Page 35 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

“This guy is a fucking sadist,” a voice growled from behind me, accompanied by a clomping set of footsteps. “I can’t believe you hired him to torture me.”

Dean Bennett had arrived. I had never met him before, but I’d been aware of him almost my whole life, just like everyone else who had even a passing interest in rock music.

North Portal was inescapable. But if I hadn’t known who he was, I wouldn’t have recognized Dean Bennett as the vital lead guitarist.

He looked like an old man. His signature shoulder-length hair had turned white, and he was using a cane to trudge into the room. Half of his face drooped slightly.

The blonde man beside him laughed brightly and clapped him on the shoulder. “And you’re paying me very well to do it.”

Dean grumbled and made his way to the couch. Each step looked like a struggle.

“Good day today?” Adeline asked the therapist, sounding anxious.

“Very good. We’re making a lot of progress on fine motor skills,” he answered. “See you tomorrow!” he called over his shoulder with a wave.

Dean settled onto the couch with a sigh, flexing his left hand. “Damn kid has me all cramped up.” His speech was slow, and a bit slurred.

Adeline pulled me gently over to the couch and presented me like an offering to the king. “Dean, this is Ellis.”

He noticed me for the first time and squinted at me. “Am I supposed to know who you are? My memory is shit now.”

“He’s Charlie’s… guest,” Adeline said with a sly smile.

“I’m also a huge fan,” I admitted to Dean. It wasn’t often you had a chance to meet living legends, even diminished ones. “It’s an honor to meet you. You’ve been a massive inspiration for me.”

He grunted and spread his arms. The left arm didn’t go quite as high. “That’s me. Mr. Inspirational,” he said sarcastically.

“Hey, Dad,” Charlie said from beside me. He was smiling, but I could see the tension around his eyes. “You’re looking good.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what everyone says,” he replied, dropping his arms. “Good to see you, kiddo. Been a while.”

Charlie nodded, still with that fixed smile. “Yeah, it has.”

Adeline started fussing around Dean, making sure he was comfortable.

“I’m going for a hike,” Charlie said in my ear, with barely concealed desperation. “Do you want to come?”

I had less than zero interest in exploring the great outdoors, but Charlie clearly needed a break. And being with him was much better than wallowing in despair. “A hike sounds lovely.”

Charlie dug up some ratty trainers for me to wear on our traipse through the woods. The only regular physical activity I got was onstage, or my wandering walks around the city, so the long, slow uphill had me quickly out of breath.

“Did you grow up out here?” I asked. He seemed perfectly at ease in the woods.

“No, we had a place in the city. My parents bought this place as a vacation home, but then when my dad’s health started declining, they moved out here permanently,” he answered. He’d picked up a fallen bough and was idly swatting at the undergrowth. “What about you?”

“I grew up in London with my mum, but we moved to the States when I was still young. She always wanted a fresh start, so we bounced around a lot.”

We’d reached a small clearing, and the view opened up across the valley. It was undeniably beautiful. “Where’s your mom now?” Charlie asked,

“Back in London. She couldn’t stand being away from home in the end. I visit at Christmas sometimes.”

“You’re not close?”

“No. I was closer to Michael’s mums. They’re a lot more maternal.” I missed them. The last time I’d seen them was at Michael’s funeral, when I could barely stand to look them in the eyes. The memory made me feel sick.

Charlie touched my hand briefly. Why had I brought Michael up again? Telling Charlie about what I’d done seemed to have opened up some kind of internal dam.

As we climbed, I heard rushing water, and we emerged into another clearing, this one dominated by a waterfall that spilled down into a rocky pool. Sunlight glinted through the trees and dappled the surface of the water. We were the only ones around.

“Nice, right?” Charlie asked.

“Very picturesque,” I agreed.

“It’s my favorite place to escape to when I come to visit.

The water’s cold, but I’m going in.” His smile was mischievous, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

He stripped off quickly to his underwear.

I didn’t pretend not to watch, and he noticed.

His tanned legs were as muscular as his chest and arms. “You coming?”

“Darling, if you wanted to see me naked, you didn’t have to bring me all the way out here. I would have been happy to do this in that nice, cozy bedroom.” I raised a brow and pulled off my shirt, which was damp with sweat. He watched me undress, and I felt his eyes on me like the touch of his hand.

There was too much space between us, but also not enough. His scent was thickening along with my own. My cock stirred the longer we stared at each other.

“Your eyes are incredible in the sunlight. Like a melted glacier,” he murmured. My stomach dropped pleasantly. As compliments went, it was wonderful and unexpected given our current state of undress.

“Sweet Charlie,” I said, smiling. “Yours are lovely and warm, just like the rest of you.”

He smiled brilliantly back. “I promise my intentions were pure in bringing you up here.”

“Sure they were,” I agreed dryly. “First, you engineered us sharing a bed, now you’ve got me nearly nude and all alone in the wilderness.”

Charlie blushed, but his grin grew wider.

“I said my intentions were pure, not my thoughts.” He finally moved to close the distance between us, a question in his eyes, and I didn’t move away.

He placed his hands on my hips, his thumbs brushing the curves of my hipbones.

I should have stepped away, but I didn’t.

Instead, I wrapped my hands around his forearms, feeling the muscles shift beneath his skin. The moment felt suspended in amber.

He took a deep breath, then licked his lips. “I know this is terrible timing, and could make things super complicated. But I’ve recently learned that I shouldn’t wait to tell people how I feel. And, well, I’ve got a serious crush on you.”

My stomach swooped with pleasure and a twinge of dread, like stepping over the edge of a cliff.

I didn’t want to hurt him like I’d hurt everyone else in my life. But those warm eyes? were practically glowing, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. “And here I thought I’d been friend-zoned,” I teased, but my smile dropped. “But really? Even knowing that I’m not a good person?”

Charlie’s thumbs were still brushing along my hips. “I beg to differ. You’re not perfect. No one is. But you are a good person.”

“I’m a mess, darling,” I said wearily.

“Yeah, so am I. So is everyone. Can’t we be messy together?”

Had there ever been a more tempting offer?

Before I could respond, Charlie leaned forward and kissed me softly, so different from the last time.

Then, it had been furious and frustrated. Now, he was sweeter than ever.

I sighed in surrender, then slid my hands up his arms, over his shoulders, and into the thick hair at the nape of his neck, reveling in every glorious inch of warm skin.

He pulled me closer, and it was heaven. I traced his lips with my tongue, and he opened for me, as receptive and enthusiastic as I remembered.

But we took our time, savoring the kiss for what it was rather than as a means to something else.

We broke apart, panting, and Charlie pressed his forehead to mine. “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”

I brushed my thumb across his stubbled jaw, pleased when a little shiver ran through him. “Darling, I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been wanting to do.”

Charlie huffed a laugh. His eyes were like liquid gold, and I spent a moment just drinking him in. Part of me knew I didn’t deserve someone so openhearted, but I’d enjoy it while I could.

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop,” Charlie said, giving me another swift kiss. “It’s too beautiful outside for brooding.”

I drew my finger around the shell of his ear and down the side of his neck, just for the pleasure of watching him react so sweetly to my touch.

He captured my hand and placed a soft kiss on each fingertip.

The danger of becoming dependent on his guileless responses impressed itself on me all over again.

I smiled ruefully. “Leaving aside your terrible taste in men, we do need to talk about something,” I said. “Jess.”

He stiffened. “What about her?”

“Do you love her?” I’d meant to be more tactful, and the question seemed to echo through the quiet of the clearing.

He leaned away from me, and I saw fear in his eyes. Silence fell between us, the only sound the rushing of the waterfall. For once, I was patient.

“I’m not sure. I think about her just as much as I think about you, so roughly every five minutes, and I’ve got this pain. Right here.” He used a knuckle to rub a spot above his solar plexus. “But she’s made it clear she doesn’t feel the same.”

I was familiar with that Jess-sized hole in his chest. I’d had the same one for ten years, patched over with scar tissue, but there all the same and more obvious now than ever.

“I don’t want you to have any regrets. If there’s even a chance you could be happy with her, you’re ruining it with me,” I said bluntly.

My heart thrummed with tension. I waited for him to step back, to reconsider. It was the logical thing to do. Given the choice between a strong, beautiful Omega and a broken person with absolutely nothing to offer, I know which option I’d choose.

But he didn’t move away.

“I won’t regret you,” he said, and the expression in his eyes never changed as he kissed me again.

I just hoped I wouldn’t prove him wrong.

Charlie broke our kiss again. He walked backward toward the rocky pool, smiling mischievously at me. “You coming?” he asked before splashing in.

I sighed, tried not to think about leeches, and followed.