Pleasuring her was the easy part. I already knew what she liked. Helping her break down that heavy-duty guard and stop worrying about what people thought, or getting hurt, would be the hard part.
“Knox, I…”
I felt her uncoil before the burst I’d been craving touched my lips. The jolt traveled from her, through me, driving me to press her hips into the door and continue pouring it on until she was gasping and pleading for a break.
I slowly kissed my way up her body while she wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my neck.
“I’ll never get used to that,” she said, shaking her head. “The way you destroy me.”
I knew she meant it in the best possible way so I smiled, tipping her face up to meet mine. Our kiss was slow, ramping up when she rocked into me, reaching for my fly.
“Later, sweetheart,” I said, ending the kiss to reach for her hands.
“You’re not serious.” Her eyes widened as her gaze dropped below my waist. “Knox, there’s no way you’ll make it through the concert—”
“I can and I will.” A quickie with my girl didn’t appeal to me when I could hold out for the full Cece experience. “I’m good, babe.” I chuckled at her look of doubt. “I’ll take a cold shower.”
“But you made me feel so amazing.” Her eyes drifted closed as she leaned into me. “I want to do the same for you.”
For the first time in my life I actually wished I could cancel a concert, disappointing forty thousand fans. That’s how crazy I was about this girl. “You will, gorgeous. After the show.” I held her face in my hands, kissing her. “Just come to my bus when the coast is clear. We’ll have all night.” When she raised her eyebrow, I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. “Fine, we’ll have at least half the night, before the girls notice you’re missing.”
She laughed, patting my chest. “I feel like I’m back in high school, sneaking around behind my parent’s back.”
I didn’t want to ask about all the horny little bastards she’d snuck out to meet in high school because as crazy as it sounded, I was jealous. Jealous of kids who were probably so anxious to get their rocks off they didn’t even make sure she got hers.
“What?” she smiled, as though she could read my mind.
“Your first was the dumbass in the band, huh?” I bent to pick up her skirt. “What the hell was his name again?”
“James.” She rolled her tongue in her cheek. “Speaking of, you’re gonna meet him tonight.”
“What?” I watched her refasten her bra before snagging her shirt off the ground. “Don’t tell me you still talk to him.” The guy her mother swore almost knocked her up in high school. He was the last person I wanted to meet.
“We’re Facebook friends,” she said, laughing. “He messaged me and told me he was gonna be at the concert with some buddies tonight so I told him to come backstage. He’s a huge fan.”
I rolled my tongue over my teeth as I cracked my knuckles. A nasty habit I’d developed as a teen when my fingers got stiff playing video games. “He is, huh?”
She looked up from buttoning her shirt and said, “Give me a break, Knox. I told him to come to the show weeks ago, but you’re not jealous of my high school boyfriend, are you? That was years ago. We were both just kids then. He’s been married and divorced and has a couple of kids now.”
I zeroed in on the divorced part, knowing if he was single he’d probably be angling for another shot with the girl who got away. “Why’d you break up with him anyhow? Too stupid? Couldn’t get it up?” Like that was ever a problem for a teenage boy. “Better offer?”
“Just outgrew the relationship,” she said, patting my cheek. “We had nothing in common, really, except music, friends, and sex.”
I growled, pulling her back against my chest when she turned her back on me. “I don’t care if you were just a kid then. I don’t wanna think about you having sex with anyone else.” This was new for me, the jealousy thing, and I couldn’t pretend to like it, but it was obviously going to be par for the course with Cece. I was in love with her and that meant I didn’t want anyone else to have her. Not this year, last year or fifteen years ago.
“You’re too much.” She kissed my cheek. “This from the same guy who should probably have his junk bronzed, for all the action it’s seen.”
“Hey.” I grabbed her hand, jerking her around to face me. “Don’t joke about shit like that. I haven’t slept aroundthatmuch.” She raised an eyebrow, reminding me how well she knew me and my history. A past that I was beginning to resent, because it was getting in the way of my future with Cece. “Listen, I know it seems like there have been a lot of girls over the years, but I haven’t slept with all of them. Some were just…” I shrugged, knowing there was no delicate way to tell her it had been a one-way exchange.
“I don’t need to know.” She patted my chest. “I know who you are. I know what you are. And I knew that before this thing between us started,” she said, gesturing from me back to her. “So no harm, no foul.”
I gripped her shoulders. “What the hell does that mean?” If she thought I wasn’t taking this seriously because every other woman in my life had been a meaningless diversion, she was dead wrong. And I thought she knew that.
She shrugged me off. “It just means that we’re good. We don’t need to dwell on your past, or mine. We’ve both had other lovers. Plenty of them, in your case. End of story.”
She made it seem like she didn’t care and that didn’t sit well with me. Because I cared. A lot. Maybe too damn much.
“You can’t pretend you don’t get jealous.” I tugged her hand when she reached for the doorknob. “I saw the way you reacted to the pic of me with that blogger.”
