Rated M for Mature…

Kwest led me into the studio to record, and I belted out each tune with flamboyant happiness. Today had been an emotional roller coaster ride, and I was still coming off the high. Once finished, I saw Kwest motioning at me from the sound room, and I walked into it curiously.

"Yeah?" I asked as he grinned widely before pointing at the door.

"Go look in Darius's old office. The plane tickets are in, and let me tell you they're beautiful." Kwest replied with a sigh as I squealed with delight. They may have just been small pieces of paper with words written on them, but they represented so much more than that.

"Thank you." I cried before rushing out the door in excitement. I felt weird about going into what was just a few hours ago Darius's office, but I shook off the feeling as my eyes landed like a magnet on the tickets.

The Grammy's. What can I say about that? The two words themselves hold such meaning for a musician that tears are literally brought to the surface of your eyes. It's like watching fireworks—it's beautiful and mesmerizing all at the same time. And that's all I could think about as I stood there staring down at the group of plane tickets marked New York City. Oh they were beautiful!

"You're going to go cross-eyed if you keep staring at them like that." Tommy said teasingly from behind me as I whirled around to discover he was standing only about an inch away. I just smiled at him.

"It would be worth it." I remarked as he unexpectedly ran a hand down the side of my cheek. I shivered at the intent that suddenly entered his eyes.

"Are you cold?" He asked quietly as he stepped toward me again—causing me to bump up against the wall at my back. I just shook my head mutely.

"Just the opposite actually." I replied on a gulp as his hand suddenly worked its way under my shirt—flattening against the small of my back possessively. I think I actually stopped breathing as his lips met with mine, and I moaned as he pressed me even more firmly against the wall—leaving no room between our bodies at all.

"Tommy…" I mumbled suddenly against his lips as he stepped back just far enough for me to see the keys dangling from his fingers. I instantly took the hint. Glancing over his shoulder quickly, I noted with amusement that the door was locked firmly from the inside. Grabbing the keys from his fingers, I threw them into a potted plant nearby as Tommy grabbed me by the shoulders, slanting his lips over mine once more before slamming us both into the wall. I couldn't breathe—just gasping as I reveled in the electric energy that roared between the two of us. We weren't gentle this time—only desperate, and I knew that Tom was releasing all the pent up emotion that his stand-off with Justine had caused earlier. I felt loved knowing that he needed me to be there to catch his fall.

"God Jude! I never get tired of you." He said softly as he lifted my shirt up over my head before discarding it on the floor next to us. I just smiled gently at him as his hands roamed roughly along the ridges of my rib cage before stopping at the clasp of my bra, and I found myself fascinated by the way he unsnapped it before leaning over to nibble at the skin of my lower lip. Oh God! I was on fire! Reaching for the hem of his shirt, I pulled it off just as roughly as we both stumbled backwards towards Tommy's new desk, and I grinned at the way he neatly and swiftly cleaned the surface of all debris before lifting me up and setting me on the edge of the wood none to gently.

I was amazed at our union as flesh met with flesh only because I was shocked at how far we had come—how only about forty-eight hours earlier, I had been terrified of how he would accept me. Crying out, I was pretty sure I heard him whisper my name as I thanked the gods of fate that this office was soundproof—moving as we did against the wood—crying out again as he pulled my legs up around his waist. Oh God! I gripped his shoulders tightly—probably leaving slight nail marks as I fell unseeing into a world of pure sensation. Would it always be like this? He let out a breath above me as we settled limply against the desk satiated—our hearts beating in hurried tempos as his eyes met suddenly with mine, and I knew then that this was it for me. There would never be any other.