by Anna Paige
“He’s nicer than I would have expected but still kinda scary—no offense.”
She gave me a dreamy smile. “Isn’t he though?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. We made it another half a block before either of us spoke again.
“Ethan showed you his studio?” Aubrey asked in a tone that implied she already knew the answer.
“Yeah. It was incredible, absolutely stunning.”
She nodded in agreement. “He’s so talented. I can’t even use a paint roller, much less create anything even remotely resembling art.”
“Me either.” I admitted.
“But you’re into art, right? I mean, you do work in a gallery.”
“Oh, I adore all things artistic. Painting, sculpture, whatever. It all intrigues me.” I snorted softly as Dammit finally found something worthy of lifting his little leg. “I even like graffiti. I know, I know—it’s illegal, but some of the stuff that’s out there is flat-out amazing.”
“I’ve seen some really phenomenal artwork on the side of overpasses myself,” she agreed, smiling.
“Exactly. If I were in the position to track down and feature some of those street artists, I definitely would. I feel like there are a lot of really talented artists out there who just don’t have the means or the platform to get noticed, you know?”
She said nothing, still smiling as she looked over at me approvingly.
“What?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking how well-matched you and Ethan are. You kind of sounded like him just now.”
I tried not to let it go to my head. After all, being well-matched wasn’t going to matter when the holidays were over, and he had to get back to his life, one that kept him on the other side of the country most of the time. “We definitely have an appreciation of art in common, but that’s to be expected.”
“Yeah, it is. But that’s not what I meant. It’s more than that.”
I just shrugged, not wanting to get too heavy with the conversation. “I think Dammit is trying to freeze us to death.” I hooked a thumb in the direction we’d come from. “He’s probably done, if you want to head back to the loft.”
“That definitely sounded like Ethan. He’s the king of evasion. Only Jared has been harder to crack, which is really saying something.”
“Really? He seems pretty straightforward to me. Maybe he doesn’t answer every question right away, but he usually gets around to it eventually.”
“With you, he’s like that. But that’s so freaking rare for him; you have no idea.” She looped an arm through mine and continued walking in the opposite direction of the loft. “Most of the time, I don’t even think he’s a hundred percent transparent with the rest of the band—with the exception of Jared, who I’m pretty sure he tells everything.”
“He told me how close they are. If they were already best friends before the accident, I can only imagine how bonded they are after going through something like that together.” I leaned into her side and admitted rather shyly, “Your husband is definitely intimidating, but Jared is the one I’m the most afraid to meet. He’s so close to Ethan, what if he doesn’t like me?” I winced and shook my head. “God, I sound like a stupid teenager; forget I said anything.”
Aubrey laughed quietly. “Too late, it’s out there now. And it’s not stupid. You like Ethan, so of course you want to fit into his circle. That’s a pretty normal instinct.”
“Even for a fling?” I blurted and instantly wished I could slip between the bars of the steam grate we were passing and disappear.
“Oh, honey. If you were a fling, you wouldn’t be hanging with the band.” She looked at me like she couldn’t believe I thought that. “These guys don’t have a lot of free time, and I’ve never seen any of them—aside from my husband, of course—go to such great lengths to make time for anyone outside the band. Ethan’s seriously into you, and it shows.”
“It’s only been a little over a month, and we’ve been thousands of miles apart for most of it.”
She shrugged. “Whirlwind romance is a phrase for a reason. It happens. That instant connection between two people where they just click from day one.”
“Was it like that for you and Kade?”
“Us?” She snorted and shook her head. “We hated each other—hated—in the beginning. He’s stubborn as hell, and I’m not one to back down, so…it got heated, to say the least.”
“Sounds like an interesting story.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll fill you in sometime. But right now, we’re talking about you and Ethan.”
“Whirlwind, huh?” I scoffed.
“That’s what I’m predicting. Instant attraction can turn into amazing things, trust me. After the initial push and pull, Kade and I had a whirlwind ourselves, sort of. Hell, I’m here today because of a whirlwind romance.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued.
“My parents. They married less than two months after they met, and to hear my dad’s version of the story, it drove them crazy to wait that long.”
“Two months? Wow.”
“Married at twenty and spent the rest of their lives together, not one day apart.” Her smile was tinged with sadness, and it wasn’t lost on me that she spoke of them in past tense.
“Sounds like an epic love story.”
“It was,” she said quietly.
We were passing a small bakery, and the smells of fresh pastry and strong coffee wafted out to us.
Eager to change the subject, I stopped and offered her the leash. “Will you keep an eye on Dammit while I grab us some coffee and a snack?”
She took the leash from my hands and peeked through the store window. “Sure. I could use a pick-me-up and a sugary treat.”
Shit!
She said treat!
Dammit went nuclear.
He jumped and barked and ran circles around her legs until she was so tied up she couldn’t move. One good tug from him, and she’d hit the freezing pavement. I couldn’t get my hands on him and almost knocked her over myself trying to grab him.
Luckily, the bodyguard stepped in to help.
He steadied her while I scooped Dammit up and unhooked the leash long enough to unwrap it from her legs. The dog still wiggled and whimpered in my arms, not forgetting for a second that someone said the t-r-e-a-t word. “Shit, Aubrey. I’m sorry. He spazzes out when he hears that word. Are you okay?”
“It’s not how I usually like to be tied up—I’ll tell you that,” she joked and managed to make her three-hundred-pound tatted-up bodyguard blush.
Once he let go and resumed his spot a few yards behind us, she smirked. “I love messing with that guy.”
I clipped Dammit’s leash back on but didn’t put him down, opting instead to hand him to her. “He’ll wiggle a while longer but maybe they’ll have something inside I can use to appease him. Really, I’m so sorry. He’s such a loon when he hears that word.”
“No problem. It was kind of funny.”
“Not from where I stood. I kept picturing having to tell your enormous, scary husband how my crazy dog hog-tied you and dragged you down the sidewalk.” I snorted and patted his head while he chuffed and whipped Aubrey’s side with his tail. “How do you take your coffee?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Emily
After I emerged with two coffees, a box filled with over a dozen mixed pastries, and one ‘pup-pastry,’ we decided it was time to head back. Aubrey held Dammit in her arms and tried to keep him from stealing a taste of her coffee while I tore off pieces of specialty doggy donut to hand feed him as we talked.
“Kade mentioned that Ethan is having Thanksgiving dinner with you and your friend.”
It wasn’t a question, which was good since I had no idea how to reply. Were they upset that he changed his plans? I got an answer to that question a second later.
“I’m so glad he gets to have something normal this year. The band doesn’t ever celebrate on Thursday, since they have the annual concert here that ev
ening. Kade and Kane’s mom usually cooks on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and Lenn’s folks do, too.”
“I guess it’s hard having such a demanding schedule.” I said, my mind churning with an idea I wanted to run past Ethan.
“Sometimes. I mean, they enjoy what they do, but missing big holidays or events in their personal lives because of concerts or scheduled appearances is tough on them. They take it all in stride, though. They’ve been doing it so long that I think it’s sort of expected.”
We neared Ethan’s building, and the guard in the lobby gave us a curt nod as he buzzed us in. I set Dammit back on his furry feet in the elevator and as soon as the doors opened he charged out, jerking the leash from my hand and darting between Kade’s legs as he stood in the loft’s open door.
“Careful of that leash. Turns out Emily’s dog is proficient at shibari.”
“Freaky little dude, huh?” Kade smirked and gave his wife a tender kiss.
“Definitely.”
“You know, dogs are said to take on the characteristics of their owners,” Lennox said, eyeing me with a salacious grin as I walked into the room.
Ethan stepped up behind him and slapped him on the back of the head. “That explains why yours used to spend so much time dragging his ass on the carpet and humping your mom’s garden gnomes.”
“Ouch. Tell me Lennox, do those pointy little hats hurt?” I asked as I walked around him to stand by Ethan, who was shaking with laughter.
“Depends on where you stick ‘em, sweetheart,” Lennox replied, not deterred one bit by my comment, even though everyone in the room was laughing at his expense.
“She really is gonna fit right in with this crowd, Ethan.” Aubrey winked at me, and I averted my face to hide my blush.
“I never doubted it for a second.” He gripped my waist and pulled me to his side.
I nudged him and waited for him to look down at me.
“Can I talk to you for a second in the other room?”
His brow furrowed but he nodded, letting go of my waist and following me out. “What’s going on? Everything okay?” he asked as we reached the living room.
“Everything’s great. I was just thinking…”
“Uh oh,” he teased.
“Shut up.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “I was thinking that I’d like to invite your friends to dinner Thursday, too, but I don’t think I’ll have enough room at my place.”
He was smiling, and I knew he remembered what I said about feeding people. “So, you need a bigger kitchen to prepare all that food in? Maybe one the size of say…my kitchen?”
I let my eyes go round. “Gee, I never thought of that!”
“Smartass,” he quipped, laughing. “I think it’s a great idea, if you really want to take on the task of feeding all those people.”
“It’s five more people, not an army.” I frowned. “Wait, it will be five, right? Jared should be here by then?”
“Yep. Talked to him while you guys were gone. He’s getting in Wednesday morning, which means we’ll have time to get a couple last-minute practices in before the show.”
“That’s perfect. You guys can practice while I cook.”
Ethan slung his arm around my shoulders and steered us back toward the kitchen, where the rest of the band was still hanging out. “Hey, fuckers, listen up!” he bellowed. “No crappy Chinese food for you this year. Emily is cooking Thanksgiving dinner right here, and the whole band is invited.”
“Hell yeah!” Lennox and Kane said in unison.
Aubrey strode toward us and pulled me into another one of her extra tight hugs. “I’ll help, if that’s okay. I’m no Julia Child, but I haven’t killed anyone yet with my cooking.”
“Yet being the operative word,” Kade said from behind her, chuckling as she shot him the bird. When his eyes found mine a moment later, his smile widened even more. “Thanks for the invite, Emily. But I’ll only come if you let me cover the cost of the groceries, okay? Cooking for this crowd gets pricey, and I won’t let you take on that kind of expense.”
I gave a little nod and returned his smile, pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I expected him to be.
Aubrey tucked into his side and draped an arm across his abdomen. “See why I love him so much? He’s such a sweetheart.”
“Him? So false.” Lennox rolled his eyes. “I’m the sweetheart of the group.”
Kane coughed into his fist. “Bullshit.”
The most brilliant idea hit me as I watched Lennox and Kane banter back and forth, so I whipped my phone out of my back pocket and opened the browser.
“Whatcha looking for?” Ethan glanced down at the screen.
I typed in the keywords and hit search before turning the phone so Ethan could see it better.
He stared at the search bar for several seconds cracking up, laughing so hard his eyes watered. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn’t fill them in. Instead, he squeezed me to his side and pointed at the phone. “I’m so chipping in on that. Best Christmas present idea ever!” He burst out laughing again.
Lennox was going to have a great Christmas this year…
With his gnome-shaped prostate massager.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ethan
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Emily handled herself so well around the guys. From that first scathing glare at the gallery, I knew she wasn’t the type to back down.
Lennox kept up with his usual shenanigans, making disgusting jokes and crude gestures, and rather than be offended, Emily met every comment with one of her own. She was funnier than Lenn, which I knew was killing him.
Kane still shot me the occasional look, like he thought I was a sellout or something but he also seemed to really like Emily, laughing and goofing around with her like she was one of us.
Even Kade seemed to be enjoying her presence, and it struck me again just how much finding Aubrey saved him from himself. He was in a dark place when they met, nothing like the guy we all knew. He’d been angry and self-destructive, playing into the ‘dark twin’ bullshit the media liked to spout. Now, though, he was back to his old self…but better. Yeah, he still looked intimidating with his resting jerk face, but he wasn’t that guy. He could have been, if things hadn’t happened the way they did, but meeting Aubrey had saved him from that.
Finding love had saved him.
I glanced over at Emily, who was returning to the living room with a beer in each hand, and smiled.
She plopped down next to me on the couch and handed one over. “Looked like you were ready for another.”
“What I’m most ready for is you,” I muttered into her ear after I kissed her cheek. “But the beer will work for now.”
“Get a room,” Lennox snorted from across the room.
I flipped him off. “All these rooms are mine, dildo. So I’ll do what I want.” To prove my point, I took Emily’s beer and mine and set them on the coffee table before turning and laying an epic kiss on her. I’m talking a heart-pounding, hair-pulling, lip-biting, moan-inducing kiss to beat all kisses.
When I was done, I nudged her nose with mine and left her sitting there with her eyes still closed while I reached to retrieve our beers.
Lennox, for once, made no comment, still watching Emily recover.
Kane was also uncharacteristically silent.
Aubrey, though, turned to Kade and muttered, “We need to get back to our room, babe. Like now.”
They locked eyes and Kade was on the move a second later, all but throwing her over his shoulder as he announced, “Anyone looking to ride back with us better get fucking moving. I don’t make my lady wait when she wants the D. Fall in or call a cab, fuckers.” He nodded to Emily and me on the way past. “You two have a good night. Aubrey will call you tomorrow about the grocery shopping, Emily, assuming she has the energy.” He slapped Aubrey’s ass and she yelped, shooting him a glare. “Say goodbye, Aubrey.”
“Bye, Ethan! B
ye, Emily! Bye, Dammit!”
Dammit chuffed from his spot on the now-empty love seat.
“Bye, everyone!” Emily called, as Lennox and Kane frantically tried to keep up with the happy couple.
“They’re gonna tear up that hotel room tonight.” I smirked. “If one kiss got them that aroused, imagine what porn must do.”
“That kiss aroused more than just those two.” She looked over at me with hooded eyes, dragging her gaze down my torso.
“Getting a good look?”
“Yep,” she confirmed, her eyes hungry. “Checking out everything I intend to lick as soon as I’m sure your friends are gone.”
“Time to lock up the dog, huh?”
“That travel carrier works for more than car rides,” she confirmed.
“Or,” I reached out and thumbed her hardened nipple through her shirt. “We can go up to the studio. I’ll make sure the stairs are blocked so he can’t follow us—even when I make you come so hard you scream.”
She jumped to her feet and reached for my hand, offering to help me up. “You gonna talk me to death, or can we go upstairs and see which of us can make the other scream loudest?”
I snorted, letting her pull me along. “Guys don’t scream.”
“We’ll just see about that…”
“Ethan!” Emily’s head was thrown back as she straddled me on the bed, her body grinding into me until I saw fucking stars. I was sitting on the edge of the bed as she rode me, my feet still on the floor so I had leverage to thrust.
She circled her hips, taking me deep.
“Fuck!” I grunted, gritting my teeth.
Her arms were locked behind my neck, pulling me close as I sucked her tits. She rose and fell on my cock hard, fast, and so, so good. She rode me like she couldn’t get enough, like it was her favorite thing in the world to feel my cock slamming deep inside her over and over.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to lose control.
