Crimson and Clover

by Juli Page Morgan

  “I don’t want to,” he repeated. “And I’ll try my damnedest not to, but … ”

  “No.” Katie shook her head and gave him a stern gaze. “You won’t, because you don’t have that in you.”

  He laughed under his breath. “I told you that you have no idea, and I meant it. In any case, I wouldn’t hurt you the way Adam would.”

  Confused, she shook her head. “I’m sorry; what?”

  Jay pressed soft kisses to her cheek and let his lips trail over her jaw. “I might get a little rougher with you than you’re used to.” He moved his lips down her neck. “But it wouldn’t hurt. Much.”

  “Just how rough are we talking about?” she squeaked.

  “Mm, I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.” He pushed her hair back and traced the shape of her ear with the tip of his tongue. “But I don’t use whips like Adam does.”

  “Do what?”

  He regarded her with a slight smile. “You’ve no idea,” he repeated. “Changed your mind?”

  Katie waited for her heart to retreat from her throat before speaking. “You know what I don’t like.”

  “Yes, I know.” He frowned, and her heart rate increased with trepidation. The sudden grin that brightened his face confused her and it was her turn to frown. “Don’t worry,” he murmured. “I don’t like it, either.”

  “Don’t do that to me.” Katie leaned against the wall and shook her head.

  “Then you have changed your mind. Oh, well … ” Jay gave her a light kiss and started to step back.

  “No, damn it, I haven’t.” She locked her arms around his neck and pulled him against her. “I swear you’re determined to drive me crazy.”

  “Not crazy.” He ran a finger over her lips. “But if you want me to, I can certainly drive you to feel things you never thought you’d feel.” His hands descended on her hips and he pulled her forward into a kiss that seared her soul.

  Katie arched against him, aware of nothing but the feel of his body against hers and his tongue meeting hers with a hunger that was almost unbearable, until Nicky’s voice intruded and brought her back to earth with a thud.

  “I’d tell the two of you to get a room, only we have a show to play.”

  Breathing like a marathon runner crossing the finish line, Katie turned to look at Nicky’s sly grin.

  “I was getting really turned on watching, but I thought that wasn’t too cool since you’re going to be my baby’s godparents. And it is time to go.”

  Katie looked over Nicky’s shoulder and caught a few interested stares, but the majority of people were being herded out of the room by Walter. As though he felt her gaze, he turned and looked in their direction. “Coming, Jay?”

  Nicky laughed. “Not now, he isn’t.” Blond hair swinging, Nicky ambled toward the door. “He has, however, consented to play guitar for us if we’ll give him a moment to collect himself.”

  Still holding Katie crushed against him, Jay gave her an impenetrable look. “Another minute and I’d have had you up against the wall.”

  “Another minute and I’d have let you.”

  Jay buried his face in her hair and groaned. “In that case, you can let me the minute I’ve finished out there.”

  After they’d made their way to the back of the stage, she stood back as Jay took his guitar and slung it over his back as he adjusted his jacket, looking like a disreputable Robin Hood with his quiver and bow at the ready. With a shrug of his shoulder, Jay pulled the guitar around, the instrument resting low on his hip.

  “Behold, I have a weapon,” Katie quoted. “A better never did itself sustain upon a soldier’s thigh.”

  A quick grin transformed his face. “I have another weapon in this chamber.” He muffled her giggle with a kiss and walked onto the darkened stage with an insouciance Othello would have envied.

  Walter’s voice boomed through the speakers as he introduced the band and Shadowed Knight roared into “Paradox”.

  Katie found a seat on top of an amplifier and felt herself melting into a puddle of goo as she watched Jay.

  Chest already glistening with sweat under the hot lights, he stomped across the stage, commanding attention and getting it. During his solo, he bent so far backward his hair brushed the stage and the crowd lost its collective mind.

  In that instant, Katie understood what flowed from the audience to the band. Even she could feel it and was affected by it. By the time Shadowed Knight thundered into the opening bars of their final number, Katie was feeling as antsy as a drunk with a bad case of the DTs. Like a wild animal, she wanted to grab Jay, rip his clothes off and have him drive her mindless with pleasure, relieving the tension that was almost an ache inside her. She envied the band; they were able to unleash some of that back into the audience who responded with howls of delight. The love poured from the audience, a feeling so intense it was almost tangible. No wonder the band was amped after these shows!

  With a start, she realized it was over. Damn it, she’d missed “Imperial Jade”, her favorite song. Adam and Jay had named it after what Jay said was the color of her eyes, and she’d not heard a note. Katie inched toward the edge of the amp, preparing to dismount. Then Jay was there, holding his arms up to her, but when she would have thrown herself at him, he held her back.

  “I’m soaking wet,” he warned her.

  “Holy water.” She pressed against him and ran her tongue up his neck. “Besides, I’m soaking wet, too.”

  “Damn.” Jay clutched her and spoke over her shoulder. “Rick! Bring the six-string acoustic. I’m keeping it with me.”

  “Sure, Jay, I’ll have it … .”

  “No, I want you to bring it back to the dressing room now. I’m going to need you for a moment.” Jay looked down at Katie, his eyes glinting in the dim light. “And I need you for a moment, too.”

  “Only a moment?”

  “This time.” The look he gave her made her quiver in anticipation.

  Rick approached them, holding the case that contained Jay’s guitar. “What’cha need, Jay?”

  “I don’t want it packed with rest of the equipment. Katie and I are staying in Birmingham for a few days and I’ll be keeping it with me. Make sure it gets back to my room.”

  “Sure, I’ll just go … ”

  “Not yet.” His arm firm around Katie’s shoulders, Jay started toward the dressing room. “Just come with me.” With Rick trailing along, he led them into the locker room, ignoring the greetings and congratulations. He went straight for the loo, and after checking to make sure it was unoccupied, stationed Rick at the door with firm orders that no one was to enter. Rick cocked a brow.

  “What if someone needs to … ”

  “Not my problem,” Jay said in dismissal. “No one gets in.”

  Rick shrugged and turned his back, his wide shoulders almost filling the doorway. Jay turned back to Katie and started toward her with purpose. She thought she had a pretty good idea of the way a mouse felt when spotted by a hawk. Jay was looking at her like she was prey he was stalking.

  Her pulse threatened to pound out of her wrists as she watched him stride toward her. He hadn’t been kidding, he was soaking wet, his clothes drenched and sweat dripping from his hair. His hazel eyes were fixed on hers, unswerving and burning with desire. Just as she understood that energy that filled him during a performance, she understood its effect on him. He was literally vibrating with it; she’d felt it as they walked backstage and she could almost see the fine tremor that ran through him. Katie gasped at the heat from his hands as they descended on her shoulders. “What … ” she began.

  “Hush.” The command was soft, but brooked no argument. He advanced and Katie retreated until she felt the wall against her back. Jay released her shoulders and his hands went to the fly of his jeans. He was smiling at her now, a disconcerting smile that told her in no uncertain terms she was about to be ravished and that he was going to thoroughly enjoy it. He didn’t seemed concerned about how she felt about it, but c
ontinued undoing his jeans while holding her pinned to the wall with nothing but his gaze.

  Jay’s hands slid under the hem of her dress and encountered her panties. “My, my, Katie,” he whispered. “What is this in my way? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want me.” With no further discussion, he lifted her, pushed her hard against the wall, moved her panties to the side and pulled her down on him with a muffled groan.

  Katie gasped as he filled her, biting the shoulder of his jacket to stifle her own moans. She could taste the salt of his sweat and smell his hot, musky scent, and thought it was the most sensual thing on earth. His breath panted in her ear and she had a sudden vision of him onstage holding his guitar over his head like a sacrificial offering, his long, lean body striding across the stage, bare skin revealed by his open jacket and his low-slung jeans, his face obscured by his hair; and an earth-shattering orgasm ripped through her. Feeling it, Jay grasped her chin in one hand and pulled her face to his, covering her mouth with his, swallowing her cries. He froze, crushing her against the wall, and it was her turn to muffle his moans.

  Katie’s memories of the remainder of the night were fragmented, seen through a haze of a repletion so intense she could almost touch it, and the release of that damned energy which left her feeling like she’d just come down off a methamphetamine high. She remembered the industrial smell of the soap and the rough texture of the paper towels she’d used to clean herself after Jay finally let her go. She remembered leaning against him, limp as a dishrag, as he sat sprawled in a chair while they waited for the crowd to disperse so they could leave unmolested. And she remembered thinking that while some of Jay’s energy had abated it wasn’t gone, just throttled back to a thrum, like the motor of a luxury car at low idle.

  First and foremost in her mind, however, was her amazement when she realized Jay’s intent once they got back to the motel. He never stopped at once a night, but he’d already made blistering love to her after the show and she thought he couldn’t possibly be ready for more. But not only was he ready, he was also more than able. Katie remembered being thrown on the bed and having her brains fucked right out. When she thought back over it later, she decided it wasn’t a bad way to go and she couldn’t wait to do it all again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Sleeping in was not an option, not with the members and road crew of Shadowed Knight banging through the hall as they prepared to leave for the airport. Katie glared at the door as Walter’s bull-moose voice sounded yet again, berating Rick for misplacing a piece of Adam’s luggage. With a sigh, she flopped over on her back and frowned at the ceiling.

  “You,” she told Jay, “need a new manager. One with a nice voice and manners.”

  The bed jiggled as Jay laughed under his breath. “Baby, those aren’t qualities a good manager has to have. Walter’s good because he is loud, abrasive and ruthless.”

  “Oh, I know. He’s just not the most pleasant alarm clock I’ve ever heard.”

  Jay nuzzled the side of her neck. “I’ll agree with that. I can think of much more pleasurable ways to wake up.”

  Giggling, she captured one of his roaming hands before it slipped below her waist. “Stop that. I have to ask you something.”

  Jay’s sigh was good-natured as he propped himself on one elbow to look down at her. “Oh, fine. Go ahead.”

  “Well, it’s just that you kind of had me going last night, talking about hairbrushes and things. But then none of that happened.”

  “Mm.” Jay ran his free hand through his hair, pulling it away from his face. “Were you disappointed?”

  “Yes and no.” She tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear. “I mean, there’s no way you’ll ever disappoint me in that area. Ever.” She wiggled her eyebrows and was rewarded by that slow, beautiful smile of his. “But at the same time I wanted you to … to … ”

  “Oh, I thought about it,” he interrupted. “But then I really thought about it and I realized I don’t want to do that to you.”

  “Oh.” Old insecurities rose up to assault her. “Am I not … I mean, do you think I wouldn’t … ”

  Jay stopped her questions with a thorough kiss. “You are and you could, all right? But when I thought about having you tied up and helpless and completely at my mercy, it was more disturbing than titillating. It seemed degrading. Just the thought of using my hairbrush on you was a complete turn-off. I could never do that to you. It would hurt me more than it would you.” He captured her hand and pressed a kiss in her palm. “Of course, there are other things I could do. I could demand that you lie there and remain silent, but then I wouldn’t hear those wonderful little sounds you make when I make love to you. All those little moans and sighs and the way you scream my name. I particularly like that, you know.” He grinned. “Makes me feel rather like Superman.”

  Katie couldn’t repress a giggle. “Superman?”

  “Oh, yes. Able to leap tall buildings and all of that.” He grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “And I could tie you up while I have my way with you, but then you couldn’t touch me. And I do love it when you touch me.” A fire kindled in his eyes for a moment before they became serious again. “The truth of it is, I don’t want you too submissive.”

  “Too submissive?”

  One finger smoothed her eyebrows as his gaze touched every part of her face. “I do like holding you down, you know. Of course, sometimes it’s necessary, the way you thrash around. Don’t want to get a knee to my face.” He grinned at the blush that burned her cheeks. “And I think you like it, too. I think you like it when I keep you immobile while I drive you mad, doing whatever I want with my mouth and my hands. When I let you go, you tend to go a little wild on me. Katie, Katie … ” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Your face is likely to burst into flame if it gets any redder.”

  Katie cleared her throat and tried to banish the heat she felt in her face. She knew she’d been unsuccessful when she felt her ears grow hot. “Well, yes; I do like it when you … do that.”

  “I can tell,” he whispered. “But I don’t want you silent and helpless. I want your touch, your voice, your demands.”

  “Demands?” Her brow furrowed. “What demands?”

  He propped his head on his hand and smiled. “Oh, like, ‘More, Jay.’ And ‘Harder, Jay.’ And ‘don’t stop, Jay.’” He laughed under his breath at her look of astonishment. “You don’t even know you’re saying it, do you?”

  For a moment Katie thought her face had burst into flame. She opened and closed her mouth a time or two, but couldn’t find anything to say.

  Jay slid his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. “No, I love you just the way you are, and I don’t want to change anything about what we have together. Except … ”

  At the abrupt change of his tone from tender to solemn, her eyes stuttered to his face. He wore a look of profound surprise, and she touched his cheek, curious. “Except what?”

  He blinked and started to smile, a smile filled with such happiness that Katie’s heart skipped a beat. “Except that I want to marry you.”

  If she had been speechless before, it was nothing compared to her lack of words at his pronouncement. It was as if she’d forgotten how to speak, every word she’d ever known erased from her mind, and she could only gape up at him with wide eyes.

  His shoulders shook with a silent laugh. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” The question was phrased lightly, but Katie saw a flicker of uncertainty cross his face and forced her frozen synapses to fire so she could wipe that doubt from his mind.

  “How about … ” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to marry the hell out of you, Jay Carey.” She grinned at his nonplussed expression. “Does that work? Or how about, ‘More, Jay. Harder, Jay. Don’t stop, Jay.’” She pushed him to his back and rolled on top of him. “Or maybe, Yes, Jay. Yes, yes, yes. I love you, Jay. How’s that?”

  He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her down. “Don’t stop, Katie,”
he whispered against her lips. “Don’t ever stop.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Katie peered with fascination at the warm, sweet-smelling bundle Maureen had just placed in her arms. Lindsay Majors gazed up at her from his nest of blankets, looking as if he knew exactly who she was and what she was thinking. “Far out! He looks like he’s reading my mind.”

  “So does she,” said Jay, smiling at his own bundle containing Lindsay’s twin sister Miranda.

  The click and flash of a camera startled Katie. Nicky lowered the camera and grinned. “Both of you have the most extraordinary looks on your faces. Couldn’t resist.”

  Katie wrinkled her nose at him and turned to Jay seated next to her on the sofa. “Let me see yours.”

  Jay shifted Miranda with an ease and lack of nervousness Katie envied. He pushed the pink blanket back, revealing the interested gaze of the baby. “That’s your Auntie Kate.”

  The term caused Katie to jump and clutch the baby she held tighter, bringing a squawk of protest from Lindsay. “Oh, man, I’m sorry. Did I scare you?” With alarm, she saw Lindsay’s face turning red as he began to huff and wriggle. An enraged cry informed all present that he was not happy with the current turn of events.

  “Let me take him.” Jay settled Miranda in the crook of one arm and held the other out to Katie.

  With the care of one handling an armed bomb, she handed Lindsay to him. She shook her head in amazement when the baby’s cries ceased as if someone had turned off a switch. “How’d you do that?”

  Jay looked smug. “He knows I won’t put up with it. His sister’s gone to sleep, though.”

  Katie held out her arms. “Let me have her. I seem to do better with them when they’re unconscious.”

  Miranda’s tiny body rested with complete trust in her arms and Katie snuggled her close. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the huge swell of Maureen’s belly had produced two living, breathing little individuals. Smiling, she bent her head and placed a soft kiss on Miranda’s forehead at the spot where soft, dark hair whorled up from a tiny cowlick.