Page 57 of Final Serenade

Then I heard it. His laugh. It was soft and quiet, but it was back and I loved how it filled me with bliss. How it made my chest swell and my stomach flutter.

Damn this man.

“I won’t ever do that again,” Frank said. I felt his hot breath on my cheeks as his body moved closer.

“You promise?” I bit my lip. The tip of my boot was tapping a wild beat against the dirt.

“I do. If I have an emergency and need to leave town for a while, Iwillcall or text you.”

I didn’t believe what I’d just heard. “You promise me?”

“I do.”

“And when you go on tour?”

“We’ll figure it out when we get there.” He leaned in, his voice a ragged whisper. “I’ve had a rough couple of days. Can you cut me some slack, doll?” His mouth captured my lips as his free hand snaked around my body to pull me to him. The kiss was vicious fire. It tasted of anger and desperation. Our tongues clashed while fighting for dominance. I heard a low rumble in his chest and the squeak of leather on leather as our jackets caught. My legs were wobbly, my head buzzed. I needed leverage and I needed air. But most of all, I needed him. It was the strangest kind of craving. Something that hadn’t happened to me before. I’d never wanted to be with a man as much as I wanted to be with Frank. I didn’t care about how many award-winning songs he’d written or how many followers his Twitter account had. I didn’t care about the words people usually said to each other. Or labels they liked to put on their relationship. I simply wanted reassurance he was mine when he was with me, when he was off duty, when he wasn’t playing the role of megastar Frankie Blade. No matter how short this thing between us, the half-affair, might turn out to be.

My hand that wasn’t occupied with the helmet sifted through his disheveled locks and I gave them a little tug.

He responded with a soft growl, and pleasant chills ran down my spine. I was burning up and I wanted his damn jacket off so I could lick him all over.

Frank broke the kiss. His hand rose to my face and when he cupped my flushed cheek, his glove felt cool against my skin. “Are you hungry?”

I wasn’t sure which hunger he was referring to. In any case, the answer to both was the same. “Very.” I nodded.

“Do you want to have breakfast with me?”

“Yes.”

“My place is just up the hill.” He jerked his chin toward the road.

“Your place?”

“Can’t really show up at IHOP like this.” A chuckle.

“Right. Your place it is.”

Chapter Nine

We raced against the approaching daybreak with clouds of dust kicking up behind us and the dew-scented air coating our clothes. The hum of the engine, loud and powerful, made the perfect soundtrack. When the bike reached a fork in the road, Frank took a sharp right.

I saw it then. The gray shimmer of the Pacific blanketed by the morning fog. My heart jumped in my throat and a blast of excitement shot through me. The breeze, crisp against my skin, was ruthless and the first rays of light glittered across the mountains like little fires.

The view was breathtaking and I couldn’t understand how in all of my twenty-five years I’d never been here. I’d never seen any of this.

The road began to curve, taking us back to the mountain range. We crawled up the hill and entered a long driveway that led to the property. Frank stopped his bike at the entrance and punched in a code. I heard a creak as the gate slid open to let us in. My arms were still wrapped around his body while he drove through the front yard.

We didn’t speak when Frank was helping me off the bike. He unbuckled his helmet and I got rid of mine.

The house sat on a cliffside that overlooked the water. I couldn’t tell how big it was or how many floors it had, but the slick, clean lines, the abundance of white tones, and the expansive windows told me Frank was a minimalist. There were hardly any flowers. A three-tier stone fountain sat in the middle of a large grassy lawn.

He threaded our fingers together and lead me toward the house.

The time around us stilled. The ocean roared. We stood on the terrace, speechless, staring at each other. The streaks of fresh morning light danced along the side of his face. He was transcendent.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked carefully.

“Not right now,” he told me, shaking his head. He got rid of his gloves and cupped my face with his needy hands, scorching hot on my cheeks. The air around was all electricity. The light tremble of the ride still ruled my body, making my nerve endings vibrate. Our mouths met again. I parted my lips, offering him whatever he wanted. His tongue swept over mine eagerly, and I was more than happy to reciprocate.

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