You Shook Me All Night Long

by Simone Harlow

  “No, Ducks, he’s a fanboy.” Henry sighed.

  Everett’s fingers wiggled. “Please?”

  Charlotte shook her head. “No, that’s just odd.”

  Henry pointed to the restaurant’s entrance. “You need to go.”

  Charlotte stared at Henry for a moment. “But I just got here.”

  She shook her head. “Not you, Charlotte, Everett.”

  Everett’s head whipped around and he stared at his wife. “Why do I have to leave? I want to hear how Charlotte met Travis.”

  She patted his hand. “Charlotte and I need to have some girl talk and it will only confuse you.

  “But--”

  Was her brother actually pouting like a little boy? She’d seen him verbally flay board members and eat his competitors like they were nothing. And he wanted to touch her phone because Gavin used it. That was just ridiculous.

  “Charlotte will let you look at it if and when I deem it appropriate.”

  Usually Henry was the voice of reason, but … she didn’t know what to think. “Henry! I’m not giving him my phone.”

  “Just let him look. We have to get rid of him so we can have a proper talk.”

  “Oh, alright.” Charlotte opened up her purse, took out her phone, and then held it up.

  He looked transported. “Thank you, Charlotte.”

  “Now go.” Henry pointed to the restaurant’s door.

  He frowned.

  Henry narrowed her eyes at him. “When you get home tonight, I’ll give you a special treat.”

  “You will?” Everett smiled.

  Henry nodded. “Goodbye, my love.”

  “I’ll be home by four.” Everett kissed her and hurried out the door.

  Charlotte watched her brother leave. “That was peculiar.”

  “You are living a rock and roll fantasy. If Everett had any talent whatsoever he’d be trying to make it as a rock star.”

  Now that was news to her. She’d always considered her brother a bit stodgy and conservative. She loved him to death, but he wasn’t known to be exciting. “Everett wanted to be a rock star?”

  “He sings. He’s not bad, but he’s no Declan Shaw. Speaking of which, I would have pictured you more a Declan fan than Travis Rexford.”

  Again with that question. Travis was wonderful. “Everyone at the house has said that.”

  Henry stared at her. She leaned forward. “Are you living with Travis?”

  “Just until my house is finished.” She was proud of herself for saying it with such ease.

  “Charlotte Elizabeth Lambert. I am shocked, amazed, and, surprisingly, a bit jealous. How did you manage to settle yourself in that den of decadence?”

  Charlotte let out a long breath. “Well, that is a story.”

  “One you are going to share with me, correct?”

  Putting her phone back in her purse, she stared at Henry. “Do I have a choice?”

  “Of course not.”

  She liked that she could talk to Henry and she wouldn’t judge. Charlotte sighed. “I thought so.”

  “You realize that you and I are going to have become better friends.”

  Charlotte smiled. “I would like that.” She had always wanted that, but didn’t know how to go about it. Her mother had always been between them. They had been friendly, but never as close as Charlotte wanted them to be. She’d always felt as if she had to keep the peace and not really take a side. “I’ve always admired your way of living life.”

  “And I’ve admired how you have always been able to walk the tightrope between your mother and Vivienne.”

  “Thank you.” Charlotte took a deep breath and told Henry everything; from the list Viv gave her, to how she met Travis, how she ended up in the house, and her decision to help the band grieve the loss of their friend.

  Henry drained her wine glass. “Tell me something. Is Travis as good in bed as he looks?”

  Charlotte nodded. “Better.”

  “Are you two serious or just playing?”

  Now that was the million-dollar question she’d been avoiding asking herself. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t want it to end anytime soon, though. “I’m not sure. He wants to come to my dance recital so he plans to be around another three weeks. I’m not sure I understand if that means he’s serious or not. I actually have no idea how to decipher this man code.”

  “I will guide you through this. If he’s making plans, he’s invested.” Henry fanned herself. “Lucky, lucky girl.”

  “Henry, you and Everett can’t keep your hands off each other. How can you fantasize about other men?”

  “Your brother and I have an agreement. If I ever meet Shane Yorke, I get to take a day off from the marriage.”

  “What?”

  She waved her hand as if to say it was alright. “He has a little thing for Christina Hendricks. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing him with her.”

  Oh my God. Her brother and sister-in-law were… kinky. “Did you just …”

  “Shane, Everett, and me all together.” She gave her a sly smile. “Priceless,” she whispered with reverence most women save for church.

  “You and Everett …”

  “On occasion. It keeps the marriage exciting.”

  “I just can’t picture my brother participating in that sort of behavior.”

  “Ducks, under that banker’s suit and boring GOP haircut, your older brother is a wild man. He’s very exciting or else I wouldn’t have married him.”

  Oh, the things she was finding out about life lately. How did she ever make it this long? “So does this mean I have to introduce you and Everett to Shane and the rest of the band?”

  Henry put her hands together in prayer. “Please, please, please. I would be forever in your debt.”

  Charlotte covered her mouth for a moment. “Of course I will, but if any hanky-panky goes on, I don’t want to know any of the details.”

  “Well, I guess I can’t film it, then”

  “Henry!”

  Henry laughed. Charlotte was shocked. And a bit envious. Was she the only Lambert child who her lived her life in a box? Apparently, it was time she joined the land of the decadent and take her rightful place.

  Chapter Nine

  “Raven haired temptress,

  You make me forget everything but sin.

  Big brown eyes and supple skin,

  You’re the kind of trouble any boy wants to get in.”

  Travis read the words again. This was different than anything he’d ever written. He wasn’t sure if it was a Scorned song, or if he even wanted to share it with the band. They might laugh at him. He’d written his share of songs about getting a hot piece of ass. Or the bitch who fucked him over, but never something tender or sentimental. He wasn’t sure Declan would want to sing a love song.

  Charlotte had certainly inspired him, and for the last couple of days his creative juices seemed to be flowing. This was song number two he’d written. Of course, both were about Charlotte.

  Magnolia, or as he called her, Maggie, bumped him in the shoulder. She meowed at him. He put his pen down and stroked his hand down her back. The cat arched under his touch. “You know, you better be nice to her. She wants you to love her.”

  The cat blinked at him, but she didn’t look convinced.

  “You could do a lot worse.”

  The cat rolled on her back. Travis tickled her on the chin.

  Then he heard it. Charlotte sighed and he looked up in the direction of the bathroom. She stepped back and sighed louder. This evening she came home in a mood. Not that he really knew her well enough to gauge all of her moods, but she seemed a bit frustrated today. She cinched the satin belt of her peach colored robe tighter around her waist. Her insistence on wearing pajamas gave him endless amounts of amusement. They’d just be off in less than a minute. He couldn’t help but smile. It was like unwrapping a present every night. She was the best surprise he’d ever gotten his entire life.

  Her lips pursed and her head
tilted to the side.

  He put the pen between his leather notebook pages and closed it.

  Charlotte put both her hands under each of her breasts and lifted them, seeming to study the effect.

  What the hell was she doing?

  She let her hands fall to her sides for a few seconds, and then she took a long strand of her black hair and put it next to her cheek.

  Sometimes he just didn’t get women. Not that he really thought about it a lot until he met Charlotte, but damn, he wanted to know what was going on in her head. This kind of scared him. He wasn’t sure if he knew what she was thinking, or if he’d even understand it.

  “What’s going on?”

  Her lip trembled. “Would you like me better with bigger breasts?”

  What. The. Fuck. He got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. This was one of those moments when he was smart enough to let her words process in his head, before he opened his mouth and inserted his foot. “No.” He decided to go with a simple direct answer.

  “How about if I dyed my hair blonde?”

  Oh hell no. He stood directly behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. The silky material of her peach robe was warm on his skin. He ran his hands up her body until he cupped her breasts. Her nipples pebbled instantly. “Your breasts are beautiful. They fit in my hands so perfectly. I love that I can make you come by just sucking on your nipples.” He ran his thumbs over her tight points and she started to tremble. “Your skin is so soft and warm, I just want to lose myself in your body.” He buried his nose in her fragrant hair. “And your hair is like night, dark, mysterious, and when it touches my skin I think I’m going to explode. I love the way it looks next to your pale skin.”

  She leaned back against him. “Oh, Travis.”

  “I don’t want to change a thing about you. Not a damn thing.” He meant that. She was perfect.

  “When I’m old and don’t have a tooth left in my head, I’m going to remember this moment and smile.”

  His heart was racing and his throat was tight. “When I’m old, I’m going to remember that you smell like spring. That little hitch in your breath just before you come. The way you say my name when I’m inside you. The taste of your skin and how soft your lips are. The way you giggle. I’m never going to forget anything about you.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek.

  Shit, what did he say wrong? “Why are you crying?

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being silly.” Her body relaxed against his.

  “You are not silly.”

  “Well, I am giddy when I’m around you.”

  “I like it.” Probably more than he should. They were only playing together for a while. Women like the Charlotte Lamberts of the world didn’t get serious about men like him. He’d seen Declan and Malcolm date high society women on and off. It always ended badly. Those women lived by their own rules. Fucking a rock star was either a way to get back at daddy, get press, or get some street cred. He’d always avoided those women. He was always good at finding the girl who didn’t have a shitload of baggage and knew the deal. He didn’t think Charlotte was into anything like that. Her sweet nature and innocence told him so.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?”

  He rubbed his cheek against her hair. “You.”

  “I don’t think I’m so complicated to merit that odd look on your face.”

  “Charlotte, I think deep thoughts about you. What brought on this entire conversation?”

  “I met Jocelyn this morning. I just started thinking and this is the end result.”

  That was strange. Jocelyn was usually very protective of the band and she treated the groupies worse than any of them ever did. Jocelyn must have liked Charlotte. That was seriously high praise. “And you’re still breathing.”

  “She’s a doll.”

  “Like Chuckie?” Okay, he didn’t mean to say that. He liked Jocelyn and she did take care of all of them like they were her children.

  “We had a wonderful chat this morning before I had to go to work,” Charlotte scolded.

  Travis shook his head. It was odd thinking Charlotte had a real job that she went to every day since she really didn’t need one. “What exactly did you two talk about? Wait, maybe I don’t I want to know.”

  “She gave me a little of the band’s history.”

  “You charmed her, didn’t you?” Travis moved his hands down to her waist and leaned his cheek against the back of her head.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He wasn’t fooled. Charlotte knew exactly what she did to people. He watched her do it with his band, winning them over to her side. “You do this thing to people when you look at them with your big brown eyes and they just want to give you everything.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She tilted her head and met his eyes in the mirror.

  Travis nipped the side of her neck. “You already told your lie, Charlotte.”

  She rolled her eyes. “People just like to talk to me.”

  “That woman is as tough as they come and you got her to talk about us. She protects us like we’re her children.”

  “I’m glad that you have someone like her in your life. Those groupies are dangerous. They look at you like they just want to suck the life out of you.”

  The other night he met her for dinner and had a groupie situation. They had to leave the restaurant after a woman tried to throw a drink in Charlotte’s face. “That about sums it up.”

  “How do you stand it?”

  “Because we’re guys and we like girls. Its part of the package we all signed up for. And you never think it’s going to get old, or dangerous, or insane.”

  “But it does.” Her voice got low and he saw the sympathy in her eyes.

  “The last year has been hell.”

  “Because of Andy’s death?”

  “Yeah, I just lost a part of me.” That was hard for him to admit because he thought he was supposed to be strong. He should have been able to bounce back and go on with life because he was a man.

  Charlotte slipped her fingers in his. “You loved Andy. He was an important part of your life. Of course you feel adrift. It’s expected.”

  She made what he was feeling sound okay as if he shouldn’t be ashamed, but part of him was. Andy’s death was the first time he’d experienced a loss. His grandmother died when he was two and he didn’t remember her at all. His father had never been in the picture and you can’t miss what you don’t have, but Andy’s death fucked with his head. He started thinking about his own life and the things he hadn’t accomplished in his life. “You never know how big a part of your life a person is until they are gone.”

  “How did he die?”

  “A brain aneurysm.”

  Her eyes widened in a look of near disbelief. “And he was what, thirty?”

  He totally got that, because rock stars don’t die of shit like that. They are supposed to go down in a blaze of glory. “Yeah, he was five months older than me. I didn’t get to tell him …”

  She turned in his arms and faced him. “It’s alright. He knew. You were a good friend.”

  He took her face in both her hands. “How do you make me feel better?”

  She smiled. “I listen.”

  “I don’t want to talk anymore.”

  She shook her head and gave him an indulgent smile. “I’m surprised I got this much out of you.”

  Yeah, him too. “That’s because you still have clothes on and I can have a thought above my waist.”

  “Nonsense. You are a talker in bed.”

  “All I’m talking about is how good it is. We are not having a deep meaningful conversation.”

  “Meaningful to me.” She nipped his bottom lip. “And goodness is it ever deep.”

  Her sultry voice washed over him and his cock jumped. “Charlotte, was that an attempt at dirty talk?”

  She shrugged. “I am trying new things.”

  “Then get n
aked and get in that bed. I have my own list of new things for you to start trying.” He inclined his head toward the bed.

  “Maybe I want to do what I want to do.”

  A shudder passed through him. “What do you want to do?”

  She blushed and looked down at his cock.

  Travis kissed her forehead and moved his lips down to her ear. Gently, he nipped her earlobe. “You don’t have to be shy with me.” He ran his tongue over the shell of her ear, breathing in her floral scent. She was intoxicating. “I’ll do anything you want.”

  “I want to …”

  Travis grabbed her ass and pushed her into his crotch. “Yes?”

  She drew a shuddering breath. “I want to …”

  He ground his dick against her. “Tell me, Sweet Baby.”

  Charlotte put her fist on his chest. “I can’t think when you do things like this to me.”

  He ran his finger between her ass cheeks. Dear God he wanted to fuck her in the ass. He wasn’t shy enough to not ask her, but he wanted her to suggest it. She was so inquisitive and she’d been exploring, but he wanted more from her. Hell, he wanted to do everything possible with her. He liked that she was a willing partner, but he didn’t want to shock her. She was such a lady that sometimes he was afraid she’d think he was some kind of freak, but with her he was pretty much up for anything. “What do you want to do to me?”

  She giggled.

  Damn he loved that sound.

  “I want to suck you down there.”

  “My big toe?” Booyah, he was all in.

  She giggled again. “No, not there.”

  He felt her trembling in his embrace. “Where? My finger? My knee?”

  “Don’t be silly, I want to suck you here.” Then she put her hand right on his dick.

  His knees buckled. Oh hell yes, he wanted to scream. “Sure.”

  Then she laughed.

  “Why are you laughing?”

  She covered her lips with her fingers. She took another breath and seemed to compose herself. “Your voice was a bit squeaky.”

  Travis rolled his eyes. Now he was uncomfortable. “Well, that was sexy.”

  “It was.”

  “Let’s pretend for my ego’s sake that didn’t happen.”