Hard Rock Love Box Set, page 19
“Who says I want anyone else?”
“Bella, we haven’t known each other for that long—”
“I know.” She pressed a finger against his lips, silencing him. “Let’s just pretend. It’s fine.”
“I’m not saying we have to pretend—”
“I know that you’re thinking of someone else, Sebastian. I’m not an idiot. But I’m enjoying this special treatment, so let’s not make it awkward.” The way she said it, for a second, Sebastian couldn’t believe it was her but then she slipped back into the familiar little sultry smile, pulling him against her to kiss him again.
He was shocked by the truth of her words, by her confrontation, but he kissed her anyways, leading a path down to her neck, nipping at her skin as she giggled. His hand crept its way up to the zipper at the top of her dress and she pulled away with a smile, biting her lip.
“Were we going to go to this party, or not?”
“While I’m tempted to say no, and just take you right now, let’s make a show instead.”
Twenty-Two
Lillian was beginning to think something was genuinely wrong. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get in contact with Ash. She had waited for a couple of days, texting him again in case her earlier messages hadn’t gone through.
He didn’t respond, or text as he usually did to check in.
Then she tried calling him, but all her calls had gone to voicemail, and after the third time she couldn’t bear to leave any more messages. It made her feel clingy, desperate, even though she knew she was far from that. If anything, she was being the reasonable one right now, if he was ignoring her.
As a last-ditch effort, Lillian decided to message him through social media. His Instagram seemed to be the best option, since he had been posting updates fairly regularly of their shows. They were following each other, but had never really messaged on the platform, since texting and calling generally worked better for them, but Lillian figured this was better than doing nothing, in case something had happened to his phone.
With a deep breath, reminding herself that she was being completely rational in this moment, she pressed on the button to send him a message, debating for a few minutes on what to say.
Finally she settled on, Hey, you haven’t been returning my messages or calls, is something wrong?
She hit send, eyes flicking up to take in the green dot by his username that meant he was active. Hopefully he would message her back soon. As she watched, the marker that he had seen her message popped up underneath it, but then nothing. No message, no indication that he was typing.
“What the hell,” she muttered to herself, closing the app and then reopening it. To her surprise, the conversation was completely gone. She tried again, then searched for his username. Nothing came up, to her surprise.
Had he blocked her? Without an explanation?
Lillian could feel the frustration welling up inside of her; but more than sadness, there was anger. How immature could he be? It would be one thing to break up with her while on his tour, but to outright ignore her, and then block her when she tried to contact him? With absolutely no explanation at all?
Those weren’t the actions of an adult; they were the follies of a child.
The band’s manager had been pushing them to attend parties after concerts. The exposure would help them with their publicity. At this point Ash couldn’t be bothered to say no anymore, despite his distaste for the celebrity musings of interreacting with fans.
Sure, he was tired from travelling around and the amount of physical effort it took to keep up an energetic stage presence, but giving in and sulking in the back corner of a party was better than getting into an argument with his manager, whom worked so hard to make him big. So, there he was, on his sixth glass of some unnamed cocktail with some unknown alcohol content, feeling light-headed and giddy in the corner of a fancy hotel that some rich fan rented out to arrange for a party.
Oh, he definitely felt like a rock star now, knowing he would probably throw up tomorrow morning, wondering if he might vomit now but not quite feeling it yet, music that was way too loud filling his ears as the world swam in strange colors around him. He could feel the alcohol getting to him, creating a blur of toxicity as he scanned the room, dewy eyed, in and out of consciousness.
Lillian would probably hate this place, he thought, but he pushed the thought out of his mind. It was better that she wasn’t privy to what was happening at the moment, and he was thinking that maybe it was better after all that he had lost his phone. He didn’t feel as guilty now, in this buzzed moment. He figured he could gloss over it when he came back and tell her all that had happened, could explain how contact was lost.
At that moment, an older song came on, a song that once inspired Ash to start writing music when he was younger. He peeled himself away from the wall and set his glass down on the tabletop. He started feeling a pulse of nostalgia as he wove his way through the crowd in a half blur of cohesiveness. More faintly aware than anything else, he danced and sang along to the lyrics while half-heartedly mingling with the party guests, too far gone to worry if he was off-key. More people joined him, all belting out the chorus, singing those familiar words. Someone handed him another drink, and Ash downed it fast, barely tasting the contents.
The world was beginning to tangle together now. Time felt bright, too fast, unreal. He didn’t feel grounded, but it was an amazing feeling all the same. He was vaguely aware of the bodies that were pressed against his, of one in particular—someone’s fingers were in his hair, someone was grinding against him.
She pulled him to the side, all the while giggling, seeming to his eyes like a mischievous fae in the moment. She certainly kissed like one too, tasting of tart berries and magical words, her tongue in his mouth, her leg wrapped around his waist as he held her against him.
Time disappeared then, became one continuous string of bodies touching, mouths capturing his, lips pressed against his neck, dark bruises beginning to form without his acknowledgement; his own teeth creating matching marks in the same fashion, also without his seeming acknowledgement. And in that moment, he realized, this was someone new shoving their tongue down his throat and biting at his ear, whispering empty promises to him that he couldn’t quite understand.
He felt under enchantment, a plaything of faeries, pulled into a dancing circle at midnight, time blurring together as the world aged around him.
Nothing felt real.
And yet, there was that voice, whispering at the back of his mind that he wasn’t supposed to be doing this.
This was wrong. Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong…
“Rebecca?” Lillian stood in the doorway to her roommate’s bedroom, feeling like an idiot as she blinked back the tears that the anger had given way to.
Rebecca looked up from the book she was reading with a degree of concern. “Lily? What’s wrong.”
“It’s Ash.” Lillian sniffled, feeling small as she sat on Rebecca’s bed, who put her book aside to gently hold Lillian’s hands.
“What did that idiot do this time?”
“He’s—you remember how he seemed to be ignoring me?”
“I told you, I’m pretty sure something must have happened to his phone.”
“I thought that too, but then I messaged him on Instagram, and he uh…he blocked me.”
Rebecca’s face went dark with rage. “That blathering idiot. I told you you were too good for him Lily, there’s no doubt about that.”
“But what did I do to deserve this?”
“Nothing. You did nothing Lily, you can’t blame yourself. That fool is blind if he thinks that this is acceptable behavior, or that you are anything less than absolutely wonderful.”
“But he didn’t even explain anything, just blocked me, who does that?”
“An underserving idiot, that’s who.”
“I know, I know I should be strong and not blame myself.” Lillian’s face reflected deep contemplation. “But it’s hard, especially when I was about to tell him that I loved him. I had fallen hard for him, Rebecca, really hard, and then he goes and does this. It doesn’t seem like him at all.”
“Because he’s out of his mind. I’m so sorry that happened Lily, come here.” Rebecca opened her arms, and Lillian went to her, letting her roommate crush her against her chest. “You’re strong and wonderful and you don’t deserve this, don’t you ever forget that.”
“Thank you Rebecca.”
“Of course, that’s what friends do after all. We’re there for each other.”
Bella took leave of Rebecca after a moments’ embrace and retired to her bedroom. She grabbed her phone and absent-mindedly started swiping through her phone, re-reading the conversations she had had with Ash. And in that instant, unexpectedly, an abrupt flash of past lovers moved through her—the thought that, Sebastian would never do this to me.
Twenty-Three
Bella giggled as she pulled Sebastian around the corner and into an empty room, shutting the door behind them.
“I thought I was supposed to be the one making the inappropriate moves,” Sebastian murmured against her, honestly surprised. She had acted nothing short of an angel the entire night, letting Sebastian introduce her to his socialite circle and the influential people of the city, batting her eyelashes as they marveled over her dress.
She had, as Sebastian expected, been the center of attention as soon as she entered on his arm, receiving her fair share of jealous looks and whispered questions. His feelings were nothing short of pride and achievement, feeling powerfully dominant as the alpha male in the room. Handsome, wealthy, socially prominent and now, endowed with a gorgeous beauty enthralled by his lifestyle. Nobody had seen her before in their life, so they were all curious as to who she was, especially coming in with one of the most successful lawyers in the city.
She had paid them no heed, smiling up at only him, though her earlier words were playing in his head still. That she knew that he wasn’t truly interested in her.
He hadn’t thought her the type to notice, and he was fairly certain he hadn’t been obvious, so she must have been more perceptive than he had originally guessed. There was strawberry and chocolate on her lips as she kissed him, from the dainty little snacks they had eaten while chatting with one of his clients and a local politician. He assumed it would only be a matter of time until one of them decided they were tired of waiting and snuck away, but he definitely didn’t know it would be this soon, or this sudden.
Not that he was complaining. Bella grabbed Sebastian’s hand and led him to the privacy of an empty room away from the people, hearing the mute sounds of the crowd through the half closed door.
“I thought you said this dress was irresistible.” Bella breathed as she grabbed his hands and ran them down her slim waist.
“Did I ever contradict that?” Sebastian slid his hands down her sides, feeling her body beneath the lace, watching as skin appeared and disappeared as she shifted. He engulfed her in the warmth of his body, caressing the lower section of her back, and realizing that their heart beats were in sync in this moment.
“You did when you resisted me.”
“I think you’ll find I just have an immense amount of self-control, and patience,” he whispered in her ear. “Especially when it comes to the subject of pleasure.”
She shivered, then turned to kiss him, working on his jaw and neck with soft little bites that made Sebastian think of a kitten suddenly trying to be a predator. “Well that’s no fun,” she said between kisses, and Sebastian laughed.
“Bella, you’re tickling me more than anything.”
“Shut up,” she grumbled, and Sebastian caught her face between his hands, making her look at him so that he could kiss her on the lips. He was aware that he was messing up her makeup, but he didn’t care about that right now. He cared about the taste of champagne and strawberries. He cared about the faint hint of mint on her breath. He cared about the way her body felt pressed against his, and he cared about the way she made him feel, the distraction she provided.
Sometimes he thought that she might end up being more than a distraction, but that was his body speaking and not his mind, that was his desire to have her, to make her want him so desperately that she couldn’t bear to think of anyone else. He pushed her up against the wall, wishing that she was wearing a shorter dress so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, but making do anyways.
“You know I’ve been wanting to do this all night, does that make you feel better?” he murmured, fingers locked in her updo, pulling gently to expose her neck so that he could scrape his teeth along it. “You’re such a naughty little girl, pulling me away from the party like this.”
“Yes,” she gasped as he bit down, then kissed the spot gently, looking back up at her.
“You’re a selfish little girl too, wanting my attention all to yourself, you know that?”
He tugged a little harder when she didn’t answer immediately, to which she gasped out a “Yes,” and was silent again, her heavy breathing became an indication of her arousal.
Sebastian thought he could almost smell it on her, beneath the expensive perfume, that tangy metallic scent that let him know that she wanted him, despite the fact that this place was far from appropriate.
“So naughty, do you want me to take you here, right now?” he asked, pressing himself against her, knowing she felt him as she let out a little gasp.
“Yes.”
“You would have me take you, knowing all those people are outside, probably hearing all the sounds your filthy little mouth is making?”
“I can be quiet,” she said.
“I don’t know if I trust that,” he said, leaning in to kiss her again, hungrily, grinding against her and biting at her bottom lip. She yelped as he did so, though it was obvious she was doing her best to stifle it.
“I told you,” he said, stepping back with a smug look on his face. “When I’m involved, it’s not possible for you to stay silent.”
“Can we go back to your place then?” she whined. “I’ve been waiting long enough.”
“As long as you ask nicely.”
“Can we go back to your place, pretty please?” She shot him a sexy puppy dog face.
“And?”
“… so that I can pleasure you?”
“Much better.” With a grin, Sebastian pulled her against him to kiss her one last time, squeezing her ass for good measure, before stepping back to rearrange himself. When they exited it wasn’t quite so obvious what they had been up to and knowing what had just happened behind closed doors made them both slyly nod at each other.
She did the same, fixing her hair and adjusting her dress, though there wasn’t much to be done about her lipstick. It had stayed on well for most of the night, but with the way Sebastian had been kissing her, it hadn’t lasted any longer. She carefully wiped the rest of it off, putting on a little bit of lip balm so that she at least looked a little more decent. Then she turned back to Sebastian.
“Shall we be off?” he asked.
She smiled, a coy little expression, sidling up closer to him and grasping his arm. “Let’s.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her as they left, he knew it was probable that no one else could as well. Oh, they were a sight to behold, emerging from an empty room, just the right amount of disheveled to suggest something had gone down, though people might not know exactly what.
They weren’t questioned as they pushed through the crowd, laughing as if at some inside joke and headed straight for Sebastian’s car. Briefly he contemplated the merits of starting things as soon as they got back to the parking lot, unsure if he could control himself long enough to keep his hands off her until they got back to his apartment.
It would make driving back a pain, sure, because he definitely wasn’t going to make love to her in the back of his car, especially not for the second time. It would probably be better than hungering for her at every stoplight, teasing her lips and pushing her dress up to finger her before it turned green, only getting her to moan once at the pleasure before he had to remove his hand.
He would ruin the leather interior that way.
Not that he minded much, especially when it came to things involving Bella.
Instead he settled for yanking her into the backseat and slamming the door behind them, letting out a guttural growl as she smiled up at him, her hand already reaching around her back to pull her zipper down.
He stopped her with a grip on her wrist.
“Let me do that for you, beautiful,” he said, kissing her hungrily as he reached around to slowly pull her zipper down, savoring the sound and her little groans as he nibbled at her bottom lip, teasing her until she granted him access.
“You’re so fucking hot, it’s difficult to resist,” he whispered in her ear as he eased the sleeves down her arms, exposing her breasts to the chilly air.
“Mmmm, what are you going to do about it?” she teased, a suggestive lilt to her voice that made Sebastian shiver with anticipation, his cock throbbing, almost painfully so. God, he wanted her now, and he wanted her fast, and he wanted her hard. But he knew it was the anticipation that made everything worth the wait, and he had been keeping it up for so long….
He would just allow himself a little taste.
“Maybe I should punish you later,” he replied, his eyes going dark as he bent to nip at her breasts, taking them in his mouth and teasing them with his tongue and teeth in a way that made her gasp, especially when he exposed them to the cold air again, sensitizing them that much more.
He smiled as she squirmed, kissing her mouth again, letting her taste the cold on his tongue, pushing himself against her so that she could feel how turned on he was. How sexy she was to make him feel this way, even being completely clothed moments before.
“Are you taking me right now?” she asked with a little moan as he nipped at the skin of her neck, considering the benefits and drawbacks of clearly marking her as his.
