I gave her a look, but it was my blush that did me in. I’d spared her the details the first time around, just trying to get out the basics of how my world had been turned completely on its head—or its heart—in the past twelve hours. With a wicked grin, I gave her some of the delicious details—most of the ones that would explain why it hurt to move certain ways right now.
“Well, that should make the rest of the tour a little easier, since you’re really dating him now, right?” She moved to the side as I wrapped my towel around me and reached for the hairdryer. Rehearsal was at ten. We were going to be cutting it close.
A huge smile exploded over my face and I squealed a ‘yes.’
But then my face fell and I muttered, “No.”
“What do you mean?”
“For all intents and purposes, it’s still a show between us.”
“Because of Ash…” She trailed off knowingly before her eyes narrowed. “Wait, was that your idea or his?”
I jerked back slightly. “Mine… why?” She shook her head. “Uh, uh. No way. Spill. What are you thinking?”
“Nothing, B. I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. You know how you are when it comes to Zach…”
“And how’s that?” I asked softly.
“Well… you just tend to jump without looking and then fall…” I recoiled as her words sliced through me. She planted her hands on the side of my arms. “Blay. You know I’m happy for you. I—of all people—know what it’s like to want someone who doesn’t want you and I also know how long you’ve lived with that for him.”
“But…” I prompted, knowing there was always a ‘but.’
“I don’t want you to get hurt. There’s… a lot… riding on this situation and not just for you, but for him. I know everything that he’s put you through and I just want you have a sliver of caution, that’s all.”
I wanted to be mad at her for saying it but I couldn’t because she was right. It’s not that I didn’t believe what he said or what he felt for me; I just wasn’t sure that it was enough.
She squeezed my fingers, bringing my focus back to her. “Zach is the most loyal person I’ve ever met. I mean, it’s no wonder he’s Ash’s best friend. But he is loyal to a fault. He will put other people’s feelings ahead of his own—like when he asked Alexa to prom even though he didn’t really like her. Like when he didn’t call you out in public for the whole graduation party thing because he didn’t want to create tension between anyone. I mean, the whole reason that he signed up for this tour was to help you.”
She put up her hand when I went to interject. “I know what you’re going to say and maybe… maybe him wanting you played a role and maybe the opportunity for ZPP played a role. But look in the mirror and ask yourself, if you took away all of that, would he have still agreed?”
My head ducked down. He would have. He would have agreed to help me without being invited on tour and without wanting me. Taylor was right; Zach put others’ wants before his own. Others wouldn’t want us to be together. And I was his own.
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, turning away from her towards the mirror to finish with my hair. “And hopefully, when the tour is over and we tell Ash, he’ll prove us all wrong.”
She rolled her eyes, knowing just as well as I did how unlikely that would be. “That’s another thing,” she added. “If you are keeping this from him until then, you need to be much more careful. No more randomly disappearing, leaving me in the dark as to where you are going and when you’ll be back and still expecting me to cover for you. I… don’t have a leg to stand on with your brother.”
She laughed nervously. There was definitely something there. But the look on her face told me if I asked about it right now, I’d be met with cold, hard denial.
“I know, I know. We will be more careful.” I gave her a promising smile.
She pursed her lips like she didn’t believe me and then turned to leave the room with a low grumble. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“We will!” I yelled after her with a laugh, turning back to my untamed hair.
Track 16: Reckless
“Faster. Higher. Together we have more than nine lives.
Love is the kind of reckless you’ll never believe you won’t survive.”
I COULDN’T HELP BUT CHUCKLE at both how right and how utterly wrong the press always managed to be about my life. At least the headlines were all overwhelmingly positive now. Badmouth anything about me or Zach and one of Blake’s Babe Squad would rip you to pieces… for today at least. Tomorrow could be a whole different story.
“From duets to live streams, Blake Tyler shares unique glimpse into her first serious relationship and WOWS her fans!”
I jumped as the door to my dressing room opened and slammed shut, the lock clicking as an afterthought. My phone fell from my hand, slipping between the seat cushion and arm of the chair that I’d been curled up in. Tay always made sure I had a ‘writing chair’ on every set so that I could feel cozy as I worked on songs for my next album. There was a vanity to my left, a small, red velvet sofa to my right, flanked by a mini-fridge on one end and a dressing rack on the other.
I really didn’t need anything fancy. The only thing I really cared about in the room was the guitar that was currently on my lap.
And the Zach in the doorframe.
My eyes slid up from my guitar and the new song that I’d been writing and matching chords—‘Finally Ours’—to find my gaze captured by the very man who inspired it.
“Hey, beautiful,” Zach rasped, a sexy ‘you’re mine now’ grin gracing the classic lines of his face.
Since last weekend, we’d (barely) managed to keep our distance while ‘at work’—barely managed to keep up the façade that in private we were making all too real. During the week was easier. The beach. The Griffith Observatory. Joshua Tree National Park. We went exploring with our little posse of paparazzi and instead of feeling laden with anxiety that I was faking a story and burying my feelings, I felt free—free to be happy with the one who held my heart. And that, I wanted the world to see.
“Everyone is falling in love with Blake and Zach!”
Last night, I’d slipped into Zach’s room after Tay fell asleep and we stayed up watching The Hunger Games series most of the night.
Ok… we stayed up doing other things most of the night, but the movies were still playing in the background.
“What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly, flipping the notebook closed before he could see the verse that I’d been writing. The affronted look on his face had me taking stock of what I’d just said. Shaking my head, I ran a hand through my hair. “Sorry. I just… wasn’t expecting you.”
“I know.” He closed the distance between us. “But I needed to see you.”
Especially before and after the shows (and around Ash), we tried to keep our distance. Probably a slight over-correction but I was too afraid of ruining the beginning of our love story.
“Oh yeah?” I licked my lips and stood, setting Marty (my Martin acoustic guitar) down on the chair behind me.
His hands cupped my face and before I could protest, his lips were on mine. I tried to shove the piece of gum that I’d been chewing up into the side of my cheek, but I wasn’t fast enough. His tongue swooped in and pulled the now flavorless wad into his mouth.
Pulling back, he smiled at me, the piece of gum held between his front teeth. Reaching up he plucked it from his mouth and tossed it into the trash can on the other side of us.
“Stop chewing gum,” he said with a low voice as that hand gripped my chin, his thumb brushing languorously over my lower lip.
“Why?”
“Because I get jealous of anything that gets to spend so much time inside your mouth.”
A small groan escaped as moisture rushed between my thighs before I could even think. It was so lame. If I had heard him say this to any other girl I would have pointed a finger at him and burst out laughing. But he was saying i
t to me. And because he said it to me, it made all the sore parts of my body come to attention, craving more abuse.
The match had been struck. And before I could get any words out of my parted mouth, he chuckled huskily and slipped his tongue back inside and locked my mouth back to his. Sparklers flared inside my body as I opened for him, letting in the demanding force of his tongue. The kiss turned heavy in a way that it seemed even Zach wasn’t prepared for. His arms locking around my waist, his arousal dug into my stomach as I wound my arms around his neck.
Stroking and sucking, my body melted from his kiss. I squeezed my thighs together, the ache quickly turning unbearable.
“What was that for?” I whispered between heaving, gasping breaths when he finally pulled back.
“I missed you.” My heart skipped a beat. “And now I need you.”
My eyes flicked to the door. “Anyone could come in.”
Translation: What if Ash comes waltzing in?
“I locked it.” One large hand slid from my back up underneath my t-shirt to close over my breast.
“What if someone knocks?” All of Tay’s warnings echoed in my head. This was definitely not being careful. Yeah, there was still time before the show started and yeah, it was unlikely that someone would bother me while I was songwriting.
But it still wasn’t careful.
Tugging my bra down so that it pushed my breast right up into his hand, his fingers pinched my nipple and the fireworks that exploded inside me blew up all thoughts of carefulness into bright, colorful fragments of need that rained down on every cell of my body.
I felt the wall against my back and the wall of Zach against my front, hard and hot, his V-neck tee tight over his chest. I instinctively locked one ankle around his leg, letting his hips fall further into the cradle of mine. I arched against him, suddenly desperate for him to be inside me.
“Too loud,” he grumbled and I gasped as he hoisted me up, holding me with one arm as the other moved Marty from the chair I’d been sitting in.
“Careful!” I exclaimed and Zach arched an eyebrow at me as he gently propped my instrument against the side of the huge brown leather armchair.
Zach took Marty’s seat and he became mine. Straddling him in the huge armchair, my gym shorts rode up high on my thighs. My breath caught at how gorgeous he was staring up at me. I reached up and tugged the baseball cap off his head, letting it fall to the ground.
“Careful!” he said, teasing me with a wink.
“I missed you,” I confessed, rubbing myself against him.
“I missed you too, Blakebaby.” His hands found the edge of my tee and lifted it up over my head. “I couldn’t wait until later.”
A shiver climbed up my spine. More words I thought I’d never hear from him.
“I’m not complaining,” I said with a throaty voice that I seemed to have acquired only recently. Only for him.
“You should be… how many times I had you last night,” he said even as his hands drifted around my back to unclasp my bra. “I should at least have given you until tonight.”
“I don’t want you to,” I arched my breasts into his hands.
I didn’t want him to question it. I wanted him. And I wanted him to take me just as much as he wanted to. We’d have to work on that.
“Good.” The word was borderline an inarticulate growl as he tipped his head forward and tugged my nipple into his mouth.
I closed my eyes and gave into the magic of his mouth. I shouldn’t have been surprised that every time was like this. Maybe it was all in my head because I’d built up this fantasy for so long.
No. I believed with my whole heart that there was something much more to it than that. There was more to the longing, the need, and the indescribable pull between us.
My hips began to rock against his length on their own accord, trying to put pressure on that sensitive spot that craved it again. I’d never been this greedy for sex before. I’d never had a reason to be.
“Fuck,” he said, licking across the tip of my breast as his hand delved beneath my shorts and panties.
I gasped as the pads of his fingers slid over my clit down to my entrance.
“You’re already so wet, Blakebaby.” His teeth gently closed over my nipple, sucking hard with a groan.
“I want you inside me,” I said softly, still afraid that someone might actually hear my desperate admission.
“Soon. You’re not ready.” He smiled as he moved to my other breast to torture me, refusing to oblige my request.
“Zach,” I bit out between moans as he licked and sucked my nipple until it was bright red and begging for more. “I want to ride you. I want your dick inside me.”
I shivered at the coarseness of my own words. Thankfully, my body was already so flushed with desire that the slight embarrassment didn’t make much of a difference.
“Christ, Blay.” He pulled back, his hands standing me up for a second to tear down my track shorts and underwear. I barely stepped out of them before he had me back on top of him.
I moaned at the feel of his jeans against my bare clit, unable to stop myself from massaging against them.
“You like leaving your mark on these jeans, don’t you, Baby Blay?” he taunted me with dark desire burning in his eyes.
“Y-yes.”
“Maybe I should let you come all over them.” His hands returned to my breasts, kneading and tugging them until my nails were digging into the firm bulk of his shoulders. “Like you did to my pants that night.”
I gasped loudly, on the edge of the release I longed for but that still evaded me as the present meshed with the past.
“God, I remember how you rolled against me, just like you’re doing now,” he grated out through clenched teeth. His hands slid and gripped my hips, stopping me from moving. “I wanted to strip you bare. I wanted to play with your flat tits. And then I wanted to ram myself inside your tight virgin pussy.”
I whimpered, fighting against his hold, needing to press and rub and ease the fit inside my body.
“So do it now,” I pleaded, resorting to circling my groin the best I could.
“You’re not ready.” Fingers slipped down between us, the pad of his thumb rolling over my clit. I bucked against him and cried out.
With a curse, he yanked my mouth down to his, covering it and any other sounds that might be tempted to escape. I was free to move against him and my core sought out his fingers like they were the antidote to this pleasurable poison.
His fingers searched and slipped inside me, but it wasn’t enough. Reaching between us, I undid his jeans, pulling his pulsing erection out. I scooted closer to it and in return, Zach curled his fingers inside me, knocking me off balance with a wave of unfiltered need. Hard and heavy in my hand, I fisted his arousal firmly, pumping up and down, watching the redish-purple head become even larger.
“Zach…” I murmured his name just as he withdrew his fingers from me, as though reading my thoughts.
Dragging myself up, I positioned my soaking slit over him and sunk down onto his hard length. Maybe I wasn’t ready for him, the way my muscles protested at the large invasion, trying to spread themselves wide enough to let him inside. But that only made me want him more—the way I could feel every fiber stretch as his cock speared deeper inside.
I forced my eyes to stay open, trained on his face as it contorted with pleasure.
“So tight, Baby Blake.” The barest sheen of sweat graced his face as he tried to keep it under control. “Fuck…” he drawled out as I slid down the last two inches in a rush, sinking him completely up against my womb. Enchanting eyes met mine and his hands held onto my hips, locking us for just a moment in the most perfect definition of ours. “It’s like every time your body molds just for me. Like you were molded just for me.”
My core clenched around him, loving his words that made me frantic to move. His hold released, freeing me to search for the orgasm that taunted my every cell. Sliding up and down his long length, I thr
ew my head back, moaning softly with each impale. One hand guided the rhythm of my hips, the other slid up over my stomach to lift my breast to his mouth. He latched onto my nipple, tugging on it each time I rose up to his tip and rammed all the way down onto his base.
I lost myself in every sensation overwhelming me. I lost myself in him. With him inside me, my body began to sing that song of my soul, rising higher and higher, until the edge was in sight. Zach shifted ever so slightly in the seat so when I sank down the last time, he struck me deeper than he’d ever been. His head hit the most sensitive spot inside of me with that stroke and released the orgasm that had been bouncing around inside my body, turning my body into a needy version of a pinball machine.
I screamed but it was swallowed by Zach’s mouth as my sex convulsed around him. He took over, thrusting up into my shuddering passage two more times before a groan ripped from his chest and the hot rush of his climax erupted inside me as I milked him.
Our staccato breaths dotted the air as our hips slowly ground to a halt, goosebumps slowly covering my skin.
My eyes blinked open, meeting his gaze. And then a giggle escaped me.
And then another.
And then he was grinning with me, pulling me into his arms and holding me close. In that moment there was no worry, no stage, no crowd, no reputation, and no brother. There was just us and happiness.
My forehead dropped to his and his lips reached up and pressed a quick, hard kiss to mine. “You should probably get back to work,” he rasped even as he tightened his embrace.
“You probably shouldn’t have been the one distracting me,” I retorted, clenching around him once more, feeling him swell again in response.
A new spark lit the dark desire that was still brimming in his eyes, but we both knew we’d already borrowed too much on this time.
“You mean you can’t write lyrics like this?” His grin wavered as he helped me slowly lift my hips up and off of him. “I was just giving you some inspiration.”
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