17. Río
RíO
I’m not ready to leave this amazing love nest, especially when the woman who’s blown through so many of my barriers is acting weird. “A lot can happen in ten minutes.”
She picks up her panties and puts them on, then grabs her pants. “Seems like it already did.”
Didn’t she enjoy it? Fuck. I almost broke my no face-to-face rule to be with her. I’ve never been that intimate with anyone before. With her, I almost did. “It was fantastic.”
“It sure was.” She bends over and retrieves her shoes, then leaves me alone and naked in the bedroom.
This is usually how I leave women, not the other way around. I grab my stuff and follow her, where she already has her bra on. “I like the blue.”
She faces me, her gaze skimming over my naked body. “Thanks.”
I drop my clothes onto the sofa where it all started and open my arms wide. “Don’t I at least get a hug?”
She smiles, and my entire being lights up as if I won another award. “I think we have time for one.” Hayden steps toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
As I bury my nose in her hair, I inhale her delightful orange scent. The need for honesty overwhelms me. “I’ve never felt so in tune with a woman before.”
She pulls me in tighter. “I can honestly say I’ve never felt anything like us before either.”
I kiss her cheek. When did I become such a pushover? I guess when Hayden walked into my world. “Me neither.”
She steps back. “No need to lay it on so thick, drummer boy.” She grabs her shirt.
“I’m not lying,” I argue. “You make me want to do things I’ve never done before.”
She snorts. “Something tells me you’ve done all this—and much more—about a million times.”
“Hayden, you’re wrong. Everything we’ve done is like a brand-new start for me. Sure, I’ve done the mechanics before, but you make it special.” I stride over to her. “You’re special.”
I kiss her mouth, her stiff body unyielding until my tongue plays with hers.
When she relaxes into my embrace and her tongue touches mine, I confirm this woman is different from all the rest. Now I only have to convince her of this.
Despite wanting to do it all again and again, I step backward. “Better get dressed.”
It takes her until I’ve put on my jeans to come back to herself. In a resigned voice, she says, “I’ll call for the car to take us to the airstrip.”
As she does that, I tie my sneakers and strategize ways to make her come around to my way of thinking. At least I have about eight hours onboard the flight to Madrid to persuade her.
Adifferent flight attendant offers us drinks, which we both decline. As soon as we reach our cruising altitude, I unbuckle my seatbelt and stand. I’ve been considering how to convince her she’s the real deal for me, and decided the best way to do this is naked. In the bedroom.
“Come with me.” I extend my hand.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Damn stubborn woman,” I mutter. “We need to discuss where we go from here, and I’d prefer to do that in the other room.” I indicate the bedroom with my head.
She sighs. “Do we have to do this?”
“Damn straight.” My hand bounces. “Come.”
“Fine,” she relents, putting her delicate hand in mine and we make our way through the empty plane. Thank fuck she didn’t put up a bigger fuss.
Once we’re inside the bedroom, I close the door. This already is more intimate. Sitting on the end of the bed, I say, “Tell me, Hayden, did you enjoy yourself in the hotel room?”
“How can you ask me that?”
“Because I want to hear your answer. Did you?”
She paces throughout the bedroom. “You know I did.”
I nod. If she had fun with me, why is she weirding out? “Me, too.”
“I’m glad we got that all sorted.” She points to the door. “I’m going to go out there. I have a lot of PR stuff for the band to catch up on.”
“Why?”
My question brings her up short. “Why what?”
An awful thought bounces through me. “Do you want to sleep with the entire band? For PR purposes or something?”
She pulls back. “What? No. Are you nuts?”
“Not yet, but you’re driving me there.”
Fists on her hips, she snaps, “I don’t sleep around! I’m usually a one-and-doner.”
I sort through everything she blurted. In a lower tone, I say, “You just had multiple with me.”
Her hands fly akimbo. “I know!”
Fighting back a smirk, I stand. “Want to see if it was a fluke?”
Her eyes round at my challenge. “Again? This soon?”
I’d like to high-five the losers she’s been with in the past. I step into her space. “Yes, Babysitter. Right here. Right now. I’m ready.” I pause a beat. “Are you?”
“I.” She looks to the right. “I’m.” She looks to the left. “I don’t do casual.”
“Thank fuck for that.” I stare at her talented mouth. “You challenge me to be better. You’ve shown me something truly extraordinary—love.” Dial it back Río. “I want to be in your orbit.” Forever sounds nice.
“Well,” she softens.
My hand lands on her waist, and I tug her shirt up and over her head, exposing the pretty blue bra. Not waiting for permission this time, I unhook it and roll it down her arms, then dip my head to greet both of her pink-tipped boobs.
“So good, Río.”
This is all the encouragement I need. The next thing I know, we’ve stripped the remainder of our clothes and lie on top of the bed.
I kiss her, which she returns unlike any other French kiss I’ve ever experienced.
I nip at her nipples, and her back undulates.
My hand skims to her pussy, and her legs open wide for me, allowing me to touch her wet center. She’s perfect for me.
I reach over to my wallet and pull out a condom. She surprises me by saying, “Let me.” Stealing it from my fingers, she tears it open and pinches the top before rolling it over my cock. Which is only too happy to be cared for by her again.
My hands span her waist, and I pick her up and put her down, reverse cowgirl style. “Ride me,” I instruct and watch, in fascination, as my cock disappears into her tight body. “Feels so good.”
Her head lolls backward, her hair reaching her mid back. “Río!”
I appreciate reducing her to one syllable words. Pushing her long locks to the side, I reply, “Babysitter.” My hands beat the rhythm to our first number one on her hips, causing her to move in time with my beat.
Her entire body clenches around me. “I’m coming!”
I force myself to ride out the stunning sensation, before succumbing myself. I empty myself in her, reaching around and pulling her down on top of my prone body. Her legs spill to the sides. A wave of happiness overwhelms me. I have to hold on tight to this feeling I only get when I’m with her.
We stay locked together for a long while, until sense reasserts itself. I do a crunch. “I need to take care of the condom.”
“Oh, right.” She slides off my body and I bolt to the bathroom. If I didn’t, I’m pretty sure we would’ve been locked together for the rest of the flight.
After taking care of it, I splash cold water on my face. This girl could be my everything.
However, what if Hayden doesn’t feel the same about me? Maybe she sees me as just a guy who gave her a few orgasms. She’s way too polished and has a background filled with love, unlike me. As I return to the bedroom, I prepare myself for her to be dressed and possibly already in the main cabin.
How wrong am I? She’s leaning against the back of the bed, still naked, with the blanket covering her lower half. Have I ever seen a more delightful sight?
“Hey there.” I slip in next to her, kissing her bare shoulder. “Sorry I only gave you one orgasm that time.”
“I forgive you.” She turns her head and kisses my cheek. “This time.”
My eyebrows raise. “So you now agree you’re stuck with me?” Hope rises from an unknown depth within me.
“I find it hard to believe I’m enough for you, Río. I’ve never felt this way before.”
I bop her nose. “Exhausted from multiple orgasms in a day?”
She giggles. “Something like that.” She looks at me. “You were amazing with Mila today. When I walked into her room, she was so mad. I calmed her down but after she met you, it was like a switch was turned. You taught her how to play drums.”
I smile. “Well, plastic buckets, actually.”
“Right. You taught her how to play plastic buckets, but you did much more than that. Thank you for being wonderful with her.”
“It was my pleasure.” I really mean this. “I’ve never met someone with Down Syndrome before, but she was so open and loving. Plus, she let me play her triangle.” I mimic hitting the tiny piece of metal.
“A big leap, for sure. Maybe you should add in a triangle into one of UC’s songs?”
I chuckle. “I’ll see what I can do. You never know.”
Her cell pings and she grabs it off the side table. “It’s Nina.” Her boss. “She’s giving me the itinerary for the next couple of days. You’ll be performing in Madrid tonight.”
“Yup. That’s where we’re headed.”
“Exactly. Then you’ll be moving on to Lisbon, followed by Ireland, England, and a few northern European countries. You’ll all be flying on this jet back to LA for the Oscars, and then a month break. Before we start up all over again in Sydney.”
“Sounds like a typical UC tour.” A butterfly flips in my stomach. I’m not one to get nervous for awards, as witnessed by my blasé attitude toward the Philadelphia Drummers Society, but I know the Oscars mean a lot to Bennett especially. Me? Give me a stage—of any size—and I’m happy.
“Filled with the unexpected.” She sits taller. “Looks like I have some work to do.”
“That’s what I love about you, Hayden. You can be all professional while naked, in bed, next to me.” There. I said the “l” word. My chin raises.
She flashes me a smile, then focuses on her tablet.
While she works, I ponder my monumental admission. Considering I have no experience with this particular emotion, I’m flying blind. I bet Hayden will be able to teach me a few things about love. I kiss her naked shoulder.
Perhaps more than a few things.