Heart Shaped Spotlight

by Haley Travis

  Lora reached across the table to smack the backs of their hands. "Shame on you. You're supposed to pretend to be likable until Trisha isn't afraid of you anymore."

  "How could anyone be afraid of us?" Kevin said, holding up his coffee mug with his pinky extended. "We are very classy individuals."

  “You know, I've heard rumors that most musicians were a bit mental," Trisha said to Lora, "Here it is, barely noon, and I've already learned something today. The rumor is actually true."

  Trisha’s nose crinkled as she flashed me a cute grin, and I reached under the table to take her hand.

  We all ordered a ridiculous amount of breakfast food, while Kevin declared that we were not allowed to call this brunch since it was no longer technically morning. The group had a wonderful chat about Trisha’s idea to have them play on the second half of the Love Rockers album, and they were all absolutely on board. As always, the conversation turned to whether we should be located in Toronto or Vancouver.

  “If we want to play shows in L.A. and San Francisco, Vancouver is much more convenient," Kevin said. “And Portland would love us.”

  "But Toronto has a better music scene overall,” Doug countered.

  Lora waved a fry back and forth as she stared into space, thinking. "Toronto's music scene has been wavering a little, but it's close to Hamilton, Windsor, London, Niagara, New York, and Chicago. If we did a bunch of looping tours, built up a twelve city route that we repeated every two months, that would establish our home base pretty quickly."

  "That's true," Doug said. "Plus, two of us are nomads, and two of us have family ties to Toronto now, so that just makes sense."

  "Oh, who has family in Toronto?" Trisha asked.

  “My brother lives in the west end, and I can crash on his couch for a while," Lora said. "And Nate has you."

  I tried to smile at Trisha, but she was examining the crumbs on her plate as if they held the secrets of the universe. "Hey," I said quietly, "I've always intended to move back to Toronto. It's my favorite city."

  She nodded, looking up at me thoughtfully as the server poured another round of coffee for us. I leaned back so that she could reach Lora's mug, not sure why Doug was snickering.

  As soon as the server left, Doug chuckled, "He has so many tits in his face at all times he doesn't even notice anymore.”

  "He can see them, but since he's not a drummer, he's able to control himself," Kevin said. "Not everyone has to comment whenever breasts meander past them."

  I was relieved to see that Trisha wasn’t bothered, just laughing with them.

  “Psst,” Lora hissed at me.

  I thought she was trying to settle the boob talk down, but I followed her gaze to where two girls in their late teens or early twenties were obviously staring at us. The second I looked at them, they spun away, hunched over their phones.

  “Do you ever get used to that?” Trisha asked me.

  “I don’t really notice it anymore,” I said. “It comes and goes in waves. Don’t worry, it will likely settle down in a few weeks.”

  “Until your album drops,” Doug said. “Then your precious little pretty boy smile is going to be plastered across billboards.”

  “I doubt it,” I laughed.

  Lora waved her last fry at me. “They did with the winner of the second season. It’s great promo for the next round.”

  “Excuse me,” a tiny voice behind me whispered. I turned to see the two girls standing at my side, smiling nervously. “Aren’t you Nate Roberts?”

  “I sure am,” I grinned. I noticed that Trisha yanked her hand from mine, but didn’t think it was personal.

  “Congratulations on winning,” the little blonde said softly. “Could we take a picture?”

  “Sure.” I stood up, handing her phone to Doug and putting my arms around both of them. It was always sweet to see how excited fans were to get photos.

  After he took a couple of shots, I said, “Hey, this is my new band. Do you want a photo of Hemlock and Emeralds as well?”

  The girl with the purplish-blue hair looked like she was about to explode. “Really? You have a new band? Yes, please!”

  We took photos with one girl, then the other, while Trisha tried to hide behind my shoulder. “Let me out, I’m not in the band,” she whispered.

  She sounded so frantic that I jumped out of her way, letting her slide out of the booth. I slid back in beside Lora for a few more photos.

  As the girls were thanking us, the server came back with our bills. “Hey, gang. I’ve got Kevin and Doug on one check, Lora, Trisha, and Nate. Is that right?”

  I grabbed Trisha’s bill as well as mine, then thanked the girls again for watching the show. They were pie-eyed as they rushed away.

  “You’re always so sweet with them,” Lora said as Trisha slid back in on my other side.

  “They took the time to watch the show,” I shrugged. “All musicians owe their livelihoods to people who are into music.”

  “Damn straight,” Kevin agreed. “Wild chicks wanting to rip our clothes off has nothing to do with why we play.”

  “Yeah, that part is seriously the worst,” Doug said, shaking his head sadly.

  ***

  After lunch, or brunch, or whatever we were allowed to call it, the band went their separate ways to run various errands, while Trisha and I went for a walk.

  The breeze off the ocean ruffled her long, dark hair as we made our way toward the docks. Simply walking around while holding her hand made my heart race. She told me more stories about her job, and I shared weird tales of my old Violet Circles days.

  As we passed yet another group of tourists all wildly taking photos, I noticed that Trisha was ducking her head and curling against me. "Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?"

  She looked up at me, shaking her head. "I'm blocking my face so I don't end up in their photos," she said.

  I looked around, but it didn't seem like anyone was looking at us directly. "It's funny, Dave and I were talking about that once," I said. “We will never know how many times we were in the background of other people's happy photos. Don't worry, nobody will notice."

  She squeezed my hand, giving it a shake. "But they'll notice you, Nate. You always stick out in every photo. If they see you walking with a girl, they might put two and two together and figure out who I am."

  "My sweet little paranoid girl," I said, pulling her up against the railing at the edge of the walkway. Wrapping my arms around her, I kissed the top of her head. Finally she relaxed, tilting her chin up to mine so that I could kiss her properly.

  I felt like every time our lips met, the world stopped spinning. I felt clear. Like this was exactly where I was meant to be.

  Her hands slid under my jacket and nestled against the bottom of my spine, holding me close. "Why do you smell so good?" she whispered as I bent down to kiss under her ear.

  "I was going to say the same about you," I murmured. "All vanilla and sexy, sweet girl."

  "I'm not sexy," she giggled.

  "If you ever say that again, I'll…"

  She quickly reached up to place a finger over my lips. "You'll do nothing, mister."

  "Yes, dear," I said softly, claiming her lips again.

  I’d never thought about public displays of affection before, except when I politely turned away from others. Now I just didn't care. We clung to each other, completely lost in the moment.

  As I held her against me, her hips began to move very slightly, as if she couldn’t control it. Fire flashed through me as I realized tonight might be the night. Just the thought of it made my breath catch. My fingers slid down her back to grab her ass firmly as she gasped into my mouth.

  “Do you want to come to my hotel room?” I asked hopefully.

  The word, “Yes,” was a soft little moan that instantly turned my cock to stone.

  The walk back to the hotel was constantly interrupted by kissing, giggling together, and stopping four times for photos with fans. She seemed content to play phot
ographer whenever she was asked.

  As soon as I got her into my room, she kicked off her shoes and threw her jacket over a chair. I did the same, then grabbed her. Dipping her back in a movie star kiss, I wandered kisses down her throat. Standing her up, her soft, pretty eyes looked dreamy.

  Unzipping her dress, I slid it off her shoulder, nuzzling her neck while I unhooked her bra. I knew I should be taking my time, taking hours to learn every part of her body, but the heat blazing through my veins was taking over.

  Her bra and dress hit the floor, and I gently laid her back on the bed, immediately wrapping my lips around her nipple. With both hands, I explored her tender skin, loving the change in her breathing when I lightly grazed my teeth across the surface.

  A muted gasp fell from her lips as she gripped the back of my shoulders.

  I’d played for tens of thousands of people over the years. Women have screamed for me, shoved hotel keys in my hand, grabbed me in extremely intimate ways. It never impressed me, or filled me with any real feelings at all.

  But one soft gasp from Trisha, one tiny whimper… I felt like a god. All-powerful. So masculine that my blood felt like molten iron. Something else felt harder than steel, and I couldn’t stop it from pressing hard against her hip.

  “Mmm,” she moaned softly, clearly rocking against me. “Be naked with me.”

  “I love when you order me around,” I whispered. Kissing along her cleavage, her bare skin was driving me crazy. I needed to swallow every inch of her. I needed to make love with her. To watch her beautiful eyes as I drove myself inside her.

  My tongue circled her nipple until she twitched under me, digging her fingertips into the back of my shoulders.

  “Why are you not naked?” she pouted. I slid up to pull her bottom lip between my teeth. She giggled, freeing her lip, then kissing me hard. “Please,” she moaned. “Naked.”

  Her hand slid down my chest to blindly grasp at my belt, tugging roughly.

  “I’ll make you a deal, precious. I’ll take my clothes off, if you promise to tell me when to stop, okay?”

  Trisha’s lovely eyes met mine. I couldn’t read her expression at all. I loved that this sexy side of her was a total mystery to me. Holding my face in her hands, she gave me one kiss, then whispered, “No stopping.”

  My jeans were painfully tight, and I already felt overheated. It was finally the night to claim the love of my life.

  Chapter Seventeen ~ Trisha

  * Inevitable *

  This was inevitable. It had been meant to be for years. My pulse was so quick and harsh I felt like I should be dizzy.

  Nate leaned back and pulled off his tight t-shirt. I had to bite my lip so that I didn't whimper. He was so handsome, so perfectly chiseled that he didn't quite seem real.

  That strange otherworldly quality that showed up so well on stage seemed a bit excessive when he was alone with me, but then he flashed that sweet little grin that I've always known was just mine. My body was drawn to his in a way that made every nervous thought disappear.

  His hand slipped down my stomach and into my panties, his long fingers exploring slowly, tickling lightly along every fold. Grabbing his biceps, I pulled his lips to mine as his finger slid deeper. "Fuck, baby, I love that you're so wet for me," he groaned.

  Sliding my hands across his chest, I explored every dip and ridge along his drum-tight abdomen. I loved that he didn’t understand how ridiculously gorgeous he was.

  He pulled back, his eyes seeming to scour my body. His gaze felt so hot sliding across my lips, my breasts, my delicate pink flesh where his finger was stroking so deep.

  My back arched, my body trying to pull him deeper, as heat flared in his eyes. Leaning back in, Nate's breath feathered along my sensitive breasts, kissing and sucking my nipples until I was practically writhing and whining under him.

  "I love the way you touch me," I whispered.

  His hot mouth sucked harder around my nipple. Reaching lower, I tried to unfasten his belt, but the angle was too awkward and my hands were trembling. Rolling onto his side, he yanked off his belt and jeans, pushing those off along with his shorts so that he was finally lying naked beside me.

  Good grief, I almost wanted to take photos of how perfect he looked.

  Pulling me tight against him, he kissed me gently as his finger slipped inside me again. It felt like it belonged there, and my hips began to move against him.

  Taking a slow breath, I slid my hand from his hip to grasp his dick carefully. It was long, thick, and a bit bigger than I had expected. Skimming my hand from the bottom to the top slowly, I created a tunnel with my fingers circling his skin, stroking up and down.

  "Baby, that feels so good," he murmured. The lust and awe in his voice told me that I was doing it right. Yet everything felt so right with him.

  He dipped his thumb into my wetness, then began circling my clit with it, still thrusting his finger slow and deep. My entire body felt like one nerve, overheated, swelling as if to burst.

  "Nate," I choked, "Yes…"

  His eyes seemed darker, his shaft swelling in my hand until it felt like the skin was too tight across its surface. The bliss he was creating straight through me became too much, as I started to tremble from head to toe.

  Nate's eyes absolutely blazed. "That's it, baby. Let go."

  My muscles and tissues clenched, the pressure of his hand against my nerves playing me like one of his instruments. It felt like the moaning squeal had been building inside me for years, as it finally let loose, a wild shriek overtaking me as my hips thrashed, my climax nearly tearing me apart.

  As I tried to catch my breath, he slipped off my likely ruined panties. His body rolled to cover mine. His chest crushed against my breasts as his hot mouth began devouring me again, while my hand still stroked his cock gently.

  Feeling a few drops of moisture at the tip, my thumb rubbed it into his skin. I was rewarded with a deep shudder that ran through him.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” he whispered, his hand caressing my breast, pinching my nipple just hard enough to make me gasp. “Mmm, I love the sounds you make.” He was moving his hips slightly, fucking my hand gently against my hip.

  Suddenly I felt extra wet, and terribly empty inside. It was almost an ache. “Um, do you have a condom?”

  “Yeah, of course.” He jumped up and dug into an inner pocket of his suitcase, then threw several packets on the bedside table before tearing one open.

  I tried to laugh without really thinking of all of the other women he’d likely been with as he rolled it on. “I guess rock stars always keep those handy.”

  He looked at me oddly. “I guess some do. But all men should have them. You never know.”

  His body fit over mine so perfectly. Bending my knees up, I spread wide, breathless and curious. I was nearly shaking just from knowing that he was beginning to nudge inside me. My dreams hadn’t prepared me for how luscious it felt that my body was beginning to open for his.

  Our kisses were dreamy, as he murmured, “I’ve been wanting this for so long, Trisha.”

  “Me too,” I whispered. The room seemed unnaturally quiet. Every movement, every sigh seemed important.

  His hand entwined with my fingers as the other gripped my hip. Soft gray eyes locked with mine as he pressed inside. It was snug, and a little uncomfortable, but I needed him deeper.

  “You’re so tight, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.” His eyes clenched. I could feel the tension through every muscle.

  He likely knew that it was my first time, but he could probably feel it now. “It’s okay,” I said, trying to breathe calmly. “Please, I want you to.”

  “Is this really your…” He trailed off, looking oddly hopeful.

  “Yes,” I barely whispered.

  “Do you want me to stop? We can wait longer.”

  “No, I want you to... I want you,” I stammered.

  “I want you, Trisha,” he moaned softly, kissing along my forehead, my cheeks. “Tell
me if it’s too much, okay?”

  I nodded as he squeezed my hand. His kiss was as powerful as the pressure inside me. It was too much, in the most perfect way. The uncomfortable stretching was painful for just a moment, then he slowly pulled out, thrusting in again.

  In a minute all I felt was deep, raw satisfaction beginning to build in my core.

  My head fell back as he nuzzled my throat, and my gaze fell to the mirror on the dresser beside us. Hooking my leg under his arm, he pulled my knee up to spread me even wider. Watching his hips moving up and down in a wave was so sensual, like his body was dancing against mine.