Love Rock'ollection: The Brutal Strength Rock Star Trilogy, books 1-3 (36 page)

JR whistled. “You look beautiful.”

“You guys behave,” Sara admonished before throwing her hand up in the air. “Oh wait just a minute.” She disappeared around the corner, returning a moment later to hand him the bag of clothes. “Treat her right, JR.”

He took the bag. “Absolutely, Sara. I’ll have her back around midnight.”

Inside the elevator, Sam smiled shyly. “Thanks for the roses, John. They’re my favorite color.”

He gave her a cocky half grin. “John?”

“It suits you. Doesn’t anyone ever call you that?”

“No. Not since I was eight.” He shook his head, reaching over and impulsively twining one of her curls around his finger. Their eyes met, both intense with heat. They leaned toward one another just as the elevator doors opened and a crowd of people entered, ruining the moment. Sam buried her flushed face in JR’s shoulder.

In the lobby, JR took her hand and escorted her to the front circle where his black Corvette was parked. Sam settled comfortably into the supple leather of the passenger seat, no longer intimidated by the luxurious sports car after riding back and forth with him to work all week. “Where are we going?” she asked. “And what’s the deal with the change of clothes?”

JR chuckled. “Gotham Steakhouse for dinner. You said you haven’t had any decent beef since you left Texas. The rest will remain a surprise. You’ll like it. I promise.”

“That’s exactly what Sara said,” she pouted.

Leaving the keys with the valet at the restaurant, they descended a short row of stairs down into the basement of a brownstone. Dark wood floors and furnishings, antique fixtures, and a dark red color scheme dominated the five star restaurant. Sam enjoyed the art deco ambiance as the maître d escorted them to a secluded candle lit table in the back.

They fell into easy conversation during the meal. Soon the topic turned to sports. Belying her girly demure appearance, JR had discovered earlier in the week that Sam was a rabid hockey fan.

“The Stars are going all the way this year,” Sam boasted.

“We’ll see. My money, what’s left of it after your sister cleaned me out last night, is on the Canucks.”

“By the way, only for you,” she touched his arm, “would I go out tonight. The Stars are playing the Canucks in about an hour, you know.”

JR stared down at her hand on his arm for a moment. When he raised his eyes his gaze was full of heated promise. “Yeah, about that.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out an envelope, and slid it across the table to her.

“What’s this?” she asked, opening the envelope. She looked up, eyes wide, and squealed, “Oh my gosh! These are for tonight’s game!”

A couple at the table next to them glanced their way.

“Sorry, sorry,” she apologized, waving the tickets up in the air and scooting into his side of the booth. She launched herself at JR who happily caught her. “Thank you,” she whispered, kissing his whiskered cheek.

“I thought you’d like them.” JR’s green eyes twinkled. “Black Cat has a couple of season tickets on the glass. I managed to talk Mary out of them.”

“Wow. This is so cool.” She looked down at her dress and then back at him as understanding dawned. “The change of clothes?”

“I left them in the car. You can swap at the stadium.”

SAM CHANGED INTO her number twenty-nine Stars sweater and jeans in the VIP lounge. When she came out, JR was waiting, already having donned a generic Canuck’s t-shirt and jeans. Sam’s breath caught as he leaned in close, gaze locked with hers, and reached out to slowly undo the lavender ribbon that had been holding back her hair.

“Doesn’t really go with your new ensemble.” He touched her nose and grinned. “You’re so cute. Hopefully that will be enough to keep you out of trouble. We’re sitting behind the Canuck bench after all.”

Sam’s smile was huge as they took their seats.

“Big Steve Ott fan?” JR asked.

“Oh yeah, he’s my favorite player. Left wing, shoots left, six feet, one hundred ninety pounds.”

JR laughed. “He’s an agitator. A real pest by all accounts.”

“Reputations aren’t always what they’re made out to be though,” she remarked with a wry look and rose to her feet as the announcer started the player introductions.

By the third period, JR began to worry they might not make it out of Roger’s Arena alive. Sam was a vocal fan, and it had been a tense game. Currently it was knotted at three apiece. The Stars were on the power play with less than a minute left in regulation. As the puck was dropped in the Canuck zone, she stood up again, yelling, “Put it in the net, Otter!”

A big guy with blue and white face paint directly behind them hissed, “Get your girlfriend to sit down man.”

JR stood and whispered in Sam’s ear, “The natives are getting a little restless. Probably better tone it down a bit.” Just then the stadium cam captured an image of the two of them and put it up on the screen. JR moaned, hoping their picture wasn’t going to be on the television broadcast, too.

Samantha covered her red face in her hands and sat back down.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” JR threaded his fingers with hers, and kissed her knuckles. “You are adorable.” Sam shivered, forgetting all about them being on camera and the game. But then the crowd jumped to their feet roaring and drew her attention back to the ice. Canucks forward had intercepted a pass and was taking the puck the entire length of the ice. She held her breath as he shot and scored the shorthanded goal. Her shoulders sank as the final buzzer rang and the Canuck fans began celebrating.

“We’re lucky the Canucks won,” JR shouted, grabbing her hand. “We’d better get out of here while we still can in one piece.”

“I DIDN’T PLAN this very well,” JR groaned.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, placing her hand on his arm as they pulled into the hotel. “I had a great time.”

He gazed at the crowd clogging the front entrance of the hotel, and then looked back at her, tracing a finger down her cheek while he stared at her lips. “I was hoping for a little more privacy.”

Her cheeks flushed.
Me, too
, she thought and was quiet for a moment. “Can you come inside for a minute?” she asked with a shy smile. “I want to show you something.”

JR turned the keys over to the valet and followed Sam inside. He was edgy having waited all week just to kiss her. With any other girl he would already have been way beyond that, but Sam was different. He was grudgingly grateful for the overprotective sister standing in the way, forcing them to take things slowly. Being together platonically had given him a chance to get to know Sam as a person. And the more he learned about this woman, the more he liked. She was beautiful, sure, but dedicated and smart, and sexy as hell, too, especially when she teased him.

When she led him to the indoor pool entrance and swiped her room card, he raised a questioning brow. “Are we going swimming?”

She laughed and the infectious sound coupled with the sight of her loose curls cascading around her shoulders so captivated him that he almost forgot to breathe. He stopped and stared. She gave him a funny look and tugged insistently on his hand, leading him through the humid indoor pool area and out onto the chilly patio. The area was intimately small, probably only big enough for a small garden party of twenty or so and softly illuminated with little white Christmas lights strung up in the trees.

“Beautiful,” he whispered.

“Yeah, I like it out here. Especially at night.” She turned to find him standing right behind her.

“I wasn’t talking about the patio.” He drew her slowly near.

Sam smiled, resting her hands lightly on his biceps. She peered up at him from beneath her lashes. Emboldened by the way he was looking at her she reached up and tangled her fingers into his hair.

He turned toward her touch and moaned. “That feels real good, love.” His gaze flicked to her lips and then back to her eyes. “Come closer, Samantha Daniels. I want to show
you
something.”

“What?” she managed before he leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers. The contrast between the rough texture of his close clipped beard and the smoothness of his warm lips was deliciously exciting. When he began to move his mouth softly but insistently against hers, desire surged like a shock wave that reverberated through her entire body.

“Wow,” JR breathed across her lips, pulling back out of the kiss and leaning his forehead against hers.

“Show me more,” she requested breathlessly,

“Gladly,” JR responded without hesitation, his voice deep with passion. “The first was just an appetizer.
This
is the main course.” His hands tightened on her shoulders, and he brought her forward, crushing her body to his. Their lips came together in a heated rush. Urgently, he moved his mouth against hers with just enough pressure to show her that he was very much in control and not to be denied. She began to tremble and her lips parted willingly. His tongue entered and slid with tantalizing softness across hers.

JR began exploring her mouth in an addictive rhythm of gentle strokes, short, long, short, that made her weak in the knees. When he withdrew, she clung to his arms for support.

Watching her with heavy lidded eyes, JR lips curved up seductively. He ran a finger down her smooth cheek.

“I’ve never been kissed like that,” she sighed.

“Drummers beat ‘em all, baby.”

AS SAM APPLIED lipstick at the bathroom mirror the next afternoon, Sara hovered behind her wearing a worried frown.

“Be careful,” Sara warned, placing her hands on Sam’s shoulders. “Promise me you’ll take it slow with him. Remember JR’s a guy who’s been around the block a time or two, ok?”

Sam met her sister’s somber gaze in the reflective surface and nodded. She didn’t need to be reminded that she was the rookie and he the seasoned veteran. That was a thought that had kept her up late into the night after he dropped her off.

Hearing the door buzzer, Sam shoved her misgivings deep down inside and went to open it. JR’s easy smile made her forget about anything but wanting to be with him. He pulled her into his arms as soon as she shut the apartment door behind her. The gentle kiss that followed set her heart to pounding. Taking her hand, he escorted her down the hall to the elevator and didn’t let go of her until the valet brought his car around.

JR’s loft apartment was in a refurbished warehouse situated along the cobblestone streets of historic Gastown. Walking into the expansive space, Sam turned around in a circle to take it all in: the unfinished ceiling, the exposed brick walls, and the distressed oak plank floors. The sparse furnishings consisted of little more than a futon couch and a couple of barstools. The decor reminded Sam of her male college friends’ apartments. Much more impressive was the view of the inner harbor. It drew her over to the large picture windows that framed it.

“I haven’t done anything with the place.” JR shrugged. “I’m really not here that often. Maybe you could help me spruce it up a bit.” He came up behind her and turned her around gently before lowering his mouth to hers.

The kiss he gave her was short and sweet just like the one he had given her back in the hallway at Sutton, and though it made her toes curl, it wasn’t nearly enough. Sam wanted a replay of the deep soul shattering one from the night before. Wanting to determine if her memory had exaggerated the experience, she reached up her hands and twined them together behind his neck. She pulled his face back down to hers. Boldly she pressed her lips to his and traced his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue.