He nudges me with his shoulder. “You were mad at me.”
I open my eyes and look at him. He’s too close. Way too close. “I still am.”
He nods. “Understandable.”
With a grimace, I motion toward the poster. “I probably could have handled it with a bit more maturity.”
Atlas laughs. “Probably. Did you at least keep my face?”
I snort. “No.”
It’s folded on top of my dresser.
His eyes narrow briefly, then he nods, searching my gaze. “You’re just as beautiful as I remember.”
I close my eyes on a long blink and take a deep breath. Hearing his voice, seeing him in the flesh, it’s better than anything I could have imagined.
And I imagined everything.
We’ve reunited in my head a million times in a million different ways. Somehow, none of them involved my embarrassing bedroom at my Mom’s house.
Atlas touches my hand and I open my eyes.
He smiles, rubbing his thumb back and forth over my knuckles. “I know you probably haven’t forgiven me for getting you wrapped up in that drama with the magazine, or not fighting for you when you came back to the room that day.” He pauses, biting down on his bottom lip. I wait for him to continue, though, because whatever he’s working on needs to be said. His dark eyes meet mine again, and his brows furrow. “And, hell, Kayla, after the way I treated your friend—”
I stand up, pulling my hand away from his grasp. “What?”
I can’t think when he’s touching me.
Atlas tilts his head, his brow furrowing deeper. “Yeah, you know, your blonde friend? The one that was with you the night we met. She came by the Hard Rock—”
“Wait.” I cross my arms and stare down at him. He looks ridiculous sitting on my bed in all that black. He’s out of place here. “When did Scarlet come see you?”
Atlas stands and I take a step back. If he gets too much closer, I might forget my line of questioning and never get to the bottom of this.
He stops, dropping his hands to his sides. “She came to return the passes I sent you.”
I purse my lips. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
He shrugs, then pulls the letter—my letter—from inside his hoodie.
“Oh my God.” Shaking my head, I walk to the door and open it. “Why are you here?”
He sighs and raises his hands. “Before you freak out—”
“Too late.”
“I’m not here to pay back what they took from you.”
My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline. “No?” Good. I’d never take his pity money. “Just go, Atlas.”
“Why, Kayla?” He steps toward me and pushes my door closed. “What are you so mad about? Your friend cares about you. I care about you.”
I open my mouth to call him out on his bullshit, but he slides his hands over my cheeks and pulls my head to his, pressing his lips over mine. For a split second, I kiss him back.
For a split second, I let myself feel the way it feels when Atlas has his lips on mine and the rest of the world melts away.
For a split second I forget that he came here to pay me off.
I break the kiss, even though losing that connection to him chips another deep fissure into my heart, then I open the door and wipe my mouth. “Please go.”
“Kayla, please, just hear me out—”
“Fine. If you won’t go, then I will.” I step out into the hallway and rush down the stairs in what might be a move that’s more immature than ripping his face out of the band poster.
“Kayla!”
Ignoring his voice, I grab the keys to my Jetta off the hook on the wall at the base of the stairs, then turn and slam right into my mom.
“Mom...” I fight for something to say.
“Now, Kayla, you’re a grown woman, and I try to stay out of your business, really I do.” I look past her; my car is just a few yards away. She crosses her arms and moves so we’re eye to eye again. “But if you don’t run your narrow ass right back up those stairs and hear that boy out, you’re grounded.”
I scoff. “I’m sorry?”
She shakes her head at me. “You heard me. Now go.” She points upstairs, and I turn around and look up at the beautiful man standing in my upstairs hallway.
I grumble on my way up, but she just laughs.
Evil woman.
I walk past him and go back into my room, waiting for him to follow. When he comes back in, I close the door.
“You done?” His lips twitch on a smile.
“You have five minutes.”
He looks me up and down, then smiles playfully. “Oh, I need much more time than that, Kayla.”
I cross my arms and ignore the heat that rushes everywhere he looks, as if the energy in my body rushes around in a frenzy to meet his gaze. I narrow my eyes. “How much time?”
He meets my gaze and all playfulness is gone. “A lifetime.”
I rock back on my heels, but don’t say anything.
He stands and slowly makes his way toward me. “See, I already talked to Scarlet, Kayla, and I am well aware that any money I give you will be”—he pauses and looks up at the corner of my ceiling—“how did she say it? Oh, yes, pity money.”
I grimace.
“So, contrary to what you assumed, I’m not here to pay you.”
He takes another step toward me. There’s only about a foot between me and the door, and only two feet between me and Atlas, and goddammit, Mom, why is my room so freaking small?
“So, since I can’t invest in your school myself—”
“You don’t know anything about my school.”
“I know enough.”
Scarlet is dead meat.
He pulls an envelope out of his hoodie. “I went to see those investors in Irvine.”
My eyes widen, and my heart stutters in my chest. “You got them to change their minds?”
He laughs, “Hell no. Those guys are dicks.”
I frown. Oh.
“But I can do you one better.” He holds the envelope out to me, but I hesitate, looking up into those dark eyes I love so much. When I don’t take the letter, he gives it a shake. “Go on. You’re really making this difficult.”
Biting my lip, I grab the envelope and pull the letter out. A check falls to the ground, but Atlas bends to pick it up while I read the letter.
From Microsoft.
I swallow hard.
When he stands, I look up at him again, searching his gaze. “There has to be a catch.”
He laughs. “No catch.” He steps toward me and now I’m hyper aware of that remain one foot of space between us. “Do you know how much these guys invest in education?” He shakes his head. “It’s nuts. I went into the wrong business.”
I laugh, and he smiles.
“It’s nice to see you laugh again.” He holds out the check and I look at the amount. It’s double what I lost from that other investment company.
I look up into his eyes. “Atlas, that’s...”
“Double. I know.” He closes the space between us and wraps his arms around my waist. “Should I tell them you don’t want their pity money?”
I bark out a laugh, then cover my mouth.
He shakes his head. “Congratulations, Kayla. Operation Learn and Love is back on.”
My chest shakes when I try to take a breath, and my eyes are so wet I can barely see him as he brings his mouth to mine, but when he kisses me, everything that broke falls back into place, like he’s the glue that holds my heart together.
When he pulls back, he wipes tears from my cheek. “Is it crazy if I tell you I’m in love with you?”
I laugh, and it’s that awful sound again. “Yes.”
He laughs too, then nods. “Then call me crazy.” He looks at the door behind me, then back into my eyes. “You know, this might be crazy too, but I’ve been thinking about being inside you for weeks now. Can we go somewhere and get back to what we started in Vegas?”
I smile and nod. “Say please.”
He growls. “Fuck please.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Atlas
I bend to pick her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist. I reach behind her and slide the key card into the lock, then walk us inside the hotel room. Closing the door and locking the deadbolt, I turn us around and push her back against the door.
“I’ve broken every single rule for you, Kayla.”
She licks her lips and continues to look up at me expectantly.
“I’ve broken them repeatedly.”
She giggles. “Sorry?”
“You should be.” I smile. “I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”
She reaches up and trails her hand over my beard stubble. “I recognize you.”
“Yeah? And what do you see?”
“Put me down.”
I do as she says, and she stands up in front of me, leveling those brown eyes on me. “I see everything I never knew I needed.” She pulls the old Stones shirt up and over her head. Hello, ladies. I’ve missed you.
She takes a step forward, so I take a step back. “I see the perfect storm I waited for my whole life. I sailed right into it. Happily.” She moves her hands down to her jeans and pops the top button free.
I lick my lips and force myself to maintain eye contact even though I want to follow her hands.
“I see madness and chaos, talent and passion.” Another button. I can’t keep my focus on her eyes any longer.
“I see the man of my dreams.”
I frown, then bring my gaze back up to hers.
She shakes her head. “You have no idea how amazing you are.”
She teases her nipples and my attention falls to her tits. I reach down and adjust my dick.
“I see you, Atlas. In all your glory. Your faults, your scars, your broken dreams.” She lets her jeans fall to the floor, then takes a step forward. “Your broken trust.”
I look up into her eyes. “I trust you.” My chest tightens around my heart as I say the words, but they’re true, and she deserves to hear them.
“And I trust you.”
She pushes her panties down and steps out of them.
“I see you, Atlas. You have my past, my future, my heart.”
She runs her hand down her belly, and I follow it with my eyes, my dick pressing painfully against my jeans.
“And I see you fucking me against that wall in the next three seconds.”
I look up and smile as I rush toward her and pick her up in one quick motion. Her legs fly around my waist and I struggle to get my jeans down fast enough.
My dick springs free and I run my fingers over her wet lips, then press inside of her, filling her with my cock in one quick motion. She cries out as her body stretches around me, then she brings her head back level with mine and holds my gaze as I fuck her, hard, slamming her back against the wall and claiming her body like it’s mine. Finally mine.
Because it is.
I brand her with each thrust and she takes ownership of me with each fucking moan from those perfect lips.
Her nails dig into my shoulders as she cocks her hips in such a way that she can rub her clit against me as I pound into her, and as I fuck her silly like I’ve wanted to do since she said goodbye, she brings her mouth to mine. I grip her ass and thrust harder still, as if easy love making is the last thing either of us needs right now.
Sometimes only a good hard fuck will do, and I have the rest of my life to make love to this woman.
It takes no time at all for us to reach the finish line, but as I’m about to unload into that tight pussy I love so much, she pulls back and looks at me. Reaching her hand up, she runs her fingertips across my lips and holds my gaze steady.
“Where’s home, Atlas?”
I frown. “I don’t have one.”
“Wrong.” She starts to move again and my eyes flutter closed. She feels so good, so—
“Where’s home, Atlas?”
I groan and claim her mouth, plunging my tongue as deep as I can because somehow, suddenly, just being inside her isn’t enough, I want to taste every inch of her, brand her with every inch of me. When I pull back and look into her eyes, they’re lidded and sparking with lust, and as she clenches around me, and her breathing quickens, I lean forward and press my lips against her throat.
“Where’s home, Atlas?” She can barely get the words out as her body starts to shake.
“Right fucking here, Kayla.”
THE END
Turn the page for a taste of Cade Scott, notorious playboy and badass drummer of Banging Cade...
BANGING CADE
Completely Rocked, Book 2
Coming January 2018
CADE SCOTT goes through women like he goes through towns: fast and without a backward glance. He has one self-imposed rule: nothing—and no one—will ever tie him down. Upon returning home for a few months while his band takes a break between tours, he accepts a teaching gig at a local music school to repay an old debt. When Hannah Lake walks into his life, his rule—and his world—are turned upside down. Fifteen years his senior, Hannah embodies the term M.I.L.F.; every last inch of her promises the ride of his life.
Hannah Lake isn’t against men in general, she’s just sworn off sex until her daughter graduates high school. If she’s correct in her countdown, that’s only another... seven-hundred and thirty-two days. No biggie. Hell, sex is what got her here in the first place: divorced with a sixteen-year-old and an ex-husband who had more mistresses than a king has concubines. But when Hannah meets her daughter’s new drum instructor, her carefully managed self-control is put to the test.
Because Cade Scott embodies every rule she’s ever wanted to break.
And you know what they say about rules.
Chapter One
Cade
The roar of the crowd grows louder when we leave the stage and head back toward our dressing rooms. They chant the band name rhythmically, a three-syllable mantra they hope will bring their dreams to fruition, but we already played the encore and won’t be returning to the stage until the next tour. My hands still vibrate as I remove the earplugs from my ears. I’m hungry and horny and plan on fixing at least one of those as soon as possible. The basement corridors of the MGM are packed with people who think they know us, smiling and waving and acknowledging us each by name as we pass, even though we won’t remember them two seconds from now.
I squeeze past a mob of fans, nodding at them and smiling my best smile, even though it’s forced because my head still pounds with the residuals of last night’s hangover. Two nights in Vegas is fucking hell, and I’m beyond ready to hit the road tonight.
“Hey, Cade,” Chris yells.
I stop at the corridor that leads to our bus parked outside those double doors. Chris’ chick has joined him on his way to the bus, and she gives me a quick wave. I give her the first real smile of the night. She’s been with my brother, and essentially the band, since middle school. Trinity is family.
“Trin already grabbed our stuff,” Chris says. “So just head straight to the bus.”
I nod, then meet Trinity’s gaze. “Thanks, Ma.”
She flips me the bird, then they slip outside.
Trinity started cleaning up our dressing rooms after the final tour stop on our West Coast tour two years ago, when she realized that if we made it back to our rooms, chances are we’d be accompanied by too many girls to say no to, and we’d never get on the road on time. She might be Chris’ chick but she’s become the honorary tour mom. I give her shit for it but secretly like the way she takes care of us.
I glance toward my dressing room, debating if I should go give it a quick once over, in case she overlooked something—
“Cade?”
I turn toward the voice and discover a blonde chick that has somehow made it past security. A lanyard hangs from her neck, but it’s flipped around so I can’t see who she is or how she got back here. She isn’t familiar, so she’s
not one of our usual Bangers. Props to her for making it this far past security. None of that matters, though, as I trail my gaze up from that pass hanging at belly button level. The lanyard straps sit between a set of full tits—definitely fake, but I won’t hold that fact against her. Not all chicks are blessed with perfectly plump breasts and a full, soft ass. Especially nowadays when they’re all working so hard to out dead-lift each other.
I linger on her cleavage a few seconds, then bring my focus up to lips that were meant to wrap around my dick.
It twitches in response, as if I’d forget that it’s there and just has horny as I am hungry.
She smiles, and I lick my lips as her full lips spread wide to reveal perfectly straight teeth. “I’m Ella.”
I nod. “How’d you get back here?”
She smirks. “Does it matter how?”
My lips twitch on a smile. “I guess that all depends on the why.”
She steps toward me, then tucks her finger into my waist band and runs it back and forth across my stomach. “I should think the why is obvious.” She leans forward, bringing her lips to my ear, and pulls my earlobe into her mouth. She moans so softly I barely hear it, then pushes something into my pocket. Her hand reaches deeply enough that it presses against my dick, which swells ever so slightly in response.
I’m too hard up for my own good.
A kick ass show does this to me every time. My adrenaline gland has a direct link to my dick.
She licks my ear, then pulls back, dropping her gaze to my crotch. “Down, boy,” she whispers. Her gaze flicks back up to mine and she licks those lips I want to fuck, then smiles slowly. “That’s my hotel room info. I’ll be there in about thirty minutes, but I won’t wait around forever.”
Bullshit.
She winks and walks away, and all I can do is watch her with a smile on my face and tightness in my pants.
It’s a shame we’re leaving tonight. She looks like a good fucking time.
I glance back at my room, then turn toward the double doors. Trinity hasn’t forgotten a single thing in the few years she’s been cleaning up after us. If she forgot something tonight, I’ll buy myself a new one.
Claiming Atlas (Completely Rocked Book 1) Page 17
