13 (The LIST Series Book 2)

by Rhonda James

  Maybe that stability I’d been looking for was about to take root.

  I opened the front door and called for her. “Hey, Tiny, you home?”

  “Up here,” she answered. From the echo I deduced she was in the bathroom.

  I bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time, and heard the sound of the shower cutting off. I rapped my knuckles on the door but didn’t wait for her to invite me in. I figured, what was the sense? I’d already seen her naked. Plus, I liked seeing her naked. To my disappointment, she wasn’t naked. In fact, she hadn’t even been taking a shower.

  I looked at the garment in her hand and shook my head. “What the hell were you doing?”

  Her face contorted as if my question made entirely no sense. “Steaming the wrinkles out of my shirt.” She placed the hanger on the shower bar and finished closing the curtain. “I run the hot water for a few minutes until it gets nice and steamy and let that hang out in there for twenty or thirty minutes.”

  I scoffed. “That actually works?”

  “Have you ever seen me wrinkly?”

  I took a few seconds to think it over and shook my head. “Nope.”

  A smug smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Then I guess it works.”

  I pulled her to me and pressed my lips against hers. “That sassy mouth.”

  “I thought you loved my sassy mouth?”

  “I do, but I love it even more when it’s wrapped around my—”

  Sin’s arrival interrupted me before I finished that sentence. “Hawk, you ready? We have to book it if we’re going to make that flight.”

  Sophie tipped her head, confusion in her eyes, and I remembered I hadn’t even told her my news. I’d been so caught up in the idea of finding her naked I’d completely lost track of time.

  “Seems Sony is interested in meeting with us.” I shrugged and headed toward my room with Sophie hot on my heels.

  “Sony? Hawk, that’s major. Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw the admiration in her eyes. The impact this could have on our relationship didn’t seem to faze her in the least. I wasn’t sure if that left me feeling better or worse about my decision to remain quiet.

  “Blade seems to think we’ll be back sometime tonight. Probably late. Our meeting’s at five, and who knows where we’ll go after that.” I swiped out my cargo pants and T-shirt for a nice pair of jeans and a maroon button-down.

  She walked over to where I stood and straightened my collar, still smiling. “If you get a chance, you should pop in this little coffee shop on 7th Street called Beans. They make the best chocolate-filled croissants on the planet, and I’d kill to have one right about now.”

  I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Beans, that’s original. Tell you what, I’ll see what I can do.” I circled my arms around her waist and gave her a long kiss good-bye. When I drew back, her eyes were still closed, mouth puckered, lips wet from my kiss. She looked so beautiful, and for a moment, I felt like I couldn’t get enough oxygen. Hard as it was, I forced myself to pull away.

  On my way out the door, I looked back and found her standing with both hands up and her fingers crossed. “Good luck!”

  ____________________________

  “There’s one more thing I need to say before we slam these next shots,” Sin declared, hand wavering a bit thanks to the four tequila shots he’d already downed. “You guys have stood by me through some of the darkest days of my life. This is the next step on our journey, and I can’t think of anyone I’d trust my future with more than the three of you. Here’s to twelve more weeks on the road!”

  The meeting had gone well. We’d ended up signing a six-month trial recording contract with Sony. Then they’d dropped another bomb on us. Seemed one of the groups they represented was on tour, and the opening act had to back out after two of their members were injured in a car accident. There were only three months remaining on the tour, but we were expected to leave in four days.

  After the meeting and a quick pitstop along the way, we ended up at a bar claiming to serve the best onion rings around. The alcohol slid down the back of my throat, numbing my senses, but it did nothing to quell the nerves in my stomach. No matter how hard I tried, or how many distractions I had surrounding me, I couldn’t get Sophie off my mind.

  Sophie: How’d it go?

  Me: Out celebrating now.

  Sophie: I’m so proud of you! Can’t wait to hear all about it. Go have fun.

  Me: See you tonight.

  Sophie: I’ll wait up.

  I looked up from my texting app to find Blade watching, staring at me with sympathy in his eyes. “Was that your girl?”

  I placed my phone face down on the table and reached for my beer. “Yeah, she was just asking how everything went.”

  “What’d you tell her?”

  “Just said we were out celebrating. Figure I’ll tell her everything later after I’ve figured a few things out.”

  “She hear anything on that audition?”

  I shrugged. “If she has, she hasn’t said anything. Could be any day now, I suppose. What does it matter anyhow? We’ve spent the past month playing house, but the reality is that it’s coming to an end. Neither of us went into this blind. We both knew what was coming ‘round the corner.”

  Blade leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers over his broad chest. “That may be so, but take it from a man who has loved and lost because of that same pile of shit you’re shoveling over there. If you love this girl, then you’ll fight for her. You won’t let a few hundred miles stand in the way. I loved Annie more than any I’ve ever loved anyone, but I always thought we had more time. If I’d only known her time would be cut short, I would have done more. Held her hand more. Told her I loved her more than my music. Followed her wherever she led me rather than expecting her to follow me. But I did none of those things.”

  “It’s not that simple. I know Sophie. If I told her how I truly felt, she would sacrifice everything to make this work. I can’t ask that of her.” I slammed my palm on the table, causing the bottles and glasses we’d accumulated to clatter together. “Being an actress is her dream. Asking her to choose me over that would be like asking her to turn her back on everything she’s ever known and jump headfirst into my nightmare.”

  Blade threw his hands up in exasperation. “Dude, what nightmare? Take a look around you, brother. Your band, the one you’ve worked your ass off to keep afloat, just signed a deal with fucking Sony Records. You’re off to be the opening act for one of the hottest rock bands of this century, and you’re going to sit there and tell me all you have to offer her is a nightmare?”

  I snorted in disagreement. “Yes.”

  “Dude, that’s whacked.”

  ____________________________

  The house was dark and quiet by the time we made it home. I pocketed my phone and grabbed the little brown bag on the seat next to me, saying good night to Sin on my way out. J.T. and Styx were behind me, arguing about the amount of candy wrappers that had been left on the floor of their room. But that was nothing new. Those two were always fighting about something.

  I stopped by the kitchen to snag a water on my way up to bed and hoped I’d find Sophie naked and awake. The door to my room was ajar, and when I stepped in the room, I paused and gave a silent prayer of thanks for answering my wish. There she lay, in the center of the bed, hair fanned over the pillow, one leg bent at the knee, wearing only her bra and panties. Her eyes were closed, but when I approached the bed, they fluttered open, and she smiled the most incredible smile. The kind of smile that stopped you in your tracks.

  I greeted her with a soft kiss. “Hey, baby, I brought you something.” I produced the bag from behind my back and sat on the edge of the bed.

  She sat up and turned on the light, then blinked a few times, shaking her head. “You didn’t.” She peered into the bag and squealed with delight. “Shut. Up! You actually went there for me? Oh, my God, you are so sweet. T
hank you.” She kissed me three times before reaching in and pulling out the buttery confection. “I see you got one, too.”

  “Yep.” I took out the other croissant and took a giant bite. Moaned. “Holy fuck. This is the best fucking thing I’ve ever eaten.” We both went back for another bite. More moaning ensued. “I should have bought a dozen.”

  “Told ya.” She smiled, and I leaned down to lick the chocolate off her lips.

  Then she asked me to fill her in on what had happened with the record label. I told her all of it. The contract. The contingency. Them asking Sin to pen at least four songs by the time the tour wrapped up. And then I told her about the tour, figuring she’d hear about it from Tori soon enough, so it was better coming directly from me.

  “Jared, that’s wonderful news. You’ve worked really hard, and someone finally came to their senses. I’m really happy for you.” Her words might have been happy words, but the look on her face told a different story. But that’s how Sophie was. We were both hardwired that way. If someone you cared about received good news, you celebrated with them, even when it hurt.

  And sometimes it fucking hurt like hell.

  “Speaking of good news. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

  Her head bobbed up and down in a nod, and she smiled so damn hard I thought her cheeks would split. “Mitch called about an hour ago. I got the part!”

  “Holy shit. Did we both fall asleep and wake up in another dimension or something?” I jumped on the bed and straddled her legs as I kissed up her body. “I.” Kiss. “Am.” Kiss. “So.” Kiss. Kiss. Kiss again. “Proud of you.”

  Her hands worked their way under my shirt, and I helped her lift it over my head. “It’s really happening for us, isn’t it?” I worked my jeans past my hips while she used her foot to push them the rest of the way down.

  I pulled the cup of her bra down and closed my lips around one erect nipple. “Looks that way.”

  I palmed a condom off the bedside table and lost myself inside her velvety softness.

  I told myself everything was going to be fine.

  Too bad I didn’t believe it.

  CHAPTER 25

  SOPHIE

  I couldn’t sleep.

  Mitch’s call had kept me up for most of the night. Hawk, who’d passed out hours ago, slept peacefully next to me, oblivious to my insomnia. I figured a warm shower might help me relax, so I crept out of bed and stood blissfully under the scalding-hot spray, watching as rivulets of water ran in crooked streams down my torso and disappeared down the drain.

  I thought about the news Mitch had delivered. How hard I’d worked to finally hear those words. CBS wants you to play the part of Cassidy Raine. I ran his exact words over and over in my head, trying to fully absorb the meaning of it all. It didn’t matter that it was the equivalent of a nighttime soap opera. Or that it was merely a supporting role. If I nailed this part, who knew where that could take me? Starring in a weekly television show offered the potential for millions of viewers to see me. The exposure would be enormous.

  Now, all I had to do was wait for Mitch to call me back about a temporary apartment in L.A. and pray I slept between now and Monday because Lord knows the anxiety was going to drive me bat shit crazy.

  Yes, but L.A. is so far from Panama City.

  The bathroom was nice and steamy by the time I turned off the water and toweled off. I had barely finished cinching the towel around my chest when the bathroom door opened and there stood Hawk. His jeans were undone, and he wasn’t wearing underwear.

  He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, but my focus was on the patch of hair peeking through his open zipper. “What time is it?”

  I pressed up on my toes and draped my arms around his neck, lightly brushing my lips against his. “I’m not sure. Pretty late, I guess.” I turned and reached for a hairbrush.

  He came up behind me and met my gaze in the patchy fog-covered mirror. “You showered without me?”

  “Sorry, baby. Hope I didn’t wake you, but I was having trouble sleeping.”

  “No biggie. I was thirsty and went to the kitchen looking for you. The bed was cold without you. Guess I’ve gotten used to sleeping with your hot little ass nestled against my cock.”

  I popped my hips, teasing my ass over his rapidly growing erection. “Aww, you missed me.”

  He wrapped one arm around my waist and kissed a path from my tattoo to my jaw. Ground his erection into me. Rasped in my ear. “I want you.” He tapped the counter with a single finger. “Right here. Right now.”

  “Oh God,” I moaned into his kiss.

  Tongues twining, his hand brushed over my thigh, stopping shy of where my body craved his touch. It didn’t matter that he’d been inside me only hours ago. I still needed more. A quiet moan fell from my lips. A desperate plea.

  “Lean forward.” He wedged a knee between my thighs. “Spread your legs a little more. Palms flat on the counter. Keep them there. Eyes on the mirror.”

  “Yes.” I quickly followed his orders, satisfied when I heard the sound of his jeans being pushed down.

  My heart hammered in my chest, and with a flick of his wrist, the towel slid down my body and pooled in a heap on the floor. He kicked it away and stepped forward. Rolled his hips to tease the tip of his cock through the crack of my ass.

  “One day, I’m going to claim this ass.” He pressed against the virgin flesh, and I relaxed, prepared to let him have me any way he wanted. “But not tonight,” he whispered.

  I all but purred, that’s how badly I wanted him. Truth be told, I’d lain in bed wanting him to take me again, but I’d been too afraid to wake him. Somehow, I’d turned into one of those women who craved their man all the time. The feel of him pressed against me. The heat of his breath on my skin. Fingers pressing into me. Holding me in place. Bruising my flesh.

  I loved all of it.

  Loved it so much it terrified me.

  We locked eyes in the mirror. He wore a devilish smirk on his beautiful face, knowing what he had planned for me.

  At long last, his fingers dipped between my legs to ghost over my swollen clit. I pressed up on my toes, hissing at the long-awaited contact.

  “Christ, baby, I love how hot you are for me.”

  I pushed back, changing my angle until I lined up with the head of his cock. “Hawk, please, I need y-you.”

  His deep chuckle vibrated on my skin as he kissed a path down my spine. At long last, he pressed the blunt head inside. Stopped. Then drew back and hovered outside my opening.

  I held my breath. Waited.

  “You want this?” He circled his lean hips, torturing me in the best of ways. “You want my dick inside you?”

  “Please,” I pleaded.

  I moaned when the pad of his middle finger brushed my sex. My hips instinctively shifted because I craved more. He pressed forward in one long stroke, filling me to the hilt, then ever so slowly pumped his hips three more times. The muscles in my stomach clenched with every powerful thrust.

  I watched the scene that played out in the mirror.

  He had one hand on my breast, and he rolled the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. The other splayed across my abdomen, drawing my body back against him, an act of pure possession. I wanted desperately to touch him but was afraid he would stop what he was doing. The slow pace was blissful torture, licking flames of desire that had been burning deep within me. I watched as the hand on my breast smoothed down my skin. Down past my navel. Cupping between my legs. We watched together as he eased a finger inside and pumped hand in unison with his thick erection. I felt a stretch and burn as the two appendages moved fluidly inside me. The whole act was incredibly sensual and far more erotic than any sex I’d had before. It was hard to look away, but when I did, I saw his face and the look in his eyes. His back was arched. His face pinched tight in concentration. My muscles clenched, and he responded by driving deeper. In this moment, he absolutely and unequivocally owned me. I cried out, but my whimper
s were lost to the sounds of his excitement for what was taking place between us.

  He rolled his soaked fingers over my clit. Once. Twice. Three times.

  “Yes, right there. Oh, fuck. Don’t stop.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he grunted. “You feel so fucking good. So wet. Do you hear that sound?” We both went quiet, listening. I heard it. Heard the slick sounds of him moving within me. “Music to my ears,” he growled.

  The intensity of his thrusts grew more desperate with every gasp and moan until we became nothing but a mixture of sounds and smells.

  The smell of his cologne as it mingled with my body wash.

  The sweet sounds of his dick sliding in and out. Owning me.

  Skin slapping against skin.

  Dirty words whispered in my ear.

  His chest glistened with sweat from the exertion. I whimpered in pain when my hip cracked against the granite, and he slowed down, eyes dropping to where my body had collided with the unforgiving slab of stone.

  “Christ, baby, why didn’t you say something?” He eased out of me and spun me around.

  His arousal hung proudly between us as he dropped to his knees and surveyed the damage, kissing the reddened area. He lingered a moment before his head dipped between my legs, and I watched with rapt attention as the tip of his tongue parted my slit. My fingers threaded his silky hair, holding him in position, and desire pooled behind his eyes as he licked and stroked and then stopped short of bringing me to climax.

  In one swift movement, he was on his feet, arms under my thighs, lifting me. My arms clung to his neck as he lowered me down and impaled me. Until that moment, I had no idea how strong Hawk actually was. The determined look he wore on his face. The softness found in his eyes when he stared into my own.

  We kissed, and while his movements were hard and forced, his lips were tender and loving. My tongue teased the seam of his lips, seeking entry, and if having him inside me hadn’t sealed us enough, his tongue mingling with mine made me feel as though we were one. One body. One goal.