In Tune

by JN Welsh

  Leona called out something indecipherable and accepted his unbridled entrance. She was already so wet for him and he enjoyed how she blanketed his dick. The way she swathed his soul and made him believe again. Made him trust her with his heart.

  “Oh shit,” he hissed. “I have been dying to be inside you. To make you feel good.”

  Leona was bent over with her torso parallel to the floor, her palms against the door, and her position excited him. She trusted him to make her feel good. To love her this way.

  “Luke.” With each wild thrust he lost himself in her. She twisted to observe him, her face decorated with unabashed need. He’d never experienced this level of emotion. He yanked her upright and clasped her chin. He sealed his mouth to hers, kissing her, while he imprinted her insides. He needed to impress this moment into her memory. He wasn’t only fucking her but reclaiming what they threatened to lose with all that had happened earlier.

  “Tell me how much you love it when I fuck you like this, Leona,” he taunted, winded and completely drenched in her pussy.

  She stretched her other hand back and reached for him, her movements frantic. He recognized her need for connection because he needed it, too.

  “I love...” Leona groaned in pleasure. “You feel so good, Luke. I can feel every inch of you inside me.”

  She moaned, and he’d never be the same again. She moved her hips in time with his and circled them when he allowed. He gripped her soft flesh and increased his thrusts, his release upon him. The burning sensation in his lower abdomen exploded and he roared his pleasure, filling her hot canal with his seed.

  Her hand caressed his thigh and he went weak, relaxing his hold on her luscious curves.

  He bent to kiss her back and rubbed her ass and the back of her thigh.

  “I’m not done with you, beautiful.” Still inside her, he explored the contours of her body. He’d done this so many times since her arrival in San Francisco. He would know her body even if he touched her blindfolded. He settled on her breasts, feathering the protruding nipples through their cover.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” Though she leaned her back into his chest, her body arched toward his caresses. “You can have me any way you want me, baby.”

  His hand crept to her center where he massaged her with possessive care. He pulled out of her in one slow movement, and then spun her around to face him.

  “I want all of you, Leona.” Luke flattened her back against the door.

  “Please,” she said. Her body sloped toward him, her mouth desperate for his lips, but he kept her pinned as his finger strummed her clit. She had not yet enjoyed her own orgasm and he longed to douse the flame he’d ignited, but he’d fan it a little first. Her mouth beckoned his and he obliged with teasing tongue.

  Her insides still haunted his dick, but he wanted to please her. She’d felt so good. I felt her. Skin to skin. He stopped kissing her and separated from her. Confusion creased her face.

  “Oh shit, Leona. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I’m the worst asshole.

  “What? Why?”

  His shoulders rounded and he folded in on himself. “I got caught up. Shit. I never do this.” Luke scrubbed his face. “I didn’t use a rubber.”

  Leona exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath. “Oh.”

  “Oh?” Luke paced. “Don’t you want to murder me?”

  A light smile touched her lips. “Why would I want to do that?”

  “You could get pregnant.” She could be pregnant with his child. He steadied himself on the wall because the thought of Leona pregnant with his child exhilarated him as much as it terrified him. “You would have my child?”

  “Yes.” Her delivery was stone and then an array of emotions touched her face but none stayed long enough for him to decode. Then she dipped her head and repressed another smile. “I’m on something.”

  Relief and disappointment traveled through him. He righted himself before he went any further down that path. He moved in close to her. “And I’m just finding this out?”

  Leona shrugged. “I liked that you were doing the right thing without me having to ask.”

  “Now that I know I can be more spontaneous, don’t be surprised if you don’t sleep again while you’re here. Open.” He spread her legs with his knee at the same time she made space for him. He dropped to kneel before her.

  He draped one of her legs over his shoulder then buried his head between her thighs. He savored her like a sommelier would a fine vintage. “I love tasting you, Leona. Your scent is so intoxicating.” He ate her until she teetered on the edge and finally over.

  “Luke!” She trembled as the summit of her pleasure arrived. The shivers layered the tension in her body and within moments she was weak and barely holding herself up.

  * * *

  Leona concentrated on Luke, who evaluated her every movement from below, triggering the dream that maybe this connection between them was more than sex and could last forever. That the past wasn’t a barrier but lessons they’d both learned from and could use to love each other.

  She never wanted to be without his touch ever again. The thought scared her especially now with her feelings at stake. Her breathing was heavy, as was his. Holy shit! She was about to tell this man she loved him.

  He held her in an iron grip while his expert tonguing sent uncontrollable twitches to every limb. She snatched a handful of his hair and prayed she wasn’t hurting him. He inflamed her body with his searing hot touches. She writhed under him and moaned as she moved her hips in the tiny rotations.

  The sensations he forced on her were mind-blowing. She pulled at him, wanting him to continue, and then pushed at him, completely overwhelmed by the assault on her swollen clit and stimulated nerves. The dance was reminiscent of the tug of war with their relationship. Every cell in her feared the definition. Relationship. But as the pressure built quickly within her, she released her trepidation and once again quivered in climactic bliss against the door and Luke. Her legs spasmed from weakness, but Luke continued to hold her.

  Leona’s screams burst through the house. She was going to pass out from the intensity. “I can’t. Luke, I can’t.” Her labored breath made her gulp in air.

  “Last one, baby. I promise.” His breath gently fanned her center, blowing, healing both her body and spirit. “Give me one more, Leona.”

  She wanted to object. If he continued to touch her there, she’d shatter like pressurized glass.

  Luke again blew on her, the soft air cooled, but that didn’t last long. The heat of his mouth blanketed her and his skilled tongue built the pressure in her again.

  Leona thought her nerves were fried, but when the burning of her orgasm fluttered through her again, she was brought to tears that flowed down her cheeks as she moaned and called Luke’s name. “No more, Luke. Please. No more,” she cried. If sex was ever going to kill her, it was going to be now.

  Luke’s laughter vibrated between her leg muscles. She was completely spent but still extremely sensitive to his touch. He relaxed his grip and his power sucking became mild licks.

  Leona wiggled against him, still experiencing high sensations. She panted and brought her hand to her head in an attempt to catch her breath. She liquefied to the floor.

  “I love to watch you come, Leona, and hear you let go.” Luke crawled up to her, sat next to her, and put his arm around her. “You can always do that with me, you know. Let go.”

  Leona sniffled. His double meaning dissolved her into mush. She drew from the strength of his arms. No one had ever said that to her before. “Compliments and cunnilingus.” She tilted her head up to kiss his chin.

  “Yes.” Luke laughed, but then saw the wetness on her cheeks.

  The last time she saw similar stress lines on his face was when she’d had a meltdown from being in his studio.

  “You, I...” Luke
was in bad shape. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. Nothing’s wrong. I don’t have words to express how wild that was. So...” She wiped her cheek and showed him the wetness on her fingers.

  He didn’t appear convinced.

  Leona laughed. “I’m fine.” She gave an exhausted breath. “I need a nap.”

  “A nap?”

  “Yeah, we didn’t get to bed until sometime this morning and then we were up at five or something ridiculous. I mean, at least, I was. Did you even sleep?” Leona didn’t wait for him to respond. “Anyway, we have been like bunnies since I got here. Let’s not forget that your sister, Ariel, and the kids were here and they only just left. It’s almost nighttime and you have interviews in a few hours—”

  “Uh-huh.” Luke followed her story.

  “Then, we just did the bunny thing some more.”

  He laughed at her. “Which we’ll do again and again.”

  “If you don’t want me to fall asleep on you tonight, you’ll let me take a nap.” She nudged him. “Do you want to join me?”

  “I’ll lie with you, but once you’re asleep I’ll probably go back to the studio. I don’t think I could sleep even if I wanted to.”

  “I thought my hours were bad. Yours are straight ridiculous. I don’t know how you do it.” Her leg started to fall asleep. “I don’t want to disrupt your routine.”

  “First of all, you’re not disrupting my routine. You are my routine. You’re my workout and my nutrition plan.” He hauled her up with him.

  Jeez, he was making her hot again.

  “Let’s put you to bed, Miss Sable.”

  They went upstairs to the bedroom carrying their individual pile of clothes, their naked lower halves streaking the hallway.

  Leona discarded the remainder of her clothes and climbed into Luke’s bed. She slid under the sheets and waited for him.

  Luke undressed and crawled into bed, gathering her in his arms.

  “Mmm.” Leona relished in his naked body. Had she not been so exhausted, she would have indulged in pleasure with him again. Instead, she enjoyed being held.

  “You’re like the softest kitten,” he said against her ear.

  “What woman doesn’t like a little cuddle?” Leona nestled into the perfect fit of his torso.

  “Good point.” Luke squeezed her tighter. “Go to sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

  “I really liked that song you did with Ariel earlier.”

  “Which one?” The timber in his voice vibrated against her back.

  “The first one.” Her palms glided over his forearms.

  He started to sing it to her.

  She smiled. “Yes, that one. You should play it on the tour when it’s ready.” She closed her eyes and yawned.

  Luke squeezed her again and continued the song as if singing her a lullaby.

  Leona’s breathing deepened and soon she was fast asleep.

  * * *

  Leona lost count of how many times she and Luke were intimate. Even as she slept, Luke was pleasing, touching, and satisfying her in some way. She savored every minute of it because all good things had to come to an end.

  She sat across from Luke as they shared a late lunch the next day. She didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but she had been tiptoeing around the issue all day. They had to get back to normal. Her lunch tasted like cardboard as she readied herself to speak to him. She pushed her food away.

  “I had a good time here with you, Luke.”

  He met her eyes and he stretched his shoulders back. “I knew this was coming.”

  “It’s what we agreed would happen.” Leona chewed the inside of her lip. “In a few hours, I’ll be meeting with Sara and Sebastian to get prepped for LA, and then we’ll be at your nightclub performance and this will be over.” The words were more difficult to get out than she expected.

  He chewed his food harder and quicker. “Right.”

  She took a deep inhale and waited. Nothing. “That’s all you’re going to say to me?”

  “We agreed things would go back to normal when this was over, Leona, just like you said. So let’s enjoy it until the end and then it’s back to business.”

  He was right. They had an agreement, but the words were no less painful to hear. What did I expect? That he’d fall in love with me? Anything short of going back to the tour in a strictly client–tour manager relationship would cause problems. But how could she go back?

  If this was just a fling then why did he trust his sister and Ariel to come to the house, even though their rendezvous was a secret? She had only told Izzy. This was exactly what Luke had promised when he proposed she come out to meet him here. This needed to happen. So what the fuck was her problem?

  “Okay, great. I’ll start packing. I can stay at a hotel tonight to avoid any questions.”

  Luke dropped his fork. “Why? We have to fly to LA tomorrow night. It doesn’t make sense to split up at this point.”

  Point taken, but she didn’t want to further complicate an emotionally charged situation. “I’ll let you know what I ultimately decide.”

  Luke nodded.

  She waited to see if he would say anything, but he continued to eat. Anger heated her skin. If he wasn’t going to talk to her, then she wasn’t going to just sit there. She headed to the bedroom to start packing.

  Luke’s hand shot out to grab her arm. In one motion, he fastened her onto his lap. She struggled a bit, but he held her to him.

  “Stop, Leona.”

  She huffed as she tried to get up, but he was stronger. “Let me go, Luke.”

  His eyes searched for hers but she avoided them. “I know you want to pretend that you don’t give a shit, but I know you do.”

  Leona frowned at him. “Me? You’re the one who has said all of two words in this whole conversation.”

  “What would you like me to say?” His words were soft against her ear.

  “I don’t know. Anything.” She wanted him to tell her this wasn’t just a fling and that he wanted her in his life. But even if he did, how could this work? She wanted to tell him she wanted more, too, and that she was sorry for what she’d done and how her choices had affected him, but she couldn’t.

  “I don’t want this to end, Leona. Having you here with me... I never thought... I don’t want to hope for something that can’t be.”

  Her heart was aching. She had let her feelings get out of control here, and now she wanted what she couldn’t have. The gallery publicity had shown her that all her hard work could be obliterated in one fell swoop.

  “We can’t.” The words physically hurt, as if they had been torn from her like a plant being ripped from its roots. “There is too much at stake. I’m just coming back. You’ve seen the gallery gossip. The media will destroy me—us, if they get the chance.”

  “What if they do?”

  “What if they do?” she challenged. “Then it’ll be a spectacle. First they’ll start on me, and how I’m dating another client. Then they’ll bring up Paul’s lies and paint me as the bitch ruining his life or worse. Then when I don’t give them what they want, they’ll infiltrate everything good in my life to try to get it. I can’t let them do that again. I can’t give them the ammunition.”

  “You’re going to let the media dictate how you live your life? Don’t get me wrong, Leona, I get that when they come for you it can get way out of hand, but you don’t have to give them control over your happiness.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” she said.

  “Is it? When Ivy left my tour and our relationship, the media had a field day creating all kinds of rumors about it until Ivy’s family paid them off. Being broadcasted like that hurt me, too, but I kept playing my music, kept interacting with the fans, and held my niece and nephew when I visited my sister. I had to cherish what was good in my life
and not focus on what people who didn’t know me had to say.”

  His admission made this even harder. Luke had always had a hard time trusting her. It had pissed her off but she understood. Now he was opening up to her in a way he hadn’t before. More than that, he identified with some of what she’d experienced. Some.

  Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked hard and fast to hold them back. “Luke. I’m sorry.” She swallowed the thickness of their situation. She buried her head in his shoulder. Her previous bout with the media had handicapped her with anxiety, tortured her friends and family, and deteriorated her work relationships and reputation. Could she risk it all, for Luke?

  “Hey. We don’t have to make any big decisions right now.” Luke pressed his head against hers and relaxed his hold. “The last thing I want to do is spend the rest of our time here arguing.”

  Leona slid her arms out of his embrace and latched them around his neck, hugging him tight. She didn’t want to fight with him or herself. She just wanted to hold him.

  Luke cradled her in his arms and caressed her back.

  “I’m meeting with Sara and Sebastian at their hotel. I’ll come back so we can go to Cosmic City for your show.”

  “Okay.” Luke bent his head and she received his kiss. She didn’t know how many kisses she had left because soon they would be cut off from this intimacy.

  She had to make every one of them count.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Cosmic City in downtown San Francisco was lit with fans thirsty for Luke’s music. He had been quiet ever since their conversation at lunch but Leona thought it was better to have him quiet if it kept him from showing her any affection in public, which was proving to be difficult for them both.

  She had separated from him when they arrived at the club, but now, as he was moments away from getting onstage, she checked on her artist.

  Luke saw her and crossed his arms, towering over her. “You know this isn’t going to work, right?”

  “What’s not working? Do you need something?” Leona scanned the room to see if something was out of place.

  “I’m talking about us, Leona.”