by Jaye Ripley
“Normally, we’d set up two mics each adjusted for our voices. But we can do this with the two of us on one. It’ll sound less polished. But perfectly imperfect.”
The practice take sounds infinitely better than anything I’d sung on my own. Because now the man that gives meaning to the words stands in front of me, singing them right back. We record three different tries of the entire song all the way through. Each time, when I sing the words of wanting him and promising to love him forever, my heart soars and wishes it could make those promises true.
“I think that’s it.” Mac gives us a thumbs-up. The other guys applaud us through the window.
“Are we done?” asks Hunter, not taking his eyes off of me.
“Yeah. We’ve got it.”
Hunter rips off his headphones and takes mine off my head. “Good. I gotta get you out of here.”
20
Hunter
I can’t leave fast enough. Fuck the recording. Mac always has things under control anyway. I’m sure it’ll be mixed and ready by tonight. And who cares. By then, I better be smothered between Mel’s legs or balls deep inside her.
“Hope that sounded okay?” she says as we exit the sound booth.
I grab her hand and drag her across the room. If we wait any longer, I’ll throw her down on the couch and have her right here in front of the guys, which they won’t appreciate. Except EJ. He might like that too much.
Mac tries to let her know that everything went okay, but I interrupt him.
“Text me later when it’s finished. And you.” I point at EJ. “Find another place to be tonight.”
“Jesus, Ford. We get it. Whole place to yourself.” He smirks at me.
“I just want to thank you guys—” Mel starts.
I lift her up and toss her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Her legs kick a bit in shock, and I spank her ass to get her to stay still.
“Thank them later. We’re gone.”
She smacks my ass as I rush up the steps, careful not to bang her head in my rush.
“Put me down, Hunter.”
We walk out of the house with her squirming against me. Her luscious ass wiggles right in front of my eyes. I stalk toward the truck and don’t let her down until we stand in front of her door. She turns away to open the door, not looking at me.
“Hey.” I turn her around with a gentle tug.
Her eyes meet mine, and the anger simmering in them catches me off guard. She’s mad at me?
“What’s going on, Mel?”
“If you didn’t like what I just did, then you politely tell me that it’s crap. You don’t drag me out of there like a naughty little girl.”
Is she fucking kidding me? She thinks she embarrassed me in there? Shit, her insecurities rear up at the most inconvenient times.
“Mel, I know that you can’t be that naive. Is there anything about me that says I didn’t like what happened in our studio?”
She crosses her arms. “You tore me out of there. And you threw me over your shoulder. When I asked you to put me down, you spanked my ass!”
I hadn’t even heard her make her request. All I saw was red, knowing the guys could recognize what I see in her more and more each damn day. And I couldn’t take a chance that she might choose one of them over me.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I’m sorry if I ignored your request, but frankly, I didn’t hear it. I dragged you out of there—”
“Carried me out. Over your shoulder. Not exactly a dignified position. You didn’t even let me talk to them.”
I rake my hands down my face. She has a point. I had to coax her inside in the first place, and then I didn’t even let her enjoy her moment with the band.
“Shit. Do you want to go back inside?”
She shakes her head no. “And you had to rescue me.” Her head points down at her feet.
“Rescue you? What do you mean?”
“When I was singing alone. I know I was absolute shit. You had to come in there and salvage what you could.”
I’m a fucking idiot. Our band’s been together for years. Being in the studio is as easy as breathing to us. We’re used to making mistakes and doing as many takes as needed. But she isn’t. And she took my adjustment as a fault in her abilities.
“Oh, baby.” I step into her, my hands rubbing up and down her arms. I tip my forehead against hers. “I’m sorry. I should have told you how amazing you were, but that I knew a way to make it better. And there are always multiple takes. We try again and again, and adjust to make things better. I wish you could see what I see. That when you sing, you shine. Didn’t you watch yourself in that video?”
It takes a quiet minute for her to relax to my touch. “I did. It just seems so…surreal. Like it’s me and not me.”
My fingers travel down her arm and flip it over. “So it’s ‘Wondrous Strange’?”
She chuckles. “Way to use my own tat against me. Yeah. I guess you could say that about my singing. Or singing with you, at least.”
“Do you know why I carried you out of there so fast?” My body backs hers into the side of the truck. “Because singing with you, seeing you on fire like you are, makes me want to fuck you. Hard.” My erection could pound nails into wood right now.
Mel clears her throat. “You ain’t the only one.”
We throw ourselves at each other, kissing until we bruise. Her arms wrap around my neck and pull me into her. The low moans from the back of her throat make my dick twitch with need.
“I need to get you back to my place before I take you back inside and do things I’d rather the guys not witness,” I say against her plump lips.
With a sigh, we pull apart. I open up her door for her and help her in. Neither of us talks on the ride back to my place. When we get there, I’ll need to be inside her as soon as we step in. Maybe up against the door, her legs wrapped around my waist. Or spread out on the kitchen counter. Or turned over on the dining room table.
Mel shifts in her seat with a sigh every five minutes or so. I assume she’s thinking about how we can enjoy ourselves as well. Maybe she wants me to eat her out on the dining room table, spread across the wood like she’s my feast. Or maybe she liked it when I spanked her before. I could bend her over the back of the couch and smack her ass before entering her.
We arrive at my place, and I pull into the spot next to her parked car. Time to find out which option she wants to go with first. We look at each other for a heavy moment. When I open my mouth to talk, we both speak at the same time.
“We’d better get inside before I do things to you right here.”
“I think I’d better go.”
What did she just say? Nothing about the words I think I heard matches what I thought we were going to do.
“Say that again?” I request.
She says in a quiet voice, “I think I should go.”
This is so not how I thought today would go. In a hurry, I unbuckle, open the door, and jump out of the cab. Thunder rolls in the distance even though there’s sun overhead. Perfect metaphor to right now.
How in danger would my nuts be if I threw her over my shoulder and carried her inside? Walking around the truck, I stand In front of her car next to mine as she gets out.
“Why won’t you come inside? Sounds like we might be getting a storm.”
She shakes her head no. “It’s just, I have to work.”
Not much of an explanation as to how she went from hot for me to Frigidaire in one ride home. “I don’t buy it. What’s going on?” The ability to hide my frustration escapes me.
Her eyes snap to mine, annoyed with my tone of voice. “What’s going on is that we’ve barely been apart for the last week or so. What’s going on is that you come on so strong that I don’t know myself. What’s going on is that you twist me up so much inside that I can’t see straight. We need some time apart.”
Her words hit me in the gut. My stomach turns. Blame and guilt hit it first. I’ve pushed her too hard, too fast.
And my reward is her leaving me.
I take a step toward her and run my finger down her cheek. “But you do the same to me. Baby, you’ve tangled me up until all I can see is you.”
She takes my hand in hers and kisses the back of it. “And that’s exactly it. You shouldn’t be tangled up in me. You need to be focused on the band and moving.”
So that’s it. She fears the inevitable move, so she’ll leave me first. And there were fucking boxes all over Mac’s place. Another stupid mistake on my part. But I’m not so much of a shithead that I’ll let her go. I’ll be damned if she walks away now.
“So how much time are we talking here? An hour? Two? How about I show up at the bar, and we play hot bartender flirts with sexy customer until you get off…work, that is.” It’s fucking hard to act as if she’s not killing me.
Her hand rests on my chest. “I think we need a couple of days, Hunter. Give me some room to breathe. Then you can help your guys do what they need to do without me getting in the way.”
Days? A couple of days? Fuck that shit. I claim her mouth that just uttered the worst words, licking and nipping at her until she gives in. Her body tells me how much she wants me, so the battle is with her mind. My mouth roams to her neck, right to the spot right below her ear. I earn the soft moan from her lips.
“How long, Mel?” My teeth skim her sensitive skin.
“A couple of days,” she breathes.
Not good enough. My hand grazes over her breast. Her nipple stands at attention as I circle it.
“How long?” I bite her earlobe.
“A day.”
I palm her heavy breast. My finger pinches her nipple through her shirt. I kiss my way back to her mouth, and plunge my tongue inside. Holding her fast to me, I devour her until she can’t breathe.
Letting her go one last time, I ask the question again, my lips moving against hers.
She chuckles. “You know, you’re a fucking bully, Cowboy.”
Good. My smartass girl’s back. Maybe her body told her mind to sit the fuck down.
“How long?”
She closes her eyes for a second and shakes her head. When her eyes fall on me, they shine up at me, the sadness from before contained for the moment. “I’ll see you after my shift.”
Pleased, I step away from her. A cocky grin spreads across my face. Fuck it. I won.
“Should I come watch you work?”
She unlocks her car door and opens it. “Hell no. At least give me the space of my full shift. A little waiting never killed anybody.”
Tell that to my dick. “Where do you want to meet?”
“Leave the light on for me.” She nods at the house and gets in her car.
“Text me before you come.”
She smirks up at me. “Well, that’s a new one. Thought you preferred me to scream.”
“Smartass.”
“Jackass. And don’t be so obnoxious. Just because you won this round doesn’t mean you’re on top. Be prepared to pay for your terrorizing tactics.” She closes her door. After she backs out, she waves at me and drives off.
Thunder rolls across the sky again. The ominous roar echoes around me and shakes the ground. I hope it’s not a sign that bad things are coming my way. I may have fucked up fifty different ways today, but I’m not a complete fool. Whatever happens, I know in my bones that tonight’s going to be a game changer.
21
Hunter
What’s taking so fucking long? She texted me at least fifteen minutes ago to tell me she was on her way. The downpour from the storm must be holding her up.
I’ve been alone for the rest of the day, trying to figure out what the hell to do. Answering some of the questions my bandmates and best friends ask me. What does Mel mean to me? What does being with her mean in terms of our leaving?
Some of the questions have the easiest answers. Do I want to be with Mel? Uh, fuck yeah. Do I want to continue seeing her after I leave? If she’ll stick with me, then again—fuck yeah. The harder questions are the ones I don’t want to think about because they make her jumpy.
I’ve tried casual with her, acting as if I’m okay with getting whatever I can have between our first night and when I’m going to leave. I pretend out of fear that any expression of the way she makes me feel will end it all too fast. And trust my boys to know me well enough to have created such an awesome opportunity to keep her in my life, even if she fights being together. Sure, the recording’s a demo. But not in the way she thinks it is. Better to keep her in the dark about my plans until I can get to Nashville and test things out for myself first.
All day and into the evening, I’ve kept myself busy trying to make my place something a girl would want to spend time with me in. My first instincts had been rose petals strewn about, glasses of expensive champagne, maybe the gift of shiny jewelry—all the wrong choices. None of the other band members would know shit about what to do. I could call Trey, but their history still cuts a bit. Bethany’s advice about frou frou flowers sticks out as the only hint I can take.
The entire stock of candles from Pier 1 flickers throughout the public spaces of my home and into my room. Some of them are real and scented. But the sales woman had advised not to go with that many real candles, especially in the bedroom. She had assured me that the new battery-operated flickering kind would look the same and give off the same glow without the threat of possible fire. The only fire that should burn my life down will be between Mel and me.
The doorbell rings, and I rush to get it. When I open the door, she stands on the other side soaked to the core, her bag slung over her shoulder.
“Jesus.” I usher her in and take her bag. “How did you get so wet?”
She shivers. “Thinking about you?” The fact that she jokes eases some of my tension. But she’s cold from the rain.
I throw out all of my plans and focus on getting her warm. “Let’s get you out of your clothes and into a hot shower.”
“I bet you never thought it would be that easy to get me naked.” She clasps her hands together to keep them from shaking. “Sorry I’m late. Had to follow Bee to make sure she got home. Her car stalled in a huge puddle that may as well have been a lake. We didn’t see how deep it was because it was dark. We tried pushing it out, but in the end we’re only two girls. Took her home before coming here.”
“Two of the strongest girls I know.” I lead her down the hall and into my room. “I’ve got the master suite, so the bathroom’s this way.”
She glances around as she follows me. “Damn, you had some sort of seduction thing going, didn’t you? That’s a shit ton of candles, dude.”
Chuckling, I try not to wince at her use of “dude”. That’s the last thing I want to be for her tonight.
Once we reach the bathroom, we strip her out of her wet clothes. Her tank top comes off and hits the floor with a wet flop. After she sits on the covered toilet and I help take off her boots, we both struggle to get her out of her skinny jeans that have become a second skin on her. It takes some pulling and yanking before they’re off.
“And that’s not exactly the sexy strip tease I had planned for you. Fuck, I guess it’s just me you get tonight.” She shrugs her shoulders and hands.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way. The water in the shower turns hotter after a minute. I turn it down to warm since it’ll feel hot against her cold skin. She clutches her chest as she rocks back and forth waiting to get in.
“Okay, you get in first. Once you’re used to the temperature, we’ll crank it up some,” I instruct.
She looks at me, pity in her eyes. “Sorry this isn’t sexy or anything.” She undoes her bra and chucks her panties behind her. Yanking the shower curtain open, she steps in.
“Damn, that feels good. You coming in, Cowboy?”
How enticing will it be if I step in sporting a semi when she’s fighting off being miserable? But the thought of warming her up in person tempts me too much. I pull my shirt over my head and yank my jeans down
. Kind of glad I went commando, although she was supposed to discover that while we fondled each other.
I step behind her and take her all in. The water runs over her skin in little rivulets over her back. Steam rises around us since she’s kicked the temp up a few notches. Water splashes off her and hits me in my face and chest, teasing me with the potential warmth but leaving me a bit cold. I swear that some day, I’ll have my very own place with a fancy shower. Maybe one of those expensive rain showerheads so we can both be warm under the stream.
With firm hands, I pull her body against mine. “Now you’re warm enough to help me out.”
“Feeling cold back there?” Her hand reaches around and grabs my ass.
My cock rubs between her cheeks as we move closer to each other. She grinds her butt into me, and I groan. My hands rub up to her breasts and cups them, my thumbs worrying her nipples.
“I don’t know. Are you feeling cold?”
“Not so much anymore.” Her body rubs up and down my front.
“Should I wash you?” My mouth skims her neck.
She shakes her head. “I took a shower after work. I just need to get a little warmer.”
Red light is now green. My cock twitches against her. “Then let me help with that.”
I bring her to orgasm with my fingers and my dirty mouth talking filthy to her. I hold her as she comes down, kissing her neck. She leans her hands against the tile, and looks at me from behind. Her eyes glaze with lust as she pushes back against me, positioning her body as a present to my dick.
“Take me, Hunter.”
One hand grips her hip as the other runs down her spine and over her round, firm flesh. My fingers dig into her ass, leaving indents. Her body on display in front of me like this has me teetering on the edge of losing my shit.
As if the sight of her wasn’t enough, she removes her hands from the wall and onto her cheeks. She spreads herself wide open for me to see everything.
“Holy Hell.” No man can resist an offer like this from his woman. But it’s not what I had planned. Not what I think we need tonight.
