“If you’re a good boy, I’ll let you unwrap one gift after I shower,” she promised.
I cast my eyes back to the tree. “I’ll be good,” I vowed. “While you shower, I’ll order room service. What do you want?”
“Surprise me,” she called over her shoulder as she moved to the living room and scooped up one of the shopping bags. She blew me a kiss, then went in the bathroom. The distinct click of the lock echoed in the stillness of the room.
“Why’d you lock the door?” I shouted at the closed door.
“Because if I didn’t, you’d distract me from taking my shower. And that would delay dinner and would then delay the gift you get to unwrap for being good,” she reasoned. I could imagine the sexy scolding look on her face as she said it all.
“OK,” I sighed and picked up the phone once I heard the shower start.
“Hi, I need to place an order for room 525.” I spoke into the receiver.
“What’s the passcode for the room, sir?” the heavily accented voice asked.
“Flutterby.” Izzy touched every aspect of my life.
“Very well. What can I get for you?”
“I need a cheese tray, an order of your French-fried chicken, heirloom tomato salad with the lime cilantro dressing, an order of fries and an assortment of chocolates and pastries,” I rattled off.
“Your order will be delivered shortly, sir,” he stated very formally.
I snapped my fingers. “Oh, and add a bottle of champagne and some water.”
As I hung up the phone, the sound of falling water continued to emit from behind the locked bathroom door. While I waited on the food and Izzy, I cleaned up the discarded tissue paper and tidied up the rest of the suite. In the living room, I opened the balcony doors. Grabbing the lighter from the mantle, I lit the candles on the table. With nothing left to do, I found myself back in front of the Christmas tree. I couldn’t help myself. I picked up each of the gifts Izzy had placed under the tree and gave them a shake. I couldn’t guess anything from the weight and sound of them.
A knock on the room door startled me, making me nearly drop the package in my hands. My heart raced as guilt made my face flush. I shut the bedroom door as I moved to the main door. A young man in a suit rolled a silver cart filled with covered dishes. Efficiently, he helped me set them up on the table.
“Thought you might like some roses for your table too, sir.” He produced a vase of perfect roses from the bottom of the cart.
♪ The Rose by Bette Midler
“Thank you so much.” Izzy would love them.
We stood back, examining the set table. “How does it look?” I asked.
“Perfect, sir. She’ll love it,” he said with a broad smile.
I dug in my wallet to give him a generous tip, and he handed me a slip of paper. “What’s this?”
“Reheating instructions in case the food gets cold before you get a chance to eat it,” he said with a wink and left.
This hotel’s service was amazing. I’d have to compliment them to hotel management.
“Flutterby, food’s here,” I called out.
Behind me, the quiet slide of the bathroom door across the carpet seemed unnaturally loud in the silent space. Counting in my head to ten, I pretended to arrange the roses. Her form entered my peripheral vision. When I turned to face her, my jaw fell open and the rose in my hand fluttered to the floor.
“Should we eat? Or do you want to unwrap your gift first?”
She spun in a seductive circle. Her body was crisscrossed with a wide, red ribbon. A perfect bow rested between her breasts. With the placement of the satin, I couldn’t tell if she wore anything beneath the ribbon or not. My Adam’s apple bobbed hard in my throat as I drank in the sight of her.
♪ All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
I stepped over to her, trailing one finger from her shoulder to her palm. Her skin was so soft. “I want to unwrap my gift first. Unless you’re starving.” Please don’t be starving.
“I’m hungry. But not for that.” She waved her hand towards the table.
“The food will keep. You and I still have a lot of lost time to make up for,” I whispered huskily.
Forcing my racing heart to calm down so I could appreciate the moment, I slowly reached forward to grasp the end of the ribbon. I rubbed the satiny band through my fingers for a moment, my eyes never leaving hers. Anticipation shimmered in her gaze. I counted two measures worth of beats in my head before I gave a sharp tug on the end of the bow. A gasp parted her perfect lips. Good, I surprised her. She expected me to be impatient in tearing open my gift. Usually I was. It was nice to know I could still astonish her every now and then.
I gathered a length of the now loose ribbon and wadded it in my hand. Slowly, I walked around her body, letting the red tape filter into my palm. The pounding in my chest increased in intensity with each inch of flesh I unwrapped. It was as if my heart wanted to burst through the confines of my chest and caress her soft, creamy skin itself. Leaving its own trail of red to mark and bind her to me.
After a few revolutions of my sun, Izzy, I’d unveiled enough of her to know what she wore beneath the gift wrap was another gift. I was ready to orbit her at the speed of light to get this top layer peeled away. But I was determined to be patient. It went against everything screaming within me, but she and this moment deserved to be savored.
“How many feet of ribbon did you use?” I croaked out, my fingers tracing the edge that still clung to her breasts. She shuddered beneath my gentle touch.
“Ummm…” She panted as I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the spot on her neck where her pulse fluttered rapidly.
“How many, Izzy?” I asked impatiently.
“I can’t do the math while you’re distracting me.” A moan vibrated her throat beneath my lips.
“Try. I need to know how many more feet of ribbon I have to unwind from your gorgeous body before I can have my wicked way with you.” My tongue traced a path from the hollow of her neck, where she smelled so sweet, across her delicate jaw and up to her sensitive earlobe.
“Y-you could just keep unwinding it,” she suggested.
“You’re making me dizzy,” I breathed into the shell of her ear.
“I… uh… I think it was ten yards, so thirty feet.” Her fingers gripped my hair, jerking my mouth up to meet hers. There was no gentleness with her kiss. She thrust her tongue against mine with a ferocity I’d never seen in her before. It was scorching hot. Just as I was tilting her head to change the angle, she tore her lips from mine. “Now finish unwrapping me and make love to me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I saluted with a wink.
With renewed determination, I quickly circled her, untwisting the yards and yards of red. After what felt like an eternity, I finally peeled the last scrap of scarlet from her. I stepped back to get the full effect of what she was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn’t wearing. The bra and panties, if they could even be called that, were made of a series of strings. Black strings that revealed far more skin than they covered. I twirled my finger in the air, begging her to spin for me. As she did, the strings shifted, revealing tantalizing tidbits of flesh.
♪ I’ll Make Love to You by Boyz II Men
“Those look complicated to remove.” I fidgeted with the strings. “I might have to just rip them off you and buy you more later.”
“The secret is to just pull the strings tipped in red,” she whispered.
Impatiently, I lifted her in my arms and practically ran to the bedroom. Despite what my libido shouted, I didn’t toss her onto the bed. I gently laid her down. The mattress dipped as I eased down next to her. My eyes raked over her body. The sight of her stretched out before me covered with a few strategically placed strings made my mouth go dry and my heart pound painfully.
She fidgeted beneath the weight of my stare. “Are you planning to just gawk at me all night?” A nervous laugh escaped her lips. Even after all this time, it made her self-co
nscious to be the sole focus of my intensity.
Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, I shook my head. “No, not all night. But I am going to memorize you just like this. You’re inspiring a song in my soul. From your kaleidoscope hair…” I ran my fingers through her tresses. “To your sparkling eyes and your perfectly kissable lips…” I molded my mouth to hers for the briefest of moments. “To your beautiful heart which dictates the rhythm of mine…” I pressed my palm over her heart. Silently, I trailed a finger down the center of her torso, never stopping to savor any one spot, all the way to her foot. “To these hot pink painted toes and everything in between… you inspire me.”
♪ Soul Deep by Gin Blossoms
Gently, I kissed her lips once more. I set the pace to slow and tender. When her desperation became apparent, I leaned back and propped up on my elbow to admire this miracle I was blessed enough to call mine.
With one finger, I reached out and traced the top string on her bra. Her breath panted out. Systematically, I ran the length of each strand. Every so often, my skin brushed against her bare skin. Beneath my touch, her chest heaved, and her nipples peaked to hard points with the barest of caresses.
“Please,” she whimpered.
My resolve to go slowly was hanging by a thread. Literally. I repeated my methodical examination of each string of her panties. They were deliciously wet and became even more so when I applied pressure to them to touch her more intimately.
She’d finally had enough and reached for my pants. When her fingers closed around me, the thread snapped. Somehow, I managed to grab the red tipped strings and dispensed her of the scraps of fabric. Then I set to work savoring and loving the best Christmas gift I’d ever received. All the while dreaming of our forever.
During Izzy’s visit, she was glued to my side for every appearance and outing, the label reps be damned. When I had to perform, I set her up just offstage where I could still see her easily, even when we performed with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for the live Christmas TV special. The DVD created from the show would be another first for us. It was going to be a limited edition release for next year. The pre-order sold out in hours. Thankfully, I ordered a copy for Izzy as soon as the order form went live. It would be a nice surprise for her next year. Playing “Christmas Canon” with the iconic group was just as amazing as covering “Want to Know What Love is” with them. With Izzy watching from the stage right, the experience was perfect.
♪ I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner
On Christmas morning, we sat naked in bed and opened our presents. She let me open my gifts first. She always was a giver.
The first box contained a new sketchbook filled with memories of our relationship as we’d gotten older. Next was a framed photo of the two of us kissing in the park not long after we’d made our relationship official. And finally, a black thumb ring she’d designed for me to match the one she always wore. Now we had matching thumb tattoos on one hand and real rings on the other.
With glee she opened her gifts next. I’d gotten her an ornament engraved with her drawing of our first kiss. That drawing had come to mean so much to the two of us, and to think it almost hadn’t ever existed because she took my words to heart when I told her at age eleven that the kiss hadn’t meant anything. I was such an idiot back then.
I’d also recorded her an acoustic CD with a song inspired by our first kiss, aptly named “First Kiss”. I also included a few other Izzy inspired covers— “Izzy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Pink”. I handed her the gift I was most nervous about next.
♪ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by the Beatles
As she pulled out the perfume bottle, she read the label, “Happily Ever After… I’ve never heard of this scent before.”
“That’s because it’s brand new. Custom designed just for you.” I twisted the band of metal recently placed around my thumb while I waited for her reaction.
“What?” She removed the lid and squirted the mist onto her wrist. Lifting it to her nose, she inhaled deeply. “It smells kind of sugary sweet and fruity.” She rubbed her wrist against her neck.
“Yeah, I took your favorite scents and worked with a perfumer at a new company called Whiff. We came up with this signature fragrance for you. Do you like it?” I was so worried. Izzy had worn practically the same scent since she was thirteen.
“I love it. It’s perfect.” She beamed at me. “What do you think?” She tilted her head to the side, offering me an expanse of skin to sniff.
I buried my nose in the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply. “Mmmm. Good enough to eat,” I said wickedly.
She giggled.
“Do you really like it?” I asked again.
“I really do,” she assured me.
I breathed a sigh of relief and handed her the last pink box. Inside was a diamond crusted butterfly necklace.
Without even bothering to clear the discarded wrapping paper, I allowed her to spray her new delicious smelling fragrance everywhere she wanted my mouth. I nibbled delectable swaths of flesh, making her writhe beneath me. Thankfully the perfume wasn’t toxic. We also discovered that the cool hard metal of my new thumb ring was good for more than just establishing another visual connection to remind me of her when she was physically absent. That delightful circle of steel brought unknown pleasure when pressed strategically against the top of her wet heat.
♪ Without You by Motley Crue
While my mind had wandered into the past, Brooks had created a layered track of the song. I must have zoned out for a while because by the time I came back to the present, he’d created a whole orchestra to play my latest song. Nodding my approval, I began strumming.
I wasn’t sure if the amazing experience we had with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was colored by the fact that Izzy was by my side during the week surrounding it or if the encounter would’ve been epic anyway. But I wasn’t opposed to us reaching out to them for a volume two, where the band wouldn’t get only a small percentage of the take while the record execs raked in the monetary rewards of our work.
When we finally decided to call it a night, we headed back to the kitchen.
“So, you’re heading to your dad’s in a few days, right?” Brooks grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a deep drink.
“Yeah.” I huffed out a breath.
“How ya feeling about seeing Izzy again after all this time?” his voice was cautious as he said her name.
“Excited, nervous, scared out of my freaking mind.” I paced the floor as I imagined the joy I knew would fill my heart at just the sight of her. I couldn’t contain my elation at the image.
“How you going to handle meeting her boyfriend?”
♪ Look Away by Chicago
And all that elation fell to the floor like popped balloon remnants.
“Honestly, I have no damn idea. Dad says he’s a really nice guy. And he did save Izzy’s life. But I want to hate him. He’s got my girl.” My fists clenched by my side. I really wanted to punch something.
“I don’t envy you at all.”
Pity filled his eyes. Brooks had witnessed our love from almost the beginning, at least from when we were old enough to know what love was even though we denied its existence for so long. Brooks knew what we’d meant to each other. He gave me a bro hug before he snatched his car keys from the counter.
“You know, maybe you shouldn’t go alone. Your invite includes a plus one, right?” he said nonchalantly.
I nodded curtly.
“Then you should call Izzy’s mom and tell her you’re bringing a plus one.” He nodded assertively at his idea.
“And who do you suggest I take, man?” I cocked my head to the side, waiting to hear his brilliant thoughts.
He quirked his brow at me. “You’ve got options.” He tapped a square of white that lay discarded with a pile of junk mail.
Unable to resist, I gazed at the white bar napkin with the feminine scrawl on it. Cleo.
I sighed.
Brooks was right. I couldn’t go alone. She’d definitely say yes if I asked her.
But could I really make the call? If I carried her with me, would that slam the door shut on the possibility of me and Izzy having a second chance?
Chapter 23
Izzy
With the tip of my paintbrush between my teeth, I stepped back to examine the portrait of my parents. I couldn’t halt the smile that spread across my lips. It was finally perfect. The bulk of it had been done for over a week. But every day I looked at it with a critical eye. Something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
This morning when I woke up, I finally knew what it was. My shoulders sagged in relief. Though I’d just gotten out of bed a couple hours ago, I was exhausted. My days and nights had been filled with preparing for my art show and creating Mom and Dad’s anniversary gift. Losing myself between palette and canvas made time pass quickly.
I looked at the other easels scattered about the living room. The shaft of light coming through the window showcased two of them perfectly. Pacing the room, I dragged my fingers through my hair. Cradling my chin in my palm, I tilted my head to the side, trying to view the piece critically.
Charles wanted some of my old spark. I really tried to infuse it into some new pieces. After attempting it on three different works, I couldn’t make it happen. So, I resorted to pulling out a few old pencil sketches and transforming them into bigger pieces. The emotion and feelings were already embedded on the paper between the strokes of colored graphite. All I had to do was copy it onto the stretched fabric. I was pleased with my recreations. But the victory was hollow.
The ringing of my doorbell pulled me slightly out of my creative haze. Without much thought, I twisted the lock and opened the door. A small smile tipped my lips when Beckett leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips.
Lyrical Odyssey Rock Star Series: Box Set 1 Page 43