The line moved. Leo kissed her cheeks. Kelly swiped her card. He had to get close to her. Smell her skin. Look into the depths of her eyes.
They weren’t brown, nor green, but a combination of the two. The colors changed right in front of him while the warm scent of honey, vanilla, and cinnamon infused his lungs—a little sweet with a sprinkle of spice. The perfect blend.
He memorized it. Because now that he’d seen her, smelled her, and spoken to her, he was determined to have her. No one else would do.
She didn’t blush, or simper, or fangirl. That Gina didn’t melt into a puddle at his feet only heightened his desire. As did her apprehension. The telltale trickle of nervous sweat caught in the fine hairs at her nape had his mouth watering to taste the salt of her skin. Though tempted beyond reason, he held himself in check.
It wasn’t the time.
And it wasn’t the place.
But God help the girl once he had her where he wanted her.
Naked in my bed.
Lounging on a leather sofa in Taylor’s family room, Matt absently strummed his fingers up and down his chest. It’d been two weeks since he’d seen Gina, and he was getting restless. “I need to see her again.”
“So, call her then, my dude.” Bo slapped his thigh, grinning goofily.
A strangled-sounding laugh escaped him. “Gee, now why didn’t I think of that?”
“Idiot didn’t bother getting her number, I bet,” Sloan chimed in, tossing his hair back.
“Fuck off.”
“Heh. Knew it.” With a smirk, Sloan lifted his chin at their bassist. “Matt’s way too cool for that shit, ain’t he, Kit?”
He answered with a shrug.
“Has our boy ever asked a chick for her number?” Raising his eyebrows, Sloan leaned in. “C’mon, you should know.”
“I don’t think so,” Kit said.
“Ever wonder why that is?”
It was the truth, but then Matt never had to. Ladies slipped him their number all the time, hoping he’d call them. He rarely did.
“Too easy.”
Not to mention, he wasn’t about to play his hand with Mrs. Rossi there, giving him the stank eye. The woman never did like him. Come to think of it, she didn’t like Tony hanging out with Brendan or the other guys in the band, either.
“That’s right. You crave the thrill of the chase.” Turning his head, Sloan looked at Kit and smirked. “At least he admits it.”
Does anything worth having come easily? No. It’s fought for. Earned—just as Venery’s success had been. And that’s the only way Matt wanted it. He embraced a challenge.
“Who is this girl?” Taylor asked, bouncing baby Ireland on his knee.
“No one you’d know.” He was sorry he’d even mentioned Gina to Bo with his bandmates around, but he didn’t think they were paying them any attention.
Should’ve known better.
Ava, holding onto Chandan and Emery, came out from the kitchen. Chloe followed, a cake embellished with a guitar and alight with candles in her hands. “Happy birthday, babe.”
He shook his head with a grin while they all sang, then blew out the candles.
Taylor passed him a beer. “You didn’t think she’d forget, did you?”
No, but he had. Kind of. More so, he pushed the date out of his mind because he didn’t care to remember the anniversary of the day he was born. The day Erin McCready sacrificed her life for his.
