Book Two: A Second Chance
Going On Tour
His baby wasn’t a clotheshorse, JC decided as they delivered her bags to his room. A large bag held her cameras and supplies. A duffle for shoes and toiletries. A large duffle for clothes. A laptop and tote bag. Most women required more for an extended trip.
“I’ve lived out of one bag when I was in Bosnia.” She shrugged when he mentioned she was an easy keeper.
“Bosnia?” JC was stunned. “That isn’t exactly a safe place.”
“I got some fantastic shots.”
“Mel, I really don’t like the idea of you risking your life for a picture – no matter how great.”
She went to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “And just exactly how do you plan on stopping me?”
“By marrying you,” he blurted unthinkingly. Then he realized what he had said.
Melissa’s eyes were wide and questioning. “You’d marry me just to keep me out of hot spots? Isn’t that a little drastic?”
“I hadn’t meant to propose like that.”
“Did you mean to propose at all?”
“Yeah.” He put his hands at her waist and pulled her against him. “But I was planning to make love to you first and ask while you were still soft from the afterglow – and more likely to say ‘yes’.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Are you proposing to me?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Then I say ‘yes’.”
“You mean it? You’ll marry me?” He had this stupid, happy grin on his face.
“Blue-eyes, I wanted to seven years ago, but I knew it wouldn’t be fair.”
JC snatched her up and spun her around. “Melissa Chasez! Sounds fantastic!”
She giggled as he spun her until she was light-headed. “Put me down!”
“Never!” He dumped her on the bed and followed her down. He kissed her over and over until she was breathless and arching against him.
“Joshua…”
“You’re mine. You were mine and I was yours the minute our eyes met. All the years in between were just biding time.”
She stroked his cheeks. “I feel like I’m really alive for he first time in years.”
“Thank God you came to that meet and greet yesterday!”
“I wouldn’t have if Nancy had been able to get off work.”
“You were so close and you wouldn’t have tried to see me?”
“I’ve been close before. You’ve got all that security around you.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I would be this close to never finding you again.”
“It had to happen when the time was right.”
“I was so ready to find you,” he whispered, his lips a breath from hers. “I am ready to drowned in our love and never come up for air. I was needing you so much, Mel.”
“And I was needing you, Josh.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I had better take this war paint off and get ready for bed. We move out at 5:00, right?”
“Yeah, but you’ll only have to wake up enough to pull on some clothes. As soon as we’re on the bus, I’ll tuck you back in to bed.”
“And you?”
“I’ll be right beside you. I’ve already talked to the guys. We can have the back compartment so we have a bigger bunk.”
JC rolled to his feel and help her rise. “Go get ready and I’ll get the bed ready.”
She took the one bag went into the bathroom.
While she was busy, he pulled the covers back on the bed, set the condoms on the bedside table, then undressed. Slipping between the sheets, he sat against the headboard. It felt like their wedding night – or the first time. He was full of hopeful anticipation.
Melissa stepped out of the bathroom to find the bedroom lit by a small bedside lamp.
“You’re so beautiful, baby,” he sighed.
Her hair was soft and loose. Her eyes were luminous with love. She wore an emerald satin robe that looked easy enough to remove. Climbing on the bed, she straddled his thighs. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she leaned in to place soft kisses all over his face while his big hands moved up and down her back.
JC simply drank into the feel of her velvety lips on his skin, the warmth of her body, and the overwhelming rightness of being with her. If they never left that bed, he’d be a happy man. When her mouth finally claimed his, he opened fully and eagerly for her, mating his tongue with hers. His hands came up to hold her head as he slanted his lips on hers, devouring her sweet mouth.
Melissa tilted her head back as his mouth trailed down her throat, down to the vee of skin exposed by her robe. She felt the rasp of the day’s growth of beard; it left a tingling sensation behind. Burying her fingers in his dark hair, she brought his head back up so she could nibble at his ears and neck.
“Mel…” he moaned softly as her teeth gently tugged on his earlobe then sucked at it. “Baby, you know that makes me nuts.”
“Uh-huh.”
She continued to court his body with a hungry mouth, his chest, his ribs, his stomach. Finally, she pulled away the sheet, finding him predictably hard and ready. Her tongue teased the tip of his manhood, making him gasp with pleasure. She licked and nibbled at him until droplets appeared from the purple head; then she lowered her mouth, taking in as much of him as she was able.
“Oh, God, sweetness!” he groaned as she licked and sucked on his shaft. He lifted his hips, forcing her to take even more of him as he neared completion. “Baby, I’m gonna – Damn!” He let himself go in the sweet mouth that had given him his first release.
Melissa came to sit on his thighs once again. “Better?”
“Better than what?” He smiled warmly.
“Than I used to do it.”
He stroked her hair. “I never had any complaints before. You were loving me. That’s what mattered.”
“You mean I read all those ‘how to’ books for nothing?” she giggled.
JC chuckled. He loved how sweet and fun and sexy she could be all at the same time. Melissa was a wonder.
She grew very serious. “But I did want to make it better for you, Josh.”
“And like I said, I had no complaints.”
“But you’ve had other girls do it. They probably knew what they were doing—“
“None of them were you. None of them were my first. None of them loved me like you do. Baby, if I had never met you again, you would still have that special place in my heart.”
“But I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“Neither did I. Did you have any complaints?”
“One.”
He looked surprised. “You did?” That was news to him!
She lowered her mouth just a fraction of an inch from his. “Yeah. We were never together often enough,” she whispered before she closed the space and their lips met.
This time it was JC’s turn to show he had improved since their teenage love. As he claimed her mouth, his hands untied her robe and shoved it from her shoulders. He sent it sailing just before he lowered her to the mattress. “My sweet little Melly…” he crooned as his hands skimmed down her body with light touches. “Baby, I missed the feel of you.”
“Me, too, blue-eyes.”
He sent his lips to that sweet spot on the side of her neck. Grazing it with his teeth, he then sucked on it, making her moan softly. Next he nuzzled and kissed her breasts, avoiding the nipples until she guided his mouth to one eager bud.
“Mmm…that feels so good, Josh…” she purred as he treated both breasts to the same lavish attention.
His mouth traveled lower, over her ribs to her navel, teasing it with the tip of his tongue as she giggled. “I’d forgotten how ticklish you are there.” He grinned up at her. JC sent his hands down the back of her knees, lightly tickling the spot he remembered from their first time together.
“Josh!” she gasped and giggled at the same time. While she bent her legs up to deny him access to her vulnerable spots, she didn’t think about the move making her thighs a target for his hungry exploration.
He quickly took advantage, skating his mouth along both thighs. He found her feminine petals already opening for his tasting. Licking and teasing her, he patiently waited for her treasure to emerge from its hood.
“Oh, God!” Melissa bucked her hips up when his lips closed over her pleasure pearl.
Lashing her delicate center with his tongue, he had her writhing, fairly begging for release. He had always enjoyed giving Melissa this ultimate pleasure, and now he knew how to do it even better.
“Oh, Josh! This is – Josh!” She went taut then burst into shards of ecstasy.
JC lapped up the love juice that flowed from her, then moved to kiss her and hold her as she floated down from her peak.
“I may not have gotten better, but you sure did!” she exclaimed as she kissed him.
“I wanted to make it extra good for you.”
“You did.” She reached down to stroke his manhood, which was once again at the ready. “Now, give me everything,” she commanded huskily.
Reaching for a condom, his hand was halted by hers. “Mel—“
“If we’re going to get married, we don’t need those.”
“You sure?”
“Uh-huh.” She urged him over her.
“Baby…God, I love you so much!” He brushed kisses on her brow, her eyes, her cheeks, her nose, and finally her mouth. “Mel, promise me this isn’t ever gonna end. I’m in heaven and I don’t want to leave.”
“No, blue-eyes, this is our new reality.” Melissa smoothed his spiky hair then ran her hands over his strong shoulders. “I love you, Josh,” she whispered against his mouth.
Lowering himself into her welcoming heat, it was a wonderful homecoming – yet so new! “Oh, Mel, this feels so good!’ he groaned happily as he body clenched him like a velvet fist.
“I love the feel of you, so big and hot.”
They made love slowly, rocking each other as if they didn’t want it to end. In the final moments, when Melissa arched into him, her eyes dazed with building rapture, JC quickened his pace until she cried out.
“Yeah, sweetness, take me with you!” he demanded as she tightened and quivered around him. “Damn!” he groaned as he released into her.
For a long moment, he rested in her arms, letting her nuzzle and pet him as she’d always done. Then he lifted off of her and pulled the covers up. He brought her into the circle of his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. “Mel?”
“Hmm?”
“You meant it, right? You’ll marry me?”
“I meant it.”
“When?”
“Whenever you say.”
“As soon as I can arrange it.”
“Okay.”
“I thought I’d be harder that this…winning you back.”
“You never really lost me, Josh.” Melissa rested hand over his heart. “We were just separated for a while.”
“Too damn long.”
“Baby, it had to be that way. I’m sorry, but it did.”
“I guess so,” he sighed gustily.
“Go to sleep and quit worrying, Josh.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled.
Good lovemaking must make her sleep soundly, JC mused as Melissa slept on when he smacked the alarm off and rose to take his shower. Standing beneath the hot spray of water, he ran through the events of the last few days. He had found Melissa again – and their love was just as strong – as if the painful separation had been an unavoidable glitch. Once it was over, they had become lovers immediately– desperately needing one another all over again. And his proposal…She had said yes to everything after that! But it didn’t feel like teenage love – because it wasn’t. It was adult love that ran soul deep.
“Josh?” A worried voice called.
JC peeked around the shower door to see a sleepy Melissa in her robe. “What’s the matter, baby?”
“I woke up and you were gone.”
“Just showering.”
“Can I come in, too?”
“Sure, sweetness.”
A moment later, she stepped in. She’d stopped to put her hair up to prevent it from getting too wet. Letting him shield her from most of the water, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
God, she was so sweet and vulnerable, he thought. “You should have stayed in bed, sleepyhead.”
“I waited, but you never came back.”
“I have this habit of taking a really long shower in the morning.”
“Okay.”
JC tenderly soaped her, then let the water rinse her off. “You dry off and put some clothes on,” he told her. “Go back to sleep, Mel. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
She nodded sleepily. “Okay.”
When the people arrived to take the bags, Melissa slept on as JC quietly instructed them to make as little noise as possible. Ready for departure, he scooped her up in his strong arms, carrying her from the hotel bed to the bus bunk they would share. Stripping of her jeans, he tucked her beneath the covers, then went to seek his bus mates.
“What’d you do to her last night?” Justin asked with a grin. “Drug her?”
JC shrugged, smiling a little. “Guess she’s not in to early mornings. And I think she’s a heavier sleeper than I am.”
“I didn’t think that was possible,” Chris mused.
“I’m beginning to think anything’s possible where Melissa is concerned.” JC became serious. “I want to thank you guys for understanding that I need her with me right now.”
“I remember how you acted when she left,” Justin stated.
“How was that?” Chris asked.
“Scary. He was withdrawn for a week or so – then he acted like any girl would do. I was mad ‘cuz I really liked Mel – and I thought JC had dumped her.”
JC shook his head. “I asked her to marry me, but she said she wouldn’t do that to me.”
“And now?”
“As soon as I can get it arranged.”
“Josh?”
All three men turned to see a barefooted, barely awake Melissa.
JC went to her, wrapping his arms around her.
“You gonna make a habit out of leaving me alone in bed?” she grumbled into his shirtfront.
“No, baby.” He turned her back towards their bunk. “See you guys later.”
Walking her back to bed, once again he removed her jeans and directed her under the covers. He was aware this time she was watching him, making sure he didn’t leave. Stripping out of his clothes, he joined her in bed. Immediately, she snuggled against him when his arms closed around her. Though she made no sound, he felt hot tears on his shoulder.
“Mel? What’s wrong, baby?” He moved so he could see her face, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
“That’s twice I woke up and you were gone – and when you weren’t here, I thought I had dreamed it all – and I felt so alone and empty and…” She sobbed softly, burying her face against his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, sweetness. I didn’t realize. Next time, I’ll wake you, okay?”
She gave a little sniffling nod. “Okay.”
This was a new development; JC was surprised she was so openly vulnerable. Melissa had always been so strong and so sure of herself. To know she really was not so tough underneath caused all sorts of protective instincts to come to the fore. She seemed to need him – and that was awesome and wonderful responsibility!
Seemingly soothed, Melissa sighed softly and relaxed once more. “Joshua?”
“Yeah, Melly?”
“I’m sorry I’m a whiney pest.”
“You aren’t a whiney pest. I kind of like the idea of you needing me.”
“I do need you, but I don’t need to be a weepy, clinging vine.”
“Hey, you let me bawl like a baby and get it all out of my system that first night. What makes you think I’d do less for you? It’s okay. We got nothing to hide from each other.”
She touched his cheek and lifted her head, kissing him soft and slow. Coming up for air, she whispered, “I love you, Joshua.”
His smile was large and pleased. “I love you, Melissa.”
She snuggled back into her sleeping position. “You are going to go to sleep too, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, for a while.”
“And you’ll wake me?”
“I’ll wake you,” he promised.
JC woke to the feel of warm lips on his forehead. Opening his eyes, he found Melissa hovering near and smiled. “Hi.”
“I woke you. I’m sorry.”
He stretched and checked his watch. “It’s time to be up anyway.”
She stroked his hair. “I was thinking how sweet you look when you’re asleep, angelic almost. I want our children to look like you.”
“The boys maybe. I want the girls to look like their beautiful mom.” He lifted his head to brush their lips together. “Good morning, baby.”
“Good morning.”
“You feeling better?”
“Well, it is nice to wake up together.”
“Yeah, it is.” He smoothed her sleep-tousled hair. “It’s more than nice – it’s fantastic.”
“So…Mister Chasez, what are the plans for today?”
“Well, not a whole lot. We don’t perform tonight. It’s all travel time. Sometime in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, we’ll make the hotel. We’ll sleep a few hours, then do promos, lunch, sound check, the meet and greet – then dinner and the show.”
“So…say I want to keep you in bed all day, it wouldn’t be a problem?” she hinted, toying with the medallion at his throat.
JC grinned. “Shouldn’t be.”
“I wonder what that would be like, spending all that time together and uninterrupted.”
“Want to find out?”
“Wouldn’t that be incredibly rude to Justin and Chris?”
“I think they’d understand.”
Melissa kissed him softly. “Why don’t I slip into my jeans and see what we can find for breakfast?”
“What if I want you for breakfast?”
“I’d say too bad, blue-eyes,” she teased. She rolled away and found her jeans at the foot of the bed.
JC rose and dressed as well.
Justin looked up from the magazine he read to see the couple enter the kitchen area. “I didn’t expect to see you until much later.”
“What happened to that sweet little boy I knew?” Melissa asked teasingly.
“I grew up.”
“With a dirty mind.”
“You’d have to be blind not to see the way ‘C eats you up with his eyes. Hell, I knew that when I was a kid. I just didn’t know what it meant.”
“And now you think you do?”
“Yeah. He’s crazy into love all over again.”
“That about sums it up.” JC chuckled as he put his arms around Melissa from behind, resting his chin in her hair.
“And I’d say by the looks of you, that goes for you, too, Mel,” Justin suggested.
“I don’t think I’m ‘crazy’ for Josh. My love’s pretty sane.”
“You think? You packed up in a day’s time to be with him.”
“I knew what we needed.”
“We both did,” JC murmured against her ear.
“So…what do you guys have around here that qualifies as breakfast?” Melissa asked, moving to the stove.
“Cereal.” Justin was the cereal freak.
“Coffee.” JC couldn’t live without caffeine.
“I’m a pop tart girl myself.”
“We’ll get some at the next stop,” JC assured her.
“Do we have a toaster?”
“Yep.”
“Bread and butter?”
“Affirmative.” JC opened the refrigerator. “And milk and eggs and cheese and—“
“Want a cheese omelet?”
“That’d be great, baby,” JC told her.
Justin grinned. “Yeah, baby.”
“Who asked you, junior?” Melissa laughed at Justin’s pout. “Go ask Chris if he’d like to join us. If I’m fixing for two, I can fix for four.”
Melissa ended up making omelets for the four of them.
“Glad we got you and not the other bus!” Justin enthused.
“Why in the world would I want to ride with Joey?” Melissa laughed.
“Mel formed her opinion of Joey the day we all met her,” Justin was telling Chris. “He was practically slobbering all over her. I thought she went with JC outa spite.”
“Oh, no.” Melissa squeezed JC’s leg under the table and left her hand on his thigh. “I fell right into blue-eyes.”
JC laid his arm along the back of the booth behind Melissa. “I nearly lost out, because I was too damn shy to ask her out.”
“So, instead of asking me on a date, her asked me to be his girl.”
“Jumping ahead of yourself, weren’t you?” Chris asked JC.
JC toyed with a strand of Melissa’s silky hair. “Not really. She kissed me that first night – and every group date we had. I guess, she was getting tired of doing the kissing.”
“I figured if he hadn’t asked me out by then, he wasn’t interested in really dating me.” Melissa shrugged. “I didn’t think anybody was that shy.”
“So, I asked her to be my girl and really kissed her.”
“I remember being surprised that he was so good at it!”
Justin and Chris both laughed at that.
“I think we are getting to the T-M-I area here,” Justin warned, still chuckling. “Way Too Much Information.”
“You’re just jealous,” Melissa teased.
“I can honestly say I have never wanted to know how good JC kisses,” Chris stated.
“Now, maybe how Mel kisses…” Justin added.
“Which you aren’t going to find out,” JC reminded him.
“Okay. I was the chef. Who cleans up?” Melissa asked.
“I’ll do it,” Chris offered. “Justin can help.”
Melissa slid from the booth. “Thanks. Later.”
JC rose and watched her head down the narrow corridor.
“Go on, ‘C. I’m pretty sure that’s what she intended,” Justin said.
When JC arrived at their sleeping room, Melissa awaited him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him leisurely. JC reached behind him, pulling the door closed without breaking the kiss. He lifted her off the floor, guiding her legs around his waist, and carried her to the bed. Lowering her to the mattress, he came down on top of her. Their mouths still locked together, he rubbed his lower body against hers, making her whimper.
Lifting his head, he smiled down at her. “You started it.”
“You gonna finish it?” she challenged.
“Maybe…”
Melissa traced his lips with a lazy finger. “We got to talking about kissing and it got me hungry for the taste of you.”
“I thought as much when your hand stayed on my leg.”
“Did you ever think I went with you that first time to spite Joey?” she asked with a little frown.
JC shook his head. “Never crossed my mind – I was too besotted to even think that much.”
“I thought so, but when you took me home and I dropped that huge hint about wanting to see you again and you didn’t respond—“
“See above sentence,” he chuckled. “Mel, you were so beautiful and so ‘with me’ from moment one, I was totally dazzled – especially when I heard the other guys talking about how ‘hot’ you were. Here was this beautiful girl everyone wanted a chance with – and she was with me. At the movies, I had a hard-on as big as the freaking Washington Monument after you fed me popcorn and put your head on my shoulder.”
“I guessed that,” she mused.
“A seventeen year old girl who was gorgeous and intelligent and so bold was kind of intimidating. I’d never met anyone like you.”
“I was yours from day one,” she whispered.
“I thought so, but it seemed so impossible…”
“You really didn’t know how attractive you were? You weren’t the only one who had to listen to other’s gossip.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Chasez, other girls thought you were ‘hot’, too.”
“No way!”
“Yes way! Joshua, you were smart, polite, and easy on the eyes. Of course, I wasn’t the only one who noticed!” She smiled and stroked his spiky hair back. “But I’m glad I got you.”
“You so had me, sweetness. You still do,” he reminded her quietly.
“That’s good, ‘cuz you have me – forever.”
“That won’t be long enough.”
Melissa teased, “Well, forever is all I can promise.”
Lowering his head, JC’s lips touched hers in butterfly kissed as he spoke. “I want to make slow, bone-melting love you, Melissa.”
“You won’t get any complaints here, blue-eyes. We’ve got hours with nothing we have to do.” She put her arms around his neck. “And when you get done making love to me, I’ll make love to you.”
“I like the way you think.”