“This is a good look for you,” I tease him. “You could start a new trend.
“Smart ass,” he whispers.
“Okay, you need to rinse.”
Without releasing me, he leans back into the stream of hot water, letting it wash
the soap away, then straightens and kisses me, the water from his head running in
streams down our bodies.
“I think we’re clean,” I murmur against his lips and roll my hips against his erection.
He gasps and bites his bottom lip.
“Let’s fix that.”
“I thought the point was to get clean.” I raise an eyebrow.
Without answering, he lifts me higher and slides inside me. “You’re so wet, babe.”
“Yeah, well, that seems to happen a lot when I’m around you.”
He leans his forehead against mine, our hips moving in a perfect rhythm. He leans
back and presses his calloused thumb against my clit, sending me over, my legs clamping
around his hips, my pussy clenching around his cock.
“Fuck, you feel so damn good,” he growls as he comes, his hips jerking and thrusting
hard. “So damn good,” he repeats while he catches his breath.
He kisses me hard and long and lowers me to my feet.
“I spend a lot of time off the ground with you,” I comment as we rinse and towel off.
“Complaining?” He asks with a grin.
“Nope, an observation.”
I comb my wet hair and blow it dry, throw on some mascara and lip-gloss and follow
him into his bedroom. He’s pulled on his jeans and a t-shirt, and I can’t help but
be disappointed that he’s covered his tats.
“What’s wrong?” He asks with a grin.
“I wanted to lick your stars,” I pout, making him laugh.
“What is it with you and the stars?”
“They’re fucking hot. I’m not the only one. Brynna said she wants to lick them too
and claims that she hates me because I get to lick them whenever I want.”
“Women are weird.” He smirks.
Just then my phone rings on the bedside table. “That’s Mr. Foss.” My stomach clenches
as I look down at the caller I.D.
“Answer it. I’ll be on the balcony.”
He kisses my forehead and lets himself out the glass door to his covered balcony as
I reach for the phone.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Williams?”
“This is she,” I respond and pace around the room, my feet cold on the marble.
“This is Foss calling regarding our interview from the other day.”
“Yes, hello, thanks for calling.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have great news, Ms. Williams. We’ve decided to go with a different
candidate.”
“I see.” Why am I relieved?
“I am certain you’ll find the position that suits you soon. Best of luck to you, Samantha.”
“Thank you, Mr. Foss. Have a good day.”
I disconnect the call and sit at the side of the bed.
Now what?
***
~Leo~
Sam is pacing in my bedroom, her phone pressed to her ear. It’s started to rain. Not
a light, soft rain, but a pounding, all-consuming rain that seems to have a life of
its own. It sounds like drums on my roof and almost obscures the view of the water.
I rock in my chair, in time with the music of the rain, and think about the small
woman with the enormous personality in my bedroom. She’s bloody amazing. Her strength,
her big heart, her loyalty, all bring me to my knees.
I can’t get enough of her.
The glass door opens and Sam slips out onto the balcony.
“Well?” I ask.
“They turned me down.” She shrugs, her gorgeous face sad and maybe a little scared.
If you’ll let me, I’ll take care of you and you’ll never have to work again.
“Come here, baby.” I take her hand in mine and pull her into my lap. She settles her
cheek against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, rocking her gently. “Just rock
with me for a while.”
She smiles up at me softly, remembering the last time I said those words to her and
we made love in my chair.
“I don’t know why I’m sad. I don’t think I wanted that job anyway. You were right,
I don’t want to move to L.A.”
“Rejection sucks,” I mutter and kiss her soft blonde hair.
“Yeah,” she agrees.
“I’m kind of glad you didn’t get it,” I admit. “I don’t want you to move out of Seattle
either. I think I’m going to sell this place and move up there.” I frown and watch
the rain around us, my mind wandering. “This place has never felt like home. You said
it yourself, it’s not exactly ‘me.’”
“Hmm…” she agrees and snuggles down closer to me. God, she feels perfect in my arms.
“I’m tired of traveling so much. I can probably arrange it so we only tour about three
months out of the year. They would be three solid months, with no breaks, but then
the rest of the time I’d be able to be home. The guys would like that too. Especially
Gary and DJ, since they have families.”
“When is Lori due?” she asks quietly.
“Next month. We’re all getting too old for touring all year long anyway. It’s not
like we need the money.”
“It’s good that you can be choosy,” she agrees.
I nod and kiss her again. I can’t stop kissing her sweet honey-scented hair.
Fuck, I have it bad.
“It’ll be good to be near Meg too. Keep an eye on her.”
“Wait.” She sits up and frowns at me. “Why all these big life changes?”
“Oh, sunshine,” I whisper and smile gently. “Haven’t you figured out that I’m completely
in love with you?”
Her eyes go wide and her hands grip onto my shirt and for the first time since I met
her, I think she’s speechless.
“You had to know that, baby.” I kiss her forehead and cup her face in my hands. “I
don’t bring women around my band. I don’t write songs for girls. I don’t bring them
here. I certainly don’t talk about my family with just anyone. I love you, Samantha.”
“Oh, wow,” she whispers and drags her fingers down my face, watching my eyes with
her beautiful, bright blue ones. “I’m afraid to fall.”
“I’ll catch you, baby.”
She blinks and swallows hard, her brain in overdrive. We sit quietly, listening to
the rain, as she processes her thoughts. I expected this from her. She’s not a girl
who would squeal and throw herself at me, screaming her love for me.
That’s not how she works, and that’s just one of the many things I love about her.
“I love you too,” she whispers so quietly, I can barely hear her through the rain.
I tip her chin up with my finger, forcing her to look me in the eye. “What was that?”
“I love you too,” she repeats, louder this time. “You scare me.”
“Good, ‘cause you terrify the hell out of me.” I laugh and pull her in. “But being
without you scares me more.”
“Are you really moving to Seattle permanently?” She asks, her face hopeful and happy.
“Yeah.”
“You’re not living with me.” She scowls suddenly, making me bust out laughing. “We’re
not ready for that.”
“Last time I checked, I have my own place,” I remind her.
“I guess this means I’d better find a job in Seattle,” she murmurs and kisses my cheek
sweetly.
“It would be convenient,” I agree.
“What about when you’re on tour?” Her brows are pulled together in a frown, and I
rub the soft skin with my thumb.
“If you’re not busy, you can come with me. If you can’t come along, we’ll survive
it.”
She nods and smiles. “No more ugly Malibu house?”
“No.” I laugh and hug her close. “I’m selling the ugly Malibu house.”
“Thank Christ.”
Chapter Eighteen
~Samantha~
“You’re here!” A pretty blonde jumps out of an Adirondack chair on the patio by the
pool and runs for Leo and I. “You are Sam,” she informs me and throws her arms around
me, hugging me tight.
“Yes, I am.” I look around the pool area of Gary and Lori’s gorgeous home. It’s amazing
to me how quickly the weather changes down here. Just a few hours ago we were listening
to the rain on Leo’s porch, and now it’s sunny and warm again.
Lori’s laughing eyes meet mine and I mouth “Help!” to her but she just laughs harder.
Traitor.
“I’m Cher.” She pulls back and grins. “Lori was right, you’re hot. She’s hot,” she
says to Leo who is laughing his ass off next to me.
“Yep, she is,” he agrees.
DJ, with his tall Mohawk, joins us and wraps his arm around Cher’s shoulders. “Cher
is my wife.” He grins lovingly down at her. “She’s been excited to meet you.”
“Leo never brings women around to meet us.”
“Really?” Leo asks loudly. “Are we going to go through this every damn time?”
“Well, now she’s met everyone.” Jake snickers.
“Come sit with us,” Cher grabs my hand and pulls me over to the shaded patio where
Lori is resting, her hands rubbing her belly, and motions for me to sit. I look back
over my shoulder, and Leo is watching me, his eyes happy.
He loves me.
He shrugs and takes the beer DJ offers him and wanders over to hang out with the other
guys standing near the grill.
There are a few things I know for certain in this life, and one of them is men can
always be found near the grill.
Gary is grilling, the other guys are in chairs or standing around, sipping beers from
the bottle and laughing. Eric is holding a sweet little boy, around two years old,
making faces at him and grinning.
The world-famous rock band Nash is just a bunch of normal people.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Lori smiles.
“Thanks for having me,” I respond and glance around her lush back yard. “You have
a lovely home.”
It’s true. The pool is kidney shaped and large, with an attached hot tub at one end.
The entire space is covered in cobblestone, with a huge outdoor fireplace at one end,
surrounded with plush furniture. A large child’s play area with swings, a slide, and
a tree house take up another corner. The patio we’re sitting on has twice the square
footage of my apartment, is covered, and also furnished with comfortable and colorful
chairs and tables. The guys and the grill are about twenty feet away, also on the
patio.
“Thank you,” Lori responds with a smile. “We don’t get to spend much time here, so
when we’re home, we enjoy having everyone over.”
“I can’t believe how big Maddox has gotten,” Cher comments, pointing to the little
boy on Eric’s lap.
“I know, he’s growing like a weed,” Lori agrees. “That’s our son, Maddox,” she tells
me.
“He’s adorable.”
“I want to talk to you guys about something,” Leo begins and everyone frowns at him.
“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking on another leg of tour dates right now.”
Lori scowls, her voice hard. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m about to give birth.”
“No.” Leo shakes his head and glances at me, then at his guys. “In fact, I’d like
to talk to you guys about cutting back on touring.”
“Thank God,” Gary mutters and runs his fingers through his hair.
“Why?’ Jake asks and takes a swig of his beer.
“I don’t want to quit,” Leo clarifies. “I’m thinking about just cutting our touring
down to a few months a year, and the rest of the year working on albums, writing,
working with other artists, stuff like that.”
The guys all exchange glances. Cher and Lori are literally holding their breath, tightly
holding hands.
“That’s not a bad idea,” DJ responds. “We’re not twenty-two anymore.”
“We can do special appearances now and then, awards shows, shit like that,” Eric agrees.
“I can play with my kids,” Gary adds and exhales. “Honestly, I’m ready to slow it
down a bit.”
“I need all of us to be on the same page.” Leo stuffs his hands in his pockets, his
face worried. “You guys are my family. We do this together or not at all.”
I didn’t think I could love him any more than I already did, and then he goes and
says stuff like that. I understand family.
All eyes turn to Jake and he shrugs. “Yeah, slowing down might be good. We’d be able
to record more often.”
“Maybe you’ll settle down,” Gary suggests, but Jake smirks.
“Let’s not go crazy.”
“One more thing,” Leo adds as Gary flips steaks on the grill. “I’m relocating to Seattle
permanently. I don’t expect DJ and Gary to follow, but I want to let you know.”
Silence. After a few seconds everyone starts to laugh, including Lori and Cher.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Leo demands.