Melody of the Heart (Runaway Train, #4)(24)

I wouldn’t have been able to survive if we hadn’t been able to talk to each other every day on the phone. I shared stories about how far some of the campers were coming in their ability to trust or control their anger while Brayden told me more about his new band that had formed a few months beforehand. Two of the guys, Jake and AJ, were childhood friends who had formed a band in high school. Their bassist was Jake’s cousin. They hadn’t gotten as far on the music scene as the Benders had, but Brayden said they had way more talent. They just needed some polishing, and he hoped with his experience they could start to go places.

It was good hearing the excitement about music in Brayden’s voice again. After the breakup of the Benders, he had been adrift. I had begun to worry what would happen to him if he didn’t find another outlet for his music. With work and school, I hadn’t had the chance to meet them yet, but it sounded like they were all a perfect musical fit.

The weekend before my birthday, I drove home so I could spend some time with my parents, but most of all, with Brayden. After we had a home-cooked birthday dinner at my parents, we left on the pretense of Brayden showing me his new apartment. The truth was we wanted to be alone. Before this separation, we had never gone longer than a few days without having sex. Now it was two weeks each time, and we were both feeling the pain enough to want to rip each other’s clothes off.

Since I had left for the summer, he had moved into a loft with his new bandmates. I was really interested in seeing the place since Brayden had been hounding me for a year to move in with him. We’d both stayed in campus housing our first two years, and after that, I moved back home to save money. Most of the time, I’d end up staying at Brayden’s apartment anyway.

When we drove up to the building, I began to wonder if it was a building with lofts or an abandoned warehouse. “Is this place safe?” I questioned, after I got out of the car.

Brayden chuckled. “This block was once one of the most up and coming neighborhoods in the city.”

“Once?”

With a grin, Brayden replied, “Yeah, this know-it-all developer bought it and then went bankrupt. The new contractor who bought it got it for a steal. You should see the way they remodeled our floor.”

“You have an entire floor?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. Four bedrooms and two baths.”

My brows shot up. “That’s like a house. How in the world do four college guys afford it?”

“One of my roommates, Jake, his dad owns the contracting company that bought the building. His dad has this giant guilt trip when it comes to Jake, so he offered it to Jake for the same amount of rent he was paying at his old place. It’s worked out well because Mr. Charismatic, Jake, has been able to rope more college kids into moving in. A win-win situation for them both.”

“He’s the lead singer, right?”

“Yep, Mr. Jake Ego-Trip Slater,” Brayden mused, with a grin.

Wrinkling my nose, I replied, “I’m not looking forward to meeting this guy. Tom was enough of an ego-trip for me.”

“Just wait, babe. I think Jake is even worse.”

“Ugh, that sounds horrible.”

“He grows on you once you get to know him. Deep down, he really is a nice guy. He’s a helluva singer and songwriter, too. With him as our front man, we’re really going to start going places. I can feel it.”

“I hope so, baby. No one deserves it more.”

With a growl, Brayden jerked me to him. “Enough talking. I think it’s past time we got to f*cking.”

I smacked his chest playfully. “You’re terrible. Besides, I want you to make love to me.”

Cocking his brows at me, Brayden countered, “I haven’t been inside your for two weeks. I won’t last long enough to make love to you. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight.”

I merely giggled at his response. My laughter was silenced by him slamming his lips against my own. All other thoughts faded away as I focused on the feel of his mouth on mine, his tongue against mine. Just when I thought we might go at it on the hood of his car, Brayden pulled away. “Let’s get upstairs,” he demanded.

By the time we reached Brayden’s floor, I was out of breath. While the three flights of stairs had been a bit of an exertion, it was more about the fact that we hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other. At each landing, we paused to let our mouths crash together, our tongues tangle in a passionate dance. When we finally got to his apartment door, I was in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. He grunted as he shifted me to the side, so he could dig his key out.

“Hurry,” I moaned, as I kissed a trail across his jawline to his ear.

“Trying,” he muttered.

Instead of putting the key in, he shoved my back against the door. His free hand delved under my top to grab my breast. “Hmm, yes,” I murmured, as my nipple began to harden under his touch. He began to rub his jean-clad erection against me. It was getting to be too much.

Gripping the back of his T-shirt, I started tugging it off him. Once I had it in my hands, I dropped it to the floor beside us. He followed my lead by stripping off my shirt. He then buried his head in my cleavage, licking the tops of my breasts before moving to put his mouth over my bra covered nipples.

“I want you inside me, Brayden,” I panted.

His hand with the key in it left my waist to unlock the door. When it opened, we fell through, nearly collapsing to the floor. I giggled at our sex-crazed antics as Brayden tossed the key onto the table next to the door. As we started across the room, his fingers dug into my buttocks, kneading my flesh. “I can’t wait until I’m buried so f*cking deep inside you that you come so hard you scream.”