Slow Burn

by Isabel Morin

  She squirmed on the seat, the need in his voice enough to hollow her out. They were silent the last couple of miles to her hotel. Everyone else was staying with friends spread around town, so no one would know anything except that Jesse had left the bar early. Maybe they’d think he went out with friends or home with another woman. Maybe they’d know it was her.

  She no longer cared.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jesse followed Beth into the room and closed the door. He could hear her unsteady breathing as she moved across the room and turned on a standing lamp in the far corner.

  He took a deep breath himself, tamping down the rough urgency from the parking lot. Now that he knew he had her, he could take his time. This was Beth. He needed to make it good for her.

  She came back toward him, her hands clasped in front of her like she didn’t know what to do with them. Light from the far away lamp fell across her face and she looked down, suddenly shy. It was that mix of shyness and boldness that made her so appealing, so unlike any woman he’d known.

  “So I should just take all my clothes off?” she said, toeing off one red boot, then the other.

  Just the sight of her taking off her boots nearly killed him.

  “I changed my mind,” he said, closing the distance between them. “If I see all of you right now this won’t last nearly as long as I want it to.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said, looking relieved and a little pleased she was driving him so crazy.

  A horniness so profound he thought it might kill him swept over him then. He closed his eyes and breathed through it. When he opened them she was smiling, and it was the same beam of light she turned on him in the car, the same one she gave him on stage when she sang a sassy lyric.

  He kissed her again, because goddamn he could kiss this woman all night, and they sure as hell hadn’t done enough of it. She was ready for it, groaning into his mouth as his lips closed over hers and wrapping her arms around his neck. He kept himself in check and let her explore, his whole body hardening when her tongue slipped into his, tentative at first and then demanding.

  Within seconds they were at full heat, pressed together against their entire length and trying to get closer. He’d never wanted anything more than Beth naked on that bed, but still he held back, determined to make it last.

  Her hands slid under his t-shirt and up his back, nails lightly scratching. He pulled away and looked down at her heavy-lidded eyes and swollen mouth, at the damp strands of hair that stuck to her temples.

  “Goddamn, you’re gorgeous,” he breathed, taking her mouth again.

  Only this time it wasn’t slow or patient. He wanted to take everything she had, make her as crazy as he was. She opened up and gave it to him, her hands sliding down to his hips and pulling him harder against her.

  He needed her on her back, now. Grabbing her ass he pulled her up against him, her gasp going straight to his cock. He carried her to the bed and came down on top of her, settling between her spread thighs. She arched into him, baring her throat. He licked her there, wanting to feel the blood pounding through her in time with his own. He breathed her in, finding the scent he’d been chasing so long, her musk and soap, her sweat and need.

  Bending down he took a tight nipple in his mouth through her t-shirt, sucking on her through his own name written across her chest. That’s how he wanted her, branded by him, so everyone knew who she belonged to.

  As desperate as he was to be inside her, he’d been desperate for this, too. So he took his time, sucking on each tight peak, rolling them around between his fingers as he watched her face. She liked it all, but she especially liked when he gently bit down at the same time.

  Then she was pushing on his chest, asking him to back off. Panic speared through him that she wanted him to stop, but when she sat up, her eyes were burning, her cheeks flushed.

  “Take this off,” she demanded, grabbing the hem of his shirt and yanking it up.

  He pulled it the rest of the way off. She was kneeling before him now, her hands and mouth all over him, kissing his neck, running over his chest and stomach. He held her by the waist, drunk on her, trying to hold it together. Then her hands went to his belt buckle and her head dipped and she licked his nipple.

  He had her on her back again the next second.

  “Wait, no,” she protested. “I need to touch you.”

  “That can wait. This can’t,” he said, barely able to speak. He moved lower, cruising down her long body. Her skirt pooled around her waist, baring those thighs he’d been dreaming about for so long. Tension had made her muscles stand out strong and lean. Her pale blue underwear covered her, but just barely. They were so soaked through, they’d become nearly transparent.

  Her whole body jerked and her hips came up, pressing harder into him as her thighs spread wider. He stayed there for a second, breathing her in, holding her down as he sucked her through the fabric. She was his now, so hot and ready she was drinking up whatever he gave her, every little movement calling forth a gasp or moan.

  He lost his hold when she reared up, eyes blazing. Then she was pulling her shirt off and tearing off her bra. He watched in amazement as she stood up on the bed and slid her skirt and underwear off together, flinging them to the floor. He stared, mouth dry, at the sight of all that skin, the curves of her hips and thighs, her full breasts.

  She looked down at him. “Take your clothes off this second or I swear to God I will lose it.”

  Well, that was pretty clear. He got off the bed, got naked, and pulled a condom out of his duffel bag. She was kneeling on the bed now, watching him.

  “Put that on,” she commanded.

  He did. He was so turned on, even the feel of his own hand made him gasp.

  Her eyes stayed fixed on him as he climbed back in, kissing her as he pressed her back down. She started to protest.

  “What, you want to get on top?” he asked, just barely in control, so hungry for her he was a little afraid of himself.

  She nodded and grabbed his cock.

  He wasn’t small, and he’d learned to go slow, but the way Beth was looking at him made him want to drive into her and ride her till he didn’t know his own name.

  “Later,” he said, and entered her in one thrust.

  She gasped and drew her knees up and dug her heels into his ass, urging him deeper. She was tight, tighter than he’d expected, but so wet there was no resistance. Fucking heaven. He withdrew and thrust again, and she bucked beneath him.

  He looked away from where their bodies joined and watched her face as he pulled out and sank into her fully. God, she was beautiful. All the days and hours with her couldn’t have prepared him for Beth like this.

  He needed to get deeper, closer, under her skin, in her heart. She was lifting into him, the two of them surging together. She opened her eyes and looked at him, her eyes dazed under heavy lids. He felt every shiver and tremble with a kind of awe he’d never known.

  Pulling back just a little he snuck his thumb between them and went straight to the hard pearl of her clit. He stroked her as he thrust deep and steady, a primitive pleasure surging through him as she arched into him, gasping his name as she shattered around him. She was still shaking with aftershocks when he drove into her, again and again, calling her name, his release so intense his vision went white.

  ***

  One of Beth’s hands rested on Jesse’s fine, tight ass, the other on his shoulder. She lay there, boneless, absorbing the feel of him on top of her, his weight welcome after the way she’d flown apart moments ago.

  With a low groan he lifted himself up on his forearms and looked down at her. “You all right, honey?”

  She nodded, not quite able to speak, and gave him a shaky smile. “Just a little dazed. That was…”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  Leaning down he kissed her, slow and soft, pulling away to look at her. His eyes were serious but a little smile curled the corner of his mouth. She gripped him tighter as he started to wit
hdraw.

  He gave little laugh and pulled away. “I’ll be right back,” he said, rolling off the bed and padding to the bathroom.

  She was physically sated, her limbs heavy, the need that had been drumming through her for weeks finally quiet. But the love and doubt she’d been keeping at bay met no resistance as they rose to the surface. He’d just shattered all her barriers, all the ways she had of protecting herself. Had he been able to sense how she felt about him? What would he do if he knew? This was about sex for him, nothing more. Or maybe that wasn’t fair. It was more than sex, but certainly less than love.

  She was still lying naked on top of the covers, but her body was cooling, her worries speeding up, and she felt far too vulnerable exposed as she was. Pushing back the blankets she climbed underneath, pulling them up to her chest.

  The toilet flushed and water ran. Her heart rate, which had been slowing down, jump-started at the sight of Jesse coming out and heading toward her. He was too much– too much man, too much heat and light. How was she supposed to survive him now?

  “You cold?” he asked, climbing in beside her. “I can turn the air off.”

  “I’m okay,” she said, turning toward him.

  Because even now, especially now, she couldn’t do otherwise.

  “Tell me I can stay the night,” he coaxed, his voice a rough whisper in her ear.

  “You’d better,” she said, her arms coming around him, drawing him close.

  This was the way to survive Jesse. Lose herself in him without thought for what came next. Take what she wanted now and worry about what she’d be left with later. If there was anything she’d learned this past month, it was that.

  “If I’d known this was in store for us, I wouldn’t have given a shit about the band or the tour,” Jesse said, his hand stroking her from thigh to hip, then up her arm to her shoulder. “I’d have been on you from day one.”

  She tried to imagine what that would have been like. “I think I needed to work up to this. I probably would have had a heart attack if you’d come at me, guns blazing, right from the start.”

  He laughed, but his expression turned thoughtful. “It wouldn’t have been this good at the start, either. It’s not just sex anymore.”

  He flushed and looked away, as if surprised by his own admission, and a little flare of hope went up in her chest. Then he was kissing her again, working his way down her throat to her breasts where he lingered, rolling and sucking her nipples like he had all the time in the world to drive her crazy.

  She had the brief thought that he was trying to distract her with sex, or trying to avoid an uncomfortable topic, but soon she couldn’t think about much besides what he was doing to her.

  “You’re even more gorgeous than I thought you’d be,” he murmured, the ends of his hair brushing over her skin.

  “Come here, let me touch you.”

  “Not yet, honey. I’ve still got some bases to cover.” He moved lower, sliding down the bed until he was between her legs. “Now this, this is dessert,” he said, dipping his head.

  Her hips rose to meet him, thighs falling open as he licked into her, light and teasing at first, waking her up again. Her need turned dark and urgent fast, and soon she was impatient, greedy for more.

  Jesse hummed his approval, slowing as if to savor the taste of her. She could smell their sex and her own sweat as she grew hot and needy. She’d never seen anything hotter than Jesse between her legs, and she pushed her fingers into his messy hair and urged him on.

  He praised her, coaxed her, slid his tongue inside her like there was no place he wouldn’t go, all the while holding her hips to the bed as she climbed toward her release. But she didn’t want to go there alone. She wanted him inside her, filling the hollow that grew along with her pleasure.

  Jesse protested as she slid out from under him. “You were so close.”

  “You’re damn right I am, and I want you inside me.”

  She pulled another condom from his bag and ripped it open as she climbed back on the bed. He was hard and huge, more than ready. He moved to press her back but she shook her head.

  “Oh no. You said later. This is later,” she said, pushing him onto the mattress.

  Another man might have looked passive, but not Jesse. He looked more like an animal biding its time before it struck.

  She swung a leg over him and took him slowly, drawing it out, her swollen folds ultra sensitive.

  “Sweet Jesus,” he breathed, his hands on her hips.

  But he didn’t rush her, much as she felt him wanting to. They both gasped as she came to rest on him and her heart beat in her ears as they looked at each other. She stayed, there, poised between wanting and having, need and fulfillment.

  Jesse cupped her face in his hands and pulled her down to him, his kiss deep and long and tasting faintly of her own excitement. His tongue stroked into her as he thrust, and she rose up and came down, again and again, slow and then faster. Jesse kept pace, his eyes fixed on her, his chest heaving. She could feel his need coiling in him but he held back and let her lead, matching her rhythm.

  She was getting close again. She spread her thighs, took him deeper. Jesse grazed her clit with his thumb, then again.

  “Yes, God yes. Do that.”

  He stopped teasing and stroked over her, hissing through his teeth as her head fell back and called his name.

  ***

  Beth came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her middle for modesty. Jesse was sitting up against the headboard dressed only in jeans, his hair still wet. His guitar was out, a notebook on his lap.

  He grinned at her, eyes narrowing. “This reminds me of the day I saw you after you’d come out of the pool.”

  “I was wearing a swimsuit under my towel that day.”

  “You looked pretty naked to me.” He strummed a few chords. “Why are you wearing that? Afraid I’ll ravage you?”

  She gave him what she hoped was a worldly sort of look, though she could feel herself blushing. “Maybe. I can barely walk as it is.”

  “Hey, that last one’s on you, honey. Admit it, you’re insatiable.”

  It was true. The sight of Jesse bare-chested on the bed was revving her up all over again, and they’d already had sex three times, the last time no more than an hour ago.

  Something on her face must have given her away, because he went very still, homing in on her.

  His voice was low, dark and reasonable and dangerous. “You know, you’re gonna have to drop that towel sometime.”

  She was just starting to consider another go with him when the hotel room phone rang. They both stared at it like it was some unknown machine.

  “That’s weird. Who’d be calling me here?”

  But as soon as she asked she knew the answer. She’d turned off her phone last night, but it was almost noon and Stu had probably been trying to reach her. She picked up on the third ring.

  “Why the hell is your phone off?” Stu demanded.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize. What’s up?”

  “I just booked another print interview for four o’clock, so you’ll have to get moving.”

  “That’s going to be tight. He’s got two more right after that and the radio spot.”

  “I know, but this is Rolling Stone, so I wasn’t about to say no.”

  “Wow, okay. We’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

  Jesse’s eyebrows rose and too late she realized what she’d said.

  Stu’s voice took on a slight edge. “Jesse’s with you in your hotel room?”

  “Um, you could say that.”

  Silence, then one of Stu’s patented weary sighs.

  “Whatever, I don’t need to know. Just do me a favor and don’t rub Will’s face in it. I’d like the band to get through the last show intact.”

  “Of course.”

  They went over a few other details and she hung up.

  “Cat out of the bag?” Jesse asked.

  “Yes, but he took it well
enough. More importantly, you have an interview with Rolling Stone in under four hours, so we need to get going.”

  He got out of bed and grabbed his shirt from where it lay near her feet. “Do you have any idea what this one bit of hair does to me?” he said, tugging at a lock of hair that fell across her forehead.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “It sort of slides over your eye and it’s so sexy I want to die.”

  “Come on.”

  “I’m serious,” he said, though he was smiling. “Sometimes you sort of blow on it to get it out of the way, but that never works. Depending on whether your hands are full you ignore it or toss your head. And then sometimes you stick a barrette in it and I just want to drag you to the ground and have my way with you.”

  “But not die?”

  “I want to have my way with you, then die. No sense in doing it the other way around.”

  “No. No sense at all.”

  His hands came up to stroke her from shoulders to wrists. “You’ll stay with me the next couple of nights.”

  It was more a statement than a question, but she answered it anyway. She had just two nights left in Austin before she headed back to Las Vegas. She wasn’t about to say no to his offer.

  “I think that can be arranged.”

  Less than fifteen minutes later they were on the road, Jesse at the wheel. She studied the tendons in his forearm as he drove, the dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. For the first time she sat beside him as his lover. That gave her the right to study him, at least she thought it did, but still there were limits to what she could reveal. If only she could put some kind of limit on how much she felt.

  Maybe she wouldn’t have to. Maybe he’d ask her to stay for good.

  It was a terrible hope, all the more so because she wasn’t even sure he was good for her.

  “You must be excited to be going home after all this time,” she said.

  He looked at her and gave a distracted smile. “I miss Austin, and I’m definitely ready for a break. I’ll miss our drives, though.”

  “Me too.”

  They didn’t say much the rest of the way. Most of what she was thinking couldn’t be said out loud and Jesse was deep in thought. Whether he was thinking over a new song, worrying about tonight, or wondering about the two of them, there was no telling.