The Beauty Series Bundle (35 page)

She doesn’t hesitate. “Okay, but all my stuff is on the bus. I need clothes, so I have to run down there before it leaves.”

“Sure. How far is Austin from Dallas?”

“Umm… probably three hours or so,” she says.

“And what time is your show?”

“I think it’s at eight.” She picks up her phone and then confirms, “Yeah. Eight o’clock.”

I’m doing the math in my head. “You have a show in fourteen hours and it’s a three-hour drive to get you there. I should probably factor in an hour for you to get ready and another hour for you to be there early. If I give you thirty minutes to get down to the bus and back, that should give us at least seven hours in this hotel suite before we have to leave.”

She grins as she leans over to kiss me. “What in the world could we possibly do for seven hours in this suite with a king-sized bed and our choice of enormous tub or gigantic shower?”

I pull her over on top of me. “We’re gonna continue making up for lost time, but seven hours won’t come close to covering it, so we’ll pick up again after your show tonight.”

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

“I’ll order room service and have breakfast waiting when you return. You want your usual? An omelet and orange juice?”

Her pleased expression tells me she likes that I remember her favorite breakfast. “Yeah. I’ll take my usual. Although I’ve yet to find an omelet as good as Mrs. Porcelli’s.”

“And you won’t until you’re back in Australia with me.” There it is—a huge complication we’ll have to tackle at some point. But not now.

I change the subject quickly. I don’t want her to put too much thought into my statement before we’re able to discuss our plans for the future. “The quicker you get down to that bus, the quicker you’ll get back so we can start on our seven-hour marathon.”

“Then I’d better hurry.”

S
even hours
. I thought it couldn’t be done—and it probably couldn’t with any other man—but who was I kidding? This is Jack Henry we’re talking about. The man is an absolute sex machine. Hmm, lucky me.

It’s crazy. We’re riding in the back of the limo on the way to Austin after a seven-hour sex-a-thon and my thirst for him is no more quenched than it was when I rode that elevator up to his suite last night. This man can make me want him just by breathing.

I try to distract myself with conversation. “Addison called this morning when I went to get my things from the bus. I told her the whole story about us—you and me. She wasn’t happy that I’d kept it from her all this time.” Saying she wasn’t happy is minimizing her reaction. She was downright pissed off.

“She’s your best friend. I would be worried if she weren’t upset.”

“She’s in Wagga Wagga with Zac. Did you know that?”

He turns his head briskly to look at me. “Addison Donavon is in Wagga Wagga,” he laughs. “I guess that explains why Jim couldn’t find her in the U.S. Incredible. She was in the same town as me all that time.” He seems to be thinking about something. “It nearly killed me but I went to Ben’s apartment to beg him for information about you after you were gone. He took great pleasure in withholding those details.”

“I’m sorry Ben was such an ass.”

“It’s okay,” he laughs. “I had an opportunity to see him again. He applied for an internship at Avalon and I took great pleasure in telling him to fuck off. You can’t imagine the shock on his face when he walked into my office with his résumé in hand. It was priceless.”

“I bet he could’ve shit his pants. You should hire Zac. Addison told me he hadn’t found an internship yet. They finished in the middle of the school year so all of the positions are taken by the previous class.”

“I will if it’s what you want.” He’s holding my hand and his thumb is rubbing the top of mine. “I’ll do anything you ask of me.” I watch as it slowly moves back and forth across my skin, and I’m reminded of where it was earlier as it performed a very similar motion. The memory ignites sparks that travel up my arm and down to the core of my groin. I press my legs together and wiggle in my seat to try to relieve the increasing desire, but it’s useless. There’s only one fix for it.

The sweet, seductive sound of “Don’t Forget to Breathe” by Bitter:sweet begins playing and it only adds to my escalating arousal. Jack Henry takes notice of my growing restlessness. “Baby, are you all right? Do you need the driver to stop?”

The bathroom is not what I need right now. I’m embarrassed to admit that we made love all day and I still want him. That can’t be normal. I swallow and clear my throat before I croak out, “I’m fine.”

I try to remain motionless, but it’s one of those sensations where it feels like I have an itch and I’ll lose my mind if I don’t scratch it.

He relinquishes hold of my hand and places it on my bare thigh to comfort me, not knowing it’s like an accelerant being tossed onto a wildfire. “You’re so on edge that you can’t sit still for two seconds. I’m sorry if you’re sore because of me.”

I am a little tender but it has no bearing on the other thing I’m feeling right now. “I’m not sorry.” I study the divider between the driver and us. “He can’t see us at all?”

I think Jack Henry could be catching on. He grins as he answers, “No, not with the divider up.”

“And he can’t hear us?”

He’s definitely catching on to where I’m going with this, judging by his face. “Not unless you scream.”

“You’ve been known to do that to me.” I’m taunting him and we both know it.

“Only because it’s what you wanted.”

I put my hand on his thigh and begin massaging the muscle beneath his jeans. “That’s true. It’s what I always want.”

I lean over to press my lips against the side of his neck below his ear and kiss that special place that drives him crazy. I move my hand up his leg and when I feel how hard he is already, I migrate my mouth upward and hover over his ear, whispering breathlessly, “I’m going to take off all of my clothes and when I’m finished, I want you to fuck me until I come.”

“Anything you say.”

I drag my finger over his bottom lip. “That’s my good boy.”

I increase the music’s volume and unfasten my seatbelt so I can begin the show. I might not have a pole in the back of this limo, but it won’t keep me from giving Jack Henry one hell of a performance.

I twist so I’m facing him and reach into my hair to pull out the pins holding it in place. I shake my head as it falls and fluff it with my hands. I just screwed it up for tonight’s show but that’s not the one I’m concerned with at the moment.

“You have beautiful hair.” He reaches for a lock and I smile as I scoot away from him. There will be no show if he touches me while I’m stripping. “No touching the back-seat stripper.”

“Back-seat stripper, huh?”

I wiggle out of my denim jacket and begin to unfasten the buttons on my ivory sleeveless top. He watches as each and every button reveals a little more skin. I do it slowly to tease him while it builds his anticipation for what awaits him beneath the soft cotton of my shirt.

I regret that the bra and panties are simple white lace, but I never expected to have a need for sexy lingerie while on tour. Sex was the last thing I thought I’d be having while traveling from town to town, so I’m lucky I managed to have this matching set.

Note to self: make a lingerie run ASAP.

I remain out of his reach on the other side of the car as I peel my shirt back and drop it to the limo floor. I reach into the elastic waist of my skirt and panties to slide both down my hips until they puddle at my feet around my boots. I slip each off, one at a time, and then add them to my growing collection of clothes on the floorboard.

“Don’t take your boots off. I want you wearing them while you ride me.”

His insinuation doesn’t go unnoticed as I reach for the back of my bra. “Anything you want.” I’m down to nothing but my boots—just the way he wants me. As I’m crawling across the seat to him, he unfastens his seatbelt and slides over to meet me in the middle.

I lift my leg and swing it over to straddle him. He grasps my naked bottom and pulls me against his raging hard-on. He grinds into me as he kisses my neck before moving to my breasts. “Anyone who makes my fantasies come true the way you do can’t be real.”

I take his hands and place them on my breasts. “Everything about me is real.”

“I love you, Laurelyn.” Nothing sounds sweeter than those words.

“I love you too. But you’re wearing way too many clothes for me to make this fantasy come true,” I tell him as I unbutton his shirt. When it falls open, I slide my hands inside and feel his nipples harden beneath my touch.

I glide my hands down to his jeans and give the button a pull until it’s unfastened. He lifts his hips from the seat and I give his pants several good tugs until I have them down to his knees.

I feel his erection against my stomach and I wrap my hand around it. “I’m about to make you feel so good.” I rise up on my knees and position his tip at my wet entrance. He holds his breath with anticipation. I touch my free hand to his mouth. “Don’t forget to breathe.”

I feel his warm breath on my fingers and then he sucks them inside his mouth with his sharp intake of air as I slide down onto his length. “Ohh… I don’t know how you can feel so tight after everything we did earlier.”

I rise onto my knees until he’s almost out of me before I slide back down. “Our bodies mesh together perfectly.”

“That’s because you and I belong together. Always.”

Always. It’s not a word I’m used to hearing from Jack Henry, at least not in reference to our relationship, but I love the sound of it. It makes me want this man even more, so I decide the old saying is true. The brain is the biggest sex organ for a woman because hearing him say that one little word sends my body into a desperate whirlwind.

I press my hands against the ceiling and lean back so I can slide him in deeper. It feels like I can never have him close enough. He’s meeting me thrust for thrust when I feel his fingers between my legs stroking me in the most wonderful way. All of the sensations combined do me in and I feel the muscles deep within my core take over as I ride out the waves of pleasure.

When I climax, he isn’t there with me, so I move up and down faster to give him what he needs. He loops his arms under mine and hooks his hands over my shoulders. Each time I lower myself, he uses his hands to jerk me down harder as he lifts his hips. It doesn’t take long before I feel him spasm inside me and know he’s found his release as well.

When we both finish coming, I don’t move because these are the moments I savor—just having Jack Henry inside me without any clear line of where either of us ends or begins. These times when we’re quiet and simply holding one another afterward are when I feel the closest to him.

He puts his arms around me and pulls me close so he can place the side of his face between my breasts. “Your heart is racing.”

“As it should be after that. I think you need to travel with me to keep me in tip-top shape since I can’t work out on my pole.”

“Your pole at Avalon misses you. And so have I.”

“I miss Avalon. It sort of felt like home to me.”

He lifts his face from my chest and looks up at me. “It hasn’t gone anywhere. Avalon can be your home again. With me.”

What is he saying? “You want me to go back with you?”

“I know it hasn’t even been a full day since I walked back into your life, but having you in Australia with me is what I want more than anything.”

I’m being pulled in two directions. This man is in my heart and that part of me wants to drop everything and board an Australia-bound plane with him right this second. But then there’s another part—the one screaming at me to remember the eight years of hard work I’ve invested in my music career. I’m finally achieving success and it’s come at a terribly high price. I’m not prepared to throw my career away.

But neither am I prepared to let Jack Henry walk out of my life. And I’m afraid telling him I can’t go to Australia will end with me losing him all over again. I’m not sure I could survive that a second time.

I think he sees the war raging inside me and places two fingers against my lips. “Don’t say anything yet. I don’t expect you to make a decision right now. You need time to consider what moving nine thousand miles away would mean for your life—not only now, but years down the road.”

Last night he told me that he never wants to be apart from me again. Today he’s saying we belong together. Always. It feels like he’s suggesting we’ll be married, but he isn’t actually saying the words.

“I’ve managed to make arrangements to be away from the vineyards for the next four weeks. I really want us to spend that time together deciding where to go from here.”

A whole month together. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time. “Of course. I want to be with you every minute of the next four weeks.”

“Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

He puts his forehead against my chest. “We have a lot of discussions ahead of us over the next several weeks, but I won’t be the one to initiate them. I’ll wait for you to decide you’re ready to talk.”

I kiss the top of his dark hair. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

“I’ve known for three months I was coming for you. You’ve known for a day. I realize my arrival was unanticipated and you’ve been making all these plans that didn’t include me showing up out of the blue.”

“Jack Henry.” I put my hands on each side of his head and force it up so I can see his face. “Your arrival is unexpected but more than welcomed. You, caveman, are the best surprise I’ve had in… my entire life.”

T
he driver must have sped
because the limo pulls up at the hotel long before our estimated arrival, and Laurelyn’s still stark naked. She scrambles for her clothes and underwear as she curses, “Shit. We’re already here and I’m not wearing a stitch.” She looks over at her reflection in the mirrored wall. “I look like I’ve been rode hard and put up wet.”

I can’t resist. “There’s definitely been some hard riding and I must say that you were pretty wet each time.”

“Not funny. The guys are going to take one look at me and know exactly what I’ve been up to.”

I’m perfectly fine with them knowing. “I sure hope so. At least that Charlie bloke will back off.”

“Charlie knows how much I love you and he’s glad to see me happy—even if that means there can never be anything between us. He’s that kind of guy, so please, don’t give him a hard time. He’s not like Ben at all.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to embarrass you by going all Neanderthal.” Maybe. It might not involve me beating on my chest or dragging Laurelyn around by her hair, but I will stake my claim on my girl so there’s no misunderstanding.

“Thank you.”

She takes another look at herself in the mirror and attempts to smooth her hair. “Oh, hell. It’s a good thing we’re here earlier than expected because I’m going to have to start from scratch.”

“Baby, you look beautiful.”

“This makes you happy, doesn’t it? You like having me look a mess with all of my makeup rubbed off by your scruff and my hair looking like I’ve been rolling around in the back seat.”

I playfully push her down onto the seat and lie on top of her. We’re eye to eye when I tell her, “You’re damn right. I want them to know I fucked you all the way here and that my spunk is still inside you so they won’t even think about trying to sniff around you.” I reach under her skirt to rub my hand between her legs. I feel the wet spot where my load has leaked out onto her undies. “Do you remember what I told you about this part of your body?”

“Yes.”

“Say it.” I want to hear the proof that she hasn’t forgotten.

“No one else touches me there.”

I love hearing her say that. “And why can no one else touch you like this?”

“Because I’m yours and no one else’s.” I covet those words from her.

I push her knickers to the side and slip my finger inside her. “Which makes this mine.”

She rolls her eyes, smiling, and that tells me that she likes the possessive nature I feel for her. “You can be downright crude sometimes.”

“But you love every dirty thing I do or say.”

She huffs dramatically. “Yeah, I do. So there… I admit it. Happy now?”

She has no idea. “Yes. Very.”

“Good. Now, let me up because I have to go get ready for the show.”

I give her a peck on the mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”

T
his venue is
different from the auditorium Laurelyn and her band played last night. It looks like an old theatre, the seating a horseshoe shape and an open floor for standing room only directly in front of the stage. The crowd on the floor is growing fast, so I choose a seat on the first riser closest to the stage so I’ll be able to see the show without fighting the crowd.

It’s time for the show to begin and I’m amazed by the congestion of people who’ve gathered to hear Southern Ophelia. These people are waiting to hear my girl sing, and it dawns on me just how fast she’s risen to the top. She isn’t becoming a star; she already is one.

I’m not sure where that leaves me in her life. I’m certain it must’ve been much easier to love me and toy with the idea of staying in Australia when she had nothing waiting on her at home, but that’s not the case now. She has all of this—a band with people depending on her and a career with fans.

I watch the floor crowd as Laurelyn and her band members perform, and something becomes very clear to me: this is still only a small portion of the stardom in her future, and it scares the hell out of me. I’m terrified she’ll love the glitz and glamour of this life and ultimately choose it over me. I want Laurelyn to have every bit of success she deserves because I love her, but not at the expense of our life together. That’s why I must use the next month to show her why she should choose us over this life. If that makes me a selfish bastard, then it just does. I can live with that as long as she’s with me and not nine thousand miles away.

It looks like Charlie has backed off Laurelyn tonight. He isn’t eye-fucking her as they sing, so I guess he got the message. I can’t knock the guy for trying, though. She is one hell of a catch.

When they finish playing what I think is the last song, the blokes leave the stage and Laurelyn takes a seat on a stool under the spotlight. She winks in my direction as she strums some chords on her Martin and leans toward the microphone. “I wrote this next song during an extremely dark time in my life. I had just parted ways with the man I loved and thought we’d never see each other again. It’s about the things I’d say to him if he ever came back to me. Well, he finally did, and this song is for him. It’s called ‘Loved by You.’”

L
aurelyn finishes and mouths
, “I love you,” before she kisses her fingers and holds her hand out in my direction. It’s completely juvenile but it doesn’t stop me from reaching out as if to catch her kiss and bring it to my lips. I look like a pussy, but what can I say? Love makes you do silly things and catching an air kiss would definitely fall under that category.

“Dude, did she just blow that kiss to you?”

I’ve sat by this guy the entire show without even looking at him until now. “Yeah, she did. And now I’m going to go get a real one.”

I see the surprise in his eyes and it reinforces for me the huge star they see when they look at Laurelyn. “Wow. The singer for Southern Ophelia is your girlfriend? That must rock.”

Girlfriend doesn’t feel like the right word for what she is to me. “She’s much more than my girlfriend.”

“Cool. Tell her it was an awesome show.”

I walk to the spot where she told me to meet her after and she’s there, waiting as promised. I pull her close and kiss the side of her face. “Baby, you just keep amazing me.”

“Did you like it?”

I assume she means the song she sang for me. “Like it? Hell… I love it.”

“You know I wrote it about you. I mean every word.”

“I know. And that’s how I feel about you too. Let’s go back to the room so I can show you how much.”

She makes a face that tells me it’s a no-go. “The band always meets up after each performance to discuss any kinks from the show. I have to go to Charlie’s room. It never lasts more than fifteen minutes max. Will you come with me? I want you to meet the guys.”

Fuck, no, I don’t want to go to Charlie’s room but even more, I don’t want Laurelyn going without me. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

I think I feel my testosterone level surging as I approach the room where I’ll meet the blokes Laurelyn has been closest to for the past three months. Knowing that one of them has a thing for her doesn’t do much for calming my instinctual caveman tendencies to make sure he knows she’s mine and not for his taking.

Laurelyn stops before we go inside and places her hands on each side of my face. “You’re tense but you shouldn’t be. These guys are like brothers to me.”

I think she forgets I have a sister and I’ve never considered kissing her like what I saw last night. “There’s only one of them who makes me uptight, and he’s the one I saw kissing you.”

She strokes her hands down my cheeks until they’re on my jawline. She runs her fingers over my slight beard. “You have to let that go.”

Easier said than done. “He and I will get along just fine as long as he backs off.”

“He already has, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Right?”

She uses her hands to turn my head from side to side involuntarily. “Say, ‘No, Laurelyn. There isn’t going to be any problem with Charlie.’”

“No, Laurelyn. There isn’t going to be any problem with Charlie.” She takes her hands from my face and I add, “As long as he keeps his hands off you.”

She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head. “Come on. Let’s get this over with so you can see that there is no threat.”

The band members are sitting around talking when we enter Charlie’s room, but they all come to full attention when they see I’m with Laurelyn. “Hey, y’all. This is Jack, and I wanted to bring him by to meet you because you’ll be seeing a lot of him for the next several weeks.”

Their manager, Randy, is the first to introduce himself. Then PJ and Ryan. Charlie hangs back last. At first I think it’s because he’s measuring me up, but then he’s on his feet to offer his hand and I don’t sense any type of confrontation. “Laurelyn has told me a lot about you, so it’s good to finally meet you.”

If I had it on my mind to be a wanker, I could construe his words into code for something else—like maybe Laurelyn telling him a lot about me means that she’s confided in him or perhaps he’s pointing out that it’s finally nice to meet me because I haven’t been around. I don’t think either of these are the case. He’s looking me in the eye, man to man, and he doesn’t give me the Ben vibe at all.

“Good to meet you as well, mate.”

“Our girl did good tonight, didn’t she?”

Surprise—that’s what I feel at myself for not being the least bit offended by hearing Charlie refer to Laurelyn as our girl, as if she’s partially his. I would’ve lost it all together if I’d ever heard Ben call her that to my face. “Yes. She’s rather amazing.”

Time gets away from us and we end up hanging out for much longer than fifteen minutes. I don’t mind because they all, surprisingly, turn out to be pretty cool. I’d expected to be anxious to get out of there, but it ends up being Laurelyn coaxing me to leave because it’s late and she’s tired.

It’s not until we leave that I realize Laurelyn’s room—our room—is next door. I’ve been cool with everything else, but I don’t like this. She slides the keycard in and then out for the green access light. “This is the last time we stay next to any of them.”

We’re entering the room when she says, “They always group us together. Why is it a problem as long as we’re not sharing?”

The door shuts and I scoop her over my shoulder to carry her to the bed. I toss her playfully onto her back. “Because we don’t fuck soft and quiet. We fuck hard and loud.”

“And you don’t want to embarrass me by having them hear us going at it?”

Embarrassment wasn’t what I had in mind. “Put it this way: I’m not really interested in any of them wanking off to the sounds of us fucking in the next room.”

She scrunches her nose. “Eww.”

“Exactly. If they hear some of the sounds you make, there’s no hope they’ll ever look at you again without visualizing what you were doing while you made that noise. Trust me when I say it’s best if this is the last time we bunk down so closely.”

As I untuck my shirt from my pants and reach for my top button, Laurelyn scrambles to her purse on the bed. “Wait. I have an idea.” She reaches inside and takes out her phone. “And we need the right kind of music for it.” A song begins to play and she grins devilishly as she says, “’Addicted’ by Saving Abel is perfect for what you’re about to do for me.”

“And what am I about to do for you?”

She scoots to the head of the bed and sits against the headboard. “You’re gonna do a striptease for me while I watch.”

Me doing the stripping would be a new one for us. “I am?”

“Yeah… you are. I’ve done it for you every time you’ve asked—and numerous times when you didn’t. Now, I’m asking, and you’re doing.”

I’m pretty certain I better not say no if I ever want to see her dance again, so I start to move to the music as I begin to unbutton my shirt. “You better have some bills ready for me, baby.”