Rise: The Interlude (Black Hearts Still Beat Book 2)

by L A Cotton

  “It’s real,” I growled, plunging my tongue into her mouth as I rocked into her. Slow, precise thrusts, imagining it was real, that I was buried deep inside her.

  “I need more,” Eva panted, her breath warm against my lips as she fumbled with my belt and then my buttons. Her hand dipped inside my boxer briefs and wrapped around my hard length.

  “Jesus, Eva,” I hissed as she began to stroke me. “I didn’t want our second time to be like this.”

  “I want it to be exactly like this,” she murmured, clinging to me as she jacked me off.

  “Easy...” I let out a tight chuckle as I felt myself begin to lose control. She felt too fucking good, and I didn’t want it to be over too quickly.

  Pulling her hand free, I pinned it against the wall beside her head. “My turn.” I smirked, lowering her legs to the floor. Sinking to my knees, I trailed my hands down her waist and thighs, and then pushed them back up taking her skirt with them.

  “Rafe, what are you—” she choked on the words as I nuzzled my face into her panties. Her hands went to my hair, tugging gently as I eased back to slowly inch the material down her legs. “I’m going to kiss you here.” I pressed my lips to the soft skin on her inside leg. “And here.” My fingers gently brushed her stomach as my mouth traced a path to the apex of her thighs. Darting my tongue out, I tasted her, brushing slow circles over her clit, making Eva writhe above me. Her fingers dug harder as I added a finger, pressing it inside her and curling it upward, sending her into a tailspin.

  It was cruel and selfish, but I didn’t want her to come, not like this, not when I couldn’t see right into her eyes, into her soul. Tasting her one last time, I pulled away and stood up, kissing her hard and deep, letting her taste herself on me.

  “You’re a tease.” Eva was flushed, her eyes glittering with desire.

  “I need to be inside you when you come, Eva.” It came out hoarse, my body shaking with need.

  She slammed her hands against my chest and pushed me backward until the backs of my legs hit an abandoned chair. Eva worked my jeans down my legs before pushing me again. I dropped onto the chair, pulling her down with me. “Condom?” she said between kisses. Wet. Hot. Clumsy kisses.

  I cupped her face, staring her dead in the eye. “I haven’t been with anyone since you.”

  Eva’s eye fluttered closed, the weight of my confession wrapping around us both. When they opened again, I saw nothing but pure emotion. With no more words spoken between us, Eva leaned in to kiss me as she gently sank down on me, rocking her hips in a slow torturous rhythm.

  “You feel perfect,” I ground out, barely able to think, overloaded with sensation. Curving a hand around her back, I brought Eva closer. My lips traced letters of love over her skin, nipping and sucking while my other hand dug into the perfect swell of her hip.

  This, her, it was everything. The way she gave herself to me and trusted me to love her. We hadn’t said the words, but I knew what I felt and Evangeline Star Walker was put on Earth for me to love. No one would understand it though. Our business, the industry, didn’t want a true love story. It wanted scandal and sex tapes, stories that sold records and movies and improved ratings.

  Sliding my hand up her spine, I cupped the back of Eva’s neck, pressing my forehead to hers. I wanted to be as close to her as possible, to go as deep as possible. She rolled her hips faster as I rocked against her, the sounds of our quiet moans filling the room.

  “Rafe, I can feel you everywhere.” Her words were choppy, her breaths coming in short sharp bursts, as we both raced toward the edge.

  “Do you feel me here?” I dropped a hand to her breastbone, right where her heart lay. “Do you feel me in here?”

  Eva gasped, her body trembling as she hurtled over the edge, crying my name in a soft symphony. She tried to melt against me, but I held her there, kissing her with everything that I had. Tongues and teeth and silent vows. It was enough to send me soaring into the atmosphere as white hot pleasure shot down my spine.

  “Fuck,” I moaned, slowing my movements to nothing. Eva caught her breath, pressing her cheek to mine.

  “This changes everything, doesn’t it?” she murmured.

  “Yeah.” Dread began to seep into my chest, blotting out the pure ecstasy I felt. “Yeah, it does.”

  Eva

  Rafe held me against him tightly, as if he thought I might disappear at any second. As if he wanted to savor the moment, not knowing when we might get another.

  “We should get back to the party.” I stood up and straightened my skirt before trying to smooth my hair. I could still feel Rafe everywhere, and I wanted nothing more than to disappear to a hotel with him and spend all night wrapped in his arms. But I knew it was one dream that wouldn’t come true, so I pushed the feelings down, focusing only on this moment.

  “Wait a second.” He pulled me back down, kissing me. “I wish things could be different, Eva. I wish I could walk out there with you and declare you mine for all to see.”

  “But you won’t do that to your band, to Levi.” Guilt flashed in Rafe’s eyes and I knew I was right. Only I couldn’t help but wonder who he felt most guilty toward—me, for choosing Levi; or Levi, for choosing me.

  “Levi doesn’t want me, Rafe, it’s not like that between us.”

  “He’d still see it as a betrayal,” Rafe let out a pained sigh. Tipping his head back, he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. I could feel his torment and all I wanted to do was take it away. To carry it as my own.

  I leaned in, kissing just above his Adam’s apple. “Tell me what to do, Rafe. Do you want me to walk away? To forget that this feels right.” I pressed my hand to his chest, right where his heart lay, and his hand covered mine.

  “I thought I could give you up.” His eyes dropped to mine, dark, stormy, and full of so much emotion my breath caught. “I can’t.” Rafe leaned in, touching his head to mine, breathing me in. “I can’t walk away.”

  “It’s okay,” I offered, bringing my hands to his face. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “Eva, I—” A loud knock on the door startled me.

  “It’s Travis,” Rafe said grimly. “We need to go.”

  “I’ll go first?” My stomach knotted at the thought of leaving him, of going back out there and pretending I didn’t care. But our time was up.

  He gave me a tight nod, dropping a quick kiss on my lips. “See you soon.”

  I gave myself a second to calm my racing pulse and run a hand through my no-doubt disheveled curls, before hurrying to the door and slipping out of the room. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to see Rafe’s face in the darkness. The guilt and regret and longing.

  “Eva,” Travis said. “Ms. Castiel is looking for you.”

  “Thanks, Travis.” I knew I was blushing, but Travis knew what we’d been doing. “And thank you for…”

  He nodded, his face a mask of indifference. Then he cleared his throat. “It’s probably not my place to say this, Eva—”

  “So don’t.” I smiled. “I appreciate your concern, I do. But things with me and Rafe are complicated. I’m grateful for your discretion, Travis.”

  “Understood.” Travis accompanied me back into the club where Letty ambushed me.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  “I went to the restroom and then needed some air. Why, what happened?”

  “Levi got into it with some guy.”

  “Is he okay?” Dread snaked through me.

  “He’ll live, but the other guy got a little bloodied up. Damon and Hudson left with him already, and Alistair is trying to smooth things over with the guy. We need to leave.”

  “Yeah, okay.” My thoughts were running a mile a minute.

  Letty scanned the club. “Have you seen Rafe? He wasn’t with the guys. I thought he might be with—”

  “Hey.” He approached us. “What’s up?”

  “Levi threw a fit and now we all have to bail.”

  “Fuck,” R
afe pressed the heel of his palm to his head. “They already left?”

  Letty nodded but she seemed distracted, watching Rafe a little too closely. “Where were you?” she asked him.

  “I… Kiki Felps. She wouldn’t leave me alone, so I told her I had an emergency and went to get some air with Fenton.”

  “Air, huh.” Her eyes slid to mine, glittering with suspicion.

  “We should go,” I pointed out.

  As we left the club, Letty stopped to discuss something with Riley. She looked stressed, hovering behind Alistair as he dealt with the aftermath of Levi’s meltdown. I peeked over at Rafe as we piled into the SUV, but his eyes were hard, focused only on the road. Dejection burned through me, but I knew he felt guilty for being with me when Levi had lost it, because part of me felt guilty too. I inched my fingers across the leather until they brushed Rafe’s. His body sagged into the seat as he let his fingers graze mine right back.

  “Shit.” The sound of Letty’s voice made me snatch my hand away and shove it underneath my thigh. “There’s a grainy video.”

  “Already?”

  “Someone posted it on social media. I need to call PR.” Her fingers flew across the screen and then her cell blared to life.

  “Is this bad?” I whispered to Rafe.

  “It’s not good, but it’s nothing we haven’t experienced a hundred times already. PR will kill the video and issue an apology and the world will keep on turning.”

  “What do you think happened?”

  “Any number of things. My brother has a long list of triggers.” He finally gave me his eyes. “I just need to get to him.”

  These brothers. These complicated confusing brothers.

  The minutes seemed to drag on, but finally, the hotel came into view. Travis parked around the back and we slipped in through the service entrance. Letty was still talking to PR as security ushered us into the elevator. She covered the mouthpiece and said, “Go to the band’s suite, and I’ll be there soon, okay?”

  “But—”

  “We got it, Letty,” Rafe said. “Go do your thing.” They shared a look and my assistant took off down the hall and the doors closed.

  The pit in my stomach grew and grew. But it wasn’t until we stepped off the elevator that I knew something was wrong.

  Really wrong.

  I could hear screaming, glass shattering, and more raised voices.

  “Maybe I should escort Eva back to her suite,” Travis suggested, but Rafe let out an exasperated breath and said, “She comes with me.”

  He took my elbow and guided me down the hall. “I’m sorry you have to see this, Eva.” The regret in his voice made my heart ache. I didn’t want him to have to hide from me, to conceal the truth about Levi. But nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I found when we stepped into the suite.

  “Stay right here,” Rafe said before he moved deeper into the room. Shards of glass were littered over the floor like a blanket of fresh ice. Furniture was overturned, and cushions were strewn everywhere.

  “CALM THE FUCK DOWN,” someone yelled, startling me. Hudson, I think.

  “You didn’t fucking hear the things he said, so don’t tell me to calm the fuck down. That fucker wanted to hurt her, he wanted to—” Something crashed against the wall, reverberating through the room.

  “Levi,” that was Rafe.

  “You. Where the fuck were you, huh, little brother?” Levi sneered.

  “I’m here now, talk to me, tell me what happened.”

  I didn’t mean to, but I found myself moving through the suite, drawn to the desperation in Levi’s voice. The pain.

  “That fucking asshole pushed me, he started talking all this shit and I couldn’t listen to it, I couldn’t hear him saying those things.”

  “What things? What was he saying?”

  “Eva.” My name echoed around the room, hitting me right in my chest and stealing the air from my lungs.

  Levi was like this because of… me?

  “Eva,” Rafe sounded wary. “What does Eva have to do with any of this?”

  I’d reached the door to the bedroom they were all in. Inching closer, I peered inside. Damon saw me first, shaking his head gently, his eyes silently telling me to retreat. I froze, my eyes widening, when they landed on Levi. Blood splattered his shirt and his knuckles were split open. His gaze snapped to mine, and his nostrils flared. “You brought her here?” he spat at Rafe. “YOU FUCKING BROUGHT HER HERE?”

  A mask of fury washed over him as he homed in on his brother. “Levi,” I said calmly. “Look at me.”

  Damon moved slowly toward me, but I ignored him, focusing on Levi. “What happened tonight?”

  “It doesn’t concern you,” he ground out. “You need to leave.”

  “I’m not leavin’.” I took a step forward. “You’re hurt.”

  His eyes dropped to his hand and he shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

  “It doesn’t look like nothin’. Why don’t you let me clean it up and you can tell me what happened at the club?”

  Levi looked like a caged animal ready to bolt. I had no idea what I was doing but I knew I couldn’t just walk away and leave him. Not when he was in so much anguish.

  “Is there a first aid kit around here?” I asked no one in particular.

  “I’ll get one,” Damon said, obviously satisfied I had no intentions on leaving, or that Levi was stable enough for me to be around.

  “Can I take a look?” I edged closer to Levi.

  “You should go, Eva. I’m too amped up and I don’t want to—”

  “You won’t hurt me.” Reaching for him, I took his injured hand in mine. Levi flinched at the initial contact but soon relaxed into my touch. “Come sit on the bed,” I said. “It’ll be easier for me to clean it.”

  “I don’t know about anyone else,” Hudson said. “But I need a drink. You two good?” His eyes went to Levi, but I answered, “He’s fine, aren’t you?”

  Levi’s eyes narrowed with confusion, as if he couldn’t understand why I was being like this, why I was trying to care for him. Whatever had happened to him growing up had left scars so deep I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand.

  “It doesn’t look too deep.” I inspected the wound. “Rafe, get me a clean damp towel?” Our eyes met and he swallowed. I knew this had to be hard for him, watching me attend to his brother, especially after everything he’d said earlier. But I had to do this.

  I couldn’t explain it, but something deep inside told me this was the right thing to do.

  “You should see the other guy’s face.” Levi attempted to make a joke, but it came out strangled.

  “He was pretty bloodied up. Did it make you feel better?”

  He shrugged again. “For a second. I liked the feel of my knuckles crunching against his nose. But now, now it doesn’t feel so good.”

  Rafe came back and handed me the towel. “Do you want me to stay?”

  I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or his brother, so I let Levi answer. “We’re good,” he said.

  “I’ll be in the living room.” They shared a long look, and I wondered how many times they had done this routine. How often Rafe had to watch his brother lose his cool, and then try to pick up the pieces.

  “This might sting.” I pressed the towel to his hand but Levi didn’t even flinch.

  “I’m tired,” he mumbled. “So fucking tired.”

  “It shouldn’t take too long. Here, hold this a second.” His hand brushed mine as he took over.

  “Found it.” Damon appeared holding up a first aid kit. “If you need anything else, I’ll have to call down to reception.

  “We should be good, thank you.”

  He gave me a small nod before backing up to give me some room. I dug out some gauze and tape. “Ready?”

  Levi nodded, his eyes growing heavy. He’d been so wild when we’d gotten here, riding the crest of an angry wave, but now he was crashing toward the shore.

  “What happened at the clu
b, Levi?” I asked as I worked to wrap his knuckles.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “I think it does. I heard you say my name.”

  “You weren’t supposed to hear that.” He toyed with his lip piercings. On a regular day, Levi Hunter was a force to be reckoned with. Dark. Moody. Skin covered in metal and ink. But tonight, he seemed childlike. Vulnerable and volatile.

  “I know what I signed on for.” I went on. “I know sometimes people will say horrible things about me, and I’m okay with that. You can’t go around hittin’ people to defend my honor, Levi.”

  “It wasn’t like,” he scoffed but I saw the flash of regret in his eyes. “He wanted to bait me, and he used you to do it.”

  Silence settled over us as I finished bandaging his hand. My handiwork left a little to be desired but it would do. “There, all done.” I patted his hand and then started cleaning up. Levi kicked off his boots and swung his legs up on the bed, scooting back against the headboard.

  “Feelin’ better?” I asked him with a smile.

  “Will you hate me if I say I still want to pound the guy’s face in?”

  His words made me wince. Perching on the edge of the bed, I looked him right in the eye and said, “You were just startin’ to grow on me; don’t ruin it now.”

  Laughter rumbled in his chest as he folded his arms behind his head. “So, Miss Evangeline Star Walker, how’s it feel being a big superstar now?”

  “It’s a work in progress.” I kicked off my boots and joined Levi on the bed. It was king size so there was plenty of space between us. “It feels like I’ve been here forever, and yet, it’s barely been a week.”

  “Don’t tell the guys,” he lowered his voice to a whisper. “But I think I like you the most.”

  My eyes flicked to the door where Rafe and the guys sat just on the other side. Guilt coiled around my heart. He was out there, and I was in here, with his brother. But I didn’t feel like that toward Levi. Sure, I felt a strange desire to protect him and be there for him, but that’s all it was. And despite his wicked smirks and innuendo and flirtations, Levi didn’t give off the wrong vibes either.