Free His to Claim #4: Wild Ones by Opal Carew

From Part 3:
    “I’m saying you’re not going.” His dominating tone set her teeth on edge.
    She scowled at him. “You don’t have the right to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
    “But that’s exactly what you just told me you wanted me to do.”
    “That’s different. That’s role-playing in the bedroom.”
    He sent her a hard-edged glare. “It’s as real as you want it to be.” He tugged her into his arms and his lips came down on hers. Hard. He possessed her mouth, claiming her as his tongue delved deep. “You are mine and I intend to keep it that way. You will not go on tour with the band.”
    She gazed up at him in a daze, fighting her blatant desire to melt against him and obey every command he gave her.
    But she knew neither one of them would respect her if she just caved in to his demands. She steeled herself against her weakness, and with defiance in her eyes, she flattened her hands on his chest and pressed him back.
    “Think again.”
    Melanie watched the scenery whiz by, mostly dense trees, as the bus sped along the highway. Once she’d agreed to go on tour with the band, things had moved pretty fast. They had been scheduled to leave the following week, so she’d had to hustle to get packed and tie up loose ends. Jessica had offered to handle subletting the apartment and had helped her pack up all her stuff and put it in storage.
    All the activity had kept her mind off the fact she was walking away from her dream relationship with Rafe. At least, what she’d thought would be a dream come true, but had quickly come to a nightmarish halt.
    She had refused to speak to Storm after their falling out, but now, with miles of road passing her by and little else to think about, she wondered how she had let it come to this.
    “Hey, there.” Diego dropped into the seat beside her. “You look deep in thought.”
    He and the other members of the band had been sitting at the back of the bus kicking around ideas for the upcoming show tonight in Washington.
    “Not really. Just watching the scenery go by.”
    “And maybe thinking about a certain guitarist you left behind in Philly?”
    She shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about Storm. She didn’t want to think about him.
    She didn’t want to
miss
him so badly.
    “I thought you’d be sketching or something like that.”
    She gazed sideways at him. With his lips curled up in that charming smile of his, her heart began to thump loudly. Damn, she shouldn’t be so affected by other men when she’d just ended it with Storm. Her heart clenched at the thought.
    But the man had a point about sketching. It would be a great way to keep busy. Odd that she had no inclination at all to grab her sketch pad.
    “I’m not really inspired.”
    “Well,
belleza,
anytime you want inspiration, I would be quite willing to pose for you.”
    With his dark, expressive eyes and his killer smile, a portrait of him could be very dramatic … or playful, depending on how she chose to approach it. But she could tell by his teasing tone that he was talking about posing nude.
    She tingled inside. That could be inspiring in many ways.
    She grinned. “It’s nice to know I have a willing subject if I need one.”
    He took her hand and brushed his lips against it. “Yes, indeed. Do let me know.”
    At the sexy glint in his eyes, she almost wished they were at the hotel they’d be staying at tonight so she could take him up on his offer. But once he got his clothes off, she wouldn’t be sketching him.
    Damn it, what was wrong with her?
    Of course, she knew what was wrong. She knew as soon as she was alone in her hotel room, she’d start to miss Storm with a vengeance and then she’d question the wisdom of this move and begin to berate herself. And worse, reconsider her choice and think about returning home.
    She wouldn’t allow herself to wimp out like that. This trip was the opportunity of a lifetime. She’d spent her entire life allowing the people she loved to hold her