I run my fingers through his hair then down toward the scruff on his jaw. He looks up at me, and the heat in his eyes is almost enough to send me flying over the edge of desire and need.
He trails kisses down further, and when he gets to the top of my jeans, he pops the button and pulls down the zipper. He looks up at me from down there, his eyes hooded and dark, a little sly smile playing at his lips, and then he helps me out of my jeans and panties so I’m lying on the bed naked.
He dives face first into me, and oh dear God he knows what he’s doing with that magic tongue of his.
He licks through me before dipping his tongue inside me, and then he lavishes my clit with extra attention. I tug at his hair and squeeze my legs and lose all control of the volume of my moans as he sends me into oblivion. White speckles dot my vision, and my eyes squeeze shut as I allow the pleasure to take hold of my body.
Waves of bliss surge through me, and when it starts to subside, he pulls back. He grabs a condom from his pocket and rolls it on, and then he steps out of his jeans and boxers and walks lazily over to me, his erection pointing straight up at the ceiling and his abs practically shimmering in the light.
He moves over me and hovers there for a beat, and then he pulls me up. He sits on the bed and positions me over him, and I slide down right onto him. We both groan at the feel of each other, familiar once again and yet somehow brand new all over again.
And then he guides the pace from the bottom. I cling on around his neck as he takes me for the ride of my life, bouncing me up and down over him, both of us lost in the feel and the emotions and each other.
He kisses me, and then he lowers his face to my breasts again. He grunts a few more times and pushes up hard into me before he lets go, and just as he starts to slow his pace, he thumbs my clit a few times and sends me into my own second release.
We collapse beside one another for a few beats. He gets up to take care of the condom, and I clean up too, and then I click off the light. We lie together quietly for a while, my head on his chest in the dark hotel room.
Just when I think he’s fallen asleep, he whispers into the darkness the few words that somehow completely encapsulate exactly what I’m feeling.
“This is too damn good not to figure out how to make it work.”
He’s right.
We will figure it out. It’s too important not to.
But first...I have some pretty big news that we haven’t even gotten to quite yet, and I have no idea how my future career might throw a wrench into our best laid plans.
CHAPTER 61: GAGE
“What’s it like being in MFB?” she asks softly.
It’s dark in here, and it sort of feels like midnight confessions. I want to be honest...but I also want to be sensitive to what she might be feeling.
I figured this would come up sooner or later. I’m not sure how to answer as a sense of tense awkwardness falls between us.
It’s been fucking awesome.
It’s been a goddamn dream.
It’s been amazing how easily I’ve fallen into a routine like I’ve been there forever.
But the band is on hiatus. There isn’t much action just yet even though they’ve basically initiated me into their covenant.
“I, uh...” I trail off as I try to find the words. “It’s been fine. Mostly signing contracts and getting to know the guys. Trying to find my place. That sort of thing.”
“I don’t know if I really said this, but congratulations,” she says.
I press a kiss to the top of her head. I wish I could see her, see her eyes and try to figure out what she’s thinking.
“You deserved it,” she says. “It was obvious that you were the better fit, and I told the guys that in my interview.”
“You what?” I ask.
She nods. “I told them they should choose you.”
I laugh.
“What?” she asks, and she leans up to look at me even though it’s pretty dark and all we can really see are silhouettes and shadows.
“I told them to choose you. I said that you were the better musician. That they should choose you over me.”
She laughs, too, and she presses a kiss to my neck as she settles back into my arms. “It’s like the gift of the magi.”
“The what?”
“You know, that old story where the woman sells her hair to buy a chain for the guy’s watch, and the guy sells his watch to buy combs for her hair. Where they each sacrifice something they love because they love the other person more.”
I let those words settle between us.
They each sacrifice something they love because they love the other person more.
Does she feel that strongly about me? I guess she does since she told them to choose me.
And do I feel that strongly about her? I think the answer’s the same.
“It didn’t matter what either of us said in that room,” I say, and that’s something I adamantly believe. I say the words tenderly, though, and I run my fingers through her silky hair. “They were going to come to their own decision regardless.”
“I agree with you. And just to be crystal clear, I have no hard feelings toward you or them. They found what they were looking for in you.” She draws rings on my chest.
“It’s funny, because I found something I wasn’t looking for in you.”
“Oh?” she asks, sitting up a little again. “And what’s that, exactly?”
I chuckle, and I urge her over so she’s straddling me again. I thrust my hips toward her, and she lets out a little moan, and fuck a man could get used to this.
“I found everything I never knew I was missing.” My voice is soft but passionate. “I found a partner and a teammate. I found a feisty, challenging, beautiful woman who I admire in so many ways.”
“I love you, Gage Hoffman,” she murmurs, and then her mouth crashes down to mine before I pinch her nipple and I slide a finger into her hot, wet cunt.
We’re both spent by the time we’re finished with that round, and I’m about to fall asleep when she flicks on the light sitting on the bedside table. I squint as the little dim light has about the same effect as standing outside in the bright-ass Vegas sun.
“I need to tell you something,” she begins.
I raise a brow.
She clears her throat and takes a deep breath. “I, uh, didn’t exactly walk away the big loser when they announced you as the winner.”
I sit up a little and pull the sheet so it’s covering my dick, which is inexplicably getting hard again. My brows push together. “I never pegged you as a big loser, but what are you talking about?”
“Ashmark wants to branch over into country music, and they want me to be the first artist on their roster in that division.”
“What?” I say dumbly.
“They offered me a recording contract. They said I could bring my band along, or they’d find a band for me, but I’ll be the name on the marquee and I’ll be the voice behind the songs.”
“Holy shit, Lex!” I practically yell. “That’s fucking amazing!”
Her face lights up as she grins. “I know!”
I chuckle, and I grab her into a hug. “Congratulations, Nashville. You deserve it. You’re so goddamn talented and I can’t wait to stand by your side as I watch you soar.”