After one glance at me and my awed expression that clearly demonstrated, as if my screaming his name had not, that I was the most thoroughly satisfied woman on the planet. He grinned, tagged his jeans from the floor, and strutted his I-am-the-man swagger out of the bedroom, mumbling something about the piano. I wasn’t sure. I was still having difficulty focusing, though I had managed to find just enough energy to sit up so I could watch him walk away, his barely buttoned jeans enticingly low on his narrow hips and gorgeous ass.
I would’ve had my girlfriend card revoked if I’d done any less.
Later, when I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, I heard music, the unmistakable lilting notes of the piano being masterfully played. The melody was unlike any I’d heard before and so hauntingly poignant it brought tears to my eyes.
I quickly pulled on the stockings and lingerie I’d decided to surprise Warren with while I listened to him stop and restart on the same couple of notes. I got the garters in place, slid my feet into a pair of high heeled pumps, and hurried into the living room.
That’s when he started singing. I got a chill from the sheer beauty of it. His smooth voice combined with the piano was like the icing on an already decadent cake.
Spinning way beyond control
I’m a lost and lovely soul
On the edge of no tomorrow
Overcome by pain and sorrow
Too far gone to play this empty role.
I moved forward as if entranced, wading through air saturated with the lyrical magic he’d created to get closer to the man I already found impossible to resist.
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” I whispered as his fingers continued to glide over the keys.
He shook his head and scooted down the bench making room for me. The section he began to play next was new. I closed my eyes and let the music wash over me, only opening them again when he started singing.
Suddenly, I see your light
Brightest star in my dark night
Offer up a remedy
Sweet elixir made for me
Touch my lips I know I’ll be alright
So lift me up now on your wings
Give me hope so I can dream
Piece together my black heart
Say we’ll never be apart
‘Cause Sweetness, you’re my everything
My lips spread into a smile that was for him and him alone.
This was our song.
It was about him and me.
Love is the unlikely cure
Once polluted, now I’m pure
You’re the words to my new song
Found the place where I belong
In your arms I know my way is sure.
So lift me up now on your wings
Give me hope so I can dream
Piece together my black heart
Say we’ll never be apart
‘Cause Sweetness, you’re my everything.
When he returned to the chorus again, I knew the words well enough to add my voice to his. I couldn’t have stopped from singing with him even if I had wanted to try. Our voices blended together even as I moved close to him on the bench, and we stared deeply into each other’s eyes.
I loved all the lyrics but I noticed a hint of uncertainty in the chorus. Surely he didn’t really fear what the future would bring for us?
I used to, but I didn’t anymore. He had my name permanently inked into his skin. My love for him was just as artfully etched, but it was on the inside deep in my soul where only he could see. I knew there wouldn’t be any quick fix. Years of rejection made it hard for him to believe he was worthy of anyone’s love. With time and patience I was confident that my actions would bridge those insecurities and that I would be able to prove to him that my love was just as real and lasting as his.
I watched his accomplished fingers as he played the last notes. He shifted toward me, his gaze tumultuous. I was about to tell him how awesome the song was, how perfect, but he silenced me before I could, his mouth crashing down on mine. His lips made insistent demands and his hands acted in concert as they slipped inside my robe. I was so engrossed in what he was doing and what I was feeling that I didn’t even hear the suite’s buzzer ringing until he lifted his head.
“What the fuck?” War grumbled, glancing at the door.
I shrugged. I wasn’t going to answer it. I wanted his lips and his hands back where they’d been before.
My dreamy expression seemed to amuse him. “Sweetness.” He grinned before he brushed his lips across mine. “Maybe you should check and see who it is before we continue?”
“I guess so,” I mumbled, my high heels clattering with annoyance as I moved toward the door, War a foreboding yet comforting presence behind me. It had to be someone at the wrong door. This was a restricted floor, and I wasn’t expecting anyone.
“Shit!” I exclaimed after a peek out the peephole. “It’s my parents.”
CHAPTER FORTY
War
Shaina’s face went pale. She pulled the lapels of her robe together. She looked far from thrilled. She obviously hadn’t been expecting them.
Rocking back on her heels, she studied me a moment, then ran her hands over my hair, smoothing it back from my face. My scalp tingled from her touch. It was insane what her hands could do to me.
That’s when it suddenly hit me what she was doing. She wasn’t going to try to hide me away like last time. She was actually going to let them in with us together like this, her in a bathrobe, me shirtless and barefoot.
She pulled open the door before I’d even fully processed how much that meant to me. “Mom, Dad,” she greeted, pasting on a cheerful smile. “What brings you to Vancouver…” she paused for sarcastic effect, “at this lovely hour?”
Her dad came in first, his eyes hitting me, his jaw opening slightly before snapping shut. I recognized her mother from Shaina’s iPad pictures. In person, their similarity was even more pronounced. Only their coloring differed, the darker eyes and hair different from Shaina’s.
She walked inside, smoothing hands over her elegant but slightly rumpled suit while giving me a quick head to toe scan that produced raised eyebrows before she turned to face Shaina.
“Go ahead and close the door, baby. We were expecting you to be alone, but it doesn’t matter. We’re not leaving. We’ve seen the pictures, and Shaina Marie Bentley, I don’t care how old you are.” She put her hands on her hips, the mannerism so nearly identical to the way Shaina acted when pissed off that I almost smiled. “Forget the publicity. I will not sit idly by a moment longer while my daughter acts like a slut in public. That’s not the way I raised you.” Her gaze flicked to me. “Go ahead and say goodbye to your young man, then go sit in the living room with your father while I make us some coffee.” She slipped off her jacket and threw it on a barstool, clearly expecting her rapid fire orders to be obeyed.
When it dawned on her that neither Shaina nor I were moving, she slid a narrow eyed glare back and forth between us. “The three of us have a lot to talk about.” She cleared her throat making a less veiled attempt to get rid of me.
My gaze swung to Shaina, waiting to see what she would do.
She looked furious. She leaned toward her mom, her hands to her hips and her light green eyes flashing fire. She opened her mouth to speak, shut it, and then opened it again. “Last I checked it was my name on this hotel suite, not yours. I am not a child and it’s time you stop treating me like one.” Her gaze flicked to me. “If you want to come back at a more decent hour, maybe I’ll do you the honor of introducing you properly to the man that I’ve fallen in love with. Maybe over brunch. But for right now, as you can see, I’m busy.”
Her mom gasped.
My candy coated spitfire. I put my hand over my mouth, the only way I could hide my huge ass smile.
Her mom looked like she was about to have a seizure.
Shaina’s dad grabbed the jacket his wife had discarded. He glanced at Shaina and that’s
when I saw it, a hint of resignation but also the raw admiration blazing from his eyes. Her dad was proud of her and not just when she was doing what he wanted.
I found myself warming to him.
“Beverly,” he said as he draped it around her shoulders. “Let’s you and I go back downstairs and check in to the hotel.” His hand slid to the small of her back. It was a subtle, but intimate gesture. Another surprise, one that I noted caught Shaina as well. It seemed her parents weren’t as far on the outs as she had believed.
“Harrison,” her mother protested, dragging her heels in a bit as he steered her toward the door. “Oh, ok.” Her posture softened when his hand curled into her hip.
I moved in behind Shaina, resting my hands on her shoulders and squeezed. Her dad glanced back at us as he started to close the door. There wasn’t approval in his eyes, but on the other hand there wasn’t condemnation either. Having little past experience with girlfriends’ parents to draw upon, I took that as a favorable sign.
“I think that went well.” Shaina turned her head to look up at me.
“You were brilliant.” I lowered my head to touch my lips to hers. “Fuckin’ brilliant.” I grinned with abandon as I swiveled her around in my arms. “And I don’t mean just the deal with your parents,” I lifted a brow. “Why didn’t you tell me you could sing?”
She shrugged. “It never came up.”
“Please tell me they’re using your voice in the Joplin film?”
“They are, but I’m not doing a very good job with it. The studio set up is awkward. I’m pretty sure the director is having second thoughts.”
“I doubt that.” I slid my hand down low on her back. “No one actually likes the recording process. It’s no fun sitting in a small booth with everyone watching and overanalyzing every nuance. It sucks the joy right out of singing. I can help you, though, if you’d like.”
“I’d love that.”
“Done, then.” I squeezed my eyes closed. “Although…”
“Although, what?”
I opened my eyes, pulling in a breath through my nose, memorizing the moment, her beautiful face and the feeling of her in my arms. “It’s ok. We’ll make it work.” No other option was acceptable. “It’s just that I have to go back to San Francisco soon. I realized at Miriam’s party that leaving Tempest was a big mistake, but even though I probably can’t fix it, I still want out from under Morris’ thumb. Zenith is doing nothing for my career. I’ve hired an attorney. He’s working on finding a way to get me out of my contract with them.”
She touched my face. “I’m sorry, War. Maybe I could do something...”
“No way. If the lawyer thing doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to give Morris the album I owe him and then see how things play out. The only reason I brought all this up is that while you’re filming, there’s a good chance I’ll only be able to see you on the weekends. But we’ll sort it out,” I rushed on when I saw her worried frown. “Lucky for us, it’s just a short flight between here and there.”
“I guess that’ll be ok.” Her expression reflected her disappointment. It was going to be hard on both of us but good to know that she would miss me.
“Let’s not talk about it. I don’t want to ruin the time we have right now. Not when I’ve finally got you in my arms. I’m not going anywhere for another week. More if I can swing it.”
“You’re right.” Her lids lowered as she peered up at me. “Any chance we can pick up from where we left off before my parents arrived?”
“Oh, yeah.” I slid my hand in her robe, and curled my fingers around her breast. Her lips parted and she arched into my hand. That was an invitation too beautiful to be ignored. I put my lips on her soft ones, and slipped my tongue inside her mouth rubbing it against hers.
She liked that. So did my dick. Her throaty moan made it even harder.
I lifted my head pleased she looked almost as dazed as she’d looked after we’d made love earlier. “You want it sweet or are you wanting it dirty, darlin’?”
She grinned. “I did put on the heels.” She took a step back, unfastening the robe. It fell open and I saw she’d done a hell of a lot more than just put on the heels. My throat got dry as I took it all in. The beautiful woman that I loved: flushed cheeks, sexy legs in garters and stockings, nipples pert and begging to be touched. My blushing temptress. So captivating.
I’d never ever seen anything sexier.
“Dirty it is,” I decided for her.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Shaina
I woke up to the sound of my cell going off near my ear, sprawled across my boyfriend’s glorious body.
My boyfriend.
I loved even thinking of him with that way. But I knew that ringtone. And knowing who was behind it, I knew that I had no choice but to pick it up.
I crawled off Warren, thinking he was out but discovering my mistake when he grabbed my ass at the same time that I grabbed my phone. I tilted soft eyes at him over my shoulder. His return look was smoldering.
Gulp.
Even after he’d had me over the back of the couch and in the shower, he was ready to go again.
Heck, yeah.
“Hello.” Anticipation made me breathless as I took the call.
“Shaye.” A pause. “Baby.” His ominous tone made the smile slide right off my face.
“Alex what’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“I take it you haven’t seen the video yet?”
“No. What video?” I replied, tensing as I had a sudden horrible guess.
“A bondage club with Joel Alexander. Have you gone completely nuts?”
“What is it?” War put his hand on my thigh, his concerned eyes meeting mine.
“Is that Jinkins with you?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. We’re together,” I summarized and even though I dreaded dealing with the fallout of this mess with Joel, I couldn’t contain the joy that sharing that particular bit of news with my best friend brought me. I turned to explain. “There’s video from the club last night.”
War frowned, threw the sheet off, and stormed out of the room. Going to get his own cell to check out YouTube for himself I guessed but lost focus as I watched his gloriously nude body move.
“You sound good,” Alex concluded. “Happy.”
“Yeah. I am. Well, except for this. What exactly is on that video? Give it to me straight.”
“Good news? It’s short. About thirty seconds. Bad news? It’s got you being undressed by Joel and Brandon. It’s pretty provocative. The look on your face makes it seem as if you were enjoying yourself.”
“I wasn’t. Well, not really. I was drugged. Joel slipped something in my drink.”
“That sack of shit!” Alex shouted.
That’s it! I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.” War was back. He looked like he was ready to spike his cell against the wall. Whatever Joel had put up on the internet must be pretty bad. Warren pulled on his jeans leaving me one less distraction from facing the consequences of my own stupidity. My head began to throb.
I heard Alex’s dark laugh over the bass drum like din between my ears. “Tell War that if there’s going to be any killing, I get first dibs.”
I relayed the message. War lips formed a grim smile. “Hand over that phone.”
• • •
War
“Treyall,” I barked. “What do you know about that fuck stick?”
“Not much. Comes from money. Lives large. He’s got a reputation. I’ve heard rumors of stuff like what went down with Shaye. But he’s a brilliant actor so he gets away with everything.”
“Hmm. I’m thinking we need to bring him down a notch or two.”
“I totally agree. You got any ideas.”
“Oh, yeah,” I replied immediately.
He laughed. “Ones that don’t involve both of us doing jail time.”
“In that case, no.”
“Well, think about it. I’ll do some more nosing around see what else I can fin
d out. Tell Shaye she needs to get a statement out, ASAP. Though I’m sure she’s probably already working on one.”
“I’ll tell her.”
“Good.” A pause. “Hey, they’re boarding my flight. I’ve got to go. I should be there in three hours. I’ll call you when I get to the hotel. Take care of my girl ’til I get there, Jinkins.”
“I will. Only Treyall?”
“Yeah?”
“She’s my girl now.”
I ended the call and turned to see Shaina scribbling on a piece of paper. “Whatcha doing, Sweetness?”
“Working on a press release.” She put the pen in her mouth, and it took more effort than I wanted to admit to focus on the task at hand.
“Treyall said you would.”
She nodded. Her eyes troubled. “What I did was stupid and dangerous. Taking a drink from a guy I barely knew. Experimenting with drugs. My mom was right, but no one is more disappointed in myself than I am. I have a lot of young fans. I set an awful example. Nothing I do is ever going to completely set this right.”
I moved, put a hand under her chin and lifted her lowered head. “Shaina, you’re not perfect.” Damn close, but it was those imperfections she didn’t make excuses for that made her all the more beautiful. “No one is. Tell them that. Just like you told me. They’ll relate. If they’re real fans, they’ll stick with you. Hey, and if not, you did your best, ok?”
She nodded.
I dropped a kiss on the crown of her head while musing about what to do with Joel. I wanted him brought low. To his fuckin’ knees. In the past I would’ve just gone and beat the shit out of him, finished what I started to dish out last night. But that was then. This was now. If I was going to be the man Shaina needed, I’d have to step up my game. Get my message across without any of it blowing back on her.
I would do anything to preserve her sweetness. She was mine, completely mine, and I was going to protect and keep her safe, but I needed help again on this one and so did she.
The Complete Tempest World Box Set Page 99
