Breaking A Bad Boy

by Susan Arden

  “Better make it a good one,” Rory said, keeping himself in check, until Jen laid her palm on the side of his ribcage. Without thinking twice, he removed her hand. “Don’t do that.”

  “I get more than a word, don’t I boys?” Jen snickered. “For the record, I’d love to take both of you on. McLemore brothers. Call me, if either one of you finds a pair of stones.”

  CHAPTER 10

  “MAN, WHEN DID YOU grow up?” Haden asked Sommer, right before he pulled her into a hug. “Turn around and everyone in this town is moving or married. What’s going on in your world?”

  Sommer was engulfed in a tight bear hug from Haden. They were standing next to one of the stage speakers as a troupe of roadies carried equipment and completed sound checks. From within Haden’s hug, she watched as Drew disappeared into the crowd. She didn’t focus on him, but did notice that Ivy had Vince hanging on her before he kissed her, then shook hands with those around him. When Haden released her, she stumbled back until Gillian steadied her.

  Sommer replied, “A short story. Not much. Trying to figure out what to do besides tattoos.”

  Haden cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled toward a man pumping a foot pedal. “Kyle, toss me a shirt.”

  “Here,” Haden said, plucking a wad of black material as it sailed through the air and handed her the T-shirt. “Gill tells me you can take a shirt and really make something out of it. Like what you’re wearing?”

  “Yup. Well, kinda. I do that when I’m not busy,” she said. “And you? Your band is rocketing up the charts. Your songs are played all over. What’s that like?”

  “Hell. Crazy. Not that I’m complaining,” Haden said, and coughed. “The AC in the bus is the hardest. Cold as a mother. And then there’s the food, but those things are minor. We got gigs, so it’s all good.” He smiled over to Gillian and ruffled his sister’s hair. “And I’m an uncle now.”

  “When are you coming to see your niece?” Gill asked, turning serious. “You won’t be back for a long while.”

  “Tomorrow morning too soon?” He laughed, throwing his arm around his sister’s shoulder. “Got a gift for Chelsea.”

  “Really?” Gill asked.

  “Playing it tonight,” he said. “Our newest song. Chelsea. Final song of the set.”

  “Aww, Haden!” Gill cried out.

  Sommer grinned and glanced back over at Rory. Jen was over there, laughing, and had her hands on Rory. Suddenly that warm and cozy feeling fled the vicinity of Sommer’s brain, leaving a very bad taste in her mouth.

  What the effing hell was going on? The hairs all over Sommer’s body stood up like sentries alerted to danger. A buzzing rush assaulted her bloodstream, and she fought the urge to storm across the grass and forcefully remove Jen’s hands from Rory’s body.

  The conversation between Gillian and Haden receded, as did the movement and people around her. She stared at Rory, tilted her head and couldn’t tell if Stephen was around—but there was Mike. What a cozy little group.

  “Sommer?” Gillian was speaking to her and she forced herself to stop jeering across the lawn. Forced her mind to stop swinging like wrecking ball in need of a target.

  She had to contain the flames, threatening to spew up her throat. Clenching her jaw, she shifted her gaze back to Haden and Gill. “Oh, sorry. It was really great seeing you and thanks for the shirt,” she said thickly, robotically waving a goodbye to Haden.

  “Take a photograph of what you do with it and IM me. We’ll post your fashion creation on our band’s page.”

  “Sounds awesome,” she said and turned slightly, batting away the end of her ponytail that felt like it was strangling her neck.

  “Wait a second,” Haden said, and pulled on Gillian’s elbow. He tapped her shoulder. “When did you get that?”

  “Last summer, and I didn’t exactly publicize it.” Gillian laughed, tracing her fingers along the edge of her tattoo of Terpsichore, spanning the back of her bicep.

  “This your work?” Haden asked her.

  “I told you she’s really good,” Gill added.

  He stroked his hand over goatee. “Serious stuff. Definitely keep in touch, Sommer.”

  “Haden, two minutes.” One of the roadies called out.

  “Gotta go.” He nodded, leaning over and hugging Gillian. “Later, Sis.”

  She and Gillian started to walk away from the stage. “You look like you’re ready to murder someone,” Gill remarked.

  “I am,” she huffed. “A backstabbing friend.”

  “Sommer. Hold up!” She turned, about to spew fire if Jen was there. But thank goodness only Ivy skittered over. “I’m leaving tomorrow, but I’ll be back. Soon, I mean. A couple of weeks after touring with Hellhound. No way to refuse Vince.”

  “No I guess not. You too look super happy together,” Sommer replied, silencing her mental rant of wanting to slap some sense into Jen. Diehard’s music surrounded them, making it hard to hear. Harder to think.

  “So cool,” Gill gasped. “So you’ll be touring with Haden.”

  Ivy nodded. “Yep. Just picking up and leaving for L.A. tomorrow. What the holy heck…I never expected this, but that doesn’t mean a thing.”

  “I just can’t believe this is happening so fast. We can still talk…text. Let me know how things go. What it’s like out west. Oh Christ.” Tears welled in Sommer’s eyes. She stepped closer to Ivy, throwing open her arms. “Take care of yourself.”

  “Of course, I’ll stay in touch,” Ivy said, falling into her embrace. “Don’t get down. And don’t let Jen drag you into her nonsense. She’s just plain jealous, but she’ll get over it.”

  “Hope you’re right. ‘Cause how she’s acting…ain’t no way right.” With her chest tighter than a drum, she released Ivy.

  Ivy nodded. “I know. She’s got her issues when it comes to guys.”

  “Don’t we all. Girl, I’ll miss you something terrible, but if you’re happy, then go for it!” Sommer said, unwilling to part company with Ivy by badmouthing Jen.

  “I’ll miss you too, but I’ll be back soon. Gillian, take care of that baby of yours,” Ivy replied, amidst tears and a quivering smile. “Well, I gotta run. Vince is tired, and there’s a long trip ahead of us.”

  “You’re not going to the Barely Back?” Sommer asked, shocked from the realization that this was it. One of her best friends was splitting from Annona.

  Ivy shook her head, and even in the dim outdoor lighting, she noticed the color overtaking her friend’s olive complexion. “We’re going back to the hotel.”

  “Congrats,” Gillian said. “A dream come true.”

  “Fingers crossed, girls!” And Ivy did—with both hands. Sommer and Gill raised their hands and crossed their fingers in solidarity.

  “Won’t need these,” Sommer said of their crossed fingers, and then watched Ivy sprint over the electrical cables that blanketed the ground behind the stage.

  “Damn,” Gill replied. “Haden nailed it. This place really is going through some changes.”

  “ARE we going out to the ranch?” she asked Rory after Diehard finished and Gill and Stephen left. Sommer expected him to agree but he glanced down, his brows furrowed.

  “Can we do that tomorrow?” he asked, keeping his eyes averted.

  “What happened?” Her heartbeat picked up, recognizing the signs of a potential meltdown in Rory. She hadn’t had the chance to ask him about Jen, but maybe she should open up the subject and not wait until they were alone.

  He stood and tugged on her hand. “Not much.”

  “BS. I saw Jen over here. And Mike. And I didn’t like what I saw.” She blew out a breath, wondering what was becoming of her. One moment she was calm, and next a gale force wind, ready to tear down whatever was in her path. She should direct her frustration at Jen, but right now it was Rory who was in front of her. And she barreled forward, even though she knew she should shut her mouth. “Are you calling it an early evening…or an evening that doesn’t include me?”<
br />
  “Huh? What are you talking about?” he asked, fixing her with a quizzical look, yet he couldn’t hide how dark and intense his eyes were. He swung his leg over the bench, raking his gaze down her as some essence of hardness also filled his blue eyes. He was upset, but not in the ordinary, fueled by fire way. That type of fuel had him ready launch. He was trying to stow—push aside his anger, and that equated to something so much worse.

  “Don’t you huh me, McLemore,” she said, keeping her voice down. “This isn’t jealousy talking. I can tell when you’re pissed to the max.”

  “Not gonna lie. I am. But this doesn’t involve you and me.” He lowered his voice as he pointed from her to him and snarled, “Just a bunch of bullshit.”

  He steered her through the crowds, his expression steely and she was stunned—silenced. Some of the people were going inside the Diamond, while the majority headed toward the parking area across the street. A river of rowdy people, jabbering on, while she and Rory walked, bumping shoulders together but otherwise not touching.

  “How are Jen and Mike part of the bullshit equation?” she finally asked when they reached his truck. The moonlight glowed around them, painting everything, especially the angles of his face, in shimmering silver light.

  She watched his chest slowly rise and fall. His flaring, blistering rage she could deal with—it came, it went. Not this. A slow seething that charred.

  “I fired Mike.” He removed his car keys and rubbed his thumb along one, seeming to contemplate the matter.

  Rarely had she witnessed this type of anger that burrowed down deep inside of him. She lacked the experience and relied on gut instinct to navigate this most foreign of foreign terrain.

  In a split second, she connected invisible dots with a line. “Something to do with Jen. And if it involves Mike…did he welch on paying you back?”

  He opened the truck door and helped her inside. “Not even close. Just a bunch of stupidity.”

  “But she had her hands on you,” Sommer said softly.

  “Trust me, not my choice, and I had a tough time just standing there. Thought she stopped by to relay an apology or something about what she’d done to you. I was wrong.” He cupped her face between his hands and pressed his forehead to hers.

  She brushed her fingers over his arms, pressing closer to him and inhaling his scent. “You weren’t wrong…you’re right. A whole bunch of stupidity accurately describes what she’s thinking.”

  “Sommer, I need you.” Without giving her a second to respond, he backed away, stealing her breath.

  He shut her door and she leaned her head back, watching him walk in front of the hood and then around to his side. Her heartbeat picked up, tapping out a ridiculously rapid tempo. How many times had she sat in this exact spot and seen him retrace those steps? Each time, her pulse reacted—overreacted.

  After he opened his door and slid behind the wheel, she stretched out her arm and touched the smooth skin along his bicep. “You made me feel good when I needed solace,” she whispered. “What can I do for you?”

  Rory lifted his arm away from her fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Baby, I’m so close to throwing in the towel.”

  She sucked in a breath—or would have, if her chest hadn’t suddenly convulsed. They’d had breakups, but those were on the spur of the moment, being forced into a corner and one of them needed some room to adjust. They had not done the hushed toned, whispered breakup. Blindsided, the words cut her. Cut her so deep, she gasped and wrapped her arms around her waist to keep from bowing forward as if she were a deflating balloon and the air was rushing out of her.

  “You want to break up…for good?” It took most of her strength just to get the words out.

  “Holy shit, no!” He shot her a look of disbelief. “Give me your hand.” He interlaced their fingers and pulled her along the seat, not stopping until their thighs connected. He released her fingers and placed her hand over the bulge in his jeans. “I want to get naked with you. I’m so close to saying the hell with holding back. All I want to do is bury myself inside you.”

  “Where can we go?” she asked, her heart having now leapt into her throat. “Not that I’m saying yes. We could get undressed, hold each other, not doing anything but lie down and sleep.”

  “Baby, whatever you want.” He kissed her, sucking on her lips, one then the other. He groaned, and the warm caress of his breath teased her to open her mouth. She returned his groan, digging her fingers into his arms, and bringing them closer as he drove his tongue farther in her mouth.

  After kissing her, he said in rough voice, “Let’s get a hotel room. I need to get naked with you.”

  IN the corridor right outside the hotel room, Rory inserted the key card, and she watched the green light flicker. As if she’d been infused with an overdose of fight-or-flight hormones—again—her stomach bottomed out. Is this how it would be if I were his bride? Nervous knowing precisely where the evening was headed. Not a bad thing, she suddenly thought.

  Rory opened the door, holding it wide and turned toward her, meeting her eyes. “Baby, everything okay?”

  She peered up at him then shifted her gaze into the lit room. Brain? Hello? What’s wrong with me? “Err…” Nothing came out.

  Another couple passed by them out in the hall and Rory grazed his fingertips along her jaw, bending until his mouth was at her ear. “Are you coming side?” he asked.

  Searching his face, she touched his waist hesitantly, then with more assurance. His body was achingly familiar. Warm against her cold fingers. Hers. But even so, she couldn’t erase the storm of images from today swirling around her head. “I’m not sure that tonight is the best night.”

  He nodded. “We’ll only do what you’re comfortable with. Not a damn thing more.”

  “All right.” She struggled to keep a matter-of-fact tone, but failed, acknowledging that her mind didn’t cooperate at the snap of her mental fingers. Her feet actually refused to move. This idea of her and Rory doing it after…because of the idiots on parade tonight was a boulder in her path, preventing her from rushing forward. Mindlessly.

  “Do you want to leave?” he asked, letting go of the door. The snick of the lock sounded loud in the hallway and she flinched.

  “I don’t know why I’m acting this way. Ridiculous. Right?”

  He heaved out a sigh. “After tonight, no. You’re more than right. If we acted on an impulse because of outside influences, it’s wrong. But I won’t lie. I want to be with you after a night that pushed all sorts of buttons. We won’t do anything we’ll regret. Just be with me, baby,” he said in a voice that rumbled low in his chest. He retraced the skin along her jaw until his fingers curled around her neck. He lowered his head and kissed her fully on the lips. Just a kiss. Inviting. Reminding her that he was the guy who’d refrained from crossing a multitude of boundaries when he could have effortlessly. He didn’t give his word to manipulate her or anyone else. He gave his word as a guarantee, and he’d proven countless times that she could trust him. Another important piece of the McLemore DNA puzzle. One she’d learned, like a lot of folks, none of the McLemores ever messed around once they’d given their word.

  “When you say it like that, I can’t resist,” she said, frosting a layer of glib over her tone.

  Rory hadn’t released his hold on her and he lightly squeezed her neck. “Yes. You can. Don’t ever let me or anyone else push you into doing something you don’t want. Promise me.” He’d kept his eyes locked on hers and spoke with a force that shook her.

  “I promise.” She shifted her focus to the door. The room number 311. “You paid for this room…expecting—”

  “I expect nothing except to hold you. Feel your softness. Have your scent wrapped around me, running through me. But it’s not just your body. Though, what you have going on is mind-blowing.” He moved his hand up the back of her head and squeezed her crown. “In here. There’s a whole world I love exploring.”

  Her heart exploded in h
er chest. It wasn’t foreign for him to make her pulse rocket. Just like watching him walk around the hood of his truck, but it always surprised her. He was here now. Right next to her and she slid her hands to his waist, rubbing her thumbs along the bands of his abdominal muscles. She lifted her hand and placed it on his chest. Just like hers, his heart raced. “You’re right. There’s a whole world in each of us.”

  He reinserted the card into the slot. Swiftly, he opened and positioned his boot against the door to keep it from closing, then picked her up. Seamless in his movement, resolute in his carrying her, he let the door go when he walked inside. It closed with a slamming whoosh. Loud enough to rattle the inside of the room and reverberate along her nerves, shooting an electrical zing through her body—even her fingertips pulsed.

  Slowly, he set her down next to the bed without releasing her. His mouth crashed down on hers, only this time he kissed her with unrestrained urgency. Their tongues dueled nonstop, moving from her mouth to his. Fevered. Frenzied. Devouring.

  As if reading her thoughts, he murmured against her lips. “I won’t fuck you. God knows I want to.”

  Every cell in her body was on board, now that they were inside this room. Her fear evaporated and in its place, a red-hot flame vibrantly streamed through her, heating her blood as all her concerns swirled within a vortex. With Rory’s demanding tongue thrusting into her mouth, all her thoughts dissolved into one. Getting undressed and getting seriously close to him.

  She opened her mouth to him, following his lead. Kissing him, sucking on his tongue, and biting his lip. The rougher he kissed her, the wilder her lust became. Mini-jolts of electrical pleasure shot through her, landing between her legs. Her clit pulsed, a swelling and throbbing nubbin for his tongue. He’d fucked her with his mouth and fingers, and now she needed to feel more of him, thrusting into her pussy.

  Their mouths moved together and then their hands joined the party. They removed each other’s clothing. Shirts were pulled off. First his, and then hers. Her pebbled nipples drew his attention. He reached for her again, hauling her against him, skin on warm supple skin, chest to chest. He wrapped her ponytail around his hand and tugged her face to one side, bowing her back and driving his straining hard-on against her, wordlessly and demanding. He pressed his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss, sucking on her bottom lip and issuing a low growl, reverberating in his chest.