The Rock Star's Baby Bargain - Lili Valente Page 0,26

fit. Even if it is disgusting.”

Zack curses beneath his breath. “You, too? Why is everyone so against over easy?”

“Because runny yolks look like diseased clown sperm and probably taste even worse? I don’t have any experience with clown sperm, but…”

“That’s disgusting,” Zack says, but he’s fighting a smile as he sets me down and reaches for the soap. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s not me,” I say, laughing. “It’s the eggs!”

“I should wash your mouth out with this.” He holds up the tiny bar between us. “But I’m going to want to kiss you later, so you’re safe. For now.”

I wipe a hand across my forehead and flick water against the wall. “Whew. Close one.”

We continue to tease and kiss and laugh as we take turns in the spray, and by the time Zack steps out to dry off while I rinse the conditioner from my hair, I’ve almost forgotten about the flicker of fear.

But the sight of my bare ring finger—the one Fernando wanted so badly to tag as his own—banishes the smile from my face.

I love how possessive and bossy Zack is in bed, but the last thing I need is another controlling man in my life. I try to tell myself I’m reading too much into an innocent comment, but Zack’s tone when he said, “he let you get away,” keeps echoing in my head.

He didn’t sound like he was teasing or offering a lighthearted compliment. He seemed like a man who refuses to let the things—or people—he wants slip through his fingers.

Well, do you really want to slip through his fingers? Because as far as I can tell, his fingers are the best fingers. Best ever. If he wants to be more than friends, why not give it a try?

Because he’s a rock star who’s on tour most of the year, I remind the inner voice, and I want a partner who sleeps next to me more nights than not. It would be doomed from the start.

It’s not doomed. It’s too hot to be doomed. You just need to have more sex and stop worrying so much.

I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing I need, but that doesn’t stop me from sneaking up behind Zack while he’s putting gel in his hair or tugging the towel from his hips. And when he returns the favor, I don’t try to cover myself back up.

I run a hand down my belly, between my legs, while holding his gaze, and that’s all it takes.

Before I can think about anything, I’m flat on my back on the towel I just tugged to the ground and Zack is inside me, getting me off so hard I scream loud enough to trigger irritated pounding on the ceiling from the person in the room above ours.

“Don’t stop,” I beg, writhing beneath him. “Don’t ever stop.”

“Never,” he promises, hitching my knee higher and finding that perfect angle, making it impossible for worry or fear to find a foothold in the pleasure washing over me, carrying every ugly thing out of sight and out of mind.

Chapter Nine

Zack

There’s music rushing through my head.

All through breakfast and the drive Upstate.

I pull over twice to jot down lyrics, and just twenty miles from the retreat, I have to roll into the parking lot of a scenic overlook and fetch my guitar from its case in the trunk.

“Sorry,” I tell Colette as I grab my Gibson, leaving the case open in the back seat. “I’ll be five minutes. Maybe ten. I just need to get this recorded before I forget it. Choruses stick in my head, but if I’m not careful, I’ll lose the bridge every time.”

“No worries at all!” Colette shuts the passenger’s door, clapping her hands as she bounces up on tiptoe. “This is exciting! I’m so glad your creative juices are flowing. I’ll stretch my legs and give you some privacy. Take as much time as you need.”

“Are you sure? You can stay if you want,” I say even though I would secretly prefer to be alone with the bridge.

I know it’s superstitious, but until I’m sure the muse is going to trust me with the entire song, I like to keep it to myself.

Colette waves a breezy hand as she slides her sunglasses on. “No, you do your thing. I’m going to go soak in the sun and the view.” She pulls in a deep breath that makes her gorgeous—and still bra-less—breasts strain the front of the strapless top she’s wearing today. “It’s beautiful up here.