by Dawn Ryder
His lips split into a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
A moment later she lost all concept of the world around her. Syon hovered over her spread slit for just a moment, long enough for her to feel his breath against her tender parts. Just one moment before he licked her.
She cried out, gripped in sensory overload. She was a hairbreadth from climax, but he didn’t linger over her clit long enough to let it burst.
“Not just yet…” He teased her slit, thrusting his tongue into her pussy and licking his way up to her clit. He closed his mouth over the throbbing point and worried it with his tongue.
She jerked.
And cried out.
And wound her legs around his shoulders as she lifted off the bed in a frantic attempt to ride him. She was twisting up and off the comforter, certain that every muscle she had was going to snap because she was drawn so tight.
Syon didn’t give her the release she was desperate for. He teased and licked, always pulling back right at the moment she was sure she was going to fly apart.
“Syon!” she screamed. “You…asshole!”
He chuckled against her clit, the vibration tormenting her even more. She whimpered, mentally surrendering all attempts at control.
“Like that, do you?”
He looked up her body, his lips curved into a huge grin. “Like I said, baby. I want to sing to you.”
He lowered his mouth and captured her clit again. This time, he mumbled against her, the sound intensifying the motion.
She arched up, her body tightening around his fingers as she climaxed. It wrung her like a dishcloth. She jerked against her bonds, twisting and tumbling through the waves of pleasure. Syon sucked her through it, finally rising up when she collapsed onto the bed in a pile of quivering muscles.
She was dimly aware of him unknotting her wrist and gathering her against his body. The air-conditioning was a welcome relief from the heat burning across her skin.
“I love singing for you, Kate.”
“You must have pulled some strings to get the candles in here.” Hotels had a ton of fire regulations. But Cid often had a cigarette in his hand too. Obviously the fine for smoking in the rooms didn’t worry him.
Kate trailed her fingers through Syon’s chest hair. He was toying with her breast.
“One of Cid’s more useful job components.”
She tried not to stiffen at the mention of the road manager, but he chuckled and sat up.
“When I write music, I like stuff turned off. It gets me in the zone. The candles set the mood.”
His expression had softened.
“Neat.”
He pressed a kiss against her lips. A slow, seductive kiss that made her sigh. “Stay right here.”
He rolled off the bed, and she rolled onto her side to watch him. He moved across the room and sat down in the corner. He picked up the guitar and slung the shoulder strap over his head, taking a moment to type something on the laptop that was nearby.
He looked up, his lips curving when he caught sight of her.
“Stay just like that.”
He started working the strings. His face became a tapestry of concentration, his fingers forcing his thoughts into notes. The tempo increased, and her heart accelerated. She was tapping the surface of the bed with the rhythm, feeling like she was part of the creation happening right in front of her.
When he pulled out the last note, he opened his eyes and grinned at her.
“Show me how you’d move to it.”
She rolled out of the bed and landed lightly on her feet. “Hold on.” Kate pulled a dress from the closet and shrugged into it. Her shoes were also unpacked, and she pushed her feet into a pair of black heels. One of her corset tops was there, with the latches, and she closed it right over the dress.
“Now I’m ready.”
The dress only fell to midthigh. Her lack of underwear didn’t bother her. Syon started again, this time turning up the volume. He made the guitar squeal, working the strings until she was gyrating with the rhythm.
“Yeah…fuck yeah…”
He was off the stool, bowed back as he worked the instrument and made it perform. There was a glint in his eyes and a sensuous set to his jaw. She was pulsing, moving with the music, letting it inspire her.
“That fucking rocks.” Ramsey was suddenly there, pushing his way toward Syon, his own guitar in hand. “Cue it up again.”
Ramsey peered at the laptop screen before setting his fingers on the strings. He looked up at her and licked his lower lip.
But a moment later, he joined in, switching his attention to the screen to read the music. Syon took the lead, but Ramsey kept pace with him like they were part of the same being.
They reached the end of the song, and there was suddenly a round of squealing from behind her.
“This is so hot!”
“I want to party!”
Ramsey actually scowled at the two girls chugging beer near the doorway. “We’re working. You both gotta go.”
Taz and Drake were suddenly there, pushing the girls toward the door, their expressions serious.
“Hey, how come we can’t stay?”
“Why is she staying?”
Taz put them through the door and closed it firmly. He flipped the lock and walked over to look at the laptop. He started nodding his head as Drake unrolled a thick mat that was an electronic set of drums.
“Cue it up.”
She felt like a third wheel, suddenly unsure if she belonged. Syon looked up. “Dance again, baby.”
“Yeah,” Ramsey agreed.
The music started again, and she let her doubts dissipate with the beat. It was time to live in the moment.
And it was a fucking epic moment.
* * *
“You’re a goddess, Kate.”
The ache in her neck was suddenly worth it. Her fingers were swollen, and she had pricked several of them, but Syon was standing in front of the mirror in new pants. He turned and looked at his backside as Ramsey came out of the back bedroom.
“A fucking leather goddess!” Syon added.
“I would have bet on the sausage hound doing a better fit, but you smoked his ass,” Ramsey said as he joined Syon. “Must be all her personal knowledge of your person.”
“Which I don’t have of you,” Kate said.
“Not my fault.” Ramsey sent her wink.
There was a rap on the door, and Cid strode in. He swept them both up and down quickly. “About time those got done.”
Kate bristled. The road manager missed it because he had eyes only for Syon and Ramsey.
“Got a reporter down the hall who wants an interview.”
Syon nodded and started toward the door, but Cid put out a hand to stop him.
“Let’s talk about image.”
Ramsey turned to eye the road manager.
“No steady girlfriends. It cost me a fortune to get those pictures of you kissing her pulled.”
“Wait…you paid to have them pulled?” Kate asked.
Cid didn’t even glance her way. But Syon did. Kate turned away, feeling like a knife was buried in her chest.
Google it? What the fuck was that worth if Cid was going around paying the paparazzi off?
“Let’s give the fans the dream life. It doesn’t include playing house. Okay? Great.”
Cid carried on as though she wasn’t in the room and pulled open the door. There was a frenzy of people out in the hallway. The air of excitement was tangible as concert time drew closer. Crew members and entourage folk were waiting to fawn over Syon and Ramsey. They had their tablets out and security headphones on. A makeup artist even had a mobile box hanging off her hip from a cross-body shoulder strap. She eyed Syon and reached into her box to pull out a blending square.
“Go blow her skirt up,” Cid added as the crowd seemed to pull Syon and Ramsey into it. He followed them out, never giving her a second look.
Kate busied herself with putting away her tools.
But sh
e was pissed.
Liar.
Well, there was no way she was going to admit she was hurt.
Nope.
It still stung. She rolled up her tape measure and put it away, sweeping up some ends of thread from the surface of her worktable. Two more hides were set out, ones she’d decided would suit Drake and Taz well. But they didn’t call to her. She fiddled with her box of tools instead, trying to ignore what was chewing on her.
It was show night. The top floor of the hotel was teeming with an excitement that was tangible. The brigade of polo-shirt-wearing crew was in high gear as they set about making sure the next performance of Toxsin was spot-on.
She’d done her part, and it seemed that no one had any interest in her doing anything else. The hallways quieted down as more and more people left for the arena.
She twisted off the cap of a single-serve whiskey bottle from the minibar and realized she had never felt quite so lonely.
Or like Syon was so completely out of her reach.
She snorted at herself and tossed the contents of the bottle down the drain. New rule time, she decided. Rule number six. No pity parties. She nodded with satisfaction.
Now all she had to do was figure out how to stop breaking her own rules when it came to Syon.
* * *
“Brilliant again, mates!” Cid rolled into the backstage performers’ room, framed by two of his female employees. “All the chicks are tweeting about you. Ticket sales are popping as we speak.”
He extended his hand, and one of the girls laid his tablet into it. “Cid has more magic in store for the evening. First up is a club with an ice bar. I bet the manager you guys could raise the temperature.”
“I’m out,” Syon said, wiping away his makeup.
“We’ve been over this ground.”
Syon turned away from the dressing-room mirror. “No, we haven’t, but we will, just as soon as I straighten things out with Kate.”
“What are you talking about?”
Syon brushed by Cid. His passion was riding high. Not that it was unusual, but tonight he needed to take it to Kate. He was being drawn to her and didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thought about it. He wasn’t going to think too deeply on the subject.
Just act.
* * *
“You missed the show.”
Syon didn’t knock, but it was his suite too. His shirt was open, giving her a glimpse of his six-pack.
“You’re not working this time.”
Kate jumped, dropping her phone. Her cheeks heated as Syon picked it up and spied the game of Angry Birds she’d been using to distract herself.
“Not sure how it’s your business.”
He was still wearing the pants she’d made him, and she couldn’t help but admire them. But that set off another little jolt of pain. She’d put her heart into those pants, and he was…well…a dick.
“We’ve already established that Cid is an asshole, Kate. Don’t let him get between us.”
She propped her hand on her hip. “Your words are the ones coming between us. You told me to google you to see if you’ve been kissing other girls, but what is that worth if Cid is just buying off the paparazzi?”
“Not everyone has a price.”
Kate scoffed at him, feeling hollow. “You knew I wouldn’t find any pictures when I went looking, so what you used to establish trust with me is bull.”
“I knew you wouldn’t, because I haven’t kissed anyone else, baby.”
“Don’t call me baby,” she said. “You don’t get to call me that.”
A hard glint entered his eyes. “Yes I do.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not when your road manager is buying up pictures you challenge me to find. I thought you were being sincere.”
“You know what I am.”
He was moving closer, cornering her. She wanted to stand her ground, but her belly was twisting, making her tremble, and she moved away from him.
“What do you mean by that?” She tried to hold on to her pride. That potent sexuality of his was hitting her with gale-force winds. But she hated herself for being affected now. Hated herself for not having more self-worth.
“You have to decide to trust me.” He was almost in arm’s reach, his jaw tight as he held her gaze. “I told you I haven’t kissed another woman in two years. Either my word is good enough, or the problem we have has nothing to do with Cid. It’s a trust issue. You told me Conan was jerking my chain.”
She shuddered. The look in his eyes cut straight through her. “Yeah. I did.”
He captured her wrist, closing his fingers around it and pulling her against him. “Are you asking me to blow off appearances because you don’t trust me?”
“No.” She hated the way it made her feel just to hear him say that.
He tilted his head to the side and fitted his mouth against hers. For a moment, he thrust every thought out of her mind, licking and kissing her until she opened her mouth, desperate for a deeper connection. His scent was filling her senses, his chest hard beneath her fingertips, and all she wanted was to sink down into the vortex of sensation he created.
“Not yet.”
He’d pulled away, holding her back when she would have followed him.
He spun her loose and pointed her toward the closet. “Get dressed.”
“For what?”
“I’ve got to work, and you have a point to make.” He nodded. “Something hot. To defend your turf.”
Understanding dawned on her. “You must have pissed Cid off by coming back here.”
“Happy?” There was a trace of bitterness in his tone that grated.
She shook her head. “I’m happy you’re here, not that you left before dealing with business.”
He didn’t believe her. He crossed his arms over his chest, retreating behind a hard expression.
She wasn’t taking it.
“Trust is a two-way street, Syon,” she said. “Either you get that I’m not jumping you for your status, or don’t get on my case about taking your word on the pictures.”
He pushed out his jaw, but she refused to move. It was far more serious than she’d ever imagined she might be with him. Part of her was stuck in a moment of disbelief to find herself actually there.
Was she having a relationship?
Because it sure felt like it.
And that scared her.
“I’m here because I couldn’t blow you off, Kate.”
Oh shit. She was getting into a relationship.
“It scares me too.”
He was reading the emotions on her face.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be…well…” She had no clue what she really wanted to say. Syon opened his arms and came toward her. He slid his hand along her cheek, sending little ripples of delight through her. Only these ripples touched her heart. It was more than sexual pleasure; this was heart deep.
“I didn’t mean to get involved either.”
“Yeah.”
It was a simple reply, but one that fit. His eyes were full of need, the need to be understood. She slowly smiled.
“I’ll get dressed.”
His expression became sensual. She backed up, her hips swaying. “Sit right over there”—she pointed at a chair—“and wait for me. Or we won’t be going anywhere.”
Ordering him around gave her a heady sensation, but the wolfish smile he flashed her made her shiver.
Oh yeah.
The guy made her shiver.
And she’d so gotten in over her head.
* * *
“Kate!”
Ramsey called out to her over the mass of bodies on the dance floor. He was wearing only a leather vest with his pants, the front of it open to show off his pierced nipple with its stud bar.
“I love what you do when you get in my pants!”
The girls rubbing against him reacted instantly. Some of them laughed; others shot her dagger looks as they made it clear the singer was theirs. He pulled
one closer by her hips, leaning down to whisper something in her ear. It was a sensual picture. One that sent a zip of heat through her, if she were honest enough to admit it.
“Like I said, Rams is a cat. He likes to prowl.”
Syon turned her around and caught her up against him. People were crowding close, the loud music sinking into them until the only thing to do was move to the beat.
“Let him. It’s fun to watch,” she said.
Syon’s expression turned sensual. He cupped her cheeks, moving her backward into the mass of dancing bodies; the situation had a vibe that was slightly savage. There was a glint in his eyes that told her he wanted to put her on display. A bolt of awareness shot through her, unleashing a wildness she’d never found the right place to let loose before.
“He’s watching you now.”
Sensation prickled on her nape. They were surrounded by a crowd of sweating people, more skin on display than anything else.
But she could have sworn she felt Ramsey watching her exclusively.
“Do you like it when he watches me?”
It was a horrible thing to say. A nasty thing. Something polite people didn’t say.
But so true, so freeing to say.
And she wasn’t interested in hiding behind the facade of correctness.
Syon leaned over, his breath hitting her ear as he used his bigger body to dance her back another few steps. Her insides were tightening with anticipation, waiting for that first contact with Ramsey.
“Yeah. I like it when he watches you,” Syon rasped against her neck before he raised his head and captured her gaze. “I like watching you getting turned on by the idea.”
The music was pounding around them, the dance floor crowded. It was Syon’s beat too. She lifted her head, raising her arms up to dance, working her hips in a rhythm that was deeply intimate. He pushed the mass back, keeping a spot open for her. Somehow, he had a drink in his hand, and he took a long sip and leaned down to transfer some of it into her mouth. There was the tangy taste of dirty martini and the bite of the alcohol. It stung just the right amount as Syon kissed his way across her jaw before delivering a bite to her neck.
She purred, the sound more of a warning than a response. Prowling felt just about perfect. She caught his earlobe between her teeth, biting into it just enough to make sure he felt her strength.
