The beauty series bundle, p.38
The Beauty Series Bundle, page 38
It’s time for the show to begin and I’m amazed by the congestion of people who’ve gathered to hear Southern Ophelia. These people are waiting to hear my girl sing, and it dawns on me just how fast she’s risen to the top. She isn’t becoming a star; she already is one.
I’m not sure where that leaves me in her life. I’m certain it must’ve been much easier to love me and toy with the idea of staying in Australia when she had nothing waiting on her at home, but that’s not the case now. She has all of this—a band with people depending on her and a career with fans.
I watch the floor crowd as Laurelyn and her band members perform, and something becomes very clear to me: this is still only a small portion of the stardom in her future, and it scares the hell out of me. I’m terrified she’ll love the glitz and glamour of this life and ultimately choose it over me. I want Laurelyn to have every bit of success she deserves because I love her, but not at the expense of our life together. That’s why I must use the next month to show her why she should choose us over this life. If that makes me a selfish bastard, then it just does. I can live with that as long as she’s with me and not nine thousand miles away.
It looks like Charlie has backed off Laurelyn tonight. He isn’t eye-fucking her as they sing, so I guess he got the message. I can’t knock the guy for trying, though. She is one hell of a catch.
When they finish playing what I think is the last song, the blokes leave the stage and Laurelyn takes a seat on a stool under the spotlight. She winks in my direction as she strums some chords on her Martin and leans toward the microphone. “I wrote this next song during an extremely dark time in my life. I had just parted ways with the man I loved and thought we’d never see each other again. It’s about the things I’d say to him if he ever came back to me. Well, he finally did, and this song is for him. It’s called ‘Loved by You.’”
We were complete strangers
Brought together by fate’s hand.
You were a powerful tide
Rushing over me in the sand.
You pulled me into you
From the safety of the shore
And what I thought I wanted
Became so much more.
Now I just want to be wanted by you.
And I just want to be needed by you.
My heart just pleads to be loved by you.
In the roughest of waters
I happily drowned in you
And in the calm of the storm
My love for you grew.
But now you’re choosing
To let me go
And it grows harder every day
To not let the pain show.
‘Cause I just want to be wanted by you.
And I just want to be needed by you.
My heart just pleads to be loved by you.
My heart is slowly
Counting down the days
Each one bringing us closer
To our parting ways.
And I worry about
How I’ll move on
When you’re the reason
Behind my every song.
‘Cause I just want to be wanted by you.
And I just want to be needed by you.
My heart just pleads to be loved by you.
Laurelyn finishes and mouths, “I love you,” before she kisses her fingers and holds her hand out in my direction. It’s completely juvenile but it doesn’t stop me from reaching out as if to catch her kiss and bring it to my lips. I look like a pussy, but what can I say? Love makes you do silly things and catching an air kiss would definitely fall under that category.
“Dude, did she just blow that kiss to you?”
I’ve sat by this guy the entire show without even looking at him until now. “Yeah, she did. And now I’m going to go get a real one.”
I see the surprise in his eyes and it reinforces for me the huge star they see when they look at Laurelyn. “Wow. The singer for Southern Ophelia is your girlfriend? That must rock.”
Girlfriend doesn’t feel like the right word for what she is to me. “She’s much more than my girlfriend.”
“Cool. Tell her it was an awesome show.”
I walk to the spot where she told me to meet her after and she’s there, waiting as promised. I pull her close and kiss the side of her face. “Baby, you just keep amazing me.”
“Did you like it?”
I assume she means the song she sang for me. “Like it? Hell… I love it.”
“You know I wrote it about you. I mean every word.”
“I know. And that’s how I feel about you too. Let’s go back to the room so I can show you how much.”
She makes a face that tells me it’s a no-go. “The band always meets up after each performance to discuss any kinks from the show. I have to go to Charlie’s room. It never lasts more than fifteen minutes max. Will you come with me? I want you to meet the guys.”
Fuck, no, I don’t want to go to Charlie’s room but even more, I don’t want Laurelyn going without me. “Sure, if that’s what you want.”
I think I feel my testosterone level surging as I approach the room where I’ll meet the blokes Laurelyn has been closest to for the past three months. Knowing that one of them has a thing for her doesn’t do much for calming my instinctual caveman tendencies to make sure he knows she’s mine and not for his taking.
Laurelyn stops before we go inside and places her hands on each side of my face. “You’re tense but you shouldn’t be. These guys are like brothers to me.”
I think she forgets I have a sister and I’ve never considered kissing her like what I saw last night. “There’s only one of them who makes me uptight, and he’s the one I saw kissing you.”
She strokes her hands down my cheeks until they’re on my jawline. She runs her fingers over my slight beard. “You have to let that go.”
Easier said than done. “He and I will get along just fine as long as he backs off.”
“He already has, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Right?”
She uses her hands to turn my head from side to side involuntarily. “Say, ‘No, Laurelyn. There isn’t going to be any problem with Charlie.’”
“No, Laurelyn. There isn’t going to be any problem with Charlie.” She takes her hands from my face and I add, “As long as he keeps his hands off you.”
She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head. “Come on. Let’s get this over with so you can see that there is no threat.”
The band members are sitting around talking when we enter Charlie’s room, but they all come to full attention when they see I’m with Laurelyn. “Hey, y’all. This is Jack, and I wanted to bring him by to meet you because you’ll be seeing a lot of him for the next several weeks.”
Their manager, Randy, is the first to introduce himself. Then PJ and Ryan. Charlie hangs back last. At first I think it’s because he’s measuring me up, but then he’s on his feet to offer his hand and I don’t sense any type of confrontation. “Laurelyn has told me a lot about you, so it’s good to finally meet you.”
If I had it on my mind to be a wanker, I could construe his words into code for something else—like maybe Laurelyn telling him a lot about me means that she’s confided in him or perhaps he’s pointing out that it’s finally nice to meet me because I haven’t been around. I don’t think either of these are the case. He’s looking me in the eye, man to man, and he doesn’t give me the Ben vibe at all.
“Good to meet you as well, mate.”
“Our girl did good tonight, didn’t she?”
Surprise—that’s what I feel at myself for not being the least bit offended by hearing Charlie refer to Laurelyn as our girl, as if she’s partially his. I would’ve lost it all together if I’d ever heard Ben call her that to my face. “Yes. She’s rather amazing.”
Time gets away from us and we end up hanging out for much longer than fifteen minutes. I don’t mind because they all, surprisingly, turn out to be pretty cool. I’d expected to be anxious to get out of there, but it ends up being Laurelyn coaxing me to leave because it’s late and she’s tired.
It’s not until we leave that I realize Laurelyn’s room—our room—is next door. I’ve been cool with everything else, but I don’t like this. She slides the keycard in and then out for the green access light. “This is the last time we stay next to any of them.”
We’re entering the room when she says, “They always group us together. Why is it a problem as long as we’re not sharing?”
The door shuts and I scoop her over my shoulder to carry her to the bed. I toss her playfully onto her back. “Because we don’t fuck soft and quiet. We fuck hard and loud.”
“And you don’t want to embarrass me by having them hear us going at it?”
Embarrassment wasn’t what I had in mind. “Put it this way: I’m not really interested in any of them wanking off to the sounds of us fucking in the next room.”
She scrunches her nose. “Eww.”
“Exactly. If they hear some of the sounds you make, there’s no hope they’ll ever look at you again without visualizing what you were doing while you made that noise. Trust me when I say it’s best if this is the last time we bunk down so closely.”
As I untuck my shirt from my pants and reach for my top button, Laurelyn scrambles to her purse on the bed. “Wait. I have an idea.” She reaches inside and takes out her phone. “And we need the right kind of music for it.” A song begins to play and she grins devilishly as she says, “’Addicted’ by Saving Abel is perfect for what you’re about to do for me.”
“And what am I about to do for you?”
She scoots to the head of the bed and sits against the headboard. “You’re gonna do a striptease for me while I watch.”
Me doing the stripping would be a new one for us. “I am?”
“Yeah… you are. I’ve done it for you every time you’ve asked—and numerous times when you didn’t. Now, I’m asking, and you’re doing.”
I’m pretty certain I better not say no if I ever want to see her dance again, so I start to move to the music as I begin to unbutton my shirt. “You better have some bills ready for me, baby.”
Chapter Thirteen
Laurelyn Prescott
I didn’t expect him to go along with dancing for me—at least not without a debate. I’m surprised he agreed so easily—maybe a little too easily—but I don’t care. He looks so damn hot doing it… like, flaming hot.
He turns his back on me and I watch as he moves perfectly with the music, wiggling out of his white button-down and tossing it over his shoulder. It lands on my legs so I lift it to my nose. It smells delicious, just like him.
His hands are on the back of his neck as he thrusts his pelvis forward with the song’s tempo. All I can see from the back is the motion of his beautiful ass, and I imagine the way it looks when he’s thrusting it between my legs.
He spins to face me and puts his palms on his chest. He glides them down as he rotates his hips in a circular motion to the music. When his hands get to the crotch of his pants, he holds them out to use as a wall to bump and grind against.
“Ooh, I like that.”
He laughs as he says, “You’ll like it a lot better when I’m between your legs doing it.”
His promise sends a rush of heated desire straight to the area he’s talking about. “Bite your lip for me while you do it.” He smirks but does as I tell him. “Mmm, that’s hot, but I think it’s time for you to come out of those pants. You’re overdressed for a stripper.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says. He reaches for the fly. “Anything for you.”
He kicks off his shoes and then slides his jeans down without his boxer briefs. I think it’s the first time I ever remember one going down without the other, but this is all about the tease and prolonging it to make me crazy with desire. So far, it’s highly successful.
When he’s down to only his boxer briefs, I see the proof of how turned on he is. When he sees me notice, he smirks and slowly slides his underwear down over his hard-on before he kicks them over next to his pants. He puts his hands on the back of his head and thrusts his hips to the music as the bites his lip again. “I’m the only one not overdressed here.”
“I think you’re right,” I agree as I rise to my knees and pull my dress over my head. I’m kneeling on the bed wearing only my pink lace bra and matching panties. “Better?”
“You’re gettin’ there.”
I reach behind my back and unfasten my bra. I let the straps slide down my arms as I hold the cups in place, and his eyes smolder as he waits for the rest to drop. He watches my every motion as I finally free my breasts from their entrapment.
“Have I ever told you how beautiful your breasts are?”
I shake my head as I crawl to the edge of the bed. “No.”
He takes them in his palms once I’m within reach and rubs his thumbs over my nipples. “They’re perfect in every way. Everything about you is.”
He pulls me closer and kisses my neck in the bend where it meets my shoulder. “I’m not perfect.”
He moves his mouth lower and is about to take my nipple into his mouth when he looks up to meet my eyes. “You are to me.”
I glide my fingers through his thick hair as I feel his tongue running circles around my nipple. His hand caresses my other breast while his thumb mimics the motion of his tongue. I drop my head back and a moan escapes as I arch closer to his mouth.
His palm leaves my breast and I feel each of his hands on my hips pushing the waistband of my panties down. I lift one knee at a time and he slides the pink lace down my calves and over my feet. After he flings them to the floor, I wrap my arms over his shoulders and he lifts me off the bed. I wrap my legs around him but he quickly lowers me onto my back while he remains standing next to the bed. He lifts my feet to hook my knees over his shoulders, grasps my hips, and tugs them until his face is between my legs. I know what he’s about to do, but he’s never done it like this. And I’m excited about seeing how this goes.
His hand is splayed open across my stomach and it wanders a path up between my breasts. I feel the rhythm of his warm breath between my legs. It ignites waves of tingles and I can’t stop my innate reaction to squirm in anticipation. “Someone knows what’s coming to her and I think she’s getting a little anxious.”
Anxious is an understatement. Desperate would be a more suitable term for what I’m feeling. “I’m going to scream if you don’t put your mouth on me.”
“You say you’ll scream if I don’t. I say you’ll scream if I do,” he teases. His eyes never leave mine as his tongue makes one slow sweep up my center. He licks his lips and says, “Always so sweet. I love to taste the sugar below your waist.”
Oh, my. He’s in the dirty talk mode. That means he’s gonna make me orgasm even faster.
“You need something to sweeten that filthy mouth of yours.”
“You love my vulgar mouth—especially when it does this.” He presses it against me and I feel the suction of his mouth right where I need it most. He alternates licking and sucking, leaving me with an intense, divine pleasure. Each time he brings me incredibly close to the edge, he somehow senses I’m on the verge and reels me back. It’s like being in the middle of a euphoric tug-of-war, and it’s one of the most splendid things I’ve ever experienced. And frustrating because he isn’t letting me come.
“Aah… aah… you’re doing that on purpose.”
“What am I doing on purpose?” He says it like he’s so innocent and has no idea what I mean.
“You know what you’re doing. You’re keeping me from coming.”
He cuts his eyes up at me. “So, you’re ready to get off?”
“Yes,” I say so low, it comes out like a whisper. I am desperate.
“Then say it—from one filthy mouth to another—tell me what you want me to do to make you come and I’ll do it.”
He’s holding my orgasm hostage so he can get what he wants. “You love to hear dirty things come out of my mouth. It turns you on, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. I fucking love it. I especially go crazy when I hear you tell me what you want me to do to you.”
Okay. He was being honest with me, so I should do it. It’s something he likes and I want him to be pleased. By telling him what I want, I’m pleased too, so I slide my hand down between my legs and touch myself. “I want you to suck me right here until the only thing I can do is scream because I’m coming so hard.”
“That was so hot, baby. I’m about to blow your fucking mind.”
I reach for the top of his hair and pull his face down. “Then fuck me with your mouth and don’t stop again until you make me scream.”
I can’t believe I said that. Until I feel his mouth obeying my orders and I know I did. “Oh… oh… oh, that feels so damn good but use your fingers. I want to feel it inside and out.” One—and then two—of his fingers begin to slide in and out of me. He’s sucking hard enough to leave a hickey on the top of my girlie parts and I’m so close to orgasming, I think my eyes have rolled back in my head. I clench a handful of his hair and yank a little. “Oh… ah… fuuuuck!” I scream as he puts the Dyson vacuum suction on my quim.
My entire body tenses as I feel those quivers inside me. Oh, how I have missed those Jack Henry-issued quivers. Nothing compares to them. Believe me—me, myself, and I have tried.
I relax my tense muscles as Jack Henry lowers my legs from his shoulders. “Damn, baby. Everybody on this floor, including the one above and below, heard you come undone.”
“I’m too blissed out to care,” I tell him as I scoot away from the edge of the bed. I grab him behind his neck to take him with me; I don’t want to go a single second without feeling his body pressed against mine.
He falls against me roughly as my back hits the mattress. “Sorry,” he apologizes as I reach for his ass and slap both of my hands down before I squeeze his cheeks and pull him hard between my legs. “What’s gotten into you?”
I’m rubbing my girlie parts against his not-so-girlie parts. “I’m hoping it’ll be you that’s gotten into me.”
