Sinful Ever After (Sinful Serenade Book 5) - Crystal Kaswell Page 0,34

pregnant and about taking maternity leave.

Even elementary school teachers, the ones who devote their lives to small children, get shit about having babies during the school year. As if they can pick a delivery date like magic.

Shit.

Teaching jobs are hard to come by. If I don't get hired right away, it might be two or three years before I find another gig.

Teaching may not pay as well as being a rock star, but I love it. I love middle school students. They're just starting to blossom into adults, and they're amazed by all the new ideas in books like A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Romeo and Juliet.

Drew is staring at me with all this concern in his eyes. It must be obvious I'm worried.

I run my fingers through his short hair. "You jealous, baby?"

"No. I just don't like them interrupting my plans."

"Yeah?"

He pats the bed. "I was gonna spend a lot of time right here."

"We'll have a bed in our hotel room."

"Not the same." He stares into my eyes. "There's something you aren't saying."

I nod.

"What is it?"

"It can wait. Get the tickets to fly to Vegas. Tonight, if we can."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Chapter Sixteen

Drew

Fucking time zones.

I'm groggy on the flight and in the cab ride to the hotel. But I'm not groggy enough to miss that something is very fucking wrong.

Kara is tense. She tries to smile every time our eyes meet, but she's not pulling it off.

After we check in, she mumbles something about wanting to unpack, and she practically locks herself in the bedroom—the suite has a main area and a separate bedroom.

I give her half an hour to unpack then I take a shower. There's a chance I'm tired enough I'm reading this all wrong. The hot water feels amazing on my aching muscles. Not as amazing as her hands feel. Fuck, it's been too long apart. I need every drop of her.

When I'm done, I wrap a towel around my waist, and I join Kara in the bedroom.

She's sitting in the bed in the dark, covers around her waist. Her blouse hugs her more than ample chest in a way that looks hot as fuck but supremely uncomfortable.

Her big, brown eyes are filled with frustration. Her shoulders are up to her ears. There's tension in her jaw and neck.

Still, she licks her lips as she takes me in.

"You should lose the towel," she mumbles, her voice thick with desire.

My cock stirs at the thought of wiping away all her frustration with my body. God knows, I want her eyes rolling back in her head as she comes.

We have to deal with this—whatever it is—first.

I’ve never been good at relationships before. I've loved Kara since forever, but it took a while for me to figure it out. I was sure I was bad for her. I tried to protect her from everything, including me, but it didn't work.

She needs me.

I need her.

It's been eight months now. I still worry that I'm going to fuck it up sometimes. I haven't yet.

Mostly, it's good.

Mostly, it's better than fucking anything.

I wrap my arm around her. "Hey."

I want all of her. I want every thought in her head. I want to take the weight of every burden that weighs her down.

She nestles into my chest. Her breath is warm against my skin. "You smell good. But kinda girly."

"Used your soap."

"I thought so." She presses her lips to my chest. "If I asked you to fuck me until I stopped thinking, what would you say?"

I run my fingers through her long, dark hair. "We should talk first."

"Yeah, I figured." She looks up at me, her eyes heavy with a mix of frustration and desire. "For a rock star, you're really uptight."

"You're just figuring that out?"

She shakes her head. "You know, I hate Batman. Why doesn't he do something productive with his money instead of dressing up in spandex and hitting people? If he spent half that energy working on education in Gotham city, that would do a lot more to deter crime."

I laugh. She's trying to bait me. "Because Gotham City is corrupt. He can't trust the establishment to use the money for good."

"He could run a charity. Something. I think he prefers the city overrun with criminals so he has a reason to kick ass."

"I don't look to him as a role model."

"Uh-huh."

"When I was seventeen, maybe."

"You're not proud of yourself for beating up assholes?"

"I'm always going to protect you and Willow. You're not going to talk me out of