AllFreeNovel
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After tomorrow, though, who knows what will happen. I’m sure video and news of our little display on the sidewalk are already spreading like wildfire. As soon as Rena, Jarvis, and the rest of the enemy wake up, they’ll have all the evidence they need to destroy us. The song Val and I are working on now isn’t even for the next album. It’s a new one we started for our indie production when Lakebend drops me and their lawyers lock our other songs in an untouchable vault.
“Okay, here,” Val says, ripping off the headphones and handing them to me. “Let me know what you think.”
His expression sinks from confidence to doubt in a split second. That’s what always happens when he hands his work over to be critiqued. It’s the strangest thing, and it bothers me to no end. While he’s wrapped up in creation, he operates with the grace and skill of the talented expert he is. As soon as he leaves that creative bubble, however, his determined stare becomes wide, anxious eyes.
He fidgets with the edge of the comforter as I take the headphones and slip them over my ears. After pivoting the laptop in my direction, I hit the spacebar to listen and…
Wow.
This is…
Incredible.
He’s layered the main keys riff of the intro over the rhythm guitar of the chorus and added a stripped-back, syncopated beat to give it a hip-hop vibe. It’s a delicious surprise no one will see coming and the type of hook people will throw on repeat. How did his brain even think to do that?!
He must have started on this idea before now. It’s already too polished and thought out to have been thrown together, which means despite everything that’s happened this past week, he’s still had faith in our music.
As he should, because this is amazing.
“Val…” I whisper.
His tense frown tips up into a relieved smile.
“You like it?” The hint of shyness in his voice is both adorable and exasperating.
I take off the headphones, close the laptop, and shove both to the other side of the bed.
He deflates as his gaze lands on the banished laptop.
“You didn’t like it,” he sighs out.
“Can I tell you something, Perceval Andrews?”
He straightens in surprise when I crawl toward him.
“What’s that?”
I straddle him and frame his face. “I am so in love with your brain.”
The worried crease in his brow softens, and lips I dream about tip up into the most beautiful smile.
“Oh,” he says. “So you do like it.”
“No, I just said I loved it.”
“No. You said you loved my brain. That could mean you?—”
“Shut. Up,” I say with a debate-ending kiss.
His snark becomes a groan as I draw him in with a gentle bite on his lower lip. Gripping his jaw, I deepen the kiss into the one I’ve been craving. He responds with matching desperation that has me writhing for more. Hot blood pulses throughout my body, pooling between my legs which are already straining to reach the growing hardness in his jeans. The need is hungry and insatiable, which is why I swear it hurts me more than him when I abruptly let go.
“Nope,” I say, shifting out of reach. “You’re gonna have to earn it.”
His mouth hangs open as he stares at me in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“Very.”
“Earn it how?” The pleading in his voice draws a smile from me. I sense that brain I love spinning wildly. The burning tension in his muscles as I run my hand down his chest toward his zipper tells me I could ask for literally anything and get it. But there’s one thing I want more than sex right now.
