by Cari Quinn
His sudden intensity made her frown. Worse, it chased away the happy little bubbles bobbing along through her bloodstream. She narrowed her eyes on his face and giggled at his sulky mouth. “Aww, pouty Muffy Duffy. What’s the matter?” She kissed his stubbled throat and worked her way up to take a nip out of his lower lip. “I bet you want to fuck me.”
“Yes.” No hesitation. Nothing but those arrow-direct eyes stabbing straight into her soul. “Can you take me now?”
“Think the question is can you take me?” She rolled her hips and stretched her arms in the air, letting out a shrieking laugh as he clamped an arm around her waist and drove up inside her in one heart-stopping thrust. She stared down at him, dazed into silence, her hands falling limply to his shoulders. If she moved, she feared she would shatter.
“I can. I am. And this time I’m not going to stop until I come inside this beautiful pussy.” He circled the rough pads of his fingers over her piercing and her head lolled on her shoulders, a moan of pure bliss tumbling from her mouth.
“Prove it,” she whispered.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Then
“Are your eyes closed?”
“Your hands are covering my face.” Jazz laughed and leaned back against Gray as they finally stopped walking. It was Christmas morning and he’d insisted on leading her downstairs in spite of the fact that she’d already gotten all of her gifts in the form of her bedroom set. She certainly didn’t expect anything else. What she’d gotten already exceeded all—
“Okay, now stop. Open your eyes.”
Smiling, she opened her eyes and gasped. In front of the Duffys’ gigantic Christmas tree in the family room stood an enormous gift-wrapped box. Beside it stood another large, oblong box and a gift bag. “What the—what is all of this?”
“These are your Christmas gifts.” He yanked a camera out of his pocket and knelt down in front of the fireplace, flashing her a grin that dazzled her even more than the array of presents. “Come on, open them.”
“You shouldn’t have done this. Oh my God.” She dropped to her knees and ran her hands reverently over the largest box, her heart beating a staccato rhythm. “How did you afford all this?” As realization dawned that she wasn’t similarly prepared, she flushed and let her hands fall into her lap. “I only have something small for you.”
“Small gifts are the best. Haven’t you heard that the best gifts come in tiny packages?” His grin turned crooked. “Like you.”
Giggling, she hopped up. “Let me go get yours. Wait here.”
She hurried up to her bedroom, grateful that Brent wasn’t up yet. Since he’d given up his room to her, he was crashing in Gray’s room while he was home on break. She moved as quietly as she could, hoping not to disturb him in the room on the opposite side of the adjoining bathroom. She grabbed Gray’s gift from under her bed and jogged downstairs.
“Here,” she panted, kneeling in front of him and holding out the package.
“Jeez, where’s the fire? Did you think I would take off?”
“No. I didn’t want to run into—” She broke off and shook her head. She didn’t want Gray to know how she felt about Brent. The last thing she’d ever do was force him to take sides against his brother. Besides, she didn’t have any concrete reason not to like Brent just a vibe.
Lots of vibes.
“Just open it,” she said.
“Sure thing, boss.” He tore off the bright green paper she’d fussed with for a good twenty minutes, trying to get the corners just right, and tugged out the box inside.
“If you don’t like it—”
“Bite your tongue.” His quick fingers flipped up the lid and he made a rumbling sound of pleasure in his throat that erased all of the weeks of saving her allowance and collecting bottles at the park. Whatever she’d had to do to be able to afford his present had been worth it. “A replica 1949 Fender Broadcaster? Fuckin’ sweet.” He dug out the ornament she’d had custom made and checked out all the details she’d insisted on being added, right down to the gold-embossed fret board. Then he lifted his head and grinned. “See? Tiny packages are the best.”
She laughed and leaned forward to poke in the box he still held. “There’s a little stand in there too beneath the foam so you can display it,” she began, falling silent as he gripped her fingers in his viselike hold.
“This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.” Before she could slip back, his warm lips brushed her forehead. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She sat back and stared at him, trying to ignore the sizzle in her skin where his lips had made contact. Her lips throbbed, wanting the same pressure and heat there.
God, he made her want too much.
“Your turn,” he said softly.
Her turn for what? To kiss him? She ducked her head and he chuckled, gesturing to her gifts.
“Open them,” he prompted.
Nodding, she shifted toward the tree and tugged the gift bag into her lap. She laughed at what she found inside. “An industrial bag of Skittles?” she asked, secretly thrilled he’d paid that much attention to her snack of choice.
“Taste the rainbow,” he said solemnly, making her laugh even harder.
She moved on to the next biggest box, opening it swiftly before it vanished. She couldn’t believe he’d given her so much. Her mouth dropped open as she peeled open the tissue paper inside and dragged out his battered white Stratocaster, his favorite of his two guitars. “Gray. You can’t give me this.”
“Sure I can. It’s mine to give away.” He leaned back on his hands and gave her his insolent smile. He had a whole range of smiles and she’d categorized them all. Insolent was one of her favorites. “Especially since I know I have a brand-new Epiphone waiting for me under that tree.”
“But this is your baby—”
“It’s a guitar. I can make any of them sing.”
She couldn’t argue with that. His magic hands had given her many moments of pause—and even more hot moments alone in her bed when she couldn’t stop imagining them on her skin. “Thank you,” she whispered, unable to say more.
“You’re welcome. Now open the last one.”
“This is too much already.”
Lifting his brows, he gestured. “You don’t want my gift? You’d hurt my feelings on Christmas?”
“Cheater.” Smiling faintly, she carefully set aside his prized Stratocaster—her prized Stratocaster now—and dug into the largest box. When she pulled off the paper and glimpsed the contents, she fell back on her heels again with a loud thump. “Oh my God.”
Grinning, Gray snapped a picture of her face. “Now that’s the expression I wanted. None of this tame happy stuff. I wanted ecstatic, blown away, completely stupefied.”
“You succeeded.” She stroked her hand over the box that contained a Mapex M Birch 6-piece drum set, the very set he’d caught her ogling in Bradley’s Music Shop just last month. It was way out of her price range and took up a ton of room. “Oh man, where am I going to put it?”
“In the basement with my gear. We’re tricking out a whole Krystal Sword practice area.”
“But I don’t know how to play the drums. I’ve never even tried to.”
“So you’ll learn. You pick up every instrument in a nanosecond. Why do you think I bought you these? Otherwise you’d be kicking my ass on the guitar in no time.”
She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he laughed and gripped her waist. “Thank you. Oh God, I don’t know how to thank you enough.”
He brushed her hair out of her eyes, his fingers lingering on her temple. “That smile just did.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Now
Getting the munchies at five a.m. when you really wanted nothing more than another hour’s sleep and a quickie freaking sucked.
Jazz threw her legs over the side of the bed and winced. Yeah, so maybe a quickie wasn’t the best idea. She’d had so much longie the night before that her va
gina threatened to file a formal protest.
A smile snuck over her face as she glanced at Gray over her shoulder. He slept on his back with the sheets pooled around his waist and his arm thrown over his face. No wonder he’d finally crashed. Her thigh muscles were still trembling from how hard they’d gone at each other. She hadn’t known it was physically possible to have sex for that long. It certainly wasn’t something she was familiar with. Her previous max had been twice in one night, and even that was as rare as the dodo bird. Most guys just rolled over and that was it.
But not Gray. He just went…and went…and went. He’d fucked her a good three times before he’d even come, for God’s sake. Which made his losing it on his lap while eating her out the night before even more adorable. Clearly the guy had the stamina of ten men, so if he’d gotten that turned on by going down on her—
She grinned. Yeah, she’d just float on that knowledge for a year or two.
Biting her lip, she rose and hobbled over to the armoire. She pulled out one of the robes and wrapped herself in the decadent terrycloth, brushing her nose along the collar. She’d forever associate that faint cinnamon scent with Gray and lovemaking from now on.
Hell, who was she kidding? She’d associate everything with Gray and lovemaking. Hot tubs, terrycloth robes, silky sheets rubbing over her naked torso while she slept. He’d slept nude for years but she never had before the last two nights, with him.
At this rate, she never wanted to put on clothes again.
She moved toward the door a little too fast and her head sloshed, making her giggle and slap her hand against her forehead to hold it still. Guess her high hadn’t totally worn off yet. She couldn’t say she minded. It was nice to walk down the hall toward the front of the cabin and not quite feel her toes on the floor. This floaty sensation she had going worked for her big time.
Nothing to worry about. No stress. Just afterglow and a nice, low-key buzz.
Trying to be quiet, she fumbled around in the dark, walking into walls, bumping into furniture. Giggling with every misstep. She finally found herself in the kitchen and flipped on the light. A gasp escaped her as she took in the sheer size of the space. And the appliances. Holy crap. She didn’t cook or bake very often, but she’d probably be moved to more frequently if she lived in a place like this.
She padded over to the gigantic stainless steel refrigerator and pulled open the door. Inside there was everything she could possibly want. Wrapped sandwiches, a cheese plate, fruits and veggies. She pulled out the cheese plate and turned, intending to search for crackers.
Instead she came face-to-face with a very naked Nick.
Her hand slipped on the plate and she would’ve dropped it if he hadn’t darted forward to close his hands around hers. She stared up at his face—which was much better than staring at his schlong—and blinked. “Uh, thanks. Um. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here?”
“Not so much. Close your robe, Jasmine. I might see something I’ve already had.”
She thrust the plate into his hands and turned around, hurriedly tying her robe tightly enough to cut off her air supply. Guilt surged into her, thick and hot. She couldn’t even say if she felt more guilty for Nick catching her in the cabin next to naked or because he’d seen her next to naked again, a fact Gray would not appreciate. While she puzzled it out, Nick stepped closer and loudly sniffed her hair.
“You smell like pot,” he said flatly.
“So?” She turned around. “What’s the big deal?”
He tucked his fists under his arms, evidently perfectly at ease with his nudity. What was up with the boys in this house? “Since when do you do that shit?”
She averted her gaze. “Can you please cover up?”
“I thought we were all friends here.” She heard the smirk in his voice even without seeing it. “Fine.” With a heavy sigh, he moved to the counter and returned with a couple of dishtowels slung immodestly around his waist. “Better?”
“Not hardly.”
“Oh Christ, you’ve seen it, licked it and ridden it. The only thing you didn’t do was play backdoor bingo with it and that probably wouldn’t have been off the table if we’d had more time. At least judging from the screams coming out of Gray’s room.”
He was just goading her. Just digging around, looking for the weak spot. She knew better than to engage him, especially when she held a huge amount of the responsibility for this hopelessly awkward situation. But she was just blitzed enough not to care.
“We didn’t do that. Yet.”
Nick snorted and snatched a piece of cheddar off the plate before shoving it back at her. “No, you used the time to get high instead. Trust me, you’ll hurt a lot less over the long-term if you stick to bottom-friendly activities.”
She shouldn’t laugh. Too bad she was still high enough to find him amusing rather than inappropriate. She choked on her chuckle and chose a piece of cheddar for herself, popping it in her mouth once her giggles had subsided.
Nick narrowed his eyes. “You look happy. Or is that just the high?”
“I am happy. And high,” she admitted. “But not very. I didn’t smoke that much and it’s been a couple of hours.”
“Enough to get the munchies at five a.m.,” he said drily, holding a hand over his dishtowels as he strolled to the table. Unfortunately he hadn’t done such a great job at covering his ass, which she got a healthy glimpse of before she turned her back.
“I’m sitting now. It’s safe to look.”
Without responding, she joined him at the table. She probably shouldn’t sit with him while he was basically naked, but for God’s sake, they were in a band together. They were sort of friends. And she owed him…something.
“That proves it,” he said after a moment, his focus on the cheese. He selected another piece and flipped it between his dexterous fingers.
Damn guitarists. Everything was a pick to them. Though she wasn’t much better, considering she was tapping her fingers on her thigh.
“Proves what?” she asked, stilling her hand in favor of grabbing another piece of cheese.
“We’re sitting here, both of us almost naked, and there aren’t any sparks between us.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” she muttered.
He laughed. “Annoyance doesn’t count. You’re over me. And while I might be not so pleased about that for myself, I’m glad for you.”
She tilted her head to gauge his sincerity. “You’re serious.”
“Yeah.”
“Since when are you so altruistic?”
“I’m sitting here with a fucking boner, staring at cheese so I don’t stare at your tits. Does that sound altruistic to you?”
There she went, laughing again. “Your boner must’ve gotten smaller, because I totally didn’t notice.”
“Ouch. The lady has a sharp tongue.” His mouth quirked. “And knows how to use it.”
“I’m so not a lady.” She sighed and nibbled cheese off her thumb. “I’m sorry. This situation sucks sweaty balls.”
“Can’t say I’m thrilled with it.” He crossed his arms on the table and leaned forward, his gaze snagging hers. “I’m less thrilled with you smoking up when I know it’s not your scene. He doesn’t have you doing anything else, does he?”
She rubbed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. All the excitement of the past two nights must be finally catching up with her. “Anything else like what?”
“Anything harder than pot.”
Something in his voice made her drop her hand in her lap and give him a hard stare. “A, he doesn’t have me doing anything, period. I make my own choices. I don’t normally smoke but it’s not like I haven’t in the past.” Years ago, when I didn’t know any better.
Jeez, where was that judgmental voice coming from? There was nothing wrong with a bit of harmless experimentation now and then. She hadn’t smoked in years but that didn’t mean she had a problem with it. She definitely didn’t see any issues when she was still coasting, thoug
h that floaty state was starting to wear off. Dammit.
“Sure you did.”
“I did. And C, what are you insinuating? What else besides pot would he be ‘having me do’? You realize how completely random that is, right?”
“You missed B, and it’s not random at all. Users use. I’ve seen enough of that with my own relatives. Not saying all pot smokers take it to the next level, but plenty do.”
“Maybe some do, but not Gray.” She shoved another slice of cheddar between her lips.
“Sorry, I must’ve missed his halo the last time we spoke.” Shaking his head, he laid his hand on the table as if he intended to get up. “Look, never mind. You’re all abuzz with sex hormones and you’re probably still higher than a kite. We’ll talk when you’re—”
“I love him,” she interrupted, snatching Nick’s arm before he could rise. “It’s not sex or weed that has me buzzing. Well, not entirely. It’s him. I’ve wanted this since I was a kid, Nick.”
He didn’t respond for a few moments. “I understand that,” he said finally. “And I hope it turns out to be exactly what you’ve been wishing for. But if it doesn’t, I’ll be here.”
“Here for what? To fuck me all better?” She let his arm drop and covered her face with her hands. Tears threatened, burning the back of her eyes, and beyond them lurked shame. For what, she wasn’t even sure.
Was this the crash? Or did some part of her hear the warning in Nick’s words, and know he was right to offer it?
“This isn’t about fucking,” he said quietly, and that only made the shame burn hotter, scorching her cheeks. “We’ve been past that for a while now. I told you to go after him, remember? Twice,” he added. “I didn’t want to. I still did it, and it sure as hell wasn’t for me.”
She lowered her hands into her lap and nodded, swallowing hard. It was all just overwhelming, is all. Even getting exactly what you wanted after so long cost a big emotional toll. No wonder she was reeling.
“I’d like to think that maybe we’re even friends.”
“Yes,” she whispered, struggling to meet his gaze. “We are. At least I think so. But if you’ve got a problem with Gray, then you have a problem with me. I’m sorry. That’s just the way it is.”