Playing by Heart

by JB Salsbury

  What the fuck is she doing to me? My lungs can’t seem to suck in enough oxygen and my pulse roars in my ears and I’m not even close to being inside her yet. If this is what foreplay is like when you’ve committed yourself unconditionally to another person, what will sex be like?

  The thud of my boots being dropped aside calls my eyes back to her as she rises up to stand between my knees. “You’ve done nothing but touch my chest and take off my boots and I’m ready to come.”

  “Not yet.” She reaches down the front of my boxers with two hands and my ass slips off the table.

  I brace my weight with my arms, gripping the edge of the table to keep me from falling as she works me with two tight fists. I throb, swell until I’m painfully hard, and dip down to kiss her.

  There is no doubt in my mind, this woman owns me.

  Bethany

  The desire to let Jesse know what it feels like to be thoroughly loved in a slow, deliberate way wars with my insatiable need to jump him. I continue to touch him at a marathon pace when my body longs for a sprint.

  The words he sang to me in front of a packed arena ring through my ears, and the image of him belting the words from deep in his soul only heightens my desire and devotion to him.

  Love.

  Oh how we have cheapened the word.

  Rather than say it, I focus on the feeling that swirls and builds behind my ribs, allowing it to push me on and tend to his needs over my own.

  “Lie back,” I whisper and slip my hands from his boxers in order to pull off his jeans.

  He watches me intently with those hazel eyes that light with excitement and attention, as if he’s studying my every move and making mental notes. His boxers pool around his ankles, and he steps out of them before lying back on the table.

  I blink, amazed at the phenomenal view. His tall, powerful body is laid out like a feast for my senses. The colors and images that paint his skin frame his engorged sex that stands proudly against his abdomen.

  I reach for his jeans and fish into the pockets searching for—ah-ha! A black foil packet. “Am I really that predictable?”

  He pushes up to his elbows, staring down the length of his beautiful body at me. “You’re not predictable at all. That’s just wishful thinking and preparedness. If we did make it here, I wanted to make sure I took care of you.”

  My heart swells and I shimmy off my jeans before I crawl up his body to straddle his hips. My bra-covered breasts are at eye level, and he doesn’t pass up the opportunity to suck my nipples over the fabric. I arch my back, creating a delicious friction between my legs. His fingers dig into my hip, and I can’t tell if he’s trying to still me or get me to move more. I know which I prefer, so I roll my hips in a long, deliberate slide.

  He sucks in a breath through his teeth then nips at my breast. “You’re gonna kill me if you keep this up.”

  “Impossible.” I grind on him again. “I think you’re immortal.”

  He watches as I work myself against his hard-on, his lips parted to accommodate his labored breathing. When he’s seen enough, he pulls the straps of my bra down my arms to free my breasts. When he alternates between long swipes of his tongue and powerful suction of his lips, my pace quickens as I bring myself to the edge of orgasm.

  Finally, I scoot back and slip my panties down my legs. With the condom in hand, I lower myself to put it on him, but he grips my backside and scoots me up so that my knees rest on either side of his face.

  “Jesse, I—”

  His mouth latches between my legs, and I cry out as a bolt of ecstasy charges up my spine. My thighs shake with the strength it takes to hold myself up when all I want to do is drop my weight and take him deeper.

  He’s a mastermind of the female body, and I refuse to think about how he knows exactly what to do to keep me right on the cusp of release. He holds my hips so I can’t go too far, and every time he moans against my sensitive flesh, a vibration rocks every nerve in my body.

  I catch a glimpse of us in the window reflection, his cocked knee displaying the tattoos on his thigh, his hands on my butt, and me towering over his face. In the past, I’ve thought what we were doing was dirty, but looking at us now, all I see is two people who desperately want to love the other without having to say the word.

  My orgasm reaches its peak, and as it crests, he pulls me back down his body.

  “Okay, now,” he says.

  I rip open the condom and slide it over then down his length before positioning myself for him to sink slowly inside me. Our gazes lock as I take him inch by inch at an agonizing pace. He studies me—my eyes, my mouth, even the set of my jaw—as if he’s looking for any sign of pain or regret.

  He’ll find none here.

  When I’m finally seated, I take a deep breath and absorb the fullness of his intrusion.

  “Are you okay?”

  I dip down cautiously, and the new angle sends a wave of pleasure up my spine. “Of course I’m okay. I’m with you.”

  He cups my jaw and brings my lips to his for a soft, wet kiss. “This feels too good to be real. I’m afraid I’ll blink and you’ll be gone.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

  Another kiss, and against my lips, he whispers, “Marry me.”

  I inch back, my brain and ears unsure of what I heard. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”

  Now he cups my face with both hands and brings me close. “Yes. Marry me, Bethany. It doesn’t have to be tomorrow or even next year, but I want you to have me forever. I don’t want anyone but you.”

  “That’s crazy,” I say through my labored breathing.

  He chuckles, and the shaking of his body sends shivers through me. “I’m crazy about you.”

  I sit back, and he lifts his knees to support my back as I roll my hips against him. He cups my breasts, thumbs my nipples, and whispers dirty things into the space between us.

  I throw my head back as my orgasm rips through me. Lights explode behind my eyes, and the feeling like I’m soaring has me falling limply onto Jesse’s chest. He holds me to him then brings our lips together while he thrusts his hips and groans into my mouth. His hard-on throbs as he pumps and releases before finally slowing with an exhausted sigh.

  “That was fucking beautiful,” he says, his voice gravelly. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  A lump forms in my throat at the sincerity in his voice, the warm embrace of his body combined with the vulnerability shining behind his eyes. “I’d love to be your wife, but I’m scared. I got one tiny taste of what life with Jesse Lee is like and I’m terrified.”

  “I can’t promise it’ll be easy on you. If I thought I could live even a day without you, I care about you enough to let you go, but I can’t.” He cups my face and brings his lips a breath away from mine. “What I can promise is that I will do anything to keep you, to make you feel safe with me, to prove to you that I’m worthy and I’ll never let anyone or anything tear us apart ever again.”

  His words sink into the depths of my soul and wrap me in his devotion. “How do you always know what to say to relieve my fears?”

  He shrugs. “No fucking clue. I’ve got no idea what I’m doing. I just know how I feel and I’m winging it.”

  I press a closed-mouth kiss to his lips. “It’s working.”

  “So does that mean you’ll marry me?”

  “Eventually.”

  He chuckles, and the sound has me feeling lighter than I’ve felt in years. “Good enough.”

  “Should we move to the bed?”

  “How about the Jacuzzi tub?”

  I perk up. “There’s a Jacuzzi tub?”

  He wraps me in his arms and sits up while keeping us connected. With a little shimmy, he gets off the table and slides free of my body before carrying me to the bathroom. He hits the light then sets me on the countertop. Sure enough, there’s a huge two-person Jacuzzi tub.

  He grabs a tissue, removes the condom, and throws it in the tras
h, then he turns on the water. He looks over his tattooed shoulder, grinning like the cocky rock god he is. Now he’s my cocky rock god. “You want bubbles or no bubbles?”

  “Bubbles.”

  He dumps in some hotel bubble bath then turns and holds out a hand.

  I take it with a smile and allow him to guide me into the tub. He lies down and sets me on top of him, my head on his chest. “I can’t believe it.”

  “What? That you’re taking a bath with a guy?” He swooshes warm water over my back.

  “No. That I walked out of a Justin Timberlake concert to make a future with Jesiah Langley.”

  His fingers dig into my ribs. “That’s it!”

  “Stop!” I giggle and squirm against him.

  Water sloshes over the tub. “I’ll have to love you so hard you forget all about JT.” His hands still on my back and he brings my lips to his. “I’m serious.” I’ve never seen his expression so determined. “I’ve made my choice. You’re my priority. I’m committed to you first above all others, including myself.” His wet fingers brush strands of hair from my face.

  “That’s the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  The corner of his mouth tilts and he blushes.

  “This is a good look on you.” I kiss his warming cheek and nuzzle his ear.

  “It’s you, sweetheart. You look good on me.”

  27

  Jesse

  “Stop staring at me like you’re about to pounce.” She points her fork at me, and I press my bare back into the padded headboard, forcing myself to stay put.

  Wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, it’s impossible to hide my hard-on as I watch, mesmerized, as she devours a stack of pancakes. Who the fuck knew watching the woman you love eat could be so hot?

  “Finish up,” I growl, my eyes hungry on her lips.

  She shoves another bite of blueberry pancake into her mouth and moans. The syrup drips to her chin and she swipes at it with her finger before licking it off—

  “I can’t take any more.” I hurl myself off the bed toward her sitting at the table. I scoop her into my arms and her fluffy robe falls open and off her shoulder, exposing one perfect nipple still red and swollen from my mouth.

  “Awww…” She reaches longingly toward her breakfast with her fork-wielding hand. “But it’s so good.”

  “I will provide a lifetime of blueberry pancakes for you. Right now, I need you more than you need those.” I toss her onto the bed and climb over her. “Any chance you’d be interested in getting on the pill?”

  She screws up her plump lips and squints. “What weird pillow talk.”

  I nip her neck. “I’m serious. And while we’re at it, let’s discuss living arrangements.”

  “Oh, Jesiah, you’re making me hot with all this talk of relationship responsibility,” she says in an overly affected fangirl voice.

  I flex my hips, pinning her to the bed, and she gasps. I retreat and flex again until she melts, dreamy-eyed, into the bed. “Now I got your attention.”

  She runs her hands through my hair. “You sure you want to go down this road of conversation?” She peers down between us. “It’s kind of a boner-killer.”

  “You’re asking me what I’d rather do? Have sex or talk about our future?”

  She runs her lips along my earlobe, her breath hot in my ear as she whispers, “Yep, and I’m afraid you can’t have both.”

  I think that over for all of two seconds then roll away from her.

  “What just happened?” She’s on her back, her robe falling open to expose her blissfully bare body.

  I pull her to my side then cover her exposed skin as well as throw the comforter over my hard-on. “You gave me a choice. I choose future talk. Even the boner-killing kind.”

  She pushes up to sit and folds her legs, facing me. “Not what I expected, but okay.”

  “Talk.”

  She chews her lip and her eyes move everywhere but fail to land on me. “I don’t know where to start.”

  “How about we start with the whole ‘you burning your car down in scorned-woman fury’ thing, which, I must say, is fucking sexy.”

  Her brows pinch together. “You’re so weird.”

  I put an arm behind my head and shrug. “So what happened?”

  “It was a low point, okay? I’m not really crazy.”

  I frown. “That’s too bad. I’m into your brand of crazy. And I remember the night we burned the chair, I saw it in your eyes. You have a wild side I would like to explore personally if you’re game.”

  She laughs and fuck, the sound unscrews the tightness in my chest. “Apparently if you purposely light something on fire, you go to prison for arson. But, thankfully, with a personal visit from Ben and after I explained to the judge exactly what happened and because the only damage was done to my own vehicle, they took pity on me and lowered it to a misdemeanor charge with really expensive fines and a lot of community service.”

  “Ben knows?”

  “I had to tell him. I wasn’t sure he’d still want me working with Elliot if he knew what I was capable of. He’s been signing off on my community hours at the church.” She blows a strand of hair from her face. “I had to quit school to work, which is why I don’t have my teaching certification.” She puts her thumb in her mouth and chews the nail. “Now that Starbucks video is out and everyone is—”

  “It’s not.”

  Her gaze snaps to mine. “It’s not?”

  “Wyatt tried to sue me for breaking his nose.”

  She sucks in a breath between her teeth. “Oh, yeah, you hit him so hard he had two black eyes.”

  “He deserved worse. Anyway, my people offered him a deal—drop the charges and we’d do what we can to make the video disappear. Made it clear he’d never get laid again as long as that video was making the rounds. He saw the logic in our reasoning and agreed to take the offer.”

  She gapes. “Wow, what a loser.”

  “Enough about him. What does all this mean for us?”

  She tugs the lapels of her robe closer to her neck. “I have forty-thousand dollars in fines—”

  “I’ll pay them. Next obstacle.”

  She’s already shaking her head like the stubborn woman I know her to be. “No, I don’t want you to do that. It’s important to me that I pay them off. It’s what I deserve.”

  “What if I offered you a job where you made over four times the amount you make now? Would that help you to pay that shit off sooner?”

  She blinks. “You can’t pay me to be your girlfriend.”

  “No shit, genius.” I shake my head. “You think so little of me.”

  “I can’t think of anything I can offer that’s worth you paying for.”

  “Your blow jobs, but—”

  She whacks my upper arm. “Jesiah!”

  Hearing her say my name sends ripples of pleasure across my skin. “Just hear me out. We’re planning a worldwide tour that’ll kick off in about nine months. We’re all getting older, our crew too, and we’d like to make it more family-friendly if we’re going to be traveling for a year.”

  Her eyebrows pinch together.

  “In order for us to bring kids along, we need a way to keep them caught up with school. If you could hammer out those last few classes, we could use someone with a teaching certificate to come with us and keep the kids up on their studies.”

  “Are you serious?” she whispers.

  “As a heart attack, baby. You could see the world, we could be together every day, and you’d get to do what you love and make a shit-ton of money doing it.”

  “How much does something like that pay?”

  “One hundred forty-five thousand for one tour. Plus, all expenses paid since you’ll be with me, so you’ll pocket every dollar.”

  Her eyes widen and she stares over my shoulder at nothing.

  My smile falls. “Bethany.” When she doesn’t answer, I sit up and snap my fingers in front of her face. “Are you in
shock?”

  “I… I…” She shakes her head slowly. “I…”

  “‘I… will do it, Jesiah,’” I say, feeding her the words. “‘Yes, sounds great. I’ll sign the contracts as soon as you get them drawn up’?”

  She snaps out of it and jumps into my arms, knocking me back to the headboard. “Yes! All that. I say yes!”

  I rub her back and peel her robe from her shoulders. “Great news, sweetheart. Now… let me love you.”

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  Bethany

  Whirlwind is the only adequate way to describe the last twelve months. I learned the morning after the JT concert that once Jesiah Langley makes his mind up about something, it’s all hands on deck. A few phone calls and I was making plans to sign contracts to become the official tutor on the Jesse Lee Playing by Heart World Tour. I quit my job at Pies and Pancakes, and because Jesse wanted me to get my teaching certification as soon as possible but I couldn’t enroll mid-semester, he hired a professor to catch me up. The perks of being a world-renowned superstar.

  Jesiah bought a condo in Surprise and stayed there whenever he didn’t need to be in Los Angeles. If I was able to go to LA with him, I would, and we managed to do regular boyfriend-and-girlfriend things—as regular as things can be when everyone recognizes him wherever we go.

  He met my parents, and as predicted, my mom was captivated by the light he cast over everything. My dad wasn’t as easily spellbound—until Jes spilled out his heart, and by the time we left after dinner, my dad was hugging him and giving us his blessing. I should’ve known Jesiah’s charms would work on men as well as women.

  I got my certification and found enough curriculums from an online homeschooling program to feel secure about my ability to teach while we were on the road. The night before we left for the first leg of the tour, Jesiah slipped a four-carat pave-cut diamond on my finger and asked me—in front of Ben, Elliot, Ash, and my parents at our going-away dinner—to marry him.