Beat of the Heart Read online

  “Listen, now is not a good time.” As I started to pull Kylie’s arms away from me, Mia bolted out of her seat, streaking towards the door as fast as she could with the packed crowd. Abandoning Kylie, I started weaving my way through the crowd. “Mia, wait!” I called.

  Ignoring me, she kept fighting her way through the people. “Fuck,” I muttered before I resorted manhandling people out of the way to get to her. Grabbing her by the arm, I whirled her around, forcing her to look at me. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Tears sparkled in her dark eyes. “I’m sorry, AJ, but I have to go.”

  “Come with me,” I shouted over the crowd and house music. Taking her hand, I led her through the mass of people to the backroom where we’d first met up earlier in the evening.

  Once I closed the door behind us, I asked, “Is this about what just happened with Kylie?”

  Mia snorted. “No dumbass, it’s about the fact the drinks here suck.”

  I held up my hands. “Look, I’m sorry. That was a douche question. Of course, you’re pissed about that. But she’s just an old girlfriend of mine who thought we’d started something up again a few weeks ago. There’s nothing there. I swear.”

  Mia shook her head. “It’s not just her. Your past seems to be everywhere. I couldn’t even go to the bathroom without running into some skank who’d blown you before and had ideas she was getting her hooks into you again for a repeat performance.”

  I grimaced when I realized who she was talking about Lyla—one of the Sugar Magnolia girls. “Nothing would have happened with her. I’m here with you.”

  My words didn’t appear to mean shit to Mia because her expression remained sad. “I’m sorry, AJ, but being in your world tonight was a bad idea—it just showed me how much we’re a bad idea.”

  My brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  She closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. “I know it’s only been a week, but I like you. I like you a lot, okay? I don’t know where this is heading, but I know that if things keep up like they are…” She drew in a ragged breath. “The bottom line is I’m not cut out for your world. I have too many of my own issues with men coupled with my insecurities to deal with your groupies.”

  “Dammit, Mia, I swear that Kylie and those other girls don’t mean shit to me.”

  “But they mean a lot to me. I don’t know how to deal with it. You were just supposed to be about me getting back in the game, not being tossed right back out into the same shark-infested waters as before.” When I winced at her words, she reached up to cup my cheek. “I wish I could do this, but I can’t.” When she started to open the door, my palm landed on the wood, slamming it shut.

  Desperation and anger rocketed through me. “So that’s it? We’re totally fucked as a potential couple just because I have a dick. That’s bullshit.”

  “You don’t understand—”

  “No, I don’t think you understand. When I’m in a relationship, I’m in it for the long haul. I have never cheated once on any of my girlfriends. Ever. I was a freakin’ altar boy back in the day, and that makes me take fidelity pretty damn serious. Get it through your thick skull, Mia, I’m not Dev—I’m not going to do that to you.” When Mia continued staring down at the grungy carpet, I huffed out a growl of frustration. “Look at me dammit.” I reached over and cupped her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my eyes. “I mean it. I’m not Dev. Don’t walk away from me just because you think I’m someone I’m not.”

  Pain replaced Mia’s sad expression. “I wish that it was just about Dev, but there are other…bad experiences from my past that make this hard for me.”

  Realizing I wasn’t getting anywhere with her, I decided to change up my game. With a sneer, I replied, “Where’s the ball-busting, Sicilian Mia that went toe to toe with me the first time I met her? The last thing I ever would have thought is that you’re a coward.”

  Her dark eyes narrowed at me. “How dare you call me a coward! If you knew what all I’d been through.”

  “We all have our shit. Quit acting like a martyr to your past.”

  “Fuck you!” she spat, before she reached for the doorknob. I knocked her hand away before gripping her shoulders and whirling her body around. When I molded myself against her, she struggled against me. “Stop it, AJ,” she hissed.

  I silenced her by bringing my mouth down hard against hers. At first, it was like kissing a brick wall, but the moment I slid my tongue against her lips, a tiny moan escaped her. Her reaction must’ve spooked her because she tried to jerk away. Instead, I tightened my arms around her. “Don’t run away. You want this…you want me.”

  Jerking her chin up, she glared at me. “It doesn’t matter what I want. Considering my past, I wanted a lot of shit that fucking wrecked me. So, let me go.”

  A volatile mixture of desperation and fury swelled in my chest, and I fought to keep my head on straight and not explode. I’d never met a woman like Mia, but at the same time, I knew if I let her out the door, I might not ever see her again. I was not going to let that happen—not while I was still breathing. I shook my head at her. “I’m not going anywhere, and you’re sure as hell not going anywhere,” I hissed against her mouth. My hands swept around her back, searching out the zipper on her dress. Once I found it, I jerked it down before pulling both of the straps on her dress down. As my hand came around her ribcage, I grazed her breast, and she sucked in a breath. Before I even touched her breast, the nipple had hardened in anticipation.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she questioned breathlessly, as I continued to palm her breast.

  “I’m about to fuck some sense into you,” I growled, as I jerked the hem of my shirt over my head.

  When she started to protest again, I took both of her hands in one of mine and pinned them above her head. Her eyes widened, not with fear, but with desire. “You like that, don’t you?”

  “No,” she snapped, thrashing against me.

  I gave a low laugh. “Oh yes, you do like it.” Leaning over, I licked a trail from her chin up to her ear. A shudder rippled over her body, and I knew with every second she was warming more and more to me—giving in to what she really wanted but that her mind railed against. I nipped and licked at her mouth, grazing her bottom lip between my teeth. “How wet is your pussy right now, Mia? How bad do you want me to fuck you hard and fast up against this door?”

  A whimper escaped her lips, and I could see her resolve was slowly fading. With my free hand, I pulled the front of her dress down further and eased it over her hips. It was harder than I thought one handed. After it fell to the floor, I met her gaze again. Both lust and fury burned in them. I raked my eyes over her body—her sexy black lace bra and panties caused my dick to pound against my zipper. I wanted more than anything to drive home the point of how much she really wanted me and how good we were together to her stubborn ass, but at the same time, her broken expression out in the club flashed before my eyes. I didn’t want to do anything to make her hate me later on. “Tell me you don’t want to do this, and I’ll stop.”

  She stared at me, her chest rising harshly, before she slowly shook her head. “I wish I could, but I can’t.” She swallowed hard. “You’re so fucking wrong for me, but I still want you—I want you in every way possible.”

  Frustration burned within me at her words. I wanted to prove to Mia that she was wrong—I was right for her. I dropped my hand from hers, letting her arms fall free. We stood there, staring intently at each other for a few seconds, our chests rising and falling with heavy breaths. Reaching out, I took Mia’s hand and brought it to my chest, splaying her fingers over my skin. “Do you feel my heartbeat racing?”

  “Yes,” she whispered softly.

  “That’s for you and you alone.”

  Her dark brows rose in surprise. “You really feel that much for me?”

  I nodded. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Don’t fight it—feel it.” I then s
lid her hand down over my abdomen and brought it over my dick. “Now do you feel that? That is fucking rock hard for you and only you. It only wants to be buried deep inside you. It didn’t twitch once when Kylie was pressed against me, but all you have to do is breathe, and it’s raring to go.” Reaching between us, I stroked between her legs. “You’re soaked for me and only for me, right?”

  “Yes, AJ. Only for you,” she moaned, as I worked her over the thin scrap of lace. Her head fell back against the door, and her breath came in tiny pants.

  “I can do this, but I want to hear you say it.” I slid one finger into her panties. “Tell me what you want, amorcitio mio.”

  Raising her head, she stared at me for a moment before licking her lips in anticipation. “Take me, AJ. Take me hard like we both like it.”

  I grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. Now undress me, Mia. Show me how much you want me.” Instantly, I had a flashback of our night together in the limo when I had to prove my desire for her by touching myself and then giving over to her will. This time I was asking her submit, and it made me even harder.

  Without another word, her fingers came to fumble with the button and zipper on my jeans before she undid them and slid them down. She didn’t waste any time stripping off my boxers. When I stood naked before her, I jerked my chin up at her. “Now you.” Mia reached around to unclasp her bra. With a teasing gleam in her eyes, she slowly slid the straps down one at a time over her arms. Then she kept one hand flat against her chest to keep her tits covered in the lacy cups. An almost caveman like grunt escaped my lips. Oh, what this woman did to me. Just when I thought I had her completely submitting to my will, she pulled a move like that. “Mia,” I warned.

  She gave me a mischievous grin before jerking the bra off and tossing it at me. It smacked me in the face before falling to the floor. Not trusting her to work as fast as I wanted her to, I reached out and grasped the waistband of her thong. I jerked it down her thighs. When I gazed up at her, Mia didn’t shrink back being buck-naked in front of me with the harsh lights of the room bearing down on her. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck and brought her lips to mine. It stroked my ego that I might somehow being giving her that boost of confidence.

  My hands cupped underneath her delicious ass and hoisted her up to where she could wrap her legs around my waist. With my mouth working furiously against hers, I walked us over to the couch and collapsed down onto the cushions. Mia began sliding her wet core over my dick, but I wasn’t ready to be inside her yet. “Raise up,” I commanded.

  “Wait, what?”

  A low growl came from the back of my throat before I gripped her thighs. I jerked her up to where I could bend over to thrust my tongue between her legs. I lapped and teased at her center, causing her to moan. The moment I sucked her clit into my mouth, her body shuddered. “AJ!” she cried, as both of her hands came to grip and tug the strands of my hair. I licked and suckled her outer lips before thrusting my tongue deep inside her. “Hmm, you taste fucking amazing,” I murmured, my voice vibrating against her core.

  “Please AJ,” she begged.

  “Please what, baby?”

  She ground her hips against my face, trying to get more friction. “Please make me come.”

  “With my tongue or my fingers?”

  Her chest rose and fell in heavy pants as she weighed my words. “Both. I don’t care. Just make me come.”

  “All right, amorcitio mio.” As I slid two fingers inside her, she began to rock her hips. My tongue continued sucking and licking her while my other hand slid around her body to grip and massage the globe of her ass. When her walls clenched around my fingers, she screamed my name and her fingernails left my hair to claw up my back. It hurt like hell, but it was hot as fuck.

  Taking my cock in my hand, I eased her hips down over me. Her slick walls took me inch by inch until I was buried all the way inside. Gripping Mia’s hips, I began working her on and off my cock. Her full breasts bounced and swayed in my face, so I reached out to suck a nipple into my mouth. “Hmm, AJ, oh fuck yes,” she moaned, her hands wrapping around my neck to smother me closer to her chest. My hands left her hips to cup both her breasts. Pushing them together, I alternated between sucking both rock hard nipples. That sent Mia over the edge, and she came again. I wasn’t anywhere near finishing, so I kept raising her off my dick and slamming her back down. I bucked my hips up in time. Just as I started to tighten up and feel myself about to come, Mia started to scramble off my lap. I splayed my fingers into the flesh on her hips, keeping her firmly in place. Her hand smacked against my chest. “No, AJ, you have to pull out!”

  It took a moment in my sex-almost-coming haze for it to register that in the heat of the moment we’d forgotten all about condoms. “Fuck,” I muttered, as I lifted Mia by the ass off of me.

  Instead of flopping to the side, Mia slid between my legs onto her knees and took my cock in her hand. When I anticipated her finishing me off with a hand job, she floored the hell out of me by sliding my cock into her warm mouth. My eyes rolled back into my head as she started pumping her hand up and down my length. Just the idea of what she was doing, coupled with her actions, almost had me blowing my load. “Oh Christ, Mia,” I murmured at the delicious feel of her suctioning my head. I raked my hand through the long strands of her chestnut hair, cupping the back of her neck. When I tensed up again, I arched my hips and came into her mouth. Once I finished, I gazed down at her. “Fuck girl, just when I think you can’t surprise me anymore, you go and do that.”

  She laughed. “It was nothing.”

  I cupped her cheeks, rubbing my thumbs along her jawline. Man, this woman was so fucking amazing I could barely form a sentence after what she just did to me, but I needed her to know it and understand it. “Mia, that wasn’t just ‘nothing’. That was fucking incredible,” I said gently, while gazing into her beautiful brown eyes. I cupped her cheek, rubbing my thumb along her jawline. “Sorry about forgetting the condom.”

  “We kinda got caught up in the moment—the very heated moment.”

  “Yeah, we did.”

  A knock at the door caused Mia to squeal and fumble for something to cover herself with. I thrust one of the enormous throw pillows at her before taking one myself. “AJ, you in there?” Jake called.

  “Yeah. Give me a—”

  Before I could finish, the door flew open, and Jake stepped inside. Grasping the pillow in front of my junk, I tried as best I could to shield Mia who had scrambled behind the side of the couch. When his eyes widened, I shook my head. “Thanks for waiting, douchebag.”

  “Sorry man.” Peeking over my shoulder, he added, “And I’m really, really sorry, Mia.”

  “Thanks,” came her muffled reply.

  As we continued to stand there staring at each other, I threw up the hand not covering my dick. “Do you have a point because I’m getting a little creeped out with the peepshow?”

  Jake chuckled. “Yeah, I do, and trust me, the last thing I wanna see is your naked ass.” He closed the door behind him and took a tentative step forward. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Mia was still covered. “I talked with Brayden and Rhys, and we decided to all hang out at the farm this weekend. I wanted to see if you and Mia were down for it.”

  My brows rose at the insinuation of Mia coming along. Jake didn’t usually include any other chicks besides Lily and Abby at his house. It was sacred to him since it was where he had lived with his late mother, and he didn’t want random pieces of ass dirtying that memory.

  “That sounds great.” I turned around and peered at Mia. “Can you get away for the weekend?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Are we seriously having this conversation when I’m naked and your band mate is just a few feet away?”

  “I can’t think of a better time,” I replied with a wink.

  “You’re such a cascado.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I’d like to have you come, Mia. It’s really low-key. We’ll
do some grilling, hang out around the bonfire, roast marshmallows and shit. I think you’d like it. I mean, I can’t totally account for your taste since you seem to be really into AJ.”

  Mia laughed while I scowled at Jake. “It sounds like a lot of fun. I’m supposed to work Sunday, but I’m pretty sure I can find someone to take my shift.”

  Clapping his hands together, Jake grinned. “Awesome. So I’ll see you guys tomorrow around noon.”

  I nodded. “It’s a date.”

  “Good.” He eyed my pillow-clad junk. “Now put some fucking clothes on before we’re never asked back here again.”

  With one hand, I flipped him off, and with the other, I chucked the pillow at him. Jake ducked just before it smacked him in the face. “Later, dickweed,” he called as he headed out the door.

  Once he was gone, I went over and locked the door, so we could get dressed without any more interruptions. When I turned back, Mia had gotten into her panties and bra with lightning quick speed. “So does coming away with me for the weekend mean we’re good now?”

  She giggled. “I would have thought we were good right after you, wait, what did you call it? ‘Fucked some sense into me’?”

  I laughed. “That’s true.”

  Wrapping her arms around my neck, Mia kissed me gently. “Yes, I’d say we’re not just good, but great. And whatever I have to do to spend more time with you, I’ll do it. Including hanging out in the sticks with your band mates.”

  Grinning, I pulled her closer to me. “Hey, you haven’t truly fucked until you’ve fucked in the sticks.”

  Mia burst out laughing. “I guess you’re just going to prove it to me.”

  “Oh I will. That’s a promise.”

  I was just throwing my makeup bag into my suitcase when the doorbell rang. Actually, it began a full on assault of lightning fast rings. Rolling my eyes, I started down the hallway. When I flung open the door, AJ stood braced against the frame grinning from ear to ear. “Miss me?”