Authors: Marquita Valentine
Her hand goes to my neck,
playing with the chain around it.
I lean back, removing my
mouth from that very dangerous part of her body, and she lets
go.
“
It’s my last night too.”
She reaches behind her and before I know it, the material of her
bra falls over the tops of my hands. “I thought we could spend it
together.”
Oh God, she’s offering me
no-strings, never-see-you again, good-bye sex, and my damn
conscience is making me hesitate. “I don’t want you to go, yet. I
can’t imagine my life
right
now
, without you in it.” The truth, it’s
all true for me. Or it’s bottle number two of the whiskey I’m
half-finished drinking.
“
Where would I stay? What
would I do? My… internship is over, and a new person will be going
on the world tour.”
“
There won’t be a world
tour.”
“
Don’t ruin your career,
Jackson.”
“
You could stay with me,
be my assistant or something.” As soon as the words are out of my
mouth, the tiniest part of my brain is shouting at me, telling me
to take it back.
“
I don’t want to work for
you.” She leans closer and takes hold of my wrists. “Like I said, I
don’t screw my employer.”
At this moment, I have two
choices.
One—I can help her back
into her clothes and send her on her way.
Two—I can ignore my
conscience, screw her senseless, and watch her leave
tomorrow.
I don’t like either of my
choices, so I go with a third one.
“
Do you have anywhere else
to go?”
She slowly shakes her
head.
“
You’re not a college
intern, are you?” I ask, voicing the suspicion I’ve kept to myself
for months.
A slight hesitation, and
then, “No.”
“
Please tell me you’re
over eighteen, and your real name is Bliss Davenport.”
“
I over eighteen, and
Bliss Davenport is my real name.”
Thank God for small favors.
“Wanna get out of here?”
Her eyes search my face,
then she leans in and brushes the lightest of kisses on my cheek.
“Yes.”
I set her on her feet,
turning my back so she can get dressed and grab her bag. I grab my
wallet, the half-empty bottle of whiskey, and the keys to Everett’s
car. He’s here tonight, and I know he’s raising Cain over Violet’s
impromptu set change, so that gives me time I normally wouldn’t
have.
“
Let’s go.” We sneak out
into the hallway, walking fast, with her hand tightly gripped in
mine. “Can you drive stick?” I ask once we’re outside.
“
Yes.”
“
Don’t you need a purse or
something?”
“
Everything I own is in
this bag.”
That’s
going to have to change. “Get in.”
She drives and I drink. By
some miracle, we make it through all the security detail without
incident. Once on I-85, she glances at me.
“
Where to?”
I point the bottle at the
sign that reads: Charleston, next two exits. “Know a real good bar
down there. Place we can stay too. Right on the beach.”
“
You sure?” she asks, as
if she’s having second thoughts.
“
Completely.” I close my
eyes and smile as she changes lane. “Wake me up when we hit the
city limits.”
Chapter
Thirty-One
Violet
Out of the corner of my
eye, I realize the stage manager is waving furiously at me. Yep,
Everett’s pissed.
Good.
But then she points, stage
right, and I turn just a little.
Walking to me, across the
stage, is Cole.
He’s all I can see. Wearing
one of his plaid shirts, ear gauges, and leather wraps around his
wrists, he is this country girl’s dream come true.
He looks a little dazed, a
little nervous, and a whole lot mine.
“
Cole!” I cry out,
dropping my guitar and running to him.
Sweeping me up in a hug, he
wraps his strong arms around me. “I’m sorry baby. I’m here, and I’m
so damn sorry.”
The crowd goes wild,
whooping and hollering, their loyalty not tied to Jackson and me,
but rather a good show.
And this, no matter how
real it is to me, is a good show to them.
“
Damn, I missed you,” he
breathes, right before he kisses me.
I get lost in that kiss.
Everything in both of us is poured into that kiss—desire, lust,
love, and all the nights I’ve missed spending in his
arms.
Slowly, I pull away,
keeping my gaze fixed on Cole. I’m terrified that this is a dream,
that I’ll wake up and he’ll be gone, like so many times
before.
He sets me on my feet and
takes one step back. “Stop shaking, Rae. I’ve got you, and this
time, I’m not letting go.” He goes down on one knee, pulling out a
box, and holding it up. There’s a ring inside, beautifully made
just for me.
“
I’ve made a lot of
mistakes in my life, done things I’m not proud of, but none of
those things compared to sending you away. I’ve been suffocating
without you. Please forgive me for what I did, for not believing in
us and trusting in you.”
“
I forgive you. I forgave
you a long time ago,” I whisper, tears falling freely. The huge
hole in my heart is being filled by this man, and the constant lump
in my throat is finally going away. I feel alive again.
He smiles at me, making my
knees shake. “Marry me, Rae, and make me an honest man.”
“
YES!” I shout. He slips
the ring on, his hands trembling, and I touch his face. “I love
you, Cole Morgan.”
“
Not nearly as much as I
love you, Violet Rae Givens.” He stands and sweeps me off my feet,
heading off stage.
“
The show’s not
over.”
“
For them it
is.”
Still unable to comprehend
exactly how he got here, I look around. My parents are standing off
to the side, Kimberly happy and Davis, well, my dad’s not
unhappy
.
Everett stands behind him
with Kyle Masters, the producer my parents decided not to go with.
Everett’s eyes narrow and Kyle leers at me.
Refusing to be intimidated
by either of them, I lift my chin as we scoot around
him.
Cole pauses, and then looks
back at his dad.
“
She’s done, with you,
with all of this.”
“
You her manager
now?”
A slow grin breaks out on
his face and I want to kiss him again. “No. I’m just the man who
loves her and knows too damn much about
your
personal life, especially in
Atlanta with Tara Flowers.”
Shockingly, Everett’s face
pales, even as his mouth goes flat. Or maybe it’s not that shocking
at all. The man cares about business more than family… and his
reputation more than the kids he fathered.
“
Fine. She’s out.” He
steps aside, but not before trying to get in a last little dig.
“The only reason Jaxon went to you was because he and the guys were
tired of her
games
.” I’ll give it to the man; he’s sly, saying just enough to
imply what he means without actually calling me a slut.
This time my dad steps
forward, fist connecting with Everett’s face. Everett stumbles
back, and then hits the floor, landing on his tail. “That’s my
daughter you’re talking about, you filthy piece of crap. And you’re
right, she
is
out. She’ll never be back in either.”
Cole makes a noise of
approval. “That’s one hell of a left hook you got.”
My dad turns to us,
ignoring Everett’s moans of pains and the emergency crew on hand
that rushes to him. “Used to box in college.”
“
So, this is all right
with you?”
My dad glances at me. I’m
still in Cole’s arm, still have my arms wrapped around his neck.
I’m not going anywhere. “I would have preferred you come talk to us
first.”
“
Dad!”
My momma joins us. “Only
because we would have helped you out tonight.” She shakes her head,
a smile on her face. My momma is a romantic, and this is right up
her alley. “How in the world did you get back here,
without—?”
“
Jaxon gave me a backstage
pass.”
I blink up at Cole. “He
helped you?”
He nods. “I think you broke
his heart.”
“
I doubt that.”
Everyone turns their
attention to me. “Why do you think that?” Cole asks.
“
A little seamstress has
been in his heart for months now.”
My parents and Cole just
give me this look, but I don’t care. Maybe Jaxon has finally
learned his lesson, or finally learned to stand up to Everett.
Really, it’s not my problem… it was never my problem. I wish him
well. I wish him love and happiness.
With someone
else.
*** *** ***
Cole
We’re at the hotel she’s
staying in, and I’m on the right floor. “Number?”
“
Seven One
Five.”
I raise a brow. “No
penthouse?”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“Everett never let us stay in the penthouse. He always reserved it
for himself.”
Grabbing her hand, we race
to her room. She gets the door open in no time at all, but it seems
to take a million years. As soon as the door shuts, we’re ripping
at each other’s clothes and kissing each other like
crazy.
“
Where is the nose
ring?”
“
Took it out.”
I kiss her pink nipples and
then suck a tight bud in my mouth. “Put it back in, for
me?”
“
What about the
hair?”
She arches her back and I
have to hold her arms at her sides to keep her from moving. I
scratch my arm on her diamond ring, but the pain’s worth it. The
pain means she’s mine.
“
It’s hot like this.” I
grab a handful and lick her neck. “Gives me something else to hold
on to when I’m smacking your sexy ass.”
“
You’re so
dirty.”
“
And you love it,” I say
with a smirk.
“
I love you.” She jumps on
me and I catch her, spinning around to brace her against the wall.
I slip my fingers between us. She’s wet, slick, and hot.
“
Ready for me?”
“
Now, now, now,” she
chants.
I slam into her, not taking
a breath, not giving her time to recover. All I can think and
breathe and see is Rae. How she feels around all of me. How she’s
gripping me, how her nails are scoring my back.
Not even a minute later,
she’s screaming my name and I’m pouring into her, holding myself
still while she milks my cock.
Mine,” I growl.
“Mine.”
Somehow I managed to make
it to the bed, with my dick still inside of her, and collapse on
it. I pull her on top of me, and after our hearts calm, I begin
making lazy circles on her back. “I love you, Rae.”
“
And I love
you.”
“
No more secrets and no
more lies.”
She looks up at me. “And no
more pushing me away.”
“
Never.” I lace my hand
with hers. “This time, we’re lasting forever. You can spend all the
money you want on me.”
“
Let’s pay for college
first, for both of us.”
“
Sounds like a plan. I’ve
always wanted to date a college girl.”
She snorts, unladylike, but
cute as hell. “But if you ever leave again, I’ll hunt you down and
tie you to the bed.”
“
That might be worth it.”
I pretend to consider her threat. “Would you use leather strips or
handcuffs?”
She punches me in the
shoulder. “Cole!”
Gazing into her blue eyes,
I smile. “I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got me for
life.”
Then she kisses
me.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Jaxon
My head’s pounding like
hell when I open my eyes. I have to blink a couple of times before
my vision properly focuses.
I recognize the room, pale
blue walls, lots of window (all of which are wide open and letting
in an ocean breeze) with a club chair near the set of French doors
that lead out onto a private balcony, complete with its own
pool.
At least I know we made it
to Charleston, South Carolina. At least we’re in my beach
house.
A small sound catches my
attention, mostly because it’s magnified times three in my hungover
state.
Slowly turning my head, I’m
not exactly stunned to find Bliss lying in my bed.
Her back is to me, the
sheet coming only to her waist. All those curves, right there for
the taking. Or I had already partaken.