Taming the Country Star: A Hometown Heroes Novella (Entangled Bliss) (6 page)

Cole stared in fascination as the herd passed by. Their horns stretched out to the side, then curved up into sharp points that swayed left to right with each steer’s motion. The animals’ coats were slightly dusty, brown and white, some speckled, others solid.

He could have reached out to touch them as they moved down the street. At the last minute, he remembered to pull his phone out of his pocket and snap pictures.

“Wow. They’re bigger than I expected,” he said.

Kylie laughed. “I thought you grew up in Texas. Haven’t you ever seen a longhorn before?”

Cole shook his head. “Not since I was a kid. I thought maybe they’d be smaller than I remembered.” He grinned. “Hey, look. One of the cowboys is stopping. Let’s go talk to him.”

He pulled her across the street toward the drover, who had dismounted and stood holding his horse’s reins. Several families, most of them with small children, stood around him.

Kylie laughed and skipped a few steps to catch up with Cole. At the edge of the small group surrounding the drover, he paused to take a few more pictures.

“Excuse me,” said a woman whose small child had stepped away from the drover. “Could you take a picture of me and my son together?”

He reached out toward the woman without letting go of Kylie.

“Thanks,” the woman said with a smile. But when she saw his face, she gasped and nearly dropped the digital camera she held toward them—only the strap around her wrist saved it from hitting the curb.

“Oh,” she said. “You’re Cole Grayson.”

Cole’s smile tightened, but he kept reaching for the camera. “Still want me to take a picture?” he asked.

“Oh. Yes. Of course,” the woman said, blushing and obviously flustered.

The drover looped the reins over a nearby parking meter so he could move closer to them, and shook Cole’s hand, pumping it furiously. “It’s an honor to meet you,” he said. “Love your music, man. You want to get in the saddle?” He gestured toward the horse.

Cole held his arms out as if pushing the idea away. “No, no, no.” He laughed. “Don’t let the country music fool you. I’m a city boy. Anyway, these folks were here first.”

Realizing that the crowd of people around him was growing, he turned to pull Kylie closer, tucking her into his side protectively as he snapped the picture and passed the camera back to the mother. A little girl, maybe ten or so, tugged on his shirt. “Could I have your autograph?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Sure,” he said, accepting the pen she held out toward him. It took him a minute to figure out how to manage to sign the paper she gave him without letting go of Kylie, but he did it.

After a few more autographs, he disentangled himself from the small crowd and led her down the street. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No. It wasn’t,” she said in a thoughtful tone. They walked a few more steps and she glanced back over her shoulder. “Did you plan that?”

“No. But I’m glad it happened. I was hoping you would get a chance to see what it was like when the paparazzi aren’t around. When it’s only me and the fans.”

Cole could see her pondering that—in fact, she was so deep in thought that she bumped into him when he turned toward a revolving door in the building next to them.

“Wait,” she said, looking up at the glassed-in crosswalk above them. “Where are you taking me?”

“To my hotel room,” Cole replied, taking her by both hands and walking backward with her into the lobby.

Kylie tugged him to a stop, grinning. “Cole Grayson,” she said. “Is this a seduction?”

“Absolutely.”

She frowned, tiny lines appearing between her eyebrows, and the air seemed to solidify around them—he couldn’t move as he waited for her answer.

It was only a moment, he was sure, but it felt like an eternity before she responded.

Inhaling deeply and staring directly into his eyes, Kylie nodded. “Okay, then.” She bit her bottom lip, and her expression—both excited and anxious—skipped right past Cole’s brain and hit his chest, taking his breath away.

He could watch her expressions forever.

So this is what love feels like
.

Odd—he’d made a fortune writing and performing songs about love, but this was the first time he knew, without a doubt, that what he was feeling was forever.

Nothing else matters
.

The tour, the record deals, the performances—none of it was as important as this woman, this moment.

But he would find a way to have it all—and to give her the entire world, if that was what it took to keep her by his side.

They stood together in that breathless, frozen moment, staring into each other’s eyes.

“Let’s go,” Kylie said, and suddenly she was the one pulling him into the hotel.

Chapter Eight

Kylie tried to ignore her trembling as she stepped into the elevator behind Cole. The Worthington was beautiful—she had only ever been inside the luxury hotel once, for a wedding reception. Cole seemed to take the luxury around him for granted, though, smiling at the staff but otherwise ignoring his surroundings.

“Wait here,” he said when they stepped into his suite. Kylie took a seat on the small sofa in the living room area. She could hear Cole’s voice murmuring into the phone, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Nervously, she stood up and paced over to the window. She could see all of downtown, even the top of the building that housed Cowbelles.

“Hey.” Cole slipped his arms around her waist from behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Hi.” Kylie’s voice was soft and quiet.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“It’s only us here, you know.” A knock at the door interrupted him and he laughed. “Well. Us and room service.” He stepped away to answer.

The waiter who brought in a bottle of champagne moved quickly and efficiently, nodding to acknowledge Kylie as he opened the bottle and placed it back in the cooler. When he left, Cole poured two glasses. “I know it’s stereotypical,” he said, shrugging. “But I remembered you liked champagne.” He gave her one of the glasses and she took a sip.

He stared at her over the rim of his own glass, then set it aside, never taking his gaze off hers. Leaning over her, he wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her close.

“I’ve been thinking about this ever since the tour bus rolled past the city limits sign,” he said. Taking her glass away from her and setting it next to his, he swept his fingers down her back while his lips traced her neck. Sighing, she leaned into his kisses as his mouth left a trail of fire across her trembling skin.

Not forever
, she reminded herself, doing a quick internal check. Could she still do “not forever?” Take what he had to offer for as long as he stayed?

More to the point, could she bear to walk away?

No.

Her chest ached, even imagining it.

So did she trust him enough to take
right now
?

Yes
. The answer came instantly.

“You still with me?” he whispered. His breath fluttered across her collarbone, sending hot shivers racing down her back.

Not forever. But definitely right now.

“Absolutely.” Running her palms across his shoulders, she unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it down his arms. He shrugged it off, the muscles of his shoulders rippling under Kylie’s touch. Then he lifted her blouse off over her head and dropped it on the floor.

With another breathy sigh, she pulled him down to kiss her again, letting her hands roam freely up the nape of his neck, across his back, around to his chest, reveling in the contrast between the soft skin and hard muscle, the light rasp of the hair on his chest against her increasingly sensitive fingertips.

“And I’ve been thinking about this since…oh, sometime last year.” She smiled against his mouth.

He huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, okay. I admit it—me, too.”

Reaching behind her, he unhooked her bra, then followed his fingers with his mouth, his tongue tracing circles across her breast, around her areola and the hardened bud at its center. Heat pooled deep in her belly, and she threaded her fingers through his hair.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Not a chance.” He laughed deep in his throat, then captured her mouth with his own, pressing himself against her, claiming every inch of her body with his own. Without breaking the kiss, Cole grasped her by the waist and lifted her to wrap her legs around him. Her skirt bunched up around her waist.

He snugged her against him, and she could feel the hard length of him straining against his jeans, pressing through the thin fabric of her panties. A shudder ran through him, and an answering one fluttered through her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned back barely far enough to look into his eyes. “Now,” she said, jerking her chin toward the suite’s bedroom.

“I don’t remember you being this bossy,” he said, but he smiled and kicked open the slightly ajar door, then settled her on the bed.

Reaching up, she ran her fingers through his hair, reveling in its silky texture. Cole turned his head and caught her thumb between his teeth, then licked it and kissed her palm. She ran the inside of her foot up the back of his leg, then wrapped her own leg around his waist, using it to pull him down closer to her.

Dancing his fingers down her stomach, he pulled her panties aside and slid his thumb against her. His fingertips were calloused from playing his guitar—as he brushed the rough edge against her, she gasped. With a grin, he slid his tongue down her stomach, tracing the same path his hands had taken. Nuzzling into her, he licked and sucked until she bucked against him and cried out, pleasure crashing over her in waves.

God. She had missed him even more than she realized.

And if right now was all she got—if he was going to move on to the next town, the next show, maybe even the next girl—then she was going to hold tight to every second she had with him.

Suddenly impatient to feel him inside her, Kylie pulled open his jeans and pushed them down far enough to reach him, to feel him hot and hard in her light grip.

Opening the bedside table drawer, he snagged a foil package and offered it to her. She unwrapped the condom and unrolled it over him. Then she guided him as he pushed his way gently, slowly into her. Her skirt crumpled between them and the denim of his jeans scuffed against the back of her calf as he began sliding in and out.

The connection between them flared to life as she stared into his eyes, burning through any remaining anxiety she might have had in that moment.

Being with Cole felt right.

More than right.

It was perfect.

With a sigh, she gave herself over to the moment, to his touch and to the way it smoothed away all her worries.

She could lose herself with him.

Or find herself.

Reaching down with his thumb again and pressing against her, he rubbed in circles that matched the increasing tempo of his motions. Kylie could feel him inside her, growing hotter and harder as she matched his rhythm, then increased it.

The peaks of her breasts brushed against his chest, first softly, then harder as he pressed into her. She clasped him against her, pulling him deeper and deeper inside.

He responded by caressing her face, staring deep into her eyes for a long moment. Then Cole’s mouth claimed hers, his tongue flicking against hers, matching the pressure she felt building inside.

Pleasure broke through the pressure and swept over her in waves. She cried out, the sound lost in his mouth. While she gasped and shuddered against him, Cole called her name hoarsely as he too came, pulsing inside her, his own shivers blending with hers.

Afterward, he rested his forehead against hers for a long moment, his long eyelashes casting shadows against his cheeks. She watched the fading light from the window play against the dark shadow of slight stubble against his cheek.

There were no paparazzi here, no reporters, no fans.

Just Cole and Kylie.

So how did that make her feel?

How much did his fame really matter, after all?

Right now…not at all.

She could watch his face forever.

For the first time in almost a year, she felt…peaceful.

When he finally withdrew from her, leaving her body momentarily exposed to the cool air conditioning, Kylie realized they hadn’t even bothered to move the bedspread. She laughed softly, rolling over to her side and brushing the hair out of his eyes. The gesture was remarkably like the one she had barely kept herself from making across his image on the coffee mug a few days earlier.

But much, much nicer in person.

She stretched her arms above her. “I’m going to have to leave soon if I’m going to get dressed up for this party,” she said.

“I’m not letting you out of this room without me,” Cole growled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling him close to her. “And I’m not getting out of bed until I absolutely have to.”

Kylie giggled and pushed ineffectually at his chest. “I can’t go to the reception naked, Cole.”

“Mmm. Naked,” he murmured as he nuzzled her neck. “That sounds good.”

“Cole. Be serious.”

“I am. Clothes on demand—it’s a perk of being rich and famous. I’ve got Billie on it.” He nipped at her shoulder and his lips brushed down, across her stomach. She gasped, and he smiled against her skin. “We have better things to do.”

…

“You ready for this?” Cole asked, squeezing Kylie’s hand in his own as they waited for the hotel elevator.

“Not even a little bit,” Kylie responded. “But I’m doing it anyway.” Fine lines around her mouth showed some of the strain, and Cole brushed a kiss across the corner of her lips. She looked beautiful in a deep-red satin dress.

Billie had done an amazing job picking it out. Of course. And the hotel staffer who had delivered it to the room had been appropriately bland and noncommittal when Cole answered the door in only a pair of jeans.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

“It’s going to be fine,” he said, as much to reassure himself as to make her feel better. It had to be fine. He had been working on pulling the next two days together since he’d left her at the doorstep of Cowbelles after dinner at Azteca—though honestly, Billie was the one to thank for making everything come together so quickly.

“Billie says there probably won’t be photographers outside the hotel, so we’ll be able to get into the limo easily. Once we get to the reception, I’ll get out first. Most of the attention will be on me. Smile and keep walking.”

“Will there be photographers inside?”

“In the main room, yes. But Joey said he’s going to try to have security keep them out of the private party. Billie’s going to be late, so we’ll meet up at the reception.”

She shivered, shaking a little next to him, so he moved his arm up to her waist and snugged her in close to him. “It’ll be okay,” he said.

“How do you ever get used to it?” she asked.

“Masks.” His smile was edged in sadness.

“Seriously, Cole.”

“Seriously? A lot of them are okay—most of the ones who will show up tonight have been invited to photograph the event.”

“And what about the ones who aren’t okay?”

An image of his least favorite tabloid reporter, Stuart Jeffries, flashed through Cole’s mind and he shook it off. He slipped his arm from around her waist and ran it down her arm to clasp her hand again. The elevator door opened, and they stepped out together.

“We learn to ignore those.”

“Like the one who took pictures of us in Cozumel?”

So much for ignoring the thought of Jeffries.

He tugged her to a stop in the lobby. The limo waited outside the revolving door, but he needed to deal with this now, before Kylie got any more anxious.

“Kylie,” he said, gazing deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have done a better job last time of keeping you safe—I didn’t know how much the photographers would bother you. But now that I do, I promise that I will protect you from them. Can you trust me?”

“Yes,” she breathed, and he tightened his arms around her possessively.

If they could make it through this first night in public as a couple, as themselves, even with the press around, he could figure the rest of it out—and then he could keep Kylie with him. Forever.