“I’m beat,” I told them after yet another movie ended. It was the third we’d put on and unlike everyone else in the room, I’d spent the night in an airport and had been traveling all day. And not even the easy traveling like we had on the bus where we could do other things or nap if we chose to. No, this was the hard kind.
“You’re such a grandma,” Ransom said over his shoulder resulting in Bellamy slapping him on the back of the head. “Ow.”
“Listen, asshole, I was at the airport all night.” I stood up which pushed Paige off my lap at the same time. “Let me at least show you all where you can sleep. After that I don’t give a fuck what you do but I’m going to bed.”
“And taking Paige with you, I assume,” Indie said as she folded her arms under her breast and pushed out her bottom lip in a pout. The girls had been chatting basically the entire night.
“That would be up to her,” I told them then looked over at her.
Paige glanced from me to Indie and back. After settling on me she, with a straight wide-awake face, stretched her arms toward the ceiling and pretended to yawn. “I’m exhausted.” The room erupted with laughter. She wasn’t fooling anyone. She’d decided to go to bed with me but clearly wasn’t the least bit tired and honestly, once I climbed between those sheets with her, I doubted I’d even want to fall asleep anytime soon.
“Alright,” I slapped my hands together, “who wants to go see where they’ll sleep?”
The entire group of ours went out to the guest house where any one of them could sleep. They all loved the setup for working on music as well. With the kitchen and the bathroom, we wouldn’t have to leave for anything once I fully stocked the fridge in the morning.
“Yeah, Indie and I will stay here,” Cross said giving his girlfriend a tug inside.
“Uh, no,” Ransom countered. “I’m older I should get first choice.”
Cross scrunched his face up in confusion. “What the fuck are you talking about? I’m older than you by like two months.”
“Shit,” Ransom said then sighed. “I didn’t think you’d remember that.”
Indie giggled then asked, “You didn’t think Cross would remember his own birthday?”
“No.” Ransom shook his head. “I didn’t think he’d remember mine. I’m a little pissed but also a little touched.”
Cross chuckled but began moving toward the door. “Let’s go get our bags,” he said to Indie but we all went. The other guys needed their own bags as well.
They’d rented an SUV for the drive up here. Something roomy enough for them all but I had to laugh at the idea of the three of them sharing a car for the next couple of weeks. Cross took his and Indie’s bags then headed back out to the guesthouse. Ransom grabbed his and Bellamy’s while Dixon snagged his own. Then we headed back inside.
First I showed them the guest room and told them that I literally gave zero fucks about who slept where but Ransom claimed it for him and Bellamy. Maybe it wigged him out to think about having sex with his girlfriend in my bed. I couldn’t care less but maybe he did.
“You know, I love this house,” Bellamy said. “I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life and have never been up to this part of the state.”
“You’re from Michigan?” Paige asked with excitement in her voice.
“Yeah. Indie is too. We go to school in Ann Arbor so we live there during the school year.”
“Shut up,” Paige said with a smile. “I live in Ann Arbor. I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life.”
“Seriously? Where?”
“Uh… kind of all over, I supposed.”
“Does this mean we all stay at Paige’s when you girls are back in school and we come for a visit?” Ransom asked dropping the bags on the floor just inside the guestroom.
Since I spent so much time with them I knew that Cross and Ransom were still trying to figure out the logistics of where they’ll love once the girls are back in school and our tour ends. All three of our girlfriends living in Ann Arbor might just have been a very convenient coincidence.
“Uh… my apartment is tiny. Only two bedrooms and I have roommate so everybody better like to cuddle if you’re staying there,” Paige told them.
“I, personally, love to cuddle,” Dixon said back. “It’s why I like sharing a bus with Booker.”
I shook my head but laughed right along with him. “Let’s show you the room we’re going to lock inside of tonight.” I wave my hand to tell him to follow. We weren’t three steps away before Bellamy’s squeal reached us from under the closed door. I shook my head suddenly grateful they weren’t staying in my room.
One last stop at my bedroom, where I grabbed the bag I’d brought with me and anything else I thought I might need then followed Paige back down the hallway to her room.
“What do you think?” I asked after I shut the door. Paige had already made it over to the dresser and began pulling pajamas out.
“About them?” she asked. I nodded. “I really like them. They’re… normal.”
I snorted at that one. “You don’t know them yet. I don’t think any of us are normal.”
This time she shrugged and pulled her top off then unhooked her bra as if changing in front of me wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t other than the fact that seeing her that way, shirtless, her breasts exposed, her nipples pebbling in the cooler air, gave me dirty thoughts that I wanted to play out. So many that it was hard to choose.
Much too soon she dropped a tank top over head and covered herself. Then she changed her shorts into these tiny cotton things. Damn, my girl was beautiful.
As she climbed up onto her bed, I pulled my shirt over my head then went over to stand near the bed.
“We’re alone now,” I said quietly. “And I’m going to take off my pants in case you’re still wondering whether I’m wearing boxers or not.”
Paige slapped a hand over her face at the same time she said, “Oh god. You remember everything.”
“I remember the things that have to do with you touching my dick, that’s for sure.”
At least she giggled at that. It was a hundred percent true but she could’ve gotten offended instead of taking it the way I meant it. Though honestly, I’d only been half joking.
“Um… ” she said, her gaze bouncing around the room as she avoided looking right at me. Paige wasn’t shy. She’d opened up to me and told me things that she said she’d told very few people. “So… I wasn’t planning on just touching.”
“Well, yeah. I hoped that was the case because having sex with you has become my favorite hobby.”
Now she covered her face with both hands. I however, kept my laughter silent. She’d still know if she glanced my way because my body shook and no amount of effort was going to stop that from happening.
“That’s not… ugh. Never mind.” She flopped back onto the bed.
“Ok, stop.” I climbed up beside her but stayed sitting. Figured I’d make… whatever this was a little more comfortable for her. “Just tell me what’s going on.”
She laid there silently for what seemed like forever before finally groaning. “I told you that there are things… ”
When she trailed off, I reminded her of what I’d said in the car. “I told you willing participant to your education.”
“I wanted to try to… I’ve only ever done it once and it wasn’t successful at all, but I was thinking I could figure out how to… so you’d like it… ”
I swore she was talking in code. Saying a lot of words without actually saying anything. And then it clicked and I immediately had a raging hard on. Oh yeah, she could definitely do that. I got up off the bed and as soon as I was standing, I undid my jeans and pushed them down until I could free myself completely.
“Not wearing boxers,” I said making her head snap up to look at me.
It might’ve been unintentional but her tongue snuck out and licked her bottom lip. Fuck. This was going to kill me. But it’d be a glorious death.
“But I… I… Don’
t know… ” she stammered and my girl never stammered.
“Don’t stress about it, Paige. Do what you want. I promise you, I’ll love every minute of it.”
Finally she locked her gaze with mine and any embarrassment was gone, replaced by determination. I climbed onto the bed and leaned against the headboard. Paige reached out and took me in her hand, moving up and down a couple of times before leaning over and taking me in her mouth. I died and went to heaven right then. Her movements were tentative, unsure, as she climbed around so she was in front of me. A couple of times her ministrations slowed as if she needed encouragement which I gladly gave. I threaded my hands through her hair to help her along.
No idea why she thought she wouldn’t be good at this. Very few times were women truly bad at it even if inexperienced. And guys rarely hated the so-called bad ones.
And then Paige looked up at me.
“Oh, fuck. No.” I pushed her back away from me. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows raised then she swiped her hand across her chin. “You can’t look at me when you’re doing that right now. Eventually maybe. But not right now.”
“Why?”
“This will be over right now. It almost was right there.”
Paige sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and kept it there with her teeth as she pushed one side of her hair behind her ear. Then this little evil grin appeared on her face, she leaned back over and quickly licked me.
“Oh, that’s it,” I said, grabbed her shoulders and flipped her around.
Now that I was in control, I kissed her long and hard, pulling off her clothes as I went.
But this time, I could move slowly. Giving her the pleasure she deserved and getting the pleasure I so desperately wanted from her. The other times had been more rushed. More about need and desire. We both had needs tonight. We both had desire. But we also had time. I’d savor every second with her.
Afterward, Paige basically climbed into my side, cuddling, becoming part of me, owning yet another piece of my heart. God I’d fallen in love with this woman so easily, so quickly, yet so completely. As I could’ve predicted it wasn’t long before she hopped up and put her pajamas back on then went into the bathroom. When she came out, I did the same. And then we were back on her bed, her snuggled into my side again.
“I’m an asshole,” I said but hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
Paige propped her chin up on my chest and asked, “What?”
“I’m an asshole.”
“I heard you the first time.”
“Well, I am.” I reached up and scrubbed a hand through my hair. “I was just thinking how fucking lucky I am to have met you. Somehow found you and tricked you into falling for me.”
She laughed tiredly and gave me a small grin. “And that makes you an asshole?”
“Well, yeah. I only met you because my mom had a fucking stroke. So in a way I’m thankful my mom had a stroke and that’s fucked up. Also makes me an asshole.”
Paige softly caressed the side of my face and said, “It doesn’t make you an asshole because you’re not thankful for your mom’s stroke. What you’re thankful for is since this awful thing had to happen, you’re extremely happy, giddy even that your dad found a hot, amazing nurse that tricked you into falling for her.”
I let out a loud laugh that Dixon probably heard down the hall.
“I guess that’s another way to look at it,” I said then leaned down to kiss her again.
I’d fall asleep tonight with Paige in my arms and wanted like hell to do it every single night of my life but would take however long she agreed to stay on tour with us.
If I had my way and a decent power of persuasion, I’d never let her go.
Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review!
More by Heather Young-Nichols
New Adult Romance
Finding Love
Making Her Mine
Making Him Hers
Courting Chaos
Something Irish
Cross
Ransom
Harbor Point
Love by the Slice
Love by the Mile
Love by the Rules
Gambling on Love
Highest Bidder
Highest Stakes
Highest Reward
Standalones
Moonstruck
Written with Amelia J. Matthews
Dirt on the Diamond
After Office Hours: Seducing the Professor
Acknowledgments
Amy McNulty, once again, you rock. Thank you for helping take this story and make it something readable even if you had to type the word ‘awkward’ more times than any human should.
Nancy Colbert Hardy, you make all the best covers. I say this every single time so you might be getting tired of hearing how awesome you are.
I always thank my family because most people don’t understand how time-consuming writing a book is and how hard it is to make sure there is balance. I suck at balance sometimes but I’m constantly working on that. But I love that you’re here either way.
Anyone reading this... I appreciate you! You’re taking the time and energy to read this thing that started out in my head and I can’t tell you how awesome that makes me feel. Even if you hated it, that’s cool, but still, you took the time to read it. Not so long ago I couldn’t imagine anyone would want to read my stuff so this is amazing!
About the Author
Heather Young-Nichols is a multi-published YA and contemporary romance author and a native of the great and often very cold state of Michigan. She is better known at home and to her friends as the Snarker-in-Chief, a job she excels at beyond anything she could have imagined. She loves many things, but especially cold coffee, hot books, and baseball. But not necessarily in that order.
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Booker (Courting Chaos Book 3) Page 17
