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She slowly backed up into the hallway only ten or so feet from me. When she’d inched her way closer, I finally spoke. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Shit!” she screeched as she jumped. Her hand lay over her heart as she whirled around to face me.
“Whatcha doing, James Bond?” I asked, unable to stop the grin that stole across my face.
“Shut up.” She whacked my chest and huffed. “I lied to Peter about where I was going.”
We walked side-by-side to the door of the studio. “Why?”
“He had a lot of questions about us,” she admitted. “He’s angry I haven’t called him back yet. He’s angry we’re together. I’m angry that he’s angry instead of being happy for us, and I haven’t confronted him yet about any of it. I’ve been letting Wendy deal with him because I don’t know what to say.”
I nodded, anger of my own burning through my veins that she hadn’t told Peter to stop being a dick and let her date who she wants.
But she was here now. With me. And I knew how hard it must be for her to skip out on Peter like that.
“Your daring escape deserves a reward, don’t you think?” I slipped my arm around her waist and tugged her off balance.
She gripped the front of my shirt, her eyes downcast and flirty. “I wasverystealthy.”
I wanted to yank her up and wrap her legs around my waist, but instead I settled for a light kiss. The pout of her lips told me she’d hoped for a little more, too. “I’d think the big bad rock god could do better than that.”
“Oh, is that so?” I whirled her around, pressed her back to the wall, sliding my knee between her open thighs.
She whimpered as I nipped at her bottom lip. “You want more?”
“Yes,” she groaned, her hands fisting the front of my shirt.
My lips peppered the column of her neck, teeth grazing her pulse point. She sunk down the wall grinding her core on my leg.
“Let’s not give the cameras too much of a show,” I whispered in her ear, feeling her stiffen. “What if the security team was watching us right now?” I was familiar with dodging cameras in this place, and with the bulk of my body shielding her I knew they couldn’t see anything. But I wanted to see if I could tease out her inner exhibitionist again.
The hitch in her breath confirmed she didn’t completely mind. Knowing we needed to hurry though, I let my lips descendonto hers. I slid my hand up under her shirt and caressed her soft skin as her hands dug into my shoulders, likely leaving behind tiny crescents the same shape as her fingernails.
I fucking loved the idea of her marking me.
Tris let out a light humming sound that drove me wild as I swiped my tongue over her lips, coaxing them open, and deepened the kiss.
A throat cleared behind me and I shifted my body to shoot a glare at the employee who dared interrupt us. “I, uh, sorry, Mr. Hook. I just needed to get something I left behind.” He scurried past us and pulled open a nearby door.
Tris covered her face with her hands and giggled nervously. Her cheeks and neck were a fiery pink as we straightened up and completed the walk to the recording studio. It would be our little secret that the change of color in her skin wasn’t completely due to embarrassment.
I waved to Sam, a junior producer, who sat at the soundboard. Even though we weren’t recording the final songs today, we’d play around to get a sense of what worked and what didn’t. Sam would sit with Tink and let her practice mixing our songs.
After hearing that she gave up on her career, I wanted to help her see that her old dream was still possible, and that if she wanted to do this as a profession, there were options.
I also had another reason for her to be here today.
After yesterday and the way I opened up to her, inspiration had struck. Earlier this morning, I’d written like a man possessed.
“Sam,” I greeted the younger man when he waved from his chair.
We shook hands before he turned his attention to Tris. “I heard we have someone interested in the recording side ofthings. Nice to see you getting more involved Trissa. I’ve always thought your instincts and suggestions were spot on.”
Tink’s eyes grew wide and another pretty blush stained her cheeks. “Hi. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any of this.”
“No worries. You can play around while Killian and the guys sing.”
“Thank you.” Her face lit up with joy and excitement.