Kate was gone. Again.
But this time, Gage Stevens had no intention of letting her go.
Gage straightened, still breathing heavy, the sound of Kate’s cab finally fading away into the darkness, the red glow of the taillights long gone. The wind blew hard around him and he thrust his hands angrily into his hair, pushing it away from his face. He could hear angry voices behind him, Jeremy yelling at Brand from security. Gage sighed. He’d have to face Brand and his band mate, the guy who he’d just punched in the face. The guy he’d turned on because of his comments about Kate.
Gage turned back toward the tour bus, the breeze chilling his hot skin. Jeremy was gesturing and pointing at Gage, Brand was holding up his hands in a placating gesture. As Gage drew closer, he could hear Brand’s low voice, talking to Jeremy, telling him to just calm down. But as Gage climbed back on the bus to gather his gear, Jeremy broke free, his face contorted in anger, a dark bruise already forming on his jaw.
“You hit me, over a piece of tail? What the hell, man?” Brand grabbed Jeremy’s arm as he tried to climb the stairs of the bus.
“Let me go. Gage!”
Gage finally found his shirt. Pulling it on, he glanced around the bus. There wasn’t anything here he needed right now. He walked back to the front of the bus, watching Jeremy through the windows. Brand had pulled him away, forcing him into a waiting limo. Gage could still hear his angry words as Brand tried to shut the limo door.
“You’re a piece of work, Gage. This, for a groupie? A piece of ass?” The rest was lost as Brand finally closed the limo door. Gage watched as the car pulled away and Brand walked over to him.
“You okay? I’ll call you a limo to take you to the hotel.” Brand unhooked his radio, holding it to his face.
But Gage shook his head. “No, man. I’m not going to the hotel. I need a ride to the airport.”
***
When Kate had left him five years ago, he hadn’t fought to get her back. He’d really been in no position to; he’d been a no-name guy, struggling to get his music heard, reaching for the dream he knew he could achieve. Kate had wanted…needed…him to be something he wasn’t; stable, reliable and grounded. She couldn’t wait with him for his dream to happen.
But Gage’s dream had soon grown wings and taken off, propelling him to fame, more than he’d ever have dreamed possible. He was a mega-rockstar now, and Kate had now seen that, first hand. Fate had thrown them together again. Kate’s magazine had assigned her first to do an interview with Gage and then had assigned her to go with him on tour. She’d seen that he had gotten everything he’d wanted out of life…everything except her.
And he thought he’d had her. Their passionate moments while on tour, their fevered love making had him convinced she should stay. He thought she felt the same way; he wanted her to feel the same as he did.
But she’d bolted, running out after the last concert, just minutes after they’d taken each other on a wild passionate ride, their bodies melded together in ecstasy. He’d told her to stay. There was something deep inside of Kate that he just didn’t understand, that last bit of fear that terrified her and wouldn’t let her see the future that they could have together. That fear had driven her away once again.
***
Gage secured a seat on the last flight out, the red-eye across country that would land him in New York first thing in the morning. As he sat in the almost empty plane, he thought about Kate, the tumultuous feelings he’d experienced over the past month.
I love her. What more does she want from me? But had he told her that? Maybe. Or maybe he meant to and never did. He shifted in his seat. The stewardess asked him if he wanted another drink and as much as he did, he shook his head no. He wasn’t rockstar Gage Stevens right now; he was the guy going after his girl and he needed a clear head.
He dozed on the plane, drifting in and out of restless sleep, playing over every moment he’d spent with Kate, rehashing every conversation, looking for answers. But what brought him to sudden wakefulness was the realization that he really didn’t know how to find Kate Preston in New York.
***
Kate dropped her purse on the floor of her apartment, leaning back against the door. She sighed, pushing herself upright. She’d gone straight to the airport after running away from Gage, jumped on a flight out to New York, leaving behind her newly bought wardrobe and many of her personal belongings. All she carried of value was her tape recorder with the latest interviews and the notes she’d made on tour. That’s all that matters now, my job.
The apartment had a dusty, disused smell. She bent down, grabbed her bag and headed for her bedroom. Stripping off her clothes, she debated crawling into bed, but turned for the bathroom instead. At minimum, a shower would at least wash away the exhaustion, and help her relax.
She let the hot water pound against her shoulders and neck, stream through her hair. The smell of her own shampoo and soap was comforting as she washed her hair, soaping her hands and running them down her arms, over her br**sts and stomach, over her legs. But nothing could wash away the feel of Gage’s hands on her body, his mouth pressed against hers, licking, sucking…his c*ck forced deep inside her, pounding her, filling her completely.
Kate jerked herself back to reality, shaking her head. There was no sense in heading down those dangerous paths in her mind. She rinsed herself under the stream of water, briefly contemplating turning it to a cold shower. Grabbing for towels, she wrapped one around her head and another around her body.
Her bed was waiting. Kate pulled back the covers, crawling beneath the cool clean linens. She pulled them over her head, willing herself to go to sleep.
But again, images of Gage invaded her mind. As much as she wanted to forget the last month, fragments kept popping up: watching him from the audience at the last concert, seeing the sheer joy in his face as he sang to the crowd. The last time they were together, after that same concert, the passion and heat he ignited in her body, her very soul.
And the last words Gage had said to her had not been the ones she’d wanted to hear. She’d wanted something more than he apparently was ready to offer. Every insecurity Kate ever possessed rose up in her mind; her lack of confidence, her innate shyness, her less than model thin frame.
And her job: her vaunted journalism career, currently hanging by a thread. This last assignment she’d been given, the one that had brought Gage back into her life, was all that was keeping her employed. The irony struck her hard. She’d left Gage because he wouldn’t give up his dream to do something real…something concrete. And she’d followed her dream and was a failure.
What did she really want from him? She wanted to know she would be his, and his alone, that the endless groupies, the beautiful, slender, gorgeous girls at the after parties, all the trappings of the rock and roll lifestyle he’d become accustomed to wouldn’t lure him away from her. And he’d never told her that he loved her.
Exhaustion finally overtook her mind and body. But she’d no more than fallen into a heavy sleep when the phone rang. She dragged her mind back from the depths, swearing under her breath, kicking herself for not turning the damn thing off.
“Hello,” she mumbled into the receiver. She squinted at the clock on the desk; it was just past noon.
“Kate? This is Ursula. What the hell has happened?” The anger in Ursula’s voice was like a slap in the face. Kate was instantly awake.
“Did you get the interviews from the tour? Did you at least manage to do that?”
“Yes, but…what…the story’s not due for another week. Why are you yelling?” Shock replaced confusion; had she missed some deadline?
“No, the story is not due for another week. That’s not why I’m calling. I’m calling because I’ve been on the phone all morning with Gage Stevens’ manager. Gage has apparently gone missing as of last night. The last thing security saw was you running from his tour bus in tears and one of his band mates is sporting a bruised face in all the photos spread across the tabloids this morning. I want to know exactly what happened.”
Kate closed her eyes. There was no easy way to explain this, especially to Ursula. She’d crossed a professional line in her job and she’d probably lose that job once Ursula found out the whole story.
“Well, um…it’s like this…” Before she could finish the sentence, Ursula cut her off.
“Hold on. My assistant tells me Gage is calling here, for you. We have him on another line.” There was a brief muffled conversation. Then Ursula was back on the line.
“This is highly unusual. He’s asking for your phone number. Kate, you have a great deal of explaining to do. But, do you want me to give him your number? He’s arguing that he will only speak to you.”
Kate’s mouth had gone dry, her heart pounding. Gage was looking for her. She realized she was clutching the phone, nodding her head.
“Yes,” she whispered. No! Her mind screamed.
“Alright, we’ll give him your contact information. But you need to meet with me first thing in the morning with the status of this series of articles. There is no room for failure with this, Kate.” The line went dead.
Kate stared at the receiver in her hand, shock flushing her face pink and setting her pulse into overdrive. This is all too much. She finally set the receiver gently back down only for it to begin to ring almost instantly. She sucked in her breath, staring at the telephone, almost willing it to stop. It clicked over to the answering machine. And then Gage’s voice was there, coming out of the speaker.
“Kate? Are you there? Pick up…please…” In an almost panic, Kate grabbed the phone from its cradle.
“I’m here, Gage.”
There was silence on the other end. She thought he’d hung up, but then she heard the sound of his ragged breathing. He sounds almost…frantic, she thought.
“Kate, I thought I lost you…for a second time. And I’m not ready to go through that pain, not again.”
Kate had no words for Gage. She simply waited, her heart in her throat, her chest growing tight with anxiety. She heard him take a deep breath.
“I know there’s a lot that was left unsaid, a lot of things I did—or didn’t do—but I’m not willing to just let you walk out of my life again. Not this time.”
“Gage, what do you want from me?”
“I want us to try again. I want to try again, with you. I’m ready to listen to what you want…to really hear you this time. Will you let me try? Will you give us…give me another try?”
Kate closed her eyes. “I don’t know…”
“Please. Kate, at least meet me somewhere, talk to me. Please.” He hesitated. “I love you.”
Tears slid down Kate’s face. As much as she’d wanted—needed—to hear those words, she didn’t know how to react now that Gage had finally said them. A sudden flush of molten heat fused its way through her body, wrapping itself around her heart, warming her skin, quickening her pulse and forcing her to press her back against the wall for support. She slid down to the cool floor in a crumpled heap, and took a deep breath.