Another beat then, from out of nowhere, Kym began to laugh. Not just a chuckle, but a genuine laugh of amusement that became uncontrollable. Bay joined in and soon they were crying with glee.
“Fuck, she never changes, does she? I take it you said no?”
“I said ‘fuck, no.’ Jesus, how can you be related to that pair?”
“I was a foundling.”
“I’ll say. So, yeah, we vetoed that straight away, but—“
“But?”
Bay sighed. “Emily wants us to do a collaboration with her to help with the promo. I’m not keen and neither is Pete, but business-wise …”
“Business-wise, it does make sense. Do it,” Kym was astonished to find herself saying. “Use her as she tried to use you.”
“I don’t know. It’s not as if we’re in the same genre …”
Kym laughed. “Dude, since when did we subscribe to any particular genre? I seem to remember us mashing up a Mary Chapin Carpenter with an Alice in Chains song once. That was the whole point—we’re genre-less.”
“We,” Bay said softly. “You said ‘we.’ I like that.”
Kym was silent. “God, Bay …” She felt her throat get tight and took a couple of deep breaths. There was a quiet knock on her door and she looked up, her heart beginning to beat very fast. She knew that knock. “Bay …I have to go.”
“Okay …can I call you again?”
Kym hesitated. “Yes. Or I’ll call you. I have to go.”
”Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
Kym went to the door and opened it. Roman, in jeans and a t-shirt, stood outside. Kym leaned against her door frame. “Hi.”
“Kym.”
An awkward silence, then, “Do you want to come in?”
“Please.”
She closed the door behind him and went into the kitchen. “Too early for beer. Can I get you some soda or water or something?”
“Water’s fine.”
Kym poured two long glasses, grabbing some ice and lemon from the refrigerator. “Let’s go sit on the balcony.” As she passed him, she smelled soap and fresh laundry and a faint trace of cologne. The scent was maddeningly arousing. As they sat, he reached out and touched her arm. Her skin burned where his fingers brushed it.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. Just got some stuff going on.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me or explain yourself.” Kym laid her head back against the wall of her building. The balcony was small, with only room for a tiny table and two chairs, but she loved it.
Roman drained half his water. “Kym, I …”
“We fucked, Roman. That’s all. We’re both adults and we don’t need to make this any more complicated than what it was.”
Roman inclined his head. “Fair enough.”
Kym kept her face blank, but her stomach dropped. Damn it, don’t be laid back. Fight for me—I deserve it! But she said nothing.
“Kym …I’m not an effusive man. Never have been, never will be. Saying that, I don’t want you to think that I …how can I say this …I enjoyed myself a great deal and I hope you did too.”
That made feel a little better. “I did.”
“Good.”
Another silence followed, but Kym relaxed a little. “Roman …I have no idea where my life is going or where I’ll be in a month, two months, or a year. But I do know this …I want to live in the moment. So, whatever your deal is, whether you’re with someone and cheating or you just can’ do long term—that’s really okay with me. I’m not about to take responsibility for you.”
“I’m not with someone,” Roman said suddenly. “Not in that way. There is someone I care for, but it’s very, very complicated.”
Kym looked at him, curiosity getting the better of her. “Want to share?”
He shook his head. “I can’t. If it ever got out, there would be consequences I really could not deal with.”
Kym bit back the questions forming in her mind and just studied him. His features were less angled than his brother Otis’ were; even in his mid-forties, Roman Ford’s face still held on to the vestiges of puppy face. She couldn’t help loving his eyes; they were so dark, so bottomless, and hid so much of his emotions. She tore her gaze away. “That’s your prerogative. Not my business.”
She stretched her body, then grinned to herself. “It’s so hot.” She stood and walked back into the living room, knowing he was watching her. She stopped and turned to look over her shoulder at him. “I’m going to get in the shower …”
Without waiting for his reply, she walked into her bathroom and stripped off, stepping under the cool spray. She shampooed her hair and was rinsing off when she felt the door being opened. She smiled to herself as Roman’s hands slid around her soapy body to cup her breasts. She could feel his cock stiffening, rigid against the small of her back. Roman pressed his lips down onto her shoulder and she leaned back into his body. His hands gently molded and massaged her breasts and his thumbs brushing over her nipples, making them pucker and harden.
Kym turned slightly, wanting to see his face and to kiss him, but his hands were strong. “No,” he said and pressed her against the cool tile of the bathroom wall. His foot pressed hers apart and then his cock was nudging at her cunt. Roman thrust into her from behind and Kym moaned, her belly to the cold tile, her head half turned, and her eyes closed as Roman reached around and began to finger her clit as he fucked her. The cool water ran over her skin, which felt like it was on fire as Roman took her. He forced her arms up above her head, lacing his fingers with hers flat against the wall. Kym pushed her ass out so he could thrust deeper. When he felt how wet she was and how she was responding, she heard his triumphant hiss of, “Yes …”.
God, the size of him, the feel of that cock filling her. She squeezed her vaginal muscles onto him and heard him groan.
“Faster,” she urged, every nerve ending in her body sparking, and Roman complied, thrusting his hips into her buttocks and slamming her against the bathroom wall. Kym threw her head back and somehow he managed to kiss her mouth. “Come in me, Roman. Fill me …”
With a roar, Roman drove himself into her as his cock shot hot semen deep into her womb, her hips ramming against the wall as his body jerked violently. Kym felt the warm rush of orgasm slam through her and she cried out, saying his name over and over.
They caught their breath as Roman pulled out of her and stood together, letting the water rush over them and cool their hot bodies. Roman bent his head and kissed her so tenderly that she wanted to cry. Hard fucking she could cope with, but when it came to tenderness …
“Wait,” she said with a smile and dropped to her knees, taking his cock into her mouth. She teased and caressed the silky skin of it and the sensitive tip with her tongue, enjoying Roman’s grunts and moans. The salty tang of his pre-cum hit her mouth, but as she moved to finish him, he suddenly pulled her up. He ground his mouth on hers as he lifted her leg by the knee and pushed inside her again. The sensation made her weak and she wobbled, leaning against him for support. He pulled her up into his arms and stepped out of the shower cubicle, laying her down on the floor, moving his body over hers, and thrusting hard, his eyes never leaving her face. Kym stroked her fingertips over his face.
“Roman Ford, who would have thought it …oh …god …yes …yes …”
Kym balanced the pizza boxes on her hip and tipped the delivery guy. “Thanks, dude.”
As she shut the door, Roman came out of the bedroom, towel-drying his hair roughly, shirtless in just his blue jeans. Kym let her eyes roam over that broad chest with the fine coat of hair, the wide shoulders, and the thickly muscled arms. Roman grinned at her blatant lusting.
“Should I go put a shirt on?”
“Hell, no,” she laughed apologetically. “In fact, you shouldn’t ever have a shirt on.”
They settled on the couch, grabbing slices from the boxes. “That would make for interesting meetings,” Roman said, his mouth
full.
“So how, may I ask, did a guy like you end up as an accountant?” Kym wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at him. He took the ribbing with a smile.
“Actually, I was an Economics major to begin with, then swapped to law. Tax law, to be honest, is nobodies dream job, but it pays well. In my case, very well. When Tom came to me about Quartet, I was lucky enough to walk away from that life. But I still love numbers; I love the beauty of them. The infinite possibilities. So I volunteered myself to be the finance guy of the company. I know it was a relief to Tom—his dream was always to find new bands and mentor them. When he found you guys—god, what was it two years ago now?—he hit the motherload. That’s what he told me and you could see it in his eyes.”
Kym was surprised that she could listen to him talk about the band and it didn’t hurt quite so much. “How about you?”
“I was happy for my friend. Tom is the best man I’ve ever known. Even better than …never mind. Yes, I was excited because he was. When I met you all, I could see it shining out of all three of you. Thrilling.”
Kym blushed, picking at the topping of her pizza. “Did you …?”
Roman grinned, catching on. “Yes …I wanted you from the moment I met you, but you were with …another situation, shall we say. Then when everything happened, I got mad. Because I could see the devastation in Tom’s eyes. I saw Bay in agonizing pain. For months.” Kym flinched and he put his pizza down and took her hand.
“Kym, it’s hard to hear, I know. But I cannot whitewash this for you because running away from it doesn’t help you accept it. Believe me, I know, I …anyway.”
Kym sensed he had been about to tell her something. “Roman …if we mean anything to each other, let’s start by telling the truth. Quid pro quo if you like.”
Roman chuckled. “I’m game …but you first.”
Kym took another bite of pizza before she answered. “Bay and I have talked. On the phone. Twice. The second time was just before you came over.”
The look on Roman’s face was comical and she grinned, her mouth stuffed with pizza. He smiled, but narrowed his eyes at her.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Roman shook his head and laughed. “Well, damn. That’s great news. Just great.”
“You sound like John Boy Walton. “Well, howdy, Grandma, you sure is looking purty today.”
Roman grinned. “Quiet, woman. I’m being supportive. How was it?”
Kym nodded. “Good. Emotional, but good. Baby steps.”
Roman picked up his beer and toasted her. “Well, I’m proud of you.”
“Gee, thanks, Dad.”
Roman choked on his beer. “You really have a smart mouth, you know that?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Stop prevaricating. Your turn.”
Roman sighed. “What do you want to know?”
Who are you staying with? Who do you care for? Kym chickened out. “Why aren’t you married?”
“That’s it. That’s your question?”
“Dude, look, you’re hot. You’re hot and you’re rich …they should be flocking.”
“You’re very harsh on the morals of your gender.”
“Did I say that they were flocks of women?”
“Touché. I just never …it’s not something I aspire to, put it like that. My parents were divorced pretty young, and not entirely amicably. Otis and I always grew up thinking we’d rather just avoid it—be with someone because we wanted to be there, not out of anything but love and choice.”
“I get that. I feel the same, actually. Piece of paper doesn’t make a partnership.”
“True, although Otis seems to have changed his mind about that. He and Shae got married on a whim the other day.”
“No way. Huh.” Kym thought back to the few times she’d met Roman’s twin brother and the gorgeous African-American doctor he had fallen for. “Good for them.”
Falling silent, Kym thought back to her own parent’s marriage. Oh, they said they were in love, but neither was faithful from the moment the ink on the marriage certificate was dry. Roman was studying her.
“You thinking about your folks?”
She nodded. “Oh, you’ll like this. My mom offered herself up as my replacement in the band. Or maybe you don’t like this,” she corrected, seeing his face turn red. “Dude, it’s okay.”
“Damn well isn’t.” He got out his phone, but Kym whisked it away from him. “Kym, come on.”
“You. Are. On. Sabbatical.” She kissed him between each word. “And we’re having dinner. So chill.”
Roman gave it up. “Fine.” He picked up her hand and idly started to interweave his fingers with hers, obviously deep in thought. Kym grabbed another slice. “Wanna watch a movie?”
Roman smiled, relaxing back on the couch. “Sure.”
So far, so good. In the studio, Charlie had just delivered a superb guitar line for the song they were writing and now Pete was laying down some drums. Bay was finally using the black Yamaha for her piano riff, but as he watched her now, Tom couldn’t help but notice that she seemed stressed. Her shoulders were tense, her body was stiff, and her eyes were red.
That morning she had been up before him, buzzing with energy, and waking him up for some pretty athletic sex for that time of the morning. He grinned to himself. But that was the problem. Bay only ever seemed happy now when they were fucking—and it was fucking. Making love was a lot different, he noted, and they hadn’t done that for a while. Now it was all experimentation, BDSM, and marathon sex all night long.
He knew he shouldn’t be bothered, but he was. He wanted his Bay back—the sweet, erotic, sensual creature he had fallen in love with—not this angry, hurt woman who treated sex as a punishment. It wasn’t the actual sex …that was still great and he loved to experiment with her …it was the rage he felt in her as they fucked. Contrarily, as they grew closer physically, Bay seemed to be drifting away emotionally.
You could be reading too much into this, he told himself. After all, you’d look tense after a day in the studio with Charlie Clayton too.
He looked over at Emily, who sat beside him at the mixing desk. “You still think this was a good idea?”
Emily huffed out a sigh. “I’m wavering. What a nightmare she is. No wonder Pete and Bay look like they’re ready to kill.”
Tom chuckled. “Yep. Well, it’s sounding good, despite everything. Do you think I should pull them out now and finish another day?”
Emily’s mouth twisted. “I wouldn’t. Let them finish today, then they only have to put up with her on the press junkets.”
Tom hid a smile. “You going with them?” he asked innocently and was rewarded by Emily giving him the finger.
“Now, Charlie knows this is one-off, right? She’s not under the impression she can parley this into a permanent thing?”
“Bay made it very clear, many, many times. Whether it got through, who can say? Looks like they’re done.”
Tom opened the door to the studio. “You guys through?”
Bay looked up and gave him a tired smile. “As good as. I’ll come in with Zack on Saturday to mix.”
“You know if you don’t want to, I could always do it. I’ve had years of—“
“No, thanks. I need the practice,” Bay interrupted Charlie, just as she saw the older woman was about to go on another brag-fest. She exchanged a look with Pete, who nodded.
“So we’ll see you next at …” He trailed off and looked to Emily.
“Good Morning America, in two weeks.”
“Oh, yummy, Matt Lauer.”
“That’s the Today show; GMA is Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos. Yep, so we have a showcase to officially release the single then. The cover artwork is done and we—“
“Wait,” Bay flashed an annoyed look in Charlie’s direction as she interrupted Emily again. “We haven’t had a photo shoot.”
Emily smiled. “We don’t need one. Because this is a one-off, they can use stills f
rom the performances and appearances.”
Charlie looked crestfallen. Pete cleared his throat. “Well, kids, it’s been a blast, but I’ve got a hot bar owner to get home to.”
Bay gave a growl as she sat back in the passenger seat of the Mercedes. “Thank god that day is over. Never again. Is it wrong that I kind of hope this single flops?”
Tom laughed, but gave her an admonishing look. “Seriously, you have no business sense.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “I know. God, oh to be back on Otis’s island again.”
“You know, we can go whenever you want.”
“Yeah …Tom?”
“Babe.”
“I think I may need to talk to someone.”
Tom signaled to the other lane, then pulled the car into a parking area. He turned to her. “I think that might be a good idea.”
Bay nodded. “I thought I was over it and that, since Stu went to jail, I could move on. But there’s a block however much I try to move past it, I can’t. I’ve tried—“ she grinned then—“distracting myself with sex.”
“I’ve noticed,” Tom said with a wry grin, “You’ve worn this old man out.”
Bay laughed, her whole body relaxing. “It’s been pretty good, though.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “The actual sex has been very good. It’s just that I’d rather be having it with my Bay, not angry she-hulk Bay.”
Bay nodded. “I get it and I’m sorry. I’ll work on it. I promise.”
“Don’t apologize. Let’s go home and practice some …sexy she-hulk Bay sex.”
Bay made a weird sound and he looked at her askance. “What was that?”
“Sexy She-Hulk roar.”
“That was Chewbacca.”
“Okay, Sexy Lady Chewbacca roar.”
Tom laughed. “God, you are a lunatic.”
“Home, Han Solo.”
Tom shook his head, laughing. “Nerd. I fell in love with a nerd …” He put his foot on the gas and hurried them both home.
At midnight, the movie ended. Kym sat up out of Roman’s arms and looked at him. “Can you stay? Do you want to stay?”
Roman looked at her and she couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. “I want to, but I …”
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 98
