“You’re so beautiful. It’s no surprise that Gage has kept you secret.” He smiled, his eyes roving appreciatively over her full-figured frame. Kate blushed and had to remind herself that like Gage, Chase was the consummate charmer. Gage chuckled and drew her protectively to his side, and Kate couldn’t help but notice how Chase grinned with rakish satisfaction. Obviously there was a darker history between these men and she wondered what the story was.
Before too long, Kate and Gage were seated at Chase’s table as dinner was served. The entire room was buzzing with conversation, and each table was treated to a custom five-star menu created specifically for the night’s event. Drowning in delectable champagne, Kate was quickly buzzing, the numbness weaving its way down her cheeks to her neck and shoulders. She chastised herself for letting her nerves get the best of her.
Surprisingly the live music playing in the background was more classical than rock, and it gave an elegant ambience to the night filled with singers, DJs, models and industry gods. Sitting next to Chase was what Kate assumed to be his latest conquest - a beautiful swimsuit model that looked as though she were flown to the dinner straight from a runway somewhere in Europe. Kate noticed the curious looks that came her way, as the model surveyed the body language between her and Gage and she knew what she was thinking – how did the likes of her ever land the gorgeous rocker? – and she couldn’t help but smile at her with the sweetest expression that she could muster.
Come on, girl. Bring it.
One thing was crystal clear - Gage had absolutely no qualms about being affectionate in public and Kate was secretly thrilled to see how comfortable he was with her even around friends. In fact, it seemed as though he was barely able to keep his hands off of her and as the night wore on, whether it was his arm draping over her shoulder, or his fingers fluttering over her thighs beneath the table, she was very conscious of every touch, every hot flash of breath against her skin and every stamp of ownership that he cast her way. She was also very aware of the way her heart pounded each time she felt his touch and it made her think back to their night together, when her treacherous body betrayed her, willing itself to ignore all rational thought and seek out only what she most desired. To her shame, she also noticed the way her n**ples went sharp and hard against the bodice of her t-shirt, and how her pulse quickened as her breath caught in her throat at the simplest dark glance of desire that he cast her way.
You belong to me and me alone… He didn’t have to say it out loud; the words of desire, of ownership, of delicious hunger hung thick in the air between them, igniting a spark that would make every touch feel as though it were burning her skin.
“Come back, Kate.”
She blinked at the sound of Gage’s gruff voice teasing in her ear. Her head snapped sideways and she met his humorous, hooded gaze. “I must say you seem rather distracted tonight and it makes me wonder…” He leaned in close enough that his lips caught her earlobe. “What it would take to get your full attention.”
Kate felt her body grow tight with need, and she sucked in her breath as his lips slid across her soft skin, fluttering over her earlobe, leaving a faint, wet trail of possession down the right side of her neck. He asked no permission, nor did he even pause to make sure that no one was watching them. It was obvious that he simply didn’t care.
Forcing her voice to steady itself and thankful that the champagne had given her the edge she needed, Kate pursed her lips as she lifted the glass to her lips casually. “If you’d wanted a woman whose full attention belonged to you and you alone, then you shouldn’t have brought me. I’m not so easy, Gage.”
“That’s not what it felt like when I had your legs spread wide…your tight p**sy wrapped around my cock,” Gage murmured low in her ear. Kate could feel her face redden as she stiffened in shock, unsure as to what she should do, not wanting to escape the blazing, uncomfortable heat that engulfed her body from head to toe, yet terrified that she would find herself unable to resist him and force him to take her right then and there.
He chuckled softly at her apparent discomfort, giving her no reprieve even as she squirmed in her seat and hoped to God that no one at the table had heard him. All around them the other guests were chatting and laughing, oblivious to the thick, swollen haze of lust that wrapped itself around the couple.
“Do you know what I’d like to do right now?” Gage whispered once again in her ear, his tone smoky with carnality. Her fists clenched tight on the table, Kate shook her head mutely.
“I really, really want to…” He leaned even closer, his lips brushing her lobe and making her secret inner folds flutter, and causing her to feel as well as hear the rest of his whispered sentence, “…Lick your hot, wet p**sy.”
Kate sucked in a strangled breath. Instantly, her n**ples tingled almost painfully beneath her bra and she felt the arc between her legs singe with heat. One flicker of his fingertips across either one and she’d be cli**xing right in her seat.
“I’ve been thinking about it, especially with how incredibly sexy you look tonight. My face, buried between your beautiful, curvy thighs. Making me go crazy with your sweet, sweet taste,” Gage whispered, his lips still brushing her ear with every syllable.
Kate was gasping inaudibly, her eyes pinned on somewhere far beyond anything within her vision and she found herself trembling with desire as he ran his lips down the side of her throat, his teeth biting gently on her neck.
“Please, Gage. People are watching us,” Kate whimpered, barely able to speak.
“Let them watch us. The women envy you and the men want to be me. Here, tonight, with the most beautiful woman in the room. They know that as soon as we leave here tonight, it will be my hands squeezing your full curves…my c*ck buried deep inside of you...”
“No,” Kate bit out, finally inching from his teasing lips. “Not tonight…and I’m hardly the most beautiful woman in the room.”
Gage chuckled, pulling back and throwing his napkin on the table in resignation.
“Yes, you most certainly are, Kate. You are the sexiest woman here and…”
“Yes?” She knew she sounded anxious for him to continue…maybe too anxious, but she couldn’t help herself. She was desperate to hear him tell her how he felt about her.
“You are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever met. And believe me, I’ve had many beautiful women.”
“I’m sure you have.” Frowning, Kate’s words spat out in bitter tones and she immediately regretted it.
“Well, it wasn’t like you hadn’t moved on. Are you trying to tell me that you haven’t been with another man since we broke up?” His voice had sobered now and Kate forced herself to look at him, to be consumed by his deep, searing eyes.
Why couldn’t he just be cocky, insufferable Gage? Why did he have to say things that struck her deep inside? When she’d confronted him over getting rid of that intern at the last venue, he’d demanded her body like it was his right. And then he’d made it clear that he would do so again, and again. He’d made love to her just before that first concert, and had brought out such intense passion from inside of her that she wanted nothing more than to be with him, even though she knew he was far from the kind of man who would be willing to settle down with just one woman. And now, here he was telling her how beautiful she was in that deep, stirring voice of his that made her want to blush with shyness and bury herself in hope.
But before she could reply, he was turning to Chase who had been waiting for a chance to discuss their upcoming venture, and she was left to her own private thoughts.
Time is running out…
She knew it was true and that once their time together was over it would be back to normal life, worlds apart.
She thought about how he had told her that she needed to separate the man from the image, but she wondered how different the two could really be. A rocker, traveling the dark, lonely road for weeks…months on end. Groupies waiting in the wings at every city, handlers who were all too eager to bring in drugs, alcohol, women…anything and everything needed to numb a broken heart. It was likely that Gage wouldn’t think much of her at all once she was gone, and she knew she could never handle his lifestyle, even if he wanted her to be a part of it.
All within the span of a few minutes, champagne burning its cloudy haze into her brain, yet clarity beyond anything she had felt since reuniting with Gage, and she was sure of what she had to do. She would finish the tour, document everything for the magazine as she had agreed to do, and while her body was his for the taking, her heart would be off limits.
Gage Stevens was a true rocker who could never give her what she really needed. All of the fame and fortune in the world wouldn’t be enough for her because it couldn’t go the distance. It meant nothing. She would just have to face the truth and stop allowing delusion to interfere with reality. They were completely different people who needed very different things. She’d go back to her simple, protected life and let him get back to living large. She only prayed her heart would listen to reason.
***
There was no denying the fact that Gage fully intended to fulfill every sensual promise that he made to Kate. Not one to be easily put off, he didn’t let Kate’s reluctance dissuade him. He had every faith in his ability to persuade his sexy buxom ex that there was pleasure to be had in his touch and the solid heat of all that he had to offer.
“We could slip out right now,” he murmured minutes after he had returned from his private meeting with Chase. Chase Stone’s parties were known to last all night and he had no patience when it came to his desire to get Kate alone, and have her all to himself.
Without waiting for a response, Gage led Kate from the opulent dining room intending on making a quick escape before everyone moved to the outdoor patio for drinks. But then Gage suddenly froze as he recognized a sharp-angled face moving in between the small crowd of guests, heading straight for him.
Thinking fast, he turned slightly to Kate and muttered, “Kiss me.”
Her eyes were both angry and troubled. “No.”
“It’s not a request, Kate,” he said deeply, his fingers tightening on her h*ps as he spun her to face him. Obediently, she lifted her face and allowed him to kiss her tenderly, and then more passionately as his hands freely roamed her body, his fingertips rushing down her lower back before he cupped her ass in his hands. Her hands flailed out to his chest for support as his grip slid upwards from her ass to rest on her hips. A shudder ran through her curvy frame and he groaned, suddenly forgetting the time and place – the why and what.
It was times like this that he remembered why it had been so hard to forget this woman – and why he’d be crazy to let her go a second time. But he knew falling for Kate Preston would put too much on the line and Gage wasn’t sure he could handle that. Give him the chance to perform at the Yankee stadium filled with millions of screaming; demanding fans and he could do it without hesitation. Gage could face anything but one thing - the uncertainty of what would happen if he let this redhead beauty reclaim the part of him that he thought had died long ago…