Rock Bottom (3 page)

Kate felt her
body grow tight with need, and she sucked in her breath as his lips slid across
her soft skin, fluttering over her earlobe, leaving a faint, wet trail of
possession down the right side of her neck. He asked no permission, nor did he
even pause to make sure that no one was watching them. It was obvious that he simply
didn’t care.

Forcing her
voice to steady itself and thankful that the champagne had given her the edge
she needed, Kate pursed her lips as she lifted the glass to her lips casually.  “If
you’d wanted a woman whose full attention belonged to you and you alone, then
you shouldn’t have brought me. I’m not so easy, Gage.”

“That’s not
what it felt like when I had your legs spread wide…your tight pussy wrapped
around my cock,” Gage murmured low in her ear. Kate could feel her face redden
as she stiffened in shock, unsure as to what she should do, not wanting to
escape the blazing, uncomfortable heat that engulfed her body from head to toe,
yet terrified that she would find herself unable to resist him and force him to
take her right then and there.

He chuckled
softly at her apparent discomfort, giving her no reprieve even as she squirmed
in her seat and hoped to God that no one at the table had heard him. All around
them the other guests were chatting and laughing, oblivious to the thick,
swollen haze of lust that wrapped itself around the couple.

“Do you know
what I’d like to do right now?” Gage whispered once again in her ear, his tone
smoky with carnality. Her fists clenched tight on the table, Kate shook her head
mutely.

“I really,
really want to…” He leaned even closer, his lips brushing her lobe and making
her secret inner folds flutter, and causing her to feel as well as hear the
rest of his whispered sentence, “…Lick your hot, wet pussy.”

Kate sucked
in a strangled breath. Instantly, her nipples tingled almost painfully beneath
her bra and she felt the arc between her legs singe with heat. One flicker of
his fingertips across either one and she’d be climaxing right in her seat.

“I’ve been
thinking about it, especially with how incredibly sexy you look tonight. My
face, buried between your beautiful, curvy thighs. Making me go crazy with your
sweet, sweet taste,” Gage whispered, his lips still brushing her ear with every
syllable.

Kate was
gasping inaudibly, her eyes pinned on somewhere far beyond anything within her
vision and she found herself trembling with desire as he ran his lips down the
side of her throat, his teeth biting gently on her neck.

“Please,
Gage. People are watching us,” Kate whimpered, barely able to speak.

“Let them watch
us. The women envy you and the men want to be me. Here, tonight, with the most
beautiful woman in the room. They know that as soon as we leave here tonight, it
will be my hands squeezing your full curves…my cock buried deep inside of you...”

“No,” Kate
bit out, finally inching from his teasing lips. “Not tonight…and I’m hardly the
most beautiful woman in the room.”

Gage
chuckled, pulling back and throwing his napkin on the table in resignation.

“Yes, you
most certainly are, Kate. You are the sexiest woman here and…”

“Yes?” She
knew she sounded anxious for him to continue…maybe too anxious, but she
couldn’t help herself.  She was desperate to hear him tell her how he felt
about her.

“You are the
most beautiful woman that I’ve ever met. And believe me, I’ve had many
beautiful women.”

“I’m sure you
have.” Frowning, Kate’s words spat out in bitter tones and she immediately
regretted it.

“Well, it
wasn’t like you hadn’t moved on.  Are you trying to tell me that you
haven’t been with another man since we broke up?” His voice had sobered now and
Kate forced herself to look at him, to be consumed by his deep, searing eyes.

Why couldn’t
he just be cocky, insufferable Gage? Why did he have to say things that struck
her deep inside? When she’d confronted him over getting rid of that intern at
the last venue, he’d demanded her body like it was his right. And then he’d
made it clear that he would do so again, and again. He’d made love to her just
before that first concert, and had brought out such intense passion from inside
of her that she wanted nothing more than to be with him, even though she knew
he was far from the kind of man who would be willing to settle down with just
one woman. And now, here he was telling her how beautiful she was in that deep,
stirring voice of his that made her want to blush with shyness and bury herself
in hope.  

But before
she could reply, he was turning to Chase who had been waiting for a chance to
discuss their upcoming venture, and she was left to her own private thoughts.

Time is
running out…

She knew it
was true and that once their time together was over it would be back to normal
life, worlds apart.

She thought
about how he had told her that she needed to separate the man from the image,
but she wondered how different the two could really be. A rocker, traveling the
dark, lonely road for weeks…months on end. Groupies waiting in the wings at
every city, handlers who were all too eager to bring in drugs, alcohol,
women…anything and everything needed to numb a broken heart. It was likely that
Gage wouldn’t think much of her at all once she was gone, and she knew she
could never handle his lifestyle, even if he wanted her to be a part of it.

All within
the span of a few minutes, champagne burning its cloudy haze into her brain,
yet clarity beyond anything she had felt since reuniting with Gage, and she was
sure of what she had to do. She would finish the tour, document everything for
the magazine as she had agreed to do, and while her body was his for the taking,
her heart would be off limits.

Gage Stevens
was a true rocker who could never give her what she really needed. All of the
fame and fortune in the world wouldn’t be enough for her because it couldn’t go
the distance. It meant nothing. She would just have to face the truth and stop
allowing delusion to interfere with reality.  They were completely
different people who needed very different things. She’d go back to her simple,
protected life and let him get back to living large.  She only prayed her
heart would listen to reason.

***

There was no
denying the fact that Gage fully intended to fulfill every sensual promise that
he made to Kate. Not one to be easily put off, he didn’t let Kate’s reluctance
dissuade him. He had every faith in his ability to persuade his sexy buxom ex
that there was pleasure to be had in his touch and the solid heat of all that
he had to offer.

“We could
slip out right now,” he murmured minutes after he had returned from his private
meeting with Chase. Chase Stone’s parties were known to last all night and he
had no patience when it came to his desire to get Kate alone, and have her all
to himself.

Without
waiting for a response, Gage led Kate from the opulent dining room intending on
making a quick escape before everyone moved to the outdoor patio for drinks. But
then Gage suddenly froze as he recognized a sharp-angled face moving in between
the small crowd of guests, heading straight for him.

Thinking
fast, he turned slightly to Kate and muttered, “Kiss me.”

Her eyes were
both angry and troubled. “No.”

“It’s not a
request, Kate,” he said deeply, his fingers tightening on her hips as he spun
her to face him. Obediently, she lifted her face and allowed him to kiss her
tenderly, and then more passionately as his hands freely roamed her body, his
fingertips rushing down her lower back before he cupped her ass in his hands.
Her hands flailed out to his chest for support as his grip slid upwards from
her ass to rest on her hips. A shudder ran through her curvy frame and he
groaned, suddenly forgetting the time and place – the why and what.

It was times
like this that he remembered why it had been so hard to forget this woman
– and why he’d be crazy to let her go a second time. But he knew falling
for Kate Preston would put too much on the line and Gage wasn’t sure he could
handle that. Give him the chance to perform at the Yankee stadium filled with
millions of screaming; demanding fans and he could do it without hesitation.
Gage could face anything but one thing - the uncertainty of what would happen
if he let this redhead beauty reclaim the part of him that he thought had died
long ago…

***

Gage had
kissed her before but not like this. In his lips there was something different,
a new kind of sensual promise that stole her breathe and made her quiver under
the weight of his grip. Kate was left clinging to him when he drew away moments
later, his eyes hooded, enigmatic. She sighed, no longer caring about the other
guests milling around, she wanted to feed the hunger, public scrutiny be damned.
She gazed up into Gage’s darkened eyes and felt she could do anything he asked
if only he would kiss her that way again…

“Gage…” Kate
purred dreamily, only to be cut off by a voice that sounded like cold, polished
steel, squeaking from behind her.

“Now isn’t
this a nice surprise,” said the voice of a woman who now appeared right before
them. Kate didn’t need to wonder who she was. Chloe Valiant, a wildly beautiful
pop vocalist who had just tops the charts earlier that summer. She was edgy,
sensual and talented with the world at her feet.

It had also
been rumored that she had dated Gage for a couple of months and their hinted
romance had been all over the tabloids earlier that year. Kate felt the sudden need
to withdraw in surrender as her eyes caught and held with the slim, tall and
shapely brunette dressed in high fashion leggings and not much else – a
strip of a tank that was hanging on her enviously slender shoulders with her
dark brown hair falling luxuriantly to her waist.

It was times
like this that Kate was reminded that full-figured might be considered sexy in
her part of the country, but not everyone in the world appreciated a girl with
curves, especially not the stick-thin pop star that stood just a few feet away,
her carefully painted fingertips planted firmly in a sharp hip-hug stance, her
head cocked to the side and her lips curled in disdain.

Kate could
feel the younger woman’s disgust, venom ready to spew out of her thin-lipped
mouth, as her eyes hung on the arm that Gage had wrapped tightly around Kate’s
waist.

“What do you
want Chloe?” Gage replied, annoyance bursting across his face.

Kate’s ears
filled with Chloe’s kittenish giggle and she couldn’t help but stare at the
long column of her delicate throat and how everything about the woman was so
sexy and feminine. Barely twenty-three, she had already been linked to many of
the most handsome and successful stars in the business.

And yet, from
what Kate had heard, Gage had been the one to call it quits. Kate couldn’t
believe any man – even a guy like Gage, could ever say no to a woman like
Chloe. But as Gage’s hand roamed up Kate’s back to clasp her neck in a
deliberate gesture, she had a feeling he was trying to send a very strong
message. Her suspicion was confirmed when she saw Chloe’s green eyes darken as
Gage’s fingers rested possessively at the inner base of Kate’s shoulder.

“Now this
isn’t your usual type.” Chloe murmured, eyes flickering over Kate disdainfully.
“I mean, I know Chase’s parties can get rather wild, but I’m sure you don’t
need a handler to keep you in line.”

Kate
bristled; the barb wasn’t lost on her. She felt a flame of anger rise to the
surface of her chest, and she was about to respond when Gage wrapped his arm
around her neck, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Handler? Oh,
Kate’s not a handler, Chloe, and this sexy little thing is definitely not here
to keep me in line.” He replied gingerly, turning to nuzzle Kate’s cheek with
an affectionate grin. “If anything, she’s the naughty one, about to have her
wicked way with me.”

Kate squirmed
at the touch of Gage’s intimate lips, while she held her gaze pinned to the
obviously smarting Chloe who smiled thinly. “Oh, I don’t think there’s anything
‘little’ about your pretty companion, Gage. Never knew you liked full figures.
I guess that’s why we never worked out, huh?”

Gage
shrugged, digging his fingers slightly into Kate’s flesh as if he knew she was
about to lunge for Chloe’s beautifully snide face and he had to hold her back.

“Among many other
reasons. Now if you’ll excuse us; Kate and I have been waiting all night to be
able to get out of here together, so we gotta run. Take care, Chloe.”

Chloe opened
her mouth to reply but was cut off by a herd of guests who had finally noticed
her. Instantly, she was swept away in the crowd while Gage slipped out of the party
quietly, with Kate in tow.

She was still
bristling when they slid into the back seat of the limo that was waiting to
bring them to the finest hotel in the city. Kate’s eyes swung to his in anger
but he had a wicked glint in his eyes that told her she should just leave it
alone.

“The guys can
meet us at the tour bus tomorrow morning. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind us
leaving them at Chase’s since things will be heating up soon enough over there.
As for you and me…”

He placed his
hand on her arm, but Kate was fuming as she shrunk away to the other end of the
seat.

“Is there any
part of this tour where you don’t get to use me? First you think you have the
sole right to my body – and now you just kissed me in order to get Chloe
off your back? You know, Gage, I may not be part of this world of glitz and
glamour, where you’re treated like a spoiled child, but I deserve at least a
shred of respect.”

“Kate…” Gage whispered,
sighing as he raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I wanted to
say more to her for the way she spoke about you, but then I thought…of course
she is going to be angry when she sees you.”