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“You feel so incredible, so right, Pru.”
She drew her arms forward, wrapping them around his neck again and began her own dance upon him, speeding up the circles with her hips as he gritted his teeth, holding on as long as he could. Gabe slid one hand to her clit, circling, while the other tugged gently at a nipple, knowing that would set her loose.
Her muscles rippled immediately, and she cried out, clamping down on him. He ground his hips against hers, drawing their orgasms out as she collapsed onto his shoulder.
When the aftershocks ended, he lay back on the bed, hugging her to him, scooting them up to the pillows.
“You thought Lydia was going to hurt me, didn’t you?” PJ asked when they both had caught their breath. She raised her head and looked at him as he nodded.
“It turns out,” she said, “she’s been holding herself together this whole time by throwing herself into making the arrangements and taking care of her mom. She’s torn up about losing Ellis, and doesn’t feel she can turn to her mom because her mother’s grieving herself.”
“Then I’m glad you were able to be there for her,” Gabe said, brushing his hand over her wild curls. “You sure you’re ready to return to the stage tomorrow, babe? You sure you’re not pushing too fast, too much?”
PJ paused, not sure how much to tell him about what she’d been thinking lately.
“That doesn’t sound very sure,” he said with a laugh, but she heard his concern.
“It’s not tomorrow that’s got me thinking. It’s the end of the tour.”
He leaned up on one elbow and looked at her as she spoke, one arm stroking her shoulder.
“When the tour ends next month, I’m not sure I want to book another one. I think maybe it’s time to retire. Or, at least take a break. Write at my own pace, release stuff on the Internet when I feel like it – or not, when I don’t feel like it.”
“What brought this on?” Gabe asked.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I think I’ve been winding down for a while now, but honestly, having the last week off has been really nice. I want to do other things right now. Like make friends.” She paused to kiss him before continuing.
“I want to spend more time with Matthew, make sure we’re okay. I want to spend more time with you,” she said, a flush telling him she wasn’t sure he’d want that, too.
“I want nothing more than to spend time with you too,” he said. “But not unless you’re sure it’s what you want. I can follow you to most of your tour stops. Jack’s already started the process to sell my company. All that really needs to be done is to settle on terms and take care of due diligence. That’ll keep me busy for a bit, but my assistant and her team are set up to handle a lot of that workload for me. You don’t need to stop touring to be with me.”
She smiled. “It means a lot that you’d do that for me, but I think this is what I want. I think I’m finished. I’ve been on the road almost nonstop since I was fifteen. I think it’s time to settle into a different life. Besides, didn’t you say Jack had an offer for you? Some new project to keep you busy after you sell the hotels?”
He nodded. “He wants me to come work at Sutton with him, advising start-up companies, helping to tweak their business plans in the first year of business, that kind of thing. It’ll be interesting. I’ll get to work with different types of companies, be in on the exciting stages at start-up and then move on to something new. But, I’d only want to do that if you were living in Connecticut with me. If you wanted to be there with me,” he clarified.
She straddled him again and smiled down on him while her hair fell over her naked shoulders and breasts. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Then, that’s settled,” Gabe said. “We finish out this tour, then head back to Connecticut.”
She nodded, her smile wide, but then a shadow crossed her face.
“I do worry about Lydia and the band. This means forcing them to find other jobs. I feel guilty,” she admitted.
Gabe shook his head. “You can’t live your life for other people, honey. It’s one thing to worry about other people and be considerate of their feelings. It’s another to live a life you don’t want because of their needs. You can’t let yourself feel guilty for living the life you need after so many years on the road.”
“Yeah,” she whispered, letting her head fall back down to his chest. He felt her yawn and pulled the comforter up over them.
“Sleep, Pru,” he whispered and let his hands go back to rubbing her shoulders until he heard her breathing even out.
Chapter 20
PJ looked up from her phone to see Lydia striding toward her, a bag slung over her shoulder, her take-charge look set firmly on her face.
The only thing was, PJ hadn’t expected to see Lydia this morning. The plan had been for the group to go ahead to the next few tour stops without her. Debra would take over Lydia’s duties so she could spend a few more days with her mom. In fact, they’d told her to take all the time she needed after Ellis’s death.
“Lydia,” PJ said, as the other woman drew close to where PJ and Gabe stood next to the tour bus. “What are you doing here? You should be with your family.”
The other woman’s smile was tight, and PJ’s heart twisted in her chest for this woman she’d never really seen as a friend, but felt for all the same.
