She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. His lips parted under her assault, but instead of pulling her closer, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.
“No, but it’s what you want, and at the moment, I could use the distraction.”
“Don’t think that I’m not totally game. You are the Holy Grail, but I don’t want you doing anything unless you want to.” He draped his arm around her like a big brother. “If you want, we can work on some good excuses. Relaxation. Revenge. We could get you drunk. A combination of all three. No one would blame you if you got drunk trying to relax and screwed me to get revenge on Logan.”
A killing cramp sliced through her. Suzi doubled over, nearly tumbling off the bed. Brett grabbed her and laid her back on the mattress. Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around them.
“Hey! What’s the matter? Oh hell. You’re not pregnant, are you? Please tell me you got some bad shrimp or something.”
Another cramp cut through her.
“I’m calling an ambulance.” Brett reached for the phone.
“No!” Suzi grabbed his arm, gouging her fingers into his flesh. “Don’t.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve never been able to carry one to term.” She hugged her knees to her chest. It had felt like this before, too. Only now the world was ending at the same time. Closing her eyes, she focused on the waves of pain emanating from her gut and spreading to the tips of her toes and the ends of her fingers. If she didn’t move, she was going to get blood on the bed.
“You need a doctor.” Brett pulled away from her.
“No! I don’t want a doctor.” She crawled off the end of the bed and started for the bathroom. She didn’t want a doctor. She wanted her best pal, Brian.
“Where are you going?” Brett abandoned his phone quest to follow her. “Suzi.”
“I’m going to need some pads.”
Brett thrust out his lower jaw. “If you pass out, I’m calling a doctor.”
“Fine.” She pushed the door closed.
Chapter 4
Five years ago
Logan set Suzi’s suitcase on the floor by the window. His hands were sweating, and his brain still rang with the nightmare he’d woken up from six hours ago. The one where Suzi was sitting on Jason’s lap while Jason yelled at him for not being able to play. Logan flexed his fingers. They did work.
And she was not going to sleep with Jason Callisto.
Suzi turned around, her bright eyes warming him. She held out her arms, and he kicked the door closed before he laid her back on the unmade bed, kissing her. She tasted slick and hot. “Oh God, I love you. I dreamed about you every night.” He dragged her sweatshirt over her head, tossing it across the room.
Suzi gasped. “You must have been having good dreams.”
Logan licked under her breast knowing how much she loved it.
She arched under him, moaning. “Tell me, Logan. Tell me what you were dreaming.”
The thought of her sitting in Jason Callisto’s lap while the other man played with her hair kept his mouth busy licking down her stomach.
She squealed, writhing as he drove his tongue into the valley at the top of her thigh. “Logan, Logan, I dreamt of you. I dreamt I was sucking you. You were so thick and hot in my mouth, and I could hear you calling out my name. I love the way you taste.”
His cock throbbed. He wanted to bury her under him and thrust into her. He yanked down her jeans. Her dark curls were already soaked. The scent of her engulfed him. In his dreams, she’d been naked. Her long white legs hanging over the arm of the chair, crossed at the ankles. She’d had a languorous gleam in her eyes. Sated, but still willing. He spread her open, searching for the perfect rosebud she hid there for him. Only for him. “Tell me more. Tell me what you like,” he whispered.
She moaned. “I like this. I like the way your breath feels on me. All you have to do is look at me and I’m wild for you.”
He licked her swollen clit.
“Oh!” The corners of the sheets popped off the bed as she pulled them.
He thrust his fingers into her, searching for that magic spot. She bucked against his hand. With his free hand, he shoved down his own jeans. At the airport, she’d been all for slipping into a bathroom for a quickie, but he hadn’t wanted to treat her like some groupie slut. Where he had found the self-control, he didn’t know.
“Please. I want to feel you inside. When you’re inside me, on top of me, the world begins and ends with you. I want to be everything for you.”
He climbed over her and paused for a minute to admire the flush on her face, her parted lips, and her glazed eyes. “Suzi,” he groaned, driving into her. He pinned her hands above her head, thrusting into her. “I love you, babe. I love you so much. I want to be this close to you all the time. I want to be tangled up in you.”
Her legs wrapped around his hips, pulling him as tight as she could. Her words were lost in a blur of moans. He clutched her hands, capturing her mouth in a deep, soul-stealing kiss until he felt her burst apart in his arms. That snapped his control. He growled, thrusting into her hard. She gasped, but ground her hips against his. Her muscles clenched, quivering and milking him for every ounce. “Oh Suzi,” he moaned when he could talk again.
“Those must have been some amazing dreams.” She ran her fingers through his hair.
Kissing her neck, he shivered with leftover passion. “I just missed you.” Every second since he left her at the airport in LA until the moment he picked her up in Pittsburgh, he’d missed her.
“I hate to bring it up, but Greg said you have to go back to the studio, and if we keep laying here, you won’t make it.”
“Who cares?”
“You do.” She lifted his head and kissed him. “And you know it. Come on.” Suzi slithered out from under him and started pulling on her clothes, pausing only to throw his jeans at him.
For a couple of seconds, Logan just watched her. What did she like so much about him? If he could figure it out, he could do it more. He knew what he liked about her, and she did it all, all the time. She was smart and sexy and funny and sweet. Everything she did amazed him. Especially staying with him.
“Get up.” She pulled a T-shirt over her head and put her hands on her hips. “I am not going to be the reason you didn’t get any work done today.”
Logan put on his jeans before he stood up to catch her in a tight embrace. Burying his face in her hair, he breathed deeply and prayed he could manage to hang onto her through this trip.
* * * *
“Thank gawd!” Charity threw her arms around Suzi. She’d stormed in the moment Logan left. “This place is so boring. There is nothing to do.”
Suzi stared out the window to the valley below. The little town bustled with the height of tourist season. On the way up, she’d gotten a good view of Jason Callisto’s house and the surroundings. Trees cloaked the mountain. His house sat in a small valley halfway up the slope. Behind the big house was a smaller building where the recording took place. A waterfall down the face of the mountain behind fed a pool in front of the house. The pool then fed a stream that dropped over the cliff on the valley side, not far from a set of stairs that led down to the guest cabin, which had a small pool beside it, too. The whole mountain was alive with butterflies and wildflowers. Who knew what other critters were hiding in the woods. According to the info Suzi had found on the website for the neighboring campground, there were regular sightseeing tours, craft classes, nature walks, and events.
Yeah, there was nothing to do here.
Suzi hefted her suitcase onto the bed to unpack. Might as well. She was going to be living in this guesthouse for the next three months. Guesthouse. Who had a guesthouse? Nice place, though. The front door opened to a communal living room with a fieldstone fireplace. Three bedrooms opened off the main room, and there was a door to a
screened-in porch that ran across the whole back of the house and overlooked the valley. Toby was using the porch as his bedroom because he’d lost the coin toss.
Suzi wondered which rooms the members of Touchstone took when they were here. Did they have regular rooms? Suzi stared at the bed. Where did Brian sleep?
Why was she thinking about that? She’d just had sex with Logan fifteen minutes ago. Sex of the very satisfying, if quick, welcome-home variety. She shouldn’t be thinking about where other men slept. And what they might sleep in.
Pajama pants? Boxers?
Nothing?
“…swear Brian never even leaves that building. I’ve only seen him like twice.”
Suzi frowned at Charity. She should have been paying some attention to what the other woman was saying. “Brian’s here?”
“Yep.” Charity dropped onto the bed. “Brian and Bonnie are on a fast train to Splitsville.” Charity had been promoting that theory since her shopping date with Bonnie months ago in LA, but if Brian was here without Bonnie…
“Bonnie isn’t here with him?”
“No.”
“What about their kids?”
“Home with mom until school lets out. I think the kids are going to be here for a few weeks, but Bonnie said she wouldn’t be caught dead here. I don’t blame her. Gawd, I hope they don’t think we’re in-house babysitters. I do not want to be taking care of somebody else’s rugrats. Even if they are Brian Ellis’s.”
Charity might be on to something if Brian was here, Bonnie was there, and the kids were going between. Most of the time when Charity decided somebody was getting a divorce, it was wishful thinking, but this time Charity liked Bonnie Ellis and Brian couldn’t be that bad.
Could he? All her life, Suzi had thought he was the most accessible member of the band. Warm smile, bright blue eyes, easy expression.
At dinner last month, he hadn’t been so friendly. He’d been silent and distant throughout. During the meal he’d sat across the table from her, glaring. So far, in person, he was a total jerk no matter what his publicity claimed.
“I see the guys are working on their bottle collection.” Suzi deposited the last pair of her shorts into the drawer and closed it. She’d glimpsed the row of empty liquor bottles along the front wall as Logan hurried her across the living room.
“Oh, yeah. Did Logan stop on the way home from the airport to stock up?”
“No. Was he supposed to?”
“Yeah, but I’m sure he had other things on his mind.” Charity winked at her. Then she stood up and stretched. “I’ll do it. It’s not like I’m doing anything else. You want to ride along?”
“Sure. Just let me wash up.” Suzi left Charity behind in the bedroom. Allowing Charity enough time to dig into Suzi’s laptop to find out what she was working on. Charity didn’t like to read much, but she loved to know what was going on.
The bathroom was spare and small and looked like four guys and one not-terribly-fussy woman had been living there for over a month. Washing her hands gingerly, Suzi knew what her first project was going to be, though she hadn’t checked the kitchen yet. There might be a tie. She ought to head to the house to say hello to Cass since she was her hostess, too.
“I’m going to run up to the house to say hello to Cass,” Suzi called. “I’ll meet you in the driveway.”
“‘Kay!” Charity called from Suzi and Logan’s bedroom. It shouldn’t take her too long to find the current project. Suzi had left it on the desktop of her computer. Maybe Charity was reading it this time.
Suzi scooped her hair into pigtails as she trotted up the steps. Before she reached the front door, she heard raised voices. The voices stopped when she rang the bell. Jason yanked open the door, and Suzi stumbled backward.
“Hello Suzi. Did you need something?” His brow furrowed with serious anger, but his voice was even and calm.
“I was—I came to say hello to Cass.” Suzi blinked as her brain jammed. All the manners her upbringing had indoctrinated in her failed with these people. She should have just gone with Charity on the booze run and skipped this.
“She’s in the kitchen, but I wouldn’t. She’s tired,” Jason said.
“Maybe later then. We’re going into town if you need anything. Charity and I are.” Charity and I are? Worse and worse.
Jason shook his head. “Thanks, but we’re good. Nothing a good nap won’t cure.”
Suzi stepped back. “I’ll let you get back to work then.”
“If you need anything, just ask.”
Suzi would rather become a mute.
* * * *
Logan studied his hands, trying to figure out why they didn’t work. He managed to find the strings, but he couldn’t press them down.
“Come on, Fitzpatrick. What are you waiting for? Quit fucking around.”
He glared across the studio. Jason Callisto was sitting behind the soundboard with Suzi in his lap. She had her legs draped over one arm of the chair and her head curled on Jason’s shoulder. “I’m having trouble with the guitar. Let Greg do his part first.”
Jason toyed with Suzi’s hair. “No way, kid. You’re up. Now quit fucking around and play. You have work to do.”
“Logan,” Suzi whispered. Her teeth nipped his shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead. You have work to do.”
Logan grabbed for her, but she jumped away from the bed, giving him a mock evil eye. She was still sweaty from her morning run, dressed in his Nirvana T-shirt and her black shorts.
“Shower quick. I’ve got eggs, bacon, and oatmeal.”
“You went shopping?”
“When we went on the booze run yesterday, I stocked up.”
“Suzi, that kitchen is—”
“I cleaned it. Come on.”
Of course, she cleaned it. Logan hauled himself out of bed and located clothes. She hadn’t even been here a whole day yet and she’d cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom and bought groceries. Not only was she hot, she was civilization in pigtails.
In the kitchen, she was cooking. Toby stood in the door observing and scratching his head.
“What’s wrong with Cocoa Puffs?” he asked.
“I never said there was anything wrong with them. Even General Mills says they’re only part of a balanced breakfast. Put plates on the table.” Suzi pointed to a cupboard.
Logan slipped into the bathroom before Suzi assigned him a chore, too. By the time he dashed through a shower, the whole house smelled like breakfast and everyone was up. He shaved quickly before all the food was gone. As soon as Suzi moved in with him, his house had become ground zero for band meetings because they all knew the food would be good.
“My turn.” Toby jumped away from the table with a piece of bacon in his hand.
Suzi walked out of the kitchen with a frying pan in her hands. The pigtails made her look about twelve. Good. He was pretty sure Jason wasn’t a pedophile so he wouldn’t be interested. The image of her sitting in Jason’s lap had stained his brain. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her.
“Good morning.” She laughed.
Logan wolfed down breakfast while the other guys showered. By the time they were all done, Suzi had started to clean up with Charity’s reluctant help. Logan kissed Suzi on the cheek before following the other guys out. They walked up the steps together. As commutes went, this one was fantastic.
“I didn’t know Charity knew how to wash dishes,” John said.
“She’s got a professional to supervise her,” Greg said, munching on toast. “You guys have fun last night?” he asked Logan.
“Did they!” Toby said. “Tonight I’m making popcorn and watching through the window.”
Logan flipped him off and made a mental note to make sure the curtains were closed.
“Are you going to be less of a bastard now that she’s here?” John asked.
Logan ignored the question.
“Kind of nice having her around, though.”
Toby rubbed his chin. “One day, and the bathroom is no longer breeding super germs, the kitchen is functional, and we had breakfast.”
“You’ve got egg on your face.” John poked Logan’s chin.
Logan wiped his mouth. Living with Suzi had far more than the obvious perks. There had to be a way to make sure he kept getting those perks, even if he didn’t deserve them.
* * * *
Brian sipped from his coffee cup, shuffling beside Jason to the studio. The West Virginia refuge wasn’t working out as well as he’d hoped. Bonnie had passed pissed-off sometime during the last tour, so he knew his absence wasn’t going to make her heart grow fonder, but his presence had only made things worse. Ms. Bazian—Suzi was here now. That was good news. Hopefully, she’d have some free time to talk to him about her books. That other girl who came with Savitar seemed to divide her time evenly between sunbathing and being in the way, but Suzi might be working on another book.
“It’s not your fault,” Jason said.
“Maybe.”
“No maybe about it. Cassie’s just tired. Andi’s not sleeping again. She was so good about it for so long, and then she got sick, and I never hear her at night. I’ve had way too much practice sleeping on busses and planes to hear a baby crying at night. Even my own.”
Brian glanced at Jason. What the hell was he talking about? Oh, the blow up this morning. “No, I know that. Don’t worry about it. I remember this part of the drill. And I did think the dishwasher was full of clean dishes.”
“Your girl is here.”
“My girl?”
“Suzi. Suzette Miranda Bazian.” He poured a heavy accent on the name. “You should try to talk to her. It’s not like we all need to be in the studio all the time.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re fine. You’ve been analyzing the one time you met her for a month.”
“I couldn’t think of anything to say.” Brian shrugged. He hadn’t realized he’d been that obvious.
“How about ‘I like your books.’ Or ‘I gave everyone I know e-readers with all your stories loaded onto them for Christmas last year.’ Wait, I know.” Jason elbowed him, making his coffee slosh. “Come here you sexy bitch and give me a kiss.” He laughed.
Let Me Be the One Page 4
