Lady Sings the Blues Read online

  Kneeling at the foot of the bed, she let her hands find his feet in the darkness. Slowly, she stroked up his shins to his knees, her fingertips tracing the muscles beneath hair and skin. He murmured her name, a bare whisper of sound over the rain pouring outside.

  It was a pleasure discovering him this way, using every other sense but sight. Feeling the different textures of his skin, the crisp hair at the base of his cock versus the soft feel of his balls. The heat of his shaft against her cheek as she stroked her jaw along the rigid length. Smelling the spiciness of his pre-come just before she tasted it. Feeling the warmth that suffused her as she heard his sharp intake of breath, then his groan of pleasure rumbling like the thunder outside.

  As much as she wanted to linger, she continued moving up his body, using taste and touch to chart her course. He shivered as her body slid over his, her breasts brushing against his cock. Still her mouth moved over him, tongue dipping into his navel, gliding over the flat planes of his stomach, up the wide expanse of his chest. He had a swimmer’s body, she knew, deep chest, developed shoulders, strong arms, all waiting to be tasted.

  He hissed as her teeth closed over one nipple. “God, you’re going to kill me.”

  She smiled, taking pleasure in pleasing him. “What a way to go though, right?” She moved to the other nipple, bit down gently.

  His fingers wrapped around her ponytail. “Kiss me,” he demanded, giving a gentle tug.

  She deliberately misunderstood him, sliding back down his body to his cock. Gripping it by the base, she ran the flat of her tongue along the bottom ridge, enjoying the pleasured sounds he made in response. She licked down and then back up again, swirling around the head, flicking the tiny opening. He shuddered wordlessly, hands trembling in her hair.

  She sucked him in, matching the pressure of her lips with her hand wrapped around the base of his cock. His moans encouraged her to fuck him with her mouth and her hand, to suck every drop of come out of his balls.

  “Alina. Alina, baby, I need you to stop.”

  “I want to swallow you down.” She sank her mouth onto him again to slowly suction her way back off.

  “Argh.” He groaned again. “I need you to ride me, baby. Ride me wild like that storm outside.”

  Now that sounded like a good idea. “All right.”

  She quickly straddled him. “Are there condoms in the nightstand?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to use one.”

  He stilled beneath her. “Are you sure?”

  “We’re both clean,” she reminded him. “I hadn’t been with anyone else for a while before we hooked up. And I’m on the shots.”

  She bit her lip, suddenly unsure. “I want to feel you, really feel you, but it’s okay if you don’t think that’s a good idea—”

  “Alina.” He pulled her down for a bruising kiss that burned away her doubts. “Ride me, sweetheart.”

  She straightened as he wrapped strong fingers around his cock. They moaned a duet as he slid the thick head along her slit, making them both wet. She shifted slightly, then guided him inside.

  A bone-deep sigh left her as he filled her completely, pushing away everything but sensation. The storm seemed to mirror the desire raging inside her as their bodies crashed together repeatedly. Joshua’s hands moved up her waist to her breasts, teasing the tips the way he teased notes from his guitar, with expert command.

  She leaned forward enough to return the favor, flicking her thumbs over his nipples as she ground her clit against the root of his cock. Her name was a ragged groan of approval on his lips as his hips rocked her off the mattress.

  Sweat slicked her body as she rode him, but she didn’t care about the lack of air conditioning just then. All she cared about was the man fucking like a dream beneath her, giving her pleasure she turned back to him.

  “Sing for me, baby,” he crooned, his thumb pressing against her clit as he stroked deep. “Sing out for me.”

  Sing out she did, arching her back as the orgasm slammed into her like a lightning strike. Her inner muscles clamped down on his cock as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her. Joshua gripped her waist as a mangled cry tore from him, hips thrusting off the bed as he jetted deep within her.

  She collapsed against him, boneless and breathless and struggling to retake her senses from her clit. She could still feel Joshua’s cock pulsing deep inside her, feel her hips rocking against him in tiny tremors.

  “Fucking hot,” she murmured against his chest.

  “Yeah, it was.” His arms wrapped around her to keep her in place.

  “No, I mean the air conditioning’s still out and it’s really hot right now.” She aimed a kiss for his mouth but caught his chin instead. “But yes, you’re absolutely amazing.”

  He caught her chin. “We’re amazing,” he corrected, then kissed her properly.

  Her pussy clenched in pure self-defense from the sensual onslaught, causing them both to groan. Joshua rolled them until her back hit the bed. Deepening the kiss, he began to move, a series of slow, deep slides that had her body thrumming.

  Joshua didn’t seem to be in any hurry and neither was she, letting her hands glide down his back to his buttocks, marking the way his body moved over hers. She traced the outline of his lips with the tip of her tongue, breathing in his moan of pleasure.

  All too soon that familiar tension coiled inside her. Joshua shifted higher, his cock stroking her at a different angle. She clutched his shoulders, gripping him inside and out. “Come with me, baby,” she urged. “Give it to me.”

  “Yeah, sweetness.” His thrusts grew more shallow, more rapid. With a muffled curse he came, triggering her orgasm. It rolled through her as she held him close, pure and profound.

  When she could move again, she felt her way to her bathroom, cleaned up, then brought out a warm, damp washcloth for him. The strange, tender mood she’d been in earlier hadn’t dissipated with mind-blowing sex or the intimate step she hadn’t known she’d planned to take, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to slowly and thoroughly run the washcloth over him.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked, his voice a soft rumble.

  So many things, a confusing jumble of thoughts and emotions she couldn’t begin to straighten out. She sighed, dropped the washcloth to the floor. “I’m wondering if taxis are still in service in this storm.”

  “Why? Are you planning to go somewhere?”

  “You’re not leaving?”

  “No, I’m not,” he told her. “You’re going to wake up in the morning with my arms wrapped around you and my cock pressed against your gorgeous ass. Then we’re going to have sleepy morning sex, then a shower, then breakfast. We might even get to have sex again before work calls both of us. You got a problem with that?”

  “Uh, no, that sounds wonderful,” she assured him, meaning it. She crawled back into bed beside him. “I—it’s just that it’s been a long time since I’ve actually slept with someone like this.”

  He was silent for a moment. “If I say I don’t believe you, will you get offended? Because I wouldn’t mean that you’re lying, just that I can’t believe you haven’t had the opportunity to wake up with someone else.”

  She snuggled against him, enjoying the feel of his body next to hers, lack of central air be damned. “It’s not that I haven’t had the opportunity, I just didn’t want to. I’m not big on bringing just anyone here.”

  He folded one arm beneath his head, the other wrapping around her shoulder. “So I guess that makes me pretty special, huh?”

  She yawned again, her body heavy with sleep against his. “Of course you are, silly. You’re so special, it’s scary.”

  Chapter Six

  “What are you doing for the Fourth of July?”

  “The horizontal tango with you?”

  “That’s a given.” His finger idly stroked her nipple. He could never seem to stop touching her. It was a fetish bordering on addiction, an addiction he didn’t want to break. “Have y
ou made any other plans?”

  “My family’s out of town and I can’t take time off for a visit,” she admitted. “I was hoping you’d want to do something.”

  Joshua kept the surge of elation to himself. Alina rarely initiated their time together almost as if she had an allergic reaction to the word “date”. That she wanted to spend time with him—and had admitted it—made him want to crow with joy.

  “Well, I do want to do something.” He pulled his hand away from her breast, sliding it down her arm to gather her hand, tangling their fingers together. “My parents are having the extended family over for a cookout and pool party, and I sorta told them I was bringing someone.”

  “You did.” She kept her voice even.

  “I sure did. I want them to meet you.”

  “Why?”

  He frowned. Was she holding her breath? “Why not? They’re curious about the woman I’ve been spending all my free time with.”

  She stiffened beside him. “You told them about me?”

  He shifted so that his chest pinned her to the bed. “I told them that I was dating the owner of The Scarlet Lady.”

  “What did they say about that?”

  He touched her cheek with gentle fingers. “They said they’d be pleased to meet you.”

  She remained silent, obviously unconvinced. “They’re good people, Alina,” he assured her. “They had to be, to put up with me as a teen. They’re not saints—and I’ve got a couple of cousins who are downright assholes—but they’re all right. And yes, my parents know you’re black, and no, they don’t care. Just be yourself.”

  She sighed. “Which self is that?”

  “How about the one who surprised me with a home-cooked meal last night after strutting across a bartop in four-inch heels, slinging vodka? I really like her.”

  “You would.”

  He stroked her cheek. “This isn’t a big deal, sweetheart. Some of the band members will be there too, and tons of first and second cousins. There will be beer, barbecue and baseball. We’ll get our eat on then come home and work it off.”

  She giggled. “You didn’t just say, ‘get our eat on’, did you?”

  Relief pushed the tension away. “Hey, I can be down.”

  “Oh, God.” Laughter bubbled out of her. “Stop, just stop. I’ll be me if you’ll be you, okay?”

  “And who might I be?”

  Her fingers caressed his cheek, her skin soft against his morning beard. “A gorgeous man with the soul of a poet and the hands of a god.”

  Joshua’s chest tightened. “I think you just became my muse.”

  “Really? Then how ’bout I give you some morning inspiration?” She slid down his body.

  ***

  Fourth of July with the Hanovers consisted of beer, barbecue and baseball, just as Joshua said. It also contained blistering heat, curious glances and cousins that lived up to Joshua’s description of them. His parents were as cool as he’d promised, and Alina found herself bonding with Jessica Hanover over several old photo albums and Southern-style potato salad.

  Trouble didn’t start until after the first round of burgers and brisket, when she went downstairs to get another bottle of water and look for Joshua.

  “Hey, baby, how’s it goin’?”

  Alina looked up, then fought the urge to roll her eyes as a thick-shouldered man in a Braves Jersey with the sleeves ripped off and a UGA cap shuffled to a stop in front of her. She could smell the six-pack on his breath from three feet away. “Going good. The name’s Alina, by the way.”

  “Really? You look like a stripper I used to go see. I’d know those hooters anywhere.” He reached for the collar of her tank top.

  She immediately shuffled backward, a move she’d done hundreds of times before. “Well, you obviously don’t see her anymore, and my hooters are off limits.”

  “’Lina, baby,” he said, putting one thick paw on her shoulder. “You the chick that showed up with Cousin Josh, right? You his nurse or escort or something?”

  Alina fought the urge to gag. The guy was obviously more hammered than a home improvement store, and Joshua’s cousin on top of that. That meant she had to play nice. No worries, she’d handled drunks before.

  “I tell you what.” She moved behind him and started shoving him towards the stairs. “I’m going back upstairs, and I think you should too. Let’s say I help you up and we go get some fresh air, huh? You can always send someone else down for more beer.”

  “All right.” He made it up three steps, then stopped. “Hey, shouldn’t you be in front?”

  Right. “I like to switch it up every once in a while,” she said with a laugh, pushing against his sweaty, pudgy back. She was so going to need to wash her hands.

  “What’s going on here?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “Hey, babe,” the drunk cousin said. “I was jus’ talking to Joshie’s sweet thing. She’s got the nicest tits.”

  Oh God. Everyone at the cookout was in earshot of that. “I went to get some water and saw him down there,” she explained. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to leave him by himself. With all that beer.”

  The other woman glared at her before grabbing her drunk husband and dragging him away. Some of the other cousins smirked at her as they dispersed. This was not going to go down well. Where the hell was Joshua?

  Standing in the kitchen, less than six feet away. And he didn’t look all that happy.

  ***

  Joshua’s mood worsened on the drive back to his place. By the time they made it to his door, he wouldn’t even speak to her.

  She frowned as he threw his keys on the table. “Can we talk about this?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” he told her. “I know you didn’t flash Danny.”

  She blinked. “You do?”

  “Of course. That’s how Danny gets when he’s drunk off his ass. Last year he chased Aunt Margaret around the pool.”

  “Oh.” Her shoulders sagged in relief, then immediately tensed up again. “Then what are you mad at me about?”

  “The way you introduced yourself.”

  “What?”

  “You introduced yourself as my friend, or Alina, or as the owner of the club my band plays in.”

  “What’s wrong with that? I didn’t lie to anyone.”

  “My friend,” he repeated, anger hardening his features. “We’ve fucked six ways to Sunday for the past month, and you describe yourself as just my friend?”

  “That’s what we are—”

  “No! That is not what we are!”

  Alina stepped back, trying to comprehend his anger and her part in it. “Dammit, Joshua, what do you want from me?”

  “Everything!” His hand snaked out, unerringly found her wrist, snatched her hard against him. “I want you to give me everything!”

  His mouth crushed hers, taking, demanding. Waves of pleasure rolled through her. Alina had few defenses against this man, this man who made her want to dare, to dream. The wanting was so strong, so overwhelming that it almost pushed out the fear. Almost.

  She pulled away from him, needing the space, needing to breathe. “I can’t,” she managed to say. “I can’t give you everything.”

  “You can’t, or you won’t?”

  “I can’t.” She took another step back from him, shoving her hands through her hair in an effort to get her emotions under control.

  “Why?”

  “Because.” She stopped, then started again. “Joshua. This wasn’t supposed to be about anything other than sex, and you know it. Guys like you don’t date girls like me.”

  “You’re going to have to be a little more specific for this guy, since I’m apparently too dense to understand,” he said, his voice bitter. “By guys like me, do you mean musicians? White guys? Blind guys? Or is it just blind white guys who happen to be musicians?”

  “No.” It was none of that, and all of that, and she didn’t know how to tell him.

  “What is it then?”


  She just shook her head. If she said it wasn’t him, it was her, would he even believe her?

  “Do you think this was easy for me?” he asked, his features pinched. “All I kept hearing, every single night, was how hot you are, how men and some women follow you around like sick puppies everywhere you go in the club. I would sit in your office, listening to you speak with that whiskey-and-sin voice, smelling the licorice and ginger scent of your skin, and I knew there was no way someone that sexy and that smart would go for me. But I had to try. Just like every other guy, I had to try to for the Scarlet Lady.”

  “See?” She almost choked on the bitterness in her voice. He’d just proven her point, even if he didn’t realize it. “It wasn’t about dating me.”

  “And for you, it wasn’t about dating at all. I get it now. I may be blind, but I’m not stupid.”

  “Joshua—”

  “If that’s the way you want it, fine. We’re not dating. We’re not anything. Feel free to leave now.”

  Blinking back tears, Alina gathered her things and left, absolutely certain that she’d just made the worst mistake of her life.

  Chapter Seven

  “So what do you think?”

  Salazar closed the lid of his laptop with precise movements. “Having a contest to hire Scarlet Lady dancers is a great idea. It’ll create a lot of buzz for the club, especially if we can get some radio tie-in.”

  Alina nodded. “I’ve got some contacts in that area. My plan is to roll this as soon as possible. I could use a break.”

  Her manager was nice enough to not point out that she hadn’t danced across the bar in more than a week. Not that she was hiding or anything. Miss Scarlet didn’t hide. Alina, on the other hand, was starting to get a little stir-crazy holed up in an office in which every flat surface reminded her of her time with Joshua.

  Salazar’s expression turned sympathetic. “Well, it has been a while since you’ve had a vacation. No one would blame you for being scarce right about now.”

  Except running away would be a punk-ass move to make, and she wasn’t a punk. Okay, maybe she’d run out of Joshua’s place on the holiday, but it wasn’t like he’d been in the mood to listen to her half-assed explanations anyway.