The Contract: A BBW Rockstar Romance Read online

  Lilly stood in the doorway for a long time, watching him sleep. His face was beautiful when it was relaxed and she could see now what she had missed before, the tension he usually carried was gone. She hadn’t realized he was clenching his jaw most of the time, and she wondered idly just how much pressure there must be on him to be good at this, make it work. Keep people employed, keep Harry happy. It probably was more than he had bargained for.

  Looking at him sleeping like this was so intimate. She felt as though she should look away, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. He had removed his shirt and she watched his chest rise and fall with his breathing. His arms were thickly corded with veins, the smooth skin on the underside visible where he had thrown his arm up over his head. She didn’t know why but she loved that part of a man, the smooth underside of his arm. She imagined kissing it, drawing her tongue along the tender skin there, wondered if he would like it. How nice it would be to have him stand behind her and wrap that part of his arm around her, and turn her for a kiss.

  She shook her head to clear it. Get a grip Lilly, she thought to herself, you’re the boss here (and apparently his landlady now, however that happened?) Mr. Hottie is not going to be interested in a plump lawyerly landlady. He has places to go, chicks to hook up with, and music to play, she told herself seriously.

  When he woke up, she was in the doorway, watching him.

  “I’m so sorry, you looked so peaceful there, I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  “No, it’s fine,” he said, reaching for his phone so he could check the time and see if anyone was looking for him.

  “It’s 7:30, you were out for a while,” she said, as she stepped toward the bed, then hesitated. It was suddenly awkward between them, the air thick with possibilities, and tension. Somehow there was always a little electric current between them, Lilly thought. She wondered if he could feel it too? Or if maybe everyone felt that way around him, and it was the performer in him. She stopped walking, awkwardly, and stood, shifting from foot to foot.

  Luke sat up and looked at her, what he wanted to do was open his arms and have her crawl into the bed with him. He wanted to kiss her, and then do it again, run his tongue along her lips, hear her gasp as he touched her for the first time. He wanted to run his lips around her nipples and then blow on them, watch them spring to attention. He wanted to slide his hand down between her legs looking for her clit. He wanted to make her jump when he parted her pussy lips and slid his tongue there…he shook his head to clear it, and looked up at her, she was talking and he had no idea what she had said.

  “Well, um…dinner, you know?” she indicated the stairs. “I mean it’s ready, so, if you’re hungry?”

  “Yeah, I’m always hungry,” somehow everything he said sounded like he was talking about sex, was he? She would probably be horrified if she knew what was going through his head, how much he wanted to kiss her.

  “Come on up then,” she said and abruptly turned and headed up the stairs. She had changed from her professional clothes to a more casual denim skirt and tee shirt. God, he thought, she was adorable.

  He padded up quietly behind her to the kitchen. The breakfast bar was set with flowers in the center, and white plates were laid out with silverware on either side. He paused, trying to recall the last time anyone, anywhere had set a table for him. No idea. It had been a long damn time, that was for sure.

  “Have a seat and help yourself, what can I get you to drink?” she said, while offering him a beer.

  “Thanks, this is perfect,” he took a long pull on the bottle and set it down. “ I can’t tell you the last time I sat at a real table and ate real food, this is amazing! I know it’s an imposition, I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I can.” Liar, he thought to himself, you’re gonna hang around as long as possible.

  She smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat, he was gonna have to get a grip, he thought. “This looks fantastic, thank you!”

  “You’re welcome, I like to cook, and I don’t usually have an appreciative audience, so this was fun, now eat!”

  They sat next to each other in silence for a few minutes, his leg drifting closer to hers. He could feel the heat from her skin on his bare legs, and wondered if she was noticing the same thing.

  As he finished he said, “Now my mom raised me that the person who cooks, doesn’t have to clean, and I do know how to run a dishwasher. I won’t know where everything goes when I’m done washing up, but you should sit.”

  “No, no, don’t be silly, I’ll help too, we’ll get it done faster together,” she said, rising from the table. He stood at the same time and had to reach for her to keep from knocking her over. His hand gripped her arm, and instinctively he pulled her closer, time slowed to a near standstill and he felt like he was moving through water. He reached for her cheek and turned her face toward his, lowering his mouth to capture hers. It was just as he had imagined, his tongue running along her lips, then sliding inside. Her lips working against his, her back arched and her breasts pressed into him. Her kiss, her touch, made his spine tingle and his knees feel weak. He ran his hands down her sides and felt her stiffen, then relax. This woman deserved to have him take his time, and he certainly wanted to.

  Lilly was feeling a little like she was in shock, kissed by Luke Drake. Well that was entirely unexpected. Maybe he had a thing for chubby women? Which, well, why would he? Then again, why wouldn’t he? Maybe he liked her because she was different? She decided she should stop thinking and just kiss him. It was only a moment, but it was a good one. She felt his hand drifting down her side and resting on her ass. He pulled her closer and she paused to look up at him. He was looking at her too, and their eyes locked before he leaned in and kissed her again, drawing his hand along her bare skin underneath her shirt.

  Chapter 4

  The kiss took her by surprise, his firm gentle lips setting off a cascade of feelings, ending somewhere above her thighs. His hands left a trail of warmth on her skin wherever he touched her. Twining his fingers in her hair he gently pulled her head back and kissed down her neck to the hollow where her shoulder began. She felt like she should say something, but she couldn’t think what. It felt so good to have his hands on her, his lips on her. As he kissed his way toward her breasts, she knew she should be making some decisions, thinking about where this was going, where it would take her.

  Honestly though all she could do was react, his attention to her lit a spark that she thought had been extinguished. He kept moving, quietly kissing his way along, gently sliding his finger along the edge of her blouse. The rough pads of his fingers on her breasts sent shivers along her spine, and made her ache to have him touch her nipples. They were puckered and hopeful, just out of reach of the tip of his finger. He took her face in his and began again, kissing her lips slowly, sliding his tongue inside, not urgent, not hurried. She began to relax as he stroked her, making her arch her back into him with pleasure. Sighing she stretched and pointed her toes, his touch making her tingle all over. This must be what it’s like to not be in charge for ten whole minutes, she decided, it was nice to let him take over and play. He danced his fingers down across her chest again, gently exploring. He removed her shirt and kissed along the edge of her bra, pausing to lick and nip at the tender skin. His hands were at her hips now, sliding under the waistband of her jeans, dancing along her skin there. The feeling was electric, this guy was different.

  Gently he tugged at her jeans, pulling them free of her hips.

  “Curves,” he murmured, she hoped, in appreciation. Her hourglass lines had never bothered her, but it wasn’t always what men wanted. She hoped it was what he wanted. He slid his hands along her freshly revealed hips and ass, and slid her jeans all the way to the floor. Standing in her kitchen, half naked, she felt suddenly shy. But not shy enough to stop kissing him. Taking his head in her hands she stroked his lips with her tongue and kissed him deeply. Her hands moved along his chest, almost without her thinking about it, and she ran them underneath h
is shirt and explored the skin she had been day-dreaming about all day long. Smooth and warm and soft, she dropped the shirt to the floor and found the dragon tattoo. It was done in black and red, the scales were shiny with sliver and gold flecks. Its sinewy body wrapped around his midsection, with its head on his shoulder blade and flames licking across his back. She ran her tongue along it, and he arched his back and moaned under her touch. She feathered her fingers along his skin and she could feel goose bumps rising in response. He reached down and caressed her pussy through her panties, running his fingers gently along her mound. Taking her cue from him she placed her hand along his impossibly tight jeans and found (ample) evidence of the effect she had on him.

  Suddenly the front door chimed, and Lilly jumped, as if his skin had burned her. Being dragged back to reality startled her into thinking about what she was actually doing, and she began to regret it. Not doing it, but thinking about it. Having a relationship with him was dumb, and she knew it, having even a non-relationship hot sex romp with him would probably be stupid too, and she knew herself well enough to realize that when he rolled out of town, he’d take a piece of her too. And it would hurt.

  As they scrambled into their clothes the moment was lost and she found she couldn’t meet his eyes. She scurried to the front door, and, after glancing over her shoulder to make sure he was decent, she opened it to find several camera crews staked out on her lawn. It wasn’t his crew for the reality show though, it was TV crews for gossip shows and websites. Apparently word had gotten around fast about where he’d be spending the night.

  “Get off my lawn,” Lilly said, sounding, she thought, remarkably calm in spite of the fact that her heart was hammering and her head was spinning and she could still feel the warmth of his skin under her hands. “You do not have permission to be on my property, so you’ll have to leave.” She could hear them calling questions out to her, even as they beat a retreat from her front yard and headed for the road. It wasn’t a busy street, but they’d have a hard time hanging out in the middle of the road.

  She closed the door firmly behind her, and turned to see him leaning on the doorframe.

  “I’m sorry, they follow me everywhere, I should have warned you.”

  “It’s ok, I should have guessed. Let me make a call,”she said, crossing to pick up the kitchen extension.

  Luke laughed, “I haven’t seen one of those in years.”

  “What this?” She said, indicating the extension. “The phone system was here when I got here, and it’s been convenient to have work calls forwarded here when I’m not around.”

  “It just adds to the charm of the place,” he grinned and she couldn’t decide if he was serious or picking on her.

  Picking up the phone, she pushed a few numbers and waited while it rang. Hearing only her side of the conversation, he couldn’t quite figure out what she was up to. It sounded like she was talking to a relative, brother, uncle someone, a guy definitely. Something about a dragon boat? And a Hummer?

  “There,” she said as she hung up, “all set, wanna come watch?”

  “Watch what?”

  “Just come on, hurry, you’ll miss it!”

  As they approached the window, they could hear sirens in the distance, and slowly a police Humvee came into view, followed closely by a snow plow. The plow was shooting fire.

  The camera crews scrambled out of the way, loading up their equipment and hustling to get their trucks out of the way of the heavy equipment.

  “What the fuck?”

  “My brother is the chief of police, and his best friend runs the town highway garage. The dragon boat plow there, is something the boys use in the worst of the winter to thaw portions of the roads. The Hummer is for flooding, when they have to go in to do rescues. I just suggested tonight would be a good night for a practice run.”

  “I can honestly say that of all the ways I’ve used to duck these guys, I’ve never thought to shoot flames at them.”

  “Pity, look how well it’s working.” The crews were stacked up in their own traffic jam, trying to stay clear of the town’s little welcoming parade.

  “I’ll call them tomorrow,” Luke said, “make a deal, give them some photo ops, record an interview. They suck but I need ‘em, gotta be in the press, ya know?”

  Lilly didn’t know, or really much care about the press, or photo ops, or whether they had to make a deal. She was looking at his face and wondering if they would have stopped kissing if the doorbell hadn’t rung? Would they have continued? How far would it have gone? Her relief at not having had to make any decisions about whether to sleep with him, didn’t feel nearly as good as she would have thought.

  “Hey,” he turned to her “penny for your thoughts.”

  She smiled, “thanks, I think I’ll head up to bed now, it’s been a long crazy day.”

  “Ok,” he said, “but just one thing.”

  “What?”

  “This,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her, and tipped her head back, and hungrily pressed his lips to hers. His tongue was dancing with hers, forward and back, twisting around, deep in her mouth, then withdrawing, so that she would search for it. The kiss left her breathless and feeling more alive than she had in years. When he let her go, she felt deflated, bereft, alone.

  “We’re not done here, just so you know,” he said, and strode out of the room.

  Chapter 5

  Up in her room, Lilly undressed and got ready for bed. She opened the window to let the cool summer air in, and she stood for a moment looking out into her yard. There was her pool, basking in the reflected glow of the moon, and beyond it, the yard and hedges separating her from the neighbors. She relived the moments downstairs, being in his arms, kissing him, holding him. The dragon tattoo moving under her fingers. Even though she had felt like she should stop, she hadn’t wanted to. And she had certainly wanted to continue after he kissed her and wandered off to his own room.

  As she gazed out the window, she thought she glimpsed a figure on the lawn. Her first thought was reporters, but then she realized it was a single individual, naked in the moonlight. As he turned and dove silently into the water, she saw the dragon tattoo and knew for sure it was him. She watched as he surfaced at the other end of the pool. She had often thought of filling it in, the pool was oversized and ate money like it was growing on the trees in the backyard. She was glad now she hadn’t, as she watched him slice through the water, turn and surface going in the other direction. She ached to feel his touch again.

  Luke swam lap after lap, letting the cold water slide over his skin and erase the feel of her. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he was exhausted, he was too amped up from having her in his arms, kissing her, holding her. Shit, he had to think of something else, anything else. Swimming was good, he needed to think about breathing. He had been a swimmer in high school and he sluiced through the water on auto pilot, stroke, breathe, stroke, breathe, until his muscles burned, and he was completely exhausted. He climbed out of the pool and sat on the lawn, drying himself and thinking of her once again. Her memory was a persistent bitch, she would not go away. He knew he would have another chance at her, the question was would he take it? She wasn’t just some girl, she was a woman with a life and a career, and a home, and…there was something more, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Promise? Was that it? Yeah, that was it. She held promise. He could glimpse a future with her, and he had no time for that. His life, other than this crazy interlude, was planned down to the minute by Harry. He was going on tour and wouldn’t be in the same city for more than two or three nights in a row.

  The lights and sounds of the distant boardwalk had quieted in the distance. It was getting late, and the evening was taking on that muffled midnight sound. He turned when he heard the whispered quiet of her footsteps, and she sat beside him soundlessly. Together they looked at the moon and the silence wrapped around them.

  “So,” they both said at the same time.

  “Ye
s,” she laughed quietly.

  “This is awkward.”

  “It is, kinda, but I like having you here.”

  “I like being here. It’s quiet, I can think.” About you, he didn’t say.

  “I’m glad you used the pool, I don’t always have time, and I hate to see it go to waste.”

  “It’s a great pool, so big.”

  “Yeah when they used this place as a resort they wanted to have a larger pool for…”

  He kissed her, interrupting her mid thought. He brought her closer and kissed her again, his lips gentle against hers, his tongue insistent. He ran his hand down her spine and felt her shiver. Pulling her closer he looked into her eyes and ran his thumb down the side of her jaw. Gently he pressed her back onto the lawn, and slid his hands up under her nightshirt. He lay next to her, propped on one elbow and traced his finger tips along her breasts.