Slow Burn
Page 19
As before she had no defense. The song cracked her open, leaving her vulnerable to every note, every feeling. She came in on cue and held nothing back, and all the while she remembered the delicious scrape of his unshaven jaw on her throat, the even fiercer friction of his calloused fingertips tracing along her skin, his voice calling her name, urgent and hungry. Everything that was in his song made real, and she sang it with him now, reliving it all. Her voice twined around his, sweetening the dark notes, trembling over the sorrowful ones.
She’d never felt more exposed, more vulnerable. And yet there was nothing for it. There was no holding back with him, no going halfway with Jesse, now or ever. That was the curse and the thrill of being with him.
He never took his eyes off her as they sang what felt like an elegy for their own short affair. The whole arc of their unlived relationship unfolding in a song he’d written before he’d met her. But once again it became her heartbreak, her regret.
She barely made it through. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she sang the last verse, and as soon as Henry signaled she pulled her headset off and ran for the stairs. She threw open the front door and ran outside, only to stop and look wildly around. She had no idea where she was, but it was miles from home. Maybe she could walk until she found a busier street and then hitchhike…
Jesse burst through the door and ran down the steps, stopping in front of her to take her by the shoulders. “Beth, honey, what is it?”
She pushed him away, hating that she was crying, that he’d see what he did to her. “I’m not doing this. Take me home.“
“What’s wrong? I don’t under–”
“You shouldn’t have come here. I don’t care about your stupid songs. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
He went pale, his lips pressing into a thin line. “Don’t say that. Give me a chance to explain.”
“There’s nothing to say.”
“I didn’t come here for the songs, not the way you think.”
It was painful to look at him and impossible to look away. Just his hands on her filled her with a crushing hope.
“I brought you here because I wanted you to remember what it was like between us. How good we were together.”
“It was easy, then. Everything I did was for you.”
“No, that’s not why. You know it’s not. We have something.”
“Don’t you think I know that, Jesse? But it wasn’t enough for you.”
“I was an idiot, but I was trying to keep you the only way I knew how, and it didn’t seem like you wanted me.”
“I felt like such a fool,” she said, all the hurt of their last night together coming back to her.
His face fell. “I’m sorry I hurt you, honey. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
He took her hand and held it between both of his, instantly warming her. The contact felt good and right, but still tenuous, still easily broken.
He let out a shaky breath. “I offered you a job because I wanted you to be part of my life, not because I think the world revolves around me.” He grimaced and shook his head. “Hell, maybe I do, but that wasn’t what I meant by it. I wanted you to stay, and I thought if you were still working with me you wouldn’t resent what I do.”
“But you know I didn’t.”
“Every single girlfriend I’ve ever had resented it. It takes me away for months at a time, for one thing. And you know how there are girls everywhere. No one ever trusted me.”
“Should they have?” she asked, looking him straight in the eye, terrified of what she’d see there.
His gaze was unwavering. “I’ve never cheated on anyone, but I never gave my heart to anyone, either. All I needed was my music. But it’s not enough anymore. None of it’s enough unless I have you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I love you.”
She stared at him, trying to take it in, afraid to believe what she was hearing.
“I know I look like a bad bet,” he rushed on. “But it could work, I know it could. We’re good together, and Austin would be a great place for your business. You’d love it there, and you could come on tour whenever you wanted. I’ll write more songs for you. For us.”
He took her face in his hands, the rough pads of his thumbs wiping away the tears. “You won’t have to compromise to be with me, Beth. I’ll make sure all the doors fly open for you.”
She had no defense against him anymore, and she didn’t need it. Instead of trying not to feel anything, she took a deep breath and let herself feel everything.
“I would love that,” she said, smiling all her love up at him.
He looked stunned. “You would?”
“I love you, Jesse. Of course I want all those things. I just didn’t want to be like all the other women who throw themselves at you.”
“It was never like that for us.”
“I hoped it wasn’t.”
He rested his forehead against hers and wrapped his arms around her. She held him close and breathed him in, her head still trying to catch up to her heart. His lips touched her jaw, her cheek, her eyelids. Finally he kissed her properly.
She was out of breath the next time she spoke.
“Hey, Jesse?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“What do you say we go finish those songs.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
Melbourne, Australia
Beth stood offstage, smiling at the sight of Jesse in his lucky cowboy hat singing to the packed crowd. Even jet-lagged the band sounded great, and Jesse was so excited by his first non-US performance, he’d barely been able to sit still all day. A few hours in bed that afternoon had been a useful distraction. She’d had her way with him and left him sleeping soundly to answer emails from the manager of a band she was working with.
That was the great thing about her job. She could do most of it from wherever she wanted, so traveling now and then wasn’t a big deal. She’d even found a couple of new clients on the road.
“This one’s brand new,” Jesse said, his voice reverberating around the huge concert hall. He strummed his guitar, picking out the first few bars. “In fact, I haven’t sung it live yet, so I hope you’ll be gentle.”
He grinned and waited for the wild applause to die down. “I’m gonna need some help with this one, so I want ya’ll to give it up for my wife, Beth.” He turned toward her, the look in his eye just for her. “Come on out here, honey. You know I can’t do it without you.”
About the Author
Isabel Morin started reading romance novels when she was thirteen years old and she hasn't stopped since. Now she writes them, too. Other books by Isabel:
Set Loose (Sin City, Book One)
Stirred Up (Sin City Book Two)
Tempt Me (Tempt Me, Book One)
Keep Me (Tempt Me, Book Two)
No Other Love
Sign up for Isabel’s New Release Email List and find out first about her new books. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
You can find Isabel at http://www.isabelmorin.com, on her blog Sex, Love, and All the Rest of It, or email her at: authorisabel.morin@gmail.com. She'd love to hear from you.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
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