Where Lightning Strikes (Bleeding Stars #3)(124)

Because that’s what they were.

Life.

We all just hung out on the floor for a bit, chatting, the hour growing late. “All right, buddy, it’s time for bed,” I finally said.

“Ah man,” he exaggerated. “Are you sure you’re a rock star? Because you’re not any fun at all.”

Like I said.

A little whip.

Girls were going to be putty in this boy’s hands. Of course, Sebastian didn’t appreciate it all that much when I suggested Brendon and Kallie were the perfect match, the two thick as thieves and kinda perfect every time they were together.

Chuckling, I hopped up onto my feet. “Oh, dude, you’re really gonna pay for that.”

He was on his feet and racing from the room, flying up the curved stairs leading to the second floor. I chased him, reaching out and just missing him every time.

Some games I was just always gonna let the kid win.

Flying into his room, he hopped onto his bed. I wandered in, pulled his covers up to his chest, and brushed a kiss to his forehead.

Clutching the top of his blankets, he lifted his chin and leaned into it, grinning so f*cking wide I felt it right in the center of my chest.

Peace.

Happiness.

Calm.

Tamar was leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over her chest, watching us with that small, tender smile. She finally fumbled forward, that belly that drove me a little wild setting her a bit off balance. She leaned in and ran her fingers through Brendon’s hair.

This kid who’d become our son.

Affection thick.

Real.

Intense.

“Night, Momma Blue,” he said.

“G’night, sweetheart.” She pressed her lips to his cheek, brushing her hand across my chest as she left the room.

I smiled at my son. “Love you, buddy.”

“Love you the most,” he said through that giddy grin.

I let my smile bleed free. Nah. Not even close. But I’d give him that. I kissed his forehead again. “Sleep tight. See you in the morning.”

I crossed his room, flipping the light switch, leaving his door open a crack.

Drawn, I headed toward our room. Knowing she was there. She stood just outside the balcony doors, looking out over the city blinking up at us from below. Black hair blowing in the breeze.

This girl so f*cking gorgeous, she turned my heart and ripped my gut, brought me to my knees.

Owned.

Should have known it the first time I saw her.

But sometimes those leading lessons are needed.

Required so we get just how important one person can be.

So we understand they were meant to be.

Just thanked my lucky damned stars she’d agreed.

Things with Sunder had gotten…crazy. The band had gotten bigger than we ever could have dreamed. Had known it’d been coming for a long damned time, but Sebastian finally stepped down a little more than a year ago.

Couldn’t hardly blame the guy. The time he wanted with his family was not time he wanted to spend on the road. But he hadn’t left us entirely. He’d purchased Anthony’s place out on Tybee Island, recording studio already intact, and had turned his talent to producing. Mostly he worked with us, but he had a few other bands that wanted to record away from the fast pace of the city.

Nah.

I didn’t step up and take his place. Truth was, I didn’t want to lead. That role? It belonged to someone else. Someone I’d put down bets had belonged there all along.

Blue and I kept a house in Savannah, too.

But we mostly hung in L.A., being closer to her family, closer to mine, and what mattered more than anything was this was Brendon’s home. Of course, Tamar had never minded jumping on a plane and traveling with me, the girl all too eager to get out on the floor and get lost in the music.

Guess this girl was my biggest fan.

She never went anywhere without that camera. Her inspiration found every day. Everywhere. In the way she looked at the world.

With the baby coming in just a few weeks, things had to change. Knew she couldn’t simply up and leave whenever she wanted.

But I’d been wrong.

Faulty in thinking I couldn’t have a family and Sunder, too.

Because this girl had given me it all. My dreams. Playing. Making music. Loving her.

I got them both.

I got it all.

I edged up behind her and gathered her up, her back pressing to my chest, her belly in my hands.

I held them.

Protective.

Possessive.

That baby girl jumped and kicked.

Fuck.

I was so in love. Couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms. To do it right.

I nuzzled my nose into Blue’s hair. “Hey, baby.”

She sighed, a sound so content it wrung me through.

“You know what it does to me? Finding you standing out here like this? Lookin’ like my favorite fantasy?”

She giggled. “Hardly.”

But that’s where this girl was wrong.

She was everything I liked.

Everything I wanted.

Just touching her, my dick was already hard. Needing to touch. Explore. Feel. Take this girl because she was mine.

So damned deliciously hot.

Lust-inducing and heart-inspiring.

She was every single thing I’d had no clue I was going to need.

My lips caressed her temple. “You’re so damned beautiful. So sexy. Wanna spend my life buried in you.”