See You in My Dreams: Speed, Book 1 (11 page)

“So you didn’t get any fillings?” Kaz asked.

“Not one. He gave my mouth a clean bill of health.” She flashed them her teeth as proof.

“Hmm,” Tasha murmured.

“Hmm, what?”

“Hmm, then how do you explain the swollen lips?”

Sophie pressed her hand to her mouth
. Nathan’s mouth-watering, mind-blowing, heart-melting kisses.

She gave a nonchalant shrug. “Probably all those instruments dentists stick in your mouth.” They’d reached the door closest to their seats. Sophie rustled through her purse to find the envelope of tickets.

Kaz stared at her thoughtfully and suddenly gave a shrewd grin.

Shoot. The woman was all too intuitive.

“Talking about sticking instruments in your mouth—”

Sophie cut her off with a victorious cry. “Here they are.” She produced the envelope as if by magic from her bag. “We can go in now.” She made a production about handing the tickets to the usher, effectively halting any further comments or questions from her insightful friend.

Didn’t stop Tasha’s face from lighting up as Kaz nudged her in the ribs. “Oh my God, Soph! You slept with your dentist?”

Sophie chose not to answer. She peered instead into the almost-packed-to-capacity arena. Hell. Their seats were so far from the stage, she was thankful for the massive screens that had been hung above it. It was the only way they’d be getting any close-ups of the band.

The usher took advantage of Sophie’s temporary silence. “Um, I’m sorry to interrupt, ladies, but there’s an issue with your seats.”

All three women stared at him.

“What do you mean?” Tasha asked slowly.

The usher shifted from one foot to the other. “They’re, uh, taken.”

“Taken?” Kaz repeated.

“Yes. They’re already occupied.” He looked nervously from one woman to the next.

“What?” No way. Sophie’d spent a veritable fortune on the tickets. Even worse, she’d left the heat of Nathan’s arms to be here. No way was some usher going to tell her the seats she’d coveted since forever were taken.

He grabbed a walkie-talkie from his hip. “Look, let me get this sorted out. Won’t be a minute.” He turned around and spoke into the radio.

Sophie resisted biting her nails. She had to hear Jamie Speed sing
Loving Eyes
in person. Had to find out if his voice would affect her as much live as it did on her iPod. Or in the same way Nathan’s had this afternoon.

Goosebumps trailed the length of her spine.

“Soph, are you sure you got those tickets from a reliable source?” The worry was evident in Tasha’s eyes.

So sure she’d stake her life on it. “I was on the Ticketek site the second they opened to the public for booking. I got those tickets legitimately.”

Tense moments passed before someone approached. His confident stride and no-nonsense attitude told Sophie this was a man in charge. He spoke quickly to the usher—who nodded, eyes agog, and returned to his position by the door.

The man faced the three women. “Good evening, ladies.” His American accent was immediately noticeable. “I’m sorry to do this to you, but it seems there’s been a mix-up with your tickets.”

Tasha was the first to respond. “What kind of a mix-up, exactly?”

“They were double-booked.”

Nooooo.

“It’s not a problem,” he said quickly, “I’ll find you alternative seating. If you’ll just follow me?”

Sophie faltered. It was pointless arguing. She’d wait to see what kind of alternative seating they came up with before she objected. Their B Reserve seats weren’t all that fantastic to begin with.

She looked over at her friends. Kaz was staring at the man, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. Tasha had tensed up as though ready for a fight. Sophie raised her hand and shrugged.
Wait
, she told them silently.

Tash nodded and backed down. Kaz blinked.

The man smiled at her. A really lovely, warm smile—which struck Sophie as odd under the circumstances. “This way, please.” He led them all the way back down the jam-packed flight of stairs and halfway around the massive, bustling stadium before opening a door clearly marked,
No Entry.

Instinctively Sophie stopped. No way was she following a strange man through a door marked
No Entry
into a place unknown. No matter how lovely the man’s smile, and no matter how deep in conversation he and Kaz seemed to be.

Then noises filtered through her paranoia. The strum of a guitar, the strain of a sax. And voices. Thousands and thousands of voices. Sophie stuck her head around the door—and gasped.

No longer were they miles away from the stage. Now, if Sophie reached her hand out far enough, she’d be able to touch it. Meters away, musicians from the supporting act warmed up, much to the delight of the forty thousand or so fans.

Astonished, Sophie looked up at the man who’d led them here.

He looked right back at her with his beautiful smile. “Front-row seats okay with you?”

Kaz squealed. Tasha laughed.

“You’re kidding, right?” It had to be a joke. Things like this never just happened to her. Someone was pulling a fast one. Had to be.

He shook his head and said solemnly, “We never joke about the front row.” The man led them around the massive crowds of people in the standing-room-only section, towards the VIP seats in the center of the floor. “See the three seats in the middle? Those are yours.”

“But—”

Sophie’s objection was cut off. “Look, the mistake was ours. We double-booked your tickets, and the concert is completely sold out. This is the only alternative seating we could come up with on the spur of the moment. Please, accept our apologies and take the seats.”

If Sophie were a gambler she’d have put money on the odds that no one had ever refused this man anything when he smiled.

And as simply as that, Sophie found herself sitting front-row center of the football field with her two friends at the only concert she’d splurged money on, ever. Above her the late-afternoon sun twinkled merrily in the sky.

“Just doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head.

Still laughing, Tasha sat beside her. “Don’t question it. Just thank your lucky stars and enjoy the show.”

“I’d rather thank him,” Kaz said, sitting next to Tasha. Her cheeks were still flushed. “Personally. Did you get a load of how gorgeous he is?”

“Gorgeous and gay,” Tasha said.

Kaz looked indignant. “He is not.”

Tasha shook her head. “Sorry, Kaz, but I doubt you’re his type.”

Kaz folded her arms. “My gaydar is
never
wrong. Tell her, Soph.”

Sophie nodded. “Definitely gay. But gorgeous nevertheless. With a beautiful smile. Still doesn’t explain why we’re in the front row.”

The supporting act began to play. The crowd whistled and cheered but only gave the aspiring band half of their attention. They were waiting for the real deal.

Kaz and Tasha ribbed Sophie about her dentist, making seriously bad jokes about drillings and new meanings of
root
canal treatment. Sophie simply hugged her afternoon delights to herself, reliving every minute in her head. For two glorious days, Nathan had been hers. She’d spent hours having wonderful, hot, sensual, uninhibited sex with a stranger she’d only dreamed about.

And in the process, she’d fallen in love with Nathan. Her dream man she’d never see again.

The first few bars of
Speed
’s current number-one hit blared from the speakers, effectively cutting off any further deliberation. The crowd went ballistic. Sophie and her friends surged to their feet as first Jordan and then Jonah Speed ran to the front of the stage. Jordan pulled the strap of his guitar over his shoulders, and Jonah sat behind his drums.

Girls shrieked. Men whistled. The applause was deafening, the sound riotous and exhilarating. Sophie threw her head back and laughed with glee. She stood in the front row at a
Speed
concert with her two best friends. So close was she to the stage she could see the trademark brilliance of the two Speed brothers’ green eyes.

As Jordan strummed his first note and Jonah beat his drums for the first time, Jamie Speed’s voice flooded the arena.

A shiver swept through Sophie’s body, sending hot chills up her spine.

She closed her eyes and listened, letting Jamie’s voice flow through her, smooth as whiskey. Dear Lord, it was difficult to hear it and not think of Nathan. Of the velvety timbre of his voice rasping over her breasts and her belly and lower. Difficult to stem the rush of desire that flooded her veins.

A cacophony of musical instruments beat through her body, and the exquisites tones of Jamie’s voice sang to her soul. Sophie opened her eyes again, and there, standing on the stage alongside his brothers, spotlighted by the setting sun, was Jamie Speed.

Sophie froze.

The breath left her lungs in a whoosh.

She stared at him, open-mouthed. God, he didn’t just look like Nathan, he could be Nathan!

No, impossible. He couldn’t.

Sophie chastised herself for being a fool. Of course he couldn’t be Nathan. They were two different people.

The last time she’d seen Nathan, he’d been naked, his longish blond hair mussed from their lovemaking, and the whiskers on his chin had scraped her cheek as he’d given her that one final kiss goodbye.

Jamie wore a pair of faded Levi’s and a trendy, white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. His cheeks and chin were clean-shaven and his light brown hair neatly trimmed to frame his beautiful face. His mouth was half hidden by the microphone.

Sophie didn’t need a clear view to see his lips were delectably full and lusciously kissable. Just like Nathan’s.

Exactly like Nathan’s.

So much like Nathan’s that when Jamie dropped the mike from his face, Sophie’s heart smashed against her ribs. Her legs wobbled, her knees buckled and she collapsed back into her seat.

It’s not Nathan. You know it’s not.

Logic told her it couldn’t be. Instinct told her just the opposite.

The eyes were too different. Jamie’s were impossibly green, Nathan’s nut-brown.

She stared at Jamie, watched him dance and sing, watched him seduce the crowd, flirt, throw his head back. Watched him lift his head again, look straight at her and smile.

Dear God.

Jamie Speed had just smiled Nathan’s smile. At her.

Her heart skipped a beat. Or ten.

Impossible. He wasn’t smiling at her. He wasn’t even looking at her. And if he was, it had to be a coincidence. No way would he be able to pick her out from a crowd of forty thousand.

Then why did she feel his gaze all the way down to her toes? Why did his smile send a million shivers across her skin? Why did he…

…blow me a kiss?

No! He didn’t. Hadn’t. She was imagining it. Going crazy.

Tasha grabbed her arm. “Fuck, Soph. Jamie just blew you a kiss.”

“Nathan,” Sophie whispered.

“What?” Tasha asked.

Sophie just shook her head and stared at the stage, her heart pounding frantically.

Could it be?

Impossible! No way. Not in a million years. Nathan and Jamie? The same person? No.

Yes!

Fuck, how did she reconcile what her body knew with what her brain told her?

Could the man up there possibly be the same one she’d shared an afternoon of decadent sex with? Brown eyes didn’t suddenly turn green. The rough look didn’t just become smooth.

On second thought, a look could change. In minutes. A razor and a pair of scissors could alter someone’s style completely. A dressy shirt and jeans in place of… Well, a dressed body instead of a nude one, and hey, presto. Someone else altogether.

Still didn’t explain the eyes, though.

It did explain the front-row seats. Kind of.

“Soph? Hey?” Someone shook her arm. “You okay?”

Dazed, she continued to stare at Jamie. No, Nathan. Uh-uh. Impossible. Jamie.

And Jamie continued to stare back at her. Even as he wooed the crowd with his tempestuous dance moves and silken voice, he looked at her.

“Soph? What is it? What’s the problem?” Tasha yelled.

Oh, heavens, she’d watched him twist his hips like that before. Hell, she’d had a private showing of the move. Her mouth had been wrapped around his dick as he’d rocked erotically back and forth against her, his deep, rasping moans filling her ears.

“Sophie. Answer me. What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Finally Tasha’s anxious shaking stabbed through her shock. “Not a g-ghost.” She stuttered. “M-my dentist.”

“Your dentist?” Tasha screamed above the noise of the crowd. “He’s here? Where?”

“Right… There.” Sophie pointed one shaky finger at the stage.

Jamie pointed back at her. And smiled his trademark dazzling smile. Nathan’s smile.

“Huh?” Tasha sounded confused. Then she shrieked. “
What?
Your dentist is Jamie Speed?”

“No.” Sophie took in the width of his beautiful shoulders. Shoulders she’d nestled into after they’d made love. “My dentist is Nathan Pace.” Nathan
James
Pace.

Jamie blew her another kiss and danced across the stage to sing with his brother. One song flowed into another and then another. The brothers took turns welcoming the crowd, flirting and joking with their fans, whipping them up into a frenzy of thunderous applause. As one song finished and another began, the tempo and the beat changed and then changed again. The band performed, the fans screamed. And Sophie sat, frozen in her seat, utterly stunned and totally beguiled. She’d spent the afternoon making love with the lead singer of the hottest group on the planet.

No wonder he’d seemed familiar. Any woman with half a brain cell would recognize The World’s Sexiest Man.

Any woman except her. Obviously.

Well, she had kind of recognized him. Had even compared him to Jamie, but he’d laughed, changed the subject. And she’d put her sense of familiarity down to the fact that she knew him from her dreams.

Sophie mentally slapped her forehead.
Duh!
Could there be a bigger, blinder fool?

She wondered if dreams about sex with a superstar had any significant symbolism. Oddly enough, she’d never thought to check before now.