4.

She stretched and rolled over as she wakened, only to have her nose bump into a very warm wall of flesh. Bemused crystal blue eyes flew open and to the sleeping face of the man in front of her. Holy Hannah it wasn’t a dream? She shifted again and felt the delicious little ache between her thighs that reaffirmed the night before had been all too real. Smiling she pressed a kiss to his chest and was rewarded with a tightening of the arms that were still around her.

His eyes opened to the most beautiful sight he’d experienced in years, and she was smiling just for him. “Morning Darlin’.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his hands skating over her silky skin. It was still early, he thought they just might have a time for a little morning love, that was until she laughed and managed a sort of twist and roll maneuver that had her standing beside the bed.

“Ohhh no, I know how you are, you hate getting outta bed, but we’re supposed to be on the road to Calistoga soon.” She waggled her brows and leaned in for a kiss only to be pulled back onto the bed, her laughter gasping from her as he started to tickle along her sides.

“Darlin, trust me, Calistoga won’t be going anywhere.”

Forty-five minutes later he rolled from the bed and slipped his jeans on, zipping them halfway as he moved to the tiny kitchenette to start coffee. Looking back over his shoulder he chuckled to see her still on the bed and still trying to recapture her composure. Still got it after all these years. Damn I’m good. He put a pot of coffee on to brew then reached for breakfast fixings. “Come on lazykins, we got a schedule to keep.”

She groaned and pulled herself upwards, the ache from the night before deliciously enhanced by how he liked to wake up. “Alright already I’m up, I’m up.” Dressing quickly she stepped into the small kitchen area and offered up a smile at the cup of coffee that was placed into her hand. Taking a sip of the potent brew she whistled. “Like it a bit strong do we?”

Richie chuckled, ”Hell Darlin, only thing that will wake me up this early, well that and a bit of morning loving.” He settled two plates on the tiny pull out table and pulled out her chair. “Now lets eat, we’ve got, what is it a unfaithful geyser to ooh and ahh over?”

She swatted his shoulder and laughed as she slid into her chair at the tiny RV table. “Well that was the plan, but I’ve had a better idea.”

Richie pulled the small fry pan from the burner and turned, the light in her eyes making his belly curl and knot in anticipation. “So what bright idea might sway you from your overwhelming urge to see that geyser?”

She leaned forward, her lips moving in to taste that irresistible slice of skin he always let show when he wore a button up shirt. “I know you said that you are supposed to have Ava for a month, and you mentioned the end of summer fling your buddies always throw for the families….”

His breath caught at the alluring slip and slide of her lips, his mind scattering as she kept up the easy lil flicks of the tongue. Forcing down the tide of need that started to rise he forced out a grunted, “And?”

She smiled as his arms snaked around her and pulled her close. “Well, if you could get her a week or two early, you think she’d like traveling around in a big old RV?”

His eyes widened as he heard the words. He had two weeks before he needed to pick up Ava, two weeks that Lindsay could have him totally to herself and she was offering to share it with his little girl? He’d never had anyone be so selfless before, never had anyone be that giving, well except for his brothers. “You’re something else did you know that Lindsay Waters?”

She lay her head on his chest and smiled. “If you don’t think she’d enjoy traveling around then it’s ok, but I just wanted to let you know it would be ok.”

He pulled her closer, his hands cupping her firm little ass as his lips slid against hers in a gentle thankful kiss. “How’d I get so lucky to find you Little Darlin?” He gazed down into eyes so blue they rivaled the ocean in their intensity and thought how bright the world seemed with that one smile gracing his world, and in that one instant, all the swirling thoughts that had centered on her coalesced as his heart left its hidden place deep within his soul and began again to beat with a music too far long missing in his life.

She gasped as his lips pressed against hers and lost all sense of time when his tongue began the slide against hers, his flavor and taste filling her in ways nothing had before, or would again. She’d loved him from afar for years, but never truly understood him, and now that she did she’d realized she’d loved a fantasy for far too long, and hell if the reality wasn’t something special and wondrous. She pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose and pulled away.

“Don’t ya think you need to be calling and arranging to pick up that cute little girl of yours?”

“Damn straight Darlin, damn straight.”

She smiled as he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed excitedly. He was just like a kid at Christmas. Just the thoughts of a little extra time with his daughter had him glowing with happiness. She puttered around, cleaning up from their breakfast and intently trying to not listen to the soft conversation going on just behind her. She prayed his ex would be giving, that she’d let him have more than a month. Hell after the last few months with all her problems too be sure she would.

She glanced up as he shut his phone, relief flowing through her at the sparkle in his eyes.” She agreed to it, man you must be my angel of luck because she agreed to let me have a couple of extra weeks!” He stood up and moved in on her quickly before scooping her up and twirling around. “I get to take her school shopping, have her the rest of the summer…Heather has a picture to film, said I was an answer to a prayer. ME!” He dipped in and plastered a happy sloppy trail of kisses from cheek to lips. “I would have never thought to ask if you hadn’t suggested it. Thank ya Darlin.”


Her hands stole around his neck as she watched his eyes light up in ways she’d never seen before. She’d trod hell itself if it kept that light in his eyes. “Well then what are we waiting for? Put me down and lets get on the road.”

Richie pressed a hard kiss to her lips and let her slide to her feet and along his body. Ok maybe that was the wrong thing to do, he thought as he stepped forward to the drivers seat. Damn, a whole six weeks with his two favorite girls, could life get any better?

Linds situated herself into the passenger seat and smiled at the look of anticipation on Richie’s face. “Ya know Richie, while we’re on the way to pick up Ava I have the most wonderful idea.”

He slipped his sunglasses on, his gaze flickering towards the angel to his right. “Another one? Do I dare ask this time?”

She winked and leaned back, propping her feet casually on the dashboard. “Mmmhmm, you mentioned revenge on an ohh so curly one. Let’s start to plan.”

His laugh echoed as he pulled out onto the highway. “You think you can out joke the joker Darlin?”

Linds reached over and brushed a finger along his arm, “I don’t think it gorgeous, I know it.”

His laughter grew as his heart fell even deeper into love. Fuck yeah life could get no better.

3.

Her eyes flew open and settled on his face, that gorgeous face that was damn near smirking. She squeaked out, “You actually count?”

Richie chuckled as he dipped down for a kiss. “Naaah, never really have a need too, just wanted to show ya reality was better than fiction Darlin.” His lips brushed over the shell of her ear as he whispered; “Besides I never ever stop at one.”

“Oh you don’t huh?” She shuddered as chills raced along her system at the sensual tip tap of his fingers as he played along her skin. “What exactly do ya do then?”

His hand slid along her calf, lifting her leg to his waist as he rolled his hips slightly, the very tip of his head dipping along her wetness. God he didn’t think he could keep up the banter or wait any longer, he was fuckin’ hard as stone just from the taste of her. He went to reach for a packet of latex only to feel her hand stalling him, and when his brow arched upwards quizzically the smile on her lips made his heart fall.

She glanced up into his dark eyes and reached up to brush a finger along his cheek; “No need for that, I wanna feel all of you.” At his puzzled look and soft words of wanting to protect her she shook her head. “Been on the pill for years Richie,” she laughed wickedly at the light that went on in his eyes, the pure joy that shone in his eyes made her heart start to flip flop. “Now, about what you do?”

He didn’t have to wear latex? He could feel the truth of woman around him? Fuck if that wasn’t like music to his ears. Pressing a kiss to her lush lips he murmured, “Oh I start with this,” as he angled forward allowing only an inch or two to enter. The pure heat of her had his eyes crossing as he braced himself, one arm on each side of her head.

Her heart began to race at the first touch of him teasing her core, a tiny mew of frustration leaving her as he kept up the teasing movements. Always just a little never full penetration, he was going to tease her to death, she just knew it. One hand slid up to wrap around his neck as she flicked her tongue against his chest, her grip tightening as she pulled him closer for a kiss, “Richie, please…”

He returned the kiss before pulling back, his arm flexing as he held himself above her. God she was beautiful; a slight sheen of sweat made her skin glow, but it was the look in her eyes that had his motors revving. It was a look he knew he wanted to see over and over again; that look of dazed pleading. Nuzzling her neck, he nibbled along her shoulder his hips flexing forwards , his cock shifting deeper as he felt the clench of her for the first time. Sweet Mary she was hot and tight, better than anything he’d felt in years, and she was his. He’d make fuckin’ sure of it.

Her hands slid along his shoulders only to grasp the forearms, the bunching and flexing of his muscles as he moved over her thrilling some deep-seated part of her. She needed to feel all of him, wanted to feel each shimmer of muscle as he moved above her, wanted to feel him fully but he was still barely moving in and out. She groaned as he again barely entered her. Dammit why wouldn’t he? She wanted to scream at the slow yet frustrating movements.

He watched the frustration build and knew exactly why it was building. He knew he had to be careful though, for all her want she wasn’t used to him yet, he had to take it slow and easy, let her adjust or she’d be screaming and not in the way’s he wanted her to, but when her eyes went dark he gave a final push and seated himself fully within her, stopping only to give her the time she needed to accept him completely.

Her breathing nearly stopped as she felt him in his entirety for the very first time, and he had stopped? He was looming there over her, buried to the hilt and he’d stopped? She felt the quiver in his arms, felt him tense as he held himself still and wondered why. She shivered as his forehead lightly touched hers and his lips brushed against her sweetly. “Don’t want to hurt ya Darlin, trust me ok?”


She took a breath as he settled against her, his girth filling her deep and true. He didn’t want to hurt her? Jesus that didn’t hurt, it felt fuckin’ divine. She wanted to move, wanted to feel the friction of the slide and push as he moved inside of her. She needed it like flowers needed both rain and sun. Tilting her head she ran her tongue along his chest and felt the throb of his heart beneath his skin. Damn if he didn’t taste as good as he looked.

His eyes opened slightly as he felt a slight shift under him. His brow arched as he felt her nails dig into his hips, eager was she? He lowered himself, brushing his chest against her diamond hard nipples and was rewarded with another mewl of pleasure. Lips slid against lips as he shifted slightly, his smile skimming over her neck on the way to her ears, “Impatient are we?” The slight pain of her nails digging in harder shifted into pleasure as inner walls contracted around him forcing him into movement.

His hips rolled and touched places inside of her she’d never thought a man could touch her, and when his pace picked up she responded with rakes of her nails along his spine. She locked her ankles around his waist and met him thrust for thrust, warbling cry to deep gravely grunt. She opened her eyes and saw his dark as chocolate eyes burning with pleasure’s fire and answered that with a soft bite to one of his nipples. She couldn’t get enough of his skin, the taste or smell, and when the first droplet of sweat fell from his brow onto her lip she loved the taste of that too.

He drilled her into the bed, reveling in the feel of sweat soaked skin meeting skin. He watched the emotions flitting across her face. Nothing was hidden, each sigh, each movement held a response that served to make him push a little deeper a little harder, and she took all he had and sent it back. Fuck she was something else. His head lowered as his tongue grazed the hollow of her neck. He wanted every part of him touching her, it was important. He slowed imperceptibly, one arm bracing against the wall as his free hand flitted over her belly, his thumb gliding to tease that tiny nub at the nexus of her core.

In that one moment she lost control, her scream bouncing off the walls of the RV as he played her clit like the strings of his guitar. With each brush of the thumb her soul flew higher; her heart fell harder and her ankles locked tighter around him until there was nothing left to man or woman as they became a single being. Her hands slid up to his sweat soaked hair and held tight as she began to fall, held on earth by force of the man.

Her name fell from his lips like a song as he felt that heavenly vice hard clench, unencumbered by latex. The feel of her inner walls milking his cock sent him over the edge and he felt himself spill within her. Jesus but it felt excellent, most excellent unencumbered by latex. His rhythmic maneuvering slowed as he pumped through his orgasm and hers, his body shuddering as it finally ended. Slumping on top of her momentarily he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pulling away and over to his side of the bed. Turning towards her he pulled her into his arms, loathe to have her even an inch away. Rolling to his back he gave a sigh of happiness as she moved with him, her head moving to lay on his shoulder. A lazy smile breeched his lips as he felt her slight body still shuddering with the after effects of his loving. He chuckled lightly as he nuzzled against her neck. “Dare I say it Darlin?”

She heard it even though he’d not said it yet, the intent deep within his humor. That was two, the night was barely over for her, and damn if that wasn’t the most promising thing she’d not heard to date. Her legs tangled with his as she pressed a kiss to his chest, a delighted laugh escaping her. As his brows waggled she giggled, “Your incorrigible you know that?”

His arm pulled her closer, tightening the after loving hug as he laughed. “Never denied that one Linds Darlin, and doubt I ever do.”

Soft murmurs and laughter filled the small sleep space as they teased and caressed each other, the shadows of the night only serving to intensify each moment as fleeting touches slipped and shifted between them. From sighs to strangled moans, right down to the final moment as morning began to brighten the moonlit sky he loved her, and deep inside she never lost count.

Fuck yeah, he was better than fiction, but then she’d never doubted that.

2.

Arms of steel banded around her, surrounding her in a torrent of sensation and scent of the man behind her. The spicy musk of the man combined with the heavenly feel of his body pressing into her back had tremors radiating from her belly throughout her body. God nothing could feel as exquisite as this one thing. His arms were gentle, yet strong as they held her and the feel of his full lips sliding against her cheek was setting infernos that had her skin flushing. And if that wasn’t enough, she felt the obvious rise of desire unabashedly brushing a hello against her hips.

The first hint of her skin had him harder than a cooled piece of lava while the taste of her skin had that same lava melting and running through his veins. Fuck he wanted her, and in ways he’d never thought he’d want a woman again. But as much as he wanted her, he wanted to make sure she was ready for this. “Are ya sure Darlin?”

Her voice caught as her breathing hitched slightly at the feel of his insanely long fingers brushed up and over her breasts. She felt them pucker through the thin cotton of her tee-shirt as the strangely satiny yet rough pads of his thumbs teased over the cotton. Each slight swirl of the thumb had her melting even further into his arms. Was she sure? Good God what a question.

She took a deep breath and turned, dazed blue eyes settling on the heated chocolate brown of his eyes. She pushed up on tiptoe, her lips brushing against his as her hands slipped under his shirt and up along his spine. “Don’t think I’ve ever been surer of anything in my life.”

A brush of his lips whispered over her skin as he groaned, “Thought you’d never say that.” Scooping her up into his arms he quickly traveled the few feet to the King sized bed that had been calling his name for days. He settled her onto her feet as his hands slid over her body in a slow sensual worship of each curve. Guitars might be sexy like a woman, curvy and perfect, but they held no sway over the sensual silk he felt beneath his finger tips in this one moment.

He knelt before her, his hands playing over the hem of her sleep shirt, his voice raspy as his scruffy chin rasped over her upper legs. "Put your hands on my shoulders Darlin." He leaned forward then, his entire being answering the clarion call of the heavenly scent wafting from her inner thighs. He'd waited weeks, tantalized and tormented by the sweet smell of her skin, and now it was time to simply taste and savor what stood before him.

A sigh groaned over lush lips as petite fingers grasped onto broad shoulders. God, what was he doing down there, nuzzling at the juncture of her thighs? No man had ever…….. thoughts derailed as the flash of whisker and tongue tantalized and strong hands urged her legs apart. “Ri..Ri…Richie??”

He glanced up and saw the stunned confusion in her eyes and smiled. Obviously whichever boys she’d dated over time didn’t take the time to savor the beauty of a woman in its forms. Well he was just the man to show her that. Making love was about more than sex. “Shhh Darlin, its ok. Just relax and let me take care of things.”

Tremors jitterbugged through her system when his fingers slid up over her belly, his lips following after. A flash of tongue circling her belly button drew a giggle from her before she caught her breath as hands slid her sleep tee higher, the calluses caused by years of guitar strings brushing over the tips of her nipples in the lightest of touches. She couldn’t stop the whimper that left her, hell she didn’t want it to stop as the first touch of his lips replaced hands. God help her she was going to melt into a puddle and all he was doing was kissing each inch of her skin!

He pushed up off his knees as he nuzzled the whisper soft underside of her breast. Fuck she smelled like heaven, the first taste of her already had his cock rock hard, and that was just the beginning. Her he wanted to worship and savor. For her this had to be special. As he stood, he finished pulling the sleep tee over her head, his hands sliding through her hair to cup the back of her head as his lips descended to meet hers.

Her breath caught in her throat as his lips touched hers and his tongue flitted against the crease of her lips. She opened to the touch and felt the slide of his dark flavor enhanced with what had to be hers on her tongue. Slender arms wrapped around his neck as she lost herself in the heat of the kiss. She could feel the longing inside each brush of his lips, each gentle pass of his hands over her skin and it served to only drive her need higher. She whimpered as he bent and scooped her up, her hands tightening around his neck as he twisted and laid her gently on the bed.

He stood there a moment just taking her in, from the ocean blue of her eyes along each slender inch of her, to the nexus of her thighs and the long length of her legs. She was a study in perfection, a study he planned on delving in to with more detail. One finger reached out to brush over the tissue softness of her eyelid, along her nose then before barely gliding over the valley between her breasts then lower, but when she murmured softly, her gentle hands reaching out to tug at the hem of his shirt he gave in and knelt on the bed.

He bit back a groan as she slowly sat up, her hands pushing at the cloth of his shirt distractedly, a plea shining in the depth of her fire bright eyes. And when she murmured “Off,” he leaned in to revel in the feel of her silky hands as they pushed and tugged the shirt over his broad shoulders. Just that barest of touches had his every system set to go, but he knew that she deserved slow and easy, hell she deserved all he could give her.

He slid to the foot of the bed and lifted one slender leg, his lips paying homage to the daintiness of her ankle up along the sweep of her calf, his tongue flickering out to taste the back of her knee before moving higher. Just as he reached the crease of her thigh he kissed his way back along the smooth expanse of skin only to start the northward trek on the second.

The rasp of his stubble, the heat of his tongue, the slight tickle of his teeth jolted through her like a run away train. No one had ever done something like this before. She felt cherished, worshipped. It wasn’t just lips, teeth and tongue, no, she heard the murmurs of appreciation in his deep voice, felt the sensitive need that the barest brush of lips inspired. So this is how a real man worships a woman, this is what making love is? Her head shifted on the pillow as she watched him lovingly trace each inch of her legs, as if he had all the time in the world. It confused her, men usually got their business done and that was it, but not this man, he was savoring her.

He glanced her way and saw the confusion and shook his head. Looming over her he dipped in, lips brushing gently over hers. The hardened nub of her nipples pressed into his chest like twin points of desire and nearly undid his restraint. Forcing down the raging need, he brushed lips against her cheek wanting to reassure her; he needed to know she wasn’t afraid. As he nibbled the lobe of her ear he whispered, “You Ok Darlin?”

The quick nod of her head, the feel of her hands as they twisted into his hair along with the feel of her lips pressing into the crook of his neck told him all he needed to know. Brushing his lips over her cheek along her forehead before nuzzling her hair he smiled. “A woman like you should be savored slowly, brought to flash point and then loved a little more, and that’s what I plan to do sweet Lindsay.”

His gentle words coursed through her like the warmth of the summer sun as his lips started their southward movement. Each inch of her skin was kiss, licked or nibbled, and when he stopped at the fullness of her breast and sucked a nipple into his mouth she couldn’t stop the full throated groan. God that felt good, the gentle nibble, the way the suction pulled at the skin as he pulled away. He could do that all night and she wouldn’t say a word. She knew it was just the start and that from here on in she was at his tender loving mercy.

He brushed his lips lower, his hands sliding along her sides as he reached that one spot he’d ignored until now. Slipping his hands under her hips he lifted slightly and watched her open like a fragile rose. His lips slid lower, the tip of his tongue gliding like fire over the moisture as he took in the first true taste of her desire. Hands slid lower, as he lifted each leg and let it dangle over his shoulder before moving them back to gently part the folds of her core. Crowding in, he widened his tongue and began to lap slowly at the juices that were already flowing, his fingers sliding up to brush over her clit lightly.

At the buck of her hips he smiled, his tongue plunging in to mimic the moves he’d do with his cock all too soon. As her hips began to flex, and the music of her sighs morphed into moans, he slid one finger in, pumping slowly only to be rewarded with more of the sweet taste that was solely her.

Dear Jesus, she was going to die right here on this bed. She wasn’t inexperienced, but god help her she’d never felt like this before. Her hands twisted into the sheets as she heard herself whimpering, and when he added the second finger she nearly came off the bed as the pleasure ramped up to notches beyond her ken. She felt herself moving to meet each thrust of the finger, each flick of the tongue uncaring of anything but the pure fire that his touch brought, and when the third finger joined the first two and began to wiggle she began to scream.

God she was hotter than a firecracker and each whimper and moan had him growing harder by the second, but when she began to scream a smile unlike any had seen on him recently grew. She’s a little screamer huh? My little screamer, I think I like that. He delved in, his tongue and fingers working furiously to drive her over the edge. He wanted to feel her cum just like this, by finger and tongue alone and that would be just the start.

He felt her body tighten around him and shifted his gaze up to view the heavenly sight of flushed skin and rock tight nipples. His tongue found and pressed onto her clit and in that moment he felt her fall, her body jerking as she clenched vice-like around his fingers. Slowing his movements, his lips road out her orgasm, taking in every drop she had to offer and as she calmed his lips slid up and over hers, giving her just a taste of what he’d experienced. He brushed her hair away from her cheek and grinned. “That’s one Darlin.”

1.

Three A.M. and he was awake. Now that was usually the norm for him, especially when on tour, but the tour had been over for two weeks. He groaned and pushed himself upright. Sleeping on the tiny couch in the RV wasn’t very conducive to sleep, but he had insisted she sleep in the bed and because of that he was wide awake. Stretching his arm out, he grabbed his acoustic and settled it on his lap. If he couldn’t sleep he might as well work on the song that had settled into his brain and wouldn’t leave him be. Playing music helped him think, just like a good hot shower, it always cleared away cob webs, but hot showers in what passed for a shower in this vehicle was more a lesson in futility. He never could get every part of him rinsed at once, the shower was just too tight and he was just too big.

His hand wrapped around the neck of the guitar as long fingers settled onto the strings and began to strum. His eyes closed as the melody played along with his memories. As they pulled away from the Woodbridge Township Hall he’d told her he had two weeks before it was time for him pick up Ava for his month with her. He’d already decided that Ava had to meet Linds. In some odd way he just knew Linds was going to be someone he would keep around. Within moments of hearing that she’d snagged his computer and set them a route that would take them across the states.

It had been two weeks of nothing but laughter as they rode the highway and stopped everywhere she wanted. She’d told him he’d get a real vacation with her, not some frou frou fancy rock star vacation that meant lazing on beaches, ritzy restaurants or room service and he had gotten just that. If it wasn’t for his princess he would have been happy to just keep traveling.

Fuck he’d traveled the world no telling how many times and he’d seen his fill of exotic things, but he had to admit seeing the world as she saw it had been an education, from the world’s largest light bulb, Mighty Joe Young Memorial and the miniature trains right in New Jersey to the Mystery Hole in West Virginia. Ok, admittedly he had loved the toy trains, made him feel like a kid again and the mystery hole had worked his mind. It was a place he’d never forget with its water flowing up hill and everything defying gravity, even now he marveled at how nature worked. But that was the least of it.

Hell, every state had held some oddity she wanted to see, the Goodyear Rubber Museum in Ohio had taught him more about rubber than he ever cared to know and Indiana’s largest ball of paint had him wondering what other things people got up to in their spare time. And that wasn’t the end of it, oh no, not for Miss Lindsay.

Her next stop had been in Illinois and all she had said was, “knowing you, you’ll love this one,” and he had. He’d always loved crosses, wore them every day, had them all over his home and seeing the Bald Knob Cross of Peace, well it spoke to him. That day had settled him in some odd way and it was all because of a lady who had said she could show him what real meant. It was that day more than any other that he had finally felt peace after the last couple of years.

He shook his head as the memories of the replica Stonehenge of Missouri rose, his laughter as he played a rock n roll version of a Celtic tune and Lindsay had danced around the stones in the field. His smile grew as the memory played out in his mind. She’d seemed waif like, almost like a fairy. Each place was emblazoned in his mind and Lindsay danced through each memory unabashedly smiling, teasing him, and driving him to distraction.

She’d taken photographs all along the way, but he knew his favorite photo would always be the one taken of him in front of the Paul Bunyan Muffler Man of Oklahoma. Oh it wasn’t because of the statue or even the place really, although it being near a bowling alley had her dragging him in to bowl a few games. Fuck that had been fun, he hadn’t bowled in ages; it helped center him and get him back to that young Jersey guy he claimed to be. All that had been great but what had made that one place more memorable than the others was when she’d slipped on the shiny bowling alley floor, he’d caught her and gotten a kiss for his efforts. That kiss still teased his memory like a flame teased a moth. She’d not kissed him before, and that one kiss had lit a damned fire in his gut that just burned hotter each and every day.

They’d held hands in silent reverence at Davy Crockett’s grave and he’d learned just how good the softness of her small hand felt in his, they’d laughed over burgers in a restaurant that boasted a huge long horned steer skull for an entrance and he’d decided that her laugh had to be in his life forever, but it was the pure magic of the Ghost town in Bishop California that had settled it deep into his gut. This woman, this real woman, who had taken a chance and went with him, who was real beyond real, was better than anything he’d ever found in California, well except for his Ava, but she was in a different category.

He wanted to make her his, but she’d turned down each and every pass or flirtation he’d tossed her way. She’d smile gently and tell him they had to get to know each other better. Well dammit

they knew each other now, so how could he make her his?

~~

She turned, her eyes fluttering open at the soft melody echoing in the small confines of the RV. Glancing down at her watch she shook her head. It was nearly four in the morning and he was still awake? They had stopped in Bishop for the night and she knew the next day would have her seeing the home of the man she traveled with and meeting his daughter to boot. She was a bit afraid of that, what if Ava didn’t like her? But when she’d broached that to Richie he’d laughed and tweaked her nose affectionately. “Darlin,” he’d said, “she’s a lot like her dad, she’ll adore ya.”

She smiled as she recalled the days of traveling. Not once had he complained about the crazy out of the way places she’d drug him, from concrete dinosaurs to light bulbs and all spots in between. He’d actually enjoyed it, even commenting on how nice it was to see things as a normal person. Well she’d promised him that and she’d delivered, and he’d delivered on all his promises too. God, it had been excruciatingly hard to keep him at arms length. He was always finding a reason to brush against her or simply take her hand. Fuck but he smelled so good and was so tall and strong. But she didn’t just fall into bed with a man, not even if that man was Richie Sambora.

But that had been two weeks ago, and now? He’d opened up to her, more than she could have possibly expected, telling her of his life, both professional and personal, and she’d listened, really listened. Inside the words she heard the hurt and loneliness, of losing a woman he thought loved him, to the absolute joy she’d given him when she had Ava. The man deserved more kids, it was a shame he only had the one and she’d told him so. He’d winked at her and said, “Oh hell Darlin, don’t count me out, I ain’t dead yet.”

He was something else, something that defied description and nothing at all like the man most saw in interviews, and she loved him all the more for it. Hell to be honest, she’d crushed on him for years, but in two weeks she’d learned what it was like to just fall in love with the guy too. Her eyes went wide at the thought. She loved him? Where had that come from? She shook her head as the thought took root and settled in. Well it was true, she did. She loved his gentleness, his humor and his intelligence. Somewhere between week one and week two she’d forgotten the musician and just started seeing the guy. A guy who was so lonely and hurt that it called out to her to make it better, if she could just figure out how.

She sat up and moved towards the middle of the RV, her hands brushing back her sleep mussed hair as she stood before him. God he was just gorgeous and so lost in the melody that he had no idea she was there. She cleared her throat, receiving a smile as the music faded off and eyes shadowed by the night glanced up her way.

He took in her sleep mussed appearance, her slender form dressed only in a big floppy tee-shirt and smiled. “Did I wake ya Darlin?”

Linds shook her head. “Not really, I heard the music and it made me curious. Couldn’t sleep?”

He gave her a waggle of the brows and nodded to his guitar. “Melody wouldn’t leave me be, had to work through it before I could sleep.”

She shook her head and started to laugh. “Had nothing to do with trying to put six foot of man onto a five foot couch again?”

Richie’s shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Naah, I know how to fold myself into small spaces. I learned it years ago on buses and planes Darlin. I can sleep anywhere really.” He settled the guitar back onto its place of honor in the one soft chair in the sitting area. “But I’ve whipped the melody into submission so I’ll quit interrupting your sleep.” He leaned back on the couch and propped his legs on the back casually. “See told ya I’d fit.”

Her head tilted as a slow hot smile began on her lips and made her eyes sparkle even in the shadows of the night. “So you’d rather sleep there than say on the bed?”

His legs shot off the couch onto the floor of the RV as he sat back up, his eyes honing in on that smile of hers that said more than any words could. “Are ya saying what I think you’re saying Darlin?”

Her hand reached out to his as her smile grew wider, “I think we know each other pretty well now; we’ve waited long enough don’t you think?”

He was off the couch before the sentence was finished.