I shake my head and laugh, but when I look across the table, Annamea doesn’t seem to find the situation funny. Her eyes narrow at me, and I swear it looks like she wants to punch me in the face. She’s never liked me since the first day Laz asked her to hand me the lyric sheet. I’ve done my best to get along with her, but she wants nothing to do with me, and her hatred of me is beginning to make me feel uncomfortable.
“I’ve got some lyrics and a beat I’m working on for our first single. Once Cam and I have the song perfected, we’ll get you all in the studio to record it. We’ve got one shot to present you to the world, so we have to make sure everything is on point.” Laz scans the faces in the room. “I expect everyone to continue giving one hundred and ten percent. I want this group to take over the fucking world.”
I grin as I find myself excited to dig in and work this week. Laz’s enthusiasm is contagious.
While the rest of the group heads off to morning vocal sessions with Mickey and Cam, I find myself locked in the dance studio with Laz. Being in this room with Laz has become my happy place. Sure, he kicks my ass by making me work hard and push myself, but it’s also where he’s been wrapping me in his arms and kissing me breathless for the past hour.
It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite rooms in the main house.
The bass booms through the speakers in the room as we sway to the beat. This time when Laz spins me around and presses his chest into my back, I don’t shy away from him. Instead, I smile and lean into him while I rock my hips in time with the music.
“This is all dancing is—letting go and moving. Feel more than just the beat,” Laz whispers into my ear. “Remember how you feel at this moment and put that into your dance routine.”
I turn my head to stare up at him. “You’re the only person I can be like this with.”
His large hands grip my hips. “Then always pretend you’re dancing for me.” He takes a step back away from me, and instantly, I crave the warmth of his body.
“Where are you going?” I ask, and my bottom lip juts out a bit, missing his warmth.
“We have to get you ready to perform on stage. It’s time to show me how much all these private lessons have paid off. I want to see some of those sexy dance moves.” He walks over, takes a seat in one of the folding chairs positioned across from me, and then crooks his finger. “Dance.”
The commanding tone of his voice causes my pulse to race beneath my skin.
He stretches his long, jeans-clad legs out in front of him as he leans back and throws his arm across the back of the chair beside him, making himself comfortable. “I’m waiting.”
At moments like this, I freeze up. It’s difficult for me to be the center of attention.
“Stop thinking and dance,” he orders. “Feel the beat and let loose like I know you can. I know you know how to use those sexy hips of yours.”
I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back. Even though I’m scared to screw up, the thought of disappointing Laz after all the time he’s spent working with me frightens me more.
A new song plays—a slow and sexy one—and my heart flutters. “Naughty Girl” by Beyoncé seems appropriate, considering the lyrics describe how I feel like singing to Laz.
I count the beats in my head then move my hips. I raise my hands above my head and then slide my hand down my arm. Laz’s eyes rake over me, and the way he’s fixed his gaze on me makes me feel powerful and wanted.
My feet instantly launch into the steps I’ve been working on with the rest of the group and Laurie. It’s amazing how easy it is to let loose in front of Laz now. Before we started having sex, my movements were stiff because I was afraid. He intimated me. But now that I know him intimately, he doesn’t scare me. He makes me feel confident.
“That’s it, Drea,” he coaxes.
I bend at the waist and then slip my hands up my bare legs while I lock eyes with Laz. He readjusts his hips in his chair, and I can tell I’m getting to him.
I drop to the floor on my knees and flip my hair around. Our eyes connect and I crawl toward him. When I make it to him, I grip his knees in my palms. I swing my head, causing my hair to whip around before I jump up and spin around in front of Laz.
I plop my ass down in his lap and grind against him, feeling his erection trying to push through his jeans. His hands slip around my waist, and instantly, I grab them and pull them away from my body, needing to control the situation a little while longer.
“What are you doing to me, Drea?” His voice is strained, and I can tell I won’t be able to continue teasing him much longer before we both give in and take this little dance to the next level.
I hop up and turn around, straddling Laz’s lap. I rub my hand over my own breasts, and Laz grazes his teeth slowly over his lower lip. “You’re so damn sexy.”
My hands slip over his defined shoulders. “Right back atcha.”
His mouth is instantly on mine while his hands find their way under my shirt. Unlike the first time we were together, he’s not worried about taking things slow. This moment is all about pure, unadulterated lust. The shirt I’m wearing is over my head quicker than I thought possible, and I’m not sure how he even got my bra off so fast.
His greedy mouth sucks one of my nipples before he licks his way up to the sensitive flesh below my ear.
“I need to be inside you, Drea.” His husky words cause my toes to curl.
Yes. Please.
I kiss his lips as I work on unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans. He lifts his hips, and I stand up to work his jeans down while he goes to work shoving my leggings and panties down over my ass. I kick off my shoes and then shimmy the rest of my clothes off.
I sit back down and feel the pressure of his cock pressing against my clit. I move my hips, coating his shaft in my own desire.
“Drea…” His voice is strained. “You don’t know how much I want this, but we have to stop.”
My brow furrows as need still pounds within me. “Why?”
His head falls back and rests against the mirror behind him. “I don’t have a rubber with me.”
“Have you been with anyone without one?”
He sighs. “I wish I could tell you no, but to be honest, I don’t know for sure. There have been times I’ve been so high I didn’t know my own name, but I haven’t been with anyone other than you in months, and I’ve been tested.”
I cradle his face in my hands. “Can you pull out? I want this. I want you, and I trust you. I haven’t been with anyone other than you in two years, and I’ve been tested too.”
His thumb flicks over my pink puckered nipple. “You’re sure?”
I nod and then rock my hips against him. “Yes.”
He grabs my hips and steadies me as he thrusts his hips and enters me in one swift motion. “Holy fuck.”
I attempt to rotate my hips, but his fingers tighten into my flesh. “Shit, Drea. Don’t move. I need a minute.”
The idea of just being inside me has him already on the edge. That turns me on, and I suddenly don’t want to give up my control. I move my hips, pulling him out a bit before plunging down, taking him back inside.
When he finally understands I’m running the show, he relaxes back and watches me ride him. He reaches down between us and rubs my clit, causing my eyes to roll back.
This man has magic fingers.
“Come for me, Drea,” he commands.
Blood races through my veins, and my heart pounds inside my chest. All I can focus on is how damn good he’s making me feel and how I never want this to end.
Muscles clench all around him, and a euphoric wave of pleasure rushes through me as I come hard.
His lust filled eyes study my face as I fall back down from my high. “God, you’re beautiful.”
My fingers twist into the dark fabric of his T-shirt that covers his shoulders and I roll my hips. His mouth drifts open as his gaze drops down to where we’re connected. Laz watches intently as I work his cock in and out of me.
/> “Fuck,” he growls and I can tell he’s getting close. “That’s it, baby.”
He sucks in a quick breath as he lifts me off him. His fingers dig into me as a string of curse words fly from his mouth and cum squirts out of the tip of his cock against my thighs.
He wraps his arms around me and rests his forehead against my chest as he attempts to steady his breathing. He places a soft kiss on each of my breasts and then finally gazes up at me. “You’re amazing. I don’t think I’m ever going to get enough of you.”
I bite my lip as my fingers toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. “I feel the same.”
The lines between boss and employee have definitely been crossed, and I know it’s selfish of me, but I don’t care. Being with Laz is worth the risk. It’s not just about sex either. It’s him. He’s a remarkable human being, and he’s taught me so much about life, opening up, and believing in myself.
I’m so lucky to have found him. If I’m not careful, I can see myself falling hard for this beautiful man before me.
26
Worth the Fight?
Lazarus
I don't remember the last time I was ever this happy, but I'm not going to question it. Drea has been the best thing that's come to my life in a long time. Now that I'm clean, sober, and have my head back in the game, I know I'm ready for a relationship like this.
When I was younger, all I did was use women. Jenna knew that about me, which is why she would never commit to being with me. Jenna knew I wasn’t ready to settle down, so I loved her from afar, and it became more like a friendship—one I would've loved to explore further with her but never got the chance.
With Drea, though, it's different. We connect on another level—one I have never been on in my entire life. We have so many things in common—things no one else but people touched by adoption can understand.
I make it to the top of the staircase just as I notice Peter closing the door to Pop’s quarters. A scowl is etched on his face, and when he spots me, it deepens.
My back instantly stiffens every time I'm in the room with him. He doesn't like me, and I know it, but he’s forced to tolerate me because I'm his boss’s son. Our relationship is practically nonexistent now. “What's up, man?”
Peter squares shoulders as he stares at me. “I just came to give your father an update on your new group like he wanted.”
I fold my arms across my chest as I level my stare on him. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him the truth. I told him the girls were good, and they had a lot of potential, but I think you've chosen the wrong lead singer for the group.”
Now, this pisses me off because Peter has never had an ear for music or an eye for talent. Peter is a businessman. I need to set his ass straight. I know Drea froze up when they performed for the first time, but I also know that can be fixed. I know now that her hesitation has a lot to do with her personal background. She's afraid to put herself out there because she doesn't want to be discovered. Because her discovery leads to her son. It still doesn't mean I like Peter poking around in my business. It's not his fucking call who I have as the lead in my group.
“I don't agree with that,” I say simply as I shrug my shoulders.
Peter studies me intently. “And why is that? Are you a little too close to this group already—to the lead singer, in particular?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I do my best to play dumb, not ready to expose my relationship to Peter so soon. I’m not even sure how to describe to myself what’s going on between us yet. There’s no fucking way I’ll discuss it with Peter.
“Yes, you do.” His voice is hard as steel. “Are you fucking that girl already? That’s your MO, you know. You see something, and you try to take it, no matter if it’s off-limits or not.”
I know he's referring to Jenna, but he never had her either. Jenna couldn't choose between us because she felt like neither one of us were in it all the way. So she kept us both as friends, and that pissed him the fuck off.
He blamed me for being a cock-block.
If Jenna had really wanted him, it wouldn’t have mattered if I liked her too. She would’ve chosen Peter.
I don't want Peter to know about my relationship with Drea. He made it clear I wasn’t supposed to fuck around with any of the girls in the group, so I sure as fuck don't want Peter to know about it.
“Don't worry about what happens between me and the girls. I’ve got this group under control.” I do my best to divert the situation away from Drea and me specifically, hoping he’ll drop it.
“I'm going to worry. I've got a lot riding on this group too,” Peter says.
I flinch. “Like what? My royalties? That's my fucking business, not yours. That was our deal, remember?”
“That was our deal,” he confirms. “But I also thought I was pretty damn clear on not mixing business and pleasure this time.”
I step up to Peter, and my chest pops out of its own accord because I’m not down with the idea of someone attempting to take Drea away from me. “You’ve gotten so damn mouthy since you think you run shit around here.”
He doesn't back away. Instead, he stares at me. “In case you forgot, I do run shit. Go in there and ask your father. He’ll back me up on that. If you don't like the way I'm running the ship, too fucking bad. I meant what I said. Having any relationship with a girl in this group is bad for business. It looks bad, and it also creates a conflict of interest. If we take these girls on, and you somehow become a part of the company again, fucking with a girl opens us up for a lawsuit. And I'm not having that. Make Annamea the center of this group. She's the best.”
I don't know where the fuck this comes from, but he hasn't seen what I've seen. “No. She's not. Drea is the best. Case fucking closed.”
“I think something is clouding your vision. Annamea is the best. You need to move her to lead. I saw it in the club, along with everyone else when they performed. The only person who can't see it is you. Get your shit together and stop fucking around with this girl before you ruin us both.”
He doesn't give me a chance to say anything else. Instead, he shoulders past me and continues down the hall.
I drop my head down and pinch the bridge of my nose. I know beginning a relationship with Drea is wrong, but I can’t help how I fucking feel about her. She’s amazing, and I don’t want to lose her.
I take a deep breath and do my best to pull my shit together before I go in there and face my father. I don’t like to upset him, so I need to pretend Peter is just talking out his ass if Pop brings up me having a relationship with Drea. I don’t want him to worry I’m going down a path I shouldn’t because that would be a waste of his time. I’m better now mentally than I’ve been in a long, long time, and things have never been clearer.
“Hey, Pop,” I chime in my normal peppy tone as I walk into his suite.
The rhythmic sound of his ventilator breathing for him is the only sound in the room.
The sound of footsteps coming from the kitchen area of the suite catches my attention.
Robert comes into the room, drying his hands with a towel. “Hey, Lazarus? You going to be around for a while? I’d like to go out and grab some takeout lunch if that’s okay with you?”
I nod as I walk over to where my father is sitting in his lift chair. “Yeah. Go ahead. I’ll be here for a bit, talking with Pop.”
“Fantastic. I’ll be back soon. Mr. Rawlings just finished his lunch, and his noon medications have been given,” he says as he tosses the towel on the counter by the sink. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Take your time. I’m in no rush. Laurie and Cam are working on dance routines with the girls for the next couple of hours, so I’m good.”
“Thank you,” he calls as he heads out the door.
I turn my attention back to Pop, who is furiously typing something out on his DynaVox. I take a seat and wait for him to finish.
“Peter says you making mistake with the group. Wr
ong girl.”
I shake my head as my eyes roll up into my head. “I’m not, Pop. I promise I have the right girl for the job. Peter is pushing for this woman named Annamea who isn’t even the next best to who I have chosen. Drea’s sister, Candace, is actually next in line for the job, but a replacement won’t be needed. Drea is a star. I just have to groom her.”
“You and girl together?”
I stare at him blankly unsure of how to respond. I don’t want to lie to him, but I’m not ready to hear his judgment if I admit my relationship with Drea.
Pop’s eyes study my face, and when I don’t say anything, he goes back to typing. “You doing so good. Don’t mess things up.”
With those simple words, my insides lock up. The last thing I ever wanted to do is disappoint my father. I’ve already put him through so much, and I’ve worked hard to clean myself up. I don’t want to hurt him anymore by making foolish mistakes.
Maybe I did rush into all this?
Maybe Drea and I are moving too fast?
The thought of upsetting Pop makes me want to take three steps back and reevaluate the things going on in my life. I need to make sure I’m not heading for my own self-destruction again.
The melody I had been singing in the shower a few days ago is now a loss to me. For the life of me, I can’t seem to get back in the same mindset to find the inspiration to finish the song … or any song for that matter. The pressure to create is weighing down on me like crazy, and I’m beginning to scare myself into believing I won’t be able to write a hit song for the group.
The chords on the piano echo through the room, but it all sounds wrong.
I scratch out the notes I had just tried, marking them as a no-go. A hand on my shoulder causes me to jump, completely startled. “Jesus!”
“Sorry.” I turn to find Drea’s sweet face peering down at me with a sad smile. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” She pauses, and I can see questions burning in her eyes. “I haven’t seen you a lot this week. You haven’t been coming to dinner … I was worried.”