Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology

by Anthony, Jane

  A ragged breath ripped from my lungs as I clung to him, meeting him thrust for thrust until I exploded around him. As I rode out the crest of my release he joined me, his muscles taut, both of us suspended in that incredible drawn out moment I wish could go on forever. He cradled me against him until the last aftershocks subsided.

  Completely spent, I let out a long, slow breath. “That was phenomenal.”

  He nodded his head against my shoulder. “It was.”

  Then he lifted his head and kissed his way down my body, between my breasts, and over my navel.

  “What are you doing?” I cupped his chin, lifting his head, meeting his gaze.

  “I bet I could make it so you wouldn’t be able to walk for days. That’s one bet I’m sure as hell not going to lose.”

  “Well then, by all means, get to it, will you?”

  So he did.

  The End

  Continue the Lovebird Café Series in book one, Sweet Tea & Second Chances.

  www.DylannCrush.com/Books/Lovebird-Cafe-Series

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  About the Author

  Dylann Crush writes contemporary romance with sizzle and sass. A romantic at heart, she loves her heroines spunky and her heroes super sexy. When she’s not dreaming up steamy storylines, she can be found sipping a margarita and searching for the best Tex-Mex food in Minnesota.

  Although she grew up in Texas, she currently lives in a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul with her unflappable husband, three energetic kids, a clumsy Great Dane, a rescue mutt, and a very chill cat. She loves to connect with readers, other authors and fans of tequila.

  Read More from Dylann Crush

  http://www.DylannCrush.com

  Duet

  Emily Robertson

  Duet © 2019 Emily Robertson

  * * *

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  Duet

  Has their journey come to an end?

  * * *

  Dani King was a small-town girl and if she didn’t have bad luck, she wouldn’t have any luck at all. She thought her luck was changing when Nate Larson, lead singer for Innominate, stole her heart and showed her that she didn’t have to do it alone.

  * * *

  While her life had never been a love song, Dani is facing the fight of her life. When she starts building up the walls around her heart again, Nate is there pulling them away one brick at a time. If she can’t let her guard down and accept his help, their journey might come to an end. Has this duet hit a sour note or can their song continue?

  1

  The guys of Innominate are out on tour, and the fans are loving it! We asked KT Parker how the Dive Bar Tour came about, and this is what he had to say. “Like all our good ideas, it happened while there was food involved. We all needed to slow down, and this has been the perfect opportunity. Not only can we still get out there on the road, but we get to enjoy our fans in a more intimate setting.” The guys may play in smaller venues, but everyone agrees, it’s their best show yet.

  * * *

  “Am I gonna have to kick your ass?”

  Nate groaned at Austin’s threat. Hadn’t they gotten past this? “What’d I do this time?”

  “My sister’s miserable. This tour is not good for her.”

  “She’s hanging in there the same as your wife, so it’s news to me. And let’s be honest. I love your sister, but she’s prickly. She’s always in a mood. There’s no way you can say she’s miserable because it might just be her sunny personality.”

  “Are you saying my sister’s moody?”

  “That’s not what I meant. All I’m saying is she’s got a personality that’s hard to decipher. She could be pissed at the world or on cloud nine and she’d act the same, especially if she thinks you’re butting into her business.”

  Austin’s hands balled into fists at his side. “You’re getting mouthy. Being with her has made you a little too confident.”

  “It’s made you a little bitchy too,” Nate said under his breath.

  “What was that?” Austin asked as he got up in Nate’s face.

  “Hey, children, let’s all play nicely,” KT said coming over beside them and trying to make sure a fight didn’t break out before they went on stage. Because that would look great. Nate didn’t want to fight with Austin anyway. He liked Dani and her family, at least most of the time.

  There came a time on every tour when things started to get to all of them. They’d reached that point. Nate had been on tour with Austin, KT, and Wil for over a month now, and they still had another couple of weeks left. Their band, Innominate, had been going cross country, hitting up bars and clubs and playing in city after city. It was a far cry from the stadiums they’d been playing but a welcome change. The fans were eating it up, and slowing the shows down had been a good call.

  “Nothing,” Nate said backing down from the confrontation.

  “Sorry, man,” Austin told him, holding out his fist. Nate tapped it.

  “It’s fine. We’re all a little on edge. Thanks for keeping an eye out for Dani, but she’s fine. Promise.”

  Austin nodded and headed for the corner of the room. They all had things they did to get ready for a show. Austin usually zoned out with his headphones, KT liked to kick a soccer ball around with Wil, and Nate, well, he tried to spend his time reading. Half an hour before the show started, they’d all get together and kick around a hacky sack or ball, but the venue change made it hard.

  Wil had had the brilliant idea to go back to their beginnings and play in bars again instead of stadiums. It gave them the ability to slow down, travel less, and get up close with their fans again. With most of them in serious relationships now, this slowdown had gone a long way to keep them motivated to stick with it.

  Nate loved the guys and the band they had put together, but the draw to put it behind him and live his life with Dani and her daughter Reece called to him just as strongly.

  “We’re on in twenty, guys,” their production manager called to them. Everyone stopped what they were doing and met in the middle of the room.

  “Guys, there was some excitement earlier, and for my part, I’m sorry.” Nate looked each of the guys in the eye as he talked. “Let’s put it behind us and go out and kill this show. Duke told me the cops had to show up early this afternoon because the lines had gotten so long. So, let’s enjoy ourselves and put on a kick-ass show. Anyone have anything to say?”

  “Yeah,” Austin said. “I wasn’t with you back in those days, when you played these venues, but thanks for taking a chance on me even though I can be a pain in the ass. It’s been real.”

  “Why does it feel like we’re breaking up?” Wil asked. “We’re not, right? You’d tell me if we were calling it quits?”

  “I wanted to slow down, but I’m not ready to be finished,” Austin said.

  “I’m cool with the way things are,” KT added.

  Wil blew out a breath, and Nate felt a sense of relief too. When Austin had come to them saying something had to give or he needed to call it quits, they’d worked hard to change things up and make it work. KT had been traveling with Megan more now that they
were together, and Nate didn’t stay in LA much anymore. When Dani finally let down her defenses and opened up to the idea of them together, it had changed how he looked at his band life too. Thankfully everyone was on the same page. They’d keep putting albums out as long as it worked for all of them.

  “It’s time, gentlemen,” the manager called.

  “Break a leg,” Wil said as they headed for the door.

  “We’re going to slow things down a bit,” Nate told the crowd that had packed themselves into the tiny bar. It seemed like a lifetime ago he and the guys had played sets in bars like this one, praying someone would be there to listen.

  As the chords to their new hit “Fallen” started to play, Nate tried to clear his mind. The fans deserved his everything, and he would stop at nothing to give them that. They all realized they wouldn’t be here if the fans went away.

  When he and Wil had started their band, Innominate, back in high school, he always dreamed he’d make it this far. At first things were slow. Not many people wanted to talk to a guy from Chicago and the guys he had put together. But everything had changed since those days. Two of the members of the original band weren’t with them anymore. The first casualty had happened before they’d even gained any traction. That’s when the group found KT.

  KT had been working in Vegas as a stripper. Nate had gone to the show on the strip with a group of friends, and when he heard KT sing on stage, the rest you could say was history.

  Austin came around later. Innominate had just had a falling out with JoJo, and it had been a dark time for the group. Nate didn’t know if there would even be a group after that split. The press was bad, and the things that had happened in the wake of the split put a damper on everything.

  Austin was the ray of light that brought them all back to the stage. He’d been on Supernova, a singing talent show, and had lost. Nate couldn’t imagine what they were thinking by overlooking him, but it worked out for the band. After Austin’s obligations ended with Supernova, he stepped into his place in the band.

  Nate loved the stage, loved the rush of being up in front of the crowd, and was so grateful he’d been able to do it as long as he had. As Austin sang about falling for his one and only, Nate watched the crowd sway in time to the music, singing along with them. Girls had their phones out recording, taking pictures, and some were crying. He’d never get used to that. To him, they were ordinary guys—ordinary guys who played shows to sold-out stadiums and for this tour, bars.

  As the song came to an end, the fans erupted. The fan’s screaming filled the room, and he figured there hadn’t been noise like that in the bar for a long time. The place might be called Rowdy’s, but it was anything but. The last time they’d been there, at the start of their career, they’d had maybe fifty people show up. They didn’t typically play in country bars, but Duke, the owner, had a daughter, and she loved the band. In fact, Shawna was front and center just like she had been all those years ago when they’d come through the first time.

  “I love you, Austin!” a girl yelled from the back, as the crowd began to calm.

  Austin looked up from the floor and smiled. “Back at ya.”

  By the time Nate made it back to his hotel room that night and got a shower, he was beat. They might not be doing the heavy dance shows, but being on stage for hours always wore him out. The nights put a strain not only on his body but also his voice. He pulled out his phone and shot off a text.

  Nate: Just got out of the shower. Didn’t want to call and wake Reece. Hope you had a good day.

  Dani went to bed early, so he wasn’t expecting a response. He put his phone on the nightstand and shut his eyes. He would rest easy knowing that the tour would be finished in a few weeks and he’d be home with his girlfriend and her child who had come to mean the world to him.

  2

  @TheWilHarris: Can’t wait for our next show? Check out this video of me and the guys singing on the bus. #latenightjams

  * * *

  “Where we goin', Momma?” Reece asked as she bounced in her seat.

  Dani looked around the airplane worried that someone would be frustrated at the noise. Shoot, she was frustrated with her excited toddler at the moment. Dani and Reece usually got up early, Dani earlier than Reece. Dani manned the day shift at the daycare she helped run with her friend. That didn’t mean she liked it, though. In fact, most mornings she grumbled around and could be a bear until several hours into her shift. Thankfully she worked with infants, and they were very forgiving.

  “Momma?”

  “Hey,” she told her daughter in a hushed voice, “these people are trying to have a relaxing flight. We need to let them.”

  “We goin’ to the water?”

  She’d blame that on her brother Austin. When Austin got famous, his high school sweetheart, Shelby, had trouble handling the fame. They broke up and Austin couldn’t stand coming home. That’s when he started paying for expensive vacations so the family had time together. Now her daughter associated any trip with a big to-do.

  After a tornado had destroyed their hometown in Nebraska, Austin finally came home, and he and Shelby found their way back to each other. Those events brought Nate into her life. He had been around before, but not in the relationship kind of way he was now. He’d always been someone Dani respected, someone who had her brother’s back. It had taken time, but things shifted between them, and even though she had fought hard, Nate won her heart.

  Dani dug through her purse until she found her phone. Then she helped Reece find a game to play to pass the time. She wouldn’t tell her little girl the plane was taking them to see Nate. If she let that slip, the whole plane would be woken up from her fussing. Reece loved Nate, and it melted Dani’s heart to see them together, especially after she thought she’d always be alone.

  Finding out about her pregnancy, and then Reece’s dad dying suddenly, she was sure no man would want her. Yes, it was dramatic, but when you’re nineteen and having a baby on your own, it happens. Then when Ron and Georgia came into her life, she made a promise to herself to stay single. She couldn’t risk getting involved with anyone, especially someone like Nate.

  As the plane began its descent, Reece fell asleep. Figured. That’s how it always happened. Ohio wasn’t on the top of her list of places to visit, but if it got her a night with Nate, she’d go anywhere. And yes, they’d only have one night. They’d already been in Cincinnati for two nights and would be moving on the next day. It’s not like she had vacation days to use either. A day meant everything, even if it would be too short.

  “Hey, Reecie, we’re here,” Dani whispered.

  Her luck would have it that her brick of a child wouldn’t want to wake up when she had left the stroller at home. Why bring it for only one night? There didn’t seem to be a point.

  Dani scooped Reece up and shifted her around until she got her in place and realized she’d miscalculated the whole thing.

  “Crap.”

  “Need a hand?”

  Dani looked at the businessman, decked out in an expensive suit, and shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine.”

  “No doubt you will. You’ve had her under control the whole flight. My guess is you’ve got it handled, but I can grab a bag or something, at least until you get her to a stroller.”

  Dani wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t bring one. She’s a pro at flying, and I figured she’d be fine without it. Joke’s on me.”

  “Then I insist.”

  There was no way she would make it to baggage claim without help, so instead of protesting more, she gave in and accepted his help. “All right. I appreciate it.”

  “I’m Chuck. I see that look on your face. Yeah it’s a weird name. My parents were old fashioned,” he said with a smile.

  “Is it short for something?”

  “Charles.”

  “And you went with Chuck? There are other nicknames you can use with Charles. Charley is a lot better than Chuck.”

  “What’s wrong with Chuck?�
��

  “Besides the fact when someone says it, it reminds them of someone throwing up?”

  Chuck’s smile showed that he didn’t take offense. “Ouch. I suppose you have a perfectly lovely name.”

  “Dani.”

  “So the girl with the boy’s name is teasing me about my horrible sounding nickname. Interesting.”

  “The difference is that girls with boys’ names sound edgy and cool. Yours just sounds like you need to see a doctor.”

  “Haven’t you ever heard, ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’?”

  “I like to live dangerously.”

  Chuck smiled down at her. “I’d love to get your number.”

  A wave of guilt washed over her. Turning away from him, she buried her face in Reece’s hair and tried to ground herself. She wondered if she’d been inappropriate.

  “Hey,” Chuck said as he put a hand on her shoulder. “Everything okay?”

  Blowing out a breath, she turned and looked up at him. “Yeah, sorry. I’m flattered, but I’m in a relationship.”

  “I didn’t see a ring, so I assumed.”

  She smirked. “You know what they say about assuming.”

  “It’s true.”

  “Oh, that’s me,” Dani said as she made her way to the baggage claim belt to grab the suitcase.

  “This one?” Chuck asked.

  “Yeah.”