“What if you didn’t know I was stoned?” Sam asks from behind.
Been there, done that. “I’d know,” I say over my shoulder.
He chuckles. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”
At the top of the stairs, I step into a room illuminated by naked light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The place clearly hasn’t seen a contractor since it was built. Justin stands with his back to me, leaning against the rough slats of a wooden wall and studying a sheet of music. The floor is made from worn, rough boards. With his profile almost hidden in the shadows, and dressed in faded jeans and an old T-shirt, he blends in with his surroundings. The image of him has me wishing I had a camera to perfectly capture the sight and re-create it in a painting.
“What the hell, Sam? You know the rules.” The voice comes from the direction of the drum set. The guy behind it is glaring as he tightens a knob on the front of the kit. He impatiently tosses his head to get his longish light brown hair out of his eyes.
I turn back toward the stairs at the harsh sound of his voice, but Sam wraps an arm around my shoulders. “She isn’t here to see me. She’s here for lover boy.”
Justin looks up and his green eyes widen in surprise.
A tall, dark haired guy steps out of the shadows at the far end of the room. He snaps a phone shut. His jaw hardens, and I realize he’s the guitar player, Romeo. The slave driver. “It doesn’t matter who she’s here to see. She doesn’t belong up here.”
As his dark eyes flash to Justin, I’m ready to fly down the stairs, but Sam’s arm is tight around me. This was an awful idea. “I’m sorry. I just—”
“No need to be sorry, Allie,” Justin says, his voice even lower and more steely than Romeo’s. He shoots a cold look at Romeo first, then at Gabe. “Get your arm off her, Sam.”
Sam chuckles, but he releases me.
“I should go,” I say. I wonder if a room can combust from angry stares as the band members glare at one another.
Tossing the sheet music on a box, Justin says, “Not a chance.”
“Justin,” Romeo says in an obvious warning tone.
Ignoring him, Justin comes to my side—close enough that I can smell his dark, earthy cologne—and wraps an arm around my waist. “This is Allie. You’ve met Sam.” He gestures to the drummer. That’s Gabe.” He then nods toward the guitarist. “And that’s Romeo.” Obviously done with introductions, Justin drags me across the room. “Give us five,” he says, pushing a small door open and then pulling me into the darkness.
“I should have called,” I say, but before I can get anything else out, he shoves me against the back of the door and covers my mouth with his. With his body pressed into me, his hands wrapped in my hair, and his mouth devouring mine, the kiss is hot and luscious. For several minutes, instead of oxygen, Justin is the air I breathe.
He pulls away slightly and I nearly sigh in disappointment.
His thumbs brush the skin of my neck and I shiver. “This is a nice surprise, but why are you here?”
Both his touch and voice are amplified in the darkness. Searching for the belt loop of his pants, I say, “Just wanted to see you.” I tug him closer until he’s pressed to me again. “And I guess I wanted this too,” I say. I tug his head down and kiss him as hotly as he kissed me, exploring every crevice of his mouth with my tongue.
He pulls away with a gasp. “Damn, you picked a hell of time.” His lips slide along the skin of my cheek and I instinctively wrap a leg around him. He cups my butt and slides me over him. At the hard feel of his desire, lust sizzles through me. We’re wrapped around each other and both heavily sucking in air. Why, oh why, did I slow things down the other night?
“Think they’d hear us?” he whispers hotly into my ear, and I can feel the chuckle he releases.
I rock against him and he groans into the skin of my neck. “I don’t care.”
“Shit, Allie. You have to stop or I’m not going to be able to.”
Not only do I not stop, I push my hands under his shirt, grasp the muscles of his back, and touch my lips to the hollow between his collarbones.
“Allie,” he says in a warning tone while groaning.
As my tongue darts out to taste his skin, a knock sounds at the door. “Ah, Justin?” Sam loudly says.
Our bodies pause while intense desire flows between us.
“Out in a minute,” Justin yells, untangling himself from me.
Separated from him, I feel the fog of lust that’s blanketing my brain clear.
Embarrassment at what we’d been doing while Justin’s band members were on the other side of the door rushes through me. Slapping my own forehead, I groan—but mine is entirely different than his was minutes ago.
Without touching me anywhere else, Justin leans his forehead against mine. “I’ll be done in less than an hour.”
I shake my head. “I have to pick up Ben from my parents’.”
Justin draws in a deep breath. “Can you stay for one song?”
The idea of facing his bandmates on the other side of the door, much less watching them for an entire song, isn’t too appealing. “I don’t think they want me here. I should go.”
“Justin!” Sam bangs on the door again.
“Just one song, then I’ll walk you down.”
“One song,” Justin repeats.
“Fine,” I say. “One song.”
He yanks open the door and pulls me out of the weird closet or room we were in. Three sets of eyes stare at me. Sam stands next to us with a smirk on his face. Lifting a guitar strap over his head and letting the guitar hang from his neck, Romeo appears irritated. Gabe sneers from behind his drum set. A telltale blush warms my face and I try to escape Justin’s embrace, but he holds me tight.
He nudges me toward a line of folded chairs along the opposite wall. “She’s going to stay for the next song, then I’ll walk her out.”
Romeo’s hand clenches the bottom of the guitar strapped around his neck. “Justin, I told you about bringing—”
Justin releases my shoulders as he whips toward Romeo. “One song, and don’t even say what I think you’re going to. She’s not like that.”
Gabe leans across his drums. “If anybody would be able to tell, it would be you.”
Justin’s fists tighten and he takes a step forward, but Sam comes between him and the drum set while I’m seriously thinking of sneaking down the stairs. For a group that plays awesome together onstage, I’m surprised at the animosity hovering over this dusty room.
“Leave it alone, Gabe,” Sam says, for once sounding serious. “She doesn’t know our rules. She just stopped by. J. didn’t invite her, so quit acting like a dick.”
Gabe continues to sneer but sits back without saying anything.
Justin turns to find I’ve taken a couple of steps toward the stairs. He comes over to me and says, “Don’t worry about them. You came to see me.” He gently pushes me onto a chair. “Just one song,” he repeats.
Deciding to ignore the hostile atmosphere, I nod. “Okay, but get playing so I can go.”
He gives my hand a squeeze, then moves toward his bandmates.
“What song did you have in mind?” Romeo asks him in an irritated tone.
Justin steps to the microphone in the middle of the room. “How about ‘Echo’?”
Romeo rolls his eyes but says, “Fine.” He nods to Gabe, who lifts his sticks and hits them together several times. Romeo starts playing a soft and slow but driving melody. Justin wraps his hands around the microphone and leans in as close as possible. I move to the edge of my seat.
Justin takes a deep breath and starts singing. His gaze meets mine and I hardly hear the words as I watch him intensely sing to me. Despite the shadows, his eyes bore deep inside me and I feel like I’m not only connected to him but also open to him. I notice the rest of the band only after Justin closes his eyes and sways to the music. Romeo watches his hands move across the stem of the guitar. Gabe nods as he plays the drums. And Sam has a
