“So do you live nearby?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Um….” She didn’t real y want to share personal information with him. This was a quick affair. Nothing more. “No, I’m just here for the conference. Which I’m missing, by the way.”
“If you’d rather go—”
“I didn’t say that.”
He set the soap aside, wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned the side of his head against hers. “Quiet is nice sometimes.”
She supposed his life would be consistently loud. So he wanted to talk quietly and cuddle. She shouldn’t complain. She could wait a of couple minutes.
“Do any of your tattoos mean anything special?” She trailed a finger down his hard-muscled arm and the intricate, colorful artwork there.
“Some of them.” He lifted his left arm out of the water and showed her an elaborate display of bloody roses around the name Kara on the inside of his forearm.
“Old girlfriend?” she asked, tracing the letter K with her fingertip.
“My little sister. She died in a car accident when she was sixteen.”
Myrna glanced up at him, noting the raw pain on his face. “I’m sorry, Brian. That’s horrible.”
“It happened almost ten years ago. You’d think I’d be able to bury it by now.”
“She was your little sister. You thought you could always protect her.”
He smiled slightly. “How did you know that?”
She shrugged, not wanting to slip back into psychology professor mode again.
“Do you have siblings?” he asked.
“Two younger sisters. Both pains in my ass.”
“Kara was a pain in the ass, too.” He chuckled. “I stil miss her.”
Did he always wear his heart on his sleeve? He must. Even when naked.
“So if you’re not from Chicago,” he said, “where are you from?”
“Missouri.”
“Saint Louis?”
“Does it matter?”
“You have no interest in getting to know me, do you?”
She’d promised Trey she wouldn’t hurt him. She just wished it were harder to do. She knew this relationship could never resemble something significant. He was a rock star on tour. She was a professor with a demanding career. They just didn’t… fit.
“Country girl, original y. I went to col ege in Columbia, Missouri. Grad school in Saint Louis. I’m in Kansas City now.”
“So you’re not too far from home.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“L.A.”
She grinned. “Cliché.”
“They warned you that I was a romantic retard, didn’t they?”
She turned her head to glance up at him. “Huh?”
“Don’t play dumb. You don’t have to walk on eggshel s, Myr. If I’m stupid enough to fal in love with you in twelve hours, I deserve to have my heart broken.”
“I don’t intend to break anyone’s heart.”
“I don’t think anyone intends to break hearts.” He paused. “Wel , Sed, maybe. I’d just like a few minutes with something a little more permanent than a f**king tour bus, you know?”
“I understand, but—”
“Even if I’m just pretending.”
“Brian, if I’m not careful, the person who is going to get their heart broken is me.”
“We could always try to make something out of this.”
“It’s just not pos—” He covered her mouth with one hand.
“Okay, don’t say it. Just let me pretend then.” He kissed her temple and moved his hand from her mouth to her breast. “I’l get real y drunk tomorrow to try to forget you.”
“Brian.”
“I’m kidding. If you want no strings, no strings you’l get.”
She didn’t know if she believed him, but she felt a measure of relief. Her career was complicated enough. She didn’t have time for a serious relationship. Especial y a long distance one that had no chance of success. And after Jeremy… She forced thoughts of her ex-husband out of her mind.
Brian lifted her from her comfortable position against his chest and set her in the middle of the tub. “I’l scrub the ink off your back.”
He reached for the tiny bar of soap.
She sat quietly, her knees drawn up to her chest, while he washed her back. The silence between them hung uncomfortably. She wondered how she could break the ice again. Was he mad at her? It was better to be honest with him, wasn’t it? But he said he wanted to pretend, so maybe he didn’t want honesty at al .
She glanced over her shoulder to find him smiling to himself. He didn’t look mad, more like amused.
“I wonder if I can get another twenty solos or so out of our time together,” he said.
“Twenty?” Her eyes widened. “But I’m leaving after your concert tonight.”
“So am I.”
She grinned. “We’d better get busy then.”
He laughed and placed an open-mouthed kiss on her shoulder. “I don’t think you’ve got it in you.”
She splashed water in his face. “Hey! You’re the one who wanted to cuddle.”
He chuckled. The cruelty behind his laugh caused a shiver to run down her spine.
“I’m done cuddling.”
He slid her body in front of the Jacuzzi jet and lifted her slightly so the water gushed down the crack of her ass and between her legs. She shuddered. She leaned back against the edge of the tub, her bent elbows resting on the rim to hold herself over the pulsating water. Brian moved between her legs and took his c**k in one hand. He rubbed its swol en head over her clit and then gently probed her aching opening. She squirmed, wanting him to thrust into her quickly. The stimulation of the water and his gentle probing was more than she could take.
She opened her eyes and found him watching her. “Are you going to f**k me or not?”
He lunged forward, fil ing her in one deep thrust. “Is that what you want?”
She moaned, her head fal ing back. “Yes, yes, that’s what I want.”
He backed away and then thrust into her again, lifting her out of the water jet. She gasped when he withdrew slightly and her ass sank back into the pulsating water. Her body jerked.
He kissed her gently, his cruelty evaporating. “Do you like that?”
“I like everything you do to me, Brian.” She rubbed her nose against his.
He smiled lovingly.