Liner Notes

by Madden, A. M.

  Wanting to bark, That’s one of the problems, instead I said, “You’re killing me, Davis.”

  His returning grin was devastatingly irresistible. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Red… promise.”

  Taking my hand, he led me toward the ride, either oblivious to the stares we received or ignoring them. A few minutes later, we threw our shoes and towels into a locker at the base of a seven-story staircase.

  I dragged my focus up the entire thing with a sigh. “Seriously?” All the bastard did was chuckle before securing the coil cord key ring on his wrist and tugging me up to the top. When we finally reached the launching area, he hadn’t even broken a sweat, while it looked like I was about to keel over.

  The barely legal kid manning the inner tubes asked, “Single or sharing?”

  “Sharing,” Cannon was quick to respond, prompting the boy to toss the tube into the small wading pool that served as a holding area before you were sent to your death.

  I watched Cannon hop in and situate himself in the stupid doughnut. My heart pounded when I saw that the spot intended for my ass was his groin.

  “Getting in, lady?”

  Tube boy received my wrath when I hissed, “Don’t rush me.”

  Again Cannon chuckled at my expense. “Red, get in.” Aware that most of the others wanting on this dumb ride were gawking at me, I climbed on until my butt sank firmly on Cannon’s junk. “Ready,” he asked directly into my ear.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Not anymore,” he rasped huskily into my ear… and somehow I felt he wasn’t referring to the waterslide. Cannon Davis repeatedly rattled my confidence and tested any willpower I had. “Hold on, Red.” He wrapped one arm around my waist, raised a thumb up with the other arm, and we were sent spinning toward the slide opening with no remorse. Every inch of his body touched mine, from his chest to his feet. And that was pretty much all I could think about as we dipped and dove our way through the fiberglass tunnel.

  A violent jolt to the right forced my hands to grip his arms. A sudden drop, prompting my yelp, forced his hold to tighten around me. Spin after spin, we laughed together, traveling down that metaphorical slide transporting us from awkward to comfortable.

  Surprisingly enough, once I relaxed and accepted my fate, I actually had fun. Silly as it was, by the time we spotted daylight through the narrow exit we sped toward, I felt a newfound bond forming between us.

  Chapter 15

  Cannon

  The one hour I was given to prove that my idea was a good one had turned into six in the blink of an eye. All day long, the sound of her giggles ignited something within me that hadn’t shut off. The constant touching, the laughing, and the adrenaline rushes we shared ride after ride made this day one that I’d never forget.

  We did any of the rides that allowed sharing a tube. And after the first one, no longer was it awkward for her to settle that perfect ass onto my crotch. My arms automatically circling her waist, my legs parting to allow hers to fit between them, and even my face pressing into her neck when she’d yelp or scream all felt familiar.

  We hit every attraction before floating side by side around the lazy river, where we talked about everything and nothing in between.

  Besides sharing pet peeves and favorite foods, after prompting her with innocent questions, she gave me the rundown on what her life was like in Jersey. The product of divorced parents living in two different states, she again mentioned her friends where her only family.

  The questions she had for me were safer, mostly revolving around my mom and sisters. Even though she didn’t ask, I mentioned Holly, hoping it would have her opening up a bit more, but with no such luck. During my rundown, I kept it benign, merely stating we’d grown apart once our college days came to an end. She went her way, and I went mine.

  “Well, her loss,” Lori said with a shrug. “Water under the bridge,” she then added, pointing up as our inner tubes bobbed their way under a pedestrian walkway. Before we emerged on the other side, she changed the subject to places I’d like to travel to.

  I wanted to know why she was able to dismiss things so quickly, and with little emotion to boot. I didn’t buy her nonchalance. Proof was in the way she avoided any personal tidbits of her life with Trey Taylor, for one, and the real reason she’d left everything to move to California, for another. A few weeks before she had given me a bland rundown, and I suspected there was much more, the kind of stuff that hardened a heart and forced someone into being a hard-ass wannabe out of principle.

  Maybe with time I’d eventually learn those facts as well, but baby steps were needed or she’d shut down. I’d already witnessed it.

  While finishing up a late lunch, or early dinner, she caught me watching her dip a fry in ketchup before biting it in half. “What?” The snarky tone was evident in that one word, but it made me grin regardless.

  “Nothing.” Without a stitch of makeup, her thick auburn hair pulled into a messy ponytail and flushed cheeks from the Dallas heat made her even more beautiful. We sat in our damp bathing suits, facing each other at the small table, with noisy children and exhausted parents surrounding us. It felt normal.

  “Do I have ketchup on my face?” she prompted while still smirking. “Did a bird crap on my head?”

  “Nope.”

  “I know… my hair looks like a rat’s nest because of all the chlorine you forced on me today.”

  “Why can’t you admit you had fun?” I leaned forward, making the space between us only a few inches wide. “Admit that my awesome suggestion removed the stick up your ass?” Her green eyes flashed with a touch of fury before she folded her arms and smoothed her expression, removing the frown lines on her forehead.

  “I don’t have a stick up my ass.” And she proceeded to pick up a fry and throw it at my head.

  Catching it, I pointed it her way and corrected, “Anymore. You’re welcome.”

  Grinning at the way she narrowed her eyes into mere slits, I ate the fry as she quipped, “You’re asking for it, Davis.”

  She had no idea how true that statement was. Instantly, an image of Lori beneath me, getting angrier as I teased and tormented an orgasm out of her, popped into my mind. Forcing myself to flip the switch to off on that thought—for God’s sake, there were children running around!—I deflected. “Are you going to finish those fries?”

  “Oh, I should just hand them over…” She looked down at the small pile that remained before drilling me with her glare. “After you insulted me? Why?”

  “I’m still hungry.” Not a lie. I was ravenous, but not for fried potatoes. The way the black nylon of her modest suit molded over each breast, skimmed her trim waist, and dipped between those toned thighs made me fucking crazy.

  “Help yourself; I’ve probably had enough,” she conceded, pushing the red plastic basket across the table as her full lips quirked to the side. “They are good, though. I’m a sucker for french fries.”

  “We can share them.”

  “Okay, one more.” Snatching the biggest fry in the basket, she dipped it and chomped down with an adorable smile, which I matched with one of my own.

  It could have been because of the high from signing with LRV, or even from being wined and dined with no expense spared, that had me dizzy with joy. Sure, all that was about to happen with my career had probably induced an intoxicating euphoria, but something told me that wasn’t it at all. Because right then and there, in the middle of the food court at Hurricane Harbor, I suspected I might be falling for Lori Banzini.

  I had no warning, no moment of cognizance. Bam, once the notion came into my mind it practically smacked me hard on the back of the head. The shock of it caused my smile to falter, and at seeing it she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Ready to get going?” I blurted out before standing to throw away the remnants of our meal. The need to flee was fierce, even knowing it would only get worse after we walked out of there, since the state of my arousal was becoming a dangerous situ
ation.

  I still had most of the evening to get through, a long torturous night, and a few hours tomorrow before we flew back to LA. Like that would make things easier. The false sense of security had me believing my desires would tamp down once we dove into our busy schedule.

  While reaching for our towels on the chair beside her, she said, “I can’t wait to take a long shower.” And then… she stood… and the two perfectly erect nipples pressing against her bathing suit mocked my logic. Some sick force dared my cock not to react, all while my heart pumped like I was experiencing a panic attack.

  This was bad.

  By the time we got back to the hotel, she had to have detected the one-eighty flip in my mood. We stood before our respective rooms, awkward in comparison to how we had just spent the day.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said casually. “There are lyrics floating in my head that I need to get down on paper.”

  “Okay. Well, have a good night. I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning, say nine-ish?”

  “Sounds good. Night, Red.” The moment I let the door click shut behind me I felt trapped by my feelings. Hiding was a coward move, but a necessary one. I figured once I jerked off like a teenage boy waiting for his parents to leave the house, I’d hit the bar in the lobby and hopefully find a distraction.

  But an hour later, the orgasm in my shower and the two whiskeys I’d consumed had done little to make me feel better.

  “You look like you lost your best friend,” the bartender said, pulling my attention away from the wayward thoughts consuming me. He smiled warmly while wiping the already gleaming mahogany wood between us.

  “Nah, just a long day.” I swirled the amber liquid in the tumbler before downing the rest of it.

  “Another?”

  “Sure, why not.”

  His tan, weathered skin crinkled around the corners of his mouth and eyes when his smile grew. “Not from around here, I take it.”

  “LA.”

  “What brings you to these parts?”

  “You’re looking at the next star to hit the music industry,” a sultry voice filtered from behind me. There she stood, in jeans and a Devil’s Lair T-shirt, looking hot as fuck.

  “Is that so?” the old man asked with an amused grin. “Maybe I should get an autograph while I have the chance.” He slipped a pen and a bar napkin toward me so I could scribble my name across it.

  “His first autograph,” Lori said, goading the man on.

  He glanced at my name and thrust out his hand. “Nice to meet ya, Cannon Davis. Remember good old Chuck tendin’ bar here when you’re that big star.”

  “I will, Chuck.”

  “Sir?” Someone called for him, and I waited as he headed over to help another customer before turning toward Lori.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I guess I was also bored.” She lifted her chin toward my drink while slipping her ass onto the stool beside me. “Write down all the lyrics you wanted to?”

  It took a second before I remembered what excuse I had given earlier. “Oh yeah,” I lied. “Not sure where they’ll lead yet.”

  Chuck came back and Lori ordered a vodka and lime. Once she had her cocktail, she took a sip and turned her focus on me. “Want to tell me what happened earlier?”

  You mean when I realized I was falling for you? No.

  “What makes you think something happened?”

  “The sudden shift in your mood. Are you a Gemini?”

  “No,” I responded amused at her theory. “Why?”

  “Split personality?”

  “Actually, I’m a Libra. We’re known to be pretty chill. What are you?”

  “Taurus,” she said proudly.

  “Makes sense. Stubborn as a bull.”

  “Nuh-uh. I’m reliable,” she argued with a cute pout.

  “Well, I’m loyal.” I lifted my glass and waited for her to do the same. “To a match made in heaven.” Our eyes met as we tapped the glasses together. All humor vanished, replaced with an intensity that I’ve become accustomed to. Not surprisingly, she was the first to look away and take another sip of her vodka. “Can I ask you a question?” I asked her profile, the third whiskey apparently dulling any sense of judgment I had left.

  “Sure.”

  “Where do you see yourself in five years?” When a spontaneous giggle escaped, my cock twitched. “What?”

  “Now you decide to interview me? That ship has sailed.”

  “No, I’d hire you all over again.” Even more so now. “Just curious.”

  I watched as she stared into the clear, colorless liquid. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “Hopefully, watching your career break records with a few more clients following suit.”

  “So it’s all about the job for you? No desire for a family?”

  Those brilliant green eyes met mine. “I don’t see myself ever having kids.”

  “Why not?”

  One shoulder rose in a short shrug. “I don’t know. People procreate, bringing more little humans into the world, only to have them witness fighting and angry words that can’t be taken back. Those venomous rants lead to breakups that tear families apart. Maybe they’re lucky enough to be born into a loving home, only to be forced to suffer through the death of someone they love more than life.” She paused, glanced my way, and hissed, “It’s pointless.” There was the slightest tremble in her hand when she raised the glass to her lips. After a few seconds, she finally added, “At least if I fuck up a relationship, it’s all on me. No casualties.”

  It was hard to disagree with her, but I did anyway. “I was a casualty, so to speak… raised without a father, but I turned out okay.”

  “You’re an anomaly. Where would you be in five years if you hadn’t decided to chase your dream?”

  “Hopefully with my person,” I said easily. “And once I found her, I’d never let her go. I’m pretty damn determined when I want something.”

  She froze as the indisputable sexuality we shared passed between us. Her whole being seemed to be filled with waiting for something to happen—for me to touch her, kiss her?

  And then Chuck appeared… tossing a dish towel over his shoulder and single-handedly killing the moment. “Y’all ready for another?”

  “Keep them coming, Chuck,” I said before she could refuse. Maybe the more she drank the more I could pick her brain… find something that would make me hate her.

  When we stumbled into the elevator too many drinks later, she sagged against me. “I think I’m drunk.”

  “I think you’re right.” Holding her up wasn’t easy to do, since I was beyond worked up sexually. Because of my predicament, walking to the elevators was a painful effort. Quietly maneuvering my drunken agent at two a.m. without drawing attention to my hard-on was not an easy task.

  Oblivious to my situation, she rested her face against my chest and circled my waist with jelly arms. “Shit, Lori. You’re killing me,” I grumbled, but I doubt what I said registered.

  Our arrival to the fourth floor couldn’t come quick enough. I needed to get her into her room or I was going to fucking blow. While peeling her off of my body, once the doors opened I tried to distract her with words. “Lori, we’ll be at your room in two minutes. Can you walk or do I have to carry you?”

  “No more kissing,” she blurted out much louder than she should have in a hotel hallway. “You’re not allowed to kiss me again.”

  “No one is kissing you,” I whispered directly into her ear. Kill me now. “You need to quiet down or someone will call security on us.” On me. There I was manhandling a drunk redhead who didn’t want to be kissed… yeah, that would be easy to explain.

  She giggled adorably, pressing a finger to my lips and releasing an exaggerated “Shh.”

  Despite being aggravated with the situation, I couldn’t help but laugh. Hearing it caused her to release a fit of giggles of her own, which caused her body to shake against mine. Tightening my hold around her
waist to keep her from falling over during the short walk to her room, I asked, “Where’s your purse?” Panic swelled over the possibility of having to leave her to run down and retrieve it from the bar.

  “Don’t have one.” Relief came as I dug my fingers into the tight pockets of her jeans, prompting another round of giggling. Finally finding the key, I tried to open her door while simultaneously holding her up with my other arm. “Red, stop laughing,” I pleaded when I felt her slipping from my grip.

  She schooled her features into a serious expression and said, “Okay, honey.”

  “Honey?”

  “Yeah. Your honey-brown eyes ooze sweetness.” The cheesiest smile flashed exuberantly. When she saw that I couldn’t keep a straight face, she lost it all over again.

  “Thank Christ,” I muttered when I finally got the door unlocked. I cracked it and decided to lift her in my arms to make it easier to get her into the room.

  The moment I placed her in the center of the bed, she gripped my neck. “Are you okay?” she asked, her lips so close to mine it almost spurred me to pounce. “I should be taking care of you.”

  “I’m fine. We both need to sleep this off. I’m going to leave the door open to my room. If you need me, call out my name. Okay?”

  “Thank you,” she slurred. “I’m sorry. You’re such a good guy, Cannon.” Without warning, she pressed her soft lips against my neck and then turned away, snuggling into the pillow.

  Fuck, I wanted to be inside her, to taste her, to make her scream my name until she was hoarse.

  But what I needed was to get the fuck out of there.

  I removed her shoes, unlocked the adjoining door to my room, cracked it a bit so I could keep an eye on her later, and walked out.

  Chapter 16

  Lori

  I couldn’t remember the last time I’d lost control like I had. Actually, it was probably the night I first hooked up with Trey Taylor three years earlier… which only proved nothing good came from drinking vodka.