by Livia Grant
As it was now after noon on Tuesday and past his checkout time, he suspected the knocking on the door was the housekeeper, desperate to get in to clean the suite to prepare it for the next VIP.
Samantha clung to him harder the longer the knocking went on. He’d put on the deadbolt to ensure no one would inadvertently let themselves into their room.
“I need to get up and see who it is,” he finally said, reluctantly.
“No you don’t,” she hugged him tighter.
“Sami.”
“Jonah.” He could hear the emotion in her voice. “I don’t want you to leave.”
Shit, he understood. For the first time in his musical career, he dreaded having to leave for a concert. He’d already blown off stopping in New York to meet up with River and the rest of the band. He’d texted them to let them know he’d meet them in Boston in time for that night’s show. The crew had driven up over the weekend after Friday night’s Runway show and he didn’t look forward to being back on the tour bus that night.
He got a reprieve when the knocking stopped, but he knew it would be short lived. He’d put off talking about what came next, but they were out of time.
“We need to get up and shower. Frank will have a car downstairs waiting for me. I’ll have the driver drop you off at your apartment on the way to the airport.” He felt her trembling and suspected she was fighting off tears. He hugged her harder. “But I’m gonna call you as soon as I get to Boston. It’ll be too late to call you after the show and there’ll be a bunch of people around on the bus anyway, but I promise, I’ll call you as often as I can.”
He felt wet tears spilling onto his chest where Sami clung to him like a body pillow. He let her cry, trying to comfort her while swallowing a lump in his own damn throat.
Can I really walk away from her again?
Leaving her would be so different this time. He had a choice now. He wasn’t a scared teenager with no means to fight back. He wasn’t afraid the men in Sami’s life could hurt him again like they had last time he got too close. What scared him the most was that he knew she would soon have to choose between the men in her life. Despite being confident she’d choose him, he knew she’d be the collateral damage as the drama played out between Jonah and her family.
For years he’d survived on revenge when that was all he had to his name. Had Jonah doubted for one minute that he was in love with Samantha, his doubt was gone when he realized that her happiness meant more to him than exacting his own sweet revenge. That revelation left him confused. He prayed the next few weeks spent apart would help him sort through those complicated feelings.
They somehow made it through showering, silently clinging to each other as they let their soapy hands roam over the other’s body in an effort to memorize every inch to recall in their coming weeks apart. Jonah’s resolve wavered when she kissed his 9/11/01 tattoo, but he knew he had to be strong enough for both of them.
“It will only be three weeks,” he tried to reassure her. “We can make it three weeks.”
“And then what?” She pressured him for answers he didn’t have. “You finish on the twenty-third. Why can’t you meet me then?”
“We’ve been through this. I’m never stepping a foot in Texas again. Ever.” His tone was harsher than he’d intended and Samantha flinched.
“You still haven’t explained it to me.” He knew what she was asking, but he held his tongue.
He’d pieced together that the Stone men had fucked with Samantha as much as they had him. She still clung to the delusion that she came from Texas elite. Jonah hadn’t quite figured out how to explain to her exactly how corrupt the men in her family were. As soon as he left Samantha today, he’d be hiring the best private investigator he could find to get the newest dirt on his oldest enemies. He’d need all the facts before he broke Samantha’s heart.
“We’ll talk about it when I see you after Christmas. We need more time than we have now.”
“But,”
“Samantha.” His Dom voice did its magic. She didn’t push him further.
After the shower, they finally put on clothes. They’d been naked since arriving at the hotel late Sunday night. Since she had no other outfit with her, Sam was forced to put back on the jeans and frilly blouse she’d worn to Black Light.
They were at the door, ready to leave their private haven when panic hit Jonah. He stopped short, turning to Sam and seeing tears in her eyes. Despite her wet hair and having absolutely no make-up on, she took his breath away. Her vulnerability. Her trust in him. It was there, pouring out of her adorable face.
He couldn’t lose her again.
This time, it was Sam who comforted him with a wan smile on her lips. “Three weeks.” She said it like a promise.
He hadn’t expected Frank to be waiting outside their door. His manager sat on an uncomfortable looking chair looking pissed as hell.
Jonah could feel Samantha shrinking against his side when she saw they weren’t alone. He wrapped his arm around her to give her comfort and to signal to Frank to back the fuck up.
“There are over a dozen news outlets in the lobby and on the sidewalk outside of the entrance to the hotel. They sent cameras and reporters. The works,” Frank reported with a bit too much glee to suit Jonah.
“We’ll go out the back then,” Jonah reasoned.
Frank couldn’t hide his agitation. “Since when? This is publicity, Cash.”
“No, Frank. This is my life.”
“Since when are those two things separate?”
“Since today.” Jonah knew what he needed to do next. “Frank, you’ve met Samantha Stone.” Jaxson had shared with Jonah how poorly Frank had treated Sam backstage on opening night. He needed to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. “She is important to me. She’s to be protected at all costs.”
“Fine. Fine. But she still signs the NDA.”
“Nope.”
“But…”
Jonah separated from Sam and got in Frank’s face. “Let me be clear. No paperwork. No publicity stunts. Not with Sami.”
“Sami? We’re at the nickname stage already? It’s only been three fucking days.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. It’s been over fifteen years. She’s my oldest friend.”
Frank couldn’t hide his alarm. “Wait. Stone… as in…”
Jonah cut him off. “Enough. We’ll talk later. Now, can you get the car around to the back or do I need to order an Uber to meet us there?”
“Give me a few minutes,” he groused before pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and making a few calls.
Jonah pulled Samantha into his arms while they waited. He could feel her trembling. “Shhh. It’s gonna be okay, baby.”
“Promise?” she pleaded.
Fuck. Could he promise? Knowing the fight they’d have on their hands, he felt like an ass answering her confidently, “I promise.”
Five minutes later, the threesome was in the employee elevator on the way to the back exit of the luxury hotel. They were met by hotel security on the ground floor who helped them weave through the back of house corridors, exiting into the back alleyway next to the hotel loading dock.
Jonah held Samantha’s hand as they approached the limo with the smoke tinted windows. They were only a few feet away when the persistent photographer jumped from behind the nearby dumpster and started snapping photos like the paparazzi he was. Jonah jumped in front of Sam, shielding her as best he could, hoping to delay her being identified by the press as long as possible.
Only once they were safely inside the car did Frank yell to the driver to take off. Jonah pulled Samantha into his lap, both of them wanting to enjoy their last minutes together, at least for a few weeks.
Sensing they needed their privacy, Frank held his tongue as Jonah reassured Samantha one last time. “The next few weeks will fly by. You’ll see. You need to focus on catching up on the work you’ve missed and getting good grades on your finals in a few weeks.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. I never wanted to be a lawyer. I want to help people instead.”
Jonah chuckled. “Well, I don’t disagree that most lawyers don’t do much to help.” He paused, shooting his lawyer/manager a humorous grin. “But, I’m sure you could do a lot of great work to represent the shelter and other causes like it as a lawyer. Nonprofits always need good legal help.” He could see her processing that idea as they went through one of D.C.’s many roundabouts.
The drive to her apartment was too fast. They were already pulling up in front and the doorman was coming to open the door beside them before he could catch his breath. Jonah wished they had some privacy for their goodbyes.
She clung to him, only agreeing to get out when he offered to walk her to the door. They moved slowly as if walking to a funeral dirge. Once inside the small lobby, he held her close for one last hug.
“It’s going to be okay, Sami,” he reassured her.
“How do you know?” she questioned.
Jonah said the only words that mattered. “Because you love me, and…” their eyes met before he finished his sentence. “And, because I love you.”
His words brought renewed tears, but this time from joy. He loved the feeling of her body melting against him and for the briefest of moments, he considered canceling the concert that night. Only the sound of the doorman clearing his throat snapped him out of his wishful thinking. He had responsibilities. People counting on him. Fans who’d spent their money on tickets. Band members who needed their leader. No matter how much he personally wanted to run away, obligation won the day.
He leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose affectionately like he’d done dozens of times when they were kids. “I’ll call you when I land,” he promised.
Only when he was pulling away in the limo did he see the paparazzi across the street, waiting to pounce on Samantha when she left. So much for shielding her from being identified.
This complicates things.
Chapter 12
“I’ll have a latte, skinny.” Samantha placed her order with the waitress in the restaurant of the luxury hotel where she’d agreed to meet her new friend Emma Fischer.
This was the third time the women were having coffee in the two weeks since Jonah had left D.C. The two undercover security guards, one assigned to each of the women, shared their own cup of coffee at the table next to them while keeping their eyes and ears peeled for intruders.
Emma and Sam had learned their lesson at their first meeting at the local Starbucks just a few days after Jonah had left for Boston. Excerpts of their very private discussion that day had made it into the national gossip rags thanks to the industrious journalist who’d gone undercover as a fellow grad student, getting close enough to the women to snap a few grainy photos and record salacious details about their love lives with their A-list celebrity lovers. Ever since then, Jonah had insisted on a guard being with Sam at all times when she left her apartment. It was an inconvenience to be sure, but if it was the price to be in Jonah’s life, she didn’t mind.
Once the waitress delivered their drinks, the women enjoyed their first moment of privacy.
“I hope I’m not driving you crazy inviting you for drinks too often.” Samantha was letting her insecurities shine through.
“Are you kidding me? I’d meet every day if we could. You have no idea how nice it is to have someone who really gets it,” Emma countered, sipping her hot beverage gingerly.
Sam was so relieved to have someone to talk to who really did understand what she was going through. Emma, a grad student from Wisconsin, had been walking the same path Sam now found herself on for over a year. Not only could Emma share advice, but she could empathize when all Sam wanted to do at times was have someone listen.
Jonah had been true to his word, calling her daily. They’d spent hours talking about everything and nothing, just like they had in the old days. Yet, each day they hung up the call without discussing the eight-hundred pound gorilla that stood between them. They had yet to tackle the details around why he’d left seven years before, and the conspicuous avoidance placed a growing wedge between them that was beginning to feel insurmountable.
“We’ll be in Wisconsin for almost a week at my parents. How terrible is it that I’m dreading it?” Emma looked miserable as she shared her Christmas holiday plans.
“I thought you said your parents loved Jaxson and Chase?”
“That’s just it! They do all love each other and get along great. It’s just that… well…” Her friend blushed before continuing, “It’s a bit difficult to spend quality time together when we’re at my parent’s. If we aren’t helping Mom in the kitchen, Dad has the guys going out on hunting expeditions, or riding the ATV’s or cutting down the Christmas tree. And don’t get me started on the sleeping arrangements.”
“Do your parents worry about you considering how many stories the press put out about you, Jaxson, and Chase?” Samantha was more than a little curious.
“In the beginning, when the scandal after Jaxson’s father’s fundraiser broke out, sure. They weren’t crazy about their daughter’s name being dragged through the mud in conjunction with politics and even LGBT rights. Even now, activist groups still try to use our relationship as their poster child to draw attention to the lifestyle, both for it and against it.”
Samantha shuddered. “I can’t even imagine how my father would take news like that.”
“Yeah, it got a little tense there for a bit, but the guys have done so much to protect me from anything like that happening again that Mom and Dad adore them as much as I do. It also helped that the guys invited my parents to Europe last summer while we were in Rome for a few weeks. They spent quality time getting to know each other. I think Jaxson, especially, appreciates having parents around that aren’t whacko like his father.”
“You are so lucky,” Sam reminded her with envy.
“You’re right. I should just shut up. It could be so much worse.” Emma looked at her sympathetically. “So you still haven’t talked to your Dad about Jonah yet?”
Her heart rate went up just thinking about that confrontation coming as soon as she got home in less than two days. “Honestly, I’m surprised my dad hasn’t ripped into me already. I’m pretty sure the stories of Jonah and me are making national news. I keep waiting for him to confront me about it, but so far Dad hasn’t even mentioned knowing we’ve reunited.”
“Why do you think he won’t be happy?” Emma questioned, sipping her hot coffee.
“It’s complicated,” Sam replied, unsure where to even start.
“We love celebrities. The most simple things in life become complicated when they’re involved,” Emma reasoned.
Considering she now had a shadow to attend class or even have a cup of coffee, Sam had to agree with her friend. As she tried to formulate her answer, the truth was, Sam still didn’t really understand what had gone so terribly wrong seven years before either. She shared what she did know.
“My father never liked Jonah. I was too young to understand at the time. We lost my mom the year before Jonah moved to Texas. It started with Dad thinking he was protecting me from mixing with what he considered the wrong sort of crowd, but looking back, I think he was jealous of the influence I gave Jonah over me, even as a kid.”
Emma agreed. “Men can be so weird. My dad had a harder time accepting Jaxson especially for the same reason. Do you think they will argue when they see each other over the holiday?”
Renewed sadness hit Sam. “They won’t get the chance. Jonah refuses to step foot in the state of Texas he hates it so much. I’m flying home Friday and will spend through the day after Christmas with Dad before I fly out to meet Jonah in Colorado for some skiing. How terrible is it that I’m dreading going home and just want to spend the holiday with Jonah instead?”
Sam felt guilty even thinking that. Her dad,
Robert, didn’t have anyone left other than Sam and his brother, William. She worried that she would soon be forced to choose between the two men in her life and wished more than anything it didn’t need to be like that.
“It’s only natural. You’ve been separated from Jonah for a long time. Of course you want to spend time with him. How old were you again when he left Texas?”
“I was a sophomore. He was a senior. Our last date was the night of his senior prom.” Sam blushed at the memories of that night. She glossed over them, giving Emma only the highlights. “He left right after his senior year. He’d never hidden his dream of starting a band, but I just couldn’t believe he’d leave without staying in touch, or at least saying goodbye.” Familiar anger stirred as she remembered her confrontation with her father a few months after Jonah had left. “I wouldn’t let it drop. I knew he wouldn’t just leave like that. My dad and uncle finally admitted that they’d offered Jonah fifty thousand dollars to help him get the band started if he’d leave town and never come back.”
Emma whistled in surprise. She sat in silence, unsure how to respond.
Sam had never, not once, said those words out loud. Hearing them made the pain flood back, but this time, the ache felt different. As a kid, she’d placed most of the blame on her parent, giving Jonah a pass for not being able to resist what was a life changing amount of money for a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.
Today, seven years later, she was finding it hard not to resent his celebrity status, knowing he’d chosen it over her all those years ago. Panic gripped her as she realized confronting her father wasn’t the only uncomfortable conversation in her near future. She and Jonah would need to have a long talk about why he’d chosen fame and money over her if they had any hope of making it for the long haul.
“Needless to say, things were rocky between me and Dad there for a while, but eventually he wore me down and I forgave him, knowing Jonah hadn’t been forced to take the money. It was his choice, only now…” Sam stalled, playing self-consciously with the sugar packets on the table to avoid making eye contact with her friend.