Pretty Words: An Enemies To Lovers Rock Star Romance (River Valley Rebels)

by Gabrielle Sands

  “We were just dancing,” Ivy said, showing no intention of slipping out of my reach. Neither of her friends seemed particularly surprised to see us return like this, I noted.

  “Great!” Sophie said and grabbed Zoey’s arm. “We’re going to go back out there.”

  The two girls squeezed past us, shooting conspiratorial looks at Ivy, who’s cheeks were tinged pink. She stepped away, picking the bucket off the table and putting it on the ground in the farthest corner of the booth.

  “There. If we sit right here, you won’t see it at all,” she announced, dropping down onto the leather sofa and patting the space beside her.

  My leg pressed against her bare thigh, and before I could even consider stopping, my hand wrapped around to her knee. Her eyes shone with anticipation and excitement as she put her fingers over mine and moved it higher. “I’m not fragile. You don’t need to take it slow.”

  Despite her age, she came off as fairly experienced, confident in what she wanted. But what was that, exactly? I reached for a glass of water on the table, letting the cold liquid cool the fire that was building inside.

  “What if I’m taking it slow for my own sake?”

  She laughed—a full, melodious sound that dismissed my question as a joke. I could see why she would—the Jamie she’d known rarely took anything slow, but I was different now. Still, as I watched her drinking me in with her warm eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to correct her.

  Instead, I tried to deflect. “I didn’t ask earlier, but what’s the occasion for tonight?”

  The subtle tilt of her head suggested she knew exactly what I was doing, but she let it go. “Soph’s surprise visit from Paris. She’s going to school there, studying business and fashion, but she’s trying to get an internship here. She flew in for an interview.” As she spoke, a tension in her body I hadn’t noticed before softened. Was she more nervous than she’d let on?

  “Did you go to college?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said with a nod. “A small community college near Austin. Though, I dropped out during my third year.”

  She counted something off on her other hand. “That must have been around the time Ritual Disruption took off.”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  “College must have seemed like a waste of time,” she concluded.

  “Something like that,” I agreed. “Plus, I didn’t know how I’d afford another year, and starting a band seemed like a much more exciting life choice. It was questionable logic at best.”

  “I think it was a brave choice. Not one I could ever make.”

  My brows furrowed. “I think you’ve made a lot of brave choices.” I hated how she seemed so unaware of how amazing she really was.

  She glanced down at my hand, still resting on her creamy, bare leg, and her lips parted. When her eyes met mine again, they burned with intent. She placed a palm on my shoulder and swung her legs until she was straddling me, her short dress rising high on her thighs, revealing a triangle of black panties.

  I swore, my hands instinctively moving to her waist to hold her steady. The lights were dark enough to give us some privacy, but any one of her friends could come back at any moment and catch her splayed across my lap.

  She leaned in, placing her mouth below my ear. “Is this one of them?”

  Despite the confident words, her voice shook, just barely. She was nervous. Maybe I’d been wrong about her being experienced. Was this another one of her attempts to push past her comfort zone?

  Her lips closed around my earlobe, and she tugged on it with her teeth. I hissed, dropping my head back and fighting to hold onto the few coherent thoughts I still had.

  “Are you sure you want to do this here?” I was no stranger to doing things with a woman in public, but that waver in her voice nagged at me. I didn’t want her to have any regrets in the morning.

  “No one’s looking at us.” Her lips traced my jaw before finding my mouth, and I kissed her slowly, pulling her bottom lip into my mouth and kneading her tongue with mine. She tasted sweet, like a succulent fruit, ripe for eating. Is this what her pussy would taste like?

  I groaned into her mouth and pulled away. She was breathless, her expression dazed as I reached for my discarded jacket and threw it over her shoulders. It was big enough to hide most of her from anyone else’s sight.

  My hands moved to her ass. “Ivy…”

  Her lips were parted, pink and swollen, and her eyes shone with desire. I forgot what I wanted to say. She pressed back into my palms and lowered her face to my neck.

  The first nip of her teeth made my dick twitch so violently I was sure she’d felt it through my jeans. I dragged one hand up along her ribcage and palmed her right breast over the delicate fabric of her dress. It fit perfectly inside my palm, soft and heavy. I contemplated the perfection of her small tits as she kept sucking on my neck. The thought of her leaving a mark there made my head spin. I wanted her to lay claim to me.

  When I pinched a hard nipple, she moaned into my ear. “Touch me.”

  My hand migrated from her breast to the soft skin of her inner thigh, and my fingertips fucking tingled with the anticipation of touching her pussy. God, she was driving me crazy.

  Ivy inhaled deeply and nudged herself closer until all I could do was give her what she wanted. Her underwear was wet and hot under my palm. “Fuck, Ivy,” I croaked into her hair. Pushing the fabric aside, I dragged my fingers from her ass all the way to the hard bundle of her clit. She moaned loudly into my ear, her entire body shivering and making my dick so hard I thought it might fall off.

  When I thrust my finger into her tight pussy, she leaned back, and held my gaze with hooded eyes. I pulled her closer with my other arm. “You’re so fucking wet,” I whispered, brushing my lips against hers.

  “Keep talking,” she said with a moan. “I love the sound of your voice.”

  Pleasure surged through me at her words. She wasn’t the first one to tell me that, but the way she said it, almost reverently, stroked my ego. I added another finger and began to thrust into her, moving my thumb in circles around her clit and whispering filth into her ear.

  “Do you know how fucking hard I am for you? I wish I could find out just how good your pussy tastes.”

  It didn’t take long before her core started to clench, the orgasm rolling though her body. I watched her as she bit her full bottom lip, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. “Come on my hand, Ivy. I’m going to lick it clean, and you’re going to watch me do it.”

  She dropped her forehead onto my chest and moaned against the fabric of my shirt, riding the orgasm as my hand kept moving inside of her. When the tremors stopped, I pulled my fingers out and brought them to my mouth, licking her juices off. I was right, they tasted just as sweet as her mouth. She watched me transfixed.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said breathlessly.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “Anywhere I can get you naked,” she said before laughing at her own boldness.

  God, I wanted to be inside of her so badly, but memories of my past were starting to prickle at my consciousness. Empty sex followed by waking up in a cold, empty bed. I knew this was different, but we had gone from first to third base in the span of thirty minutes, and I wasn’t ready to hit a home run before the hour was done. I wanted to savor her, damn it. To draw this out as long as she’d let me, so that when she inevitably left, I wouldn’t feel so empty inside.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “What?” Her eyes were still hooded, her face relaxed.

  “Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

  “I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”

  My fingers slipped under her underwear, fixing it back in place, and she hissed when I lightly brushed against her sex. She was making this extremely difficult, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted. Not tonight. Even if I tossed all caution to the wind, I was bound to come in under a minute, and that’s not how I wanted to take her.

  I wrapped
my arm around her waist and kissed the soft flesh under her ear. “I’ll make it worth your wait.”

  Before she could protest, I spied her friends weaving through the crowd toward the booth. Luck was with me tonight, in more ways than one.

  “They’re coming back.”

  She gave me a resigned look and climbed off, sitting down beside me. I adjusted my pants, putting my hands in my lap to hide the painfully hard evidence of what we’d just done. My jacket was hanging off Ivy’s shoulders. I liked how she looked in my clothes.

  The booth filled up, the girls chatting and dancing excitedly, most of them well on their way to having nasty hangovers tomorrow. Zoey sat down at my other side and nudged me with her elbow.

  “Do something fucked up to her, and I’ll hunt you down,” she whispered into my ear.

  Too late. I was pretty sure she’d consider me fingering her friend inside a club as fucked up, but in the haze of my lingering arousal, all I could think about was how I missed having Ivy in my lap.

  “Don’t worry,” I told her, briefly meeting her watchful gaze. It was time for me to leave, jack off a few times at home, and pray Ivy wouldn’t change her mind about tomorrow.

  Ivy’s eyes followed me as I stood up. She’d gotten quiet since the others returned, but I didn’t see regret or nervousness in her expression. If anything, she looked mildly annoyed.

  I leaned down to say goodbye to her. “I’ll see you soon.”

  She moved closer, until her mouth was beside my ear. “Tomorrow, I’m going to be the one licking you off my hand.”

  My eyes snapped closed. I forced myself to take a deep breath. What was I about to do again? Oh, right, leave.

  She laughed, amused by my apparent inability to straighten up and walk out. “And then—”

  “Jesus, Ivy.” I placed my finger on her lips. “Stop talking.”

  “Don’t you want to hear how I’m going to suck—”

  I silenced her with a kiss, pushing my tongue into her mouth and stealing her breath until she moaned against my lips. When I pulled away and looked around for the closest escape, her friends were all staring at us with eyes as big as saucers.

  With one last look at her flushed face, I left, my legs as heavy as lead. One more word from her, and I didn’t think I’d ever get away.

  I gunned my car down the nearly empty streets, lights and palm trees blurring beyond the windows. Inside, I tore my clothes off, leaving them right on the floor as I walked into the shower, pressed my back against cold tile, and fisted my cock. Warm water cascaded down my torso while I jerked off to the memory of Ivy coming undone right in my lap.

  I was screwed. So. Fucking. Screwed.

  16

  IVY

  I was in sexual agony the entire way home from the club. When Zoey and Sophie realized that I was too shell-shocked to respond to their teasing, they stopped talking about the kiss and proceeded to gossip about something else. I tuned them out, staring out the window of the taxi and thinking about the feel of Jamie’s strong hands clutching my hips.

  Who was that woman at the club? I’d been brazen with Jamie, more forward than I ever thought I could be, and it had felt…amazing. Adrenaline had pumped through my veins the entire time we were together, the anxiety and the desire mixing into a boozy cocktail that went straight to my head. I wanted him so freaking badly that my vagina wept. It was empty, hollow, needy. Damn him for walking out on me like that. Still, there was no sting of rejection. He’d been open about wanting me—that sexy vulnerability again. Maybe that’s what had allowed me to be vulnerable around him, too.

  Had there ever been a virgin this eager to finally get laid? If it were a competition, I was sure I’d win. The thought of finally seeing what he was hiding under all those clothes sent me reeling.

  That’s all it is, I reminded myself. Just explosive, mind-melting, physical attraction to the guy.

  We rolled out of the cab, took our heels off, and climbed the stairs to the apartment. Inside, Sophie trudged into the bathroom while Zoey handed me a glass of water.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I said, taking a big gulp. “I’m a little stunned something actually happened.”

  “I’m not.” She shrugged. “I knew it would as soon as we met him and I saw how he was looking at you. He likes you.”

  “He wants to sleep with me, that’s all,” I said dismissively. “I’m going to his house tomorrow.”

  Zoey’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Mh-hmm.”

  “So you’re going to actually do it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to tell him ahead of time?”

  That I was a virgin? I scrunched my nose. “Absolutely not.” This wasn’t a big deal, and I didn’t want to risk him making it one. It was my body, my decision.

  “And you’re sure?” she asked, searching my face for a sign of doubt, but there wasn’t any.

  Was I sure I wanted to sleep with Jamie? I don’t think I’d ever been more sure of anything in my life. “Yes. It’s just sex.”

  She rubbed at her elbow and smiled. “Yeah, it is. I’m really glad you’re moving on.”

  “I have to.” I only wished I’d realized it earlier.

  I woke up thinking of Jamie and that last kiss he’d planted on me at the club. Groaning, I rolled over to my stomach and buried my face into the pillow. That kiss had made me forget everything but the man before me. It had felt so good to be crushed to him, his heart beating against my chest, the feel of his barely there restraint breaking beneath my hands…

  Okay, enough. I was a woman consumed, but I told myself it was just the rush of hooking up with someone new. I was sure that the delicious tension between us would dissipate after we slept together today. There was no point in reading into it. I’d done enough reading into things with Oliver. No, with Jamie, I’d take things at face value.

  Reaching for the phone beside my pillow, I saw it was eleven am. There was a message from Jamie from a few hours earlier.

  “Hey. Text me when you’re up.”

  A smile pulled at my lips. “I’m up.”

  My follow-up message arrived at the same time as his.

  “When should I come?”

  “What time are you coming over?”

  I giggled, rolling over my covers, giddy with excitement. My smile fell right off when I remembered how he’d looked when he’d sucked me off his fingers. Damn.

  Bringing my thoughts back to the message, I did the mental math. Zoey and I had made plans to grab brunch with Sophie and then go for a bit of shopping, but I could excuse myself later in the afternoon. They wouldn’t give me any flack.

  “Five pm?”

  “Perfect. See you soon.”

  Dropping the phone back on the bed, I got out from under the sheet and headed to the shower. The counter around the sink was a mess of makeup and hair tools we’d used the night before. As I examined myself in the mirror, my gaze caught on my earrings.

  They were the earrings Oliver gave me back in Oakland. I never usually took them out, but did I really want to be wearing them with Jamie today? I pried the backings off and took out the studs. Once, they were my most prized possession, but now they were just a reminder of something I was ready to forget. The red stone glittered in the reflection of the bathroom lights. With one final look, I dropped them down the sink.

  Tonight when I got home, I’d go through with the second step of my plan.

  Sophie and Zoey gave me their blessing before I left them, telling me that they’d be spending the evening prepping for Sophie’s interview, and that I should text them if I got into any trouble.

  The cab pulled up to Jamie’s driveway around five-ten. I walked up to the house, scanning the area more thoroughly this time than the night after Flare. There were some cacti growing in the front yard, and a few neat flowerbeds that looked like they’d been worked on recently. A pair of garden gloves lay on the grass, dirty from the soil. The home look
ed inviting from the outside—arched windows, brilliant-white paint, and a clay-shingled roof. I never would have guessed that the notorious singer of the disbanded Ritual Disruption would live in a place like this.

  I climbed up the three steps that led to the front door and paused with my finger hovering over the doorbell. My armpits felt sticky.

  No need to be nervous. You’re just about to have sex. For the first time. With a man as hot as the damn sun.

  I shook my head and pressed the button, hearing the bell ring on the other side of the door. A few seconds later, the door swung open, revealing Jamie in a black apron tied over his clothes. He looked down at me, his gray eyes gleaming with warmth. Then he did the most amazing thing. He scooped me up into his arms, pulling me to his chest, enveloping me with his fresh, masculine scent. He held me like I was some precious thing. Whatever worries I’d had about it being awkward seeing him again waved goodbye and left. I sank into him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  When he finally let go of me, his lips curved into a smile. “Hi.” His voice was a deep, seductive timbre.

  “Hi,” I squeaked, shifting on my feet.

  My gaze ran over him and registered the apron once more. Was he cooking dinner for us? In all the times I’d fooled around with Jack, neither of us had ever made that kind of an effort for each other. Is this how older people did booty calls?

  I tittered, and his smile inched wider in response. “Come on in,” he said, waving me inside. “You look great, by the way.”

  My neck felt hot. I wore a summer dress with an A-line skirt that reached just above my knees. Zoey said I looked cute in it.

  “Thank you,” I said as I stepped over the threshold. There was no smell to indicate he was cooking anything. Maybe he’d forgotten to take the apron off after fixing himself some lunch earlier?

  Jamie shut the door behind me. “I’m sorry for running out on you like that last night.”