“Harder.” I ground against him. “Oh, God. Trent, should we—inside?”
“We will.” His teeth nipped lightly at me. “But first, I’m going to make you come right here. Right out here, in your car, with your legs spread on my lap.” He shifted his mouth to the other nipple and drew it deep into his mouth. “Just to take the edge off. Make it better.”
“God, yes.”
“Ride me, baby. Grind down against me. Make yourself feel good.”
With a cry, I did as he said, every fiber in my body focused on where our bodies met. I found the movement that brought me ever closer to the edge before I plunged, straining against him as I cried out his name.
I fell against his chest, my ears ringing and my extremities tingling. Trent rubbed my back, soothing me.
“That’s some edge you just smoothed.” My voice was muffled against his shoulder. “Pretty sure I’m not going to be able to walk into the apartment.”
“I’ll carry you.” He wrapped both arms around me and held me tight. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
I pushed up a little, just enough to see his face. “To bed. Take me to bed.”
A beautiful smile spread over his face. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He opened the car door and stood, lifting me with him. I clung to his shoulders as he took the cement steps to our apartment two at a time, pausing at the door just long enough to fumble for his keys and unlock it.
Then it was closed and he was striding back to the bedroom—to the room he’d given up to me without a second thought, to the room where for months I’d been wishing he’d come climb into bed with me.
I thought he was going to lay me on the bed and fall next to me, but instead he stood there for a moment, staring down into my face.
“Elizabeth.” It was a caress, as subtle as the lightest touch. “Elizabeth, I love you. Baby, I can’t . . . being without you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve been through shit you can’t imagine, and I don’t want you to know it. Times I thought I might die. Times I wished I would. But Elizabeth, I never felt so dead inside as when I drove away from you in the Cove. I knew it was the worst mistake I’d ever make, but I couldn’t stay when I was afraid I might ruin you.”
I reached to brush my fingers over his cheek. “You could never ruin me. When stuff happens, we deal with it together.”
“Together is all I ever want to be.” He kissed my forehead. “Together, and inside you.” He bent, lowering me to the bed, and then pausing only to pull off his boots and his shirt, climbed in to lie next to me.
“Hi,” I whispered, stroking his hair.
“Hi.” Trent smiled. “Anyone ever tell you that wearing clothes is overrated?”
“Actually, yes. My husband told me that. On our wedding night.”
“He sounds like a very wise man.” His lips teased the sensitive spot just beneath my earlobe.
“He is.” I leaned away to strip off my shirt. “And if he were really smart, he’d take this opportunity to get those jeans off.”
Trent wagged his eyebrows at me. “Sounds like my wife is propositioning me.”
“You know it.”
He rolled away just long enough to get rid of the jeans, and I did the same. We landed back alongside each other at the same time.
“You still aren’t naked.” Trent covered my boobs with both his hands. “I thought we had a deal.”
“I know how proud you are of being able to unhook any bra with one hand. I didn’t want to deny you that pleasure.” I kissed him open-mouthed and demanding. “Show me your stuff, baby.”
With a soft laugh, he reached behind me and flicked open the hook. “Show me yours, baby.”
I wriggled my arms out of the straps. “I’m all yours.”
His eyes darkened and slowly, much too slowly, he covered one nipple with his mouth, sucking it deep and circling it with his tongue. I hummed in pleasure and pressed the back of his neck to pull him closer.
“I love when my mouth is on one of your beautiful tits, and your hips start arching like crazy. Like you can’t wait for me to touch you there.”
“I can’t.” I slipped my hand between us and found him, hard and hot under smooth skin. “I want you to touch me and then I want you inside me. It feels like I can’t wait.”
“I can’t, either.” Trent groaned. “Especially if you keep that up. Your hands on me—God, baby. Nothing better.”
“Nothing?” I rubbed the head of his cock over my slickness. “Nothing like this?”
“Fuck.” He shook a little, holding himself over me. “You’re driving me crazy.”
I rolled, forcing him onto his back. “Oh, honey, I’m just getting started.” Easing down his body, I traced each line of muscle with my tongue. He inhaled sharply when I reached his lower abs, and when I took his cock into my mouth, I was pretty sure he started speaking in a foreign language.
His fingers threaded through my hair. “Oh, God, your mouth . . . baby . . . ohhh . . . fuck.”
I hollowed my cheeks on the way back up, sucking and then swirling my tongue around the head when I reached it. His hips canted upward, and I could feel the pulse thrumming beneath my lips.
With one last teasing kiss, I slowly crawled back up, straddling him. Taking his erection in my hand, I lifted myself up and eased myself down onto him.
“Don’t move.” His tone was steel, and he held me in place, hands on my waist. “If you move, I’ll lose it.”
I sat perfectly still, only my chest rising and falling. Trent lay beneath me, his jaw clenched and eyes closed. Slowly, he relaxed and brought one hand to the place where we were joined. He stroked over my folds, finally finding the one spot that drove me so insane, I couldn’t help moving. Almost on instinct, I began lifting myself up and then sliding back down his cock until my sex ground into his.
“Elizabeth—baby, oh, God. So good. Never stop. Oh, fuck, baby, faster. Tell me you’re going to come. Tell me you’re going to come with my dick inside you—”
Pleasure rose so sharply and with so much intensity that for a minute, the world went dark and silent. Everything froze, everything stopped; it was as though time stood still, and we were the only two people who existed. Trent cried out my name, his fingers digging into my ass and holding me to him.
I collapsed onto him, my ear pressed to his chest. Trent’s heart was pounding, and I smiled. His hands rubbed small circles on my back.
“That was incredible.” His breath tickled my ear. “But way too fast. You drive me wild. I can’t help myself when you touch me. It’s like I have to be in you.” He rolled me to lie on my back and leaned over me. “But the good news is, we have all night.”
“You think you’re good for it?” I teased, tracing his lips with the tip of my finger.
“Baby, I’m better than good.” He kissed me, aggressive and full of promise. “I’m a sure thing. And I’m going to rock your world. Again.”
Oh, yeah.
“TRENT, CRISSY’S HERE. I JUST set her up at a booth in the back.” Niki, the hostess, came over to the bar where I was working on a liquor order.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll go over in just a minute.”
“Hey, dude. I’ll finish that.” Mason held out his hand for the note pad I’d been using. “You don’t want to keep the lady waiting.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think it’s a big deal, Mason. Pretty sure she just wants to say thank you for pitching in last night.”
“Trent.” He laid a hand on my shoulder and stared me down. “If Crissy Darwin wanted to say thank you, she wouldn’t be taking you out to lunch here, at the restaurant where you work. Keep an open mind, bud. You’ve got potential. Don’t let this chance get away.”
“Mason, that’s really nice, but I’ve got a job here. And Elizabeth’s happy in Burton.” I thought about the night before, about Elizabeth’s face when I was holding her. “She’s my top priority.”
“That’s great. It’s the
way it should be. I’m just saying, don’t say no right away. Think about it. Talk it over with Elizabeth. Consider the possibilities.” He swatted me on the head with the notepad. “Now get over there.”
Crissy was sipping a glass of tea and glancing at the menu. She smiled when I slid into the booth opposite her. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite guitarist. How’re you doing this afternoon?”
I laughed. “I’m good, thanks. How’re you? And how’s Ronnie?”
“Oh, he’s going to be fine. Food poisoning’s no joke, but he’ll recover.” She paused, playing with a corner of her napkin. “Thing is, though, Ronnie’s just a temporary guitarist. That’s his gig. He played a few recordings I did, and he agreed to come on the road with me to some dates that were close by. But he’s from Florida, and he really doesn’t want to go any farther away than we are now. I need someone who’s willing to go to Nashville with me and take that next step. Someone who can travel to all our gigs.”
I nodded. “I understand that.”
“And Trent, I think that someone might be you.”
I would’ve been lying if I’d said I hadn’t had a clue Crissy was going to ask me to think about going on the road with her. I knew she was happy with our set last night, and I trusted that Mason wouldn’t have said anything if he hadn’t been pretty sure, too. But part of me had been in denial until she actually said the words.
“That’s . . . really flattering. I’m honored you would even ask. But I’m not a guitarist. I’m not a real musician. I’m just a guy who messes around with music. Or who used to, anyway. I’m not a professional. I’m sure you could get any number of guitarists who’d kill for a job like this. So why me?”
“A couple of reasons. First of all, I’m going into Nashville as a novice. I’ve been playing all these small venues for years, since I was a teenager, and I feel pretty confident about my own talent. But this is going to be a whole new world for me. I want to have someone with me who I can trust, and if Mason says you’re that guy, I believe him. Second, I’m fussy about how my music is played. Any guitarist who’s been on the circuit for a while, I’m going to have to fight to teach him how to do things my way.”
I grinned. “So you’re looking for someone you can mold to be who you want?”
“You got it.” Crissy laughed. “Hey, I’m nothing if not honest. I’ll always tell you the truth. And with that in mind, you should know that guitarists aren’t exactly knocking down my proverbial door. After what happened to Dell and Maddy last fall, there’s a rumor that I have a black cloud following me around. You know, that it’s bad luck to be connected with me. Never mind that the nut doing the killing’s been in a mental hospital since November.”
“I’m not superstitious.” I hesitated. “But I don’t want to disappoint you, Crissy. I don’t want to give up my job here, talk my wife into moving and then find out I’m not who you’re looking for.”
“I understand that. I’m willing to commit to six months, with the option for us to renegotiate at that time for a longer contract. And Mason said that if it doesn’t work out, he’ll give you back your job here. So the way I look at it is, nothing ventured, nothing gained. For both of us.”
Excitement rippled through my stomach. Could I really do this? Or was I being an idiot to believe something this wonderful could really happen to me, to Trent Wagoner?
“Listen, do me this favor. Think about it. Talk to Elizabeth. And then call me.” She slid a business card across the table.
“When do you need an answer?” I picked up the card and turned it over in my hand.
“Tomorrow would be great. By the end of the week would be fine.” She flipped over her menu. “Now tell me what’s good here, and let’s order lunch and pretend you already said yes. We can talk hypotheticals about the next few months.”
I’d had a bunch of long days, not to mention a very—ah—busy—night. Not that I was complaining, but I was yawning big by the time the truck rolled to a stop in front of our apartment that evening. I was looking forward to a quiet dinner with Elizabeth, who’d promised me her chicken pot pie, and an early bedtime.
And then I saw the dark blue car again. My heart fell through my chest. Shit.
This time, though, the judge wasn’t still sitting in his driver’s seat. The car was empty. Frowning, I climbed up to our front door and pushed it open.
Judge Roony sat on our ratty old couch, a cup of coffee in his hands as he chatted with Elizabeth. She turned when she heard me come in, and I could see the worry in her face.
“Hey, Trent.” She stood up, taking my hand and kissing my cheek. “You look like you’re asleep on your feet.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, but I was numb. “Judge Roony.”
He rose, too. “I’m sorry to be here when you got home, but I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
I nodded. “She left, didn’t she? She ran out on rehab.”
The judge sighed. “I got the call this afternoon. They thought she was adjusting well, and then she took off this morning. It’s not their policy to pursue patients, but they won’t accept her again, either. This was her last shot, and she threw it away.”
“I understand.” I clenched my jaw. “Will you . . . will there be an arrest warrant issued?”
He shook his head. “Not at this time. Now, if she comes back into town and causes a problem, then we’ll have to rethink that. But I don’t see the point in wasting any of our state’s resources to hunt down a woman who’s probably going to end up in a local jail somewhere anyway.”
“Thank you for that.” I was pathetically grateful for that small favor. “And thanks for coming over to tell me in person.”
“Of course.” He set down his cup and glanced at Elizabeth. “Thanks for the coffee, and good luck with your plans.” He started for the door and then paused next to me. “Son, just remember, you did everything you could for your mother. No one could say any different. But at some point, she has to stand up and make her own choices. You can only do so much, but the final decision is hers.”
I cleared my throat. “Yes, sir. Thanks again.”
He shook my hand once again and let himself out. I stood rooted to the floor, staring after him. Elizabeth came up behind me and slipped her arms around my waist.
“I’m so sorry. I wish . . . I hoped that she was going to be different this time. That she’d think about you, if not about herself. But she’s sick, babe. You know she is.”
“Yeah, I know.” I covered Elizabeth’s hands with mine. “I did everything I could. I got her sober and I sent her to the best rehab place around. I got her a freaking scholarship to the place. The only thing she had to do was stay there. And she couldn’t even fucking do that.” I shook my head. “I’m done, baby. I can’t put us through this anymore. She’s my mother, and I wish things were different, but they’re not. So that’s that.”
“I’m still sorry.” She laid her head on my back and we stayed like that for a few minutes. It was strangely comforting to feel her against me, to know that she was there.
“Do you want to eat? The pot pie’s in the oven. Should be ready by now.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, kissed her hand and released it as she slipped away toward the kitchen. “Let’s sit down, eat and have a glass of wine. I want to tell you about my lunch with Crissy.”
Elizabeth glanced at me over her shoulder. “Oh? Anything exciting?”
I leaned against the doorway. “Depends. How do you feel about being married to a musician?”
Elizabeth was quiet as I told her all about Crissy’s offer. She got out the chicken pot pie while I set the table, and she didn’t say much of anything until I’d finished my first helping of dinner.
When she spoke, her voice was low and intense. “Trent, you have to do this.”
I raked my hand through my hair. “But babe, we’d have to move. We’d have to leave Burton and go to Nashville, to start. And then I’d be on the road.” I reached across and touched her cheek. “You wanted a ho
me. Remember you told me that? Your dream is having a hometown, a place where you can be settled and feel like you’re a part of it. You could have that in Burton. I’ve got a job, we’ve got a community . . . you’ve made friends. I can’t tear you away from that.”
Elizabeth slid down from her chair and came around the small table to kneel in front of me. She gripped my hands in hers, and when she looked up into my face, her eyes were shining.
“Trent . . . yes, I told you I wanted a hometown. I wanted a home. And I found that home. You are my home. It’s not a place or a house or a job. It’s you. We can live anywhere, as long as we’re together. I want you to have this dream, and I want to live it with you. I’ll move to Nashville or anywhere else, as long as we’re both going.”
“What about your future? You were talking about doing something with that. I don’t want you to give up your dream for mine.”
“I wouldn’t.” She smiled. “I’m not ready to jump into my own business yet. I know that. But I can keep studying and learning, and when I’m to that point, maybe a new door will open for that. Meanwhile, I have some savings, and I can just be your groupie for a while.”
I traced the line of her jaw, and she turned her head to press her lips into my palm. “I’d like that. Will you wear tight shirts and short skirts?”
“Not in public. But if you’re very good, I might dress up in private.”
“Oh, baby. I already told you. I’m better than good.” I winked, smirking. “I’m a fucking rock star.”
THE NEXT TWO WEEKS WERE a whirlwind of insanity. Once Trent gave Crissy his answer, everything kicked into high gear. It felt like every day, something new was happening.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving.” Cory sighed as she took the library books I’d just returned. “I’m going to miss you terribly.”
A lump rose in my throat. “I’ll miss you, too. So much. But you won’t have time to even know I’m gone, not with that new granddaughter of yours. Go on, show me the latest picture. I know you have one.”
Always My Own (Always Love Trilogy #2) Page 20