She pulled against his hands, jerking her arms away. “No, Gage. You’re not going to fuck me out of this, this time. I’m serious.”
Gage frowned, his eyes dark. She saw rising anger in his face, knew she’d hit a nerve.
“Is that what you think I’m doing? That’s what I do when we make love? That I use sex to get my way?” He shook his head angrily. Kate turned away.
“Do you think that’s all I want out of this relationship? You in my bed, fucking me, or sucking my cock?” He reached for her again, spinning her around to face him, his fingers digging into her arm.
“Don’t walk away from me, Kate. Not now. You know there’s more to this than you’re willing to admit. Something else is bothering you besides the new tour. I know you’re upset, but you need to talk to me.”
“Let go of my arm, Gage.” Kate’s voice was low. Gage let go reluctantly, taking a step back. “You’re not going to control this situation. And yes, there are a lot of things bothering me. The tour, you’re flirting with girls in the hotel, your façade of pretending to listen to me so that I’ll be lulled into thinking you’ve actually changed.”
Kate’s words came out in a rush. “Nothing’s changed, Gage. You only tolerated sitting through lunch with me at Sarabeth’s. I was so caught up in being with you I forgot to pay attention to who you really are. You fidgeted the whole time. You weren’t really interested in what I had to say. You were just biding your time until I stopped talking so you could make your move.” She made a sound of disgust.
“But I fell right into that. I made all the moves and you just sat back and lapped it all up.”
“Kate, you can’t really believe that, can you?” He moved to take her in his arms but in a flash, Kate slapped Gage’s face.
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Don’t touch me!” Kate backed up, bumping against the arm of the couch. She could feel heat rising in her face, her heart pounding in her chest. Her mind was screaming she should leave; this wasn’t doing either of them any good. But her body was screaming for Gage, and before she could stop herself, she flung herself against him, her arms around his neck, pulling his face to hers, her mouth pressed against his. She felt him resist, but only briefly before he wrapped his arms around her, his hands spread across her back.
He broke away from their fiery kiss, his breath ragged in his throat. “Kate, what is this? You’re all over the place. I love you. What more do you want?”
Kate was breathing hard, emotions and sensations and arousal spiraling through her body. “Gage, I know. I love you too, but is that enough?” She looked up at him, searching his face. Rather than answer, he claimed her mouth again, his hands cupping her ass.
She felt his fingers clutching at her, his tongue probing her mouth. A brief flash of anger flared through Kate at his silence, and she bit Gage’s lip. He jerked back, his eyes dark, not with anger, but with pure primal lust.
In one swift motion, he pushed Kate back onto the couch, falling on top of her. She pushed at him, pummeling his chest with her fists, but he pinned her down easily with his weight. But then her fists unclenched and her impatient fingers were working the buttons of his shirt, pulling at it, finally yanking the fabric with both hands, several buttons popping off.
He bent his head to her mouth, hesitating briefly. “No more biting,” he growled, before bruising her lips against his, forcing his tongue into her mouth, greedily plundering every soft recess.
Gage was grinding his hips hard against hers, the tight material of her jeans rubbing between her legs, setting her afire. She could feel the bulge of his erection, the heat of him through his jeans. Her hands moved to the snap and zipper, finally getting them undone. Gage pushed his jeans down his hips, his erection brushing against Kate’s fingers.
His hands seemed to be everywhere on her, pulling her shirt open, clutching her breasts, raising her hips so she could slide her pants off. As soon as she was free of her jeans, she wrapped her legs around Gage’s waist, twisting her hips against his cock.
Instantly he was inside her, pushing hard, his hips thrusting quickly in short strokes. Kate gasped, rocking her hips up to meet him. He slammed into her, his head buried on her shoulder, breathing heavily, grunting with each thrust.
The force of his thrusts was knocking the breath out of Kate, but the intensity and pure animal lust was doing mad things to her body. She raked her fingers across Gage’s back, digging them in as he thrust into her, hearing him cry out in pain. But it only seemed to fuel the fire between them.
Their bodies were slick with sweat, their hearts pounding, as Gage drove them on with his relentless pace. Kate lost all sense of time and place, the only thing in her focus the intense arousal building in her body, the point of contact with Gage, his body against hers, thrusting into her over and over.
And then she screamed, her body arching up beneath Gage as her orgasm broke. She thrashed her head from side to side, curling against Gage, biting down on his shoulder as wave after wave washed over her body.
Suddenly Gage thrust himself deep inside Kate, holding himself taut and tense above her. She looked up, watching his face as he came, the look indescribable, pain and pleasure mixed. He cried out, loudly, his body shuddering in release as he pumped his hot liquid into her. She felt the delicious wet heat of him as he filled her. It made her cry out, a second small orgasm passing through her.
They lay in a tangled heap on the couch for a long time, hearts pounding, breathing hard, Gage’s head buried in her shoulder, her hands roaming idly over his back. After a time he propped himself up on one elbow.
“What you do to me, Kate. What we do to each other.” He kissed her softly.
Suddenly he stood up, climbing off the couch. Kate watched him walk out of the room, reappearing with his cell phone.
“What are you doing?” She struggled to sit up as he sat next to her.
“What I should have done earlier, before this all happened.” He waved his hand absently around the suite.
“I’m calling my manager. I’m cancelling the European tour.”
***
Gage’s heart was pounding as he waited for the call to go through. Kate was sitting next to him, a bewildered look on her face. Finally his manager answered.
The conversation went pretty much the way Gage expected. His manager yelled, screamed, threatened that turning down the tour would destroy Gage’s career…the tirade Gage had anticipated. He listened to the man explain all that was at stake, the expenses involved, tickets would have to be refunded, legal issues would arise.
“Yeah, I know all that. And that’s why I pay you, to handle this stuff. Look, artists cancel tours all the time; they get sick, they go to rehab, they flake out for some reason.” Kate took his hand. He turned to her, a look of amazement on her beautiful face.
“My reason? My reason is my future and what really matters to me in the end.”
He flipped the phone shut, tossing it on the table. Leaning back against the cushions, he ran his hands through his hair, tugging the long strands. Kate moved closer, curling up next to him, her head on his shoulder.
“Gage, I don’t know what to say. It’s a really big decision and well, you’re sacrificing so much. I’m just not sure it’s the best thing for you.”
Reaching down, he tipped Kate’s face to his. “It is. It’s the right decision, and right now I feel better than I’ve felt in ages.” Gage shifted on the couch.
“You do believe me, that I didn’t know about this tour till today though, right?” Gage looked at Kate.
“Yes, I do. I’m sorry I doubted you. This whole thing has been so overwhelming, all the way back to the first interview. I’d never thought I’d see you again and then there you were, the rockstar Gage Stevens. And then the tour, and everything that happened.” She took a breath.
“And then yesterday, thinking we were together. I guess hearing you’d be gone so soon was more than I could handle. I flipped out, I guess.”
Gage stoo
d, pulling Kate up to him. “Well, we’re together now. I expect there will be more calls from my manager, from the band probably, and maybe some press wanting interviews.” He kissed her forehead.
“But for now, it’s just you and me. And I meant it, Kate. You’re everything I want…need…you’re my future.” He bent to kiss her lips.
The cell phone rang. Gage reached down, flipping the phone open. He frowned, sent the call to voice mail and then turned the phone off. He dropped it back on the table.
“I’m sure there’ll be messages from everyone. I’ll deal with it all tomorrow. But for now, it’s just us.” Gage pulled Kate closer, her breasts pressed against his chest. As he held her, he felt himself grow hard, the soft skin of her body hot against his cock. He rubbed himself slowly against her, sliding his hands down her back, cupping her ass in his hands.
“Oh, god, Kate. You make me so hot, just touching you turns me on.” He moved one hand up to her breast, still covered by her bra. He looked down, watching his hand slide across the full globe, his thumb rubbing the nipple, seeing it grow hard at his touch. Kate shuddered beneath his hand, a sensation that turned him on every time it happened.
Kate was rubbing against him, her body calling to him. It didn’t take him long to answer that call. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the bedroom, to the place where he felt they communicated the best. It might not be with words, but it made sense to Gage.
The next hour passed in sensual abandonment. Gage explored every inch of Kate’s body with his tongue and hands, rediscovering her as she lay moaning beneath him. He finally focused on licking and sucking her clit until she was crying out, her body shaking with the force of her orgasm.
He’d turned her on her stomach, slowly sliding into her, the soft fullness of her ass pressing against his body as he thrust into her, nibbling on her ear, licking the curve of her neck, taking her on another ride, both of them finally peaking, bodies intertwined in passion, in love.
Gage held her for a long time, dozing off, cradling her body in his arms. He was jolted awake as she pulled away from him.
“Oh, god, Gage. I’ve got to get back to work. Ursula is going to have my head.” He watched as she ran out of the bedroom, heard her searching for her clothes in the other room. She came back in, dumping her clothes on the bed.
“I’m taking a shower and then leaving. And no, you’re not buying me new clothes today.” She smiled at him and then disappeared into the bathroom. He heard the shower start and the scent of the soap and shampoo drifted out. Laying back on the pillows he thought about what he’d done, what he and Kate would do next.
He was still musing over his decision when she came back into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her head. He watched as she pulled on her panties and bra, caught her looking at him as she pulled the towel from her damp hair, the brilliant red deepened to dark auburn.
“What’s so funny?” Kate was standing at the foot of the bed, looking lush and utterly gorgeous in her underwear, her tangled hair framing her face. She started drying her hair with the towel.
“Nothing’s funny. Didn’t know I was laughing. But…” he sat up in bed, resting his forearms on his knees “…I was thinking, we need to start looking for some place to live.”
Kate stopped, the towel hanging limp in her hands.
“Oh. Well, yeah. I hadn’t really thought about that.” She dropped the towel, rummaging in her purse for a comb. “I guess we can’t live at the W forever.”
“We could, but I don’t want to. I want a real apartment, not a hotel. It would seem like perpetual tour if we stayed here.”
Kate scowled. “My apartment is about the size of a closet.”
“I think we should look for a place, something big enough for us and with enough space.” He swung his legs over the slide of the bed.
“I think, while you’re at work, I’ll make some calls, see what’s available.” He walked to the end of the bed, wrapping his arms around Kate. “How does that sound?”
“I think it sounds wonderful. As much as I adore the soap here, I’d rather have our own place.” She kissed him quickly. “But I have to go. Really. Can you call me a car?”
Gage nodded, and let Kate go, slipping on his jeans and shirt, and called down to the concierge. Kate finished getting dressed and he rode in the elevator with her down to the lobby.
“Call me later, or come back here.” Gage fished a key card out of his pocket. “Here, you can just let yourself in.” He kissed her forehead, held the car door for her as she slid into the backseat.
He closed the door, watching her drive off down Lexington Avenue. Turning back to the hotel he started whistling softly. A song was bubbling up inside of him, something soft and quiet, full of hope and passion. He wondered if there was paper and pens in the desk in his room.
***
Kate sat at her desk, the first interview of the series almost halfway done and the sidebar article well underway. She’d had a burst of creative energy after she’d left Gage at the W. It seemed like everything in her brain worked, the words were there, her notes giving her the background to show the reader exactly what it was like to be at the concert, the sights, the sounds, what it felt like to be in the audience while Gage Stevens sang his heart out for them.
Ursula had asked to see her at the end of the day. Kate had emailed her the first draft of the article and the interview, along with the schedule of interviews and sidebars. She felt more than ready to meet with Ursula, felt she was really on the right track.
Glancing at the clock, she printed extra copies of the stories for making notes, gathered her notebook and digital recorder and headed to Ursula’s office. The door was closed and she knocked, hearing a muffled ‘enter’.
Balancing her stack of papers, she pushed the door open. Ursula was behind her desk, scanning an open document on her laptop, her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Kate recognized it as the draft of her interview. Ursula spoke over her shoulder as Kate slid into a chair.
“Kate, I’m just going over this interview and sidebar article. They’re good, for a first draft. But there’s something missing, they’re falling a bit flat in my opinion.”
Ursula turned to Kate, taking off her glasses. She tapped the stem on her desk. “I want something else in these stories, more…balance, maybe, or more realism. You’re painting Gage Stevens in such a way that he’s one-dimensional. And while our readers will eat up anything with Gage’s name on it, I want to give them more, something unexpected.”
Kate frowned. “More? I have interviews with everyone involved in the tour, from the roadies up to Gage’s manager, and with Gage himself, of course. I can’t think of anyone I haven’t interviewed.”
“That’s not what I mean. What I’m talking about is the other side of Gage Stevens, the personal side.” Ursula leaned forward, her elbows on the desk.
“I want your side of the story, Kate. I want to know what happened after the lights went down, after the roadies cleared the stage. After the after-party.” Ursula smiled, but it held no warmth. She looks like a piranha and I’m lunch.
“You want me to divulge personal details?” Kate felt the blood drain from her face. How much did Ursula know?
“Kate, don’t play coy. We both know you have a relationship of some kind with Gage Stevens. It’s obvious, it was the reason you were given this assignment. I thought you understood; we’re looking for a side of Gage Stevens that hasn’t been exposed before, the side that he might not want known.
“And you, my dear, are in the perfect position to write those articles. You know Gage better than anyone. You’re the person to write these articles the way I…the way this company needs them to be written. The way the fans want to read them.”
“But that’s not what I want…I don’t want to focus on Gage’s personal life. I thought the idea was to focus on the concert and tour experience, for those who didn’t get to be there, to know what it’s like to watch Gage perform.”
Ursula came around her desk, perching on the edge. She leaned down, looking at Kate.
“Do you think you can re-write these? Write them the way I want?”
“I’m not writing a tell-all expose on Gage’s personal life, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Ursula looked at Kate for a long moment. She sighed, stood and moved the few steps to the door, her hand on the door knob. She looked back at Kate.
“Well, in that case, I believe your relationship with this magazine is over. Please feel free to clean out your desk. Someone will contact you about your last paycheck.”
Kate stood, shock taking over, leaving her speechless. Without a word she walked on numb legs as Ursula held the door open. She heard the snick of the latch behind her as she walked to her cubicle.
Sinking into her desk chair, Kate rummaged through her desk. There weren’t many personal items; a photo of her parents and a paperback book she’d never read. She jammed them into her purse, picked up her laptop and grabbed the cables and cords that were tangled beneath the desk. All of it she crammed into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, heading for the lobby and the sidewalk beyond.
All she really wanted now was Gage. They had their future but it no longer included her job at the magazine. It brought her to a dead stop on the sidewalk. She was unemployed, with an apartment lease. What would Gage think?
A cab pulled to the curb and she gave the driver the address of the W. She tried not to think about what she’d done, but instead she focused on the future, on being with Gage. Anything else was just too hard to handle.
***
Gage was happy, truly happy, for the first time in days, maybe longer. He’d spent the time after Kate left calling real estate agencies, checking on apartments. There were quite a few he thought Kate would like, ones that included office space, had great views and had space that could be made into a music studio.
Rock Solid (Rock Hard #3) Seduced By The Rockstar - BBW Erotic Romance Page 5