Chapter 12 #2
“Not even a little bit.” I rasp, lifting her chin so her gaze locks on mine. “I know exactly what’s going to happen. And I plan on taking my time making it happen. I’m going to explore every single inch of you tonight, and I won’t be stopping until you’ve screamed my name multiple times.”
She blinks, her eyes wide, but not a single ounce of fear reflects back at me. “You’re dangerous.”
A laugh bellows out of me, my head falling back on my shoulders for a second before I lower my chin, a feral grin breaking across my cheeks. “Now who’s afraid?”
“Not afraid.” She refutes. “Just stating the facts.” Her button nose scrunching up as her gaze travels down my sweaty frame. “How about a shower first?”
“Just going to get dirty again.” I promise on a growl as I swipe a kiss across her mouth, anxious to have her underneath me again. “Not sure what the point is.”
“The point is that you stink.” Laughter tumbles from her, making it harder to alter my focus anywhere but her lips. I do though. I take a step back on a sigh, hating that she’s right.
“Okay, but only if you join me.” I turn, crooking a finger for her to follow, peeling off the shirt that’s plastered to my skin, dropping it in our wake.
Her gaze raking down my body has my cock throbbing against the zipper of my pants. I want inside her right fucking now, but I also want to savor every moment of her. Whether or not I want to admit it out loud, I know that what’s happening between us is something different.
I stop next to the shower, turn it on, then bend to tug my boots off. While I’m still kneeling, I unlace her chucks and slowly pull them off her feet, one shoe at a time. I slide each bobby sock off, revealing perfect, feminine feet, the tips of her toes painted a pale pink.
I press a kiss against the top of her knee as I rise, my fingers going to the ties at the top of her shoulders next. I tug one and then the other undone, the dress sliding down her body in a single swoosh of fabric.
She’s left in a simple white cotton strapless bra and matching panties, and damn if it’s not the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen on a girl.
“You’re a fucking shining star on a moonless night.” I observe in awe at the simplicity of her, and how it only makes her so much more.
“Luc.” She whispers, fingers skimming down my chest until they find the button on my pants, popping them open. “Don’t fall for me.”
“Might be a bit too late for that.” Surprising myself with the confession.
I shove my pants down my legs, and pull them off.
When I’m naked in front of her, I tug her against me, her mouth falling open in a small huff of shock when our bodies connect.
“We’ll figure this out. I’m only on tour for another month. ”
Her blue topaz irises stare back at me, her brow free of any worry for once. Her silence has me doubting if she wants the same thing, so I just ask the question. “If that’s what you want.”
Her head slowly begins to nod up and down, her lips curving up to form a smile. “It is.”
“Good.” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had trapped in my lungs.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s get in the damn shower so I can keep my earlier promise.” I slap her lightly on the ass when she shimmies her undies off, and have her naked under the falling water before she can utter another word.
Sunlight creeps across the hotel curtains, slicing through the haze of sleep. My arm reaches for her automatically, like my body already knows where she should be; warm, soft, and tucked against me.
But the sheets are cold. Empty.
I blink, push up on one elbow. The purse that sat on the chair is gone. The dress I untied, one bow at a time at her shoulders is no longer lying on the bathroom floor. The adorable chucks I unlaced last night are nowhere to be found.
My chest tightens, heat pricking the back of my neck. Maybe she’s out in the living area?
I get up, not caring I’m nude, and stride through the rest of the suite. It’s empty. I check the bathroom. Not even a trace of steam or water in the sink to indicate she showered or washed up.
Maybe she went downstairs to grab coffee? She knows she could have ordered anything she wanted off the room service menu. But I also know how independent she is, and can imagine her going down to grab something in the lobby to save me money.
My eyes roll at the very thought, the tiniest bit of relief hitting me at this logic.
Twenty minutes later, she still isn’t back though. And the longer I sit in silence, the louder the panic grows.
We had figured this out. We agreed. We both said it’s what we wanted. That we would find a way.
Those words actually kept me awake last night long after she fell asleep in my arms. I’d already started picturing her beside me, and not just for one night, but for all the nights.
I shove off the bed, pace the room, check the hallway. Nothing. No note. No trace. It’s like she was never here at all.
A hollow ache cracks my ribs wide open. I shouldn’t feel like this. Thirty-six hours isn’t enough to break a man, but fuck if I don’t feel shattered.
I press the heels of my hands into my eyes, but the image of her looking at me, like I was more than just a rockstar, more than a sin to taste and forget, burns into the darkness.
Where the fuck is she?
I stumble back into the room, rage starting to drown out my worry. Anger is easier. Anger I can live with.
If she thinks she can walk away from me, from us and what we could be, she’s wrong.
Did she use me? No. I know what happened was real for both of us.
I dig through my clothes scattered across the floor until I find my phone, but as I swipe the screen to open it, I realize we never even exchanged numbers.
I never even asked what her last name was. I couldn’t even try to find her on social. And the only picture we took was the one I snapped of us last night right before the show. And that was on her phone, not mine.
And yeah, we went to her apartment, but she had ordered the Uber we took yesterday, and there was no way in hell I was ever going to be able to remember how the hell to get back to her place.
I lift my phone to find the contact information for Dean and call him. It takes about six rings before he answers, his voice groggy. “What the fuck, dude. It’s eight in the damn morning.”
“Did you get the number off that girl you hooked up with the other night?” I demand, thinking this may be my way back in to Lily.
“Gonna need to be a little more specific than that my friend. Which night and which girl?” A grumbling chuckle follows his question.
“Night before last.” I think trying to remember what day today is. It was easy with our maddening schedule to forget what day it was, let alone what city we are in.
“Wednesday night.” I state with wary confidence; pretty sure today is Friday.
A long sigh is all I hear, straining my already broken patience, before he finally responds. “What did she look like, do you remember?”
“I don’t know, man.” I scrape a hand through my hair as I pace the floor trying to recall her friend. “She was a brunette. Longish hair. She did tequila at the bar with that blonde friend of hers, in the little red skirt.”
My mind rewinds to that moment I first saw her, a bolt of pain stabbing through my chest at the thought of not seeing her again.
“Oh yeah.” He hums through the phone, satisfaction lacing the action. “Briana. Firecracker that one was.”
“Did you get her number?” I pray to God above that he did, even though in my gut, I know the prospect of it is pretty fucking low.
A hard grunt. “Fuck no. You know it ain’t like that for me. One and done.”
“Fuck!” I bark out before hanging up on him. No point in continuing that conversation.
I’ll find her. I don’t care how long it takes.
I’ll burn down the fucking world if I have to. Start with the clubs, end with the city. Whatever it takes.