Stripped Love (Guys Next Door #1) - Baylin Crow Page 0,35

mom anymore."

"Phoenix," I whispered and reached out, clutching his hand.

"We were never really close. She’d been a foster kid and had run off when she was young. Didn't know if she had any family, but she didn't look for anyone. Sometimes I wonder if she remembered more about her childhood than she let on, you know?" His hand tightened around mine. "She wasn't super affectionate. Maybe a product of her past, I'm not sure. But she loved me in her own way…and she was my mom. So, I gave up the music and came home. I had no idea how bad it was until I started digging through the bills. Long story short, I got in touch with a friend who was working at the club. Still does, and you'll probably meet Damon at some point. Anyway, he got me the job."

"And your mom?"

His jaw ticced. "Died a few months later. Cancer ate her lungs."

We sat in silence as I soaked in his grief. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah." He huffed a shaky breath. "Me too."

"Your dad?" I hedged.

“Never knew him. My mom said they’d only briefly dated and that he’d died in a motorcycle accident while she’d been pregnant. Saw a picture of him once, and I looked like him. His features anyway.” He traced over the tattoos on his hands.

While my dad hadn’t died, he had left and signed over his rights when I was young. It was approved when the court agreed he was unfit. But I was absorbed in Phoenix’s story. I could tell him mine another time. “What about Nashville?”

He shrugged. "I’d planned to go back, but I couldn't write. It was like…the music died with her." He locked onto my gaze. "Until recently."

"You're writing again?" A sudden thought occurred to me, and I let out a soft sigh. "The notebook."

It wasn't a question, but still he nodded. "Yeah, and it's been…exactly what I've needed for so fucking long. I wasn't sure I'd ever write again."

His strong fingers curled around my forearms and he tugged me toward him until I understood what he wanted. I climbed in his lap, straddling his hips.

Gripping the back of my neck, he bit his lip. "I'm cashing in that rain check now."

"Maybe we should wait. I mean, that was a lot to take in," I reasoned but was met with a shake of his head.

Phoenix took those sturdy hands and framed my face. "I didn't tell you all of that to create distance between us. That's the last thing I want. You're the only person I've ever confided the whole story to. You've given me back so much already without even knowing it. Maybe I'm selfish," he said, voice husky and raw, "but I want even more."

Banding an arm around my waist, he hauled me so close there wasn't an inch of space between us before pressing his lips to mine. He slid his tongue along the seam, encouraging them to part and groaned when I opened for him.

The slick slide of his tongue and hands that moved to grab my hips as he hardened against me drove me crazy.

"I need you, Arch. Don't push me away." His raw plea made me hold him tighter.

He rocked me against him until I fell into the rhythm he set. A moan slipped free when the friction became too delicious to deny.

"That's better," he rasped out and tugged on my lip with his teeth. "You feel so good. If we weren't out in the open, I'd show you just how good."

His words were followed by a harder nip before he soothed the pain with his tongue.

Easing from his grip was hard when he clutched me so tight. When he reluctantly loosened his hold, I climbed to my feet and dusted off the back of my shorts before holding out a hand to him.

Phoenix eyed me with hunger as he took my hand, pushing himself up. Standing at full height, he stared down at me with a searching gaze. "Arch?"

My hand tightened on his as I reached behind me and slid the door open and then slowly led him inside my darkened room. Releasing his hand, I backed up and drew my shirt over my head, casually dropping it to the ground. His gaze followed the material before snapping back up to meet mine.

Eyes full of scalding heat held mine as pulled the door shut and then took unhurried steps forward until he stood only inches away. With a fingertip, Phoenix traced a line down