Authors: Cheryl Douglas
A snap on her shirt had come unbuttoned and he glanced at the swell of her breasts over the cups of her lacy bra. He stifled a primal growl. “Answer me. Did you ever want another man while you were sharing my bed?” He knew he was taking a risk. She could tell him to go to Hell, walk out on him again, but he had to know the truth.
She worked her bottom lip between her teeth. “No, of course not.”
“But you want me now and you’re sharing his bed. What does that tell you?” He knew he was pushing too hard, too fast, but he was suddenly desperate to make her acknowledge they still had a connection. He didn’t know when she planned to marry her fiancé, but something told him he had to act now or risk losing her forever.
She went to the other side of the room to retrieve her purse. She pulled her phone out of an inside pocket and feigned interest in the screen. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to question my relationship.”
He walked toward her, able to read her body language because he knew her so well. Nervous, agitated, definitely aroused. “You’re not sleeping with him, are you?” He saw the truth in her eyes before it was replaced with a flash of anger.
“That’s none of your business.”
He felt like someone had thrown him a lifeline; maybe he still had a prayer of undoing the damage he’d done. “How can you marry a guy without knowing whether you’re compatible in bed?” He grabbed her phone, forcing her to look at him.
“You are such a Neanderthal. Is everything about sex with you?”
He laughed, realizing he’d smiled more in the last hour than he had in weeks. She brought out the best in him, always had. “You have to admit it makes life more interesting.”
She glared at him, clearly not amused. “That may be true for you. Some of us have to be in love with someone before we’re willing to jump into bed.”
Realization dawned as he took a step back, dumbfounded. Was it possible? Had he been her last lover, her only lover? “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I don’t know.” She pretended to scour her purse. “What do you think I’m saying?”
“Sierra, when was the last time you had sex?”
“I’m not going to answer that!”
He smiled, feeling more satisfied than he had when he’d won his first Country Music Award. She could deny it all night long, but he knew she hadn’t given her body to another man because, in her heart, it still belonged to him. “You don’t have to answer the question. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Fine, believe whatever you want. Can I have my phone now? I need to respond to Eric’s text message.”
He felt the weight of despair begin to lift. Maybe it wasn’t too late to reclaim the life he thought he’d lost. Slipping the phone into his breast pocket, he asked, “Why don’t you come over here and get it, sweetheart?”
“You’re such an ass, Trey.” She pulled on the fabric of his shirt, drawing him closer. Her eyes settled on his as her teeth nipped her lower lip.
A knock on the door prevented him from sweeping his tongue across her lower lip, halting her internal battle.
Jimmy poked his head in the door. “Everything okay in here?”
Sierra turned her head and smiled at Jimmy.
Her smile hindered Trey’s breathing. He needed to be the man to make her smile, every day for the rest of her life. Engagement or no engagement, he had to get her back.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, Jimmy. We’ll be out in a minute,” Sierra said.
“See that ya are now. That crowd has swelled to twice the size and they’re gettin’ restless.”
Trey couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wanted her, needed her, now. “We’ll be right there, Jim.”
“Okay.” The door closed behind him with a soft click.
“Sierra, I...”
She pressed her fingertips against his lips. “Don’t, please don’t.” She snatched her phone from his hand before going to the small make-up table in the corner of the room. “Can you give me a minute alone?”
He wanted to object, but he knew he had no choice. “On one condition.”
She glanced at him in the mirror. “What’s that?”
“We finish this conversation before you leave tonight? I have a proposition for you.”
“Your proposition won’t change anything, Trey.”
“We’ll see about that,” he whispered, closing the door behind him.
Trey knew he was going to have to break down Sierra’s defences to get her to agree to his plan. He had something she wanted, and she had something he needed. He just had to make her believe their partnership could be mutually beneficial.
Despite his reckless lifestyle, he had been raised in a strict Baptist home and he lived his life by the moral code he’d learned at his daddy’s knee. Two of the lessons he’d heeded were to be faithful to your woman and never tread into another man’s territory. God help him, he was about to break one of his daddy’s commandments. He didn’t give a damn about Sierra’s fiancé. As far as he was concerned, a man who couldn’t satisfy her in the bedroom didn’t deserve to have her in his bed. The thought of crossing that line wouldn’t have occurred to him with any other woman, but with Sierra, all bets were off. His heart and his gut told him she would always belong to him, just as he would always belong to her. Now he just had to make her believe that. His chest constricted when he saw her making her way to the stage. He loved her now more than ever. It terrified him how much he still wanted her, needed her in his life.
She climbed the stairs leading up to the stage and caught him off guard with a brilliant smile, all bright white teeth and dimples.
“You ready to do this, hotshot?”
He grinned. “Bring it on, baby.”
He’d taken a few minutes to bring the band up to speed on his song choices and, since he hadn’t briefed her, she would have no choice but to follow his lead. He’d purposely chosen songs that she would know. Some of their old favourites, including a song he’d written for her on his debut album.
He addressed the crowd and got them fired up, before singing the first few bars of their song. He saw the silent protest in her eyes as realization dawned. He knew he was hitting below the belt, but if this was his only chance, he was determined to make it count.
She was a professional and didn’t miss a beat. She sang his words back to him with the angst of a woman fighting to hold on to a lost love. He knew her too well to think she was putting on a show for the benefit of the crowd. She still felt something for him and that gave him something he hadn’t had in a long time: hope.
By the time their last song ended, Sierra was desperate to escape the haunting memories he evoked. He was like her drug of choice, dangerous, just a heartbeat away from dragging her into that destructive, old pattern that had nearly destroyed her.
He was systematically lowering her defences, drawing her in with familiar words, bone-melting perusals, and intimate caresses. Whatever his proposition, she knew she would have to stay strong to resist him. She wasn’t willing to jeopardize her hard-fought peace of mind for a few all-consuming nights of passion.
She knew he wanted to prove a point. He wanted her to believe that Eric wasn’t the man for her because he wasn’t able to satisfy her in the bedroom. He may have been able to convince the naïve girl he’d married that sex was the foundation of a good relationship, but the battle-weary woman he divorced knew better than to believe that sex, no matter how good, could obliterate all of the problems in a relationship. She and Trey were able to relate on a carnal level up until their last night together, but the emotional connection had died months before. That’s why she now chose friendship before love and passion. She loved her fiancé, not in the same foolhardy way she’d loved Trey, but with the maturity of a woman who’d been married and divorced and now realized that love didn’t have the power to conquer all.
She let him take her hand as they took their last bow for the crowd and tried to ignore the tingling sensation skittering up her arm. She had to get out of here now, before she did or said something she would never be able to forget. She tried to pull away, but he kept a firm grip on her hand as he led her through the throngs of people pleading with him for an autograph. Fortunately, Josh and several bouncers were there to control the crowd and give them the space they needed to make their way to the dressing room.
Trey closed the door and turned the lock before turning to face her. “We still have that magic. Don’t tell me you couldn’t feel it.”
She was still reeling from the music, the fans, and their adoration for this man who had once been her whole world. She wanted to pretend she wasn’t affected by him, but it was futile. He was too sexy, too virile, and it had been too long.
She took a shaky breath and tried to reclaim her composure. “Whether we do or not is irrelevant. Look, Trey, I did what I came here to do. I reconnected with some old friends, made some money for my charity, and kept my word to your sister. Now, I’d just like to go back to my hotel room and spend some time with Eric.”
She knew her words would cut deep, but it was her only hope of escaping the temptation to pick up where they’d left off five years ago.
He clenched his jaw and withdrew her phone from his pocket. “Fair enough, I’ll give your phone back in exchange for five minutes of your time.”
She sighed, sinking into the chair behind her. She knew better than to argue with Trey once he had made up his mind. She would give him five minutes and not a moment longer. “The clock is ticking.”
He claimed a seat on the sofa across from her and propped his booted feet on the coffee table between them. “Do you still write music, Sierra?”
She frowned, surprised by the question. “Sometimes. Why do you ask?”
He took a deep breath, tossing her phone on the cushion beside him. “Did you hear about the car accident I was in a year ago?”
“Of course. It was front page news. I’m glad you were okay.” Truth be told, she’d been terrified when she’d heard about the accident. She had picked up the phone to call him a dozen times, just to make sure he was okay. But in the end, she’d settled with second-hand accounts of his condition from his parents and his sister.
“You must have also heard about the people who lost their lives.”
She leaned forward, wishing she could do something to ease his pain. She could only imagine the effect that must have had on him, given the way they lost their own daughter. “I was so sorry to hear about that little girl and her mother. It must have been difficult for you.”
“There’s something that never made the papers.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I was with her when she died. She cried and told me she wanted her daddy. I told her she would be able to see her daddy real soon, but that I’d stay with her until help arrived.”
She moved to the seat beside him, setting her phone on the table. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“She asked me to talk to her until the ambulance got there.” He opened his eyes and shifted his body until they were facing each other. “She was in bad shape, barely able to whisper, but she asked me questions.”
She took his hand in hers, sensing he needed to tell someone his story. “Like what?”
“She recognized me.” He smiled at the memory. “She asked me to tell her what it was like to be famous. She said she’d hoped to be a famous dancer someday.” His voice cracked. “I told her to hold on to that dream.”
She allowed the tears to fall unchecked. “Go on,” she whispered.
“She asked me if I had any kids.” He looked her in the eye. “I told her I’d lost my little girl. She asked how it had happened.”
She squeezed his hand. “Did you tell her?”
He took a deep, steadying breath. “I didn’t want to, but I didn’t want to lie to her, either.”
Her heart broke for him, unable to imagine how he must have felt watching that little girl slip away and being helpless to stop it. “You did the right thing, Trey.”
He nodded, his pale blue eyes filling with tears. “She asked me if I thought Callie was in Heaven.” He cleared his throat. “I told her I did.”
“You know she is.”
“She asked me if I thought she’d go to Heaven too.” He choked back a sob. “I told her I did. She told me she’d say hi to Callie for me, and then she was gone.”