Rock Me Faster (Licks of Leather #4) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,26

and nodded.

“All systems go,” he called to the others.

The second Burk opened the door, the cries outside swelled to a thundering crescendo. I slapped on a smile as Ross slid his arm around my waist and ushered me through the portal. As promised, the others shielded us with their bodies as we inched our way to the bus. The invisible current Ross’s touch evoked hummed through me, igniting fireworks low in my belly. I’d never experienced this strange sensation with anyone but Ross. Only Ross, with his bulging muscles and chiseled features. The man was a work of art who made me yearn for things I hadn’t given much thought to before.

I needed to guide this crazy hum to its proper place in the universe. But where did it belong? And most importantly, where did it come from? Were Ross and my auras so diametrically different that his darkness warred with my light and induced this potent friction? I didn’t have a clue.

One thing was certain—I’d never felt anything so unnerving and arousing before. But then again, except for Beau back home, no man had ever even kissed me. Of course, when our lips touched, I felt nothing. No sparks or fireworks, definitely nothing like the bonfire that licked my core each time Ross seared me with his lurid stare. Okay, so it was only make-believe. Still, the tingles he sent skipping through me were definitely real.

Lost in my daydreams, I found it easy to block out the shouting crowd. Before I knew it, I was climbing the stairs onto the bus. But as Ross placed a warm hand to the small of my back, that familiar pulse-racing heat spread through me once more.

“You survived,” Kenny greeted with a wide grin. “I knew you would. You might be a little thing, but I can tell, you’ve got moxie.”

“Thanks.”

“And she’s a natural-born actress,” Mia praised, bounding up the stairs behind Ross.

“I am?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mia grinned as we both sat down on the soft leather couch. “Ross looked seconds away from bending you over and giving the listeners a soundtrack they’d never forget.”

“Fooled you. Need any more proof that I’m a fine actor?” Ross groused as he strode past me and disappeared down a darkened hall toward the rear of the bus.

“Ignore him, Harmony. You did fantastic.” Quinn grinned. “Keep that up and the tabloids will be retracting their lies in no time.”

Then what?

Tendrils of dread slid through me. Surely Quinn wouldn’t void our contract and send me home without the money he’d promised. Or would he? Shaking off the claws of negativity to keep my fears from coming to fruition, I drew in several calming breaths and focused on wending serenity through my system.

All was great until Ross returned—dragging a cloud of conflicted emotions with him that fractured my inner peace—and claimed the seat across the aisle from me once again.

“You okay?” I asked automatically, then inwardly cringed.

Of course he wasn’t. And the chance of him spilling his guts in front of me or his friends was a big, fat zero.

“Peachy,” he drawled derisively.

I knew he was lying. Everyone on the bus did, too. But I didn’t push the issue, and neither did they. That was part of Ross’s problem. No one had ever forced him to confront his feelings or talk them out. They simply let him shove them into a big, ugly caldron and cover them with a lid. But like the pressure cooker Willow used at canning time back home, if you didn’t keep an eye on the pot, it could explode.

It was past time to lift Ross’s lid and peek inside. Pretending to stare out the window behind him, I held the man in my periphery. Cordoning off his potent waves of anger, I wrapped the coils of his confusion, wisps of hostility, and strings of resentment around me like a heavy blanket. After I’d cleared a path and could feel his walls, Ross glanced over his shoulder, then back at me with a scowl. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Just taking in the sights of the city,” I fibbed.

“Oh, yeah? Why are your eyes narrow and what’s with the frown?”

Dammit. I’d been concentrating so hard on him I hadn’t bothered to keep my own expression in check.

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around the sheer number of people on the streets.”

“Tomorrow night there’ll be twenty thousand plus, all in one place, all on their feet, screaming their lungs out.” Ross paused and cocked his head.