And my chest floods with warmth. “Hi.”
Her voice is soft and slightly rough. “Hi.”
We’re wrapped up in each other. I hadn’t noticed before now. It feels natural, where I’m supposed to be. I touch her cheek and thread my fingers into her hair to pull her closer. I kiss her softly, and she opens to me on a sigh. It would be so easy to roll over her, part her legs, and sink it.
If I had a condom.
“Would I look like a total dog,” I ask against her lips, “if I left you here and went to get condoms?”
I feel her smile. “Well, it’s Sunday so—”
“Don’t,” I growl, nipping her lip. “Don’t fucking say they’re closed on Sundays.”
She sighs, kissing me back. “Not saying it won’t make it any less true.”
“Mother. Fuck.” I lean back a little. She’s smiling at me, her golden brown hair falling into her eyes. I ease a strand behind her ear. “Fuck that, I’m driving off the island.”
“I’ll wait right here.”
But I don’t go. I kiss her some more, run my hands over her curves because she’s soft and warm. And mine.
“What’s it like?” she murmurs between kisses.
“Being with you?” I nuzzle her neck. “Fucking perfect.”
Her chest vibrates with a chuckle. “No. Being on stage. Performing in front of all those people.”
Resting my head in my hand, I look down at her. A lot of people have asked the same thing. I’ve never really cared. But with Libby, a lick of excitement runs down my spine. Because I can see her up there under the hot lights, her voice owning the air. It would be beautiful. “The Animal is like nothing else on Earth.”
“The animal?”
“That’s what I call the crowd.” I run my fingertips over her arm. “It’s a living thing, Libby. More than just individuals, a whole entity. You can feel it swelling up around you. It’s like…” I bite my lip trying to put the feeling into words. “How do you feel when you sing?”
She blinks in clear surprise, and her cheeks flush pink as she thinks about it. “I don’t know… Sometimes it’s the only way to get all the pain out of my soul. Other times, it’s like I’m flying.”
“Exactly,” I say, stroking her side. “Now imagine it at full throttle. You’re flying at supersonic speed. And all that energy just lights you up, until you’re hotter than the sun.”
“It must be something.” She’s gazing up at the ceiling as if picturing it.
“The rush is addicting.” I lean down and kiss the tip of her nose. “Almost as good as sex with you.”
Her pink lips quirk. “We haven’t had sex yet.”
“Don’t remind me.” I find that fragrant spot on her neck that makes her shiver. “Fooling around with you is better than anything I’ve done before.”
It’s the truth. Shocking, and yet it fills me with a strange relief, as if I’ve been wandering forever and finally come home.
Libby cups the back of my head, holding me to her. Idly, her fingers move through my hair. I close my eyes in pleasure, and her voice comes out soft. “I used to…”
“Used to what?” I prompt. That fine blush grows, chasing down her neck. I follow the heat with my fingers. “Libs.”
She takes a quick breath and talks in a rush. “I used to dream about what it’d be like performing at a concert.”
I rise up on my elbows. She tries to avoid my gaze, and I touch her cheek. “You have the talent. Why didn’t you try?” Why is she hiding here? This place is slowly suffocating her. She has to know this.
Libby shrugs a shoulder, her attention focused on my tattoo. “I’m a homebody. Hell, going to class in college was adventurous for me. And my parents…” She shrugs again, turning her head to the side, the pillow cradling her cheek. “Well, what they had to say about the life wasn’t entirely complimentary.”
“Warned you away, didn’t they?” I can understand that. There’s a lot of shit in my world. Still, it pisses me off. They had to know she had talent, that she was curious to see where it could lead. And they stomped it down before she could even try.
She pushes out a self-depreciating breath and glances at me from under her lashes. “They’d flip their shit if they knew I’d taken up with you.”
“Are you with me?” I ask carefully. If I have to fight ghosts, I want to know now.
Warmth floods my chest as she reaches up and traces my eyebrow. “I’m in this bed, aren’t I?”
“Fuck yeah, you are.” I kiss her mouth because I have to taste her again.
She makes a hum of pleasure. “I’m torn between demanding you go get those condoms and keeping you right here.”
My hands roam lower, filling themselves with her plump ass. “If it wasn’t for my blue balls shouting at me, I’d be all for staying right here.”