Logan’s dark gaze locks with mine. He blinks rapidly. “Oh. I forgot to bring this up, but I guess now’s as good a time as any.” He sets the oven mitts down on the stovetop and turns to face me. “You know how I’ve been living with C-word?”

  My lips quirk upward. We’ve agreed not to even speak her name anymore. “C-word” seemed like a good way to cover both her real name and our favorite word to describe her. “I’m aware.”

  “Well . . . when I break up with her for good, I’m gonna need a place to stay, and I was kinda thinking it would be dumb for us to pay for two apartments.” He ducks his head and gives me an adorably pleading look. “You interested in having a new roommate?”

  “Hmm . . . ” I tease him, walking my fingers up his chest. “If he’s as hot as you, I might consider it.”

  Logan leans in and gives me a sweet, chaste kiss. It makes my heart clench, but I’m left wanting more. Logan parts his lips from mine and pauses close to my face, his breath fanning out over my wet lips. “You’ve been so good the past couple of weeks. It’s making me want to do wicked things to you.”

  I grin against his hot, inviting mouth. “Whenever you’re ready to play, I’m here, baby.”

  A deep groan roars out from his chest. Logan pulls me into his embrace and sucks me into a deep, wet, sloppy kiss.

  Oh, hell yes, my inner demon croons. It’s happening.

  Keeping his lips sealed on mine, Logan lifts me up off the floor and sets me on the counter beside the stove. He digs his fingers into my hair and presses his lips even further into mine. I moan and slip my fingers underneath the hem of his t-shirt. Logan breaks the kiss just long enough to rip his shirt off and help me with mine. He unclasps my bra, tosses it to the side, and massages my breasts with his thumbs, grunting his approval.

  His tongue makes a beeline for my nipple. My back arches from the sensation of his hot tongue on my skin. I moan and press myself into him, gripping the edge of the counter for dear life. Logan’s arms snake around my waist as he works his way to the canyon between my oversensitive breasts. He reaches underneath the back of my jean shorts, pulling at the skimpy purple thong I put on just in case we got down and dirty today.

  Logan pulls the string up between my ass cheeks and lets the thin strip of fabric slap back down. My skin stings from the impact. I buck my hips toward him. Logan pulls my ass off of the counter, and I unzip and tug my shorts down. Once I’m naked except for my thong, Logan stares down at my wet center and his lips grow wet.

  “Fuck, how can one woman be this perfect?” he whispers. He leans down and pulls my thong to the side, replacing it with his tongue. I cry out in pleasure as he licks and sucks my clit, tracing the patterns etched into my leg with his fingers.

  He knows the pattern of the raven by heart.

  I sink my center into his mouth, my abdomen heaving uncontrollably. Logan slips one finger, then two, then three inside me, and my eyes roll back in my head. Even if this is all I get from him today, it’s heaven on earth. I don’t want it to end, but my body is getting there in record time.

  My tits jiggle as my hips jerk to the rhythm of his movements. Logan connects his gaze with mine, his expression equally desirous and desperate. He wants me to come on his face. I would never disappoint him. Sweet agony rips through me.

  “Fuck, Logan!” My pleasure erupts all over his short beard, making it glisten in the sunlight streaming in from the window. Logan licks me in long circles, not stopping or slowing down until I stop convulsing on top of him. When I’m done, he gives my center a quick kiss and wipes his mouth on a towel.

  Looking down, I notice his cock pitching a tent underneath his loose jeans. Doing that to me stirred up immense desire inside him. I don’t want to leave him unrewarded for the incredible bliss he just gave me.

  I fall to my knees in front of my Drummer Boy on the floor, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans on the way. Before he can protest, I pull down his jeans and boxers and his cock springs free, slapping me right in the mouth.

  I grin as I open my mouth to receive it.

  My insides coil with need as Madison wraps her beautiful, luscious lips around my steel-hard cock. We were in such a hurry the first time we fucked that I didn’t get this view, although I’ve fantasized about it many times. This was what I was thinking about the first time I jerked off at twelve years old. Even back then, I was a dirty motherfucker with a hard-on for a good blowjob.

  Madison slides her lips and tongue down the length of my cock until her mouth can’t accept any more of it. She holds the rest of it with her hand and strokes up and down, keeping perfect rhythm between both parts of her body. Her hot mouth makes slurping sounds as she propels herself up and down my shaft. I pull her hair away from her face and hold it back so she can take me with no inhibitions.

  Her mouth on me feels good as fuck, but I haven’t done anything since the day I gave her a ride next door. If I let her continue, she’s going to suck me off into her mouth, and I want to give her at least one more trip to paradise before I take mine and our “playtime” is over.

  I pull out of her mouth and smile at the disappointed look on her face.

  “Put your hands on the counter behind you, baby.”

  Grinning, she wipes her mouth and obeys my command. Once my girl has a firm grip on the counter, I lift her ass to sit on top of my aching cock. I slide my swollen shaft inside her and nibble on her neck as she moans an incoherent string of filthy words. With her legs wrapped around my sides, I plow into her, making her wail so loudly I worry Bev or her family might hear us. I cup my hand over her mouth and she licks between my fingers. In the past, that would have made me jerk my hand away from her, but now it’s what we both want.

  “Scream for me, baby,” I growl, undulating as fast as my body can move. I hold onto her waist and watch lavender tendrils bounce on top of her tits. Her sounds, the longing pouring from her dark-fringed baby blues, and the wet suction of her pussy send my desire for her spinning into a whirlwind.

  “I’m gonna come,” she says, her consonants unclear from being muffled against my hand.

  Screw getting caught. I want to hear my rock goddess sing my praises as she crosses the threshold into paradise. I move my hand away from her mouth.

  “Logan!” Howling like a wolf in heat, she shakes and spasms on top of me. I hold her tight and ram into her one more good time before letting myself go.

  “Fuck, Madison!” I pant and shiver as my cock releases long streams of cum into her pussy. I trail my fingers across her skin, every inch of it warm and sticky with sweat. Each muscle contraction is a sweet symphony of pleasure. I pull her in against my chest, and she lifts her face to let me kiss her. I run my greedy fingers over her soft, firm frame one last time as my lips devour hers.

  “If I’d known you were such a good fuck, I would have gotten down on my knees and begged you to go out with me years ago,” I whisper. Madison’s body shakes against me as she giggles.

  A bittersweet emotion gnaws at my chest as I turn the lock to my childhood home. We took the last of Mom’s possessions out of the house today. Most of what we owned was sold or donated. It was Madison’s idea to have a yard sale earlier this week, and it really helped with some of the funeral expenses and other costs Mom left behind. Uncle Max and I decided to put the house up for sale, and he’s going to handle communications with the realtor, so my work here is done.

  It’s hard to leave this house behind, and yet it’s not. I’ll miss the memories I made here with Madison, especially when we were kids. I’ll miss Christmas mornings with my mom and the brief moments when her depression didn’t get the best of her. This house was a house of darkness, and I’m finally ready to step into the light. I’m tired of living in the shadow of the past. Madison has always been the light of my life, and now I’m more sure than ever that she’s my future. My mother will always be a part of me, but life was a burden she didn’t want to bear. She’s no longer suffering, and for that reason, I’m doing my best to be at peace with this.

  I still regret not talking to her about getting into therapy the last time I saw her. I was so distracted by finally getting to sleep with my best friend, I forgot to bring it up when we said goodbye. Mom stood on this step and held me like she never wanted to let me go. She whispered her love for me in my ear as I released her. Her love will always be with me wherever I go. I have to believe that and move on to live the life she would want for me.

  I turn around to find Madison waiting at the end of the sidewalk for me. She’s looking down at her phone, no doubt checking our flight details again. I walk up to her, tip her chin up, and plant my lips on hers. She squeals in surprise, then melts into me as our lips mold to each other.

  When I let her go, she’s smiling and out of breath. “What was that for?”

  I slide my fingers into her hair. “For everything.” I kiss her again. Ever since the day we fucked each other senseless in the kitchen, I can’t keep my hands and lips off of her. “You’ve been my rock over the past month. I can’t thank you enough.”

  Madison leans into me, her eyes radiating something akin to love. I feel like we’re there, but I don’t want to rush her. After the way Jenks wrecked her heart, I know she’s probably not ready for something that serious.

  “You always know just what to say to melt me,” Madison whispers.

  “When I get you home, I’m gonna do much more than that,” I say, taking a handful of her ass.

  “Well, well, well.”

  The shrill female voice behind us sends a shiver down my spine. I turn and see Celeste with her father standing beside her. Both of them are dressed to the nines and have their arms folded in front of them, tapping their toes against the pavement.

  Madison pulls herself away from me and stands rod straight, as if they didn’t just see us with our hands all over each other. My forehead breaks out in a sweat.

  This looks bad. Really bad.

  I didn’t even tell Celeste about my mom passing away or the funeral because I didn’t want her coming and talking about our “engagement.” It would have been too much to bear, having to fake being her fiancè on top of everything else I was already caught up in. Now my deception has caught up with me, in more ways than one. There will be no convincing Trevor Norman his little girl did any wrong when he can see me in broad daylight groping my best friend and bandmate.

  I’m a dead man walking.

  Trevor’s cold gray eyes threaten to freeze me alive. I clench my fists at my sides, trembling with anxiety and anger. The two emotions battle for dominance as we stand in a four-way face-off, neither side backing down.

  I glance at Celeste and immediately realize looking at her was a mistake. A smug look of assured victory is etched into her perfect features. My resolve to hold myself back from mauling her alive is an inch from snapping. If she dares to make one poisonous remark about me or Logan, there will be hell to pay.

  “Celeste told me you’d been gone for a month. We were looking for you everywhere, Logan.” Trevor’s nose twitches. “What do you have to say for yourself? Your mother passed, and you didn’t even tell us, leaving us to think you had fallen off the face of the earth. And now you’re fooling around with some other woman instead of my daughter.”

  “Some other woman?”

  Fuck this guy. I’m gonna shove his head where the sun don’t shine.

  Logan steps forward, holding me back with his hand.

  “Look, Mr. Norman, I know how this looks, but you need to know Celeste and I have actually been broken up for the past month.”

  I’m knocked breathless. Logan stands in front of me, firm and resolute, ready to tell Trevor the truth about Celeste’s deception. I’ve never known him to be this brave.

  Where has this Logan been all my life?

  Trevor’s gray eyebrows cinch together. “What do you mean?”

  “She bought that ring for herself and forced me to go along with the lie so we could keep our record deal.” Logan grits his teeth, working to keep his own emotions under control. “Celeste has been screwing around with a French model all this time. She has no interest in being with me; she just wants to control me and gain your approval.”

  A vein pops out on Trevor’s forehead. “How dare you level such slanderous accusations against my daughter?”

  “Daddy, it’s not true.” Celeste looks up at Trevor with crocodile tears pouring down her face. She pooches her lip out to exaggerate the “sad puppy” effect. “The tabloids made all that stuff up. Henri is gay, and he’s just a friend. I’ve been nothing but faithful to my Sugar Bear, and now he’s betrayed me.” With wailing sobs, she attaches herself to her father like the leech she is.

  A growl rips from my throat. “You lying bitch!”

  “That’s enough,” Trevor says sharply. He holds Celeste and strokes her hair as he speaks in a cold, calculating tone. “Under the circumstances, I’m afraid I’m going to have to reevaluate your partnership with Norman Records. My lawyers will be in touch.”

  Trevor turns and walks away, pulling a sobbing Celeste along with him. I stand still, not knowing if I should run after him and beg his forgiveness or be relieved that we don’t have to be part of their circus anymore.

  I turn to see Logan slumped against the car, his face buried in his arms. My heart breaks for him. He’s been through so much over the past few months. I don’t know how anyone can survive this much disappointment and pain.

  To be honest, I understand why Trevor believes every word Celeste says. She could make it as an actress. If I hadn’t been there when the security guard called Logan, I would have wondered if she was telling the truth.

  The security guard . . .

  “Logan.” I grip his arm. He looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Does your apartment complex keep security footage?”

  He stares at me vacantly. “I don’t know, maybe.”

  “If he has footage of Celeste and Henri together, we could prove you’re telling the truth.”

  Logan’s dark eyes grow wide. I see a faint glimmer of hope in them. “You’re right.”

  I hurry around the car to the driver’s seat. “Get in.”

  Logan and I walk up to the modern apartment complex hand-in-hand. Trevor knows about us now, so there’s no reason to hide our relationship anymore. In spite of the shitty situation we’re in, it’s nice to have it all out in the open. No more secrets; no more fooling around in the dark. Just Logan and me the way we always should have been—together.

  We walk into the main office on the bottom floor and ask the receptionist for Sherman, the guard who gave Logan insider info before. The stocky, dark-haired woman returns with a dark-skinned beast of a man in his mid-forties wearing a uniform with a gun strapped to his belt. His bicep bulges as he motions us back into his office, a small room with a desk and multiple monitors on the wall.

  Logan called Sherman when we landed at LAX, so he already knew what we were looking for. He closes the door behind us, dims the lights, and turns on a laptop. Sherman brings up a tape from a few weeks ago, when Logan and I were home to take care of Nana. He fast-forwards to the part when Celeste appears with Henri in front of the penthouse door.

  Celeste grabs Henri, presses him against the door and thrusts her tongue halfway down his throat.

  “We’ve got her now.” I smirk at the screen.

  Cameras don’t lie, you deceitful little shit.

  “Mads, wait.” Logan lays a hand on my arm. I look up at him quizzically. He releases a weary sigh. “I don’t think I even want to stay with Norman Records.”

  His words leave me stunned. “What?”

  “Look, even if Trevor does accept the truth about Celeste’s lies, we would still have to deal with their bullshit nonstop. There are other record companies out there. I think maybe we should just let this go and see what else we can find.”

  I pause to let his words sink in. He’s right. I don’t want Trevor profiting off our backs anymore. I’d rather work for someone I respect.

  “But what about Jay and Dalton? Remember, this doesn’t only affect us.”

  “Shit, they don’t know about any of this yet.” Logan’s eyes grow wide. “We need to meet up with them and give them the rundown.”

  I nod. Logan thanks Sherman for his time and lets him know he won’t be living here anymore. We stop by the receptionist’s desk to sign some paperwork before leaving the complex. On the way out, I call Jay and Dalton and ask them to meet us at a pub downtown.

  My anxiety mounts as we drive into the heart of downtown L.A. As scared as I was of Trevor and Celeste, that pales in comparison to the sheer dread I feel at the idea of facing Dalton’s wrath.

  “You did what?”

  Jay lunges toward me with murder in his eyes. Dalton grabs him and holds him back. His thrashing is almost too much for Dalton to take, but Dalton somehow manages to wrestle him into a choke hold. Veins pop out on Jay’s forehead as he struggles against Dalton’s grip. “Fuck you, Young! You’re a dead man!”

  “Whoa, dude. Calm down. Let me explain.” I hold out my hands to block Jay in case he breaks free. This isn’t what we were expecting. We knew Dalton would be fit to be tied, but I didn’t even think about Jay being pissed that I slept with his cousin and broke her heart.

  “So you don’t deny it,” Jay spits. The rage in his blue eyes is blood-curdling. “You slept with Mads and went back to Celeste. How fucking dare you?”

  “Jay, calm the fuck down,” Dalton grunts. “Breaking his nose won’t solve anything.”

  “Fuck that, I’ll break his face!”

  “Jay, stop. Please,” Madison protests. She stands between us, holding out her arms. Jay stops struggling, but his face remains the same shade of red. “I don’t want you to fight him.”

  “Son of a bitch . . . ” Jay continues to grumble obscenities under his breath as Dalton releases him. I pull at my neckline, fighting off the urge to sweat. I’m a big man, but Jay is strong and less inhibited by nature.

 

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