Page 15 of King of Rhythm
Heat fills my face and I duck my head, using the curtain of my hair to hide my blush.
“Now, back to what you were saying. When you first saw how short I was.”
I flinch and only the steady feel of his arm around me gives me the courage to continue. “I wanted to leave,” I whisper, lifting my gaze to his. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s how you felt,” he says. “Is it still how you feel?”
“No! I like you, Bryce.” My teeth press down on my lower lip. “But I’m kinda freaked out that you’re a celebrity.”
“I’m not. At least not anymore. I left that life-”
“Why?” I interrupt him and it’s rude, but I’m so curious. I mean, I didn’t recognize the name of his band, but that song was big enough that it was instantly recognizable.
“The short story and the reason why my band mates thought I was leaving is because my girlfriend slept with a bandmate.”
“Ouch. I’m sorry.”
He waves my concern aside. “It’s fine. It sounds horrible, but it wasn’t a big deal. The term girlfriend was used very loosely back then and no real feelings were involved on any of our parts. That whole situation was merely the catalyst that made me realize just how unhappy I was.”
I scrunch closer, kissing his ear and rubbing a hand across the hard plane of his chest. “It’s hard for me to imagine getting up on a stage in front of thousands of people. That’s the stuff of nightmares for me. But you must have loved it to do it. Why were you unhappy?
“At first it was thrilling, absolutely. I love music. And the money didn’t hurt either.” He gives me a squeeze. “Months away from home and my family got to me. I didn’t have any real friends or relationships. I was a guy from Men on a Mission, I ceased to be me. That’s the real reason I walked out of contract negotiations. Though I did it in true diva style, so nobody begged for me to stay.”
Giggling, I nip at his nipple. “You’re bad.”
“That’s not what you were saying just a little bit ago.” His dark brows waggle at me and he drops a fast wink. And I think that’s the moment it truly hits me how much the word like doesn’t cover what I feel for him.
I’m so stunned it takes me a few beats before I tune back in to the rest of what he’s saying.
“So, you see, you have nothing to worry about with me being a celebrity. I barely get recognized anymore. Now I’m simplyMr. Jeffries, the band teacher. If anyone calls out my name, it’s because I had them in class or it’s one of my students’ parents.”
That eases my mind enough that I tease, “So you don’t have leagues of women chasing you?”
His face looms closer, his breath warm on my lips. “I’m only interested in one woman, but you don’t have to chase me.”
My lips tingle as he rubs his mouth against them. His tongue snakes out to lick at the corner and that tingle shoots down directly to my clit and I grip the sheets.
“Unless you want to,” he whispers.
I can only gasp, which is answer enough, and then Bryce’s lips are crushing down on mine in a passionate kiss. When he rolls on top of me, I find his recovery time is remarkably short as the heavy weight of his cock rubs against my pussy. And so, begins round two.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AVERY
It’s well past ten when we rouse enough to get a snack in the kitchen. With us both having work tomorrow, it’s for the best that Bryce leaves. One goodbye kiss turns into two and by the time he finally drives off, it’s after eleven and I’m barely keeping my eyes open.
Except suddenly, my apartment feels empty, and even worse when I flop down on my bed that smells of us, it seems far too big and lonely. I thought I would drift right to sleep after he left, instead I toss and turn for longer than I would like before finally falling asleep.
When my alarm beeps at me, it takes effort to drag myself up and I don’t have time to bother with making a decent breakfast.
I’m munching on a slightly stale bagel when my phone buzzes with a message.
BRYCE: Dinner again tonight? If it’s too much. If I’M too much, just say so and I’ll back off.
Seeing each other three nights in a row? Maybe for others it isn’t too much, it is a lot for me. Yet part of me wants to see him tonight. I missed him when he left last night. And if we do dinner at my apartment again, then it wouldn’t be that big of a deal at all.
AVERY: Sure, my place after work?
