by Eden Summers
She pushed back in his arms and squinted to focus on his face. His features were clearer than the fuzz of last night, even sharper than her vision this morning, but his eyes were still a cloudy dark patch amongst his lightly tanned skin. “You’ve spoken to Kate?”
“Yeah, she’s out on the balcony, drinking wine with Leah and Ryan’s wife.”
“I should go see her. I need to talk to her.”
“Later.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, and tightened his grip on her waist. The heat from his crotch sunk through the cotton short’s he’d purchased for her, the sensation igniting a fire in her womb.
She reached on tiptoes, kissed him back with fervor and melted into his arms. Just as her nipples began to burn and her stomach tensed with anticipation, he broke the kiss.
“Can I get you a drink? Something to eat?”
Nourishment of the food and beverage variety had been far from her mind. However, if Mitchell was strong enough to break their connection and move away, she supposed she should be able to do the same.
While she said her greetings to Ryan, Mason, Sean, and Blake seated at the dining table playing cards, Mitchell strode to the kitchen, returning moments later. He led her to the darkened lounge room. The lights were off, making it harder for her to see. It also made their private picnic on the sofa more intimate. They sat side by side; their thighs touching while a plate of unrecognizable food rested on her lap.
He leaned into her and kissed her neck. “There’s cheese, crackers, and some fruit. Just feel around until you find something you like.” He cradled an acoustic guitar, the tan exterior the extent of what she could see. She wished she had the vision to appreciate the instrument he lazily strummed, to memorize the perfection of the moment. Instead, she listened with intent, letting the music seduce her.
In between bites of apple and sips of wine, he played softly. The notes were a beautiful weave of intensity and exquisite passion. The sound tickled her nerves, filled her heart, and made her shiver with sensory overload.
“Do you want a blanket?” The music stopped, and his hand traveled over her wrist and up her arm. “You’ve got goose bumps.”
Her skin tingled at his touch. “Um, yes.” She didn’t want to tell him the sensitivity came from his close proximity. “Please.”
He stood, resting his guitar against the side of the sofa and walked away, returning moments later with a blanket he draped underneath the plate on her lap.
“Better?” He sat back down beside her, resting his arm over the back of the sofa.
She nodded, trying to decipher his expression and failing miserably with all the shadows.
Light fingers trailed through her loose hair, behind her ear, and made her chest constrict. “What are we going to do?” he asked, his voice a soft murmur.
Alana remained quiet for a moment, unsure what he referred to, and not willing to look like a fool. “What do you mean?” She picked up the plate on her lap and lifted it forward until she found the table to rest it on. He continued to play with strands of her hair as she pulled her knees up to rest on the sofa between them.
“I mean about us.”
Her eyebrows rose. On the inside, her blood rushed like lava through her veins. She tried to suppress her hope, not willing to become excited about the prospect of a future between them only to have to hide her profound disappointment later.
“Once I leave tomorrow on this promo tour, are you going to mind me calling you?” His voice held no emotion for her to read. “Will you let me come see you?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip and nodded. “I’d love for you to.”
“Your mom won’t mind? I was thinking I might be able to rent a car and come see you when we’re in the Colorado area. Or if we get a day or two off. I’d need to check the schedule.”
Alana cringed. At her age, she shouldn’t have to worry about her mother. Yet there was no way he could show up at her home. “No, you definitely can’t go to the retreat. My mom doesn’t allow any men on the property unless necessary, but I’m actually thinking of staying in Richmond for a while.”
His fingers stopped caressing her hair so she continued. “I want to see the Bowens again and find out if they’re my grandparents. My mom won’t tell me anything. I know she won’t, so it’s something I need to do for myself. And if what they claim is true, then I don’t have any immediate plans of going back to Colorado at all.”
“You’ll move to Richmond?”
She shrugged, still unsure of her plans, and not wanting to say them aloud until she confirmed things with Kate. “Maybe.”
“Maybe,” he repeated, swiping his fingers through her hair one last time. She jolted a little when both his hands gripped her thighs. He turned her body, pivoting her on the couch so her legs rested over his. The blanket came too. Her skin brushed against the stiff material of his jeans, and the heat of him made her insides burn.
She wanted him. Wanted nothing more than to cuddle into his body and be one with him. No other man had held this appeal. She may not have abundant experience, but she knew that what she felt for him probably bordered on the unhealthy side.
Was it normal to fall for someone this quickly? Maybe the whole fame and fortune thing had affected her.
“Virginia is a hell of a lot closer to New York than Colorado,” he whispered and leaned in to kiss her neck.
“Mmm,” she groaned at the way her nipples tightened at his touch. “My mom never thought I was great at geography, but yes, I’d determined the same thing.”
He chuckled and his tickling breath slid down her back, under another one of Mitchell’s shirts, and shot straight to her pussy.
“I’m going to miss you.”
Take me with you, was poised on the tip of her tongue, but she bit back the stupidity, concentrating instead on the hand moving under the blanket to her ankle. He teased her flesh, making her want to moan at the exquisite way his fingers trailed over her calf, behind her knee, up to mid thigh.
“Mitchell.” She panted his name, trying to warn him to stop, yet the word came out more like a plea.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” His mouth was still on her neck, his tongue licking, his lips caressing. His hand went higher, the tingling of his fingers passing over the sensitive muscle of her inner thighs.
“Stop,” she whispered and reached up to clench the material of his shirt in her fist. The voices of the other men came from only feet away. They were engrossed in conversation, only she couldn’t see them to tell where their attention lay. What if they were watching?
“You really want me to stop?” He breached the edge of her shorts, going under the material to swipe directly down the heat of her panties.
She clenched his shirt tighter and wavered with the unfamiliar burst of ecstasy.
“You’re so wet.” His voice came low beside her ear, so low she barely heard it. “I can feel your juices.”
A moan escaped her lips and she was thankful it wasn’t loud enough to stop the banter from the dining table. “Someone will see.” She moved into him, leaning into his shoulder while his teeth came up to graze her chin.
“No one’s paying any attention.” He kissed one side of her lips, then the other while his fingers continued to torment her pussy through the moist material of her underwear. “And besides, the blanket is covering everything. They wouldn’t be able to tell what I’m doing.”
“Of course not.” She panted and clenched her thighs together when the crotch of her panties was pushed to the side. “They would automatically think you were searching for your keys.”
He licked the seam of her lips, and she opened her mouth to him, eager and waiting, even though she’d only just told him to stop. “Exactly.” The heat of his breath entered her mouth, followed by the delicate slip of his tongue. “I love watching you. I love knowing I’m the only man to make you feel like this.”
She ground into his fingers, letting the digits breech the entrance of her sex. Each movement forward was like a stroke
of heaven, the sensation not only making her core clench, but her whole body shudder. “I want you, Mitchell.”
“You’ve got me, sweetheart.” His kiss was sweet against her lips, the gentleness in complete contrast to the erotic way he pleasured her body.
“No.” She shook her head and broke the kiss. “I want you inside me. Now.”
He pulled away and gripped the back of her neck with a firm palm. “God, I want that too.” He squeezed her neck and rested his forehead against hers. “What is it with you, Allie? Why can’t I take my mind off you? I can’t take a single breath without wishing I was touching you.”
Her heart grew wings and soared straight from her chest.
He felt it too.
Grasping the material in her fist tighter, she pulled him toward her. “Take me to your room and show me.”
His fingers left her sex in an instant and the blanket flew off her legs in a flourish. Before she moved her feet to the floor, he pushed from the couch and swept her into his arms. She squeaked and clasped her hands around his neck. The weight of heavy gazes from a now quiet dinner table settled on her and she rested her head into Mitchell’s shoulder, determined not to blush. They didn’t say a word. She didn’t have the luxury of reading their expressions and right now she was thankful.
Mitchell was all that mattered.
Her limited sight faded as he carried her into the darkened bedroom, placing her feet on the floor before he closed the door with a hard push. The light flicked on and she shut her eyes with a snap.
“Sorry.” He moved in front of her, his dark hair and shaded face coming into view.
She reached out and smiled when her palm brushed the rough stubble of his cheek. Her vision was improving. She could make out the darker color of his lips and see the faint hint of a grin.
Her hand slid around to cup the back of his head and pull him closer. “What are you waiting for?”
He needed no further instruction. His hands gripped her hips, and she gasped when he lifted her from the ground. Her legs encircled his waist, clinging to him as her arms gripped his neck.
“In a few minutes, you’ll be wishing I didn’t rush.” He backed her into the wall, her shoulders pressing into the smooth, cold plaster with a thump.
“Shh.” She clung tighter in panic. His band mates wouldn’t need to be psychic to know what they were doing. She just didn’t want to point it out with a big neon sign.
“A little late for that,” Mason called from behind the door.
Alana cringed and rested her head against the wall.
“Forget about them.” Mitchell’s breath fanned her face. “It’s only us in here.” He kissed her lips, swept his tongue into her mouth. “Only me and you.”
She moaned and ground her hips into him.
“Christ, I want you, Allie.” He lowered her legs to the ground and proceeded to pull down her shorts, leaving her bare from the waist down. “You’re so damn hot. So damn perfect.”
She bit her lip, caught in a daze of compliments that she’d never experienced before and let him undress himself. The crinkle of a condom wrapper broke her from the trance and her heart increased from a gallop into a full-blown sprint. She could make out the frantic jerks as he placed the protection over his length, then he leaned back against her.
“As much as I love you wearing my shirts, I think you need to take it off.” His voice was smooth as honey. Seductive. Delicious. Tempting.
She wanted him so badly her knees grew weak. He gripped the bottom of the material and pulled it over her head. He didn’t spare it a second glance once it was off her body and thrown to the floor.
His hands found her hips, this time moving around to cup her ass and lifting her to rest back over his waist. The head of his cock nudged her entrance, but didn’t penetrate. Her core convulsed in retaliation to the tease, commanding more. She sucked in a deep breath, wanting to voice her bodies demand. “Please, please, please, please.”
Her nipples were hard as stone and sensitive to every brush of his chest against hers.
“You really want me, Allie?” He nudged forward and the hardness of his erection breeched her entrance.
She moaned and dug her nails into his shoulder, unable to form words. God, she wanted him. She didn’t know how she would ever go without his passion.
His hands ran up her thighs, holding her steady while he leaned her into the wall, his face nuzzling her neck. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he murmured into her ear. He thrust hard, the full length of his erection sliding deep within her pussy. The invasion was smoother than silk. The desire already pooled between her thighs made it easy for him to sink home. “Goddamn.”
She pressed her lips together, fighting back another moan, a scream, a plea for more. She felt him through every inch of her body, from her toes to the tips of her fingers. He devastated her senses, devoured her self-control, and she only hungered for more.
With agonizingly slow finesse, he retreated. Her core convulsed and her thighs clamped down tighter, her fingers dug in deeper. This time when he glided home, the pleasure burning in her throat burst free, and she cried out. His advances grew in demand, hitting harder, faster. His retreats became quicker, more frantic.
He pushed more of her body against the wall and her shoulder blades rubbed with each thrust. She kissed his cheek, the side of his lips, his mouth, unable to get enough. The tension in her sex climbed to a height she’d never reached before, her walls pulsing around his hard shaft, sucking him deeper. “Oh, Jesus, Mitchell, please.” She squeezed her eyes shut. She hoped taking away the visual would stave off her climax, but his image engrossed her mind, the memory of his smile and confidence on stage only bringing her closer to the edge.
Breath left her lungs with every plunge of his cock and each time he pulled back she gasped for air. A strong arm wound around her waist, and up her back. His hand gripped her hair and pulled, dragging her head back with it. He devoured the exposed skin of her neck, kissing, licking, and when he sucked, adding the sting of pain, she came undone.
Her core convulsed in tiny spasms of the most delicious pleasure. In and out, in and out. His penetrations became less frantic, more forceful, until her ears filled with a roar she felt all the way to the center of her chest. They jolted into each other, the stickiness of their sweat now fusing their skin. The world came back into view between panted breaths and shaking limbs.
“Wow.” He puffed out the word.
She didn’t know how he was still holding her weight. Her feet hadn’t even been touching the ground and already her thighs throbbed from exertion.
Placing her arms around his neck, she leaned against the wall and lowered one leg at a time to stand on weak legs. Mitchell’s softening length left her body and he grabbed for the condom.
“I’ll be back in a sec.” His heat disappeared, leaving her to slump against the wall.
She closed her eyes and stood rooted to the spot, her limbs too heavy to move. The noise from the dining room filtered into her recovery bubble and she cringed at the thought of going back out there. Mitchell hadn’t been quiet. She hadn’t been quiet.
When he returned moments later, Alana was in the same spot, the slight breeze from the air conditioner drying the sweat on her skin.
“You still look good enough to eat.”
Her eyes snapped opened, and she straightened. “Oh no. I’m definitely not edible at the moment.” And as much as she wanted to spend the night doing sweaty, noisy things with Mitchell, she couldn’t ignore the fact they were in a suite with many other people. People who weren’t deaf and dumb.
She also wanted Mitchell to remember she wasn’t a groupie who only wanted him for one thing. She was greedy. She wanted him all, the snuggling on the couch, the deep and meaningful conversations, and the comfortable moments spent together in silence.
“Regretting things already, sweetheart?” He walked into her and took her breath with the sweetest, most tender kiss of her life. There was no rush
, no hunger, only a delicate mingling of lips and tongues.
When he broke away, she shook her head. “No. There’s no regrets.” She smiled and cupped his cheeks to bring him closer for one last peck. “I just don’t want to be remembered as another one of your groupies.”
He scoffed and rested his forehead against hers. “I know you’re not a groupie, and my memories of you will always be respectful.”
His words touched her heart, even though they had the faintest note of a good-bye.
He leaned down and picked up the shirt she’d been wearing and handed it to her. “Is this going to be your first walk of shame?”
She cringed and tried to swallow over the lump in her throat. “Unfortunately, yes.” She pulled the material over her head and took the awaiting underwear and shorts he handed her next.
He chuckled. “Well, be prepared for humiliation of Titanic proportions. I’m pretty sure Blake likes you, and he never holds back on putting shit on the people he likes most.”
After Alana freshened up, Mitch held her hand and led her from the bedroom. The conversation at the dining table softened. Even Leah, Kate, and Ryan’s wife, Julie, who had gathered in the kitchen, had turned from their gossip session to stare at them.
Alana squeezed his hand, and he smiled. The atmosphere was different from any other time he’d had a woman behind the scenes with the band. Usually, they wouldn’t pay her attention or acknowledge the sleazy X-rated noises that would’ve been the back track to their conversation. This time, the room churned with two parts uncomfortable silence and eight parts suppressed laughter.
“There’s my dirty girl,” Kate called from the kitchen, raising her half-empty wine glass in salute.
Julie gasped, Leah took a sip from her glass to hide her smile, and his closest friends chuckled.
“See, I wasn’t the first person to highlight the latest prayer session.” Blake shot him a smirk. “I didn’t realize you were religious, bro.”
Mitch grinned back, undeterred. “I’ve definitely found heaven.”
Alana groaned. He glanced down to see her darkened cheeks and her gaze focused on the floor in front of them.
