Cece turned on me, those emerald eyes cutting right through me. “You told him what? Are you crazy?”
I shrugged, tamping down my anger. I couldn’t believe she was gonna call me out in front of this guy, but since she’d started it, I intended to finish it. “I wasn’t lyin’, Cec. Tell him the truth.” My eyes glided over her body, pausing in all the places that made her burn up.
“I did tell him the truth!” She looked around when she realized a couple of lighting technicians were within earshot. “I told him,” she said through clenched teeth, “that we never slept together, and we haven’t.”
The little bastard had one up on me and he knew it. Cece had slept with him, but she hadn’t slept with me, and knowing that made my blood boil. I was acting totally irrational and I knew it. Cece wasn’t a virgin, but she didn’t sleep around either. She’d slept with a few guys in the five years I’d known her while I’d been with… more women than that. Way more.
“Didn’t say we slept together.” I got all up in her personal space, tucking one of those corkscrew curls I loved behind her ear while my finger stroked her cheek. “He asked if we’d messed around.” My eyes dipped to her cleavage and I could tell her chest was heaving, whether from anger or arousal I couldn’t say. But I had a feeling I was about to find out. “I told him we had.”
“Why?”
It felt like we were in our own little bubble now. Junior wasn’t even on our radar. “Because it’s true.” My voice was low, husky. My tongue sliding around my lips while her eyes followed. “And I’m all about tellin’ the truth, baby.” Except where she was concerned. I really needed to grow a pair and just spit it out already. I was into her. Or at least wanted to be… see how far it could go.
“What the hell…?”
It was like Cece suddenly remembered he was there when he spoke, because she jumped back and cleared her throat.
Spell broken. And another reason for me to hate him.
Cece shook her hands out before she realized what she was doing, then folded her arms, curling her hands into fists. “I’m sorry, Auden.” She gave me the stink eye. “Things with Knox are kind of… complicated. I didn’t think they were, but clearly they are.”
“Apparently,” he grumbled.
“Can I have a few minutes to talk to him alone?”
He looked hesitant, but he finally nodded. “You’ll come find me when you’re done? I think you and I have a few things to discuss too.”
I wanted to tell him that a few months of flirting and one meaningless roll couldn’t possibly compare to five years of friendship and love, but bit my tongue. Cece was already pissed at me, and I had no doubt my fiery little redhead was gonna go postal on me when she got me behind closed doors. Bring. It. On. She usually wound down as quickly as she got fired up, and I wanted to be there to catch her when she fell.
“Sure.” She nodded, forcing a smile. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
She waited until he’d walked away before she turned on me. “I’m gonna kill you.”
I tried like hell to keep a straight face, but when she saw my lips twitch she raised her hand to strike. I blocked her just in time, curling my hand around her wrist as I whispered in her ear, “Don’t you think smacking should take place behind closed doors?”
Her mouth slipped open and my only thought was of sliding my tongue inside that sweet mouth. Yeah. I had it bad. And it was time to do something about it before I drove us both crazy.
“Let’s head to my bus.”
I linked my hand through hers, like I’d done a hundred times before. But this time was different. My hand was thrumming, energy was coursing up my arm, and it felt like my heart was gonna beat out of my chest.
Was I really gonna do this… proposition my best friend?
How could I not?
Chapter 9
Cece
By the time we got back to Knox’s bus, I was torn between slapping him senseless and kissing him stupid. How dare he tell Auden that we’d messed around! And more importantly, why had he told him that? He’d already cut Leo loose and now it looked like Auden was next on the chopping block, and it didn’t make any sense. He’d never had a problem with me dating our co-workers before, so what had changed?
The tension was so thick by the time he closed and locked, yes locked, the door that my mouth was dry and my palms were wet. “So, what gives, Knox?”
“What gives?”
I watched him grab two glasses from the cupboard and pour three fingers of Jack into each.
So it was going to be one of those conversations. The kind we needed alcohol to get through? Okay. I was down with that.
He offered me one glass before throwing back the amber liquid in the other. Damn. Even watching him swallow was turning me on. What the hell was wrong with me? It was like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden Knox and I were seeing each other in the light for the first time. And we liked what we saw.
He grabbed the bottle off the counter and poured himself another.
Knox liked to drink, but rarely before a show, so something was making him nervous. And he didn’t get nervous. So this was big. Potentially life-altering. Oh God, he wasn’t going to fire me too, was he?
“You’re making me nervous,” I said, watching him throw back his second shot while I did my first. “What’s goin’ on with you? Why are you acting like this?”
He re-filled his glass again before I took the bottle away from him. He could hold his liquor, but I wasn’t going to watch him get too drunk to take the stage. I gripped his shoulders and forced him to sit back on the leather sofa behind him.
His eyes were glazed, but he wasn’t drunk. I’d seen the difference. He was feeling good, starting to relax. Maybe now I’d finally get the truth out of him.
“Come here,” he said, crooking a finger. “Sit on my lap, beautiful.”
I’d sat on his lap plenty of times, but the last time I straddled him we got carried away. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. We need to talk—”
“We can do that with you sitting right here.” His eyes fell to his lap and it was obvious he was hard. “Please, Cec. I need to touch you. I need to wrap my arms around you.”
Needy Knox was impossible to resist, so against my better judgement I lifted my long black skirt and planted my butt firmly on his… yeah, right there. Damn.
“Hi.” His smirk was suggestive as he closed his hands around my hips.
“Hi.” What else could I say? I was soaking my panties and he could no doubt tell.
“Good you feel good.” He closed his hands around my face and drew me in, burying his face in my hair. “And you smell incredible. I just wanna eat you up.”
Oh my. That was something we’d never tried, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t game. But first, we needed to talk. Providing I could still form a sentence while my brain was busy imagining all the ways my tongue could tangle with his.
“Why did you tell Auden we’d messed around?”
“Because we have.” His hand was getting tangled in my hair while his lips skimmed my jaw, making me all prickly. “Why lie to him?”
“I didn’t lie to him.” Oh, he’d found that spot again, the one on my neck that made all gooey. Gooey and prickly were a bad combination, especially with Knox’s hard on pressed between my legs. “I told him we haven’t had sex and we haven’t.”
“We could remedy that right now.”
“Knox.” It took an iron will to pull away while he was tracing figure eights on my neck with his tongue, but I managed. “What are we doing? What is this?”
“This is you and me…” He pushed my skirt back, resting his hands on my outer thighs. “Doing what we do.”
I call bullshit. Something had shifted between us but he didn’t have the guts to admit it. “It hasn’t happened in a long time. And we agreed it couldn’t happen again. Yet you came on to me the other morning, and again today. You’re acting all jealous and territorial with Auden. You fir
ed Leo—”
“Kiss me, Cec.”
Oh no. He didn’t get to distract me with that talented mouth of his. The last time I’d kissed him I’d been struck dumb and grinding on him by the time we finally came up for air. “No. I want you to tell me—”
“You don’t want to kiss me?” His hands were inching higher. “Because I really want to kiss you.” He swore softly, dipping his head. “I need to kiss you.”
I closed my hands around his face, tipping his head up. Our eyes locked and my heart started beating double-time. I saw his hunger for me. But that didn’t scare me. It was the uncertainty, like I was un-doing him, just like he was un-doing me.
“Why?” I needed more. I needed to understand what the hell was happening between us and whether I could find the courage to let it happen.
“Because you’re gorgeous.”
“Not good enough.”
Knox knew lots of beautiful women. I didn’t want to be one of many. That’s why I’d never allowed myself to consider a relationship with him before. He tired of women too easily and if he ever tired of me it wouldn’t just break me it would shatter me into a million little pieces.
“Sexy.” He leaned in, pulling my straps down so he could kiss the slope of my shoulder. “Smart. Creative. Talented.”
They were sweet words, but he hadn’t said anything that led me to believe he was serious about moving us out of the friend zone. Aside from his desire to have sex with me. But sex could still happen in the friend zone. It just made things more awkward unless both parties were on the same page.
“What do you want from me?” I let him push my tank top down, before unfastening my bra. So far we hadn’t crossed any lines we hadn’t crossed before.
“Everything.” His voice sounded pained as he started rolling one nipple between his fingers before sucking the other deep into his mouth.
Ah, I felt that buzz travel to my core, making it tough to think. I just wanted to give in to the sensation and let him have his way with me. But I couldn’t, could I?
Knox
I was coming unglued. Three drinks weren’t enough for a buzz. It was just enough to make me want to quit the fight. I had the girl I’d been fantasizing about in my lap, half undressed, and I just wanted to let go, coax her to give in, and indulge in every dirty fantasy I’d ever had about her.
“Knox.”
The way she said my name got me even more riled up because it made me think about those sweet lips murmuring my name while I was buried deep inside of her…
I couldn’t do this anymore. I had to have her or I was gonna lose my mind. I brought her face to mine and looked into her eyes for half a second, giving her one more chance to push me away before my mouth descended on hers. One flick of her tongue against mine made me realize I didn’t give a shit about consequences anymore. This was the day we were finally gonna seal the deal.
She moaned into my mouth as I filled my hands with her sweet round ass. I loved everything about this woman, but her body felt like it was made for me. The way she kissed me. The way she felt melting into my arms, surrendering, was the most erotic experience I’d ever had and I was still fully clothed.
“Have to have you, Cec.” 1 was tearing her tank over her head before tossing her bra along with it.
“Yes.”
“Stand up,” I said, between kisses so hot they made my head buzz. “Take that skirt off. Let me see you.”
I’d never seen her completely naked before, though we’d been close. But this was unchartered territory, the place where we exposed our fears and defenses while shedding our clothes. Stripped naked, bare, and completely defenseless. That’s how this girl suddenly made me feel. And I knew why. I’d passed the point of falling. I’d already fallen. Hard, deep… and maybe forever.
Her eyes pierced mine while she slid the skirt over her hips and hooked her thumbs in her nude thong, letting those slide down her legs before kicking her sandals off.
My mouth was watering, imagining all the things I wanted to do to her. I wanted her to leave this bus drunk on me, craving my touch, counting down the hours until she could have me again.
“Your turn, Knox.”
I didn’t hear any hesitation in her voice, only a quiet plea that let me know she needed this as much as I did. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and smiled when she bit her lip as she watched me. The belt came next and I used it as leverage, slipping it around her waist to draw her closer. Her breasts were level with my mouth, and I was in Heaven, drawing one taut peak into my mouth, followed by another.
Her palms were braced on my shoulders and she sucked in a breath when my hand slipped between her legs. I placed wet kisses all over flat stomach while using my finger to tease her swollen bud.
I was dying to taste her, but that would come later. I wanted to watch her fall apart for me half a dozen times before she called a time-out. Her performance report on her last lover drummed through my head, prompting me to slide my fingers deep, stimulating her more.
“Oh God, Knox.” She sank forward, relying on me to hold her up. “That feels amazing.”
She had no idea how many ways I could make her feel amazing, but I intended to show her. Slowly. Thoroughly. Numbing her mind and soothing her fears about me.
She was sinking her hands into my hair now, bowing her back, riding my hand, and I was straining my jeans. Losing my mind over this goddess who’d been under my nose all along. And I’d been too blind to see that I could have been experiencing this, every day of my life.
“That’s it, baby.” Watching her lose it was making it damn near impossible for me to hold on. “God, Cece…” I’d never been this turned on. Never wanted a woman this much.
“Oh, I—”
She didn’t have to tell me, I felt it. Her muscles tightening, that contorted look of ecstasy on her beautiful face. And the throbbing. God, the throbbing was killing me.
I eased her down on the couch when she threatened to fall forward, laying her down, my body half covering hers while my lips travelled down her neck and over the sexy slope of her shoulder. Her heart was still battering her chest and her breath was coming in gasps, half-laugh, half exasperation.
“Knox, that was—”
“Just the beginning, sweetheart.” I kissed her and it felt like my heart was twisting and clenching as I tried to process what was happening between us and what it all meant.
I stood and she immediately reached for me, protesting on a moan, making my heart squeeze. Damn. This girl possessed me, every part of me, and I wasn’t even sure she knew it. “Just takin’ these off,” I whispered, kissing her palm. “Cec, let’s take this into the bedroom.”
Her laugh was shaky when she said, “I’m not sure I can walk yet.”
And by the time she left my bus there’d be no doubt. She’d be on stage tonight, but instead of feeling the roar of the crowd coursing through her, she’d be watching me, remembering the pleasure I gave her, imagining what was to come.
After I shed my jeans and boxers, I grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet. Gripping her waist, I walked her backwards toward the bedroom, my lips never leaving hers. I was getting high off her kisses, hooked on her body, and I hadn’t even experienced the best part yet.
“Lie down,” I whispered when her legs hit the edge of the bed.
She did as I asked, but her eyes were closed as she positioned her head on the pillows.
“Look at me.” I needed her to see me, to feel what I was feeling. As scary as it was, I didn’t intend to hide from it and wouldn’t let her either.
Prying her eyes open looked like it took some effort, but when she focused on me, her eyes travelling down my body, I was on high alert. Every nerve ending in my body responding to the buzz of this woman’s attention. It was more than just sex. I’d had great sex before. This was about two souls that knew each other intimately finally merging.
I crawled on top of her, dropping kisses along all of the soft slopes and dips as I inhaled her sw
eet scent, letting it seep into my brain, brand my memory.
She threaded her hands through my hair when my mouth trailed below her belly button.
The kiss was intimate and my first taste of her kicked my addiction into overdrive. A man could get loaded off a rush like this… and I was. I was moaning as I lapped at her, the vibration making her twist and pant as she dug her nails into my shoulders.
I couldn’t get enough. My hunger for her was insatiable, as I explored and tasted, taunted and teased, I got greedier, demanding more. I drank her in as my body tensed and burned. She thrashed and whimpered, as I picked up the tempo, lashing at her before softly bringing her back down… and starting all over again.
“Knox, I can’t,” she cried. “Please. It’s too much.”
She was wrong. It would never be enough. But I pinned her hips to the soft mattress and savoured her, getting lost in the moment as I brought her to the peak using only my mouth. Grazing, stroking, blowing and caressing her with my tongue in an erotic dance that made her tense and shudder, before she finally went lax, her breathing harsh and her smile soft.
It was the sweetest sight I’d ever seen as I inched my way up her body. Her forehead was damp when I pushed those corkscrew curls off her face and smiled. “Hi.”
She tried to laugh but it came out as a breathless huff. “I think you wrecked me.”
“That’s okay,” I whispered, kissing her neck. “I know just how to piece you back together again.”
“No, I mean I think you wrecked me for other guys.”
I drew back and looked her in the eyes. Smirking when I said, “That was my intent all along.”
She smacked my back and laughed. “I’m gonna kill you.”
I’d never had playful banter in bed before, but then I’d never made love to my best friend before. We were still fun and playful with each other, but there was an undercurrent of intensity, and maybe a bit of fear, that kept us both on edge. I wanted to eradicate that part. To put her at ease and let her know that what was happening between us was real. Not a one-time thing, and definitely not a mistake.
Bad Habits (Nashville Outlaws #1) Page 8