get this right.” She rolled onto her back and lifted her ass so she could fix her skirt, and then went back onto her side, facing him. “But I would love to see you guys perform again.” They stayed silent for a moment, and she watched as he closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his head, taking on a more relaxed position.
Tanner let herself look at the defined cords of muscles along the underside of his arms, the ones that not even the tattoos on his arms could cover. He was once again wearing a plain t-shirt, barely confining his strength. God, when had he gotten so big? Back in the day he had been taller than most of the guys around them, and had a bigger build, but his frame now was all hard and trained muscle.
She moved her gaze up his neck and over his face. His eyes were still closed, and she could tell by his breathing that he was falling asleep.
“I’m glad I’m not the only one that likes to stare.” He cracked one eye open.
Without thinking she reached up and brushed his dark hair off of his forehead. “I prefer to say I am gazing longingly at you.” She grinned and moved closer to him so she could rest her head on his chest. When he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tight, the feeling that she was right where she needed to be filled her.
What was suddenly on her mind was probably a mood killer, but she’d prefer to get it off of her chest and move past it. If she didn’t ask him about Laura then she’d always wonder what had happened between the two of them, even if it really didn’t matter at this point in time.
“I can hear you thinking.” Jacks sounded sleepy, but amused. Here he was, lying with his pants around his ankles and his junk hanging out, yet he didn’t even care.
“How can you hear someone think?” She ran her hand down his chest and stopped when she got to the edge of his shirt. Pushing the material up slightly, she rested her open palm on his flat, rippled stomach and closed her eyes.
“Even when I can’t see your face, and you’re not saying anything, I can read you. I always have been able to, Tanner.” He curled his fingers around her shoulder, pressed his nose to the top of her head, and once again she heard him inhale.
“You fucked that Laura chick.” She didn’t phrase it like a question, because obviously she knew he had from Five telling her, and also from the way Laura looked at Jacks. He sighed deeply, but didn’t answer right away, and of course she felt like this petty jealous girlfriend. “I’m just curious is all, because she looks at you like she wants to tear your clothes off and glares at me like she wants to rip my throat out.”
“She won’t bother you.”
“I’m not worried about her bothering me. I guess I’m worried about her not realizing that you and I…”
“Are together, Tanner, and I know you’re trying to not let it bother you or be jealous, but you are.” He pushed back enough that he could look down at her. “Remember when I said that this is a crazy road you’ll be agreeing to go on?”
She nodded.
“I meant it. I’m not trying to be cocky, but Laura isn’t the only one that wants to tear my clothes off. Fame and money make people insane, and make them want something they normally wouldn’t have wanted.” He smoothed his finger down the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, I slept with, Laura. Once. But I told her before you even agreed to come on tour that there is nothing else between us. It was one night of drunken sex…” He seemed to stop speaking, as if he had caught himself before he said something he didn’t want her to hear.
Tanner could only imagine the things that he had done, things that were exciting, exhilarating, and downright dirty.
“But I’ll tell you this, Tanner. You’re the only girl I want from this point on if I’m the only guy you want.”
Her heart was beating fast and hard, and she heard it in her ears and felt it in her throat. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” And it was the truth.
“Laura’s dad is a roadie, and I know she’s had a hard life growing up. I can’t exactly tell her to