Page 42 of Lick
David stood aside, still holding the casserole dish and bag. When he saw me watching, he winked.
“I’ll have to show you the setup downstairs sometime,” Tyler said. “You here for long?”
“We’re not sure,” he said, giving me a glance.
Pam clung to my hands, reluctant to leave. “I made chicken enchiladas and rice. Do you like Mexican? It’s David’s favorite.” Pam’s brows wrinkled. “But I didn’t think to check if that was all right with you. You might be vegetarian.”
“No, I’m not. And I love Mexican,” I said, squeezing her fingers back, though not as hard. “Thank you so much.”
“Phew.” She grinned.
“Hon,” called Tyler.
“I’m coming.” Pam gave my fingers a parting pat. “If you need anything at all while you’re here, you give me a call. Okay?”
David said nothing. It was clearly my decision if they stayed or went. My body was still abuzz with need. That, and we seemed to do better alone. I didn’t want to share him because I was shallow and wanted hot sex. I wanted him all to myself. But it was the right thing to do. And if anticipation made it sweeter, well, maybe this once the right thing to do was also the best thing to do.
“Stay,” I said, stammering out the words. “Have dinner with us. You’ve made so much. We could never possibly finish it all.”
David’s gaze jumped to me, a smile of approval on his face. He looked almost boyish, trying to contain his excitement. Like I’d just told him his birthday had been brought forward. Whoever these people were, they were important to him. I felt as though I’d just passed some test.
Pam sighed. “Tyler is right, you’re newlyweds.”
“Stay. Please,” I said.
Pam looked to Tyler.
Tyler shrugged but smiled, obviously delighted.
Pam clapped her hands with glee. “Let’s eat!”
CHAPTER NINE
Warm hands pushed up my tank top as the sun rose. Next came hot kisses down my back, sending a shiver up my spine. My skin came to immediate goose-pimpled attention, despite the truly horrible time of day.
“Ev, baby, roll over.” David whispered in my ear.
“What time is it?”
We’d all gone downstairs to the recording studio after dinner for a “quick look.” At midnight Pam had bailed, saying Tyler could call her when they were done. No one anticipated that being anytime soon, since they’d opened a bottle of bourbon. I’d stretched out on the big couch down there while David and Tyler messed around, moving between the control room and the studio. I’d wanted to be close to David, to listen to him play guitar and sing snippets of songs. He had a beautiful voice. What he could do with a six-string in his hands blew my mind. His eyes would take on this faraway look and he was gone. It was like nothing else existed. Sometimes, I actually felt a little lonely, lying there watching him. Then the song would end and he’d shake his head, stretch his fingers, returning to earth. His gaze would find me and he’d smile. He was back.
At some stage I’d dozed off. How I’d gotten up to bed I had no idea. David must have carried me. One thing was certain: I could smell booze.
“It’s almost five in the morning,” he said. “Roll over.”
“Tired,” I mumbled, staying right where I was.
The mattress shifted as he straddled my hips and put an arm either side of my head, bending down over me, covering me.
“Guess what?” he asked.
“What?”
Gently he pushed my hair back off my face. Then he licked my ear. I squirmed, ticklish.
“I wrote two songs,” he said, his voice a little slurred, soft around the edges.
“Mm.” I smiled without opening my eyes. Hopefully he’d take that as being supportive. I couldn’t manage much more on fewer than four hours’ sleep. I simply wasn’t wired that way. “That’s nice.”
