More Than Comics (14 page)

“It wasn’t
that
fast. You worked hard for years to get the band to where it is now. You practiced every night for hours and hours. I remember, even if you don’t.”

“That’s true.” I brushed a strand of golden hair away from her face. “Any more questions?”

She searched my eyes, opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to ask something but was hesitant. How bad could it be? I draped an arm around her waist. “You can ask me anything.”

“Why have you been single all these years, Hector?”

I released her, my whole body tensing up. Shit, not that question. Anything but that.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said, playing with a string on the edge of the sleeping bag.

“No. It’s okay.” I couldn’t just flat out say that I never dated anyone because I’d been in love with her for three years. Or explain that I’d tried to go out with other girls, but always broke it off after a night together because it had never been fair to them.

Though if I was honest, Tara wasn’t the only reason I was single.

I sucked in a breath and spoke slowly, considering each word before I said it. “You know my parents were sent back to Mexico when I was thirteen. Worst day of my life. I got home from school and they were just…gone. No note or anything. No one knew what happened to them. My sisters wouldn’t stop crying…” I closed my eyes against the flood of memories I usually kept buried deep. This was why I never talked about my past: it was too fucking hard. “We moved in with our
abuelita
and I had to become the man of the house overnight. We got through it, but taking care of my sisters, on top of school, the band, my job at the art supply store…it never left much time for dating.”

“That makes sense.” She slid her arms around my neck and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. I knew I could leave it at that, but I wanted to come clean with her. About this, at least.

“There’s another reason.” Shit, this was tough. I’d never told anyone this. The guys knew, but we never talked about it. “I did have one serious girlfriend in high school. Amanda. Pretty blond girl, like you. An aspiring actress. Parents were rich.” I gritted my teeth and forced the last words out. “She got pregnant.”

“Oh my god.”

“We were so stupid. Mostly me. But I loved her, or thought I did anyway. I was going to do whatever it took to be there for her, to be a good father to our kid. I was saving up to buy her an engagement ring and everything. And then, like my parents, one day she was just gone.”

Tara’s arms tightened around me. “No.”

“Her parents hated me. They tried to have me arrested when they heard I’d knocked her up. Didn’t work, so they took her away, moved across the country so we couldn’t be together. When I finally tracked her down she told me she’d lost the baby. She never talked to me again after that. It fucking killed me.”

I could still remember the exact moment I’d learned I wasn’t going to be a father after all. I’d expected to be relieved to not have the burden of a baby on top of everything else I was dealing with, but instead I’d been heartbroken. And it only got worse when Amanda had shut me out completely. After that, I’d resolved to never let anyone hurt me like that again.

I’d done a good job, until the other night with Tara, when I’d let my guard down. Somehow she’d managed to worm her way inside my heart—and all I could do was brace myself for when she broke it, too.

“I’m so sorry, Hector.” She held me closer, gently stroking my hair. “No one should have to go through something like that.”

I shrugged. “After that I stopped getting close to people. I don’t let anyone in. It’s just easier that way.”

“You let me in.”

“You were different. I didn’t have to worry about you leaving because I never had you.”

She kissed me on the corner of my mouth. “You have me now.”

For another day, yeah. But after that? I was afraid to ask.

“Thank you for trusting me with that,” she said.

She snuggled closer against me, but I held back from touching her. I’d let her see too much of me, opened myself up too far, and I had to shut it down somehow. Too many emotions were digging their way out and I had to bury them again. I needed to end the moment, to lighten things up and get the focus off of my past.

“Hey, I couldn’t let you think there was anything wrong with me, with not having a girlfriend all these years. Believe me, there have been plenty of women here and there, but nothing serious.”

Jesus, what a douchey line. I had to stop myself from cringing as I said it.

“Nothing serious,” she said slowly. “Like this weekend?”

“Exactly.”

Her face fell, and I wondered if she’d been hoping to hear something else. What did she want from me? A declaration of love? I couldn’t do it. Not when I didn’t know what would happen beyond tomorrow. Our future together was a black hole and I couldn’t see what it held for us—and that terrified me.

I slid a hand around the curve of her ass, pulling her closer, fitting her against my body. “Hey, we’re having fun, remember?”

She gave me a faint smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I remember. What happens at Comic-Con stays at Comic-Con.”

I wished I’d never said that, but it was too late now to take it back. I pressed kisses to her neck and whispered, “No worries. No regrets. No complications.”

She slipped her fingers under my shirt, along my abs. “In that case, we need to be having a
lot
more fun.”

“Now?” I let out a sharp laugh. “We’re surrounded by hundreds of people.”

“Everyone is asleep.” Her hand moved to the front of my jeans and popped open the button.

“Damn, you are one naughty girl.” I looked around, but the others did seem to be sleeping. “Maybe we could have a
little
fun…”

She drew me in for a kiss and it was easy to lose myself in her, in the way she nibbled on my lip while unzipping my jeans, in the feel of her hand sliding into my pants.

“I just want to touch you,” she said, between kisses. “No one will notice.”

“Only if I’m allowed to touch you, too.”

She didn’t protest as I raised her shirt to seek out her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra—she’d discreetly removed it before getting in the sleeping bag—and it gave me easy access to her already hard nipples. I loved the way her breasts felt in my hands, so full and soft, and the little sighs she made as I teased them were even better.

She helped me push her jeans down, kicking them off in the bottom of the sleeping bag. I grabbed her leg and draped it across my hip, opening her up to me. Her breathing sped up as I dipped a finger inside her panties, just along the edge. I inched closer. And closer. I traced every inch of her until she pressed against me and moaned, like she wanted more.

“Shhh,” I said. “Don’t want everyone to hear you.”

“I can’t help it,” she whispered.

“Then I’ll have to keep you quiet.”

I crushed my mouth against hers, taking her little cries into my mouth as I slowly slid a finger inside her. She tightened her grip around my length and clutched at my neck, keeping my lips locked to hers. She stroked me up and down and sucked on my tongue with the same rhythm, driving me absolutely fucking insane. The girl knew how to use her hands. And her mouth. I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if she used both of them together…. Maybe next time.

We touched each other without the desperation or ferocity from before. This time we were slow and gentle, taking time to learn each other. I found the spot that I’d already discovered made her lose control and she practically howled.

Someone moved in a nearby sleeping bag and we froze. We stared into each other’s eyes in the darkness, hearts pounding in sync, worried we’d been caught. Our greedy fingers were still on each other, but had paused in the middle of the action. We waited a minute, then two, but there was only silence. Until she giggled.

“Thought I told you to be quiet,” I whispered.

I covered her mouth with my hand, which seemed to excite her even more. Her teeth dug into my skin while I began to rub her again and her fingers continued to work their magic on me.

We kept up a steady give and take, back and forth, with a slow build toward heaven. I wanted it to go on forever. Once we stopped we’d have to go back to reality, to our uncertain future. But here, like this, I could show her how much I loved her without having to admit it out loud.

When I knew I couldn’t hold on much longer I increased my speed and pressure, making her arch her back. She clenched up around my fingers, making muffled sounds against my hand over her mouth, her entire body shuddering with pleasure. She kept pumping me as she lost control and I let her take me along with her, releasing myself into her hand.

We stroked each other until we were both completely sated, until exhaustion settled over us. I melted into her, my entire body warm and fluid as I cradled her against me. I never wanted to move again.

“Thank god you guys are done,” Julie said, from the next sleeping bag. “I thought that would last all night. Nice job Hector, and good for you Tara, but some of us are trying to sleep.”

Tara laughed and covered her face with her hand.

“Eh, you’re just jealous,” I said to Julie.

“No kidding. I wish I had some of that right now. Hey, if you’re up for sharing…”

“Definitely not,” Tara said, tightening her arms around me. “He’s all mine.”

“Oh well, I tried,” Julie said. “Get some sleep, love birds.”

“Yours?” I asked Tara, kissing her neck. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.” She snuggled against me, and I played with her hair while she settled in to sleep.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TARA

I
woke in Hector’s arms, blissfully warm against his hard body, while the sun rose over the convention center. Soon we’d go inside to watch all the big movie panels until it was time for our book signing. After that, we had the Masquerade and the afterparty and then one final night together before Comic-Con ended.

I had one more day to make my decision.

One more day with Hector.

I watched him sleep, admiring his long, dark lashes and his full, pouty lips. Careful not to wake him, I traced a finger over his face, along his eyebrows, his nose, his jaw. I drank in the sight of his broad shoulders, the way his dark hair curled over his forehead, the swell of his bicep around my waist. I wanted to memorize every inch of him before the day was over.

Last night he’d opened up to me for the first time ever, telling me things about his past I suspected he never revealed to anyone. My heart had broken when he’d told me about his high school girlfriend and the baby they’d lost. No wonder he had a hard time letting people in. Yet he’d let me in—for a few minutes, anyway. I’d felt closer to him than ever…and then he’d shut me out again. I’d only been able to bring him back to me by making things “fun” again.

From what he’d said, he didn’t want anything serious—with me or any other girl. Yet those few moments when he did manage to let his guard down made me think he cared for me. He pushed me away and said we were just having fun, but then he said he wanted to be mine.

So which was it?

He opened his eyes and gave me a sleepy smile. “Hey, beautiful.”

I pressed a soft kiss to his lips and he drew me closer against his body. Desire flickered inside me, like a red hot flame. I wanted to climb on top of him and ride him, despite being surrounded by people. Hector just brought out that side of me.

I brushed my mouth across his jaw. “
Te quiero
,” I whispered, repeating his words from yesterday back to him. The ones that he’d said meant, “I want you.”

He tensed up and swore under his breath, pulling away from me. “Jesus, Tara. Don’t say that.”

His reaction doused my lust like a bucket of ice water. I sat up, pulling my shirt down, feeling hurt and exposed. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, just….” He took a deep breath and raked a hand through his already messy hair. After a second his body relaxed, and he flashed me a grin. “I want you, too. But when you speak like that it turns me on way too much, and we don’t have time to do anything about that right now.”

I nodded. He was right, of course. The rising sun cast a warm glow across the grass, where people were standing up and getting ready to go inside the convention center. Still, his reaction had been so extreme, it made me wonder if there was something else that was bothering him.

We spent the entire day together, sitting through the panels in Hall H with his friends, laughing and joking about the things we saw, gorging ourselves on bad convention food while checking out the cosplay. I was never eating another pretzel dog ever again after this weekend, that was for sure.

In between panels, Maddie told me about how she and Kyle became friends as freshmen in college, and how that led to her joining the band even though she’d been more of a classical musician before that. She had me cracking up with her story about how Jared had walked in on her playing his guitar at a party, and then showed up at her class to beg her to go on
The Sound
with his band.

Next, Alexis told me about how she and Kyle had gotten back together at a Battle of the Bands competition, and I discovered she was a photographer who was taking photos at Comic-Con for an online entertainment website. I also learned that Julie was a pre-med major but spent most of her free time designing clothes, and that Carla did modeling while getting a theater degree, loved fixing cars, and had a vintage Mustang.

Hector sat beside me the entire time, staying quiet while his friends did most of the talking. He was a steady presence, his arm resting on the chair behind me, his muscular thigh pressed against mine. It was a struggle to not touch him constantly, or grab him for a kiss in front of his friends, but I managed to restrain myself. Barely.

Our signing was scheduled near the end of the day in the same large, bright room as before. After a quick pit-stop in our hotel rooms to shower and change clothes, Hector and I made our way there together, chatting the entire time about how DC had better TV shows while Marvel had better movies. We pushed our way through the huge crowd and got to our section right on time—and it was packed. The line snaked back and forth in contained rows before bursting out and taking over the nearby wall, too.