A vague picture came to mind. “The boys next door?”
She squinted, trying to connect her memory of the boys who lived next door with Bash. She had a hard time. Even the house was different. Flashes of images came back. “You can’t be that skinny guy…can you? Wait, you’re not serious…Hold on. Did your father have a model train set in the basement?”
“It’s still down there.”
She eyed him curiously, head tilted, eyes squinting as she tried to place him back into the frames of the past that were buried in her mind.
“No…really?”
“Yes.”
“We were all down there one Christmas. My parents brought me over to see that train. They hung out with your parents. I think they all had a toast with wine or something…and I crawled to the inside of the tracks to watch the train go around…with the Sullivan boys.”
Bash nodded. “I was probably eleven.”
“Crap. I haven’t thought about that for a really long time.” She felt the tears welling up again and took a seat. “I don’t know how to explain it, Bash. There’s a lot that I blocked out from before my mother died…and after too. At one point, I didn’t want to remember at all. I didn’t want to feel anymore. All I let in after that was Dad and my music…”
He put an arm over her shoulder, but said nothing.
She looked over at him again. “So, you always knew?”
He nodded slowly and turned to her. Their eyes locked. Eva’s warnings about being careful were unwarranted. Alexandra had known this man almost all her life.
She swept her tongue across suddenly dry lips, and became aware of every tingling nerve ending in her body. Heat rose up to her face as Bash gently wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of his index finger. She noticed each of his eyelashes when he leaned forward, eyelids half-opened. Her eyes fluttered and she took in the incredible sensation of his fingers gliding down her cheek, across her jawline, past her ear, around the back of her neck, and lacing through the hair at the back of her head.
He leaned in more closely, close enough for Alexandra to feel his body heat radiate from his chest, close enough for her body to unravel from just his breath on her skin, close enough for her brain to completely shut down. Suddenly, being this close to Bash made her feel she had been caged up like an animal for all this time, and now he was about to set her free. She wanted his lips on hers, but before he kissed her he moved his lips to her ear.
“Alexandra,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she groaned, already shivering from his breath on her neck.
“This is the only name I will ever call you from now on.”
She moaned from the deep raspy timber in his voice. It was full of confidence. She could tell he was utterly sure of himself. She already loved that voice.
“Okay,” she answered, her voice shaky and trembling from anticipation.
“Is this what you want?”
“God…yes,” she whimpered.
“Are you sure?”
“I want this.”
“Good,” he told her, bringing his voice down to an almost undiscernible baritone that vibrated against her skin, already causing a potent reaction she could feel deep in her womb.
“I want you,” she managed to get out with the breath she had been holding in for far too long.
His fingers tugged gently at her hair, creating a tension that made her tip her chin slightly upward. He was so close now, she could feel the tip of the stubble on his jaw grazing ever so slightly along her cheek.
“I’ve waited so long for this…for you, Alexandra. I want you to know something.”
She could barely form the question to ask what it was. She could barely think, but in her next breath, asked, “Yes?”
He pulled off from her neck and looked her in the eye. “This is not a game, I am not saying this to be cocky or arrogant, and I will only tell you this once.”
He paused, staring at her intently, as if looking right through her to her soul, like she already meant everything to him. That’s how she felt. Wanted, special, treasured, cherished, possessed by Bash.
His eyes never left hers, when he said, “I will never lie to you, I will never hurt you, and when I take you, you will never want another man’s hands on you, Alexandra.”
“Oh God,” she cried, already certain it was true.
His grip tightened at the back of her head. It was neither gentle nor rough. It was firm, stable, strong, masculine, present, letting her know without words that he had her, that he was in control in the way she always wanted a man to be, and that she was safe, protected.
“Is this what you want?”
She nodded, holding her breath.
“Say the words.”
Alexandra did not hesitate. Bash was everything she had ever wanted. “Take me now, Bash.”
His lips merged with hers, and Alexandra experienced what she had only dreamed about. His mouth was a liquid fire. His tongue dove past her lips to toy with her own, and she sighed into his kiss, surrendering because she was never in control of this. She was paralyzed, with arms drooped to her side, soaking in Bash’s touch, allowing him to own her.
Bash pulled her in closer, and put his other arm around her. Their knees touched, legs repositioning to get even closer. With the feverish need surging within her, she strained at the restriction of sitting. She wanted him down on the floor or over on his bed or Christ, up against a wall. She decided it didn’t matter where he took her.
I want Sebastian Sullivan in every possible way.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SEBASTIAN could hardly believe he had Alexandra in his bed after all these years. She seemed relaxed there, naked and on her back after they had hurriedly removed each other’s clothes, but he was in no way relaxed. If he followed his instinct, he would be inside her in two seconds flat, and would probably explode from sheer excitement that this moment was finally here. No, that was not about to happen. He would make this first time last, and she would never forget it—just like he had told her.
He moved to his side of the bed, and in an instant was in Alexandra’s personal space, gathering his patience as he observed the quickened pulse point at her neck, her shallow breathing that begged for him to get closer still. He cupped her chin in his palm and tilted her face, searching her eyes, her soul.
Is she ready for this?
God, he hoped so. All he could see in her eyes was pure, wanton passion, a perfect reflection of the heightened need flowing through him. Sebastian ran the back of his hand down her neck and she gasped, her body already shaking with desire.
Moving his face closer to hers, he took in her violet eyes flecked with silver hints. Alexandra let out a soft sigh and wrinkled her nose, probably at the feel of his breath against her tender, perfect skin. He let his hand wander down to her chest to the slight rise of her breast. Her heart was pounding so hard, he could almost give in and claim her right then. Instead, he moved his arm down further, letting it come to rest at her waist.
He leaned over and kissed her temple. Alexandra was so ready, so ripe, the way she reached a hand to his hair, pulling him in so he could do more to her. He pulled away slightly and Alexandra’s gaze dropped to his lips. He kissed her cheek softly, and slowly moved down her body, pressing kisses as he went, nipping along her skin as she trembled with need. Moving back up her body, he placed a hand on each side of her face and took her mouth quickly. He was so aroused when their lips met, it took all his will to keep the slow pace while his blood boiled.
Alexandra groaned into the kiss. The sound set him on fire. He dropped his hands, gripping around her waist again as he lowered his body to hers. With their bodies pressed together, he felt Alexandra part her legs and wrap them around his waist. His hands came up to tangle in the hair at her temples, holding her firmly in place as his tongue invaded her mouth. She moaned again, tongue dueling with his, and now her hips were moving into him, rubbing her stomach against his throbbing manhood. Alexandra was panting an
d gasping for air as though if he wasn’t careful she would come just from his touch. As much as he loved the idea, he wanted to give her more—much more.
He lifted his head, pulling away from her lips to deliver a trail of gentle bites down her neck, past her throat to her breasts. Alexandra arched her back, pressing her nipple into his mouth for more of what he was giving. He nipples peaked under his touch, and her hips continued to lift into his groin. His free hand wandered, slipping down between them to her center.
“Fuck me, Bash. I want you so bad,” Alexandra whimpered, grinding her hips into his hand now, bearing down to take his two fingers deeper inside her soft, wet sweetness.
Suddenly it wasn’t enough to have his fingers inside her. He needed to taste her, to take her with his mouth, to make her scream. Sebastian moved lower still, positioning himself between her legs, parting her thighs wide. Alexandra whimpered, and lifted her head to look down at him as his lips replaced his fingers and made contact with her shaved mound. He didn’t hold back. He wasn’t gentle. He devoured her, feasting on her from her clit to the folds of her pussy, all the way to her sweet asshole and back again. He flicked his tongue at her folds, sliding inside her channel and out again, breathing in her musky, feminine scent and pumping into her as she ground her hips down on his face.
“Oh God. Bash,” she cried, and soon Alexandra was convulsing on the bed from her first climax.
He growled, lapping up her sweet release, unwavering even as her head fell back to the pillow, begging him to enter her. He moved his torture to her swollen clit, sucking and thrumming the delicious bud with his lips and tongue and entire mouth. She was close again, and to help her over the edge, Sebastian pressed a finger on her tight asshole. Alexandra gasped, pushing against it with fervor until his finger was inside. He thrust inside her as he tantalized her clit. Before long, he had driven her to another peak, one that had her thrashing on the bed and shaking from her head to her toes.
“Please Bash,” she begged when she could speak again. “Please fuck me.”
Sebastian couldn’t resist anymore. He had to take her, to claim her with his manhood deep inside scorching hot, soaking wet pussy. Grabbing a condom on the night stand, he removed it from the wrapper and slipped it on with lightning speed. He shifted up along her body, kissing the peaks of each breast before he found her mouth again. He dove his tongue deep inside her mouth, and in the same movement, drove his engorged flesh past her folds.
“Oh God, Bash,” she cried out against his hungry mouth.
“Yes, Alexandra. You’re so fucking tight. I want to hear my name on your lips when I make you come apart again.”
“Fuck, yes Bash,” she groaned. “Fuck me harder.”
His hands reached under her hips and cupped her ass, spreading her cheeks apart as he drilled deep into her channel, right to the core. Her body bucked as he pumped inside of her. Sebastian relished every inch that he claimed for himself. He felt her fingers dig into his back and at the same time, her walls tightened around his shaft until he lost all control. She came again, taking Sebastian with her this time as he pumped once, twice and a third time, and released with a deep, raspy growl.
Buried deep, he lowered his head into her neck, waiting for their breaths to come back to normal. She kissed the top of his head, and when he looked up at her again, her eyes were closed. He slowly pulled out, easing himself off her to clean up in the bathroom. Alexandra was asleep when he returned. He climbed into bed beside her, stretched out on his back with his hands under his head, certain now he had met his match in bed.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
ALEXANDRA jumped when her smartphone rang in the middle of what would have likely kept her in bed with Bash all day. It took major effort for her to disengage from another one of Bash’s kisses—a kiss that made her toes clench and left her body quivering.
She gasped, coming up for air. “Hold that thought,” she said, sucking in a long breath as she jumped out of bed. She bent over her pile of clothes and dug out her phone to answer, expecting it would have been Eva. She did not want to give Eva the brush-off after she had taken the time to visit her in Tucson. It was only after hitting the accept call button that she realized it was Rick.
With mild irritation, she answered. “Hello?”
“Lexxi, big problem!” Rick sounded frantic.
“Rick. I’m kind of in the middle of something,” she groaned.
Bash sat up in bed, waiting with a guarded expression. After last night and this morning, she felt so close to him, yet was not sure what he was thinking right now. There was still so much to talk about, more for his benefit than anything else. She shook her head, trying to be sensible.
Rick’s voice broke through the fray of thoughts. “No, no. I think you want to hear about this,” he said.
“Hold on a second,” she told him before slipping her hand over the phone to block out the sound. She turned to Bash. “I have to take this. One minute, okay?”
Bash leaned over and kissed her hair before getting out of bed. “Sure. I’ll be in the kitchen. I think we can use some coffee.”
“I don’t think this will be long. Wait for me and I’ll come down with you.”
“Okay,” he whispered. He pointed to his master bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”
She nodded to him and continued on the phone. “What’s it about, Rick?”
“Wilkes is on his way to Arizona.”
“Sorry, what?”
“A few internet websites posted pictures of you and Eva together in Tucson, and he’s looking for you!” Rick exclaimed.
Alexandra grabbed her forehead and sank back on the bed. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, doll. That’s the thing when you’re signed to the same label as your ex. One of the executives text me to give you a heads up. He’s on his way to you and he’s bringing the heat. I wouldn’t put it past him to have the press follow him around to get to you, either. Whatever role you’ve been playing, you have got to make it disappear.”
“Why?”
“You did a great job laying low while you took care of Max, but now that Lexxi Rock is back on the scene, the two of you can’t share the same body. If Wilkes is in town, he’ll stick closer to you than ever. His career is in shambles. You know he’d do anything to be relevant again, even if it makes you look bad. I don’t have to remind you what happened the last time!”
“Awww crap. This can’t be happening.” The words rang in her head, eerily similar to what Eva had told her, like she had some kind of premonition, except for the wrong man. With Bash, Alexandra was certain he would never do something like that to her, but with Wilkes, it was another story. He would sell his own mother if he thought it would help with album sales.
She swallowed hard. “I was really getting used to short hair, Rick, but I guess you’re right. Fine. Alex Roberts is dead. I’ll figure it out, so don’t worry about it.”
She hung up the phone. Turning at a sound beside her, she remembered Bash was around. He was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.
“Alex Roberts is dead? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The media is about to invade Tucson, Bash. I can’t look like this around town anymore.”
“Like what? Yourself?”
“Exactly.”
“Are you hearing yourself right now, Alexandra?”
She gave him a pleading look. “They’ll be looking for me as Lexxi Rock. You know? Girlie, purple hair, dolled up—”
“Yes, I got it. I met her last night, remember?” He shook his head. “She was a little pretentious, superior and shallow.”
“What?”
“Never mind. That’s too bad, Alexandra. I think I liked Alex better.”
She waited expectantly for him to cross the room so they could pick up where they left off, but he did not. Bash threw on some sweat pants and left his room, heading down the stairs. She put on his t-shirt, the closest item of clothing she could find, and followed him down to
the kitchen. He stood in front of the coffee machine, ready to turn it on. Stepping up beside him, she placed a hand on his back.
“Bash? What’s wrong?”
He half-turned to her. “I think last night…maybe I expected too much too soon. I’m sorry.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Look, there’s no way for me to fit into the life you have as Lexxi Rock, okay? So, let’s not—” He stopped himself midsentence.
Let’s not go any further?
Let’s not keep getting to know each other?
Let’s not try?
She would ask, but the look on his face said it all. He moved off from her and walked toward the hallway, only stopping to turn back and say, “Let’s just not.”
***
Alexandra went back into the guest bedroom feeling numb and weary.
“What in the hell just happened?” she asked herself, biting back a sob as she ran her forearm across stinging eyes.
She refused to cry.
I brought this on myself.
I should have left well enough alone instead of sleeping with him.
Lexxi Rock and Sebastian Sullivan have no future together.
She sighed, realizing it was time to get back to reality, but not before she took a moment to mourn the fantasy. She plopped down on the bed and rolled over. Raising the t-shirt just high enough to touch her nose, she inhaled Bash’s scent that clung to the fabric. Last night up in his bed had been so…perfect.
She was going to miss Bash almost as much as she would miss being Alex. It had been so easy to be herself around Bash when she was pretending to be someone else. He said he liked Alex. It was crazy, but when she really thought about it, she knew exactly what he meant. She had missed the point, until now. Strip away the deeper voice, the slouching stroll, and the baggy clothes, and Alex Roberts was the real Alexandra Storme. That’s what Bash had been trying to tell her last night, and that’s why he was ready to let go today.
Alexandra sat up and cursed the day she ever invented the Lexxi Rock persona. Even Eva had warned her about it last night. Lexxi was nowhere near the real her, and that was the part Bash probably felt he could not have, which in all honesty was completely true. Knowing Rick, by the time she made it back to LA, she would have a full schedule for months to make up for this time away. Releasing the album alone would have made it hectic, so playing catchup for this time away was bound to make it that much worse.
Reveal: A Contemporary Romance (Billionaire Rock Star Romance Book 2) Page 8