Never Enough(34)

Eddie's not paying any attention at all.

"Fucking hell," he says mildly, like he's more surprised than anything. "All right then, I'm outvoted."

I nudge his foot again, and he nudges me back with his knee.

"But no fucking around," Valerie says, pointing a magenta-tipped finger at us. "That goes for both of you. You're just staying out of the limelight for a little while, I don't want this to be a damn disaster when we re-introduce you."

Re-introduce. I think they do that with wildlife, when a species has gone extinct in a specific area.

"Got it," Gavin says. His face is dead serious but he's got the telltale crinkles around his eyes that mean he's trying not to smile, and he's still got his knee against mine.

"Sure," I agree, trying not to turn pink because Gavin's playing footsie with me.

"Good," Valerie says. "Okay. On to the next thing. Eddie, you've got a shitload of interviews to do in the next few days, and you'd better be stone cold sober and you'd better bring up your cute dog every other sentence..."

Now that someone else is on the hook, Gavin looks over at me and winks. I wink back.





31





Gavin





"All right," Valerie says, checking the time on her phone and lacing her fingers together. "I've got to go get dinner with a client at The Melrose, so unless anyone's got anything else to discuss, I think we're all done here."

I force myself not to roll my eyes at her ridiculous name-dropping, but I've been here almost an hour and a half and I'm quite finished with this meeting. Even Marisol, who's capable of focusing on something boring for an impressive amount of time, is doodling on her folder while playing footsie with me.

Valerie looks around. No one speaks up.

"Great!" she says, and rises from her chair. "Those champagne cocktails are calling my name."

She bustles out of the conference room, through the lounge, and out the door.

"Right," Nigel says, shrugging on his jacket. "We've all been given marching orders, yeah?"

Everyone who's left nods. We all rise and walk for the door, and Nigel sighs dramatically.

"...Could use a bleeding cocktail myself..." he mutters, leaving. Eddie's right behind him, and then the door shuts.

Trent and Darcy stop, then turn toward Marisol and me.

I put my arm around her, because even though they're my bandmates, they did hate my last girlfriend. Though she was also an unpleasant junkie slag.

"So," Darcy says. "Are you okay? You seem okay."

"I'm fine," Marisol says. "Is... Eddie okay?"



       
         
       
        

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Trent says calmly. Darcy glances at him, but says nothing.

"Okay, question," she says. "Are we not telling Valerie and Nigel that you two are..."

Don't say 'banging.'

"...banging?" she says.

Marisol pushes her hands into her pockets and looks up at me, mischief written on her face.

"Are we not telling Valerie and Nigel that we're banging?" she asks.

Darcy and Trent both look much too pleased at this.

"We can if you'd like a press release about it," I say.

"I think I'd like a press release about it," Trent offers. "'The members of Dirtshine are excited and honored to announce that frontman Gavin Lockwood has recently begun boning a law student...'"

"'...who is thrilled and honored to be hopping on the D...'" Darcy adds.

"'...and will be staying on through repeated upcoming releases.'"

"Okay," I say, but both of them are already laughing at their own dumb joke.

Marisol's pink, but she's also laughing. I give in.

"You know how those two are," I say. "Her first question would be whether we'd be willing to release a sex tape."

"Are you?" Trent asks.

"The fuck do you think, mate?"

He just shrugs, still grinning.

"You should see the emails she's sent us," Marisol chimes in. "There were bullet-pointed 'physical affection benchmarks.'"

"Holy shit," Darcy breathes.

"Hand-holding was date one, but hand-holding on the table during dinner was date three," Marisol goes on. "And she repeatedly demanded that we achieve 'lip-on-lip.'"

"Tell me that's not a kiss," Darcy says.

"It is," I confirm.

There's a moment of silent horror.

"That's how an alien would describe kissing," Trent says.

Marisol laughs.

"That would explain a lot about Valerie," she says.

The two of them stick around for a few more minutes, and then finally, Trent pulls out his phone and checks the time.

"I've got to meet a very famous, important person for champagne cocktails soon, so I should get going," he says.

Darcy snorts.

"Go ahead," I say, rising from the couch. "I'm going to use the restroom and I said I'd give Marisol a ride home."

"Cool," Darcy says. "We should figure out rehearsal soon. And if we had new material..."

She raises both eyebrows. 

"We will," I say.

"Be safe, kids," Trent says opening the door.

"Use protection!" Darcy shouts, and then the door shuts.

Still pink, Marisol turns toward me.

"They're-"

I kiss her before she can finish the sentence, and she says mmmph into my mouth but wraps her arms around me instantly, so I grab her ass and lift her until her legs are wrapped around me, squeezing my rock-hard cock, her face just above mine.

She pulls back slightly, laughing.

"Whatever you're laughing at it's quite serious and not at all funny," I say.

Marisol grins, her nose to mine.

"You got busted," she laughs. "They knew exactly what you were doing."

"We got busted."

"But mostly you."

She kisses me again, tightening her legs, and opens her mouth against mine, her hand on the back of my neck. I slide my hand onto her back, underneath her shirt, my cock throbbing so hard I can barely think straight.

I swear she does things to me I don't even understand.

"When you spend months in a van with someone on tour, they get to know you," I murmur. "And I don't give a fuck that they know what we're doing right now."

Marisol bites my lower lip just hard enough to send a surge of desire through my veins, sizzling over my nerve endings, and I growl at her in response.

I pull her shirt over her head. Before it lands I'm already on her neck, kissing and sucking the soft, delicate skin there, forcing myself not to leave a mark, no matter how badly I want to be just a little rough and reckless.

She moans. I press my fingers into her back as hard as I can, and she rocks her hips against me, one hand pressing my head to her neck as I move my mouth down. My teeth find her skin, and she gasps, but I keep going. I get her bra off one-handed - a skill I did practice, thanks - and before she can say anything, I toss her onto the couch and follow, her thighs still around me, her breasts still bouncing from the impact.

I take one perfect, dark nipple in my mouth and swirl the tip of my tongue around it, listening to Marisol's gasp as it puckers for me and I harden in response, so hard it's nearly painful. Her hand is on my head, gripping my hair, her hips moving under me.

My other hand finds her other nipple and that one stiffens too as a strangled moan escapes Marisol's lips. I bite down, gently at first, and then harder little by little until her back arches and her hand tightens in my hair, and then I flick my tongue over it until her breathing gets ragged, pinching and rolling the other at the same time.

I open my eyes, her nipple still in my teeth. She's got her head thrown back, and I can barely see her, but her eyes are closed, her lips parted and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I think I could stay here forever and just watch her, and I'm tempted, but instead I flatten my tongue and slide the length of it over her nipple.

Marisol grabs the back of my shirt and pulls, and then I'm taking it off and throwing it somewhere and she's biting her lip and running her hands down the tattoos on my torso. The look in her eyes is pure, deep hunger, and it darkens when her hands reach my pants and she slides one palm over my achingly hard cock.

I groan and press myself against her hand, my own body no longer under my control, and Marisol lifts herself on one elbow, her mouth seeking mine, her body pressing insistently against me. I can feel every breath she takes, her lungs expanding and contracting, every movement of her skin on mine stoking an unquenchable fire.

She lies back, looking at me, her eyes pools of lust as she unbuttons my pants. Before I kick them off I take the condom I brought out of my pocket and toss it onto the coffee table.



       
         
       
        

Marisol laughs, and I grin at her, grab her by the belt of her jeans and unbutton them, planting a kiss on her chest, in the valley of her heartbeat.

"I've had time to plan this ever since you left this morning," I say, my lips brushing against her skin as I pull down her zipper and she lifts her hips off the couch, helping me get her pants off.

My cock twitches and throbs. I throw her pants into a ball on the floor and she sits up, takes my cock in her fist, and kisses me deep.