Linden: Rocking Pleasure: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 3) (19 page)

“
I can’t figure you out, Linden.”

“
Doesn’t matter. I can’t figure you out, either,” he laughs.

My eyebrow shoots up of its own accord. “What do you mean?”

Linden caresses my back. “Well, you don’t want to eat with me, but then you do anyway because your friend made you. You say you don’t want to see me again, but then you invite me to your party. You try to avoid me in here, but now you’re slow-dancing with me.”

“
And that confuses you,” I state, not sure what he’s trying to tell me.

“
A little bit,” he admits.

Well, I’m confused by a lot of the things he does, too. It’s worth a try, asking straightforward questions. “Why are you so eager to be near me?”

“
Because I’m interested in you.”

“
Is that the only reason?”

“
No, but it’s the most important one.”

“
What are the other reasons?” I probe, curious now.

“
You’re a very interesting woman, and I was already hooked by the time you asked me if I hurt myself killing teenagers for sport. I don’t know anyone who would be as brave as you were, picking up an injured hitchhiker in the middle of the night. You always say what you’re really thinking, and you don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. I like that, and it’s rare to find a person like that when you’re on the road that I’m on.”

“
Why should I lie to you, just because you’re some sort of pop star?”

“
I don’t know, but it’s what a lot of people do. A lot of girls, especially. It was my decision to go down this road, and it has changed me, which I never wanted to happen in the first place. Now I can look terrible but everyone will still tell me I look great. A song might be total crap, but everyone will tell me it’s awesome. Those things fuck me up, you know?”

“
And how can you tell I’m always truthful?”

His eyes seem to burn into mine. “I can’t know for sure, but you strike me as a very honest person.”

“
That might be true.” I smile.

“
Do you know that you’ve got the most beautiful eyes?”

“
I think you’ve said that before, yes,” I say sheepishly.

“
And I mean it. This green-and-brown is … indescribable,” he says softly.

The song ends, and now he starts to pull away from me, but I don’t let go. “Do you want to go outside and continue our conversation there?”

Linden gives me a look of surprise. “Do you really want to leave your own party?”

“
Everyone’s busy with their own stuff. They’re not going to notice if we’re gone for a while.”

“
Do you want to bring something to drink?”

I shake my head. “But you go and get something if you want. I’ll wait by the door.”

Linden walks over to the bar, while I head for the front exit.

“
Where are you going?” Cami calls after me.

I turn around and point to the exit.

She immediately comes running. “You’re leaving?” she whines. “I was hoping you liked it.”

“
I’m just going to get some fresh air.”

“
With Linden?” she asks with a wide grin.

“
Yes, and we’re coming back, so don’t worry. It’s just nicer to chat outside.”

“
Okay.”

I hug her briefly. “Don’t say a word to the others,” I whisper in her ear.

“
Aw, come on!”

“
No, Cami. I don’t want any of you following us down to the beach.”

“
You two are headed for the beach?”

“
Yep.”

“
Then I expect you back much, much later,” she grumbles.

“
We’ll be back, I promise.”

“
Fine. It’s still early. See you later then, and please tell me
everything
! Okay?” she asks hopefully.

“
We’ll see if I can give you the uncut report or just the censored version,” I say with a smirk, before heading for the door. She has no comment for that.

Outside, I’m joined by Linden, who’s carrying a bottle of Coke in his hand. “Not too easy to talk the bar guy into giving me this, because he thinks it’s a party and no funeral.”

“
But you did it.”

“
I told him the birthday girl has low blood pressure and needed some caffeine.” He grins.

“
Do you want to head down to the beach?”

“
Wherever you want to go,” he says.

“
Great.” I smile and lead the way. “So what’s going to happen once you’ve fully recovered from your accident?”

“
I’ll return to New York City, and then we’re headed to Texas to record our new single, and then the big tour will lead us through all fifty states.”

“
All of them? Really?”

“
Yeah. We’re going to play in almost every major city.”

“
Will you be in Austin, too?”

“
Yeah, I think that’s in late July or early August maybe. I don’t remember all the dates. I’d have to look it up.”

“
If you let me know in advance, I’ll be there. I’m spending the summer at home, with my parents,” I explain.

Linden puts his arm around me and pulls me close. It’s a little difficult to walk without bumping into each other with every step, but I don’t mind. He exudes warmth and smells fabulous. “I’m glad you’re not running away now,” he murmurs.

“
Why would I?”

“
You’ve done so up until now.”

“
And you know why I did,” I sigh.

“
Yes, but now I can touch you and you won’t run.”

“
That’s what you think.” I grin.

After a ten-minute stroll, we reach the beach. I sit down in the sand close to the shore, and Linden drops down next to me. He lies on his side, crosses his legs, and braces his head on his arm. I mirror his position and look at him. “Aren’t you sad she left you?” I ask, hoping my voice sounds compassionate.

“
You want me to be honest?” he asks, picking up a handful of sand.

I nod.

“
Not really. It hurt, yes, but mostly I feel incredibly liberated and free,” he answers, letting the sand run through his fingers.

“
I wish I could say the same about my own feelings,” I whisper, rolling onto my back and looking up at the starry sky.

“
Who broke up with you?”

“
Don’t know if you can call it that. I had something going with a fellow student, a very casual relationship, but he ended it because I didn’t want to commit to anything more. In retrospect, I feel bad about that … I really miss him.”

“
Maybe I could give you some comfort to make up for it,” Linden murmurs as he leans closer. He blocks my view of the sky and looks into my eyes.

“
How?” I breathe, staring right back into those deep pools of turquoise.

He leans down slowly and puts his lips on mine. With a blink, I close my eyes and put my hands to his cheeks so he doesn’t pull back too quickly.

Linden’s hand explores my body, slipping under my blouse as his tongue invades my mouth. I sigh and let the tip of my tongue play with his. I wrap a hand around his neck and then rake it through his hair. Without breaking the kiss, he places a knee between my legs, pushing them apart slightly. I don’t know what it is or where it comes from, but there’s suddenly a weird, intense tingle in my belly. It feels like the excitement you experience just before a roller coaster starts—a wonderful, heady feeling. I bend my leg as his hand moves under my skirt and strokes my inner thigh.

Whoa, stop him, we’re on the beach!
my inner voice screams, so I open my eyes and grab his wrist.

Linden breaks the kiss and looks at me. “Fuck,” he whispers. “Sorry, I didn’t want to press you.”

“
It’s okay, but we’re still on the beach, and I don’t want to have to explain to my father why he has to bail me out of jail,” I say with a half smile.

His nose brushes mine. “You’re right, and I’m sorry I was rushing you.”

“
If I hadn’t liked it, I would have stopped you,” I reply calmly. I take my hand from his neck, but he grabs it and kisses it, and then strokes my temple with great tenderness. I close my eyes.

“
I was wishing for this on that first night,” he murmurs, “in your car.”

“
You were thinking of kissing me while you were injured and couldn’t even remember how you got to a ditch?” I ask, surprised.

He shrugs. “Yes.” By now his hand is all healed again, and he can brace himself on it without pain. He suddenly wraps his hand around my neck and kisses me again, much more impulsively and passionately this time. I return it, taken by surprise. And then he pulls away just as abruptly. “Will I see you again after tonight?”

I nod hectically. “Most definitely.”

“
When?”

“
Next weekend?” I suggest.

Linden shakes his head. “That’s too late. Why not tomorrow?”

“
I’ve already got a date for tomorrow,” I answer. I can’t just cancel on Jim now, though I don’t think Linden will like that I’m going out with another guy.

“
With who?”

“
A fellow architecture student.”

“
Oh. What are your plans?”

“
We’re going to catch a movie. I invited him because he helped me with an exam,” I explain.

“
Is he interested in you?” Linden probes, curious.

“
I have no idea, but I don’t think so.” I smirk. “Why are you interrogating me?”

“
Because. I want to know what you’re up to and with who.” He chuckles.

“
I’m not up to anything. I’m just going out with my college pal, because I owe him something for helping me out. Or rather, because I felt the need to thank him. He practically saved my confused ass after all.” I laugh.

“
Hm, seems like a foolproof way of getting girls to go out with you,” he replies dryly. “Maybe that’s how I’ll get all my dates from now on, too.”

I laugh louder. “No you won’t. Because you’re not a student, so that pretext won’t work for you.”

“
Granted. But I’m sure I could work with the general principle.” He grins.

“
Or you could just date only me; then you wouldn’t need a pretext,” I suggest shyly.

“
That would be nice, yes, but I’m drowning in date requests,” he laughs. “I’ll check my schedule to see whether I can cram you in there somewhere, okay?” Laughing, he rolls over, pulling me on top of him.

I half rise so I can look at him. “So you want to date other women, too?”

“
I have to. I’m a very sought-after man.”

“
Okay, then I’ll date other men as well,” I tease, and immediately, his smile fades.

“
Actually, I’d prefer it if neither of us dated anyone else,” he says, suddenly serious.

“
I have no plans whatsoever for Monday,” I say softly, leaning down again. “Would you like to spend Monday with me?”

Linden nods. “I’d like that very much, yes.”

“
We could go for a swim or to the movies again, or out to dinner. You pick something.”

“
Tomorrow the rest of the band’s coming to town. You could come to my place and meet them, Thally.”

“
I already know Alexis.”

“
But you don’t know the rest.”

“
What are their names again?” I ask, because he only told me once, and I’ve forgotten.

“
Mike, Gavin, and Azer.”

“
I could join you guys after the movies tomorrow night. If you want me to, I mean,” I offer a little shyly. For some reason I’m eager to meet his friends. Maybe because I’m sure they can tell me more about what type of person he really is. I’m not going to google him, because I’m not a fan of teen magazines—I can’t imagine that even one of them writes the truth.

“
All right, gorgeous,” he whispers. “Come by any time you like.”

“
Okay.” I breathe a kiss onto his lips and then start to rise, but Linden wraps a hand around my neck and deepens the kiss. His tongue invades my mouth again, playing with mine. First softly, and then more demanding.

Someone clears their throat next to us, and I pull back to look up at the person that interrupted us. I can’t see anything, because their flashlight is blinding.

“
You are aware that this is a public space, aren’t you?”

“
Uh … yes?” I reply slowly, perplexed.

“
Then you must also know that you can’t do what you just did here,” he says. It’s a man, but I still can’t see him properly.

“
If you could lower that flashlight, we might be able to see who’s reprimanding us,” Linden says as he sits up.

The blinding light is directed a little to the side.

Oh, no! A cop!
I hasten to stand.

“
Can I see some ID, please?” the policeman demands.

I open my handbag and pull out my wallet, showing the officer my driver’s license. Linden pulls his from his back pocket and hands it to the man, too.

“
Miss Thalia Leroux and Mr. Linden Priest,” he murmurs, after studying them intently under his glaring flashlight. “I order you to vacate this beach,” he says louder and hands us back our IDs. “Go.” He practically shoos us back to the street.