He grunted.
Her flapping hand paused a moment, resumed. “So you’re mad at me, huh? Lex and I are square now.”
“She’s a soft touch.”
“Yeah,” Drea agreed. “Too good for her own good.”
It was why he would never see her again. Being with her made him a consumer of her goodness. A taker of her wholesome decency. With her he was the same old Bing Maddox who’d fucked and used his way through his teenage years, never given anything clean and respectable back to anyone.
Drea glanced at him. “All that virtue—it’s pretty sick, you know?”
Frowning, he stared at her. “Gee, you’re loyal. Oh, that’s right, you’re nothing of the kind.”
“I’m just saying she could use a little something different in her life. Something to spice it up. Someone to keep her on her toes and prevent her from devoting herself to being the family martyr.”
“I don’t think we should talk anymore.”
She ignored the comment. “I suppose that someone won’t be you.”
“We’re not, you know, a long-term thing.”
“Yeah. She’ll probably become a spinster. Spend her life taking care of everyone else instead of focusing on what makes her and her man happy.”
He wanted Drea to go away. “Yeah, well—”
“Here’s how you’ll know I’m right. Watch what she does. The party will be in full swing and she’ll be finding someone’s purse so they can take their blood pressure medicine. At the end of the night, she’ll be the one tracking down Zia Olga’s sweater and baby Abby’s teddy bear. She won’t be the one leaping for the bouquet, she’ll be too busy finding more forks for the wedding cake.”
What a piece of work, Bing thought. “I’m out of here.”
She caught his arm. “Hey, I get it. You don’t want to stick around with someone as dull as Lex. I bet she’s boring in bed. I bet no man will ever love her.”
“God, you’re wrong,” Bing spit out, goaded. “She’s got more passion in her little finger than any woman I’ve had in my life. As to no man ever loving her—well, to hell with you, because I do.”
Shit. Shit.
Pain shot through his head, knifed straight to his heart. “Wait… I—” He wanted to take it back, but that would make him a liar, too.
Of course he was in love with Alexa. Of course.
He almost laughed, because didn’t that just cap off his day, his week, his whole stinkin’ life? Bing Maddox, in love, but unable to do a damn thing about it because no way was he willing to besmirch the beautiful woman who lived next door.
Finally, after all these years, he was being punished for his sins.
*
Alexa had her wedding date by her side. Escort. The man who’d been distant since the instant she’d been doused with glitter, had now reappeared and was sticking close. Hovering. It was easier to breathe when he was farther away, the pain of loving him but knowing she’d never have him not quite so sharp.
She slid him a sidelong look as she cradled her nine-month-old second cousin. On her feet, she swayed, transferring weight from citrine pump to citrine pump keeping the beat of Train’s “Marry Me,” which was one of her favorite wedding songs. Good choice, DJ. “Did you need something?” she asked Bing.
His expression was…odd. His blue eyes followed her every movement. Heat skittered over her skin. “You should be dancing,” he said.
Her brows rose. “Are you asking?”
His body tensed and his gaze jumped to the baby. “Why don’t I take him to his parents? There’s plenty of partners for you out on the floor.”
“Never mind.” She nodded toward the baby’s mom and dad, locked in each other’s arms nearby. Sweet. “I’ve got this. Ronnie and Derek deserve a break.”
His brows slammed together. “Lex—”
“I could use a glass of water, though,” she said. Anything to get rid of him.
“Not champagne? Something stronger? It’s a celebration.”
“Champagne gives me a headache. I’m afraid I’m not the best of celebrants.” She shrugged. “But then, when have I ever been a party girl?”
Muttering under his breath, he stalked off. Alexa refused to keep watching, and focused her attention on baby. “We’ll be okay,” she whispered into his tiny ear. “Heartache can’t last forever, right?”
The cake was cut right after the song ended. Drea had gone traditional, a tiered monstrosity that Alexa loved. There’d been an argument about what kind of topper. It had been her idea to nestle a tiny bunch of flowers on the smallest, top layer, their grandfather’s wedding ring binding the short stems.
Nona cried when it was wheeled out.
Everybody who witnessed her tears did too.
Alexa knuckled away an errant drop as she moved to find a full carafe of coffee. There were empty cups at her parents’ table. Her fingers were wrapped around the handle when she turned to find the wall of Bing’s chest. He looked as good dressed in a suit as he did dressed in nothing. Heartache can’t last forever. She forced her gaze to his.
“Eat cake,” he said. He had a plate in his hand, a slice of the chocolate mousse layer front-and-center.
“In a minute.” She lifted the coffee. “I have a task.”
His face lowered to hers as he took the carafe from her hand. “You have a different kind of job to do, damn it. Enjoy yourself.”
Once again, she didn’t watch him walk away. Maybe he’d spill the coffee. Maybe he’d leave. There was no doubt he was moving out of her life. At the front of the room, Drea was delicately dabbing icing off the corners of her mouth. She looked so gorgeous. Then her gaze met Alexa’s and her mouth moved into a smug line.
Her cousin was up to something.
She spoke to Drea with big eyes. What?
The bride blew her a kiss. Just wait, she mouthed.
The cake was perfect, the layer moist, the filling fluffy. She licked the tines of her fork and felt her scalp prickle. Her head lifted to find Bing standing several tables away, his eyes on her. Their gazes entwined, and she gave in to impulse and deliberately stuck out her tongue to give the utensil another lascivious swipe.
His blue eyes turned so hot she jolted back and spun away from him. I’ll just check in with the bride, she thought, scurrying toward the front of the room. As she approached the head table, the DJ stepped up to the mic and announced it was time to throw the bouquet.
Ugh. Alexa grabbed a chair to halt her forward movement. It was the moment she dreaded. Not only was it a stupid tradition, but under the circumstances it would only be more humiliating to step up as one of the gaggle of wanna-be brides. To give her credit, Drea had wanted to skip the custom altogether, but all the little girl- and tween-age Alessio relatives had begged for it.
With that many eager females, surely no one would notice she’d slipped away.
Avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes, she ducked out French doors to a barely lit, thankfully empty terrace. She leaned against the wall, still warm from the afternoon sun, and breathed in the cool night air. It wouldn’t be long now, she supposed, her mood dipping lower. Less than an hour and they could leave.
Bing’s duty done.
As she thought his name, the door opened and he stepped out.
Damn, Alexa thought.
His gaze instantly found her, even though she’d tried to disappear into the stucco. “What are you doing out here, Lex?”
What business was it of his? And she certainly wasn’t going to admit the truth and say she was wallowing in self-pity. “I’m, uh, out here looking for something,” she lied.
He rubbed at his forehead, as if he was in pain. “A sweater? Blood pressure medication? Forks for the cake?”
She had no idea what he was talking about, but she’d play the game. “The baby dropped a rattle.”
He groaned. “Fuck,” he said. “Fuck.”
Alarmed, she stepped forward to place her hand on his arm. “What’s the matter?”
&nb
sp; “I’m a bad guy, Lex,” he said, shaking off her touch.
She’d heard that before and yet another iteration of it didn’t sit well with her, not at all. Not now. Not tonight. “Yeah, such a bad guy that you stop to repair Mrs. Roth’s mailbox. So terrible that you find a way to shore up our neighbor Marty’s self-confidence. So depraved that you volunteer to bring Zia Olga to the wedding.”
“Remind me to talk to you about depraved Zia Olga,” he muttered.
Her hands slammed to her hips. “Don’t try to distract me, Bing. I’m so done with you thinking you have nothing good to offer anyone. You know how you’ve made me feel. You know the connections you’re forming with your family. That’s what you have in you, not just those old memories and past mistakes you think are all yours.”
“Alexa—”
“Let me finish,” she said, pointing both forefingers at him. This time she embraced her dramatic Italian. “I can’t make you care for me—”
“Look, I care—”
“You look!” There were tears stinging the back of her eyes, but she wasn’t going to give in to them. “Maybe I can’t make you care for me, but I can wish you’d find your way to loving some woman, some day. So, do me a favor and try being open to that, okay? Do that one, good deed for me.”
“Hell.” He wiped a hand over his face.
Her throat was tight and those tears were a hot, unrelenting pressure. Aware the dam was about to break she had to put distance between them. “Now I’ve got to get inside and gather up the wedding gifts.”
“Gather wedding gifts.” He groaned again, and as she made to move past, he grabbed her arm. “That’s it,” he ground out. “The last straw. I’ve never been noble so I don’t know why the hell I thought I could start now.”
She quivered in his hold. “Let me go, Bing.”
He shook his head. “Never.”
The new note in his voice made her still. Her voice quavered. “What?”
“This is exactly how bad I am, Alexa. I’m going to take you, have you, love you and never stop. Never let go.”
Her heavy heartbeat was interfering with her hearing. “What?” she said again.
“I love you, Lex.”
She blinked. “Is this…is this because you feel sorry for me?”
“God, no.” He let out a rough laugh. “I envy you, Alexa. You have so much, and so much going for you. And I’m holding on tight because I need you. I need all your sweetness and all your sunshine.”
Ren’s words floated through her mind. You might very well be the sunshine Bing needs. But don’t let it be one-sided. He’s got to give you something back that shines as bright.
She studied his face, seeing the truth of his words in the intent expression on his face. Then it softened and he leaned to touch his forehead to hers. “I’m in love with you, Alexa,” he whispered.
Right now, though dark surrounded them, it felt like noon.
“I was going to save all my optimism for Cilla and Ren,” he continued in that low voice, gathering her closer. “They were going to get all the hope I had that a couple of us could manage to make a happy-ever-after.”
She clutched the lapels of his coat. “But now?”
“But now I’m going to find some more. As much as we need.”
High noon.
“Because if I can imagine a home, then build it, I sure as hell can do the same for our life together. Our good, happy life together.”
High noon on the summer solstice.
If he believed in love, in them, in what they would be together and to each other, then the sun would never set.
“I’m going to make you happy,” he said. Then his mouth crashed down on hers and the kiss went from promise to passionate in three heartbeats.
Feel to the marrow.
Alexa pressed close, going on tiptoe to get as near to him as possible. His heart was pounding like a kick drum against hers. Dizzy with pleasure and the thrill of getting her dream, at first she didn’t notice his wandering hand.
But when it breached the elastic of her panties, she woke up to the fact that he’d slipped it beneath her dress. Wrenching her mouth from his, she whispered, “Bing.” It came out more a plea than a scold.
“Already wet,” he said, wicked satisfaction in his voice as the tip of one long finger teased her opening.
“We can’t do this here,” she said, both frantic and desperately stirred-up. “Someone might come out. Really—”
And then that finger slid inside her, pumping in leisurely thrusts. “Oh, God,” she moaned.
“I’m always going to muss you a little, baby.” He tucked his face against her neck. “Make you a little dirty. Make you a little bad. You get that, right?”
She clung to his shoulders and pressed her cheek to his coat as she writhed on his finger, then a second one. When it came to him, she had no defenses. The passion he aroused in her demolished every inhibition. “O-Okay.”
He laughed, the wicked sound that made her melt. “Will you marry me, Alexa?”
Her head shot up and she looked at him through lust-hazed eyes. “Really? You’re asking me now? Like this?”
“It fits. Because that’s how we are together, baby. Good things with delicious sin on the side.”
And because it was all she’d ever wanted, because he was all she’d ever wanted, she leaned into him, surrendering to his touch. But uncertainty remained in his eyes. She could see he still wasn’t sure of her, with that question of his hanging in the air. It was…sweet, amazing. A vulnerability that he’d never before divulged. Her heart melted and she curled one hand around his head and brought his mouth to hers. “Yes,” she said against it. “Yes to good things and delicious sin on the side. Yes to you. Yes to us for the rest of our lives.”
Love like there’s no tomorrow.
Except there would be tomorrows, Alexa was sure of it, thousands and thousands of days bright with sunshine and nights as dark and exciting as the man in her arms.
When we rock princes stop fighting so hard, we make fucking great lovers.
She was counting on it.
The End
Dear Reader:
I hope you enjoyed the second book in my brand new Rock Royalty series! The good girl and the sinner found their way to love, though the road was a little rocky and certainly a lot sexy! While Alexa had to let go of her inhibitions, Bing was holding himself back too…but weddings have a way of waking up the romantic in all of us. You’ll see more of them in upcoming books as each rock prince and princess find an unexpected happy-ever-after.
Interested in sharing your thoughts with other readers? I hope you leave a review for the book.
The next in the series, Break on Through, stars horror novelist Reed Hopkins and the pesky woman who keeps disturbing his solitude by bringing him casseroles and dreams of what he’s sure can’t be. To not miss out on its release and to get other information about upcoming books, sign up for my newsletter. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or visit my website.
Below, find excerpts to a few of my other titles and links to buy books you may have missed.
Enjoy!
Christie Ridgway
Excerpt: Light My Fire
Rock Royalty #1
Christie Ridgway
The children of America's premier rock band learned early to sleep through anything. Late night jam sessions, liquor (and worse) -fueled arguments, raucous parties raging from dark to dawn that were peppered with wild laughter, breaking glass, and the squishy thud of fists against skin. At twenty-four, Cilla Maddox had not lost that skill, though she'd recently come to view it as something less than a gift.
Still, she didn't stir from her curled position on the edge of the king-sized bed when a tall, broad figure entered the room in the middle of the night. No streetlights disturbed the darkness this deep in Laurel Canyon and the newcomer found the bed only by deduction. When, at his sixth cautious step, his shin met an immoveable object, he dropped the motorcycle
boots and duffel bag he carried to the plush carpet and took a leap of faith by tipping his long body forward. Finding firm mattress and feathery pillow, he instantly fell into sleep.
Hours later, Cilla came awake to the sound of birds tweeting and chirping their odes to another Southern California morning as they flitted through the shrubbery and tall eucalyptus trees that grew inside and outside the canyon compound where she'd grown up. Eyes closed, she breathed in the country-scented air, such a surprise when the famous Hollywood Boulevard and its twin in notoriety, the Sunset Strip, were less than a mile away. Flopping to her back, she stretched to her full five-feet, five inches. Then she pushed her arms overhead and swept them back down until her fingertips met—
Something solid. Warm. Alive.
On a gasp, her eyes flew open and her head whipped right. She yanked her hand from a man's heavy shoulder to press it against her thrashing heart.
As it continued to beat wildly against her ribs, she stared at her bedmate. Though his body was plastered to the mattress belly-down, his face was turned toward hers and it only took another instant to realize he was no stranger. But recognition didn't calm the overactive organ in her chest that continued sending blood sprinting through her body.
She blinked, just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. They apparently had told the truth, she decided. After years of adolescent fantasies, she was actually sharing a bed with him. With Renford Colson.
No mistake, it was her teenage fantasy man. His glossy black hair that tangled nearly to his shoulders. His days'-old stubble of beard that made his mouth look softer, fuller, more kissable if that was even possible. Those were his spiky lashes resting against his sharp-angled face.
Yet...was he really here? To make herself believe it, she mouthed his name. Ren.
As if he heard the silent syllable, his eyes flipped open.
She started, their distinctive color—a silvered green, just like eucalyptus leaves—jolting her to the marrow.
Love Her Madly Page 22
