by Lisa Suzanne
She shrugs. “I know.”
They share a laugh, and then Reese turns to me. “Go get her,” she says.
“Thank you,” I murmur as she turns to leave.
I stand by myself in the room for a minute. I’ve never been nervous for the first time with someone before, yet I find myself a little unsure right now—and maybe it’s because sex has always come before love for me.
This feels like it means more.
I take a deep breath, and then I head off to find my girl.
She’s in the MFB dressing room. She’s arguing on the phone with someone about our reservations for the next stop in St. Louis, and I can’t help but just take a second to stare unabashedly at her.
She’s perfect. Her eyes light up with anger, but when she catches me staring, they soften. She takes a deep breath and finishes the call. Kane is on the couch, also on the phone, but the other guys are missing.
“Where are Brody, Adam, and Rascal?” I ask.
“Checking their gear.”
“Can I talk to you a minute?” I ask.
She nods as if to tell me to go for it, and I start toward the door. She follows me, and as soon as the door to our dressing room closes behind me, I lean forward and brush her lips with mine. “Do you have a few minutes?”
She checks the clock on her phone. “Not really,” she says. “I need to get back to the—”
I cut her off when I cover her mouth with mine.
“Dax,” she scolds, placing a hand on my chest. She giggles, but I hear the warning in her tone.
“Come with me,” I say.
She sighs. “I can’t. I have about a million things to do.”
“Reese said she’d tackle your duties.”
Her brows furrow. “Mark’s wife Reese?”
I nod. “This won’t take that long.” The truth of the matter is it won’t take very long at all...not with the way I’m filled with need for her.
When I open the door to our private sex headquarters, I allow her to step in first.
“What is this place?” she asks.
I close the door behind me and lock it. “Our own private paradise.”
“What? But...how? What?”
I chuckle. “I have my ways.”
“I didn’t think we’d get time alone until...I don’t know. For another two months. Is this okay? Do we have time?”
I take a step toward her, and she rushes into my arms. “I’m full of surprises,” I say. “It’s definitely okay, and we have at least an hour.”
She smiles. “I only need about five minutes.”
I laugh, but then my mouth crashes down to hers and neither of us is laughing anymore.
The wine is forgotten as carnal desire takes over. I back her over toward the makeshift bed, and she breaks our kiss long enough to move onto it and kneel. I kneel on it, too, and we kiss some more. Her hand dives right down to my jeans, like she’s been waiting for this for far too long. She cups my cock over my jeans, and I thrust into her hand as I moan.
We’re not taking this slow.
We don’t have time to—but it’s not just that. We’re both filled with this intense ache for each other that’s been there maybe since the day we met but that I only started to recognize for what it was more recently. And every second since I realized it has been leading up to this moment.
I dip my hand down into her panties because fuck taking my time. I slide a finger right into her wet pussy, and I growl at the soft feel of her. Later there will be time for tasting and teasing, for enjoying and luxuriating, but now it’s time to consume one another.
She unbuttons my jeans as I thrust my finger into her, fighting for space with her jeans and her panties but not caring. She lifts my dick out of my boxers and we groan together as she pumps a fist around my crown and I continue to slide my finger into her wet heat.
I need to taste her, so my mouth finds hers. Our hands are moving of their own accord, much faster than our slow kiss, and I allow my lips to trail down her neck. She’s wearing an MFB t-shirt, and I pull my fingers from her body with only one goal in mind: access to those perfect tits. I tear her shirt over her head and unsnap her bra with a single practiced move, and she giggles and shakes her head. I help wrestle her out of the confining bra, and then I allow my eyes to feast on her naked torso for a split second before I dive in to devour her.
I taste each nipple and she arches back to push each breast more fully into my mouth as my fingers return to her pussy. She continues stroking my cock, and I pull my hips out of range for a beat to recover because I’m about to lose my goddamn mind and we haven’t even gotten to the main event yet.
“Oh yes,” she murmurs when I hollow out my cheeks and suck a little harder on her nipple. She holds the back of my head closer to her, and I swirl my tongue around the tight bud. “Oh Dax, yes,” she whispers.
Hearing my name roll off her tongue in a whispered prayer of thanks is everything I need to survive for the rest of my life.
Even so, I reach into my back pocket, pull out a condom, and secure it on. I step off the couch and onto the floor to tear off my shirt and jeans, and just before I bend down to go to work on her pants, she gasps.
“Holy hell, Dax,” she says. Her eyes are wide and focused on my torso. “What a ridiculously perfect hunk of man.”
“Hunk of man?” I laugh.
She giggles as her eyes flick briefly to mine then back to my abdomen. “They’re just...God, there’s so many there. One, two...five, six...what are there, like ten muscles in that six-pack?”
“I think by definition there’s probably six.” I yank her pants and panties off in one move, tossing them to the ground somewhere beside us.
She relaxes back into the couch. “Well it looks like more. And they’re perfect. And I need them closer to me so I can touch them because they’re mine.”
“Yours?” I ask, kneeling on the couch. Her legs fall open to allow me to kneel between them, and I catch a glimpse of a glistening, pink pussy waiting for me.
I allow an unadulterated moment to gawk at her.
“What?” she asks self-consciously.
I shake my head. “Your body is just...God, you’re gorgeous.”
“You’re all right yourself,” she says.
“I’ll show you all right,” I say, and then I align my cock with her opening and push my way home.
The first drive is deliciously tight, and as her body squeezes my cock, I never want to leave this place. Everything flies out of my mind except the solitary focus of the woman beneath me. There’s no concert tonight, no little details to take care of, no band meeting—just the two of us and this connection.
I thrust in and out of her, both of us grunting at the feel of the other for the first time, and then I pull out suddenly before I lose it too soon. I take her in my arms and flip us over so I’m lying on my back and she’s on top. I position my cock upward and she sits down on me until I fill her, and then we lace our hands together as she moves up and down.
She’s so wet and tight and it feels so goddamn good. I’ve had a lot of sex in my life, but this...it’s on a whole different playing field. Feelings rush through my chest and emotions tingle down my spine, and even though this is quicker than either of us want in a private room backstage at the biggest concert I’ve ever played in my life, it’s still somehow just right. It marks our first time together, and it just shows us both how no matter what, we’ll always find the time to focus on each other—something that’ll surely become important in the upcoming days, weeks, months, and even years as MFB makes a name for itself.
I unlink our fingers and move my hands down to her ass so I can guide her movements over me. Her hands go immediately to her breasts as she massages them and squeezes her own nipples, and watching her move confidently over me as she loses herself to the ecstasy is too much. I moan as I start to come, and I move her body up and down a little faster over me as the pulses of pleasure rack my body and I empty every last drop into
the condom.
As my body starts to slow, I reach down to rub her clit. She lets out a loud cry then lets go, and I watch her gorgeous face twist as she comes. I study her, memorizing her features so I can pull up the image in my own mind any time I want. My dreams tonight will be filled with her, with this perfect moment.
After her body stops clenching mine and her movements slow, she lifts her hips so I fall out of her. She drops on top of me, both of us spent from the physicality of what we just did and both of us sated as we indulge in bliss for a few moments that are far too brief.
Eventually, she blows out a sigh and presses a kiss to my chest. She leans down to kiss my abdomen, and even though I just blew my load, my dick stirs to life again as the beautiful woman I love kisses her way down my body. “Mm,” she murmurs, and I chuckle.
“Well, I see a lot more of that in our future,” I say.
She giggles and sits up. “Thank you for making our first time together special. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy considering we’re on tour, but this...” She gestures around the room then looks back at me. “I’ll always remember this.”
I sit up, too, sad the moment is over but excited for the possibilities ahead. I lean over to kiss her cheek. “And now that the all-important first time is over, I’ll feel less obligated to wait until we’re off the bus.”
She laughs and smacks my arm. “You think you can just fuck me whenever, wherever?”
I shrug. “If you want it, I will always find a way to make it happen.”
Her eyes flick to my abs then lower to my semi-hard dick. “Oh, I want it.”
I laugh. “Stop staring at him or he might leap back into you.”
“Would that really be so bad?” She shrugs as her eyes move back to mine, and hers twinkle.
“No,” I say. “That wouldn’t be so bad at all.”
She kisses me, and then she pushes me away and stands. “I never want to leave this room, but I need to get back to work. And you’ve got to meet with the guys in about fifteen minutes.” She gathers her clothes and starts pulling them on, and I make a sad face.
She laughs. “Hey,” she says softly. “Thanks for making time for this. Thanks for pulling me away. I know how important today is to you, and it means everything that you took time out of the day to give me your focus for a while.”
I stand and pull on my jeans before I walk over to her and take her back into my arms. “No matter what I’m doing, you’ll be my focus. Always. When I’m agreeing to go on a reality show, it’s because you asked. When I’m writing music, it’s with you in my heart. When I’m out on the stage, I’m singing for you.”
Tears sparkle in her eyes. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. Maybe that anyone has ever said to me.”
“I promise to still give you shit all the time, too.”
She giggles, and the sound has somehow become a balm to the heart that had been shattered in the past. It feels whole again, and it’s because of Kylie. “I’d honestly expect nothing less from you.” I kiss her one more time. “Now get to work.”
She laughs, smacks my ass, and walks out the door.
* * *
When we were first invited to tour with Vail and after the excitement wore off over what sorts of doors this could open for our band, my next thought was how many chicks I’d screw out on the road. A different girl in every city. Maybe two in each city.
And now, as I blow out the candles in the love nest Reese created for Kylie and me, that entire plan just feels so fucked.
What I just shared with Kylie is what I want for my life. Someone who loves me and understands me. Someone who appreciates me and pushes me. Someone who approves of the things I love and who supports it so much that she’s willing to leave her own life behind to travel with the band. She’s all the things my family never gave me when it comes to my music, but she’s so much more than that. She’s my person, the only family I need besides the brothers in my band. She’s my entire heart, and I never even saw it coming. Maybe it’s selfish to think it, but I feel like she was put on this Earth just so I could find the other half of my heart.
It’s like some switch was flipped inside me and I’m suddenly a different man. Maybe that’s what happens when you find the right one. It’s still scary, and it’s still risky. But that’s love. It’ll always be scary and risky, but it’s so much better than the life I was leading four days ago.
I head backstage to find Reese before I go to my dressing room to meet with my boys. I find a Vail roadie and ask if he’s seen her, and he tells me she headed back out to the bus.
Before I can meet with my band as we get ready for this show tonight, I need to talk to her.
I head out to the bus lot. It’s freezing out here in early December as the wind whips around me and slices right through me mere miles from the Windy City, so I pick up the pace. I look around at all the buses in awe for a second, and then I take out my phone and snap a photo. I post it to Instagram under the MFB account. Our San Diego fans will love it.
Our band of five plus our manager is crammed onto a single bus, but each member of Vail has his own—plus their crew is huge. And then I look beyond the buses at the trucks carrying gear. Roadies rush around back here as the lot is full of action in advance of tonight.
I have no idea which bus belongs to Mark and his wife, so I knock on the first door. The drummer, Ethan, opens it. He holds a sleeping baby in his arms. “Hey, Dax,” he says softly.
“Oh, I’m sorry for bothering you,” I say.
I start to walk away, and he stops me with a hushed voice.
“What do you need?” he asks.
“I’m looking for Reese.”
He nods to the bus right next to his. “Next door.”
“Thanks,” I say.
I take the briefest moment to take in the scene in front of me: A drummer for a multi-platinum rock band and his badass rock star wife, who performs with Vail now but who has a huge following of her own right, and their little boy, who the drummer holds in his arms. But they’re clearly happy and obviously in love. They’re making it work. I’ve seen the articles about Ethan Fuller—everyone has. Just like Mark in his younger years, he used to be a womanizer. He never came off as a guy who wanted a wife and kids, yet as he stands on his bus with his boy in his arms, it’s obvious to me that he’s in the happiest phase of his life.
I didn’t think it was something I wanted, either.
But things change.
I find Reese with her own little girl on the Ashton tour bus, and I thank her for everything she did. When she asks if everything worked out okay, my response is a simple wink. We both laugh, and I have a feeling this tour isn’t just going to be a huge milestone for MFB.
It’s also going to be a hell of a lot of fun.
EPILOGUE
About a year later...
“Before we crown the winner of Take My Heart season two, let’s catch up with the celebrity stars of season one! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Danny Fisher and Dax Hunter!” Melanie smiles at Danny and avoids eye contact with me as we walk out onto the stage a year after season one’s finale aired. They’re doing a live finale tonight, much to Shayna’s dismay, and I’ve been coached and warned.
I laughed it off. It’s not like I’m going to fuck everything up tonight.
Or will I?
I wouldn’t have even come tonight if I hadn’t been forced into it by a tiny clause in my original contract that I totally overlooked when I signed it. If Take My Heart airs more than one season, celebrity contestants agree to make at least one appearance each subsequent season. Image and likeness may be used for show promotion.
Clearly they saw something in me when they chose me, and now that I’ve achieved dreams I never thought were possible thanks to Mark Ashton (and his wife), returning to this little show is more of a nuisance than anything else.
Melanie sits behind the desk like a late-night talk show hostess again, and Danny takes the seat ri
ght next to the desk. Since I finished in second place, I’m relegated to the seat beside him.
“Let’s start with Danny! First, congratulations on that World Series win! That save in the bottom of the ninth of game seven was epic, and we loved watching as you sealed your spot as the MVP.”
Danny nods. “Thank you. I just played my hardest and hoped the ball would end up in my glove.”
Melanie laughs with a little too much sugar, and then she says, “I hear you have some news to share.”
He grins. “Nicole and I were married four months ago.”
“Congratulations!” Mel gushes. She looks offstage, like she doesn’t know what’s about to happen since we were told during the commercial break. “Oh what’s that?” she asks as if she’s talking to someone in the back. “She’s here! Let’s bring her out!”
Nicole comes out and walks across the stage as she smiles sheepishly. She gives a little wave to the in-studio audience, something that was missing at last year’s reunion show.
I stand and scoot over a chair to allow her to sit beside her husband, and she gives me a hug before she sits.
“Congratulations, Nicole,” Melanie says. “We’re just thrilled for you.”
“Thank you.” She looks over at Danny, and I can only see the back of her head from where I sit, but I see the absolute fucking hearts in Danny’s eyes and just have a feeling these two are going to last the long haul. “We have more news to share.”
“What more could there be?” Melanie gushes. God, she’s so dramatic.
“We’re pregnant!” Danny exclaims, and Melanie practically falls on the floor in shock.
“Oh my God! Congratulations, you two!” She bounces up and down in her seat. “When are you due?”
“May tenth,” Nicole says. She glances at Danny again as she says, “It’s a honeymoon baby.”
“And it all started here on Take My Heart. See, folks? Love on reality shows works! We’ll talk more about that with Dax when we return from these commercials.”