Rock Your Heart Out (Sinful Serenade #3) (26 page)

She turns back to her conversation partner and excuses herself gracefully. Shit, she's walking this way.

Tom nods a goodbye and makes himself scarce. As if that will help dampen the flames of suspicion. Oh well, Kara isn't the type to snitch. Even if her loyalty lies with Drew.

She grabs a plate and fills it with grapes. "You and Tom are hanging out a lot."

I pour myself a large glass of fruit juice. "Why does that fascinate everyone?"

"Tom has never hung out with a girl in his life. Besides me or Meg and that's only when the other guys are around."

I shrug. Nothing to see here except a girl in a slinky black dress and fuck me heels drinking her apple juice.

"I'll be with you guys the rest of the tour." She looks me in the eyes. "Meg too."

"That will be fun."

She leans closer. "I'm on your side. Whatever you're doing and whatever you decide. Drew has gotten better with his, ahem, caveman violence. He has good intentions, but he's especially prone to overreacting when it comes to you."

"Yeah."

"I don't think he'd kill Tom, but it could be ugly if it catches him off guard. Do you understand me?"

"Yes." I understand her, and I understand Pete. I understand that I am somehow responsible for Drew's inability to accept that I am an adult woman with desires. "With all due respect, Kara, Drew freaking out over me having consensual sex is not my problem."

Her eyes turn down. "I'm sorry. You're right. I don't have any siblings. I don't really know how much you guys tell each other." She press her lips together. "I worry about Drew. He gets kinda tense dealing with the celebrity thing for three months straight. I know he doesn't want be that guy everyone else is on edge around."

I will myself to stay righteous, but her concern for Drew is touching.

"As a favor to me, be careful. Tell him before someone else does," she says.

That's a fair enough request. "Okay."

Her eyes go to my chest. Huh? Is my brother's girlfriend checking me out? That's totally bizarre.

"You're brave, getting a tattoo on your chest," she says.

Oh. That makes more sense. "Thank you. It felt right, getting it over my heart."

"It looks great." She lowers her voice. "Can I ask you something completely inappropriate?"

I nod.

"How is Tom? I've always wondered."

First Pete, now Kara. At this rate, everyone will know Tom and I are fucking by tomorrow night.

"Sorry. That was rude." She takes a step backwards. "As good as his cockiness would suggest?"

"You know how he plays like a crazy, frantic animal? And he pushes people around like he's a wrecking ball?"

Her eyes fill with interest. She nods
go on
.

"Nothing like that." I take a long sip of my drink. "He's tender. Attentive. I'm sure some of it is that I... he has to be careful with his new piercing."

"His what?"

I whisper a quick breakdown of Tom's piecing in Kara's ear.

"Holy fuck." Her hand goes to her mouth. "Is that good?"

"Amazing."

"Never would have guessed."

"Never would have guessed what?" Drew steps up to us.

He's wearing a suit and his hair is slicked back. I haven't seen him in a suit since my high school graduation. That was probably the last time my parents, Drew, and I were all in the same room.

"Mmmm." Kara tugs at his suit jacket. "I could get used to you wearing this thing."

"You can't distract me, Kendrick."

She strokes his tie as if to prove how thoroughly she can distract him. It works remarkably well. Within moments, he's panting.

She looks back to me. "Meet us for brunch tomorrow. Around noon. I'll text you the address."

"You staying here, Wil?" Drew barely gets the words out.

Okay. It's a safe enough time to tease him. "No, I'm going to pick up some guy and go back to his place."

"Very funny." He growls.

Kara sucks on his earlobe and the growl turns into a purr.

She releases him and pushes him towards the action. "Excuse us."

He follows her like a puppy following his owner.

God, they're cute. It's remarkable how good she is for him. Drew is a different person around her. Not the sullen, quick to anger loner who avoids everything besides his guitar, but a guy who cares about his friends. I hope she says yes. I can't imagine him ever being okay without her.

My gaze goes to Tom. A college-aged woman, must be one of Kara's friends, gushes at him. She squeezes his arm and my stomach clenches. He's already got my heart. But is he going to smash it or piece it back together?

His eyes catch mine. He motions to the stairs as if to suggest
should we
? God, am I tempted. I shake my head
no
anyway and try my best to mingle.

Kara's friends are nice but I'm not really the party type. After a solid hour of introductions and small talk, I find a seat on the couch by myself. It's bright. Sometime in the mid-afternoon. I lean back and soak in the sun. Only so much gets through the windows. Well, Drew wouldn't want me to hold back. I unlock the door to the backyard and step outside.

The small pool shines in a brilliant shade of aqua. I sit down, slide out of my heels, and dip my toes in the water.

Deep breaths do nothing to clear my head. My feelings for Tom already go far beyond like. There's no rush to label things. In theory. We're monogamous. We'll be together, more or less, the rest of the tour. And I can go wherever I want after that. I can even set up a studio in Los Angeles.

There's no reason why I need a label, but I want one. My feelings burn a hole through my gut. He might never love me. When I give him my heart, he might smash it into a million little pieces.

There are footsteps coming towards me. Then Tom's voice.

"Hey, kid. Cooling off?"

"Yeah."

"Drew and Kara left a while ago." He sits next to me and runs a hand through my hair. "I convinced Pete to take a cab back home."

"Oh."

"You want to go out or you want to go back to my place?"

I push myself to a seated position and look Tom in the eyes. All those feelings well up inside me. But I'm not ready to hand over my heart yet. Not right now.

Right now, I'm only giving him my body.

"Depends," I say.

"On?"

"Do you really wear a speedo?"

"Better."

I slide into my shoes and push myself to my feet. "That, I have to see."

T
hat is much better than a speedo.

I lean back in my lounge chair so I can gawk properly. The soft orange glow of sunset falls over Tom's shaggy hair, his broad shoulders, his sculpted abs, the tiny scrap of fabric posing as a swimsuit. A thong swimsuit.

He turns to show off his toned ass. He's like a sculpture, all hard and defined. And he's on display for me.

"Do you wear that in public?" My words are punctuated with deep sighs of pleasure. It's hard to talk when he's wearing such a small amount of clothing. There's no way he dons that on the beach. It would cause a mob scene. Even without his celebrity.

"I have."

"Did you get arrested?"

"No." He takes a step towards me. "Garnered a lot of attention."

"I'll bet."

"Willow, my eyes are up here."

"Uh-huh." My gaze stays glued to the so-called swimsuit. Why do men wear board shorts? This is much better than a pair of board shorts.

"You're going to make me feel like a piece of meat."

"I'm a vegetarian."

"Not sure that's relevant, kid."

Finally, I look up into Tom's gorgeous green eyes. They're wide, enthusiastic. He delights in teasing me. Can't say I have any cause for complaint.

I manage to hold his gaze. "If you were a piece of meat, I wouldn't be interested."

"Is that so?"

I nod. "I lo—like you for your personality."

"I didn't realize my personality was between my legs."

I laugh. "Not many people do."

"Is that where your personality is?"

I nod.

He kneels in front of my lounge chair and pulls my legs towards the edge. "Better investigate this claim."

He runs his finger up the inside of my calf, slowing as he reaches my inner thigh. My body hums from his touch. I don't stand a chance.

Tom pushes my skirt up my thighs, one inch at a time. "You
aren't
wearing panties." He pushes the skirt to my waist. "Fuck, I love it when you're naughty." He nibbles on my inner thigh.

He moves closer. Closer. So fucking close but not quite there. Yes. This is exactly what I need. No thinking. No tomorrow. Just his body and mine creating a lightening storm of pleasure.

I dig my hands into his hair. "Please."

"Say it again."

"Please, Tom. I need you."

So much for just our bodies. The feeling crashes into me. I need him. I need him every way it's possible to need a person.

I love him.

Easy to love someone when his head is planted between your legs, but I don't have a single doubt I'll feel the same way tomorrow.

I reach for something that won't overwhelm me. "What if Pete comes home?"

"He won't."

"But what if he does?"

"He won't. But if he does then he'll see me making you come. Hmm..." He pushes my dress up my torso and over my head. "Let's try for three times.""

"Right now?"

"Unless that gets in the way of your plans." He flicks his tongue against my nipple. "We can take this to my room if you're feeling shy."

"Tom, I—" I bite my tongue. Nope. Not saying that yet. Not with us nearly naked. "I need you."

He groans into my skin. His kisses lower. Lower. Then his mouth is on me. Pleasure spreads to my fingers and toes. I'm already so keyed up I want to scream. I'm not sure how I'll survive three orgasms but I'm more than game to try.

I press my fingers against the back of his head, spreading my legs to give him as much access as he needs. The intimacy of it overwhelms me. We're close. It's like I really am giving myself to him.

He works his way up my sex, plants one feather light flick against my clit, then back to the bottom to start again. And again. And again. I lose track after ten. I'm already throbbing with desire.

"Tom, please." I rock my hips to press against his face. "I need to come."

He teases again. Again. Three. Four. Then his tongue is on my clit. No more teasing. He works me with hard, fast strokes.

I squeeze his shoulders and he goes harder. Faster.

"Yes," I breathe. "Please don't stop."

He licks me again and again. Until the pressure in my core knots tight and unfurls in a deep, intense orgasm. I groan his name again and again as I come.

Tom drags his lips up and down my inner thighs. My whole body shudders with after shakes. I'm so fucking sensitive that his teeth scraping against my skin is enough to make me groan.

And then he's licking me again. I relax into the lounge chair, spreading my legs wider. For a split second, my eyes flutter open. Everything about this is fucking beautiful. The light of the sunset dancing off the pool. The clean concrete. The flowers that line the backyard. The almost-a-mansion house behind us.

Tom looks up at me, this delicious mix of desire and mischief and satisfaction in his eyes.

My lids press together. It's too much to take. The rest of the world falls away until I'm nothing but the pleasure building inside me. More and more until I overflow with another orgasm.

This time, Tom doesn't relent. He sucks on my clit until I'm screaming. I dig my hands into his hair as he works me. It's intense. Almost too intense. But not quite.

My orgasm is hard and fast. One knot of tension, then it's all unraveling, flowing through me.

I pull him off by the hair. I expect a complaint but he smiles with the pride of a job well done.

"Three seemed about right." He presses his lips against my knee.

"You're amazing." I sink into the chair, still lost in a daze of bliss.

"I know." He kisses his way down my shin, over my foot. "Come on. I need to get wet."

"I'm not sure I can take any more sensation."

I pry my eyelids apart. When I look back to Tom, he's already gone. In the pool

His swimsuit on the concrete.

***

W
e swim in circles as the sun sets. Orange bleeds across the sky, casting the house in a beautiful glow. It sinks lower, the sky goes red, then the sun is gone, swallowed up by the horizon, and everything is a serene shade of indigo.

It's quiet here. Much more quiet than what I imagined.

Tom slides his arms around me. We're still naked, and he's still as sexy as the day is long, but there's more to the gesture than heat. There's affection. Love.

The words already want out of my throat. But I can't say them now, not with all this weight hanging around his shoulders. I press my eyelids together and soak in the feeling of Tom's chest against my back, his neck against my cheek. His skin is soft but his muscles are hard. I can feel them flexing against me as he shifts his weight, as he breathes.

Love might chase him away. Might end this for good. And then I'll have to spend the next month as miserable as I was at the last show. The pictures I took were total shit. I can't do that. I can't waste this opportunity.

Okay, I'm scared. I'm looking for excuses. I'm the one who told him this relationship was worth the risk of getting hurt. Maybe the words can wait. Maybe they don't matter as much as being with him.

"You're off someplace," Tom says. "Good or bad?"

Both. I turn around and stare into his gorgeous green eyes. Can my gaze say it for me? I try.
I love you
. Nothing in his expression changes. It's that same intense affection.

Screw the eyes. I let my lids flutter together and raise to my tip toes to kiss him. His lips are chapped from swimming all afternoon. He tastes like chlorine. And like Tom.

His kiss is that same intense affection. When it breaks, I can barely breathe.  That wasn't enough. I need to tell him.
I love you, Tom
. I practice it in my head, but I can't do it. Not today.