Page 6 of Rock On

But that was a problem for another time. I wasn’t ruining this tonight. Using all the conversational skills my label had insisted I cultivate, so I could easily deal with media and fans, I turned our talk to other small talk, while carefully structuring my questions to learn everything I could about Sky. Yes, that was an art. If I hadn’t been a musician, I might have been a spy.

Favorite color: Blue. Favorite food: Mexican. Favorite season: Fall. And so on and so on, while I offered the same information back to her. We’d just finished eating and were exchanging funny childhood stories when her phone rang.

“Oh shoot!” she said asWho Saysby Selena Gomez started screaming from her cell. “It’s Marley. I forgot to text her. I need to take it.”

I nodded as she accepted the call and lifted the mobile to her ear. “Hey, sis.”

I could just make out Marley’s annoyed voice on the other end of the line, and Sky looked over at me, grinning and clearly trying to hold back an outright laugh.

“Well, I was there, and you weren’t,” Sky said, her green eyes flickering with mirth while she watched me. God, was this it, though? Was she going to tell Marley she was with me. Unlike many, Marley knew my actual name. She knew it wasn’t just J or Jay.

Marley said something aboutfucking meetings running long—at least, I thought that was what she said.

“Ew, that sucks. Well, I just ended up grabbing something to eat and heading to the store. I’m doing an inventory while the place is closed.”

How do you do an inventory on bins of rocks?Marley seemed to ask. Sky hadn’t put the phone on speaker, but as I unabashedly strained my ears to hear Marley while I cleaned up our food wrappers, I could kind of catch her side of the conversation.

“You’d be surprised. Anyway…” Sky frowned. “Should we try to meet later? Or… Oh, okay. In the morning? That works for me. We can hang out—”

Her nose wrinkled as she listened to her sister. Feigning disinterest, I crossed the room to the trashcan to get rid of our wrappers, but I had no doubt Marley was sharing her packed schedule. The woman always had a never-ending to-do list.

“Okay,” my girl sighed. “Well, in the morning then. I was hoping we could see more of each other while you were here… Yeah. Yeah, I’m still planning on Friday. I’ll…be there.”

As I returned to the couch, my lips curled in, and I looked down to hide my smile again. She sounded as excited about the concert as if she were reporting to prison or something. Clearly, I didn’t hide my smile fast enough, since sheshoved my shoulder and made a face at me. Unable to help myself, I tugged her over into my lap, and she gasped.

Is someone there with you?I heard Marley ask over the line.

“No,” Sky squeaked. “I thought I saw a mouse. But it was a dust bunny. Guess I need to clean this week, too.”

My fingers trailed up her thigh, and she drew in a shaky breath, but she didn’t stop me. Her eyes met mine, the pupils wide with her interest and attraction. Her free hand flattened on my chest then flexed on the pec while she held my gaze.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” she said. If Marley answered, neither of us knew. She disconnected and tossed aside the cell.

“I want to kiss you,” I murmured, my chest knotted with the need to taste her. “Can I kiss you, Sky?”

“I shouldn’t have had those onion rings…”

A wide grin stretched my lips. “I had them, too, sweet thing. Guess we’ll be fine.”

“Then…” She released another shaky breath. “Yes. Yeah. I want that. I really want that.”

I nodded, watching her reactions while my hand skimmed up her back to the nape of her neck. Cupping the back of her head, I leaned in and sealed my lips over hers. The immediate sensation overwhelmed me, and I knew I’dwrite a song about this moment someday—someday when I managed to find the words to describe the unexplainable pleasure that seeped through me like lava.

Her soft lips opened, or maybe mine pushed them open, and I groaned as my tongue encountered hers. Sky’s arms went around my neck, and she pushed closer. I was lost in her—her taste, her blissful sounds, the sensation of her sweet body pressing to mine.

Her skin was velvet under my fingertips while brushed my thumbs along her jaw, barely stopping myself from exploring more. I wanted to touch her everywhere, to know every part of her. Knowing I was on the brink of pushing too far too soon, I pulled back, breathing hard, and rested my forehead against hers.

“Jerrin,” she gasped.

“I hate to say this—it’s the last thing I want to say—but we have to stop.”

“It’s the onions, isn’t it?” she groaned.

“The what?” A laugh burst from me when I realized she was teasing. “No. No, it’s… If I don’t stop, I’m going to fuck you right here on this couch, and that’s not what I want for us. Not tonight.”

“Oh.”

Was that disappointment?

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