by Casey, Ember
I’m just about to open the door to the back of the car when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and look up at Pax, arching an eyebrow.
“I want you to know, I never do this.”
“Never do what?” I tilt my head. “Act like an asshole?”
He stares at me, searching my eyes for a moment, and I can’t read the expression on his face. “No, I definitely do that. All the time.”
I can’t help but grin. “Then what is it you never do?”
There’s not even a hint of a smile on his lips—something is going on here, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it is.
“I never come back after a woman.”
I shrug his hand from my shoulder. “Then why are you now?”
“I…I have no idea.” He jerks a hand through his hair. “But come back inside. We’re not done.”
“Oh, I think I’m done.” I smile at him, turning back for the cab. “But this was a fun little diversion. No worries, I’ll have fond memories of you. Hopefully you’ll have the same.”
He lets out a sound that can only be described as something between a growl and a sigh. He reaches for me again, grabbing my upper arm. “You don’t have to be so difficult, you know. I’m offering you another night.”
“Excuse me? And that’s supposed to be…what? Some offer so tempting that I can’t refuse?”
“I’m Pax Donovan.”
“And…?” I tilt my head. “Oh, wait. I get it now. You tell me you’re Pax Donovan and I’m supposed to melt into a puddle on the ground? Or start giggling profusely because you’ve decided to speak to me? Or, no…I know. I’m supposed to hike up my dress and drop my panties right here in the parking lot. Is that it?”
“I…” He runs another hand through his hair. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s it.”
“Well, Pax Donovan. I’m afraid I don’t do the whole groupie fan girl thing, or whatever you call it. It isn’t as though I couldn’t make a few calls and have any man in this city.” I reach out, patting him on the forearm. “Any man. And if all you’re after is some little girl fawning over you, I think you have plenty of other women to choose from.”
His gaze narrows.
I twist my arm from his grasp. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I have a few calls to make if I’m to choose from any man in the city—”
“Sophia.”
I turn back to him with a grin. “Yes?”
“Come back inside. I’m already late for the next set.”
I smile, staring at him for a long moment. “No.”
“What do I need to do? To get you back inside?” He presses his lips in a line. “Just…name it.”
“Tell me what the song means.”
He shakes his head slowly. “I already told you. It doesn’t mean anything. I made it up.”
“And I don’t believe you.” I motion for the taxi again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
The way he suddenly grabs me by the waist interrupts me. He pulls me tightly against him—however frustrating he might find me, there’s no doubt I also do something else to him. And with the way my body lights up at his touch, there’s no doubt he does the same thing for me.
He tips his head to my ear. “I don’t know what this is—or why I need more. I just know I want to—need to—have you again. Okay?”
“Okay.” My voice is little more than a ragged whisper. All thoughts of torturing the man to get him to reveal his secrets seem to have left my head. The only thing I can think about when he touches me is how I want—need—more. Just like him, apparently.
“Good.” He nips at my ear. “Now come back inside.”
I gulp, trying to get myself back under control, but there is really no hope for me. “Okay,” I whisper again.
He pulls away, looking down into my eyes for a long moment before he takes me by the hand and leads me back into the building.
It’s only a few moments later, and I’m back in the same booth with the manager, who’s grinning over at me as though he’s won some sort of prize.
I roll my eyes, looking back at the stage as the band gets ready to start playing again. Pax’s bandmates are glaring at him—whatever is going on with him, he’s clearly screwed something up.
Mick slides closer to me. “You made the right choice.”
“Did I?” I turn back to him. “I wasn’t aware I’d made any choices as far as you’re concerned.”
“I meant by coming back. You won’t regret it. There’s as much in it for you as there is for them.” He cocks his head in the direction of the stage. “We’ll make sure you’re rewarded for it.”
“Great.” I almost grumble the words. Part of me still thinks this is little more than some publicity stunt—something to get the band more attention with this new album. But another part of me doesn’t care. If I get to spend another night—maybe two—with Pax, it might all be worth it.
Look at me, acting like the fan girl groupie that I accused him of wanting… I can already tell I’m not going to be able to follow Mick’s earlier advice. If I stay—and I’m not sure I have any other choice—I’m going to fall. Hard. And it’s going to hurt like hell when it ends. But the thought of leaving now feels even worse.
The music starts again, and this time, Pax is definitely stealing glances at me every few moments.
I can’t help but smile as his gaze meets mine, and I’d swear he does, too.
“What do you think?” Mick’s voice is in my ear.
I turn to him, my voice low. “I think I’m in over my head.”
Pax
I don’t know what I’m doing, but there’s no stopping now.
The rest of the set goes by in a blur. I manage to make it through without fucking up again, and by the end, I’m pretty sure no one noticed my massive screw up except my bandmates and Mick. Our audience, small as it is, seems to love it. When the set’s over, they burst into applause—those that weren’t already cheering as we played.
I glance back at the guys and grin. “Sounds like we were a hit.”
My bandmates look just as pleased with themselves—even Rider, who normally has a smirk on his face, is smiling with pride at the room. He raises a hand in a thankful wave at the crowd.
Charlie steps over and claps me on the shoulder.
“This is it,” he says, just barely loud enough for me to hear over the cheering. He doesn’t need to elaborate—I know exactly what he means. We’ve done well for ourselves in this industry so far, but this is our moment. Our time to break the mold, to change the genre. To go from a successful band with a few forgettable hits to a group that will be talked about for decades. I can feel it in my blood.
As I bow, I can’t help but steal a peek over at the dark booth in the corner where Mick and Sophia are sitting. My eyes catch hers. Like the rest of the room, she’s on her feet applauding, but she’s more subdued than the rest, waiting and watching.
And I’m just as lost as I ever was.
This isn’t the time to be losing my head over a woman. This isn’t the time to dive headfirst into some complicated “thing” with some chick I’ve just met. This is the time to focus. My dream is so close I can taste it—all I have to do is reach out and grab it with both hands.
But who says I can’t have one more night of fun before I do? One more night, just to get her out of my system, and then we can go our separate ways. She has one foot out the door already—the next time she tries to run, I’ll just let her.
Tonight, though, I’m going to fuck her brains out. Nothing gets my blood going like a successful set—the energy in this room feeds me.
Just one more night, I promise myself. Then it’s on to bigger and better things, with nothing—and no one—to distract me.
* * *
It’s a while before we’ve fully wrapped up—there are important people to speak to, things to pack up, and all the usual nonsense—but when I finally have a moment to myself, Sophia is still sitting at the booth in the corner, silently watchin
g everything. I hurry over and slide onto the bench next to her before anyone else can command my attention.
“We’re just about done,” I tell her, leaning over to murmur in her ear. “Thank you for your patience.” My fingers rest on her leg beneath the table, then slowly drift up her thigh. “I promise I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
“You guys were great,” she says softly. “The second half of the set was even better than the first.”
My insides warm at her words, and it makes me even more eager to have her alone as soon as possible.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I tell her. “But just wait until you see the private show.” My hand slips beneath her skirt, gliding across her smooth skin. Her breath catches, but she doesn’t try to stop me as my hand slides between her legs, moving across the slope of her inner thigh.
“We’re in public,” she reminds me softly.
“In a dark corner. And no one can see what I’m doing under the table.” To prove my point, I move my fingers further, pressing them right against her panties. She squirms, but no one else in the room even glances our way. They’re all lost in their own conversations.
I smile, leaning closer. My finger slides up and down her panties, tracing her through the fabric.
“I bet I could make you come right here and no one would ever know,” I murmur. “It would be our little secret.” I hook my finger around the lacy edge of her underwear, touching her skin to skin. She’s warm and wet, and in spite of her protests about our choice of venue, I swear her thighs open a little wider, granting me better access.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I whisper, pressing against her. “Coming in front of all these people, without any of them knowing? You wouldn’t be the good little princess anymore, would you?”
My finger runs up and down the length of her, and I feel a tremor move through her body where she’s pressed against my arm. It won’t take very long for her to reach the edge, not when she’s already this worked up.
And she’s not the only one. My cock strains against my jeans, eager to be free. Fuck, I should have known better than to start this here—it was hard enough to stop myself from grabbing her the moment our set was over. Now I’m wondering if I have the strength to make it somewhere private before I fuck her. What’s closest? The bathroom? The broom closet? Maybe I’ll just pull her into my lap and fuck her now. No one here would care.
She squirms again, biting down on her bottom lip. She’s trying to keep from crying out.
And God help me, that expression just about pushes me over the edge.
Abruptly, I pull my hand away from her. She lets out a sigh that sounds half like relief and half like disappointment.
“We’re getting out of here,” I tell her roughly. “Now. Before I fuck you right here in this booth.”
I slide off the bench and grab her hand, pulling her after me. I don’t bother heading toward the bathrooms—there will definitely be people there at this time of night—and it would take too long to find a damn closet. Instead, I lead her outside to my car. We’ll have some privacy there.
The moment we’re inside my car, I lean over and grab her, pulling her against me. My mouth comes down on hers, and I moan as she grabs my hair, holding my face against hers.
Maseratis aren’t exactly built for fucking, but I don’t give a damn. I’m going to have this woman even if I have to contort myself into an impossible position to do it. With a jab at a couple of buttons, I manage to lean her seat back, and then I crawl over on top of her.
Tonight went better than I ever could have imagined, and right now, I feel like I could do anything. I’m high from the exhilaration that comes from performing, high from the thrill of our crowd’s reaction. Right now, the whole world is at my feet, and nothing is going to stop me from getting exactly what I want.
Sophia
He fists his hands into my hair, kissing me as he pushes me back onto the seat of his car.
I’m clawing at his shirt, trying to get it untucked from his pants. I can’t remember ever feeling this kind of desire—this kind of desperation—ever before. I need to feel his skin against mine.
It’s difficult, but I manage to get my leg around his waist. And he responds immediately, dropping a hand from my hair to hike my dress up over my thighs, his lips never leaving mine.
I arch into him, urging him on. Everything I do, every movement I make, seems to excite him even more. His lips drop to my neck as he pulls my panties down. There’s little room to get them off—not with the narrow seats in this car—and after a second he stops trying, snapping the lace at my waistline.
I reach for the buckle of his pants, and he helps me, undoing the button at the top of his jeans. I pull his shirt over his head as he shoves his pants down just enough.
His fingers trace along the inside of my thigh for a moment, but he doesn’t tease me for long. In another second he has a finger inside me, then two. His lips crash against mine again as he begins to thrust them in and then out. His thumb finds my clit a second later, and I’m already teetering at the edge of bliss.
“Not yet, Princess.” He pulls his hand away from me, reaching behind him for something in his pocket.
I arch against him again, almost begging him with my body for release.
He chuckles as he lifts himself away to get a better look at his wallet. But his smile falls quickly as the thumbs through it, finally emptying it onto the console next to us. “Fuck.” He shakes his head. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
I lift my head to see what he’s doing. He has his wallet upside down, shaking it for a moment before he throws it to the floor.
He sets his jaw, looking into my eyes as he lies above me. “Tell me you’re on the pill, little princess.”
It’s like the lifeblood is sucked from me in an instant, and the nerve endings that had been on fire only a second ago have gone back to normal. I give my head a quick shake.
“Fuck.” He drags the word out on a sigh. “Fuck.”
I try to right myself even as he’s still on top of me. “But I suppose we won’t be doing that at the moment.”
His shoulders sag, and he closes his eyes for a moment as he tucks himself back into his pants, buttoning the top of his jeans. He grabs his shirt and pulls it back on over his head. It takes a minute, but he gets himself back into the driver’s seat beside me. I pull my dress back down as best as I can.
I slide my panties to my ankles as soon as I get the seat back to its proper position, and I hear him suck in a breath. “What the hell are you doing?”
I toss the ruined underwear into the backseat. “Taking off my panties.”
“I…” He shakes his head. “I mean… What the fuck are you doing?”
My brow furrows. “I just told you, I’m taking off my panties.”
“I don’t have a fucking condom, Sophia. Did you miss that part of what just happened?”
“No, I didn’t miss anything.” I tilt my head at him. “And I don’t appreciate being spoken to as though I’m some sort of idiot.”
He jerks a hand through his hair. “Then what the fuck are you doing? Trying to torture me?” He looks me up and down, his gaze resting a moment too long on my breasts.
I pull at my cleavage, suddenly very aware of how much of my chest is exposed. “I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to wear women’s underwear, Pax, but—”
“I haven’t.”
I give him a small smile. “Then you wouldn’t understand how once you’ve broken the waistband, they don’t exactly stay in one place. It’s much more comfortable just to have them off.”
He sets his jaw, his gaze narrowing at me for a long moment. “I suppose you don’t understand how difficult it is for me to know you’re sitting there with no panties on.”
I can’t help but grin. “Then I suppose you should have thought of that after you used the condom in your wallet last night.”
“Oh, that is your fault. If you would have texted me
last night—”
“I texted you back after you texted me this morning.” God, was that only this morning? It seems like a million years ago already.
“I know I told you this before, but I’m not in the habit of chasing women.”
“I know.” I grin at him again. “You want them to chase you. Sorry.” I shrug. “If you want me, you’ll have to work a little harder than that.”
He shakes his head, trying to hide a smile as he starts the car. “Where the hell did you come from, little princess?”
“I thought you already knew the answer to that. I came from Montovia—”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” He glances over at me as the car begins to move. “I meant…” He rubs at his jaw. “I don’t know what I mean.”
“You mean that you like me.” The amateur psychologist in me comes out again—I can’t help myself. “You mean I’m interrupting your plans.”
“I…” He looks over at me, his brow furrowed. “One night.”
“Are you certain?” I smile, tilting my head. “Only one?”
He blinks at me a few times, shaking his head as he turns to look through the windshield. “One night. Only one. We’re going to finish this at my apartment.”
“Well, you could have helped me finish here. And…” I shrug again, unable to stop myself from teasing him. “I suppose I could have helped you to finish, too. It might have prolonged our one night. Made it begin sooner, anyway.”
He shakes his head to himself, biting his lip to contain his grin.
“But Pax…”
He glances over at me for a second. “Yeah?”
“Just remember tomorrow when this is over…the only one night thing was your idea.”
“No worries, sweetheart.” He slides his hand up to the hem of my dress. “I never regret anything.”
Pax
I wish I could say I trusted myself to continue here—to make her come with my fingers and tongue, and then let her suck me off—but I don’t. As my hand slides up her thigh, all I can think about is fucking her. I don’t have the self-control to only go partway.
