Not Second Best (2 page)

“I hope I was just as distracting for you.” She ruffled her fingers through his hair.

“Definitely.” Brett slithered down her body and between her legs. She sat up as soon as she could and went to work on her shoes as if he wasn’t even in the room. Okay, weird. Though he wasn’t sure why it was so important she pay attention to him. He’d gotten what he wanted. He should be happy she didn’t want to cuddle. Standing, he pulled his pants up. “I guess I’ll take a shower.”

“Go ahead, but I’m just going to get you dirty again.” She didn’t look up from her shoes.

“Good. I’ll get really clean so you have to work harder.” He went into the bathroom and turned on the water. Then he leaned on the door and listened to her walk around the other room.

The famous Jason Callisto’s sister and lawyer, Tessa, had always been unattainable. She not only outclassed him in fame, but in brains, and at the reception had appeared totally together until she’d walked away. That was the reason he’d followed her. Because she’d stopped looking cool and started looking more like he felt. Except that just now, she’d been utterly chill.

Brett ducked under the water. He should have known better than to think he knew her this quickly. They had one stupid thing in common. Being second best.

But Tessa was a pretty awesome second.

The bathroom door opened. Tessa peeked around the shower door. “Mind if I join you?”

Brett stepped back to give her room. “You got the shoes off.”

“They aren’t difficult. They just defeated you.” Smirking, she draped her arms around his shoulders.

“Ha ha. I have some buckles that might defeat you.” Brett let his hands slide down her sides with the flow of the water.

“I might let you try those out.” She leaned on him, her skin velvet against his.

“I thought I’d distracted you enough.”

“That was then. This is now.”

“You’re demanding.”

“I think you can fulfill my demands.” She picked up the soap and traced down his chest with it. “You were concerned about being dirty.”

“You’re not going to give me a chance to get clean, either.” Brett studied her eyes, trying to figure out where she was going. Five minutes ago, she’d all but told him to get lost, and now, she was crawling all over him again.

“On the contrary, I’m going to clean you up.” She rubbed the soap on a cloth and started sweeping the cloth across his chest. “How’s that?”

“Nice.”

“Take notes, because it’s going to be your turn in a minute.” The cloth dipped lower.

“I look forward to it.” He did love a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to spell it out.

“I’m sure you do,” she purred. “You always were a show off.”

“What do you know about me?”

“Everything I need to.” She stroked with the cloth along his length, which was very interested in the stimulation.

“Everything you need to?”

“You’re a sleazy little party boy riding on the success of his first little hit and sleeping with every willing female you can find.”

“You have no respect for me at all, do you?”

“I have lots of respect for you.” She shifted him into the water to rinse him off and handed him the washcloth. “Right now I need a little party boy to fuck me thoroughly, and you are just the one to do it.” Her breathing was heavy and slow.

“Thanks.” He ran the cloth between her full breasts. She looked great naked. How old was she anyway? Jason was about forty. She must be a couple years older than her brother. Had he been overlooking an entire group of hot women because none of the chicks he’d picked was over thirty?

“Think nothing of it.”

He soaped around her ass. Bigger than most of his girls’, but tight and toned. Tessa had some substance to her. He slid between her legs from behind, drawing her against him and getting a sweet moan out of her. Her mouth curved into a lush smile.

“I knew you’d be frisky enough.” Then she pulled away and rinsed off. “I’ve never heard of this place. How did you find it?”

“One of the guys my mom went with brought her here.”

“Oh?” Tessa lifted her hair and rolled her neck under the hot water. “She was a backup singer, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

“OD’d about ten years ago?”

“How did you know?”

Opening her eyes, she turned off the water. “My job is to know things.”

“About me?” Brett followed her out of the shower. He’d thought he went after her at the reception, but maybe it was the other way around. She was smart. Maybe she’d lured him outside.

“When you and Suzi took off together, Jason had me hunting you. Best place to start looking was your past. Your dad is a nice guy.” She walked from the bathroom, still dripping.

“My dad?”

“I called him trying to find you. So how did you end up being the guy to rescue Suzi?” She shoved open the patio door and stepped outside.

“Right place, right time.”

Tessa cocked an eyebrow at him. “And she just ran off with you.”

“When we were on tour, I got to know her, and I happened to be right there when she needed to leave.” Brett hoped the heat on his face was sun and not embarrassment.

“You wanted to get next to her.”

“Fuck yes, I did.” Blushing. Definitely. “With a nickname like Randy Mirandy and a hot bod like hers, who wouldn’t?”

“Indeed.” Tessa stepped into the infinity pool and settled where she could stare out over the desert.

Brett clambered into the water next to her. This place was his refuge. After he’d come here with Suzi, it had also been his place to regret. He’d spent hours soaking in this pool, wondering what kind of moron he’d been to let Suzi get away and if there had been anything he could have done to stop it. “What about you? You knew Brian since he was a kid. He was married before. Why’s it a crisis now?”

Tessa lifted one leg, put it down, and lifted the other, pointing her toe at the sky before lowering it into the water. “Brian had a huge crush on me when he was a kid. Well, up until he was about twenty-two, but I wasn’t interested.”

“So now you want what some other chick has?”

“No,” Tessa snapped, glaring at him. “It’s just an ego blow that he’s not going to be following me around anymore.”

“Right. Because he was before.”

“Fuck you.”

“In a little bit. I’m comfortable now.”

Tessa slouched in the corner. “I just can’t believe all those guys got married like that. Bear and Maureen. Jason and Cassie. Marc and Alex. Now Brian and Suzi. Another one bites the dust. I’ve known all those guys since we were kids.”

“Ty’s not hitched up yet.”

“He’s probably meeting his one true love as we speak. I’ll be running background checks on her tomorrow. My mother is dating a guy from Cassie’s hometown. Connie’s even dating.”

“Who’s Connie?”

“My sister.”

“Everybody’s married but you.”

“I don’t want to be married,” she growled.

Brett held up his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m not looking for a wife here, either.” He eased into the water. “I love this place.”

“It’s nice. Very relaxing. What made you bring Suzi here?”

“I knew a shitload of people would be hunting for her, and she needed some time away. Nobody would look for her here.”

“This where she had her miscarriage?”

“Yeah.”

“That must have been rough.”

“I took care of her.” Brett shrugged. He’d stood outside the bathroom door, fretting about what to do. She hadn’t wanted him to call a doctor, but she’d been in so much pain. And then she’d cried all night. Holding her and not being able to do a damn thing to help her had sucked, but it had been better than standing outside a door.

“She’s one of those women who doesn’t have babies easily. Brian’s already got the two, so he doesn’t care,” Tessa said.

“Do we have to talk about Brian all the time?”

“I thought that’s why we were here. Because we both came in second.”

“Then maybe we should call Logan. He came in second, too.”

Tessa shrugged. “Go ahead if you want to, but I’m over my orgy phase. You two have fun. You can sit around and talk about how perfect Suzi is.”

“Suzi’s really nice.” Brett scowled. Suzi was nice. Really friendly and approachable. Every time she’d joined them on the road when his band was touring with her ex’s band, she’d found time to sit and talk, even though Logan had wanted her chained to his wrist whenever he was offstage. Tessa could be as bitchy as she wanted, but she’d better not start talking shit about Suzi.

“I know. She’s a great girl. Always has been. Did you know she tried to patch up Brian and Bonnie’s marriage? I could have told her it was a waste of time.”

Brett couldn’t decide which was worse. Talking about Brian or talking about Suzi. “I’m hungry. I’m going to order some dinner. You want anything?”

Tessa frowned at the desert. “Rum and Coke. Steak, well done. Baked potato, butter, no sour cream. Steamed summer squash. And chocolate frosting.”

“Frosting without the cake?”

She smiled at him. “It’s for later.”

Brett grinned back. At least if she was going to torture him by talking about Brian and Suzi, she would make up for it.

Tessa opened her eyes and stretched. Brett had kept her up and humming until early morning, but her body clock was set to go off at seven and would be delayed for only so long. She rolled onto her side and propped her head on her hand.

Sprawled out across most of the bed, Brett lay on his stomach, one hand and one foot hanging off the side, the other leg tangled through hers, his arm crooked under his head. Not quite innocent in sleep, but still pretty cute. If she were ten years younger, she’d seriously consider going after him for something a little more long-term.

Last year when he’d been the one to get Suzi out of that party, she’d run a check on him in an attempt to figure out where he’d gone. His backup singer mom had been happy to use her child support money for drugs until it had killed her. His dad had been a lighting tech for a bunch of big name bands through the eighties and nineties, had even worked for Touchstone on one of the early tours until Brett had ended up in his lap. Then he’d settled down and started doing lighting for sitcoms and the occasional concert. His dad had been unsurprised that Brett had rescued a girl, though he’d been more hooked on the idea that Brett had gotten a hot chick than that he’d done a good deed. It wasn’t until she talked to another guy in his band who had told her Brett was always taking in strays that she’d started to think the rescue was more kindness than skirt chasing, making Brett something of a unicorn. A hot, young rock star with a heart of gold.

Tessa brushed her fingers through his hair and let them trail down his fine, strong back. He was in touring shape. Tight, toned, and ready to jump on stage and act like a loon for an hour. BroRide would only get an hour as the opening act. If they didn’t have a couple of big hits off their next album, the party would be over. They might be able to scrape along and earn a living. Hell, if Enuff Z’Nuff and Stryper were still touring and putting out records, anything was possible. Giving him a boost would be really easy. A short trip though her contacts, and she could set him and his band up with all the behind the scenes talent they would need to make it big. Not that she owed him anything, but he was a nice guy.

Brett half opened one eye and smacked his lips. “You’re awake.”

“It’s morning.”

He stretched and reached for her. “Am I going to have to rock you back to sleep?”

Tessa let him draw her under him. His mouth covered hers with slow, lazy heat, and she ran her hands down his back. Not yet solidly a man, he still had a lean boy’s body.

But plenty to play with.

He left off with her mouth and started sucking on her neck.

“If you give me a hickey, I’m going to kill you,” she said.

He laughed, but stopped working at her neck and drifted down her body instead, heating her skin. Tessa relaxed, letting him do his thing. He was good. Very practiced and knew how to play with her nipples just long enough to wire her up without leaving the rest of her ignored. As he kissed down her leg, he picked up one of her feet.

Tessa jerked away from him. “What are you doing?”

“Trust me.” He caught her foot again and brought it to his lips. His eyes held hers as he took each of her toes between his lips.

Tessa gasped through her open mouth. His hot tongue brushing the sensitive skin between her toes arced through every nerve and set her on fire. No one touched her toes. No one. She only touched them to wash them or put on socks. The sensation threatened to undo her. “My other foot is jealous.”

“I’ll have to take care of that.” He turned to her other foot and started over.

Tessa clutched the sheets, arching. “That’s good.”

Brett made a noise, and the vibration overlaid the rest of the tactile interference. Tessa shuddered. “Get up here.”

He set aside her foot. “You’re bossy.”

“I thought you liked that.” Tessa grabbed a condom off the bedside table and ripped it open.

“I’m changing my mind.”

“Sucks to be you.” She slipped the condom over his length, admiring the weight in her hand as she guided him into her. He was a very fine specimen.

Brett nuzzled her neck, filling her slowly. She urged him to go faster but he ignored her, setting a steady rhythm. Whimpering, she clutched him, wanting that fast, electric release.

“Hush,” Brett whispered. “Sometimes you gotta let go and enjoy the ride.”

Tessa moaned and tried to relax, but it felt like what she really wanted was just out of reach. “Please.”

“Roll with me, baby.” He took her earlobe between his lips and sucked at the same gentle pace.

Tension built in her hips and down the backs of her legs. She twisted her arms around his back, desperate to hold onto him. Her core swelled, trapping him until he was grunting with the effort of thrusting into her.

“Tessa,” he murmured, his hot mouth pressed to her ear.

The tension broke in a long, wide wave. She held Brett, shuddering, and felt him break apart, too.

When he rolled off, she was suddenly aware of the air conditioning blowing on her, so she turned onto her side and rested her head on his sweaty chest. Her hair stuck to her face, and she kinda needed another shower, but she kinda didn’t want to move.