Pulse: A Stepbrother Romance (21 page)

This beat isn’t right. It needs something to balance it out.

I knew exactly what that something was, but it didn’t look like I could get it again. With Leah’s friends all abandoning me, I lost access to the pool of musical talent that made own work so much better. No more instruments and no more vocalist.

“Fuck.”

I stared at the screen. I should have been packing, but the laptop and the music always pulled me back.

Depression tugged at the edges of my mind, whispering suggestions.

Maybe I should just delete it all and be done with it. It didn’t work out, and it won’t ever work out, so I should stop wasting time chasing a fantasy. Jerry got me a job, and I should be grateful.

I didn’t feel grateful. I felt like giving up.

There was a knock at the door.

Lethargy filled me to the point where I didn’t even bother to get up. I didn’t want to see anyone, and whoever it was would just go away.

They knocked again.

I growled and stared at the door.

A fist hit the door. “Chris, if you’re in there, open the damn door.”

“Leah?”

I jumped off the couch and ran to the door, pulling it open.

She stood there like she had so many times before. As if the world hadn’t changed.

“Are you going to invite me in, or just stare at me?”

“Some things are just worth staring at.”

She blushed, and the sight made me smile.

She’s always so damn cute when she blushes.

“Let me in, doofus.”

I held the door open for her and she walked by. The smell of her shampoo hit my nostrils, the familiar scent awakening feelings and memories of the times I had held her close.

“I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

And I feel like we’ve had this exact conversation before, in the same place.

“My dad came to see me.”

“So?”

She leaned against the kitchen counter. “He said you asked for a job with him.”

I felt defensive. “What’s wrong with that? I needed a job, he had an offer, so I took it.”

“What about DJing? What about your music?”

“It wasn’t exactly paying the bills, Leah. I can’t eat vocals and sleep under a baseline.” It would make everything simpler if I could.

“Did you look for gigs?”

I didn’t laugh because I knew she would take it the wrong way. “Of course I looked. I have no connections, Leah. Not without your friends helping me out. It’s not like clubs just advertise the opportunity to play for a thousand people so any bum off the street with a laptop can stroll in. The only things I could have done were birthday parties for little kids. Not exactly my scene.”

I tried to keep the accusation out of my voice. Tried. Didn’t succeed.

“Don’t take the job with my dad, Chris,” Leah said. “You know you’ll hate it, and it will just make you miserable being out there with nothing to do, no one to talk to, and no outlet for your music.”

“I don’t know if I even want to keep making music,” I said. “It seems pointless, doesn’t it?”

She pursed her lips and looked at me until I couldn’t take the look in her eyes anymore. I knew I was disappointing her, and I laid it on thick just so I could see if she still felt something toward me.

“That’s part of the reason I came here,” she said. “Terry on the organizing committee for that party sent me a message. Someone wants to meet you.”

“Someone? That’s helpful. I’d love to meet someone, too.”

“Don’t be an ass,” she said, but the corners of her lip were higher than they were a moment ago. “Does the name Trevor Eakins mean anything to you?”

It should. Eakins was a legend in the music business, a true prodigy that had his first number one hit by sixteen. Eight years later, he had his own label and had an uncanny habit of elevating those he signed to superstar status.

“Yeah, everyone knows him. Why?”

“Well, he was at the party that night and liked what he heard. He wants to meet with you and has been trying to set it up since then, but couldn’t find anything about you.”

“Trevor Eakins wants to meet with me?” I stared at her. It must be some kind of joke.

She nodded. “I have his assistant’s number for you. All you have to do is give her a ring and let her know who you are, and she’ll set it up.”

“Seriously?”

She laughed. “Now I know what I looked like a couple hours ago.”

I bristled at the laughter, but then relaxed and joined in. Once I thought about it, the look on my face must have been hilarious.

“I appreciate you coming by and telling me,” I told her. “I know you want nothing to do with me, and even though it kills me, you could have just given them my number and you wouldn’t have had to deal with me.”

That killed the laughter in the air.

Leah shifted. “That’s not the only reason I came. I’m sorry that I reacted the way I did the other night. I know you are doing everything you can, and it wasn’t your fault, any of the things that happened. I just want you to promise me that you won’t do anything stupid and go after Derek and his friends.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I was a dangerous person to be around. But it’s too late—I’ve already gone after Derek. I went to the warehouse and confronted him yesterday. Made him confess what he did, and I got to knock him out.”

“You what?”

“I wasn’t going to knock him out. But he ran at me. I got the entire conversation on tape, though, and gave it to the cops. He’s toast, Leah. Clark, too.”

“You didn’t kill him?”

“No. That isn’t me. Not anymore. Not since you changed me.”

Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. I couldn’t know how much it had been hanging over her head that the men who had tried to rape her were still at large, but when she looked at me her eyes were bright.

“Thank you, Chris.”

She hugged me.

I pulled her tight, savoring the feeling I didn’t think I would ever have again. “They deserved it, for what they did. And a lot of other things besides that. Derek was a terrible person, and he had a way of making everyone around him worse. That included me for a long time, but you helped change that.”

She looked up at me, and I couldn’t resist. I kissed her.

It was soft, sweet. A desperate fire burned inside of me for her, but no hint of it made it into the kiss.

I brushed her cheek with my thumb. “I love you, Leah. I think I always have.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Chris, I…”

I shushed her. “You don’t have to say it back, especially not now. I just had to tell you.”

Leah shook her head. “It’s not that. I love you too.”

The way she said it made it clear it wasn’t all she had to say.

“But?”

“But I’m leaving for Los Angeles.”

“What? When? Why?”

“Tomorrow. I have an audition for a movie. And if I get it, then I stay there for a month or two for filming. Chris, I love you and I want to work on whatever this is, but it will have to wait for now. I can’t say no to my dreams.”

Chris’ eyes were dark, unreadable.

I hadn’t lied. I wanted to try things with Chris and see how they worked out. And I was going to Los Angeles no matter what.

But I didn’t want to wait. Not when I was here, in his arms.

“You love me,” Chris said. It was a statement. I nodded anyway.

The next thing I knew, his lips crushed mine in a bruising kiss. The last one had been soft and sweet, but this one blazed with passion.

I’d tried to stay away from even thinking about Chris after the assault, but it had been next to impossible. He was like an addiction I couldn’t shake, and I finally had to admit the truth: I didn’t want to.

“Yes,” I whispered when his mouth dropped to my collarbone. His tongue teased the skin in between playful nips, each bite sending heat straight between my legs.

He only wore a simple shirt and jeans. I pulled his top off in a hurry, eager to see his body once again. I only had to unbutton his jeans and unzip them before they fell to the floor.

He attacked my clothes with a similar determination, and soon I was down to only my panties as he covered my breast with his mouth, his tongue swirling around my nipple and making me throw my head back in pleasure.

I found myself back in his arms and wrapped my legs around him as he carried me to the bedroom. His manhood was hard against me through the thin lace of my panties, pressing against me with his need.

Within seconds of my back hitting the bedspread, he tore my panties off and tossed them aside.

Chris crawled after me, on his elbows between my legs.

“You are such a gorgeous creature,” he said, eyes intense as his gaze warmed my skin. “Every part of you.”

With that he dipped his head down and I felt his hot breath between my legs as he gently licked me all the way from the bottom to the top.

He took his time, first tasting, then eating, and then devouring. My passions rose with his intensity, energy crackling along my fingertips as bursts of sensation drove me higher.

The thing that pushed me over the edge wasn’t his tongue. It was his groans, the audible sign of how much what he was doing turned him on.

I clutched his hair as I came, his lips surrounding my clit and tongue giving it long, steady strokes.

“Chris! Don’t stop!” I shook as wave after wave overtook me, muscles contracting in their wake.

I pulled him up toward me and kissed him hard. His efforts had turned me on even more, and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d experienced all of him.

He held me close as he entered me, his cock filling me deeply. I’d missed the feeling, like a missing piece of me had returned.

“Make love to me,” I asked him. I wanted more than just sex. I needed him to show me how much I meant to him.

We kissed as he moved within me, his lips gentle, playful. He took my bottom lip between his teeth and held it there for a second, and I returned the favor.

He buried his head beside me as I kissed his neck and ran my hands along his muscled back. I encouraged him with my mouth, hands and body, showing him my love.

The climb to climax was slow and luxurious. Chris and I completely wrapped each other up, conscious of every breath, every heartbeat.

I could sense him getting to the edge, his hips moving more urgently, his manhood grew even harder and larger inside of me. His passion sparked my own, and as he came, I followed him off the ledge into a long, drawn-out explosion of pleasure.

He groaned and stilled as we caught our breath. My hands stroked his back, content to lie there and be in the moment, enjoying his presence.

“I love you,” I said the words again, getting that thrill, like I was doing something wrong. It couldn’t be wrong, though, because it felt so right.

He lifted his head back up so he could stare into my eyes. “I love you too, Leah. Now and always.”

“I’ll miss you.” I didn’t know how I would get through a couple months without him. Would we grow apart if I got the role and stayed in Los Angeles? What if there was another part after this one and I stayed out there?

“It’s just for a short time. We’ve survived worse.”

I smiled. “I hope you’re right.”