Country Love (A Billionaire BWWM Romance) (10 page)

After a long,
ragged breath, he lifted his head. He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead,
then my temple, my cheek and then the corner of my mouth. I cupped his face in
my hands and kissed him unreservedly.

It was all over.

I was completely
lost.

Chapter Nineteen

Tanner

A cramped bunk on
a smelly tour bus was not the venue I had pictured for my first time with
Monique Williams. If I'd been up to my normal standards of game, there would
have been rose petals, a warm bath, candles...maybe the London fucking Symphony
orchestra. But as I may have mentioned, everything about her had me all off
kilter.

Her naked body
was curved into mine, fitting so neatly against me it was like she was made to
be here in this space. I snaked my fingers around her and pulled her even
closer, relishing these few moments of silence. I knew they wouldn't last.

"Baby?"

"Hmm?"
She sounded like she was falling asleep.

"Much as it
pains me to say so, we need to get dressed."

Her whole body
went stiff. "Oh God, your band." She sat up in a panic.

I had to chuckle.
"Don't worry about them, they're not going anywhere without me."

"They
totally know what we did!"

I cocked my head
at her. "They can wait," I said, carefully.

She pressed her
lips together and looked down. "Because they're used to this, right?
You've made them wait outside your tour bus...how many times now, Tanner?"

Oh shit, here she
goes. I grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down to the bunk. "Stop
this," I growled at her, silencing her protests with a long, deep kiss.
"How many different ways do you want me to tell you I'm crazy about
you?"

She pulled back
from the kiss, her eyes lingering closed for a moment, then her lips curved
into a smile. "I'm going to need a few more times," she purred.

The blood rushed
right back down to my groin. Jesus, I had just gone, but here I was ready for
this woman all over again. "You want me to tell you with my words?" I
murmured into her neck, "or..." I slid down off the bunk and knelt
between her legs, "my mouth?"

She gasped and
giggled. "Words will do for now. I'm starting to feel bad for your
band."

"Then words
it is. Here you go: I'm fucking crazy about you, Monique," I said
sincerely. "There, now how many more times after that?"

"Keep
talking, I'll let you know," she grinned.

I watched her
dress the rest of the way, feeling wistful when those round dark orbs
disappeared back into her bra. When everything was back into place, she turned
and faced me. "Everything look okay?" she asked, smoothing her hands
over her hips.

"Honestly, I'm
not sure why you bothered," I said grumpily. "Once we get to the
hotel, I'm just getting you naked again."

"Are you
now?" she said archly, grabbing her camera. "Well until then, I've
got work to do." She turned around fast, and the flash blinded me,

"Hey, I
wasn't ready!"

"Candid
behind the scenes shots, those are what I'm here to get," Monique
declared. "Believe it or not, I didn't plan on coming here to get in your
pants."

I slung my arm
around her shoulders and kissed her head. "Just an on the job perk,
then," I said, inhaling deeply.

Then I opened the
door.

Now, I was
expecting the hooting laughter that greeted us. But Monique was definitely not.
She shrank behind me, and even though I couldn't see her in the dark of the
parking lot, I knew she was staring daggers at my bandmates.

God bless my
giant goofball of a bassist. "I'm Jimmy," the big doof grinned his
puppy dog grin and reached out towards her camera. "You're a photographer?
That's so cool, can I see that?"

"Oh god, no,
if you value your camera at all, don't let Butterfingers over here touch
it," Carter said drily.

"No one
touches my camera but me," Monique said, lifting her chin. "Now all
of you, smile!"

Just like that
she had us all in line. Literally. We lined up, arms slung around each other
and Monique fired off a few blinding flashes that had us all swearing and rubbing
our eyes. "Now, I need a few shots inside the bus," she directed,
waving her hands.

The boys trouped
in through the door, as compliant as kindergarteners lining up for their
teacher. She snapped away, completely focused on her work now.

It was
breathtaking.

The hotel was
only a short ride away, just long enough to share a few shots and a few laughs.
I held her close the whole while, and she grumbled a few times that I was
making it hard for her to do her job.

Well fuck that
shit. I finally had Monique Williams in my arms, and now that I did, I wasn't
about to let her go.

Chapter Twenty

Monique

I had a very nice
expense account all ready to pay for my hotel room. But when I pulled out the
card to pay, Tanner made a threatening noise.

"Can't I at
least pretend?" I whispered to him. "For my boss's sake?"

He grumbled
something incoherent and snaked his arm around my waist. He hadn't stopped
touching me since the bus; an arm around my shoulder, a hand on my ass, a quick
press of his lips on my temple. He seemed like a man on a mission to touch
every part of my body.

The thought made
desire flow down in a painful rush.

"It's him, I
swear it's him." The woman's voice floated across the lobby, shrill and
insistent and more than a little drunk.

"Tanner, we
gotta move," Leo rumbled. The big bodyguard squinted at the deranged
looking fan and his fingers moved down to his belt. With a sinking feeling in
my stomach, I realized he was carrying a gun...and he was willing to use it.

The woman
stumbling towards us had a slightly unhinged look about her. "Ohmahgawwwd,
Tanner, I love you, I wrote to you, did you get my email? Tanner,
please..."

"Move.
Now." Leo shoved us both. The rest of the band had instinctively tightened
into a protective circle around us, sweeping me along with them as they rushed
to the private elevator to the penthouse.

When the door
closed. Tanner let out a sharp exhale and squeezed me. I must have made a
frightened noise, because he dropped his arm like he was afraid of hurting me.
I missed his touch instantly.

"That
shouldn't have happened, Leo," Tanner barked.

"You're
right," Leo sounded grim. "Should have called and checked in before
hand. First night out on the road. I'll get the kinks worked out right
away."

Tanner made an
angry sound and the rest of the band all hung their heads and shuffled their
feet like the were kids stuck between mommy and daddy's fight. "I don't
think of these things," Tanner finally said with a sigh. "You know
I'm no good at thinkin' about threats."

"Yeah I
know," Leo said, steel in his voice. "That's why you're gonna put me
in an early grave. Hold up, I'll handle this." His cell phone was jammed
in his ear with a white knuckled grip.

"She was
just some drunk chick," I ventured, not understanding what the emergency
was. "Why are we talking like it's your funeral?"

The awkward
silence that stretched out was only interrupted by the ding of the elevator
doors. The rest of the band tromped grimly into the presidential suite, but I
hung back, mouth gaping.

The skyline
winked below us in a galaxy of twinkling lights. We were up so high that the
air felt thinner up here. I felt like I was on a mountaintop, or flying in an
airplane looking down at the ant-like people below. It was the kind of rarefied,
rich world that ordinary people very seldom see.

And it felt all
wrong.

I walked into the
glass and chrome suite with a feeling of trepidation that it took me several
moments to understand. I searched for Tanner, and finally spied him sitting on
the edge of the very modern, very uncomfortable looking couch that snaked its
way through the center of the space.

The room was all
sharp angles and monochromatic color.
 
There was no warmth, no personality, no comfort to be seen. It was all
pure artifice, meant for show.

Tanner Brock
didn't belong here at all.

I went to him. He
looked up at me and smiled his warm smile, but it looked tired. Whatever had
happened in the lobby had taken all the wind from his sails.

"Welcome to
the Presidential Suite," Tanner said, stroking my thigh.

"Are you
going to trash it now?" I teased. "Isn't that what rock stars
do?"

He narrowed his
eyes. "Ma'am, I'm a good country boy from Texas whose mama would tan his
hide if she knew he trashed
anything.
"
He leaned back and squirmed a little on the torture device of a couch.
"No, we mostly just shoot the shit a bit and go to bed."

That seemed to be
the case. The guys had all tromped off to their respective rooms off the main
living area. Carter's door was already closed. I could see Blake inside his
room, pacing the floor with his phone in his ear. Tanner saw where I was
looking and leaned forward again. "He's got a brand new daughter," he
explained.

"Aw," I
smiled. "You guys are so wholesome, it hurts."

"That's intentional,"
Tanner shrugged. "I already did the rock-star thing. That life's....not
for me."

There was a sense
of sad finality in his words that made me want to touch him. I reached out and
rested my hand on his tanned forearm, just letting him know I was here. His
skin was warm and as I brushed my fingertips lightly along the crisp hairs, I
could feel each taut rope of muscle that lived underneath.
 
I rested my hand on his and leaned
awkwardly onto his shoulder.

"You're more
comfortable than this couch," I complained, trying and failing to find a
comfortable place to put my body.

Tanner laughed
his deep, rich laugh. "I've stayed here before, and I know one thing
that's comfortable in this room." He turned and fixed me with that deep
blue stare.

"Let me
guess," I teased. "The bed?"

He grinned and
stood up, holding out his hand. "Ever slept on a cloud before?" he
asked.

I allowed myself
to be hauled to my feet. "Ooh," I said, stretching. "A cloud
sounds real good right now."

"You know
what sounds better?" he asked, his lips against my neck.

"Absolutely
nothing?"

"Hush,
woman, you're killing my mood here." He closed his fingers possessively
around my wrist and led me into the biggest of the attached rooms. I caught a
glimpse of Leo, standing like a sentry at the elevator, his gun on full
display, and I shivered a little.

But when I saw
Tanner's plan, the shivers were for a different reason. The massive room was
dominated with a huge tub set on a marble slab a step up from the rest of the
floor. Tanner was already leaning over the edge, testing the running water with
his elbow. When he saw me, frozen to the spot in the middle of the room, he
moved towards me with fire in his eyes.

"Just now?
In the bus?" he whispered, his breath as soft as silk against my skin.
"That was not how I wanted it to be with you, Monique." He snaked his
hands around to cup my ass and pull me flush against his hardened length.
"I'm going to take off those clothes now...that okay with you?"

Chapter
Twenty-One

Tanner

That mess in the
lobby was already banished from my mind. Leo would take care of it. Right now,
the only thing I cared about was the soft exhalation Monique was making against
my neck.

"Yeah,"
she said. I loved how tight her voice got when she wanted me. The harder she
tried to fight it, the more turned on she got. I bet if I put my hands between
her legs right now, I could have her cumming around my fingers in under a
minute. "Yeah, you can take my clothes off, Tanner."

I slipped my hand
between her legs. The heat I found there nearly knocked me backwards. "Say
please," I growled, pressing upward.

Her hips rocked
into me, finding the heel of my hand and wiggling in desperation. She was as
ready to go as I was. "Please," she groaned, half in anger, half in
desire. "Please stop fucking with me and give me what I want."

Oh that mouth on
her. It was enough to make me crazy. I moved my hand away, and she hissed and
tried to grab it back. When I held my ground, her other hand flashed out and
gripped me right by the balls.

"Two can play
that game," she spat, licking her lips and sinking to her knees.

Heaven. Holy
hell. The way her hot mouth gripped my cock, like she was trying to suck it
clean off my body. I shuddered and had to grip her shoulders to keep from
falling over. Her half-muffled cries vibrated against me, and I gripped her
hair and pumped my hips in and out of her. "I had...unh...this vision...of
it being all nice and sweet with you..." I grabbed her ponytail and pulled
her free. "But you don't want it that way, do you Monique?"

Her eyes were
wild. "I want you," she moaned, tugging at her jeans. "Now. We
don't have time for nice and sweet."

I should have
understood her then, but she was already naked and my desire for her took over.

I flipped her
around, pressing her back down until she braced herself against the marble step
of the tub. Hot steam billowed upward, giving her skin a glistening slick
sheen. She was slippery when I gripped her from behind.

"Yessss,"
she hissed as I pressed myself up inside of her.

"Good
Christ, baby, how the fuck are you so tight?" I started to move inside of
her, or maybe she was moving for us, her hips rolling and undulating, pressing
back to meet me each time I thrust forward. "Fuck, I can feel you, you
know that? You're about to cum for me, aren't you Monique? Go ahead, I want to
feel you. I want to feel you get all hot and tight around my cock while I'm
fucking you, you hear me? You let go, right now, baby girl."

I was babbling
like an idiot. I couldn't help myself. The rough slap of our skin sounded like
a backbeat and I was writing lyrics to our song. Her sharp cries were the
chorus and when we came together, it was better than any song I had written in
my life.

And then I took
her into the bed and had her one more time before sleep finally took me. But
even then I still dreamed of her.