Crimson and Clover (18 page)

“Bloody hell! They let you in?” Walter grinned at Maureen as they resumed their habitual exchange of friendly insults they’d been trading since the day they met. Katie felt Jay’s body shake with suppressed laughter as they walked toward the stage. Mounting the rickety steps, they stopped behind the stacks of amps next to Jay’s guitars, tuned and waiting for the show. Tommy, the sole member of the road crew, met Jay with the Gibson and handed it over, murmuring a surprised greeting to Katie. She stood aside and watched Jay settle the strap across his shoulder and around his neck as Tommy plugged in the cord. Jay’s dark hair fell over his face as he looked down at the guitar, positioning it where he wanted it on his hip, his left hand gripping the neck. He took several deep breaths and Katie recognized the signs of him gearing up to take the stage. A thrill shot through her at the sight; tall, lean and sexy, his long black hair curling around his face and that axe slung across his body.

Adam and George had already ambled onto the small stage and were met with roars of approval by the club patrons. The sound pulled Jay out of his ruminations. He looked at Katie through the cascading curls of his hair and slid his hand behind her head. He pulled her forward and kissed her as the noise level from the crowd intensified with the appearance of Nicky and Stuart.

Knowing he was about to leave her both physically and emotionally for the next two hours, Katie felt compelled to maintain the connection she had to him at that moment. “Play something for me tonight.” Her whisper against his lips had been soft, but she knew he heard it when she felt his mouth curve upward against hers.

She was enveloped in the intoxicating veil of his hair as he leaned forward and his gentle laughter tickled her ear. “Everything I play is for you.” His lips brushed across her earlobe and she heard him clearly when he breathed, “Mine.” Katie opened her eyes when she felt him release her and saw only the glow from his shirt as he stepped out under the lights onstage.

“Katie?” Maureen’s voice came from somewhere behind her and she turned toward it. “Oh, there you are.” Maureen took her arm. “Can we see from here, d’you think?”

“What?” With supreme effort, Katie marshaled the whirling thoughts in her head, pushing them aside until she had the leisure to attend to them. She shook her head. “No, let’s get closer.” The two girls took up a position where they’d be out of the way, but would still have a commanding view of the stage. Jay looked up at George and silently counted out the beat. And the room exploded with rock and roll.

Gooseflesh pebbled Katie’s skin as she stepped from the warm cocoon of the tub into the cool bathroom. Her toes snuggled in the bathmat, reluctant to leave it and come into contact with the cold tile floor. The water dripping from her wet hair onto her bare buttocks spurred her to action and she dashed across the room to pull a towel from the rack over the toilet. Bending forward, she wrapped it around her hair, then grabbed another towel and blotted the moisture from her body.

Dry, she dropped the towel and squirted Crest onto her toothbrush. As she brushed her teeth, she inspected herself in the mirror for damage.

Jay had been particularly amorous the night before and Katie was surprised her neck and shoulders weren’t covered with marks where he’d sucked and nibbled. Moving the toothbrush to her back teeth, she waggled her eyebrows at her mirror image. Jay was quite skilled to do the things he did without leaving evidence behind.

She rinsed her mouth and removed the towel from her head. Bending forward, Katie began pulling her fingers through her damp hair, loosening any tangles she came across. Absorbed in tracking down stray knots, she was startled when she felt warm hands slide over her bare rump.

“I can’t begin to tell you how fetching you look.” Jay’s voice was as soft as the skimming of his hands over her buttocks and hips.

Katie’s hands stilled as she looked into the mirror. Jay’s reflection smiled at her and his hands slid up her body to cup her breasts. Her breath caught as he teased her nipples, bringing them to tight, hard points. He pressed his body against hers and she could feel his erection, hot and hard, pressing against the smooth skin of her ass. Meeting his eyes, she shook her head.

“I know,” he said, nodding slightly. “I won’t.”

Relieved he remembered one of the few restrictions she’d placed on sex, Katie relaxed and leaned back against him, flares of pleasure traveling from her nipples through her body.

Jay lowered his lips to her ear, but kept his eyes glued to their reflection. One hand left her breast and moved downward with purpose, coming to rest between her legs. Katie drew in a long, slow breath as his lean fingers stroked the nub of flesh there. She shivered with bliss.

“Do you like watching me play with you?” he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. “Do you like seeing what my hands are doing to you?”

She nodded, her lower lip caught between her teeth. The sight of Jay’s fingers moving between her legs, combined with the exquisite pleasure they caused, was an incredible turn-on. It was the first time she’d ever looked into a mirror when a man made love to her; it was one of the most erotic things she’d ever experienced.

Jay rested his cheek against hers. His other hand left her breast and slid behind her, stoking the skin of her back as it moved lower. It slid between her legs, reached forward, and found the hot, wet, aching center of her desire. One finger, then two, slipped inside and Katie arched her back. His eyes smiled into hers as he slid a third finger inside and began moving them in and out, creating a delicious friction. “How does this make you feel?” The fingers of his other hand increased their rhythm, his eyes still locked on hers, watching her cheeks flush and small beads of perspiration break out on her upper lip.

“Oh, Christ, Jay,” she gasped, unable to tear her gaze from his.

“Like that, do you?” He groaned when her muscles gripped his hand. “Oh, yes, you like that. Are you almost there, Katie?” His lips skimmed her ear. “Are you ready? Do you want more?”

A soft sound came from between her parted lips, her hips moving in rhythm with his hands, his words searing some part of her mind that she hadn’t known existed, a part that wanted to surrender completely with no restraints.

Jay’s reflection smiled that slow, beautiful smile, the one that always drove her crazy, as he removed a hand from between her legs. His hand glided up her body and pressed between her shoulder blades; a gentle pressure that urged her to lean forward.

Grasping the edge of the counter, she bent over the sink, the white tiles cool beneath her fingers. There were still tiny bubbles from the toothpaste foaming near the drain and she watched them pop and dissipate as Jay slid his hands to her hips. She felt the warmth of his thighs against hers as he slipped into her with a muffled moan.

He smoothed her hair from her face, gathering it behind her head. He wrapped the damp length of it around one hand, and with a tug that was gentle but at the same time brooked no resistance, pulled her head up until she was again looking into the mirror.

“Watch, Katie,” he said, his eyes on hers. His other hand was between her legs again, rubbing, stroking, teasing. He filled her with each thrust, the pressure inside her building higher with each stroke until it exploded, and she threw her head back as she cried out.

Breathing hard, Jay slid his hands over her smooth buttocks, his thumbs spreading her open, moving lower to stroke the tight, stretched point where they were joined. He kept his head lowered and his hair fell over his face, obscuring everything but his mouth and chin from Katie’s view. She knew he was watching what he was doing to her and the thought of his eyes on her as he pumped in and out of her made her tremble.

“Not fair.”

She wasn’t aware she’d spoken aloud until she saw the smile curve his lips before he lifted his eyes to hers. He arched a brow. “No?”

“No.”

A small smile still on his face, Jay pulled out of her. “Come here, then,” he said, his hands on her shoulders turning her to face him. He bent his head and kissed her as he grasped her around the waist, lifting her to the countertop. The tiles were cool against her skin as Jay spread her legs wider, pulled her forward and slid into her again. “Now, he whispered, cupping a hand behind her head. “Now you can watch all you want.”

Resisting the gentle pressure, Katie kept her head up, her eyes on his face. “It’s you I want to watch.”

Jay’s lips parted and the look in his eyes softened. His hands lowered to her hips and pulled her firmly against him, making her gasp. Moving with a slow, steady rhythm, he smiled into her eyes. “Your eyes get dark as emeralds when I make love to you, did you know that?” One hand rose to brush her cheek. “Christ, look at you, Katie. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

His words caused a shudder to pass through her and she bit her lip at the small sound of pleasure he made as her flesh clutched at his. “Keep talking to me,” she whispered.

His hands were on either side of her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. “I’ll do anything you want as long as you keep looking at me like that. Mm!” A sound was jerked out of him as he felt another spasm deep inside her. His eyes bored into hers, penetrating her very soul. “Like emeralds in fire. Dark and deep, and so lovely,” he murmured. “I could fall into those eyes.” The smile faded from his face and he moved faster, rocking her on the countertop. “I
want
to fall into them.” There was a pleading note in his voice that made Katie’s breath stop. “It’s all I want, the only place I want to be. Let me in.” His lips grazed hers, his eyes still holding her captive. “Let me in, Katie.”

Something within her broke open; she felt it as plainly as she felt the tiles against her bare skin, the drip of water from her hair, the hardness of Jay inside her. And when it broke, it was as if a molten river of warmth and peace flowed from it, spreading unbearable happiness into every fiber of her being. “Yes, Jay,” she told him, her hands tangling in his hair. “Yes to everything, anything you want. I love you.”

Jay froze, still buried deep inside her, his eyes searching hers. What he found there brought a tender smile to his face. “I love you, too; I always have.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Love you so much, baby.”

And when her climax shook her, when she held his head so she could look into his eyes as he came; she let him in, and felt herself fall into him.

Nerves were stretched thin in the narrow backstage area at The Marquee as the members of Shadowed Knight prepared for their first public appearance in London. Stuart had taken a quick stroll through the crowd and returned looking pale and clammy, save for the hectic patches of red high on his cheeks.

“There may be a couple of little old ladies in Hampstead who stayed home tonight to knit socks or something, but otherwise everyone else in London is out there,” he reported in a somewhat strangled voice.

Jay regarded him from under half-lowered lids from where he lounged in a corner with Katie on his lap. “Relax, Stuart. We’ve played all over Europe already. Tonight’s no different.”

“Hey, those shows in Europe were no sweat, know what I mean? I didn’t know anyone there, so it was no big deal. But I know people out there tonight, man!” Stuart ran his hand through his hair causing it to stand up in spikes on top. “I know them!”

Jay sighed and squeezed Katie’s waist. “Baby, do you think you could get Stuart something to drink that contains alcohol? A lot of alcohol,” he added as Katie rose from his lap.

Katie stopped on her way to the door to smooth Stuart’s hair. “Be easy, Stu. I’m going to get you a nice, stiff drink and a big fat joint, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Cool.” Stuart nodded, but Katie could tell he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.

Shaking her head, she passed Adam and George, who were busy scribbling their names on the wall, and Nicky, who was making out with his bride in the corner opposite Jay. Pushing past a group of people who crowded through the door as she reached it, she escaped the room and made it upstairs where she wondered how the hell she was supposed to procure an alcoholic beverage in a club that served only coffee and colas. Oz, the previous tenant of her flat, came to her rescue by handing over a bottle one-quarter full of Jack Daniels he’d brought in under his coat. He waved off her offers of payment, assuring her he had more.

The amount of time it took to track down a joint, however, surprised her. The presence of law enforcement was the only reason she could think of for so many people insisting they weren’t carrying any weed on them. She cast her gaze around the room, looking for cops.

Stuart hadn’t been exaggerating by much when he’d described those present. Most of them were either fans or enemies of Jay, all wanting to see what he’d come up with since busting up Wonderkind. Listening to the album was one thing; seeing Shadowed Knight live was quite another, and there were equal numbers of people both excited to see the new band and those hoping Jay’s new venture would fall flat on its face.

In addition, Adam, George, and Nicky all had followings from the various bands they’d been with over the years and their fans were in attendance, too. Stuart was the only member of Shadowed Knight who’d never played live in London after living there for almost two years. No wonder he was freaking.

Katie finally scored a joint from Marianne Faithfull and hurried backstage, hoping she wasn’t cutting it too close; the band would be taking the stage in a short time. She found the majority of them in the narrow hall with Nicky and Maureen talking to Stuart. He seemed to have calmed a bit since she’d seen him last, but she handed him the booze and pot anyway, just in case he needed it. It appeared he did since he lit the joint almost the minute it hit his hand.

Katie turned to Maureen. “Hey, where’s my old man?”

“Still in there.” Maureen gestured toward the cave-like room where Katie had left him. “He said he’ll be out when he’s damn well ready.”

“Okay. Are you ready to go out?”