Beats of Life (Perception Book 5)

by Shandi Boyes

  He grins while holding up his index finger.

  “How many girls have you brought here?” I question quietly, moving closer to the windows that look out at the docks. The view is spectacular and very private since there is only a handful of old unused boats docked near the marina.

  His grin enlarges before he holds up his index finger again. I quickly turn away from him, wanting to hide the huge smile that spreads across my face. He moves behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. We stand in silence for several minutes, watching the sun slowly setting over the water.

  “It’s really nice,” I reply quietly, finally breaking the silence.

  “Do you want to see the best bit?” he questions excitedly. I smile before nodding my head gently.

  He clasps his hand around mine and walks us over towards the elevator we had exited a few minutes ago. I hadn’t notice when we entered, but there is a much larger elevator next to the small one we used.

  “Don’t you need a few more minutes?” I question cheekily when he hits the button on the elevator dashboards. He grins largely, but remains quiet as the elevators slowly ascends to the top floor.

  The smile on his face enlarges when the elevator dings loudly. I can’t help but giggle when the elevator doors open. There, standing proudly in the very large elevator is Slater’s bike, Gertie. He had it shipped back here three days ago and I knew he was missing her. He waggles his eyebrows before releasing my hand to walk over to his bike. I watch him curiously as he kicks the stand up and pushes her into the living room. Once he has her in a prime position, easily viewable throughout the entire loft, he lowers down the stand.

  “You can’t have a bike in your living room,” I say, laughing softly.

  “Why not?” he replies casually. “She likes sleeping inside, don’t you girl?” he continues, his eyes roaming appreciatively over his bike.

  I giggle loudly, causing his curious eyes to dart to mine. “Now I understand why you have only had one girl in your loft,” I say giggling. He rolls his eyes before he comes sexily strolling towards me. He is still shirtless since his attempts to remove his shirt from the security camera in the elevator was fruitless.

  “I’ve only had one girl in my loft as there has only ever been one girl I want to fuck in my bed,” he says crudely. Even his rudeness can’t stop the excitement that is rapidly building in between my legs. He is standing so close to me that his breath is fanning my heated cheeks. I slowly lick my lips, my eyes darting back and forth between his.

  “And what girl is that?” I whisper, staring firmly into his eyes. “Gertie?” I question cheekily, before I dart towards one of the two doors on the other side of his loft.

  When I turn my head back to look at Slater, he is standing still in his living area. His mouth is gapped open and he has a shocked expression on his face. It takes him a few seconds to click on to my tease, before his face morphs into a huge grin.

  I squeal loudly once he catches up to me.

  God, I love being chased by him.

  Chapter 29

  Slater

  I thought playing the drums for two hours solid was hard work. It is nothing compared to trying to keep up with Kylie’s sexual appetite. Would I want to change that for anything? Fuck no. I’ll never get enough of her. I sluggishly open my eyes and stretch out my arm in an attempt to pull her closer to me. When my hand comes up empty, I lift my head from the bed and look towards the bathroom. The steam coming out the bottom of the door clearly indicates that she is in the shower. I flop my head back down on the pillow, hoping for a few hours more sleep. The effects of only having a three hours’ last night is hitting me full force.

  “Alright, calm down,” I instruct my dick when it digs into the mattress since it has become aware that Kylie is in the shower naked.

  I roll off the bed and slowly make my way towards the bathroom. I don’t even have to undress since I sleep naked. Just before I enter, I hear the faint sound of murmuring inside the bathroom. I slow down my pace and carefully open the bathroom door. My eyes pop open and my face morphs into shock. Kylie is singing in the shower and her voice is….it’s fucking perfect. I don’t know the song she is singing, it sounds like a country song, but holy shit, I had no clue she could sing so well.

  I lean against the door and listen to hear sing. When she gets to the chorus, I realize I have heard this song a few times before. It is by the country singer that turned pop, what’s her name? Taylor someone? Taylor Swift. Yeah, it is that song about Romeo and Juliet. I stand in awe like I did over ten years ago when I heard Noah sing for the first time. Once she finishes the song, I can’t help but clap. I am in complete fucking awe. The water suddenly gets turned off and her shampoo covered head pops out of large marbled shower.

  “What are you doing?” she questions panicked.

  “I’ve never heard you sing before. Holy shit, you are good Kylie,” I praise. Her cheeks go pink and her eyes dart away from mine.

  “Thanks,” she replies softly, before she pops her head back into the shower and turns the water back on.

  I move further into the bathroom and watch her wash the shampoo out of her hair. As the weeks go by, her hair is returning back to its normal mousy brown coloring since the black dye is starting to wash out. She quickly grabs the conditioner and rubs it into her hair before her eyes turn to mine. I think this is the first time she has noticed that I am naked. Her eyes appreciatively roam over my body and she swallows several times in a row before they eventually return to my face. I give her a cheeky wink before stepping into the shower.

  “Why haven’t I heard you sing before?” I question, turning on the second shower head so I can get some water, since she is hogging her one.

  Her eyes dart down to my crutch before they slowly lift back to my eyes. She licks her lips and slowly moves her hand towards my crutch. I swat her hand away, causing her to pout playfully.

  “Answer the question,” I say, trying my hardest to keep my dick flaccid, and miserably failing.

  “I get stage fright,” she whispers softly, her eyes looking at my chest instead of my face. I lift her face to mine by her chin.

  “You have nothing to be scared off baby, you have a gift, it should be shared,” I respond without hesitation.

  I am not fucking kidding. Her voice is perfect. It blew me away and I can’t believe she hides that type of talent from people. She smiles softly, before her eyes eventually return to mine. Seeing her beautiful smile, forces me to lose the ability to control my cock. I eagerly pull her mouth to mine and we stay in the shower exploring each other’s bodies until we run out of hot water.

  ****

  Kylie peers up from her iPhone screen and looks at me curiously. Her eyebrows pull together tightly and she releases a slow exhale of breath before she looks back down at her phone.

  “What?” I question when she does the same thing again. She briskly shakes her head, before her eyes turn back down to the phone screen again. We have just been having breakfast and her phone keeps dinging with messages all morning. When it dings again, I move closer to her and peer over her shoulder. Her phone is indicating that she has another google alert for the band.

  “Do I still have a job?” she questions softly, her confusion heard in her voice.

  “I was employed to help Emily during the tour, but the tour is over now,” she continues softly. Her eyebrows are pulled together so tight she has a small V in the middle of her forehead. I chuckle softly before walking into the kitchen. She doesn’t need to worry about working. I am more than happy to take care of her.

  “No,” she says firmly, following me into the kitchen. “I am not being kept,” she continues, like she can read my thoughts. I slowly turn around to face her. My eyes slowly roam over her body before returning to her face.

  “How about we make a deal then?” I suggest. Her eyes narrow slightly and she crosses her arms in front of her ample chest. One of her eyebrows slowly raises into the air as she waits for me to continue
.

  “You keep me sexually satisfied and I will keep you feed,” I say cheekily.

  I chuckle loudly when she grabs an apple out of the fruit bowl and throws it at me. I catch it mid-air and take a large bite, before moving closer to her. She stares up at me, gently shaking her head. I step closer to her, triggering her to step back until she hits the kitchen bench. Once I am close enough that she can reach me, she places her hands on each side of my face, her mouth slowly moves towards mine. Just as her lips are about to touch mine, she quietly whispers, “No deal,” before she darts under my arm and walks back into the living area. Forever wanting to be chased. I groan and adjust myself before taking off after her. I am surprised when I find her sitting on one of the chairs around the dining room table, looking at her phone again. This time when I peer at her screen, I notice that she has it open at website that helps you to find a job locally.

  I gently pull the phone out of her grip and throw it onto one of the black leather couches. Her disappointed eyes turn up to face me and she huffs faintly. I pull out the chair next to her and sit down, before pulling her onto my lap. I know she hates the idea of being ‘kept’. Noah has had the same problems with Emily, but things in our industry are different and I can’t risk having her out in public. There are too many fucking lunatics in the world that could attempt to harm her just to get back at me. The length some groupies or fans will go to is fucking scary. Just look at Megan as a prime example. Things could have ended up a lot worse for Nick and Jenni than what it did if Isaac didn’t step in. Not that Jenni is aware of that. Nick decided to keep it from her and it was the one time I fully agreed with him. She didn’t need the extra stress of Megan while she was dealing with Noah’s accident and a newborn baby.

  When I explain my reasoning to Kylie, she listens quietly, occasionally adding a small nod to her silence. Once I have given her every prime example I can find, she still remains quiet. Her torn eyes slowly flick between mine.

  “It is only another six weeks anyway and then we go back on tour,” I inform. Her eyes quickly dart to mine, making me realize that no one had informed her of that yet.

  “Okay,” she whispers quietly. “I’ll stay here with you for the six weeks and then I’ll pay you back when I get paid,” she informs. I try my hardest to hold in my chuckles. Only the smallest sound escapes my lips. But it is still enough for Kylie to angrily narrow her eyes. When small tears form in her eyes, my chuckles immediately halt.

  “We will keep a tally of your expenses on your phone and you can pay me back,” I inform softly, triggering a small smile to form on her face. I have no fucking intention of taking any of her money. But if it makes her happy to keep a tally, then that is what we will do.

  We spend the rest of the day hanging around my loft, eating, watching movies and making love. You don’t realize how much you miss the simple things in life until you only get to do them a couple of weeks in the year. I haven’t sat down and watched a movie in the past six months, but today Kylie and I have managed to watch three. Thankfully for me, she enjoys action and comedy movies as much as I do. She gasped in surprise when I told her that I had met the lead actor Christian in the last movie we watched.

  ****

  I scoot up in my bed to lean against the bedhead after our fourth romp of the day. My tired eyes sluggishly roam around the room. In the corner of my eye, I spot a small portion of yellow paper sticking out of Kylie’s jeans that she has disposed on the floor. I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. She carries her bucket list with her everywhere she goes. I quickly move to her jeans and carefully remove the list for her pocket. The paper has been extensively used over the years and it is covered in creases. I carefully unfold it, noticing a large section of scotch tape down the middle of the paper. My heart rate surges with euphoria when I glance my eyes slowly over her list and I discover so many things have been crossed off her list with the red pencil I gave her. Then my heart drops into my stomach when I notice that she has also crossed off number three.

  Kylie walks out of the steam filled bathroom with a small towel wrapped around her hair and another one around her body, covering her delectable body from my view. When she notices that I have her bucket list in my hand she smiles brightly.

  “It’s nearly done,” she whispers softly, triggering me to gently nod my head. She comes and sits next to me on the bed. Her head rests on my shoulder and her eyes slowly roam over her list.

  “Why did you cross number three off?” I ask her delicately. I already know what her answer most likely is, but I want to hear it from her.

  She doesn’t even need to look at the list. She has all the items memorised, just like I do. She lifts her head off my shoulder and her pained hazel eyes radiate her sadness directly into mine. Her lip quivers and her eyes slowly fill with fresh tears.

  “I can’t,” she chokes out. A single tear escapes her left eye and slowly rolls down her cheek.

  I lift my hand and gently brush the tear off her cheek, before pulling her onto my lap. I tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as my gaze seeks hers. She smells freshly showered. The body wash and shampoo she used masks her normal wildflower and hay smell. A little giggle escapes her plump and bare lips when she feels my dick straining against her backside. I shake my head. My dick seriously has its own brain when it comes to Kylie. It doesn’t care if we are having a serious conversation or not. When it wants her, it wants her.

  “You need to add it back onto your list,” I suggest gently, my eyes gazing lovingly into hers. She gently shakes her head as her eyes dart between mine.

  “I want to finish my list,” she whispers softly. “I can’t finish it if it’s still on there,” she continues.

  I stare into her eyes. The only audible noise is the small pants of her breath. I know it is early in our new relationship, but she has always been it for me. My hand trembles when I run it over my dreads. Once I settle my nerves, I stare into her beautiful eyes.

  “We will find a way to cross it off your list,” I respond, my voice is quivering since my heart is rapidly beating.

  Kylie’s shocked eyes flick quickly between mine, before the most radiant smile stretches across her face. Now the tears filling her eyes are tears of happiness instead of sadness. She places her small and warm hand on my cheek, trying to relay her joy through her eyes.

  “I’m not saying this year or next year, but one day,” I inform, suddenly panicked that she may think I am agreeing to crossing it off her list now.

  She smiles largely while nodding her head softly. “I only just got your back, I’m not willing to share you yet,” she whispers, repeating exactly what I had thought over a month ago.

  I lean over to my bedside table and pull out a permanent black marker to hand to Kylie. She scoots off my lap, causing a small groan to escape my lips. She places her list delicately on the bedside table, holding it into place with one hand while using her teeth to open the marker. She smiles largely while bending over to write on her beloved list. My eyes instantly dart down to the small portion of her butt cheeks that are sticking out of the bottom of her towel. My enjoyable view is only interrupted when something strikes me on the side of my head. Peering to the direction the item came from, I find Kylie glaring at me with her eyebrow cocked.

  “My eyes are up here,” she informs cheekily, causing me to chuckle softly.

  She smiles brightly as she carefully lifts the well-used yellow lined piece of paper off the bedside table to hold it closely to her chest for several seconds. She exhales a deep breath, before turning the piece of paper around to show me.

  There, in thick black ink is bucket list item number three.

  Have a baby.

  Chapter 30

  Kylie

  Four weeks later….

  “It’s just you and me baby,” Slater croons.

  I swallow harshly in an attempt to keep my bile in my stomach. I take in several deep breaths and my eyes stare firmly into his. He smiles largely. He can
smile, he isn’t the one that is scared to death right now. I attempt to raise my hand, but it stays firmly plastered at the side of my body like it is being held down by a concrete weight. My hands tremble can be felt all the way up my arms.

  “You have nothing to be scared of,” he continues to encourage. “It’s just me and you,” he whispers, his eyes never once leaving mine. He stands from the wooden barstool and moves closer to me, so close we almost become one.

  “Close your eyes,” he instructs softly. I nod my head quickly while snapping my eyes shut.

  “Just listen to my voice,” he instructs softly.

  All noise around me ceases to exist as I listen to his deep and soulful voice whisper encouraging words into my ear. This time when I raise my hand, it actually moves and only slightly shakes in fear. Rustling around me causes my eyes to pop open. I spot Slater moving back to the barstool. I quickly grab his wrist, stopping his hasty retreat.