Among the Heather (The Highlands, #2) (37)

He had written this song.

My cheeks heated at lyrics that masked just how sexual they were. There was a playfulness to them that didn’t surprise me as he talked about a woman who he wanted to lick like his favorite ice cream.

Jealousy scored through me as I wondered who the song was about. Did he write it for Cara Rochdale? His fascination with the pop star made sense. They had music in common. The thought depressed me.

Suddenly, he looked up and startled so badly, the guitar fell out of his hands. “Fuck!” he yelled, as the guitar hit the carpeted floor. “Fuck, fuck.” North half glowered, half grinned. “You scared the shit out of me.”

My lips twitched with humor. If only the fans of King’s Valley in which he played a charismatic sociopath that terrified people could see him now. “Sorry about that.”

North shook his head, as if a little dazed, and grabbed his guitar off the floor to check it over. “How long have you been there?”

Just as abruptly as I’d been laughing at him, my nerves returned. Did I really want to initiate sex with a guy singing about another woman? I didn’t think that would help my self-esteem much. “Uh … not long. Long enough to hear your song. You have a great voice.”

He scrubbed a hand over his head and gave me a rueful smirk. “Did you like the song?”

I stiffened. Why would he ask me that? “Yeah, sure.”

His expression flattened at my less than enthused response, and I felt like the world’s biggest asshole.

“It’s a great song,” I hurried to say. “Catchy. Playful. Is it about your ex-girlfriend?”

North looked horrified. “Why would I write a song about a woman who pretended to love me for two years and then dumped me when I needed her? Though, to be fair, if I’d loved her back, it would probably sting a bit more and I wouldn’t be writing songs about another woman.”

I knew it.

He was writing songs about another woman.

I was such an idiot to believe his interest would last more than that night in the library. Feeling my chest ache with rejection, I gave him another tight smile and nodded. “Well, good night, then.”

“Hey, hey, hey.” North stood to his feet, his frantic tone stopping me midturn. He searched my face as if looking for some kind of answer. Then he let out a little huff as he rubbed the back of his neck. “The song is about you.”

Stunned, I gaped at him.

His lips turned up at the corner. “You didn’t know?”

“H-how could I k-know?” I stuttered in shock.

North’s smile stretched into a sexy, wicked grin. “It’s about a melody I can’t get out of my head.”

I frowned, not understanding at all.

He chuckled. “Aria … your name is Aria.”

And an aria was a song. A melody. Oh my god. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment and annoyingly, I was flattered. “Oh.”

“Right. Oh.” He smoldered at me and my heart rate picked up. “So, why did you really come here?”

It took me a minute to answer because I was running the lyrics through my head, and they were definitely about sex with me. Specifically, going down on me.

Arousal flushed through my body like liquid lightning, and when North’s expression turned fierce and alert, I knew he could see my chest heaving with shallow breaths.

He looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive.

That, along with the song, bolstered my confidence. “Let’s do it. Let’s have one night together.”

North’s eyes flared and the muscle in his jaw flexed as he stared at me until I wanted to melt into a puddle of embarrassment.

“Or not.” I shrugged like I didn’t care.

Holding my stare, North bridged the distance between us, and my entire being seemed to hum toward him. My legs trembled so badly I wanted to rest my hands on his shoulders for support. Instead, I tried to stay as composed as possible.

“You sure it’s what you want?”

Insecurity pricked at me. “If you want. I mean, if you don’t, we’re cool.”

“Oh, I want,” he growled, and I felt a rush of tingles between my legs in response. “But I want to know exactly what you’re asking of me.”

The thought of laying myself bare to any man would usually have me running in the opposite direction, but North already knew about the insecurities planted by my exes. “I … I want one night. To … to see … I mean … I just … I want to prove to myself that I’m not a terrible lover. That I can feel attractive and s-sexual again.” My cheeks were on fire.

North’s pupils dilated as he leaned into me, his cologne tickling my senses. “We’re going to prove that to you many, many times tonight.”

I sucked in a breath, excitement and nerves thrashing in my stomach.

“Let’s go.” He nodded toward the stairs.

This was it.

I was really doing this.





We thankfully made it to his room without bumping into anyone, and now I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. After carefully returning his guitar to its case, North turned around and asked me to take off all my clothes.

Swallowing hard, I hid my hands behind my back so he couldn’t see my fingers nervously threading together. “Uh … maybe we could do this without getting undressed.”