Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,199

Ian didn’t care. Alex was in rehab again. Their tour was “on pause” again—code for temporarily cancelled. Their appearance at a big west coast music festival was in doubt. Frankly, Ian was tired of living his life subject to the waxing and waning of his bandmate’s drinking problem.

Also—he was just plain tired.

The woman sitting on his lap, however, made him feel alive—from the moment he’d first heard her sing, from the moment she’d first laughed at his lamest joke, from the moment his lips had first brushed hers. Then she’d had second thoughts and walked out of his life. That he had miraculously found her again? I must have done something right in a past life.

And what he was feeling? She was feeling it too right now.

Her brown eyes had darkened to the color of espresso. Her chest was rising and falling like the rhythmic sputter of a coffee maker. Her bare thighs were trembling against his—and it had him hard as a rock, a fact he couldn’t exactly conceal beneath the white towel.

“You’re feeling this, too,” he said, pointing out the obvious. Her nipples were hard beneath the thin cotton of her tank top, and the rush of blood in his ears was like a roar. “And we have some time to kill.” He glanced toward the street and the raging storm.

“We don’t know anything about each other.”

“What do you want to know? Ask me anything. Finish our twenty questions. I believe I answered about five. So you have fifteen left.”

She rolled her eyes and he wasn’t sure whether she would take him up on it or not. He watched her weigh the idea behind her lovely face.

“Have you ever had your heart broken?” she said at last. “And don’t say when I walked out of your hotel room.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“My lifestyle is not conducive to serious relationships.” He paused. “But you did break my heart, a little.”

She swatted at his chest. He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

“Explain that.” She tried to tug her hand back, a move he decided against allowing. He kissed her thumb and then her index finger before answering.

“That night—I wasn’t sure whether you knew who I was.”

“I pretended not to. More for me than for you.”

He nodded, acknowledging the admission. “It was a pleasant change of pace to be around a woman who wasn’t angling for something from me—an introduction or a social media selfie or bragging rights. It was a little glimpse into normal, you know?”

“A lot of people think normal life is overrated.”

“Do you think that?”

“No. I like my quiet normal life here.”

He kissed her middle finger. “When you’re twenty-one, the life of a rock star sounds amazing. And for awhile, it was. I can’t deny that. But now? Eight years later? I’m getting a little old for it.”

“There are some aging rock stars who would beg to differ.”

He shrugged and kissed the last two fingers. “They’re entitled to live their lives as they see fit. In the beginning, I drew so much energy from the crowds, from the attention. But now, it’s just a drain. Honestly? A lot of nights I’d rather sit in the hotel in my underwear and eat room service nachos and binge on Netflix.”

That drew a smile from her.

“So, yes, my heart cracked a little when that beautiful, normal woman up and walked out on me.” He closed his lips around her pinky finger, enjoying the way it made her mouth drop open to take in air. “That was probably more information than you wanted.”

“I’ll give you credit for two questions.”

“Only two?” He smiled as he sucked the next finger into his mouth.”We’re going to be here all night.”

“We’re going to be here all night anyway. In any case, you seem to be holding up fine.” She glanced down at the hard lump beneath the towel.

“So what’s the next question?” he asked. She fought not to squirm on his lap as he closed his lips around another finger. He ran his tongue up to her fingernail. She lost that fight. “But after ten questions, I’d like a kiss.”

“Fine. You’re up to nine.”

He sucked on her thumb, more insistently than he had her other digits. It was taking all his willpower not to thrust his hips toward her.

“If you’re not happy, then why not quit? Why not do something else? I imagine you’ve made enough money.”

“I have. Also made enough money for everyone around me. But there’s a tour the band is contractually obligated to finish, as