With Vengeance (18 page)

“Did Klem give you a hard time?” Roderick
asked.

Kat shook her head. “No.” She glanced at him.
“Though at first I thought he was going to fire me.”

“Nah, everyone has off days. One time I came
into a session still drunk from the night before and barfed all
over the microphone.” Cliff laughed. “Klem was pissed! But I’m
still here.”

Kat laughed. “Well, I better get back to
work.”

With a look of fiery determination, she went
back in the recording room and pulled her guitar strap over her
shoulders. Klement followed, returning to the recording booth, and
his pep talk must have worked because she nailed the song in the
very next take. Still, it took four more to get the next song to
his satisfaction.

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said as they all
headed out of the studio an hour past the time they’d expected.

“Not to worry,” Roderick said.

“Maybe you just need a drink,” Cliff
suggested. “I know I do. Do you want to go out to The Hellion with
us tonight?”

Kat cast Klement a quick sideways glance
before shaking her head. “No, I want to do more practicing on
tomorrow’s songs.”

He frowned. Did she not want to go out
because he wasn’t going?

The ride to the tire shop was fairly quiet,
aside from a brief argument about who would pay for her new tire,
which Klement won.

“As I’m the one who hired you, I am
responsible for what happens to you here.”

She frowned as he paid for the tire, but she
didn’t protest. Then they picked up some Chinese takeout on the way
back to Klem’s house, which the rest of the guys were grateful
for.

Cliff and Rod took off for the Hellion, and
Kat went to her room. Klement’s heart sank a little. He’d hoped
she’d want to practice with him upstairs. Fighting disappointment,
he went to his office and checked his emails. There was one from
Kat to her IT Guy, thanking him for his help with the update. That
was all.

Even as he shook his head at the ridiculous
thought, he wished he had an excuse to call her again. She was just
down the hall, for Christ’s sake. His pulse sped up a moment when
he heard her door open. Had she changed her mind? Then he heard the
shower.

Closing his eyes, he was unable to stop
imagining rivulets of water running down her naked body. Clenching
his teeth, he closed the email window and opened up the security
camera footage to see if he could clarify the license plate of that
car any further. It would take some serious finagling.

After about an hour of shifting pixels and
adjusting highlights, there was a soft knock on his office
door.

“Come in,” he called, pleased to be pulled
from the tedium. But his breath halted when Kat entered. She was
wearing a filmy robe that framed a black lacy negligee. Klement’s
hungry gaze devoured the curves of her breasts, the outline of her
body, tantalizingly visible through the lace.

“When you asked what was bothering me,” she
announced, “I said I’d tell you later.”

He didn’t remember rising from his desk and
crossing the room. He suddenly stood over her, their bodies inches
apart.

“What—?” He broke off, mouth dry from
desire.

Her liquid dark eyes met his. “I want you to
kiss me again, Klement.”

Chapter Fifteen

Richard’s eyes narrowed as he joined Cliff at
the booth. “Are you drinking sangria?”

“Yeah.” The singer smiled. “I was in the mood
for something sweet.”

That’s a girly drink,
Richard thought,
but he didn’t dare say it aloud. “My ex drank those fruity
things.”

He paused. Was Cliff drinking Kat’s drink
because he’d hooked up with her?

“Man, you look all pensive and shit all of a
sudden,” Cliff complained. “She must have done a number on
you.”

Richard nodded. “I was nothing but good to
that girl, but not good enough.” He considered bringing up his
suspicions about Kat cheating on him after the Bleeding Vengeance
concert, but he decided it would be too risky.

Cliff clinked their glasses together. “I hear
that. My voice and guitar are enough to get me almost any woman I
want, but not enough to keep them.”

A pleasant buzz settled over Richard as they
exchanged woman woes. With good booze, good conversation, hot
chicks, and great music in the background, he found himself happier
than he’d been in months. Cliff wasn’t a bad guy, he realized.
Suddenly, he felt like an ass for sending him that dead cat. It
wasn’t Cliff’s fault that Kat was a faithless slut. He wouldn’t do
anything else to Cliff, he decided, and immediately felt better for
it. Maybe they could even be real friends. Maybe he should quit
bothering with Kat, too. Cliff would eventually find out how
worthless she was, and hell, the look on her face when she found
out that he was buddies with the band might be worth it. Maybe he
could even take her spot as the guitarist for Bleeding
Vengeance.

Richard quaffed his drink and cast an
appreciative eye on a smoking hot bitch dancing to the music of the
band. Maybe all he needed was to get laid.

He nudged Cliff. “Hey, check out that hot
piece. We should have some fun.”

The singer frowned. “Her name’s Diane. I
tried to hit her up last week but she wasn’t interested. She just
went through a divorce.”

“So?”

“So she’s not interested in dating anyone
right now.”

“Who says anything about dating? I was
thinking we could tag team her in the restroom.”

Cliff’s eyes narrowed. “First off, I don’t
share, and second,
dude
, are you talking about
raping
her?”

Richard shook his head vigorously. “No,
nothing like that. I figure we could buy her drinks until she
changes her mind. And we don’t have to share. Her friend’s kinda
cute.”

Cliff’s frown deepened. “Nah, man, I don’t
hold with any chick having to be drunk to want to get with me.
Besides, I’m not in the mood to deal with women tonight.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” Just sitting
here was getting boring.

Cliff shrugged. “Same thing I want to do
every night after busting my ass in the studio. Drink.”

Richard laughed. “That’s understandable. And
if you want something stronger, I’ve got some rock we could
smoke.”

Cliff slammed his glass down on the table.
Crimson liquid splashed on his hand, and his face was livid. “Did
you
not
hear what happened to our last guitarist? I don’t
touch that shit.”

“I’m sorry man, I just—”

Cliff shook his head and rose from the table.
“I’m taking off. Have a good night.”

Through blurry eyes, Richard watched the
singer head off to the pool tables and grab Roderick. He raised his
hand to wave goodbye, but neither of the musicians looked at
him.

***

Kat’s heart pounded as she gazed up at
Klement, waiting for his reaction. Not knowing what else to do
about the unbearable tension between them, she’d broken down and
come up with this insane plan. She’d dressed in the sexiest outfit
she had and marched into his office to find out if his kiss had
been a fluke, if their attraction was only one-sided. Yes, before
she confronted him about being IT Guy, she wanted one night in his
arms.

Her plan was ridiculous. Now, as he stood
staring down at her, her face burned with humiliation. She was an
idiot. Grasping the edges of her robe, she started to cover
herself, to turn and flee.

Strong hands seized her. Kat gasped as
Klement yanked her into his arms, pulling her tight against his
body. His lips came down on hers, searing hot and savage. A low
moan escaped her throat as she rose up on her tiptoes and tangled
her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer.

On and on the kiss went, spiraling her into a
vortex of lust. Her knees went weak, legs turned to jelly as the
intensity of his kiss overwhelmed her. Kat whimpered as she
stumbled into the corner of his desk, breaking it.

“I’m sorry,” Klement whispered against her
lips. Then he knelt, his hands sliding down her body and past her
thighs to lift the hem of her negligee. He placed a gentle kiss on
her hip where she’d bumped the desk.

She nearly stumbled again as his fingers
caressed her thighs, moving higher and higher, until he was at the
verge of touching the throbbing source of her need. Suddenly he
stopped and rose to his feet. Kat nearly cried out in
disappointment.

“We shouldn’t do this,” he said.

“But—”

He placed a hand at the small of her back,
guiding her out of his office.

A sinking feeling weighed Kat’s stomach. She
closed her eyes. Was he sending her back to her room? Then her eyes
opened and she saw that they were heading into his.

Klement’s enormous California King-sized bed
filled her vision. Her pulse rose and a thrill rushed through her
body at the sound of the door closing and the lock clicking into
place.

“We
really
shouldn’t do this,” he
repeated as his hands wrapped around her waist.

Kat grasped his shoulders as he lifted her
onto the high bed while he remained standing. Her hand tangled in
his hair as she nibbled on his neck, savoring the salty taste of
his skin. A low growl sounded in his throat as he slid the sheer
robe off of her shoulders to puddle on the floor. His hands cupped
her breasts, thumbs teasing her nipples.

She tugged at his shirt, eager to feel his
bare skin. He pulled away a moment and obliged her, pulling the
shirt up and over his head.

Kat’s jaw dropped at the sight of his bare
chest. For such a lanky guy, he’d been hiding a lot of bulk. Her
hungry gaze took in the cords of sinew and planes of muscle
stretching over his broad shoulders, chest and abs. Reaching out,
she lightly caressed his skin, marveling at its hot, firm feel. Her
thumb brushed his stiff nipple, and she leaned forward to taste
him.

Klement groaned and joined her on the bed,
hands sliding all over her body, caressing and exploring. Kat
sucked in a breath as his mouth closed over the sensitive part of
her neck. Her hips arched forward, wanting more.

He moved close. She could feel his hardness
straining against the rough fabric of his jeans. With one hand
caressing his chest, she slid the other down his flat stomach and
over the bulge between his legs. Klement made a hissing sound
through his teeth. His fingers, which had been playing with her
inner thighs, glided up beneath her soaking panties.

A cry escaped her lips at the magic he
wrought on her clit and labia. He played her body with all of the
intricacy and skill of a virtuoso. Fingers working exquisite
pressure points and nerve endings like guitar strings, he wrought a
song within her body, and Kat writhed on the bed beneath his
ministrations, gasping and panting as her entire being sang with
aching need.

Klement looked down at her, his lips curved
in a rakish smile. “Do you want me to use my tongue?”

Unable to speak, she nodded. Richard had
never done that.

She watched in naked awe at Klement’s primal
beauty as he knelt between her legs and pulled her panties down
over her hips and past her ankles. His hands moved beneath her to
cup her ass. His head bent down, and his tongue flicked across her
slick flesh. Her hips bucked, but he held her firm.

“Oh my God!”

She gasped at the intense sensation as his
mouth closed over her mound. Klement’s tongue delved into every
crevice and fold before darting over her clit, inflaming every
nerve ending with electric frissons of unbearable pleasure. Then
orgasm ripped through her, making her scream.

Kat lay back on the bed, chest heaving. She
gathered her breath. Her core still ached with a need to be
filled.

A low satisfied sound reverberated from
Klement as he rested his head on her belly. When he sat up,
however, Kat reached for his jeans, fumbling at the button and
zipper, desperate to feel his cock.

Her hand finally closed over his hot, silken
length. The tip of him was wet, and Kat licked her lips. She could
imagine the taste and the scent and—

Klement rose from the bed and slipped off his
jeans before grabbing a condom from the bedside drawer, but instead
of slipping on the protection and giving her what she craved, he
drew out her exquisite torture. Covering her body with his, he
trailed his lips up and down the column of her throat, his hands
reaching between their bodies to touch every inch of her exposed
flesh. He pulled the negligee down, exposing her breasts to his
hands and mouth.

“Please,” Kat gasped, unable anymore to bear
his ministrations. “I need you inside of me.”

With record speed, he donned the condom, and
Kat cried out as his thick cock slid inside her. Her nails dug into
his back, pulling Klement closer, needing more.

He moved deep and slowly within her wetness,
a hypnotic rhythm. All sense of time and consciousness ceased; her
awareness narrowed solely to the delicious weight of him, their
mingled heartbeats, the blissful fulfillment of him inside her. She
clung to him, arching her hips up to meet his thrusts.

“Oh my God,” she whispered in a mindless
mantra as her body was reduced to unadulterated sensation. Those
whispers escalated to moans and cries. With each potent thrust her
body clenched around him, riding the building waves of her next
impending climax.

Stars exploded before her eyes, and her clit
pulsed and throbbed in rhythmic ecstasy. Wracking tremors shook Kat
as unfathomable pleasure crashed over her in a never-ending
cascade, and just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the
jolts ebbed away, leaving her deliciously limp and boneless.

Through half-lidded eyes she watched
Klement’s glorious form rising up over her, his head thrown back as
his own climax. Kat felt another surge of pleasure as his deep
groan vibrated against her chest, and she felt him shudder within
her.