Fused (Lost in Oblivion #4.5) by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott Page B

glowing, her eyes brighter than he’d seen in—well, too long to remember. Lila came before anyone else in his life, other than his family, both born and otherwise. Right now, that family consisted of his sister, since Simon was MIA.
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    N C : I’m practicing with Ricki. Maybe you could meet her sometime.
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    S he answered faster than he expected.
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    L S : Maybe. Have fun with her. The world needs more incredible guitarists.
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    N C : Like me?
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    L S : You already know the answer to that question, smart ass. Now go use those fingers for good rather than evil.
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    N C : Glad to know you’re thinking about my fingers. I’m thinking about yours too. There may or may not be a guitar involved…
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    L S : Go away now.
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    S norting out a laugh , he looked up and caught his sister giggling at him. “What?” he asked, affronted.
    “You should see your face. You look like a high school boy who’s macking on the prom queen.”
    “Shut up,” he muttered, shoving his phone back in his pocket and reaching for his guitar again. “Where were we?”
    “Discussing the girl you’re in love with.”
    “I never said—”
    “You don’t have to. I know this face.” She sketched a finger over her own. “I’ve worn that expression before too, you know.”
    He gripped the neck of his guitar. Hard. “How’d it turn out?”
    “Not great.” She sighed. “But for a few weeks, it was bliss.”
    “Is that enough?”
    She plucked at the strings. “Depends how good the sex is.”
    Oh shit, his ears were burning. Awesome. “I’m not discussing sex with my sister.”
    “You don’t need to. That blush proves that hell yes, it’s good.” She giggled again as he pulled out one of his guitar picks and flicked it at her. She snagged it in mid-air and used it to strum her way into “Instant Karma”. “Hey, I do remember.”
    “Then play already, for fuck’s sake.”
    She glanced up at him under the fringe of her lashes. “Play with me, Nicky?”
    He already was. “Always.”

8
    A mazing how signing both Molly and a new band—who had met with Princess She-Ra’s approval, thank God—within the same week put Donovan in a better mood.
    Lila too. Well, relatively speaking. At least until she had a meeting with her lawyer early on Christmas Eve and learned that her divorce was actually scheduled to go before the judge, but her attorney wanted to remind her that it was imperative she not “engage in any extramarital activities” until all the papers were signed. Apparently, her attorney had heard some chatter in the celebrity circles he ran with about her and a “certain guitarist” she worked with, but he’d been unwilling to cite anything more than a few blind items in the trades and the usual gossip. She’d worried about the photos again, of course, but what was new about that? She had to hope the set that Donovan had was the only one left in existence.
    Just in case, she might be paying Jerzee a visit after the holiday. Maybe he needed a few well-placed threats to understand who he was playing with.
    Then again, there was always money. She didn’t want to pay off any jerkoff two-bit PI, but she was too close to freedom to quibble at this point. If she could ascertain his silence, she’d pay the price.
    She was already paying another one. It had been ten days since she’d been with Nick. Ten days since he’d held her, ten days since he’d tipped up her face and kissed her while his eyes remained wide open and on hers. Making sure she saw everything he felt even as she was experiencing it.
    Ten days since he’d been inside her, taking away everything but the reality of what they were to each other.
    It wasn’t fair to destroy their relationship without discussing what had happened the night of the show. He wasn’t Martin, and she didn’t think he was a liar. Asking a question wasn’t the same as his being guilty. He was allowed to be friends with a beautiful woman, and she was allowed to