As she lowers her feet back to the floor, she says, “You don’t have to dress up for me, you know.”
I shake my head and reach over to take her jacket off the coat rack next to the door. “That’s because we’re going out.”
“I thought we were staying in.”
When her bottom lip pushes out slightly, it takes major willpower not to pull her against me and suck that sweet bit of flesh between my lips and nip it for good measure. Damn, I ache for her. Too bad we have to be somewhere in a half hour. I swallow back my internal groan of disappointment and hold her coat out for her. “Come on. I have something to share with you.”
Nara smiles when I lead her into McCormicks twenty minutes later. “So you’re finally going to share your music with me?”
“Something like that,” I say, making her laugh and shake her head.
As we move through the crowd and people start calling out, “Adder’s here!”
“Hey, Adder, so glad you’re here tonight.”
I casually nod, but continue forward, bobbing and weaving through the crush of people until we make it to a table in the front where Lainey and Matt are sitting.
Beaming with excitement, Nara hugs Lainey, then leans back and grips her friend’s shoulders. “You were in on this surprise?”
Her eyes sparkling, Lainey shakes her head. “I don’t know. If we’re the surprise, then yeah, I guess. Ethan called and told us he had reserved a table up front for all of us, so here we are.”
Nara grins at her friend, then gives me a sly sideways glance. “Oh, you’re in for a great show, Lainey. I promise.”
I chuckle that Nara’s excited to surprise her friend as I lean over and shake Matt’s outstretched hand. “Thanks for coming.”
Once Lainey, Matt, and Nara take a seat, I kiss the top of Nara’s head and say to the table, “I’ll be back.”
Nara snickers. “Don’t be gone too long.”
I smile and then stroll away, but as I push through a door that leads to the back, my stomach tenses. I pull out a piece of paper that I’d found laying on top of my broken ribbon bracelet in the memories box under Nara’s bed.
It might’ve been wrong to swipe it, but when I stumbled across it that day, I couldn’t let her words go. The paper is worn; I’ve read her sad poem/song so many times, but I read it again once more to give me the courage to get up there and share like she always has so unselfishly with me.
Together ’til is all I can offer you.
Maybe one day we’ll be okay.
Not now. My heart is broken. My soul is torn.
This isn’t how destiny is born.
We’re shattered, splintered, no longer one, but two.
Where did we go wrong? Am I paying my dues?
Will you still be there when you remember? Will you, when your mind is free?
It feels like a sin to hold all the pain in.
But I do. To be together ’til, together ’til, together ’til.
Even though my heart is breaking, I’m together ’til with you.
Ivan pops his bald head around the edge of the door. His eyebrow piercing is raised high, a wide grin on his face. “You ready, Adder? We’re going to rock the shit out of this crowd tonight.”
I glance up and nod. “I’m coming.”
Nara
“It would’ve been nice if Drystan had stayed the whole semester,” Lainey says, drawing my attention away from the band members moving mics and equipment around on the dark stage. “I know his uncle was done with his university guest role, but I just wish Drystan hadn’t decided to head back with him right now. He’ll be missed.”
I nod, my heart twisting a little. “I’ll miss him too, but he promised he’ll keep in touch.”
“He’d better,” Matt grumbles.
The stage lights flare to life, cutting off our conversation.
Lainey glances at the band as the music starts up. I lift my phone and snap a shot of her bugged eyes and gaping mouth when her gaze lands on Ethan playing the electric guitar.
His sleeves are rolled up and he’s bent over the instrument, making the strings sing with amazing skill to the fast beat of the song. The first time I saw him he was playing bass, but tonight he’s playing lead guitar, which makes my heart sing.
Lainey jerks her wide brown-eyed gaze to me and grips my arm. “You’ve been holding out on me!”
I laugh and shake my head, shouting over the music, “I just found out recently myself.” Waving my hand toward the stage, I shrug. “Surprise.”
Matt’s staring up at Ethan and shaking his head. “Weylaid, huh? He has amazing talent. Damn, I’m so gonna come back and watch them play again.”
“He’s not an official member of the band, but they let him jump in often enough that fans know who he is.”
Lainey lifts her hands toward the stage, a duh look on her face. “Why wouldn’t they want him? He’s got skills.”
“He’s just kept to himself for so long.” When Ethan breaks into a crazy fast solo where I can’t keep up with his fingers on the strings, I whistle and clap along with all the fans. “Maybe now he’ll join if they ask or at least play more often.”
Matt’s tapping the table to the rhythm of the rock song. “He’d be crazy not to.”
We watch the band play several more songs, and then just before their set is almost over, one of the guys hands Ethan an acoustic guitar.
The crowd quiets as he moves his stool toward the center of the stage. The lights dim until only one light is shining on his dark head.
“I don’t usually sing solos…” he says into the mic, his deep voice resonating through the whole place.
Several catcalls ensue.
“We wish you would!”
“Love the depth, Adder.”
“Give it to me, baby! I’m yours.”
“Adder?” Lainey mouths as she glares over her shoulder in the direction of the last comment.
“Stage name,” I say with a smile, happy he seems content.
Ethan chuckles and shakes his head, strumming the guitar slowly, preparing to play. “But tonight is special.”
I grin at him, even though I know he can’t see past the bright light. I hope he knows how thrilled I am to see him embracing the talent Adder has given him.
“The song is very personal, so I hope you’ll humor me. It’s called…”
The excited crowd starts to scream and cheer, drowning out the title of the song.
Ethan begins to play a soulful tune that sends chill bumps along my arms, but when he starts to sing in his low, sexy voice, I gasp and raise trembling hands to my mouth.
Together ’til the wheels fall off is how we’ve always rolled.
Now we’re just together ’til. That’s what I’ve been told.
Together ’til’s a temporary existence, my harsh penitence.
It will never be enough. Not for me.
It wears me down, slows my heart, brings me to my knees.
Tell me there’s more than together ’til.
I don’t want to wait for one day. It’s getting hard to breathe.
My music is flat, my art rudimentary.
Baby, my heart needs yours freed.
Take away the tethers of together ’til.
Let’s hit the road and journey. Go ’til we run on fumes.
Our past doesn’t matter, what does is being in tune.
I’ll fight every evil known to man, and more still
Just so we can go beyond together ‘til.
’Cause that’s exactly how destiny is born. We’ll get to our destination.
But let’s detour, meander, take a leisurely drive.
Paths taken with you make me feel alive.
Move us past together ‘til.
We’re not shattered. My dark and your light make the perfect whole.
We’re better together. That’s one thing I know.
We’ve always been right, ’cause what we have is rare.
But I wanted
to be worthy, have something to share.
What good am I without an identity?
While I was discovering me, memories kept me going.
Your soft lips and sighs, my only company.
You never left my heart. Not once while we were apart.
Kick me, hit me, scream and shout. I’ll take all your pain.
That’s it, let it all out.
I just want to touch you and hold you again.
For far, far longer than together ‘til.
Together ‘til will never be enough, not for me, not ever enough.
It can’t fill the hole in my heart.
The spin of wheels eating up the road, paving a path forward...
That’s where we’ll start.
When dawn finally breaks
Will you fulfill my every wish?
Leave me breathless, leave me shaking.
I want your forever kiss.
I need more than together ’til.
I need my wheels.
Baby, no more standing still.
I’ve waited forever and ever,
Forever for my wheels.
I promise when I get them back,
They’ll forever be attached…
To together ‘til.
Together ‘til and more. Mmm, hmmm.
Together ‘til with wheels.
Together ‘til the end of time.
Together ‘til always be mine.
Together ‘til…
Ethan suddenly flattens his hand on the strings and peers through the darkness directly at me. “What do you say, Sunshine? Can I have my wheels back?”
The room is deathly quiet. I’m so shocked that he wrote a song in answer to mine it takes me a second to swallow the lump in my throat. Cupping my hands over my mouth, I call out toward the stage, loud enough so the entire bar can hear, “Together ’Til the Wheels Fall Off. All the way, baby!”
Everyone’s suddenly on their feet. The whistling, clapping, and screaming is so loud my ears ring. Lainey squeals and pulls me to my feet. Hooking her arm around my shoulders and Matt’s waist, she jumps up and down, whooping with the rest. “That was freaking amazing. Listen to this crowd!”
But my attention is focused on Ethan, who’s moved to the edge of the stage.
When he puts his hand out, I step forward to take it.
He lifts me up with little effort and quickly pulls me into his arms. “It feels good to have my wheels. I’ve missed them.”
When he presses his mouth to mine, the crowd goes absolutely nuts, their applause and foot stomps shaking the stage beneath our feet.
I kiss him back and squeeze his neck, smiling against his mouth. “I love you too.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Nara
Ethan pulls into my driveway and cuts the engine. I unbuckle my seatbelt and reach for his hand, lacing my fingers with his. As he glances my way, I smile. “Thank you for the beautiful song. I never did hear what you called it. The crowd was too loud.”
Ethan traces his thumb over mine in a slow, rhythmic caress. “The name is Together ’Til and thank you for writing yours. As much as it tore me up to read it, I had to answer you in my own way.”
My heart races as he moves his hand to my neck and bends close to whisper in my ear, “By the way, that was all me speaking to you. Adder had nothing to do with that song.”
I smile and press my cheek to his, enjoying the roughness of his stubble scraping against my skin. “He’s probably a bit offended you went solo.”
Ethan turns my chin with his thumb and murmurs, “I don’t give a damn,” right before his warm mouth presses against mine.
When his fingers thread into my hair, and he cups the back of my head, tilting it so he can deepen our kiss, I move closer and welcome the intimate slide of his tongue against mine.
My heart races as Ethan uses his hold to tug me across the seat, and before I know it, he’s shifted his seat back and I’m straddling his lap and kissing him as if we haven’t kissed in months.
His warm hands slide under my sweater and massage my back before trailing down to my hips. As the passion between us rises, his hands move to my rear. Clamping a firm hold on my butt, he tugs me closer while he shifts his hips higher.
I thread my fingers in his thick hair and moan against his mouth, enjoying the pleasurable sensations between us. The sexual tension is so thick, the air in the car feels warm despite the frigid weather outside.
Lights flash in the window as a car passes, and Ethan grips my waist and quickly sets me back into the seat.
I gape at him, confused. “What was that for—”
“Our first time will not be in a car,” he says, his tone adamant and his breathing labored.
“Well then.” Before he can say another word, I hop out and walk around the front of his car.
His hand slashes across his glass, brushing away the fog we’d created. He’s frowning as if he thinks I’ve just ditched him. I smile and I crook my finger.
Once we’re inside, I tug Ethan up the stairs. He follows, a sexy smile on his lips. As soon as we reach the hallway, I grab his shirt and pull him close to continue the kiss we’d started in the car.
His mouth captures mine, his palms cupping my hips in a tight grip.
Cool air hits my back as he starts to slide my sweater up my body. Breaking our kiss, his deep blue gaze—full of heat and want—captures mine. “Are you sure, Nara? I have protection this time, but after what almost happened to you earlier, I’m willing to wait—”
I press my finger against his lips and shake my head. “There is no way you’re going to sing a song like that to me and not expect me to jump your bones the first chance I get.”
When his gaze flares and his lips curve in a dark smile behind my finger, I trace the tip of my finger down his chin, past his Adam’s apple and along his chest until I reach the first button on his shirt. “I love you, Ethan Harris.” I unbutton the first two buttons on his shirt. “More every day.”
Unbuttoning the next two buttons, I smile at his suddenly still body and reach inside his shirt to press my hand to his warm chest. His heart thumps hard against my palm. “You’re everything I want. Never doubt it.”
Ethan’s thumbs slip inside the waistband of my jeans at the base of my spine, his fingers digging into my jeans’ pockets. “I love you, Sunshine.” His gaze holds mine as he slowly pulls my sweater over my head.
Light from the downstairs shines up the stairwell, giving off a dim glow in the hall. As soon as my sweater hits the carpet, Ethan reaches for me, but I put my hands against his chest and shake my head.
When he gives me a frustrated look, I smile and slide my hands down his shirt where the next button starts. “This is how you know I’m done waiting.”
The last two buttons ping off the walls as I pull his shirt apart with a giggle, then quickly tug it off his arms, dropping it to the floor.
Ethan’s expression is so intense, I instantly sober. “Don’t worry. I’ll sew them back on—”
I’m lifted and pressed against the wall so fast, I’m gasping with excitement as my arms settle around his broad shoulders.
His fingers flex against my butt as he presses warm kisses along my throat and down the curve of my breast above my bra. “No more holding back?” he asks, his voice a harsh rasp.
I clasp his jaw and lift his eyes to mine. “You’ve got your wheels back. Now show me what you can do with them.”
I let out a pant of surprise when he dips his head and runs his tongue along the inside curve of my breast, then nips the plump skin over the edge of my bra gently. “You taste like heaven,” he murmurs against my breast. His breath warms the skin he just wet, sending tingles jolting along every nerve ending.
Threading my fingers in his hair, I kiss the top of his head. “Don’t torture me too long tonight. I think I might combust in your arms if you do.”
Ethan’s seductive chuckle sends a fissure of delight splintering straight to my belly. �
��I’m going to find every single spot that revs you up before the night’s over.” When he presses close, and whispers, “That’s a promise, Sunshine,” the sensation of his hard chest and abs rubbing against me feels so good, I arch closer.
He feels so strong and warm, a shudder sends chill bumps racing across my skin. I can’t believe how deeply he affects me. It seems to only grow stronger. Ethan kisses my jaw and presses his hardness against me, then slowly rocks his hips. The amped desire unfurling in my belly and lower captures my entire body.
I bite my lip and match his movements, wanting to intensify our seductive, pulsing intimacy. As our hips move together in a sensual give and take, I slide my hand down his back and dig my fingers into his muscles.
Ethan suddenly arches, then expels a groaning hiss. Setting me down, he presses his forehead to mine and flattens his palms against the wall, taking deep breaths.
He sounds as if he’s in pain. I rest my fingers on his shoulder and try to keep the worry out of my voice. “Are you okay?”
Ethan folds his fingers on the back of my neck and traces his thumb along my jaw. Nodding, he lets out a low laugh, then lifts his gaze to mine. “When we connect this first time, you can’t touch my back.”
My heart sinks a little. “Why?”
Lifting my hand from his shoulder, he presses a kiss to my scar. When my knees turn to jelly and a desperate, mewling moan escapes, he smiles. “Imagine what you just felt but intensified by twenty. That’s what happens to me when your fingers brush the tattoo on my back while we’re getting close like this.”
My eyes widen. “Really?” I instantly try to slide my fingers down the curve of his shoulder to test his theory, but he captures my hand.
“Trust me. I’m not joking.” A corner of his mouth lifts. “I’m on the edge with you as it is. I don’t need the extra stimulation.”
When I purposefully push out my bottom lip, he clasps my waist and dips his head to capture my lip between his teeth. I feel the rumbling growl in his chest as he slowly pulls away, letting my lip slide sensually between his. My heart’s banging so hard, I can’t even form words.
Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3) Page 37
