Page 65 of Dear Rockstar (Dear Rockstar 1)

Oh. The thought of us in a great big bed was very tempting, I had to admit. And distracting. For the first time I noticed he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday and he hadn’t shaved—there was an appealing shadow of stubble on his usually smooth cheeks. It made me wonder if he’d slept either. He had a dark, wild look on his face that told me he probably hadn’t.

“Dale…” I took his hand, tossing my backpack aside, and sitting on the bed. He wouldn’t sit, standing looking down at me, eyes burning. “You’re overreacting.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.” I tugged on his hand, patting the bed beside me. “Listen, I’ve done this before.”

He frowned, brow knitted. “Done what?”

“Do you think I’ve never dated anyone?”

Now he did sit. “I hadn’t thought about it… but I am now.”

“I can still see you.” I kept his hand in mine as I turned toward him. “We can still see each other. We just have to be careful.”

He shook his dark head, his perfect mouth drawn into a fine line. “I don’t want to sneak around.”

“I don’t either,” I agreed, pointing at my closed bedroom door. “But you saw how he reacts. I really don’t have much of a choice.”

He reached over and brushed a long, sleep-fuzzed strand of hair out of my face, cupping my chin in one of his hands. He turned my head back and forth, like he was looking for something.

“Does he hurt you? Because if he hurts you, this is over right now. You’re coming with me. I don’t care what you say.”

I shook my head, the lie coming as easily as it always did.

Finally, he sighed. “This is crazy.”

“What did you say about crazy?” I reminded him, smiling.

“Yeah, but this is really crazy.”

“I know.” I did know. No one else knew what my home life was really like, except Aimee. I’d become an expert at hiding it. I was still hiding it, even from Dale. I dropped my gaze, afraid he would see too much truth in my eyes. “Listen, I wouldn’t blame you if… I mean, after last night, I figured I wouldn’t hear from you again anyway.”

“No.” Dale gripped my upper arms, shaking me to get my full attention and I met his eyes, surprised. The look on his face wasn’t just a dark storm, it was the full force of a tornado or a tsunami. “Are you crazy? All I could think about last night was breaking down that fucking door and taking you. Just… taking you. Out of here. Anywhere.”

I swallowed, tears stinging my eyes. “But I am.”

“What?”

“I am crazy.”

“No you’re not. Or if you are, you’re my kind of crazy.”

And then he kissed me.

It wasn’t that teasing almost-kiss we’d been about to share the night before. There was no anticipation, no gentle lead-in. This was a full-on, forced-in, take-no-prisoners kiss, a bruising, gasping, slanting kiss that took my breath and curled my toes and melted me against him, a liquid meeting a solid. I washed over him that way, my arms going around his neck, feeling his hands, big and warm, fingers digging into my ribs as he pulled my body to meet his.

“Oh Sara, Sara.” He murmured my name, kissing my lips, my cheek, my chin, my jaw, my neck, his mouth everywhere at once, hands too, roaming up under the too-tight Black Diamond t-shirt as he kissed me back onto the soft cloud of my little twin bed, just the perfect size for the two of us on top of each other like this. His knee slid between mine, making me gasp and arch, my thighs clamping down on his as his mouth found my lips again.

His tongue was teasing, dipping deeper to taste me, his breath so hot it was like fire against my cheek, his body too, lean and solid on top of me, the delicious weight of him making me forget everything else. I whimpered, shifting my hips, feeling him slide into the cradle of my pelvis as I wrapped my legs around his waist, the thick, denim friction between my thighs urging me on. I moaned his name as he broke our kiss, nuzzling his way down my neck, his stubbly chin leaving a tingly, red trail over my chest as he cupped my breasts in his hands through my t-shirt.

I looked down, meeting his gaze, seeing the lust there as our eyes locked.

Dale blinked, swallowed, his thumbs poised over my hardening nipples, and I think we both knew, the moment he touched them, it would be like setting of a detonator, a nuclear bomb. There would be no way to stop what would come next.

“Okay, wait, wait…” he breathed, shaking his head as if to clear it.

I cried out when he rolled off me in one fluid motion, standing, pacing, running a hand through his dark, already messy hair. I sat up on my elbows, still breathing hard, missing the weight and feel of him on me, wanting more.

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