Saved by the Music (Saints & Sinners Book 2)

by Kaithlin Shepherd

  “I want you naked.” Her words fueled the all-consuming need building inside him.

  “Well now, we wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

  The fiery look in her eyes was a reflection of the hungry one on his face as he stripped out of his shirt and tossed it on the floor. Her eyes never left his body and he loved the way she was looking at him, like she couldn’t get enough either. He unbuttoned his jeans and heard her gasp as he unzipped them and shrugged them off.

  “Do you always go commando, Mr. Brooks?”

  He loved that she wasn’t shying away from looking at him as he stood there completely naked and painfully hard at the sight of her still fully dressed.

  “If it means you’ll look at me the way you are right now, I’ll go commando every fucking day, baby. Now you’re the one who’s overdressed.” The need to feel her come undone on his tongue was overwhelming, the uncontrollable urge to taste her undeniable. He had to get her naked, and fast.

  He grabbed the hem of her shirt and slowly pulled it over her breasts, pressing kisses on every inch of skin he exposed, her heart beating faster and faster as he reached her chest. He teased her with his tongue and lips before throwing her shirt on the floor and taking her bra with it. Wrapping his mouth around one nipple, he alternated between the two, loving the way her whole body arched under him. She was so fucking beautiful.

  “Shit, Sam, please don’t stop.”

  Stop? Fuck, I wouldn’t be able to stop even if I wanted to.

  He slid her jeans and panties off, kissing and licking the inside of her thighs, loving the little sounds she made as he traced his way down her legs.

  “Baby, I’m just getting started. Just lie back and let me make you come. Let me hear my name on your lips.” He took his sweet-ass time teasing her, licking and biting, running his tongue over her hip bone. She was squirming by the time he licked her pussy top to bottom; she tasted like sweet honey, and he wanted to bottle her up. “You taste so fucking good.”

  He grabbed her hips to keep her still as he licked and sucked on her clit. She was pushing up against his face, using his hair to bring him closer and deeper. This woman had no inhibitions when it came to sex, and he fucking loved it. He watched her body’s reaction to everything he was doing, then slid two fingers inside her as he bit down hard on her clit. She bucked her hips and was screaming his name so loud he knew his instinct hadn’t been wrong. His sex kitten liked a little pain, and he’d always be the one to give it to her.

  “Oh, God, that feels so good. Do it again.”

  So he did, while still fucking her with his fingers.

  She was squeezing him so tight he could barely move but he kept finger-fucking her. When he gave her clit one final lick, she shattered all over his tongue, screaming his name while thrashing and squirming on the bed. He kept licking her, slowly, as she rode her orgasm. When her whole body went limp, he pulled himself over her, still tasting her on his lips. It was intoxicating.

  “You’re a wild one, Miss Daniels, and I fucking love it.” He kissed her and she moaned, making his dick twitch. He needed to be inside her more than he needed his next breath.

  “Only for you, Mr. Brooks… I’ve never felt like this before, like I’m going to die if I don’t feel you inside me.” She grabbed his ass, pulling him to her, and he knew she needed this as much as he did.

  He slid off her and reached for the drawer of his nightstand. He took out a roll of condoms but before he could grab one, Ashlee reached for a packet and ripped it open with her teeth. He just stood there, frozen by the sight of her getting ready to cover him up.

  “Come over here, Sam.” She motioned him over with her fingers, and he moved closer to her on the bed.

  When she put the condom in her mouth and lowered her body so she had his cock in her face, he thought he was going to come right there and then. That had to be one of the hottest things he had ever seen in his life. The instant she wrapped her hot mouth around him, he stiffened and grabbed her hair so hard she should’ve backed off; instead, she gazed up at him with lust-filled eyes. She lowered the condom over him, using her hands to make sure it was rolled all the way down before she settled on the bed once more.

  “I’m not even gonna ask where you learned to do that, but fuck, am I ever thankful you did.” He leaned over her and kissed her as he positioned his body between her legs. The head of his cock rubbed her clit; she was so wet and ready for him that he didn’t think he could hold back.

  “I need you in me, Sam… please.”

  That was all the encouragement he needed. He pushed his way in, and she felt like fucking heaven. She was so tight and hot that he wasn’t sure he could last.

  “You’re so goddamn tight, baby. Fuck, you feel so good.”

  “Sam… oh, God, I need more.”

  He pushed the rest of his length inside her until he was buried balls-deep. She felt so fucking good. He grabbed her legs and lifted them so they were resting on his shoulders, giving her a different angle. She wanted to feel him deep, and fuck, it didn’t get any better than this.

  “I’ll never be deep enough, Ashlee. Feel how good we are. We were made for each other.” He started moving slowly at first, letting her get used to him, but when he felt her tighten around him and saw the urgency in her eyes, he knew she didn’t want him holding back. “You want it hard, baby?”

  “Yes!” Her voice did him in. He would give her the goddamn world right now if she asked him because buried inside her, he realized he was in love with her.

  He grabbed her hips and started fucking her with hard thrusts. The sound of his balls hitting her skin resonated throughout the room. He was holding her so tight he could see red marks forming on her skin, but he didn’t care. He just kept thrusting with everything he had.

  “More.” At her request, he thought he was dreaming this woman.

  He was covered in a thin coat of sweat as he fucked her harder than he’d ever fucked a woman in his life. He could see she loved every minute of it but that she needed more, needed him deeper.

  He flipped them so he was on his back, never pulling out of her, and when she settled against his thighs, he growled at how good she felt.

  “Oh, God, Sam. You’re so deep. God, yes.”

  Watching his woman ride him like her life depended on it was one of the best views in the world. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she leaned forward and used his shoulders to help her move—and God, was she ever moving. Her hair was all tangled up, her skin glowing from a coat of sweat, her head thrown back.

  “I’m so close, Sam. Please.” When she looked down at him, he could see the need in her eyes, and that did him in. He pulled her down so her breasts were on his chest. Holding her with one hand on her lower back and the other wrapped around her shoulders, he thrust so hard the headboard banged against the wall.

  “Come on, baby, let me feel that orgasm. Let me own it.” She dug her fingernails in his shoulders and she clenched around his cock. He kept fucking her, fighting to hold back his release. “That’s it, baby…. Fuck, Ashlee….”

  “Sam, don’t stop. Feels so good. Ahh, yesss.” He kept fucking her through her orgasm. By the time her tremors stopped, she was limp in his arms and he was still buried inside her, hard as a fucking rock. She wiggled her hips, and his cock pulsed.

  She must have felt it too, because she braced herself on her forearms and looked straight at him. “How do you want me?”

  “In every fucking way possible.” He rolled them to their sides and lifted one of her legs over his hip as he drove into her. She was still tight as a fist from her orgasm, and he knew it wouldn’t take much to set him off.

  She arched her back, putting one arm around his shoulder as he covered her breasts with his forearm, getting the leverage to go deeper and harder. When she clenched around him, he felt it down to his spine. “I’m gonna come. Fuck… Ashlee…!” He went limp around her, could barely move, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You wore
me out, Ashlee. Fuck, that was the best sex of my life.” He kissed her forehead before leaving the bed to get rid of the condom. He grabbed a washcloth and headed back to the beautiful angel who was looking at him like she was in love with him.

  God, he was right there with her.

  He crawled on the bed. “Open up, baby.”

  She didn’t question what he was doing, just followed his instructions. He pressed the washcloth over her sex and cleaned her up before lying down beside her. He tucked her under his arm, and she rested her head on his chest.

  “Sam….” She sounded exhausted and sleepy, and he was so fucking proud that he was the one responsible for making her feel that way.

  He ran his hand down her bare back, loving how she shivered under his touch. “Yeah, baby?”

  “That was the best sex of my life too.” She kissed his chest and before he knew it, she was sound asleep curled up all over his body. It was the most perfect feeling.

  He couldn’t believe this was finally happening to him, that he’d found a woman who knew everything about him and still cared for him, who loved him. He was head over heels with the sleeping beauty in his arms. In that moment, that was what he decided to hold on to—not the past, not the future, but the right now with this woman.

  ASHLEE

  Ashlee woke up to someone screaming and thrashing around in the bed. When she managed to open her eyes, she saw Sam curled up in a ball, covered in sweat as he screamed. She’d always heard it best not to wake someone who was having a nightmare, but the agony she saw on his face made the decision for her.

  She knelt beside him in the bed and put her hands on his shoulders. “Sam… Sam, wake up, baby. It’s just a dream.” She tried to shake him so he would wake up, but it wasn’t working. He kept screaming, and it was breaking her heart.

  “No! Get off her! No, stop. You’re hurting her.” She didn’t know what to do to calm him down; she had never witnessed someone in that state before. Taking a deep breath, she followed her instinct, hoping it was right.

  She pushed him down on his back using all the strength she could muster then climbed on top of him. She kissed him slowly at first, hoping the physical contact would bring him out of it. He stopped fighting but was still screaming, so she took his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down on it. His eyes flew wide open and it took him a minute to register what was happening.

  “It’s okay, baby, it was just a dream. It’s okay, Sam.”

  He didn’t say anything, just pulled her against him and held her tightly. It took a while for the tremors to stop, but he didn’t pull away from her.

  When she tried to move, he kept a firm hold on her. “Stay like this, please.”

  The pleading in his voice was her undoing. She pressed a kiss to his neck and rested her head down on his shoulder as he pulled the covers back over them.

  “I’m falling in love with you, Ashlee.”

  She couldn’t find the words to say anything, so she kept her head on his shoulder and pretended to be asleep.

  “I know you heard me, and I don’t expect you to say anything. But I am falling in love with you, Ashlee Daniels, and whether you want it or not, I’m not going to stop showing it to you.” He kissed her hair and she listened to his heartbeat as he fell asleep, hoping it would settle the anxiety building inside her.

  Hours later, she still couldn’t sleep. Sam’s words floated in her mind. How did she let things get this far? She’d managed to let her personal feelings for the man sleeping under her get in the way of her judgment. It was exactly why she should’ve said no to working on this project; not only was she falling for a client, but she was jeopardizing the contract that could pay for her mom’s hospital bills.

  How could I have been so stupid?

  She slowly rolled off the warm body beneath her, careful not to wake Sam up. Grabbing her scattered clothes, she dressed as quietly as possible. She found a piece of paper and a pen on the table and cringed at how cowardly she was behaving.

  Sam,

  I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. You have to know that I’m falling in love with you and I wish things could be different, but they can’t.

  I can finish the remainder of the contract back in Atlanta. I won’t let you down with this project; I know how important it is to you, and that makes it important to me.

  I wish you could know how much I want things to be different. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Sam Brooks. Never forget that.

  All my love,

  Ashlee

  She dropped the note on the table. When she looked at Sam sleeping on the bed, she felt a piece of her break, but she was doing what she needed to do. Grabbing her purse, she headed for the door before she changed her mind.

  SAM

  Sam woke up and instantly realized something was wrong. First, he was alone in his bed, and second, his room was entirely too quiet. He jerked upright, knowing she had run. “What did you do, Ashlee?”

  He grabbed his jeans from the floor and slipped them on before checking the room.

  Just as he’d thought, she was gone.

  He caught a glimpse of the piece of paper on the table and laughed. “A note? You left me a fucking note, Ashlee?” She had guts, he had to give her that. He grabbed the piece of paper and with every word he read, he grew more and more determined.

  When he’d finished, he crunched the paper in a ball and slammed his fists on the table. “Oh, hell no, baby. You don’t tell me you’re falling in love with me in a goddamn note then leave.” He grabbed a shirt and his room key and he headed straight for Jarrod and Trish’s room. Sam already had a plan but for it to work, he was going to need help.

  Jarrod answered the door. “What’s up, man?”

  He caught sight of the bruise starting to form around Jarrod’s jaw, and guilt took over. “Can I come in?”

  “Of course. Trish’s already up with Emma.”

  Sam pulled on Jarrod’s arm to stop him; he needed to do this before they got any further. What he did was unacceptable, and he knew he’d never be able to apologize enough, but he needed to start. “I’m sorry about the jaw.”

  “Don’t even think about it. You good now?” He tapped him on the back and just like that, Sam knew all was forgotten because that was what brothers did.

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Hey, Trish.”

  She sat in the corner chair by the window holding Emma, and all he could see was Ashlee sitting there with their child. Fuck, I need to get her back. Of course, that was going to be difficult, considering they had shows for the next three days.

  “You okay?” she asked him tenderly. He didn’t need kids’ gloves though; he needed Ashlee.

  “I will be,” he said as he ran his fingers over his face.

  “Where’s Ashlee?” Jarrod asked, concern obvious in his voice.

  “I slept with her last night, and it was the best sex of my life.” He raised his eyes to meet Trish’s, and she gave him a warm smile.

  Jarrod handed him a cup of tea. “That’s great news. So, why do you look like shit? Sex is supposed to relax you, not stress you out. Are you sure you’re doing it right?”

  “Better than you, asshole. I told her I was falling in love with her and when I woke up, she was gone. She left me a note saying she couldn’t risk mixing personal and professional. I need to fix it. You two know something about her mother and the hospital bills, and I need to know if she’s taking the money from this contract to pay for it.” He already knew the answer, but if this plan was going to work, he had to ensure he had all the pieces.

  Trish looked at Jarrod. For a brief second, Sam thought she was going to tell him it wasn’t any of his business, but she didn’t. “Yes, she is. She’s added two new clients, and she’s been talking about taking on more.”

  “How much are the bills?” Not that it mattered to him because he had the money—more than enough—and he would give it all up to get her back.

  “Sam, you can’t pay her bil
ls. The reason why she didn’t ask you or Jarrod—or even me, for that matter—is because she doesn’t want you to think that’s all she wants.”

  He let Trish’s words sink in. So that’s what all of this is about. She thought if she asked for money, I’d see her as a gold digger.

  It was past the time she understood that he took care of the people he loved.

  “Well, she’ll just have to get over it because I won’t be the only one paying it—we all are. She’s your friend, Trish. We can’t just sit back and watch her drown. I love her so that makes her family, and we take care of our family, goddamn it.”

  The room fell silent, and when Trish nodded in agreement, he knew he had a chance to win Ashlee back.

  Chapter Ten

  ASHLEE

  Four days. That was how long she’d been back in Atlanta. Her heart broke a little more every day she didn’t hear from Sam. Not that she could blame him for hating her. If she were being honest, she couldn’t even stand to look at herself in the mirror. She knew running away in the middle of the night was cowardly, but there were bigger things at play, things more important than her falling in love.

  She looked down at her phone when it started vibrating, sighing when she saw Jarrod’s number flash on the screen. Taking a deep breath, she answered. “What can I do for you, Jarrod?”

  “Well, it’s nice to talk to you, Ashlee. Did you forget your manners when you tucked tail and ran?” By the annoyance in his tone, it was obvious Sam wasn’t the only one who was upset. She hadn’t just hurt him by running; she’d hurt a whole family. Coming back from that was barely possible.

  She pushed out a heavy breath. “Jarrod, you’re a friend and I love you, you know that, but my personal life is off-limits. I don’t want to be discussing it with you, so please don’t push it.”

  “If that’s how you want to play it, Ashlee, I can do that. Sam looked over the list of potential directors for the board and made a few suggestions. I just e-mailed you the file. He also looked at the program overview you drafted and had one change to suggest, so I also e-mailed that file.” She heard Emma squeal in the background. She missed everybody so much.