Lonely Lullaby: Ballad of a Broken Soul Series | Book 1

by Vannah Summers

  My breathing left me in ragged puffs, but he didn’t let me come up for air. Instead, he kissed me harder and held my wrists firmly above my head with one of his hands while the other reached down to my thighs.

  So, can you look me in my eyes... Tell me that you won’t say goodbye... Oliver’s hands traced slow circles on my upper thighs. And promise you won’t leave me be... Because you love the me you see...

  Moaning as the words entangled with my thoughts, I broke away from the kiss. The moment I did, Oliver stumbled backward, a look of mortification on his face.

  “Oh my God,” he panted, surprising me by not using one of his fake curses as he ran his hands through black hair. “I’m such a piece of shit. I’m so sorry I did that to you.”

  Iron-hot pain flared in my chest at his words. Was he sorry for kissing me? I hoped not, because I wanted to do it again. Maybe it complicated things, but it felt too damn nice.

  I shut my eyes as I focused on returning my breathing to normal again. It was harder than I’d expected it to be. “No, it’s okay. I should be the one to say I’m sorry.”

  “What? Why would you be sorry?”

  My bit my lip and glanced up into his surprised gaze. “Well, because it’s been a while since I’ve, well, you know.” I waved my hand lazily around between the two of us. “I just haven’t had a boyfriend for a while, so I’ve been a little out of practice.”

  “No, that’s not—”

  Cutting him off with a shake of my head, I attempted a smile. “Look, we can talk about this later. We should go check on Hunter right now. He’s been gone for a long time, and we should make sure he hasn’t tried to flee.”

  He scratched his jaw and nodded, though he didn’t seem too happy.

  From down the hall, Whitney giggled as she told one of the guys she was about to win their game.

  I followed Oliver down to the bathroom where Hunter was supposed to be. The door was closed, but a loud crash and grunt sounded from inside, causing me to rush forward and yank it open in concern.

  I was entirely unprepared for the sight in front of me.

  Hunter stood slightly bent over, his arms preventing him from falling into the shower. The shower curtain and rod lay on the ground, and he was partially tangled in it. But that wasn’t what had me choking back laughter.

  No, I was unprepared to come face-to-face with Hunter’s naked butt, his jeans bundled up at his knees.

  Oliver came in behind me, placed a hand on my arm, and snickered. “What in the blue moon happened to you?”

  “Get out!” Hunter bellowed, his face an ugly puce color as he tried to stand upright. Other than the jeans falling down to his ankles, he only wore the white tank top, the rest of his clothes discarded on the floor by his feet.

  But I was too shocked to move.

  “You still haven’t found your underwear? And why are you on the ground?” Oliver asked with gleeful laughter, his eyes watering as he doubled over.

  “No,” Hunter growled. His gaze met mine over his shoulders as he tried to kick the jeans off, and I forced myself not to look down at his firm, round... “I was trying to pull up the jeans, but they were too tight. I slipped when I tried to get them over my legs.”

  Oliver howled, slapping his knees.

  Hunter glared at him before his eyes found mine. “I’d turn around, sunshine, before you see something you probably don’t want to see.”

  Oliver laughed harder, pulling me away from the doorway and back into Parker’s room. The bathroom door slammed, and I simply stood while my brain attempted to comprehend what had just happened.

  “Well,” Oliver said with a chuckle. “I think I accidentally gave him some of Ace’s jeans.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Hunter came out of the bathroom a short while later. He still wore the tank top, and he’d put back on his dark jeans from earlier. He threw Ace’s jeans at Oliver’s feet, and Oliver snickered.

  The white tank fit snug against Hunter’s chest, showing every outline perfectly. He shrugged on the blue-and-black plaid shirt I’d picked out for him earlier, allowing him some semblance of his outdoorsy self. I eyed a tattoo on his right bicep before he finished, studying the detailed lines of a deer surrounded by forest trees. I’d been too distracted by his, um, other assets earlier to notice it.

  My gaze seemed to keep straying back to his pectorals and biceps, no matter how much I tried not to. It was his fault, really, for being so ridiculously handsome. And buff. He looked like someone who could bench me with his little pinky finger.

  Oliver circled him, predator stalking prey, a serious expression on his face as he studied Hunter.

  “Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “I think I like this. Even the jeans seem to work well for you. I still think you would have looked nice in some ripped jeans. It would have gone nicely with your image.”

  “My image is just fine, thanks,” Hunter muttered with a vexed grunt, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

  I had to agree; his image was just fine.

  Hunter glanced at me, and I tried to ignore the images that flipped through my mind like a scrapbook as I met his stare.

  Bad, Tessa...

  “Something funny, sunshine?” he asked with a glare.

  I shook my head and hid my smile with the palm of my hand. “Nothing at all, Sassy Buns.”

  His eyes narrowed, and I smiled back, undeterred by his gruff demeanor. The first time we met, he’d intimidated me, but he wasn’t scary at all. No, he might yell a lot... and glare a lot... and show me various naked body parts a lot... but deep down, I sensed he wasn’t really that terrifying.

  Oliver tsked his friend. “Did you eat the candy?”

  With a huff, Hunter crossed his arms over his chest, making his muscles bulge. “No. You know I’m trying to eat healthy.”

  Smacking Hunter’s arm, Oliver glared. “Yeah, and because of your ‘healthy lifestyle,’ the rest of us have to deal with your hangry as—”—he caught himself—“fudge self.” Digging back into his bag, he produced another candy bar. “Now, eat the Snickers, and stop being so pissy.”

  Hunter grabbed the chocolate bar but made no move to open it.

  Returning to the task at hand, Oliver instructed him to sit down on the bed. Hunter grunted something about how makeup was for girls, but Oliver smacked him on the head.

  “Makeup is for whoever wants to wear it,” he disagreed, repeating Whitney’s words from earlier. “Now, sit back and let me make you look tall, dark, and brooding.”

  Hunter grumbled something under his breath too low for me to hear. I watched Oliver apply smaller amounts of makeup on him than he had the others, probably because he didn’t want Hunter strangling him. When he finished, he pulled out a small compact mirror for Hunter to inspect his work, and Hunter smirked.

  “Well, what do you think?” Oliver asked, a hint of irritation in his tone.

  Hunter ignored him and turned to me. I couldn’t stop the rush that came from the way his eyes took me in. Based off the smirk on his face, he knew he looked good.

  “How do I look?” he asked me, his voice low and rough.

  Little shivers ran down my spine at the sensual way he stared at me. The eyeliner did make him dark and brooding, but I was also coming to realize that was also just a large part of Hunter’s personality.

  “Hmm.” I pretended to think about it. “You could probably use some chains to dangle from your jeans to get that rocker look, but other than that, you look okay.”

  I could tell he knew I was lying about the “okay” part, but that was fine with me. I didn’t want to inflate his ego.

  Oliver snapped his fingers in excitement and reached down into his bag. Hunter and I looked at each other for a moment before we trained our gazes on Oliver’s hunched figure.

  He popped back up a few moments later with a thin chain of interwoven metal. “Stand up for a second and let me clip these to your jeans.”

  Hunter obliged, and Oliver grinned when he steppe
d back. “Yup. You were right, Tessa. He needed some chains.”

  “I like chains,” Hunter said slowly, an innuendo clear in his voice.

  “Hm, I don’t know if you need the chains.” I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back a chuckle.

  Both Hunter and Oliver raised their eyebrows at me in question.

  “And why is that?” Hunter asked.

  This time, I couldn’t keep my smile away. “Because you already have Ace’s jeans if you want to be tied up.”

  It took Hunter a few moments for realization to dawn on him what I meant, but by that point, both Oliver and I were laughing too hard.

  “Ha-ha,” he grumbled. “Very funny.”

  Shaking his head, he stretched slightly. His tank rode up, giving me a peek of flat, tan skin. More black ink peeked out from beneath the white fabric, and I could vaguely see the indents from his hip bones from where they dipped down below his jeans. I remembered he wasn’t wearing any underwear and swallowed hard as I glanced up at him. He sported a cocky grin on his face as he walked past me.

  Well, there went my plan for not inflating his ego.

  My eyes followed him unwillingly, and I couldn’t help but check out his butt as he made his way to the door.

  “Send in Kai,” Oliver called, but Hunter didn’t look back, just kept walking.

  Oliver muttered under his breath, something that sounded a lot like “ducking mass,” but I wasn’t positive.

  When the door clicked closed, he slumped down into the chair. He rubbed his hands down his face and sighed deeply.

  “Beautiful,” Oliver said from behind his hands.

  I crossed my arms over my chest before I answered. “Yes?”

  “Can I kiss you again?”

  I stopped moving, every bone, muscle, and ligament becoming useless as I stared at him. Wasn’t he worried about complicating things more?

  He removed his hands from his face and gazed at me, his green eyes vulnerable.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because…” His eyes never left mine. “It was the best damn kiss of my life.”

  My body grew into a furnace, heat pooling low in my stomach. He must have usually sworn in ice cream flavors when the situation was lighthearted but slipped and actually cursed when things were serious.

  Toying with the short hairs at the nape of my neck, I peered at him from under my lashes. “I liked it, too.”

  He groaned. At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Kai walked in.

  Kai smiled at me as he came over to us, and I tried my best to smile back. If he could sense the tension in the room, he didn’t mention it. Thank goodness. Upon seeing him, guilt nibbled at my gut.

  “So, what torture is it today?” Kai teased, putting his hands behind his neck.

  “It’s Tessa,” Oliver said with a sigh, standing up from his seat.

  “Huh?” Kai’s eyes clouded with confusion.

  “Nothing. Okay, let’s see what we have for you to wear.” He pulled out a sheer shirt covered in rips and tears. “Here, you’ll look sexy in this.”

  “I don’t care if I look sexy,” Kai argued with a cringe. “I’m not flashing everyone my chest tonight.”

  “You’ve never had a problem with modesty before,” Oliver grumbled.

  Kai’s gaze jerked to me for a moment before he crossed his arms and shook his head at Oliver. “I’ve never had a reason to before.”

  Oliver sighed and tossed some red fabric at Kai. “Fine, then put this tank on underneath.”

  Kai nodded and took the shirt from Oliver before leaving for the bathroom.

  A few minutes later, Kai finished changing and came back to show us his outfit. The tight, red tank top hugged his muscular frame like a second skin. Scratch that. Like it was his skin. Tattoos of dragons and other designs covered his arms and what I saw of his chest. His arms had more muscle than I’d originally thought, and every movement he made seemed to flex them. The clear outline of hard abs showed under his tank, and I kept my hands to myself by playing with the hem of my shirt.

  Where had this group of ridiculously attractive men come from? Like, seriously.

  He wore black cargo pants, with lots of pockets and zippers adorning the outsides, and his red tennis shoes tapped the ground impatiently as Oliver eyed him critically.

  “Something’s missing,” Oliver grumbled to himself. “I just can’t put my finger on it.”

  “Your sanity,” Kai offered.

  Oliver waved an impatient hand in Kai’s face. “Shush.”

  His eyes lit up again, and Oliver hurried over to his bag, scouring through the items in there until he found what he was searching for. He pulled out a black leather jacket and tossed it to Kai.

  “Here, that should do nicely.” He motioned for Kai to take a seat on the end of the bed. He dug into his bag and pulled out more eyeliner. Just how much freaking eyeliner did these boys own? “Sit down.”

  Kai remained standing, looking slightly scared of Oliver right now. “Not too much, please. I don’t want to be mistaken for a drag queen again.”

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “That was one time! You should’ve felt flattered that he thought you looked hot.”

  Shaking his head, Kai scowled. “Maybe if he didn’t flash me his dick.”

  I choked on my breath, and my eyes went wide. He looked over to me and nodded sadly. “It’s a curse, jagiya. You can’t have a butt like mine and not have everyone wanting a piece.”

  “Yeah, well, sit your fat buttered pecan down, won’t you? I don’t have all fudging night,” Oliver growled, though his voice was laced with teasing.

  Kai still looked skeptical, but he obeyed this time. Oliver applied some foundation around Kai’s T-zone, then set it with some translucent powder. Kai coughed as some of the powder went down his throat, and Oliver smacked him lightly, holding up the eyeliner. “Hold still.”

  “Why do I go through this torture so much?” Kai asked in resignation, letting Oliver draw the eyeliner lightly over his lash line.

  “Do you wear makeup a lot?” I asked curiously.

  “Only when we have concerts to go to.” He shifted his gaze to mine.

  “And do you guys go to a lot of concerts?” I asked. Oliver finished with Kai, and when he stepped back, I grinned. “Oh, it looks good.”

  Oliver preened. “It does, doesn’t it.”

  “Don’t go feeding into Ollie’s ego,” Kai warned me, but his eyes were playful. “He’s annoying enough as it is.”

  “I don’t have an ego,” Oliver denied. “And who are you calling annoying?”

  Oliver took a few more steps away to study Kai. Kai’s warm eyes appeared darker, almost simmering with hidden intensity. Oliver had applied the eyeliner thicker on Kai than he had with the others, and I wondered if it was to get this look. It really wasn’t all that surprising he’d been mistaken for a drag queen before. He was beautiful, and the makeup almost gave him a softer, more feminine appearance.

  Kai’s lips curled into a slow smile as he found me checking him out, and I flushed, though I wasn’t all that embarrassed.

  “Like what you see?” he asked with a chuckle.

  I grinned up at him, unashamed at my ogling. It wasn’t a crime to enjoy a nice view. “It’s all right,” I teased.

  Kai stood from the chair slowly, and Oliver made an impatient shooing motion at him. “Now, scoot your boot. You’re crowding us in here.”

  Kai rolled his eyes at his friend. “Aren’t you guys coming back into the room?”

  Oliver shook his head. “No, I have to go over some things with Tessa about her outfit for tonight.”

  I gave him a look, but he pretended he didn’t see it.

  Kai shrugged and gave me a mock salute. “Good luck.”

  Rolling my eyes, I saluted him back, and he left.

  Once the door was securely closed, Oliver’s breath tickled my neck. I hadn’t heard him move.

  “Now, what were we talking about earlier?” he aske
d softly.

  Heat radiated from his body, but he wasn’t touching me yet. A small shiver ran down my back as I remembered just what we had been talking about earlier.

  “Um…” I started, my breathing becoming uneven as his fingertips faintly trailed up and over the bare skin of my arms. “Kissing?”

  He chuckled into my hair and brought up a hand to push it to my right side, away from his face. I took an unsteady breath as his lips kissed the skin there, holding me prisoner to him. His left hand reached up to my shoulder, pulling my shirt down a little as he kissed a tender trail along the naked skin of my neck and shoulder. I sighed and relaxed my body against him, relishing his touch.

  Turning me around in his arms, his determined gaze held mine. Grabbing my hand, he placed it on his face so I now cupped his cheek. “We need to figure this out. We shouldn’t rush things.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  He smiled then and asked, “Can I get a kiss?”

  I smacked his shoulder playfully but nodded.

  CHAPTER 16

  A knock sounded at the door before Ace poked his head inside. “Hey, Ollie? Christian was wondering if he could have some chains.”

  Oliver rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll be right back.” He snagged some chains from his bag before heading out of the room, leaving Ace and me alone. How did he have more chains?

  At this point, I didn’t know why I was surprised by anything the guys did. They were a strange bunch. A very sexy strange bunch.

  I was about to follow Oliver when a warm hand settled on the middle of my back. Glancing up, I found Ace looking me over. “How are you feeling?”

  Warmth, like pinpricks of static, spread from where he touched my back, and I shivered. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”

  Nodding, he removed his hand, the tingles going with him. He smiled warmly at me, and my stomach somersaulted at the simple gesture. It was the first time he’d given me a full smile.

  His gaze darkened on mine, and he took a step away, creating some distance between our bodies. “We should probably head back to the other room,” he suggested, though his voice said he wanted to do nothing of the sort.