Rock Me Faster (Licks of Leather #4) - Jenna Jacob Page 0,31

my chair and danced around the room.

Afraid to disturb this delicate but incredibly important moment, I sent him a sassy grin. “And you call Syd a smart-ass.”

A rusty laugh burst from the back of Ross’s throat.

The room turned deathly quiet as everyone around the table stopped talking at once. Then as if witnessing the birth of a unicorn, they each locked a stunned stare on Ross.

“Holy shit, she did it,” Darren whispered in unmistakable awe.

As fast as the buds of Ross’s lightheartedness had bloomed, they withered and died when he bristled and scowled. “What the fuck is your problem?”

Everyone looked away except Burk, who answered in a voice thick with emotion. “A fond and distant memory, brother.”

The lead singer lifted his menu to shield his emotions, but his heart-aching sadness rushed through me, bringing with it an enlightening revelation.

My job was more complex than the role of disingenuous girlfriend. More than helping Ross learn to embrace light and love. I also had to exhume the long-lost brother his bandmates desperately missed.

Unwilling to let Ross fully retreat, I cocked a brow and smiled. “So, what do scallops taste like?”

“Mild. Similar to lobster but the texture is different.” When I started laughing softly, Ross rolled his eyes. “You’ve never tasted lobster, either, have you?”

“Nope,” I laughed. “But I’m never going to turn down the chance to try something new.”

Chapter Seven

Ross

I’d love to give you something new to try, little girl. Something thick and hard. Something guaranteed to make you whimper, moan, and beg all night long.

“Being adventurous is a good thing.”

And the fact that she’d never tasted lobster or scallops or nearly any other dish on the menu made me want to show her all the glorious things she’d been missing…besides sex. Which I was ninety-nine-point-nine percent certain she hadn’t experienced yet, either. The thought of being the first to coat my cock in her virgin cream…

Betty White naked…Betty White naked.

I didn’t have anything against the aging actress, but she looked exactly like my grandma—god rest her soul—and was the only sure cure to shut down the forbidden sexual images of Harmony spooling in my head.

But even wrinkled body parts couldn’t erase the sound of Harmony’s lighthearted laughter stamping my senses. Or dim the unfettered happiness glowing on her angelic face now branding my brain.

Simply being close to her had lessened the panic that had lit me up outside. After I’d peeled the redheaded exec-u-chick off my crotch, I’d turned to find Harmony gone. Terror had punched me in the gut. The memories of that scumbag piece of shit who’d pinned her up against the wall this morning were still fresh in my head, making me crazy with the need to protect her. Heart in my throat, I’d tossed down the marker and started scanning the crowd. But I couldn’t find Harmony anywhere. It wasn’t until I’d started yelling her name that Burk rushed toward me to say she was inside the restaurant with Sofia.

Relief had landed such a brutal blow I’d nearly dropped to my knees.

I knew then I was in over my head.

When we entered the restaurant, I was scrambling for a way to atone for my cruel behavior. I couldn’t keep acting like a raging douchebag. Harmony might have signed up for this gig—why, I had no clue and aimed to find out—but she didn’t need to deal with my shitty attitude.

Extending an olive branch sounded good in theory. But I didn’t know how to tone down my overwhelming need to protect her or deal with the unending ache to strip her bare, whisper filthy things in her ear as she shattered all over my tongue, fingers, and cock.

The tempting nymph was shredding my control, which was terrifyingly dangerous.

I couldn’t give in to my basal desires without destroying the very virtues—like her captivating innocence, kind and caring disposition, and unjaded purity—that turned me inside out. Of course, I’d be a lying motherfucker if I said I didn’t want to wrap her in my arms and prove there was far more to life than gardens, canning, and cheese.

Discovering that Harmony lived on a farm wasn’t that much of a shock. It explained a whole lot. Like why she didn’t wear makeup, twirl her hair in some fancy do, cover her smoking-hot body in designer clothes, or reek of some high-end perfume. Harmony didn’t need any of that shit anyway. She glowed with natural beauty. It was as if the sun had kissed her cheeks and sprinkled fragments of the sky