times. The music stops, but I don’t stop looking at her, and thank God, she doesn’t stop looking at me.
Liam takes the mic from me. “Thanks for coming, New York City. We’re Reckless Alibi.”
I think the crowd cheers and stomps, but I don’t hear them. I have tunnel vision, and she’s the only one I see.
I never got this far in my plan. For a second I think she might run off the stage, embarrassed. But she doesn’t seem to care what’s around us any more than I do. She comes toward me, never breaking eye contact, and time almost stops. Things go in slow motion. I see every tear work its way down her cheek, each blink of her eyes, every nuance of her face. When she reaches me, I wrap her in my arms and kiss her. Her salty wet lips press against mine. I am reborn.
I hear the crowd as they explode into applause. Our lips part, and we gaze at each other, smiling. “Did that really happen?” she asks.
“It really did. Are you taking me back?”
Her thumb runs across the stubble on my jaw. “Yeah, I really am.”
“What do you say we blow this pop stand and go somewhere with a few thousand less people.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
“Oh, I’m asking, now and every day, Bria Cash.”
The lump in my throat is the size of fucking New York. But I don’t care. I don’t need to speak anymore. Everything else I have to tell her won’t require words.
Chapter Forty-seven
Bria
Crew and I slip out the back, not hanging around after the show. We run to the street and hail a cab, laughing when we hear Ronni’s irritated shouts behind us. Crew gives the cabbie my address.
“Do you think she’ll ever forgive us?” I say.
“Probably not, but I don’t care.” He takes my hand in his. “There’s only one thing I care about.”
I can’t stop beaming. The other song he wanted to write was for me. “When did you have time to do that?”
“We stayed after rehearsal a few days last week. I wanted to come up with a whole new melody, but there wasn’t time. Besides, with Liam off his game …”
“He’ll work his way back. Maybe the news about the tour will be his motivation.”
“Maybe,” he says, giving me a heated stare. “Motivation can be a powerful thing.”
We can’t keep our hands off each other in the cab. He grabs my thigh. I put a hand on his chest. He caresses my neck. I touch his cheek. He skims a finger along my jaw. It’s all we can do not to grope each other indecently.
We run up the stairs to my place, the pain in my muscles taking a backseat to the want in my core. We throw our things down. He pins me to the wall, eyes hot with desire. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?”
“Then do—”
His lips crash into mine. His tongue flits out, inviting mine to join it. Our kiss is like a song, building with each verse, leveling off with the chorus and then ending with the most powerful words.
His lips move up my jawbone. “I’ve missed this,” he whispers. He nibbles my earlobe. “I’ve missed every part of you.” He sucks my neck. “I’m never letting you go again.”
He holds my face and ducks to peruse me with his tongue. He tastes every sweaty, salty inch of my neck, working his way down to my cleavage. I’m squirming with want. Heat pools at my center. I claw at his back, needing him closer.
He removes my shirt, staring at my breasts as if he’s never seen them. He cups them through my bra, teasing my nipples and making them stiffen under the lacy fabric. “Take it off,” I say, my voice husky.
“Gladly.”
His lips lightly brush my nipple. I arch into him. He toys and licks and sucks until I don’t think I can take another second, then he switches to the other one. He goes back and forth between my nipples, tension coiling in my belly. “Crew—”
Suddenly, I’m in his arms, and he’s carrying me across the room. He lays me on the bed and takes off every stitch of his clothing. His penis is stiff and thick, and it dances as if it knows what’s coming next. I start to remove my pants, but he stops me.
“Huh-uh. I want to do it.”
He peels off my jeans, leaving my panties on, and touches me over them, rubbing my