The Complete Rockstar Series (27 page)

E
llie

T
he hire car
drops us off in front of the Warren Hotel after a long, but fun evening at my mum’s wedding and reception. Adam got mobbed by guests all night, naturally, but otherwise we had a brilliant time. We danced and ate and drank and Adam was reacquainted with my mum and spent some time with Miles, her new husband. Mum was thrilled to see him, she always did love him.

Being alone with Adam, however, is what I’ve been waiting for all night, and now that it’s about to happen, I’m bloody nervous. I haven’t been with Adam in years, and we still have to talk about what happened after I left his hotel room that ill-fated day.

“What’s wrong Sweetheart?” Adam asks as he opens the door to his suite. His beautiful face is twisted with what I can only describe as concern. He removes his suit jacket and tie and drapes them over a tall chair, then unfastens the first few buttons at his throat and does the same for his cuffs, rolling them up to his elbows.

I shuffle past him and drop my coat and bag on the floor, kick off my killer heels and make my way over to the well stocked bar. “Drink?” I ask, my voice sounding hoarse.

“No thank you, I don’t really drink much these days. Why don’t we sit?” Adam gestures to the nearby couch. I flush with embarrassment, of course he doesn’t want a drink, he has alcohol issues. Abandoning the liquor, I join him on the plush sofa, my hands twitching anxiously in my lap.

“Look at me El,” he pleads. “What are you thinking?”

I twist my hands together, forcing myself not to chew on my poor fingernail, determined to finally break that stupid habit. Reluctantly, I raise my chin just enough to make eye contact with Adam. He slides over until our thighs touch and puts his hands on either side of my face, leaning in to touch our foreheads together. We’re so close I can see every fleck of green and gold in his expressive hazel eyes.

“Adam… I don’t know where to start. I didn’t leave you, after the hotel,” I have to stop and swallow, my mouth suddenly very dry. Adam’s going to lose his mind when I tell him what happened, but I have to tell him.

“You texted me. Said we were done then blocked my number, El. That’s pretty final,” he says wryly.

My head jerks up at his words and Adam flinches back at the sudden movement. “I most certainly did not text you!” I shout. “In fact, I was in hospital and unconscious for four days, so that’s not even possible. Besides, when I woke, James said that my phone was broken…” My sentence dies off when I realize what must have happened.
That controlling bastard!
“James,” I whisper. “He must have texted you, not me.”

“What? Why were you in hospital? And why on earth would James text me?” Adam asks, the confusion on his face apparent.

As I tell Adam what happened, my brain is scrambling to put the missing pieces together. “The day after I saw you I went to work and then took the tube home. When I got there,” I tense up, steeling myself for Adam’s reaction, “Callum Murray drugged me and tied me up in my flat.”

“He did what?” Adam bellows.

My hand shoots out and grips his knee, determined to keep him seated until I finish talking. “I heard him on the phone, Adam, while he thought I was unconscious. It was Danny, he’s the one who sent him. He wanted pictures… of me, of my injuries, so he could send them to… to you.”

“Fucking hell.” Adam shoves his hands into his hair and starts yanking on it, clearly having a difficult time restraining his anger. “What did he do, El. Tell me.” His eyes are clenched shut, unable to look at me as I finish my horrific story.

“He, ummmm, he bashed my head on the floor. I guess I started having seizures. Then James came in and arrested him, nearly beat him to death,” I whisper. “Callum is still in jail. Will be for a long time I’m told.” I fidget while I speak, focusing intently on the plush beige carpet of the suite so I don’t have to see Adam’s reaction to hearing of his brother’s involvement.

“Did he… did he touch you, El?” Adam asks, his eyes still screwed shut tightly and his mouth contorted as if he’s in agony.

“No Adam. I think he would have, but he didn’t. I woke up four days later. James told me my phone was destroyed. I didn’t have your number anywhere else,” I sob. “I didn’t know he used it to send you that text.” My chest literally aches from the memories, from the pain I’m inflicting on Adam, from the way he’s cringing as I describe that terrible day. “He must have seen our calls, or read our texts. He knew. That bastard knew about us and lied to me. Used my fear of Callum to keep me with him.” Tears finally break through and I swipe them away angrily.

“It’s my fault you were attacked, El. Danny, he hired Callum to attack you because I cut him off.”

“What do you mean?” I never could understand how Adam’s brother knew Callum Murray or his history with Adam and me.

“Remember in school when I paid my brother to keep Callum away from you?” Adam rubs his hands down his face, scraping them over his dark stubble as they move.

“Yes. I remember.”

“I never stopped paying him to look out for you,” he admits, guilt evident in his eyes. “When you told me at the hotel that Callum attacked you… twice, both times while I was paying Danny to keep you safe…” he huffs loudly and clenches his jaw, “I paid him a visit and cut him off financially. That’s why he had Callum go after you, because I confronted him and took away his money.”

“Adam,” I reach over and take his hand, pulling it until it rests against my cheek, “it’s not your fault. They’re both criminals, violent ones. Callum would have come after me eventually no matter what. Now he’s in prison and he’s not a worry anymore.”

“Yeah, but Danny’s not,” he rasps, clearly harboring the guilt for the assault even though it’s not his burden to bear.

“He will be. Criminals like him are always caught in the end,” I say confidently. I move closer, shifting until I’m straddling Adam’s lap, my arms wrapped around his neck. My fingers gently brush across his neck, through the thick hair that barely touches his collar.

“El…” He slides his arms around my waist to pull me forward until we’re connected from hips to chest, our mouths just a fraction of an inch apart. “I need to feel you, know you’re safe, want to make you mine again.” His breath caresses my throat, sending shivers over my skin.

“Yes,” is all I need to say. I have faith that everything else will fall into place for us, like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly.

Adam’s hands tighten on my lower back as he stands and turns, ending up on top of me on the plush sofa. The weight of his body, the hard length pushing against my thigh as my dress rides up, the hungry kisses he takes, are all so overwhelming that within minutes I’m panting and writhing beneath him. I run my hands over every inch of him, tugging his shirt out of his waistband so I can feel the firm muscles of his back as they shift powerfully over me.

“I’m not letting you go again,” Adam rasps in my ear. I shiver at the warmth of his lips on my skin me as he speaks.

“Then don’t.”

Adam pushes up on his hands until he’s kneeling between my legs. He grabs the back of his shirt and tugs it up and over his head, exposing his gorgeous, chiseled torso. Without speaking he stands, offering his hand to me. I take it, reveling in his physical beauty. His dark hair is disheveled from my wandering hands, his cheeks and neck are flushed red, and his gorgeous mouth is swollen from our desperate kisses. But it’s his eyes that catch my attention. Adam’s pupils are so large that only a sliver of the color-shifting hazel is visible.

I shudder in anticipation as he hauls me to my feet and moves behind me, pressing the length of his body to my back. He swiftly reaches up, tugging down the zipper on my dress. Going so slowly that I feel as if I might burst into flames from the anticipation. When he reaches the bottom his warm fingers trail from my lower back up my exposed spine, sending goose bumps over my sensitive skin. Instead of pushing the dress off of my shoulders, he stops midway and slides his hands under the silky material, around the front to gently cup my breasts.

“No bra?” he asks, a hint of humor in the question.

“Can’t, straps would show,” I pant, groaning when his hands find my taut nipples and he deftly rolls them in his fingers. I throw my head back onto his shoulder and lean on him, afraid that my legs will give out without the support.

“You’re so fucking sexy, El. God I need you,” Adam murmurs as his teeth scrape along my exposed neck.

Suddenly, he stops, his hands vanishing from my tender flesh. Before I can ask why, he spins me around and grips my waist. “Bedroom, now,” he snarls.

I nod and he accepts that as my answer. Adam grabs my hand, pulling me along behind him, the urgency in his actions apparent. Just as abruptly as he maneuvered me into the bedroom, he stops to divest me of my dress and to shed the remainder of his suit.

Once we’re both naked, Adam leans in and kisses me tenderly, running his hands up and down my body until they settle on the back of my head, tangled in my pinned-up hair. He walks me backwards until I feel the bed behind my knees. Then he pushes gently, so I sit down and wait to see what he does next.

“I want to see you with your gorgeous hair spread out over my pillow.” His deft fingers start plucking pins out of my hair until it tumbles softly down my back. Adam stands back, regarding me with a look of such reverence that I feel my skin heat up. I have to avert my eyes from the intense scrutiny. “Don’t.” He reaches out to pull my chin up. “I haven’t laid eyes on you in so long, I need this. You’re beautiful El, let me see you. I love looking at you.”

He steps back again, and this time I manage to keep my gaze steady, taking the opportunity to study Adam as his eyes glide over my body. He’s just as stunning as he was years ago. My hands itch to touch the ridges of his abdomen and the defined muscles of his shoulders. I want to lick every inch of the dark, swirling tattoo that goes up one arm and now reaches down over the left half of his chest.

“When did you add to your tattoo?” I urge him closer so I can trace the black ink with my fingers.

Adam closes his eyes and throws his head back as my hands lightly glide over his chest. “After the hotel,” he rasps, his hands clenched at his sides.

I stiffen up at the mention of our last encounter, my hands frozen in place on his skin. “Why?”

He brings his chin down and our eyes lock together. “Because I knew I’d never love anyone else. Only you.” Adam places his hand over one of mine and guides my fingers over the black curves. “I put it over my heart,” he whispers as he traces our hands along the curved lines, “because that’s where you’ll always be, even when an ocean separated us.”

He lets go of my hand, letting his drop back to his side. I look closer, retracing the path that he followed and gasp. “That’s my name,” I say softly, running my finger over the letters that are hidden within the tribal design. It would be difficult, if not impossible to spot if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

H
e tattooed
my name over his heart. I have to swallow down the lump in my throat before I can speak. “Adam, I can’t wait any longer.” I drag my hand down his torso, letting it drop to my side. Then I scoot further up on the bed and lay down, closing my eyes in a pathetic attempt to control my speeding pulse.

I’m not alone for very long. The bed dips nearby from Adam’s weight as he climbs up and lowers his body onto mine. I can’t help the moan that escapes from my throat when our groins rub together. He shifts his hips gently, increasing the friction in that perfect spot.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says, dragging his hands through my hair. When our mouths meet, it’s less desperate, less frantic than before, because we know we have all the time in the world in front of us. No more roadblocks, no more missed opportunities, our future starts now, together.

We take our time exploring each other’s bodies, rediscovering what we used to know so well. Hands and mouths touch and taste every inch of flesh, I kiss the faded scar on his abdomen, a reminder of so long ago. Adam trails calloused fingers over every sensitive curve on my body. We continue teasing until we’re both unable to hold out any longer.

When he enters me, it’s like coming home again. Two halves have become whole once more. Declarations of love mean everything now that we have each other with no barriers, nothing to hold us back, no more complications. And when we both reach that glorious peak, we find a reason to live… each other.

G
od I’m nervous
. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my life. I fidget, bringing my hand up to my mouth to chew on my thumbnail, only to remember my manicure. Scowling, I drop my hand and search around the room for something to occupy my mind.

“Ellie, for god’s sake, just stop twitching! You’re going to sweat your makeup off!”

“Gemma, don’t tell me I can’t be nervous, it’s not nice!” I whine.

“El,” Kate says calmly, taking my hands and squeezing them, “breathe. It’s fine. Everyone’s here and we’re just about ready to start. The media hasn’t caught wind of it so we’re good.”