Page 32 of Hard Rock Temptation
“I’d love to go back to your place,” I told him.
It was just like Micah had written in his clichéd but charming lyrics. I smiled to myself. We could make sweet music together, in more ways than one.
FOURTEEN
MICAH
“Do you think Everly will tell anyone?” Kay asked me as we walked through the front door of my penthouse condo. It must have been weighing on her ever since the music store.
“No,” I said thoughtfully “She knows what it’s like. She’s had to deal with her fair share of sexism, gossip and rumors. She wouldn’t want to cause any trouble for us.”
Kay nodded, her tight expression easing. I stood in front of her, stopping in the middle of my living room and putting my hands on her hips.
“I won’t let anything get in the way of our happiness,“ I told her. “Not now that we’ve finally found it.”
She gave me a breathtaking smile, the kind that usually made me want to whirl around and hide my face before my expression gave me away. But I didn’t have to hide anymore. I returned her smile, having no doubt that it was as besotted as the feelings rising in my chest.
“Why don’t you get everything set up and I’ll make us some coffee?” she said, heading into the kitchen. I didn’t have to feel guilty anymore for letting my gaze fall to her ass, enjoying the sway of her hips as she sashayed away from me.
I heard Kay humming as she puttered around, getting out the mugs and preparing the drinks. She already had the melody in her head. Hopefully that meant it wouldn’t take long to rework the song.
I hadn’t been kidding when I told her we didn’t have a lot of time, but the look on her face when I’d almost told her no, that wounded, heartbroken look, had almost made me cave in. I was grateful to Everly for cutting in the way she had, coming up with a compromise.
We would probably have to make a lot more compromises from now on for this relationship to work. I supposed that was true of every relationship, but we weren’t only a couple. We were also bandmates. We worked together. For musicians like us, as artists, our personal lives and our careers were intimately entwined. Music wasn’t just work. It was life itself. How often could someone compromise on something so vital before it became too much? How long before we reached an impasse neither of us could traverse?
“Here,” Kay said as she handed me a mug and sat down next to me on the sofa.
I took it and sipped, letting the hot liquid scald my tongue to distract me from my pessimistic thoughts.
“I was thinking,” she started. “We’ve got that guitar solo at the two minute mark, and I know Zain will be disappointed if we cut it, but hear me out?—”
Kay’s enthusiasm was infectious as she described the changes she wanted to make and I found myself nodding along with an indulgent smile. We didn’t have a lot of time to be changing things that the last minute, that was true, but the happy glow on her face, the bright shine of her green eyes, was enough to make me set my worries aside.
She was right, anyway, that this new arrangement was going to give the song what it had been missing. Leave it to Kay to figure it out. Everyone always talked about her lyrics, but she was a talented musician in every aspect. Even though she was mainly our drummer she had a killer sense of melody.
“You’re brilliant,” I said in a moment of silence.
Kaylee’s green eyes gleamed as they looked into mine, her pretty face turning pink. I couldn’t help myself. She was so beautiful I had to pull her into my arms, tugging her from the other side of the sofa until she was on top of me.
“Oof,” she said as she hit my chest, only slightly exaggerating. “A little warning next time,” she laughed.
I tightened my grip around her and buried my face in her red curls, breathing deeply. She put her hands on my shoulders and rested her cheek against my chest, burrowing down into me.
Music forgotten, I soaked in her warmth as we pressed against one another, trying to get as close as possible. The scent of vanilla filled my nose, familiar and enticing.
“I love it when you hold me like this,” she murmured with a contented sigh.
I swallowed hard and willed my body to calm down, to stop myself from responding. All I needed to do was take her into myarms and I was already half hard, like a goddamn teenaged boy. But I couldn’t help it. Everything about Kaylee was tempting as hell. Every part of me had always wanted to get my hands on her at all times, every minute we were together, and even every minute we weren’t.
“I love it when you’re in my arms like this,” I murmured into her hair, running a hand up and down her back, enjoying the way she arched against me.
Another part of me didn’t want to rush things. This was still so new to me, to us, this change in our relationship. As much as I was dying to get my hands on her naked body, I also wanted to take my time with her. I wanted to take things one step further, inch by agonizing inch, a kiss here, a touch there. I wanted to see the growing desire on her flushed face, the rising hunger in her glinting eyes. I wanted to wait until she was absolutely desperate and aching. Then, and only then, would I allow myself the ecstasy of taking her.
But fuck me, it was hard to keep my resolve with her lithe body so close to mine like this.
Kay lifted her head. That spark of desire I so wished to see was present in her eyes, shining brightly.
“Micah…” She shifted until her hips were straddling mine, leaning forward until our mouths were just barely brushing. “Do you want to move this to your bedroom?” That pretty flush was back on her face.
