Dirty Secret (The Burke Brothers #1)(70)
Author: Emma Hart

“You’re crazy,” she whispers.

“Only for you.” I keep swaying her hips, and she settles her hands on mine, shaking her head.

I slide my hands around to her stomach and her hips still. “Why’d you come back?”

“I needed to be the only person who loves you after that.”

“They ain’t in love with me. They’re in love with my voice.”

“Yeah, that’ll explain the panties that got caught on your mic stand.”

“Yeah, that happens sometimes. Tate puts the ones with numbers on them in his pocket. Obviously he never calls them because he has no idea who he’s calling, but still. They hope.”

She shakes her head. “It’s a whole other life, ain’t it? What you have away from Shelton Bay. I don’t think I realized it fully until today. Some chick near us drove up from freakin’ Texas because she missed all your tour dates there.”

“They’re crazy, but in the best kind of way ”

“Crazy freaky. Crazy obsessive. Crazy relentless.”

“I like your crazy beautiful better,” I reassure her. “Your crazy was made just for me. Just like you were. And your ass was. That was definitely made just for me.”

She slaps my arm lightly. “How do you deal with it all?”

“It’s our life. It’s how it is. But it’s such a small part of it, really. When we’re on tour, it’s twice, maybe three times a week, and when we’re not, it hardly ever happens. We’ll get stopped for autographs and photos wherever we go, but it’s not usually that insane.” I rest my chin on her shoulder. “It isn’t everythin’.”

Sofie leans back into me. “What’s it like, bein’ on tour?”

“It’s . . . different.” I pull her back to the bench swing and sit with her. I open my legs and she nestles between them, her back to my front, her hands over mine. “It’s busy. The day we play, we have to spend all day at the venue, getting set up and getting to know the place, sound checks and stuff. But it’s also amazing, because we get to see all these incredible cities. We spend a couple days in each place, so we take the day after the concert to just explore.”

“What’s your favorite one?”

“City?” I ask.

She nods.

“New York. Easily. I mean, it’s just . . . damn. It’s somethin’ else. It’s so different from here. You’d love it.”

“I bet,” she whispers.

“Why all the questions? You thinkin’ ’bout what I said last night?”

Sofie takes a deep breath and shrugs a shoulder. “I want to, you know? Then I think about Mila and if she could deal with all that traveling. It would be so tiring for her, being on the road constantly. But then on the other hand, she hates being away from you. If she wakes up and you’re not here, she constantly looks out the window for you.”

“So just try it.” I slide my hand up to cup her jaw and turn her face. Her eyes find mine. “Try it, and if it’s too much, I’ll fly you both back.” I brush my thumb over her cheek. “Please, Sof. I just got her. I just got you back. Don’t ask me to be without you again.”

She curls onto her side and rests her head on my chest. “Where are you goin’?”

“Not far. New York is our farthest away, in a month. Then we’ll hit some Midwest cities, working our way south. We finish in New Orleans.”

“New Orleans? I always wanted to go there. Dad always promised he’d take me, but he never got a chance.” Her voice trails off.

I kiss the top of her head. “I want you to come, Sof.”

“When do you go?” Her voice cracks a little on the word “go.”

“One week.” I run my fingers through her hair. “We leave on Saturday morning to perform in Raleigh, then head to Charlotte for the Wednesday show.”

“Where after?”

“Charleston. See? We’re stickin’ pretty close to home.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything. I rest my head on the back of the swing, nervous energy zinging through me.

Leaving her and Mila just doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t fit. The thought is like a mismatched puzzle piece in my mind. It’s that piece you just try to jab in because it should fit, but it never does.

“Okay,” she whispers. “But if it doesn’t work by Charleston, we’re leaving.”

“Really?” I tilt her face up to look at me. “You’ll come?”

Sofie moves onto her knees and sits back on her ankles, balancing precariously on the swing. “I don’t want you and Mila to be apart, Conner. Not so soon.”

“Now tell me the other half of the reason,” I growl, sliding down to be close to her.

“I have no idea what you mean.” Her lips twitch, giving her lie away.

I run my thumb up her side, over the curve of her breast, and up her neck. She shivers as it tickles her jawline and rests on her bottom lip. “You know exactly what I mean,” I whisper roughly, tracing the curve of her mouth.

She curls her fingers around the hair at the nape of my neck. “You’re gonna have to remind me of that other reason.”

I tug her face to mine and replace my thumb with my mouth. I kiss her roughly, not caring about being gentle, and she whimpers immediately. She moves closer, and her fingers dig into my neck, her other hand tugging my hair. I curve my hand around her ass, squeezing, and then—

“Shit!” I laugh, catching her on top of me as we fall off the swing and onto the grass.

“For goodness’ sake, Conner!” She giggles, pushing herself up and looking down at me. “Can’t you even kiss me right?”

I flip her over onto her back. “Sounds like a dare to me.”

I drop my mouth to hers again, my tongue instantly finding its place against hers. My knee slides between her legs and she bends one of hers, rubbing her thigh against mine. Her body pushes into me as the tiny gasping whimpers she’s making pulsate through my bloodstream, making my cock harden.

I slide my hand beneath her shirt and cup her tit, palming it, rubbing my thumb over where her nipple is slowly getting harder.

“Now I remember,” she breathes. “This. This is a pretty good reason for me coming.”

“This is the only reason for you coming,” I retort, a sexy grin forming on my face.

“Ha! Smart guy. Except I’m not coming.”