Taming the Storm

by Samantha Towle

  I’ll force the effing drink down and cover the taste with the nuts.

  Yes, I’m that petty.

  Tom’s body stiffens beside me. “No. I’ll buy you anything you want out of here but not that.”

  “The nuts?” I frown.

  “No. Segal. I won’t buy you that.”

  I tilt my head around, so I can see his face. “Seriously? After the shit you pulled tonight, you’re denying me a drink?”

  “I’m not denying you anything. I just won’t buy you that.” His voice is stony.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I yell. Apparently, I’m still in the mood to fight with him. My claws are out and raring to go.

  “Lyla,” he says my name like a plea, his fingers holding the bridge of his nose. “Just drop it, please. I’ll buy you anything you want but not that.” His voice sounds different and weird.

  He looks at me. His eyes are pleading. He looks sad. All the anger in me dissipates.

  I don’t get why buying me that drink makes him sad.

  Curiosity aside, I don’t push, but decide to drop it. “Actually, I could do with a clear head. I’ll just have a Diet Coke.”

  His body relaxes. I walk away from him, but I hear him sigh softly, leaving me even more confused as to just exactly what that was.

  I sit down on the sofa and gaze out at the twinkling lights of the city around us.

  Tom brings over two cans of Coke and a container of pistachios for me. He puts them on the table and takes the seat beside me.

  I lean forward, pop open my can, and take a drink. My throat is a little dry from all the yelling at Tom tonight. In this moment, it occurs to me that I’ve never yelled at someone as much as I do with Tom. No one has ever gotten under my skin like he does—sexually or angrily. And I don’t really quite know what it means.

  Putting the can down, I twist in my seat to look at him. “So, are you gonna explain the caveman behavior?”

  He turns to face me, bringing his leg up onto the sofa, which presses it nicely up against my thigh. Every particle in my body hones in on the one part of me that his body is touching.

  “I’m not sorry.”

  That brings my attention right back to him.

  “I’d do the same thing again, if presented with the same situation. The guy’s an idiot.”

  I rake a hand through my hair. “You barely know him.”

  “I know enough.”

  “I liked him, but you’ve gone and ruined that now.”

  I don’t know why I don’t tell him that I was only interested in Robbi as a friend.

  Okay, I do. It’s because I’d have to explain why I kissed Robbi. And that would mean telling Tom that I did it as a knee jerk, because I was jealous that he was kissing Ashlee.

  His eyes narrow. “I thought you were off men. So, why aren’t you off him? Why kiss him?”

  Shit. How do I answer this?

  “I…” My mouth goes dry. “I wasn’t on him,” I say slowly. I pick imaginary lint off my dress, so I can avoid his heavy stare. “I don’t know why I kissed him.”

  Liar, liar, pants on fire.

  Tom grabs my hand in his and runs the pad of his thumb across the palm of my hand. “You wanted to make me jealous.”

  “No!” I snatch my hand back.

  He leans forward, getting in my space. “Why can’t you just tell the fucking truth? Why can’t you just admit that you want me and go with it?”

  Because I’m a coward.

  I stare at him, seeing the frustration etched like lines in his face. But then, in the depths of his eyes, I see a flicker of pain.

  Am I hurting him? I don’t want to hurt him.

  Lip trembling, I say, “Fine. You want the truth. It’s because you scare me. This”—I gesture between us—“whatever it is, feels intense.” My voice quiets. “And intense scares the shit out of me.”

  Something crosses his brow, and surprisingly, he gets to his feet and puts his back to me.

  It leaves me feeling wide open and vulnerable.

  “You want to know why I scared Robbi off?” His voice is low. He turns to look at me.

  “Of course I do.”

  “Two reasons. When I tell you the first one, know that I don’t want to hurt you in any way. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you.”

  My stomach starts to free-fall.

  “But you need to know the truth, so you stay away from that asshole.” He rubs his forehead.

  I sit up a little straighter, my stomach forming little balls of tension. I’m worried about what he’s going to say.

  “The contract for The Turnstiles is up for renewal, and Rally isn’t going to renew it.”

  I give him a confused look. “Why isn’t Rally renewing their contract? The Turnstiles are doing really well.”

  Tom shakes his head. “Not as well as Rally wants them to be doing. You know what an asshole he is and how savage he can be with his decisions. Anything is dispensable if it’s not working for him.”

  Even his daughter.

  I know he’s thinking the same thing. I see it in his eyes.

  “When I knew Robbi was making a move on you, I made it my business to find out his. Turns out their tour is a desperate act. They fronted the cash for the tour themselves. Luckily, I happened to walk past Robbi’s dressing room earlier, and I heard him talking to someone on the phone.” He takes a deep breath. “Lyla, when I tell you this, I’m saying it from a good place, and you have to know that Robbi is a fame-hungry asshole who will do anything to get where he wants to be.”

  I start to feel a bit sick. I stiffen my spine and harden up. “Just spit it out. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can take it.”

  He runs a hand through his hair and looks at me with careful eyes. “Robbi knows you’re Rally’s daughter. He was looking for an in with you to help his career. I heard him telling whoever he was on the phone with that he was gonna smooth his way into your life and get you to fall hard for him, so that you’d talk Daddy into keeping the band on his label.”

  I swallow down rocks. Humiliation floods through me. I get to my feet and shake my head. Needing to protect myself, I say, “You must have heard wrong. Outside of my circle, hardly anyone knows that Rally’s my father. I’ve made sure of that. Robbi couldn’t have known.”

  Tom gives me a sad look. “He knew, Ly. I’m sorry.”

  My humiliation quickly turns to anger. I lift my chin and square my shoulders. “I don’t need your goddamn pity. Obviously, Robbi didn’t do his homework properly because Rally couldn’t give a shit about me. It’s not like he’d ever listen to me.” I let out a dry laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to influence jack shit over what happens to Robbi’s crappy band.”

  Tom says nothing. He just stares steadily at me.

  I’m starting to feel like I’m going to break apart. The whole night is crashing down on me.

  I hate how men have the ability to hurt me so damn easily.

  I hate how weak I am.

  Most of all, I hate how I keep inviting them in to do so.

  I was so stupid to let Robbi in. God, I let him kiss me, and the whole time, I was just a means to an end for him.

  But Tom saved me.

  My heart reaches for him. Then, I quickly remember his tongue fest with Ashlee.

  Hurt needles me. I need to get the hell out of here. This is all too much.

  “Well, if that’s all, I’ll be leaving.”

  “I’m not done.” Tom’s rough voice keeps me where I am.

  Moving quickly, he closes the gap between us.

  Suddenly, everything narrows to this moment. To him and me.

  Desire exploding between us like a dirty bomb.

  There’s nothing but blazing heat and sexual tension. The likes of nothing I’ve ever felt before.

  It’s total sensory overload.

  He’s perfect and gorgeous. Desire coils in my belly. My hands itch to touch him.

  “I said, there were two reasons I dragged R
obbi off of you. The second, if I’m being truthful, is the main reason.” He takes a ragged breath. “I couldn’t bear to see you with him.”

  “You kissed Ashlee.”

  He shakes his head slowly. “No, she kissed me. And I didn’t so much as let her kiss me. I just didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I gently pushed her away. Told her I was into someone else. But you didn’t wait to see that part.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t wait around to watch you suck face with Ashlee!”

  His brows draw together. His jade eyes darken with anger. “Enough, Lyla.” His voice is so hard, and the words are said with so much force that it brings my whole body to attention.

  Just those two words, and I’m done for. I love the way his commanding voice makes me feel.

  Hot. Really fucking hot.

  Heat is licking up and down my body. And I’m so wet that it’s embarrassing.

  “The only woman I want right now is you,” he says, his voice hoarse. “I can’t stop thinking about you. What it will feel like to be inside you. God, Ly, I can’t stop imagining how sweet your pussy will taste on my tongue.”

  Holy shit.

  Tom does the dirty talk well. Really well.

  I’m currently a puddle on the floor.

  His hand comes up and grabs my chin, forcing my eyes to his. My God, his eyes are on fire.

  Dark eyes roam my face, stopping on my mouth. A flicker of anger moves through them. “You let him kiss you.” The pad of his thumb presses against the center of my lips.

  I swallow down.

  Tom moves his thumb roughly over my lips as he removes the remaining lipstick, erasing any trace of Robbi’s kiss.

  My body starts to tremble. The intensity of the moment owns me.

  He owns me.

  His eyes flash up to mine. The look in them has my nipples tightening and my panties dissolving.

  My body is hitting levels of desire I didn’t even know existed until this moment. Until him.

  “You’re mine,” he growls, making a sound filled with the sweetest agony. Then, he’s kissing me, hot and hard. “No one gets to touch you but me,” he breathes hotly into my mouth. “You got that?”

  The intensity of him, the feel of him kissing me, has fried all my brain cells. I couldn’t argue if I wanted to.

  And I don’t.

  I’ve given up fighting this thing between Tom and me. I’m handing all control of my body over to him. For tonight only, I’m letting Tom have all of me to do with as he wishes.

  And tomorrow, after we’ve screwed each other out of our systems, things will go back to the way it was.

  “I got it,” I breathe.

  Five Minutes Later—Fairmont Hotel, Pittsburgh

  “Tom, I need you to fuck me…now,” Lyla moans.

  I’m running my tongue up her throat, heading back for that sexy but frustrating mouth of hers, and my cock almost bursts out of my pants.

  Jesus Christ.

  I almost can’t believe this is happening. I keep waiting for her to pull away and run out on me again, but she hasn’t. And now, she’s asking me to fuck her.

  Christ, I want to fuck her.

  More than I’ve ever wanted to fuck a woman before, but—

  “You don’t want to do this with me.”

  What?

  Okay, I know I sound like a pussy, but she’s hurting from the stunt that idiot, Robbi, pulled. No matter how much I want to bang her, I do actually care about her, and I can’t have sex with her while she’s hurting. It wouldn’t be right.

  The last thing I want is for her to regret fucking me.

  Trying to keep my control, I dig my fingers into her waist. But all that does is make me harder as I feel the soft flesh of her skin beneath the fabric of this fuck-hot dress she’s wearing.

  “Firecracker, I need the truth here. Are you doing this because Robbi hurt you? Or because you really want me?”

  She eyes me with insouciance. “I’m not hurt, Tom. I’m horny.”

  I let out a sigh. “I just can’t keep doing this push-and-pull shit with you, Ly.”

  Her eyes soften. She rests her hand on my chest. My heart is beating like a motherfucker beneath her palm.

  “Is that what I do? Push and pull with you?”

  My eyes narrow. “You know you do.”

  Her fingers grip my shirt as her eyes lower. “Have I…hurt you?”

  I let out a short laugh. “No, you haven’t hurt me. You just confuse the hell out of me, so I want to make sure you’re doing this for the right reason—not because you’re feeling hurt and pissed off over some little dipshit who wasn’t smart enough to see you for your real worth.”

  I know she usually reacts badly when she’s angry. I got that loud and clear when she kissed Robbi because she thought I was into Ashlee.

  “I don’t want you to regret having sex with me.”

  Why am I still talking?

  Now, I actually sound like I’m trying to talk her out of this.

  I have her right where I’ve literally dreamed about having her for months. I’m minutes away from being inside her, and my lips won’t stop fucking flapping.

  I seriously need to learn to shut the fuck up.

  She inches up, hovering her mouth over mine. Her lips whisper, “I’ll regret it if I don’t. I regret walking out on you when we were in the bedroom the other day. I don’t want any more regrets, Tom. I know you want me. I can feel that you do.” She reaches her hand down, wrapping her delicate fingers around my denim-covered cock.

  My eyes roll back into my head. I can’t seem to catch a steady breath. My lungs are full of her. She’s everywhere…around me, on me, in me.

  I’ve never felt this way with a woman before. I really need to get a grip and regain some control.

  She grazes her teeth over my bottom lip. I feel it everywhere.

  “I want this…I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted any man before. I want you to fuck me, Tom…please.”

  The feel of her and the sound of her sexy voice begging me to fuck her snaps my control.

  I plunge my fingers deep in her hair and crash my mouth on hers.

  I’m a man possessed. Uncoordinated and out of control. My tongue is fucking her mouth. There’s no restraint, no patience. I can’t get enough of her. Weeks of pent-up frustration from wanting her for so damn long explodes out of me and is channeled into this one kiss.

  If I carry on like this, it’ll be over in minutes.

  It can’t be over in minutes.

  My fingers find the hem of that sexy dress, and I pull it over her hips.

  Grabbing her ass in my hands, I lift her off the floor, our mouths still fused together.

  Her legs go around my waist, and her hands pull at my hair while she moans in my mouth.

  I know the feeling, baby.

  It’s like I’m climbing out of my skin and into hers. I can’t get enough…be close enough to her.

  This is insane. I’ve never felt like this about a woman before.

  I’m always in control. I take my time. Women beg me to give it to them.

  But this…it feels like I’m the one begging her. I might not be saying the words, but my body sure as hell is.

  Regaining a margin of control, I start moving toward the bedroom, toeing off my shoes as I go. I lay her down on the bed, positioning myself between her thighs. We still haven’t broke from kissing. Well, maybe kissing is too good of a word for what we’re doing. We’re basically mouth-fucking.

  Finally stopping for a breath, I break the kiss. No matter how much I want to keep on kissing her, I want to see her naked more.

  I stare down at her. The only light coming in is from the living room, but I can still see that her eyes are glazed over with lust.

  “I want you,” she whispers, breathless, as her wide eyes blink up at me.

  She’s finally mine.

  The knowledge makes me want to beat my chest and thank the gods.

  “You have me,” I say. “Yo
u’ve had me for a long time.”

  I shift up onto my knees. Sitting over her, I reach for her dress. She sits up, allowing me to remove it. I have to tug a bit around her tits as the dress seems to be stuck, and as I do, I hear this weird ripping sound.

  Shit, did I tear her dress?

  Whatever. If I have to, I’ll buy her a new one. I’ll buy her a million dresses if it means I finally get to be inside her.

  I drop her dress to the floor, and when I look back, I see—well, not what I was expecting to see.

  Lyla’s looking down at her tits as she picks something off of them.

  My head tilts to the side. “Um…what the fuck are you doing?”

  Her eyes lift to mine, and a blush rises in her cheeks. “Tit tape.” She scrunches her nose as she holds up a piece of sticky tape between her thumb and index finger.

  She looks so fucking adorable right now.

  “Had to keep my girls in place somehow.” She shrugs, letting out a sweet-sounding laugh.

  I chuckle, shaking my head, watching her, as she peels off another piece of tit tape. I hope to hell it’s the last piece because I don’t know how much longer I can keep my hands to myself.

  She balls up the pieces of tape and flicks it onto the floor.

  “Done.” She gives me a sexy smile as she pushes her chest out to me. “They’re all yours.”

  I laugh again. Then, I look down at her tits, and all laughter fades from my mouth.

  Perfection. Absolute perfection. Just like I thought they would be. Big. Real. Perky. With taut pink nipples waiting for me to pay them the attention they deserve.

  I reach out and cup her tits in my hands.

  They feel as good as they look. Perfect fit for my hands, like they were made just for me. Heavy and so very real. After way too long of handling fake tits that seem to be the norm in LA, I cannot wait to wrap my mouth around those beauties of hers.

  I lick my lips at the thought.

  She arches into my touch. “Like what you see?”

  I lift my eyes to find hers looking all lusty and sexy as hell.

  She is perfection.

  Grinning, I say, “Without a doubt.” I lick my lips again, feeling suddenly parched. “You seriously have the best tits I have ever seen in my life. A-fuckin’-mazing. I could stare at them all day and not get bored once.”