Richard’s eyes narrowed as he joined Cliff at the booth. “Are you drinking sangria?”
“Yeah.” The singer smiled. “I was in the mood for something sweet.”
That’s a girly drink, Richard thought, but he didn’t dare say it aloud. “My ex drank those fruity things.”
He paused. Was Cliff drinking Kat’s drink because he’d hooked up with her?
“Man, you look all pensive and shit all of a sudden,” Cliff complained. “She must have done a number on you.”
Richard nodded. “I was nothing but good to that girl, but not good enough.” He considered bringing up his suspicions about Kat cheating on him after the Bleeding Vengeance concert, but he decided it would be too risky.
Cliff clinked their glasses together. “I hear that. My voice and guitar are enough to get me almost any woman I want, but not enough to keep them.”
A pleasant buzz settled over Richard as they exchanged woman woes. With good booze, good conversation, hot chicks, and great music in the background, he found himself happier than he’d been in months. Cliff wasn’t a bad guy, he realized. Suddenly, he felt like an ass for sending him that dead cat. It wasn’t Cliff’s fault that Kat was a faithless slut. He wouldn’t do anything else to Cliff, he decided, and immediately felt better for it. Maybe they could even be real friends. Maybe he should quit bothering with Kat, too. Cliff would eventually find out how worthless she was, and hell, the look on her face when she found out that he was buddies with the band might be worth it. Maybe he could even take her spot as the guitarist for Bleeding Vengeance.
Richard quaffed his drink and cast an appreciative eye on a smoking hot bitch dancing to the music of the band. Maybe all he needed was to get laid.
He nudged Cliff. “Hey, check out that hot piece. We should have some fun.”
The singer frowned. “Her name’s Diane. I tried to hit her up last week but she wasn’t interested. She just went through a divorce.”
“So?”
“So she’s not interested in dating anyone right now.”
“Who says anything about dating? I was thinking we could tag team her in the restroom.”
Cliff’s eyes narrowed. “First off, I don’t share, and second, dude, are you talking about raping her?”
Richard shook his head vigorously. “No, nothing like that. I figure we could buy her drinks until she changes her mind. And we don’t have to share. Her friend’s kinda cute.”
Cliff’s frown deepened. “Nah, man, I don’t hold with any chick having to be drunk to want to get with me. Besides, I’m not in the mood to deal with women tonight.”
“Well, what do you want to do?” Just sitting here was getting boring.
Cliff shrugged. “Same thing I want to do every night after busting my ass in the studio. Drink.”
Richard laughed. “That’s understandable. And if you want something stronger, I’ve got some rock we could smoke.”
Cliff slammed his glass down on the table. Crimson liquid splashed on his hand, and his face was livid. “Did you not hear what happened to our last guitarist? I don’t touch that shit.”
“I’m sorry man, I just—”
Cliff shook his head and rose from the table. “I’m taking off. Have a good night.”
Through blurry eyes, Richard watched the singer head off to the pool tables and grab Roderick. He raised his hand to wave goodbye, but neither of the musicians looked at him.
***
Kat’s heart pounded as she gazed up at Klement, waiting for his reaction. Not knowing what else to do about the unbearable tension between them, she’d broken down and come up with this insane plan. She’d dressed in the sexiest outfit she had and marched into his office to find out if his kiss had been a fluke, if their attraction was only one-sided. Yes, before she confronted him about being IT Guy, she wanted one night in his arms.
Her plan was ridiculous. Now, as he stood staring down at her, her face burned with humiliation. She was an idiot. Grasping the edges of her robe, she started to cover herself, to turn and flee.
Strong hands seized her. Kat gasped as Klement yanked her into his arms, pulling her tight against his body. His lips came down on hers, searing hot and savage. A low moan escaped her throat as she rose up on her tiptoes and tangled her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer.
On and on the kiss went, spiraling her into a vortex of lust. Her knees went weak, legs turned to jelly as the intensity of his kiss overwhelmed her. Kat whimpered as she stumbled into the corner of his desk, breaking it.
“I’m sorry,” Klement whispered against her lips. Then he knelt, his hands sliding down her body and past her thighs to lift the hem of her negligee. He placed a gentle kiss on her hip where she’d bumped the desk.
She nearly stumbled again as his fingers caressed her thighs, moving higher and higher, until he was at the verge of touching the throbbing source of her need. Suddenly he stopped and rose to his feet. Kat nearly cried out in disappointment.
“We shouldn’t do this,” he said.
“But—”
He placed a hand at the small of her back, guiding her out of his office.
A sinking feeling weighed Kat’s stomach. She closed her eyes. Was he sending her back to her room? Then her eyes opened and she saw that they were heading into his.
Klement’s enormous California King-sized bed filled her vision. Her pulse rose and a thrill rushed through her body at the sound of the door closing and the lock clicking into place.
“We really shouldn’t do this,” he repeated as his hands wrapped around her waist.
Kat grasped his shoulders as he lifted her onto the high bed while he remained standing. Her hand tangled in his hair as she nibbled on his neck, savoring the salty taste of his skin. A low growl sounded in his throat as he slid the sheer robe off of her shoulders to puddle on the floor. His hands cupped her breasts, thumbs teasing her nipples.
She tugged at his shirt, eager to feel his bare skin. He pulled away a moment and obliged her, pulling the shirt up and over his head.
Kat’s jaw dropped at the sight of his bare chest. For such a lanky guy, he’d been hiding a lot of bulk. Her hungry gaze took in the cords of sinew and planes of muscle stretching over his broad shoulders, chest and abs. Reaching out, she lightly caressed his skin, marveling at its hot, firm feel. Her thumb brushed his stiff nipple, and she leaned forward to taste him.
Klement groaned and joined her on the bed, hands sliding all over her body, caressing and exploring. Kat sucked in a breath as his mouth closed over the sensitive part of her neck. Her hips arched forward, wanting more.
He moved close. She could feel his hardness straining against the rough fabric of his jeans. With one hand caressing his chest, she slid the other down his flat stomach and over the bulge between his legs. Klement made a hissing sound through his teeth. His fingers, which had been playing with her inner thighs, glided up beneath her soaking panties.
A cry escaped her lips at the magic he wrought on her clit and labia. He played her body with all of the intricacy and skill of a virtuoso. Fingers working exquisite pressure points and nerve endings like guitar strings, he wrought a song within her body, and Kat writhed on the bed beneath his ministrations, gasping and panting as her entire being sang with aching need.
Klement looked down at her, his lips curved in a rakish smile. “Do you want me to use my tongue?”
Unable to speak, she nodded. Richard had never done that.
She watched in naked awe at Klement’s primal beauty as he knelt between her legs and pulled her panties down over her hips and past her ankles. His hands moved beneath her to cup her ass. His head bent down, and his tongue flicked across her slick flesh. Her hips bucked, but he held her firm.
“Oh my God!”
She gasped at the intense sensation as his mouth closed over her mound. Klement’s tongue delved into every crevice and fold before darting over her clit, inflaming every nerve ending with electric frissons of unbearable pleasure. Then orgasm ripped through her, making her scream.
Kat lay back on the bed, chest heaving. She gathered her breath. Her core still ached with a need to be filled.
A low satisfied sound reverberated from Klement as he rested his head on her belly. When he sat up, however, Kat reached for his jeans, fumbling at the button and zipper, desperate to feel his cock.
Her hand finally closed over his hot, silken length. The tip of him was wet, and Kat licked her lips. She could imagine the taste and the scent and—
Klement rose from the bed and slipped off his jeans before grabbing a condom from the bedside drawer, but instead of slipping on the protection and giving her what she craved, he drew out her exquisite torture. Covering her body with his, he trailed his lips up and down the column of her throat, his hands reaching between their bodies to touch every inch of her exposed flesh. He pulled the negligee down, exposing her breasts to his hands and mouth.
“Please,” Kat gasped, unable anymore to bear his ministrations. “I need you inside of me.”
With record speed, he donned the condom, and Kat cried out as his thick cock slid inside her. Her nails dug into his back, pulling Klement closer, needing more.
He moved deep and slowly within her wetness, a hypnotic rhythm. All sense of time and consciousness ceased; her awareness narrowed solely to the delicious weight of him, their mingled heartbeats, the blissful fulfillment of him inside her. She clung to him, arching her hips up to meet his thrusts.
“Oh my God,” she whispered in a mindless mantra as her body was reduced to unadulterated sensation. Those whispers escalated to moans and cries. With each potent thrust her body clenched around him, riding the building waves of her next impending climax.
Stars exploded before her eyes, and her clit pulsed and throbbed in rhythmic ecstasy. Wracking tremors shook Kat as unfathomable pleasure crashed over her in a never-ending cascade, and just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the jolts ebbed away, leaving her deliciously limp and boneless.
Through half-lidded eyes she watched Klement’s glorious form rising up over her, his head thrown back as his own climax. Kat felt another surge of pleasure as his deep groan vibrated against her chest, and she felt him shudder within her.
He collapsed on top of her. For a while they two lay entwined, panting and trembling. Kat raised a languid hand and caressed his cheek. She stared at him, awestruck at the power of what he’d made her feel.
Slowly, he lowered his head and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before rolling off to flop on his back.
“I can’t believe we did that,” he said finally.
“Mmmm-hmmm,” Kat mumbled, still reeling in the aftershocks of her orgasm, incapable of coherent speech. Reluctant to allow the break in their contact, she trailed her fingers along his bicep, admiring the sight of his naked body, glistening from their lovemaking.
He moved away and got up from the bed. Kat watched him stride across the room into the bathroom to remove the condom, and his butt looked even cuter without pants.
Kat sighed and sat up, searching for her panties. Tugging them on, she carefully slid off of the high bed and adjusted her disheveled nightgown. Every inch of her skin tingled from Klement’s touch.
When he emerged, she rose and moved toward him, wanting to wrap her arms around him and press her cheek against his chest. But the coolness of his voice stopped her.
“We should get dressed,” he said, pulling on his boxer briefs. “The guys should be back any time. They won’t stay out too late on a recording night.”
Kat got the hint.
Fleeing to her room, she changed into a t-shirt and jeans. Passing the mirror, she halted at the sight of her messed up hair and puffy lips. The memory of what happened to put her in that state gave her a delicious shiver, and yet the sound of the front door opening and Cliff and Rod’s drunken voices down the hall had her scrambling for the hairbrush.
When she emerged from her room, she heard Klement talking with them in the music room. On quaking legs, she headed up the stairs to join them. Every step made her hyper aware of the tenderness between her thighs.
Klement glanced at her before turning back to Cliff. Their brief eye contact was enough to make unbearable longing spear her through the chest.
Rod smiled as she joined them. “Hello, love. Had enough clicking away on your computer?”
“Um, yeah.” That’s what she was supposed to have been doing.
She looked over at Klement again, only from the corner of her eye, but he was loading his pipe with studious concentration. Clearly he didn’t want anyone to know what they’d done, and her stomach churned with something like hurt. Was he ashamed?
If so, what did that mean for the future? Any of it?