Distracted No More (Assured Distraction Book 4)

by Thia Finn

  I pushed up on my elbows to watch him manipulate me into a dire need for him which happened all too fast when he leaned over me and sucked my nipple back in his mouth. He had me bucking under him from the sensations he created with fingers and lips. The orgasm blasted through me when he bit down on my nipple and first tapped and then squeezed my clit with his fingers.

  “Carrrttter,” I screamed out. He continued the punishment dragging the clenching feeling out until I lay back on the granite, happy to feel the coolness under my hot skin.

  He replaced the tapping finger with the head of his cock before he slowly took it down to my opening where he breached the tightness in one swift movement. As he seated himself balls deep inside me, I moaned from the pure pleasure I felt.

  “Yeah, babe. Feels fucking fantastic, doesn’t it?” I smiled up at him because words weren’t possible. He picked up my legs and put them over his shoulders while he continued pulling out and pushing in with a slow, gradually-increasing pace. The pace turned into hard surges hitting the spot that set me off into another breathtaking orgasm that I moaned my way through.

  “You’re perfect, Halo. Perfect in every way I need.” He leaned down and kissed me before turning me over allowing my feet to hit the floor before he kicked them out and entered me again. He leaned over and kissed up my spine before taking the bulk of my hair in his fist and pulling my face from the stone surface. With his other hand gripping my hip, he drove in me until he shuddered and filled me with hot ropes of his cum.

  He laid on my back and kissed me everywhere his lips could touch. “Damn, that was the best, babe. The very best.”

  I nodded my head because speaking would be impossible after that. He stood and swept me into his arms. “I’m going to clean you up now.” He walked to the big master bath and stood me long enough to let the water warm before standing me under the spray. He washed me from head to toe before doing himself and then wrapped us in thick fluffy towels. We made our way to the bed and slept for several hours before I rolled over and saw him staring at me.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “Have you been staring at me long?” she whispered to me.

  “No, just a few minutes, but I heard your stomach growling and was trying to decide how long I’d let you sleep before I fed you.”

  “You feed me, huh? Like sugared grapes or something?” she smiled when she said it.

  “Who eats that?”

  “Food of the gods, Carter.”

  “Well, this god is thinking more like steak, so get up and let’s go eat.”

  She must have liked the idea because she barreled off the bed and ran to the kitchen where we’d stripped for some excellent kitchen sex. She handed me my clothes, and we both dressed in record- breaking time.

  I kept her hand locked in mine on my thigh all the way there. I had a lot of ideas playing havoc in my mind. I wanted her with me all the time. Our attachment grew daily, at least for me. I had a tough time reading Halo. She seemed perfectly happy with the way things between us were going. She was willing to give me a second chance, and I thanked God every day for it.

  We loved each other before, and I knew I was already there again, but I didn’t want to scare her off trying to label us. She might not feel the same way. Maybe the idea of falling in love with me frightened her. I’d done all I could to make her understand I wasn’t that guy anymore. I’d grown up since we were together before. I prayed she saw it in me.

  The Capital Grille in downtown had the best steaks in town, and the band frequented the place often so when we walked in, they knew me.

  “Hello, Mr. Sheridan. Glad to see you back,” the owner greeted us.

  “Thank you. I’m hungry for one of your great steaks.” I shook his hand. He led us to a quiet table for two in a secluded section of the restaurant. He pulled the chair out for Halo and seated her.

  “I’ll send your waiter over shortly.” He left us and the waiter immediately appeared, took our order, and left us alone once he delivered our drinks.

  Halo looked at me. “You were quiet driving over.” She picked up her wine and took a sip.

  “I think you wore me out.”

  “Pffft. I doubt that,” she said with a smile. “What’s going on? Are you having second thoughts with your offer?”

  “No, no. I’m completely committed to the project. We’re going to set the house on fire when we play.” I took her hand across the table.

  “Are you sure about this, Carter? I don’t want to go talk to Cash if you’re unsure in any way.”

  “Sweets, stop. I’m a hundred percent on board with this. We’ll have some kinks to work out, but it’s happening. We’ll go see him tomorrow and figure out what we need to do. First thing, though, we need to get that CD done and released.”

  The food arrived, and we both ate until we couldn’t take another bite. The steaks, cooked to perfection, melted against the side of our forks. We topped it off with a decadent chocolate mousse before we made our way back to the truck.

  “What about Hayden?” Halo stopped before we crossed the parking lot.

  “What about him?”

  “We need to talk to him about this. He might not like the idea.”

  “Halo, really? He’ll be thrilled. He’s written most of the music and lyrics and when it’s a hit, he’ll collect a nice paycheck. What’s not to like about that?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. I didn’t think about it that way. He’ll bring in a lot from the royalties. Okay, I’m excited now.”

  “You weren’t before?”

  “Well, yes, but I haven’t had time to think it all through like the money and stuff.”

  I pulled her in and kissed her. “I guess that’s what you have me for then. To think, that is.”

  “I can think of a lot of reasons I have you, and money isn’t one of them. Now take me home and I’ll show you some of them.

  “You got it.” I shut the door and sprinted to the other side. The smile on my face all the way home spoke volumes.

  Everyone we approached with our idea liked it. Cash’s over-the-top excitement had him glowing, since he knew adding my name to the mix would draw in crowds even if it would only be to see if I could do it. We finished the work on the CD and the release party information went out to all the right places. Cash lined up several gigs for us in Austin and the surrounding towns where country fans frequented. Texas never lacked for country music venues, and some were even calling trying to get us to play.

  Our first show sold out in no time, and we knocked it out of the park. AD showed up, but the place had an upstairs for them so the attention focused on Halo and me. We all went out afterward and celebrated our success. Hayden came to the party, and he seemed genuinely happy to hear his music being played for the crowds who loved the tunes.

  By the time we finished a month of Texas tours, there were calls coming in from all over the U.S. inquiring about bookings. We had to turn them down since AD had some shows scheduled.

  “It’s too bad we can’t make some of these shows on the West Coast,” Halo commented on the way home from the last venue for the tour. I took her hand in mine.

  “I know, sweets, but we knew this was how it was going to go when we started. The good news is we were well received everywhere we went. So let’s be positive.”

  “I know. It’s just now we have our momentum going, and we’ll lose it all with not doing anything for several months.” I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed the soft skin.

  “Maybe you can come on tour with us, so we don’t have to be apart.” I didn’t want to leave her behind even if we weren’t doing regular tour stops. What would she do?

  “I can’t go with y’all. I’m not in the band.”

  “You can too. There’s always extras traveling with us. What’s wrong with you being one of those?”

  “No, I’m not going.” She seemed adamant about her decision.

  “Why wouldn’t you want to go?”

  “I’d be in the way.
I’d have nothing to do.”

  “I can think of a lot of things for us to do.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

  “No, I’m not going.” She wouldn’t look at me anymore so I assumed she thought this conversation had come to an end. I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone for a couple of months. Sure, we would come and go some but overall, I’d be gone for two months.

  “Really, Halo. What will you do?”

  “Hmmm. I guess I can go out with friends, drink, party with wild women. You know, the usual things I do.” I gave her the evil eye, and she laughed at me. “Carter, I’m a big girl. I can entertain myself. I had a life before you, remember?”

  Yeah, that’s what scared me. What kind of life did she have before we reconnected? More importantly, who did she have a life with?

  “Would you want to get a job or something?” I asked. It seemed like a legit question. She’d hate sitting around.

  “A job? I don’t know. Stop worrying about it. It’s not important.” We pulled into the garage and she jumped out of the car as the door went down. It was cool in the autumn air, but the garage warmed from the truck motor. She walked to Lo and pulled her cover off. “I can think of something we can do right now.” She took her finger and ran it down the sleek lines. “You know, here in the garage.”

  She pulled her tight-fitting sweater dress over her head and turned her back to me to bend at the waist to pull the zipper down on her boots, glancing at me as she went.

  “No, leave those high heels on. I’ll have you just like that.”

  We spent the next hour enjoying each other on Lo’s hood before we made our way to the bedroom to recuperate.

  Assured Distraction, with a pregnant Peri, boarded the plane at the private airstrip outside Austin. Halo dropped me off, and we spent a long time with slow kisses and sensual caresses while the others waited on the plane.

  “I sure wish you’d change your mind and go with us.”

  “We’ve been over this a hundred times already, Carter. I’m not going. Now I want you to have fun, rock out on the stage, and leave the wild groupies alone.”

  I wrapped her up in my arms and kissed her hard one last time. “I’ll see you in a few weeks, if not sooner.”

  “Sounds good. Now get on the plane.”

  I let her go and climbed the steps. This was bullshit. I didn’t like leaving her behind. I fucking hated it.

  “Dude, she’ll be fine,” Gunner said. “Lola and I do it all the time.”

  “I don’t give a shit about what you do. I don’t like leaving her behind.”

  “Right, we get that, but you can’t help what your job is. We need you, dude.” He leaned forward and pretended to cry into his hands. His wailing grew louder so that everyone started laughing.

  “This is not fucking funny.” I stood up and went to the bathroom. I was pissed at the whole group of them. I’d listened to my fair share of their whining when they parted from their girlfriends and wives. Now it’s me, and they want to make fun of me? Fuck this.

  I finally came out about thirty minutes later, glad the private planes restroom had normal dimensions to it instead of like commercial planes. I sat back in my seat and rocked back closing my eyes. The plane took us to Miami so the flight lasted several hours. When I opened them again, Peri sat in the chair next to me. I laid my head on the headrest and looked at her.

  “Hey, Carter.”

  “Hey, Peri.” I offered her a brief smile. “What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to say I’m sorry for how that went down when you boarded. We should’ve realized it would be hard on you to leave her. We’ve just never seen you like this before.”

  “I’ve never felt like this. I love her, you know, and being apart is killing me. I fucking hate it every minute. Then to get on here with the people who are my best friends in the world and have them laugh at me, it was too much. I couldn’t do it.”

  “We get it, Carter. We do. None of us realized you, of all people, had fallen so hard. So, I’m really sorry, and I know the rest of them are, too.”

  “Really?” I looked around the cabin of the plane. “It doesn’t look like it.”

  “No, we do. I promise. You didn’t see them when you stayed in the restroom.”

  “Yeah, I had a lot of time to think in there about this new direction I’m going in. I’m not sure I’m happy with it right now.” I couldn’t believe I admitted that to Peri. Hell, I couldn’t believe I said it out loud at all.

  “What do you mean, Carter?” Her face looked petrified when she asked this, afraid of how I would answer.

  “I mean, I’m fucking miserable when I’m away from her. I hate it, and we just left.”

  “Yeah, it’s going to be a long two weeks.”

  “That’s what I’m saying. Too fucking long.” I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  A miserable week went by. Halo and I talked on the phone, FaceTimed, and sent live videos. We even had some scandalous phone sex, but it wasn’t enough. Both of us hated it, but Halo used all kinds of excuses to not join us. She went home to see her parents for a few days. She’d been out a few times with friends and those were the worst nights of my life. I worried every time she went. I could hardly play my bass. It’s a damn good thing it’s second nature to me, or I would have totally fucked the band.

  By the end of the second week, I was fucking crazy. I needed her like I needed music and air. I couldn’t do this again. I wouldn’t leave without her. She had to come with me. By the time the plane needed to land, they almost had to hold me down to buckle my seat belt.

  “Open the fucking door. She’s out there.” The attendant looked at me like I had lost my mind, and he was right, I had.

  “Dude, you need to calm the fuck down.” Gunner tried to hold me back.

  As soon as the door opened, I ran off down the steps and right into her arms. “God, this is where I’ve been dying to be.”

  “I’ve missed you too, babe.”

  I wrapped her to my body as tight as I could, and then I kissed the hell out of her. “Let’s go home.” I picked up my bag, and we climbed in her car.

  I turned in my seat and faced her. “This isn’t working for me, Halo. I don’t like being apart. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I want you to go with me when we leave the next time.”

  “I can’t do that. We’ve discussed this. What would I do?”

  “I’m going to talk to the band about putting you to work. There has to be something you can do. I’m going to talk to Peri about it. She’s going to be off on maternity leave, and you can learn her job and fill in for her when she’s out.”

  “As good as that sounds, I don’t want to manage a band.” Halo seemed adamant about it.

  “I don’t really care what you do, sweets. I just want you with me. Why are you fighting me on this?” I asked. I couldn’t understand it.

  “I’m not fighting you, Carter. I’m not part of Assured Distraction. That’s your band. You told me that when you left me the first time, and I’ve never forgotten it.” Now the truth comes out. She’s holding me to something I said years ago. I meant it then and had good reasons, but our lives were different now. I needed her. I loved her.

  I needed to prove this to her. I wanted her to know I had changed since I left her at eighteen. We were kids. We needed time to grow up. That time had come now.

  I ran my fingers through her hair and wrapped my palm around the back of her neck. “I love you, Halo.”

  “I love you too, Carter, but it’s never going to work for us, is it? Music will always come between us.” I could hear the strain in her voice.

  “No, I won’t let it.” We pulled in the driveway and both got out of her car. “I need you badly, sweets. Let’s go in, and I’ll prove it to you.”

  We made it in the door and left a trail of clothes to the bedroom. I spent the night worshipping her beautiful body trying to show her how much I meant all the things I said on the way home.

>   Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Me: I need to talk

  Gunner: Sup?

  Me: Can you meet me at The Bar in an hour

  Gunner: Sure

  I needed to run my idea past Gunner before presenting it to the rest of the band. They weren’t going to be happy with me, and I wanted Gunner to have my back on this decision before I talked to them.

  After Halo and I feasted on each other until completely sated, I lay awake thinking of how to solve my problem. I loved and needed her. I never thought I would feel like this about her or any woman for that matter, but I’d come to realize I didn’t want to live my life without her. I thought of making grand gestures before and about making changes. The changes I made were only superficial. House furnishings and wall paint were not the kinds of alterations necessary to have her. She needed more than that. She had to see I meant it when I said I was willing to do whatever it took for us to be together.

  I walked in and sat so I could see the doorway. I practiced what I wanted to say to him. I knew he might put up a protest, but I thought he would come to see my side of it all. As the waitress brought my beer, Gunner walked in so I ordered another for him.

  “This must be important for you to meet me in a bar in the middle of the day. Are we working undercover or something?” His happy mood made it worse for me. I hated telling him this.

  “Yeah, it’s important, and I’m telling you first because I want your support. You’ve gotta have my back on this.”

  “Dude, this does sound serious. What did you do, knock up a groupie or something?” He smiled when he said it because he knew better.

  “No, nothing like that. We’ve all dodged bullets like that, haven’t we?” The two of us had shared many fun times over these years with the band. We’ve been places we could only dream of when we started. We’ve shared women in some of the kinkiest of ways. The threesomes we’ve participated in would fill a book. They were all fun times that I don’t regret, and I doubt Gunner did either.