Page 63 of Fresh Tracks
The look in his eyes is everything all at once. The unashamedlonging focused on me, making my skin tingle. The confidence and the openness to share what he just did, which is so wildly different than the boys I’m used to.
I’m realizing this thing between us is more than just hormone-driven lust. It’s a kind of deeper connection I feel in my soul that I’ve always craved, but never thought I’d find.
CHAPTER 24
TJ
KEY FOB OR SOMETHING
I could die right nowand be more than happy with the life I’ve lived. Never in my life have I felt this connected to someone. Sitting in my lap, her arms draped over me, hanging on my every word. I don’t know the last time someone has looked at me like this, wanting me and not somethingfromme.
I just want to sit here like this and take all of her in, from her cheeks with the freckles I’m still determined to count, to her soft lips that I want to feel everywhere on my body, to the column of her neck that I want to feel in my hand when she calls out my name. My eyes are frozen though, fixed on hers, sparkling and young but somehow old and soulful all at once.
“So what’s your plan for the day now that you’re back?” I ask, begrudgingly breaking the silence. “We’re leaving for Seattle tomorrow morning, so if there’s anything around town you need to take care of, today’s the day. I’ve got to meet with Sutton tonight to go over some things for this party and the new restaurant.”
“That works out well if you’re with Sutton. I was planning on working here today and then hanging out with Josie tonight since we’ll be gone.”
The thought of finally getting some alone time with her the next couple nights in Seattle makes my pulse quicken. I press my head against her chest under her chin, feeling her warmth. I almost don't care anymore that I have to see Miles and my old band if it means getting some alone time with her the rest of the weekend. They aren’t going to ruin our time together.
“God, I missed you,” I breathe the words against her.
She pulls back, eyeing me cautiously. “Hey, everything OK?”
“Yeah, still just thinking about that reunion tour. I know Miles is going to try and corner me about it.”
She gives me a playful smirk. “You know, I might give you shit for being old?—”
“Might?” I tease, raising my brows at her.
She wobbles her head. “OK. Fair, but that doesn’t change that I was going to say you’re still so young. You can get back into music on your terms. It doesn’t have to be with them. It doesn’t have to be for money. It can just be for you.”
I smile back at her lazily, admiring her outlook that seems so far beyond her years. “Thanks,” I say, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She pecks a kiss on my forehead. “Good. So either say yes or say fuck ‘em, but either way I’m here with you. Now can you quit moping? I’ve got something I want to show you.”
She bounces out of my lap, her eyes going wide with excitement, clapping her hands together and bringing them to her mouth.
“Speaking of work, are you free now?” she asks.
She turns and grabs her bag that she set down by the studio door, pulling out her laptop.
I watch her, somehow still amazed by her unbridled enthusiasm for everything she does. “You do realize it’s, like, not even eight in the morning, right? You just drove three hours to get here from Targhee. You can take a break. Go get a shower, change, do whatever. I’ll still be here.”
“Are you saying I need a shower? Because I’ve been dying to see how nice yours is compared to the guesthouse.”
Noted. Shower time with Grace is going to the top of the list of things I want to do in the very near future.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I was just saying you don’t have to dive into work right now if you have other things to do first.”
Before I can say anything else, she’s already back in my lap, perched on my thighs with her back pressed against my chest.
“Is this how presentations went at your last job?” I say, grabbing her by her hips and looking at her laptop over her shoulder. “You’re lucky I have a soft spot for you.”
“I could make this more formal if you’d like,Mr. Jacob.” Her voice drops low and sultry, doing her best impersonation of a seductive secretary. She shimmies in my lap, making me groan when I feel her ass against my swelling cock. “Also I don’t think you and I have the same definition of soft.”
I rest my chin on her shoulder, watching her open something on her laptop, breathing in that citrusy lavender scent that’s becoming so familiar.
She peeks back over her shoulder at me, turns, and runs her tongue across my stubble and up my cheek before turning back to her laptop.
