Read Online Diamond by Sharon Sala - Free Book Online Page B

darkness chased them into the house, he forgot he’d been pretending.
    He walked her to the foot of the stairs and leaned close. “’Night, darlin’,” he said, and kissed her gently on the cheek.
    Long after she’d crawled into bed, Diamond could still feel the imprint of his lips on her cheek and the pressure of their bodies as they’d touched and then melded into each other. She rolled over on her stomach, wishing for the first time in her life that she owned a nightgown. Her bare skin burned, her body ached, and the tears she’d buried began to fall once again. Only this time she wasn’t crying for Johnny. She was crying for herself.

    When Jesse walked into the studio with Diamond the next morning, the members of Muddy Road were already tuning up. Tommy glared. Some of the others whistled or called out gentle, teasing welcomes.
    Mack Martin watched, silently assessing the fact that the same woman had shown up with the boss two days running. He couldn’t ever remember that happening. Either she was hell on wheels in bed, or Jesse hadn’t been shuckin’ them yesterday, after all. Maybe she could sing.
    He turned away so that they wouldn’t see his grin. Just what he liked, little girls with stars in their eyes. They were the kind who’d do anything for a chance at the bright lights. Mack adjusted the strings on his guitar and readied for the session that was about to begin. He could wait until Jesse was through with her. He was a patient man.
    Hours later, his wasn’t the only patience running thin as Jesse started a new rendition of the same song they’d been working on all day.
Don’t tell me lies, just say you love me .
Don’t try so hard to make me believe .
It’s not too late, if you really mean it .
But you can’t stay just to watch me grieve .
But the smiles and lies of a lying lover
go hand in hand like kisses and wine .
I’ve had my share of one or the other .
But like the fool I am, can’t get you out of my mind.
    Jesse ended the song with a frustrated curse and dropped his guitar onto a chair.
    “Dammit, Tommy, it doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.”
    “That’s not what you said when we bought the damned thing,” Tommy said, resisting the urge to shout.
    Jesse shoved his hands through his hair and then turned to face his band. “Sorry, guys,” he said, “but let’s try it once more from the top, and this time when we get to the second stanza, I want to hear more fiddle on the melody. You got that, Al?”
    Al nodded and cracked his neck to alleviate the pain beneath his shirt collar. The boss wasn’t near as pissed-off as he felt. He and his wife, Rita, had been trying to celebrate their anniversary all week. If something didn’t break on this song arrangement soon, he envisioned an all-night session that would have Rita fuming.
    Diamond leaned against the wall just out of Jesse’s line of vision and watched him flex his arms as he worked out the kinks from sitting too long in one spot. The muscles rippled beneath his shirt, as did the ones in his thighs as he bent down to retrieve his guitar. She shivered, wondering what he looked like beneath the fabric, and then closed her eyes against the thought.
    “One more time from the top,” Jesse said, weariness heavy in his voice, “and then we’ll call it a day. Maybe all I need to do is sleep on it.”
    “Maybe that’s what’s wrong, Jesse. Maybe you ain’t gettin’ enough sleep. Maybe what you’re sleepin’ on—or with—is keepin’ you from—”
    “Shut the hell up, Mack,” Jesse said.
    The sharpness in his voice matched the look in his eyes. Mack got the message loud and clear and didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit that some easy fuck was coming between Jesse and the band. He wondered what Jesse was thinking, letting a woman like her matter, especially when there were a hundred just like her waiting to be had.
    Diamond gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to shove Mack’s words down his throat.