Unwritten Rules (8 page)

“Can we talk?”

I heard J.J. snigger behind me, but I continued to remain quiet.

“Please, El e,” he croaked, stil holding out his hand.

J.J. pushed me closer to him, and I stumbled in my heels. My hands flew to his chest, trying to grab hold of something, anything, that was going to keep me upright. His hands gripped my biceps and saved me from fal ing. Sharp sparks of electricity shot through my body from his touch. My instinct was to pul away, however his eyes met mine again. I was lost. His hand on my skin made my resolve crumble and dissipate into the smoky bar.

“I just want to talk,” he tried again.

I gave him a short nod, and let him take my hand in his. He pul ed me gently forward through the crowd toward the door that led backstage. I looked back at J.J. and Eli once, only to see them both give me the thumbs up with huge smiles on their faces.

Traitors.

I was jostled around, as we neared the door.

Jonah squeezed my hand tighter as I clutched the back of his open shirt.

“Jonah! Can I get-”

“Not right now. I’m sorry,” he interrupted a giddy little brunette.

Her face fel . I wondered if she was about to cry, because her eyes became watery. Jonah didn’t even look her way. He opened the door, guiding me into a long dark corridor, then closed it behind us. His hand was stil holding mine, and he made no effort to switch on the light. I tried to look away but was faced with his bare chest which peeking out of his open shirt. I could see the black ink on his skin, his toned abdomen, and the rapid rise and fal of his chest. It mirrored my own. Could he be as nervous as I was?

I swal owed thickly, trying to think of something to say to him, but came up blank. I could hear the blood thundering through my veins as anxiety dominated my system. I licked my lips, tasting the sticky sweetness of my gloss, and tried to scrape the product from my tongue with my teeth.

Jonah gave a smal smile, raising a brow in

question. “Are you okay?”

I caught myself, only then realizing how strange I must look.

“Sorry.”

He tightened his hold on me, as his free hand

came up and he cupped my chin with his fingers. I bit back a sigh at his touch and eyed him with caution.

“I should be the one saying that,” he muttered.

“Why aren’t you? Why have I had to come to you before you’l talk to me?” I asked bluntly, anger boiling through my veins.

“I am sorry for the way I treated you that night, El e. I never...”

“I know you didn’t intend to make love to me on the couch, but you did –
we
did. Then you left me! I had no idea what I’d done wrong, Jonah.”

“You did nothing wrong,” he confirmed, stroking my chin with his thumb. “I got...Shit! El e, I got scared. I wasn’t joking when I said I wasn’t a people person. I find relationships...
difficult.
I’m disgusted at myself, but when I woke up with you next to me, I panicked. That’s the only excuse I have.”

I glared at him.

“That’s lame, and to be honest, it hurt.”

He rested his back against the door, bringing me with him. I stood between his opened legs, my hand flat against the slightly damp skin of his chest. I could feel the hard pounding of his heart; he was affected by me as much as I was by him.

“I’l apologize again, if that wil work.”

The side of his mouth lifted in a teasing smile, because no matter what kind of fight I was verbalizing my body was tel ing him something else. Something I couldn’t deny.

I slapped his chest, feigning a pout, only to have him lean forward and place a smal , lingering kiss on my forehead.

“I’m hard work; trust isn’t an easy emotion for me. I need a lot of time. Can we have a do over?”

I snorted, rol ing my eyes. “We can’t exactly go back to the morning after the night before, can we?”

Jonah wiggled his brows playful y, eliciting a giggle from me. He was cute when his guard was down.

“Sure we could. Just means we have to have a

night before...”

He let the statement linger between us, leaving any decision up to me.

“I’m not a toy. You can’t pick me up whenever you have a need to fulfil your urges.”

“I know that, and that’s not what this about. I never intended to sleep with you. I don’t do that, but I got carried away. I like you, El e. Forgive me?”

The way he crooned
forgive me
sent waves of arousal shooting in one direction. Southbound. Any back bone I had when it came to him, evaporated.

I carried on pouting at him, trying to show him I wasn’t swayed. He lowered his head, pressing his lips against mine. I gasped; Jonah catching it as he opened his lips further.

We fit delectably together.

The voice in my head said no, told me to protest, but my whole body was crying out for him. Jonah tilted his head to the left and leaned into me, his hips connecting with my stomach. He brought his hands to my hips, his thumbs rubbing my hip bones through my skinny jeans, causing my stomach to contract with desire. I lifted my hands up to his shoulders, steadying myself against the onslaught of his kiss. Sparks flew from his touch, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end.

My heart was about to leap out of my chest; the more his lips caressed mine, the harder it beat. It wasn’t chaste. His demand was clear. He opened his mouth deepening the kiss, then sucked on my lower lip. I moaned, clutching at his shirt. As his teeth grazed the inside of my bottom lip, his tongue stroked the area in an effort to soothe it. My mouth was in the midst of an erotic assault, and I couldn’t get enough.

He began to pepper tiny kisses along my top lip before reconnecting his mouth with mine again. I shivered though my temperature continued to rise. My hand moved to his hair, he hummed in satisfaction as my fingers ruffled through with each pass. I tried to press my body closer to his, but his hands on my hips kept me in place. I couldn’t breathe, yet I couldn’t pul away.

Jonah Quinn was addicting.

I was about to deepen the kiss when Jonah

retreated, placing a soft peck on my lips and one on my nose, before he lifted his head. He kept his hands on my hips, giving them a little squeeze.

I gulped, blinking and trying to restore my

equilibrium and heard his low, gravely chuckle.

“Forgive me now?”

I patted his face, smiling at his teasing. “That wasn’t fair, and you know it.”

“Duly noted. Do not kiss Miss Sampson.”

“That’s n-not what I said!” I stammered, panicking. He laughed, his amusement echoing off the wal s in the corridor. His arms banded around me as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I pretended to push him away. It just made him laugh more. A few seconds later I gave up protesting and wrapped my arms around his waist, under his open shirt. I could feel the toned sinews of his torso. Each time I stroked them they tensed.

We remained in the embrace, just listening to

each other breathe. When Jonah spoke against my skin I felt my nipples pebble, and I sighed.

“So, what do you think, El e? You gonna give me a second chance?” His false confidence was given away by the shudder of his torso.

“A second chance at what? We didn’t speak to

each other before my attack.”

“I want us to be friends. I want to see where it leads. I’m drawn to you.”

“Are you gonna walk out on me again?” I asked

into his chest, inhaling his exotic scent.

“We need to talk, but no El e, I won’t walk out on you again. I won’t mess this up.”

He began to kiss my neck, moving up until he

reached my ear, grazing his teeth back down to my shoulder. I wanted to remain like this, tucked away in our own pocket of solitude. There would be no hurt, no need to worry about the morning after. This wasn’t possible, however.

It wasn’t reality.

I swal owed, then started to pul away when he pushed his fingers into my hair. It loosened the pins that held some of it up. He combed his fingers through until the pins pinged across the floor, and my curls bounced around my shoulders.

“I like it down,” he uttered.

I smiled back at him, as he entwined his fingers in mine.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”

I nodded, fol owing him as he opened the door. The noise of the smoke fil ed bar flooded the corridor. I didn’t know what this now meant, were we a couple?

Friends? Or had we simply decided that the night we’d spent together was al we’d ever have?

My self-doubt was blown apart as Jonah hugged

me close and breathed, “I’m reluctant to share you, but I think I’l cope for a short while.”

His arm tightened around my waist, as we walked up to J.J. and Eli. I didn’t know how I was going to introduce him or what to say to J.J., but I was going to enjoy the moment while this lasted.

This was a start. I refused to tarnish it with negative thoughts or doubts.

As it turned out J.J. and Eli were too busy copping a feel of each other to worry about what Jonah and I were up to. They had fol owed one another into the bathroom after a lengthy public display of affection. I had no doubt that they were up to no good when they failed to return a few minutes after excusing themselves.

“I think it’s time I went,” I sighed, placing my beer bottle on the high table.

“Not alone, you’re not.”

He placed his own bottle down and led me to the backdoor. After giving a short handshake to the doorman we stepped outside. The cold hit me instantly. My teeth began to chatter. I rubbed my biceps, wondering why the hel I hadn’t brought a jacket and had insisted on wearing a sleeveless tank.

“Oops, wait. I need my jacket and guitar,” he said smiling.

He kissed my nose. My heart skipped a beat as

he reentered the club. I didn’t like being out here at night, alone. My mind began to work over time, making my skin prickle in awareness. Smal noises were making me jump. I could see how fast I was breathing by the quick blasts of mist exiting my mouth, shuddering as my teeth crashed together.

I was staring down the black al y when there was a loud creak. It was only when I heard a shushing in my ear that I realized what the noise was.

“Hey, Red, you okay?”

I shivered in his arms, al owing him to wrap me up in his comfort. He had buttoned up his shirt. He tucked his jacket around me, fil ing my nostrils with the scent of worn leather and pure Jonah.

“R-red?” I stammered. “N-not very original.”

He shrugged. “Maybe not, but cute nonetheless. Let’s get you home. You need to warm up.”

“You going to do that?” I tried to tease.

His smile was huge, spreading across his face

and making his bril iant blue eyes dance.

“If you’re lucky.”

I never left his side as he escorted me home.

Jonah, my hero once more.

The cab ride home was a whirlwind.

We hadn’t been able to find J.J. and Eli before we left the club. Jonah didn’t even take time to introduce me to the other members of his band. Not that I cared. I’d set out to grab his attention, and as we slid into the backseat of the cab, I was pretty sure I’d done just that.

I’d hoped it would give me some time to compose my thoughts. I wanted to calm down enough to demand more of an explanation about the night he’d walked out on me. As it turned out, al I had done was stare at his profile and smile when he grinned my way. Our hands rested on the seat between us; our pinkie fingers entwined. I turned to look at him again. He exuded

happiness, so unlike the shy guy I’d gazed at each day at the mailboxes. Though his shy blush was missing, I liked the confident Jonah. I lost my nervousness around him when he was this excited, and without the awkward stuttering, we managed to hold a normal conversation. When the cab dropped us outside our building, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I began to twist my hair nervously, inhaling the deep musky scent of his leather jacket as it stil rested on my shoulders.

To my surprise, Jonah took my hand and led me

toward his apartment. I was confused as we walked passed it heading for the stairway leading to the roof.

“Where are we going?” I asked anxiously as he