Passionate Addiction (25 page)

As Mitch continued, Leah came out from side stage, striding toward Mason, her tablet computer under her arm. With an air of authority, she grabbed the microphone stand and cleared her throat. “Come on, guys.”

Mitch slapped his palm over the strings, the sudden weight of silence hanging heavy in the empty arena.

“Thank you. Now if you’ve stopped stroking your Johnsons, can you please play something proper for Gabi? She has to leave for the airport in fifteen minutes.” Leah fixed her sights on Mitch. She was professional and determined in her navy tailored suit, her blonde hair loose and falling over her shoulders.

There was a brief pause, then a cymbal crashed, loud and earsplitting, followed by the hard beat of drums at a breakneck tempo. Sean thrashed from his seat at the back of the stage, pounding hard, his arms flying from the high hat to the floor tom, moving in a constant blur before abruptly stopping.

“Sorry,” he called out. “My Johnson felt left out.”

Leah shook her head and thrust the microphone stand at Mason before striding from the stage. Gabi couldn’t tell if their band manager was genuinely annoyed or acting with the usual air of underlying humor. She hoped it was the latter. Nobody had discussed the argument from last night, and both Ryan and Leah had kept their distance, remaining quiet all morning.

“I think we’re ready,” Mason announced, his voice smooth and seductive. “What song, Emo?”

Blake pointed to his groin and mouthed the words “blow me” before turning to Gabi. Their gazes connected, creating a chain reaction of sensations that ran through her limbs. Her stomach flipped, her nipples tightened, and her mouth dried out to the point of pain.

She adored this man. Always had. And seeing him on stage, in a place where he felt most confident, made her all the more addicted to his charm. He was at home up there, and it was invigorating to see him so alive.

“Angel of Mine,” he announced and continued to stare at her while Mason glanced between them.

Nobody knew it was her song. Christ, until last night she’d thought it was written about a friend of Blake’s, just like everyone else had. Now Mason was scrutinizing them, his questioning gaze seeping under her skin in search of the truth.

“OK, let’s rock this,” Mitch announced.

“Ready, Mace?” Sean called, holding his sticks above his head.

Gabi held her breath, waiting.

There was a beat of silence.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Mason answered, palming the microphone in the stand, his gaze focused on her.

Gabi let out the breath congealing in her lungs and smiled in relief at Blake. He grinned back and mouthed the words
I love you
.

Gabi ignored Alana’s gasp and mouthed the words back.
I love you.

“Thanks gorgeous, I love you, too,” Mason replied.

Gabi pierced the lead singer with an unconvincing glare. She couldn’t help that her lips were twitching. Mason had a way of being so sickeningly arrogant that it became appealing. He smirked at her, his brown eyes gleaming, yet his expression held no flirtation. He was teasing her like a friend, treating her as part of the family, showing her she belonged. She didn’t think many people would’ve experienced the caring side of Mason, and she was glad to be one of the lucky few.

Sean tapped his sticks over his head—one, two, three—forcing her to concentrate. In the next beat they began to play, the mix of guitars—rhythm, bass, and lead—along with Mason’s voice and the drums, making the arena walls vibrate.

With trembling hands, she inched forward in her seat, sitting on the edge to get a better view. Blake stole her attention, hypnotizing her with every move of his fingers, the flex of his tattooed arms and the flick of his cuffed wrists.

Lyrics echoed in the back of her mind, and for the first time, after falling in love with this song a lifetime ago, the words now held new meaning.

You saved me from myself, from the drowning and the pain.

As much as she mentally commanded, Blake didn’t look at her. From the first moment his fingers strummed the guitar strings he remained focused on his instrument. His head hung, his eyes closing for long moments at a time.

Sweet angel mine, keep me from the darkness, soothe the acid in my veins.

When Mitch stepped forward for his solo, Blake glanced up and she sucked in a breath at the naked vulnerability in his gaze. She could see how much this song meant to him, could feel it echo inside herself.

He focused back on his guitar, backing up and deepening the piercing sound that emanated from Mitch’s guitar, making it slice through her chest with its ferocity. The intimacy of the lyrics, the brutality of Blake’s life was laid bare for millions of people to hear. Yet nobody knew it was about him. Them.

As Mason repeated the chorus for the final time, Gabi moved to her feet. The song ended with a drawn out guitar note, and by then, she was walking forward, her legs moving without thought as she headed to the portable staircase standing alongside the stage. Her heart pounded against her sternum, growing more frantic with each step.

Blake’s stare followed her, making her weak and vulnerable, strong and certain, all at the same time. She watched him yank his guitar strap over his head and thrust his guitar at Mitch when he walked past, striding toward her. They met at the top of the staircase, and without a word, they moved into one another, his arms going around her waist, hers around his neck, their lips meeting in the middle.

He stole her breath, her heart, her love and gave his back in return. He kissed her as if he lived for the taste of her. He held her like she was his anchor and he needed grounding. His hands delicately stroked her back cherishing every inch of skin he touched. And still she wanted more. She couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t kiss hard enough, but she tried, with every sweep of her tongue and every caress of her lips.

His hands slid to her ass, cupping, and then lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him, not caring who watched. They only had now. Tomorrow she would be alone, distraught, and heartbroken. Nothing would stop her from enjoying these last moments together.

“Why don’t you guys take this out back?” Leah’s voice called softly. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

Blake broke the connection, his face a mix of anguish and undeniable lust.

“He only needs two,” Sean sniggered.

Blake rested his forehead against Gabi’s, their chests heaving together in a fierce rhythm. Then without warning, he turned, her ass grasped in his hands and walked them into the side stage corridor. The area was dark, silent, and led to a small room in the back. He rushed them inside, kicking the door shut with his foot.

He collapsed against the door, pulling her body with him. “I can’t do this,” he murmured. “I can’t say goodbye.”

“Shh.” She placed a finger over his lips. “Then don’t.” She couldn’t stand to hear it anyway. “Every day will bring us closer to where we want to be. It’s only a matter of time.”

She loosened her legs from his waist and let her feet fall to the floor. Her mouth found his, her tongue licking his bottom lip. A growl rumbled in his chest, enticing her to do it again and again. “Show me how much you love me,” she begged.

“Gabi.” Her name was a plea. “I’ll never be able to show you. You’d never believe me.”

She ignored the heartache in his tone and ran her lips down to his chin, then along his jaw. She nuzzled his neck, sucked his skin into her mouth, marking him.

He sucked in a breath and ground the hardness of his shaft into her pelvis. His hand worked between them, fumbling in his pocket, pulling out a condom. As he undid his belt buckle, she kicked off her shoes and yanked at her pants, lowering them to the floor along with her underwear and kicking them away.

They grasped at each other, their hands and lips and tongues stroking and rubbing and caressing. He lifted her off the ground, placing her bottom on the small waist-high table and pushed between her legs.

Gabi fisted his shirt in her hands and raised the material, dragging it over his stomach and pecs until he quickly placed the corner of the condom packet between his teeth and yanked the shirt over his head. He pulled down the front of her silk camisole, exposing her bra and lowering the cups to grasp her breasts in his hands.

He groaned, working the underwear covered erection that peaked from his opened zipper, against the apex of her thighs. “Touch me.”

She complied, lowering his underwear to expose the heavily veined skin of his cock and taking it in a tight fist.

He hissed and dropped his hands from her breasts, ripping open the condom packet with his teeth and spitting the wrapper to the floor. “This isn’t gonna last long.”

“Good,” she panted. She wanted hard and fast and brutal.

He sheathed himself with fierce jerks that made her pussy clench. Gripping his cock in his fist, he placed the head of his shaft at her entrance, and in one savage thrust he sunk home, tearing a cry from her throat.

She clung to him, her hands gripping his taut biceps as her legs encircled his waist. The table rocked with his movements, pounding against the wall, harder and harder.

“Oh, Blake… Oh…” She closed her eyes, delirious with lust.

He reached for her bra again, lowering the cups to tweak her nipples. Pleasure speared down her center, pooling in her sex, making her buck against him.

“Gabi,” he warned, one hand leaving her breast to trail around her back and grip her hair. He tugged, exposing her neck, making her helpless.

The
bang, bang, bang
against the wall increased as his head lowered to her shoulder. She wanted to come, she was right there, on the cliff’s edge but she wouldn’t go without him. Not this last time.

She tilted her head, moving her lips to his ear. “I’m a slave to the way you fuck me.”

He pulled tighter on her hair, causing her core to clamp down on his cock.

So close. Oh, so close.

“Angel.” The endearment was a breath this time, softly spoken against her skin.

Her body broke out in goose bumps, the tingling sensation starting at her neck, spreading over her chest, and finally sinking to her core, pushing her over into the peak of ecstasy. She sucked in a breath, moaned his name, and held on while wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through her.

“Fuck,” Blake yelled, holding her tighter, sinking harder while they both moved together in orgasm.

She writhed, arching her back, raking her nails down his skin until the haze of lust started to taper and their movements calmed, slowed, then stopped.

“Every minute will feel like a week without you beside me.” He pulled her into his chest, cupping the back of her head with his palm. “It’s going to be he—”

A light rap sounded at the door and Gabi stiffened.

“I’m sorry, guys, but Gabi’s car is waiting,” Leah said.

“We’ll be out in a minute,” Blake spoke over his shoulder.

This was it. The moment they’d been dreading. Her heart threatened to crack under the weight of inevitable loneliness. She circled his ribs with her arms, hugging tight. “I don’t want you to come to the airport with me.”

“What?” He jerked back and stared down at her, his eyes frantically searching hers.

She didn’t want an audience for their goodbye. She needed to do it here, while things were perfect. Intimate. “Let’s do this now. That way you can help the guys set up, and you won’t have to go all the way to the airport and back.”

“Fuck that, Gabi. I want to go with you.”

“Think about it.” She placed a palm against his cheek and rested her forehead against his. “There will be hundreds of people. It will be busy and messy and rushed.” She shook her head. “I don’t want that.”

They were both hurting and Gabi preferred to suffer in private than have the threat of paparazzi or screaming fans barging in on their goodbye.

He stepped back, gripping the condom before pulling from her body. “Give me a minute.” He disposed of the condom and zipped up his fly, fastening the belt while she scooted from the table and tugged on her underwear and pants. After righting her clothes, she looked up to find him standing tall, his dark, tortured eyes staring back at her.

Wordlessly, he opened his arms and she went to him, falling into them, feeling his love and adoration cover her like a blanket. He kissed her hair and held her close, not letting go. “We’ll see each other in a few weeks,” he promised. “Once the tour is over, I’ll be on the first plane back to you, OK?” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled back so he could peer down at her. “We’ll make this work.”

She nodded her head. “I know.” She was determined to make their relationship last, no matter how hard the path would be. The comforting fact was that she could see the same determination mirrored in Blake’s eyes.

“And we’ll be able to talk the same as we always have. That won’t change.”

She smiled at him. He was beginning to ramble and it was cute. “I know.” She ran her hands around his neck, committing every detail of his face to memory. “I don’t plan on letting you go easily.”

He grinned. “I don’t plan on letting you go
at all
.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips before retreating with a sigh. “Where are your things?”

Her heart clenched. “Leah was taking care of them.”

“OK.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s do this.”

She straightened and shook her head, blinking away the moisture that began to form. “No. Say goodbye to me now. Please. I can’t handle doing this in front of the others.”

His hand squeezed hers and his Adam’s apple bobbed with a deep swallow. “God damn it, Gabi. This is so fucking hard.”

She raised her chin and shook her head. “No, it’s not. We’re not going to let it be hard. We’ll just do it quick and painless, as if we’ll see each other again tomorrow.” She stepped into his body and smiled up at him. “I’m going to kiss you, and then I’m going to walk away.”

He peered down at her for a long moment, staring at her hair, her eyes, her mouth. “All right.”

Gabi licked her bottom lip and slowly reached up on tiptoes. “I love you, Blake Kennedy.”