Heart Beat Read online

  “‘Thriller? Really? You didn’t think I would have Thriller?” I asked with widened eyes. “This is arguably the best album ever made. I know every song, front to back!”

  “Me too,” she laughed. “It was one of the first albums my grandfather gave me. I was a Michael Jackson super fan when I was a little kid.”

  “I still am,” I smiled.

  We were locked in the connection I’d missed so much during our break. I had to give her the space she needed, to see if what I was feeling now was as strong as I remembered.

  It was easier to make things more than they were in retrospect, but sitting beside her now, I knew that wasn’t the case with me and Sadie. What we had was real. It was deep. And I wanted to make sure that nothing came between us.

  When I leaned in to kiss her, she met me halfway, offering her full lips as the reward I’d been waiting for all night. She tasted better than I’d recalled, her tongue soft and hungry as she leaned in to deepen the kiss.

  On the floor of the living room, our bodies rushed to touch and feel every inch of each other. Sadie’s dress hugged her curves perfectly, but I’d spent most of dinner wanting to rip it from her body. She tugged at my belt, and I had to step in and stop her.

  “Wait,” I urged, pushing her hands away.

  “Wyatt, I want you,” she pleaded with lust-filled eyes.

  “Not here,” I explained, rushing to my feet before lifting her from the ground. She was light as a feather, wrapping her arms around my neck as I carried her through the house.

  In our consistent haste, I’d never had Sadie naked in the bedroom. We were always so eager, tearing at each other’s clothes no matter where we were, and I liked that. I wanted to take her everywhere. But after our time apart, I was determined to take my time and remind her how special our bond was.

  My bedroom was immaculate after having the cleaning staff prepare everything. Red rose petals formed a heart at the foot of the bed. Setting Sadie on her feet, I watched as she looked in awe.

  “You really are a romantic, aren’t you?”

  “Only for you,” I answered truthfully.

  I’d never put so much time and effort into making a woman feel special. It was all a new feeling for me, and I never wanted Sadie to think of this as the normal treatment that women received from me. There were already so many firsts with her, private intimate moments that only the two of us had experienced.

  She leaned up on her toes, rising so that our lips met, and kissed me with such passion that I knew for sure she understood the message. This was for her, because I wanted her to know how special she was to me. And most importantly, I could feel that I’d succeeded.

  Our tongues danced as we undressed each other, this time slower than usual. Falling onto the bed together, my manhood fell heavily onto her stomach. Sadie stroked me gently, her thin fingers squeezing me.

  A groan escaped me, so grateful for the pressure after a long night of anticipation. “I want to be on top,” she whispered with swollen lips. We were panting, my animalistic nature already kicking in. I needed to be inside her, but how it happened wasn’t nearly as important.

  Flipping to my back, I pulled her on top of me. My cock was so hard, it curled towards my belly and glistened with a bead of arousal. God, I’d never wanted anything so bad.

  Sadie teased me after I grabbed a condom and put it on. She hovered above me, making me feel how slick she was for me. In a slow dance, she moved up and down my length, coating me with her own arousal. It was so fucking hot, I had to clench my eyes to hold back my release even before I was inside her.

  “I missed you so much,” she whispered before tracing the curve of my ear with the tip of her tongue.

  With my hands on her hips, I guided her to my tip, needing to feel her. She didn’t make me wait another second, rocking slowly back and forth as she opened for me. She was so warm, so tight, milking me from the beginning.

  Her soft cries so close to my ear were almost too much to handle. “Easy, baby,” I warned her when she tried to take too much too fast. “You’re too tight.”

  I could feel that in our time apart we’d lost all the progress of making room for me. And I loved it. She was stretching just for me, welcoming me into her sweetness. With my hands pressing on her hips, I inched inside until she took all of me, moaning my name like a soft melody.

  “That’s it,” I said as I kissed her cheek.

  Lifting my hips, I pumped into her, wrapping my arms around her back to move her into my rhythm. Sadie’s body never failed to follow my lead, moving up and down in unison with my strokes.

  “Yes!” She moaned, her lips so close to my ear, I could feel the wetness of her tongue. “Yes! Wyatt! Right there!”

  “I know what you like,” I said, pumping again, harder and faster. She was filled to the brim with me, taking me in and out with ease. Knowing just where her tender spot was, I lifted my body to wave into her while pressing her clit against my body.

  “Wyatt! I’m gonna…” Her words trailed off as her breathing took over. Sadie panting in my ear, I closed my eyes, unable to fight any longer.

  “I’m gonna come with you,” I groaned, holding her so close I could barely breathe.

  Our bodies were one as I slid in and out of her until we both fell over the peak, exploding with passion. I came long and hard.

  “Fuck, that’s hot,” I growled, turned on even more. “Baby, you drive me crazy.”

  Chapter 31

  SADIE

  IT WAS OUR first time back in the studio after our reunion, which I was kind of dreading. Wyatt and I had spent almost a full day in bed together, only getting up to answer the door for takeout. I’d dined on him for what seemed like a month of starving.

  Our connection was almost unbearably strong. And the thought of having to dampen that for anyone felt wrong. But we’d already decided things had to remain under wraps throughout the process of creating his album.

  It was Billie who complicated things for me. She could sense the attraction, and had let it be known that she would not be happy about a relationship between us. Her outburst at our last session was the cause of the anxiety churning in my stomach as I made my way into the studio.

  In reality, she was the least of my worries. It was Mitchell, the man who hired me, who caused the biggest threat. He was the one who warned me about patronizing with “the talent,” as he referred to Wyatt. Mitchell had the power to strip me of the opportunity of a lifetime – working as the solo pianist on one of the most anticipated albums of the year.

  I had tried to stop things from going further with Wyatt, particularly in the beginning. In retrospect, that was the only chance I had, because once I felt the electricity that sparked when our bodies collided, there was no turning back. Wyatt introduced me to an addictive new pleasure I’d quickly grown to need. There was no way I could turn away after indulging in his seduction.

  Everything before Wyatt now seemed like practice leading up to the big game. He was the finale, the ultimate experience, and having his undivided attention felt like winning every title I’d ever dreamed of.

  The doors to the studio opened as I approached, and a rush of relief escaped me at the sight of Wyatt alone. He sat beside the piano in denim and a white T-shirt, with a guitar on his knee.

  “You’re here!” He rose to his feet, coming to greet me with a kiss to the lips.

  “Wyatt!” I whispered, admonishing him quietly. “Someone could see.”

  “Relax,” he smirked, leading me towards the piano with a tug of my hand. “It’s just us today. Mitchell had to meet with Billie, so we get a solo session.”

  I could tell he was as excited as me. We worked so well together, we’d even discussed the possibility of only having private sessions, in our private time. The idea didn’t seem feasible since he was technically in a group with his twin sister. She had to be there at least some of the time. Still, I was grateful she wouldn’t be joining us today.

  “I’ve been work
ing on something. I want you to hear it,” Wyatt announced excitedly. I had no idea how long he’d already been in the studio, but from the look of the notebook he picked up, it seemed a while. There were notes scribbled all over the pages. I wondered how he could make sense of it all with so little organization.

  He instructed me what key to play in, settling beside me on the piano bench. I could sense the tension in his shoulders as he focused on the sounds of the piano, nodding along as I adjusted the melody. Wyatt’s eyes closed as he looked to the ceiling, belting out the beautiful lyrics.

  “This is new, for me for sure.

  I never knew of something so pure.

  You’re the start to everything.

  You came along and captured me.

  Now, everything’s different, starting from you.

  What happened before, just doesn’t feel true.

  No one knows me like you know me.

  No one cares like you care.

  This is the start of something perfect.

  I’ll give it all up, cause baby you’re worth it.

  My heart beats for you.

  My heart beats for you.

  It’s you and me. Me and you, baby.

  I want you forever. Baby, you drive me crazy.”

  My fingers froze at the last line, recalling his words heavy in my ear when our naked bodies pushed each other to new levels of satisfaction. It was about me. This incredibly romantic song that was exactly what he had been struggling to create – a song about the beginning of a relationship. The start of something perfect.

  I turned to him with tears in my eyes. “Wyatt?”

  It was all I could get out. My words were scrambled, my feelings overwhelming.

  Wyatt had come into my life and turned everything upside down in the best way. He often spoke about how he had never been in a relationship, but the same was true for me. Sure, I’d had a boyfriend in high school, but it was puppy love at best.

  I’d never felt so deeply for another person as I did for Wyatt. He consumed me, all of me, in a way I couldn’t imagine living without. Hearing him put my feelings into such beautiful lyrics was more than I could handle.

  I loved him.

  That was the reality I could no longer deny, a new and exhilarating truth I wanted to share. But it was too soon to say something like that, and I didn’t want to change the connection we shared.

  “You like it?” he asked nervously. I couldn’t believe he could be so nervous when he was so talented.

  “I love… it. That’s going to be a number one hit!” I said after releasing a deep breath. Pushing the tears back, I leaned in to kiss him.

  Always the one to take things to the next level, Wyatt deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue past my lips with vigor. I loved the taste of him, the smell of him, the feel of his fingers gently tugging at my hair. Gripping the nape of my neck, he tilted my head to access every inch of me.

  A soft moan left me, and Wyatt reacted quickly, turned on by my arousal. I loved how excited my pleasure made him. Turning around, he moved to face me without disrupting our embrace. Pulling me into his lap, I spread my legs to straddle him. Instantly, I felt his erection and moved my body to press against it.

  Everything about it was wrong, and inappropriate, but I couldn’t stop myself. I needed him, and it didn’t matter where we were. The need was too strong to fight. My body took over, and Wyatt seemed to do the same. His hands were everywhere – in my hair, on my ass, cupping my breast.

  With one hand on my hip, he pressed me into his raging manhood, making me feel what I wanted so badly. Our kiss was more than that now, dripping with a passion that eclipsed erotic.

  “What the fuck?!” The screech from the front of the studio pushed us apart instantly.

  I looked up to see Billie standing with Mitchell, both of them wearing an identical look of disgust. I rushed from Wyatt’s lap, pushing to my feet.

  “I told you there wouldn’t be any of this!” Mitchell barked.

  “I told you she was after Wyatt!” Billie sneered.

  “Get your things! You’re fired!” Mitchell yelled. “If I would have known you were a groupie, you never would have gotten this job!”

  I grabbed my backpack and stormed toward the door just as Wyatt stood from the piano. “Everybody needs to calm the fuck down!” he yelled.

  I was out the door before I could hear another word. The tears were already streaming down my face. It was my worst nightmare personified. The humiliation stuck to me like glue, a feeling completely different from the one I’d felt just seconds earlier.

  Wyatt hadn’t said much of anything, allowing both Mitchell and his sister to talk about me like that without explaining the truth between us. I climbed into my car in disbelief, wondering if all he had said, and sang, to me was just that – lyrics to a song. Something he never truly felt, but was able to describe from watching someone else’s experiences.

  I climbed into my car broken, needing some sort of reassurance. There was only one place I knew I could get that, and so I wiped my tears and drove away from the fast life that had sent me in a whirlwind. I was in over my head, beginning to feel the pressure of fame and notoriety filling my lungs.

  Chapter 32

  WYATT

  “ARE YOU FUCKING serious?!” I stormed towards Mitchell as soon as Sadie ran out the room, seeing the fear in his eyes.

  “Wyatt, just calm down for a second,” he held his hands in the air defenselessly, taking a step backwards.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I asked, more calm. More than angry, I was confused why he thought he had the authority to talk to anyone that way.

  “I warned her against being unprofessional. You have to understand,” Mitchell tried to explain.

  “So you fire Sadie and insult her? What gives you the right?” I frowned, watching him cower as he searched for an answer.

  “Wyatt, we already have too many distractions on this project. We can’t risk anything delaying deadlines any further. The label is up my ass for an update, and I’ve barely got anything to give them.” He looked to my sister for help. “Tell him, Billie!”

  I turned to my sister with daggers in my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t cross me. When it came to the label, we always understood we were on the same team. No matter what was bothering either of us, we had to back each other up.

  Billie looked to her feet, and then to Mitchell. “I do think it was unprofessional. And Mitchell is right. We don’t need any distractions.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. My own flesh and blood had sided against me when Sadie was the most important thing in my life. And for Billie to talk about distractions, when she was the one attached to her phone when she wasn’t following behind her boyfriend…

  She was the main reason we weren’t moving forward with production, because her schedule was too busy to make time for the studio. Even still, I refused to speak badly about my sister, loyal to the core.

  “Sadie was anything but a distraction.” I spit the words out, so upset I’d grown eerily calm. “She’s the only reason we’ve made any progress at all on this fucking album! She’s the only person who’s been inspiring my writing and collaborating in the studio.”

  Mitchell looked away now, as did my sister. Neither of them had a word to say for themselves, but I was far from done.

  “You’re going to apologize to her,” I said to Mitchell.

  “What?” he started before I cut him off.

  “That’s not a request, Mitchell. You’re going to apologize to Sadie and let her know that she is a valued part of this process before begging her to return to the project.” I spoke clearly and concisely, so sure of my demands.

  “Wyatt, I warned her,” he tried again.

  “I’m warning you. Go find Sadie and sincerely apologize. If she doesn’t return to this project, I’m done, and so are you. I will refuse to work on this album as long as you’re a part of it. Who do you think the label cares more about on this project, Mitche
ll? Me or you?”

  He looked at me dumbfounded before turning his attention to my sister. This time, she didn’t save him. Instead, she looked down at her phone as though there was an important message that needed her undivided attention at that very moment.

  We all knew the answer to my question. Mitchell was replaceable in the equation, but I was not. I had already made that clear when I called a meeting with the label without alerting him. He knew one call from me and he’d be off the biggest project of his career, a risk he didn’t want to make.

  “I think that we should talk about this,” Mitchell spoke with a regretful tone, but I was past forgiving him.

  He had crossed a line I wasn’t willing to accept. Sadie meant a lot to me, and he’d disrespected her, firing her from her dream job. I’d told her there was nothing to worry about, all but guaranteeing she wouldn’t lose her job. And not only had it happened, but it was all my fault. Mitchell had instantly blamed and fired Sadie, even though I was the one in the position of power in our professional relationship. I should have shut things down between us. A wave of nausea washed over me.

  I was the one unable to protect her and stand up for her in the face of her biggest concern. Sadie had been very vocal about the only apprehensions she had to dating me – and they were both standing right before me.

  “Get out, Mitchell. If you haven’t apologized to Sadie, don’t even bother coming to the next studio session.”

  I turned away, letting him know I was done with him. There was nothing else to say. He’d made his case, and I’d made it clear that I didn’t care. He thought he could talk to Sadie anyway, because he assumed she didn’t mean anything to me. That miscalculation had either cost him his ego or his job. That decision I would leave up to him.

  I heard the door open and turned just in time to see the back of his balding head as he left like the coward he was. Any man that would talk to a woman like that wasn’t worth my time. And the more I thought about it, the more I was sure I didn’t want him on the project regardless of whether he apologized or not.