Ugh – why’d he have to mention her name?
“Tasha? Who’s Tasha?” Julia asks. I can almost see her ears perk up at the mention of my ex.
“Nobody,” I grumble, shooting Razor a look that says ‘shut the hell up’ as I stand and dust the sand off of my pants.
But Claudie chimes in. “Tasha is his ex-girlfriend. If you see that evil bitch lurking around here, you call me immediately. I owe her a good beat down.”
“Would you guys drop it?” I scowl at my sister and Razor in turn. “I’m gonna go check on Mackenzie…make sure she, uh…found a glass…y’know, for her water.” My excuse is lame, but I’m sticking with it.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kid calls after me as I head back to the house.
I find Mackenzie leaning against the sink, taking deep gulps of water from a tall glass. She doesn’t acknowledge me when I walk into the room, but her body language lets me know that she is very aware of me. Her nipples tighten against the thin fabric of her t-shirt. Her breathing pattern changes.
I say the first thing that comes to my mind. “Is, uh, is that glass big enough?”
You, todger! Is that the best you can do?
She nods as her tongue darts out and greedily licks a drop of water from her bottom lip. My cock twitches. Is she trying to kill me?
“Yeah…” She looks timid as she brushes the back of her hand across her mouth, wiping away the moisture there.
I lean against the sink next to her. “So, did you take some time to reconsider my request?”
Her eyebrows furrow as she looks at me. “Your request?”
“Still wanna take you to dinner.” I wanna have you for dinner, but that’s a whole different discussion.
She laughs softly as she turns towards the faucet to fill her glass again from the tap. A blush covers her cheeks, all the way down her neck and into her supple cleavage. What I would give to just rip off her shirt right this minute and set those beautiful babies free.
She glances at me over your shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re still trying to get into my pants. Didn’t you find a groupie to hook up with last night and make you forget all about me?”
She brings the glass to her lips and I watch captivated as the water works its way down her delicate throat. “Not a chance.” My voice comes out low and raspy.
I’m so into her. I hate that she doesn’t realize it.
I’m a rock star. I usually don’t care about people’s opinions of me. But for some reason, this girl, I care what she thinks. I don’t want her to chalk me up as some bad boy musician who just wants to get in her pants. I dig her, as the Americans say, and I want her to know that.
“I didn’t bring anyone home with me last night, Mackenzie.” I want to tell her that my bed is now reserved for her, but I think that might be a bit too much.
Hunger flashes in her eyes, so fast I almost missed it – fuck, she wants me, too. But then, her mask slips right back into place. “Ha – don’t lie, Everson. It brings on stress lines and premature aging,” she jokes, her delicate nose flaring slightly as she fights the urge to grin. She turns to refill her glass for a third drink of water.
Play it cool, mate. Play it cool…
She steals a peek at me over her shoulder, lips wet and swollen. My poor cock throbs against my zipper.
Fuck playing it cool.
I go up behind her and press my body into hers. Her movements still, her breathing stops completely. But she makes no effort to push me away.
I press my lips to the warm flesh behind her ear. “Come on, Mackenzie. You know you want to.” I suck lightly on her skin, my lips travelling from her earlobe, down her throat to the nape of her neck.
“Umm,” she gasps involuntarily. The glass slips from her hands and falls into the sink, cracked in two.
She pulls away and turns to face me. “I’m sorry,” she mutters, glancing back at the shards in the sink.
I crook my finger and direct her face back towards me. “No worries,” I grumble, entranced by the softness in her eyes, the plumpness of her mouth.
My lips seal over hers, desperate to relive all the sensations she provoked in me when I kissed her last night. I pull her flesh between my teeth and suck lightly. She makes a little whimpering sound and my cock stands at attention. I move closer to her, trapping her between the sink and my growing erection. Her mouth parts willingly and my greedy tongue darts inside.
Her hands fist the waist of my shorts and she pulls my body closer. The only thing separating her skin from mine is her annoying little t-shirt. I ask myself if I’d get away with ripping it off of her right here in my kitchen. I quickly decide against it; anyone could walk in on us.
Instead, I slide my hands down her back and squeeze that supple ass as our lips find a rhythm, dancing together.
I die a little when she suddenly pulls away.
“I have to focus on my dancing,” she says breathlessly.
“And I have to focus on my album. What does any of that have to do with this?” I gesture to the small space between us.
She has nothing for me. No response.
My hands go to her hips, drawing her closer to me. I trace my fingers up her spine and she quivers, tiny goose bumps rising along her skin. Her fingernails dig into the flesh of my back as she tries desperately to remain in control of her actions. I love that she’s so reactive to me.
“Everson…” she says softly. “My friends are probably worried about me. I should go.”
It’s a pathetic excuse.
I laugh slightly. “You’re friends aren’t worried about you at all. They know you’re with me and they saw our chemistry last night. Everyone saw it.”
Lust flickers in her eyes when I say it. I touch my lips to hers again.
“You –“ I point my chin towards her “—belong in there.” I tip my head in the direction of the open door of the guest bedroom. I’m grinning wide.
“I bet,” she says rolling her eyes dramatically.
I chuckle at her reaction. It’s cute. She’s cute. My lips meet hers again and this time, her hands travel up and down my back before clasping at my waist. I let my hands roam under the hem of her t-shirt, allowing myself to luxuriate in the softness of her skin, the warmth of her body. I hold her tight and let myself get lost in the kisses, in the caresses, in all that she’s giving me.
“Get a room.”
Mackenzie pulls away so quickly that she stumbles against the sink. I glance past her shoulder and see Razor bopping through the kitchen with a very eager-looking, purple-haired girl on his arm. He tosses me an irreverent wink as they disappear out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
I’m quick to draw my attention back to the pretty girl in front of me. Her hair is a mess, her eyes are hooded, her lips are red and swollen. “So…”
She looks up at me from under her lashes. “So…”
“Shall we?” I ask, only half-joking as I motion with my chin towards guest bedroom again.
She laughs. It’s a carefree and beautiful sound. “No – we shall not!” She pulls her fingers through her disheveled hair and edges around me. “That kiss – that was a momentary lapse in judgment.”
“Oh really?” I challenge.
Her face turns earnest as she looks up at me. “Really.”
“And what about the kiss last night, Babes?” I smirk at her. I really love the way her cheeks redden every time I refer to her as my ‘Babes’. I should call her that more often.
“That? You ambushed me. With your lips. I had no say in the matter.” The innocent act is adorable but she’s not fooling me.
I step close to her and interlace her fingers with mine as my lips drop to her ear. “It’s a crime, you know.”
She looks at me, confusion on her brow. “What?”
“You denying us something that we both want so bad…We’re both suffering, Babes. Show some mercy.” She laughs. My eyes stay on her as my tongue slips slowly between her lips. “Give me that pussy, Mackenzie. Admit that
you’re mine.”
She swallows hard before she eases away from me, and despite the longing in her eyes, she pulls her hand from my grasp. She spins towards the door. “Focus on your album, Everson. And I’ll focus on my dancing.”
She slips out the door, making her way back to the party on the beach.
Chapter 14
Mackenzie
I watch as my friends wheel their suitcases to the driveway where a taxi idles, waiting for them.
“I’m so gonna miss you, Mac,” Willow says as she wraps an arm around my neck.
“I’m gonna miss you, too,” I say trying not to cry. “At first, I was kind of pissed that you guys threw me off of my rhythm but now I’m really glad you surprised me.”
I wish that the girls didn’t have to leave yet. But Julia’s going back to Paris to reclaim her spot as corps dancer at the Opéra National de Paris. Willow’s got headed to her summer internship.
Julia gives me a tight squeeze before she slides into the taxi next to Willow. “CheekyChat me if you need anything, darling – books…advice…an IUD.”
“Julia!” Willow scolds, slapping her on the wrist.
But Julia carries on. “And, for the love of god – don’t go back to New York until you’ve thoroughly screwed that rock demon next door.”
I roll my eyes up to the sky. “Whatever, Julia,” I mutter.
“I’m serious,” she insists.
“Of course you are,” I say. The taxi driver flashes me a perverse grin while he loads the suitcases into the trunk.
“If that kiss he gave you on stage is any indication of what Everson is like in bed, I feel sorry for you, my friend, because you’ll be walking around with a limp and a head of disheveled hair, blubbering to yourself for days after he’s done with you.” She throws her head back and laughs as Willow pushes her in the shoulder trying to shut her up.
“Bye,” I say shooing them away with the flick of my hand.
The taxi driver gets the hint and soon the car rolls towards the street. Julia sticks her head out of the window and yells, “And practice safe sex, Mac-Mac! Always!”
She blows me an air kiss and the taxi disappears around the bend.
Chapter 15
Everson
Claudie snaps open an energy drink as she drops onto the couch in the corner of the room. She takes a long gulp as the final chords of the song fade.
“You guys sound good,” she says somewhat over-enthusiastically, but I know my sister – I can see the skepticism on her brow.
“What are you really thinking, Claudia?” I ask as I set the microphone back on its stand.
She sighs deeply as Razor sets his guitar down and plops down next to her. We rehearsed all through the night and I’m starting to get antsy. The sun is rising and we still have so much work to do. We’ve got to record at least one of our new tracks today and a producer is coming in from Miami to put some finishing touches on a few of the other songs. The workload is grueling and I’m spiraling towards burnout. Claudie looks as stressed as I feel.
“I’m thinking that you guys sound like shit. You have a cross-country tour coming up and you have to record a new album. I don’t want you guys breaking down on me.” Now that my sister has unloaded her true thoughts on us, I feel my anxiety tick up a hundred notches. As our manager, it’s her job to make sure that we do our job well. If she’s freaking out that means we have some big trouble on our hands.
Kid sits behind his drum set. “Well, did you find us a way out of this mess, Claudie? You said you would.”
She sighs again. It’s like she’s aged 10 years over the past few weeks. “I have an idea but I want to leave it as a last resort because the label isn’t going to like it. Tasha is definitely going to blow her lid if we handle things my way.”
“What exactly are you getting at?” Joaquin asks as he sits on the arm of the couch.
Claudie holds up a hand. “I’m not ready to bring out the big guns yet, guys. It could get ugly. For now, just focus on rehearsing for tour and recording your new music. I want to examine all of our options before going nuclear.”
I push my fingers through my hair as I glance out the window. I see Mackenzie jogging across the beach, up to her backdoor. I’m longing to go over there and talk to her. “Fine, Claudie,” I say curtly. “But we’re depending on you. Don’t let us down.”
My sister gives me a weak smile. “Never have. Never will.”
“Good,” I say before turning to my band mates. “You blokes are starting to smell a touch rancid and I need to get at least an hour of beauty rest. So, how about we take a break and meet back here at 8:30?”
“Best idea I’ve heard all day, bruv,” Razor says as he yawns, stretching his arms above his head.
“Okay, back at 8:30 sharp,” I remind them as they filter out of the room.
Chapter 16
Everson
I should have gone to bed, but I found myself at Mackenzie’s.
I guess I was hoping that I’d end up in her bed.
She’s still dressed in a workout bra and leggings when I knock on her backdoor, her face still flushed from her jog. She lets me into the kitchen and I sit at the breakfast bar and watch her as she prepares breakfast for us – a fancy fruit parfait.
I grow painfully hard as I watch her rise onto her toes trying to snatch a large bowl from the top shelf. I may or may not have let her struggle for a moment longer than necessary before offering her my help. What can I say? I love seeing the definition in her thighs and the curve of her back as she strains to reach the shelf.
Call me a scallywag ‘cause that’s what I am.
I walk up behind her and effortlessly pull the bowl off of the shelf. But I don’t back away. Instead, my hands drop to her hips and I press my erection into the curve of her back. When she turns to face me, she’s wearing a demure smile.
I take it as an invitation to lean down and kiss her. It’s soft, this time. I take my time with her, trailing my hands up her sides, raking my fingers through her hair, savoring the flavor of pineapple on her breath. Her arms are wrapped around my neck and her mouth molds to mine as we taste each other.
I pull back to look at her. Her pink lip-gloss is gone, her hair is a mess, her breathing is erratic. I run the pad of my thumb along the edge of her lip. “So fucking beautiful,” I whisper, totally captivated by her.
I can’t stop staring at her.
I could stare at her forever.
I could kiss her forever.
And once I get my dick into her, I’ll never be able to let her go.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks quietly, her arms still laced around my neck.
“You don’t want to know.” I don’t want to scare her away.
“No, I do,” she insists.
I pull in a breath, a half-smile curving my lips. “I’m wondering what you’d look like spread out beneath me, with me buried deep inside of you.” I say the words so low they come out as a grumble.
Her eyes flutter away and heat creeps across her cheeks. Fuck – I’ve offended her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’ve made you uncomfortable.”
She’s quiet for a moment. Shit – I’ve totally fucked up the moment, haven’t I?
Then, she says, “You’re seriously trying to get into my pants, aren’t you?”
“Abso-fucking –lutely,” I say with a wide grin.
She chuckles. “You know that Michael would kill you for trying to fuck his sister, right?”
I give her a one-shouldered shrug. “Michael’s cool.” Then, I step closer. So close I can feel only the warmth of her body wrapping around me. “But even if he wasn’t, you’d be worth it, Mackenzie.”
She leans back. I can tell she needs some space between us. So, she can breathe.
She sighs. “Everson – you’re a hot specimen and there’s nothing I’d like more than to fall into bed with you, but the truth is, a rock star is not a good match for me. I’ve got
a vicious jealous streak and I don’t share my man.”
“That’s fine,” I say without skipping a beat.
Her eyebrows furrow. She doesn’t believe me. “I might get crazy. I mean, really crazy.”
“Like that blond chick in Fatal Attraction?” I laugh.
Groupie Love (A Rock Star Romance) (Love in Shades) Page 6