Ripping Pages (10 page)

After several minutes, Van walked back into the room in all his tattooed sexy glory. The candlelight illuminating his perfect features. Normally, I would be self-conscious lying in someone's living room butt naked; however, I remained laying where he left me. He held his hand out to me as he stepped up to the couch and placed the candle back on the table. I grasped his hand and he pulled me forcefully up and into his hard body. Wrapping his right hand around my neck, he kissed me with such passion that he actually caused me to lose my breath.

We stayed there skin to skin kissing greedily until we broke away breathless. He smiled with hooded eyes and that cocky grin I was becoming fond of… He brushed what I'm sure was some serious bed hair, behind my ears. “Come on, Sweetness. Let’s go lie down.” He blew out all the candles except for one and carried it with him. Slowly, he led me up the stairs in the darkness with the candle lighting our way to the second floor and into his bedroom.

When my legs hit the edge of the bed, he blew the candle out as he placed it on his nightstand making the room dark again. Suddenly, I was pushed gently onto the mattress. A breath escaped my lips as Van's body covered mine. His voice husky and downright seductive he whispered in my ear as he nibbled it, “Now, let’s see if I can make you scream again.”

That sounded like a perfect idea.

At some point during the night, the power had been restored. I woke up on my back with warm light shining in my face. I opened my eyes, squinting as the sun beamed through the floor to ceiling windows. A big, tattooed arm draped over my chest and a muscular leg tangled with both of mine. I looked to my left and admired a sleeping Van. He was so beautiful.

He really was absolutely perfect.

I laid back down so as not to wake him.

Last night was incredible. More than incredible. But as reality set in on what I had actually done with pretty much a stranger, I began to feel very slutty. How could I do that without being in love, or even in a relationship, with this guy?
Oh My God. I was a groupie!
And here I was no makeup on, my hair I'm sure was a crazy ass mess. He said I was different, but how exactly was I different? I did sleep with the man I had only met once. My mother would be so disappointed in me. I sat there staring up at the ceiling, so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t notice Van stir next to me.

He leaned over me and his eyes connected with mine. He smiled, “I know what you're thinking, Tinley, and you need to stop.”

I looked at him shocked. “And what's that?”

He cradled my face and kissed my nose and then my forehead sweetly. “You're thinking that you can’t believe you did that last night. And you're afraid I won’t respect you, and that I'll think badly of you.”

I looked at him in disbelief.

“You need to stop. I told you last night, and if I'm not mistaken, the other day before you rejected me.” He winked. “I could never think of you that way.”

I folded my forearm across my face to shield my eyes in embarrassment. He gently pulled my arm away from my face.

“I'm serious. I know you're different. I've known it since I saw you in the park. I do not, and could not ever, think that way about you. Now, get your sexy little ass up, and let’s get some breakfast. You wore me out. I'm starving.” He smirked and pulled the covers back away from us. I was stark naked in the middle of the day. Not cute. Every imperfection would be visible to this perfect man. I shrieked and grabbed for the covers. He laughed and tugged them off the bed. Bunching the sheet and comforter up, he threw them into the master bathroom closing the door behind him and giving me that adorable smirk. He was standing there unashamed in all his glory, and I couldn’t help but forget about my insecurities as I appraised his hunky form. I bit my bottom lip as I openly gawked at him, that familiar heat stirring in my lower belly. His eyes raked over my naked curves, his smile turning provocative.

He moved so fast grabbing me around my waist to lay me down. He kissed a sensual trail from my lips down my neck. Looking up at me with those intense, silver eyes, he smiled, “Breakfast can wait. There's something else I'm hungry for…” It was almost dark outside when we finally made it to the kitchen.

I took a shower that evening. and Van joined me, showing me just how much fun a shower for two could be.

In this enormous penthouse, Van showed me that he wasn’t pretentious at all. He didn’t use expensive shampoo or soap like you would think some famous musician with all the money in the world would. He washed his hair and his amazing body with cheap shampoo and Zest soap. Just like the rest of us. Once we were clean, I reached for my towel to dry off, Van stayed there staring at me as I began to wrap it around me. As I motioned to step out the door, he grabbed me and slammed me up against the tile wall. He lifted me up along the wall and made me straddle his shoulders as he licked along my most sensitive spots, over and over again, making me cry out, my voice echoing through the room. I came in record time due to his unrelenting efforts. He slowly slid me down the wall and steadied me on my feet.

He whispered seductively as he licked my neck, “God, I just can’t seem to get enough of you.”

I smiled my sweetest smile. “I could say the same about you.”

He gently kissed my lips, and then they grew more urgent.

“Come on, I really am starving. We still haven’t eaten yet,” he growled against my lips as he pulled me to follow him.

“Well, you have, but I haven't,” I muttered.
OH my goodness. Where did that come from?

He turned around with a feigned shocked expression. “Oh my God, Sweetness. I believe I am corrupting you. The good girl's gone bad.”

I giggled. “Or maybe she was always bad. It just took someone like you to bring it out.” I bit my lip.

He groaned. “You're killin' me, Smalls. All right, you little sex fiend. Let’s go get some sustenance so we can do a repeat performance of last night.”

We were dressed, and quickly headed out the front door down the elevator and out onto the cobblestone street.

Van hailed a cab just as a burly man with a huge camera popped out from behind the building. He began snapping photo after photo, the bright light of the flash temporarily blinding me.

The cab stopped at the curb, and Van made sure I was in safe before jumping in himself. “Hurry, please. Take us to Manhattan.” I sat there still unsure what the hell just happened. Van turned to me, rubbing his temples. “I'm sorry, Tinley. I can usually stay under the radar, but since the label released a statement about our upcoming album and tour, they're out like vultures.”

“Oh. Why don’t you have a driver, like your sister?”

“Our father is a very affluent member of Manhattan society. Blah. Blah. Blah. We've grown up very privileged. Sloan has always been very spoiled. Jack, her driver, has been with my family since I was young, and when Sloan moved out, our father made him her personal driver. I think she likes the show of it. Me? I've lived a very affluent life, so I just want to feel normal sometimes. I want to do things like regular people. It's very unsettling to have someone be at my beck and call and cart me around everywhere. I don’t feel free. Only very seldom do I have a driver. When we're attending certain events and things.”

He really wasn't the guy I pegged him to be.

“Oh, you surprise me, Van.”

He smirked. “Oh, how's that?”

“You're just different than I thought you were.”

“Well, I hope that's a good thing.”

“It's a very good thing.”

He leaned over and kissed me softly, leaning back to look me in the eyes. “Well that makes two of us.”

After a comfortable ride into the city, we pulled in front of a small business on a small side street. Van paid the cab driver and looked over at me. “This place is quiet and small, but they have the best Italian food in the city.”

“I love Italian food. Olive Garden is my favorite restaurant.”

He laughed heartily and kissed my forehead. “You are so adorable. Come on baby, let’s get you some food.”

What? I really do love Olive Garden.

He walked me into the restaurant, his hand resting comfortably on the small of my back.

A kind, older Italian man greeted us as we walked in.

“Mr. Whitaker, it's been a while. So glad to see you.” His accent was thick and I could barely understand him through it.

Van smiled and rubbed my back in small circles as if it were second nature to him.

“Sorry, Gio. It has been a while. This is Miss Tinley Michaels.”

He reached his weathered hand out to shake mine. His eyes so genuine. “It's nice to meet you, Miss Tinley.”

“Thank you, Mr. Gio. It's very nice to meet you as well.”

He led us back to a small room in the back of the already small restaurant.

We were seated at a tiny table for two with a flickering candle lighting the very dim area.

It reminded me of the night before, and my stomach flipped.

Van seemed to be thinking the same thing because he rubbed my thigh over my jeans, underneath the table and squeezed right near my upper thigh.

He looked at me with his eyes dancing. “Later, Sweetness. I promise you won’t be able to think straight when I'm done with you.”

I looked at him straight-faced and said, “Or maybe it's you who won’t be able to think straight, Mr. Whitaker.”

“Ahh, so that’s how you wanna play? All right, baby. Challenge accepted.”

Heat pooled low in my belly, and suddenly, I wasn’t hungry anymore.

I ordered a small plate of chicken Alfredo, and Van ordered lasagna.

While we waited for our food, Van grabbed my hand across the table rubbing the back of it sweetly.

“Tinley, I have a big event this Saturday, and I'd like you to accompany me to it.”

I had taken a few weeks off work to get ready for the play so my Saturday was clear.

“I would love to.”

He smiled that breathtaking smile, and I melted. “I run a charity with my father for kids with incurable diseases, and it’s a huge event at the Waldorf. It's a formal occasion. I'd like you to go shopping for a dress. On me.” He grinned as he munched on a breadstick. Why was he so sexy when he was eating?
Never mind.

Waldorf? As in Astoria? The famous hotel that I'd always wanted to stay in!? Ok back to reality, Tin.

“Van, I can’t let you do that.”

“You can, and you will. I invited you to this, and I want to,” he said sternly but then laughed, winking at me.

“Um, ok. Thank you?”

I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, for some reason. Like I was his hooker, even though I knew I was being ridiculous. It just felt a little odd.

Our food came, and we ate while Van told me about the charity. He and his father had started it when the band had hit it big. He told me that he and his father didn’t have the best relationship, and so when Van started the charity, he asked his father to be a part of it to maybe regain some of the bond they had lost. The way he spoke about him, it didn’t seem like they had resolved their differences. I was curious why they were on the outs, but I didn’t ask. It really was none of my business.