Chapter 48

Colt grunted unhappily as both his cell phone and the hotel phone began ringing simultaneously. He pulled Chelsea up against his body, pressing his hardening member into her ass. They’d made love less than half hour, and already his body was responding to her closeness. Usually, he’d have dismissed his female companion after half hour unless he was passed out drunk.

As the phones rang, she tried to rise, but he circled her waist and held her close. The thought of her leaving made him feel empty, though she was only leaving for her room next door. The incessant ringing of both phones was beginning to grate his nerves.

“Answer, it’s important,” Chelsea said in a low voice. “But promise you won’t get mad at me.”

He raised his head and looked at her profile. She kept her face away from him, and he could tell there was something going on.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Whatever you’re about to find out is my fault; that’s what I’d come to tell you,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper.

Colt cupped her chin and willed her to turn her face to him. She turned her face but kept her eyes closed.

“Look at me,” he gently urged. “Tell me what has got you so scared.”

She hesitated before opening her eyes. With a gentle hand, she reached up to caress his cheek. “I did something that may get us into trouble,” she replied. “It’s really bad and has the press all over it.”

Colt frowned. He could not imagine what she had done. As far as he was concerned, she’d never do anything to jeopardize the band. He sighed and braced himself. He was certain that she didn’t cheat, so that was mentally ticked off.

“Did you murder someone?’ he asked with a teasing grin.

“No, but this is serious. I had a few articles printed about Jason and Carl,” she squeezed her eyes shut, perhaps expecting him to be angry.

“So?”

“What do you mean so? It was pretty bad. I accused them of kidnapping, and I revealed his crimes of blackmail and insurance fraud. Henry is upset because now Jason is on the run.”

“Is that why you’re scared? You think I would be mad at you?” he asked, his voice incredulous.

Chelsea looked at him in surprise. “Reid said you’d be irate, and I should pacify you.”

He pulled her close, bringing his lips to within inches of hers. “Well, I can’t complain about the pacifying part. You did a great job there.”

Chelsea wound her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. His heart pounded unevenly as his cock hardened, rubbing seductively against her silken skin. His mouth opened, capturing her bottom lip, sucking gently on it. Her warm breath fanned his lips as a groan escaped her. She wiggled closer, pressing her breast into his chest.

He flipped her onto her back and covered her body with his. Wrapping her legs around his thighs, she pushed her hips forward. He entered her still wet, warm flesh, which welcomed him as he thrust his hip, sinking into her. The kiss deepened as he found her tongue, wrapping his around hers, feeling the electricity charging through him.

Their bodies moved with the mating dance in cadence to their own music. Soon the tempo increased, and with it came panting and heavy breathing. His grunts along with her whimpers melded together, creating their own lyrical sounds. Her cry of ecstasy coupled with his growl of release expressed their rapturous bliss.

He thought his heart would burst with the emotions welling inside of him. Whether he was making love to her or just holding her, Colt was certain that he never wanted to spend another day without her. He’d never thought of marriage or children in all his years of conquests, but as he laid beside Chelsea, listening to her shallow breathing, he pictured himself being a father. The thought completely startled him that she sat up immediately.

“What’s the matter?” she asked in a lazy tone.

“Nothing,” he smiled. “I’m just hungry … starving really.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. It was 11:09 a.m. when he checked the time. They’d spent the entire morning making love that they both missed breakfast.

“Me too,” she murmured, turning over and pulling the covers up to her chin.

Within a few seconds, she was breathing evenly, indicating that she’d dozed off. Colt raised himself up, keeping his eyes on Chelsea. For a moment, he stood in the middle of the room, staring at the bed, wondering why the idea of children suddenly popped into his head. He continued staring at her as she slept while his heart ached to get back under the covers with her.

He inched back toward the bed and reached his hand out to touch the red silken hair splayed across the pillow. He withdrew the hand, not certain what got hold of him. He’d never responded to a female this way. The urge to touch her was embedded in his gut and would not go away. When she wasn’t near him, he felt empty, and even now that she was in the room, he wanted to get closer.

“What the fuck’s the matter with me?” he muttered softly.

Chelsea whimpered in her sleep and moved her head slightly. Hs hand unwittingly closed in, touching her hair. Its silkiness caressed his palm. He ran his hand along its length, then back up to run his fingertip along her cheek. She wiggled, then her eyes flickered open. She lazily stretched, blinking a few times before focusing on him.

“I’m hungry,” she murmured with a yawn. “I was dreaming about a nice bowl of chili.”

He was about to grab the hotel phone when his cell phone started ringing. Reluctantly he picked it up from the nightstand, grunting his greeting into it.

“Hello.”

“Colt, where’s Chelsea?” Reid asked, sounding impatient.

“She’s with me, why?”

“I need to see her, now,” Reid said, his voice sharp. “As a matter of fact, you come out too.”

Colt didn’t like his manager’s tone and sought to find out what the matter was. “I’m bust, what is it?”

“Henry needs to talk to you both,” Reid replied. “So cut the crap and get out here now.”

“Okay, boss.”

He disconnected the call before Reid could say more. Chelsea sat up on the bed looking questioningly his way. She had a look of terror on her face that made Colt wonder about it. She had mentioned that Reid was upset about her publishing some article about Jason and Carl Benson. That didn’t faze him in the least, but she seemed terrified of Reid.

“What’s that look?” he asked.

“He’s still mad at me, right?”

He nodded. “He sounded upset. But Chelsea, I don’t care about any of that. I’m with you.”

“Are you sure you aren’t mad because I wrote the entire story about when you were kids and what you did?”

His eyes narrowed as what she said registered. “What?”

“I told the press everything, about your mom and how your stepdad used to abuse you both.”

He couldn’t believe she revealed his past to the media without telling him. She knew how sensitive he was about his mother and what they’d been through. He spent his entire life trying to keep his personal problems away from the public, even when Carl Benson tried to dig into his past, he’d let it go. Now Chelsea was telling him she told the press everything! He wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but he’d just promised her that he wouldn’t get upset, and he was trying very hard to keep that promise.

She sprang up from the bed and hastily dressed. He watched as she picked up her phone and bit her lips. He was trying to contain his shock along with his disappointment. However, she seemed to have misread his facial expression and left the room in a hurry.

“Chelsea!” he called out to her as the door was closing. “Damn, I promised I wouldn’t get mad. What the hell was she thinking?”

Chelsea didn’t wait for Colt to calm down. She could see him flush, and his hazel eyes gleamed. He was upset she could tell. She hated his temper, and there was no way she could endure both Colt and Reid’s anger. The best thing she could do was get dressed as quickly as possible and leave before he blew.

As she stepped through the door and was closing it, she heard him call her name. With a quick glance, she noted that the main area was empty. Reid was perhaps taking a shower. Thank God, he wasn’t there. Not only was she not in the mood for another round with him, but she was also famished.

With the need to freshen up before getting her lunch, she retreated to her room. Her stomach growled with each step she took. They’d missed breakfast, and if she weren’t careful, she would miss lunch as well. When she reached her room, she tentatively entered. Reid wasn’t there either. She’d suspected as much since he’d called Colt just a few minutes earlier.

Breathing a long sigh, she headed to the bathroom where she splashed water on her face before brushing her hair. Coming back to the room, she fully intended to pick her purse up and head directly to the hotel dining room, but her plans were thwarted as she almost jumped out of her skin, seeing a man lounging on her bed.

If she didn’t know the aftershave so well, she would have screamed. Her hand flew to her chest as she stopped short, leaning against the bathroom doorframe.

“Colt, you scared me!” she scolded, her voice a little squeaky.

“Why’d you run away?” He rose from the bed and walked towards her, locking his eyes with her.

“You promised you wouldn’t get mad at me,” she replied, tearing her eyes away.

He came close to her, so close that she could feel his heat pressing up against her, though they weren’t touching. It was like being near a magnet. They’d spent the entire morning together, and now that he was near her, she wanted to close the few inches gap and press herself up against him.

“I’m not upset. I was just surprised; that’s all.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I’m not upset with you.”

“I hope you keep that promise when you actually read the articles or talk to Reid. He’s mad as hell.”

Colt, took her hand and rested her palm on his chest. The heat of his body penetrated her palm through his shirt. She tried to pull the hand away, but he held it fast.

“I told you I’m with you, didn’t I?”

It was her turn to nod. “Yes.”

“Now, Henry needs to see us,” he said. “He’s got something to tell us, and he won’t say it to Reid alone, that’s why Reid is raising hell.”

She supposed that her lunch would have to wait. Her stomach was protesting loudly now, making gurgling sounds like a disgruntled puppy. Colt led her back to the suite where Henry was sitting on the sofa while Reid stood with obvious impatience by the window.

As they entered the room, Colt closed the door behind them. Reid turned, scowling at her while Henry sat up straight, his eyes settling on her. She could not read his expression, but she gathered that what he had to say was about the kidnapping case. She held her breath and waited for him to speak.

“I have some news,” he said, looking directly at her. “We have a suspect in custody for the kidnapping. I’d like you to come down to the station and identify him.”

She was confused. “I never saw him. How can I identify him?”

“There were other things about him, like the way he smelled and how his body felt when he grabbed you. You can use what you recall to identify him. We take into account every detail,” Henry reassured her.

“We’ll be there,” Colt replied, placing an arm around Chelsea’s shoulder. “But who’s the guy?”

“I can’t release details just yet. We must get an identification first. This is what will happen. The suspect along with five other men will be in a line up. They’ll be wearing similar clothes, and their faces will be covered. I want Chelsea to smell them, after which they’ll talk through the voice changer, and she will pick the one that reminds her of the culprit.”

“What if she picks the wrong guy?” Reid asked, moving over to where they stood.

“Then we’d have to let him go if the evidence points away from him. I must tell you that we found some prints and DNA at the warehouse, but they could belong to anyone.”

“We’ll be there,” Colt reiterated.

Chelsea let out the breath she’d been holding, her stomach queasy and quivering. At this point, she was unsure of whether it was due to her missing her meal or the thought of facing her abductor. She knew what Henry said about his face being covered, but he would still know she was the one identifying him.

Nausea rose to her throat as a bead of sweat trickled down her spine, causing her to shudder. Colt pulled her close, looking down at her with concern.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low.

“Hmm,” she murmured, nodding.

However, the bile rose to her mouth so that she had to break away from his embrace, rushing through his bedroom and into the bathroom. She heard him follow as she bent over the face basin, retching. Nothing much came up since her stomach was empty, but the feeling was awful, making her ill. Cold sweat washed her face and back as a chill ran through her.

“Chelsea?” Colt knocked the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”

Splashing water on her face, she took several steadying breaths, trying to calm the quavering in her stomach. Colt knocked several more times, apparently quite concerned. She took a mouthful of water, swirled, and spit, then gargled with some of his mouth rinse.

“I’m fine,” she finally replied. “I’ll be out in a minute.”