Music, Ink, and Love (2 page)

“I love you too.”

I knew she was with him but I had no clue where. I didn’t like that. Nix dealt with the situation better than I thought she would. After all she had been through, strong should be her nickname. Before leaving the room, I splashed some cold water on my face. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought that maybe today would change everything. A new man had entered my girl’s life and I had to deal with whatever was going to happen. One thing was certain, I would always protect her. She was mine and didn’t need to be hurt again.

I
kept thinking about how freaked out Nix was when she realized who Brian was: a mixture of pain, frustration and disbelief. Her whole body reacted to him, she was as tense as a brick wall. The idea of my girl alone with him didn’t really appeal to me. In fact, I hated it. He might be her father, but he doesn’t know shit about her and I wasn’t even certain he deserved her time. Las Vegas was supposed to be fun and crazy, but it had a whole different meaning now and I had no idea how to deal with this.

All I knew was that I needed to find her. My mind couldn’t stop questioning where she could be. I decided against calling her again. I didn’t want to be the annoying fiancé, even though maybe I should. I had to trust her.

The convention was done for the day and I managed a few tattoos. While Kyle had planned to hit the casino again I only had one thing in mind. Her. I got my machines together, packed everything I didn’t want to leave here and headed back to our room. I hoped to find her there but I was no fool, I knew the chances weren’t on my side.

As I walked into my room, the absence of noise and the perfectly made bed told me she wasn’t here. At least the maid had been. Damn it. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and hoped that a text message would appear, but nothing. The weekend had taken a direction I never expected and it left me nervous and cranky.

Staying in our hotel room was out of the question so I went back down in the hope that I would find her. The casino showed no sign of her, same as for the restaurant. I didn’t want to wander too far and I thought staying in the lobby was the best place to catch her. For a few minutes, I thought about calling Bekka or Taylor, but I decided against it.

Sitting, trying to stay focus, I was haunted by a song that I loved.  A song that made me feel all kind of things. It often inspired me while drawing for a customer. Then, I heard Nix’s voice. She was talking loudly. In a hurry, I walked to the bar and saw her sitting with Bryan at a small table. He had a beer and her, an untouched glass of water.

Our eyes met and all I saw was how upset she looked. Her pleading eyes begged me to come closer. I walked to her and when I stood in front of her, she took my hand and silently asked me to sit next to her. Her hand was moist and her eyes had a reddish shade. Had she cried? I looked over to Brian, but he was concentrating, watching her. My protective side took control and my arm wrapped around her shoulder. Nix leaned into me.

“Your mother. She had her own vision of what a family looked like. When I found her years later, I clearly didn’t fit her life, or yours. I didn’t know what to do. I knew she wouldn’t let me see you.”

“You didn’t fight hard. I was your only child. You missed every single moment of my life. Don’t you feel bad about it?” The tone of her voice raised.

The song ended and she hid her face in her hands. I was at a loss, I couldn’t figure out what was happening. Brian took a sip of his beer, trying to take in the words Nix had spat to him.

“Are you okay, Rock Star?” I asked her, my lips against her lobe.

“I don’t know.” That didn’t help me at all. I thought that I knew her but realized that I didn’t know as much as I thought, since I couldn’t understand how she felt.

“Brian is part of a band in San Francisco.”

“I think music runs in our blood.” He claimed, and it bugged me.

I hated that he referred to her as blood, family. He knew nothing about Nix. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Because my mom taught me to be respectful, I kept my cool and stayed by her side, but I wished I could have a word with him.

“It was good to share a moment with you, Brian, but I have a few things to do with my fiancé before we head back home.” Her arm pulled me tighter against her. I believed she needed me as much as I needed her at the moment.

“Yeah, Vegas is definitely something else. Enjoy your time here. I got your phone number here and I’ll make sure I call you to schedule a weekend in San Francisco.”

I sighed silently. They wanted to get to know each other. Today marked the beginning of their newfound relationship and I couldn’t wait to hear what Nix had to say about it.

We shook hands, I looked right into his eyes and all I saw in them was Phoenix and it scared me. Would he try to step between her and me?

Nix interlaced her fingers with mine as we walked out of the bar. Her small fingers trembled and her lips quivered. “Can we go to our room?”

“Of course.” I wanted to take her in my arms and let her cry if it meant that she would feel better. “Are you okay?” I asked her, needing to know the truth.

“I don’t know, Lev, I don’t know what to feel but I’m going to cry a lot, I fear.” She said with a small chuckle.

We entered the elevator, I pressed on our floor button and I pulled her into my arms. I held her because it’s all I could do. Helpless, fucking helpless. She needed Bekka or Val, not me.

“You’re going to be okay, Rock Star. I’m here.”

When I heard the first sob, it felt like a stab in my heart. I wanted us to be in our room already for God’s sake. Why was it taking fucking forever? Right, we had to stay at the 15
^th
floor. As soon as the door opened, I lifted Nix into my arms and I rushed to our room, onto the couch.

“Don’t leave me, Levi,” her voice full of anxiety.

“Where would I go?” I kissed her tears. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I held Nix against me and let my hands caress her curves. In a moment like this, when she was in distress and I was thinking about her naked curves, I wanted to kick myself. I had to think of something else. Something that would replace my dirty thoughts. I sucked at this.

“Do you want to talk about it? What happened?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “When I woke up, I felt brave. I wanted to face him and ask him why. Why did he leave my mother? Why did he never try to find us? I had all those questions when I was walking back to the convention, but he caught me off guard. He was in the lobby and was waiting for me. We went outside on the Strip and we walked for some time. He enrolled in the army right after my mom told him about me. After his deployment, he went to my grandparents, but they had no idea where to find us. He did some research when I was approximately six years old. He found us and he saw my mom and Carlton drop me at school.” She paused and wiped the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater. “Brian saw the picture perfect family. The image my mother wanted so badly to project so he backed away. He didn’t feel like he had a place in my life. Brian said he was ashamed of being the person he had been and thought I deserved more.” She looked at me, expecting me to see where she was going but I had no clue. “Life gave us a chance to meet. Life put you in my path. I fell in love with you like I never thought I would and you involuntary brought me to my father. All my life, my mom tried to keep me away from guys like you, to keep me away from him.”

“Nix. I’m not sure I trust him. Yes, he was nice to us prior to the revelation, but there is something about him... I don’t want to influence your decision. I’ll stand by you no matter what you decide, but honestly, Star, how do you feel?”

“I’m crying and I don’t even know why. I’m trying to feel something but I can’t. I’m numb. It’s not hate, anger, sadness or loss. I feel nothing at all and it freaks me out.”

“It’s only been a few hours. Take the time you need. It’s not like you were expecting to find him here. It’s quite big news.”

She turned around to look at me, our faces only an inch apart. “Thank you.” Her lips brushed against mine, awakening the hunger in me. I urged myself to keep control.

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s my job to be the one you need.”

“I thought I was okay with no knowing him, but now that I’ve met him, it has totally flabbergasted me.” She chuckled. “For years, I pretended he had died. I was making all these scenarios in my head but since I turned eighteen, I stopped thinking about him, stopped hoping that he would show up. I think I had put a definite cross over that dream.”

“Do you want to see him again?”

She sighed and thought for a long moment, her eyes staring at her fingers. “I have his phone number, he has mine. He invited me over to his place. I’ll have some thinking to do and I told him so.”

“Good.” I feared that I would end up suffocating her. “If you go, could I go with you?” I asked, almost a murmur. “I don’t think I could let you go all by yourself.”

“Of course, I don’t want to go there alone. You are my guardian angel. I need you.” Her words tickled my lips before I felt her soft lips on mine. “I don’t know what your plans are for the next hour, but I would really like if you could show me how much you love me.”

Her words hit directly at the right spot. I looked up,
Thank you, God
. I lifted her off of me and laid her down on the couch. I took off my t-shirt, needing to feel her and I pulled hers off in a nanosecond. My lips kissed their way down to her breast and her belly. The taste of her skin had a powerful effect on me. We belonged together, we both knew it and it wasn’t going to change. Sooner rather than later, she would become my wife. My desire to officially make her mine was growing on me.

“Stop thinking, Levi.”

“Sorry, I was thinking about how much you affect me... how much you’ve always affected me.” Taking back the control, I undressed her. After a shitty day like today, this was all I needed. Her, and me. Nothing could stop me.

“Why don’t you get rid of your jeans, Levi?” She growled against my chest.

Sweet Star.
  That totally turned me on. My little tiger was out and waiting and I didn’t like to make her wait any longer or she would use her claws. I never got rid of a pair of jeans that quickly and my boxers ended up flying across the room.

“Take control, Angel. Make me forget my day.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice before I drank her perfume and sank into her, pleasing her. My only desire was to get her mind focused on me, only me. I didn’t like to share. I wasn’t used to it.
Chill the fuck out, Lev. It’s her fucking father. He won’t steal her from you.
I repeated this mantra in my head until her first moan caught me off guard. I slowed down, it didn’t need to end fast, I craved slow. This moment haunted me all day and I had to enjoy every second of her. She held onto me, her hands gripping my hair until it hurt, but the ache felt so good. It aroused me... it meant I was pushing her limits, on her way to losing control.

“I need you, Lev, so much.” She whimpered, barely audible.

Words failed me, I was in the moment, building that tension. I was there for her body and soul. Showing her what I had failed to tell her. With my hand, I cupped her cheek and I looked at her, the lust in her eyes telling me I had her back, she had forgotten. I felt my body loosen up while my lips found hers. I kissed her like it would be the last. I had to get a grip, control my thoughts, my fear. She was here with me, wasn’t she?

I loved her.

I tried to push away my confusion and growing anxiety. She didn’t need to deal with my shit. Her needs were what I had to focus on.

“Rock Star... Jesus.”  I groaned, feeling all the elixir coming. Her curves in my hand, her skin rubbing on mine, and the warmth of our love was on the verge of making me the fucking happiest man in Vegas.

“I waited for you to say it, talk to me about it but I know you, babe.” She said in a sporadic way, meeting me at each thrust. “I’m yours, I’m not going anywhere without you.”

I could have cried right at that moment but that would’ve ruined the moment and it couldn’t be ruined. We both needed the release because fuck, today had been crazy enough already.

Her legs were trembling under mine and her moan begged me to keep going. I pushed into her, once and twice before we came undone. My body relaxed against her. Both of us silent and out of breath, I rolled on my side and looked at her, her cheeks flushed and her hair in total disarray. She was beautiful in a way that totally hypnotized me.

My eyes became tired and I believed she had fallen asleep. Her breathing was smooth and her body cuddled against mine. I kissed her naked shoulder before letting the exhaustion catch up with me.

M
y lips were captured in a warm and soft sensation. Startled, I opened my eyes and found Nix straddling me, watching me with a beautiful grin gracing her face. “Wake up, sleepyhead.” Her giggles resonated in our room as I tickled her hips. “It’s getting late and it’s Saturday night. We should go out.”

“You want to do it on the balcony?” I asked her, dumbfounded.