The Princess and the Porn Star (20 page)

I smiled. “Thanks.” He’d have shit kittens if he knew how much of my energy tonight was from the nervous excitement centered around the countdown in the back of my head. The countdown that marked every second until I’d slip out of my tour bus and steal away to room number 2626 at the hotel three blocks down the road.

“Rest up tonight,” he said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a big one too.”

I inched toward my tour bus door. “I will.”

“You’ve got interviews before tomorrow’s show,” he added. “Remember?”

“Quinn’s got it all on my schedule.” I put my key in the lock. “I’m on it, don’t worry.”

“Good. Good. Well”—he gestured toward the door as I turned the key—“see you bright and early.”

I smiled again. “Bright and early.”

He turned to go, and I pulled open the tour-bus door. As soon as it was shut behind me, I kicked off my high-heeled shoes and left a trail of colorful leather clothes from the door to the shower. I wasn’t a slob by nature—I’d pick it all up as soon as I’d showered—but once a show was over and the night was mine, the first thing I had to do was get out of my costume and into the shower before my skin turned inside out. Tonight, I had somewhere to be, so I was in even more of a hurry to get cleaned up.

As the lukewarm water rushed over my skin, washing away the sweat, makeup, and glitter, it occurred to me it was just as well I had to meet Lee in a hotel room. Much as I’d wanted him to meet me here in my trailer, this was me at my unsexiest. When I just needed a few minutes to clean myself off, scrub away a show’s worth of sweat, and give my ringing ears a little peace and quiet while the water soothed my aching muscles.

I spent maybe ten minutes in the shower, and by the time I turned off the water, I felt like a completely different woman. Still aching from the show, still especially sore in the ankle, but refreshed and human.

And now there was nothing except a three-block walk standing between me and that hotel room. Time to get dressed and get
there
.

I quickly picked up the clothes I’d left strewn all over the bus, set them on the end of the bed so I could hand them off to Quinn tomorrow morning and then dug through a drawer in search of something to wear for that three-block walk.

I went for a blouse that didn’t have any buttons. Sexy as it would be for Lee to rip a button-up shirt apart—and holy fuck, I could imagine him doing just that—I still had to come back here before tomorrow morning. No sense taking the risk of hotel staff or peering media catching a glimpse of a torn shirt.

I found a skirt that Lee could easily push up onto my hips but was still long enough—and heavy enough—that a sudden gust of wind outside wouldn’t show all of Atlantic City that I’d also decided not to bother with panties.

I was in the middle of pulling my damp hair into a loose, messy ponytail when the bus door opened.

“Knock, knock,” Quinn called from outside.

“Come in.”

He stepped onto the bus and pulled the door shut behind him. “Need to go over your schedule for—” He halted in both speech and step.

I turned toward him as I finished looping the ponytail holder around my hair. “What?”

Quinn gave me that knowing smirk and a quick down-up, and my face burned when he looked me in the eye. “Going somewhere, are we, love?”

I slipped my cell phone into my pocket. “Maybe.”

“And if the powers that be say they need to see you?”

“Just tell them I’m not feeling well tonight.” I waved a hand. “Or I need some quiet downtime.”

Quinn nodded. “Will do.” He flashed me a toothy grin. “Do I get bonus pay for playing gatekeeper?”

“Bonus pay?” I threw him my best impression of one of
his
looks. “It’s in your job description, sweetheart.”

“Damn it.” He huffed sharply. “
Anyway
. I just came to pick up tonight’s clothes and let you know that radio show wants you in at eight tomorrow instead of nine.”

I groaned. “Of course they do.”

“I’ll be here at seven with high-octane coffee.”

“You’re the best.”

“Don’t have to tell me.” He winked, then scooped up the clothes off the end of the bed. “I’m going to go drop these off with the laundry monkeys and leave you to your night of debauchery.”

I took a seat on one of the benches beside the table to put on my tennis shoes. “Debauchery? How do you know that’s what I’m doing tonight?”

He just sniffed, rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

I laughed. Then I texted Lee:

On my way.

Once the message was sent, I started putting on my shoes. I’d just finished tying one when my phone buzzed.

Can’t wait. ;)

I grinned and squeezed my thighs together. I couldn’t wait either. Pity we had to keep this thing under wraps, or I’d have had him come to my tour bus, and we’d probably be giving the shocks a run for their money by now.

But we couldn’t, so I quickly put on my other shoe, grabbed my purse and left the bus. After double-checking the door was locked, I kept my head down and slipped away from where the buses and semis were parked.

The hotel wasn’t far, fortunately, but Atlantic City was another one of those towns that didn’t sleep. People streamed in and out of casino doors and hotel lobbies. The thick crowd was a double-edged sword: dozens who could recognize and stop me, and dozens to help me blend in to the blurry swarm of nondescript faces. My stomach fluttered with excitement, nerves and dread, and I muttered prayer after prayer that no one would stop me. I loved my fans. I adored them. I was flattered and grateful every time one of them noticed me and asked for an autograph or a photo. But tonight, tonight, please not tonight. Not while I was so close to Lee I could already taste his kiss.

I made it to the hotel without any delays, and kept my head down as I crossed the lobby to the elevator. Two other women stepped into the elevator with me, and my heart skipped when one of them did a double take.

“Hey,” she said, pointing at me. “Are you…are you Olivia Taylor?”

I smiled and shook my head. “No, I’m not.”

“Really?” She looked me up and down. “You look
just
like her.”

“Tell that to the judges of the lookalike contest at the concert.” I rolled my eyes. “They decided two of the other girls looked a lot more like her than I did, so…” I shrugged as I trailed off.

“They must have been dead ringers, then.”

“Or one was the real thing,” the other said with a knowing grin.

I just smiled but didn’t say anything. I shifted my gaze to the numbers above the door. It sometimes bugged the crap out of me when radio stations and concert promoters did those lookalike contests, but I had to admit, they gave me a bulletproof alibi when I wanted to go out after a show.

“
Who, me? Oh, no. I just made myself up for the lookalike contest.
”

Anything for a little anonymity.

I watched the numbers count us up from the lower floors to the eleventh, where the elevator stopped to let off the women who’d thought I was, well, me. Then the doors closed again, and I was alone with my beating heart and glowing numbers. Just a few more floors and a hallway. My knees weren’t quite steady, and my mouth already watered in anticipation of Lee’s bold, unrelenting kiss. How had I made it this long without seeing him?

Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three.

I shifted my weight.

Twenty-four.

Is this thing slowing down?

Twenty-five.

Come on, come on, come on…

Twenty-six.

Finally.

On the way down the hall, I checked the number on Lee’s text message just to be triply sure I didn’t knock on the wrong door. Once I was completely certain this was the right room, I held my breath, looked up and down the hall and then knocked.

Movement on the other side of the door meant more movement in my chest. I slowly released my breath, then drew another, willing my heart to slow down.

The door opened, and the instant Lee and I made eye contact, my heart rate didn’t spike like I’d thought it would. If anything, it leveled out. Calmed down.

There you are. Now I can breathe.

Without a word, he stood aside. I glanced up and down the hall one last time and then stepped into the room.

Lee closed the door behind us. My knees were suddenly less than reliable, so I leaned against the wall, palms flat against its cool surface and coarse wallpaper.

Somewhere else, a door opened. Voices and laughter spilled out into the hall, emphasizing the silence and the stillness in this room. The noise got closer, then faded and eventually cut off, and we were once again undeniably alone.

Lee moved closer, but slowly. In my mind’s eye, we were already tangled up and out of breath, kissing against the wall with the violent hunger that had been building in me for weeks. He was hard, and I was shaking, and the clothes were coming off.

But in reality, we hadn’t even touched yet.

His eyes locked on mine. The silent distance between us shrank. We were almost against each other. Only a sliver of air separated his shirt from the blouse that covered my very hard nipples. His hand snaked around my waist and slid between my back and the wall. His other reached for my face, and when his palm met my cheek, I pressed against it like a cat, seeking more soft, warm contact.

I wrapped my arms around him, and we sank into each other in slow motion until our mouths were
almost
touching, but not quite. The tip of his nose brushed mine. My lip touched his for a split second before I drew back.

A ragged, warm exhalation rushed across my chin. My head spun. Goose bumps sprang up beneath my clothes. I swore in that moment this had been a dream all along, just a fantasy, until just now when Lee breathed life into it and made it
real
.

His hand drifted from my face into my hair, and my pulse shot skyward as he tilted his head and leaned in, and I felt more than heard him whisper, “I’m so glad you called me,” and the words hadn’t settled into my mind before his mouth settled against mine.

His lips nudged mine apart. I didn’t resist. When his tongue slipped under mine and drew it into his mouth, I held on tighter, because oh God, this man’s kiss…

My fingers curled against his back, his shirt bunching in my hands. We still weren’t close enough, though. Too much space, too many clothes, too much fear he might suddenly slip through my fingers and disappear if I didn’t hold on tight enough.

I hooked my leg around his and drew our bodies closer together. His erection pressed against my hip, and when I pressed back, he pulled in a sharp breath through his nose. His faint cologne weakened my knees a little more.

He broke the kiss and pulled back enough to look me in the eye. As his tongue traced a slow arc across his lower lip, I shivered.

Running an unsteady hand through my hair, he whispered, “You in any hurry to be anywhere else?”

I swallowed. “Does your bed count?”

He smiled, sending ripples of pure electricity right through me. Then Lee took me by the hand and led me away from the wall that had been holding us up. He led me across the room, toward the king-size bed. Any other night, especially this long apart, we’d have dragged each other down onto the mattress, and he would have been inside me before we were even fully undressed. Just the way I’d pictured us all the way here from my tour bus.

But he stopped beside the bed. Stopped and stood behind me.
Right
behind me.

I closed my eyes as he gathered my hair in both hands and lay it over my shoulder. His lips pressed against the other side of my neck, and his hands drifted down my shoulders and around my waist. As his fingers slipped under the hem of my blouse, I wriggled against him, grinning as he exhaled against my neck.

“I don’t want to hurry,” he said so softly I felt more than heard the words. “I’ve been wanting this… Jesus, baby, I’ve been wanting this more than you can imagine.”

“Pretty sure I can imagine,” I whispered, shivering against him.

He said nothing. Just breathed on me. Kissed my neck. Felt every inch of me through my clothes.

Then, piece by piece, he undressed me. Every time I tried to do the same for him, he’d gently grasp my wrists and bring my arms back down to my sides.

“Patience,” he murmured and pushed my skirt down my hips. He swore under his breath as his hands slid over the bare skin of my hips and thighs. All the air slipped out of my lungs. I leaned against him, seeking as much contact as I could find as he cupped my breast in one hand and flattened the other palm across my stomach. His lips inched up the side of my neck, one breathless kiss after the other, until he reached my jaw, and when I turned my head, his mouth found mine.

There was something inexplicably hot about his clothes against my skin, about being completely naked while he was fully dressed. The softness of his T-shirt, the warm, coarseness of denim, the heat of what little flesh was exposed.

Lee pinched both my nipples hard enough to make me whimper. Then he murmured, “We should get into bed.”