The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (27 page)

I laughed nervously. “It could just be the cucumber melon shower gel. It is pretty refreshing.”

His face broke into a wide grin.

I smiled back. “Or –”

Before I could finish, he lowered his mouth to mine, his lips even softer than I’d remembered.

Sighing in pleasure, I closed my eyes and slid my hand behind his neck, pulling him closer. His tongue slid into my mouth and I greeted it with enthusiasm.

Tequila had never tasted so good.

I knew without a doubt that I still had it bad for this guy. I’d never met anyone who’d taken my breath away or made my heart skip so many beats. Then there were the butterflies in my stomach, all racing with excitement. I wondered if God would forgive me for feeling this happy during such a morbid time.

“What the fuck is going on in here?”

We broke away and stared at Remy guiltily, who was glowering at both of us in the doorway.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” asked Ransom.

“The door is open,” she replied, stepping inside. “God, Ransom, isn’t it enough that you have to fuck every willing fan within miles, but now you just have to take advantage of one of my dearest friends?”

He stood up. “I wasn’t taking advantage of Tiffany. Anyway, why don’t you mind your own business? This has nothing to do with you.”

She glared at him. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Drinking at mom’s wake, and fucking with Tiffany’s mind, and God knows what else?” she said, turning towards me. “Don’t let him use you like this. Not only is he just out for a piece of ass, he wants you off of Icon. He said he’d do whatever it takes to get you off of the show, and obviously, it includes seduction.”

My cheeks turned red. I stood up. “I… this…”

“Shut up, Remy,” ordered Ransom. “That has nothing to do with this. Quit trying to confuse the hell out of her.”

I turned back to him. “You’re really seriously trying to get me off of the show? But why?”

Before he could answer, Remy spoke up.

“That is a good question, and, obviously, he’ll stop at nothing to do it,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Hell, it’s only obvious that it was Ransom who called the media to let them know he was getting his hair cut at your salon the other day. Seriously, what do you think would happen if Icon found out about it? He’s a judge and you’re a contestant. I doubt they’d let that slide.”

I stared at Ransom in disbelief. “You called the reporters?”

“No, of course not,” he replied angrily. “I had nothing to do with that.”

“Oh, come on! How else would they have found out, Tiff?” asked Remy. “Did Ransom make an appointment?”

“No,” I said, staring at the wall. “He didn’t.”

“Well, there you go. Someone tipped them off! He already told me that he wants you off of Icon. He chose your salon when he already has a hair designer that will cut his hair whenever needed. The media show up on
that
day, at
that
hour. Coincidence?”

My eyes filled with tears. She had to be right. There was no other way they could have found out about it.

“Why are you being such a bitch?” asked Ransom.

“Why are
you
doing this to Tiffany?” she bit back. “You should be rooting for her!”

He turned back to me. “I didn’t call the media. I ran out the back door. Why would I do that if I wanted to be seen with you?”

“Hello? To look innocent!” she hollered.

I didn’t know who or what to believe, anymore. If Ransom was really trying to get me kicked off of the show, then it also meant his kisses were all part of the act. “Look, I have to go,” I said, grabbing my purse from the sofa. “I’ll see you both tomorrow at the funeral.”

“Wait,” said Ransom as I moved towards the door. He grabbed my arm. “Don’t leave yet. Please. We need to talk.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “I should really get home. I… I have laundry to do.”

“Let her go,” said Remy. “You’ve confused her enough.”

“I swear, I didn’t call those reporters,” he said, touching my cheek. “You have to believe me.”

Remy pulled me away from him. “Leave her alone, big brother. Go back to your bottle. Besides music, it’s the only other thing you’re good at.”

“Why are you such a cold-hearted bitch?” he asked.

She smiled coldly. “Why are you such a lying prick?”

I backed away from both of them. “Sorry, I have to go. I’ll see you at the funeral tomorrow.” Then, before either of them could say respond, I left.

Chapter Sixteen

Ransom

After Tiffany left, I was so pissed off at Remy, I wanted to throttle her.

“Good going,” I snapped, grabbing my bottle from the end table. “Now she thinks I’m lying.”

“Oh, and you’re not?” she asked, folding her arms under her chest.

I glared at her. “No. For your information, I had nothing to do with that. Yeah, fine, I did go to the salon to try and talk her out of the contest, but I did
not
call the press.”

Her cell phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her purse, and stared at the phone. “It’s Taylor again. Look, just leave Tiffany alone, Ransom. You have no business putting the moves on my best friend. I won’t have you hurting her.”

“I’m not out to hurt her,” I said, gritting my teeth.

“Christ, Ransom, face it, you hurt everyone. It’s in your nature,” she replied before answering the phone.

“This is bullshit,” I mumbled. “I’m outta here.”

She glared at me as I stepped around her, and pulled out my own phone. I dialed Tiffany, but she didn’t answer.

“Fuck.”

From the look in her eyes, it was obvious she still believed that I’d called the reporters. The thought of her thinking that I deceived her made me sick to my stomach. I needed to set her straight.

I shoved the bottle of tequila into my waistband, walked back to the viewing room, and pulled one of my cousins, Scott, aside.

“Can you give me a lift somewhere?” I asked the young eighteen-year-old. I hadn’t seen him in three years. Now he was ripped, sported a crew cut, and there was talk of him entering the Army.

He stared at me in surprise, and then nodded solemnly. “Of course, man. Hey, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks.”

“I loved Aunt Carol,” he said. “She made the best strawberry cheesecake and apple pies.”

I smiled. “That she did.”

He waved his hand towards the other guests. “Don’t you need to stick around?”

I noticed Remy stepping back into the room, and shook my head. “No. It’s getting too crowded in here. I need some fresh air.”

He looked over at my sister, who was scowling at us. It wasn’t a secret that Remy had a temper and liked to boss the cousins around, along with her older brother. “I hear that. Well, whenever you’re ready.”

Remy started walking towards us.

“Now is good,” I replied, pulling him the other way.

***

Ransom

It was just after ten o’clock by the time we pulled up to Tiffany’s apartment building. Instead of heading to her place directly from the funeral home, we’d driven around town, talking about the family, and the good old days.

As we parked, I pulled out the brown bag and took a generous swig.

Liquid courage.

“Hey, can I have a drink?” asked Scott.

I frowned. “You’re not legal.”

“Come on, were you legal when you started?”

I wasn’t, but there was no way I’d divulge that information to my young, impressionable cousin. One set on getting into the military. “We’re talking about you, not me. Besides, you shouldn’t drink and drive.”

He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel. “I do it all the time, man. I can handle it. Just a swig?”

“Nah, but here,” I said, pulling out my wallet. I handed him a hundred dollar bill. “Go buy yourself a burger or taco somewhere.”

His face lit up. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem. Least I can do.”

He pulled out his wallet and stuck the bill inside. “What’s it like being a super-star, Ransom? You must have chicks throwing themselves at you night and day.”

That’s the first question guys always asked me – how much ass was I getting? I chuckled. “You could say that.”

“I wish I had your life.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”

“Sorry, bud, I don’t have time to explain it right now. Just be thankful of what you have, and never sell out for anything.”

“Sell out?”

I turned my head and belched. “Sorry. What I mean is, always read the small print.”

“Oh. So, I thought you’d have a big mansion in Beverly Hills,” he said, nodding towards the apartment building.

“I don’t live here, but I don’t live in Beverly Hills either,” I said, opening the car door.

He put his arm on the seat and stared up at me as I got out. “So, where’s your home then?”

I smirked. “Where the heart is. Unfortunately, I’ve been told I don’t have one.”

He chuckled. “Oh, hell. You don’t need one. You’re Ransom. People will love you no matter what.”

I wasn’t so sure about that. Whoever murdered my mother may have been someone who really hated me. She was one of the sweetest women alive, and I couldn’t imagine someone shooting her randomly. “Go eat or call one of your girlfriends up,” I told him. “Just stay away from drinking. It’ll get you into trouble.”

He stared at the bag in my hand. “Right.”

I looked down at the bag guiltily. “I suppose I should practice what I preach.”

“No, man, it’s cool. It’s what you do. Everyone knows that.”

I stood up straight. “I’ll catch ya later, Scott. Drive safely.”

“You too, man.”

I closed the door and watched as he left the parking lot. Then I walked over to the garbage dumpster and threw the bottle away, wincing at the loud noise that echoed in the darkness. Swearing under my breath, I walked to Tiffany’s building, stepped into the lobby, and buzzed her apartment. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer.

Fuck.

I stepped back outside and glanced up at the top apartment on the left.

Her light was on.

I smiled.
Bingo.

Quietly, I stepped over to the private patio two floors below, and then hoisted myself to the second floor deck and kept going until I was on her deck, grateful that the sound of the air conditioning units blocked most of the noise. I then pulled out my phone, and sent her a text, informing her that I was on her balcony.

Ten seconds later, her light went out and the glass door slid open. “What in the hell are you doing?” she whispered, glaring at me angrily.

I stared down at her and got an immediate hard-on. She had on a short, white, sleeveless nightgown that was decorated with tiny hearts, and it was more than obvious that she was braless. Her nipples hardened under my gaze and she folded her arms across her chest.

“You weren’t answering my calls,” I whispered back.

She scowled. “I was sleeping.”

I smirked. “With the lights on?”

She rolled her eyes. “
What
do you want?”

I nodded towards her apartment. “Can we talk inside? Someone might notice me.”

She immediately opened the door and stepped back.

Biting back another smile, I stepped into her living room and watched as she shut the door.

“Is that what you sleep in?”

She looked down. “Um, yes. I’m going to put on a robe. I’ll be right back.”

I grabbed her arm before she could walk away. “Slow down there. This won’t take long.”

“
What
won’t take long?”

I’d come to explain myself. To tell her that she was too good for Icon. That there were other ways for her to start a singing career. That once they had her in their claws, they’d own her soul, and she’d be miserable like me. But instead, all I could do was stare down into her blue eyes and wade in their depths. “Do you believe me? About the reporters?”

“I don’t know, I mean I
want
to believe you wouldn’t be that horrible.”

“I swear to God, I didn’t call them. I wouldn’t sink that low. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

She stared up at me, searching my eyes for the truth. “I sincerely hope not.”

Chapter Seventeen

Tiffany

My heart was pounding in my chest as he stared at my lips. I thought about the earlier kiss, and a felt a warm flutter of excitement in my lower stomach.

He began unbuttoning his suit jacket.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked. “It’s late, you should really get going home, don’t you think?”

“I
think
it’s time you stop trying to get rid of me,” he replied, dropping his jacket onto my sofa. “We both know that it’s not what you really want.”

“Is that right?” I asked, staring in surprise as he removed his tie. “You think I want you here?”

He took a step closer and smiled arrogantly. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You –”

Before I could continue, he had his arms around my waist, and was pressing me against the wall, his mouth on mine. “God, you smell so good, and I want you so fucking much,” he whispered, moving to my neck. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

My legs turned to jelly as his lips made a warm, shivery trail from my neck, back to my mouth. I closed my eyes, and kissed him back hungrily, not caring about anything else but his tongue in my mouth. 

His left hand slid under my nightgown, over my ribcage, to my breast. He groaned in the back of his throat as he squeezed, and then sought out my nipple with his fingers, sending a flare of heat to the junction between my legs. He pinched and rolled the tip as his other hand slid to my bottom, pressing me against the hard bulge in his pants, driving me crazy. I wanted to crawl on top of him, wrap my legs around his hips, and feel him inside of me.

Breathing harder, he raised my nightgown, exposing my breast, and replaced his fingers with his warm, wet tongue.

“Oh..,” I moaned, bringing my hand to his zipper, frantic to touch him as he devoured my right breast with his mouth, licking and teasing the hard tip. Closing my eyes, I touched the outline of his erection, imagining its fullness sliding into me, in and out.

He sucked in his breath as I began stroking him through the fabric, unable to help myself. “You’d better tell me now if you want to stop,” he groaned.  

In answer, I unbuttoned his pants, slid my hand into his boxers, and wrapped my hand around the prize.

And what a prize it was.

Before I could get a closer look, he lifted me up in the air, wrapped my legs around his waist, and carried me towards the bedroom.

“I take it you’re all right with this?” he asked with a sexy smile as he lowered me to the mattress.

I was beyond ready.

I grabbed his neck, pulled his mouth back to mine, and wrapped my legs around his hips to show him.

He slid his hands around my rear, cupping both cheeks. His mouth moved from my lips to my ear. “I want to taste all of you,” he whispered, his hand moving down my stomach to my panties.

I held my breath as he trailed a finger to the cleft between my legs and stopped.

He groaned. “Fuck, you’re so wet for me.” Then his fingers began to strum the outside of my panties.

I moaned as his fingers moved faster, and then stopped. He pushed the side of my panties over, touching my slicken clitoris with his index finger, and began rubbing the knot.

“Yeah,” I gasped as he stroked and stroked, making me feel like I was going to come out of my skin.

He lowered his mouth to my left nipple, sucking the tip and then slid his finger deep inside.

“Please,” I begged, my pelvis grinding against his fingers as he worked me over. “Ransom, please fuck me.”

He removed his mouth from my breast, grabbed my panties with both hands, and tore them off of me.

“Say that again,” he whispered, touching and stroking my sweet spot again.

I moaned. “Ransom, fuck me.”

He smiled wickedly. “First I want me some Taffy.”

I giggled but it turned into a gasp of pleasure as he spread my thighs apart, and buried his face there. I raised my hands above my head and grabbed the edge of the bed to hold on as his mouth began to torment me in the sweetest ways possible. Just when I thought it couldn’t feel any more fantastic, he slid two fingers inside, and began to move in sync with his relentless tongue. I grabbed the top of his hair, and within seconds, felt my hips begin to buck right before a final few flicks sent me over the edge. Screaming out loud, I tensed up and shuddered in ecstasy as I rode out the orgasm, which was longer, and more intense than anything I’d ever remembered.

He sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Fuck, was that sexy.”

Breathless, I could only smile, my legs still trembling.

Staring down at me, he unbuttoned his shirt, and tossed it to the floor. Then I watched in anticipation as he stood up, removed his pants, and then finally, his boxers. When he was completely naked, I had to wonder who was luckier – me, because I was going to have sex with the man of my dreams, or Ransom himself, because of all that he’d been handed in life. Not only did he have an amazing voice, but naked, he was hard and thick in all the right places.

“Are you for real?” I whispered, staring at his shaft in delight.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I hope you mean that in a good way.”

“Oh, yeah.”

His shoulders were broad, his waist was narrow, and it all led to a package that was more than I’d anticipated.

He crawled back onto the bed and nudged my opening with the tip of his cock before his lips sought mine.

I reached my hand below, circling his erection, and he groaned into my mouth. It made me feel powerful.

I pushed him onto his back, and he stared up at me, his eyes smoldering with desire.

“My turn,” I whispered, sliding my hand round his shaft.

“Tiffany,” he gasped, as I took him in my mouth, licking the moisture at the top.

“Wait,” he whispered hoarsely, pulling away after a few bobs of my head. “I don’t want to come yet.” Then he had me on my back, my legs spread apart. He rubbed the tip of his shaft against my opening, sliding it down and back up, tormenting me. It felt so good but it wasn’t enough; I needed to feel him inside of me. I spread my legs wider, trying to draw him in.

“Wait,” he whispered. “We need a condom.” He reached down to the floor, grabbed his wallet, and took one out. Once it was on, he rubbed my entrance with the tip of his cock and then plunged inside.

I moaned as his hips pulled back, and then he thrust again, this time harder. 

“Fuck, this feels so good,” he said, thrusting again, the tight, slick contact making the veins in his neck and shoulder bulge with restraint. Soon, his thrusts grew stronger, deeper, and longer, making me moan in sheer pleasure.

Staring up at him as he continued to plow into me, I felt another orgasm beginning to build, eager and urgent for release.

***

Ransom

I stared down at Tiffany, trying not to come before she did, but it was harder than hell to keep any kind of control, especially with a woman as sexy as her. With her full breasts and hard nipples pointing up towards me, I had an incredible urge to pull out and rub myself against them, but the tightness between her legs was too fucking good to leave. Instead, I kept moving in and out of her, memorizing every detail of her face as she stared up at me.

Damn, she was so beautiful.

It was how I’d imagined it, only better. Her blonde hair was spread across the pillow, her eyes staring up at me, as she moaned. I’d already made her come once, and the hell if I was going to do it until she experienced another. This girl had wanted me, back when I was just an average teenager. Now I was a man and I wanted her to feel like a woman.

“Ransom,” she moaned again, arching her back. Crying out, she dug her nails into my hips, and locked onto my cock with her pelvic muscles, sending
me
over the edge as she reached her climax.

I groaned in pleasure, feeling as if she was somehow massaging me down below. With a final thrust, I exploded inside of her while she wrapped her legs around my waist again, not letting me go. As I grew soft, I stared down at Tiffany and felt a sudden urge to hold her in my arms, and not let her go. It wasn’t a feeling that I was used to.

Swallowing, I removed the condom, tossed it into the garbage next to her bed, and then pulled her close. Smiling, I shut my eyes and sighed.

“Are you okay?” 

“I am more than okay,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head. “How about you?”

She smiled up at me. “I’m… fabulous.”

“Good,” I replied, still grinning with the realization that for the first time in a very long while, I was somewhere that I wanted to be.

And I was completely sober.