“You’re scaring me,” I whisper.
“I’m just gonna say it, but before I do, please know that I am so, so sorry.” He’s looking in my eyes again, worried and sad and so pissed off.
“What?” I ask, exasperated.
“It seems that someone took photos of us in L.A., at my house, making love on the balcony.”
“What? How? Your beach is private.”
“Yeah, well, who knows?”
“How do you know this? Have you seen the photos?”
He scowls and shakes his head. “No. Melissa is blackmailing me. She says that if we fire her for the photo leak of you, she’ll post the photos online.” He shoves his hands through his hair and paces away. “So, I won’t be firing her until I can figure out how to handle this clusterfuck.”
“Fuck that.”
“What?” He turns back to me, his eyes wide.
“She is not going to bully you into keeping her damn job, Leo. Call her bluff. Fire her. If she posts the photos, so be it. We’re consenting adults in a loving relationship. If anyone doesn’t like it, they can kiss my ass. I won’t have her turning the most beautiful moment of my life into something dirty.”
He just stands there, his mouth gaping open, and then blinks rapidly. “Wait, where is this coming from? With as pissed as you were about the photo last week, I thought for sure this would destroy you. I’m not worried about me, but I won’t have something like this surfacing about you.”
“Look, I might have overreacted over that photo. This shit’s going to happen. It’s just a part of being with you.” I pull my fingers down his face and offer him a small smile. “I love you, Leo. We’ve established that I’m yours and you’re mine, and we’re in this for the long haul. I refuse to have people like Melissa dictating how we live.”
“This could turn into a major shit storm for you, baby.”
I shrug and wrap my arms around his still naked waist. “I bet she doesn’t post them, Leo. She doesn’t want to ruin her own reputation in this business. She’d be an idiot to let them leak. We don’t even have proof that they exist.”
“You’re sure?”
“The bitch is gone,” I confirm. “Now, let’s go enjoy our families, have some drinks, and then go home so you can give me some orgasms.”
“Lead the way, sunshine.”
***
“What time do you have to leave?” I ask quietly, not wanting to disturb the sweet silence of the early morning. We’re curled up in bed. It’s not quite daybreak. The cat is curled up on Leo’s stomach, purring, and I’m draped against his side, my head on his chest.
We’re still sweaty from early morning sex, my skin is still humming, and Leo’s fingertips are brushing up and down my back.
“I have to be at the airport at nine,” he whispers.
“What do you want to do until then?” I ask and trace the letters tattooed over his chest.
“I think we should go for a run.”
My head whips up to look him in the face. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” He grins down at me. “I won’t get to run with you for two weeks.”
“I’m going to meet up with you in New York this weekend,” I remind him. Even five days seems too long.
“We won’t be running in New York, baby. We’ll be lucky if we make it out of the hotel room.” He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “Come on, out of bed. Let’s go.”
I follow him out of bed and we pull on our running gear and head down to the street. I realize he’s wearing the same shorts and t-shirts he wore the morning of our first run.
“You know,” I mention casually as we jog down our usual path through the city. “I can run farther than we normally do.”
“Just run. I’ll follow you.”
“You don’t want to know where I’m going?” I ask with a smile.
“Nope, I’ll go where you go.”
“Okay, but you’ll have to keep up. I’m not slowing my pace for you.” I throw him a mock glare as he laughs.
“So noted.”
Damn, he’s sexy. He’s just as sexy to me now as he was that first morning we ran together. Even more so now that I know the man beneath the tats and the piercings.
“So, who’s your favorite band?” He asks with a grin.
“I don’t know.” I shrug and keep my face neutral. “I like Daughtry a lot.”
“Try again.”
“Train.”
“I will spank you.”
“I might have a thing for Nash,” I reply, laughing.
“We’ll work on it.” He chuckles.
We run, side by side, our breathing and steps matched… thud, thud, thud, all the way to the park where he pulled me onto that picnic table to rub my legs.
“My legs aren’t shaking today,” I boast with a grin.
“I’m not inside you. Of course they aren’t.”
I raise an eyebrow and then burst into laughter, shoving his shoulder. “You’re such an arrogant ass.”
He nuzzles my ear, breathing hard, as we stroll down to our café. “Am I wrong?” he murmurs.
“No. Just arrogant.”
A waitress shows us to a booth, hands us menus and takes our drink orders of juice and coffee.
Neither of us needs to open the menu.
“How is your job going, baby?” Leo asks and leans his elbows on the table, his eyes happy, a half smile on those kissable lips.
“Good.” I nod. “No assholes named Bob at this one, and it’s unlikely they’ll want me to do a story on my family, given that we run exposes on wines.” I wink at him and reach over to grab his hand in my own so I can trace the ink on his fingers.
“Are you excited for the tour?” I ask and watch my finger on his skin.
“It’ll be fun to play and be with the band for a couple weeks, but I’m already looking forward to coming home.”
“It’s only for two weeks. That’s better than nine months.” I snicker. “Nine months would kill me.”
“Nine months isn’t going to happen unless you’re with me,” he states, as though that’s the end of the discussion.
I nod, just as my phone vibrates in my bra and Leo chuckles as I pull it out.
“I do love your storage system.”
I stick my tongue out at him and check the text. It’s from Caleb.
Family meeting, today, 6pm. Brynna’s house. Mandatory.
I frown and turn the phone to show Leo.
“What’s that about?” he asks, his eyes narrowed.
“I don’t know,” I shrug. “Probably has something to do with Brynna’s security issues. I wish she’d just tell us what the hell is going on with her.”
“It’s probably none of your business.” He reminds me with a smirk. “You’re just nosy.”
“I’m concerned,” I disagree and then laugh. “Okay, I’m nosy.”
“Call me later and let me know what’s going on.”
I shrug and frown. “The meeting is late today. You’ll probably be busy with the sound check.”
“You can and will call me anytime, baby. I don’t give a fuck what I’m doing. I need you to know that even when I’m not here, you’re the priority. I want to know what’s happening here.”
I shrug again and sit back as the waitress sets our plates before us. “It was good to see Lori last night, even if it was just for a few minutes.” I throw him a sassy grin and he laughs out loud.
“Way to change the subject, brat.”
I take a bite of my eggs and blink innocently, making him laugh more.
“She wouldn’t have missed the show last night for anything.” Leo nods. “Plus she wanted to meet your family.”
“Meg seemed over the moon to see her. How do you guys know her?” I ask and nibble my bacon. “Besides her being Gary’s wife,” I add.
“Meg and Lori always got along really well. It hurt Lori that Meg and I didn’t speak for a while.” He takes a bite of his bacon and a sip of coffee. “I’ve known Gary forever.” Leo begins. “
Aside from Meg, and now you, he’s probably the closest person to me. We met Lori after a gig here in Seattle. She had been in town and came to a show, and being a celebrity, came to the after party to hang out with us. I was determined to fuck her.” He laughs and leans back in the booth, his face full of humor.
“What happened?” I ask and push my plate aside and lean on my elbows.
“She wanted nothing at all to do with me.” He shakes his head ruefully. “She took one look at Gary’s ugly face, and it was all over for both of them. If I’d have made a play for her, he would have shoved his foot up my ass.”
I chuckle and trace his tattoos on his hand again. “Poor guy, you lost the girl.”
He grows quiet, and I glance up to find him quietly watching me. “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, as if pulling himself out of a daydream, and flips his hand over to link his fingers with mine. “We’ve come a long way since the first time we sat in this café.”
“Yes, we definitely have,” I nod and tilt my head at him. “Are you happy?”
“Oh sunshine.” He sighs and pulls my hand up to his lips, brushes them over my knuckles and smiles widely at me. “Happy doesn’t begin to cover it.”
Epilogue
Two Months Later
~Leo~
God, it’s good to be home. We left Atlanta immediately after the show last night and flew straight home, arriving at SeaTac at around two in the morning.
Sam and I still haven’t slept.
Instead we’ve made love, cooked breakfast, fucked on the kitchen counter, and gone back to bed, lounging and enjoying each other after being apart for two weeks.
Two weeks at a time is all I’m willing to do.
“Oh, look!” Sam is sitting with her back propped against the headboard of her bed, her Sunshine Tour t-shirt on and her iPad in her lap. “There’s a picture of us on Yahoo!.”
The cat is curled on my stomach, purring as I pet him, my other hand tucked under my head. I’m staring at the ceiling. I don’t bother to look over at the iPad.
“Are we naked?” I ask, only half kidding. I’m terrified every day of the photos Melissa threatened us with showing up somewhere.
“No, thankfully not.” Sam laughs and pushes her fingers through my hair. Fuck, I love it when she does that. “This is from the show in Phoenix last week. Wow, they even printed my name under it, not just ‘Nash’s girlfriend’ or ‘Luke Williams’ sister.’”
I push the cat off my belly and turn over, cradling my head in my arms and sigh as Sam traces the sun on my shoulder blade.
“Oh, these are cute,” she murmurs. “God, look at that bag. The new Michael Kors line for the spring is to die for.”
“Are you shopping now?” I ask with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I don’t spend too much time on the rags, I just want to make sure my hair looks good in the photos.” She smirks. “Oh, fuck me, those shoes are going to be mine.”
As she goes on and on about shoes and bags and whatever the hell else she’s shopping for online, my mind drifts to later tonight. I think I’ll take her dancing. She loves to dance, and watching her sweet ass move makes me crazy.
On second thought, I’d better not. I’d have to kill every fucker who looks at her.
“I think I’m outgrowing my closet,” she mutters.
“Mmm hmm,” I mumble, almost falling asleep from the gentle sweep of her fingers over my back.
“I think I need to look into building a new one.”
“Wait, what?” I push up onto my elbows and stare up at her. “What are you saying?”
“I need a bigger closet,” she repeats as I pull the iPad out of her hands, set it on the bedside table and pull her down into my arms.
“Keep going,” I mutter and tuck her soft blonde hair behind her ear.
“Well, maybe we should start looking for an architect.” She bites her lip and eyes me speculatively, and I want to crow in happiness, but I just nod thoughtfully.
“You want to remodel your apartment?”
“Don’t be an ass.” She smacks my arm and then traces my tat there. The woman is forever touching me.
I hope she never stops.
“What are we hiring an architect for, Samantha?” I ask and nuzzle her nose.
“Well, we’ll probably also need a kitchen.” she shrugs. “And a place to sleep.”
“What else?”
“It takes months to build a house.” She lowers her gaze to my chest and I tilt her chin up to meet my gaze. “I don’t want to move all of our stuff into either this apartment or your townhouse. I’m not quite ready, and besides, I think we should start somewhere fresh.”
“Okay.”
“But by the time we find and hire an architect, approve plans, and the house is actually built, I think we’ll be more than ready.” The last few words are whispered.
“I’m gonna rush this process, sunshine. I’m warning you now. The contractor is going to hate my guts because I’ll be pushing him to finish every day.”
“I’ll warn Isaac,” she responds dryly.
“Are you sure?” I whisper. Please, God, tell me you’re sure.
“Yeah, my shoes are really over-crowded in this closet. They deserve better.”
“I’ll give them whatever they want.” I chuckle. “Sam, I want to give you the world. I love you so much, and I want to be with you, every day.”
“We can start with a big ass closet and sunken bathtub,” she grins and runs her thumb along my lower lip. I kiss the pad of her thumb softly. “I love you too, Leo Nash. Every damn day.”
The End
The With Me In Seattle Series continues in book five, SAFE WITH ME, Caleb and Brynna’s story. Watch for it in the summer of 2013.
Acknowledgements:
To my husband: Thank you. I love you, handsome.
My Naughty Mafia girls: Michelle Valentine, Kelli Maine and Emily Snow. Thank you for the love, the laughs and for your friendship. I love you guys.
To my beta readers: You know who you are. Thank you for being brutally honest and my biggest supporters. I couldn’t do this without you.
Renae Porter: You are amazing. Thank you for another beautiful cover.
Linus Pettersson: You were such a joy to work with! Thank you for sharing your talent with my readers and me.
Sulan Von Zoomlander: I couldn’t have asked for more in a musician to inspire this character. I appreciate the many hours of answering all of my incessant questions, and I appreciate your sense of humor. Thank you, for everything.
To the many authors who have become so much more than colleagues: Thank you for your friendship and your support. The indie community is wonderful.
To my publicist, Kelly Simmon of InkSlinger: You’re the best and were worth the wait. Thank you for all of your hard work!
To all of the bloggers who continue to work tirelessly to support and promote my books: THANK YOU! You do so much for this community, and it does not go unnoticed. I’m so very thankful for all that you do.
And, as always, to YOU, the beautiful reader holding this book in your hands. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading my stories. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed creating for you.
Happy Reading!
Kristen
I am pleased to offer you a sneak peak at USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Lauren Blakely’s sexy upcoming release, Trophy Husband, releasing May 21, 2013!
TROPHY HUSBAND
By Lauren Blakely
Copyright 2013 by Lauren Blakely
LaurenBlakely.com
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, charac
ters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Prologue
Present Day
The stars twinkle and the night air is warm as we leave the Tiki Bar and walk slowly up Fillmore. At the top of the hill, I see my friend’s maroon Prius that I’m tasked with driving home tonight. I point to it.
“These are my wheels.” I click on the key to unlock the car. Then I reach for the door handle. But it doesn’t open. I try again. Same thing happens. “Damn. What is up with these hybrids?”
“They have to calibrate to your heart rate.”
“Then how the heck am I supposed to drive it home?”
“I know a trick,” Chris says.
“You do?”
“Want to give me the keys and I’ll show you?” he asks, holding open his palm for me.
But before I can pull away, he closes his fingers over mine, gripping my hand in his. That’s all it takes. Within seconds I am in his arms, and we are wrapped up in each other. His lips are sweeping mine, and I press my hands against his chest, and oh my. He does have the most fantastic outlines in his body. He is toned everywhere, strong everywhere, and I am dying to get my hands up his shirt, and feel his bare chest and his belly. But if I did, I might just jump him right here because I am one year and running without this. Without kissing, without touching, without feeling this kind of heat.
He twines his fingers through my hair, and the way he holds me, both tender and full of want at the same time, makes me start to believe in possibilities. Start to believe that you can try again, and it’ll be worth it. His lips are so soft, so unbearably soft, and I can’t stop kissing and tasting him. He has the faintest taste of Diet Coke on his lips, and it’s crazy to say this, but it almost makes me feel closer to him. Or maybe I feel closer because he’s leaning into me, his body is aligned with mine, and there’s no space between us, and I don’t want any space between us. I want to feel him against me, his long, strong body tangled up in mine, even though we’re fully clothed, making out on the street.
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