by Claire Adams
“Hell yes,” he growled, reaching for the hem of his shirt. I peeled off my skirt and wet panties, stepping out of my shoes as I headed to the bathroom where a deep, stone inlaid shower awaited.
There wasn’t a moment of time wasted in turning on the shower and stepping in. By the time he stepped into the shower next to me, I was already drenched, enjoying the heat of the water pouring over me. I turned to meet his stare, drinking in the sight of him before me once again. Just being close to him would have been enough to get me worked up, but having his wet naked body so close was overwhelmingly arousing.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said softly, his eyes traveling slowly down the length of my body, his hands gliding up the sides of my hips until they came to rest cradling my face. “I can hardly believe you’re mine.” He closed the gap between us, pressing my body against his, connecting his mouth tenderly with mine.
“I am, Owen. Only yours.”
He groaned, sliding his hands back down to grip my hips, lifting me up as I squealed with laughter. My laughter was replaced with moans of pleasure as he pressed me against the stone shower wall, angling his hips to meet me and drove himself home without hesitation.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, shuddering as he filled me completely, stretching me to accommodate him.
“Hell yes,” he answered, his grip on my hips tight. “You're so fucking wet, Nalia. God, you feel good.”
I moaned and leaned down, biting his shoulder as he pounded into me, all of the time wasted over the last two months melting away in seconds. He started to pump faster and faster, and I screamed his name as an orgasm claimed me. Seconds later, I felt his throbbing cock pulsate violently inside me, the intensity of his orgasm evident on his face.
For a moment, we just stared intently at each other, the sound of the water cascading over our bodies the only sound aside from our harsh breathing. Then he laughed, lowering me to the floor. “Damn, that was quick. Amazing, but quick.”
I laughed, giving him a saucy smile. “I'm sure it'll be longer next time,” I teased as I reached for a washcloth.
“Longer and harder,” he promised, smacking my ass.
We lingered, taking time to help each other with the hard to reach places before rinsing off and shutting off the water.
“Come on,” he said, pulling a towel from the rack and handing it to me before taking one for himself. “I need to do something I’ve been thinking about for over three months.”
I arched an eyebrow. “And what might that be?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he retorted playfully.
We quickly toweled off and walked to the bedroom together, falling into the bed with a sigh. He gathered me in his arms and pulled me against him, his warmth enveloping me. “I’m beat,” he said, his breath ruffling my wet hair. “Do you think we can stay in bed all day tomorrow?”
“We can do that, but I can’t guarantee that we would sleep,” I said with a laugh, linking our fingers together. “Is that the something you need to do?” I was deliriously happy at the moment, barely believing this was my life, that all of this could be real.
“Actually, it’s part of it.”
“What’s the rest?”
“Falling asleep with you in my arms,” he said with a yawn, placing a soft, warm kiss to my temple. “We have to make up for lost time.”
“We certainly have a lot to make up for,” I replied with a flirtatious smile.
He turned me over and brushed the hair out of my face, his eyes full of tenderness. “You know I'd give the world to keep you happy, Nalia. You're everything to me, absolutely everything.”
I traced a finger gently down the side of his face. “I don’t need the world, Owen. I just need you.”
“I can make that happen.”
“Though, a new piano wouldn't hurt my feelings, either.”
He laughed, leaned in, and pressed his lips against mine, pleasure exploding through me as we began a long, deep, passionate kiss.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Owen
I sat before the guys who, for the better part of twenty years, had shared my life. Guys who probably knew more about me than I knew about myself most days. It had been a few months since we had wrapped up the tour. A tour that had been the most successful and well-received tour we'd ever done. Social media had been all abuzz with fans talking about how well we'd played, album sales had shot through the roof, and rock magazines were calling it the comeback of the decade. It would be crazy to call it quits now that we were on this high, but the reality was that all good things had to come to an end.
“I appreciate you guys making it over today. I know everyone is busy, so I’ll try to keep it quick. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I know when we first decided to go on tour that it was supposed to be a long-term commitment,” I started, clasping my hands loosely in front of me.
“But, as I know you all are aware, some things have changed. And while being with you guys and jamming out these songs has been the best fucking experience of my life, I...I just feel like it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate some things. I want to turn my attention to my future, which is the record company and Nalia, of course, but I figured you guys already knew that.”
Nalia and I had been inseparable since the last concert of the tour. I would have never guessed how happy it would make me to wake up every morning and see her lying beside me with that gorgeous smile spread across her beautiful face. I was a lucky man. I loved her more than I thought was possible to love anyone, and I could not wait to make her officially mine.
“So you’re pulling out?” Jeremiah asked softly, no expression on his face.
“Yes and no. I'm saying we won’t be doing any touring. And since we're at the top, what better time for me to pull out? Better to do it now than to fade into obscurity and start putting out a string of lackluster albums because my heart isn’t in it. No, I think that now is the right time to make this move. So yeah, as amazing as it's been, it’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life.”
“Well,” Talon said, slapping his hands against his knees. “I don't know if I agree with you fully on this, bro, but I can understand why you're doing it. Touring is hard on the body and the mind, and, I never thought I'd say this, but I for one am looking forward to some downtime.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Jeremiah agreed with a shrug. “I want to do some real traveling, not the kind followed by having to do gigs every night. You know, like those guys on TV who go to the craziest places on earth. See the world before I’m too old to get out of the chair.”
“Man, I’ve been wanting to focus on writing more,” Jay added. “Having the tour be a success just puts me in a better position to do that.”
“So, you’re not all disappointed?” I asked, surprised by their responses. I had been expecting some resistance and maybe even a little resentment at least. We had poured our heart and souls into this tour—it had been a year in the making with a lot riding on its success. And a great success it had been. Naturally, I had assumed they would all want to press on and continue riding the wave of that high.
They all looked around at each other and then shook their heads, Talon giving me a grin. “Nah, man, it's been real, it's been amazing, but for now, we're good. I mean, shit, it was only a matter of time, anyway. We're all getting older. It’s time to move on to greener pastures, even though where we are right now is pretty damn comfy.
“I've been thinking of spending a year or two in Europe, actually. Maybe I’ll play some jazz. I'd like to explore the scene there and just have a bit of a change in my life. You know, see a new place, meet new people, play a different kind of music.”
“That sounds really cool, Talon,” Jeremiah remarked.
“Well, I guess that’s it then,” I announced, standing. “You’re all more than welcome to use the studio whenever you want if you want to record anything new. My studio is your studio, and you guys all know that. I've always got time for you gu
ys, always. We're brothers, through and through, and we always will be, whether Bleeding Heart is going or not.”
Talon shot me a knowing look. “Brothers or not, before I drop by the house, I’ll make sure to call first.”
I grinned. “You do that.”
After saying our goodbyes and making plans to get together for a cookout, I walked them out to their cars and then headed back downstairs where I had left Nalia playing the piano earlier. I had asked her to come with me when I talked to the guys, but she’d refused, insisting that it should just be between them and me. I hated to admit she was right, but she had been on point about that.
Pausing in the doorway, I watched her tinker with the keys, her hands drifting over them. No matter how many times I looked at her, I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. My heart almost seized in my chest as I thought about how close I had come to losing her. I’d been an idiot to ever think I could live without her. As impossible as I’d once thought it was, I’d become utterly grateful for every day I spent with her. And, I had never been much of a religious man, but when I held her, I knew there clearly had to be a God.
She looked up from playing, and our eyes met, a loving smile spreading across her face. “Hey, you.”
“Hey,” I replied, smiling as I stepped into the room. “What are you doing there?”
She pointed to the half-written song in front of her. “Writing and playing. It’s kind of my life now, you know.”
I walked over and took a seat next to her, pressing a kiss on her cheek. “I thought I was your life.”
She laughed and patted my knee. “Now, what would give you that idea?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I do, I do. I was just teasing you,” I said with a warm smile.
She leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on my cheek.
I sighed and hugged her tightly, and then turned to look at the music. “Are you stuck?”
“Yeah, feeling pretty hopeless about it, actually,” she admitted.
I read the notes, my hands moving over the keys as I did. In terms of piano playing, I wasn’t even close to her level, but I could still play enough to write music, and as I looked over what she had already done, an idea popped into my head. “What about this?” I suggested.
She listened intently, cocking her head to the side as I hummed a few bars, writing down the notes on the sheet. When I was finished she looked at the notes, playing them back on the piano a thousand times better than I had.
“That’s brilliant!” she exclaimed. “It's just what I was looking for, but couldn't quite find.”
“I still have a little somethin’ left to offer.”
“You have a lot left to offer, and you know it,” she nudged me.
“You know I love you, right?”
Her expression melted as she leaned against my shoulder, the smell of her shampoo tickling my nose. “I love you, too. I hope we stay this happy until we are old and gray.”
I wrapped my arm around her waist, feeling somewhat funny about the whole getting old thing. “I hope you love me that long,” I whispered under my breath.
“I will love you until the end of time.”
“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
“You shouldn’t have said it aloud then,” she giggled.
I laughed. “Yes, ma’am. You sure you can live with me until I’m old and gray?”
She looked up, her eyes warm and full of affection. “Absolutely. Just means I’ll have to be the one to stroke your ego when you’re old, instead of hordes of screaming women.”
I leaned down, gently brushing my lips against hers. “I don’t need the fans, the fame, or any of that as long as I have you. That’s all I need. You.”
“Just when I think you can’t blow me away anymore, you do,” she whispered.
I smiled against her lips. “Well, I hope I am able to just that for the rest of our lives, babe.”
She wound her arms around my neck, pulling me in for another deep kiss.
“God, I love your kisses. I would almost pay for those,” I joked.
“Well, you can start with that piano you promised me,” she whispered.
I grinned and tweaked her nose. “I'll buy you a warehouse full of pianos if you keep kissing me like that.”
“Deal.”
Epilogue
Nalia
“Come on, come on, where the heck is that dress?” I muttered. I tore into my closet, and eventually managed to find the little, black dress I had been looking for in the back behind my winter clothes. Crazy place for it to be, but it didn’t matter. If I didn’t hurry up, I was going to be late. Not that it was a new concept.
Throwing it on, I pulled all of the curlers from my hair and gave it a fluff, glad that I had already done my makeup. Tonight was extremely important, and I didn’t want any part of it or me to be out of place.
In the middle of all the hubbub, the doorbell rang. I rushed barefoot to it, throwing open the door to find my brother waiting impatiently in the doorway. “I’m running behind.”
“Tell me what else is new,” Jackson grumbled as he walked in, Grace was right behind him. “That’s why I picked you up last, sis.”
I rolled my eyes at him, a little too melodramatically for his liking, although Grace let out a chuckle.
“I couldn’t find my dress,” I shot back, picking up the small studs that Owen had given me for our first Christmas together. The thought made me smile, set my heart aching to see him, and sent my pulse racing.
It was rare that we spent more than a day apart, but he had been working so hard on tonight’s event that I had stayed largely out of his way for the better part of two days. He had been working feverishly to make sure the event would go off without a hitch. Besides, my apartment needed to be packed up, hence the reason I couldn’t find anything. Half of the place was already in boxes, and the other half was scattered in piles and stacks and general mountains of disorder.
I was moving in with Owen at the end of the week, a date which would mark one year of happiness for us. He had popped the question about moving in to me over dinner just a week prior, and since I already spent the majority of my time at his place anyway, there didn't really seem to be any reason to continue to pay rent here.
“Come on, Nalia!” Grace shouted from the hallway, her tone bordering on agitated. Probably not because I was running behind as much as she was having to listen to Jackson go on about me running behind. When it came to Jackson, she had a rather short fuse, and her moods could switch in a blink. Plus, she was ready to go. For some reason, she was more excited than I would have thought for tonight’s event. We were all excited, though.
I had cried like a baby when Owen had casually mentioned a few months before that he was putting on a black tie charity event for the local orphanage. After growing up in and out of orphanages, I had a heart for helping in that area, and there were a great deal of kids growing up like I had who were going to benefit from his generosity.
The thought of my own past and the fact that he was so dedicated to helping people who were going through such hardships really made my heart swell with both pride and love. It made me even more proud to call him mine, and ever so grateful to have someone like him in my life. I wasn't sure what I'd done to deserve someone as kind and generous as Owen but, whatever it was, I thanked God for it.
Finding my shoes, I slipped them on and grabbed my purse, adjusting my dress as I clacked down the hall until I stood before them. “How do I look?”
“Like a woman who’s making me late,” Jackson jabbed, rolling his eyes. “Come on, seriously, we are going to be late if we don't get a move on. C'mon, hustle! Let's go, let's go!”
I socked him in the shoulder as we walked out to his car. “No need to be such a grouch! We'll get there on time, take a pill. Besides, you know I’m not going to be late for Owen’s big event, as hard as he’s been working on this. He's been so stressed about every detail of this event being right for, well, for a long time n
ow. It's really taken it out of him.”
“I’m sure you can provide him with some extra special relief,” Grace giggled from the front passenger seat eliciting a loud groan from Jackson. He had finally come around to the fact that Owen and I were a couple, but there were times I still thought my brother felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment.
Thankfully, he and Owen got along pretty well now, and I knew it was only a matter of time before my brother finally got used to the fact that I had, in fact, wrangled the wild rock star and not only locked him down, but domesticated him, as well. He'd never believed that such a thing could have been possible, but there I was—there we were.
“Do you think the mayor will come tonight?” Grace asked as she checked her reflection in the visor mirror, making sure that everything was perfectly in place and that her makeup looked as good as it had when she had left her house. “I honestly can’t believe I’m attending this event,” she said, sounding overly excited, almost like a middle school girl going to a high school party.
I eyed my friend, wondering why she was so enthusiastic. While I was blown away by some of the names that were going to be present, Grace had been in the limelight for so long that I just assumed she knew most everyone and that she’d grown used to attending events like this. Surely once you'd been to enough of these things, you'd get over them and perhaps even begin to see them as something of a chore, right? But there she was, acting like a girl heading to her first prom.
Unlike Grace, I no longer felt the need to be famous. Once upon a time, I thought that if I got myself out there that all of my dreams would come true, but recently I had come to realize that I already had everything I needed. Owen was so much more than I could have ever imagined or wished for, and I couldn’t wait to see what else our lives would hold for the future. Now that his touring days were behind him, he had really delved into his record label, signing some new talent that, in my opinion, was going to make him a great deal of money. The sky was the limit for the future.