Anything But Mine

by Taryn Elliott

  She pressed her forehead to the ladder step. “Dammit.”

  The bell over the door jangled. She didn’t even have to look up to know it was him. The air in the room became charged and her skin buzzed. She was a mess, and he was there. And the only part she seemed to care about was that he was there with her. She’d told him she would find him. Instead, she’d been hiding here in her shop.

  Nic sauntered over to him, taking special care to throw an exaggerated sway in her hips. “Well, hello there, Mr. King.”

  Logan smiled. “Nichole, right?”

  She crossed her arms. “Good memory.”

  “Always.”

  Nic cocked out a hip. “So, tell me…what are your intentions?”

  “Excuse me?”

  Bella winced. Just what she needed, Nic playing the role of a judgy mother-type. She scrubbed her hands over her face. Grit, dust, and dirt coated her hands. She couldn’t see him like this. She rushed over to the sink near their small coffee area.

  She lathered up, splashing water higher on her arms to get the streaks of sweat and dirt off.

  “Did you sic your guard dog on me?”

  Bella jumped when his hands landed on her hips.

  “It’s just me.”

  “Logan, I’m filthy.”

  He drew her back against him and buried his nose into the back of her hair. “What is that smell. It’s like outdoors and…yet not really.”

  She leaned on the basin. “Beeswax.” The single least sexy smell on the planet.

  He nipped the skin at the nape of her neck. “Ah, that’s it. You smell like books. High end books. Like my library after Mrs. Nelson comes to attack it with her arsenal of supplies.”

  She tipped her head forward as his thumbs drew little circles at the base of her spine. As if he knew just how tight her muscles were.

  “Books have never given me a hard-on before.” He crowded in on her. “Is it wrong that I want to drag you into the stacks and slip inside you again? Maybe I shouldn’t tell you that my California King bed was incredibly empty without you there.”

  “Logan.”

  “I do love how you say my name. That voice—it’s going to follow me around all day while I’m doing interviews. And when they ask me why I’m grinning like an idiot, what do I tell them?”

  She twisted in his arms. “You wouldn’t. We just started…whatever this is.”

  He dragged the back of a knuckle up her neck, then along the curve of her chin until she was a breath away from his mouth. Instead of kissing her, he steered his mouth to just behind her ear. “So, I shouldn’t tell them that the head of the committee makes this little noise in her throat when I hit just the right spot?”

  The wisp of tongue followed by a lazy nuzzle made her shiver and groan.

  “There it is. I love that sound.”

  She pushed him back. “You should be in rehearsal.”

  “Security is doing their thing. We’re doing a final run-through in an hour.”

  “So you thought you’d come down here for what? A quickie?”

  The corner of his mouth lifted and a hint of a dimple flashed. “No, but if you’re offering.”

  “No, I am not. I’m a sweaty mess.”

  He drew a figure eight along the dip of her spine. “We can be a sweaty mess together. Then I can wash your back.”

  “I have a million things to do before noon.”

  “Take a break.” He flicked his tongue along her lower lip.

  She peered over his shoulder where Adam and Nic were taking care of a trio of customers. More would be coming in. Nic caught her eye and widened hers. Then nodded toward the stairs.

  Bella groaned. “I’m a responsible member of society.”

  “I brought two condoms. Totally responsible.”

  She laughed and pushed him into the hallway that led to her stairs. She totally shouldn’t be bringing him to her apartment. Then his scent would be there. There was no turning back once memories were locked into her space.

  He was the first man in her bed since she’d moved to town.

  God, she wasn’t sure she could do this. She turned to him at the threshold of her personal space and the store. When he smiled at her, the crinkles fanning around his green eyes and the wicked eyebrow were really hard to resist. She jammed the lever down for her door and the pulley system came alive. He backed her inside and hauled the door closed for her.

  Too late.

  It was done. He was there. Ripped to hell jeans with wear spots in all the right places. A simple washed out V-neck hugged his chest and shoulders.

  He cupped her jaw and the thin leather strips that made up two inches of braided leather around his wrist, brushed her skin. She turned her face into his palm and the little metal charms clamped to the ends jangled at her ear.

  Such a basic part of Logan King, the musician. She’d seen the cuff a million times in pictures, but to actually see it up close? It was a little slice of reality that made her heart pound.

  He wasn’t just some guy. He was an incredibly wealthy, famous singer. The barn would be filled with screaming fans that came for him tonight.

  “Where’d you go?”

  She blinked up at him and forced a smile to bend her lips. “I’m here.”

  “No, you were here a second ago.” He pushed the little pins from her hair and framed her face. “Come back to me.” He licked over her lips and sealed their mouths in a searching, overwhelming kiss.

  She went up on her toes and matched him stroke for stroke, until they were gasping for breath.

  He laughed down at her. “There. That’s my Izzy.” Sunlight turned his dark blond hair golden. Freckles glowed from his skin and she found the little trio of them that bled through the distracting full lower lip.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and sucked it into her mouth, as he hoisted her up into his arms. She heard the thud of his boots a second before her butt hit the bed.

  She kicked her ballerina flats off as he dragged up her shirt and latched his mouth to her nipple, sucking her through the lace and silk of her bra. He flipped the cups up, pushing the heavy curve of each breast together. His eyes never left hers as he sucked each one into his mouth. The pressure was so close to pain until he let each one free with a pop.

  Again, and again, he did it until she was writhing beneath him. He licked along the full undersides and then lower to her ribcage. His fingertips scraped down her belly, the tiny callouses abraded her skin. With open mouth kisses he swirled his tongue around her belly button and peeled open the snap and zipper of her pants.

  She bowed under him. She’d been working in the store all morning. This was not the time to go down for a Logan foreplay special. She caught his chin and dragged him up to her mouth. “It’s been a long, hot morning.”

  He laughed and made a return trip, dragging her panties and pants off together. He pushed her legs open and used the widest part of his tongue to lick her from slit to hood. “Perfection,” he said and repeated the slow, maddening strokes of his tongue.

  She grabbed for the headboard, but her fingers just glanced off. For once, she wished for a slatted headboard. How else could she hold out against the sparklers going off behind her eyelids?

  Every time she tried to hold back, to keep something for herself, Logan demanded just that little bit more. He jammed his shoulders against her thigh to gain complete access, then tasted every swollen fold. Between his tongue and fingers, he filled her until she could do nothing but hold on and experience him.

  She gripped his hair and managed to temper a scream. His hands slid under her ass and she could feel each fingertip dent her flesh as he tipped her up into his mouth. With each thrust of his tongue, he teased her.

  Not enough, dammit.

  She wanted that fullness. The way he owned every part of her when he slid inside of her. She remembered that. Wanted it again.

  “Logan. Inside me.”

  He looked up at her, his mouth shiny from her as he drew
the side of his thumb through her wetness and coated her clit as he drew a tight figure-eight pattern through her folds then up to her clit and back around to start again. Relentlessly pushing her higher.

  She hissed.

  She was one huge, exposed nerve. But he didn’t give her that little bit to push her over. Instead he just kept her there, on the edge as he watched her.

  Never one to be passive, she cupped her breasts, twisting the tips. A flutter of excitement made her thighs quiver. “Yes.”

  Logan’s eyes dilated and his tongue went from lazy to a controlled burn. She curled into herself as the orgasm she’d been chasing leapt out and rolled her under. Logan climbed up her body and she heard the crinkle of plastic then he was there.

  She wrapped her legs and arms around him as he surged into her. Slapping skin and a symphony of words flowed between them, nonsensical and demanding. He hooked her knee over his shoulder and then he was impossibly deeper.

  Splitting her apart.

  She grabbed onto his arms, his shoulders, his hips. Whatever she could hold onto as she took each deep stroke of his cock inside of her. He cupped her jaw, his thumb brushed across her cheek as he scraped his teeth down her mouth to her chin then back up to kiss her roughly.

  When his thumb slid down to her throat and he gently held her down, she whimpered.

  “Izzy,” he said gruffly. “Izzy, mine.”

  She arched and broke. His voice catching up to the pleasure she’d been chasing. She folded around him as he pummeled her body. The slap of his balls against her ass as he hammered inside of her left her in pieces. His pieces. She pushed her face into his neck, breathing him in as he went from long, powerful thrusts to frenzied.

  She kissed her way up the column of his throat to his stubbled chin and finally found his mouth. “That was supposed to be a quickie, not a destroy-Bella-so-she-can’t-work-the-rest-of-the-day kind of deal.”

  “You mean destroy, Izzy.”

  She couldn’t stop the smile.

  “Izzy, mine,” he said gently. His eyes fierce.

  “Yours,” she answered.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Logan leaned back and took care of the condom, reaching for a tissue from her bedside table. What he should have done was slide off the bed and say something funny. That was the plan.

  Keep it light. Make her laugh.

  But her flushed face and all that midnight hair spread across her pillow lured him back in. He drew her up, off the mattress until she was draped over his legs. Her topaz eyes burned with pleasure. The possessiveness taking root inside him seemed to echo there in her eyes.

  “A weekend isn’t enough,” he said against her mouth. “Not nearly enough.”

  She teased her nails down his beard and deepened the kiss. “No.” There was a world of confession there in her eyes, but she closed them before he could find the answers he was looking for.

  No, she wasn’t going to give him more? Or no, she was agreeing with him. Not nearly enough time. His watch chimed and he growled.

  Her eyes slitted open. “Time to be a grown-up?”

  “I thought we just did some pretty grown-up activities.”

  She laughed. “You bet we did. And after the show, we’ll do it again.”

  “Tonight?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “All night.”

  He grazed his teeth down her chin to her neck, then back up to her mouth. “Now that’s the best incentive I’ve had in a damn long time.”

  “I aim to please.”

  The sparkle in her eyes pushed out the heaviness in his chest from a few moments ago. He wasn’t sure when he’d gone from wanting to get inside of her, to wanting her tied to him. Maybe it had been that very first time. But now, surrounded by her scents and colors, he knew it was simply Izzy. One time or one hundred, she already owned him.

  He tried to move, but denim and leather dug into his thighs. “Son of a bitch.” He shook his head. Again, he didn’t even get his damn pants all the way off before he’d gotten inside of her. He stepped off her bed and hiked up his jeans and stuffed his feet into his boots.

  She curled into the middle of the bed, a huge pillow blocking her from him. “I’ve never actually had a nooner.” She twisted her watch. “All right, more like a tener. Whatever.”

  “Next time,” he kneeled onto the bed and stroked her naked hip, “we’re both getting all the way naked. And there will be mac and cheese for dessert.”

  She tucked her chin into the pillow so only her eyes and a fringe of bangs were showing. “Big, bad, rich rock star likes box mac and cheese as his after sex treat?”

  He raised a brow. “Problem with that?”

  Her eyes crinkled over the edge. “I’ve got a five pack in my cupboard.”

  “Perfect.” He rolled her onto her back with a groan. “Salty and perfect, just like you.”

  She stretched her arms over her head. “Sounds divine.”

  God, in a minute she’d be purring. She was all soft and still flushed from his touch. He leaned down and licked the diamond pattern of freckles along the side of her breast. He nipped her lightly and she hissed.

  “I’m supposed to be leaving.” He moved, sucking her nipple hard. When she gripped the back of his head, he circled the point with the tip of his tongue. He drew his hand down the middle of her, over her ribs and the slope of her belly to the completely bare lips of her pussy.

  He’d tasted every inch of her and wanted more. He turned his hand and hooked two fingers between her folds, groaning at how wet she was.

  His phone trilled out a text reminder as well as another clash of bells. “Dammit.”

  She closed her legs around his hand. “No.”

  He leaned over her. “No?”

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  He licked over the seam of her mouth and tangled with her tongue. She tasted of wild wind and cinnamon. How he’d gone so long without kissing her, he’d never know. With a groan he made himself lighten the kiss and pull back, both mouth and hand.

  She trailed her fingers along the nape of his neck. “Who came up with the whole adulthood thing? Let’s run away to an island that doesn’t have cell towers or Wi-Fi. Pure hedonism for a month.”

  He growled. “Don’t tempt me, woman.”

  She laughed and pushed at his shoulders and followed him off the bed. The sweet sway of her breasts and all that tanned flesh in the sunlight was going to kill him. She grabbed her robe from a crazy patterned purple chair and tugged it on. “Out. Go. I need a shower and to make sure everyone’s ready for the show tonight. Thanks to you and Cam I have two stages to keep track of.”

  He dragged her against him. “Will you be able to come by the barn tonight?”

  She toyed with the charm of his necklace. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Good.” Relief hit him harder than he thought it would. He’d been able to focus on the set-up, the artists, and putting one foot in front of the other. Now, there was the show. He twisted the silk of her robe. What if he froze up? The intimate cluster of people had always been the lure, but what if she was there again? What if it became like every other show?

  “Hey.” She raised her hand to his face and swiped a thumb over his cheek. “Leave the worrying to me. Your people know that setlist backwards and forwards. This is supposed to be fun.”

  He nodded, hating that she’d seen through him. He brought her palm to his lips before stepping away. “Don’t worry about me. This is old hat.”

  She tipped her head. “Of course.”

  He bent and picked up his shirt, pulling it over his head as he walked toward her door. He stopped at the lever of the huge metal door and turned. Worry filled her gaze, so he added a smile. “I’ll be looking for you in the crowd.”

  “You better.”

  He slid the door closed behind him and rushed down the stairs. Luckily Nic and Adam were busy with customers, so he could slip out without explaining…well, anything.

  When his
pocket buzzed again, he dug out his phone. Three missed calls and four texts as well as a half dozen reminders. He hopped into his truck, stuffed his sunglasses on his face, and pulled out into traffic. Between the pedestrians and cars on the road, he’d have been better off walking up to the barn.

  The festival didn’t officially start until four in the afternoon, but vendors setting up and curious townspeople meant a town overrun. The local stores were doing a booming business and the park was overflowing with foot traffic.

  He grinned at the little girl pushing a stroller that had a doll sitting where she should be. Harried parents flanked her, steering her correctly. Logan nodded at Cam who waved from the main stage. His gaze flitted from person to person, absorbing faces, discarding others.

  A long stretch of canvass was being papered against the side of the drug store. His face dominated the space. It was a concert shot with him in full gear. Whomever had edited the picture had gone a little crazy with a fade of smoke. It was striking and felt like another person.

  How long had it been since he’d been like that on stage? So present and fierce looking? The last few pictures he’d seen of himself had been so vacant. He was so tired of being missing in his own life.

  A flash of auburn hair in a severe short cut sucked him back into the moment. She was there? He scanned the faces, but couldn’t find her again. Had he been imagining it?

  A horn blare behind him got him moving again. He pulled off to the side and jumped out of the truck, tucking his sunglasses into the front of his shirt. Angry horns turned into a cacophony of noise. The crowd of people started pushing in on him.

  “Is that Logan King?”

  “Oh, my God. Can I have a picture?”

  Logan twirled around, but there was no Aimee in the crush of people. Earnest faces in every age range surrounded him. The flash bulbs from cameras and phones added to the repeated blasts of horns.

  Where was she?

  His heart raced. The pounding behind his eyeballs funneled all the sounds down to white noise.

  “Logan.”

  The grasp of a hand on his shoulder had him swinging around with a raised fist.