Prove Me Right (7 page)

“Yeah, but I was still worried.”

I lather her grape scented shampoo in my hands and wash her hair. “And?”

“And what?” she whispers.

“When else? You said a few times.”

“Oh. Umm. Remember when we had that disagreement?”

My throat vibrates from chuckling as I rinse the suds out of her hair. “If that’s what you want to call it. But yes, I remember.”

“What do you mean if that’s what I want to call it? You were an asshole!”

“I was not. You were fucking wasted on your twenty-first birthday doing shots off dudes.” Just the thought makes my fingers tighten on her scalp.

“Ow.”

I loosen my grip. “Sorry.”

“I’m not rehashing this again. A. It was one shot. And B. It was from Nik as a fucking joke.”

“I still didn’t like it.”

“Oh, trust me, I know. The thirty-seven missed calls and eighteen texts were enough to indicate your anger.”

“What the fuck was I supposed to think when Pierce texted me? I was just finishing a show and the first thing I see is a picture of my girlfriend doing a shot off a guy’s chest.”

In order to distract myself, I grab her conditioner and rub it through her wet strands. I don’t ever remember being so pissed in my life. My heart knows Meara would never cheat on me, but my mind thinks otherwise, constantly worrying she’ll meet someone who can actually be there for her. To hold her when she’s sad, laugh with her when she’s happy, and reassure her when she’s scared.

“And I apologized to you. Pierce apologized. He assumed you would have thought it was funny.”

“It wasn’t.” I growl.

“I know!” She huffs out a breath and turns away from me to rinse her own hair. Once she’s done, she grabs her bodywash and puts it on one of those pouf things and starts running it all over her skin. “Why are we talking about this? It was years ago and I thought you were over it. Nothing happened, I was drunk, and Nik is … Nik. The thought of it being sexual makes me wanna puke.”

This isn’t why I came here. The last thing I want to do is fight with her. But I’m a jealous son of a bitch. Really fucking jealous. Over my girl. “I know. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“I can think of a way you can make it up to me.” She smiles and turns her back to me to rinse her body.

I already have a semi, but the flirtation in her voice makes my cock point at her like a target. I stand behind her and put my hands on her stomach to pull her so she’s flush with me. My dick rests right above her ass, and I press into her a little harder, just to drive the point home. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And what did you have in mind? I’d love to make things right with you again.” One hand trails up to tweak her nipple while the other goes down and rubs between her wet folds. I twist two fingers inside her, then take them out and circle her clit. Those same fingers go back down and tease her tight little hole, but I keep them just outside, driving her crazy. Her slick heat causes my cock to twitch between us, and I suck on the sensitive skin below her ear, grinding into her.

“I think you’re getting there,” she pants. “You’re almost forgiven.”

I continue pinching and rubbing her nipples while I finger her pussy until she comes all over my hand. “What about now?”

“Yes. You’re forgiven.” She sways in my arms a little and I tighten my muscles to support her tiny body.

God, I miss this. There’s nothing like feeling her clench around me. She’s always been so quick to come with my fingers, and I fucking love it. Truthfully, I love absolutely everything about her. But knowing my touch is what brings her pleasure makes me feel like the luckiest man on the planet.

She starts to drop to her knees to return the favor, but since it’s been so long since I’ve been inside her, I lift her up. One time a few hours ago is not enough, and if she wraps her lips around me, I’ll blow in her mouth right away.

“Put your hands against the wall and tilt your ass up for me.”

I grip her hips and bend my knees to align myself with her. Her head falls forward and she moans when I slide inside. Home.
Heaven.
The water adds to the sound of our skin slapping, and I know I’m not going to last much longer. I pound into her really hard a couple of times, then hold her against me, my balls rubbing against the back of her thighs. “Grab your ankles.”

She lets go of the wall and bends forward so her body is in half. I squeeze her hips so she knows I have her. I always fucking have her. Once she locks her hands around her ankles, I test her to make sure she has a good grip. I pull out slowly, and then slide back inside, even slower.

“Holy shit!” She pushes back a little bit to get me deeper, but her body wobbles.

I steady her. “Don’t move, princess. Stay still and let me fuck you.”

“Fuck me then, Lee. Don't just stand there.”

“You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes!”

I grab her hips, and we both chase it. Her pussy squeezes me while I press her forward and pull her back again over my cock. “Fuck, it’s so good. So damn good.” Our bodies detonate together, and we fall to the floor, completely fucking obliterated.

* * *

Jamie continues to lecture me over the phone and I ignore him as much as I can while Meara rests her head in my lap. He tracked me down just to make sure I remembered my obligations. I can’t fault any of the guys for being mad at me. If the roles were reversed, I’d probably be pissed too for someone leaving on such short notice.

“I said I’d be back in time. Fuck, Jamie, it was one interview.”

Meara’s hand stills on my leg, and then continues to make circles with her fingertips.

“I leave for the airport in an hour. See you there.”

I toss her phone on the coffee table and pull her up into my lap. After the shower, we cuddled in bed, dozing in and out. Not really talking, just being together. It’s now almost noon, and my flight leaves at four, so I have to go soon.

“Why were you crying when I got here?”

She shakes her head, not wanting to talk about it.

“No. Talk to me.” I soften my voice, hoping she knows I’m not upset. Why the hell would I be mad anyway?

“You didn’t call,” she whispers. “And you didn’t text me back. I was worried.”

“Worried about what?”

She turns on my lap so she’s straddling me, her eyes bouncing back and forth over my face. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t. Ever.”

A single tear falls from her eye, and I watch it roll down her face. “I was scared.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m such an asshole. Listen …” I rub my hands over my head and set them back down on her thighs. “Yesterday morning, I got into it with the guys again. They all voted again on something without me, and let’s just say it wasn’t the best way start to my morning.”

She tilts her head. “Why were you fighting?”

“Well, the record company added more stops to the tour.”

“Okay,” she replies, clearly not sure what the big deal is because stuff like this happens all the time.

“They’re big, Meara.”

“Wow.” Her smile lights up her face. “That’s amazing.”

Right there. This is why I love her. No whining about me being gone more, no asking how long it’ll take, just support. Always.

“And, of course, we’re getting compensated for it.”

“Lee, that’s—”

“I don’t want it, though.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because I want to be here with you.”

She pushes off me and crosses her arms. “Lee. Don’t. Not because of me. I’ll be here. Please don’t put your dream on hold for me. This is huge for the band.”

“Maybe so, but it’s not for me anymore.” I stand and walk over to the wall that holds all her pictures on shelves. The family events I have missed and some pictures of us. It makes me wonder if we’d have pictures of us with our kids if I had never gone away. Where would we be if I had stayed? “I wanted it so bad when I was younger. And I thought what we had was the best fucking thing ever. Just rockin’ out, playing our music. That was all I really wanted. To play music. But the guys wanted more.
They
made me want more until it consumed me. Made me believe things I wasn’t sure of. You know this.”

She’s now sitting back on the couch, watching me. “I know.”

Meara does know. She understands me better than I do and has always been there for me. Even when I was at my absolute worst, when I hit rock bottom.

“And I love the guys. I love the band. I’m so fucking grateful for everything I have. But I’m done. I want out and I want you.”

“Lee …”

I shake my head; her concern that she’s holding me back tears me apart. “It has nothing to do with you. I mean, it does, but it’s not because of anything you’ve done. It’s because I want to be here. With you. I want to get married, to start a family, to get a dog, and to have a life. Here. With you. And I can't do that if I’m on the road.”

A small smile creeps onto her face. “I want that, too. But don't think I’m—”

“You’re not. That’s the thing.” I sit on the coffee table across from her and take her hands in mine. “You’ve been nothing but supportive. And I know if I told you I wanted to do more after these next six months, you would be fine with that.”

“I would,” she agrees.

“I know it, princess. But I’m done. Another six months. That’s it.”

“Six months?”

“Six months.”

Chapter 7

Meara

“SIX MONTHS?” I REPEAT
again, lame as ever. In my defense, I’m shocked. Part of me always thought this was going to be the rest of my life. He said he’s done, though. In six freaking months! I can’t believe this is finally happening. Liam and me. Me and Liam. Together.

“Six months.” He laughs. I’ve missed that light in his eyes. An ease settles over him, and I pull him to the couch.

“Are you sure? I mean, what about the guys?”

He settles next to me, and I rest my head on his chest. His long fingers twist the multitude of studs in my ear for a minute before he talks.

“They weren’t happy, but band members leave all the time. They’ll find someone else. I think that eventually they’ll be happy for me. And really, I don't care if they’re not.”

“Lee, don’t think for a second that if you change your mind, I’ll be mad or anything.” Of course, I want him. But I’m not selfish enough to tell him I’d rather have him here with me than on the road. If he did want to continue, I would be fine with it because it would make him happy. I want him to be happy. But if he’s really done with the band, then that makes me happy, too. ‘Cause I fucking miss him. So bad.

“Does this mean what I think it means?”

My head shakes on his chest when he laughs. I look up at him and flick his nose.

“Yeah, princess. Go find it.”

I bite the inside of my cheek then press a hard kiss to his lips, hop off the couch, and run to grab my laptop. Once I have it, I sit at the kitchen table and power it on, tapping my fingers anxiously. Liam stands behind me and places his hands on my shoulders, gently rubbing them, his thumbs kneading into my back. My head falls forward for a moment, and I let him take my stress away.

Too excited to wait any longer, I roll my head back up and type in the address bar. Once I scroll through the website and see one that stands out, I point at it. “You like it?”

“I don’t care. I already told you this.”

“Liam, it’s a house, not a shirt. You have to have an opinion.”

“My opinion is that I don’t care what the house looks like as long as you’re in it.”

God, I love this man. He always said that we’d buy a house when he finished with his tour. In my mind, I was prepared to wait, so there was no way I could contain my excitement that I get to start house hunting now. I’ve always had this vision of what I want my house to look like. “Give me something. Anything. Please, Lee. I want you to like it, too.”

“All right.” He kisses the top of my head and sits next to me. “I want privacy. If there’s not a fence already, I’ll build one, and I want some land. I don’t want the neighbors to be able to look over and see me fucking you.”

“Ha-ha.”

“Think I’m joking?” The screeching of the metal chair legs pierces my ears when he turns it so my body is in front of his. He grips my upper arms, looking right at me to make sure I see him, too. “I’ve gone seven years not being able to have you whenever I want you. Seven horrific years of fucking my own hand almost daily when I only got to be inside you every three or four months. Do you have any idea how much I want you? Constantly.” He answers without giving me a chance to speak as his fingers tighten on my arms. “You are always on my mind. Your face. Your smile. Your smartass mouth. Your body. And just thinking about you constantly makes me hard. Can you imagine how it’s going to be living together, waking up next to each other, and sleeping in the same bed every night?”

I squirm in my chair, wetness quickly dampening my underwear. He trails a couple of fingers down my arm and grabs my wrist then places my hand on his rock hard dick. With his hand on top of mine, he squeezes.

“It’s always like this for you. Only you. Doesn’t matter how many whores or groupies walk around backstage half naked. You’re the only one who can ever do this to me. Always have been and always will be. And if I know I get to come home and touch you, love you, fuck you every day for the rest of my life … Princess, it doesn’t matter where it is or what it looks like as long as you’re there.”

“So at least an acre then?”

He puts his hands on my waist and helps me onto his lap. “That should be sufficient.”

I run my fingers through his hair and rest my forehead on his. As much as I want to grind down on him right now, I need him just to hold me more. Sensing my mood, he wraps his arms around me. I bury my face in his neck, breathing him in. “You need to get going,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” he replies, voice full of regret.

I kiss the tattoo of my lips on his neck and sigh. “Thank you for surprising me. But please don’t ever not call me again.”

“I’m sorry. My head was all fucked up and I wasn’t thinking. But don’t hesitate to blow my phone up if you need to talk to me.”

“I just don’t want to seem clingy,” I admit.