Saved by the Music (Saints & Sinners Book 2) (16 page)

He wanted everything from and with her.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to push you this hard.” He kissed her forehead and her hands tightened at the back of his neck, like she didn’t want to let him go.

“I’m not mad at you. Thank you.” She looked at him from beneath heavy eyelids and he felt like the luckiest, most undeserving guy in the world. Now that he knew she loved him, he would never stop trying to make her happy, to be worthy of her love.

When they reached the lobby of the hospital, Sam decided he didn’t want her out of his hold. Hailing a cab, he carefully tucked both of them into the backseat. He gave her address to the driver without taking his eyes off the woman cradled in his arms. Taking the time to really look at her, he noticed her skin was pale. She’d lost a little weight and there were heavy dark circles under her eyes. She was a beautiful mess—
his
beautiful mess.

“I look like a wreck.” She tried to hide her face using his body, but he wasn’t letting her hide anything from him anymore. They had done enough of that to last them a lifetime.

He lifted the hand resting over her thighs to turn her head so she was looking at him. “Don’t hide from me, Ashlee. You look like you’ve been through the wringer, baby, but there is nothing wrong with that.”

“I really am sorry that I ran, and about that note.” She pressed an open palm to his cheek. Her lips parted when he pressed his hand on her lower back, a silent invitation to let him in all the way.

“I know, baby, I know. Let me take care of you tonight.” He imitated her motion and pressed an open palm to her cheek, using his thumb to rub and pull at her lower lip. She sighed into him—fuck, how he’d missed her making that sound.

“I love you, Sam.” He would never get tired of hearing those three little words pass her lips. If that was all she told him for the rest of his life, he would die a happy man.

“I know… I love you too, Ashlee.”

Her lips were calling his name, drawing him close like a magnet. When he pressed his to hers, he kissed her with urgency, showing her exactly how he wanted to cherish her, how much he’d missed her.

He wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her closer to him. When she whimpered, his free hand wandered down to her breasts, desperate to touch her everywhere. He wanted to worship every inch of her seductive and tempting body over and over again until they both forgot the last four days ever happened.

When the cab pulled up to her apartment, he paid the driver with a generous tip, and then carried Ashlee up the stairs and into her apartment. He didn’t know what he was expecting her place to be like, but the small space they were in wasn’t anywhere near what he’d imagined. He knew she had made sacrifices to cover her mom’s hospital bills, but this was beyond what he could have pictured.

He sensed her watching him closely. “I had to sell my house when my mom got sick. This is all I could afford and still pay for her treatment.” She looked so vulnerable as he lowered her onto the kitchen counter.

“Baby, you deserve so much more than this.” He knew she didn’t see it like that. He admired her more than she could ever know for making all those sacrifices, but he needed her to understand that he wasn’t going to let her go through this alone anymore. He was right there with her, and he wouldn’t just sit back and watch the woman he loved struggle when he had more money than one person should have in a lifetime. He wanted her to know that what he had was just as much hers as his.

He saw tears forming in her eyes and wiped them with his thumb; he hated seeing her cry.

“I deserve you, Sam. That’s all I need.” She kissed him hesitantly, like she wasn’t sure what else to say, and he knew the conversation needed to shift to something a lot less serious.

“And maybe my house,” he teased before kissing her nose and eyes, memorizing her face with his lips. He was testing the territory by bringing up the house, but he needed to know if they were past the money restraints of their relationships.

She laughed with her head thrown back, and he had his answer in the smile covering her face. “Well, now that you bring it up, I do love your house.”

“And here I thought you loved me because of my charm and wicked bedroom skills.” He lifted her T-shirt over her head before getting rid of his.

He fought his control when he her hands on caressed his chest, her lips on his shoulder. “Oh, that’s a part of it too, but the house… baby, it’s hard to compete with.”

“I’ll compete with the fiercest of warriors for you. And my house is yours. We can even move your mom to a hospital in Nashville if you want.”

He saw the shock flash across her face, but it was soon replaced by excitement. He helped her out of her shoes and stripped her of her jeans before doing the same.

“Sam Brooks, are you asking me to move in with you?” She ran her fingers through his hair. He loved how playful she could be when she didn’t feel weighed down.

He grabbed her ass—fuck, did she have a great ass—and pulled her off the counter. “I must not be doing this right then. Ashlee Daniels, will you move in with me?” He headed toward the bathroom, hoping like hell his plan could work, depending on the setup she had.

She smiled at him, and he knew he had her. “Yes! Yes, I’ll move in with you.” She kissed him, making him lose his footing. He ended up with his back against the wall and Ashlee grinding down on his cock like she was starving for it.

“Do you want something, Ashlee?” he asked, using the hold on her ass to increase the pressure and the rhythm, making her moan his name.

“Just you… I just want you.” The little minx slid her hand between their bodies and started rubbing her clit, using the pressure of his cock to pleasure herself.

Oh, hell no. She’s not getting off like that.

He grabbed her hand and pushed it away. “You never get yourself off when I’m here. That’s my privilege, Ashlee, and you don’t get to take that away from me.”

“Then take me, Sam.”

The minute she said those words, his plan for romance went out the window.

He headed for her bedroom, kicked the door open, and lowered both their bodies on the bed. His covered hers, and God, he’d missed those curves. He ran his hand from her knee up her hip and to the swell of her breasts. She was already squirming and writhing, and he knew she was ready for him.

“Are you wet for me, Ashlee?” His fingers traveled down her stomach, past her panties, and when he found her hot and dripping wet, he growled into her ear.

“I’m always wet for you.” She ran her fingers up and down his back, grabbing his ass every now and again.

“This is gonna be hard and fast. If you can’t handle it, I’m gonna have to take the edge off.”

He wasn’t joking; he was wound up so tight he thought he might explode any minute. His entire body was hard and stiff and if he sank into her like this, it wasn’t going to be champagne and roses; it was going to be whiskey and cigarettes.

“I’m not fine china, Sam. Fuck me hard. Take what you need.” He pulled himself over her, holding his weight on his hands, and saw the same fire reflecting in her eyes.

“Condom is in the kitchen.” He kicked himself for not grabbing one beforehand, but when he felt her hand over his heart and saw the smile on her face, he didn’t care about the damn condom anymore.

“We don’t need one… I’m clean, and I’m on the pill.”

He didn’t think his dick could get any harder, but the thought of taking her bare was enough to send him over the edge. “Baby, I’m clean too, but are you sure about this?”

“I trust you. I wanna feel you come inside me, please.”

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to refuse her anything, but right then he would agree to buying her a damn country.

He wrapped his hand around his cock, teasing her clit with the head before he slid into her with one thrust. She felt so fucking good that he could barely process what was happening around him. She was so hot and slick; he never wanted to take her with a condom ever again. When he looked into her eyes, he could see she felt it too. He took her mouth like a savage as he moved in and out of her. There was nothing sweet about the way he fucked her; it was downright animalistic, and she seemed to relish every second of it.

“Yes, Sam… God, I need it. Yes! Harder… fuck me harder, baby. Don’t hold back. I want it.”

She set off something primal inside him. He grabbed on to her shoulders and pushed her down on his cock as he fucked her deep. He was sweating and she was screaming his name like a prayer. All too soon, the tingle of his release at the base of his spine spurred him on.

He needed her to come with him, so he pinched her clit again and again until her walls clenched down on him. He didn’t stop. “Your body is mine. Give it up to me, Ashlee. Come for me.”

“SAM! Oh, God… fuck. Ahh.” He felt her squirting all over him and he kept fucking her through her orgasm. The harder he fucked her, the harder she squirted, and she couldn’t stop screaming. Her nails were scratching his chest, and when she tilted her hips up, he came so hard he saw stars.

“Fuuuck… shit… yesss, Ashlee!” His orgasm just kept going and going until he collapsed on top of her, their bodies sticking to one another, breathing heavily like animals. When he came back to his senses, he rolled off and lay on his back beside her.

She rolled to her side to face him. “What the hell was that?”

He smiled and pushed her hair back from her face, beyond proud that he was the only one who ever got her off like that. “G-spot, baby. It was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. You were so far gone… Fuck.”

“I’ve never done that before. It was intense.” She curled up next to him, her arm wrapped around his waist. He could feel her heartbeat through his ribs.

This is what life’s all about.
“I love you.”

He kissed the top of her head and she kissed his chest right over his heart. “I love you, too. Now, how about a shower?”

“I’m always down for water games.” Just the thought of watching water stream down her body was making him hard again.

“You can’t seriously be ready to go again.”

God, doesn’t she know I’m permanently hard when she’s around?

“Give me five minutes and I will be. I have to keep my woman satisfied. Oh, and speaking of being satisfied, there’s this charity gala in Nashville next week to raise funds for in-school music programs. Would you like to go with me?”

She looked like she was about to say no, but then she smiled, rolled over his body, and kissed him like her life depended on it. “I would love to.”

Chapter Eleven

ASHLEE

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Ashlee barely recognized the woman staring back at her. That woman was radiating with happiness and joy, something she could barely remember feeling in her life, and it was all thanks to the man who was finishing getting ready a few feet from her. In the past week, she had truly given in to her feelings for Sam, and she had never felt so free. There was something about completely putting her trust in someone that made her feel strong and confident, and being honest and open with him had lifted a huge weight right off her shoulders.

The day after the scene at the hospital, her mom had given her quite the morality speech about how important it was for her to trust herself when it came to her feelings for Sam, but more importantly to trust him to be there for her no matter what. She was well aware that it wouldn’t happen overnight, but every day it was easier to depend on someone else, and letting him in completely became as natural as breathing.

As she applied the finishing touches to her makeup for the night’s gala, the pressure of walking her first red carpet as someone’s date snuck up on her. There was something about it that made her extremely nervous; for someone who was used to being behind the scenes, suddenly finding herself facing the cameras and the endless questions was all part of the unknown. But she had Sam, and she trusted him to stand right there beside her.

Grabbing her dress, she smiled at how Trish
had all but forced her to get the one she had designed. After leaving her job as the publicist for Saints and Sinners, Trish had launched her own Heart fashion line, and the pieces were exquisite. The burgundy number was a bit more glamourous than what Ashlee would normally wear to an event like the one they were attending, but Trish had insisted she needed something that stood out since she was walking beside Sam.

The dress stopped below the knee and hugged her curves in all the right places, and the lace trimming in the V-neck added just the right amount of dramatic effect to the front. She held it in place, taking in the image in the mirror. “Sam, could you zip me up?”

She heard the intake of his breath when he stepped out of the bathroom and looked at her for the first time that night. She had insisted on keeping the dress a secret from him, and his reaction confirmed she did the right thing. Ashlee could feel his eyes on her as he leaned against the doorframe, and she loved every second of it.

He closed the distance between the two of them, his fingers roaming her shoulders while looking at her reflection in the mirror. “Goddamn, Ashlee, how am I supposed to keep my hands off you in this dress?”

There was something erotic about watching him watch her in the mirror. Goose bumps covered her skin at the thought of him making love to her in this position. She closed her hand over his on her shoulder. “You like?” she asked, trying her best not to show him how turned on she was by her own thoughts.

“I love it, baby. You’re beautiful, Ashlee Daniels.” He pressed a soft kiss on the back of her neck before sliding his hands down the curve of her ass to zip her dress.

“I have to look the part, now, don’t I?” The possibility of not being glamorous enough to stand beside him on the red carpet filled her with unease, but she had complete faith that she was enough for the man. That was all that really mattered in the end.

He spun her around and she swallowed hard at how handsome he was in his tux. The man could wear jeans like no one else, but Sam in a tux was a sight. He looked ruggedly handsome, and that was something she could never get enough of. He caressed her lower lip with his thumb. “Baby, you always look the part.” His voice was reassuring, and she realized it was exactly what she needed.