Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3) (33 page)

Ellis slid his hand up her leg, giving her his electric smile. “You just don’t want to go without me for that whole time,” he teased.

She ran her hand up his leg, mirroring his actions. “You got that right,” she teased back, watching as his eyes darkened with desire. “After last night and this morning, I’m like an addict looking for a fix.”

His face tightened, and she realized what she said. “I’m sorry, Ellis. I didn’t mean it like that. That was stupid of me.”

“Sammi,” he put his finger over her lips. “Relax. It’s okay. It just made me think of Mason and how helpless I feel right now that I can’t do anything about the situation he’s in. My hands are completely tied, and I hate it.”

“Have you tried calling your attorney again?”

He shook his head. “No. He said he would tell me when he found out something. I called CPS, but as far as we know, there’s no change in Mason’s status. And I can’t bear the thought of him being in foster care. If they take him from Mandy, I want to be the one to get him, but I have no parental rights to him.”

“Can they reverse that?”

“Yes,” he answered. “But, I need to be able to get to see a judge first, and prove that she is no longer fit to be his mother. This could take a long time. Meanwhile, every day he lives in that environment is one less day he has any chance of getting out of that lifestyle. For all I know, he could be dealing or doing drugs already.”

He looked out to the trees, and she knew he was thinking about his son. It killed her to watch the turmoil he was going through, and there was nothing she could do.

“I want to go with you,” he said after several minutes. “Brian’s not coming back, right?”

“No. My dad said he was still welcome here, but I think he’s too embarrassed. I don’t blame him, but I’ll miss him. He’s been like my uncle for as long as I can remember. I guess he’s going to move out to Arizona where his brother lives and try to start over, get away from all of the memories here.”

“Then you definitely aren’t going on tour without me,” he stated, the playful smirk back on his face. “Caveman says that you need protected.”

She laughed. “You are a caveman, especially after last night.” A blush crept over her cheeks as she remembered how hot he had been when he was all assertive and demanding. “Speaking of that,” she said, looking around. “Can you show me that side of you again?”

He growled, capturing her mouth with his. His warm lips encapsulated hers and he intensified the kiss, his hands immediately moving to her breasts as his tongue dipped into her mouth. She arched into him as he rubbed, sending desire coursing through her body. She knew they were on the back porch of her family home, but for the life of her she couldn’t make him stop.

When his hand traveled into the small shorts she was wearing, she swore she spontaneously combusted. There was something so scandalous about doing this, and she loved it.

“I want to suck every part of your body, starting with right here,” he sighed into her ear as his fingers made contact with her sensitive flesh. “Then, after I show you just how well I can suck there and I have you quivering and right on the edge, I would come up and suck these beautiful breasts, taking each nipple into my mouth and giving it equal attention. Of course, my fingers would need to continue to touch you so they wouldn’t be lonely. Then, I would kiss and suck my way up your neck until I reached these amazing, beautiful lips.”

“What if these lips wanted to be wrapped around you while you were doing all of that?” He moved his fingers slowly in and out of her as they whispered to each other. She reached for the elastic on his basketball shorts and reached inside easily, stroking him as they continued talking dirty to each other.

“Those lips are fabulous at that,” he said.

She nodded. “I want to feel every indentation of your sexy muscles under my mouth as I travel your body with my tongue. Then, when neither one of us can take it anymore, I want to get on top of you and sink down on top of you, riding you until we both fly apart with need.”

“Hot damn,” he breathed, picking up the pace of his fingers. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard. I want you on top tonight. I want your hair loose and falling around your breasts, and I want to watch you fall apart while you ride me.”

He added his thumb, circling her harder as she rubbed her finger along his tip, feeling the wetness there. They were petting like regular teenagers.

“I love feeling you come apart on my hand,” he ran his tongue along her earlobe as she began shuddering, biting on her lip to keep from crying out. “But you better stop rubbing me like that or I’m going to have a big mess on my hands, or should I say on your hands.”

She laughed as she came back down from heaven. “That’s so not fair, is it?”

He kissed her neck, then her eyelids, her nose, and her lips. “Oh, don’t you worry, my love. I’m going to get every part of you that I want, and you’re going to get every part of me. But first, I’m going to take you to a romantic dinner.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. Is there a nice place you like to go to here? Tonight is all about us. No talk about work or crazy stalkers or crazier exes. I’m going to be your boyfriend tonight, and I’m going to show you how much I love you.”

Sam smiled, hugging him tightly. “I love you. And yes, I know the perfect place. You’ll need to dress up, though.”

“Find me a mall,” he joked. “I want to do this for you.”

Ellis pulled up to Marker’s Steakhouse in downtown Nashville, surveying the area before stopping so the valet could take the car. He nodded to the young guy, walking around to Sammi’s side of the car and helping her out. She felt the kid looking at her, but that was rather normal. All she wanted to do was try to enjoy her dinner without having to deal with paparazzi. This place was discreet when it came to the Nashville celebrities, and they had given them a heads up before they came. She noticed Ellis watching him, giving the kid his no-nonsense look. She wanted to laugh but knew this was Ellis’ way of taking care of her, so she stayed quiet.

“Fifty bucks if it doesn’t get out that she’s here,” Ellis said across the car. The kid nodded, his eyes trained on Sammi. She flashed him her famous smile.

“And an autograph if you want one,” she added. The kid nodded again, still not speaking.

Ellis held open the door for her and she stepped inside. She was dressed in a strapless black satin knee length gown, black stilettos, and a shawl for when she got chilled. Ellis had gone to the mall and came back with a dapper black suit and blue dress shirt, complete with black tie. The blue of his shirt made the blue in his eyes pop, and she thought that he was even more mouth-watering than usual.

The maitre’d led them directly to a waiting table in the corner of the restaurant. “Is this private enough?”

Sammi smiled, sliding into the seat. “Yes, this is wonderful. Thank you.”

“If there is anything you need, or anyone that bothers you, please let us know,” the manager appeared next to her. “Thank you for dining with us tonight, Ms. Kerrigan.”

“My pleasure,” she said, taking Ellis’ hand as he sat next to her. They walked away and Ellis whistled.

“Damn,” he kidded. “I forget sometimes that you’re this hot shot. You have people falling at your feet. How in the world am I ever going to compare?”

Sammi leaned over so she was just centimeters from his face. “There’s no comparison,” she whispered, brushing her lips quickly over his. “They’re just fans. Yes, I wouldn’t be where I was without them, but if they all disappeared tomorrow I wouldn’t shed any tears over them, because I would sing no matter if I had fans or not, and as long as you’re by my side, my life is fulfilled.”

He looked at her, not speaking, for so long she was afraid she said something wrong. “Ellis?”

He traced her fingers with his, never breaking eye contact. “I just… you just reach in to the coldest parts of me and make them warm, Sammi, just by being you. I would be enough to fulfill your life?
Your
life? You have an amazing life, one that you’ve worked so hard to create.”

“But don’t you see, Ellis? If I had all of this, but I didn’t have the love and security and devotion that you give to me, my life wouldn’t be complete. I’d be successful, I’d be rich, I’d be singing, but I would go home alone at the end of the night. The people that surround me every day are my employees, people that are paid to be there. I know that doesn’t mean that they don’t care about me, but if they left tomorrow, they wouldn’t look back. But when you became a part of my life, I didn’t see you as another employee. You say that I made you warm where you were cold? Ellis, you have infiltrated my every cell. I can no longer see myself without you. You’re in my every thought and dream. You are my future.”

She heard him breathe out, like he had been waiting with bated breath to see what she was going to say. “I’m not used to telling what I’m feeling in words, Sammi, but with you, I just can’t stop myself. You know to say that I had a dysfunctional life is the understatement of the century, but I want to be the man that you deserve, and I promise to try to be.”

Her heart felt so full she was sure it was overflowing inside her chest. Ellis thought that he was lucky to have her, but at this moment, looking into his amazing eyes, she knew that she had hit the proverbial jackpot with this one. Despite never understanding what love meant, he knew how to make her feel like the only woman on the planet.

They enjoyed a wonderful dinner, talking and laughing. Everyone left them alone, thankfully, so she didn’t have to stop to sign any autographs or do pictures. She loved her fans and being in the public eye was just part of the life, but it was nice to feel normal for a night.

Soft music started playing from the main part of the dining room, and Ellis held out his hand for her. “May I have this dance?” She clasped his hand and he led her through the crowd to the dance floor, where he enveloped her in his arms. The opening chords to Michael Buble’s ‘Close your Eyes’ started playing, and she smiled against his jacket. She loved this song, and it was so appropriate for them. She closed her eyes, humming the tune.

As the lyrics began, she leaned back and looked into Ellis’ eyes. Before he could ask her why she had tears in her eyes, she began singing softly. His eyes widened as she sang to him. It was like the song was written just for them and had been played at the perfect time. They swayed back and forth as she continued, attracting the people around them. When the lyrics said to ‘close your eyes’, his eyes shut briefly, then opened and fixed back on her face. Everyone stopped as they realized who she was and what she was doing, but she never broke eye contact with Ellis. She wanted him to feel every word she was singing. His eyes flitted briefly to the crowd, but immediately came back to her.

As the song neared the end, her voice lowered, drawing out the last several words as the music ended. When she smiled up at him, the restaurant broke into applause. She turned briefly to smile at everyone, but she didn’t sing the song to get recognition, she sang it for him.

“Sammi,” he said, dipping his head to brush her lips with his. She knew at this point she had made a spectacle of them and this would end up publicized, but she didn’t care. It had been worth it to see the look on his face. “Just when I think you can’t get any better, you do. That was beautiful. I think Michael Buble better watch out, you sing that song better than him.”

She laughed. “The part about being an angel in armor? That’s the way I see you, Ellis. And I think you’re biased, but I love it.” She kissed him once more, then led him off the dance floor.

He lay back on yet another hotel bed in yet another city of Sam’s tour. They were both exhausted and ready to go home. Soon. He had taken a leave of absence from his job in Florida, but he knew it was more like permanent. He wasn’t leaving Sammi to go back to Florida until she could go, which wasn’t any time soon. Once her tour was over, she had recording to do in the studio and some appearances on television shows. Her career was on fire, and the month traveling only catapulted that. She was at the top of the charts, and getting calls daily from magazines, talk shows, advertising companies, and everything in between. Everywhere she went, he would be there.