Chapter 22
twenty-two
. . .
Lulu
No man had ever been so thoughtful.
So attuned to my needs.
I left to use the restroom and change clothes as he cleaned up our dinner.
When I returned, I found him sitting in the chair, the table already broken down and leaning against the far wall. His long legs were extended and his feet crossed at the ankles.
Damn, the man was sexy just sitting in a chair.
It was the way he looked at me.
Those dark eyes could see into my soul.
His gaze moved from my head down to my toes as he took in my full dance attire.
“Dance for me, Lu,” he said.
It had been a long time since I’d danced for anyone. I danced alone often, but the day I retired the idea of doing this professionally, had been the last time I danced in front of an audience.
I pulled up my playlist on my phone and chose my favorite song, “Giselle,” by Adolphe Adam, and set my phone on the floor.
And I danced. I twirled, I spun, I floated, and I did an arabesque in the air. I was lost in the music, lost in his eyes that tracked my every move.
I was lost in this man.
And I wasn’t going to fight it anymore.
When the music came to an end, the next song started to play, and I moved across the room toward Rafe. He tugged me onto his lap, one leg falling on each side of him as I straddled him.
Our mouths collided, hands exploring one another eagerly.
We were frantic and needy, as if we both knew that we were going to cross the line tonight.
I couldn’t wait one more minute.
“I want you,” I said against his lips.
“I want you so fucking bad, I can’t see straight.”
He tugged the leotard down my shoulders, exposing my bare breasts, as he took my nipple between his lips, and I arched my back to get closer. My fingers fumbled with the hem of his sweater, desperate to feel his skin on mine. He moved from one breast to the next, licking and sucking, and driving me wild. When he pulled back, he looked up at me, and he tugged his sweater over his head, tossing it on the floor.
“I made sure the doors were locked. It’s just you and me here.” He stroked the hair away from my face.
I pushed off his lap, and he leaned forward. As I raised my foot, he removed my toe shoes, one at a time. He kissed his way down my stomach as he peeled the leotard and then the tights from my body. I tugged him forward, wanting to do the same to him. He kicked his shoes off, and I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling them down his legs, along with his briefs. His dick was hard and long and thick, and he leaned down to grab the condom he’d tucked into the pocket of his pants.
“I want to do it,” I purred, holding my hand out.
I tore the top off the foil packet and then rolled the latex over his erection.
It was sexy and intimate and emotional all at the same time.
Everything with this man was just so different.
His eyes never left mine as he sat back down on the chair and pulled me closer. I climbed onto his lap, and he tangled his fingers in my hair and pulled my mouth down to his. His hands were on my hips, rolling me against his hardness and taking control just the way I wanted him to.
We kissed until our lips were swollen, and I was so turned on that I couldn’t wait one more second. I gripped his shoulders and positioned myself just above the tip of his dick. I stared down at him as a sexy smile spread across his face. And I moved down slowly.
He was large, and I hadn’t had sex in a long time, so my body had to adjust to him.
His eyes fell closed, and I could tell he was holding back and letting me set the pace now.
“Fuck, Lu. You’re so tight. So wet. So fucking perfect,” he groaned.
My breaths were coming hard and fast as I took him in, inch by glorious inch.
My head fell back as I pushed all the way down, and he filled me completely.
Neither of us moved. We stayed completely still.
And then he leaned forward, his lips trailing along my neck.
Along my collarbone.
And I started to move.
Slowly at first.
And when his lips found my breasts, I moved faster.
Needier.
We found our rhythm as if we’d done this a million times.
He tugged my head down and covered my mouth with his, his tongue tasting and exploring.
I was so lost in the moment. Lost in this man.
My entire body started to shake, and he moved his hand between us.
Knowing exactly what I needed.
My head fell back as white lights flashed behind my eyes.
The most powerful orgasm of my life tore through my body.
I felt it everywhere.
He thrust into me one more time until he went right over the edge with me.
And nothing had ever felt better.
We were both panting, and I did my best to slow my breathing.
He pushed the hair away from my face and stared at me with awe.
“You’re fucking gorgeous. Everything about you turns me the fuck on.”
I smiled, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. “Even when I’m throat punching you or hitting you in the jewels with a pool ball?”
“Yep. All of it.” He tugged me down and kissed me again before lifting me up and setting me on my feet. He grabbed his clothes and walked to the bathroom, and I followed him. He peeled off the condom and tied it off. I grabbed my clothes and got dressed because I wasn’t going to wear my leotard to Booze & Brews. He took the condom and the bags of food out to the trash while I pulled myself back together.
I stared in the mirror at my reflection.
Damn, I hadn’t looked this relaxed in… forever.
I was living my best small-town life, and I just had the best romp in the hay with my temporary lover, and it clearly agreed with me.
My cheeks were pink, my lips plump from where he’d just been kissing me, and I used my fingers to fix my freshly fucked hair, which was currently a wild mess.
He came walking back into the bathroom and caught me off guard when he stepped behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist before resting his chin on my shoulder.
I studied us in the mirror. He was beautiful. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Chiseled jawline with a perfectly shaped narrow nose to complement his handsome face. And don’t even get me started on those dimples.
My skin was fairer, my hair blonde and my eyes brown. He was a good foot taller than me, yet we looked like we fit together so well.
“I wanted to make sure you weren’t freaking out,” he said as he nipped at my ear.
“No. I’m too relaxed to freak out.”
He smiled as his eyes met mine in the mirror. “Good. Because I plan to do that as many times as I can before you leave for Paris.”
“I think I can make that work.” I turned around to face him. “We just need to keep the feelings in check.”
“You worry too much, Wildcat. Let’s just enjoy it while it lasts.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Let’s go meet everyone for a quick drink.”
He took my hand in his, and we made our way outside. We agreed to walk to the bar and leave his truck here, and he’d grab it tomorrow.
I turned my phone on so I could text Henley to let her know that we were on our way, and it started beeping repeatedly.
That was never a good sign.
I came to a stop, and Rafe stared down at my phone as I groaned. “Beckett’s at the bar. Of course, he came on Valentine’s Day.”
“All right. Let’s go get this over with,” he said, as if it was no big deal.
“Rafe, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. He’s not rational. He’s going to flip a table and throw a fit and have a slew of paparazzi there to catch it all on film. Let’s just go home.”
“No.” He looked down at me, hands on each of my shoulders so I’d stay put. “Aren’t you tired of letting this be a part of your life? You’ve been done with this dude for a long time. It’s enough already,” he said.
“I agree. But a big public scene doesn’t help anyone.”
“Let him flip a table. Let him throw a fit. He doesn’t get to have you just because he’s back in town and wants to claim you. Fuck him. Let’s just go have a good night. If he wants to talk, we’ll talk. If he’s unhinged, we’ll have him escorted out of the place. This is a small town. No one here gives a shit that he’s the lead singer in some boy band.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “You think it’s that simple?”
“It is that simple if you don’t allow it to be more. If you don’t give him the power to let this be more. Come on, Lu. Think about it. As far as he knows, you’ve moved on. And I won’t stand by and let some rich little asshole come in and attempt to ruin my night with my woman ,” he smirked as he took my hand and started walking.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I said.
“I’m not worried about it. But when I show you how simple it’s going to be to shut this down, I think you could grant me round two of the Valentine’s Day romp in the hay.” His voice was laced with humor, but I saw the heat in his eyes when he looked over at me.
And damn if I wasn’t ready for round two myself.
But I wouldn’t give it up that easily.
“Let’s see if everyone wants to run me out of Rosewood River after they experience the rant that’s about to go down, and then we can see if round two is still on the table.”
“Why do you think people will want to run you out of town for the way your ex-boyfriend behaves? That has nothing to do with you,” he said as if that should be common sense.
“My father says that you are who you associate with. He has told me on many occasions that I brought this disaster on myself by allowing this man into my life at all.” I sighed. “So this is me being accountable.”
“If you remained in a relationship with someone who acted this way, sure, they could question your choices. But you ended it, and that’s when all this shit started, right?”
“Yes. Once I left him, he became irrational. When I was with him, he was just a selfish asshole,” I chuckled.
We stopped about a block from the bar, and he turned to face me. “We’ve all misjudged people, Lulu. You recognized that he wasn’t good for you, and you left. What he’s done since then is on him. It has nothing to do with you. So stop acting like you committed a crime. You dated a dude in college, and then he got famous, and his life changed. You walked away, and you should not be punished for that. You should be praised for knowing when to leave someone who is bringing you down. End of story.”
“Damn you, Rafe Chadwick.” I swallowed hard, trying to push the lump in my throat away. No one aside from Henley had ever not acted like I’d brought this on myself, and I was to blame.
I turned my back to him for a minute while I pulled myself together.
It hit me in this moment that I was exhausted from all of it. From trying to escape a toxic relationship. Trying to build a company that I created on my own. Trying to prove that I wasn’t just some rich socialite party girl like the press had made me out to be.
And most importantly, trying to act like none of this bothered me.
“Hey,” he said, his arms wrapping around me from behind. “You’re okay. I see you, Lulu Sonnet. I see all of you. And I’ll take you exactly as you are.”
I sighed and pushed the tears back before turning around and smiling at him. “Is that a sexual joke?”
“No joke, Wildcat.” He studied me for a long moment. “Come on. Let’s go show this dickhead that he’s fucking with the wrong girl.”
“Let’s do this.” We turned the corner to find a slew of photographers out front, and Ben Leighton, the owner of the bar, was out there talking to them, along with a few police officers.
“Not your problem,” Rafe said, keeping his voice low. “The rules are different here.”
“Hey, Rafe. Hey, Lulu,” Ben said. “Just letting these guys know that cameras aren’t allowed inside, and loitering is not welcome here either.”
I waited for him to get annoyed with me for bringing this drama here, but he didn’t seem even slightly irritated with me.
“Looks like they need to pack their shit up and head on out of town,” Rafe said, as he high-fived and shook hands with the three officers before introducing them to me.
“You guys go on in and enjoy yourselves. The rock star is here, and he’s not happy that the photographers aren’t allowed in with their gear. I reminded him this is a bar, not a damn reality show. Jazzy’s inside, and she’ll let us know if there’s any trouble,” Ben said as we made our way to the door.
Once inside, country music boomed. The dance floor was packed, and I quickly scanned the space. Henley hurried my way, and I spotted Beckett signing a woman’s cleavage near the bar. His band members weren’t with him, but he had his security team nearby.
Rafe leaned down, his lips grazing the edge of my ear as he spoke. “Do not leave my side. If he wants to talk to you, he does it with me present. We’re a team, Lulu. I’ve got you.”
I’ve been a lone wolf, aside from my best friend, for most of my life, but surprisingly, his words didn’t make me panic.
They comforted me.