Blessed Tragedy (14 page)

“Well, what am I supposed to think? You wouldn't listen to me until he forced you to. Now, you're telling me that I can't be there to support the woman I love when she's trying to face her past because it's going to upset him. Tell me, what would you think if it was you?”

He loves me? Where in the hell is that coming from?
“What did you just say to me?”

“Yes, Rain, you heard me right. I fucking love you. I've felt that way for a long time and couldn't do anything about it because you always made it so clear you'd never get involved with anyone in the band.” His eyes softened as he reached to brush his hand against my cheek. “I know we haven't even had a chance to start our relationship but you might as well know where my head's at. There's no question of if we'll work out. I know damn well that we will if you'll just let us.”

Hearing Colton lay his heart on the line was all I needed for everything I'd been bottling inside to break loose. I buried my head in his neck, finally allowing the tears I'd been holding back to fall. They weren't the tears from tonight; they were all the tears I'd wanted to shed since leaving my family. They were tears for my mother and tears for the years I lost with my dad and brothers. They were tears expressing my fear and insecurity when it came to Colton.

“But what if I screw it all up?” I sobbed into his bare chest as he laid down beside me.

“What if you don't? Do you think I don't worry about being the one to fuck up a good thing? The difference is I'm willing to take that chance.”

I slid my body up Colton's chest and pressed my lips firmly against his. He tugged on my bottom lip parting my lips, his tongue teasing mine as he gained entrance to my mouth. His whiskey and mint flavor heightened my senses causing me to plunge my tongue deeper into his mouth. My fingers twisted in the back of his long blond hair pulling him closer to me. He was right, I needed to stop thinking and this was the best way to make sure there was only one thing on my mind.

Colton slid from under me, scooping me into his arms once he was standing. “Not here...” he panted through more searing kisses. “Let's go to bed.”

I used the trip from the veranda through the house and upstairs to run my fingers along the ink covering his chest before digging my nails into his bicep. When we walked into the master bedroom I was rendered speechless by the serene beauty. Colton gently laid me on the feather soft king-size bed covered in crisp white and pale blue linens.  I moved to the edge of the bed to help Colton out of his clothes but he gently pushed me back.

“Relax, baby. Tonight's all about you.”  The sensual tone in voice brought my core to life. He leaned over, undoing the button on my jeans before slowly unzipping them. His fingers hooked in the waistband, pulling them away from my body so I laid before him in nothing but my panties.

He bent over to remove his boots, dropping his jeans at the same time so he was standing before me, stark naked. He started kissing the arch of my foot and I shuddered. Noticing my reaction, he lightly licked from my heel up to my big toe.

“Never took you for a foot man,” I said breathlessly.

“I'm not, just starting from one end and working my way up. I want every sweet inch of you.” By the time he kissed and massaged his way from my left foot to my thigh I was ready to lose it. I wanted this man. He got close enough that his nose brushed against my damp panties before dropping back, taking my right foot in his hand.

“Colton, please...” I panted.

“Patience, baby.” He looked up at me through hooded eyes before returning his attention to my leg. He pressed my knees apart, kissing and sucking on the back of my knee.

I reached down, knotting my fingers in his hair. “I'm not asking you nicely again. If you don't get up here, I'm coming down there and I
will
get what I want.” I pulled him up by his hair. He was so worried about giving me the perfect first time together that he was going to drive us both insane if he kept this pace.

“Will you always be this bossy and demanding?” He laughed. After shifting me on the bed, he leaned over me, his blue eyes staring into my green. “Because I think I like it.”

He might have said he enjoyed me telling him exactly what I wanted, but apparently that had no influence on what he was going to do. His body pressed against mine as he slid up to meet me on the bed. My hips arched as I felt his bare cock rub against my panties.

“I think you forgot something,” I moaned impatiently, reaching down to rid myself of the offending material. He pinned my hands over my head with one of his large, calloused hands, the other gently cupping my breast, drawing my nipple into a tight peak.

The stubble of his beard brushed my cheek as he slowly kissed his way up my neck. “Patience,” he whispered before grazing his teeth across my ear.

Colton moved his free hand to my aching left breast so tenderly I could barely feel his fingers brushing the skin. My entire body bucked as he took the right breast into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around the tender nipple.

“I need you.” I had been reduced to a breathless, panting puddle. “Please, Colton!”

Content with the pace he was taking, Colton grazed the skin of my stomach just as tenderly before dipping his fingers beneath the waistband of my lace panties. Before reaching my pulsing clitoris, his hand pulled out of my pants and he shot me a wicked smile. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and it was apparent I'd lost the battle to see who could hold out the longest.

“So help me, Colton...” I writhed under his body, desperate to free myself and take control of the situation. It was a futile effort that only served to bring me closer to the edge of my orgasm as he met every jolt of my body with his hard length.

“Did you want something?” He asked in a sickeningly sweet tone. I felt the pre-come on my stomach as he continued to grind against my body.

“Fuck you!” I wasn't sure if it was my way of telling him what I thought of him or begging him for what I wanted. My body continued to jerk in vain, trying to free myself from his grasp and he laughed.

“Such an impatient girl,” he chided. Then his body was to the side of mine, his right hand still pinning both of mine above my head. He reached under me, squeezing one cheek tightly as he found the waistband. This time he worked my now drenched panties from my hips and I violently kicked them to the floor.

He released my hands from his grasp and I dug my nails into his tight ass cheeks pulling him to my core. His body eased back down until his throbbing cock met my wet folds but he still refused to take me. With long strokes he rubbed himself against my clit causing me to scream his name as my body thrashed against him in my first release of the night.

Two fingers plunged into me, pulling against my still tight walls taking me higher once again. “I think you're ready now,” he proclaimed, removing his fingers. He licked one digit clean before offering me the other, “See how sweet you are? Fucking amazing.” Never before in my life had I willingly tasted myself but there was no way I would deny this man anything. I took the finger into my mouth, drawing it deeper until it was licked clean of my essence.

Despite the central air conditioning, our bodies slid against one another devoid of friction thanks to the thin sheen of sweat we'd worked up through foreplay. When Colton was positioned with the tip of his cock at my entrance, he stopped. “There's no turning back, you're sure about this?” His brow was furrowed and his eyes were filled with concern that I might actually change my mind. How he thought I would have been capable of telling him to stop in the state he'd put me in I'll never know.

“Yes, dammit!” I screamed, jerking my hips to meet his. Never in my life had I felt as full as I did when that one move thrust him inside of me to the hilt. “Fuck!”

Colton drew in a sharp breath and growled at my sudden movement. “Jesus, woman! Are you trying to kill me?” He stilled himself, trying to regain control before slowly pulling back to the point where only the head remain inside me.

We lay there together for a moment, our eyes locked on one another, breathing shallow and fast, before he slowly eased himself deep into me. A slow and gentle rhythm developed; in, out, back in and then gently rocking his pubic bone against the top of my mound.

When I felt his balls tighten, I reached down, gently pulling on them, tracing one finger along the tender skin. With three fast, deep thrusts, he sent me over the edge as he exploded inside of me. We laid there for a long moment, still joined together trying to catch our breath.

He eased himself down so his forearms were holding him above me. “I told you...epic.” Colton then proceeded to shower my face, neck and shoulders with quick kisses.

“Epic,” I agreed sleepily, pulling him close enough to bury my face in his neck.

“When I get back, I really hope you won't try that slow, teasing shit again.” I'd managed to go longer than I cared to admit without having sex, but now that I'd had a taste of the best sex on record, I wasn't looking forward to a week or longer without it.

“Oh, trust me; I'll make sure it's worth it for you.” Colton shifted so he was laying next to me on the bed, our arms still wrapped around one another.

The sun flooding through the full length windows pulled me out of one of the few restful sleeps I'd had in the past month. I smiled at the sight of my naked body tangled with Colton's before trying to figure out how I would get out of the bed without waking him.

It was already after seven. If I was going to make my flight home, I had to hurry. After an awkward call to the cab company that forced me to not only go outside but to the end of the block to give them the address, I took a quick shower in one of the guest bathrooms so as to not wake Colton. He didn't need his sleep cut short and I wasn't in the mood to fight with him again about him staying here.

With a quick note placed in front of the coffee pot, I quietly walked through the front door. Realizing it was just as hard to leave him now as it had been when my mom died, I knew without a doubt that Colton wasn't the only one in love.

Chapter Eleven

It only took two days and seven hours for word to hit the streets of Lexington that a “celebrity” was in their midst. Honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to people making a big fuss about me, especially when I'm sitting in the breakfast nook at my dad's house trying to enjoy a cup of coffee, but it is what it is. When I jumped online only to find a picture of myself walking out of the local doughnut shop with powdered sugar on at the corners of my mouth, it made me more than just a little crabby.

“Dammit, why can't people in this town mind their own damn business?” I said to no one in particular since I was sitting alone in the kitchen.

Well, I didn't mean to say it to anyone but my dad chose that moment to come downstairs. There was definitely something going on with him if I was waking up before he was, I just hadn't found the right time to broach the subject. I needed to get on that since I told the guys I'd be gone ten days, tops and I was already on day three.

“What's going on, Moo?” I tried to ignore the bags under Dad's still dull eyes and the hollow cheeks. He didn't look good at all this morning.

“Apparently, I can't leave the house in this forsaken town. Some asshole took a picture of me yesterday morning.” I flinched at my curse, expecting Dad to say something but he simply sat across from me listening to me rant. “Seriously, why is it that big a deal if I get a powdered doughnut? It's not like I'm Hannah-freaking-Montana or something. I'm the lead singer of a decent band that hasn't even headlined yet.” I slumped back in my chair with a puff, trying to get the ruby red bangs out of my eyes. This getting up in the morning thing didn't seem to be going so well for me.

“Can I point out the obvious?” Dad cupped his coffee in both hands and I saw a slight tremor as he raised the mug to his lips. “When you walk around a town this size looking the way you do, you're going to attract attention. And that hair is like a neon sign saying 'Look at me, I'm Rain Maxwell'.”

He was right, of course, but I had never been a fan of disguises. To me, the thought of throwing on a baseball cap and sunglasses screamed “Look at me, I'm somebody trying to make sure you don't know who I am!”

That was what led me on an adventure that was sure to piss off Tanya, our well-meaning and overbearing manager. Of course, being home, I wasn't living in Rain Maxwell mode, I was simply Maddie Neumann, the almost twenty-five year old daughter of Thomas Neumann of Lexington. That wasn't a good thing because I wasn't thinking about needing to consult with anyone before acting on my impulses, doing things like drastically changing my appearance.

Eight hours after grabbing the Mazda keys off the hooks inside the front door, I replaced them feeling amazing, liberated and perhaps just a bit paranoid of the fallout. The ruby red curls that had become my signature were gone. I felt good about the new razor cut, nearly black 'do with a bright blue undertone. With a little – okay, a lot – of help from a flat iron, even my dad admitted that it looked good. Yes, my conservative dad who I'd avoided for so long was now complimenting me on the bright blue in my hair. On top of that, I'd made the decision to ditch the green contacts in favor of my natural eye color, even going so far as to pick up a pair of funky glasses for daily wear. With the hair, my light brown eyes resembled the color of steeped tea. It was a seriously killer look. I just had to hope it was different enough to throw the locals off my trail long enough to take care of business and get the hell out of dodge.

Having the day to myself, with no one demanding anything of me, was just what I needed to refocus my mind. I'd been avoiding talking to my dad about what was going on but there was no denying
something
wasn't right with him. After dropping my bags in my bedroom, I bounded down the stairs to the rec room.