“Well, Connor is just Connor; he’s got no interest in falling for anyone. I guess he’s happy enough just being loved by all our fans and, well, there’s no shortage of women to fulfill the physical aspect.”
Lexie’s stomach twisted. Of course there wasn’t. He could have any woman in the world. His flirting was just second nature to him, part of who he was, and she’d reacted to it the same way every other woman in the world would. But she couldn’t afford to let it affect her. She was already too mixed up and confused about her feelings when it came to him. She couldn’t let him screw with her head and heart just when she might be getting back on track.
Realizing Noah was still talking, she turned her attention back to him. “I know you won’t tell anyone else what I just told you, Lexie; you’re not that kind of person. Just make sure you don’t mention anything to the guys. They’d kill me.” He grinned at her; all seriousness gone. “And I kind of like my life.”
She pulled herself together and returned his smile. “Cross my heart.”
“Speaking of hearts. It’s going to be hard for me to reach my sexy tattoo in the shower. Want to help me wash it off?”
Lexie laughed. Yep, completely incorrigible.
A few minutes later, they were back at the hotel. They dropped the car off in the basement to avoid a group of fans waiting out the front of the hotel and rode the elevator up to their floor to change out of their still-wet clothes.
As Noah was saying goodbye to Lexie outside her room, Connor’s door opened, and he walked out. Lexie’s heart skipped a beat. He was as sexy as ever in faded jeans and a soft, gray t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders and firm chest.
Glancing over at them, his eyes narrowed as he took in their disheveled appearance, both with hair still dripping, wet clothes only just starting to dry. His eyes swept down Lexie’s body, gaze catching where her shirt was still clinging to her breasts. Her nipples hardened in response to the heat that flared in his eyes, and she flushed in embarrassment when he looked back up at her face. He glanced at Noah, standing next to her, and his expression cooled, turning impassive.
“Hey, Connor. Lexie and I spent all morning getting wet together. Now I’m trying to convince her to give me a sponge bath,” Noah joked as Connor walked toward them.
Lexie cringed at the cold look in Connor’s eyes as he approached. She held up her camera case and waved it in his direction to give context to Noah’s comment. Connor nodded at them as he passed. “Good luck with that.” His smile was sardonic as he headed past them to the elevator.
Lexie glanced up at Noah, who had a frown on his face at Connor’s uncharacteristic terseness. He looked back at her and shrugged in confusion.
Not wanting to keep staring after Connor, Lexie quickly said goodbye to Noah and opened her door. She heard the ding of the elevator and couldn’t help turning her head to look at Connor before she went into her room. He was leaning against the elevator’s back wall staring at her, arms crossed and jaw tense as the doors began to shut.
Turning away from him, she slipped into her room. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned against it, face burning and heart racing from the fierce look he’d given her. She’d been denying it to herself, but who the hell was she kidding? She wanted him so badly it was like an ache inside her. He wasn’t the man who would eventually fill the hole that Damien had left in her heart, but he might be the only man that could give her what her body needed.
Chapter 18
As the elevator descended, Connor couldn’t stop the whirl of thoughts running through his head. What the hell was going on with Lexie and the other guys? Did they all have a thing for her? First Tex and then Noah—they were all like moths fluttering around her flame. Now all he needed was for Zac to start mooning over her, and she’d have the complete collection.
A horrible thought occurred to him. Was there a chance that she’d slept with any of the others? Anger raced through him at the thought. Tex had already admitted to kissing her; would he admit it if they’d slept together? And what about Noah? That guy was the biggest flirt he knew, and they’d been standing pretty close together when he’d come out of his room.
Connor ran both hands through his hair, breathing deeply as he tried to control his anger at the thought of the others touching Lexie.
The elevator door opened when he got to the parking garage, and he strode out, jumping in the back of the car that was waiting to take him to the venue. He was heading there early so he could fine-tune some of the songs he’d been writing using his electric guitar rather than the acoustic he kept in his room.
He’d also been hoping to take his mind off Lexie—a plan which had been pretty much shot to pieces now. The whole thing was getting intolerable. Something was going to have to give, and he didn’t know when or what it would be.
* * *
Connor extricated himself from the clutches of another scantily dressed woman, this one seeming to assume that because he’d signed her ass cheek as requested, it meant he was going to take her back to his hotel room. She was hot enough that not too long ago he might have considered it, but tonight he had no interest in her or any of the other women that kept pressing themselves up against him. He would have been quite happy not to be at the after-party at all, except he needed to make an appearance for the benefit of all those VIPs that had paid for his presence.
As he wound his way through the room, he noticed Lexie sitting on a couch in the corner, looking at the LCD screen on her camera. Fuck this. He didn’t want to talk to any of these strangers, he wanted to talk to her. He was sick of holding himself back from doing what he wanted when it came to her.
Making his way over there, he glared at the douchebag sitting next to her who was checking her out while she was working. She was wearing one of her sexy little sundresses, and while part of him wished she’d stop wearing them because they were so distracting, another bigger part of him loved seeing all her smooth golden skin on display.
So did everyone else apparently. When the douchebag dragged his eyes away long enough to notice Connor’s hard stare as he approached, he quickly got the message and stood, pretending he desperately needed to grab himself a beer.
Connor sat down next to Lexie, and she glanced up with a distracted smile on her pretty mouth. When she realized it was him, her pupils dilated, and she bit her full bottom lip. Hoping she didn’t glance down at his suddenly too-tight jeans, he casually stretched his arm out along the back of the couch behind her shoulders.
“I feel like I haven’t spoken to you for ages. How are those photos going?” Smooth, he thought to himself in disgust.
She glanced down at her camera screen, then back up at him. “It’s going really well. I’ve got lots of great shots already, so the problem is going to be culling them all down to get the best ones for the book.”
“Can I have a look?”
She passed the camera over to him and showed him the button to push to scroll through. Man, she had a good eye. There were some photos of that night’s performance that looked fantastic, though it was hard to see much detail on the small screen. He said as much, and she paused for a beat before replying.
“I can show you on the laptop when we get back to the hotel. If you’re not too tired, that is.” Her voice was quiet, and she stared down at her camera as she spoke, but he saw pink stain the side of her cheek as she said it.
Holy shit. Was she suggesting what it sounded like she was suggesting? So many thoughts flashed through his mind, but the one that stuck was that he had no idea what was going on in her head and couldn’t afford to make any assumptions. What might happen if she came to his room would have to be up to her.
As much as he wanted her—and his dick was currently letting the world know just how much he did—he wasn’t going to take advantage of her. But he was sick of fighting this attraction, so he leaned toward her, watching in fascination as her breathing became erratic.
“Let’s go. Now,” he said.
Standing up, he reached for her hand, pulled her up, and then tugged her toward the door, only stopping to tell Zac they were taking the car and he’d send it back for the rest of them. Zac nodded. He eyed Connor’s hand where it was wrapped around Lexie’s but didn’t say anything.
Once they were out of the room, he regretfully dropped her hand, because he didn’t want all the crew seeing him dragging her along behind him, knowing exactly what they’d think. Feeling the urgency beating through his veins, he led her quickly toward the car, trying very hard to make small talk.
They were almost there when Drew came out of fucking nowhere, wanting a ride back to the hotel. Knowing he couldn’t say no, Connor smiled stiffly and agreed, hoping that Lexie wouldn’t reconsider on the way back. Luckily, Drew engaged her in conversation during the drive because Connor was in no state to say anything of value.
When they got to the hotel, Lexie excused herself to go back to her room and grab her laptop and memory card. Connor was in the middle of changing into something more relaxed when the knock came at his door. Anticipation hummed through his veins as he finished zipping up his favorite pair of worn, comfortable jeans before opening the door for her.
Lexie’s eyes widened, and he had to suppress a groan as she ran her eyes down his bare chest before dragging her gaze back up to meet his, cheeks flushed.
God, she was sexy. Her dark hair hung in loose waves around her slender shoulders, which were bare except for the thin straps of her dress. He stepped back from the doorway so she could come in, her sweet scent wrapping around him as she moved past and into the room.
“I’ll just finish getting changed,” he threw over his shoulder as he went back into the bedroom. Quickly he pulled on a plain white t-shirt, before heading back out to the living room. She was sitting down on the couch and had already set up her laptop on the coffee table. He sat down next to her, moving close enough that he could feel the heat emanating from her skin.
“I’ve got some great shots so far,” she was saying, and he tried to focus his attention on something other than on how much he wanted to touch her. He still didn’t know if she had a reason to be there other than to show him the photos. He needed a sign from her to tell him what she wanted to happen between them. Until that moment came, he needed to concentrate on her work.
“I like these ones,” he said as she clicked through a series of crowd close-ups. The photos showed a mass of faces, mouths open, eyes glittering, lit up by the reflection of the stage lights. A forest of hands reached toward the stage as if desperate for just one touch.
“You can really see the emotions on your fans’ faces.” She smiled up at him. “That’s a lot of love for you right there.”
“Not love. Lust,” he corrected her. He should know—it was exactly how he was feeling right now.
She glanced up into his eyes, some emotion he couldn’t identify flitting across her face before she averted her gaze. “I suppose so,” she said slowly. “Either way, it must be pretty gratifying.”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt.”
She shifted on the couch, twisting around to look him in the eye again. “What’s it like?” She seemed genuinely curious.
“What? Being lusted after by hundreds of thousands of women?”
“Millions I imagine,” she said. Then added, “And plenty of men too.”
He laughed. “Well, you’re not wrong.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him, and he realized she was still waiting for him to answer her question.
He wanted to be honest with her. “Well, I’m not going to lie, it’s a rush at first. Women throwing themselves at you, offering you everything you could ever want, no strings attached. It’s hard to say no to.”
Lexie nodded as if in understanding but then ducked her head down and started closing the photos she had open on the screen. “Well, it’s getting late and you’re probably tired—” she started to say but stopped when he leaned toward her.
He lowered his voice. “You didn’t let me finish.”
She stared up at him, her big gray eyes round as he intruded on her personal space.
“Sex with groupies and fans, it gets old after a while. There’s no getting around it Lexie, I’ve been with a lot of women since we got famous. But I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve wanted one woman in particular. Since I’ve gotten turned on just from sitting next to her.”
He kept his eyes locked on hers, searching for something, anything to tell him she wanted him the way he wanted her.
Her pupils dilated, and he leaned in closer, pushing for a definitive response. He knew he had it when instead of moving back, she swayed toward him.
Fuck it, decision made.
Reaching out his hand, Connor softly trailed the tips of his fingers down the side of her face. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t make a sound, so he kept going. He ran his fingertips slowly down the smooth skin of her neck until they rested over the pulse fluttering wildly at the base of her throat. He looked back up at her eyes, only to see they had drifted shut.
“Lexie,” he murmured. Her eyelids fluttered open, and the dreamy expression in her eyes had all his blood rushing south. “Lexie, baby, I need to know what you’re thinking. Is this something you want?”
She kept her eyes trained on his, the pause before she responded seeming to stretch out forever, and then she nodded. Her pulse accelerated, beating like butterfly wings under his fingertips.
He needed more, to make sure she completely understood the situation. Particularly since he knew this would be her first time being with a man since her husband’s death. He wanted her—almost painfully—but he didn’t want to hurt her.
“I can’t give you anything more than tonight, you know that, right? I promise I’ll make it good for you though, and I don’t think either of us will regret it.” It almost killed him to say it, knowing it could be a deal-breaker for her. He wanted her too much to do the right thing and leave her alone, but he needed her to know the reality of what it meant if they kept going.
She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, before looking back at him and whispering, “I want this.”
That was all he needed to hear, and before she had time to react, he reached out and buried his hands in the soft, dark silk of her hair, bringing his mouth down hard on hers. Knowing she hadn’t been with anyone for so long, he’d wanted it to be soft and restrained, but weeks of desire had weakened his will power.
She surprised him by only hesitating for a second before parting her lips under his. He took possession, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, loving the way she moaned and fisted her hands in the material of his shirt. God, she tasted just as good as he’d imagined.
He moved one of his hands from her hair to the small of her back, using it to drag her body tight against his. The fact that he was finally getting to taste her and feel her soft curves pressed against him sent heat surging through his veins. Breaking the kiss, he stared down into her flushed face; her lips pink and swollen, her eyes heavy-lidded with desire.
“Bedroom,” he managed to get out.
Standing, he reached for Lexie’s hand and drew her up with him and toward his room, stopping every few steps to kiss her, because he missed the taste of her when he wasn’t. The little sounds she made every time he stroked her tongue with his had him harder than he’d been in as long as he could remember.
By the time they finally made it to his king-size bed, he felt as if he would die if he didn’t touch her skin to skin in the next moment.
Chapter 19
Lexie’s heart was hammering so hard in her chest, she could feel it throughout her whole body. She stood next to his bed and looked up at him where he loomed over her, his green eyes glittering and muscles tense. He appeared to be a second away from picking her up and throwing her on the bed.
A part of her knew this was a bad idea, that it would change everything between them, but that part was drowned out by the p
art that wanted him. That wanted this. It was so strong her body was almost shaking with it—the need to touch and be touched, to feel smooth skin and hard muscles moving over her. Every part of her that had felt so empty for so long wanted to be filled by him. She pushed everything else out of her head.
Unable to wait any longer, she reached for him, sliding a hand under his shirt and running her fingers over the hard, corrugated muscles of his six-pack. He jerked at her touch and she looked up.
Connor’s jaw was tense, eyes narrowed as he watched her intently. Then, as if a dam had broken, he moved, grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it off in one smooth motion. The sight of his naked torso sent heat flashing through her. Her fingers tingled with the urge to caress his smooth, tanned skin.
Reaching for him, she traced her fingers over the solid black lines of his tattoo, before drifting them down his chest, and over the ridges of his abdominal muscles, stopping only when she hit the waistband of his jeans. Connor was standing as still as a statue while she touched him, but when she raised her eyes back up, she saw the strain of not moving, not touching, written on his face.
Lexie reached around to her back and began unzipping her dress. Connor finally moved again, putting his arm around her and taking over. He dragged the zip slowly down until it reached the small of her back, then took his time trailing his fingers back up to her shoulder, hooking them under the thin strap of the dress, and sliding it off. He did the same on the other side so the dress slipped down and pooled at her feet, exposing her overheated skin to the cool air and his hungry gaze.
Because the straps of her dress had been so thin and the bodice fitted, she hadn’t worn a bra underneath. Her nipples, already peaked from the desire that raced through her veins, tightened even more under his scrutiny.
“So beautiful,” he murmured. Reaching out, he cupped her breast, his thumb skimming her tight nipple, eliciting a soft moan from her. Wanting to feel the hard planes of his chest pressed against her, Lexie stepped forward, raised up on her tiptoes, and wound her arms around his neck, almost whimpering at the feel of his rock-hard muscles against her sensitive breasts.
Fractured Hearts: A Fractured Rock Star Romance Page 12
