Title: Don't Look Away: Chapter Twenty-nine, Louvre to Love
Rating: NC-17 [language, sex, mentions of drugs and alcohol]

Summary: John plots to reunite Pete and Cady.  But still doesn't get out of having to go to the museum.






Stretching like a cat, Cady smiled and rolled over.  With as dark as the room was, she could just barely discern John’s sleeping form on the nearby sofa.  Remaining tucked in bed, she watched him sleep while replaying what she remembered from the night before.  The more she thought about it, the odder it was she did not feel hungover at all.  Perhaps French champagne and cocaine was better than the rest.

“John?” she muttered softly, trying to see if he was awake.

Hearing nothing, she slowly pulled back her blankets and tiptoed to the bathroom.  Cady ran a shower a few minutes later, without taking into consideration she had no clothes except the dress she passed out wearing the night before.  Deciding she would risk it, she wrapped a fluffy towel around her body and opened the bathroom door.

Her blue eyes instantly snapped to John as he stood near the small breakfast table in the suite, pouring a cup of coffee, “Oh, hi.”

His eyes flicked to her and he smiled before glancing down, “Good morning, Cady.”

Maintaining her composure, she smiled sweetly at him, “Good morning, John.”

“Coffee?” he held up a cup.

Checking to make certain the towel was firmly tucked around her breasts, Cady headed over to the bassist, “Did I wake you?”

“No.  I didn’t really sleep much last night,” he declared, handing the cup over.

“Sleep with me tonight.”

John stared at her for a long moment, blinking, before responding, “You said we would go back to London.”

“You said you’d go to a museum with me.”

“And then we can return to England,” he declared before sipping his coffee and sitting down.

“John, the museum is going to take all day.  We won’t have time to get back here and pack and leave in time for check out time.”

“Then we’ll pack before we leave for the museum.”

“We’re staying another night,” Cady proclaimed, sitting the cup down on the table.

“No, we’re not.”

“Yes, we are.  You promised me a museum visit.”

“And you said you would return to Pete.”

“And I will.  Tomorrow.”

“Cade—”

“I don’t care what you say, John, my mind is made up,” she turned around and snatched an outfit from the top of the pile on the armchair. “I’m going to get ready.  We’ll stop at a bakery for brunch before the museum.”

Watching the bathroom door close again, John swore softly under his breath.  It was easy to subdue any arousal at the fact a beautiful woman stood before him in only a towel, but only because that woman belonged to his best friend.  He had known Cady to be strong-minded, but this was far more forceful than he was used to.  No wonder Kit could not keep her off the tour.  It was impressive and… a bit intimidating.

He finished his cup of coffee and stood up.  After a brief stretch and a glance towards the closed bathroom door, John approached the phone.  If he could not convince Cady to go home, maybe Pete had some special insight into how to persuade her.

“Hello, Cady?” Pete quickly answered.

John sighed and lit up a cigarette, “Not quite, cupcake.”

“John?”

“Heh, yeah,” he took a deep drag of the cigarette. “How are you?”

“Is Cady okay?  Have you seen her?”

“Pete, I’m staying with her now.  She’s fine.  And ready to come home…”

“She is?!  Are you heading to the airport soon?”

“Not quite,” he glanced at the bathroom door. “I am trying to get her to come home tonight…”

“But?”

“She’s making me take her to a museum.”

“Which one?”

“I… I don’t know,” John responded. “But she is saying this will take all day.”

Pete sighed, “I wanted to go to the Louvre with her.”

“Um, mate,” John ground out his cigarette in the ashtray, “I don’t know that’s where we are going.”

“If you are going to be there all day, you are going to the Louvre.”

He sighed, “Well okay, mate, whatever.  The reason I’m calling is so I don’t have to go to the museum with her.  Do you have any advice as to how to—”

“God, if I could just come and take her myself instead,” Pete interrupted.

John’s eyes widened slightly, “Actually that’s brilliant, Pete.”

“How would I—”

“I know she’s loaded, Pete.  And I know she left you money when she left,” he declared, glancing at the bathroom again. “Get on a plane and meet us at the Louvre as soon as you can.  I will slow play it to buy you time to get here.”

“Wait, you know that Cady’s—”

“About ready to leave, yes,” he smiled as the bathroom door opened. “I think we’ll walk instead.  Thanks.”

“Who were you talking to, John?”

He dropped the phone on the base, “Just getting recommendations for the day.  Give me a few minutes and we can leave.”

“Take your time.  I’m just going to call Pete really quickly.”

“Yeah… sure,” he responded, heading towards the bathroom.

Sitting down on the unmade bed, Cady picked up the phone and quickly dialed Pete.  The phone rang six times before she sighed and hung up.  While she told herself he was probably busy working on music, something did not quite sit well with her.  She missed her boyfriend and thought he missed her.  But maybe work came first.  Again.



Wearing a fashionable mini dress and high-heeled boots with flower cutouts exposing her brightly colored tights, Cady led John back down the street he just turned on.  Though he had known it was the wrong street, John kept chatting with her, hoping she would not realize they were on the wrong street.  Luckily for him, they crossed two smaller intersections before she realized they were nowhere near the Louvre and turned them around.  He figured the slight detour bought Pete at least an hour to get to France, on top of their overly long brunch as John slow played ordering.  If the songwriter wasn’t at the entrance of the museum when they arrived then clearly John overestimated his best friend.

“Oh, hey,” John stopped on the street, reaching for Cady’s hand to stop her. “Let’s stop in here.”

“Why?” her blue eyes glanced at the sign. “For someone who wanted to rush through the museum, you sure are—”

“I think Pete would like those boots,” he pointed a pair on display in the window.

Cady rolled her eyes, “Okay.  Fine.  Let’s go look at the boots.”

Knowing her as he did, John was certain Cady would leave the shoe shop with a few pairs for her, at least two pairs for Pete, and if she was feeling charitable, a pair for him too — which would mean returning to the hotel to get rid of the packages.  As predicted, Cady purchased seven pairs of boots and the two returned to the hotel.

“Can we please go to the museum now?” Cady asked after he set down his armful of packages in the hotel suite.

John flashed her a smile, “Of course, luv.  We’ll go there directly.”

“Can we take a car instead of walking?”

John lit up a cigarette as they headed to the elevator, “I don’t see why.  It is a beautiful day outside and the museum is not all that far from here.”

“Our last attempt of that resulted in us returning here.”

“With fabulous new boots,” he pointed out.

Cady rolled her eyes, “Okay.  We can walk, but I’m leading.”

“As you wish,” he smirked.

Walking the few blocks directly to the museum, John hoped he had delayed Cady’s arrival long enough for Pete to show up.  He wanted nothing more than to reunite the couple, as it seemed to be the only thing that would put Pete back together.  Cady might be able to hold it all together, but John also knew she was used to be alone, independent.  Pete on the other hand…

Cady halted as they approached the former French palace.  Without even seeing him, she felt Pete’s presence.  Her hand went to John’s chest, forcing him to stop as well.  He quickly hid his emotional reaction and watched with contained amusement as she looked around for her boyfriend.

“John…” she muttered softly. “He’s here.”

“Who, luv?” he hid his grin by lighting up another cigarette.

“Pete!” she shouted, spying the guitarist.

Turning to the familiar shout of his name, Pete instantly grinned and opened his arms.  Without pause, she ran towards him, jumping into his embrace.  Not even giving him a moment to greet her, her mouth crashed into his.  His arms circled around her waist, squeezing her tight as if he did not believe she was in his arms.

“Cady,” he muttered against her mouth in between kisses, “I have missed you so much.”

She pulled back slightly, “How did you know to look for me here?”

“Besides the fact you are an artist and drawn to more art?” Pete smiled slightly. “You have been spending time with my best mate.”

Pulling fully from his arms, Cady turned around to look at John, “This is your doing?”

He shrugged, but said nothing.

“Is this why you—”

“Come on, love.  Let’s go look at some art before the museum closes,” Pete tugged her hand towards the museum.



With his arm happily around Cady’s shoulders, Pete strolled into the posh hotel.  The visit to the Louvre had been amazing, even with John trailing behind them.  Though Pete would have liked to have spent time with his girlfriend alone, he knew better than to attempt to ditch his best friend.  Not only because he was the reason Pete was even there, but because he did not want to inject any reason for tension at all.

But now he wanted her all to himself.

“Um, so, mate,” Pete looked at John.

“Yeah?” he headed to the elevator with the couple.

“Do you think maybe… you could… you know…?”

John stared at Pete for a moment, “Well I would, but Cade and I have been sharing room.”

The elevator chimed and opened.  Cady took a step forward, but snapped back when Pete did not.  She turned slightly to face him, her eyes quickly reading his face.  Without pause, she caressed his face and kissed his mouth gently.

“He slept on the sofa, Pete,” she declared, kissing him again. “He slept on the sofa.”

“Cady…”

She kissed him once more, noticing the doors closed but saying nothing, “He slept on the sofa.”

“…Cady…”

“He slept on the sofa, love.   Promise.”

Pete slowly nodded.

Her lips brushed across his once more, “Wait right here.”

As the brunette walked towards the front desk, John stepped closer to his best mate, “Absolutely nothing happened between me and your bird.”

“You stayed in her room.”

“Nothing happened.  We went to dinner.  And then to a club.  Cady got… tipsy.  I saw her back to the room.  She passed out in her clothes.  I slept on the sofa.”

“But—”

“Nothing happened, mate.  I would never do that to you.”

He sighed, nodding slightly, “I know… I know.”

“She loves you, mate.  You.”

“I know.”`

“Trust her.”

Cady approached the two men before Pete could respond.  She held up a key, offering it to John.  Smirking, he accepted the key, briefly glancing at the number tied to it.  Nodding, he turned around and pressed the elevator button again.

“I’ll get my things and leave the two of you alone for the night,” John stated, glancing over his shoulder.

“No,” Cady interjected.

“No?” both Pete and John responded.

“Not until after we all have dinner together.  Then we can go our separate ways for the night.”



Picking up another dress from the pile, Pete turned the garment over in his hands.  The silk fell between his fingers, slowly falling into a puddle.  His eyes returned to the pile of couture garments, trying to fathom what it was like to have such disposable income to drop without even thinking.  He did not even realize a third of the garments were purchased for him, or that some of the boxes of shoes were as well.  The sheer expense of it all…

“Pete?” her soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

Instead of reaching for another piece of silk, he turned to face her.  His mouth fell open as his eyes scanned her.  Leaning on the doorframe from the bathroom, Cady smiled at Pete.  Even though she was a tall woman, she wore stilettos with ease, boosting her height a few more inches.  The sheerest of silks cast a pale blue haze over her curves, but left nothing to his imagination.  His eyes focused on her breasts, watching her nipples pucker under the blue babydoll.

“Cady,” he muttered, taking a step forward.

She remained leaning against the doorframe, “Yes?”

“My god,” his hands slipped under the silk of her lingerie, cupping her breasts, “you are so fucking beautiful.”

She smiled as his hands squeezed and caressed her, “Oh yeah?”

Pete leaned forward and kissed her deeply, “Oh yes, definitely.”

“Do you want to…”

He kissed her again, “Do you really need to ask?”

Before she could even think a response, his arms circled her waist, pulling her away from the bathroom.  Cady giggled as he scooped her up and carried her over to the large, lush bed.  He tossed her onto the bed and quickly pulled his shirt off.  Moving up her body, Pete pulled up the lingerie, forcing her to sit up long enough to pull it over her head.

He paused briefly to squeeze her breasts and kiss her mouth, grinding his still clothed erection against her soft sex.  Cady groaned and whimpered at the same time, her hand slipping between them to push him gently away.  Giving him a quick squeeze, she smiled as he started to move down her body.  His lips sucked her nipples but hardly spent any time on them at all.

Parting her legs, Pete held her thighs apart before dipping down and kissing her sex.  His tongue slipped between her folds, softly licking until her honey coated his tongue.  He pressed it deeply into her channel.  Groaning her body arched up towards his mouth, trying to pull him more deeply into her.  Pete smiled and pushed her back down onto the bed.  His fingers inched closer to her sex as his lips fastened around her clitoris.

“Peeeeeeete,” she groaned, her fingers clutching handfuls of hair.

Smiling, he continued to lick and suck her sex.  Ever so slowly his fingers inched closer.  He fleetingly touched her, but did not press his digits inside her.  Instead, Pete continued to torture her with his mouth, sucking, licking, and biting.  Cady wiggled and pressed towards him.  Her own hands covered her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipples.

With a gasp and a moan, her body began to contract.  Pete’s mouth left her sex and quickly covered her mouth, sharing her juices with her.  Cady hungrily sucked on his tongue, her hands dropping down to pull his pants down.  With his pants and briefs bunched around his ankles, Pete quickly thrust into her quivering body.  Cady’s fingernails dug into his shoulders as her legs wrapped around his waist.

As he thrust faster, Cady’s heels pressed into his butt cheeks.  He groaned and pressed his forehead against hers.  His hands slipped under her shoulderblades, lifting her gently from the bed.  With a deep thrust, he rolled over, letting Cady take control.  She sat up but did not move.  Instead, she leaned backwards and freed his legs completely from his pants and underwear.

“You are so fucking sexy,” Pete groaned.

“Mmmm, baby,” she leaned down and kissed him deeply. “I’ve been waiting for days to feel your cum inside me again.”

“Oh fuck,” he twitched inside her.

With a smile, Cady sat back up.  Digging her heels into the bed, her hands moved back onto Pete’s thighs, squeezing them gently.  His hands cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples.  Slowly rocking back and forth, Cady sighed happily.  Pete pinched her nipples harder, drawing a low moan from her.  Their eyes met and she pushed up from him.  With a smirk, his hips followed her up.  She remained pressed up, her heels moved closer to his legs, the tips pressing against his thighs.

Pete’s hands moved to her hips while Cady’s moved to his chest.  Her fingernails lightly bit into his flesh as he quickly thrust up into her body.  Her juices squished out with each thrust, coating his cock with a sexy gloss.  Pete’s eyes left her erotic face to watch where they joined.  Her moan drew his attention back to her face, a moment before he felt her body spasm around his cock.  He pulled her down, locking her hips down on his.  His thumb slipped between her petals and rubbed her clitoris, keeping her body trembling as his began to tense.

“Oh Caaaaaaaady,” he moaned, his fingers squeezing her hips tightly.

She wiggled her hips slightly as he sputtered inside of her.  Once his fingers loosened their grip on her flesh, Cady pushed up, letting his soft cock slip out of her.  With a smile she pivoted off her boyfriend, cuddling against his chest.

“My god, I’ve missed you, Pete,” she muttered, kissing his shoulder.

His fingers pushed her hair from her damp forehead, “I can’t even begin to describe how much I have missed you.”

“I’m… I’m sorry I had to do that to you.  I just… I was just questioning everything that was going on,” she explained. “Especially who I am.”

“And now?” he asked, chasing her hair around her back.

“I don’t… I still don’t know who I am.  But I don’t think I can figure that out in a week on my own in Paris.”

“Cady?”

“Yes, love,” she turned her face towards his.

Pete quickly kissed her, “Why did you come to Paris anyways?”

“I… I don’t really know.  I mean, I’ve always felt a sense of completeness and serenity in the museums and galleries in Paris.  And I think… I think a part of it comes from all the time I spent here in my youth, one of the few things that my family made me do that I actually enjoyed.  There’s almost a sense of home being here,” she stated carefully, thinking out each word. “London… London is all you.  I didn’t feel I could separate myself from you if I stayed there, I think.  But here… here I don’t… I don’t associate it with you.  So I thought… I thought maybe I could find me here.”

“But you haven’t.”

She sighed, “No, I haven’t.  But… god, I hate that I’m going to say this, but… I don’t feel that I have to define myself as a separate entity from you.  I love you.  I love you so much.  I… I do not think I can define myself without you.  I need you in my life and…”

He squeezed her tightly, “I need you in my life too.”

“I am your girlfriend, but that is not all…”

“No, you’re not just that.  You are a remarkable and talented and intelligent woman.  And maybe… most likely,” he smiled slightly, “a really foolish one.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because someone as special as you shouldn’t even consider being with me for even a moment.”

“With you?  Why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”

“Well for one, you’re gorgeous and I’m ug—”

Her hand slapped over his mouth, “Not another word, Pete.  Not another word.”

He mumbled against her hand, but she muffled his words.

“All those negative things you have heard all your life aren’t true.  And I would think that even if I wasn’t deeply in love with you, lying naked next to you.  You are handsome, talented, and supremely intelligent.  You are my choice, Pete.  And never one I will ever regret.”

“Cady,” he muttered against her palm.

Lifting her hand away, she quickly kissed him, “What?”

Arms circling around her back, Pete rolled them over quickly, “You are too good for me.  But I am going to spend every day with you, becoming the man I should be for you.”

“You already are, Pete.  You already are.”