Page 83 of This Side of Beautiful

“No idea.” I slunk down in my seat. “I just know I don’t want to be the one who makes you cry. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t know why you’re sorry.”

“That may be, but I apologize for not getting how I hurt you.”

She shifted and leaned against the window as she looked at me. “That part.”

“What?”

“I can’t explain everything to you.”

“Why not? We’re still getting to know each other. From what I can tell about people, especially women, we will always be learning each other. Remember the day at the airport in New Orleans? I said I didn’t know how I could do this. I meant to keep the lines drawn between you and Hollow Bones. I want to be with you, and I want to support your career, but I can’t take sides against my band. Not even for you.”

She nodded. “I get that. It’s hard sometimes to be with a man who gets so into his music that nothing and no one else matters. Your phone is off or on silent for hours.”

“And once you really start grinding on your next album, you’ll be the same way.”

“Umm… not quite. I’m more like the guys. In breaks, they’re on the phone, talking and texting, taking a moment for themselves. I see how you’re singularly focused.”

“Kind of hard not to be when I had nothing but music for years. I’m not like the others. I don’t have family or women checking for me. The guys are my friends and my family.”

“I’m both now, too.”

I tapped her nose. “Yep. And now you. I’ll do better about communicating when I’m in the studio.”

“And I’ll do better about explaining myself and not expecting you just to get it.”

“Thank you.” I raised my brows. “Are we done talking now?”

She shook her head ruefully before pulling her phone from her hoodie’s front pocket. “I need to talk to Del and ask him why he didn’t consult with me about the cover.”

I whistled softly. “I’m staying out of it, okay? That’s between you and him.”

“Understood.” Janae smiled before focusing on her cell.

“Excuse me?” We looked up to a group of teens dressed in uniforms crowding the space around us. “Aren’t you Janae and Landon?

Janae chuckled. “Landon Hayes of The Hollow Bones and Janae Warner.”

“Yes… I thought that was Landon without his hat,” said the girl who spoke for the group. “Can we take a picture?”

I inhaled and exhaled. Before I could do it, Janae pulled my hood on top of my head and said, “Yes.”

By the time we made it back to my stop, we’d attracted a crowd of fans taking pics with us. I smiled and waved and allowed Janae to do most of the talking. She pulled on her hoodie, and we hurried out of the train station and back to my house, laughing all the way.

Once we slammed the door to my home, all that energy turned into sexual hunger. Our clothes were discarded within seconds, and I had her pressed up against the wall. My mouth and hands were everywhere, rough and tugging at her hair and her breasts while I tongued her down. Although she wanted to throw caution to the wind, I grabbed a condom from a kitchen drawer while she toyed with herself.

As soon as I protected us, I thrust deep inside of her with a fierceness and power she relished, if her loud moans were any indication. Janae held on tight as I pounded and pounded. Her ass knocked violently against the wall.

When I began to twist from the inside out, overcome with sexual tension in desperate need of release, without breaking contact or my rhythm, I lowered us to the floor, and we made love as if our lives depended on it in the foyer of my brownstone. Only the carpeted runner shielded us from the rigid and cold marble floors as we celebrated our success with our undeniable passion.

After we showered, I collapsed in bed for a couple of hours before returning to the studio. I chuckled as I fell asleep to Janae cursing out Del on the phone.

When I woke up, the room was dim except for the soft glow of a lamp she had moved closer to the floor. Janae sat on the carpet, a torn-open box in front of her, carefully pulling out plastic bags filled with small pieces.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. “What are you doing?”

She glanced up with a smirk. “Setting up a project.”

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