SailtotheMoon (19 page)

Laura thought she could live like that, but she didn’t want
to. Perhaps Zazz did.

“You old goat,” she murmured and Jimmy chuckled.

“Yeah, how about that?”

She wasn’t ready to forgive him for the anxiety he’d caused
though. Zazz had been frantic. Maybe it had done him good too, made him realize
how much his father meant to him. But Jimmy had shown some of the carelessness
he’d demonstrated when Zazz had been a kid, albeit in a less dangerous way. Probably
because Jimmy was clean now. Never had any intention of going back, but had
left the shit anyway.

“I think we should be going,” she said. “Jimmy’s fine here
tonight, and we can’t do anything until tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you get on.” Jimmy made a shooing movement, waving
his hands at them. “Get gone. We’ll see you tomorrow. Not too early. I like to
sleep in.”

They had no choice. They left.

Back at the hotel, Zazz took Laura in his arms and kissed
her in that luscious way she’d come to crave. He took his time, and when they
came up for air, he had his hands under her shirt and her bra undone. She
sighed in sheer happiness. “I made a decision.”

He groaned. “No more tonight.”

“Just this.”

“No.”

“Then make it worth my while.” He lowered his voice to a
lascivious tone that, had the kiss not done the job already, turned her on like
crazy. “Take off your clothes and go on all fours on the bed. I want you bad,
sweetheart.”

The instructions turned her knees to jelly. She couldn’t
deny that the occasional order did it for her. She’d do anything for him, but
occasionally she liked the way he took decisions out of her hands in the
bedroom. Especially since she knew she could answer back if she wanted. She
chose not to.

Stepping back, she unsnapped her jeans and slid them down
her legs, kicking off her sneakers and socks with them. She wore little white
lace knickers, the match to the bra he’d just undone. She turned her back on
him when she took off the jeans, giving him a great view of her lace-covered
backside. He gave a quiet, almost inaudible groan. “You are so fine. What did I
do to deserve this?”

“Nothing. That’s not how it works.”

It wasn’t. People didn’t deserve things that happened to
them. Not always. Now, still with her back to him, she took off her T-shirt and
let that and her bra fall to the floor. She had no expertise in stripping, but
she liked the soft noises he was making. Her technique seemed to work for him.

Taking her time, she walked to the bed, exaggerating her hip
sway, and then climbed up, giving him great views of her naked back and barely
clad backside. Her mound would push into the knickers, and when she bent, her
breasts dangling, he’d see the bulge and the shadow of her pubic hair. Lifting
her arms, she went up on her knees and slid his thumbs into the waistband of
her knickers. The last garment she had on, so she took her time getting rid of
them. Turning her head, she gave him a half smile, let him see how much she was
enjoying the tease.

So was he. He’d already removed his jacket and T-shirt and
stood, hips slightly forward, flagrantly displaying his torso and the bulge
that crammed the front of his jeans. Impossibly low-slung, the denim clung to
his hips and outlined his body, strong thighs and athletically muscular frame.
Her mouth watered.

She’d never displayed herself so flagrantly for anyone
before, never wanted anyone this much. And he knew how much she wanted him. She
couldn’t read his face, couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He’d donned the
arrogant stage persona, so much a part of him, but not one he showed her when
they were in private. But this was playtime, going for the mindless release
both of them needed.

They needed no words. He must have seen it in her eyes, the
desire to play. He was the arrogant rock star, she was the groupie.

“I’ve seen better,” he drawled. “Pinker, wetter, bigger.” As
she watched, he shucked his jeans and underwear. Not as she’d done, with
provocative intent, but carelessly, as if it meant nothing to him to get naked.
“But there’s nobody else in the room but you, so I’ll take it. I’m going to
fuck you, maybe in your cunt, maybe in your ass, maybe in your mouth. Maybe all
three. I don’t care if you come or not. You’re here for my pleasure.” He
paused, watching her, and fresh wetness moistened her legs as her pussy became
unable to contain it all. She felt open, vulnerable and so sensitive, as if all
her sex had swollen in anticipation of his possession.

He stepped forward, kicking his clothes out of the way, not
bothering to check where they fell. His cock was hard, the top reddish-purple,
leaking fluid at the tip. She wanted it, but she couldn’t take it unless he
gave it to her. An Elvis-style sneer appeared as he watched her. He knew.

Grasping the base of his cock with one hand, he streaked the
thumb of the other over the tip, taking the fluid. “Want this?” The sneer
developed into a full-blown smile. “Too bad.” He licked his thumb, tasting
himself. He raised a brow. Reaching into the bedside drawer, he found a condom
and tore open the packet, dropping the wrapper without checking where it fell.
He glanced at the thin latex ring. “You’ll have to practice putting this on
with your mouth. I’d like that.”

She made a mental note. It might take a few bananas to get
it right. She’d show him once she was sure she could do it and drive him insane
before she finished the job. Like tying a cherry stem with her tongue and
teeth, something she’d never mastered. But she’d learn this technique and
surprise him with it.

Fuck, he’d be surprised.

She stayed on her hands and knees by an effort of will,
because she longed to turn around and take him, suck him, lick him. Do whatever
as long as he let her. Shit, did he look hot, his hand wrapped around the lower
part of his cock, pumping it before he slid on the protection.

Without warning, he stepped forward, guided his cock to her
pussy and drove right in, deep and hard. The vicious slap of their bodies
punctuated her cry of alarm, but he’d slid in almost without resistance,
plowing through her soaking wetness to reach the inner, throbbing heart of her.
“Oh yes, fill me up,” she said.

He grasped her hips and drove in again, his strokes
increasing in power. He’d never fucked her like this, with one intent, and she
believed him. If she wanted to come, she’d have to help herself. He released
one of her hips to grab her shoulder, pressing between her shoulder blades. She
let her elbows bend, lowered her upper body until her shoulders touched the
bed. And still he fucked her. “Deeper now? You’ll come like this. You’ll come
because I say so.”

“Yes, I will.” He hit her G-spot, powered past it, his cock
grazing her with every deep stroke in and out. He was drilling it now, slamming
against her, their bodies colliding with a firm slap with every stroke. His
breath deepened, came in sharper gasps and she knew that, despite his words, he
was holding on, waiting for her.

When it came it was the result of a deep, hard fucking and
she gave herself to him, helpless in his hands, under his ministrations. She
cried his name, cried for him not to stop, that she’d kill him if he stopped,
and he growled low, daring to laugh.

“You think I can stop any more than you can? Fuck!” The last
word he ground out, sounding as if he’d gritted his teeth, the sound half
muffled. Then he cried her name and fell forward onto his hands, which he
planted on either side of her. His cock pulsed deep inside her. If not for the
thin layer of latex between them, he’d have flooded her.

She wanted that. Something else for the future she was now
determined they were going to have.

Once he’d recovered, Zazz cherished her. He withdrew, rolled
her over and picked her up, carrying her into the bathroom as if she couldn’t
walk, which was nearly the truth. She’d come with a completeness that had
overwhelmed her. He kissed her tenderly, set her on the toilet while he poured
a bath for them both. In this room they had a good-sized tub, but nothing as
fancy as the suites upstairs. Enough for them to share, for her to lean back in
his arms and let him wash her while she told him she loved him, her mood
increasingly sleepy.

“Let it go, sweetheart. If you fall asleep, I’ll dry you and
take you to bed. Nothing left for you to worry about. I love you.”

He rinsed them with the handheld shower, took them out of
the bath. She managed to wrap a towel around her body and dry herself, mostly,
while he scrubbed another towel roughly over his gorgeous body. Then she leaned
forward and kissed the little cat tattoo over his nipple. He took the chance to
draw her close and kiss her again, as gentle as he’d been demanding not long
before. Then he tucked them both up in bed and switched out the light. Laura
didn’t remember much more than that. Sleep overwhelmed her in a tidal wave.

Zazz watched his lady sleep. Whatever happened now, he had
her and he was keeping her. Sleep took him by degrees as he went over plans for
their future.

He woke to daylight seeping through the gaps in the thick
blue curtains, and he stared at the bedside clock. Eight o’clock. Once he’d
rarely seen mornings, and by rights he should be sleeping on, but he had to do
something this morning, although fuck knew what it was.

Laura wasn’t there, but he heard taps running in the
bathroom and then she opened the door. He blinked. She was dressed for the
office, neat black trousers, plain blouse tucked in, a good though unremarkable
black belt. “What’s happening?”

“I’m going in to work,” she said.

“Right.” What else could he say? He knew how much she needed
her independence, and she’d worked hard at her career.

“I’ll make sure Jimmy gets all the assistance he needs.
Kelsie owes me, so she’s going to let me in on his case.” She crossed the room
to the wardrobe where the matching jacket to the trousers hung. “Then I’m going
to resign.”

He shot up in bed, his lassitude gone. “No!”

She spun around, jacket in hand. “What?” Frowning, she came
over to the bed, sat on the side. “I’m sorry, am I taking too much for granted?
But I decided a few things. I want to take Chick up on his offer when I’m
ready. I want to take that chance before it’s too late. I need to concentrate
full time on my music.” She took a deep breath, her breasts moving enticingly
beneath the crisp shirt. “I’ve done enough.”

He reached for her hand. “You don’t have to give up your
job. I love you, Laura, and that’s for always and in all conditions. We’ll make
it work, even if it means we have a fuck of a lot of Skype sex. You love your
job. I can’t make you give that up.”

She frowned and he lifted his hand, touched her forehead
lightly as if he could brush it away. “What makes you think I love my job?”

His turn to frown. “You do. Didn’t you say?” She shook her
head. “Don’t you? The way you are with Jimmy…how could you do that and not love
what you do?”

“It’s not the job,” she said. “It’s Jimmy.”

She sighed and her breasts moved again. He couldn’t help but
notice, and neither could his cock.

He gathered the duvet over him so she wouldn’t notice. He
couldn’t sideline the conversation like this, not until he knew for sure what
she meant.

“I never have loved it, although I tried to. I went to uni
and did the course I found easiest, social studies. It was interesting, and I
enjoyed it, and it meant I could still do my music. I joined a few folk clubs,
and doing a degree I didn’t have to work too hard at meant I could please my
parents and keep up with the music. When I left, jobs were scarce, even then,
and I worked for the local council. It paid, and it was better than sitting
behind a desk for forty hours a week.” A flicker of a smile touched her lips.
“But my heart was never in it. I tried, I did, and sometimes it worked, like
with your father.

“But meeting Jimmy showed me what I was missing. Although
he’s done too much, seen too much, he showed me the freedom I never reached
for. What I do, it’s a job. I’m not particularly skilled. There are people much
better than I am. And the paperwork, and the way management dicked us around
made me completely pissed. I don’t want to do it anymore, Zazz. You and your
father showed me what taking a chance could do. All of it, good and bad, and I
want it.”

“I could still be performing on the street and sleeping in
dives,” he pointed out.

“You’d still have been happier than me.”

He hooked a finger under her chin. “Hey, don’t underestimate
poverty. It grinds you down.”

“I know.” Willingly she leaned forward and they exchanged
their morning kiss, short but tender. They stayed close, close enough for him
to see the flecks in her eyes that made them glitter like precious gems. “But I
want to try it. See what I can do. Even if I never get commercial success, I
want to do it. I’ll never have another chance.”

He banded his arms around her waist. “You have to work hard.
If you do this, I’ll work you harder than you can imagine. So will Chick. Talent
is one thing, but you have to learn.” His mind raced, going through the stages
she’d have to reach. “We’ll still have to spend time apart, sometimes. You’re
not a part of Murder City Ravens, never will be.”

She nodded her agreement. Her music didn’t lend itself to
the treatment the band would give it. They both understood that. “So you’ll
have to do your own appearances, maybe a string of concerts. But if Chick and
Beverley can coordinate us, that will help. We’ll buy houses and apartments in
the main places where we live. I’m sick of hotels.” He laughed. “Never thought
I’d hear myself say that. I have a flat in London and I want to buy one here,
so I can visit my dad. Not the old flat, somewhere decent. And New York and
Chicago. At the least. Maybe San Francisco.” Her eyes sparkled, then dimmed.

“But won’t that cost a fuck of a lot of money?”

“We’ll call it investing in property,” he said. “The fact
that we live in the apartments makes it okay. Maybe we’ll look into doing short-term
letting or something. Fuck, I don’t know. I want to be with you, Laura. I’d
have flown to you whenever I could. Already decided I wanted us to be together
no matter what. If you wanted to carry on working here, then so be it.”

Wonder infused her beloved face. “You mean it?”

“After two years, yes, I mean it. And I mean this too.” He
paused and kissed her, not releasing her until he’d rendered her breathless.
“You can think about this while you’re at work today. Will you marry me,
Laura?”

She stilled, her hands resting on him. “What?”

“I love you. I want to marry you. I can’t imagine my life
without you in it. So I’m asking. As soon as possible, no second thoughts, no
hesitation. Do you love me enough to take a chance like that?”