Finally, the elevator slowed, and the doors slid open just as my phone went off in my hand. “See you tomorrow, Joe,” I said as I walked away from him.
“Have a good night, Dawson,” he responded as he stationed himself right outside the elevator.
Someone from the security team would stand guard to make sure no one got off on our floor who wasn’t on the list. Personally, I thought the label was being overly cautious. But a few years ago, one of their other bands had a stalking incident go bad. Very bad. Now they took no chances.
I swiped my finger across the screen to answer Izzy’s call. Her smile dazzled me. “Hey, Daw. How was the show?”
“It’s so good to see your face, baby. The show was good. I’m on my way back to my room now.” I picked up my pace, eager to be behind my own closed door.
“You skipped the party?” her voice was incredulous.
“Of course. I have a date with the girl who’s stolen my heart.” I gave her a wink.
“Should I let you go, so you can meet up with her?” she teased.
And just like that, my bad mood evaporated and was replaced with the lightness only Izzy could provide. With my key in hand, I inserted the card until the lights turned green and the lock clicked. I entered the darkened living room. Once inside, I toed off my shoes and stepped further into my suite. Not bothering to turn on the lights, I moved to the chair by the balcony and sank into it. My lips tipped up as I catalogued everything about her—the sparkle in her eyes in the dim lighting of her room, the pink of her cheeks, her messy colorful curls piled up on top of her head like she often did for bed, the thin strap of her sleep tank top, the white pillow propped behind her, the huge smile on her lips.
“Are you already in bed?” I asked. “What time is it there?”
Her eyes glanced offscreen. “It’s six in the evening. Not even the same day you’re on yet. But yeah, I’m in bed. I thought we could pretend it was bedtime for both of us.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. It should’ve been comical since it was so out of character for her, but the implication made the look so sexy on her.
I swallowed hard. “What about your parents? Aren’t they downstairs?” As much as I wanted to get naked and get off with my girl, I knew how loud she could get. I’d never be able to face her parents again if they heard us.
“Don’t worry about them. They’re not around right now.” She shifted a little on the bed.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “How about we get more comfortable, then?” I said, leaning forward and grabbing a fistful of my shirt behind my head. For some reason, whenever I took my shirt off that way, it got Izzy all hot and bothered. And I wanted her all hot and bothered.
Her sharp intake of breath let me know I was succeeding. “Why does it feel like I haven’t seen your skin in forever?” she whispered.
“Because every day we’re apart feels like an eternity. I’m so sorry I’m not home for Christmas, flutterby.” Try as I might, I couldn’t keep the sorrow and regret out of my voice.
Tears glistened in her eyes, and her throat bobbed as she tried to swallow down her emotions. I recognized the signs. I’d watched Izzy fight to be strong her whole life. My own throat tightened, and my heart ached.
“Why don’t you show me where you’re staying so I can picture it better?” she asked, changing the subject.
I stood, panning the phone around.
“Where’s that door lead to?” she asked curiously.
“My bed for the next, like, week and a half.” I turned the phone back towards me. “My cold, lonely bed.” I pouted.
“Show me,” she whispered huskily. “So, I can picture you in it.”
Anxious as always to give her what she wanted, I moved to the door and turned the knob. I frowned initially when light filtered from inside the room. I knew I’d turned it off when I left for the concert venue earlier.
As soon as I got the door all the way opened, my own shirtless image filled the screen, framed by an ornate doorframe. I dropped my phone to the floor in shock as my mind tried to make sense of the mirage beyond the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” I choked out.
“Surprise. You couldn’t come home for Christmas, so home came to you.” Her face softened as her eyes drank me in.
“How did you get in here?” I wasn’t a hundred percent sure she was real. Maybe someone had drugged me at the venue, and I was hallucinating.
“With some help from your bodyguard.” She giggled at my dumbfounded expression.
“Remind me to give Joe a raise,” I said as I dove onto the bed and kissed her passionately.
We became a tangle of lips and limbs, trying to tear each other’s clothes off. My brain screamed for me to slow down, to savor the moment. But my raging cock wouldn’t listen.
When her skin was wonderfully bare to me, I dragged my lips down her abdomen on a quest to the holy grail. Before I could reach my destination, her fingers gripped my hair and tugged sharply.
“Later,” she pleaded. “I need you inside me. Now.”
Normally, I prided myself on keeping a tight leash on my own needs. Making love to Izzy after a lengthy separation was always an exercise in extreme patience. Embedding my touch in every cell of her body, reacquainting myself with each and every one of her pleasure points, memorizing every instant of that initial reunion.
This time though, the desperation in her voice snapped my restraint like it was no more than a gossamer thread trying to contain a tornado. I allowed her to pull my face back to hers. Normally gentle fingers scratched my abdomen in their frantic mission to strip me of my jeans. Once the button and zipper were unfastened, Izzy shoved my pants and boxers down in one violent shove. My body strained towards hers. With a little help from me, she finally got me naked.
Bracing myself on my elbows, I hovered over the most beautiful thing in my world, my own Christmas miracle. I stared at her in amazement and disbelief for several long moments. Outside the window, the City of Love was dressed for Christmas. Its decorations cast a festive glow through the glass, bathing Izzy’s flesh in a scattered pattern of emerald and scarlet. It was hypnotizing.
♪ Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondelles
Her gentle caress along my torso made me shiver. Strong, sexy legs wrapped around my hips, drawing me slowly closer to home. A moment of infinity encased us as I joined our bodies in that timeless expression of love and passion.
“You’re the best Christmas present I’ve ever received,” I whispered in awe, praying she heard the sincerity in every syllable of my words. “I love you with every molecule of my being.”
With my confession, I sank into her warmth.
“I love you more than I ever dreamed possible. Thank you for loving me,” she murmured against my lips before she kissed me with all the heat and fire that burned within her for me.
Though our lengthy absence and the degree of our passion set a pace that was far quicker than I wanted, those precious minutes conveyed all the love and longing we had for each other.
The next morning, I was giddy when I woke up with Izzy still in my arms. As I’d drifted off to sleep in the early morning hours, exhausted from all our catching up, I still wasn’t convinced the whole thing wasn’t a wonderful hallucination from some drug a fan had slipped me. It wasn’t unheard of. After a show a few months ago, Jett had to get his stomach pumped after a fan roofied him during a meet-and-greet.
As I stroked my hand up and down Izzy’s bare back, I made a list of everything I wanted to do now that she was here. “You’re thinking too much,” her voice croaked, her breath hot against my chest.
“Just planning,” I defended.
“Uh-huh.” Her fingers danced across my torso as I struggled to gain coherency enough to explain.
“Yeah, I was thinking about what kinds of clothes you’re going to need for some of the appearances we have in the next few days. I have a suit and even a tux being delivered today.” I wanted her by my side, but I wa
s sure she hadn’t packed formal clothes for her trip.
“I don’t have to go. I can just stay here and occupy myself until you get back, and then I can strip you out of your fancy clothes and ravage you.” Her hand ghosted past my stomach and grasped my hardening erection.
Unable to stop myself, I thrust up into her warm grip. “Or you could get a fancy dress and some F-Me heels, and I will do just that in some dark corner of the party.” I smirked at her.
Her breath hitched, and her hold on my shaft tightened. “That sounds like a helluva good idea. But how about you plan later and make love to me now.”
“My pleasure,” I rumbled as I rolled over on top of her.
“And mine.” She grinned cheekily before I kissed her senseless.
After we were sated enough, I arranged for Izzy to go shopping with Mireille and Tansy, the stylists employed by the label. After arming her with a list of the events, I sent her out the door with the exuberant girls with a scorching kiss and a smack on the butt. Then I hastily dressed and went in search of Joe. While Izzy was dressing, I’d sent him a text about what I had in mind, and he took care of lining everything up.
With Joe’s help, I managed to buy a small Christmas tree and decorations for it. I purchased fifteen special ornaments and a ton of hot pink ones to fill out the look. Joe reminded me to get wrapping paper and everything else I needed to wrap her gifts.
As we ascended to my room, lugging all the spoils of our trip, he asked, “You going to decorate the tree together?”
♪ Fa La La by Justin Bieber
I paused to ponder his question. I’d planned to do it myself when I got inside. But maybe we should do it as a couple. “I don’t know, man. I was going to just throw it up while she was out. But we’ve never done this part of Christmas before. Not even when we were kids.”
“So, in the, what three years since you’ve officially been a couple, you haven’t put up a tree together?” The disbelief on the big man’s face was almost comical.
“No. We’ve always just crashed one of our family’s holidays. Never had one of our own. What should I do?” I was nervous all of a sudden. I wanted to do this right. Make it a Christmas to remember.
“If it was me, I’d assemble the tree. Maybe put on all those pink ornaments you got. But save all those special ones that symbolize things from your love story to put up together,” he suggested as he shifted his load of bags to one hand, so he’d have a free one just in case when we got off on my floor.
“Good idea. You want to help me assemble the tree?” I asked. I didn’t want to admit I was a little intimidated at the thought of putting the tree together.
“For Izzy, of course.” He winked at me, and I gave him a fake glare.
Hours later, the tree twinkled in the corner of the master bedroom. Though I wasted a lot of paper, finally there were four boxes wrapped in metallic, pink paper and tied with black ribbon. I stuck them beneath the tree with their good sides facing out. Izzy was the master at giftwrap, each box always a work of art. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice my uneven ends, the jagged cuts or the half a roll of tape on the boxes. The sentimental ornaments were wrapped in tissue paper and nestled in a gift bag in the chair. One more look of inspection, and I was satisfied.
Still dripping from my shower, I dashed to get my phone when it alerted me of a text.
Tansy: On the way up from the lobby.
Me: Thanks
Hastily, I dried off and pulled on a pair of plaid lounge pants. I skipped the shirt. Giggling drifted in from the hallway just as I sank down on the couch in the living room. Moments later, Izzy swept into the room in a fit of laughter and breath of fresh air. I stood and crossed the room in three long strides. Taking Izzy in my arms, I fused my mouth to hers, completely ignoring the other women in the room. Bags crashed around my legs as Izzy dropped them and threw her arms around my neck. I was vaguely aware of Mireille and Tansy dumping more bags in the corner and hanging up some garment bags in the closet.
♪ Then He Kissed Me by the Crystals
A throat cleared. “Um, it was fun, Izzy. We’ll just leave you guys… to it. Text if you need anything else,” Tansy said.
Izzy drew back from me. “Thanks so much for helping me. I had a blast.” She beamed at the girls who’d become her friends when she came on the first tour sponsored by the record label a few years ago.
“It’s always our pleasure to spend this one’s money,” Mireille joked as she headed to the door with Tansy in tow. “Plus, we love hanging out with you. We’ve missed you around here.”
“Thanks, guys. I owe you one,” I told them, hoping they’d hurry up and leave us. I knew it was rude, but I barely even looked at them. I was far too smitten with Izzy. My world had narrowed to the pocket of air surrounding her body.
I scarcely heard their synchronized “Bye” or the click of the door. I was too busy memorizing Izzy’s features. “I missed you,” my voice was husky with emotion.
“I know. And I wasn’t even gone that long, but somehow it felt like forever.” Her breath brushed against my face. It smelled like chocolate and peppermint.
I pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“You know I love surprises.” She clapped her hands together enthusiastically.
Bending my knees, I scooped her up and carried her bridal style to the closed bedroom door. “Close your eyes,” I commanded.
She obeyed. Once I entered the bedroom, I set her on her feet in front of the tree. “Open them,” I whispered.
“Dawson,” my name was a whisper on her lips as she moved closer to the tree. “It’s beautiful. I love the pink butterflies.” She reached with one finger to delicately trace the whimsical wings on the one I used as a tree-topper.
“Sorry I couldn’t get a bigger tree. I didn’t have a lot of time to work with.” I hoped she wasn’t too disappointed. Her family always had a huge tree.
“It’s perfect. I love it.” She turned and wrapped her arms around me.
“The decorating isn’t done yet,” I mumbled against her soft lips.
“No?” She quirked her brow at me and glanced back at the decorated tree.
I shook my head. “This is our first real Christmas that’s just us. So, I saved the special ornaments for us to put on together.”
“You got special ornaments?” Tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Of course. I’ve helped your family decorate their tree so many times over the years. Your favorite ornaments to hang always have a story. I want that for us. So…” I stepped to the side, pulling her with me, and picked up the gift bag of ornaments.
When she unwrapped the first tissue-covered bundle, she exclaimed, “A puppy.” She hung the brown pup on a branch.
“For the little fella who brought us together.”
Next was a concert ticket replica. “To symbolize your career,” she said.
“No, to commemorate our summer of music when we went to all those shows. Remember Sinful Serenade, Def Lepard, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—”
“Feral Silence, Journey,” she finished. “That summer was epic.” The ticket found a spot on the tree.
She giggled when she unwrapped the green bottle, followed by a treehouse, ballet slippers, a music note, a pair of butterflies and a letter sticking out of an envelope. Each one was placed on the tree strategically. An easel, a heart, a surfboard and a camera joined the memories on our tree. When she revealed the little red car, her eyes met mine, and in unison we said, “Road trip to Ohio.” We’d christened every state as we traveled from South Carolina to Ohio with the car my dad had given me the summer before our senior year. Next up was a rose, followed by a mini tour bus.
♪ Summer on You by Pretty Much
Her brow furrowed when she pulled out the paintbrush ornament. “I thought we honored my art with the mini easel one.”
“The easel was for all the drawings you’ve done over the years to capture our memories. This…” I said
as I took the ceramic replica brush tipped in red, “…represents the memory of you doing that nude painting of me which marked the official beginning of us.”
She blushed at the reminder. Even after all this time, I still loved making her blush.
“Speaking of that very sexy painting, you know if you sold it, you’d be rich,” I teased.
She shook her head. “I could never part with it.”
“’Cause you look at it while you touch yourself?” I nudged her shoulder and nibbled her earlobe.
She smacked my arm. “No.”
She pulled out the last ornament in the bag and tore off the paper. Holding up the ball of red yarn, tears glistened in her eyes. “The red thread of fate,” she whispered, fingering the handmade friendship bracelet wrapped around her delicate wrist.
I spun my matching one around my wrist. “Yeah. Put it on the tree.”
Once the last ornament was placed, she stepped back into my arms, her back against my chest. “It’s perfect,” she breathed.
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, looking down at her.
“Wait, the tree needs one more thing,” she exclaimed, scrambling out of my hold. She stooped by her suitcase and pulled out three wrapped packages. “Your gifts need to go under the tree.” Skipping over to the tree, she slipped them in next to the ones I’d stashed there.
“Let’s open them now,” I begged. The anticipation of opening presents always got to me.
She planted her hands on her hips. “No, we have to wait for Christmas.”
“Please.” My lip jutted out in a pout. Sauntering over to me, she pressed her lips to mine, completely distracting me from my whining.
Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series: Box Set 1 Page 42