Nocturne(81)

And it broke me that I had pledged my life.

My eternity.

To someone else.





Savannah


His cologne was sweeter than I’d remembered. It was more intoxicating than I’d considered, but by then it didn’t matter. I was fully his. Laying with my back to him, I was molded into his body as if we were crafted for each other. Still naked from last night, my bare skin touched almost every inch of him as one of his arms set snugly around my waist.

I cautiously opened one eye, not wanting to disturb him as I checked the time.

5:24 a.m.

We had to leave for the airport in three hours in order to meet back up with the tour in Lincoln, Nebraska for this evening’s show. I’d never had a desire to go to Nebraska, but as I shifted to nuzzle my head back onto his shoulder, I submitted to the fact that I would follow wherever Gregory went in an instant.

I didn’t know if he could follow me back.

I ignored that reality as I replayed the sight of his muscular shoulders towering over my body as we worked in slow rhythm with each other, expressing overwhelming emotions I hadn’t realized I’d held onto for so long. Never had I ever felt so comfortable allowing someone in like that. Emotionally and physically. There were no questions, no awkward pauses as we transitioned easily from one measure to the next, our once silent song resonating between us.

I love you, Savannah.

We’d spoken those words to each other before. But to hear them again, after so much time and so much hurt, and to have them feel just like they had back then … no, they felt better. More sincere as we looked into each other’s eyes, bared to one another under the soft moonlight sneaking admittance through the hotel room window.

Gregory shifted and tightened his arm around me, inhaling as he planted a soft kiss on my shoulder. I grinned, unmoving, reveling in the elegance of the moment. The allure of the next step was tantalizing as he pressed his hips into me, growing harder with each kiss he fixed down my spine. Involuntarily, my hips shifted back, pushing into him as I let out a small sigh.

His firm hand glided satisfyingly down my side. My muscles twitched as his fingers stumbled across the embarrassingly ticklish skin at the base of my ribs. I felt his grin on my shoulder blade as his hand rode over the curve of my hip and slid forward, slipping between my thighs.

“Mmm …” I rolled back slightly, parting my legs to allow his fingers full access.

His mouth moved quickly to my neck and his teeth gently nibbled at my skin as he sucked in a quick breath, his fingers sliding easily inside me. As his thumb worked over me in lazy circles, I shifted again, needing to see him.

To remind myself this was all real.

His crystal eyes brightened as I smiled, holding his face in my hands. Playfully, he bit his lip and grinned, leaning forward to kiss me.

“Good morning,” he managed after prying his tongue from my mouth. His voice was sexy in the morning. Undisciplined roughness.

I had to close my eyes for a moment as his fingers worked faster, my hips shifting anxiously beneath him.

Suddenly, Vivaldi bellowed from the cell phone on his bedside stand, startling us both. The cold chill of reality settled like a lead ball in my stomach as he clumsily pulled his hand away from me and sat up on the edge of the bed. I lay there, unmoving, banishing truth from my daydream for a while longer.

Just one minute more. Please.

“Hello?” He cleared his throat and said it again.

I silently appealed to the universe to let it be someone from the tour. Joseph McIntosh, maybe, congratulating us on our job well done last night or confirming our arrival time in Lincoln later in the day. It was barely six o’clock, though.

It wasn’t anyone else.

“Hi,” he started again. “Mmm-hmm. Yes. I am, too.” The flirtatious huskiness of his voice was gone. All the life was sucked from the room as I sat up, resting my back against the plush headboard and tucked my knees into my chest.

Gregory rested his elbows on his knees as he spoke, dangling his fingers through his hair as he let out a deep sigh. “Yes, my flight leaves in a couple of hours so I have to … yes. Of course. I will. You, too.”

His phone slid from his fingers onto the bed next to him. He glanced over his shoulder, a grievous look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but I couldn’t listen. I didn’t know if he regretted what we’d done last night or that his wife interrupted our morning, but neither was appropriate. Neither acceptable. Neither better than the other.

“Don’t,” I said, wrapping the sheet around myself as I slid off the mattress.

“Savannah,” he sighed.

Taking a deep breath, I walked to his side of the bed and squatted down, meeting his tortured gaze.

“Don’t,” I repeated, kissing him once. I didn’t want an apology or an excuse for last night. It was incredible. So were we. I wanted to leave it as it was before we had to return to reality.

As I stepped away, he stood, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him. He took my face in his hands as his expression softened. The stain of regret lingered, though.

It always does.

“I love you,” he whispered as if we weren’t alone in the room.

We weren’t, really.

With tears stinging my eyes, I suddenly needed a shower more than I ever had in my life. I swallowed hard, nodding as I tried to find my voice.