Ransom (Courting Chaos Book 2)

by Heather Young-Nichols

“I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

  She giggled tiredly. “I just thought if we were going to talk some more, being comfortable wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

  “Let Indie know you’re on my bus, though. So they don’t go frantically looking for you. I think we’ll be pulling out soon.”

  “Already done,” she said.

  We did talk some more, but not for very long. Bellamy fell asleep mid-sentence. I only knew because she stopped talking and her slow, steady breath feathered out across my chest. I wasn’t overly tired, yet I also wasn’t going to move a fucking muscle.

  I’d stay right there with Bellamy Harper as long as she allowed me to.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Bellamy

  Waking up on a moving vehicle wasn’t something I thought I’d grow accustomed to. But it wasn’t the movement that woke me, it was the lack of movement. We’d stopped. Which I’d come to know meant we’d arrived in the next city. South Carolina this time, but my brain refused to remember which city. The sky was still too dark for me to care. There wasn’t enough light shining in the window for it to be time to wake up.

  Besides, I was too comfortable lying half on Ransom to move anyway.

  As I lay there, everything that had happened the night before came at me one memory after another. How angry Ransom had been to find me with Chris, even though he didn’t know it was Chris. The fact that he came right back when he realized things weren’t right. My heart swelled and everything I’d tried to pretend I hadn’t been feeling filled me all at once.

  I’d kept Ransom at arm’s length since I’d met him because I hadn’t wanted to deal with another asshole like the last one. I wanted to break the cycle my mom had started long before my dad had even come along. But in trying to break that cycle, I’d almost pushed an amazing man away. He’d told me on day one he’d wanted to see me naked. Now I thought it went beyond that. I hoped it went beyond that because even with all of my guards up, I’d been falling for him the entire time.

  I had my chin propped up on Ransom’s chest, watching him, when his eyes opened. It took a couple of seconds for his brain to kick in and for him to look down at me.

  “It’s morning?” he asked in this incredibly sexy morning voice.

  “Barely,” I said back. “I don’t know how early it is, but it’s very early. The sun’s not even up yet.”

  “That’s exactly what it feels like.” He chuckled as he reached over and grabbed the bottle of water that somehow was still sitting on the table-like thing next to the bed. He took a drink, then offered it to me, but I didn’t need one. He cleared his throat twice, then rolled over and pulled me into him. “How about some more sleep?”

  “Sleep’s good,” I said, but I had a different idea of how to spend the morning.

  Finding the words wasn’t working out for me, so instead, I used action.

  First I slid up him until we were face to face. I paused as he watched me and ran a hand down the back of my curls. Curls that were probably insanely crazy from sleeping on them, but I didn’t care. I wanted him and I need this.

  That was when I kissed him. Softly at first. Just little nips until he groaned and I pushed in deeper. My tongue slid across his lips and then he kissed me back. Intensely, hungrily. Like he’d been waiting his entire life to be able to kiss me like this. Our lips moved together and if I was being honest, my entire body lit on fire and melted into him. Ransom’s hand roamed up my back and into the hair at the nape of my neck. He held me there and kissed me until I was breathless.

  “Well… good morning,” he said, sounding as breathless as I felt.

  I smiled. “It could be even better.”

  Now I let my hand slide down his chest and slipped just inside of the waist of the jeans he’d fallen asleep in last night. He raised his eyebrows at me but looked into my eyes like he was searching for something. Maybe hesitation. Maybe he wanted confirmation to make sure I wasn’t doing this for any other reason than I wanted to. That was exactly what he’d find. I’d joked with Indie about hooking up with one of the guys in the band, but that had just been a cover. This… This didn’t feel like it’d be a hookup.

  Ransom pushed me onto my back and settled between my legs. The weight of him on top of me was perfect. Calming. But any thoughts of contentment left me, as did any inhibitions I may have had over starting this whole thing.

  I was going to take what I wanted because he obviously wanted it, too.

  His cock was already incredibly hard and hitting me in all the right places. But we had too many clothes on.

  I pushed myself up, which made him move back until I could roll him onto his back and climb on top. Then I broke our kiss to sit straight up. What a view that was. Beautiful, dark-haired, Ransom had a gaze of fire and he was directing that gaze right at me. Like I was the only person he could think of. The only one he could imagine being with. That had to be a special talent he’d cultivated over the years. The ability to make any girl feel like the only girl in the world.

  With the heat of that dark gaze on me, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and yanked it over my head. His eyes slid down to my breasts as his hands trailed up. I still had my bra on, though, and that just wouldn’t work. I wet my lips with my tongue and reached up, undoing the front clasp on my bra. The fabric fell away and Ransom’s hands immediately replaced it.

  His thumbs ran over my nipples, causing desire to flood my body. It was almost too easy for him. It didn’t take much from him to get me going. I’d already been halfway there when I’d woken up next to him.

  “Bellamy.” My name came from his mouth as a whisper.

  I didn’t think he had anything to say, so I leaned down so my bare chest rested against his and I could kiss him. Our mouths slowed. I knew I wanted to take my time with him and I hoped he felt the same. I didn’t know if this was a onetime thing but knew I didn’t want it to be.

  Suddenly, he flipped me over, pulled away from me, and then yanked my shorts and underwear down my body so that I was naked and writhing beneath him. I don’t know that I had ever writhed before, but there was no other word for what Ransom did to me.

  He kissed his way down my body and the anticipation of what he was about to do caused my knees to involuntary clench together. Ransom chuckled. I only knew this because I could feel his body shake against mine. Then he wedged his shoulders in and pushed my legs apart. When he licked me, a full body clench took over and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. It’d been a long time since I’d had sex and even longer since someone had gone down on me. From the work Ransom was doing, I’d never had anyone like him go down on me before. He was gentle but firm when he needed to be. Usually when two people had sex, there was a normal learning curve in finding out what the other liked.

  But Ransom already had my number.

  The pressure built. I knew I’d lose it at any moment, but everything he did felt so good, I didn’t want to. And yet I did. My orgasm hit with the power of a thousand suns and I was pretty sure I saw stars. I’d never had that happen before.

  Suddenly, Ransom was climbing his way back up and he said something but sounded a hundred miles away and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I forced my eyes open and lazily reached out for the button on his pants, but he gently slapped my hand away. I watched as he moved farther away from me, reached for something from somewhere else, then in one motion took his pants down.

  Ransom stood gloriously naked in front of me and I reached out again to take him in my hand and again he gently slapped me away. As if he didn’t actually want me to touch his cock. But instead of asking why, I watched him roll a condom down until he was completely covered and he climbed back on top of me. I was still gasping for air when his lips claimed mine again and he pushed inside me.

  He sighed and dropped his head to my shoulder. I could hear him again and he was close. He said my name against my ear and something about hearing it whispered while he was inside me made the word feel like a physical t
ouch, just to my heart. He moved me, he thrust into me, holding my leg against the side of his body until he shuddered and pressed his forehead between my breasts, the both of us left trying to gather our breaths.

  “Ransom,” I said through a struggled breath. He didn’t answer or move. “Ransom.” I gave him a little push. “You’re crushing me.”

  He kissed the valley between my breasts, then lifted off me. “I’m not sorry for crushing you,” he said, then kissed me on the lips again. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watched his well-sculpted naked ass walk away from me. After maybe thirty seconds he came out of the bathroom, dropped beside me, covered himself up with the sheets, and pulled me into his arms again. I laid my head on his shoulder just like I had last night.

  “When I came in here last night, I didn’t intend for this to happen,” I said, then kissed him on the chest.

  “I’ve always intended for this to happen,” he said back.

  I couldn’t help but giggle because there was no way that could’ve been true. “Even when I was being an asshole to you?”

  “Even then.” He brushed his fingers gently across my forehead. “You were trying so hard to keep me away, but I found the whole thing utterly adorable, to be honest. Those short, clipped responses… Those turned me on.”

  I laughed louder this time. He couldn’t possibly have been serious, but I loved him for saying it.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ransom

  Finally having Bellamy in my arms made me want to stay right where I was the entire day. Sure, I had responsibilities and would eventually have to drag my ass out of there, but for now, I’d stay as long as she wanted to. Not only did I not want to let her out of my arms, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. Didn’t want to give her a chance to regret what we’d done.

  As we lay there, I could hear guys calling out to each other outside, something that happened every morning of a show. The roadies had to get moving as soon as we landed to get everything set up by show time. Normally, I’d just sleep through it, but with Bellamy there, I wasn’t going back to sleep, no matter how little sleep I’d gotten last night. While my night lacked in the amount of sleep I got, having her with me made what I did get more restful.

  I’d be content to lie there until I absolutely had to leave her, but the way Bellamy’s hand was snaking down my stomach, I didn’t think she wanted to just lie there, either. No way would I deny this woman anything she wanted.

  I reached down, cupped the side of her head and tilted it back. Her lips parted, I hoped in anticipation. At the same time, Bellamy ran her fingertips down the side of my face and across the morning stubble across my chin. It felt so good that I didn’t think I’d bother shaving for a while.

  Then she said, “This looks good on you.” And I knew I knew for sure I wouldn’t shave this morning.

  I couldn’t wait another minute to kiss her, so I did. Fully and deeply but slower than when we’d woken up. The smell of her conditioner was all around me. I didn’t think I’d ever be able smell the combination of vanilla and strawberry without thinking of her and this moment. We were both still naked from earlier, which made things all the easier. We kissed and our hands explored each other’s bodies. Her skin was so soft, I thought I might create a mess before we even really got going. I dug my fingers into the skin on her thighs but then worried I was being too rough. She didn’t complain, though.

  I moved her onto her back without breaking our kiss. She hooked her leg on my hip as my hand slid up her thigh to cup her ass. I needed to be inside her. It wasn’t even a want anymore. I pushed away from her, which was the last thing I wanted to do, until my ass rested on the heels of my feet. I only did it so I could slip a condom on, then I settled back between her legs and kissed her again.

  It was possible I might have been crushing her with my body weight, though I tried really hard not to, but every time I moved away even an inch, Bellamy pulled me back to her. The best I could do was rest as much of my weight on my elbows beside her head as I could. Like I was caging her in, but I liked having her so close.

  My own orgasm built, tightening my lower back, but I wanted her to come first. I changed my angle and she gasped. Yup. That was right where I needed to be. The little sounds she made shot right to my balls and if she didn’t get there soon… I worried I’d leave her behind.

  Then her breathing increased and these small gasps escaped her lips. I leaned back just enough to be able to watch her come. It was a beautiful thing and when she sighed, I didn’t speed up or change a thing. Instead, I chose to let myself slowly get lost in the euphoria. I kissed her two more times before I pulled out and rolled over onto my back.

  “You are a talented man,” she said breathlessly.

  I couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, any guy wanted to hear that after having sex with a beautiful woman, but that wasn’t the part that had made me happy. Bellamy groaned as she rolled into me and rested her head on my chest with an arm thrown over my stomach.

  “I’m going to need a shower,” she said, but her words were muffled against my ribs.

  “You can use the one in the dressing room. I’ll join you.”

  “Ha,” she said back. “Like I’m going to get naked with all those guys around.”

  True. I wouldn’t want that for her, either. “I’ll make sure you have some privacy.”

  “What’s that buzzing?” she asked.

  I’d been so focused on her that I had to listen hard to hear what she did. “Shit. That’s my phone.” I hated having her move off me, but I did need to see who was trying to get a hold of me. Luckily, my pants were within reach, so I didn’t have far to go. “Fuck.”

  “Something bad?”

  When I glanced over at Bellamy grasping the sheet to her breasts with her red curls lying gently on the pillow, I knew there wasn’t anything that could possibly be bad in the world.

  “Not bad. Just annoying.” I lay back down beside her. This time we each rolled to our sides to face each other.

  “Annoying how?”

  “Annoying like I have to leave this little cloud from heaven called my bed. It’s Cross. We have to meet before soundcheck, which means… ”

  “Back the real world,” she finished for me.

  I took in the sadness that was suddenly edging around the corner of her eyes. Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do for sure, but I had a job to do. “Hey,” I said as I lifted her chin so she’d have to look at me. “This is the realest part of my world right here. I’m not walking out there and acting like I haven’t seen you naked.”

  She snorted. “That’s not what I meant. But don’t look at me like you’ve seen me naked.”

  “But I have seen you naked.”

  “You’re going to be impossible, aren’t you?”

  “As much as possible.”

  She shook her head and let me give her a quick kiss before we both got up to get dressed. Her putting on clothes was awful to watch. She was beautiful no matter what she did, but I would’ve rather we stayed naked right then.

  Instead, we left the bus fully-clothed. I grabbed her hand when she made the slight turn toward her bus.

  “What’re you doing?” she asked, tightening her grip on me.

  “Bringing you with me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because if it’s something quick, we can take a shower. If it’s going to take a while, then you can go grab some clothes and take a shower. Let’s just see.” I picked up the pace a little, which might have been unfair to her, given how much shorter her legs were than mine.

  “People will know,” she said.

  That brought me to a screeching halt. “Do you care if people know about us?”

  Bellamy nibbled on her bottom lip and scanned the area around us. “No. But I thought you might.”

  “Hey.” I brought her gaze back to mine. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because of everything going on. You might have beat the shit out of my pro
blem, but we still have yours.”

  I shook my head. “Even if she really was pregnant and no matter the trouble she’s trying to cause, it wouldn’t affect this.” I waved my hand between us so she’d know what I meant. “I’ve wanted to bag you since I met you and that was before Hope decided to try to fuck up my life.”

  When Bellamy smiled, I knew she’d taken what I’d said the way I’d meant it.

  “You’re an idiot,” she said with a smile, then walked away.

  “You have no idea,” I called after her, then took the five steps I needed to catch up and take her hand in mine again.

  The rest of the guys were already in the dressing room when we got there, which meant we, the band, were probably about to get a tongue-lashing from Lawson. Cross noticed me first. His gaze dropped to Bellamy’s and my joined hands, then up to my face. He was fucking smirking and I’d kick his ass a little for it later.

  “What’s up?” I asked, which alerted everyone to our presence.

  Lawson looked from me to Bellamy, then back again. He took a deep breath and folded his arms over his chest. “Anybody want to tell me what the fuck happened last night? Or rather why the fuck it happened.”

  Oh, shit. I’d been so buried inside Bellamy all morning that I’d almost forgotten what had happened the night before. And Lawson wouldn’t know why I’d gotten into a fight with the guy.

  “That guy was Bellamy’s ex-boyfriend,” Cross said.

  “Ransom, you can’t go around getting into fights because you want to get your dick wet.” Lawson glanced at Bellamy, then right back to me, which pissed me off.

  “Hey, fuck you, Lawson. It’s not like that,” I said, taking a step forward. “But I do want that guy on the black list. I don’t want him to be able to get backstage. Security needs to be better. Fuck, I don’t even want him to be able to buy a ticket.” How he’d gotten back by the buses in the first place was a good question I’d eventually have to ask.

  “I’m going to go find Indie,” Bellamy said loudly behind me.