Hell Bound (Seventh Level Book 2) Read online

  “Um, yeah.” Linking his fingers through hers, he pushed his way against the throng until they reached the same door he’d sent her through earlier. Leaving her at the edge of the stage, he grabbed his guitar before returning to her side and leading her out back to his truck. If she thought any less of him after catching sight of his beat up ninety-two Chevy, she didn’t show it as he held open the door for her. He dumped his guitar case in the back of the truck, then climbed in behind her and buckled her in as if she were a child. She giggled and his heart turned over in his chest at the sound. “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he explained.

  He didn’t attempt to question the protective side coming out in him. Circling around to the driver’s side, he slid behind the wheel. “Which way are we heading?”

  She seemed almost disappointed by his question. “If you turn right out of the side entrance, then I only live about five minutes from here.”

  An irrational spark of fear ignited in his gut. What if in five minutes time she left him at her door and he never saw her again? “Are you in a hurry to get home?” he asked with another idea in mind and her face lit up.

  “No.”

  At her one word answer, he turned the key in the ignition and headed in the opposite direction of her house. She didn’t ask where they were going and he didn’t volunteer any answers. As long as she was with him, it didn’t really matter. Twenty minutes later, he turned down a dirt country road. They’d made the trip in relative silence but it was comfortable, as if they’d known each other forever.

  “What is this place?” she asked as the trees cleared away, revealing a wooden pier leading out into the middle of a huge pond. Pulling up along the tree line, he made U-turn before backing up to the edge of the pier.

  “My uncle Jack used to bring me here a couple times during the summer to go fishing,” he explained. “It’s really not much more than a catfish pond, but it’s peaceful, and I always liked it here.” He wasn’t sure why he’d ended up here. He didn’t revisit his past ever for any reason, but this place was one of the few happy memories he had.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said as she threw open her door and slipped out. He grabbed a blanket he kept behind the seat, followed her and dropped the tailgate on the truck. After spreading out the blanket, he climbed up into the bed and patted the spot next to him. Morgan didn’t hesitate before scrambling up next to him. Draping his arm over her shoulders, she cuddled into his side. “I bet this place looks amazing when the sun comes up.”

  He nodded. “Give it another two hours, and you’ll get to see it firsthand.”

  “I’m not even going to ask why you’re carrying a blanket around with you,” she remarked causing him to laugh.

  “How badly will it damage my reputation if I say it’s in case I’m too poor for a hotel room and I have to crash in my truck?”

  He felt her shrug. “Not at all since I’ve been poor my whole life. Who needs a room when you have all this?” He liked that about her. Down to earth folk were rarer than most people knew. He wasn’t much more than a country boy who carried his guitar from place to place, barely making ends meet, but sometimes people saw him perform and assumed he must have money. It was one presumption that couldn’t be further from the truth.

  “You smell good.” Yep, it was a lame-ass line and he knew it, but she did smell good. It had more or less popped out of his mouth without his permission. She didn’t laugh and he took it as a good sign.

  “Thank you, so do you.” Since she hadn’t laughed at him, he figured it wouldn’t be fair if he did. However, he couldn’t help the smile pulling at his lips. Luckily, her head was tucked beneath his chin and she couldn’t see it. “Your face changed. When you sang earlier,” she said in way of explanation. “You looked happy. I sort of wanted it to go on forever and now I feel a little stupid for saying it out loud.”

  “I don’t know why. I’m only happy when I’m on stage.” Something about her made him admit things he didn’t intend on, but he didn’t like her feeling stupid. Her hand came to rest on his stomach and her touch burned through his shirt. To keep from pushing her down on the hard bed of his truck, he reached around her and towed his guitar case over to him. With one hand, he popped the lid and pulled it out. Turning it where the moonlight gleamed off the wood, he spoke without thought, “This is another thing my uncle Jack taught me along with how to fish. To most people this is just wood and string, but to me, it’s freedom. If a man is jotting all his feelings down in a journal, well then, that’s just a girly pastime.” She chuckled at his description but didn’t argue. “But if I have this in my hands, then everything trapped inside me becomes acceptable. Let me show you,” he said, handing it to her. Changing positions, he slid his leg behind her until she was positioned between his knees and he could wrap his arms around her. Cradling her against his chest, he showed her how to hold the instrument. He covered her hands with his on the strings. “Hold this one down like this.” Positioning his fingers alongside hers, he demonstrated a few chords before guiding her hands into a slow rhythm along the strings. “Most people use a pick, but starting out it’s good to learn without one so you can feel the vibration and let it guide you.” Her head fell back against his shoulder and he held onto her hands as he buried his face against her neck. With his lips brushing her skin, he sang the first words that came to mind. “Our hands. Our night. Our song.”

  The music fell silent and he could feel her heart racing at the base of her throat. He touched his lips to her pulse and every muscle in her body tensed as if she waited to see what his next move would be. Moving slowly, hoping not to spook her, he dropped the guitar back in its case. Sliding it out of the way, he tilted her chin up so he could look into her eyes as he lowered his mouth to hers. Her eyes fell closed and her lips parted in acceptance. He swore in that moment it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. As her tongue slipped across his own, he knew it wouldn’t be only this one night. She made him want more than just her body. Her hand touched his cheek and he inched her dress upward until he was cupping her bare hip. When her fingers moved to his hair and she pulled him even closer, he dipped his hand between her legs, finding her soaking wet. He’d not thought it was possible for him to be even more turned on, but the sound coming from the back of her throat at his touch caused his cock to harden to a painful point.

  *

  Morgan wanted all of him. The combination of the glimpse she’d caught of his beautiful soul, his touch, and his taste were her undoing. She couldn’t get close enough to him or hold him tightly enough. Pleasure pulsed where his fingers circled her clit, and she wanted to feel him stretching her wide, but she was almost scared to let him go long enough to let him inside. He didn’t feel real. It was as if she was grasping last wisps of a dream she didn’t want to wake up from. One finger slipped inside her channel and she allowed her knees to fall open. A second finger joined the first and her hips lifted to meet the palm of his hand. She locked her muscles around his fingers and he groaned as if it could feel her around his dick already. A blinding orgasm took her by surprise and she rode his hand until the final wave passed leaving her almost lethargic. Her limbs felt heavy and in her haze, she barely noticed the tinkling sound of Wade’s belt slipping loose or the crinkling of the condom wrapper as he ripped it open. She couldn’t remember ending up on her back, only the feel of his touch. As he pulled her knee over his hip and the blunt head of his cock brushed against her entrance, she thanked the stars above them she’d left her panties behind. She didn’t want to think. She only wanted to feel.

  Pushing forward, he slid slowly inside of her and she bit down on her bottom lip. He filled her to the point of almost being painful, but still she wanted even more. Clawing at his shirt, she tugged it over his head until she could run her hands over his skin without anything to stop her.

  Even when he was fully seated inside her, he didn’t move. She wanted to bury her fingernails in his skin and beg him to take her hard, but the l
ook on his face kept her in thrall. “Can I keep you?” he whispered hoarsely and her throat swelled against his question as she fought against the urge to cry. He was going to decimate her when he left and she didn’t believe for one second she could hold onto him.

  Chapter Two

  Nashville, Tennessee

  Wade caught the toe of his boot on a crack in the sidewalk and almost fell on his face. “Damn it!”

  The band’s drummer snickered but sobered immediately when Wade leveled a cold stare at him. They had been band mates long enough that Tex knew he was a cranky bastard when he had consumed too much alcohol, and since the night’s pay had been doled out in free drinks, the entire band had drunk way too much.

  There was a good possibility Doug, the band’s lead guitarist, was high as well as drunk, because he had disappeared into the bathroom for about twenty minutes before Vic, their fiddle player, finally had to go into the men’s room to drag him out in order to finish their last set. They probably should have left him in there, because the last forty-five minutes, Doug stayed at least three chords behind the rest of the band.

  All four of them had been in a downhill spiral for over three months. They had been certain when they made the trip to Nashville they would have a recording contract five minutes after arriving. Here it was months later, and they were still working for whiskey and beer. Wade didn’t know what was in the rest of the guy’s wallets, but he was down to thirteen dollars and forty-seven cents. His last meal had been a sausage and biscuit off the dollar menu at a well-known fast food restaurant. All he needed to make the day complete was another night of sleeping in Tex’s SUV with the other three guys.

  “Hey, handsome.”

  Wade was so wrapped up in his own misery, he missed the sultry blonde’s come-on. But she didn’t go unnoticed by Tex. When the lanky drummer stopped abruptly, Wade plowed headlong into his back. “Damn it, Tex. What the fuck?”

  The blonde leaned a shoulder against the backdoor of Big Rosie’s Bar & Grill and waited until she had Wade’s full attention before speaking again, “I thought I was going to have wait all night here for you.” She dipped a finger into the low-cut neckline of her blouse and left it there as if making certain all four men noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  Wade switched his guitar to his other hand and gave the woman a long lingering onceover. She could have been a hooker the way she was clad, but then it was hard to tell the difference between how women dressed to go clubbing from streetwalkers these days. She didn’t seem to mind his assessment and made a point of leaning forward so he had an unrestricted view of her ample cleavage. Her mini-skirt left nothing to the imagination either. One wrong move and he, along with the other band members, would have known whether she shaved her womanly goods or not.

  Even with warning bells clamoring for him to stay as far away from the tempting siren as possible, Wade was too drunk to care. His life sucked. Nothing had gone the way he had planned. The woman he loved was in Texas. His music career was a total bust. He and the rest of his band were on the verge of starving to death. What did any of it matter anymore? He would just about kill for a good meal and a long soak in a hot tub of water.

  As sexy as the blonde was, she did nothing for Wade, but if she was offering a clean bed and a hot shower he might be willing to pretend interest for a couple of hours. He tried standing straight and accentuated his natural southern drawl. “A man should never keep a woman like you waiting.” He crossed the alley to be closer to her. “And what is your name, Sugar?”

  She ran a finger down his chest and hooked it into one of his belt loops. When she tugged on it, he had no choice but to step closer. “Pamela.” She leaned over and whispered. “But by the morning you will be calling me yours.”

  Her words sobered Wade slightly. They might have been what other men wanted to hear, but her cold eyes said something else entirely. He was still interested in a place to sleep so he played along. “Why’s that, sugar?”

  She made a show of sliding her fingers in his pocket toward his dick. “Because when I’m finished fucking you, you’ll have trouble remembering my real name.”

  Even as drunk as his was, Wade was still sober enough to recognize a sure deal when it was being offered. He leaned his guitar against the alley wall and pulled her hand out of his pocket so he could think without the distraction of her teasing fingers. Even though he was more than a little tipsy something about the whole come-on seemed suspicious, and he didn’t care for pushy women.

  He might have spent more time considering what felt so off if Pamela hadn’t used her free hand to slip into the waistband of his jeans. It surprised him so much he backed away and reached for his guitar. Thoughts of Morgan filled him with guilt. Even though he had left her in Texas, she had never left his thoughts or heart. He guessed even though he had officially hit rock bottom he was still a one woman man.

  He didn’t get far before Pamela was all over him again. He had his guitar up against his chest by now so she wrapped her arms his neck and ground herself against the guitar. She whispered into his ear, “I have the bed and hot tub of water you’re longing so much for. I can order some room service and make certain all of your wishes are fulfilled.”

  Wade used his free hand to try to untangle Pamela from around his neck but she was like a boa constrictor and only got closer the harder he tried to get rid of her. He finally stopped struggling. “What do you want from me, lady? I’m down to my last few dollars and my heart belongs to someone else. Maybe one of the other boys can fuck you, but I’m not that guy anymore.”

  It wasn’t until Tex cleared his throat that Wade even remembered, he and Pamela had an audience.

  Her eyes went from sexy to calculating. “I know someone who can help get your career off the ground if you’re interested, but you can’t meet him in the shape you’re in.” She ran her fingers through his hair and then looked at her fingers. “A nice long hot bath and a change of clothes are in order before you meet the big man.” She licked the side of his face. “I would be happy to join you in the tub. The only regret you would have in the morning would be that my mouth wasn’t still wrapped around your dick.”

  Her smile should have added to the temptation but it only served to make Wade take another step backward. He could only imagine how many dicks her mouth had already been around and it made him sick to his stomach. Aggressive women were a major turnoff as far as he was concerned. A night in the SUV with the other guys sounded better all the time. He was getting ready to tell her to get lost when the other three guys walked over, surrounding him and Pamela.

  Vic nudged him. “She said she could get us a meeting with a record producer. Stop being a pussy and see if she really can or not.” He waved at the other guys. “Look at us, man. We got nothing to lose here. I’m going to blow my brains out if I have to do this much longer. I haven’t had a good meal in days. This ain’t living, man. We’re slowly dying. If you don’t go fuck this pretty lady, I will. If it will get me out of this living hell, I’ll fuck everyone in this alley.”

  Wade looked around at his band and saw nothing but desperation on all of their faces. So this was what selling your soul looked like? It was a blonde in a fuck-me-now mini-skirt. Seeing no other way out of the mess they were all in, he let Pamela lead him out of the alleyway and toward her hotel.

  Once inside the room, Pamela leaned on the closed door and grinned. “Step into the shower with me and I’ll show you what I can do with my tongue.”

  When Wade didn’t move, Pamela knelt and unsnapped his jeans. He knew he was crazy to pass up the invitation but when she slipped her hand into his jeans, he pulled it back out. “I’m sorry but I can’t do this. I’ve lost sight of a lot of things while trying to make my dream come true, but there is still one thing I’m not willing to lose. I’ll take you up on the bath and food though.”

  Pamela stood and went over to sit on the bed. Even though she should have given up by now she hiked her skirt up. Wade now knew for certai
n she did indeed shave her girly bits.

  She noticed him looking and grinned. “Your choice, cowboy. I can’t take you to heaven but when we’re finished you’ll no longer care.”

  Feeling like a fool, Wade tried to focus on anything besides Pamela’s cunt. It wasn’t as if he was interested, but he had never had a woman so willing to accommodate him with sex before. Sure, he had his share of women throw themselves at him, but to put all of the goods out in the open like she had set the dinner table and was waiting for him to eat it, was a little distracting.

  “I told you I’m not interested.”

  She huffed and stood. “Fine. The bathroom is over there. Go help yourself to it. I’ll order you some food from room service.”

  Wade didn’t wait to be told a second time. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to do more than wash off in a gas station sink so he nodded and headed to it before Pamela changed her mind. It was true the small things in life were taken for granted until you no longer had them. The hot soapy water was better than sex. Wade stayed in the tub until the water cooled. He might have stayed longer but he could smell food and he was starving.

  Slipping his dirty clothes on, he headed back into the bedroom. Pamela was sitting completely naked on the bed. Giving her no more than a passing glance, Wade walked over to the cart with the trays of food. He had to give Pamela credit for thinking of everything. There were sandwiches, fruits, a slice of pecan and coconut pie, and a plate filled with roast beef covered in gray, mashed potatoes and three dinner rolls. Sitting next to the food was a choice of milk, beer and soda.

  “Are you going to join me?” He took his eyes off the food to look over at Pamela. He immediately wished he hadn’t because she was too busy pleasuring herself to hear his question.