The Right Man

by Mankin, Michelle

  Chapter 20

  * * *

  Rush

  “Hey, pretty girl.”

  I sank onto the bed beside Jewel. She looked so worried, a concern that matched mine. But knowing we were both scared, would that be enough to keep this from becoming a mistake for both of us?

  “What can I do to make you smile?”

  “You’re not responsible for making me happy, Rush.”

  “Maybe not, but I want you to be happy. How can I do that? Tell me, and it’s done.” I might not have the answers to how this might end up, but right now, all I wanted was to see her smile.

  “Saying things like that.” Taking my hand, she turned it over and traced the lines on my palm, seeming to give my question serious consideration before she answered. “Meaning what you say the way I can tell you do and following through is a very good start.”

  “That’s too easy.”

  “Maybe.” She let out a sigh. “But maybe it’s easy because that’s just you.”

  “That’s so not me. I’m a selfish, entitled, narcissistic bastard. I told you that when we first met.”

  “I remember. But you’re not that way with me anymore, or you hardly are.”

  “I’m trying to be on my best behavior because I don’t want to be like that with you.” I swiveled to more fully face her, jostling her in my bed. “When I come here, it’s a relief to leave all the rock-star bullshit on the other side of the door.”

  “I think that’s the key with me, and you too. Just being ourselves. The other stuff that tries to intrude, let’s set it aside and not worry about tomorrow.” She stared deeply into my eyes. “In this moment, right now between the two of us, there’s an eternity to experience.”

  “Who said that? Your gran?”

  “No, just me. But it’s the me I am because of her influence. The better parts. The parts that seem to rise to the surface naturally because you’re gentle and kind to me.”

  She swept her thumb across my palm and turned my hand over to tap the cross on my ring. The brush of her skin ignited a light within my chest that had gone out after my father died.

  I wanted Jewel again, no surprise there. But we’d just done that.

  Our bodies worked exceptionally well together. I wanted—I needed—to work on bridging the gaps that separated us emotionally. That was the great unknown.

  I’d probably fuck it up, but if I got it right, I might succeed with her.

  “So, the here and now. What would you like to do?” I asked her.

  “I don’t know. What is there to do?”

  “We could go to the beach. It’s too cold to swim, but we could roll up our jeans and dip our feet in the water.”

  “That sounds nice.” She gave me a small but genuine smile.

  It wasn’t that big smile I’d gotten from her before, but a tiny light inside me blazed brightly with satisfaction anyway.

  Maybe I could do this. Maybe I wouldn’t fuck it up with her after all.

  “Then let’s do it.” I stood and held out my hand, and she placed hers within mine.

  “Do you wanna have a shower before we go?” she asked.

  “Nah. I’ll just get sandy out there. We can take a shower together after.” I tucked her into my side and headed for the door. “You’ve been to the beach before, haven’t you?”

  “No.”

  I gave her an incredulous look. “You’re kidding.”

  “There’s no beach in Tennessee.”

  “But when you came out here . . .”

  “There was never any reason to go. Landon wasn’t the beach-going type.”

  “Was he the douche?” The hand I’d placed on the small of her back curled into a fist.

  “Yes.”

  “What was he like?”

  “He didn’t want to have to work hard for anything. And he didn’t have time to do anything except what he wanted to do.”

  “You forgot he was a total idiot.”

  “No, I didn’t forget that.” Her lips twitched.

  I steered her through the sliding doors, locked them after we were through, and gestured to the stairs down to the sidewalk.

  Jewel glanced at me. “What was your fiancée like?”

  Unprepared for the question, I stumbled. Sharing about Brenda was like walking through a field of land mines.

  “I’m sorry,” Jewel said. “It seemed natural to ask, but it’s none of my business.”

  “No, it’s okay. She just . . . she had an idea about how our lives should go. I had another.”

  “You were on different pages.”

  “We were on different planets.” I pulled in a breath as we crossed the sidewalk, and let it out when my toes sank in the sand. “She wanted me to stay in our small town, take over the family farm, raise kids.”

  “What did you want?”

  “She was my first and only girlfriend. Before I left for college, I thought I wanted those things too. Then I got a taste of the world outside Pendleton, Indiana, and I’ve never wanted to go back since.”

  It was a shame, really. The rift between my parents and me had destroyed most of the nostalgic feelings I could have had toward my hometown.

  Jewel gave me a curious look. “How did your music come into it?”

  “It was more a symptom than a cause. We grew apart long before I started having success in the small clubs around the college. I didn’t see it at the time, but looking back, I realize the farm-family agenda was her dream, her way or the highway. Given an ultimatum, I chose the latter.”

  And then there was the fact that I’d strayed. Brenda and I had been on a break at the time. But the way I’d done it sucked.

  I didn’t want Jewel to know I was a total idiot like her ex, so I reached out and picked her up by her waist. The girl was too easy to lift; she needed to eat more. I had an idea about dinner, but for now, I spun her in a circle and then pulled her down with me to the sand.

  “Enough talking about the past.” I sat her on my lap and nuzzled her neck.

  She giggled. “Your whiskers tickle.”

  “Ah, a weak spot to exploit. Where else are you ticklish, I wonder.”

  “Nowhere.” She jumped up and scampered toward the water.

  “I’m thinking that’s not true. Get those hems rolled up. I’m gonna give you a tour of the beach. The 411 on the 90401. Then when your guard’s down and you least expect it, I’ll find those secret tickle spots and I’ll exploit them.” I wiggled my fingers, and she grinned at me.

  “You can try,” she said, a challenge in her voice. “But to get to them, you have to catch me.”

  Jewel took off like a flash, and I stood there in awe, watching her run away. Her hair streamed like a sunset-hued banner behind her. Her tinkling laughter drifted back to me on the wind.

  She wasn’t worried anymore.

  She was having fun.

  I was having fun.

  So I’d stumbled over a few unexpected questions about past relationships. I hadn’t done all that bad if I could still make her laugh after that.

  Grinning, I jumped up and broke into a jog after her, pretty damn pleased with myself. After all, I’d made Jewel happy without even really trying.

  And her happiness?

  It made me happy too.

  • • •

  Jewel

  Rush caught me by the waist, lifted me into the air, and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

  “Don’t you dare toss me in the water.” I beat my fists against his back, having a fair idea now why his skin was so tanned. He obviously went all over the place with his shirt off and didn’t think anything of it.

  Me?

  It was all I could do to string two words together when presented with his half-naked body.

  “Stop hitting me, and I might consider putting you down.” He feigned a release, and I slid down off his shoulder and into his ready arms. He grinned at me as a wave splashed into him from behind.

  “I’m stopping. I surren
der.” I lifted my hands into the air.

  “I changed my mind.”

  His gaze dropped to my mouth, and my lips started to tingle. Then my whole body shimmered with warmth when he pressed his mouth to mine.

  But he didn’t stop there. He traced my lips with his tongue and slipped it inside my mouth so I could taste him—a dash of lemon and sage from lunch, but also something uniquely Rush. His taste was incredibly addictive, just like he was.

  “You’re all wet,” I told him when he ended the kiss and set me down on the sand.

  “I bet you are too.” He arched a brow.

  I nodded, my cheeks burning.

  “Love this.” Framing my face in his large hands, he brushed his thumbs over my rosy skin.

  “It’s silly.”

  “How so?”

  “For my face to turn red as if I’m an innocent when you tease me.”

  “What you think is silly, I think is beautiful.”

  “If you say so.” I turned my head, but he captured my chin.

  “I do. It’s becoming, really. Demure, and I get it now because of your upbringing. You’re also capable, because of all you’ve endured. Caring, because that’s just your nature.” His eyebrows waggled playfully. “Naughty too. I like it when you let it all go and talk dirty.”

  A laugh burst free. “I’ll bet you do.”

  “I like you, Jewel. Wouldn’t change a fucking thing.”

  Those words gave me pause, and I stilled for a moment.

  “Take that,” he said, “and file this moment away for eternity.”

  I nodded, planning to do just that. I’d commit to memory everything about this day. The walk. The teasing. The kiss.

  And the other part, earlier today? The coming so hard in his bed that emotion had leaked from me and sent me scurrying away to hide it?

  I wouldn’t file that away. I would hold it close to my heart, a treasured reminder to myself that no matter how this went with him, I was all those things he had said. He treated me as though I were. I’d felt it profoundly when we were joined together.

  “Hey, you still with me?” He searched my face as if trying to read my thoughts, and he might get them. In such a short time, he’d gotten very good at reading me.

  “I’m with you.” My stomach grumbled, deciding to make its presence known.

  “The beast has spoken.” His lips curved. “Will you eat sushi?”

  “Never had it.”

  “It’s really good. They have rolls and ahi tuna poke bowls at a takeaway place up ahead off the boardwalk. Are you willing to try some?”

  “I would try anything with you,” I said honestly, giving him something to make him pause too.

  “Ah, darlin’, you should never give me an opening like that. To do all the things I’ve thought of to do with you would take more than a single day. It would take a lifetime.”

  Chapter 21

  * * *

  Rush

  We returned to the condo and ate outside on the porch, listening to the waves and not talking much. She asked how I met the guys in the band, and I gave her the simplified version. How I’d put an ad in Craigslist.

  I asked her how she met her roommate, and she explained about the rescue at the shelter. I sensed there was more beneath the surface of her brief answer, but we’d covered a lot of heavy territory today. By mutual but unspoken understanding, we kept the conversation easy and light.

  “So, what’s your verdict on the raw ahi tuna?” I glanced at her empty bowl.

  “Loved it.” Her chair was so close, her knee touched mine. “Not something I should make a habit of liking, though, at eighteen fifty a bowl.”

  “Beachfront prices. It’s probably more reasonably priced inland.”

  “Probably.” She smiled as I covered her hand with mine and softly stroked her knuckles with the pad of my thumb.

  “Mmm,” she murmured. “I like how you do that.”

  “What?” I was staring at her again. The glow of the sun had set her hair ablaze.

  “Touch me whenever I’m close, like it’s a compulsion. And you do it so rhythmically too. It’s soothing and seductive.”

  “That’s my plan.” I grinned at her. “Only not really. I just can’t help it. If you’re near, I want to be connected. If it’s soothing to you, it’s that to me too. Rhythmic? Guilty as charged. I’m a musician. Seductive? Hell, I’ll take credit, but if anyone is under someone’s spell, it’s me under yours.”

  She leaned in and pressed her mouth to mine. Her lips were lush and tasted like peach nectar.

  It was a soft, brief kiss. The first she’d initiated, and sexy as hell. She started to move away, but I slid my hand around her nape and held her in place so I could capture her lips and take the kiss deeper.

  When I finally pulled back, she looked a little dazed.

  The hushed peacefulness of the evening fell over us as gently as the ocean breeze. We held hands, watching the sun go down, and when it was gone, I got up and flicked on the switch to ignite the gas fire pit. I grabbed a folded blanket from a nearby basket, shook it out, and draped it around her shoulders.

  “Aren’t you going to be cold?” She glanced up at me, her eyes reflecting the flames as I smoothed the blanket around her.

  “Not for long. We’ll share.” I gestured to the oversized cushioned lounger facing the water. “Come sit with me.”

  I held out my hand to help her up. She took it and clutched the blanket to her chest with the other. After I lowered myself into the chair, I scooted back to rest against the cushion and spread my knees wide for her.

  “Sit here.” I patted the empty space I’d created.

  She sat down and I did the rest, pulling her back into my chest.

  “This doesn’t seem fair,” she said after a moment.

  I didn’t know what she meant. It felt pretty fucking good to me. “What doesn’t?”

  “Me with the blanket. You out in the cold.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” I sifted my fingers through her hair, imagining the silky softness of her fiery locks falling around my cock.

  “Let’s share.”

  She shifted, rocking her sexy ass over me, and my cock thickened. I suppressed a groan.

  “Help me.” She offered the ends of the blanket. “We can snuggle under it together.”

  Snuggling was no longer all I had in mind.

  “Baby, I—”

  She turned and tilted her head back to peer up at me. “No one can see what we do underneath here.”

  Not needing another hint, I lowered my head and took her lips. I let her worry about the blanket and propriety. While kissing her, I peeled her tee up, and only released her mouth briefly to whip the shirt off. Tossing it aside, I recaptured her lips, thrusting my tongue inside her mouth and unclasping her bra at the same time.

  She moaned into my mouth while I slid my fingers over her soft skin and filled my hands with her lush tits. Strumming her tight nipples with my thumbs, I kissed her like there was no tomorrow, only today, only now, and she kissed me back with equal abandon.

  Fucking phenomenal.

  “Rush.” She gasped, pulling her lips from mine, and spun around to face me. “I need you. I want you.” She moved to straddle me.

  “Not here.”

  Fucking cameras were everywhere. I didn’t give a shit about me, but I didn’t want anyone else to see her naked. Yanking the blanket over her, I pulled her to my chest, straightened with her in my arms, and stood to take us back inside.

  “Hold on tight,” I told her. “Hands around my neck.”

  As she clutched my shoulders, I walked us through the open doors, then closed and latched them.

  “Mouth,” I grumbled irritably, resenting every obstacle that kept me from the prize. She lifted her face, and I leaned over to sip fruit-flavored nectar from her perfect lips.

  My intended destination was the bedroom, but I didn’t make it there.

  Releasing her mouth, I lowered her to the floor and u
nfastened her jeans. She hissed when my fingers skimmed her pussy as I removed her panties. Breathing hard, I stared at the naked beauty of her as I unbuttoned my jeans and kicked out of them and my boxers.

  Afterward, I stalked straight to her, and with my hands on her shoulders, walked her backward into the closest wall.

  She knew what was up. Me. My cock bobbed, aimed at her pussy.

  “Stay,” I told her.

  I raked my gaze over her before bending to remove a condom packet from my jeans. Rolling it on, I stared at her while she watched me. My naked goddess beside the flat screen in my living room.

  “Baby . . .” In awe, I knelt before her and placed both hands on her thighs. Gliding my palms over her legs and her silky skin, I grasped her hips and ran my nose through her curls, inhaling deeply.

  “Rush.” She trembled in my hands.

  “I have to taste you.” I made a tight frame for her pussy and swept the curls aside with my thumbs.

  She gasped and plunged her hands into my hair, pulling at it as I found and rolled my tongue over her. I lapped at her sweet little clit, saturating my tongue with the thick gloss that covered it.

  “Rush.” Her fingers tugged urgently as I circled and sucked. “No more. Please. No more.”

  I licked her one last time, savoring her taste that was similar to her mouth, only richer and riper.

  Rising quickly from the floor, I dove my hands into her hair and captured her mouth, letting her see how good she tasted. I didn’t hold back. I wanted her to know how much she excited me. Just as turned on, she moved her hands frantically across my back and purred her appreciation.

  “Hop up, baby,” I murmured against her kiss-swollen lips. Grabbing the rounded globes of her ass in each hand, I squeezed. “Now.”

  She jumped. I positioned myself and glided inside her smoothly. All the way, until I was buried as deep as I could go. My lips finding hers parted and willing, I fucked her mouth with my unrelenting tongue, and pounded into her sweet pussy with the blunt force of my ruthless cock.

  No finesse. No control. I hammered her with my desire, and she returned my fervor.