Chapter 14 Rust
RUST
“I have one week to write the best country album ever and you’ll help me!” Tally announces.
I point at my face. “Me?”
“Do you see any other handsome guys with a golden voice and a musical dick in this kitchen?”
A smirk creeps across my lips. “I can fuck you until you forget your own name, but I ain’t gonna be much use in the songwriting department.”
“Oh, don’t give me that! I saw the guitar in the hallway. You still play. Bet you still sing, too.”
I scrub a hand along my jaw. “Singing covers at the Coal Bucket ain’t the same as writing a whole album with a country superstar. Way out of my league, Trouble.”
“You gotta stop sellin’ yourself short.”
She leaves her phone on the table and climbs on my lap, rolling her hips against my groin. Heat explodes through me as she coils one arm around my neck. I’m instantly hard. Her other fingers skirt along my cheek and into my hair, her short nails scratching gently over my scalp.
Fuck, this always makes me wanna purr.
“Damn you, woman. You still remember how much I liked getting head scratches…” I mumble weakly, cupping her voluptuous ass with both hands.
She kisses me, pressing her tits into my chest. “One week! That’s all I’m askin’. Please, Rust.”
My heart aches. I didn’t expect her to stay in Redbird Creek with me forever, I just hadn’t thought past breakfast. Didn’t want to. Until now, I ignored the reality that she’s gonna leave.
“You know this could be considered coercion? With you seducing me like this, I’m bound to say yes to anything,” I choke out.
She sucks my bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling, and my hips buck. I lost this battle before it even started.
“That was the plan. You in?” she asks innocently like she doesn’t already know my answer.
“Yeah, I’m in.”
But my agreement isn’t entirely selfless. This week is the closest thing I get to calling her mine again. Being cooped up with her in my truck’s cab sounds awfully much like my idea of paradise.
Tally whoops. She presses a peck to my cheek before getting up, leaving me with blue balls, a tingling scalp, and a weird mix of joy and sadness taking up the space behind my ribs.
Her mind’s moving a thousand miles a second, already twenty steps ahead. “Of course, you’re gonna get credit and shared royalties for the album. If you want, I could even put you in contact with some folks in the industry to—”
“Trouble, I don’t want fame and I don’t want money. I’m doing it for you.”
“You’re too sweet for your own good.”
“Only with you. Ask the folks in town and they’ll tell you I’m a selfish asshole.”
“Nice try. You get along with everybody.” Tally sighs. “We’ll renegotiate later. But I won’t let you help me without makin’ sure you get something in return.”
“I’m already getting something.” I gesture at her. “One week with you.”
“That’s far from fair, but we have more pressing issues. We can’t stay in Redbird Creek.”
My head tilts. “Why not?”
“Everybody knows me and I don’t want to sneak around. I need to be free. Unburdened.” She taps her chin, thinking. “I got it! Let’s hit the road like we used to!”
“Hold your horses, woman. You mean you wanna drive cross country and play in whatever shitty honky-tonks and open mic dive bars we find?”
She pumps her fist in the air. “That’s exactly what I mean. Kentucky to LA! Spontaneity! Freedom! Windows down, country music on the radio!”
I hum. “Keep talking. You’re painting a pretty picture.”
“But I don’t wanna do none of that tourist-y stuff. I’m thinkin’ we’ll travel through small town America. That authenticity will be the best inspiration,” she continues excitedly.
I blow out a breath. “Reckon I could use some time off. I haven’t taken a vacation in… God, I don’t know how long. Never, probably.”
“See, it’s perfect! But no pre-booking. When we get tired of drivin’, we’ll pick a random town on the map to spend the night.”
I suck on my teeth. “For one week, you wanna pretend everything’s peachy and then I’m supposed to let you go back to Dalton’s abuse?”
Her face falls. “I told you I have to wait for my chance to get rid of Rex. This break is as good as it’s gonna get for a while. Live in the moment. No regrets. Please, can you play along for me?”
Tally needs this getaway, time out of the spotlight and away from Dalton’s control. During this week, I can try to find out more about him. And maybe, just maybe I can come up with a way to set her free from his tyranny. It’s a pipe dream, but I have to tell myself there’s a chance.
“Alright. Trouble. Let’s go on a road trip.”
She fixes me with an eagle-eyed stare. “But we gotta have rules.”
“Like no food in bed, no dirty boots on the table?”
She gestures at herself, then at me. “I mean rules between us.”
My brows rise in a silent question.
Her chin tilts up, but it doesn’t seem like defiance. More like bracing. “Just cause I’m lettin’ you between my legs doesn’t mean I’ll let you in my heart.”
My insides curdle.
Ouch. Direct.
“This road trip is a one-week, feelings-free arrangement.” She crosses her arms. “No late night confessions. No attachments. No sentimental sludge. And if you start confusin’ incredible, universe-shattering sex with love, I’m gonna strangle you with my guitar strings while you sleep.”
“Very kinky.” I rake my teeth over my bottom lip. “Can you at least wait until I’m awake? I imagine you’d look sexy as fuck, straddling my hips while you choke the life outta me. Or better yet, sit on my face and suffocate me with your pussy.”
Good, good. Deflecting with dirty humor is basically WD-40 for the soul.
She blushes but shakes her head. “No deal. Break the rules and you get the guitar strings. Wouldn’t want you dyin’ with a smile on your face.”
And when I think it can’t get any worse, comes the death blow.
She smiles, but the tug of her lips seems forced. “Let’s have consensual, adult fun… as friends!”
I let out a choked laugh.
Friends. The seven-letter equivalent of a nuclear fucking explosion for romance.
I value her friendship, but this ain’t the same as when we were kids. Going from best friends to lovers as we grew up felt natural. It was another side of our relationship we both wanted to explore and friendship always stayed the foundation of our love.
This time around, the word friend feels like a limitation. It means we have an expiration date.
I plaster on a fake smirk. “Friends with unlimited benefits?”
She winks. “The dirtiest, nastiest, kinkiest benefits you can imagine.”
Shit. This arrangement is gonna wreck me.
On the upside, I get to worship this gorgeous woman and her delicious cunt for seven whole days. On the downside, I’ll get my heart broken a second time.
Will I live? Unlikely.
Is she worth the pain? Absolutely.
I get up and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her in. “But I have a condition of my own.”
Her pupils dilate, her throat moving with a thick swallow. “What is it?”
I drag my thumb over her bottom lip. “For this one week, I get free use of your pretty pussy and the rest of your body. Whenever I want you, wherever I want you, and any which way I want you. You’re mine to fuck. For seven days, I own you. Agreed?”
She sucks in a sharp breath. “Agreed.”