Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
R enic sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Finally. He’d waited to hear those words for years. He wanted to savor the sound of them, to put them in a song and listen to it on repeat until it burned into his brain and his heart.
When he opened his eyes, he found her watching him with a worried frown.
“I should have said that before. A lot before.” She stumbled over the words, as if she were afraid they weren’t enough. “I’ve loved you a long time. I just couldn’t admit it. I was married. I didn’t have the right. And then—”
He crossed the remaining space between them and took her in his arms. She melted into him and tilted her head up, her eyes half closed. It was the look of a woman waiting to be kissed, and he wanted to savor that too.
“Me too.” The words came out raw and rough. Heat burned through his body in anticipation, then his lips were on hers and he was lost in the supple, soft sweetness of her.
Time slowed, or maybe stopped altogether. Nobody else existed, and nothing else mattered. They were the only two people in the world in that perfect capsule of a moment. This was what every songwriter struggled to capture. This was why music existed.
When they finally parted, both of them were a little breathless. His heart pounded with the need to explore more of her, but it no longer felt as desperate. She loved him, and their future would be filled with more moments just like this.
He smiled at her. “So I guess it was enough.”
“More than.” Her smile warmed her eyes. “I’m sorry I said that. I didn’t mean it. I was scared.”
“And now?”
She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, her face against his chest. It made it really easy for him to caress her back all the way down to the hem of her dress.
“Now I’m not.”
Her breath caught when he started to gather the fabric in his fists. He reached up and under the dress to find silky-smooth material underneath.
“Renic…there’s people.” Her hands fluttered up to his arms and clung there like she was afraid she’d fall.
“People?” He played with the edge of her panties. He wondered what color they were. Maybe he should find out.
“The party.” Her eyes glinted with desire. “They could come in.”
That thought sparked a craving through his body more potent than any drug. He tugged her closer to show just how much he’d been affected. “Let them.”
“Be serious. Jesus.” She licked her lips. “We can’t. Can we?”
“Oh, yes we can.”
He claimed those luscious lips for his own and moved them both back toward one of the sofas. He lowered her onto the supple leather, then pressed his body into hers and took her lips with his again, teasing them open with his tongue so that he could taste her.
The kiss deepened, and she shifted underneath him until she was able to wrap her legs around his hips. Her boots dug into him, but the dress slid up several inches in the process, and the combination sent a flood of desire through him. He needed more. He wanted all of her.
Right now.
“I love this outfit.” He explored under it with one hand until he found the sliver of silk fabric she wore underneath.
“Me too.” She gasped and arched her back a little.
“Perfect,” he whispered.
“What?” She smoothed the dress as if suddenly self-conscious.
“You. This.” He shifted to the side and sat, then pulled her into his lap. “Us.”
She straddled him and wiggled until the dress hiked up past her upper thighs. All that stood in the way of them exploring each other to the fullest was the tiny scrap of cloth between her legs.
Lizzie moaned a soft, seductive sound that made his heart race.
A knock at the door made him jump. Lizzie yelped, then slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Renic?” Morgan called from the other side of the door.
He growled in frustration and shouted, “What?”
Morgan cleared her throat but thankfully didn’t open the door. “Nate’s looking for you. It’s getting late, and he wants to do the announcement and toast so he and his wife can take off. I thought you’d like to know before he barges through this door.”
Renic thought about how many ways he could throttle both Morgan and Nate. “It’s a shame the windows don’t open. I’d really like to throw them both out of one right now.”
Lizzie giggled, which made her body move in all kinds of enticingly interesting ways against him. “It’s your party. You really should be there. We can always sneak out after.”
Every cell in his body rejected that idea. There was no way anything else was coming in between them. Not now. Not ever again. “Oh, hell no. I’m not waiting.”
A sly smile made her eyes flash. “Then maybe we should make it quick.”
He nearly lost his mind down the rabbit hole of that suggestion. He pictured himself holding her against windows, the two of them lost in the lust of the moment with the city spread out before them like a blanket of twinkle lights.
“Renic?” Morgan called again.
Damn the woman. “Go away.”
Lizzie shifted her hips in a way that demanded his attention.
“I’ll tell them fifteen minutes,” Morgan said.
He ignored the insufferable interruption and turned his full attention to the woman in his arms. His fingers tested and teased until he found a particularly sensitive spot.
Lizzie gasped, then let out a low moan.
He needed to deal with obstacles like zippers and pants and everything else that kept him from her. Lizzie helped him tug his pants open and then reached for him, her hands soft but insistent as they teased him into a state of delicious torture.
She glanced up at him. “I want you,” she whispered.
He moaned. Next to I love you, it was the most seductive phrase he’d ever heard.
She was his now, and he wanted to take his time making love to her, but his body wasn’t interested in the slow lane. He crushed her against him, feeling sparks of excitement everywhere flesh met flesh. She still wore the dress, and he still had most of his clothes on, but somehow they felt completely naked.
Lizzie reached down and pushed her panties aside, then lowered herself onto him with a slow, deliberate motion that set every nerve ending on fire. He put his hands on her hips and encouraged her to go faster and faster.
He got there first, but shudders hit her body a few seconds later. The arch of her back, the way her hair spilled around her shoulders, and her face contorted with pleasure were the most perfect images of a woman that he had ever seen. She was breathtakingly raw, achingly vulnerable, and finally his.
When they were both spent, he pulled her tight against him. “Let’s stay here just like this until they all go away.”
She huffed out a soft laugh. “If you don’t go out, they’ll come in.”
He kissed her hair. “I’m not going. I’m basking.”
She leaned a little away from him. “The faster you get out there, the faster we can have the place to ourselves.”
The suggestion in her eyes gave him even more reason to stay hidden in the office.
He lifted his hips a little, which caused a delicious gasp of response. He grinned. “You sure you want to go out there?”
“They want you, not me. I’ll wait here until you get back.”
He shook his head emphatically. “Oh no. You aren’t staying backstage anymore. This deal is basically your fault. You should be there to celebrate it with me. Or we could celebrate it here. I have wine, and there’s probably a clean cup somewhere.”
She frowned and made a move to leave. “My fault? How’s that? ”
He tightened his arms around her. “I did it to make time to spend with you. It took a couple of weeks to get the agreement nailed down, that’s all. I was coming back to Belhurst after the kickoff. I was going to rent every room you had and stay as long as it took. I was literally prepared to beg.”
Her face softened, but then a smile played on her face. “What makes you think I’d fall for that move twice?”
“You wouldn’t be able to help yourself. I’m irresistible. Besides, if that didn’t work I planned on standing under a window at the Carriage House playing love songs on a boom box all night until you took pity on me and let me in.”
She laughed. “Do you even own a boom box?”
“No, but I bet I could find one somewhere in that town.”
The sound of voices in the hallway interrupted their afterglow. Renic growled several swear words under his breath while Lizzie slowly extracted herself from his lap.
She glanced down at herself, then back at him. “Bathroom?”
He pointed. “It’s a hidden entrance. Push on the wall under the album on the right.”
While she was gone, he did his best to make himself presentable.
The noise outside grew louder. No doubt people were heading down the hallway to find him. Or it was Morgan’s not-so-discreet way of making a point.
Five minutes later, Lizzie emerged from the bathroom with her dress back in place, wearing the same composed and reserved expression she usually wore backstage. Now he knew just how much of a facade that was. He’d seen the real Lizzie, right here in this office, and he’d never forget the way she looked when nobody else was watching.
She brushed nonexistent lint off the dress. “Do I look okay? ”
He eyed her up and down. “You look better naked, but this will do.”
She rolled her eyes. “Be serious. I feel like everybody will know what we were doing in here.”
“Trust me, every single one of them would do the same in our shoes.” He held out his hand. “Shall we get this over with?”
She took a deep breath and placed her hand in his. “Okay.”
He laced his fingers through hers and led her to the party, feeling like the luckiest man alive.
Morgan found them just as they entered the lobby. She had a big, knowing grin on her face that made him bristle. He expected her to start in on the teasing immediately, which usually wouldn’t have bothered him, but tonight felt different. His protective instincts flared.
“Don’t start,” he muttered when she got close enough to hear.
She blinked, a little too innocent. “Nate and Della are waiting for you by the bar in the corner.”
She winked at him and flounced off toward the small stage they’d set up for the party.
“Who are all these people?” Lizzie asked in a soft voice. “I only recognize a few.”
They wove their way through the crowd while he explained. “Some of Omega’s PR people, plus Nate, of course, and a few of the executives. The suits are the lawyers, mostly. Tyrone and Keith are by the stage. I don’t see Jacob but he’s here somewhere. Over by the food is most of my team. The rest is spouses, friends, and crew for the launch. Everybody brought a plus one, or two. Pretty sure we’re breaking fire codes right now.”
“Lizzie! Renic!” Jordanna blocked their path about halfway across the room. Her big smile spoke volumes, along with the bear hug she accosted them with. “You two look perfect together. I’m so glad you finally figured it out. Oh, and, Renic, thank you so much for whatever you said to Della. It feels like she’s found her way through the tunnel and come out shining on the other side. It really saved my behind.”
“No problem. Did she mention Piper and Mattie to you?”
Jordanna raised an eyebrow. “No. Do tell.”
He shook his head. “Later. If we don’t make this announcement soon Morgan’s going to have my ass for breakfast.”
Jordanna laughed. “You better get to it then. It’s good to see you, Lizzie. Come around more often, okay?”
Lizzie smiled and nodded, but Renic could feel her tension at that suggestion. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly until she relaxed.
Heads swiveled in their direction as they crossed the lobby toward the bar next to the stage. Renic was forced to drop Lizzie’s hand as people rushed to congratulate him along the way. By the time he reached the stage, she’d vanished in the sea of people. He wanted to search for her, but Nate Edwards stepped forward to shake his hand, and he was forced to pay attention to one of the most influential people in the music industry instead.
Nate smiled with satisfaction. “Renic. The show was fantastic. Della’s best yet.”
Renic smiled back, but inside he winced. He hadn’t told Nate about Della’s desire to reform The Bellamy Sisters as a group, but tonight didn’t seem like the right moment. Besides, Della hadn’t managed to get Piper and Mattie onboard with her schemes, as far as he knew. It might not happen at all. Best to keep it quiet for now. “I caught the first half, then I had to leave to make sure this was all set up. You ready?”
He scanned the group by the stage and found Della and Lizzie giggling like schoolgirls with a secret.
What were they talking about?
The two women were so different it was hard to believe they were sisters. Della was a vivacious blonde pixie, petite and effervescent, while Lizzie was taller, darker, and filled with quiet grace. But there was a certain something that the two shared. It was in the way they laughed, the tilt of their heads, and the lift of their smiles.
All four Bellamy sisters sparkled in their own way, but it was Lizzie who captivated him.
Tonight, standing next to her youngest sister, she looked radiant. It had been a long time since he’d seen her look that happy.
“More than ready.” Nate gave him a questioning glance. “You seem distracted. Something need your attention?”
“Yes.” Renic’s lips quirked. “But it can wait a few minutes. Let’s do this.”
He stepped up onto the stage, followed by Nate. The music stopped, and the crowd noise rumbled to as close to quiet as it was going to get.
Renic stepped up to the microphone.
“Welcome, everybody, to the Self Evident Records evolution.”