Sully pulls the lid off, revealing a bowl of fresh strawberries, and my next words die on my lips.
He lifts a fat strawberry between his pointer finger and thumb, inspects it, and sets it back down. “I saw this in a movie once and thought it would be nice to order in real life.” He laughs at himself, replacing the lid. “But maybe it’s not as—”
“Romantic?” I chuckle, tugging on my earring. “I always wanted to feel like I was in a rom-com. Just for one night.”
“Will you please stay,Engel?” He grabs the flutes by the champagne bucket and offers me one.
I want to, but I should leave before putting my foot in my mouth, and he forever remembers me as the strange fan in LA who was too on edge to hang out in his fancy hotel room.
But he keeps calling me such lovely words in German. I want to hear him say my name over and over in his accent.
My hand shoots forward, deciding for me. “Yes. I’ll stay.” I nod toward the cart. “You can’t eat all those strawberries by yourself. You’ll get a stomach ache.”
A stomach ache? Really? I sound like his damn mother. He’s going to throw me out. I should toss myself off the balcony for that line.
He chuckles and sits on the bed. “I’d like to get to know you better.”
The tips of my ears burn. “There’s not much to know about me.”
“A beautiful woman like you? I’m sure you have stories.” He motions toward the chair near the desk, offering me another place to sit.
If I take the chair, that’s it. All the heat will fizzle out and I’ll spend the night with a hot rock star talking like I’m interviewing him for a blog. Or I could swallow my fears and forget my past discretions. Why should I be haunted by “the incident” when my ex isn’t? He’s who ruined everything, not me.
“What else can we do besides talk?” I sip my champagne and sit beside him on the side of the bed. His arm gently slides around my waist. Gravity tips me closer to his chest, and suddenly I’m engulfed by his delectable essence of mint and aftershave.
I’m never washing these clothes again. Maybe I could find a way to bottle his scent.
His eyes sparkle in the dim light cast by the lamps. “Veronica, there are so many things I…er…wecould do.” His words rumble in his chest. He caresses my cheek and touches my amethyst stud earring, admiring it.
Between my thighs buzzes. I want his hands to caress me everywhere. I want his mouth on me, tasting me…
His fingers trace my jawbone and his thumb gently tugs on my bottom lip. “But I’m following your lead.”
My lead? No man has ever cared about what I wanted. Just as long as he was satisfied, that’s all that mattered.
Releasing a shaky breath, I finish the rest of my drink. “I’m not sure what I’m doing…” I admit, pressing a hand to my face, hiding my scarlet cheeks. “I’m not a groupie or anything. I just—”
“Let’s go slow and tell me when to stop,Schatz.” There’s that word again, making my heart flip-flop.
Sully stands and pulls the cart with the bowl of strawberries and champagne closer to us. I can’t help but notice how his shirt clings tothe muscles of his biceps and chest, and the proximity of him makes a tight, nervous flutter stir deep in my belly.
He picks up a strawberry and lifts it in the air, hitting the strawberry I grabbed with his. “Prost!”
“Cheers,” I reply, biting into the sweet fruit.
My breath catches in my throat as Sully bites into the strawberry and red juice drips down his chin.
Without hesitating, I wipe it from his mouth before it falls onto the snow-white sheets.
“Sorry,” I mumble, curling my fingers into my palm and wishing I could bury my head into the mattress and hide.
His steely blue eyes wash over me as a smile tugs on his lips. “Don’t be.”
We sip our drinks and eat a couple more strawberries in silence.
When I finish my drink, I reach for the bottle, but Sully beats me to it. He fills my glass, but his eyes never leave mine.
The bubbles must be going straight to my head because why would he be this interested in someone like me? What do I have to offer? What’s so special about me compared to all the other girls standing in the front row screaming while he played on stage? To all those fans who stood hours behind the venue for a chance to meet him.
