Brooklyn Rockstar (Kendall Family #1) (21 page)

A quiet purr vibrates inside her chest as she arches into me. “In that case, screw dinner. Let’s go straight back to the beach house.”

The entire ride back as I worship her body without being too obscene in front of Dante, I fight hard against a lump rising in my throat. I refuse to follow in the footsteps of the other men in my family. I care about Evelyn more than I care about myself or the future of my career. I’d give up the money and fame if it’s the only way we can be happy.

This thing with us is going to work. I won’t let it play out any other way.

B
y the time
we return to the beach house, Charlie has fallen into another one of his sullen moods. It seems to be the norm after he’s lost his temper. He’s uncomfortably quiet as he brings a bottle of champagne and two glasses out to where I wait on a patio lounger. As he struggles with the cork, I focus on the tense muscles working his jaw. It’s both sexy as hell and frustrating to see my man so fierce.

“This has been the best weekend of my life,” I blurt when he hands me a halfway full glass.

The way his intense, icy blue eyes dart down on me sends shivers through my core and pins me in place. A small smile flips the corners of his mouth. “You’re just trying to get in my pants.”

“Please,”
I say, scoffing. I flutter my eyelashes and offer a flirty smile. “You probably say that to all your groupies.”

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say. His gaze darkens and he dips down with dizzying speed, squatting at my eye level. “No way in hell I’d ever put you in that category.”

Guilt flattens my smile. “I know, babe.” I reach out to rest my hand over the buttons on his shirt. “It was a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny,” he says with a growl.

Sighing, I set my glass next to the bottle on the table and do the same with Charlie’s glass. Then I take his hand and motion for him to sit on the lounger at my side. Behind furrowed eyebrows, he watches intently when I kneel before him.

“Something’s obviously bothering you,” I say, spreading his legs apart and settling in-between his knees. “One way or another, I’ll find a way to make you tell me what’s going on.” When I bring my fingers to the button on his khakis and release him, his beautiful eyes spark with lust. I stare into them as I pull the pants down his hips. A hiss rips through his teeth when I stroke my fingers around his velvety head before taking it in my mouth.

“Now who’s playing dirty?” he asks before releasing a long groan.
“Damn,
Freckles. That feels incredible.”

Each growl from his throat and twitch of his hips encourages me to take him further despite feeling like my mouth’s going to rip at the edges. He fists the loose portion of my hair in both hands, muttering a string of words that are unintelligible as he thrusts into my mouth.

Being in love with someone famous has more perils than I’d like to admit. I was reminded of the fact when I caught a few of the women in the restaurant eye-fucking him. But as I’m learning, there are advantages too.

Rendering my man useless is a total power trip unlike anything I’ve ever felt. There are thousands of women who would do anything to be in my shoes in this moment. Hell, thousands probably already have. But I’m the one he wants to change his life to be with. I’m the one he invited to stay at his family’s vacation house and wants me to
live
in his brownstone. Those things should be enough to make up for what’s missing.

But somehow, they aren’t.

Driven with the need to bring him to the edge, I grope as much of him as I can with one hand and speed my mouth up until he’s roaring my name and twitching. I pull back with a satisfied smirk, watching as his eyes roll back into his head.

“Oh,
baby,”
he moans after a full minute of twitching. His eyes roll down to my hand, still holding onto him. “Please, you gotta let go.”

I release him to take a gulp of champagne, then lick my lips. “Ready to tell me what’s putting you in such a foul mood?”

With a growl, he lurches forward. I skillfully dance away from his touch, so he stands and comes after me. Giggling, I point at his pants wrapped around his ankles. “If you want me, you’re going to have to catch me first!”

A maniacal grin spreads over his lips as he kicks the khakis off his feet. He’s still staring me down when he lifts one hand to grip the back of his shirt. It’s like getting my own private show of another kind when he whips it off over his head, rendering him completely naked. With the sight of his inked chest, my lips part with a quiet sigh. Seeing Charlie Walker naked will never get old.

“Better get a move on, Freckles,” he taunts, flexing the impressive muscles in his chest.

Holy hell.

Until I dart away, I forgot I was wearing the fuck-me heels and nearly trip onto my face. Charlie’s on me in a heartbeat, slinging me over his massive shoulder. I squeal and laugh as I’m launched into the air, trying to wiggle free.

“No, wait!” I plead when I realize he’s heading for the pool. “I don’t want to ruin these awesome shoes!”

Charlie swerves past it, instead setting me down to face the brick fireplace. “I caught you, now you’re mine. Spread your legs,” he demands.

The surge of dominance in his tone sends a shiver running down my spine, creating an electric buzz between my legs. I comply with his request, gasping when his fingers grip the bottom of my dress and slowly drag the material upwards. Inch by stimulating inch, his fingers trace the outline of my body as he exposes my skin to the crisp summer night air. All at once I’m standing with my back to him, naked except for the shoes.

He brushes his lips along the side of my neck. “Hands on the brick.” I place the palms of my hands on the cold fireplace and push my bottom out, soliciting a low hiss from Charlie.
“Damn,
you’re fuckin’ sexy,” he tells me.

As he continues to drag his lips down to my shoulder, I tilt my head back and close my eyes, soaking in the moment. His musky scent, the feel of his greedy lips on my skin, the little sounds of pleasure he makes deep in his throat. All the things about my man that collectively drive me insane.

One of his hands moves around to my front side to caress between my thighs while the other begins to pinch one of my nipples. I bite back a pleasured cry with the simultaneous feel of his hardness pressed to my backside and a commanding finger stroking between my legs, claiming what’s his.

“My girl’s always ready,” he whispers in my ear. Goosebumps crawl across my skin, heightening the sensitivity of the nipple Charlie’s toying with.

“Mhmm,”
I hum in agreement, pushing my bottom back until it comes in contact with his hard-on. It feels as if every last nerve ending in my body has been frayed by his touch and I want it to last. “Don't be gentle.”

Suddenly his fingers are digging into my hips and he’s pushing himself deep inside of me, moaning once he’s completely buried. The sounds of our bodies rise above the roar of the dark ocean as he slams in and out, grunting in a sexy little noise. The new position allows him to go deeper than before, creating a different sensation that’s thrilling and oh-so-good. Paired with his skilled hand that resumes coaxing me to come apart for him, I’m quickly brought to the edge of all control.

“That’s right, Freckles,” he whispers. “Let it all out.”

With the divine ebb of an orgasm, I turn my head in search of his lips. They meet mine with a soft caress, but I need more. I run my tongue over his lips, begging to enter, and we’re soon engaged in a no-holds-barred kiss laced with the sweet remnants of champagne. Colors burst behind my closed eyes when I completely split at the seams. With the intense release I moan inside Charlie's mouth before my insides take on the consistency of melted butter.

Since my calves burn from holding the position in heels and my post-orgasmic haze makes me light in the head, I don’t complain when Charlie pulls out and spins me around. In the blink of an eye I’m jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. I kiss a line along his strong jaw as he grabs my backside and lines things up.

A hiss passes through my teeth when he brings me down around him again and again, tapping the nerves still dancing from my orgasm. Between that and the sight of my beautiful man arching his head back to the skies, eyes closed as he utters my name, I feel as if I’ll come again. Then his icy blue eyes are back on me with an intensity that makes it impossible to breathe. His forehead presses to mine, and he thrusts one last time with a strangled noise vibrating against his throat.

“Damn, I don’t want to ever let you go,” he whispers before pressing kisses along my face and down my neck, as if ready to go again.

“Then don’t.”

Tears burn behind my eyes with the thought of returning to reality when all I want to do is stay cocooned in his strong arms. Maybe I should take him up on his offer to move in. Just not right away. At least not until I’ve had a chance to talk to Sharlo. If anything, she may have what it takes to talk me down and make me realize it would be crazy. I know her father would resume paying my portion of the rent without batting an eye, but it still feels gross to ditch my friend so soon for a guy who has yet to tell me if he’s in love.

As he caries me inside to the bedroom, I bury my face in the crook of his neck and try like hell to keep my eyes dry.

E
arly morning
I’m roused by the divine feeling of soft lips dragging across my neck. “What time is it?” I whine, protecting my eyes from the sunlight before wiggling back against Charlie’s naked body. He hardens instantly against my butt cheek.

“Time to make you cry out my name,” he growls, sliding his lips up to the delicate spot beneath my ear.

Humming, I ask, “What time are your nephews coming?”

“Too soon.” He sighs deeply before spinning me around so we’re face to face. Sleepy Charlie, short hair messed and the slightest shadow lining his jaw, is sexy as hell and stirs every primal instinct to claim him with my body. “Reconsider my offer, Freckles. Move in with me.”

Oh shit. Not this again.
“I don't—”

“Let me finish,” he says with a wicked smile. “Being with you has inspired me to write music again. Not only that but the thought of going back to our separate lives in a few hours is more than I can fuckin’ take. Ever since Danny disappeared, I thought there was nothing worth pursuing outside of my career. Then I saw you in the crowd at Leona’s and knew everything was about to change. You made me believe in something real again. You make me feel things I didn’t think were possible. You make me want to change, to become a better man and not be another famous asshole who’s known for having a different chick on his arm every week. I don't know where my career is headed. I don’t know where I’ll be or what I'll be doing a week—shit, even a
day
from now, but I know I’ll get through anything with you by my side.”

Well
hell.
No one has ever said anything so profound to me before. How can I possibly say no? Then again, how can I accept? As much as I love him, the fame thing still scares me shitless.

“If you can’t give me an answer today, say you’ll at least come stay with me for the week and give it a try,” he pleads. “If you're worried about leaving Sharlo high and dry, I can pay your part of the rent until she finds a new roommate. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this happen.”

“Okay,” I whisper, surprised by the sudden sound of my voice.

Until he brushes a tear off my cheek, I didn't know I was crying. He claims my mouth with a toe-curling kiss that I feel in every last part of my body. It’s filled with desperation, hope, need, and all sorts of heightened emotions that make my head spin and me heady, yearning for more. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel a lot like love.

In the short time since I met the infamous rockstar from Brooklyn Heights, I never would’ve guessed my path would change so dramatically. Now if I can find a way to convince Sharlo and my family that I’m crazy in love and not simply crazy, maybe my heart would lodge its way out from my throat.

Then Charlie backs away, his jaw tight. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

His somber words still my heart.
This doesn’t sound good.
I’m not able to read the reluctance in his icy blue eyes. It’s like he’s on the verge of
crying.

I touch my fingertips to his lips. “What’s wrong, babe?”

His eyes close as he takes a minute to enjoy my soft caress, then he gathers my fingertips in his hands and gives them a kiss. “The drummer from my band, Danny? He was…my brother.”

My lips part with a small intake of breath. “Wait. Why didn’t you mention it before?”

“Because there are only a small handful of people who know about it. I haven’t told my mom or my sister because my asshole father begged me not to tell anyone while he was on his death bed. He didn't want anyone to hate him after he was gone.”

The fact that he trusts me with something his closest family members don’t know warms my heart, but it makes me sad knowing he was forced to keep such a big secret from those he loves. “But your dad told
you?”

He shakes his head. “I stumbled onto the truth
after
we started the band. Saw my father’s name on some of Danny’s legal papers at our lawyer’s office. A part of me always wondered if Danny sought me out, knowing he had a brother even though he denied it. It seems like a little more than dumb luck was involved when we were introduced by a mutual friend in high school.”

His thumb and forefinger smooth down his thick eyebrows in tandem, over and over like it’s the only thing keeping him from going over the edge. “My father was a self-absorbed prick. His job had him on the road all the time, and he had a woman in every city. My mom should’ve divorced his ass before I was born. When I told him I knew about Danny, he tried to deny it until I tricked him into a meeting with Danny’s mom.”

“I’m sorry your dad put you through that. I can’t imagine what it must be like to find out your friend is your brother and then lose him without any explanation.” I brush my fingertips over his chest. “You don’t have any idea where you brother could’ve gone?”

Something changes in his gaze, making him look like a lost little boy. When a tear rolls down his cheek, I realize he looks so vulnerable because he’s crying. Cupping his face with my hands, I drag my thumbs across his cheeks. “Baby, what is it? You’re scaring me.”

With a shake of his head, he looks down, sniffling. The doorbell chimes ring through the beach house, breaking the palpable tension. Charlie snaps his head away, wiping his face on the back of his hand. “Those little shits are early.” Jumping off the bed, he grabs his boxers off the floor from the night before.