Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) (22 page)

After arriving at the hotel, showering and throwing on a pair of jeans and t-shirt, Sam continued to fume over her brother’s aggressive behavior. Jase’s audacity flabbergasted her and produced a queasy ball of dread in her belly. Nothing good would come of his outlook. The brawl said louder than words he shunned their affair, and would do everything in his power to come between it.

A
dozen times since leaving the arena she convinced herself to
leave
. Just leave. Everything would resolve itself if she were out of the picture. When she thought of Heath and how he made her feel, walking away proved harder than she would’ve thought. Didn’t help that saying good-bye felt a great deal like giving up. That went against her personality. She was no coward. She confronted obstacles with a one-finger salute and either barreled her way through them or created more chaos.

For the first time
in a long time she believed she had a chance at something good, something that could work and make her happy. But sacrificing her family’s happiness for the sake of her own might be more than she could swallow.

She understood Jase’s concern. Of course she did. He’d protected her all
of her life. She’d knifed that bitch in Miami
for him
. While doing her business in the club’s bathroom stall, she’d overheard the woman confess to another how she suspected she had a bun in the oven. The bitch planned to con Jase into her bed—he’d been all over her so getting laid by him wouldn’t have been a problem. Afterward, she would file a paternity suit against him. ‘Instant jackpot,’ she’d whispered to her friend. The bitch counted on Jase paying her to go away. Sam had shown her no one messed with a Collins without suffering repercussions.

So yeah, she comprehended why he safeguarded her. Protecting one another was an obligatory sibling duty. She’d
been his sole responsibility since their parents’ death. Sam guessed that upped the ante on fraternal responsibility.

And Heath was his best friend.
Jase knew things about Fang she hoped were never disclosed. But being best buddies also meant Jase knew how upstanding a guy Heath was. One would think that would provide him some peace of mind.

If their romance failed to work,
a host of issues arose. She rubbed her forehead and stared at the city below. She kidded no one, not even herself. Problems surfaced simply because of who they were.

I won’t come between him and the band
.

She placed her
palm against the window. The cool glass sent a chill up her arm.

The guilt of coming between them would eat away at her.
Already ate at her.

How do I leave Heath when I’m in love with him?

Tears surfaced, and she sniffled them back. Big Al must’ve sensed her gloom because he wove between her legs purring like an engine.

A dry
laugh rumbled from her when she realized what she’d just admitted.
Of course I love him
. Even Omega knew that. This close to achieving a dream and she might lose him before they had a chance to warrant a breakup.

His friendship with Jase meant mo
re than their could-be romance. Just because she loved him, didn’t mean he felt the same. People loved each other all the time and remained separated. Didn’t they?

Men like Heath didn’t remain with fuck-u
ps like her. Eventually, he’d recognize his mistake and what he’d forfeited. An irreplaceable friendship and possibly an epic band. If she left now, he’d be angry, but he’d understand her reasoning in time, grow to appreciate she saved the important stuff in his life.

How did she wiggle out of the
romance she was reluctant to forfeit?

Earlier she’d called an attorney to draw up papers to have
her trust fund returned to Jase’s name. So long as she accepted his money, he owned her and would believe he could rule her life. That would end. She would take nothing from him. Once her trust was dissolved, she’d be penniless. Homeless. Those two words petrified her, but she refused to be beaten down like an abused woman.

Keys
foisted his credit card on her, but that didn’t mean she’d use it. Omega Starr would help her, but taking aid from either of them chafed her pride. She’d rather flip burgers at a hamburger joint—even sell her plasma—than take their aid.

Behind her the door opened and closed. In the mirrored glass, she watched Heath
swagger into the room. He tossed his bag beside the door. Big Al shot across the space and greeted him with a meow.

H
e knelt to acknowledge the fur ball with scratches behind the ear. He stood, took two steps and paused in his stride.

“Sam? I didn’t expect you in my room.”
He dropped his key card on the table. A minor laceration near his left eyebrow was the only visible evidence of his scuffle. Jase must’ve not been throwing punches with all his might.

“I won’t stay long. I wanted to apologize for Jase be
fore I left you to party with… everyone.” She knew he wouldn’t party with the groupies. He’d made her a promise, and he wouldn’t renege.

“You don’t need to apologize for your brother.”

He’d done it for her many times. She’d return the favor. “I kinda do. He was an ass.”

“His assholery is part of his charm with the ladies.”

True enough. Even the world seemed to adore his callousness and praised him for his sincere immorality. Hiding his baseness from the world wasn’t even a hypothesis in his mind. Like him or don’t, Jase didn’t care.

Heath
swept his bangs off his forehead, the crystal face of his titanium watch catching the light. Diamond ear studs sparkled with his movement. A crude shift in position as if he suddenly decided to join her at the window and his long legs gobbled up the space between them. She admired his confident swagger, the taut stretch of his white cotton Alabama T showcased the hours he spent doing crunches and pushups.

He
halted in front of her. Unsure what to expect, she held his gaze. And gasped when he shoved her up against the wall-to-ceiling glass behind her, rougher than she anticipated. Heartbeat skipping, she held her breath as his weight settled against her and she geared up for their confrontation because she
would leave
. The cool structure of the glass seeped into her spine and contradicted the heat of the man at her front.

“
Parties are boring, Sam. You’re all I want. All I need. The look in your eyes… it terrifies me.” She attempted a reassuring smile and absorbed her failure when he commanded in a gruff tone thick with desperation, “You are
not
leaving me because of Jase’s pigheadedness.”

“I don’t know what else to do. If I’m gone, it’ll eliminate the obstacle between y’all.”

“No, no,
no
.” His clutch on her left hip tightened and he smacked the window with the palm of his other hand. “You are the obstacle only because Jase is intolerant to change. I’m willing to fight for our chance to be together. He’s not so selfish that he’ll deny us happiness once he realizes we’re fucking good together.”

“Are we? Good together?” She traced the shell of his ear, sadness threatening to burn a hot path of tears straight into her sinuses.
If she ever got started, she’d be a weeping mess of ugliness. “We’ve only just begun, and there are problems derailing us. Walking away now saves us a lot of heartache later.”

“I
’ve got enough stamina and courage to fight Jase for the both of us.”

“This
decision has nothing to do with courage.”

He cupped her face between his
palms. “I’ve waited too long to just let you go.”

Sam palmed his chest
, and beneath his shirt his muscles shifted beneath her touch. Heath lowered his head and offered Eskimo kisses. The gentle stroke was so sweet and sensual, tears squeezed from between her lids. His cinnamon scented breath puffed against her lips. Against her better judgment, she was drawn into his carnal biosphere. She tilted her head and tried to snag a kiss, but he moved away.

Eyes locked, one of his hand
s moved off her face and slid into her hair. With sluggish movements, he wound strands around his fingers and turned his palm to the window, anchoring her in position. “I’ll convince you to stay.”

“How?”

The kiss devastated her wisdom, her resolve to save them sorrow blown to smithereens. She arched against him, wanting more contact, but they were already pressed like adhesive to one another. Only skin-to-skin friction would settle her.

“Make love to me, Heath,” she said between kisses, clenching his shirt.

“No.” He dragged his nose along her neck. “You smell so fucking good I want to lick all of you.”

“Do it.” With the way he held her head steady by her hair, she couldn’t move, but was at his mercy and defenseless against his seduction.

“No.” His hold slid down her spine and settled on the small of her back, tugging her into his pelvis. “I don’t want a relationship built on sex alone.”

His erection scrubbed against her stomach, taunting her with what she wanted and he wouldn’t give.

Killing
.
Me
. “How much longer you wanna wait? I’ve known you over half my life. If we’re not ready for the next step now, will we ever be?”

Heath closed his eyes
, their mouths fornicating in wispy caresses while their breath copulated. She knew him too well. He wanted to give in, but his gallant demeanor held him back. “I want you to stay for more than the sex, brat.”

“Heath
.” His eyelids flipped upward and graced her with his beautiful silver eyes. “If I stay it’s because I’m in love with you and not because of sex.”

His chest stopped moving, and his nostrils flared.
“Sam….” A shaky inhalation lifted his shoulders. “Don’t say that casually. It’d tear me apart if you didn’t mean what you said.”

“
I know what I’m saying and what I feel. I fucking love you, Heath Fangor. I’ll tell every tabloid reporter, call a news conference, place it on a billboard if that’ll make it more real for you.” And she would, despite how crazy the confession would make Jase. With her declaration came the realization
she
must be selfish and demand a chance with Heath. Tossing this opportunity aside wasn’t an option. Jase would have to deal or risk losing her respect. “Omega lets me call him Heath when we—”

He
joined their lips, nothing intimate, but the connection silenced her. “Don’t say the rest. I don’t want to think of you with him.”

He rubbed his body against her
s. In response, she grazed her teeth over his jaw until he tilted his head back and disconnected her flirtation. “Then make love to me so I can call out the right person’s name just this once.”

“Once won’t be enough for me.”

“For me either.” Sam gripped his ass.

They stared at one another
, the passion in his gaze providing no hint to his decision.

“If Heath doesn’t want to play with me, maybe Fang does.”

A devilish grin hit his features. “Why can’t they both play with you?”

“Promise?” She
dive-bombed his shirt, sliding her hands beneath the cotton. The hard line of his back flexing beneath her touch.

“
Anything you want, brat.” He lifted his arms when she reached his shoulders, and she tugged his garment over his head. “That’s a promise.”

She took the time to inspect him with her gaze and fingertips.
She’d seen Heath shirtless on numerous occasions, but he’d never been hers to stroke at freewill before. Even so, she knew the exact locations of all his tattoos. The detailed angel wings that ran along his spine and terminated down the backsides of his arms was acquired to illustrate that sometimes even those with good intentions fell from grace. A tribute to his family’s shunning him from their life. The sexy pinup on his calf displayed his love of racy women. The cross tattoo that was inked high on his shoulder and collarbone, the tip of the crucifix sometimes peeking from the collar of his shirts, detailed his faith. The arm sleeve was a dedication to Rock-n-Roll, a nice weave of notes, the lyrics to their debut hit, and an old-fashioned microphone. Aside from Hot Wired spelled out on his knuckles, if he possessed further ink, they were hidden beneath his bathing suit area. Tonight, she planned to find them if he owned more.