“I don’t feel triumphant.” Her coral-colored bottom lip went between her white teeth. “I’ll never win against him. He’s too powerful. I just want it to be over and him out of my life.”
“He has a reputation. A lot of smoke and mirrors without much substance to back it up, since you brought the lawsuit against him. I bet he’s coughed up a shitload in payoffs and to his lawyers to defend himself. But you can’t give up. Even if you think you can’t win, you have to stand up to him, tell the truth about what happened, do the right thing. For yourself. For our baby. For the future. For us.”
Hollie went very still. Her gaze narrowed as my words were analyzed, and I knew she’d accepted them before she spoke.
“You’re right. When I was with Max, I too often avoided or ran from my problems. With you, I can face my fears and conquer them. Even Samuel.”
“You’re beautiful.” I lowered my head and kissed the remaining coral lipstick from her mouth. “And strong. You’re a force to be reckoned with. You always have been. The only credit I’ll take is for helping you recognize your own power,” I said when I lifted my head.
She nodded, then glanced around at her surroundings. “Why are we in the parking lot? Car services pick up in the front of the building.”
“We don’t need a car service. We have a five-star, safety-rated SUV.” I gestured to the white behemoth beside us bearing dealer plates.
“A what?” Her signature brow arched as she turned to regard it.
“The first of the surprises I’ve been working on while I’ve been away.”
“A Ford Expedition. I would’ve never guessed,” she said with mocking enthusiasm. “You turned in the Ninja for an SUV?”
“Still have the Ninja, babe. That’s for on the island. We need something safe to get you, me, and our baby around when we’re here.”
Chapter Sixty-Three
* * *
Hollie
“You’ve said we a lot tonight.” The events of the evening and the clues in Diesel’s words rewound in my mind while he drove. Capably. He was a safe driver, whether he sat in front of me on the Ninja or beside me in a brand-new SUV.
“There’s no me without you anymore.” He gave me a narrowed glance before returning his attention to the freeway we’d been on for quite a while.
It was the way I felt as well.
“Where are we going?” I tried again to get him to tell me, though I was starting to get a little bit of an idea, the farther we continued going south.
“Taking you to our place.” He put on the blinker for the Mission Bay exit.
“Our what?”
“You’ll see.”
“I guess I will. It’s late, nearly morning, and you promised me a nailing tonight.” There was no mistaking the disappointment in my tone.
“You’ll get my cock,” he said low, his lips curved.
“I’d better.” My stomach fluttered with anticipation as I watched the familiar scenery along the route into Ocean Beach pass by.
“Gotta make a call.” His crescents deepening, Diesel pulled up Ash’s number using Bluetooth.
“Hey, asshole,” my sister’s man said. “You almost here?”
“Yeah, ETA ten minutes. Gonna take her upstairs first. Show her around. Make good on a promise I made her tonight, then I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Roger that. I’ll gather the troops. Wake those who went to sleep already.”
“Much appreciated. Sorry we ran late.”
“You’re a brother, dude. Not an issue. Gonna be kinda cool to have you around.”
“Test your tolerance, you mean.”
“You’re family. You always have been. Distant before, but family should be close. She with you?”
“If she is me, yes,” I said. “I’m sitting right beside him.”
“Hey, Hollie,” Ash said. “You doing okay with all this cloak-and-dagger surprise stuff?”
“I’m doing okay with him.”
“Uh-oh. Not a ringing endorsement. She didn’t go gaga over the SUV, did she?”
“I did not.” I leaned in, hoping the vehicle microphone could pick up my sarcasm. It was actually a thoughtful purchase. An example of Diesel’s commitment to me. It hadn’t gone over my head. It was only if I thought too much about it, I’d likely cry.
“Necessary with kiddos on the way.” Ash chuckled. “Your sister wasn’t excited about putting the Woodie Wagon in storage.”
“Gotta go, man.” Diesel reentered the conversation. “Need to park this monstrosity. Do better things with my hands, etc.”
“I hear you. Might do the same with my gypsy rose.”
“TMI, dude.”
“Right back at ya, asshole. See you in thirty.”
My clit gave an eager twitch. Thirty minutes for my man with his talents was a lot of quality time.
Diesel steered the Expedition into a spot marked PRIVATE USE ONLY by the old sub-pump structure Fanny and I had once used as a refuge from the streets. After cutting the engine, he jogged around the hood, opened my door, and helped me out of the vehicle.
“Am I getting lucky inside Ash’s building?” I asked as he took my hand and pulled me toward it.
“Fucking you in our place.”
“Our place is in Ocean Beach?”
“Where did you think we would stay?” Not glancing at me, Diesel pulled out and scanned a card to enter the building.
“I thought I would rent a condo in LA big enough for us to share when you’re stateside.” I dragged my feet as he took my hand and tugged me across the small private foyer that Max had guarded at one time. I could almost feel his shadow.
“Renting is throwing money away when we’ll likely spend most of our time here.”
“But your house in Hilo? Your dad?”
“That’s a lot of questions. One surprise at a time.” He stepped into the waiting elevator and scanned his card again before punching a button.
I started to press him about my questions, but the taped-on name on the button he’d depressed distracted me. I read it out loud. “The potential Mr. and Mrs. Le.”
“Ash,” Diesel said under his breath, even though the drummer was nowhere in sight. “I wanted to do this inside the apartment.”
“Do what?” I asked, my mouth dropping open as he dropped to one knee. “Holy shit.” My heart started to race.
“Babe, I love you. Want to spend every second of every day with you.” He cracked open a velvet jewelry box while I stared at him with my lips parted. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Of course I will.”
“Thank fuck.”
Diesel stood and reached for my hand. I spread my fingers wide so he could slide the diamond-encircled ruby solitaire on the appropriate one.
“Do you like it?” He lifted his head, his umber gaze ensnaring me.
“I love it. I love you.”
His lips curved as the elevator door slid open. “C’mon.” He squeezed my fingers and beckoned me toward the only door in the shallow hallway.
“This is the floor below Ash’s,” I said.
“It is, and there’s an internal staircase that goes up to his level and down to the one below ours.” He inserted a key and pushed open the door. “Welcome to our place.”
“I don’t believe it,” I whispered, stepping through the small entryway and into the cavernous space beyond it.
There were high ceilings overhead with exposed beams like there were inside the drummer’s penthouse. There were also scraped hardwood floors, a modern pass-through kitchen on the left that looked almost finished, and floor-to-ceiling windows straight ahead that I knew would reveal the Pacific when the sun came up.
“Is the master bedroom behind the kitchen?”
“It is.”
“One guest room?” I glanced to the right.
“Not really. You might want to have a peek inside for another surprise.”
I rushed over and threw open the door, and my hand went to my throat. Tears
flooded my eyes.
Buttercream-yellow walls. A crib. A rocking chair. Tropical accents everywhere. Pineapples. Palm trees. Flowers. An ocean mural. It was like Hawaii had descended to fill the space with sunshine.
“Your sister helped me pick out a lot of the things. If you don’t—”
“I love it.” I whirled and threw my arms around Diesel. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
He grinned. “Wanna see our room?”
I nodded. As he escorted me, he placed his hand on the small of my back, the warmth of his skin blazing ownership that was coveted but unnecessary. I was his. All his. Only his.
“I wanted you to be able to decorate how you’d like.” He stepped behind me as we entered, moving his hands to my shoulders. The walls were bare. The space was empty except for a ginormous plantation-style four-poster bed.
“Thank you. I don’t know how you managed all of this in such a short amount of time.”
“I had help from our friends.”
“I bet you did.”
Diesel’s hands went to my hair. Pins dropped and pinged onto the floor as he released long lengths of it, letting it fall around my shoulders.
“What are you doing?” I turned my head to peer at him. Behind me, his darkened gaze met mine.
“I should think it’s obvious.” He lowered his head and pressed his warm lips to my neck.
“It’s been so long.” I shivered as he outlined the tendon between my neck and shoulder with his wet tongue. “You might need to remind me.”
“Not gonna last long. I’ve been primed all night, looking at you in this dress.”
He released the fastening at my neck. The halter portion of the gown dropped to my waist as he spun me around to face him.
“Fucking hell.” His eyes blazed fire that licked across my exposed skin nearly as palpably as he had only a moment before. “Prettiest tits I ever saw.”
Copper to alabaster, he framed my breasts. I felt them swell to conform to his hands. When he swept his thumbs over the tightened peaks, a bolt of hot pleasure shot straight to my core.
“Oh, Diesel.”
I gasped when he flicked my nipples again, then released my breasts to plunge his wickedly talented hands into my hair. I arched my body into him, managing to slide his tuxedo jacket off his broad shoulders before his lips crashed down on mine.
Firm to soft, his kiss was perfect, and he made it even more perfect with each subsequent brush of his mouth to mine. I eagerly parted my lips for his tongue, and he swept it inside. His taste was as wild and untamable as he was. Every time he stroked his tongue against mine, it felt like he was licking my already throbbing clit.
“Diesel.” I moaned his name. My fingers were immersed in the silken finery of his curls when he broke the kiss.
“Babe, fuck, you taste good.” He rained fiery kisses on my skin.
I arched my neck to the side as he worked his way down to my clavicle, then to the slope of my breast. I shuddered with need when he took one peaked tip into his mouth to suck on, then trembled, feeling a rush of wet heat drench my core when he sucked even harder on the other.
He straightened and stared down at me, his eyes dark pools that I wanted to drown in. I started to work on the tiny buttons on his shirt, but the tremors in my fingers made me fumble.
“Leave it.” He turned me around. “Grab the poster on the bed.”
He stepped back. I heard the rasp of his zipper lowering, and an excited shiver rolled through me. As soon as my fingers grasped the wood, he lifted my skirt. His warm hands rushed over my skin, up my legs, all the way to my hips. The rip of my lace thong was all the foreplay I needed.
Every cell in my body longed for him. “Diesel, please put your cock inside me.”
“Oh, I will. I definitely will.” He smoothed his fingers over the curves of my ass before grasping my hips and pulling me back. I held my breath as he positioned, then moaned low and long when he entered me. Inch by legendary inch, he stretched and filled me.
He withdrew, only to surge back inside.
The force of his reentry skidded my feet in my heels across the slick hardwood. His grip on my hips tightening, he pulled me back and stroked inside. Again and again, he impaled me with the velvet brilliance of his hot shaft.
My scalp tingled, and my clit throbbed. I knew he didn’t talk much when it got to this point, when the edge between my need and his was so close. But I needed to say something. I had to . . . with his ring on my finger and his cock inside me.
“I love you,” I murmured with him inside me so deep, physically yes, but also emotionally and spiritually. “I need you. I want you. No one has ever been better. Oh, Diesel.”
I wept with joy as he began to hammer into me. My breasts bounced in tune to his passion. Tears of pleasure leaked from my eyes. The world was fire, the equinox of everything him and me and this driving need.
“So, so good. You feel so good. I’m going to . . .” I bit my lip as it hit me, moaning his name as my knees went out from under me. Only my hold on the bedpost and his grip on my hips kept me from sliding to the floor.
Diesel slammed into me one more time. Impossibly deep and so perfectly hard, he groaned, and we both spiraled out of control, spinning into a new world—a better world because of our love.
Chapter Sixty-Four
* * *
Diesel
“Thought I’d find you here at the windows, staring at the ocean.” After a quick shower, I came up behind Hollie, bending at the waist to mold my body to hers.
“The dawn’s coming.” She brought my hands to her mouth and kissed each one, a simple touch that I felt in my soul, and leaned her pretty head back on my shoulder. “I forgot how nice the view is from up here.”
“You can go up to the rooftop deck from the internal staircase.”
She started to turn.
“Stay a minute.”
“Okay. I loved all my surprises.” She exhaled a lovely contented sigh.
“There’s a few more.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I think you know by now that I’m not in the habit of making shit up.”
“Not much of this day left. Are you going to give me any hint?”
“One surprise will lead to the other.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and turned her around. Sweeping my gaze over Hollie, I noted what she was wearing and grinned. “Told that bestie of yours you would jump into something less formal the moment you had the option.”
“I love this sundress. I have a lot of good memories associated with it.”
“Me too, pele. The best.”
And it was just as it should be. She was wearing what she had on when she’d first come to the island, and I was wearing the same pair of board shorts.
“Ready to go downstairs and make a few more?”
She nodded and placed her hand in mine. I led her out of the apartment, to the elevator, down to the ground floor, and then outside.
“Are we going to the beach?” she asked on the sidewalk.
The light breeze stirred her loose hair as her gaze drifted to the pier. The long gray concrete structure jutted out to sea, where early-morning surfers were black blobs bobbing among the undulating waves.
“Not yet. We’re going in the studio first, then you and I will come out to the beach together.”
“Okay.”
“So compliant. If I knew all it would take to get you that way was to put a ring on your finger, I would’ve done it sooner.”
I playfully slapped her sexy ass as we stepped inside. She jumped when the lights suddenly flashed on, and everyone jumped out of hiding, yelling, “Surprise!”
Hollie’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as one by one, the people she loved most came forward to congratulate her.
Her newly discovered aunt kissed her cheek. Her sister hugged her after scoping out the ring. Karen and then Simone did exactly the same thing. Ernie bussed her cheek and whispered something in her ear
that made her look at me, nod, and blush.
Then those who loved me best had their turn.
“Best girl there is,” my dad said, slowly moving toward Hollie, using his cane. “Welcome to the Le family,” he said, then asked her to bend. Taking one of the leis of red lehua blossoms from around his neck, he placed it around hers, then gave her a tender kiss on each of her tearstained cheeks.
“How can you be here?” she asked him.
“Moved here,” he told her. “With my boy.”
“You what?” She glanced at me for an explanation, and I gave it to her.
“We’re keeping the house in Hilo for visits, but we’ll mostly live here. It’s a good home base for your career and mine. My dad’s going to live in the apartment below us. He’ll be close by to help with the babysitting.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s fantastic!” Hollie put her hand on her abdomen where she was just starting to show. “This baby is going to be so blessed.”
My dad beamed.
“She’s right, Dad.” I gave him a nod.
He removed another lehua garland from around his neck and put it around mine, and we both pretended not to notice the sheen of wetness in each other’s eyes.
“Congrats, asshole.” Ramon gave me a slap on my back, then kissed Hollie’s cheek.
“Way to go, bro.” Linc hugged me first, and then my soon-to-be-wife.
“We gonna kick out this tune so you can catch the sunrise with your fiancée or what?” Ash came forward, grinning. He was having way too much fun ribbing me the way I had him when he and Fanny had become serious.
“Let’s do it.” I rested my hand on the slope of my woman’s back. “Babe,” I said to get her attention.
“Yes?” She turned away from the others and blinked up at me.
“I wanted everyone here for our engagement. But I also wanted them to hear the song I wrote for you.”
“The one about our sunrises?” she asked.
I nodded. “The guys are going to accompany me.”
“Your brothers. The ones with rhythm in their blood, saltwater in their souls, and love for you in their hearts.”
(Complete Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances #1-5) Page 143
