Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3) (13 page)

The week flew by, traveling from place to place, watching Sam do what she did best. Today was the last day that he would be with her, as tomorrow she would make her way out of the state to continue her tour.

There had been no more sent packages or weird notes since the first one when Ellis started with her, so they were stumped. They didn’t know if whoever this person was stayed away because they knew Ellis was there or what, but it made Sam be much more at peace about things, which made him nervous for when he left. He hoped that whoever this freak was had moved on.

Ever since the night that Ellis had pushed her away, they had been nothing more than friends. He was with her all day and he loved the time they were spending together and was sad that he would say goodbye to her today. He had no idea when the next time was that he would see her, as she would be traveling and then go back home to Nashville. He still wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless and the urge to make love to her was the strongest feeling he had ever had in his life. As predicted, he knew every single song she sang now, and looked forward to certain ones during her show where he could watch her unabashedly.

He knew he was being a chicken, because he spent all day and night thinking of her. Devin had been calling and texting, asking him what was going on with her. He knew once he found out that he had indeed pushed her away too, he would shake his head. For the first time in his life, he felt a true connection to someone, and it scared him shitless. It was way beyond what he had felt for Jessica, and definitely beyond what he thought he had had with Mandy. But there was no way in hell he could do that to her. While they had spent a lot of time together in the last several days, he was always careful to not let too much information slip about his past. She’d never want to be part of his life if she knew the whole thing, and he didn’t think that he could bear to live without her friendship.

He was waiting for her to come out of her dressing room to go on for her final Florida show, a sold out show in a big arena in Orlando. Her tour had only made her more popular, and she was on the entertainment shows and websites daily. Pictures snapped of her showed up all over the internet, and news of her sold out shows catapulted her even higher than she was before. While Ellis had been seen in the background in a few photos of her, he was careful to wear glasses and a hat. All he needed was the press digging into who he was. She handled everything with such grace, despite her young age and the fact that her parents made all of her decisions for her.

He thought back to the night before when she had been on the stage in Fort Lauderdale for another packed show. Just like every other night, he watched her in awe of the raw talent she exuded. His favorite song was still the one he watched on YouTube before he even knew her, Wasted Tears. He felt like she was singing directly to him every time the camera panned in on her face. He knew he would never be the same after this week. Meeting Samantha Kerrigan had changed his life, even if he never got to be with her again.

The door swung open and he had to stop his mouth from dropping open. She never wore the same outfit twice when she performed, so every night was a surprise. But what she was wearing tonight was the vision of every man’s dreams. Especially his. He knew the image of her wearing this tonight would stay with him for a long time, if not forever. She was wearing a strapless black leather dress that only came to mid-thigh, paired with black stilettos. Her hair was curled and framed her face. Her makeup was heavier than usual and her lips were showcased with bright red lipstick. Ellis thought he might just pass out.

She eyed him warily as he stared. He willed himself to snap out of it, to speak, but his brain didn’t listen. “Do I look okay?”

Damn this woman. She had no idea. She seriously just asked him if she looked okay. Okay? Hell no she didn’t look okay. She looked like the most smoking hot woman he had ever seen. She was going to make it very difficult for him to walk away from her tonight.

Ellis stepped forward so she could link her arm through his. She looked up at him, her big brown eyes searching his. She wanted him to tell her. He couldn’t deny her.

“Sammi,” he said, allowing himself to look her up and down. “You look amazing. Wow. This is a lot different from most of your outfits. What made you pick this?”

She smiled, and he swore that his stomach fell into his feet. “Ellis,” she said, leaning closer to him. “It’s my last night with you. I wanted it to be memorable.”

He opened and closed his mouth, and she laughed. “I guess it worked.” Before he knew it, she had pressed her cherry red lips to his in a brief kiss, then turned and started walking towards the stage. He didn’t even walk her to the stage steps like he always did.

Once she got to the edge of the stage, she turned back and looked at him. Blowing him a kiss, she laughed and then walked out onto the stage, where the crowd began screaming at her mere presence.

“Last night,” Samuel appeared next to him. Ellis wondered just how much he had just seen.

“Yes, sir,” Ellis answered, turning his eyes back to the stage. He touched his earpiece as Brian started talking on the other side of the stage. While the contact with Sam had ceased, they weren’t letting their guard down.

“You’re a good guy,” Samuel announced.

“Thank you, Mr. Kerrigan.”

“But I’m not sure you’re good enough for my daughter.”

Ellis almost choked on his own spit. “W-what?”

Samuel looked at him, then back out at Sam as she danced around the stage. “I see it. Anyone could see it, Ellis.”

He had no idea whether he should fess up or play dumb.

“Samantha has quite a future ahead of her,” her father continued. “I’m not sure that she’s ready to settle down, or if she should.”

“I’m aware of her future,” Ellis said, nodding towards the stage. “She’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever seen. And no one is asking her to settle down, but don’t you think that’s her choice, sir?”

Samuel was quiet, and Ellis knew that he just lost a few points for standing up for her, but he had to say it. They acted like Sam was sixteen years old and didn’t have a clue.

“She’s a beautiful person, inside and out,” Ellis began again. “She’s a songwriter, a singer, and a performer. Her career has now defined who she is, but it’s not all that she is. I care for her, but I think you are mistaken about my intentions.”

Samuel raised his eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”

“I’m staying here, and she’s going on to do her tour. We live in two different places, with two different lives. I know full well that I’m not good enough for her. She deserves everything.”

“I wouldn’t say you aren’t good enough for her, Ellis. You don’t give yourself enough credit. What I want both of you to be sure of is that you can handle this life that she lives now.”

“I’ve known her a week,” he answered. “I don’t think either of us are ready to say anything. We’re just friends.”

Samuel laughed. “Son, I know what two people look like when they’re friends. See how she looks at Luke and Jason? They’re her friends. She doesn’t look at you like that, and vice versa. I just want both of you to be careful.”

Ellis kicked his shoes off and flopped on the hotel bed. They were staying in Orlando for the night, then Devin would be here in the morning to pick him up and take him back home, while Sammi would be heading north on the next leg of her Southern tour.

He was exhausted. After the conversation with her father, which hadn’t turned out at all like he thought it would, he had spent the remainder of her concert trying to talk himself out of what he wanted to do. Something had happened to him after her father had admitted he knew how they felt about each other, and Ellis had spent the last several hours telling himself that he wasn’t in any place to start anything with her. It would never work, for many reasons.

His phone sounded with a text, and he rolled over to get it out of his pocket. He knew it was her before he even looked at the screen. She was going to want to see him, and it was going to take everything he had to stop what his body wanted.

She was coming to his room, which was next to hers. They were going to be alone in this room with no one else around. Not her parents, Brian, roadies, security teams, no one.

When a small knock sounded at his door, he looked at himself in the mirror over the dresser.
You can do this
, he thought to himself.
You’ve done it this far, you can make it tonight
. He strode to the door and opened it. She smiled, looking nervous. Maybe she felt the same pressure he did.

“Hey,” she said, walking past him into the suite. She was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a tank top, her makeup washed off and her hair in a bun. She was still the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen. “Sorry I look all sloppy. I’m exhausted.”

“Sloppy?” Ellis laughed. “You couldn’t look sloppy if you tried.” They walked to the couch and sat down, side by side.

“Did you like the show?”

“You were amazing as always. I think you’ll get some fan mail from that outfit, for sure. Maybe even a new stalker.”

“Not funny, Ellis,” she giggled. “Besides, the outfit wasn’t for them.”

“Well, tell them that,” he joked back with her. “They will think you wore that to get some hot guy’s attention.”

“I did,” she said, suddenly serious. “But he was behind the stage.”

Ellis closed his eyes. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Sammi…”

“Stop fighting me,” she whispered, moving so close he could feel her breath as she spoke. “I have no idea when the next time is that I’ll see you. Look at me and tell me you won’t miss me, that you don’t want to know what this connection is between us.”

He couldn’t do it. He wasn’t strong enough to resist her again. Even if for just tonight, he wanted to feel the connection with her, know that it was real for both of them. He leaned over and easily lifted her onto his lap. She straddled his legs, their faces centimeters apart. He wasn’t sure whose heart was pounding louder.

“I’m going to miss you so damn much,” he finally admitted. “Meeting you this week has changed my life, Sammi.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she breathed out shakily. “Ellis,” she whispered against his lips. “I don’t want you to leave.”

He crushed his mouth to hers, unable to stop himself from tasting her. She whimpered against his mouth, her hands running through his hair. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, teasing her. They hadn’t kissed since that night in Sunset Beach, with the exception of the peck she had given him earlier at the arena. His head felt like it was spinning as he felt her lifting his shirt.

He broke from her long enough to let her discard his shirt. She ran her hands down his sculpted chest, then lifted her eyes back to meet his. He saw raw desire pouring out of her. His hands hesitated on the outside of her shirt, and she took that opportunity to lift it and throw it on the floor.

“Shit,” Ellis swore, taking in her breasts in a white lace bra. He wasn’t going to lie—he had envisioned her naked many times since he first laid eyes on her a few weeks ago in that video. But nothing compared to seeing her smooth, toned skin in front of him. He sat, unable to move, as she reached behind her back and unclasped the bra, smiling as she took the straps off and threw it behind her.

She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. When he didn’t move, Sam took his hands and put them on her full breasts. He swore his eyes were going to roll into the back of his head at the feel of her soft skin. He caressed her, knowing that she could feel how much he wanted her. Their eyes locked and she smiled, almost making him embarrass himself.

“Not so bad, is it?” she teased, trailing her hands down his chest and stopping at the button to his pants. She looked at him again, waiting for approval. He nodded once, and she unbuttoned his jeans, reaching her small hand in and touching his arousal.

“Sammi,” he hissed as her soft hand touched him. He knew he wasn’t thinking about what he was doing, or allowing her to do. All he knew is that he was going to act like a teenager very soon. She stroked him with just the right amount of pressure, and he pulled her closer, taking her breast in his mouth. Swirling his tongue around her nipple, she writhed under his touch.

“Ellis,” she cried out, still stroking him. He couldn’t take it much longer.

He stood up, holding onto her as he walked her to the bed. Laying her down gently, he stared at her as she lay there, bare from the waist up, waiting for him. He couldn’t think any more. It wasn’t working.

Sliding her pants off, he saw that she wore a matching white lace thong. He left that on as his hands traveled up her shapely legs. When he reached the tiny scrap that was her underwear, he slid a finger into her folds, watching as her eyes closed and she writhed on the bed. He used his other hand to caress her breasts, first one, then the other. She couldn’t reach him, but she put her hand on his arm as he moved it around her body.

When Ellis added another finger, she began moaning and he had to bite his lip hard to keep himself from exploding. All of the dreaming, the fantasizing, none of it compared to what was happening right now. He used his other hand to remove her underwear, flinging it over his head. He lay down next to her, taking in the beauty that was her naked body. Her flushed face was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.