Hell Bent (Rock Bottom #1) (20 page)

Kissing my cheek, she tells us both goodnight and disappears into the basement. My one modification to the house was to add the studio on. Everything else, I’ve given Bennett control over. It’s just a house. The things in it and the way it looks don’t matter to me as much as the people in it.

“Are you gonna go to bed, baby?”

I groan, making him laugh. I can picture him lying on his bed at the back of the bus with his eyes closed. “Going to bed means I have to walk again. I shouldn’t’ve stopped. Can you fly home, tuck me in, and then go back?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Pushing to my feet, I take the phone off speaker and hold it to my ear. “It was worth a shot.”

One step at a time, I slowly make my way up the stairs.

“Have I told you how amazing you were tonight?”

“Only about a million times since you answered the phone. Plus the flowers you had waiting for me when I came off stage.”

“Is the baby still kicking?”

I run my hand across my stomach after slipping out of my dress and smile at the thought of what has happened tonight. “Not right now. I think he’s as tired as the rest of us.”

“Except Willow.” He chuckles.

“Yeah, well, as long as she’s excited about something I’m not gonna say shit about what she’s doing. It’s nice to see her smiling.”

Dropping into bed, I moan as the mattress conforms around me. I don’t think this bed has ever been this comfortable. The only thing that would make it better is Bennett’s arms around me.

“Really, Izzy. Did you have to moan?”

“Feels so good.” Teasing him, I moan again. I know I’m pushing him, and I love it.

“I know what would feel better.”

“Oh yeah? I do recall you telling me you were going to teach me a lesson tonight.”

“Yes, lesson one: don’t tease the man with a rock-hard dick that’s a thousand miles away. I want nothing more than to fuck you senseless right now and I can’t.”

“Mmm.” I bite my lip to keep from laughing when he growls. Grabbing my laptop from his side of the bed, I flip it open and log into Skype. Without telling him what I’m doing, I send him a video request and smile when I hear him laugh on the other end of the line.

“What? Teasing me over the phone isn’t enough for you and you’d rather watch my face?”

Bennett’s face fills my screen, and as always when I see him, my stomach does flips. “I’d always prefer your face than talking on the phone. Does it help when I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing to tease you? Yeah, a little.”

Leaving the laptop by my knees, I lean back against the pillows and run my hands over my breasts.

“That’s so unfair,” he huffs.

Moving my hands lower, I slip one under the edge of my gray panties and sigh. This is getting harder every day, but I’ll do anything to keep what Bennett and I have alive while he’s away.

“Don’t seem so tired now that you’re teasing me. You should take those off.”

“Oh, you have requests now, do you?”

He shrugs, dropping his laptop to his bed between his legs. It gives me the perfect view of him and shows me exactly what I’m doing to him.

“You. Naked.
Now
. There was no request there, Izzy.”

His bossy tone does nothing but turn me on more, and all thoughts of falling asleep slip from my mind. Hooking my thumbs under the hem, I lift my ass and slowly slide them over my knees and kick out of them.

“Sweet Jesus, I hate that I’m not in that bed with you right now.”

“Me too,” I whisper, swirling my finger around my clit. My eyes stay glued to the screen as he shifts his sweatpants down his hips and his cock springs free. I want to feel it inside of me, but I know that won’t happen for another few weeks.

Watching as he licks his palm and roughly strokes himself turns me on more than anything. Watching me, he bites his lip when I moan.

“Shit,” he murmurs. Disappearing from view for a moment, he comes back with a pair of headphones and slips them on. “Those noises are only for me. The last thing I need is a bus full of guys jerking off to the sound of you coming.”

The thought makes me laugh. “Are you planning on making me come tonight, Bennett? Is that what you’re telling me?”

Grinning, he nods. “It’s always my goal to make you come. In fact, why don’t you slip your fingers inside of you like I would if I were there right now, then pull them out and circle your clit?”

I do as he tells me to. My hips buck when I hit my clit and he continues to tell me what to do. I keep going, his voice spurring me on, but truth be told, I don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to.

I want to close my eyes because it would make it easier to pretend that my hand was his, but every time I start to, Bennett tells me to keep looking at him. I can’t complain; the sight on my screen is hot as hell. I can tell by the way he’s breathing that he’s close, and I’m right there with him, but the sound of his door opening and his name being yelled when someone walks into his room kills the impending need to come. Bennett yells at whoever it is to get the hell out of his room while attempting to hide his cock and laptop screen at the same time.

When the room finally empties out again, he turns the screen back so I can see him again. The sad smile tells me he already knows that the mood is killed and there is no getting it back. I pull my laptop up, setting it near his pillow, and I roll toward him. After sliding his pants back into place, he does the same thing.

“If sex is this hard now can you imagine how hard it’s going to be once there is a kid involved?”

I sigh. “I know. Good thing I have no issue with laundry room sex during cartoons.”

“Damn, you’re gonna take away my cartoons too?”

“Are you five?” I laugh. “I’m pretty sure that sex outranks cartoons in any given day.”

“I don’t know about that.”

I scoff. “I see how it is.”

“I’m kidding, I promise.” He cracks a smile, making me melt.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. We have time. We’ll get everything down.”

“Yeah, baby, we’ll figure everything out.”

“Are you about ready?” I yell. Stepping toward the bathroom, I’m well aware that this situation seems familiar and smile when I think about what Izzy was wearing the last time I had to track her down to see if she was ready. Cracking open the door, I’m stopped dead in my tracks. On any given day she takes my breath away, but looking at her in the short silver dress that clings to every curve, she’s heart stopping. With her hair curled and pulled over her shoulder, it gives me a phenomenal view of her bare back and deep plunge of her chest. Making it through this night with her looking like that is going to be hard. Turning, she smiles and reaches for my hand so I can steady her while she steps into her heels. The newly added height puts her at the perfect height to lean down and ravish her mouth, but I know better than to mess up her makeup, so I hold myself back and kiss her lightly.

Wrapping my arms around her back, she slips hers around my neck, getting as close as she can around her stomach. It’s crazy to think that in a few weeks there will be an actual baby between us instead of just her stomach. It’s surreal.

“You look nice,” she mumbles, fixing the collar of my shirt.

Splaying my hand between her shoulder blades, I force her closer. “Did you know you get more beautiful every time I look at you?”

Scrunching up her face, she steps out of my grip. “I’m glad you like what you see, because personally, I can’t wait to hand this kid his eviction notice and get my body back.”

Sliding up behind her, I wrap my arms around her, slipping my hands over her stomach. Knowing what I’m looking for, Izzy moves my hands down until I feel the kicks that I was hoping for. 

“I love you,” I whisper against her neck. “Both of you.”

Sighing, she squeezes my arm. “If this wasn’t the Bluebird, I’d say fuck it all and beg you to unzip this dress right now. But, since it is, I suppose we should get going before we’re late.”

After a minute, I agree and let go of her. “Where’s your coat? It’s supposed to get cold.”

“By the door with my purse. I’ll be right down.”

Eyeing her, I step toward the door. “Two minutes, woman. Two minutes or I’m calling and tellin’ them we’re out and comin’ back up here and takin’ you up on removing that dress.”

“Get out.” She laughs, throwing a towel in my direction.

I take a sip of my drink before setting it back down on the stool next to me. Playing the Bluebird is second to the Opry on my must play list. I send up a silent thanks for not freezing like I did the night at the Opry. My gaze connects with Izzy’s two tables back, and I know in about ten seconds she’s going to hate me. She’s been shifting in her seat with an uncomfortable look on her face for the past few songs so I’m sure she isn’t going to last much longer, but this has to happen tonight or it won’t happen at all.

“We’ve got time for one more song before they kick my ass off the mic so I wanna make it a special one. Although, I’m more worried about getting my ass kicked by my girl in a minute than I am about the great people here kicking me off the stage.” My words earn me a death glare, but the rest of Izzy’s family lights up. They all know what is going to happen tonight. I crook my finger at her, but she shakes her head, telling me no. “Why not?”

“Because fuck you, that’s why.”

It takes everything in me not to laugh at her while everyone else does. Shaking my head, I climb off my stool and kneel down in front of her. “Come on, baby. You saved this song for us for a reason. It’s time people got to hear it.”

“I hate you.”

Leaning close to her, I brush the hair away from her ear and whisper, “You love me, and I promise I’ll make up for it later.”

Begrudgingly, she takes my hand, and I help her to her feet as she pouts. “You better,” she mutters so only I can hear.

While I was on the floor, the staff set another stool and microphone up, so I help Izzy up and into her seat before taking mine again. I slide my guitar strap over my head. Looking completely out of place without an instrument in her hands, Izzy settles for placing her hands on her stomach. 

Smiling, she leans into the mic. “You see how he makes me sit down. I think he thinks I’m gonna knock stuff over with this baby belly or something… It’s almost like it’s happened before or something.”

The uncomfortable look on her face is back but she’s still smiling, so I don’t verbally question anything.

“So since we’re on the subject of new music tonight and showing you what’s going to be on the new album, we have this one. It’s another song written by this beautiful woman’s father, and I couldn’t be more thankful for her to set aside this one as well and for her to sing it with me. It’s like he knew exactly how I felt about his daughter before I had even met her, and I hope you guys enjoy.”

The first note brings a fresh wave of tears to her eyes but she pushes through. Neither one of us look away from each other through the entire song, and by the end of it all, my thoughts of thinking something was wrong with her tonight are confirmed. She clutches at the stool, her other hand on the side of her stomach as she tries to breathe.

Standing, I go to her. “Izzy, what’s wrong.”

Her tear-soaked eyes flit to mine, and they’re filled with fear. “Something’s wrong. I think I’m in labor.”