Antonio
I wanted to compliment her. If I spoke, I’d break her concentration. Watching the way her fingers slid across the keys, I knew I’d made the right choice picking her out.
Sure, her notes weren’t flawless. She even hit the wrong key at certain times. But she was playing.
She had the same expression she wore when having her face tilted up at the lights. Blissful and uncaring. Lips parted, even her breathing was even. The woman radiated confidence once she fell into her music.
I wanted to kiss her. God, I ached for it.
“Again,” I rasped out. Third time playing the song and each time brought her closer to revealing the talent she hid away with a bundle of nerves.
Watching her, I enjoyed each time her eyes closed. Trusting herself enough to not rely on the music, she gave herself less of a chance to overthink things.
Facing her keyboard, I lifted my fingers to the keys. I might not agree with the device, but I’ve been aching to play with her ever since the first time I heard her perform. The moment I joined along, her notes faltered as I caught her off guard.
I’ve always dreaded duets, denying them whenever offers flooded my way. I hated the idea of picking up another person’s slack. I only offered to do the tour because playing by myself had become a bit boring. With Chelsea, I wouldn’t mind carrying her for the entire ride if it came to that. Knowing her, she wouldn’t let that happen.
She was strong whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“Stay focused,” I urged her as I continued.
Magic was born as music flowed through the room. Damn shame no one else could hear it through our closed door. Five minutes of pure heaven ended with silence.
She gasped, turning my way. Her eyes were lit up and I didn’t think anything could dim the fire.
“I didn’t know it could sound like that.” Shaking her head, she let out a laugh. “Listening to my part over and over… I didn’t know how both sounded together. That was amazing, Antonio!”
My gaze softened as I took in her enjoyment. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d enjoyed playing a piece like her. I had to admit, my chest felt warm. Even made me chuckle a little. “You did wonderfully.”
Her mouth parted and her ears reddened. “You think so?” By the looks of it, she couldn’t fight off her smile. God, it felt good knowing I was the reason behind it. “I don’t hear that very often.”
“Well, I’ll make sure you know each time you deserve it.” Offering a hint of a smile, I enjoyed watching her experience her first win of the day. Absolutely radiating. Gaze softening, I lowered my eyes and took in the curve of her grin. If I leaned down a little and erased the space between our bodies, I could kiss her. Discover how the sun tasted firsthand. At the moment, I felt like a starving man who slowly lost control of his senses. Had to stay strong for both of us.
That didn’t stop my hand from cupping her chin. Like an automatic response, my thumb brushed against her plump bottom lip. She felt soft as I swept my thumb from her lip to her cheek.
Chelsea made a noise, something between a gasp and a quick inhale. Made it hard not to feel amused. With the way her pupils grew big and the lack of an attempt to pull away, the only thing I felt was heat.
Then her eyes closed, setting my heart off. She’d let me kiss her. Even her cheeks were growing a deeper shade in color.
Not being known as a careless man, I really threw caution to the wind when I leaned down. Pressed my lips to hers and got to discover the wonderful sweet taste of whatever gloss she decided to wear for the day.
Like she’d been waiting for this, she opened up easily. Allowed my tongue to lash against hers, moaning in the process.
I’d never heard such a beautiful sound before. I’d kill for an entire performance.
Her hand pressed against my thigh, her fingers radiating close to my far too apparent arousal. One moment next to her and I was bricked up. What a mess the woman made of me.
Pulling away from her, I cleared my throat. Tasting what remained of her on my lips, I tried to remember why she was here. I didn’t bring her here just to kiss her.
“Are you ready to try the next piece?” I choked out, struggling far more than I was used to. Needed to extinguish the need to pull her away from her keyboard and throw her onto her bed, taking claim to her sweet tasting body. Ghosting my fingers over the keys, I pressed a few. For once, I desperately needed a distraction.
After blinking a few times, she nodded slowly. “Yeah.” A smile then overcame her lips. “If that’s what I get for doing a good job, then I suppose I’ll have to impress you with the rest of the songs.”
Even now, she joked. Thank god my selfishness didn’t ruin what we had going. Chelsea impressed me more and more every second I remained close to her.
I’d take that fire for as long as she allowed it to burn.