RYLAND KISSED ME. His lips were warm. No tongue at first, just the gentle brush of his mouth across mine. He softly ran his hands up and down my arms before he repositioned his body closer. His scent wafted over me, a heavy musky cologne I couldn’t identify. Not unpleasant. Just wrong. He lifted his hands, threading them into my hair and deepening the kiss. He had skills. His technique was fine, but I felt more like I was drowning when his tongue rubbed against my own. He groaned. I felt his erection as he rocked it between my hips. If I were objective, if I were any other girl I would certainly appreciate the size and the thickness of what he had to offer. But I wasn’t and found myself comparing all that Ryland was to Lucky instead.
The Noir guitarist broke the kiss. Hands still in my hair, he kissed one then my other eyelid closed. "I want you,” he whispered. Gathering fistfuls of my hair in his hands, he tugged my head backward so he could trail his parted lips down my neck. His breath on my neck didn’t make me shiver. It made me squirm. He smoothed his hands down my arms, tucked his fingers under my bra straps and lowered them down my shoulders. I kept my eyes closed trying to summon desire as more kisses followed, across the slopes of my breasts and eventually over the satin covering them. I sank my fingers into his sandy hair pretending I wanted to draw his head closer to increase the pressure of his mouth on my skin. But as handsome and as talented a seducer as Ryland was, I didn’t feel anything beyond pretense. I just wanted it to be over. This was too soon after Lucky. Too soon after acknowledging to myself how significant my feelings were for him.
My lids fluttered as Ryland's fingers tiptoed up my spine. He kissed my lips again. He unclasped my bra, gliding the straps completely off my arms, capturing my hands and interlacing his fingers with mine. It was a smooth maneuver.
"Ryland." I made my breath hitch against his mouth continuing the game. He lifted his head. Feeling his gaze on me, I opened my eyes. There was desire within his violet eyes but also something else significant that I couldn’t quite place.
"I hope you got what you needed." He turned his head to the side, addressing the film crew.
"We're good." Ignacio gave him a thumbs up.
"Great." Ryland's voice was husky. He released one of my hands but kept the other. “Come with me.” He led me away from the others, my bra abandoned, my tits fully exposed. I kept my eyes on the dark hardwoods avoiding eye contact with the other after-party guests as we exited the main living space of the suite, entered a long hall and then crossed a threshold at the end. A large king sized bed dwarfed the room. My hair a curtain on either side of my face, I swallowed to moisten my dry throat. Ryland released my hand and moved behind me to close the door. My heart pounded harder as I listened to the lock turning. I was trapped inside with no escape.
"Did you have to take her clothes off?"
My head snapped up. I knew that unmistakable accent. "Lucky," I whispered, crossing my arms over my breasts. "What are you doing here?" My cheeks flaming hot, I glanced over my shoulder wondering what Ryland would say.
"It seemed important to facilitate the ruse." The Noir guitarist shrugged. I volleyed a glance back at Lucky.
The lead singer of the Dragons frowned at Ryland then took a step closer to me. “I’m here for you. I explained all that earlier."
"But I told you I can’t."
"Your eyes contradict your words." He eliminated the distance between us. Framing my face in his warm hands, his thumbs swiped through the moisture on my cheeks. I hadn’t even noticed the tears. His gaze searching, I felt the connection, the warmth and the desire, but also a sense of security that I had never felt before. My legs wobbled. What was I going to do with all of these emotions? How could I walk away from him and do what I had to do?
"Better keep the talking to a minimum." Ryland’s voice was low, but it startled me. I had forgotten him the moment Lucky had touched me. "The door’s locked. But I don’t know who might be listening on the other side. The CEO of Black Cat Records is as keen as her boss is on wanting to have this Noir RFC hookup go down. So..." He trailed off, leaving a meaningful silence.
"Raven." Lucky's fingers flexed on my skin. I refocused on him. "Ryland is willing to pretend that you two fucked. Even though nothing has and even though nothing will happen between the two of you."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he knows you’re important to me. Because you and I need some time to figure things out between us. Because I understand, now, that you feel obligated to help your friend.” His serious expression turned imploring. “I know I came on strong earlier, that I demanded too much too soon from you."
“You didn’t.” I shook my head. He had only rattled a part of me that needed shaking up. "But do you really think we can fool them?" I covered his hands on my face with my own, pressing his fingers deeper into my flesh letting him see the flicker of hope rising in my eyes where none had existed a moment before.
"Yes. I do, Angel. It’s all about perception in this business. Ryland has a reputation. He gave them the show they expected. His boss and yours are already counting the potential dollar signs in this deal. I don't really think they care if you are back here fucking or playing cards together so long as the public believes the deal has been done.”
"Alright." I removed Lucky's hands from my cheeks but kept ahold of them as I turned to Ryland. "Thank you for agreeing to do this."
"Happy to help a friend." He grinned and his eyes crinkled at the edges. "It’s hardly a hardship. You'll boost my rep.” His tone turned playful. “And I’m sure you’ll give me the RFC’s highest rating in the morning.”
"Yes." I returned his smile. "Absolutely.” To make this work we would have to stay in his bedroom. The three of us. At least until the party wound down. My lips flattened. I really just wanted to be alone with Lucky.
"There's a connecting door to the next room.” Ryland hooked a thumb behind him. “I’m gonna go crash in there. But you guys will have to stay in here. Make all the groaning and moaning noises you want. Just no talking. That cockney accent of yours is a dead giveaway that you're not me."
"Not cockney," Lucky corrected "That’s east London. I grew up in the southwest. Devon County. Totally different."
"I’m just yanking your chain." Ryland laughed and waved a hand over his shoulder. "I’ll stick a note under the door when the coast is clear, but feel free to stay however long you like. I've got an early flight in the morning. I won’t bother you to say goodbye, but the suite's paid for through noon."
As soon as the connecting door closed behind his friend, Lucky tugged me into him. My hands landed on the unyielding surface of his chest. His eyes flashed with heat. I wet my lips. He lowered his head and groaned his approval when our mouths connected. The shockwaves of the kiss reverberated throughout my body. My scalp tingled. My toes curled. I clutched the lapels of his tux in my fingers and crushed my body to his.
"You taste like him," he growled against my lips. “He kissed you.”
"How can you tell?"
"Ry pops those Altoids mints all the time. I can’t stand them."
"I’m sorry," I whispered.
He didn’t answer. Not in words. He just kissed me again this time deeper and longer as if he wanted to remove all traces of Ryland from my mouth.
"Where else did he touch you?" His fingers tightened around my upper arms.
"My shoulders. My arms. My hands. My breasts."
"Did he put his mouth on your skin?"
I nodded. His black look in response made my stomach swirl. “Maybe this is a bad idea.” I tried to withdraw but he only pulled me closer.
"My neck. My eyelids, too." I blew out a breath. "Maybe I should go in the shower and scrub my body down first before you touch me anymore. Would that make me acceptable?" I yanked myself free and glared at him angry and sad at the same time. "But that won’t do." My eyes burned with frustration. "What about all the other men that have actually fucked me? What do we do about that?" I swallowed and glanced around feeling more ashamed with him than I had when the media had asked all their loaded questions.
"I’m sorry." Lucky ran a hand through his hair. "Thinking straight around you is a problem for me. I’ve never felt so possessive before, but with you everything seems magnified. Everything matters ..." He trailed off, his eyes swimming with remorse. "Honestly, I’m jealous of every guy who has ever touched you."
"But that’s not fair. You’ve been with other women. I’ve seen pictures."
He shook his head. “There’s been no one.”
"But..."
"They taste wrong. They act wrong. They aren’t you."
"Lucky." I slid my fingers into his silky soft hair. "Please can we just be you and me and not think about others while we’re together? Just the two of us? Defining our own expectations and desires?"
"There’s been no one else for me since I first saw you."
None had measured up to the standard he had set for me, either, so I set aside the problems that remained ahead for us outside the room, and I kissed him. I pressed my lips to his lush ones and I breathed him in.
"Angel." He lifted me, his hands under my ass. I had mine in his hair. He tossed me onto the bed. I watched appreciatively as he removed his clothes. Jacket. Dress shirt. Socks. Shoes. Trousers. Boxers. I swallowed when he removed a condom packet from his pocket and set it beside me on the mattress before pressing a knee into the bed. He grabbed my ankles and pulled me toward him. Smiling. That wicked half grin. My stomach summersaulted. My skin was so warm it felt like I was sunburned. I was on fire. I wanted him so badly, but not just for one night. That was the unsettling part.
"You got your lotion back." He smoothed his hands up my legs, calves to upper thighs spreading them apart. Just that and his gaze on me and my pussy became the center of every sensation. My clit throbbed for his attention.
"A dark kiss." He leaned in, separating already slick, swollen tissue and blew a stream of hot air across the taut flesh he had exposed. I whimpered and breathed his name.
"Soon." He climbed higher, caging me between his arms while parting my legs more with his firm thigh.
"Come to me, Angel." He crooked a finger. I rose, lifting my back off the cool sheets and pressing my lips to his warm mouth. "Yes," he praised, framing my face, taking what I gave and devouring my lips. I writhed against the pressure his thigh provided. I sucked his tongue. I rocked my pussy against him. I soaked his skin.
"Condom. Please. Now," I panted, wanting him inside me, needing him and only him to ease the ache.
He pressed the packet into my hand. I ripped it open. I rolled it on while we both watched.
"You’re beautiful," I breathed, and he captured my praise with his mouth. His teeth nipped my lips. His tongue plunged inside. His lips sealed to mine, he slipped his sheathed cock inside me. I shuddered, quaking along his steely hot length.
"Lucky. You feel so good."
He circled his hips. He withdrew.
“Yes,” I hummed in approval. He surged back inside me. He repeated the motion. Wet tongue. Hot cock. His sleek body covering mine. The rest of the world receded. It became just us and this insatiable need. Higher and hotter it swept us into its rushing current. Skin to slick skin. Heat to heat. Raw desire to desire. In and out. Faster and faster. I tightened around him. Until he groaned and I shattered.
AFTERWARD, I DIDN’T sleep. I watched him. His face relaxed. His lips parted. His body. Well, I admit I gorged on that view. I lowered the sheet so I could see everything. His shoulders. Biceps corded with muscle. Pecs taut slabs even as he slept. Smooth flat abdomen. Spirally curls that led to his glorious cock. I swallowed and let my gaze drift lower to his thighs, his calves, his masculine feet. I wanted to lick and suck on every single inch of him. But he had weary circles under his eyes. He had lots of responsibilities with Sky and the band, but I worried how much of that lassitude was because of me.
I rose from the bed, carefully and quietly. I slid on one of the hotel robes from the closet, a thin but velvety soft one. I picked up the note from Ryland. I set it aside. Even without it, I knew the dawn had arrived and that everyone had gone home. I unlocked the door, opened it and tiptoed down the hall. I entered the main living space intending to get myself a glass of water in the kitchen, but an ebony shape near the floor to ceiling windows in the corner called to me like the Sirens to Ulysses. I sat on the bench and stroked my fingers across the glossy surface of the lid before lifting it and exposing the ivory keys. I exhaled reverentially. A baby grand. A Steinway. Was it impeccably tuned? I ran through some scales. Perfection. Unable to stop myself, I closed my eyes. I positioned my fingers. I opened my mind, and it came to me. The second movement of the piece Lucky had inspired. Note after note to complement the Navajo flutes, drums and rattles in the opening. This part was an ode to him. To the hope he made me feel. The sense of majestic wonder. The poignant ache of something rare but nevertheless essential. A luxurious dream from which I never wanted to awaken. The feeling of coming home.