. Her head fell to the side giving me better access, which I happily exploited. She gripped the bottom of her shirt and started to lift, but I stopped her.
For several long weeks, I’d had to watch her undress through a computer screen. Now that we were in the same space again, I wasn’t going to be denied the opportunity to undress her myself. But first I needed to kiss her. With a hand on her hip, I spun her around.
Her face turned up to mine, and I moved the small number of inches necessary to connect my mouth to hers. Eagerly, her lips parted to allow me entrance. Without haste, I plundered her mouth, relearning every nook and cranny of the mouth I loved so much.
So as to keep us both at a slower tempo, I ran my hands down her shoulders until my fingers laced with hers. Then I wrapped our joined hands around behind her back. She moaned and clutched me tighter.
As the kiss became more heated, I backed her toward the bed. After unwinding my fingers from hers, I gently lifted her shirt, breaking our kiss so that I could lift it over her head. A flash of color and shine caught my eye once the fabric was
out of the way. Delicately, I picked up the heart-shaped pendant to examine it. “New necklace?”
“Yeah. I made it. Do you like it?”
“You made it?” The rainbow swirled heart lay in my palm, a mixture of colors bleeding into one another, stunning in their chaos.
“Yeah. Something I’ve been experimenting with. I painted a bunch of designs on the back of some glass pieces one of my professors was going to toss. Then I turned them into pendants.”
“It’s beautiful and unique. Like you.” I lowered the tiny masterpiece back between her breasts. Then I reached behind my head and clasped a handful of my shirt and tore it over my head.
Reaching up, she tugged the beanie from my head I used to disguise myself earlier. I groaned when she dragged her fingers through my hair, scratching my scalp lightly.
With hands trembling in excitement, I unfastened my jeans and shoved them to the floor. I closed the gap between me and Izzy. My palms pressed against her sides, feeling the silky heat of her skin. Hard fingertips spanned her ribcage as her breath shuddered in and out of her lungs. The jerky rhythm was a song in itself, the bass groove. Her moans, the melody. Our hearts, the lyrics.
I reached around her and snatched the covers back, sending a shower of pink petals floating through the air. Lifting her, I carefully laid her on the bed as if she was the most precious thing I’d ever touched. And she was. Even if I had the occasion to hold the Hope Diamond, nothing would ever be more valuable than what I currently held in my hands.
Leaning up, she snaked her arms around my neck and planted scorching kisses along my collarbone while her hands skated down to my boxers. If she continued to touch me, the tempo to our love song would be shoved into fast forward, and I was determined to savor every moment of our reunion.
Gripping her wrists, I drew them over her head. Leaning against them, I pressed them into the mattress and gave her a breath-stealing kiss and ground my pelvis against her center. Too many layers separated us. When I pulled away, I said, “Keep your hands there. Don’t move. Understand?”
Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series: Box Set 1 Page 2