ROMANCE: Lion Protector (Paranormal Shifter BBW Military Romance) (Shapeshifter Alpha Male Short Stories Book 2) (47 page)

Chapter 4

              As we left the Blue Room we reconvened with the group to determine everyone’s next move. A few people wanted to bar crawl since it was only 2 a.m., and the next day would be spent on the road heading for our next city. Others were more practical, opting to return to the hotel to pack and get some sleep. This time two taxi vans went in opposite directions.

David and I joined the group returning to the hotel. We talked about the band from the bar on the ride up the elevator. He praised my performance again as he walked me to the door of my room.

“So, I suppose this is where we part ways,” David said.

“Yes, or we could do something stupid,” I said.

He looked surprised for a moment, then smiled with a somewhat seducing look.

“That is, if your invitation still stands,” I added.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Good,” I replied.

I let us in and grabbed a bottle of water. When I offered he only wanted water as well. I moved around the room removing my shoes and jewelry. He stood watching.

“Feel free to get comfortable,” I said with a small wave of my hand.

He nodded and sort of straightened his collar. It was sweet.

“Are you nervous?” I asked. “You’ve seemed so relaxed all night.”

“Well, now that I’m here,” he paused, “I’m a little intimidated at the idea. You’re very attractive, but I’ve only approached one other black woman, a friend’s sister, and that didn’t go anywhere.”

“Well, sex is sex no matter who it is with. There may just be a little more oomph to it with some partners,” I teased.

              I came back to where he stood. Without my shoes the top of my head just reached his chin. I put my hands on his chest; it was broad and firm. He leaned his head down and pressed his forehead to mine taking a deep breath. He kissed my forehead, then down my cheek in a path of kisses as I moved my fingers inward to the center of his chest. His top two buttons were undone. As I started unsnapping from the third down his lips circled until they met mine. He immediately let out a sigh of pleasure.

              “I have wanted to do that since you first waved at me,” he said, pulling me to him to kiss me deeper.

              He crouched slightly to wrap my arms around his neck. Then his hands began roaming the curves and contours of my body. We both breathed each other in deeply. I have full lips, but his seemed to perfectly press with mine. His tongue undulated and waved, caressing mine without feeling invasive or choking. He was a good kisser, and with every move we made his lips barely stopped kissing mine, or some other part of my body.

              I managed to pull apart our torsos enough to get his shirt off. As I started to unfasten his belt and pants he caught my hands and turned me around. He pulled my back to his chest. One hand gave a squeeze at my hip as the other slowly raised my dress up my thigh on the opposite side. As a shiver went up my body from the graze of his fingertips, my back arched a little in pleasure, sending my bottom and shoulders back against him. His body responded, pressing the erection behind his zipper against me.

I lifted my arms as he continued the upward motion with my dress until it was removed, leaving the matching bra and panties I had put on for my night out. I left my arms high and wrapped them behind me around his neck, pulling his lips back down into my neck. He immediately moaned and began kissing and biting my neck. I put my hips back to his again, wiggling just a little, and his nips became a bit harder on my neck.

I brought my hands back around and turned into his kiss. As our tongues danced once more I unfastened his pants. He let them drop to the floor as I guided him toward the bed. We never stopped kissing. I removed my bra and guided one of his hands from my hip to my waist to my breasts and stepped forward between his legs, taking his cock in my hand. He moaned and began kissing my breasts.

I rubbed him as he kissed on my body and we both breathed heavily together. Then, I put my hands to his chest again and pressed until he leaned back on the bed.

He wrapped an arm around the small of my back above my butt and scooted until we were centered on the bed. As we moved, his cock rubbed my body between my legs. He gave a small moan with each shift, and I felt myself getting wet. My pussy twitched and winked with wanting. I raised my hips as I kissed him and rubbed his cock a bit more. As I positioned myself to lower onto him, he sighed heavily in pleasure.

We both moaned as my wet lips parted over the tip of his penis. His hips started a slow grind toward mine. I moaned as the head of his cock began to make way into me. He licked his lips and his grip tensed at my sides. The deeper his cock went the tighter he squeezed. I bared down on his shoulders, wiggling and grinding until he was fully inside me. Then, we both ground into each other. I sat fully upright, rolling my hips down onto his as he raised and lowered his hip into me. We both of wanted to be as deep as possible.

We bounced and rocked and moaned. I rode him, then he took me from behind and felt even larger and deeper. When I worked my way down to lay in the pillows he didn’t stop. He put a hand under my abdomen to keep me close and eased down with me. I arched my butt back to him like a cat and ground against him even more. He kept one hand at my hip, keeping me close, and the other gripped my breasts, playing with the nipples. I braced against the bed to press my body back against his.

I couldn’t even try to say where things finally came to an end that night.

Chapter 5

              The next morning I quietly gathered my things and loaded them on the bus, then returned to the hotel for breakfast. I had left a note on my pillow for David.

              The tour left Louisiana for a day’s drive to Mobile, Alabama. The next stop had us playing the civic center and staying at a hotel that was formerly a train station. Out tour dates didn’t line up with Mardi Gras or Bay Fest, but there was still going to be a variety of good local music venues we could visit.

              Once we all settled in our rooms we were given a free night, with early rehearsals scheduled for the following day. I made plans with some of the crew, and after a brief rest I got dressed and ready to go out. Once I made it to the lobby, the only person waiting for me was David.

              “Well, this is a surprise,” I said.

              “I’ll bet. I got the impression from your note that you didn’t expect to see me again,” he said.

              “I didn’t,” I replied.

              “Did you want to?” he asked.

              His face looked hopeful but uncertain. In truth I did want to see him again, but parts of me felt like I shouldn’t.

              “I hadn’t decided,” I replied looking around the lobby for the people I was meeting.

              “Are you looking for the stage hands who went out with us last night?” he asked.

              I nodded and kept looking.

              “They said to tell you that you were free to enjoy the night with me. I think they figured out I was surprising you and were giving us alone time. Now we can go on a proper date,” he said smiling.

              “Date? No, I don’t think so,” I said.

              If I got a taxi quickly I could be just a few minutes behind the others.

              “What’s wrong? Last night was fun, right?” David asked.

              “Yes, but one night of fun was enough,” I said.

              He looked confused.

              “Everything was great, but this really was supposed to just be a one-time thing,” I said. “I mean, not to paint myself as a one-night-stand girl, but this is a tour, you were there, and overall I don’t think we would work.”

              “Well, we can’t work if you don’t want to try, and it’s not like I’m proposing. I just want to go on a date,” he said, stepping closer.

              He was smiling and he smelled really good once he was right in front of me, but I had already given this thought before I left this morning. I didn’t like to date when I didn’t think there was a future in it. After this tour, it was unlikely our paths would cross again.

              “You’re a really nice guy, but I really don’t think we are each what the other is looking for,” I said.

              “Well, I wasn’t looking for anything. We met. Now, I’m looking to spend more time with you,” he said.

              “That’s sweet, but let’s just stop before this starts. You’re a little old fashioned and I’ve dated ‘good old boys’ before. There is a fine line between chivalrous and sexist that men like that have a hard time finding. On top of that, you made it clear that I’m the first black girl you have been with. After you date me long enough to have a clear conscience, you will move on, glad to have had a black chick, but marry a white girl. And, for you it was some big deal just that I’m singing with this type of band. No, this isn’t going down,” I said.

              “Well, let’s be fair here. You made it a point to tell me you try to read people, so you immediately look for ways to judge them and future interactions. I know you enjoyed our time together, but because of your preexisting notions about me and guys like me, we can’t even try to have a date, much less anything else. You are the one putting rules and limitations on everything,” he said, smiling less now.

              “Fair enough. I didn’t mean to offend you. I still stand by what I said, though.”

              “Well, I’ll give you space then. If you change your mind we can talk,” he said. “I’ll be staying with the tour tonight, and returning to my company tomorrow. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll understand and leave before the performance.”

              He kissed my cheek and went to the elevator.

              I waited a moment, then caught a taxi to keep my original plans. David stayed on my mind, but I felt I had made the best decision in the long run. I may have been his first black woman, but he was not the first white guy for me. There are some that could make it work, but he was not a part of that group as far as I could tell.

              When the taxi arrived, I decided to just walk around downtown instead. I didn’t feel like explaining my change in plans to everyone.

Chapter 6

              Our performance at the Mobile Civic Center went well. We had a sold-out crowd this time and a few after events that the band encouraged everyone to attend.

              I didn’t see David anymore in Mobile, not that I expected to. In hindsight, I thought I might have been a little hard on him. Even if I was right, at the moment he may have truly had interest and good intentions. Still, I knew I had spared both our feelings in the long run.

              The next stop on the tour was a bit longer ride. We were making our way all the way down the Florida coast to Miami, then working our way back up to South Carolina. David was still on my mind, so I looked him up to be certain I had made the best decision.

              Everything he had told me was true. He owned a sound research company and sold a lot of his technology to larger companies. They used it to improve their products. There were photos online of him when he was younger, before his breakthrough invention. He seemed to enjoy outdoorsy things and large-breasted blondes. There weren’t many photos of him with other women once his company started. At least he kept his private life private.

              I was probably a notch in his belt that he enjoyed enough to attempt repeating. He didn’t put up much fight when I sent him away. I felt a bit better about my decision.

              When we reached Miami, it was already late. Everyone went through check-in and headed to the rooms. Some went to each other’s rooms to unwind after being on the road. I, like most of the others, went straight to bed since there were early rehearsals the next morning with a show the following night.

              At rehearsal, we were all in pretty good spirits. Everyone was on beat and on key. Lights and effects had perfect timing. Carol was pleased enough to give us a few hours’ break before we had to be back to get ready for the show, so a few of us picked up lunch and headed for the beach.

              “Your friend joining us tonight?” asked a roadie.

              I stretched out on my blanket and ran my hand over the sand.

              “I don’t think so,” I said.

              “That’s a shame. He seemed like a good guy,” said one of the lighting crew members.

              “He’s all right,” I said.

              “I never saw him work on anything. Was he a friend of Carol’s?” the first roadie asked.

              “No, he’s that guy who owns LSD. You know, Lawson Sound Development? He’s been visiting different concerts and venues all year trying to perfect the concert experience for home surround sound. He’s been interviewed all over,” one of the other backup singers added.

              “Oh yeah,” the roadie said recognizing the description. “Iman, you’ve taken to dating billionaires.”

              He laughed and a few of the others smiled.

              “We’re not dating. We hung out once and then I told him I didn’t think we would be suited to each other. Pretty sure he’s gone home now,” I said, suddenly enjoying our outing less.

              “Well, that’s a shame,” the other backup singer said. “He seemed really excited about spending time with you when we bumped into him the other night in the lobby. Did the second date not go well?”

              “We didn’t go on a second date. There was no first date. I let him come along when we all had drinks and saw a band. He showed up in the lobby and I told him we weren’t a good fit. That’s it,” I said.

              “So, you didn’t even give him a chance?” the roadie said, sitting upright.

              “Come on, we all know that that wouldn’t have worked. Especially now knowing he’s a rich tech guy who typically dates buxom blondes,” I said, shaking my head.

              The lighting guy flicked some sand at me.

              “Sounds like you didn’t really give him much of a chance,” he said.

              “We both got what we wanted,” I said.

              “Well, maybe you did. You didn’t really get to know him to see what he wanted, and it sounds like you wanted to stay in the comfort of your own perceptions,” he said.

              Everyone shifted around a bit, shaking off the awkward turn the conversation had taken. We snacked a little more and a few people went to play in the water. Midafternoon we packed up our belongings and went back to the hotel to prepare for the night’s show.