by Christi Snow
Outside her apartment building, a huge, muscular guy who looked to be in his early-thirties stood next to a sleek silver Mercedes. The guy grinned when he spotted Brady and he not so discreetly checked her out like a mother checking out her son’s first date. She was used to men checking her out sexually, not for approval like this. It gave her an itchy feeling under her skin.
Brady pulled her forward. “Emily, I’d like you to meet Luke—my driver, sometimes bodyguard, and always friend.”
She lifted her arm to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
His grip on her hand was firm as he shook it. “Same.”
She turned to Brady. “Do you need a bodyguard often?” She didn’t like the idea of that.
Brady shrugged like it was no big deal. “Sometimes. My family is extensive and pretty well known. It’s easier to have him around just in case.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” Luke interjected as he opened the back car door for them. “The only thing he needs help with is fending off women.”
Brady and she laughed, although his words felt more like a warning rather than a joke. Message received...Brady wouldn’t be around for long. He’d have another plaything soon. Don’t get used to it.
But when Luke followed them into the J&V Bar fifteen minutes later, the whole bodyguard issue seemed a little more serious. Did they think Brady would get mobbed or attacked at this quaint little bar? Emily turned a questioning eyebrow to Brady.
He shrugged. “It’s easier for him to be inside if I need him rather than a couple of blocks away at the car.”
She glanced around the quiet Java & Vino club where small groups lingered, talking quietly at small, bistro-style tables in the dark, low-lit room. She nodded, although she couldn’t imagine a threat here. It was a bit weird to feel like they had a chaperone on their date, but whatever.
Luke split off to grab a small table in the back corner, but Brady guided her the opposite direction. “Come over here. I want to introduce you to someone.”
At the edge of the bar was an older teenage couple. The boy was unpacking a guitar and saxophone and handing them to the girl.
Emily smiled. She wasn’t sure which one of the young pair was more nervous. The girl was twitchy, but the boy shook as he moved the instruments. The boy glanced up as they approached. Relief spread over his face when he recognized Brady.
Brady reached across and shook his hand. “Hey, Alex, relax. You got this.”
Alex shook Brady’s hand and blew out a shaky breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Is it normal to puke all day the day of a performance?”
Brady laugh was sympathetic. “Yeah, actually, it is. I can’t tell you how many days I’ve spent hugging the porcelain throne before and after performances.”
Alex looked like he was going to cry. “After, too? Fuck. I thought it would be past by then.”
“Then you have to deal with the adrenaline drop. For me, that can be just as brutal. But you know what, everyone’s different. You have talent, so there’s no reason to be nervous. Let me see if I can distract you. Alex and Miranda, this is my friend, Emily.” Brady tugged her forward. “I brought her here tonight because it’s our first official date, and I wanted to impress her.”
“No pressure or anything,” Alex mumbled. “Thanks a lot, Brady.”
Emily smiled. Alex may be nervous, but he obviously was a good kid to keep his sense of humor despite that.
She winked at him. “I think you’re going to do great. Miranda, do you perform with him, or are you just here for moral support?”
Miranda threaded her fingers through Alex’s. “Moral support.”
“And on that note,” Brady said, “We’re going to go find a seat and get out of your way.”
“I’ll try not to embarrass you,” Alex said.
“That’s not even a possibility,” Brady said, and he grabbed Emily’s hand, pulling her to an empty small round table just off to the side of the stage.
They sat, and Brady handed her a drink menu.
She glanced at the menu, but her gaze strayed back to the teens. “How do you know them? More relatives?”
Brady smiled. “No. Alex was my first student.”
“Student? I didn’t know you taught.”
“I don’t anymore. Alex is my last and best. I started teaching him when I was twelve.”
“Twelve?” Emily looked back at the still very young teenager. “What was he? Taught in the womb?”
Brady laughed. “Not quite. He was four when we started...and brilliant even then. Just wait. He’s nervous, but you’ll never see it once he starts playing. He’s amazing.”
Brady’s eyes glowed with pride. She could just imagine twelve-year-old Brady taking such a small child under his wing to show him the ropes. For both of them to have such talent so young was astounding. But even more surprising was that he’d had the talent and shared it. Surprising and more than a little heart-warming. She reached for his hand and squeezed it.
He looked up at her in surprise. “What’s that about?”
“You’re an amazing man, Brady Gresham.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, darling,” he said in a mock cocky drawl. “Wait until you hear him play, then you can be impressed...with him, though, not me.”
And it was just as incredible as Brady promised, making Emily realize that she hadn’t heard Brady play any of his music yet. At the club in Vegas, he’d played popular hits. They’d have to fix that...soon.
EMILY DIDN’T GET TO hear Brady’s music for another week. While they’d managed to see each other at least once a day and either spent their nights in her apartment or his, he’d been very particular about keeping his music separate from her.
That’s what made her waking up alone in his luxury penthouse apartment in the middle of the night with the sound of music echoing down the hall such a surprise. Emily sat up and glanced at the clock. One o’clock in the morning.
She pulled on Brady’s discarded T-shirt and followed the sound of the mournful piano melody.
Brady lived in a luxury, two-story penthouse apartment. She crept down the hall, treading lightly on the dark, bamboo wood floors to muffle the sound of her bare feet approaching. She thought she’d seen his entire apartment when he showed it to her the first visit, but as she padded down the second floor hall, following the music, she realized he hadn’t shown her this part.
Light filtered from a door barely opened a crack. Emily approached it stealthily, although he’d never hear her over the music. The melody turned from mournful to something more hopeful, swelling with promise.
She peered inside and gasped. A lone light illuminated a grand piano where Brady sat, still nude. They’d talked about what it was like for him when the music drove him and how very little could distract him...like dressing tonight, obviously.
The muscles of his arms and torso flexed as he ran his fingers over the keys. Arousal dampened her core just from watching him play and create such amazing sounds from the piano. As the music built, Emily was shocked to see his cock grow. His music was turning him on. He’d said she inspired him. Was he thinking about her right now? Was he remembering the incredible sex they’d had just a few short hours before and letting those memories dictate the music?
Her skin felt itchy with the need to go to him, to touch. His hands were busy. He couldn’t do anything for that erection, but she could. Before she could talk herself out of it, she slipped into the room.
The music hesitated half a beat when he realized she was there, but then he continued like nothing was amiss. She took that as permission and dropped into a crouch at the side of the piano. Luckily, he was tall and had long legs so there was room for her between him and the keyboard. She stroked his dick gently at first so she wouldn’t startle him. The tip was damp with arousal, the length hard as steel and hot to her touch.
Her mouth watered to do so much more than touch. They’d been so busy having sex that she hadn’t gotten to go down on Bra
dy, although it was normally one of her favorite things to do.
She didn’t plan to deny herself any longer. Leaning over, she licked the moisture off the tip first, tasting him.
Brady groaned and spread his legs wider to accommodate her.
His dark chest and pubic hair was trimmed short, but those dark shadows helped to delineate all his hard muscles. So damn sexy. She ran her nails through that coarse hair at his lower belly as she licked the tip, teasing him slowly. The music swelled along with his penis. As he grew harder, she took him farther until she engulfed his cock in one slow slide that took him all the way to the back of her throat. She let him sit there for a split second before working him slowly back out.
Over and over, she did this, taking him deeper every time. The music built, a crescendo of bass echoing through her chest from being close to the piano. It was a testament to his skill as a musician that he could continue to play while she swallowed him down.
More and more liquid seeped out of his tip to coat her tongue and throat. His breathing picked up, and she knew he was getting close. She swirled her tongue over the ridge of his head and plunged over his shaft again, taking him deep into her throat where she swallowed.
“Em,” he yelled as the music abruptly cut off, replaced by his grunts and moans as his orgasm pulsed down her throat and his hips jerked in response.
She pulled off him slightly so not to choke, but she continued to lick and roll her tongue over him as his pulses slowly gentled. His thighs trembled under her hands as his breath panted out.
“Fuck, Em.” He groaned, his voice sounding broken.
She let his softening cock fall out of her mouth and looked up at him from the floor. He’d slumped over like his spine had turned to mush.
He threaded his talented fingers through her hair. “You are welcome to visit my music room anytime.” Another shudder rolled down his spine, making her smile.
She liked that she’d been able to wreck him like that. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but you were naked and hard and...” She shrugged. “I couldn’t resist. I hope I didn’t mess up the song you were writing.”
“I have a feeling it will be one of my most favorite pieces ever.” He scooted the piano bench back and lifted her to her feet, bending her backward over the piano to passionately kiss her. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss although his expression glittered with affection. “I’ll have to see when I listen to the replay of it...tomorrow. Come on. Let’s go back to bed. I want to repay the favor.”
He tugged her down the hall, forgetting completely about his music.
Chapter Nine
A week after that explosive night in his music room, Luke drove them through downtown Manhattan and Brady found himself staring at the date on his iPad in dismay. Only a week until Christmas. How had that happened?
He pulled up Emily’s contact on his cell phone.
“Hello, Music Man.”
He smiled. After that night at his piano, she’d started calling him that, saying that he had played and it had called her like the Pied Piper. She couldn’t resist following the music. He liked that idea...a lot.
“You’re female, right?”
Emily choked. “Um...yeah. I didn’t realize that was up for question. I must be doing something wrong when I’m riding your cock.”
He barked out a laugh and had to work to control his body from reacting to that imagery. “No, there are no issues there. I need your help...as a female. Can we come pick you up in thirty minutes?”
“Sure. What should I wear?”
“We’re going shopping, so dress accordingly.”
“O—kay,” she said slowly, obviously not understanding what he needed. He’d explain it when he picked her up.
Thirty minutes later, Luke parked in the loading zone of Emily’s building. She stood waiting for them inside the reception area, chatting with the doorman.
Brady’s pulse sped up at the sight of her at a distance.
“Man, you have it bad,” Luke muttered from the front seat.
Brady ignored him. He hadn’t managed to get the car door open before she bounded out of the building with a wave goodbye behind her.
She swept into the car with a blast of cold air and gave him a quick kiss. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, yourself,” he responded as she fastened her seatbelt. “I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything important.”
“Nope. In fact, you saved me from myself. I’m supposed to be taking this month off, but I made the mistake this morning of checking my work email. I was quickly getting sucked into bad manuscripts and unrequested queries. I’d much rather spend the day with you.”
“Agreed, although you may want to rescind that when I tell you what we’re doing.”
“Uh-oh.” Emily raised her eyebrows. “Should I be scared?”
“No. Maybe...” He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s why I need your help.”
She laughed. “Okay, hit me with it, big guy. What has you scared?”
“A fourteen year old girl.” He groaned.
Emily nodded. “That would do it. Tell me more.”
“You know that I have a big family. To simplify things, we’ve always drawn names for Christmas. There are very strict rules, which is fine. But this year, I drew my fourteen-year-old niece’s name, and I’m terrified of buying her the wrong gift. You know my family’s reputation. There aren’t very many in the family without those musical genes, but Paige is one of them. So she’s fourteen, hates everyone, and to make it worse, she feels like an outcast...and has been very vocal about the fact.” Even thinking about getting her gift wrong made him almost hyperventilate. His teenage nieces could be so high strung. He wanted Paige to have the best Christmas ever, but that wouldn’t happen if he fucked it up.
She laughed and patted his hand at his panic. “Okay. Calm down. We’ve got this. You have me, and I am a power shopper. This will be no problem. You mentioned rules. What are they?”
“We can only spend fifty dollars and can’t pull any favors. Like I couldn’t call up Justin Bieber’s manager and ask for free backstage passes and have that fit within the money restrictions.”
She nodded. “That makes sense especially since I’m sure you could do exactly that.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “Okay, let me think.” Her mouth twisted in thought. “Do you have a photo of her?”
“Umm...sure, hang on.” Brady thumbed through the photos on his phone, looking for some from the last family get together Paige had been at. He found them and passed the phone to her. He pointed at the girl on the screen smiling shyly as his cousin, Daniel, told a story. “That’s her. The one with the purple hair and glasses.”
Emily’s eyes lit up. “Oh, this is going to be fun. She’s an individual. Obviously likes purple, but you can see she’s kind of standing back right here.” Emily looked up at him in question. “Is she shy?”
“Not shy per se...probably more reserved. She reads all the time. Always has her nose stuck in a book.”
Emily nodded. “Okay. I can work with this. I have a couple of ideas.” She gave Luke directions, and they took off on their shopping adventure.
THREE HOURS LATER, Emily dropped into a small chair inside the crowded coffee shop filled with holiday shoppers.
Brady set the multitude of packages at her feet and asked, “What would you like?”
“Hot cocoa and a massage,” she said as she rolled her shoulders. “Who knew shopping the week before Christmas was an Olympic-level sport?”
He smiled at her theatrics and replaced her hands with his, rubbing her stiff shoulders.
She moaned, and his dick throbbed in his pants. He continued rolling his fingers over the knots in her shoulders for a few minutes. “Let me get your cocoa and call Luke to come pick us up. I’ll continue the massage at home where I can get you naked and oily.”
Her moan turned downright pornographic. He had to get his hands off her before he was tempted to strip her down right here. Luckily, th
e place was packed and noisy. No one could hear her, but they would probably notice if the two of them started going at it right in the middle of the café.
He reluctantly pulled his hands away and got in line to place their order while texting Luke that they’d be ready to go in fifteen minutes.
When he got back to the table, Emily was pawing through the bags. She looked up at him, her eyes bright with excitement. “I think we did good. Do you think Paige is going to like it?”
“I’m sure she will.” He pulled his chair close to hers and sat. “How you managed to get so much stuff for fifty dollars is beyond me. I never could have done this without you.”
By rummaging through bins and sales racks, Emily had put together a gift bag for Paige filled with book items, stationary, pens, bookmarks, literary-themed candles, and sweets. Almost all the items had purple on them somewhere, and he knew his book-loving niece was going to be thrilled. Hell, he wasn’t a teenage girl, lover of purple, or that much of a reader, yet he would have been excited to receive a basket filled to the brim with goodies.
But the best part had been watching how excited Emily had gotten every time she’d find a special item to add to the collection. That had made the shopping rendezvous fun for him, too, and that certainly wasn’t something he ever thought he would enjoy.
“You’ll have to take photos of her opening it so I can see her reaction.” For a moment, a flash of melancholy crossed Emily’s expression like she wanted to be there.
It made him wonder...
“What are you doing for Christmas?” he asked.
“Mac will be back in Denver, and I’ve promised him that I’ll be at his Christmas Eve party.”
He frowned. “What about Christmas Day? Do you spend it with your parents?”
She laughed, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “My parents are always caught up in their latest marriage or fling...depending on the year.” She shrugged. “I’ve learned to enjoy the day alone with a roaring fire, some old Christmas movies, and a good book or two. It’s all good.”
