Page 83 of Hard Rock Fling
My eyes flew open as fervent passion took over. I whimpered and gasped and clawed at the skin of his back. I clenched around him, tight and warm.
That sent him over the edge. He spent himself inside me, filling me, owning me, taking over every part of me. He joined me in that delicious ecstasy as we matched moan for moan, cry for cry. We trembled and gasped and clutched each other tight, not letting go as we rode wave after wave.
Slowly, ever so slowly, as the seconds ticked by, our mutual pleasure abated and we came back down to earth. Ian moaned into my ear, a breathless plea.
"Tell me."
He was still inside me, cock still pulsing and twitching. I gripped his hips tight with my thighs, not wanting to let him go. Not yet.
"I want you, Ian. Only you."
We laid there, limbs tangled and bodies pressed together, steadily catching our breaths for what felt like hours, days, an eternity. I didn't want to leave the circle of his arms. I didn't want to wake up and face reality. I didn't want to remember the real reason why I'd come over.
I didn't want to remember the sight of Ian covered in bloody scars.
I buried my face in his chest, squirming until I could feel his heartbeat. It pumped rapidly under my ear, not slowing at all.
"Ian…" I started to speak, hesitant and not sure at all how to start a conversation like this.
His breath hitched. He tugged me closer, nearly breaking my bones with the strength of his embrace. He tucked his nose into the hollow of my throat and let out a sigh.
"We still need to talk," I continued.
"There's nothing to talk about."
Exactly what he'd said when he'd first opened the door. I didn't think it was true. If he didn't want to talk, he wouldn't have let me in. He would have continued ignoring me, shutting me out, the way he'd done when I'd broken it off.
"You said you stopped for a while. But you've started doing it again."
He let go of me and hoisted himself up. He sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. "I can't let the band go on hiatus for a second time." Ian's eyes were exhausted, full of pain. He was tired of fighting. "I can't do that to them."
I crawled over and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my bare front to his naked back.
"At least tell your brother. Tell him you're sick and tired of theDamianthing. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be your own person."
"I can't. I know he feels helpless. Like there's nothing he can do to help me. He's trying. This is the only way he knows how. Besides," Ian quirked small smile. "I've only slipped up twice. I won't let it get that bad again. I promise."
"Okay." I tried to hide my unease. An inkling of an idea began to form. "I won't force you."
"Thank you." He gripped my hands for a brief moment before standing up. "I'm going to take a shower." He threw a grin my way, as if our entire conversation hadn't happened. "Care to join me?"
"I'll be there in a minute."
When he was gone, I creeped out of the bedroom to find my purse. I pulled out my phone and dialed. After a few rings he picked up.
"August? Hi, it's Hope. Can we talk?"
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Itappedmy finger against the conference room table, nervously waiting for the members of Darkest Days to file in. I'd arrived early to set things up. I had sketches and fabric samples and market research to back me up. I wasn't sure I'd need any of it, but I wanted to be prepared. This meeting was important. Not for me, but for Ian.
I was surprised when Naomi, the band's manager, walked in with her usual impeccable suit and sleek bob. I hadn't known she'd be in the meeting, too.
"Mind if I sit in?"
"Not at all."
She pulled out a chair and sat across from me.
