Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 60

Tonight is our first break between tour dates. Kade suggested going on a real date to dinner. I suggested we skip food altogether and move straight to dessert.

I won.

We’re back at his beach house in Rancho Palos Verdes. Kade steps aside after he opens the door, and I walk into the living room. It’s sunset and the sun dips gracefully into the limitless sea, casting an orange glow on everything. I make my way to the suede couch and run my hands over the smooth surface. The room is gorgeous and understated, decorated in clean lines and heavy wood, accented in deep blues and light browns. Kade’s piano is situated in front of the large french doors, and I can imagine him writing music while looking out at the spectacular view. But this isn’t what I want to see. I want to see Kade’s bedroom. I feel him move up behind me, but he doesn’t touch me. I turn, placing my hand on his chest. “Take me to your room.”

Kade cocks an eyebrow. “Just like that? You aren’t even going to tell me I’m pretty?”

“I’ll show you instead.” I wink.

He puts his hand in mine, and my pulse thunders in my wrist. I know he can feel it as we walk down the hallway to his room. I briefly wonder if he’s nervous too, but then he swings his door open and … Holy cow!

We step inside. Behind his bed is a wall-to-wall window overlooking the ocean, but as spectacular as the view is, that’s not what caught my attention. I slip my hand from his and walk to the wall, lined side to side with newspaper articles of Kade and LP-45. Tabloids and interviews overlap in a collage of headlines that sensationalize every moment of Kade’s career and life. Rumors and scandals are pasted to his wall. My fingers reach out, and I trace the words; puzzled, I look back at Kade, leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest as he watches me with mild curiosity.

“Is this real newspaper?” My fingers sweep over the smooth lacquer and the hateful words splashed across the walls.

His eyes follow my gaze. “Yup.”

“Why would you do this? Why would you want to see this?”

“Because they only have power over me if I give it to them. This”—he gestures to the wall—“takes that power away from them. Let them say what they want. I don’t give a fuck, and I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over it either.”

He kicks off the door and joins me. I lean back into him as he pulls me closer, and for a moment I’m distracted from all the ugly words in front of me by his scent. Kade could literally bring you to your knees with his scent alone. Everything about it screams sex and chemistry and desire. I tilt my head and look back at him. His tongue peeks out of his lips, and he toys with his lip ring—an unconscious habit he has that always has the same result. Everything south of my navel clenches and leaves me wanting. He must read my thoughts because he turns me around, hands sliding through the hair at the nape of my neck as he cradles my head. For the longest moment he doesn’t move. I expect him to kiss me, to dip his head and press those full lips that soften his face to mine, but he doesn’t. Turquoise depths meet my gaze, and his lip lifts ever so slightly in a crooked smirk that at any other time would look arrogant but for the rapid hammering of his pulse against his throat. So, he is nervous.

Ever so gently his thumb sweeps across my cheek, and finally he leans in, licking his lips the moment before they meet mine.

I thank the Virgin Mary that I’m wearing panties because I swear if I wasn’t I’d be dripping all over his hardwood floors. Kade owns me with his lips, with his tongue, with everything. Breaking the kiss, I gently nudge him backward until his knees hit the mattress and his ass lands on the bed. He shuffles up the bed, giving me room to crawl up his body which I gratefully take advantage of.

I reach under his shirt and feel his muscles quiver underneath my touch. I rake my nails gently over his abs before lifting his tee above his head. Do not drool, do not drool, I repeat silently, over and over, as I watch his abs ripple beneath his skin when he raises up and lifts his hands above his head, making it easier for me. He leans back, resting on his elbows.

“Take your clothes off for me, Hayley.”

What those words do to me. My heart races and my chest rises and falls with the ragged breaths I’m inhaling. It’s almost as though these weeks of touching and teasing each other have created this crazy buildup. My heart races, and I rock back on my heels and lift my burgundy silk blouse over my head. My breasts rise and fall as my breaths come in ragged succession, and I lean in to gently tug Kade’s lip ring.

“More?” I tease, tracing the swell of my breasts with my manicured nails over my red demi bra.

His eyes burn into me. “Much more.”

My hands go to my back, and I unclasp my bra. Reaching for the strap, I slide it slowly down my arm, then move to the next. I dangle the lace between my fingertips before I gracefully flick it off the bed.

“Now the skirt.” His voice is raspy, and his hands fist the sheets at either side of him. As much as I want him to touch me, I can tell he is hanging on to his control by a thread, and I wonder if one touch is all it will take for him to lose the battle.

I raise my eyebrow.