by Ava Grace
“I need you,” I said, as I moved my hand up and down the smooth, firm length.
Colton hissed, flinging his head back and squeezing his eyes shut. He grunted as I moved my hand up and down his length.
“Fuck, yeah,” he groaned. “Harder.”
I gave him what he wanted, jerking him with long, even strokes. Soon, he began to thrust his hips, fucking himself into my fist.
“No.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled it away, an almost desperate look in his eyes. “Too much. I want to come inside you.”
His words were like music to my ears and when he shifted his hips, his cock sliding between my wet folds, I very nearly lost it. I bucked my hips, trying to get him to breach me.
Then his gaze met mine and we held the connection between us for a long, silent moment. When his cock moved lower, pressing gently against my entrance, I sucked in breath, the sweet anticipation killing me. Our gazes locked, he pressed into me with an aching slowness until he was finally fully seated.
“Fuck,” he bit out, his arms shaking as they fought to keep him upright above me. “You’re so goddamn wet.”
I tried to tell him that it was entirely his fault, but I couldn’t get the words out of my parched mouth, and his cock was deep and filling me, stretching me wide. The need to move, got too much for us both to bear, and when he pulled almost all of the way out, I’m not sure whose hiss was the loudest.
He didn’t go slow after that. He slammed back into me causing me to cry out and then all bets were off. Colton put his arm under my thigh and lifted it so he could go deeper then he fucked me hard, his cock hitting all the right spots.
The orgasm that had been so close to the surface earlier rose again—every nerve ending and muscle in my body poised for the impending release. He grunted with each thrust and each time his cock slid into me felt deeper and harder than before, and when he changed the angle of his hips, I all but screamed out his name.
One more hard and deep thrust was all it took. I came violently, my body a writhing mass of nerve endings and synapsis all firing at the same time. I bucked and shook, the orgasm ferocious and unrelenting. My fingers bit into the flesh of Colton’s ass, holding him still as I bucked and shuddered.
Then Colton lost it, too.
A curse tore from his lips as he slammed into me, his hands sliding around my ass to lift me. He roared as he came, emptying himself inside me, his body jerking, and his hips snapping through the force of it.
Finally, he collapsed on top of me, spent.
We laid together like that for long moments, Colton’s cock, softening inside me, and when he finally slid out of me, I mourned the loss. After a while, our breathing evened out, and we fell into a deep, contented slumber, the celebratory bottle of champagne still unopened on the nightstand beside us.
Chapter Ten
Olivia
I couldn’t believe the opening night of the gallery had finally arrived. Excitement and apprehension warred for dominance as the space filled with people—many I knew, but others I’d never met before. Everyone seemed in good spirits as they moved purposely from room to room, looking at all the art on the walls and the beautiful ceramic objects I’d acquired that sat on large, white pedestals.
I’d already sold two paintings, a series of three black and white photographs, and a large, ceramic vase. On top of that, three different people had approached me about commission work and two of those had made firm bookings. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. We were only halfway through the night, but it had already far surpassed my expectations.
My parents had shown up early, but Mom had been suffering from ME for some time now and wasn’t in the best of health so after they’d congratulated me and taken a look around, dad took her home.
Colton had shown up just after they left, and, much to my surprise, he arrived with his entire band in tow. Meeting them all together for the first time had been overwhelming, but they were a great bunch of guys and made me feel instantly at ease.
Of course, their presence at the opening had caused a stir, and initially, it seemed everyone was more interested in looking at them than they were the pieces of art on display, but after the novelty of seeing a few celebrities had worn off, people began wandering from room to room once again, their focus back on the art.
Colton had pulled me aside to tell me he wanted to buy the oil painting I’d done of my father’s ranch and that it was going to sit pride of place on the large wall in his living room. Honestly, I was flattered that he liked my work enough to want to buy it and put it somewhere everyone would see it.
Jen arrived about an hour into the opening saying she’d left Cody at home watching the baby. I honestly hadn’t expected her to come at all, but she’d looked horrified when I told her that and said she wouldn’t have missed my big day for anything.
“It’s not fair,” she whined, as we stood around observing the room from near my counter. “He is far better looking than any one man should be.”
I followed her line of sight and huffed out a laugh when I saw that she was looking at Colton.
“You’re not wrong,” I said, taking a sip of champagne.
She heaved a sigh. “And not just him, all of them. I mean, just look at them. Talk about winning the gene pool lottery and what are the odds that all those good-looking men should be in the same band?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a married woman who just had a baby. Should you be checking out hot guys?”
She grinned at me. “That’s entirely the point. All I can do now is look. I can’t act out on my fantasies, so I have to live vicariously through you.” She leaned in near my ear and whispered. “Tell me honestly, what’s he like in bed?”
I spluttered out a laugh. “I am not going to answer that!”
“Spoilsport.”
“Except maybe to say…amazing.”
“I knew it!” She sighed. “You’re so lucky.”
I grinned at her. Didn’t I know it.
“Hey, your husband is none too shabby.”
Her eyes glazed and she got a dreamy expression on her face—the same expression she always wore when she spoke about him.
“I know.” She nudged my arm with her elbow. “I did well, didn’t I?”
An easy smile came to my mouth. “Yeah, you did well.”
My gaze landed on Emily Abbott, a beautiful young reporter who worked for one of the local newspapers. She’d interviewed me earlier about the gallery opening and had her photographer take a few photographs to go with a write up she was doing for a local interest article.
As I watched, she pulled down the hem of her dress, wriggling a little to get it to sit right. I couldn’t fail to notice that the readjustment put a little more of her cleavage on display. Her eyes, I noted, were firmly fixed on Colton.
When he excused himself from his conversation, then went through a door that led to my office and a bathroom, she practically tripped over her feet to follow. I frowned. That was my private space, and although I didn’t mind anyone using the bathroom if they needed to, it was rude of her to just go back there without asking. Her actions got my hackles up, although if I was being honest with myself, I was probably more jealous that she’d gone after Colton than I was about her invading my private space.
“Oh, dammit!” Jen said, drawing my attention back to her. “Look what I’ve gone and done. I only missed my damn mouth.”
Sure enough, there was a large wet patch on the front of her dress. A peal of laughter tore from my lips.
“How the heck did you miss your mouth? It’s big enough,” I said wryly.
“Smartass. Have you got a tissue?”
“Sure, let me go and grab you some.”
Still chuckling, I headed through the door only to stop dead in the hallway at the sight that confronted me.
Colton was stood with his back pressed against the wall and Emily was practically plastered to the front of him, her hands on his arms and her face, inche
s away from his. The champagne I’d just drunk turned sour in my stomach.
“This looks cozy,” I said sarcastically as I brushed passed them and pushed open the bathroom door.
I stayed in the bathroom for a moment, trying to get my anger under control then grabbed some tissues before going back out into the hallway. Colton was standing in there alone. I walked straight passed him and headed back out into the gallery to give Jen the tissues.
“Liv!” Colton called after me.
I ignored him.
I was mad and upset and, well, I felt like a damn idiot. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone so soon after having my heart broken, but then I’d practically jumped into bed with the first man to show me any interest. What the hell was wrong with me?
A lump rose in my throat as I handed Jen the tissue. At the same time, Colton grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me around to face him.
“What, you’re just going to ignore me? That’s mature of you.”
I glared at him. “You have the audacity to talk to me about my conduct, when I just caught you practically dry humping Emily out in the hallway?”
“He did what?” Jen all but shouted.
Colton’s expression twisted in fury. “What the hell are you talking about? I did no such thing.”
“Um, guys,” Jen said.
“What, you’re going to deny it?” I fumed.
“Guys,” Jen hissed, getting in between us. “You might want to take this somewhere private. You’ve got an audience.”
Somehow through my cloud of fury, Jen’s words sank in. When I glanced around the room, several pairs of eyes were turned in our direction, including Colton’s brother, Tyler and his girlfriend, Daisy. Both looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. I heaved a sigh. This was supposed to be my big night. I wanted people to remember me for my work, not for hearing me shouting at my cheating boyfriend.
I didn’t want anyone’s pity.
Shame and embarrassment heating my cheeks, I headed into the office and stood facing the wall, trying to get my breathing under control. The door closed quietly behind me. Neither of us spoke at first. I didn’t want to do this now, but I supposed it was better to get it over with.
When I turned to face Colton, he was stood with his arms folded, his expression pinched.
Chapter Eleven
Colton
“This was a mistake,” Liv said, her tone cooler than I’d ever heard it.
I glared at her. “You’re damn right it was. You’ve got some serious problems.”
“Excuse me?” she spluttered. “I’ve got problems. That’s rich.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You were the one with a woman stuck to you like glue.”
“And that’s all the evidence you need to have me hung, drawn and quartered, is it? You just assume the worse and then tar me with the same brush as all of your cheating, scumbag exes.”
She shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Nothing had happened back in that hallway. I’d been on my way to use the bathroom when that damn reporter cornered me and asked for a story and some photos of me and the guys together. I was trying to tell her, politely, that I wasn’t interested when she started getting all flirty and backed me up against the wall. I had just opened my mouth to tell her to take her hands off me when Liv rounded the corner and saw the crazy chick practically plastered to me.
The timing of the situation couldn’t have been worse, but actually, it was probably a good thing that it had happened because it had exposed Jen’s jealous, possessive personality. She was exactly like my ex. Better that I found out now, early on in the relationship before I got in even deeper. I was already starting to develop feelings for her, but I wouldn’t allow myself to fall for a carbon copy of Lori. I couldn’t go through that again. It had been exhausting, not to mention it had ended with me nearly losing my life.
I was done with the crazy.
I could have defended myself and told her what happened of course, but I suspected she wouldn’t have believed me anyway, and even if she did, I couldn’t be with someone who was constantly accusing me of shit I hadn’t done. I’d had enough of that to last a lifetime.
“You’re right,” I said. “This was a mistake. Fortunately, it’s one that can be easily rectified by not seeing each other anymore.”
She thrust out her chin. “I think that’s for the best.”
I gave her one long, hard glance before nodding. “I’ll show myself out.”
My anger still a living, breathing thing inside me, I turned and strode out of the office in search of my band mates. It was time to get the hell out of there.
Chapter Twelve
Olivia
When the shmaltzy Christmas song came on the television, I reached for the clicker then changed the channel. Unfortunately, the movie I landed on was no more appealing. I wasn’t filled with festive cheer, and the last thing I wanted was to watch two people fall in love and fawn all over each other. I didn’t want to be reminded of the fact that I was alone at Christmas. Again.
The hardest thing to accept was that it was probably my own doing.
I’d had a lot of time to reflect in the week since the gallery opening, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a mistake. Had I accused Colton of something he hadn’t done? I saw the way Emily Abbott had made a beeline for him—it had been obvious what was on her mind. Had I been wrong to assume that Colton had taken the bait? I hadn’t even given him a chance to explain himself. Not that he’d tried. But, worse, I’d been mean and childish.
Still, none of that mattered now.
What was done was done. Colton hadn’t tried to get in contact with me since that night, so it was obvious that as far as he was concerned, our relationship was over. I sighed. I supposed this was going to be one of those painful life lessons I would just have to chalk up to experience.
I jumped at the shrill sound of the phone ringing right next to me then reached for it quickly and looked at the display, my chest swelling with anticipation.
Ah, Jen.
I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed, or relieved that it wasn’t Colton. I picked up the call then leaned my head against the back of the couch with a sigh.
“Hey, you. How’s my little man doing?”
“Fine,” she said dismissively. “Never mind that. Have you called him?”
I groaned. “No, and I’m not going to.”
I didn’t need to be able to see it to imagine the expression she adopted after hearing my response.
“Why the hell not?”
I sighed. “There wouldn’t be any point. He’s obviously made his mind up about us, and honestly, I think it might be for the best. I mean, we’re too different, Jen.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you? Please tell me you haven’t bought into the whole celebrity thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that just because he’s famous doesn’t make him any different to me or you. He’s local, and from what I’ve seen of him, the man is as down to earth as you’re likely to find in the world of celebrity.”
“I know that, that’s not what I mean.”
“Then what do you mean?”
I paused before answering, trying to gather my thoughts. “I mean, I like a quiet life, and Colton is always surrounded by people, everywhere he goes. He’s like a beacon, or a magnet. People are drawn to him.”
“And you think he doesn’t get fed up of all the attention?”
I frowned. “I don’t know, I figured he likes it. Why else would he chose to make a living as a rock star?”
“Um, because he likes singing? Because he’s good at it and likes performing and entertaining people on stage.
“That doesn’t mean he’s a fame whore, or an attention seeker you know. In fact, I watched him at the gallery.”
“What a surprise,” I deadpanned.
“Will you hear me out?”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“He had people coming up to him most of the evening and you know what? A lot of the time he looked downright uncomfortable with all the attention, like he wished everyone would just go away and leave him the hell alone.”
“Really? You saw all that?”
“Yeah, I did.”
I hesitated. “You think I made a mistake, don’t you?”
“I think you should have heard him out before attacking him, yeah.”
“But he didn’t even try to explain himself.”
“Why would he? You went straight in for the attack. Those accusations would have been enough to put anyone on the defensive.
“He probably thought it didn’t matter what he said because you wouldn’t have believed him anyway.”
“Crap, you’re right.” I heaved a sigh, feeling more despondent than I had all week. “You’re absolutely right. Oh, God. I acted like an ass, didn’t I?”
The silence down the line spoke volumes.
“So, are you gonna call him to say you’re sorry?” Jen asked.
I thought about it long and hard. It would be the right thing to do. For sure. Even if we didn’t end up getting back together then at least I would have acknowledged my awful behavior and apologized for it.
“I’ll call him tomorrow,” I said, resolute.
“On Christmas eve?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Why don’t you call him now?”
I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was just gone ten. “It’s getting late. Speaking of, how come you’re calling me at this time?”
“Because my little monster has been crying for the past three hours. I only just managed to get him to sleep.”
I was about to answer when a high-pitched wail sounded in the background.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Jen said, making me smile.
“Give him a kiss from me.”
“I’ll give him some damn thing,” she muttered. Despite the words there was no real heat behind them, only affection. “I better get off. Speak to you soon. Call him!”