“Jo, c’mon, babe! I’m hungry. Food’s getting cold!”
Proceed as planned. Don’t waver.
I pasted on a smile as I gave myself the pep talk of my life.
Pretend, Jo. Pretend you’re worthy. That the sacrifice has already been made. Make the remaining time so unforgettable for him that it, and not the end, will be what he remembers long after you’re gone.
Determined, I exited the bedroom and marched down the hall, careful not to trip on the long hem of my dress. With Gale, I was going to have to proceed carefully too. He was smart. I didn’t want him to figure out that I’d already decided that I was saying good-bye. He would try to change my mind, and he might be able to do it. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Gathering my skirt in one hand, I gripped the handrail and made my way down the spiral staircase. At the bottom, Gale waited. His silver eyes flared as he took me in.
“Wow, Jo.” He shook his head, and the coppery strands in his tousled brown mane gleamed as they caught the light.
My heart raced, and all my body’s Gale zones perked up as he scanned me again, only slower this time.
“You look amazing.” His low voice and approval made my skin heat with awareness.
“So do you,” I said my voice husky as took all of him in.
He wore a charcoal-gray silk shirt with a sheen almost as glossy as his hair. The fine material skimmed the contours of his chiseled chest, and the black slacks he had paired with it clung to his muscular legs and narrow hips as if custom tailored to emphasize them.
“Those clothes weren’t in the luggage compartment.”
“No, they weren’t.” He nodded while continuing to hold me captive with his heavily hooded eyes.
“Where did they come from?” I tilted my head.
“One of the shops downstairs. Same place yours did.”
“Why didn’t you stay here and have yours delivered with mine?” I asked, mourning the extra time we could have spent together.
“I had a few additional things beside the shopping to do.”
His lips curving up on one side, he offered me his arm, and I took it. Setting my fingers on his shiny silk sleeve, I noted his scent. Saffron, citrus, and smoke swirled around me, and I experienced a decadent shiver as the flexed steel of his muscles rippled beneath my grip.
“How was your evening?” he asked, covering my hand with his.
The warmth of his skin grounded me, while the undeniable gravitational pull of my attraction to him made my rapid pulse fly.
“As good as it could be without you.” That telling truth slipped free of its moorings.
“That’s a good answer.”
His half smile becoming a full one, he escorted me to the dining table, which was set as if for a lavish high-society affair. Fancy china and ornate silverware, platters covered with silver lids. The mahogany surface was draped with a creamy cloth, and silver candlesticks flickered with warm romantic light.
“This is nice,” I said softly. “Thank you.”
“I’m a nice guy.” His smile widened. If it weren’t for his beard, his trademark dimples would have both winked at me. “Or so I’ve been told. I suggest you keep me.”
I bobbed my head because, oh, did I want to. Yearning brimmed in my eyes.
“I like your hair up like that.” His gaze drifted over me. “It’s a tease, though. Makes me want to take it down.”
His comment made me smile. Imagining him removing each pin was the reason I’d agreed to the ornate style.
“Here.” Releasing me, he pulled out a chair and gestured with a flourish. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” I lowered myself into the chair, and he pushed it in for me.
After smoothing my skirt, I took the linen napkin from my place setting, folding it before placing it in my lap. My thighs trembled beneath it, partly from the intimate image of him taking down my hair that he awakened in my mind, but mostly just from his proximity.
“You’re welcome.” He took a seat next to me at the head of the table. “I want you to try some new things with me tonight.” His gaze narrowed as he studied me. “Do you think you’re up to that?”
“Of course I am.” Smart man. He probably knew how I would respond if he framed the question as a challenge.
“Good.” He scooted his chair closer and lifted the lid from one of the nearby platters. No steam arose, but the scents of brine and lemon wafted into the air.
“Those are oysters.” I scrunched my nose. “Raw ones on ice.”
He picked one up, and I shuddered as I saw it jiggle on its shell.
“No way.” I pressed my lips tightly together as he brought it toward me.
“C’mon,” he said, his voice a low and coaxing croon. “Try something new. You’ll like it. I promise.”
“Okay.” For him, I would try just about anything.
When my lips reluctantly parted, he tipped the shell to them, and the oyster slipped into my mouth. It was slippery and slimy, its texture completely foreign on my tongue. I made a face as I attempted to chew it.
“No, babe. Sip it to get the salt from the shell, then swallow it. Let it slide down your throat. No chewing. Here.” He took another shell from the ice and brought it to my mouth.
I nodded, getting the sensual aspect of taking food from his hand, this one in particular reputed to be an aphrodisiac.
His gaze dipped to my lips. “Good girl.”
Desire pooled low in my abdomen as he tipped the second one into my mouth. As I swallowed, he tossed the empty shell aside. The experience was much like the first, only this time the salt and the tangy lemon burst pleasantly on my tongue before the oyster slid down my throat.
“Beautiful, babe.” He placed his hand on my neck, just above the band of leather, his fingers curling gently but possessively around it. Stroking my skin softly with his thumb, he asked, “Remind you of anything?” His heated gaze lifted, locking on mine.
“Yes,” I whispered, feeling his gaze nearly as palpably as his touch. “I much prefer the way you taste.”
“I prefer you over anything.” His eyes flaring, he moved his hand, cupping my jaw and swiping the pad of his thumb across my damp, salty lips. “You and your sweet lips.”
He leaned in, and I tilted my head. He angled his, fitting his mouth to mine. Desire flowed through me, the pool of heat in my abdomen becoming a flood as his tongue softly stroked mine.
Transfixed, I stared at him when he broke the kiss. Licking my lips that were swollen from his passion, I asked, “Can we do dinner later? Get naked first instead?”
“Sorry, not yet.” His gaze dark, he leaned back in his chair, and his hair fell over his eyes. His expression was one of deep male satisfaction. “I want you fed first. Then I want to do something for you. Something you requested earlier.”
“Are you going to sing for me?” My heart soared as I imagined it.
“Yes.” His lips curved.
“Okay. What else is there to eat?” I reached for one of the platters.
“Eager, huh?” His eyes sparkling brighter than the candlelight, he placed his hand over mine, preventing me from lifting the lid.
“You? Performing just for me?” I gave him a disbelieving look, knowing how I practically orgasmed just from seeing him with a guitar in his hands. “You bet I’m eager.”
Josephine
“I DIDN’T KNOW THIS was in here.” I stared wide-eyed at the baby grand piano, an ebony island alone inside a large space behind a set of double doors that had been locked when I’d wandered through the suite earlier.
“I didn’t want you to know. Not until I was sure the song was presentable.” Gale took my hand and pulled me into the room with him.
“Is the song what you were working on while I was being pampered?”
“I did some shopping, but afterward I went to a local studio, called Art and Noah, and rehearsed it with them. I have their parts on my phone. It’s not an ideal setup. It’ll be better live with
the whole band and a few extra musicians on other instruments. But I wanted you to hear it now.”
I tilted my head. “Sounds like a complicated piece.”
“All music’s complex. Like relationships, there are high notes and low ones, melodies and counter melodies, crescendos and silences. Every part has a purpose to make the overall score something the individual pieces could never be alone.”
“I understand what you’re saying.” I nodded.
“Do you?” He placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him, the wall of glass behind us revealing a night sky with twinkling stars below us rather than above our heads.
My brow creased. “You think all the events we went through, good and bad, played a part in shaping us. That we had to go through what we did before we met in order to be where we are right now.”
“I do.” He nodded once. “I wish the bad never happened to you or me. But I feel fucking fortunate to be together now. I’ve been searching my whole life for a woman like you, Jo.” His slanted brows drew together. “You are the note I was missing to make all the rest come together. And now that I’ve found you, I’m never letting you go.”
“Gale . . .” I breathed out his name, my heart pounding hard. “I don’t want to let you go.”
“Then don’t.” His expression hardened. “It’s as simple as that. Open your eyes, your heart, and your ears. Listen to the music I hear when we’re together. Accept me.”
“I do accept you.”
“Accept what we can be.”
My lips flattened. “Stop pushing, Gale.”
“I will push when pushing is needed.” He gave me his steely, determined look. “I’m not trying to bend you to my point of view, but I am trying to get you to look at things with a different perspective. We both know how quickly the good in our lives can slip away. But today is a new day. Instead of focusing all your energy on what you can’t change and being discouraged, how about accepting it? What is changeable, let’s change. Together, we can figure out what is etched in stone and what isn’t. But that determination is up to us. We say what matters and what doesn’t. It’s our world when we’re together. Not anyone else’s.”
“I’m so grateful for the way you see me,” I whispered, and his eyes narrowed. “For the way you love me. For the miracle it is that you do.”
My words were too close to a good-bye. His were too idealistic for me to believe with my past hanging over his head.
“I love spending time with you,” I said softly. “Treasure all the memories we’ve made. And I’m humbled by all the effort you put into surprising me.” I lightened my tone. “Except for the oysters.”
“Sorry you didn’t care for them, or the pâté.” He let out a sigh, obviously frustrated with me, but I knew better than to think he was giving up. He was merely regrouping.
I scrunched my face. “I liked eating them from your hand,” I said, then gave him a soft smile. “I hope I don’t seem unappreciative of all that you’ve done.”
He frowned. “It’s not that.”
“I know what it is, and I’m sorry I can’t change my perspective the way you want me to.” My throat tightened, and I swallowed to loosen it. “You being a part of my life is the very best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“And you are the best in mine.” He lifted his hands and framed my face.
Looking deeply into his eyes was like peering into a mystical mirror, one that revealed me the way he saw me, with the backdrop of his hope for us. It was as seductive as he was.
Lowering his head, he pressed a tender kiss to my lips, then released me. “Can I sing for you now?”
“Yes, please.” I glanced around. There was no other furniture in the room. “Should I sit on the bench beside you or stand by the piano?”
“Stand.” His lips curved. “I would love to see my inspiration while I play.”
“Okay.” Smiling in anticipation, I moved into position while he pulled out the bench and sat on it. “What’s the title?”
“I’m calling it ‘Here With You Now.’” He flexed his fingers.
“Oh.” My eyes rounded as he swiped the screen on his cell a couple of times, then hovered his fingers over the keys.
Pulling in a breath that expanded his chest, he lowered his hands. Somber notes filled the air, followed by a few tinkling lighter ones. Low and high notes, a contrast that worked, emphasizing the beauty of each.
His glossy hair slid forward, shadowing his gaze as he pounded the keys. His shoulder and arm muscles bunched with his passion. Then he began to sing, and I melted into a puddle where I stood.
Midnight cape
Cascades over me with love
Electric eyes
Shining heaven from above
Velvet touch
Feelings rising in the night
Here with you now
Everything is right
I closed my eyes. His honeyed voice was sublime. The melody and the mood he painted with his words enchanted me.
Absolution
Spirit breaking free
Resolution
Find your way to me
Restitution
Become yourself and then
Revolution
Love me till the end
A blazing guitar chord by Arthur streaked through the night sky like a comet, accompanied by a cascading meteor-shower drum fill by Noah.
Midnight woman
Hide no more in shame
Electric lady
Burn free of any blame
Velvet beauty
Release me from my pain
Here with you now
Life begins again
Absolution
Spirit breaking free
Resolution
Find your way to me
Restitution
Become yourself and then
Revolution
Love me till the end
I opened my eyes to find Gale’s brow creased in earnest. His silvery moonlight gaze glowed as brightly as the notes he played. As the music and his voice slowly drifted away, I wanted to chase them, catch and replay each note and lyrical phrase.
“Lead singer training,” I said, my voice thick. “The imagery with the night and feelings having to rise, that’s mine.”
“It’s all yours, Jo,” he whispered. “Like I am.”
I moved to him, my feet following my heart that was already in his possession. How could I resist changing my perspective when he was coming at me again and again with everything he had, his words and his music?
Sliding in front of him, between him and the piano, I placed my hands on his shoulders. He put his on my hips, dropping his head and burying his face in my abdomen. I think he got that I was surrendering to him and his vision. I cradled his skull and sifted my fingers through his mane of satiny hair.
“It’s still missing something.” He made the statement, then lifted his head to gaze up at me.
“It is.” I agreed, holding his gaze. “It’s a little flat in a few places, but that’s an easy fix. It just needs a counter melody.” My fingers tingled with the urge to work one in. The notes lingered inside my mind. “But even without a single change, it’s the most beautiful piece I’ve ever heard.”
“Thank you.” His eyes glistened from my approval.
“Your truth to music. Your voice makes it an irresistible truth. I’m so glad you’re writing songs again. Sharing your talent with the world.” I slid my fingers through his tumbled hair, marveling in the softness, mesmerized by him.
He lowered his head again. His grip tight at my hips, he pressed his mouth to my stomach. I felt the firmness of his lips and the warmth of his breath, even through my dress. He bunched the skirt in his hands a little, and then some more. The more he gathered, the wider the seductive slit between my legs became.
“What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly as he exposed the skin of my upper thighs to the cooler room air.
“I want you. Here. No
w,” he growled.
Yes. I wanted that too. Wet heat flashed between my legs.
Standing, he scooped me up and lifted me onto the top of the piano. With our gazes at the same level, we stared, taking a silent moment to savor each other. My eyes filled like his had earlier. Without words being spoken, I felt his approval.
He brought his hands up and began removing the pins from my hair, one by one, allowing the long strands to spill around my bare shoulders. He didn’t look away from me, and he didn’t speak as he tossed the pins aside. He didn’t need to speak . . . the glittering hunger in his eyes told me all I needed to know.
Suddenly, he hooked his fingers in the low-cut bodice of my dress and tugged.
Firmly.
“Gale.” I gasped as the material ripped in two, exposing my tits. Without a bra, my nipples tightened in the cooler air, and hardened more as his gaze dipped to them.
“Fucking beautiful.” He placed one palm on my chest between my tits.
My nipples were so tight, they throbbed. I wanted his mouth on them, needed it. But I wanted him to have whatever he needed more.
“Take what you want. Take me any way you want to.” I arched my back, feeling his gaze on me like a seductive caress.
He dove his hands into the slit of my skirt, gathering the length of it and lifting both sides of it above my hips. Spread out around me, the matte black contrasted with the shiny surface of the piano. Gripping my thighs in his talented hands, he spread me open and moved into the space he created.
“Lay back, Jo,” he whispered, but there was no mistaking the command.
A shiver rolling through me, I obeyed. The keys on the piano clanked as he moved his hard body between my trembling legs.
“Oh, Gale,” I whimpered.
My upper arms cuffed to my sides by the remaining pieces of my dress, I was his to do with whatever he wanted. I liked that he had all the control, and moaned as he stroked his hand down the center of my needy body, laying claim to what I willingly gave.
ROCK F*CK CLUB (Girls Ranking the Rock Stars Book 6) Page 9
