Just Jayne

by Ripley Proserpina

  Tennyson waved his hand, dismissing him. “We’ve figured it out. We’ll bring Jayne to California. Drop Sophie to Diego’s parents in Sausalito. Your aunt is in Bel Air, right?”

  I had whiplash trying to follow them. “Yes.”

  “Perfect. We’ll leave tomorrow. Warner’s been after us to get to LA anyway. He can’t complain.” The four of them let out identical sighs and high-fived each other.

  “It’ll give us a buffer to get rid of our guests,” Lee added. “We’ll finish recording with Blanca tomorrow.”

  “She’s not going to like being rushed through,” Klaus warned.

  “Like I care,” Lee responded.

  “I don’t get it,” I said, quietly. I didn’t think they could hear me but they did. “Why are you doing this? I’m no one to you. Just the nanny.” I used Tennyson’s word for me.

  “No, little teacher,” Klaus said. As he approached me, the others seemed to fade back. “You’re everything.”

  I shook my head, stepping away from him even as he crowded me. He glanced over his shoulder at the other guys, and they left. Just like that. Tennyson gave me a wink, Diego a small wave, and Lee a warm smile, but they seemed perfectly at ease with leaving me alone with Klaus.

  The tall man noticed the open door, and he went to it, closing it until it was almost shut.

  “Sophie might…”

  “Sophie sleeps like the dead,” Klaus interrupted. “And I have to explain some things to you in a grown-up way.”

  My pulse jumped, and I took an inadvertent step back. He stalked me, following me until my knees hit the back of the bed and I sat down. He reached for me, lifting me with his strong arms and tossing me back a little before he crawled on top of me. “Is this okay?” he asked.

  It was.

  My hips moved without me giving them permission, a gentle rocking against his body. He closed his eyes and groaned. “No one would think from looking at you that you hid the passion you do. You show it to us though.”

  It was true. I was more myself with them, dressing them down, telling them my thoughts, than I’d allowed myself to be before. I liked who I was with them, even when they made my head spin or left me reeling.

  “Is this okay?” he asked again. He was so close I could see all the shades of blue in his eyes as his gaze traveled over my face. He held my head between his hands, cocooning us from the rest of the world. I felt safe and his weight held me down, but I wasn’t trapped.

  “Yes,” I answered and wrapped my arms around his waist. I traced the muscles in his back. He was so strong, his muscles hard and defined. He hadn’t shaved, and in the dim light, his stubble was golden. I wanted to feel it against my skin, but he made no move to kiss me.

  “Jayne, you are fast becoming the most important thing in our lives. In my life, and if you don’t want this, don’t want me or us, then tell me.”

  “I’m scared.” The words tumbled out of my mouth and he reared back, eyes wide. “Not of you,” I went on quickly. “But of how you make me feel. I’m not worldly, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  He smiled then and settled back on top of me, shifting his weight a little until I felt his cock between my legs. He was hard, and I opened myself to him wider, my knees coming up to embrace him the way my arms did. His eyes closed, and he dropped his head to the curve of my neck as he groaned. “Mein Gott, Jayne. I can feel your heat.”

  I arched my back, pressing into him to rub myself against his jeans and then froze. “I can’t do this.”

  “You can,” he said. “But it has to be your choice. I want you.” He thrust into me and my breath caught. He was long, and thick, and I wanted to feel that length inside me. My core ached, throbbing. I was wet and hot, but the door was part way open, and I had to be smart and responsible.

  “I want you, too,” I said, but… my gaze went to the door, and he followed it. He glanced back at me and narrowed his eyes.

  “You’re not going to forget about that door, are you?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t.”

  “Dammit.” His breath was minty and blew my hair across my face. He shifted his weight to one side, freeing a hand so he could push it out of my face. “Then it is a good thing we’re going to California, because I don’t know how long I can wait to have you.”

  His words made me moan, and I shifted beneath him. My brain knew this wasn’t the time, but my body wanted him to strip me and push inside me. “Klaus…”

  His name on my lips seemed to drive him wild. He kissed me. And I forgot about everything. His tongue pushed past my lips, a demand not a request, and he dragged it over my tongue. He used everything when he kissed. His tongue. His teeth. His hands were in my hair, then pushing my shirt out of the way so they were on my skin.

  I went wild, crossing my ankles behind his back to keep him on top of me as I ground myself against him. I felt his strong hands unbuttoning my pants and then his fingers were sliding through the wetness he conjured inside me. It had been so long, and I was tight.

  “Jayne,” he whispered, tearing his mouth from mine to stare at me in wonder. “God, Jayne. You’re driving me crazy.” His fingers made slow, shallow thrusts inside me before he withdrew them. They glistened as he traced my lips, and then he kissed me again. “Your taste. “ He ripped his mouth away. “Aw. Fuck.” He shoved his fingers into his mouth, lapping my wetness from them and then put them in mine. He kept them there as he kissed me again. He sucked on his fingers and then on my tongue like the flavor had transferred to me.

  I dug my hands into his ass, holding him to me as tightly as I could, as the heat inside me built and built. I was going to explode. His hand dove beneath my pants again. He shoved his fingers inside of me roughly, and I wanted to touch him. I didn’t think about anything except feeling his skin and wrapping my hand around his cock.

  But when I went for him, he stopped me. His breath bellowed out of his lungs as he drew away from me. “This is my time,” he said and moved my hand to his chest, right over his heart. Then, gaze locked with mine, he resumed pumping his fingers inside me. My muscles locked, everything tightening as he flicked my clit with his thumb, and I came apart.

  He caught any noise I made with his mouth, but didn’t let up the constant thrusts inside me. I came again, body thrashing on the sheets as I tried to get closer and push him away.

  “My love,” he whispered, raining kissing on my eyelids and lips.

  He kissed me again, stealing more than my breath this time. With those kisses I gave him everything.

  And I wasn’t sorry.

  Not for a second.

  22

  Jayne

  Klaus left me a little while later, but I didn’t feel abandoned. He kissed me, and the way he looked at me… No one ever looked at me that way.

  I felt beautiful.

  Sleep came quickly, and I slept hard, utterly wrung out. I had no dreams, which, when I opened my eyes the next morning, surprised me. With everything that had happened, from the guys to my aunt, I would have expected my brain to give me a spectacular slide show of fucked up events from my past.

  But it didn’t. It was a wonderful, dreamless sleep.

  When I woke Sophie, she was in a much lighter mood. Whatever had bothered her the day before was forgotten, and she was her happy, bubbly self. And she was even happier when Diego and Tennyson appeared at her door to take her out for breakfast and then to the studio.

  I followed behind them, giving them space until we parted ways at the base of the stairs. The house seemed emptier today. There was one person in the main room, typing on their computer. She seemed a regular person, and when she saw me, she smiled. I waved and continued to the kitchen.

  Someone had made coffee and laid out food, so I made myself a cup of coffee and wrapped a Danish in a paper towel.

  “What’s your plan?”

  Lee stood in the doorway, arms crossed. The way he smiled at me, his gaze lingering on my lips as I drew my cup away and placed it in fro
nt of me, had me taking a deep breath.

  “I was going to pack,” I said. “If you all haven’t changed your mind.”

  “Not at all,” he replied. He walked inside, ambling toward me. Wrapping his hand around mine that was holding my coffee, he lifted the cup to his mouth. He winced. “Is that all sugar? I thought you drank it black?”

  “No, why?”

  “Yesterday, you had your coffee black,” he said. “You were standing right here with Mrs. Foster and you didn’t put a thing in it.”

  “How do you—”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “I make it a point to know everything that happens.” He winked at me. “Everything.” My face heated and he laughed. “Jayne,” he said, leaning forward. “Don’t be embarrassed. We share. When Klaus made you his, he made you ours.”

  Oh, God.

  I cleared my throat. “So it’s okay.”

  “It’s more than okay,” Lee replied. He turned away from me and poured his own coffee. He took a sip, dark eyes holding mine. “I’m jealous as hell. Ready for my turn, but I’ll get it.”

  “Are you for real?” I whispered. I stepped closer to him, studying him for any sign that this was a joke, or he was playing a trick on me. “You want me.”

  “I wanted you from the moment you stepped into that office for your interview. I probably wanted you when I read your file, but I didn’t admit it to myself. Or my friends. Luckily, we always come to the same conclusions. You’re made for us, Jayne.”

  “Lee?” Blanca’s soft voice traveled across the kitchen to us. Lee held my gaze a second longer before fixing a smile on his face.

  “What’s up, babe?”

  “Ten and Diego are in the studio. I’m not happy with the track we laid down, and Diego agrees. We’re going to add more piano.”

  “Okay,” he replied and set his mug down. He started to follow her and then turned around. “Jayne, do you want to come?”

  Over his shoulder I saw Blanca glare at me, but Lee held out his hand. “Sophie will love it.”

  “It may mess up the sound,” Blanca started.

  “It won’t,” Lee replied quickly, still holding out his hand. It felt like a challenge, but it wasn’t. I wanted to be with them, and if they were brave enough to not care what the world thought, then… I took it, and he led me down the hall, through the great room, and into the studio. I’d never been in there before, and I didn’t recognize half the equipment.

  Blanca went right to the piano where Diego sat. He’d been quietly playing when she came in, Sophie on one side of him. But the little girl quickly stood and came over to me when the superstar arrived.

  “We’re going to hear them play,” she whispered and grabbed my hand from Lee. Tennyson was tuning his violin, and Lee went right to his guitar.

  “Where’s Klaus?” Lee asked.

  “Here.” Klaus came in behind me. As he walked by, his fingers grazed my back, and I shivered. I didn’t think anyone saw it, but I didn’t care, either. His touch lit me on fire.

  Sophie led me out of the room with a huge control panel. Warner was inside, but all he did was flash me a glare before returning to a conversation with one of the engineers. Climbing up onto a chair, my student began to teach me about recording studios. “That’s an isolation room,” she said, pointing. “Klaus plays the drums in there, and then Lee, and Tennyson, because he’s playing the violin will probably be in that one. Diego will play piano, but he and Blanca will be recorded right there.”

  Through the speakers, Diego’s scales and chords filled the room. “Have you ever heard them play before?” she asked.

  “Not live,” I replied. Nothing could have torn my gaze away from the guys when, after getting a cue from the producer, they started to play.

  It started with Tennyson’s violin. He played a long, quiet note, drawing his bow slowly across the strings. Goosebumps broke out over my skin and then Blanca sang.

  Blanca was a rude, entitled bitch, but she could sing. Her voice was pure, so high and lovely, and then Diego came in and I was lost.

  I had no idea what the first version of the song sounded like, but this was utter, heartbreaking perfection.

  “Diego wrote this,” Sophie whispered, and I tried to pay closer attention to the lyrics.

  “Through the crowd of blonde girls, sharks, gold glittering, is where you are/You’ve got purity in your eyes/You brush away the lies and you’ll believe me.” His lyrics were a counterpoint to Blanca’s. She was the girl in the song, the one who was innocent and who believed him. Ten’s violin danced through notes, fluttering and hopeful, until something dark appeared in the music. Lee’s guitar took over, with Klaus’s drums overlaying everything.

  They were telling a story, and I listened, breath held, to see how it turned out.

  Blanca suddenly stopped, drawing her hand across her throat. “Tennyson, Christ. Can you make that less shrill, please?”

  There had been nothing about Ten’s playing that sounded shrill to me. I’d never heard notes as clear as the ones he played, but all he did was nod before they went back and played again.

  Blanca wasn’t the only one to stop the music. In fact, Diego stopped it more than her, and Lee even chimed in.

  From my spot in the room, I could see the sweat dripping from Klaus’s face, but not one of them complained. They were tireless, and they went on and on, playing one perfect version after another.

  By the time they broke, I decided I knew nothing about music at all.

  The very first version I heard sounded as good as the fifty-first.

  I glanced down at Sophie, embarrassed that I’d even forgotten she was with me. But she was staring raptly into the room. “That took a while,” she said, and looked up at me. “That first take suuuuuucked.”

  Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the room. A number of people had entered, taking the instruments from the guys to put away. The door to the control room opened and Diego poked his head inside. “Sorry that took so long. The plane is waiting.”

  “But I haven’t packed,” I said.

  “Mrs. Foster did. She packed for you and Sophie while we played. All your stuff is at the airport.” He held his hand out and Sophie hopped off the chair and took it.

  “Did Diego tell you I’m going to my abuela and abuelo’s?”

  “He did,” I said. “Are you excited?”

  She was doing that thing where she bounced on her toes and nodded eagerly. “Yep!”

  I followed them out of the control room, and the rest of the guys soon joined us. Along with Blanca. “So I’ll see you in Cali.”

  “Yeah,” Diego answered. “Warner has it all worked out.”

  “People are going to go bananas when they see us together,” Blanca said. She leaned into Diego, her hand grazing his chest. She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek before slowly lowering herself to the floor. “You have my number.”

  It was ridiculous to feel jealous. Blanca and I didn’t exist in the same solar system, but I was physically unable to stand and watch her moon over Diego. He wasn’t mine. Just because Lee said they shared. Did I completely misinterpret what that meant? Maybe Lee was interested, and Klaus, but Diego was going to pass when it came to being with me.

  A hand wrapped around my wrist before I got to the great room. Diego tugged me into a room, and shut the door behind us. “Why didn’t you say something to her?” he asked.

  He crowded me, pressing close until my back was against the door.

  “To who? Blanca?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Do you not like me?” His dark brows drew together as he studied me, and he made a move to back away.

  “Are you crazy?” I stopped him, fisting my hands in his shirt. “Of course I do. But Blanca. I’m not in the same league as her. I don’t know what you want.”

  He seemed confused and pressed into me. His erection pushed into my soft belly and my eyes shut. “How can you not know what I want?”

  I didn’t know my own name whe
n he moved the way he did. He took my hands from his shirt and wrapped them around his back before lowering his mouth to my neck. His tongue grazed my skin before he sucked against me. With each bite, he rolled his hips into me, taking his pleasure. “Does this feel like I don’t want you?”

  My breath caught, and I let my eyes close and head fall back to give him better access to my neck.

  “I don’t want Blanca Travis. I don’t want her hands on my body. I don’t want her touching me. It makes me sick.”

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked breathlessly.

  “Claim me,” he said, and my eyes popped open. I stared at him, trying to understand. It hit me all at once, and then he said that words that drove it home. “Mark me. I’m yours.”

  Mine.

  Keeping my eyes on his, I stood on my tiptoes until I could reach his neck. I let my lips touch him first and stayed gentle. He was salty and his skin still dewy from his time in the studio, and I lapped up the taste.

  Groaning he rocked into me, but I dug my nails into his back in warning. I would control this.

  “I can’t stand to see anyone touch you,” I whispered and blew across the wetness on his neck. He groaned again and moved to grab me, but I flipped our positions. Now his back was against the wall and I held his wrists in my hands. He was much stronger than me, and at any time he could have stopped this, but he didn’t.

  His dark eyes burned with an internal fire. Whatever I was doing to him right now, he wanted. Needed. And what he needed more than anything was to give me control. Okay. I could do that for him. With a deep breath, I centered myself and smiled. “Kneel down.”

  His eyes flared wide and then he dropped to his knees. I followed him, settling onto my knees until I could reach his neck again.

  I sucked the skin into my mouth hard while squeezing his wrists. “Jayne.” His voice was hoarse. “Fuck. I’m clean. Just so you know.” Releasing one hand, I snuck my hand down the waist of his pants until I could grip him. He wasn’t circumcised, so I had to push down his foreskin. I wanted to see him, and I wanted him in my mouth. Everybody could have been waiting for us, but I didn’t care. He needed this, and I was going to give him what he needed.