I lifted my head, found his gaze and held it, then smiled slowly. “No more can’ts or don’ts. You’re free to do whatever you want.”
“ANYTHING?” GALE WALKED ME backward into the closest wall.
His bandmates stood in the doorway to the gym, watching us. Apparently, they were hard up for entertainment.
Um, correction. Something was hard, all right.
“Yes,” I said, feeling the thick length of Gale as he pressed his body into mine.
“Even a ride?” He placed his palms on the wall behind me, caging me in, but I wasn’t worried.
This was Gale—the guy who didn’t make me feel embarrassed about my tears, or weak because of a flashback, or weird because I didn’t like the dark. Every layer he removed, every secret I shared, he accepted. Could he possibly forgive me the worst one?
“Yes, even that.” I lifted my hands, aiming them for his thick mane of hair, even though his sculpted chest beckoned.
I wanted that mind-blowing kiss.
“Huh-uh.” He captured my hands. The connection of his skin to mine sparked electricity that traveled up my arm and throughout my body. “My bike’s inside the trailer.”
I narrowed my gaze. “You’re really determined to get me back on your motorcycle again, aren’t you?”
“Yes. You didn’t have a proper ride the first time.”
“Oh. Well.” When I licked my lips, his gaze dipped to them, making them tingle. “You could have me on my back in your bed first. We could do the bike ride second.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he said, and his sexy mouth curved on the one side. “If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. There’s no pressure or expectations on my end.”
“All right.” I nodded, relieved that he didn’t need those things. But needing and wanting were very different things, and wanting him was making me crazy. It had made me crazy since the beginning. If he didn’t remedy the deficit between us, I would.
“C’mon.” He stepped back. Keeping one of my hands wrapped in his, he waved to his bandmates, who seemed to be wagering on something.
“I think they’re betting on us,” I told Gale as we retraced the path down the hall that I’d taken to get to the gym.
“No doubt. They don’t think I have the willpower to resist you.”
“Oh.” I arched my pierced brow. I liked that. “That’s interesting.”
“I thought you heard everything when you were lurking by the door.” After pressing the elevator call button, he turned and gave me a pointed look.
“I missed that part.”
“But you got that I’m into you.”
“Yeah, I did.” And I really liked that.
“That’s why you’re erasing all the restrictions.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m doing that because I want you to know I trust you.”
“Fucking hell.” He squeezed his eyes shut as if that was bad news.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, touching his arm.
He opened his eyes as the elevator arrived. They were fiery gray. “You don’t give trust easily. I’ve wanted to gain your trust from the beginning.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s the key to unlock the cage you’ve put yourself in.”
He was right.
“But—”
“I won’t return it.” He shook his head, his hair heavy with sweat. “You gave it freely. It’s in my possession now.”
“I did. I want you to have it,” I said, but my heart thrummed.
I was like a bird that had lived in a cage all its life. Seeing the open door, I longed to fly, but I was afraid I’d forgotten how.
“Trust is a precious gift, Jo.” He stroked the back of his hand down my cheek. “I’ll be careful with it.”
“I know you will.” I had very little of value, but I could give him that. If I got hurt trying to soar, it wouldn’t be his fault.
“So, in light of this most recent development, I know you need to stay here while I go up to my room and shower.”
My eyes flared like his, only mine did because I was imagining him naked, wet, and slippery.
His lips curved as if he could read my mind. “My bandmates’ wagering wouldn’t be interesting if we didn’t even leave the hotel.”
“I disagree.” I reached for Gale, and when he stopped me again, I frowned.
“Here. Stay. I’ll be right back.” He stepped into the elevator. “After my very quick, very cold shower.”
His grin was the last thing I saw before the door closed.
Mumbling about one particular irritating front man, I moved to the bench by the automatic doors and the cascading water fountain, where I sat and withdrew my phone. Going to YouTube, I pulled up some of my favorite Anthem videos. There were a lot of them.
His band had struggled in the beginning, playing only small local gigs in Toronto for years. They had been lucky, though. They’d had their families’ support, even though all three had left high school before graduating to devote their energy to their music.
It was a gamble that had definitely paid off. First, when an experienced manager had heard and signed them, then later when they won a coveted spot touring with Brutal Strength. Anyone hearing Anthem knew they were destined to be the headliner they were today.
I clicked to their most-viewed video. Live in Toronto, their hometown. They’d returned triumphant. A massive crowd bounced to the frantic beat of Noah’s drums and Gale’s bass. Those two were the steady in the band. Arthur was the flash.
“Hey.”
The steady had returned, and I lifted my head.
“That was fast.” I smiled as one drip, then another, plopped on my screen from his wet hair. I swiped the wetness away. “You’re raining on my concert.”
Glancing down, he grinned. “My own cute little stalker.”
“One of many, I’m sure.”
“Not really. We’re pretty boring guys offstage. And our fans are usually pretty cool when they meet us away from the venues.”
I clicked the power button on my phone and stood. “Plus, the mustache and beard helps keep you from being recognized.”
“Yeah, I haven’t had anyone come up to me for an autograph or a picture since we left Dallas.”
“Your trademark dimple is buried beneath your whiskers.”
“You like my dimple, huh?”
“I like you.”
His eyes brightened. “I like you too. But you’re not dressed for riding.” He pointed with his head toward the outside. “It gets chilly in the desert when the sun goes down.”
“Can I borrow your hoodie again?”
“You can borrow anything of mine you like.”
He placed his hand on my lower back, directly on the skin my cropped shirt exposed, and I sighed.
“You okay?” He swept his thumb in an arc, sending heated tremors of sensation throughout my body.
“I like that.”
“This?” He brushed his thumb across my back again. The callus there was rough against the smooth of my skin. The stroking was a demand for my attention, much like he was.
“Yes, that,” I said breathily. My legs trembled as we walked outside together.
“I’m glad.” He looked at me, and in the glow of the lights in the parking lot, I knew he was more than just glad. “I meant, are you okay going for a ride with me at night?”
“I wouldn’t have been before, but I am now.”
“Good, because here we are.” He gave me another heated look when we reached the trailer, a glance that warmed me even as he withdrew his hand. “Stand back a bit. This will only take a few minutes.”
“Did your wife ever ride with you?” I asked, wrapping my arms around myself as he unlocked the trailer. It was chilly, and the wind lifted one of my pigtails.
“Once or twice.” Inside the trailer, he didn’t look at me, but his voice was gruff. “She didn’t care for it. Thought it was too dangerous. She liked a controlled environment, kind of like with you
and your emotions.” He walked his BMW down the ramp he’d pulled out. “But she’s not going with us. It’s just me and you. You get that, right?”
I nodded.
“My turn, then.” Gale gestured to the other motorcycle inside the trailer, one I recognized as Tyler’s Harley. “Is it over with you and him?”
Apparently, it was my turn for a question and a truthful answer.
“It’s over. Ty’s a good guy. Mostly.” I sighed. “But he and I didn’t make sense.”
“Do you and I make sense?”
I didn’t want to answer that. But I also didn’t want to lie, so I went for the middle ground.
“You see me the way I want to be seen, and understand me. You don’t ignore the broken pieces. Instead, you admire my courage for the parts I’ve salvaged. I want to believe we could make each other whole.”
I HELD ON TO Gale tightly as he drove, aiming the headlights deep into the desert. It seemed we had to go far to find a place where my misgivings and his hope could intersect. In the distance, the mountains were darker shadows than the night.
After turning onto a two-lane highway, we dipped into a dry runoff gulley, and then another. We passed between groves of Joshua trees, which seemed to wave their misshapen arms at us. The dark grew even darker. It had been a long time since we’d seen any other headlights, and still we continued on.
“Where are we going?” I asked, and his abdomen tensed under my linked hands.
“Are you not enjoying the ride?”
“Too much.” The words were out before I could take them back. I latched my fingers tighter around him, as if I feared someone might take it all away.
“Me too.” His sexy voice over the headset speakers chased away my fear. “Out here on the open road, I feel something I don’t feel anywhere else. I wondered if you might feel it too.”
“What do you mean?”
“The world is spread out and there to explore. I can go wherever I want. In a place like this, I feel like anything is possible, like I’m in control of my own destiny.”
“You feel free.”
“Yes.”
“That’s a heady emotion. I’m glad riding gives you that.”
I hugged him tighter. He took his right hand off the handlebar and squeezed both of mine before returning his to the leather grip.
“Want to go a little faster?”
“Hell yes.” I laughed as he accelerated.
“Worth it,” he said.
“Worth what?” I managed to ask as he slowed down.
“Worth the wait to get you on the back of my bike.”
“Why was that so important to you?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
He put on his blinker, in the desert far away from anyone or anything, yet with him I felt safe.
“Where’s there?” I asked.
“It’s more a feeling than a place. But I saw a cool spot on the map that I wanted to visit with you.”
Gale slowed the bike as we bumped off the pavement onto packed dirt. Down a hill, then up another we went before he slowed.
“Almost,” he mumbled, then stopped the bike. “This is close enough.”
“Close enough to where?”
“To here.” He cut the engine and put his feet down. “Climb off, babe, and take off your helmet.”
“Okay.” I skimmed my hands over his wide shoulders, squeezing his thick biceps purposefully as I got off. I wasn’t going to miss that opportunity.
Boots on the sand, I unclipped my helmet and set it on top of the luggage compartment. He dismounted, gracefully took off his helmet, and flipped off the headlights, plunging us into complete darkness.
“Hey.” My voice seemed overly loud in the inky stillness. “You’re not going to leave me out here, are you?” I asked teasingly. Even in the borrowed hoodie, I was suddenly chilled now that I was away from his body heat. I hugged myself as if to hold his warmth to me.
An imposing shadow, he closed the distance between us and drew me to him. “Let me warm you up.” His hands closed around my upper arms.
“Then what?” My heart raced from his touch and the anticipation.
“Then you’ll see,” he whispered.
“See something or get something?”
I placed my hands on his chest. I could feel the warmth of his skin beneath his T-shirt, the hardness of his frame. His heartbeats were as rapid as mine.
“One thing at a time.” Tightening his grip on me, he pulled me into him. “First this.”
When his hands touched my hair, I clung to his shoulders as he removed the elastic from my right pigtail and then carefully smoothed the long strands over my shoulder. My skin tingled beneath his touch.
“Then this.” He did the same thing with the other pigtail.
“There,” he said proudly when he’d freed both sides from their confinement. “It’s time.” He plunged his fingers into the strands he’d freed and lowered his head as he cradled mine.
“Gale, yes.” I caught his breath just before his mouth touched mine.
His lips were firm, warm, perfect. I sighed from the perfection of having his mouth on mine.
The kiss was everything I wanted, everything I’d dreamed of. He was everything, and my mind was blown before he slipped his wet tongue into the willing seam I parted, and touched it to mine. Deep, he plunged and swirled his tongue.
As if weightless, I spun in a new galaxy, following his lead. Strong, he coaxed me to yield, and I surrendered to his tenderness, reborn and set free.
My old world broke apart, and the tiny particles from it separated and rained down around us. Gale made even a dismantling and rebuild something beautiful.
When he broke the seal between our mouths, I whimpered a protest.
“Look up,” he whispered against my lips. “That was me giving you something. Above is the something I wanted you to see.”
He held me steady in his arms as I leaned my head back to look at the sky.
Gasping, I realized it wasn’t just my old world raining down around us, it was the stars, a meteor shower in the ebony canopy above. Stars burst apart at the seams like I had a moment before, from only a single kiss.
“Amazing,” I told him, but I wasn’t looking at the stars. I was looking at the reflection of them in his eyes.
“Babe,” he whispered when he glanced down and discovered me staring at him. “You’re going to miss the show.”
“I like the reflected vantage point better.”
“Josephine.” His voice was gentle as he softly rubbed a strand of my hair between his fingers. “I think I’m as enamored with your hair as you are with mine.”
“Impossible.” I smiled.
“Probably right. It seems to be an incredible turn-on for you.”
“You are an incredible turn-on for me. Just you.” I reached up and framed his face, pressing the pad of my thumb into the crease on one side. “I love your beard. It’s so soft.”
I searched his features with my gaze. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the starlight, I could see the brown of his beard and how compellingly it contrasted with the bright silver of his eyes.
“But I kind of wish I could see your dimple. It’s buried underneath all the scruff.” Scruff that when I touched it, made me feel like I had a fever burning me from the inside out.
“Maybe you’ll get your wish one day. I’ve heard it said that your wish will be granted if you have your first kiss during a meteor shower.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who says that?”
“I do. I’m holding my wish-come-true in my arms right now.”
“IS A KISS REALLY all you wished for?” I asked. “You could have so much more.”
“What are you offering, Jo?”
“Me. You can have all of me.”
“Your heart? After earning your trust, that’s the prize I’m after.”
“It’s not a prize, but you can have what’s left of my heart. My body too.”
I
stepped back, reaching for the hem of the hoodie, and removed it. Gale was watching me with rapt attention. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I discovered that it wasn’t so dark after all.
“I want you,” he said with a grin. “All of you. Let me get a blanket. There’s one in the luggage compartment.”
“Were you planning on getting lucky?” There was a smile in my voice, and one on my face that went with it. I suddenly felt light enough to float away, and it was because of him.
“Hoping. From the moment I met you, I hoped you would be mine.” Turning back around, he had a blanket in his hand and a crooked grin on his mouth.
It had probably happened as far back as that for me too, but I didn’t tell him.
As I watched him spread out the blanket, my heart blazed like a hearth. I’d never been surer of anything in my life than the way I felt about him. I knew my feelings would endure, but on his side, there was a bigger than small chance that they wouldn’t last.
“Shoes off,” he said from the far end of the blanket.
Taking off one of his boots, he dropped it on the sand before stepping onto the makeshift bed with his socked foot. While he finished his task, I did the same with my own boots. Bare feet to bare feet, we met again in the middle of the blanket. To my mind, it felt as if we were standing on some sort of hallowed ground.
His hands in my hair again, he brought my face up to his and kissed me once more. A long, slow, leisurely exploration, he learned the contours and hollows of my mouth, tasting and taking what I willingly gave.
I clung to his arms. My legs were too weak to hold me on their own when he ended the kiss.
Lifting his head, he stared down at me, his eyes burning bright with pure masculine satisfaction. “Your pretty mouth is made for kisses like that.”
“Potent ones?” I asked. “Ones that make me dizzy and unbalanced?”
“Yes, that kind. Definitely.” His lips curved. “I want your mouth against mine, and your body underneath me.”
Gathering a handful of my hair in his grip, he wound it around and around his fingers. He tugged, urging me to tip my chin up. As soon as I did, he took my mouth again.
His lips were harder this time, the kiss deeper. His tongue was masterful. I began to tremble, and between my legs, I became noticeably wet.
ROCK F*CK CLUB (Girls Ranking the Rock Stars Book 5) Page 21
