Aftershock (22 page)

But the grasp of her cunt around his shaft undid him.

“Ride me, Sydney. Ride me hard.”

She took him at his word. With her hands braced on his chest, she rocked back and forth. As he moved with her, she increased the pace. Captured in the exquisite shroud of her hair, her soft voice whispering things to him he wasn’t even sure she knew she said, he rubbed her hot button harder. Faster, in cadence with the rhythm of their bodies.

“God, you feel so good, Syd. So tight. So hot. I could stay like this forever and never get tired of it.”

He thought she whispered, “Me, too,”
but he wasn’t sure.

When he lifted his eyes to her face again, he saw only how lost she was in the rhythm of this erotic dance. Her breasts moved with the action of her body. In that one moment, the feeling he’d had from the beginning, that they were connected by something deeper and more intense than just body to body, engulfed him. This was more than just the best sex he’d ever had in his life. This was a forever kind of feeling. It both excited him and scared him.

She moved, her inner walls clutching at him and he groaned. He held on as long as he could but when he felt the beginning of her spasms he couldn’t restrain himself. The sight of her with her head thrown back, mouth open just did him in. With her first contraction, he let himself go, jetting in thick bursts into the thin shield between them, his cock burned by the heat of her cunt. Over and over they shuddered together, cries of completion mingling, bodies moving as if in a choreographed dance. Until the last bit of liquid had drained from him and the spasms of her pussy finally subsided.

He lay perfectly still beneath her, trying to drag air into his lungs. His heartbeat was so thunderous it, shook his body. And when Sydney collapsed forward on him, he could feel the beat of her own heart as it blended with his.

There wasn’t another woman he’d ever experienced this with. Ever. He tightened his arms around her, wanting to hold her there forever.

Brand her.

Make her his.

Sweet Jesus
.

How did he get so lucky with her?

In the moonlit darkness the emotion between them was stark and real.

“Talk to me, Sydney. Tell me how you feel.”

“I feel—beyond anything I’ve ever felt before.” She whispered the words in the dark, her hair a curtain surrounding them, as she bent so her face was closer to his. “I feel special. Cherished.” She ran a small hand over the taut planes of his stomach down to where they were joined. “I love the texture of your body, your scent, the taste of your kiss.”

“Don’t ever stop feeling that way.” It was hard making his brain work when his body was screaming for release, but he knew she needed the words as much as the physical contact. “You are so very special. I want this forever, Syd.”

In the moonlit darkness the emotion between them was stark and real.

He held his breathe and at last she said in a low, soft voice, “Me, too.”

He hated to move after that, but he needed to dispose of the condom before they pushed their luck. Very carefully he lifted her from his body and freed himself, then slid from the bed. By the time he was back in the bedroom she was sound asleep, sprawled against the sheets, delicate lashes lying softly on her cheeks.

Now what?

More than anything, he wanted to crawl back into bed and fall asleep with her in his arms. But someone would look for him in the morning, and he had no intention of putting Sydney in an embarrassing position. He finally understood the need to keep this between themselves. Besides drawing focus away from the band, it could put her in an untenable position. Maybe even affect her job. He didn’t want that. So until this tour was over and they could figure out how to go public, they’d steal whatever moments they could.

With great reluctance he dressed quickly and eased the door open. He was thankful none of the band was in the hallway as he let himself into his room. Stripping off his clothes, he crawled into the cold, empty bed. He knew he should shower, but he’d wait until morning. At least tonight he could sleep with her scent all over him.

He’d worry about tomorrow when it got here.

***

The sharp notes of a trumpet blared, rattling Sydney’s brain and pushing through the fog of sleep she was wrapped in. Still groggy, she relaxed when it stopped, only to jerk when it sounded again.

What on earth?

Then she realized it was her cell. She pried her eyes open to see the thing practically dancing on the nightstand. Through squinted eyes, she saw Full Moon on the screen readout. Her first reaction was apprehension. Was something wrong? Last night had gone so well. Hadn’t it? When she checked the time and saw it was only six-thirty, her anxiety escalated. Why would someone from the agency be calling her at this hour?

Pushing herself to an upright position, she shoved her hair out of her eyes and picked up the phone. Absently, she noticed she was alone in the bed. Hadn’t he wanted to stay? In the same instant she understood he’d done this to protect her. So no one would see him slip out of her room when people were up and about. She smiled and hugged his concern to her like a warm blanket.

When the ringtone blared again, she finally pressed Answer. And mentally crossed her fingers.

“Yes?”

“Sydney?” Renee Fischer’s excited voice sounded in her ear. “Are you asleep? Wake up! Oh, my God! This was as long as I could wait to call you.”

“What’s wrong, Renee? What happened?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” The woman’s laugh slid through the phone. “I checked the overnight chatter on the Internet the way I always do after a show and Oh! My! God!”

“What? What? Tell me.”

“Holy cow, Sydney. Can you say overnight sensation?”

“Huh?” She wished her brain would kick into gear.

“The band! Lightnin’! Holy shit. The Internet is full of them. The Twitter feed is moving so fast I can hardly keep up with it. Everyone who Liked their Facebook page is posting and someone’s video of Marc and Emma hit YouTube and went viral already. Sydney, you’re a goddamned genius.”

“What?” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Renee, give me a sec here.”

She dropped the phone, raced into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face then picked it up again.

“Okay, now repeat every word. Slowly.”

Even hearing it the second time, she could hardly believe it.

“And the download number at iTunes is rising every hour.” Renee’s voice vibrated with her excitement. “Like I said, we have a damned overnight sensation on our hands. Listen, I already woke Linc up to tell him, and he’s calling Butch.”

At that exact moment a foghorn sounded, letting her know another call was coming in.

“That may be him now. Let me take it and call you back.”

“Okay. Hurry. I’m checking the online editions of the newspapers and the blogs. I’ll send a report to your iPad.”

Sydney disconnected Renee’s call and cleared her throat. “Hello?”

“Sydney, I love you.” She could practically hear the grin in Linc Forrester’s voice. “I can’t remember the last time I had this happen with a client.”

“Um, thank you, but the band actually did all the work.”

“Oh, yeah, I know. But that thing with Marc and Emma? Like I said last night. Goddamn genius idea. Remind me to give you a big raise. No, wait. I’ll remind myself.”

“Uh, thank you, sir.” She wished she didn’t sound like quite such an idiot but not all her brain cells were firing yet.

“Renee sent stuff to your iPad. Butch is giving the band another hour to sleep before he wakes them with the news. I’ll get back to you after that. We’ll have to make some adjustments here.”

He clicked off, and she sat there holding the phone.

Overnight sensation! Did she dare hope? Maybe last night had just been a fluke. Maybe it wouldn’t happen again tonight.

Maybe you should take a shower and pour some coffee in you and get to work
.

Sydney stood under the shower for a long time and let the stream of water pound her awake. Her brain tried to absorb everything she’d just heard but her body was doing a happy dance as she remembered everything from the previous night.

The thing that shook her the most was the realization that this thing she had with Rick was real, not just a dream. It was beyond a hot physical attraction. Every touch, every look, every caress was an expression of a much-deeper feeling. And he felt it, too. The things he’d said, the words they’d exchanged in the dark. That astounded her the most.

From beginning to end, the night had been enchanted. That was the only word to describe it. From the anxious anticipation during the day to the frenzy of last-minute activities to the unbelievably excellent performance of Lightnin’ to the magical moment on stage with Emma and Marc, Sydney had been riding a high. So many emotions assaulted her she could hardly sort them out.

She hoped no one had caught the vibes between her and Rick earlier in the evening. The quick glances. The heat pulsing between them. How was it possible something so strong could take root and blossom in such a short period of time?

During the after-party, they were too busy to think of anything else. When she reached the hotel and checked in, she was still giddy with excitement. Then there was that business with the key card, and his nearness and his touch had just undone her. In the erotic moonlit darkness, everything she felt for him, emotions she didn’t want to give a name to, had rushed to the surface.

She could still feel his mouth on her lips, on her breasts, between her legs. His tongue as it teased and tormented every one of her erogenous zones. Remembered the sensation of his cock in her mouth and in her body. Her pulse accelerated and throbbed low in her pussy, and her nipples suddenly ached.

She wanted this man. Badly. And for more than just a tumble in the sheets. He wanted her the same way. They couldn’t have made love the way they did last night without that kind of emotional connection.

Turning off the shower, she took one of the big bath towels and blotted her body with it, unwilling to scrub away the memories of the night, the imprint of Rick’s body, the feel of his hands and mouth.

Ohmigod! I’ve got it bad. Business, Sydney. Business
.

She ordered coffee and muffins from room service while she dressed. There was work to do before she caught her ride to the airport. She knew the band’s pickup was scheduled for nine. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw that it was already eight-thirty. If she hurried, she could check all the social media and the media coverage and give them a report before they left.

Dressed and with her first cup of coffee in hand she opened her iPad. The first thing she read was Renee’s long message. Then she scrolled through Twitter, stunned at what she saw—the notice that the hash tag #Lightnin was trending. Next she checked their Facebook page, dumbfounded at the number of Likes. And, finally, while she nibbled a muffin, she pulled up each of the Web sites on Renee’s list, one after the other. The coverage of Deep Blue River was expected. What wasn’t was the amount of space devoted to Lightnin’.

While some columns and blogs did give them only limited coverage, far more than she expected focused the article on her band.
Her band!
  Headlines like
Hot New Band Explodes on Scene
and
“Music Lady”
Sure To Zoom Up the Charts
, had her motor revving. Five of the writers had given a lot of space to “Music Lady” and the bit with Marc and Emma and even included a photo of the scene on stage.

Damn! It was way better than she’d hoped for.

Her hands shook with excitement as she logged into the iTunes store to check on the downloads herself and nearly fell out of her chair. She had to look twice to make sure what she saw wasn’t part of her imagination.

Nope, there it was. Number Four on the rock tunes chart at iTunes.

Of course, both Butch and Linc would have seen it by now. She was sure they both slept with their smartphones. She picked hers up to send a message back to Linc, but as she held it in her hand a chime sounded and she saw an incoming text from Linc.

Up 2 # 4. iTunes. Mega media coverage. Grt wrk. I knew I made the right choice here. Tld the guys. Cl them.

She hugged the phone to her body, wishing she had her printer with her so she could make a hard copy.

Another chime. Linc again.

Butch ecstatic. Sys to meet hm in Lobby of htl at 4 and ride to soundcheck with him
.

Her heartbeat tripped and stuttered before it settled into a more rapid beat. This was so great. Butch was going to give her position some teeth by having her arrive with him.

She was disappointed that there was no new blog up at
On the Scene
but maybe Macey was still writing it.

Maybe she’s still in bed with whoever she dragged home with her last night.

Catty, catty, Sydney. Besides, who are you to talk?

Determined not to let the moment be spoiled, she pushed all thought of Macey and her blog out of her mind. She wanted to scream like a kid and dance around the room, and when she was finally back home she would do it. Now, however, she had to put on her professional self and make sure she didn’t lose the momentum she’d gained.

But first she had to call Rick. See if the band was still here. Linc said Butch called them already but she also needed to touch base. Besides, she had updated information about the single.

Telling herself to stay calm, she punched in his cell number. He answered on the second ring.

“Morning, Sydney.” The heat in his deep voice blazed across the connection.

Her heart did a happy dance while her hormones joined it.

She cleared her throat, reaching for some semblance of sanity. “Morning. I know Butch has already talked to you, but I wanted to give you the good news from the overnights.”

“We saw them. I checked my iPad first thing this morning after Butch called and just now again.”

“Oh. Good, good.” She couldn’t contain her enthusiasm. “But you should check Twitter and your Facebook page, too. My God, Rick. It’s unbelievable. And we got great coverage of the shtick with ‘Music Lady.’ We need to keep it in the show.”