Slow Burn (Feverish #4)

by Jade C. Jamison

  So, very carefully, he grabbed her blouse and tried to pull it off, but he realized quickly that it wasn’t going to budge. She said, “You have to unbutton it. Hold on.” Reaching behind her head, she managed to undo the button. Meanwhile, Brian moved his hands back around to the front to lift up her bra. Then, leaning over, he ran his tongue along one hard nipple while his hands helped her get the blouse and bra off her body.

  As she let out a sigh, she stuck her fingers in Brian’s hair. Her nails grazed against his scalp as he ran his tongue down her breasts to her cleavage while tickling her other nipple with the pad of his thumb. When he brought his lips back to her mouth, she was biting her lower lip. Oh, yeah. That meant he was definitely having the right effect on her. When she removed her hands from his hair, she grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and he helped pull it over his head. Her fingers touching his flesh already threatened to drive him mad, and although he’d been able to maintain his calm when he’d been in control, now that she was doing part of the driving, it was a struggle—and he knew he was going to have to speed up the process if he could make it. Suddenly, he felt like he was sixteen again, experiencing a woman for the first time. It was so strange, because it wasn’t like he’d never been with this woman before. Now, though, it felt brand-new. She felt brand-new.

  So he felt around her back for the zipper to her skirt. The fabric was snug, hugging her every curve, so it had to be held on some way and he guessed a zipper. It turned out he was right. When his fingers discovered the tab, he pulled on it until the skirt loosened and fell down her hips, letting it drop to the ground. Then he snaked his fingers underneath the delicate panties, pulling them down over her hips and dropping those as well. Once more her fingers were doing the same thing with his jeans. And although the embers in his heart for this woman stayed alive, everything in his body was now completely aflame, and even though he knew making love to her would not quench that fire, it would help quell the blaze if only for a moment. Taking her into his arms, he carried her to the bed. His jeans were up enough that he could walk. His cock began to throb as his eyes caressed her, watching the way those black panties dangled from her ankles, admiring the black heels on her feet, the way they emphasized the curves of her sexy calves. After he placed her on the bed as he might a delicate flower, he leaned over to gently kiss her on the lips. Her green eyes were pleading with him, begging him, and he managed to give her a soft smile.

  Suddenly, her brow furrowed. “Enough. I want you inside me now.”

  He couldn’t deny her that.

  Hastily, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and found a condom. Then he tore into the packaging, pulling out the condom and rolling it up his erection as quickly as he could manage. The blood was throbbing through his veins, tightening his cock, making him seek sweet release. No longer was he thinking rationally as instinct drove his every move. Hovering over her, he positioned himself between the V of her legs and she tilted herself, inviting him in. As he guided himself in, entering her slowly, she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling his face down to hers. When he plunged himself in completely, she enveloped him. Her pussy wrapped around him like a glove, as if she’d been created just for him. His lips moved to her neck again as he drove himself into her rhythmically. Soon, she was gasping and crying aloud, music to his ears. “Oh, Brian. Oh, God!” Her pussy seemed to throb against his swollen cock, making it hard to concentrate on holding it together.

  Then, hearing her cry his name in the throes of pleasure made it impossible for him to hold on any longer. He completely lost everything inside him, giving it to her freely, although there was no choice involved in the matter. His brain felt like it exploded as if it had been packed with dynamite, followed by a flood of pleasure cascading through every nerve, every fiber and, at last, a sensation of calm flowed through his veins, zapping him of all his strength.

  At that moment, he could no longer deny it. As fucked up as it was, he loved Sophia Buckley.

  With every fiber of his being.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sophie curled up against Brian, marveling at how she felt, both in body and in mind. Physically, she had never felt like this before. Ever. And she couldn’t understand what it was about this man that made her feel like this. How did he have this effect on her?

  As far as emotionally…holy shit. She couldn’t even go there right now.

  And yet he did. There was something about Brian that somehow made her feel complete down deep inside, unlike any other man ever had before. And it wasn’t just because of the sex. She couldn’t understand it—and she didn’t know if she even wanted to try. She was afraid that analyzing it could potentially ruin the magic. Still, she must, because there was a part of her that continued to despise this man. At his core, he was an insufferable smart ass who felt the need to poke fun at just about everything he observed. He’d even admitted as much. And, worse, not once had he apologized for being such as asshole. In fact, he’d seemed to double down.

  Right now, though, there was no denying how good all this felt. How right. Snuggled up close, she caught a faint whiff of his cologne and skin, and had she not felt sated at this very moment, she would have wanted to feel him inside her again.

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  Brian shifted behind her. “Penny for your thoughts, gorgeous.”

  Oh, hell, no. No way would she say what she was thinking about him. Quickly, she tried to find an innocuous enough topic to throw him off the scent. “I was just wondering…is it true that rock stars can get any woman on the road? Do you have sex constantly while you’re touring?”

  Brian started chuckling, his chest moving her head. “Aside from wanting to know why that’s where your brain is…”

  Shit. She was off her game.

  “I think it depends on who you’re talking to. If I want sex on the road, it’s easy enough to get, not just for me and the guys but the roadies, too. And even though Clay, Sam, and Dane are all taken, it doesn’t stop women from offering themselves anyway. I’ve heard about one frontman who had his manager gather up a dozen women that fit the guy’s type, and then he’d take his pick, night after night.”

  “And what about you, Brian?” She kept her eyes closed, refusing to look up at him, especially in case she decided to have an unexpected emotional response to whatever he was about to say.

  “Let’s just say I had my fair share back in the day. And why the hell not, you know? I’m not saying I don’t have needs now, but when I was younger, I could fuck all day long.” He ran his hand down the length of her hair, causing a small shiver to run through her body. “Sorry, that’s kind of crude. But it’s true. And I could have had a handful of women at every single concert. After I started dating Cookie, though, I kept my dick tucked in my pants.”

  “And when you were married?”

  “Yeah. How can I expect my partner to be faithful if I can’t? Besides, after a while, it all feels the same. There’s no emotional connection. Before I started dating Cookie, I was kind of feeling like an addict, like I had to have sex, trying to get that buzz, but it just didn’t feel the same. So no matter what I think about her nowadays, I’ll admit she kind of helped me out of that funk. I don’t fuck around like I used to.”

  “So,” she said, finally moving her head so she could look at his face, “why was I able to so easily seduce you back in Jersey?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not know what a knockout you are? You started propositioning me, saying all the right things. You ticked off a lot of boxes. I’d been in the desert for a while and you were a cool glass of water.”

  Unable to stop herself, Sophie giggled. “I feel really bad leaving you, um, high and dry, then.”

  Brian laughed. “You could say that.” Without seeming to think about it, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead affectionately. “In retrospect, I can laugh about it now. You got me good.”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “Tell me about your
life before you became a model, Sophie. Who were you before?”

  Did she really want this man to know more about her? And yet she couldn’t stop herself and it spilled from her mouth like a waterfall. “I was an innocent young thing from a small town in Kansas. And I always thought I was going to marry Wade, the oldest son of the man who owned the farm next to my dad’s. So…I gave him, um, my heart…which, to a girl—well, to this girl anyway—means her virginity. It was kind of symbolic. I was promising myself to him. I figured after high school, we’d get married and just keep doing what our families had been doing for years. But he didn’t feel the same way about me. Like a lot of girls in my town, I could have trapped him with a baby, but I think it would have trapped me more than him. So I focused on school and got a scholarship. After I got a four-year degree at KSU, I came to New York for law school, but I didn’t realize how much the cost of living here was different. In some ways, I was still the innocent idealistic girl from Kansas, but it didn’t take long for me to discover I could barely afford housing and food, let alone my textbooks. And I didn’t even want to think about the loans racking up that I’d have to pay back eventually. Long story short, I discovered modeling. At first, it just helped keep me fed. After a while, though, I saw the potential. But, more than that, I realized I really didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore—no matter if I’d be a prosecutor or defense attorney or even focus on family law or something like that. My heart was no longer in it, but no way would I ever go home again. So I had to find a way to make it work. I became best friends with a man named Rory, and he became my roommate. Still is.”

  She felt Brian’s body stiffen against hers and, when he spoke, his voice was quieter than it should have been. “Roommate? Are you cheating on him?”

  Sophie giggled again, touching his chest with an index finger. “No. Rory really is just a roommate.” After a second, she added, “He’s gay. He’s like my best friend. Is my best friend.” Her only friend, really, but she wasn’t about to get into that.

  “Got it.”

  “What about you, Brian? What attracted you to music?”

  “Are you kidding? Me and my best friend Clay started a band back in high school to get chicks. Clay’s always been a talented guitarist, and he only got better the more he played. I was decent enough on drums, so we found a couple other guys to join us.”

  “Drums?”

  “Yeah. Our bassist left before we recorded our first album, and I took the job. Even though I recorded the drums on our first album, I couldn’t play both parts onstage, so we found Dane—and he’s a hell of a lot better drummer than I ever was.”

  “You seem to like the limelight. I can’t imagine you being bolted down behind a set of drums.”

  “I think you’re right about that. I don’t know about the limelight part, but I think I’m a hell of a lot better entertainer moving around the stage than I would be at a drum set. Dane, though, he’s got some cool stick tricks, and the guy’s tall, man. Easier to see.”

  “You might not be as tall as Dane, but I don’t think anybody would have issues seeing you.” He grew oddly quiet again, so Sophie decided to change the subject completely. “By the way, you are a bad influence.”

  When Brian spoke, she could hear the amusement in his voice, so she hoped they were past whatever it was that had made him quiet. “I’m not denying it but exactly how so?”

  This time, she opened her eyes again and rested her head on his chest so he’d know she was looking at him. “I always eat things I shouldn’t when I’m around you.”

  As she’d hoped, his lovely blue eyes popped open, full of amusement. “Please. I’ve never seen a woman enjoy a club sandwich like you did. It was practically foreplay.”

  Refusing to laugh, Sophie dropped her jaw, feigning shock. “It was not. And I didn’t even finish it.”

  “Thanks for that, by the way. I didn’t need dessert eating your leftovers. Although I think we could make an argument that I just had my dessert.” When she couldn’t help but let out a laugh at this point, he said, “And I made sure you burned off any extra calories you downed.”

  “Maybe.”

  The way his hand drifted down her back sent a thrill through her body. “I know you have to watch what you eat, but your diet seems super strict, Soph. Life’s too short to reign yourself in all the time.”

  He was touching on a sore spot with her, something she really didn’t want to talk about—but she was going to go out on a limb just a little. “Are you talking about calories or something else?”

  “I’m talking about everything. You’re wound tight, babe. You gotta relax sometimes.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. Women have made so much progress over the past century but it’s still a man’s world. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t taken control of my destiny. If that means I’m a harsh taskmaster with myself, so be it. It’ll pay off in the long run.”

  “But, once in a while, it doesn’t hurt to let your hair down.”

  He was right, but she wasn’t going to admit it out loud. She was afraid that, if she let her hair down too many times, it’d become a ratty mess that she’d have to chop off. Her life had stayed orderly because she’d maintained control. Was it exhausting? Sometimes. Was it a relief to cut loose on occasion? Of course. When she was with Brian, it was like she was taking a vacation from her life—and, although it was a welcome one, it would become a way of life if she was like that all the time. “The key is once in a while.”

  Brian’s hand slid down her back to cup her ass. “I could help you pre-burn a few more calories.”

  Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Sophie said, “You are tempting, you bad boy, but if we don’t get a move on, I’ll miss my flight.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  How had he managed to tug at her heart strings so expertly?

  “I let my hair down with you, Brian Zimmer, but it’s time to pin it back up. If I don’t control my own destiny, someone or something else will.” She started to sit up, but he pulled her back down and kissed her expertly. It was like he always knew exactly what she needed, and the way his hands were roaming over her back and ass made it hard for her to think past the next few minutes.

  But before he got too into the proceedings, she ended the kiss and planted one on the tip of his nose. “I wasn’t kidding. You’re a bad boy.”

  “And I think you like me that way.”

  She gave him a sideways look and got out of bed, scooping her clothes up off the floor. As she put her bra on, she looked out of the window. They were on the eighth floor that faced west, so the view of the Rocky Mountains off in the distance was spectacular. It was hard to believe there was a metropolis between them and those peaks.

  “Sure you don’t want to stay longer? I could buy a ticket for a later flight.”

  Oh, he was more tempting than he knew. After she slipped her panties back on, she walked closer to the window—and avoided his question entirely. “It is beautiful here. I can see why you love it.”

  She hadn’t heard him get out of bed, but when he slipped his arms around her waist, he pulled her back against his naked body, kissing her neck. “So why don’t you stay a little longer?”

  It was hard to concentrate with his lips on her skin and his warm body holding her. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay just a little longer…

  Chapter Twenty-one

  He’d just had to talk her into staying for one more round. Had Brian left things the way they’d been, with playful banter, looking out at the Front Range of the Rockies with Sophie in his arms, he might not be hurting now. Instead, he’d overplayed his hand. Maybe, just maybe they would have had a chance if he’d left her wanting more, but now he had to face the harsh light of day.

  He was nothing more than a boy toy to her. No, actually, he was more than that. He was a means to an end. A stepping stone. A rung on the ladder. Certainly, she’d wanted it to be mutually beneficial. She hadn’t wanted to u
se him, and he didn’t feel used—but he did feel a little hurt. No, a lot hurt, but he wasn’t ready to admit that yet. Sophia Buckley had awakened something in him, something he’d buried. After watching all his friends slowly succumb to the love bug—especially after believing he could make it work with his accidental wife Kyle Summers, only to see that go down the drain—he’d felt that emptiness in his heart. There was an ache there, a need, and not just for a woman but for an entire family.

  And not just any woman.

  Of course, uptight Sophie probably wouldn’t want kids, either. So it was just as well. But, as he put on his socks and boots, his mind replayed the events of minutes earlier—the moment when she’d eviscerated him.

  Once more, he’d been holding her, his body pressed up against her back in bed, and they’d been looking through window, having made love once last time. She’d said something so quietly, he asked her to repeat it.

  “We have to stop doing this.”

  Suddenly, he was awake. “What? Why?” Was she talking about the lovemaking or every-fucking-thing else?

  “We would never work, Brian.” She wrangled herself out of his arms, moving toward the edge of the bed.

  “I don’t believe that.”

  But she was already standing up, picking up her clothes once more. Instead of responding to him, she went into the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Brian after callously cutting out his heart. By the time she came back out of the bathroom, he was fully clothed—and fully masked. No way was he going to let her see how much her words had gutted him.