Good Girls Don't Date Rock Stars

by Codi Gary

  “What if I asked you to be my date tonight?” His gaze was searching, watching for a reaction from her.

  “For what?” Should she close the door? Probably not, just in case he got the wrong idea.

  Like maybe I want to throw him on the bed and have a casual one-off? Yeah, ’cause that would be a good idea.

  “I have a charity event to go to tonight and I want you to be my plus one.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, thinking about all of the press that would be waiting to take pictures.

  But after all the camera phones going off today, there are probably already a hundred pictures of me currently being Tweeted, so what does it matter?

  Unless someone in Rock Canyon saw them and recognized her. Then it mattered . . . a lot.

  “It’s going to be very boring, but if you’re there, I’ll have an excuse to sneak out early. We could go dancing or gambling, or just take a drive.” He reached out and took her hand, threading his long fingers through hers. “What do you think, Gemma?”

  “I . . . the awards are supposed to be pretty fun,” she said again weakly. Yes, she had been looking forward to them, but deep down, she wanted to spend the evening with Travis more, despite all the reasons she shouldn’t.

  His lopsided grin was disbelieving. “You would rather go to a boring awards ceremony alone than go to a boring charity event with me?”

  “I don’t have anything appropriate to wear,” she blurted out, hoping that would seal the deal. “All I have is this black cocktail dress, but I’ve seen pictures of those charity events, and everyone walks around in Armani and Vera Wang. I would look so out of place and embarrass you.”

  “You could show up in a garbage bag and still be beautiful. It doesn’t matter what you wear, at least not to me,” he said, and the romance of his words would have made any red blooded American woman melt. “If you’re worried about fitting in, though, I could put in a call downstairs; there’s a dress shop and salon in the hotel, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble to squeeze you in.”

  Gemma was almost speechless at his high-handedness. “Travis, I can’t afford all that.”

  “It would be on me. Since you’d really be saving me by going,” he said.

  “I can’t accept that. I’m sure whatever they have is way overpriced and . . .”

  Squeezing her hand firmly, he said, “Please, Gemma. I really want to spend the evening with you, but I already committed to this thing. You wouldn’t make me go alone, would you? I’ll be forced to talk to a bunch of stuffy people in penguin suits, and I’ll be so lonely.” His lip protruded as he made puppy-dog eyes at her.

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t be lonely long,” she grumbled.

  With a laugh, he snaked out an arm, wrapping it around her waist. She was so surprised, she didn’t even resist as he pulled her against him. “Come on, it’ll be just like prom. You were my savior then, and you’ll be my savior now, too.”

  Pursing her lips, she said, “Well, when you put it that way, it seems like I don’t have any choice.”

  “That’s my girl,” he teased, his blue eyes twinkling with laughter. But under all that, she saw it: the spark. It was like a roaring fire on a cold night that made you want to get closer, and right now, with Travis’s body pressed against hers, she wanted that heat.

  What would it feel like to be Travis’s girl again? To pretend, if only for tonight, that they could be together?

  I’m losing my mind.

  So what if he didn’t really mess around in Phoenix? The longer Gemma hung with him, the harder it would be not to mention Charlie.

  And then I’ll have to pick up the pieces when Travis breaks Charlie’s heart.

  Despite the warning voice, Gemma wasn’t really thinking of Travis in a forever kind of way. As of this minute, she was just thinking it had been a very lonely, long dry spell, and her body was humming with need. Especially when he was leaning so close, his hair falling forward in such a messy way that she wanted to smooth back his curls and run her fingers through them.

  She’d been quiet for too long, and Travis’s expression had changed from cheerful teasing to concern. “If you really don’t want to—”

  “No!” she cried, her cheeks burning. “It’s just, well, things are complicated, and I’m not sure this would be a good idea.”

  His mouth twisted into a grim line. “This is about Phoenix, isn’t it? Gemma, I told you over and over that nothing happened. I need you to believe that.”

  No, it wasn’t just Phoenix. She wanted to go with him, but at the end of the night, it would be one more secret. A secret she’d have to keep from Charlie and her friends. Her stomach hurt just thinking about it; she’d never lied to Charlie, even when he’d started asking about Travis. She had told him everything, including why she hadn’t told Travis about her pregnancy, and Charlie had been accepting but disappointed.

  If he knew she’d spent almost an entire day with Travis and never said anything about him, Charlie would never forgive her.

  Even if I refuse to go, I could have told him about Charlie anytime today. If Charlie finds out, that’s all he’s going to think about, so what does it matter if I stop seeing Travis now? Why can’t I grab onto this weekend with both hands and do something for me? What’s that old saying, in for a penny, in for a pound? The damage is already done.

  Suddenly, he was right in front of her, tipping back her head so their gazes locked. “Can we move past this and just have fun? No recriminations? Just two people having a good time?”

  No? Maybe? There were a thousand answers she could give, but Gemma surprised herself by whispering, “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  He kissed her forehead, brushing his lips softly against her skin. Her body shivered as shock waves rippled through her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, sinking into him. His hands splayed against her back and his head dipped lower, his warm breath against her mouth.

  When his lips touched hers, it was like Doc and the DeLorean had snatched her back to high school. Travis’s mouth was soft, coaxing, and she melted against him, fully understanding the “quivering limbs” she’d been reading about in her romance novels. As he deepened the kiss, she realized that it wasn’t the same. Kissing Travis before had been about falling in love for the first time, hesitant, sweet, and searching. This kiss was about longing.

  Suddenly, he broke the embrace, and she realized she had been making out with Travis in the middle of her hotel room with the door wide open. He closed the door, and second thoughts jumped to the forefront of her brain. She opened her mouth to stop him before things went any farther, but when he faced her again, his eyes hotly boring into hers, she couldn’t.

  She’d been a good mother and put Charlie’s well-being and happiness before everything else, but just this one time, she wanted to be a little selfish. She wanted to get lost in Travis again, to see if he was everything she remembered.

  Travis walked back to her and she stopped thinking, pushing everything but the moment from her brain. Gemma wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let him push her back into the room as his lips reclaimed hers. The sound of their mouths meeting and heavy breathing filled the room as they stumbled toward the bed, boots and wedges scattering behind them. Her eyes opened briefly as Travis pulled away to take off his shirt and toss it across the room.

  She swallowed hard. Travis had always been tall with lean muscle, but as she looked at his wide chest trimming down into some very impressive abs, he seemed so big, so powerful, and it was a heady feeling that he was all hers, at least for now. Her hand reached out to run across the surface of his stomach, admiring the bumps and ridges, and she flattened her palm, smoothing it back up and over his chest, the soft brush of his chest hair tickling her palm. Her gaze slid back up to meet his, and his eyes were nearly black in the afternoon light, telling her without words that he loved her touch.

  Suddenly, Travis pulled her to him, reaching for the bottom of her shirt, and she
sucked in a breath as the cool air of the hotel room swept over her torso, her nipples tightening against the cups of her bra. His hand tangled in her hair as his mouth covered hers, and she slid her arms around his waist, running her nails up his back, taking his moan into her mouth. His other hand skimmed her side and slipped into the back of her denim skirt, and she wanted to be closer, wanted his hands on her bare skin everywhere. Standing on her tiptoes, she rubbed her breasts back and forth, the friction making her throb, and she lifted her leg to hook around his waist, trying to ease the pulse between her thighs. Her skirt rode up, and the only thing left between them was the roughness of his jeans and the thin cotton of her panties.

  His hand grasped her thigh and brought their bodies closer, but the way her skirt bunched was painful. “One sec.”

  He let go of her leg, and she reached between them to unbutton her skirt. The rfft of the skirt’s zipper followed, mingling with their heavy breathing, until it pooled around her feet. Turning her back on him, she reached behind to unsnap her bra, but he pressed himself against her back, his lips moving over the skin of her shoulders to her spine, before working his way down. The sensual feel of his mouth made goose bumps that had nothing to do with being cold rise on her arms. His teeth nipped at the top of her lacy panties, and she sighed as his big hands slid them down, her eyes closing as his touch brought so many memories to the surface. He’d been this gentle the first time they’d made love, in a little cabin in Stanley, Idaho, when love had been the driving force behind their desire.

  Now, she was afraid to look too closely at her reasons. She had been lonely, that was true, and she still had strong feelings for Travis, but the way his touch could chase away all reason was a gift only he possessed. No other man could make her crave him so badly that she was willing to do almost anything to be with him.

  The panties hooked on her ankles, and as she lifted one foot and then the other, Travis used his hands to turn her around to face him. Clothed only in her purple bra, she swallowed hard as she met his gaze, the hunger in his eyes causing a supercharged need to race through her, and she wished briefly that he didn’t affect her so.

  “Beautiful.” He pressed his lips against her stomach, and butterflies erupted within, fluttering at his heartfelt words. Travis had always called her beautiful, even when she’d felt less than, and his words caused a lump in her throat that she tried to choke down. This wasn’t supposed to be about emotion; it was just sex. She needed to stop blending the past with the present. They weren’t the same people they once were.

  As his hands slipped behind her to play with the clasp of her bra, she bit her lip as her breasts spilled out. He pulled down the bra, flinging it away as his eyes locked on her breasts, the hungry stare shooting a whiplash of desire through her.

  He stood up quickly, and the slow simmer that had been brewing boiled over as she reached up to grab the back of his neck to bring his mouth back to hers. She felt his hands grab her ass and lift her up, and she locked her legs around his waist, moaning loudly as the sensitive flesh between her legs rested against the top of his jeans. When his mouth latched onto her nipple, the ache within her grew unbearable. Whimpering at each pull of his lips and teeth, she squirmed against him.

  God, yes. It’s been so long.

  Without warning, he released her breast and dropped her onto the bed, removing her hands from around his neck as he stepped back. He gripped the snap of his jeans, and she watched in anticipation as in one motion he grabbed them and his briefs, shoving them to the floor.

  His long, muscular legs, which looked so damn hot in a pair of jeans, were hard and sprinkled with hair, and met his lean hips smoothly. When her eyes fell on the length of his stiff cock, her mouth watered, and she reached out, circling his erection with her hand and squeezing him. His breath rushed out in a deep, growling sound, and she smiled. She wanted to draw out the pleasure for as long as possible with this man, wanted to take the memory of his heavy-lidded blue eyes and the way he groaned as she stroked him with her when it was over.

  He brushed her hand off him to crawl onto the bed, and she let him go long enough to push him onto his back and kiss him, her hair falling around his face like a brown curtain. Kissing Travis was like licking raw cookie dough off the spoon; it might be bad for her, but it was too delicious to care.

  Breaking the kiss, her mouth trailed down over his prickly jaw to his neck, relishing the salty taste of him. Gracie once had broken up with a guy because he sweat too much, but the light sheen on Travis’s skin was sexy as hell in Gemma’s opinion. It meant he was holding back, getting hot from all the little things they’d done, and for Gemma, it was a huge turn-on. When she reached his flat brown nipple, she took it between her lips and sucked, her hand drifting down to grasp his cock again, teasing it with her teeth when his fingers slipped into her hair once more. The wet heat of arousal between her legs made her clench her thighs together as she released his nipple and continued across the contours of his stomach, turning her body so she leaned over him.

  His hand drifted up between her legs and she opened them to him, sighing against his stomach as his fingers sought her core. They past her folds and she tried to concentrate on where her mouth was headed, but when he thrust a finger inside, her breath hitched. Her eyes closed briefly as he added another, his thumb moving higher to tease her clit, and she moaned as electrical currents raced through her veins with each press of his hand.

  “Oh . . . my,” she said breathlessly as her muscles tightened and her heartbeat thundered in her ears. There was something about the right man’s touch that not even a vibrator could compete with.

  The right man’s touch.

  Her eyes popped open at the thought, but before it caused panic to override the sensations he was creating, he hooked his fingers over the rough patch of flesh inside her and she exploded, pushing back against his hand as she rode the orgasm, the throbbing easing slightly as he removed his fingers from inside, only to glide up her slit to play with her clit, and she jerked as he rubbed the sensitive nub.

  He was making her crazy and he knew it, she could tell by the way he whispered, “Come here.”

  But she wasn’t done with him, and it was her turn to make him lose it. She shifted down his body until her mouth settled over his cock, satisfied to hear him groan as she took him deeper. She had loved doing this to Travis, loved the feel of him in her mouth, and how out of control it made him. It had been a heady, powerful feeling for her as a teenager, but as a woman, it was even better.

  “God, Gemma, stop,” Travis cried, removing his hand from her, and she protested briefly as he jerked her up. Suddenly, the room spun, and she was on her back, looking up into Travis’s passion-filled face, and her heart was in her throat as for a split second she realized that this was it. She was about to make love to a man she used to love but hardly knew anymore. A man who had probably been with scores of women.

  His mouth covered hers and her hands gripped his shoulders, holding tight as the tip of him butted against her. In a moment of panic, she pulled away and whispered, “Condom.”

  She had an IUD but it never hurt to be safe. While Travis slipped off the bed and grabbed his pants, Gemma could feel the voice of reason screaming.

  If I do this, I can’t take it back.

  She was a terrible, selfish person and, in a way, wasn’t she taking advantage of Travis? She was using him to satisfy an itch she hadn’t scratched because she’d been worried about rumors spreading, but considering who was currently standing naked by the bed, wasn’t this worse than hooking up with a stranger?

  No one ever has to know. I can tell Gracie and Mike about lunch, but this will just be mine. My little secret.

  Then Travis was back, and as his big body slid over her, his cock nestling between her legs, she forgot why she shouldn’t do this and bent her knees. As he sank into her, stretching the tight walls of her channel, Gemma held on, rocking with him as his cock moved inside her. The tips of her breasts rubbed a
gainst his chest hair and the tingles spread, increasing the pleasure washing over her. Heavy pressure built as he stroked her and shifted his position slightly, pulling out until only the tip remained. She held on tight, trying to bring him back to her; the closeness of Travis’s body on hers, the way he cocooned her with his arms, was comforting, and she didn’t want to lose his warmth.

  He dropped his mouth to hers, the gentle sweep of his lips a direct contrast to the way he slammed back into her fast, but there was no pain. As her muscles gripped him, she screamed against his mouth, and the fireworks behind her closed eyelids exploded into gorgeous lights. Her fingers dug into his arms as he rode her hard, and she felt his rhythm slip when he tore his mouth from hers, letting go with a groan.

  Her body still humming, Gemma’s hands drifted over Travis’s shoulders, and she tried to tell herself that it was totally worth whatever guilt might hit her later.

  TRAVIS HELD GEMMA against his side, her soft brown hair tickling his chest. He was afraid to move or speak, worried that if he broke the mood, she’d kick him out and run. He got the feeling she was still holding out on him, keeping secrets. But as frustrating as it was, she didn’t owe him anything.

  His hand drifted over her back as he thought about their lovemaking, a mix of gentleness and fire. It had taken him back, making him compare the fast, frantic quickies in his truck to the gentleness of their first time. This had been more desperate, and he knew that although he never lacked women who wanted him, true passion had been lacking in his life.

  Or maybe it’s just Gemma I was missing.

  He couldn’t dwell on that thought, not so soon. He needed to take things one day at a time, starting with today. She was still holding back a part of herself, he could feel it, and he knew if he pushed, she’d close down. Gemma had never been one for confrontation.

  Maybe if he suggested a way for them to take things slow, get to know each other again . . . He had a few weeks off before his tour picked up again and no reason to head back to Nashville. Maybe he could head up to Rock Canyon, see how things had changed, not just with Gemma, but with the only place he’d ever called home.