Songbird (21 page)

Forest was eye to eye with Oscar, barely an inch of height difference between them. I briefly wondered who would win in a fight. Forest was strong and smart, but Oscar would play dirty. He was a biter in the bedroom and probably one in a fight too. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to find out.

“Is this your sober companion?” Oscar asked me, completely ignoring Forest. “Because I can tell you now, he’d be easier to handle smashed. Can I get you a vodka?”

“Just go away, Oscar,” I moaned. “Seriously, I’m sure there are hundreds of people here you can annoy. You never know, one of them might be dumb enough to throw themselves at you and you’ll get lucky.”

He pursed his mouth, licking his bottom lip with his tongue. God, I used to find that irresistible once. Once, a very long time ago. Not anymore, now it looked creepy and reminded me of how much I was over him.

“Come to think of it, you are a bit of a waste of time. See you around, Brierly,” Oscar shot my way before sauntering off into the crowd. I wished the public knew what he was really like. He might make nice music but that was nothing compared to the careless idiot he was. I wished more people could see through his act.

I tugged on Forest’s arm until he resumed his seat. I pushed my food around my plate, suddenly not really hungry. I had seriously made some bad choices in the guys I dated. Yet every time I thought I was madly in love with them.

What was to say I wasn’t doing the same thing with Forest? My mind said he was different, but didn’t I think that about every other guy too? He could be just as bad as them and I was wearing my loser-blinkers again.

“Don’t let him ruin your night.” Forest’s soothing voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked him in the eyes, trying to see the real him, to break through the smooth exterior. All I could see was the Forest I knew and loved. I was either onto a good thing, or delusional. Funny how that was such a thin line.

“Oscar’s an idiot, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction,” I seethed.

“Ex, I take it?” I nodded. “I should thank him.”

“What? Why?”

“He makes me look good.” Forest grinned and my stomach did back flips at the way his eyes sparkled in the dim candlelight. I hoped he wasn’t like all the others, God I hoped not.

I playfully punched him on the arm. “Don’t get too cocky, he makes a cockroach look good. I still expect to dance all night and then be treated like a princess when we get back to the hotel. Understand?”

He nodded and grabbed my hand in his, bringing it to his lips to kiss my knuckles in turn. “I promise to show you a good time no matter where we are.”

I gently took my hand back because he was making me want to drag him to a closet and have my way with him. Falling out of a cupboard with bedraggled hair and crumpled clothing was not how I wanted to be remembered tomorrow. I tried eating, my appetite restored.

We finished our meal and headed for the adjoining room. It was darker, only a few old fashioned chandeliers lighting the way. The live band rocked out at the end, filling the room with heart stopping beats.

I took Forest’s hand and dragged him into the middle of it
all. I spun around, there was barely room to leave a breath of space between us. Which is exactly how I liked it.

We danced, matching the beat one for one. Our bodies couldn’t help but grind against each other – along with about a dozen people surrounding us. Some
women seemed to enjoy Forest’s proximity a little more than they should have. I moved even closer to him, making sure it was clear he was all mine. Just like in the gas station a few weeks earlier, Forest was a damn woman magnet.

He put his arm around my waist, letting his hand fall to the small of my back. It was only a little touch, a tiny connection, but it sent out tingles in all different directions. He held me there and I hoped he would never take his hand away again.

The heat of the New Orleans night, combined with the crowded dance floor, started weighing on me after a while. We were both sweaty with the effort and the heavy air was making it difficult to breathe. I needed some fresh oxygen. And I needed to pee.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I yelled over the music, even though I had leant in close to Forest’s ear. He nodded and I left him moving about by himself, hoping the girls around him wouldn’t take advantage in my absence.

The bathroom of the old restaurant was equally as regal and dripping with old world charm as the rest of the place. Dark wood walls lined the powder room that lead into the stalls. By the time I washed my hands, I was already feeling more human again.

“Oh my God, Brierly!” The female voice belonging to
my friend Tamara shrieked from behind. I laughed at her animated face in the mirror before spinning around to give her a hug.

“Hayley didn’t tell me you were here,” I replied. She looked me up and down, her curly blonde hair bouncing as she moved. Her face was caked in thick makeup, her eyelashes an unnatural shade of green.
That was Tamara for you, she never did things by half.

“I saw you on the dance floor earlier but I didn’t want to interrupt. You looked like you had some serious flirting going on. Who’s the guy? Spill.” She placed her hands on her hips, indicating she wouldn’t be moving without an answer first.

“His name is Forest and I wasn’t flirting.”

She rolled her perfectly styled eyes. “You were practically holding him hostage. Not that he minded, I’m sure. Did you decide to hook up with him tonight or is he a more permanent fixture?”

“He’s on tour with me,” I replied, hoping she would let it drop there. My friends were all wonderful in their own right, but there was nothing they liked better than judging everyone. Considering I was probably the biggest basket case amongst them, they especially liked doing it to me.

“On your tour?” Tamara continued, unfortunately. “What is he, your support act or something?”

I almost lied just so I didn’t have to say the words out loud, I knew exactly what she would say. “He’s in my band.”

“Tell me he doesn’t play the guitar, Brierly.” I wasn’t going to confirm it, I refused to. Which meant my silence spoke for me. “Brierly! Didn’t you learn anything from last time? Bad boy musicians are your poison. You can’t go anywhere near them or they will kill you.”

“He’s different,” I insisted. “He’s nice and actually cares about me. He’s good for me, Tam. I’ve learnt my lesson, trust me.”

One of the stalls flushed and Sierra went to the basin. She was another one of my friends from L.A.
and no doubt heard every word we said. Great, now it was going to be two against one.

“Hey, Sierra,
I didn’t know you were here.” My smile felt fake, I’m sure it looked that way too.

“I wasn’t hiding or anything,” she answered. “So the
rumors are true and you’re sleeping with your guitarist. Again. Sounds like this time last year.”

“It’s not like last year.”

“Riiight.” She sighed and rolled her eyes, a double shot of sarcasm. I didn’t care what Tamara and Sierra said about my decisions, they were
my
decisions. Neither of them were around to pick up the pieces after my meltdown, they didn’t get to have a say if I chose to repeat it. Not that I was, Forest was entirely different.

“Oh well.”
Sierra shrugged. “I’m sure it’s just a phase. You’ll get your heart broken, hopefully not almost kill yourself this time, and go on the prowl again soon enough. Maybe when you bring out a new album, you can tour again and do the whole thing once more with feeling. Yeah.” She threw her arms out like a cheerleader ending a routine. Did I mention how dramatic my friends were? Anyone would think they performed for a living.

“You can’t judge me, Sierra,” I started, my anger rising now. “I love Forest and he loves me. We are in a relationship, not some stupid fling that only counts when we’re on the road. It’s the real deal and you’re all going to eat your words when the tour ends and we’re still together.”

I left them slack jawed and stormed out of the bathroom. They could tweet cryptic messages about me and my downfall to their millions of followers, I didn’t care anymore. Forest was good for me, no matter what they all said.

I stood on the steps overlooking the room until I spotted Forest in amongst the crowd. He wasn’t dancing anymore, instead standing by the sidelines with a drink. He probably got tired of waiting for me.

I skirted around the writhing bodies and skimmed the wall until I found him. I had to tug on the back of his shirt to get his attention in the loud room.

“I thought you got lost,” he yelled.

“Found some friends,” I replied, my voice was starting to rasp from the effort of being heard. My eyes flicked up to see Tamara and Sierra standing in the same spot I was in only a moment ago. “We should dance some more.”

I took the amber drink from him
, put it down, and guided his hands to lead him into the throng of people. Forest gave me no resistance, just followed along without taking his eyes off me. I enjoyed the way he looked at me, like I was his prey. Those girls were wrong, they clearly had no idea what they were talking about. Just a phase? No way.

Our bodies danced intimately close, partly because of the crowded room but mostly because I was acutely aware of my friends spying on me. If they wanted to watch, I was going to make sure they enjoyed the show.

I placed my hands on Forest’s neck, drawing him in closer as I moved up and down his body doing my best impersonation of a stripper. It felt sexy and naughty in all kinds of ways.

I drank in his scent, a mixture of alcohol on his breath and the faint traces of his aftershave. Combined
with the aroma of the flowers on every available space in the room, it was intoxicating. I didn’t need alcohol or drugs to get high, I had Forest and he was making me dizzy enough.

I wriggled around, turning so I could press my back against his chest. Even in the heat, his warmth was welcome. I writhed against him, moving every inch of my body side to side and up and down.

Before I could do a complete dip, Forest grabbed my arms roughly and pulled me closer. He slid his hands around, trapping me against his chest. I couldn’t move any longer, not even a finger.

“Don’t use me to get back at your friends,” he whispered dangerously in my ear. A chill ran down my spine, I had never heard him use that tone of voice before. Not with me and not with anyone else.

The last man who had spoken to me like that was Oscar and it was just before I threw his sorry butt out of my L.A. mansion. I told him I never let anyone treat me like that and I meant it.

Forest released his grip enough to spin me around to face him. I expected to see anger and rage twisting his features. I doubted he was going to let me go without giving me a serving. I steeled myself for it. I wished Tamara and Sierra weren’t still standing on the stairs watching.

Instead of anger, Forest was smiling. I was completely confused but he still wasn’t releasing his grip on me.

“If you wanted to put on a show, all you had to do was ask,” he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Before I could recover enough to say anything, he pulled me up onto my tiptoes and planted his lips on
mine. He kissed me so passionately and deeply, I forgot my own name. All that existed was Forest and I, the intoxicating scent of the flowers, and the beat of the live band. Everything else faded away.

He forced his way into my mouth, our tongues dancing for us. He greedily kissed me, sucking on my lips like there was no tomorrow. I had never been kissed so thoroughly before, it sent heat flooding through me and left my knees weak.

When he finally released me, I wasn’t sure if my legs were going to be able to keep me upright. I almost completely swooned into his arms.

I leant against Forest for support, a look of innocence on his face. He
was
a bad boy, bad enough to know I was never going to be able to let him go.

My eyes flicked o
ver to the stairwell fast enough to catch Tamara and Sierra quickly leaving in the opposite direction. I hoped they caught the show, but I didn’t really care after all. As long as I had Forest, I didn’t need their petty judgments.

Chapter Twenty-Two

P
erhaps someone spiked my drink, or maybe I was just love drunk, but Forest was making me giggle like I was ten years old and my body felt as light as a feather. Whatever had caused it, I hoped it stuck around.

“If you go in there, you will die,” he warned me. I stuck my tongue out at him and placed one foot over the threshold. He crossed his arms, waiting for my imminent death. “Don’t come back to haunt me because I did tell you so.”

“It’s just a room, nothing’s going to happen.” I giggled, holding my arm in the doorway too. So far, I hadn’t been struck dead, that was a good sign.

According to Forest’s spooky tale about the restaurant we were standing in front of, the storeroom was off limits to everyone. Apparently a guy had died there because he couldn’t be with the girl he loved and vowed to curse anyone who disturbed his eternal
resting place. Why he would choose to spend forever in a storeroom was beyond me. That fact wasn’t part of the legend.

“Call an ambulance, I’m going in.” I jumped over the threshold and was completely in the empty storeroom. Forest stood outside, waiting for me to burst into flames or something. “See? There’s no ghost.”

“Give it time.”

“It’s just a story, New Orleans is full of them.”

“It’s all fun and games until someone-” Forest didn’t get to finish his singsong teasing of me. The broom leaning against the bare wall suddenly fell over, making me bolt from the room before he got a chance.

I landed in Fores
t’s arms. Once my heart started pounding again, we both burst into a new round of laughter.

“See? I told you the ghost of Jacob Hanrahan would get you,” he said through gasps for air. “You’re cursed now.”

I swatted at his chest. “It was just a broom, and if Jacob Hanrahan wanted me dead, he would have thrown it at me.”

“So why’d you run?”

He had me there. “Because of your stupid story making me all jumpy.”

My hand slid down to find his. Linking fingers, we started our walk back to the hotel. The streets were all but deserted, only the occasional living person passing us.

We had left Hayley’s party more than an hour ago and had meandered our way through the streetlamp lit sidewalks. Forest had told me dozens of ghost stories about building after building. If he was trying to scare me, he was doing a good job of it. Not that I would admit that to him.

The best thing about being jittery from things that go bump in the night was having a good reason to
cozy up to Forest as I walked. He seemed to be amused by my fear, I was starting to think he was a masochist.

“What about that building?” I pointed to an old façade, not one light
was on in the windows. “It looks like it should have a ghost or two. Whatcha got?”

“Hmmm.” Forest sighed as he made a show of thinking about it. I swear he was making most of the stories up off the top of his head. Nobody knew that much about New Orleans without being a tour guide. “A werewolf lived there, at least everyone assumed he was anyway. He only came out when the moon wasn’t full and sounds like the whining of a trapped animal could be heard when it
was
a full moon.”

“A werewolf? Seriously, that’s all you’ve got? You could at least make it sexy and say he was a vampire.”

“Werewolves are sexy.”

“Not like vampires,” I protested.

He used his considerable strength to pull me closer until he could pretend to bite my neck. “Vampire’s suck,” he moaned against my skin. It only tickled, sending me into a new round of giggles. He continued relentlessly, pretending to be a vampire until I couldn’t breathe.

“Okay, okay,” I managed to stammer out. “Werewolves are way sexier than vampires. I stand corrected.”

He let me go and grabbed my hand again so we could continue walking. We were probably walking around in circles and I wouldn’t have noticed. I hoped Forest knew the way back to our hotel because I sure as hell didn’t. I had lost my bearing several dark corners ago.

“So how do you know so much about New Orleans anyway?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

“I grew up here.”

I swatted at his chest with my free hand. “Liar.”

“I’m serious. My mom and I lived in River Ridge from when I was a baby until I left home at sixteen. I’m a born and bred N’Orlean,” he drawled. I wasn’t sure if he was putting on an accent or it was his normal voice and he always spoke with a false accent. There was so much I was always learning about Forest and each new detail seemed to make him even hotter. One of those days I was going to find out he was out of my league.

“Why’d you leave home so young?”

Forest shrugged. “Wanted to do my own thing. I joined a band and went travelling for a few years. We played little clubs and busked to get gas money to get us to the next gig. We spent a long time in Canada too.”

“Sounds very… bohemian.”

“You wouldn’t say that after smelling us after a few weeks.” He laughed, that gorgeous sexy husky way only he could. I was sure I would still have wanted him, even after hanging out in close proximity to a bunch of guys. He was that hot.

I snuggled i
nto his arm, despite the balmy heat of the evening. Even in the middle of the night it was warm with no promise of cooling down.

We made it back to the hotel and went to my room. I gripped Forest’s hand so he couldn’t escape back to his own shared accommodation. I didn’t want him further than an arm’s reach away all night. Even a lip’s reach away was really too far.

I flipped the air conditioning on to try and cool the room a little. My body was already burning with desire for Forest, a slight breeze would have been nice to calm me down a little. But, then again, so would shedding all my clothes. They seemed far too oppressive.

“So, a movie?” Forest grinned cheekily. I gripped his cheeks and reached up for a kiss, making sure I made my point about not wanting to watch a movie. His arms slid around my back, undoing the zip of my dress slowly.

With every inch of my dress he released, the intensity of our kiss increased. I only let him go long enough to start on his buttons. If I wasn’t so sensible, I would have ripped his shirt off. I didn’t though, taking each button one at a time instead. With every one, it revealed a bit more of his perfectly sculptured chest. He had barely any hair there, even though he promised me he didn’t wax or shave it.

My dress fell to the floor, my bra soon to follow. I undid Forest’s jeans, sliding his belt out slowly like I was unwrapping a present. I pushed them down over his thighs, noticing the bulge in his underwear already.

He stepped out of his jeans and I took his hand to lead him over to the bed. I slid under the covers, pulling him in after me. The soft glow of the lamps cast shadows over his face. It only accentuated his five o’clock shadow and dark eyes. Those eyes burned with intensity, like his entire focus was on me and me alone. He wanted to consume me and I wanted to let him.

His hands traced a line from my neck, ove
r my breasts and the peak of my sensitive nipples, down my stomach making me shiver, and to the top of my panties. He tugged at the elastic, toying with them. He ducked under the covers, shimmying down my body to settle at my legs. Using both hands, he slid my panties down, taking the opportunity to caress the inside of my thighs as he moved.

Every inch of my skin burned for his touch. Every touch ignited the flame even more. He worked his way back upwards, leaving a trail of wet kisses the entire way. By the time he reached my lips, I could barely breathe from the need I felt for him.

But he was still wearing his underwear and that was over the allowed clothing quota in my bed. I tugged at the elastic, making it clear what I wanted.

“Impatient, huh?”
Forest laughed and rolled sideways to slip his underwear off. Even though it took only a few seconds, it was too long to leave me alone.

I rolled over to land on top of him, straddling his stomach to see his muscled chest. I ran my hands over his pecs, leaning down to kiss the curves. I flicked his nipple with my tongue, the same action he had done to me countless times.

“Brierly,” he moaned. “You’re killing me.”

I let my tongue travel upwards, nibbling at his neck like the vampire we had joked about earlier. He felt as dangerous as a creat
ure of the night, ready to devour me with just one bite.

Without warning, Forest suddenly gripped both of my arms and rolled me over. I was forced back onto the mattress, the breath momentarily caught in my throat.

Forest didn’t waste a second, pressing his lips on my own and forcing his tongue into my mouth with reckless abandonment. I sucked on his bottom lip, making it clear I wanted it as much as he did.

He settled himself between my legs, I slid them around him so he couldn’t get away again. He was locked between my thighs and I was not going to let him go, no matter how much he tried. But I seriously doubted he would try.

He moved his cock to press against my entrance. I angled my hips, begging him to come in and give me what I wanted. His hand found my boob, covering it and squeezing it. The already-sensitive skin tingled and throbbed with excitement. Pretty much my entire body did.

Forest entered, sliding in so slowly I ached for him. I arched to his touch, feeling every single inch as he filled me. His thrusts started, the pace matching his hand.

I moaned, unable to keep it in, not when I was feeling such bliss I actually wanted to scream out Forest’s name. I wasn’t a screamer, I wasn’t vocal in the bedroom – mainly because I stayed at so many hotels. I wasn’t about to start now, even if I was exploding inside.

I gra
bbed his back, pulling his chest against mine. His hand moved from my breast to slide under my shoulder and cradle the back of my head. His fingers bunched in my hair, pushing my head forward so our lips smashed together.

The overall sensation in every part of my anatomy was intense. With one more thrust, I was sent careening over the edge of oblivion and I never wanted to come back.

I closed my eyes and let the waves wash over me. Time and again, my body shuddered with the orgasm rushing through every nerve in my body. If I thought I was on fire before, this was like an inferno.

“Forest,” I panted as he continued to thrust. He didn’t say a wor
d in reply as his orgasm peaked. He twitched and jerked, a groan escaping his lips. I kissed him, the vibrations running across my skin.

I wasn’t sure how long we remained there with our bodies intertwined. I didn’t really care. I was content, happier than I had been in a very long time. I felt complete with Forest, like he was the other half of me
that I could never articulate was missing.

Sometime in the minutes that followed Forest pulled out and rolled to lie at my side. He enveloped me with his arms, wrapping me in the safety of his embrace. I felt protected, whole, and completely satisfied. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

Anytime I was with a guy, I never felt like a different person. I might have thought I was in love, or he made me feel special for the night, but it wasn’t like this. This was true, it was real, it was something I was terrified of losing because I knew I would never find something so perfect again.

And it was all because of Forest. It wasn’t by chance I was feeling like that, it was because of him. He made
me complete, he brought wholeness to my life, he made me want to overcome every single hurdle that was thrown at me. I wanted to be the best version of myself and not just for him, but for me. I finally thought I was worthy of it.

I cuddled in closer to his chest, loving the way I fit there so perfectly. We
were two pieces of the one part, so succinctly fitted that there was no denying it.

“Forest?”

“Hmm?” He nuzzled my neck sleepily.

“I love you.” I said the words so quietly, I wasn’t sure if he heard them. On the other hand, I was terrified he had. Guys were supposed to run when they heard those three words, the risk was huge.

“I love you too,” he whispered, kissing my hair. I breathed a sigh of relief as I closed my eyes. Two pieces, finding each other in amongst the millions of people in the world. We were now whole again.

I woke up to my alarm, surprised to still be in Forest’s arms. I half expected him to be gone and last night was merely a dream. My life normally didn’t go so well. Everything good that happened to me was usually just for the cameras and disappeared the moment nobody was looking.

But Forest, he seemed to be sticking around even when the lights faded. Perhaps he was playing for keeps, not just looking for some fun to pass the time like I had first suspected. He said he loved me, guys didn’t do that to play games. They weren’t like girls in the way they used emotions to manipulate. Not in that way, anyway.

I forced myself to break the embrace and shuffled to the shower. If I didn’t make it to breakfast on time, Demi would only come looking for me. It was no use
delaying the inevitable.