“Case in point,” Bax pointed to his chest.
Dan cleared his throat. Swear to hell, Tanner thought he said, “Let’s focus.”
“You did nothing wrong,” Courtney continued. “You wrote a song. A song people liked.” Courtney thought about that.
“No one wants to admit they love a song about cheese,” Knox said.
Irina’s expression was open and soft and all for Sam. “Because it makes them feel stupid. You know? So they make fun of it instead.”
“I don’t think that’s what happened,” Sam whispered.
“Can I tell ’em?” Tanner asked.
She nodded, so Tanner gave the run-down of all the shit that went down after Sami Jo’s video hit big. Cyberbullying may have been the term, but the reality was more than two words pushed together. The reality was that things got so bad, Sami Jo wanted to disappear. So she did.
“For goodness’ sakes, she wrote a song. She didn’t take out a gas station while high on mozzarella stick smoke,” Becca announced, and she was not happy. Not at all.
“That would make it harder to sell.” Courtney pulled her lips to the side. “I need to think about this. Figure it out.”
“I’ve got work to do,” Hans said, stalking out of the room.
Good, Courtney was excellent at the art of the spin. Hans was the fixer they needed.
This would be okay.
He hoped to hell it would be okay.
Chapter Nineteen
SAMANTHA
Sam gotto be on top this time, and she’d discovered she preferred to be on topandon a tour bus. Something about bagging a rock star on his tour bus seemed a little naughty. Apparently, she liked naughty. Who would’ve guessed?
Tanner’s bus was amazing, with a suite in the back for sleeping and… other things. A mini bar up front with a stocked bar, fridge, and pretty much anything a person could want.
All Sam wanted was presently inside her. He slid his hand up her hip to her belly, holding her there at her midsection.
“God, you’re stunning,” he said as she rocked them both into heaven.
She moaned her reply, given she couldn’t quite find any words, but she sure appreciated the sentiment. Tanner sometimes let her take control of their lovemaking, but once he was close, he took it back. Took it back, and she didn’t mind one bit.
That’s exactly what he did now. Nothing shifted with position or his noises, but the air got thick and he got rougher, and she loved every single second.
Her breasts bounced with each thrust he made and each responding movement of her hips. With light touches, he trailed the back of his knuckles down, over her hips to hold her in place on the right side.
Tanner tilted her hips and groaned as she took him deeper. He moaned something incoherent, but it kinda sounded like her name, so she’d take it.
Then he pressed right where she loved it. Right at the apex of her thighs, in the one spot that she’d only found a few times herself. But Tanner seemed to have a treasure map or something, given that he hit it every single time.
She came spasming around him and he lifted in one quick movement, holding her against his chest as he finished as well.
They didn’t move right away, which she liked. Loved how he liked to take those moments where they came back to their senses and just look at her like she was the most precious thing in his world.
“I’m falling in love with you, Sam,” he said, holding her hips still, so they were still connected.
The warmth of his words thawed any residual ice from Sami Jo. This was them. She could have it.
“Same,” she said, tipping her forehead against his. The curtain of her hair fell around them, cocooning the moment in some kind of time capsule she knew would always stay clear. Never fade into the background of other memories.
