Heart of the Music (Saints & Sinners #1) (10 page)

He collected the bags from the trunk and made his way to the front door. He could hear music and Trish singing from inside the house. The woman couldn’t sing to save her life, but listening to her destroy songs always made him smile. He knocked and rang the doorbell, and when she answered the door, he almost dropped all of the bags on the ground. She was wearing her yoga pants that gave him a hard-on every time she wore them with a tank top that didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Jarrod, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I figured since you probably didn’t have food, I would stock up on some provisions, hence the bags, and then I thought to myself that all of this food was more than enough for two people. So I thought I would crash your party.”

Not giving her time to object, he took a step forward, gave her a quick kiss, tasting the wine on her lips, and made his way into the kitchen. “So I got enough food to last us for two days.”

“Us?” Her dipped brows and head tilting to the side made him smile. God, he loved how she never expected him to be there for her, because it allowed him to surprise her over and over again.

“Yeah, us… me and you,” he told her with a smirk, while putting the food away.

She was feeling unbalanced, and that was exactly what he wanted. He needed her to understand that this thing between them was for the long haul. It wasn’t something that would stay only while they were on the road.

She walked behind the counter and helped him put the food away until she found the chocolate. Then he was on his own. The woman had three weaknesses: shoes, coffee and chocolate. The instant she saw the wrapped bar, she took it in her hands, unwrapped it, and, had a piece in her mouth within seconds, before dropping the chocolate back on the counter. She moaned softly… and he was just a man. With every moan she made, his cock grew harder behind the fly of his jeans. He leaned back against the counter and watched her almost have an orgasm on the spot.

“Enjoying that over there?” he asked, thinking about her making those sounds while he was buried deep inside her, feeling nothing else but her around him.

“It’s almost orgasmic. You want to try it?” she whispered, her voice sounding raspier than he’d ever heard it.

This had to be hell. He had planned on making her dinner and romancing her before he fucked her senseless again, but seeing her eat that chocolate and hearing her sweet moans had him thinking about fucking her on the kitchen counter. He’d be damned if watching her play with him wasn’t the sexiest thing ever.

“Oh, I’d love a taste of something all right.” He didn’t make a move toward her, though. He was hell-bent on waiting for her to come to him.

He didn’t have to wait long. Trish slowly moved toward him, grabbing a piece of chocolate off the counter, and he couldn’t wait to see where she was going with this. She stood inches away from him as she took a bite out of the chocolate and moaned softly again, the sound bouncing off his body, waking up every cell in him. She didn’t move and she didn’t touch him; she just stood there, looking gorgeous as hell. And then she almost drove him to the edge.

She leaned forward, ran her tongue over her lips, and after what seemed like forever, she finally pressed her mouth to his. He forced himself to take the kiss slow at first, but with her biting his lower lip every chance she got, his control wouldn’t last long. Pulling away from her, he looked into her eyes to see if she was feeling the same things he was. When he saw passion and need in those big brown eyes, that was all he needed to know.

He pushed her back against the counter with his hips, with one hand on the back of her neck, the other one holding on her hip. “I wanted to take my time and romance you, but the way you look right now makes me want to fuck you right here, right now.” When he heard her sigh, he knew she needed this as much as he did. It fueled his need for her.

He used the hand behind her neck to tilt her head back and increase the intensity of the kiss. When he nibbled at her lower lip and then brushed his tongue over the spot, her knees buckled. He used his hold he had on her waist to keep her upright.

Moving his mouth to her neck, he kissed and nibbled until she whimpered in need.

“I need you inside me.”

This wasn’t going to be a slow and tender lovemaking session; this was going to be a hot and fast fuck. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

While kissing her neck and nibbling on her ears, which he knew were hypersensitive, he lowered her pants and panties to find her slick with wetness. “You’re so wet for me. Do you know how fucking hot that is?” He moved his hand to her other hip and lifted her off the ground and positioned her on the edge of the counter.

The minute his fingers found her wet heat, she released a desperate cry of relief. “Jarrod, please…, I need you inside me, now!”

“Impatient, are we?” he said as he slipped out of his jeans and underwear. He was ready to blow. His erection was painfully hard and all he wanted to do was dive into her tight pussy and make them both come so hard the earth shook beneath them.

“I don’t need slow right now, Jar. I need you to fuck me hard and fast.” He grabbed a condom from his discarded jeans, and the second he was covered, she lowered her hand to his cock, guiding him forward, and when she was inches away from being filled by him, Jarrod gave them what they both needed. He plunged into her with one thrust.

“Fuck, you feel so damn good,” he said before putting his mouth on hers in a devastating kiss, as he started moving in and out of her with deep, hard thrusts. He knew he wouldn’t last long; she was so tight and wet. When he felt her muscles squeeze his dick, he knew she was close too. With his free hand, he rubbed her clit and her breathing became erratic.

“I’m so close…. Don’t stop…. Faster please…right there. Oh, God.” She was so close to coming. Hell, he couldn’t take much more himself. He drove into her as deep as he could go, using his fingers to stimulate her clit, driving her over toward the edge faster.

When she shut her eyes, he raised his open palm to cup her cheek, “Don’t close your eyes. Let me see you come. I want to watch as you cry out my name and feel you squeeze me dry. Come for me.”

He knew that was all she needed. When her orgasm hit her, she dug her nails into his arms, and he kept fucking her like a mad man, his finger rubbing circles over her clit. “Jarrod.” His name out of her mouth was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.

“Fuck, I’m going to come.” He barely had time to say it before he exploded inside of her. Feeling her squeezing her inner muscles once, he groaned, “Shit, do that again,” and she did.

Jarrod couldn’t believe the strength of his orgasm. It just kept going on, and when she squeezed his dick, he felt the surge of a second orgasm. Never in his life had he come twice so close together, but that was what she did to him. She drove him out of his mind.

He didn’t know how long he stayed inside her, with his head on her shoulder. When he finally pulled out, she breathed a sigh of disappointment that almost made him ready for round two on the spot. Being with her made him feel like a horny teenager who couldn’t get enough, not that she seemed to mind.

Trish looked so damn beautiful laid out on the kitchen counter like his favorite meal. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, and traces of his teeth on her neck and shoulders blades were visible. Her hair was tousled from his hands, and her pussy was swollen and slick.

“Wow,” she said breathlessly, and yeah, maybe it made him sound like a caveman, but he loved knowing he was the one responsible for making her that way.

“You can say that again,” he told her before taking off his sweat-dampened shirt. When he looked at her, she lowered her gaze from his. She was hiding something from him, and he hated it.

“Don’t hide what you’re feeling from me,” he told her, taking her face in his hands, tracing her jawline with his thumbs.

When he saw her biting her bottom lip followed by a light shake of her head, it hit him like a brick wall. “Tell me.” His words came out as a plea, a plea for her to put him out of his misery and tell him what he was desperate to hear.

Patricia

For a few minutes, neither of them said a word; they just looked into each other’s eyes, seeking comfort from each other. The connection they shared was stronger than anything Patricia had ever experienced in her life. It shouldn’t surprise her though, because everything about Jarrod was intense. She knew exactly what he wanted her to tell him because she could see the same thing in his eyes. But taking that step, saying those words out loud, would change everything in a heartbeat.

His leaned in and rested his forehead on hers, not breaking eye contact. Sighing, he made his plea again. “Tell me.” This time, she couldn’t refuse him, because in that moment, nothing else mattered more to her than sharing this with him.

Patricia let out a soft sigh of resignation. With her hands on his chest and her eyes lost in his, she took the biggest chance of her whole life. “I love you.” The words came out of her with raw honesty and passion, and every cell in her body told her this was the right thing to do.

“Fuck, baby, I love you, too. I love you so fucking much.” He crushed his mouth on to hers. It was different than from any of their previous kisses.

The intensity and strength of their connection made every inch of her body cling to him. He was demanding, taking everything she had to give like there was no tomorrow, and she was giving him all she had. His hands were in her hair, holding on to her like he might fall from floating too high.

Once they were both back into the real world, their bodies down from their highs, he kissed her briefly. “What do you say we get cleaned up and go for a walk before dinner?” he asked her as he helped her down from the counter.

“That sounds perfect,” she told him honestly.

They showered together, and she loved how he took his time washing her body like she was a precious gift. She had never had someone wash her hair before Jarrod, but she’d since become an addict. She was going to have to find a way to get him to do that more often, because it felt incredible. After their shower, they dressed in comfortable clothes, filled up their water bottles, and headed outside. It was one of the other things she loved about her property. She could walk out her front door and enjoy the beauty of nature, using the trail that connected to the forest behind her house.

“This feels normal,” she finally said after a few moments of them walking in comfortable silence. When he didn’t say anything right away, she looked at him, and found him staring at her, smiling.

“It feels right, baby.” He took her hand in his, leading her down the trail. The further they walked, the more the reality of what Monday would bring became a distant concern, and she was more than happy for it to stay that way.

Chapter
Seven

2 years ago

Patricia

Going to Gracie’s Supermarket was one of her favorite things to do because it gave her a sense of normalcy. “Hey, Trish, you guys home for the week? Haven’t seen you in here for a while.” Norma was probably the sweetest person in the world. She always had the ability to make her laugh.

Patricia smiled as she put her items on the checkout counter. “We’re home for two days, so I’m here taking full advantage of your movie selection. Then I’m going to grab a pizza and ice cream, and let it all go to my hips and not care.” For tonight, at least, that was what she intended to do. She planned to eat her weight in ice cream and forget she was alone, yet again.

“How are those boys doing?” Norma loved Jarrod and the guys like they were her own children.

“Breaking hearts all over the country, as always.” She laughed it off like it didn’t hurt, but it did.

“How about your heart, honey?” Patricia didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry at Norma’s question, but it didn’t surprise her how the older woman picked up on her feelings.

“Safely stored away, Norma, you know that,” she whispered like it was a secret.

“One day that boy is going to have you singing a different tune.” Patricia could only hope the woman was right, that one day she would be strong enough to open up her heart to the one man who had always owned it.

“You’re a hopeless romantic, Norma. So, what should I watch tonight?”

An hour later, Patricia was back home with a medium pizza, a sixpack, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and the latest action movie. She was getting ready to hit play when her phone beeped with a text alert from Jarrod
.

Jarrod: What’cha doing?

Patricia: Getting ready to watch a movie and eat a pizza.

Jarrod: Beer?

Patricia: Of course

Jarrod: Ice cream?

Patricia: A given

Jarrod: Action movie?

Patricia: Ding, Ding, Ding… right again

Jarrod: Want some company?

Patricia: Don’t you have a hot date or something?

Jarrod: Yep. She just happens to be wearing sweat pants and one of my old T-shirts, has her hair in a bun, and is eating pizza and drinking beer. Let me in.

“What the hell?” She walked to her front door, and when she opened it, a grinning Jarrod stood there, holding a six pack and a movie in his hands, looking every inch like one of
People Magazine’s
sexiest men alive. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on a hot date charming some foolish girl into going home with you?”

“I told you, I do have a hot date, with you. Now, I’m starving. Where’s the pizza?” He strolled into her house like he owned the place. He’d been doing that a lot lately, now that she thought about it. He showed up to her place every time they were home, not that she was arguing about spending time with him, but it made it harder to fight her attraction and deny her feelings for the man sprawled on her living room sofa, picking up a slice of pizza from the box.

“Don’t you dare steal the olives, Jarrod Banks,” she told him with a smile as she sat next to him on the sofa.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, darling.” She curled down beside him on the sofa, grabbing a slice of pizza and one of the open beers on the table. She leaned back as Jarrod pressed the play button to start the movie. She knew she should be watching the movie, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man next to her. He was so gorgeous, and it felt like every time she looked at him lately, she noticed something different about him.

“By the way, I never take women back to my house,” he said between sips of beer, and she felt her heart drop. She’d been at his house more times than she could count, so what did that make her? Hell, she was the one who had helped him decorate the place after he bought it. She was the one who cooked anytime he had his family over. Hell, she probably spent as much time at his place as she did at hers.

“I’ve been to your house,” she whispered, hoping he wouldn’t hear her, or maybe she secretly hoped he would so she would have confirmation that her thoughts weren’t crazy.

“You’re not just anyone, Trish,” he told her before kissing her forehead and turning his attention to the movie. Yeah, the more time they spent together, the more trouble her heart was facing because this man knew just what music to play to make her dance.

Present Day

Patricia

Monday morning came around too fast for her liking. As soon as the sun rose, their weekend getaway was done. The bubble they had just spent the most amazing three days living in was beginning to burst. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had felt so at peace or when she had felt so complete. Bus call was at 9 a.m. and she knew they needed to talk about how their relationship was going to play out back on the road.

She was awake by 6 a.m., and struggled to make herself move away from Jarrod’s warmth. As she started to untangle herself from his arms, she felt his lips on her collarbone. “Is it already time to get up?” His voice was sleepy and raw, a combination that left her aching for more of this time together. The entire weekend had been filled with mind-blowing sex and hours of conversation, something she knew she would never get tired of.

“You can stay in bed. I’m going to go make us breakfast,” she told him, pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. That was another thing she loved about their time together; sometimes it was soft, other times it was so intense it made it hard to breathe. She could get used to this, waking up with Jarrod by her side every day, sharing every moment of her life with him. When she stopped to think about it, that was exactly what they had been doing for the past five years. She just hadn’t taken notice until now.

“How about we have breakfast in bed, because I know exactly what I want to eat right now.” Jarrod had a hold on her and there was no way she was getting up. Quite frankly, she didn’t want to.

With one swift move, she found herself on top of him, her legs on either side of his body, and her hands bracing his chest. They didn’t move or talk. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. The flicker of desire in his eyes sent fire burning through her body, the same need he managed to create in her every time he touched her. She had no idea what was going to happen next, but she couldn’t deny that she was excited to find out. Her past lovers had never been the exploring kind, but with Jarrod, she felt untapped and unknown desires coming alive.

“That look in your eyes right now, the one that says you have no idea what I’m about to do to you, but you’re dying to find out, is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen.” His hands were on her hips as he whispered to her, his fingers digging into her skin. He lifted her T-shirt high enough to expose her body.

The combination of his eyes on her and his hands on her skin rendered her completely helpless. She was so turned-on she could barely keep still.

“Are you turned-on right now? Does my touch you make you wet?” Every moment, every second, they spent together cemented the knowledge of how much she needed him in her life, and how much she wanted to be in his.

“Yes.” His hands found her breasts, tweaking her nipples hard enough to make her tilt her head back and scream. She couldn’t stop her hips from rocking back and forth, desperately trying to find the right amount of friction to relieve some of the pressure that was building at her core.

“I can smell how turned-on you are right now.”

When she finally found the strength to speak, the only words that came out were, “This is so different for me.”

“Show me what you want. Show me what you want me to do.” There was something about the way he spoke those words to her that made her forget everything but the pure animal desire building inside of her. The way he looked at her, as if he would die if she left or closed herself off from him, made her want to give him all she had. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t think twice. Patricia scooted herself forward until her sex was directly over Jarrod’s face.

She heard him groan, “Hell yeah,” as she braced her arms against the headboard. When Jarrod’s tongue ran over her opening, she gasped sharply.

“Oh, yeah, you taste so fucking amazing.” His tongue ran over her opening again, and when he ran the tip of it over her clit, she cried out his name. A few more strokes of his tongue over her clit and she was uncontrollable. She was grinding herself on his face and he was taking everything she had to give. His tongue entered and fucked her, before moving to her clit, giving it the attention needed to send her close to the edge.

When she screamed, “Oh, God, do that again,” he scraped his teeth over her clit and ran his tongue over the spot to soften the sting.

He repeated that a few times. When her grinding became more intense, he took her breasts in his hands and pinched her nipples, which sent her spiraling into an orgasm. “Oh, God! Oh, hell.” Her orgasm swept through her with the force of a tsunami. When the waves started to ease, he continued the sweet torture with his tongue, sending her over the edge for a second time.

Before she was fully back from her mind-blowing orgasm, the doorbell rang. “Oh, come on!” Jarrod let out a frustrated breath. Their gazes met and they started laughing hysterically.

She hopped out of bed, grabbed Jarrod’s T-shirt off the floor and slipped it on. “You know you’re not helping my situation right now by wearing nothing but my shirt,” he all but growled at her.

Leaning over his hot body, she promised, “I’ll make it up to you.” She gave him a quick kiss before slipping on her yoga pants, and getting the door.

When she opened the door to Sam, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

“Well, won’t you look at that. She is alive after all. I thought you might have drowned or been kidnapped, but now I see you were just busy getting some,” Sam teased her with a big smirk on his face as he stepped inside the house just in time to see Jarrod walk out of her bedroom.

“Shut up, Sam,” she told him, punching him on the arm, trying her best to hide her blush.

“Seriously, I’m happy you two finally happened. I think it’s been in the making for long enough. Now, is there coffee here somewhere?” he asked as he sat down on the chair beside Jarrod.

“I was just about to go make some. I’ll make us all breakfast.” Patricia blushed at the sound of her husky voice, remembering what Jarrod had done to her minutes before. When she looked up and caught him staring at her, her heartbeat sped up and her desire re-built. She wanted nothing more than to feel him inside her.

“Sure you were, ‘cause your flushed cheeks and messed-up hair give every indication that what I interrupted was breakfast. So, Jar, how was breakfast this morning?” Sam asked, humor in his voice.

“You know, it was quite delicious.”

Blushing, Patricia threw towels at each of them. “You guys are unbelievable. Come on now, behave.”

The men looked at each other and erupted in laughter.

She made pancakes and served them fresh fruit and coffee. Jarrod had insisted she sit on his lap, which to her surprise, she didn’t object to. She loved being close to him. Sitting in her kitchen with Jarrod, and her best friend sitting in front of her, eating breakfast and sharing stories over coffee, had never felt more right.

Jarrod

Once they finished eating, Patricia left them to go take a shower. Jarrod filled his and Sam’s coffee cups as he mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to come out of Sam’s mouth. “So you finally worked up the nerve to do something,” Sam told him, and he couldn’t deny this had been a long time coming.

“It was never about that, and you know it. It’s complicated, well, at least in her head, and I don’t want to mess this up, Sam.” For the first time, he felt like they were getting past all the barriers she had put up to keep them from happening, and now that he had her, he wasn’t letting her go.

“You know, I haven’t seen her smile or laugh that much in years, and the only time she does is when she’s with you.” When he looked at Sam, he could tell his enjoyment at seeing Patricia happy was not because he had feelings for her, but because she was like a sister to him.

“I love getting to know all of the hidden facets she has, and even after five years, I’m still learning something new about her every day. It’s like she’s a flower blooming in front of my eyes. And just when I think I can’t love her more, she does or says something that makes me fall harder.”

“Wow, you do realize what you just said, right?” Sam asked, his brows lifting in surprise by his admission.

“What?” he asked back, as if he didn’t know exactly what Sam was referring to.

“You said you loved her, man.”

“Yeah, I do. Sam, it’s crazy. I’ve been in love since the first time I saw her in that fucking bar.” The moment he saw her five years ago, he knew she was the woman for him. There was no chance he was letting her go now that she was his.

“I know, and trust me when I say this, she feels the exact same way. She’s just so damn stubborn that she wouldn’t see the light. She was so scared your relationship would end and it would damage the band that she was ready to keep fighting whatever is between the two of you.”