RockMySenses (4 page)

Ah, that was what Nico meant about her being busy. Relief
settled over me when I realized it wasn’t something awful like planning her
wedding.

“Good for you. Are you excited? Or terrified?”

“Both. Lily’s been helping me with the website and promo,
but I still feel over my head. I get the keys to the place tomorrow.” She shook
her head. “Actually I’d rather not talk about it tonight. It’s my last hurrah
for a long time as I’m about to become a small business owner.”

“All right, no more talk about your new venture. Let’s get
you a drink.” I found an open bottle of wine and poured two glasses. “To you
and all your future successes.” We clinked glasses and each took a sip.

Allana

Mike perplexed me. This was the third time we’d spoken, but
unlike the other two times, he didn’t sport the aloof rock star persona and he
seemed kind of normal.

Not to mention sexy as hell.

Mike introduced me to some of his coworkers, all super-smart
guys who worked in technology, just like him and Nico.

“You might know John, the drummer in the Velvet Cocks. Here
are some of the other knuckleheads I work with.”

What a different world from my own. While they worked on
computers all day using their brains, I tried to help people work on their body
and turn off the chatter that went on in our brains all day long. I took a
mental note to target a class toward corporations with staff on computers all day.

“Knuckleheads?” I laughed. “I thought you guys are all
brains. Tech guys who are changing the world or something like that.”

“Oh yeah, we’re all good with technology,” Mike agreed.
“Doesn’t mean we’re not all jackasses.”

“Speak for yourself, Mike,” the one he introduced as Ryan
said. “Weren’t you supposed to stay in and watch the
Twilight Zone
marathon
tonight?”

Mike appeared stunned but recovered in a flash. “I changed
my mind. I can watch that anytime. Nico invited me to his party so as a good
buddy, I came here.”

Ryan appeared unconvinced. “Yeah, right.”

“Excuse us,” Mike said. “I see your ugly mugs all day. I
want to spend some time with a much prettier one.” He grinned and steered us to
the corner of the room.

My mind was spinning, seeing him in a normal setting and
interacting with guys he worked with. I’d only seen him in Chee Keydood mode,
with the wild stage outfits or tight leather pants. But tonight he wore casual
clothes, a well-fitting pair of jeans and T-shirt, which made him seem more
down-to-earth and approachable, more a real person than a persona. The skull
shirt and tattoos reminded me he was still a badass. The combination of the bad
boy rock star in a normal setting threw me off. I didn’t know what to make of
him, but whatever it was, it was drawing me in. No matter what I said to try to
keep him at a distance, every part of my being gravitated closer.

“Do you always give each other a hard time like that?” I
asked.

“Hell, yeah. That’s nothing. Nico and I share a space when
we go into the office. You should hear us giving each other crap all day long.”

“How do you get any work done?”

“We get in the zone, baby.”

I pictured him and Nico, alternating between banter and
working on some technology I couldn’t wrap my head around.

Mike said, “You know what I’ve always hated about New Year’s
Eve?”

“What?”

“The pressure of the midnight kiss.”

I grinned. “Tell me about it.”

He leaned in closer. The aftershave he wore tickled my
nostrils with a pleasurable scent and I inhaled deeper.

“So why don’t we take the pressure off and kiss now?” His
voice was a smoky caress in my ear.

“What makes you think we were going to kiss at midnight?”
Although I countered his expectations, my gaze flickered from his soulful eyes
down to his finely chiseled lips.

“Thought we’d start off the new year right. Full of promise
for good things to come.” He tilted his head down, leaning closer still.

My lips parted on their own accord. “I don’t know if it’s
wise to kiss someone tonight who you know you won’t see tomorrow.” Despite my
cautious words, my traitorous body leaned closer to him. My breasts were only
inches from his chest, tingling from the closeness.

“That doesn’t have to be the case.” His voice came out so
low and sexy, it sent sensuous vibrations into my ear.

My eyelids lowered as my body froze with anticipation,
wanting and waiting for more.

“What do you say?” he whispered, tilting my chin up. His
lips were centimeters from mine and his warm breath left me trembling.

Through hitched breath, I murmured, “I say kiss me.”

When his lips finally touched mine, scalding sensations shot
through me. All my nerves lit up, electrified by such a tiny action. Spurred
into action, I wrapped my arms around his neck as I kissed him, melting into
his arms. As his lips caressed mine, he reminded me how well he kissed. He
didn’t rush it, thinking of the kiss as the gateway to race through to get to
other areas the way some guys I knew did. He took his time, savoring the moment
as his tongue explored me.

Our bodies touched and the awareness of his growing erection
against my hip inflamed a need to connect with him. If we weren’t in someone
else’s place, I doubt I could have stopped myself from wrapping my legs around
him and begging him to take me right there.

But we were in Nico and Lily’s place with guests around us,
not a club like Vamps where kissing in the dark shadows hardly caused a second
glance. Although I wanted to ignore reason, the sensible women inside commanded
some self-control. I pulled away with reluctance.

“Happy New Year.” He grinned.

I glanced around the party, wondering if we caused some
heated scene. People were caught up in their conversations and we were far
enough away that we didn’t seem to generate gawking observers of an X-rated
affair.

“Take me home, Mike.” I said, still breathless from the
kiss.

His eyes widened with surprise and he bowed halfway with a
boyish grin. “It would be my honor.”

We’d have to say goodbye to Lily and Nico.

Lily. I couldn’t leave her like this. Sure, the party was
going off without a hitch. Everyone was well-fed and holding a beverage of
choice. But still, I was her security blanket. If I ditched the party to go
home with some guy, she’d take it as a personal affront, think the night turned
out lame and I decided to go somewhere better.

“No, we can’t.” I shook my head. “Not yet.”

The grin disappeared. “Why not?”

“We have to stay until at least midnight to be polite. It’s
a New Year’s party after all.”

Mike exhaled and closed his eyes as if trying to find some
self-control himself. “As long as you don’t change your mind after midnight.”

“I’m not Cinderella.” I grinned. “Everything doesn’t change
once the clock strikes twelve.” Although my body was still overcome with lust,
some sense had returned to me, remembering who he was. “But this is just one
night.”

He furrowed his brows. “Excuse me?”

“No empty promises about calling each other, no pretending
that this means anything more than it is. We can spend the night together and
then go our separate ways tomorrow.”

Mike stared at me for several moments out of warm chestnut
eyes that made me want to take back what I said. But I had to be practical. He
was a rock star with commitment issues. And I was a busy woman about to take
the biggest plunge in her professional life. I didn’t need any drama from men,
especially one who had women hanging over him each night he went on stage, a
role he seemed to relish and take every advantage of.

“If that’s what you want, mi’lady.” He cocked his head.
“Your wish is my command.”

Mike

The next few hours went by in a blur as I fought getting
hard. My mind filled with one erotic image after another as I envisioned all
the things I wanted to do with her when at last I’d get to take her home.

Don’t back out. Don’t change your mind.

As if I could will her with my thoughts.

She helped Lily in the kitchen and although everyone was
stuffed, nobody resisted the tiny cupcakes and cheesecake bites. How could
anyone resist anything Allana offered? She was a fucking goddess. Her smile lit
up her face. The guys from work stammered in awkwardness around her and then
gawked at her ass as she walked away. I couldn’t blame them. She had a
perfectly shaped round ass, tight from yoga, but with enough oomph for guys to
think
damn!
I should know—I was one of them.

I nursed a Jack and Coke, with more soda than alcohol. I
didn’t want to drink too much because I was driving and I wanted to be at peak
level later. There were enough assholes on the roads who had too much alcohol
on New Year’s Eve as it was.

A quarter to midnight, Allana came back to me holding two
glasses of champagne. She offered one to me so I abandoned the other glass.

“Have you finished your hostess duties for the night?”

“Yes. Nico is pouring more champagne for the toast.”

“You’ve done great. Everyone is fat and happy. Especially
me.”

“I’ve seen you naked. And I can say with utmost confidence
that you don’t have any fat on you.”

“Coming from a fitness guru, that’s a pretty good compliment
for a software engineer. We’re not known for our buff muscles.”

“Guru,” she repeated with a snort. “Hardly. It must be all
the rock shows that keep you in shape. I’ve seen the way you jump all over the
place onstage. Must be some cardio. You work up quite a sweat.”

“I aim to entertain.”

Nico turned down the music and said, “Everyone have a glass
of champagne or something else to toast with?”

A lot of murmurs of agreement. He put on a television station
airing the celebration and put it on mute. Lily handed out horns and other
noisemakers. When the numbers flashed on screen, we counted down along with the
clock.

“10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Happy New Year!”

We cheered and blew horns. I dropped the spinning device
Lily had given me. I pulled Allana into my arms and leaned her back as I
planted my lips on hers. She held on to me as she responded with a fiery
passion. This was unlike any New Year kiss I’d ever experienced. No
awkwardness, no pressure of things to come, just one night with Allana.

Just one night.

It excited me to bits, no doubt. I was going home with a
beautiful woman who had kept me in a semi-erect state all night. But why did it
also leave me with a sort of ache inside?

As people began to leave, Allana and I helped bring plates
in off the dining room table, especially the food that was perishable. I ended
up with Nico in the kitchen area while Allana talked to Lily.

“Look at you loading up the dishwasher,” I teased. “The rock
singer domesticated.”

“Ha ha,” he said, loading plates. “Sounds like the bad tag
line for a reality show.”

“Totally,” I agreed. “I can see it now. Follow the band from
the tour bus to the stage and then to their lives at home.”

“Except in our case, it’s still a tour van.” He closed the
dishwasher. “Moving on up slowly in the rock ‘n’ roll world.”

“I wouldn’t want to be in a reality show anyway. Who would
want people in their business? Why do all those celebrities do it?”

“No kidding. Lily would freak out if I even joked about it.”

Nico nodded to where Allana and Lily were chatting in the
living room. “What’s up with you and Ally?”

“We’re getting along smashingly.”

“You are?” Nico squinted. “You mean a woman who you slept
with is still talking to you? Shocking.”

“I know. She’s a good one.”

“I thought you drove them all off.”

“I do. And I did with her. But apparently she’s not
impervious to my natural charms.”

“Or she’s had too much to drink and lost all sense.”

“For shame, Nico. For shame,” I exaggerated. “As if a woman
would have to be drunk to sleep with me.”

“You mean some aren’t?”

Allana

“Are you sure you want to go home with him?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because before tonight, you were pissed at him for not
remembering who you were.”

“I know.” I cast my eyes down. “I’m over that already. It
was one night months ago and he’s not good with names.”

Lily narrowed her eyes. “Did he put some kind of weird
voodoo spell on you or something?”

“No. Not at all.”

“I don’t get why you’d hook up with him again.”

Since I’d been trying to justify this to myself the past
couple of hours, I had a ready response. “Well, if you must know. One—I get the
keys to my studio tomorrow and I’m kind of freaked out. So rather than tossing
and turning all night worrying, I’d rather toss and turn doing something a
little more fun. Two—We already hooked up once, the chemistry was great, and
since we already slept together, it doesn’t count as someone new. And three—he’s
hot as hell. Being around him turns me on so much, I—”

“Okay, okay,” Lily said. “I get it.” Her eyes filled with
concern. “Be careful. You know what he’s like.”

“I do. And I’m taking advantage of the situation. One night.
No strings attached. I don’t have time for anything else in my life right now.
Tomorrow we’ll go our separate ways. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because I remember you saying something similar over the
summer. And that didn’t stop you from getting hurt when you ran into him at
Vamps.”

“I wasn’t hurt,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
“I was as humiliated as anyone would be running into someone they’d slept with
who didn’t remember them at first.”

Lily sighed. “I think I should try to talk you out of this,
but something tells me I’d be wasting my time.”