Refrain (Stereo Hearts Book 3)

by Trevion Burns

  At that moment, she was dying to tell him the truth. The urge was more powerful than it had ever been. Though she’d just promised him she wasn’t going to get clingy, she understood that the newfound desire to spill her heart out had everything to do with the fact that they’d just slept together. But even though she really was waiting for the moment his head finally did a total 360, Viola still couldn’t betray Milo. At the end of the day, he was still her best friend, and she’d still made him a promise. Telling the truth would only cause more trouble than it was worth between the two brothers.

  When she didn’t answer his question, Jon didn’t push her. “Don’t even get me started on my father. It’s like he can’t stand the sight of me. If our eyes meet across the room, he looks away. If my name comes up, his eyes glaze over. If I walk into a room, he walks out. I’m trying, Viola. I’m trying so damn hard, but I just feel like… like I’m reaching for air. And the way he freaks out whenever Jackson gives even a hint of wanting to be like me? But praises him the second he shows any interest in being like Milo?”

  She stacked her hands on his chest and laid her chin on top of it, relishing in the feel of his fingers running her back. “I feel like he was so cold to Jackson about the guitar earlier because it makes him sad. Jackson said your dad was the one who taught you how to play, right? Probably when you were around Jackson’s age. He lost you at Jackson’s age too. I think, deep down, he regrets kicking you out, really, really badly, and doesn’t know how to come back from it. I think he feels just as guilty as you do and it’s manifesting itself in a really unproductive, borderline emotionally-abusive way.”

  “And for what? Because I was an asshole when I was a kid? So what? All kids are assholes.”

  “Maybe he just needs to get all the pettiness out of his system before he’s ready to make a real effort. I have no doubt that, by Christmas, you guys will be good as new. Probably attached at the hip.”

  “Scared to even buy him a damn Christmas gift, weird as he is about my money. Do you know how long I’ve been trying to pay him back for the 10k he dropped on all my rehab stays? He constantly complains about having to empty the family savings account but then refuses to let me reimburse him even though he knows I have it. I think he likes being able to hold it over my head.”

  “He’s a proud, working man. Maybe a little too proud for his own good. But I know he loves you, Jon. It’s so clear in his eyes when he looks at you. It just seems like he’s the type of guy who only knows how to show his love through pestering and preaching. Like the way he was lecturing Betty today about disappearing in the middle of the night—”

  Jon chortled before she could even finish.

  She burst into laughter, too, struggling to keep it quiet as the amusement tightened her chest to the point of pain. Begging for release in the form of a nice long cackle—a release she couldn’t risk giving in to for fear of waking the family. “Thank God we hightailed it home when we did. Sounds like Robert woke up looking for her just a few hours after we got back. God, the last thing we need is for him to find out we were hanging out in the middle of the night.”

  “He’d probably be jumping for joy to finally have a valid excuse to resent my entire existence.”

  “Pretty sure the image of Betty getting pounded is going to be burned into my brain forever.”

  “You’re the one who wanted to see it so badly. Preaching about the billion dollar porn industry and all that.”

  “Yeah, when I thought it was going to be Mr. And Mrs. Washington. Two people who I don’t know. It’s different when the naked people are strangers, okay? It’s only porn if you don’t know the naked people in real life, and frankly, you’re surprisingly calm for a guy who now knows what his grandmother looks like naked.”

  “I grew up with her, so no one knows better than me what kind of woman she really is behind all those ‘amens’ and ‘I rebuke thees’.”

  “Oh, so you always knew Grandma got around.”

  “Let’s just say I’m far from surprised.”

  A smile lit up her face.

  He ran the backs of his knuckles down her smiling cheeks. “You’re so beautiful. Since the day I got here, every night I went to bed telling myself I was done with you, and every morning I woke up, laid eyes on you, and realized I’d forgotten how fucking beautiful you are. I never stood a chance.”

  “I haven’t stood a chance since I climbed onto that plane. Since you made me cum just as hard grinding against you at a concert as you made me cum tonight.”

  “I think it was better for me tonight… but it was definitely close. You have no idea how close I was to taking out my dick, lifting up your dress, and…” He didn’t finish.

  She didn’t need him to because her pussy finished it for him, taking on a slow pound that proved she was ready for round two.

  “We were all packed in so tight,” he said. “Crowd shoulder to shoulder against the rails, singing, dancing. No one would’ve even noticed me push your panties aside and slip it in.”

  “So you did know what was going on between us during that concert, huh?”

  “My dick was nestled in your ass like a hot dog bun, V. Of course I knew.”

  “You pretended you didn’t, in the hallway.”

  “I was furious at you.”

  She paused. “Are you still furious?”

  He breathed out a laugh that flared his nostrils, still stroking her face with his knuckles. “I wish.”

  “You wish? Maybe I should just dump you right now before you go full-blown bipolar on me. In fact, I think I will. It’s over, Jon.”

  He smirked, caressing her bottom lip with his thumb, eyes growing heavy. “You promise?”

  Her heart fluttered. Not because he was practically begging her to end their torrid affair, but because the fact that he was begging proved he had no plans on ending it himself. That he was done fighting. That if their relationship was going to come to an end, it would have to be by her hand. Her choice. He no longer had the strength to walk away.

  She worried she didn’t either.

  When she leaned in and drew his bottom lip in between hers, luring him into a soft, gasping kiss, she had her answer. He didn’t have the strength to end this, and neither did she. The only wisp of strength left in her entire body was the strength it took to tilt her head, spread her lips, and deepen the kiss. She even managed to find one last sliver of fortitude that gave her enough vigor to sweep her tongue between his lips. But that was the extent. Kissing him. Cuddling him. Enjoying him.

  Anything more was too hard.

  Anything more would be too painful.

  The only thing she could imagine more painful was the sound of the tent zipper suddenly ringing out into the night air right then. The sight of the yellow nylon vibrating as it did, proving that someone was outside, and coming in.

  The pain that shot through her heart as her eyes flew toward the zipper was unbearable. So much it made her feel like she was dying inside, one strangled breath away from dropping dead right there on Jon’s chest.

  Because he wasn’t going to end it. And she wasn’t going to end it. But whoever had just unzipped the tent was certainly going to end it for them.

  Both she and Jon were frozen solid as the flap of the tent fell open, their wide eyes locked to it just as a blonde head popped through, and Beau’s big, innocent eyes appeared, his glasses making them look twice as big when they immediately widened at the sight of Viola and Jon, naked.

  It took everything in Viola’s body to swallow back a scream at the sight of the two-year-old, and she finally found the strength to move her bones, throwing her naked body off Jon while snatching at the fleece blanket underneath him. She yanked it with all her might, accidentally causing Jon to roll off the air mattress and onto the floor of the tent.

  Wincing, she reached for Jon as he fell, while using the blanket to cover all her naughty bits. She couldn’t worry about Jon for too long, however, when it hit her once more that baby Beau was stil
l watching. Her horrified gaze flew back to him just in time to see his tiny little mouth fall wide open, forming an ‘o’ shape that would’ve been adorable if she wasn’t so traumatized.

  “Oh my god, he saw us.” Viola leaned forward and shoved Jon, who was shuffling his sweats up his legs from where he still laid on the floor. “He saw us, Jon, do something.”

  “Hey, buddy,” Jon smiled once his pants were on while seizing the unzipped backpack he’d laid next to the bed and shoving his hand into the pocket.

  “I saw yours ‘gina!” Beau beamed proudly, pointing at Viola before shifting his finger to Jon. “And yours penis!”

  “Oh my god—Jon,” Viola hissed, cringing desperately at Jon.

  “Hey, hey, hey, look at me…” Jon came out of his bag with a fresh hundred-dollar bill clutched between his fingers and showed it to Beau. It shook under his hold.

  Beau’s big blue eyes locked onto the bill and a gleeful smile lit up his face, revealing both rows of his snaggleteeth, transfixed by the elusive sight of money in the way only a small child could be.

  Jon moved slowly toward him like he was a deadly animal and not a sweet, squishy toddler, before kneeling down in front of him. “You like money, buddy?”

  Beau nodded furiously, smile widening.

  “You want this money?” Jon shook the bill.

  Beau nodded again.

  “Okay, it’s yours, but under one condition. And you have to listen really closely, okay?”

  Beau’s eyes widened as he drank in the bill, so much so that cartoon dollar signs seemed seconds from boinking out of his eyes.

  “Look at me,” Jon whispered, waiting for Beau’s dollar sign eyes to shift from the bill back to him. “You have to promise to never tell anyone that you saw my penis and Viola’s vagina, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I need you to say it. Otherwise, I can’t give you the money.”

  “Um…” Beau frowned softly, wringing his hands together, suddenly appearing disappointed that this hundred-dollar bill was going to prove much more trouble than it was worth.

  “I promise never to tell anyone that I saw Viola and Jon together,” Jon said, slowly. “Say it.”

  “I promise to never tell anyone…” Beau’s lispy voice trailed off, and he frowned into the distance. “That I saw Viola and Jon together.”

  “Good. Let’s shake on it.” Jon offered Beau his hand.

  Beau took it with a giggle.

  “Our secret?” Jon asked.

  “Our secret.”

  “Alright, I’m trusting you…” Jon held up the bill, unable to hide a soft smile when Beau snatched it from his hand and held it up in the air like Gollum holding his precious ring. With a grin on his face that was quickly bordering on evil, Beau turned to race away, as if fearful that Jon would change his mind and take his hundred dollars back.

  “Whoa…” Jon reached out and seized Beau’s arm before he could get too far, pulling him back and waiting for their eyes to meet once more. “What’s our promise, buddy?”

  “I promise never to tell… that, that you and Viola was together.”

  Jon held Beau’s arm for another long moment, silently searching his eyes as if giving him an unspoken warning. “And that fresh, new hundred-dollar bill. That’s our secret too, okay?”

  Beau nodded furiously.

  “Put it in a really good hiding spot and save it for college, alright?”

  Beau nodded again.

  “Back to bed. Get nice and snuggled under the blankets, you must be freezing. Go…” Jon released his hold on Beau, his head falling as Beau broke into a run across the campground, returning to the tent he shared with Betty. Jon kept his arm out as if still reaching for Beau, before finally letting it fall limp at his side. “Just go… for fuck’s sake.”

  Jon kept his head lowered, shaking it for nearly a minute, before sneaking a look across the tent.

  Viola nodded furiously the moment their gazes locked. “Bribery. Nice. We’re fucked.”

  “We’re not fucked.”

  “He’s two years old. We’re fucked. He’s probably shaking Betty awake right now to regale her about all the subtle intricacies of your penis and my vagina.”

  “And if he does, we’ll regale Betty about all the subtle intricacies we saw in her vagina last night.”

  “Blackmail and bribery. Nice. We are so fucked.” She paused as her mind raced while staring off into space. “This is our payback for laughing at Betty. Who knew karma worked so fast?”

  “He’s not gonna say anything, Viola.” Jon stood and moved across the tent before kneeling down in front of her the same way he had Beau, even using the same tone of voice. Like she was a child who needed extra attention. “He’s going to keep his mouth closed, and so are we. Like you said, he’s two years old. He can barely remember where his own eyebrows are. He’ll have forgotten all about this by the time he opens his eyes tomorrow morning.”

  Viola wasn’t optimistic, but still, she couldn’t deny that looking into Jon’s eyes and listening to his soothing tone of voice was calming her down.

  “You’re right,” she breathed. “He’ll have definitely forgotten come morning.”

  Twenty

  Even after convincing themselves that most two-year-olds had the memory of a gnat, Jon and Viola still lived every moment in fear for several days after being caught red-handed by baby Beau. Fear that there weren’t enough hundred-dollar bills in existence to keep a toddler’s lips sealed for very long. Especially not about the piping hot gossip the toddler had discovered during the family’s annual fishing trip.

  Regardless, when the door to the guest bathroom opened—startling Viola from where she stood in front of the mirror—and Jon entered, his blue eyes were calm. Much more so than hers as they locked in the mirror’s reflection. He wore a black t-shirt, black jeans, and all-black chucks. She blushed softly, always taken aback at how handsome he was, as he closed the bathroom door behind him, all while letting his hungry eyes run her body. With nothing but a white towel wrapped around her naked form, his gaze naturally lingered on the knot at her breasts and darkened with desire.

  Viola held her breath when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, wondering if she’d ever fully grow used to his touch. The strength of his arms. The spicy scent of his aftershave. She’d never realized just how much taller and wider he was than her until that moment, seeing him towering over her in the mirror’s reflection. Encasing her in his arms like a baby he could easily sweep off its feet and right to sleep. Or an ant he could easily crush with one pound of his fist. She wondered if her body would ever not respond to him by immediately going into overdrive. Like she was a racecar, and he was the driver who’d just put the pedal to the floor, taking a once stagnant vehicle from zero to sixty in mere seconds.

  His hands ran the front of the towel slowly, biting his lip as if he were seconds from taking the terry cloth in a fist and ripping it away. Blood gushed through her veins, the adrenaline hardening her nipples and clenching her stomach in the beeline it made to her center.

  His eyes shone into hers in the reflection as blood charged through his own body, which she felt as his heartbeat and dick both grew stronger against her back. The weight of his chin tickled the crook of her neck as he laid his head on her shoulder, his touch caressing her all the way down to the v hidden under the hem of her towel, which was now pumping vigorously for more of his touch. Thirsty for him to slip his thick fingers into the split in the fabric and sink them deep inside her walls—which were already slick and ready for him.

  “Jon,” she warned. “We don’t have time. I still have to take my bath and get ready for dinner with you and Milo.”

  As if the entire dinner with her, him, and his brother hadn’t been all his idea in the first place, Jon continued setting out to distract her. Turning his head, he let the softness of his lips and tongue light fire to her shoulder and neck, bringing to life the very few nerve endings still lying
dormant in her body. Until there wasn’t a single inch of her remaining that wasn’t aching for him to be inside her.

  She groaned, all while turning to gaze longingly at the soaking tub at the far end of the bathroom, filled to the brim with bubbly water that smelled of peaches and cherry blossoms. A warm Jacuzzi of tranquility that promised to calm her nerves, even if only for a little while. The only thing capable of easing the tension in her bones more than the tub beckoning her was the insistent mouth still licking and suckling at the sensitive skin of her neck.

  Regardless, Jon was a stress reliever she truly didn’t have time for.

  “Seriously?” she teased. “Have we learned nothing from baby Beau?”

  He splayed his fingers against her thighs and pulled her back into him, hissing softly as their bodies became flush. “You just turn me on so much, V…”

  “In the family house, Jon? So Jackson can walk in on us next, and we can corrupt him too?”

  “Like Jackson wasn’t already corrupt before we got here.”

  She tried to playfully move his hands away while tilting her body to the side, giggling softly when he simply followed her, his lips locked to her shoulder the whole way as though they’d been superglued on.

  “How is it possible for a rock star to be so horny?” she begged, squealing when his kisses grew ticklish. “You can’t possibly be this hard up.”

  “I can for you. Come on, V. Please? Nobody’s home. How many times will we be lucky enough to be alone in this house? I haven’t had you since last night. It’s all I can think about. I’m burning for you.”

  “You should really get that checked and report back. That way I can get properly medicated before I start burning too.”

  He straightened and brought her with him, meeting her eyes in the mirror once more. “I’m serious. I need you so damn badly I could scream.”

  “Do you know that every time me and Beau lock eyes, he puts his finger on his mouth and goes shhhhh…?” She brought her own finger to her pursed lips, mimicking Beau with wide eyes. “It freaks me the hell out every time. He hasn’t forgotten what he saw during that camping trip, and it’s only a matter of time before he breaks. Like an excited puppy that’s about to pee itself.”