“We’re down for karaoke,” Mack reminded me.
“Karaoke?” Celesta asked.
My nose wrinkled, but I answered, “Yeah. At nine, we switch from the DJ to karaoke.”
“I love karaoke,” Celesta gushed.
“I’d love to watch you perform,” I told her.
“Dance first, sing later,” she commanded as she dragged me to the dance floor.
In the space of a few measured beats, my world narrowed to my thigh wedged between Celesta’s, her arms haphazardly draped around my neck, her body pressed tightly to mine and her sexy voice rapping in my ear.
♪ I’m the One by DJ Khaled ft. Justin Bieber
I lost count of how many songs we danced to. My hands explored every square inch of skin not covered by fabric. Her abdominal muscles quivered beneath my questing fingers. Both our breaths were coming in short pants.
I looked around, concerned with what show we might have been performing. Luckily, no one was paying us any attention. I glanced at the guys from the band, who seemed to be having a blast. Lucy had found a guy to dance with. Fun was being had all around.
“I am so ready for later,” I breathed in Celesta’s ear as our moves turned more and more seductive. We were nearly having sex right there on the dance floor but with all our clothes still on. My fingers dragged across one of the rips in her jeans situated below her back pocket.
She moaned against my throat.
At nine, the DJ shut down, and my employees started to set up karaoke. We headed back to the guys while the crew finished the changeover.
As we sat around laughing, everybody pored over the song list. Because there weren’t many people in the club, the band members decided they wanted to perform individually. They ragged each other after every song. Lucy decided to sing “I Will Survive” and did a good job.
Lucy convinced Celesta to do a duet with her, and after a few other people sang, she dragged Celesta onstage. Celesta actually had an amazing voice. I’d never wanted to sing with a woman before, but I wanted to make music with her—correction, I wanted to write a song to sing with her.
When the girls finished, Lucy left the stage, and Celesta stepped to the center. “My mom used to blast this song when I was a little girl, so I know all the words. It’s an oldie. Hope you enjoy.” She started singing as soon as the first note flowed. She belted out the words to “When Will I be Loved”. As I examined the lyrics flowing from the girl I was beginning to adore, I wondered when the lyrics would come true for me. If ever.
♪ When Will I be Loved by Linda Ronstadt
“You were amazing,” I told her when she came back to the table. “Really amazing.” I longed to answer the question her lyrics asked with a single word—now.
After a few more rounds, everyone had taken a turn except for me. It took some convincing, but they finally got me to go up on stage. I flipped through the book and finally settled on a song I knew well—at least I wouldn’t need the words. It was an old 80s, big hair band song by Midnight Wings. I didn’t figure anyone there would know the song since it was over thirty years old.
When I opened my mouth to sing, a look of recognition crossed Celesta’s face. I hit every single note and danced around on stage like I owned it.
It was easy because I used to.
Applause thundered when I finished and strode off stage. The guys all stared at me with their mouths opened wide in astonishment.
“Dude, that sounded awesome. I mean I knew you could sing, but that song was different from the stuff you posted recently,” Lark said, clasping me on the shoulder.
“You know, you could pass for the lead singer of that old band who sang that song,” Mack enthused.
Celesta still hadn’t said anything. Her eyes searched mine, cataloging my features. Probably replacing my current hairstyle with longer, lighter hair. She gasped, and I frowned. She couldn’t have figured it out.
“Come on, Toven. Do another Midnight Wing song,” Derek pleaded.
The others joined in, trying to cajole me. I couldn’t risk it though. I didn’t want to fuel their musings.
Coming to my rescue, Celesta said, “No, guys, it’s my turn again.”
Leaning over, she put her lips to my ear, her breath warmed my face. “Pay attention to the words. They’re for you.”
She gave no introduction as she began to sing Belinda Carlisle’s “Weak”. As I soaked in each word she crooned, they warmed my heart like her breath had warmed my face and her body had warmed mine earlier. The pendant beneath my shirt pulsed with heat.
♪ I Get Weak by Belinda Carlisle
What the hell had I ever done to deserve this girl in my life?
As each word floated from her lips and into my ears, it pierced my heart and branded itself in my brain. The truth of lyrics had never been more poignant than in that moment. And they were lyrics to some sappy, old 80s love song that I didn't even write.
But that fact didn't lessen their accuracy in the least. When I was with her, I did shake inside. I felt tangled up and tongue tied. Kissing her stripped me defenseless, and my control had been hanging by a thread from the first time I saw her.
The question I needed to ask myself was did I believe, as the lyrics proclaimed, that love was the culprit. As someone who hadn't ever really experienced love beyond the kind my mother had for me in her own reserved way two hundred years ago, I wasn't certain I knew what love looked like or felt like enough to even begin to answer the question of if it was love that was beginning to come over me.
Her eyes remained locked on mine as she came back to the table. I pulled her into my lap and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.
When we broke apart, she whispered in my ear, “Is it later yet?”
I stood, setting her on her feet. “Guys, it’s been fun. But we’re going to call it a night. Lucy, where would you like us to drop you off?”
Before she could answer, the guys from Chrome Symphony started clamoring that we all had to perform a song together.
“One song,” I relented, shaking my head. “Then we’re out of here.”
Celesta and I crowded around a mic and waited for whatever Mack selected to cue up. When the first notes blared through the speakers, I rolled my eyes at Celesta while she burst into fits of giggles. I’d have never pegged the guys from Chrome Symphony as knowing all the words to the song “Mmm Bop”, but they owned it like it was theirs.
♪ Mmm Bop by Hanson
It was fun singing with a group again. But I’d had all the togetherness I could stand for one night. Tugging Celesta’s hand, we hurried off stage.
Lucy ran down the steps behind us. “Thanks for bringing me, guys. I’m going to stay and sing some more. I’ll catch a cab home.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, trying to be a gentleman.
“Totally sure.” She hugged Celesta goodbye. “Go get him,” she whispered in Celesta’s ear.
“I’m going to try,” Celesta whispered back, then winked at me.
14
Celesta
I forced myself to walk at a normal pace as we left the club, rather than drag Toven to the car to have my way with him like I wanted to. The cool breeze kissed my overheated skin. I inhaled the fresh air deeply, though it did nothing to slow my steps or the blood thundering in my veins.
“Anxious to be somewhere, my shining star?” he asked with a chuckle from slightly behind me. He managed to walk at a normal pace.
“Not at all,” I said, trying to play it cool. I wasn’t fooling anyone though. We both knew I was desperate for him. He could hear my heartbeat after all.
He tugged my hand, pulling me back so my body collided with his. He unlinked our hands and turned me toward him. Then he cradled my cheek in his hand. My vision filled with his face as his lips descended upon mine. The kiss was only a small moment in time, but it was enough to stutter my breath.
“I’m anxious to go somewhere too,” he mumbled against my mouth.
With dizzying speed,
he zipped us to where Joe waited with the car. Before I could pick my wits up from the ground, I was ushered into the smooth, leather interior of his limo.
Toven sank into the seat next to me and intertwined our fingers once more. Holding hands hadn’t set my heart racing since I was in middle school when I was walking to lunch with my first boyfriend. Somehow every touch of Toven’s felt new and significant. Our linked hands rested on my thigh. The heat of his flesh against the thin strip of skin exposed by the rip in my jeans felt unnaturally warm.
One of his fingers drew designs on that small patch of flesh, raising goosebumps in spite of the heat. His pinky finger slipped beneath the denim, and I couldn’t control the whimper that slipped out. That finger was so close to where I wanted him to touch me, yet so far away. I tilted my head to look into his whiskey-colored eyes.
“It’s later now, right?” my breathy voice pleaded.
“It’s almost later.” He leaned down to sip from my mouth. “It’ll be later in about ten more minutes.”
A torrent of curses and pleas coursed through my mind, but I didn’t give voice to any of them. I could wait ten more minutes. Maybe.
“You want a distraction so later arrives sooner?” His hand caressed my neck, and his eyes stared deeply into mine.
Hell yes. I nodded, closed my eyes and puckered up, expecting to feel the weight of his mouth on mine. Ready for my tongue to tangle with his.
Spicy vanilla filled my nostrils as warm air fluttered against my cheeks. A small nip tugged the corner of my lower lip. My breath whooshed out. Yes, please distract me with kisses.
My internal request was ignored. Which reminded me, he had said he wasn’t a mind-reader.
He chortled, causing me to open my eyes to peek at him. “You haven’t asked me any questions lately. You have ten minutes of my undivided attention, and we’ve got nothing better to do. So, ask me something.”
I forced air in through my nose and out through my mouth in an attempt to slow my raging hormones. “Nothing better to do is a matter of opinion. But I can play this game. Um . . . can you turn into a bat or another animal?” I fired off the first question that popped in my head.
A loud guffaw escaped his lips. “No, just another movie plot line.”
“Rats. I was hoping you could turn into a unicorn.” A faux pout settled on my face.
“Sorry to disappoint you. What you see is what you get.” He waved his free hand over his torso.
“You’re far from a disappointment.”
His eyes twinkled with amusement and something else at my statement. His finger started to trace the rip in my jeans again, distracting me from my train of thought.
“Next question,” he urged. Maybe he needed the distraction too.
“Do vampires really have to be invited into someone’s home?”
“Nope,” he said, popping the p sound. “We can break and enter just like humans.”
“Crosses and holy water necessary to ward vampires off?” I asked nonchalantly.
“Sadly, they don’t work. The trope came from the widely accepted belief that vampires are damned, so relics and representations of the church were adopted as weapons against damnation. But they actually do nothing to hold a vampire at bay.” His tone truly sounded regretful.
“I’ll throw out the bottle I have hidden in my room then,” I joked.
“The word no works to stop me,” he whispered.
“Toven, I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m not worried about needing to stop you,” I hastened to reassure him.
“I know. It’s more that I’m worried about me needing to stop myself. How I wished holy water or crucifixes or even garlic would force me back if needed. I want you to have something to protect yourself against me.” His tone and expression were so earnest that my heart cracked a little.
Turning myself, I straddled Toven’s lap and took his face in my hands, so he had to look at me. “I don’t need anything to protect myself against you.” I hated that I was responsible for the hurt swimming in his eyes. Pressing my lips to his, I poured every ounce of apology I had into my kiss.
His arms banded around my waist, holding me tightly to him. When I broke the kiss to catch my breath, I leaned my forehead against his. “If anything, you might need protecting from me.” I paused, listening for a moment, then continued, “Because later has arrived.”
Joe opened the door before Toven could answer, but a smile tipped his lips. “So it has. Let’s go inside.”
He helped me climb from the cavern that was the backseat. Joe stood by the door with a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin. “Goodnight, you two,” he said as we walked toward the front door.
“Night, Joe,” I called over my shoulder.
“Night. See you Tuesday,” Toven said without looking back.
With a jingle of keys and a quick turn of his wrist, Toven unlocked the door. My eyes were glued to his back as he walked across the threshold. The way his back muscles rippled beneath the cotton of his shirt hypnotized me. After a couple of seconds, warm light flooded the foyer as Toven turned on the chandelier. I stood frozen three feet inside the house. A smirk lifted his lips as he strode back to me.
“Leaving the door open for a quick get away?”
“Huh? What?” I snapped out of my stupor.
“The door? You leaving it open for a reason?” He nodded at the door, still wide open behind me.
I shook my head, embarrassed. “No. Sorry. You distracted me.”
“How did I distract you?”
“Just by being you,” I admitted quietly.
His grin turned into a beaming spotlight. With one hand, he reached over my shoulder and pushed the door shut. The soft click of the latch was like a switch, unleashing passion in every cell of my being. The air between us crackled with electricity. His eyes never left mine as he stepped around me. The magnetic pull of his gaze had my body turning with him as he stepped to secure the locks and set the alarm system. Once the world was safely locked away, he waited for the space of a heartbeat before he pounced.
Long fingers cradled my face as if I was the most precious thing in the whole world. The look in his eyes said he adored me. His other hand gripped my hip as he walked me backward until the wall pressed against my back. Toven’s lips descended at a glacial pace. Just when I was certain the anticipation would kill me, the weight of his mouth touched mine, and my world shifted into perfect balance.
The kiss was soft and gentle for a few moments, then it turned ravenous. His hands drifted down to the curve of my butt and lifted me up. My legs wrapped around him, pressing the heat of me against the center of him. He leaned in harder, pinning me to the wall. A moan rumbled up from my abdomen, spurring him on in the kiss. His fingers possessively dug into the soft flesh where my thighs met my butt. Tilting his head, he changed the angle of the kiss, tangling our tongues in a seductive dance.
When he finally let me come up for air, my breathing was ragged. Surprisingly, his was too.
“Are you ready to go watch my video debut?”
“I’m ready to make you fall apart,” he rasped out. “Do you want that? Please say you want that.”
My head bobbed up and down like a bobble head doll driving down a worn dirt path filled with ruts. His lips trailed across my jaw and down my neck.
I needed to get my wits about me before I spiraled too high to demand what I wanted. “Wait,” I whispered. That single soft word halted him in his tracks.
“Is everything OK?” he asked.
“Yes. I meant to say . . . uh . . . that I’ll let you make me fall apart under one condition,” my words rushed out before I lost my nerve.
“Anything you want, name it.”
“I want to make you fall apart . . . or at least try to.” Though my nerves demanded I avert my gaze, I fought the urge and continued to peer into his lust-filled eyes.
He pulled away from me slightly at my request and stared at the section of wall over my shoulder. The space he put between us
sent a jolt of pain to my heart.
“I know you’re worried, but I trust you,” I assured him, using my hands on his face to force him to look at me and see the sincerity in my eyes. “I know you think you’ll lose control and hurt me. But I’m desperate to touch you. To see your eyes fill with pleasure and know I gave it to you. If you say stop, I’ll stop instantly. You can even use a safe word if you want,” I joked.
It was working. The concern melted from his face some.
“We’ll pleasure each other. You won’t hurt me. I know it. Please let me try,” I pleaded.
Conflicting emotions warred on his face as his eyes searched mine. Please. I held my breath.
Finally, after an eternity, resolution settled across his features, and his mouth took mine. Our previous kisses were passionate, but he’d obviously been holding back. This kiss . . . this one was everything—want and need, passion and tenderness, fire and heat.
He drew back and rested his forehead on mine. “We can try. But if you speak to me or try to get my attention and it seems like I’m in a trance, get away from me as fast as you can. Put walls and locked doors between us. I do not want to hurt you.”
“OK,” I quickly agreed.
“You go on up to my room. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
He disappeared in the direction of the kitchen while I headed up the stairs. In his room, I paced for a few minutes before settling on the foot of the bed, facing the door. Being alone with my thoughts wasn’t helping my nerves. My blood cooled in the absence of him. When I’d just about given up on him coming, his form filled the doorframe.
“Thought you’d found a better offer,” I said, staring down at my twisting fingers.
“Never,” he growled and strode over to me in a split-second. Stooping in front of me, he gently gripped my face with both his hands, forcing my eyes to meet his. “You. Are. The. Best. Thing. That. Has. Ever. Happened. To. Me.” He punctuated each word with a sweet, tender kiss to my lips.
Blood Song: Refrain (Blood Song Series Book 2) Page 13
