Groupie Love (A Rock Star Romance) (Love in Shades) by Cassie-Ann L. Miller

chest.
     
    I wonder if she hears the racket of my heart pounding against my ribs.
     
    The restaurant’s other patrons toss us furtive glances. I should feel silly, standing here in this restaurant, swaying awkwardly to the beat of a song that I don’t even understand. No one else is dancing except Mackenzie and me.
     
    But I don’t care. I’m the luckiest guy around – I’ve got this pretty girl tucked under my arm, a smile gracing her lips, her arms cinched around my waist.
     
    Everything else just fades into the background.
     
    She looks happy. And my heart is full, knowing that I had something to do with that.
     
    And just when I think that this moment couldn’t get any more perfect than it already is, she leans back, eases onto her toes and presses her lips to mine.
     
     

Chapter 18
     
    Mackenzie
     
     
    Everson flips the turn signal on right as he’s about to swerve into his driveway. That’s when we notice that his yard is full. There are more than half a dozen cars crammed into his front yard. Music blares from his house and there are a few smokers hanging out on the front porch as they puff away.
     
    “Having a party?” I say facetiously as I peer up at the house. “I’m offended. I wasn’t invited.”
     
    “Apparently, neither was I,” Everson says, frustration clear on his face. “Looks like the band took the liberty of throwing a party while we were out. Story of my life. Random people just show up at my house every night looking to get drunk and get laid.”
     
    I touch his shoulder lightly and feel a flutter in the pit of my stomach. “Hey –“ I say softly, drawing his attention away from the commotion taking place at his house. “You can park in my driveway,” I offer earnestly.
     
    His eyes sparkle mischievously, his tone laden with innuendo. “I’d love to park in your driveway.”
     
    I guess I walked right into that one, didn’t I?
     
    “Stop it, you perv!” I laugh jostling him in the shoulder.
     
    “Sorry – couldn’t resist,” he says as he throws the car into reverse, reorienting it towards my empty front yard.
     
    He parks on the driveway under the palm tree and we both sit there in silence. I don’t want this date to be over and from the way he’s looking at me, I’m guessing that neither does he.
     
    “Tonight was awesome,” he says quietly.
     
    My lips curl into a smile. “Yeah. I had a great time.” I expected it to all go down hill after I suggested that we go to that low-key Tex-Mex restaurant instead of the high-end establishment where he had made reservations. But he took it in stride and the food turned out to be great. And the atmosphere. And that dance.
     
    And that kiss.
     
    That kiss. I don’t know what the hell possessed me to kiss him like that. He was just so close and he smelled so good. The memory of the way his lips feel on mine was rioting through my brain. I just needed to feel it again.
     
    So I took it.
     
    And I wouldn’t undo it if I could. It was amazing.
     
    “So, you don’t regret going out with me?” he asks with an irreverent smile.
     
    I throw my head back against the leather headrest and laugh. “No, I don’t regret it.”
     
    We sit there and stare at each other again, the air heavy with desire.
     
    “So, your tour starts in two days?” My voice is husky and low, cracking with anticipation.
     
    He nods slightly. “Two days.” His gaze is transfixed on my lips.
     
    He’s so handsome. So masculine. So there. Every part of me is aware of every part of him. And I’ve never felt the urge to fuck a man so strongly.
     
    “Come in for a drink,” I blurt out before I’ve had the chance to think the proposition through.
     
    His eyes dart up to mine. “Really?” I think that instinctively, he knows that I’m offering more than a gin and tonic for the road. I don’t say the words, but he knows I’m offering him my body.
     
    I clear my throat as I nod. “Really.”
     
    His tongue darts