Rock Me Two Times (4 page)

She finished in a rush, feeling like she was trying to hold him off with a slingshot and a marshmallow instead of the well-thought-out rules she lived by. He was going to eat her ammo and lick his lips afterward.

“I rank below drugs?” he growled. “That’s harsh. I’ve been studying guitar since I was four.”

That was impressive. But she couldn’t say so, because then she’d be right back to thinking about getting her hands on him. He smelled hot and ultra-male.

“It’s just that I’ve done my share of movie costumes, and rock stars and celebrities, well, they don’t really”—she found herself searching for some way to put it that wouldn’t offend him—“do relationships.”

“I don’t do anything in half measures,” he assured her.

“You asked,” she said, trying to swallow her disappointment. Like there had been a chance in hell of them ever connecting beyond impulsive sex. “And now you know why I’m telling you to call Giles. It’s been great meeting you.”

“You haven’t given me a chance to meet your demands.” Syon chuckled softly, menacingly, and closed the last pace between them.

“You rejected them,” she said.

“Relationships require negotiation. I can’t change what I am, so number two needs to be struck from the list,” he said.

“Maybe I don’t negotiate.”

“Maybe you need incentive,” he offered in a raspy whisper.

They were toe to toe, the scent of his skin wrapping around her. He reached up and opened the clip she had holding her hair back. She heard it drop to the floor as he threaded his fingers through the strands, sending a torrent of sensation through her. It was bold and aggressive and presumptuous. She should have protested, but her eyes closed as waves of enjoyment rushed through her. All she wanted to do was arch and purr.

“You’re ginger.” He leaned over and buried his face in her hair. She heard him draw in a deep breath before exhaling next to her ear. “Spicy and sweet… I wanted to know what you tasted like the moment I saw you.”

“Really?”

He closed his hand in her hair, pulling it tight but stopping shy of hurting her. “Yeah…really.”

The hold sent her over the edge into some alternate dimension, where instinct ruled.

He hovered over her lips, almost touching them until she stretched toward him.

“Wait for it…” he growled softly, holding her back.

“Like hell.”
She smoothed her hands back until she found the opening of his vest. He’d never closed more than a few buttons, just enough to cover his navel. She slid her hands inside, needing to touch his bare skin.

But she closed her fingers, trapping a handful of his chest hair.

He stiffened, surprised. His chest rumbled with something that sounded a lot like a growl.

“Ginger all the way through…” He smothered her retort beneath his lips, kissing her with a force that left her breathless. He commanded every motion, moving her head to suit his whim. But she wasn’t going to submit. She slid her hands up, over his collarbones until she found the corded muscles running along his neck. She threaded her fingers through his hair and grabbed him.

He pressed her mouth open, demanding complete surrender, but she still didn’t give it to him. She teased the tip of his tongue with hers and then licked along his lower lip as he shuddered and pressed up against her.

His cock was rock hard.

And huge.

She shivered with need so sharp, she was half-afraid she might climax just from being against him. The need to lift her thigh and rub against him was insane.

“I thought you’d be up here, trying to beat me to the punch.”

Kate jumped and would have fallen over the back of the chair if Syon hadn’t slid his arm around her waist to hold her.

Ramsey grinned at her without a shred of shame on his face and flicked the curtain closed behind him. Syon let Kate push free of his embrace and offered his bandmate a shrug. “I waited until after the show, didn’t I?”

“Barely,” Ramsey griped. “You skipped out on that reporter and dropped her in my path like a land mine.”

“Doesn’t look like she exploded on you.”

Ramsey leaned against the wall, pinning Kate between them. “She latched on.”

“But you’re still here,” Kate observed. She probably shouldn’t have spoken. It was a weird enough conversation and an even weirder situation. Things like “making sense” just didn’t belong at all.

Kind of like herself. She was so far out of her element, she wasn’t sure she knew how to make it back to reality.

Ramsey grinned, giving off a bad-boy vibe that had her teetering between the urge to smack him or bite. “I promised her an interview later.” His eyes narrowed seductively at Kate. “Unless we’re too busy.”

“Excuse me?” Kate looked back at Syon, but all he did was frown and shrug.
Rule number two.
“Seriously, I’m leaving.”

Kate made it two steps toward the curtain before Syon clamped his hand on her wrist and stopped her.

“Ramsey, get the fuck out. I told you, she’s mine.”

“Yeah…yeah…” Ramsey grumbled as he pushed off the wall and headed back for the curtain. Syon pulled her against him as his bandmate passed by.

But Ramsey paused next to her, giving her a look at his dark eyes. They paired with his black hair perfectly, completing his lone-wolf persona. “Maybe next time.”

Syon extended his hand past her with his middle finger raised right beneath Ramsey’s nose. With a snort, the other guitarist was gone, the curtain shimmering again as it settled back into place.

“Do you guys actually go in for threesomes?” Kate pulled away from Syon, stunned to hear her own question. Who asked stuff like that anyway?

Duh…rock stars.

“Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it, Ginger,” Syon said.

“Enough of the redhead references.”

“I’m talking about your nature.” He started after her, and she propped her hand onto her hip.

“Hold it right there.” She stuck her finger out at him.

“Here?” he asked innocently. “Or…” He moved forward, jabbing her finger into his chest and pushing her into the wall at the same time. “Here?”

“Just…back off,” she snapped. “I am not into group sex.”

He flattened his hands on the wall next to her head. There was a mere inch between them, and her heart started accelerating again.

“Ramsey is just pumped up from the show,” Syon offered in a low tone. “We have to put a lot of ourselves out there on the stage, and sex is the smartest way to blow off steam when we’re done.”

“What’s smart about random sexual encounters?” Kate asked.

“No hangovers, and no chance of overdosing.” He leaned down and inhaled the scent of her hair again. “Although, overdosing on your sweet body sounds like a great idea. I’m willing to take the risk.”

Oh hell…

She felt like her insides were vibrating. The level of excitement was so off the scale, she was tempted to give in just for the sake of not missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

But it would be giving in. Compromising. Something she didn’t go for.

“This is not my thing.”

“I can make it your thing.” His caramel eyes were full of a promise that made her shiver.

“Yeah
right
.” She ducked under his arm and swept the curtain aside. “I am not falling for that line.” But it just might come back to haunt her when she was playing with B.O.B. “I’m leaving now.” With what was left of her pride.

Which wasn’t much. Her hair was floating around her shoulders, and she had a nightmarish mental image of what she must look like—wet lips, smudged lipstick, and hungry eyes.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone to deal with your…desire to overdose…”

There was a grunt behind her. Kate didn’t wait to see if it was an agreement or further argument. She took off down the hallway and headed for a door marked
restricted access
.

The moment she pushed through it, a dark-suited guy stepped into her path. He was a mountain of muscle and scowling.

“Call your goon off,” she snapped back at Syon, who had appeared right behind her.

“She’s with me,” Syon said right on cue.

Kate turned and pointed her finger at Syon as the door closed with a snap. “I’m not ‘with’ you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I liked our communication better before we broke off the lip-lock.”

“Yeah? Well—”

He leaned right down and smothered her retort. His mouth was just as hot as a few minutes ago, and he really did know how to use it. He teased her lips, sucking on them before biting her lower lip gently. He closed his arms around her and cupped both sides of her ass before pulling her into contact with his erection.

She gasped, the feeling making her insides twist. Her entire core yearned to toss her rules aside. She was aching for him.

Syon tightened his grip on her ass, setting fire to her senses. Her clit was throbbing painfully, and she just couldn’t take it anymore.

She reached for him, pulling the buttons on his vest open. There was a pop as a button went flying and bounced off the floor. The costumer in her would have cringed, but right now it pleased her on some base, primitive level. She wanted to eat him alive.

“Oh, God, yeah…run your claws down me.”

He arched back, offering the wide expanse of his bare chest to her. But it also allowed her to see the security guy still standing at his post near the door. He was doing a pristine job of looking straight ahead, but Kate’s jaw dropped in horror.

Syon straightened up, looking disappointed before turning his head to see what she was looking at. “Fuck. Forgot about him.”

“You mean, you usually don’t worry about anyone watching.” She tried to push him away, becoming frustrated when he stood still, defying her efforts. “Because you’re pumped up, right? Sex in the hallway is no big deal around here. I get it.”

And it pissed her off, but for an entirely different reason than she’d anticipated having to face. She didn’t want him to be so shallow.

But he was.

“I really…really…can’t…” She was sputtering, losing it completely as disappointment stung her eyes with unshed tears. “I’ve never behaved so…slutty…”

“Don’t insult yourself.” He opened his hands and wiped away one of the tears. “I’m being an asshole.”

Syon caught her hand and started to lead her through the maze of hallways. He took her up a flight of stairs and then another before she recognized the landing port. Someone opened the door for them, and she saw the pilot sitting in the helicopter, waiting for her.

The landing lights were on, spilling over them as the ocean breeze blew through her loose hair. He reached out and smoothed it back, cradling the side of her head.

“I’m going to kiss you good-bye, Kate.”

“Okay.”

She wasn’t sure what she was saying, only that she wanted one last taste of him.

Syon didn’t disappoint her. He leaned down and closed his lips over hers. It was a sweet meeting of their mouths this time. He pressed short little kisses against her lips before deepening the pressure and slipping and sliding his way across her mouth. He massaged her head, sending little ripples of delight through her.

But he lifted his head away too soon.

Or maybe not soon enough.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Kate.”

He watched her climb aboard and stood there with the wind of the rotor fluttering the open sides of his vest while they lifted off the rooftop. Below him, the area surrounding the Staples Center was teeming with fans still pumped with energy. The restaurants surrounding the auditorium were filled to the brim, customers spilling out onto the pavement as music blared and alcohol flowed.

Syon Braden stood above them, looking like he belonged right there. Up high. Unreachable.

Yeah, rule number two. She needed to follow it, or she was going to have a long, hard fall when the god of music finished with her.

* * *

Ramsey walked out onto the roof as the helicopter headed off into the night. “I didn’t mean to screw it up for you.”

“You didn’t.” Syon sighed. “I don’t hide who I am from chicks.”

“Weren’t you even tempted?”

“Maybe this time.” Syon shot his buddy a smirk. “She needs to know who I am, or there are going to be hurt feelings. I’m not a complete asshole.”

Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest, which was bare except for an open black leather jacket that exposed his nipple piercing. “Yes, you are.”

“Takes one to know one,” Syon shot back at his bandmate.

Ramsey curled his hand into a fist and smacked it into his opposite palm, but Syon shook his head. “Save your energy for the girls,” Syon said, heading back into the building.

“Got some cuties up in the penthouse suite over at the Ritz,” Ramsey said. “Plenty to go around. Big tits, little tits… I think Drake might have brought a drag queen back, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise when the skirt drops. I’m betting his cool, crisp Brit demeanor will finally fail.”

Ramsey yanked open the door to the first of the SUVs waiting to take them to their after party. Syon slid in beside Ramsey and pulled the door closed.

“Keep poking Drake with a stick, and he’s going to kick your ass one of these nights,” Syon predicted.

“Can’t help it,” Ramsey replied. “He’s like Data from
Star Trek
. No emotions. Only, I’ve seen him bleed, so I know he’s human…hence…”

“You won’t stop dicking with him,” Syon finished off.

Ramsey nodded.

The interior of the SUV was decked out in party lights and long bench seats terminating at a minibar. Their music was playing. There was a sea of flashing cameras as they passed the press, but security staff did a good job of keeping them on the sidewalk so the driver could thread his way down the ramp and into traffic.

“You could have had the bird drop us off before taking her home,” Ramsey complained.

“I think she might have jumped out if we’d climbed in after her.”

Ramsey selected one of the single-serve bottles of whiskey and popped the top loose. “That would have given me an excuse to hold her down.”

Syon picked up another whiskey and toasted with it before taking a swig. “I’m looking forward to her sitting on top of me.”