Free No Quarter (NOLA's Own #2) by Kelli Jean

sucked in a sharp breath, and his pupils swallowed up the maple sugar irises in his eyes. Holding my face in his hands, his mouth hungrily took mine in a toe-curling hot kiss. When he broke it, my lips felt bereft and were left throbbing. Dropping his Third Eye to mine, he infused me with the strongest pulse of love and adoration.
    “My other half,” he whispered.
    “My whole life,” I whispered back.
    Just then, his phone started ringing, and with an irritated noise scratching the back of his throat, he dropped to his knees and dug it out of his pocket.
    “Yeah?” he answered. “Hey, Sher-Bear.”
    “Psst!” Gavin was at my door, and he beckoned me to come over.
    Getting up, I followed him to his office.
    “I just need a little help with my bench,” he told me.
    I wondered just how much of that exchange he’d witnessed. By the glowing smirk on his face, my guess was that he had seen the whole damn thing.
    Gavin’s bench was an electric slab of steel and leather, and it was extremely heavy. Foot pedals controlled the height of the bed I was thinking it wouldn’t be a bad thing for me to have one myself, but they were expensive, and his was a gift from Rita when we’d opened the clinic. I supposed she hadn’t wanted him to feel he wasn’t appreciated since she had paid for my tuition.
    On our hands and knees, we sorted out the wiring before moving the monstrosity into its regular place.
    “So, where did you meet that wall of muscle who calls himself your man?” he whispered, glancing at his office door for said wall of muscle.
    I laughed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
    “I figured you went out last night, brought home the biggest man you could find, and exchanged sex for his services today.”
    That cracked me up.
    “Where did you guys meet then? You’ve been single for as long as I’ve known you.”
    “We actually met a long time ago at a concert. He just came back from touring.”
    “He’s an Army guy? With that hair?”
    Snorting, I replied, “No, man. He’s the lead singer for NOLA’s Junk.”
    “The heavy metal band?”
    “You’ve heard of them?” I’m impressed!
    “Hell yeah, I have! They have that song, ‘Louisiana Baby.’ Almost every radio station plays it nonstop.”
    “Why, Gavin, I’m shocked!” I laughed. “I thought you only listened to club beats.”
    “It’s a really popular song. Even people who don’t like metal listen to it. It’s not like their other stuff. It’s mellower. Wow. That’s his voice?”
    “It is.”
    “He can fucking sing, man.”
    I grinned. “That he can. I’ve been listening to his voice since I was sixteen. They’re my all-time favorite band.”
    “So…you’re dating a pretty famous dude then.”
    “I suppose I am.”
    “You met him years ago, you say?”
    I nodded, tugging on a trapped plug cord. “When I was eighteen, yeah.”
    “Is he the reason you never really dated anyone?” he asked quietly, his eyes flitting over at the door again.
    “Yeah,” I whispered.
    “How come you never told me? I kept trying to set you up with my friends! Tall ones, too!”
    Busting out laughing, I said, “Aw, you picked out the tall ones for me?”
    “I did,” he replied sourly, unwinding more cords. “Shit, this thing has a lot of feed.”
    “I never really told anyone , Gavin. Alys and Lili were there when we met. They were pretty much the only ones who knew how I felt about him. It sounded crazy in my own head, you know? What would I have told you? ‘Sorry, I don’t date because I’m waiting for a world-famous rock star to come home and sweep me off my feet once more.’ ”
    “Yeah, you could’ve gone with that. And you should’ve mentioned that he’s a freakin’ giant. None of my guys are that big. Shit, I’ve never met anyone so huge in my life. And the man is fit , too!”
    “Yeah, he really is. He says he works out, but I’ve never seen him do it.”
    “Maybe you’ve been his workout plan recently,”