Page 14 of Edge of Heaven (Crimson Edge #2)

Mick

I wake to feel a warm, soft body pressed to mine, and my eyes pop open.

Taryn’s back is pressed to my front and she’s fast asleep.

One of my arms is draped over her but we’re both fully dressed, on top of the blankets.

We drank the bottle of champagne and sat up half the night talking.

At some point, she dozed off so I put her on the bed, fully intending to sleep on the little couch by the window, but she’d reached out a hand.

Whispered something about trusting me. How it was cold, and I’m too tall for the little love seat.

So I crawled onto the bed without hesitation.

And I don’t know if she’s truly asleep, but if she isn’t, she has to feel the erection pressing against her round little ass. Even with two layers of clothing between us.

I have to move because this is torture.

She asked me to be her friend, asked me to wait until she’s officially free of Callum. I agreed, so I intend to stand by my word, but I also need to avoid this kind of temptation. Once we’re back on tour we’ll never be alone so it won’t be like this but damn, this is nice.

I’m still reeling from some of the things she told me last night, and I plan to wrack my brain to come up with a solution that could potentially get her out of her situation with Callum.

She made me promise not to tell anyone, which is frustrating, but I’m going to figure this out.

I have to.

I never thought I believed in love at first sight, but that’s because I didn’t recognize it four years ago. Now that I’ve been able to spend time with her again, it’s clear that it’s always been her.

It doesn’t make sense, but I don’t think love is supposed to be sensical—it’s just supposed to feel good.

And it does.

Even though we’re not together.

Even though I can’t touch her the way I want to.

But she feels what I feel.

So I’m going to man the fuck up and wait until she’s ready.

I quietly slide out of bed and head to the bathroom, taking care of business and brushing my teeth. I’m not sure why, since sex isn’t on the table, but it never hurts to put your best foot forward when it comes to a beautiful woman.

She’s still asleep when I come out so I quietly change into workout clothes and then leave her a note, telling her I’ll be back around ten and to order breakfast for us if she wants.

Then I slip out and head to the hotel gym.

Our flight isn’t until this afternoon, so it’ll be good to work out before going to the airport. I try to stay in shape, especially since I still smoke. I know I need to quit, and I’ve cut down a lot, but it’s a process. Maybe someday I’ll quit completely, like if I have kids.

Kids.

Does Taryn want more kids?

We’re nowhere near ready to have a conversation like that, but I can’t help but wonder. Is that our future? Is she the white picket fence I never knew I wanted?

Being with her means I’ll immediately become a stepfather, and even though it’s never been on my radar before, I’m okay with it. He’s nine, so it’s not like a newborn. And his father is dead, which means there won’t be any drama from an ex.

Other than Callum, of course.

I have a feeling he’s going to continue to mistreat her right up until the end, and guys like him piss me off. They get off on the power of belittling the woman in their life. Making her feel small so they can feel bigger—and it makes no sense.

From the outside looking in, Callum has it all.

A successful career as a rock star, money, fame, and a gorgeous woman. What does treating her so badly add to the equation? In my opinion, there’s something wrong with him, some kind of narcissistic, psychotic behavior.

I fucking hate that this is Taryn’s reality.

If I could trade places with her, I would.

The strong feelings I have for her may not make sense, but they exist, so it would be stupid to try to deny them. I just have to find a way to live with the status quo—knowing she goes to bed with him every night and puts up with his emotional and verbal abuse—for four more months.

It might kill me, but I’m not going to give up.

And I’m definitely not going to abandon her.

* * *

When I get back to the room, Taryn’s gone, but there’s a note saying she ordered breakfast and she’ll be back after she showers and gets dressed.

I take a quick shower too, and I’ve just pulled on jeans when there’s a knock on the door.

“Good morning,” I say when I open it.

“Good morning.”

She looks refreshed; the circles beneath her eyes are gone, and she has a twinkle in them that I haven’t seen in a long time.

“I ordered us the deluxe continental breakfast,” she says, coming into the room. “There were too many choices otherwise. This way, we’ll get a big pot of coffee and two baskets of different pastries and such. Carb overload, but I don’t care. I can cheat one day.”

“Absolutely,” I agree.

“You should have woken me,” she says, sinking into a chair. “I would have gone to the gym with you.”

“I think you needed the sleep more than thirty minutes on the treadmill.”

She hesitates but then sighs. “You’re probably right. I don’t sleep well most nights.”

“Did you last night?” I ask softly.

“I slept like the dead,” she admits. “Thank you.”

“What did I do?” I ask in surprise.

“Champagne. Conversation. Letting me sleep beside you with no demands.

I scowl. “There will never be any demands in that department. No is fucking no.”

“That’s the problem,” she whispers. “I don’t know if I would have said no.”

“You gave me a boundary,” I say firmly. “Unless and until we have another conversation about that, it’s a firm no. You said you don’t want to cheat, so we’re not going to do that.”

“It won’t be no forever.” Her eyes meet mine.

“I know.” I lean over and brush my lips across her forehead. “Let me finish packing up my stuff. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” She nods and just as I go back into the bathroom, I hear the knock indicating that our breakfast arrived.

“Looks like Hettie took care of the bill,” Taryn calls out to me. “Including last night’s dinner and breakfast. She just texted me not to worry about any incidentals—she’s covering it all.”

“That’s nice,” I say, coming out of the bathroom with my toiletry bag and dropping it into my carryon.

“She’s really great,” Taryn says, pouring us each a cup of coffee.

“I’m looking forward to working with her. I just hope the band is on board.”

“I’m sure she’ll offer fair compensation,” she says. “Her deal with us is different, but if she’s going to use your music and stuff, she has to know it won’t be cheap.”

“It could potentially give us great exposure,” I say, pulling a raspberry Danish out of the basket and taking a bite. “Damn, this is good. Thank fuck I have a good metabolism.”

“Can I have a little bite? That’s the only raspberry one.” She leans over and opens her mouth.

Jesus .

I swallow as I put the pastry close enough for her to bite it. She takes her time, nibbling a little bit on the edge before slowly closing her lips around a piece and tugging it free. Her eyes meet mine as she chews, and she giggles playfully.

Fuck.

It’s going to be a long four months.

“You know you’re torturing me, right?” I murmur.

Her smile vanishes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t?—”

“It’s fine.” I put a hand on hers. “Really. Torture away. I’m a grown man. A little teasing never hurt anyone.”

“You know that once we get back to the tour I have to… pretend like I barely know you, right?”

“I know the rules,” I say gently. “Don’t worry about me, okay? We’re going to ride out the next four months. You just focus on taking care of yourself and making sure Toby has everything he needs.”

“Thank you.” She looks like she’s getting emotional again, and the last thing I want to do is make her cry. We only have about an hour before we have to leave for the airport, and I want our limited time together to be lighthearted.

“Hey, listen to this. I sent my dad a couple of the outtakes from yesterday’s shoot,” I tell her. “This is his response.”

I hold out my phone so she can read my dad’s message.

DAD: You look good with makeup. Maybe wear it more often? You’ll probably find a girlfriend faster…

She throws her head back and laughs. “He sounds like a hoot .”

“He is.” I chuckle too. “He thinks there’s something wrong with me that I’m in a rock band and still can’t manage to find a girlfriend.”

She cocks her head, squinting slightly. “He understands that you can , right? You just haven’t found the right one?”

I hesitate but figure I have nothing to lose in laying it all out there for her.

“Oh, I’ve found her,” I say. “I’m just waiting for her to be ready for me.”

“I’m ready,” she whispers. “I’m just not… available.”

“And I’ll be right here as soon as you are.”