Free Musician's Monsoon by Brieanna Robertson Page B

it, she felt her knees grow weak, as cliché as that was. She surrendered to the kiss, handing herself over to him, allowing him to do what he would. Never in her life had anyone kissed her the way Zane did, and she knew it was going to ruin her for any other man. That was only one of the many dilemmas she had discovered since meeting him.
    He kissed her like she was the only woman who had ever existed in the world, or at least in his world. It was one of her weaknesses when it came to Zane. He didn’t make her feel like a groupie, or like one of the many. He made her feel special, like he cherished her just for being who she was. He was the only person who had ever made her feel that way.
    She didn’t know if it was hero worship or what. All she knew was that she liked it. It was nice to feel like something extraordinary for a change, instead of just like “Sophie.”
    He reached up to tangle his fingers in her hair, monopolizing her mouth, claiming her in a way that made her dizzy. Zane was the type of person who went after what he wanted, and it sure seemed like he wanted a lot of her lately.
    He backed her up against the makeup counter, then reached down to take hold of her hips, never breaking contact with her mouth. He lifted her so that she was sitting on the counter and wrapped her legs around his waist. A small groan escaped Sophie before she could sensor it, and she felt him smile against her lips.
    She pulled him close, and he trailed hot kisses along her jaw and neck before returning to her mouth. He tugged on her hair enough to make her suck her breath in, and his chuckle was low, wicked and wonderful.
    “Guys, we go on in ten…oh, my bad.”
    Rhonda’s voice yanked them from their passion-induced personal moment, and Zane expelled a slow breath, resting his forehead against Sophie’s. Sophie gave a soft, breathy laugh and played with the ends of his hair for a second, trying to get her heartbeat under control. When she had succeeded, she met his gaze, smiled and touched his face tenderly. She loved the hard line of his jaw, his straight nose, full lips and searing green eyes. She loved the feel of his skin against hers, and she particularly loved the way he touched her—assertive, yet gentle, and every caress left her aching for more of him. Not just out of lust, but because every time he showed her a little more of his heart, it blinded her with its radiant light. He was more than a performer, more even than a musician. He was addictive.
    She sighed softly. “What do you say, music man? Wanna go put on a show?”
    His grin dazzled her and he nodded, then kissed her one more time. He moved back enough for her to be able to get down off the counter, and she glanced at Rhonda, who was pretending to be invisible, she imagined.
    When Rhonda felt it was safe to look at them again, she frowned, and her expression reflected disappointment. “Oh, you changed. You didn’t like my outfit?”
    “There’s only one front woman in this band,” Zane said before Sophie could formulate a response. “Why would you want to upstage yourself, beautiful? You’re the only one who should be commanding such attention.” He kissed her chastely on the forehead, and Rhonda smiled up at him in adoration.
    Sophie smothered her grin and followed Zane and Rhonda out the door. Her stomach did somersaults in anticipation of what she was about to do. Oh well—now or never.
    Sophie Gilkins—teacher, musician…rock star. Why not?
    Here went nothing.
     

Chapter Seven
     
     
    As he took his place at his keyboard and waited while their intro music played, Zane wondered if he was actually more nervous than Sophie. She was a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done type of person. His stomach felt like it had decided to buy out real estate in his windpipe. He hadn’t had jitters this bad since the first time he’d performed in front of an audience.
    He knew she would do fine. She’d played wonderfully at sound check, and he wasn’t