by Terry Towers
I struck Zack with a heated look. “I’m serious. If you pursue her, I’m going to be done with this band. Done.”
Anger overtook his expression. “Fine. I said fine. Do you need it in writing?”
With a sigh, I slumped back into the chair and looked at the other three band members. “That goes for everyone. I’m not messing around and playing games with our futures any longer. She’s completely off-limits to us all.”
They reluctantly agreed, though I really wasn’t as concerned about the others. As much as we were brothers, the truth was the other three were replaceable. Zack and I were the front men for the group and if either of us left, Hypnotic just wouldn’t be the same.
Chapter 4
Violet
Dylan seemed quite sensible, but Zack…. He was going to be my problem child, there was no doubt about it. I wasn’t blind; I saw how he looked at me when I’d walked into Carter’s office—like I was prey.
He didn’t think I could do the job. I knew that much as well. Well, I’d show him. His attitude had lit a fire under my ass.
The more I thought about the situation, the more I was determined to show the band, Carter, and more importantly myself how capable I was. I wanted to be known as Violet Hudson, a force to be reckoned with, not Violet Hudson, daughter of the great Edward Hudson.
Entering the hotel where the guys were staying, I walked directly to the elevators and hit the up button. I would see Zack for a few minutes so that we could straighten a thing or two out before his show. This would be their first show under my watchful eye and I was hell-bent on ensuring it went smoothly.
Arriving on Zack’s floor, I went to the suite number I was given and knocked, waiting for several beats before knocking a second time. Where in the hell was he? God, I hoped he wasn’t high. Rome wasn’t built in a day and if that was the frame of mind he was usually in before a show it would take some time to wean him off that habit. The last thing we needed was a rehab controversy.
As I was raising my hand to knock a third time there was a click of the door being unlocked and moments later it was swung open to reveal Zack in the flesh. His dark hair was disheveled, he was glassy-eyed, and had a partially drunk bottle of whiskey in his hand.
He was shirtless, wearing just a pair of blue flannel lounge pants. I’d seen pictures of him shirtless before, but the pictures never did him justice. The muscles in his chest were beautifully defined. As my gaze lowered there was a thin string of hair that started at his navel and dipped beneath the waistband of his pants.
You have got to be kidding me. I had to shake off the feelings of desire I had for him at this moment and get back to the task at hand: making sure he on the straight and narrow.
“Hey Zack, I thought I’d drop in for a few minutes so we could talk.”
He eyed me up and down and it felt like forever before he nodded and stepped aside. “Come on in.”
Entering, I was impressed at the size of the room. Hell, it wasn’t really a hotel room, it was a damned apartment it was extremely lavish. “Nice room.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded toward the bottle in his hand. “Is that a normal thing for you?”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Sitting down on the large, gray plush sofa I nodded to the bottle. “Getting loaded before a show.”
“Oh.” He looked down at the bottle and laughed. “It’s just stress relief.”
“You need to stop with that.”
“To hell with you, woman!” Defiance flashed in his eyes, like a damned five-year-old!
A part of me was tempted to back down. But the greater part of me met his challenge with one of my own. “You can either get rid of it, or I’ll do it for you.”
He took a swig from the bottle, while eyeing me with a big old fuck you in his gaze. “Like I said, you can go fuck yourself. You’re our manager. We’re paying you, not the other way around.”
“Exactly. You’re paying me to look after your best interests, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.” Leaping to my feet, I rushed up to him, snatched the bottle from his fingertips, and sought out a sink. The first one I found was the kitchen sink. That would do. Standing in front of the sink, I tipped the bottle upside down and watched the stinky liquid begin to pour down the drain. I hated alcohol when in the hands of people who abused it.
There! Spinning around, I gave him a self-satisfied smile and prepared myself for a battle.
~*~ TT ~*~
Zack
For a brief moment I was enraged. It took a lot of nerve to do what she just did.
“The New York City show is one of the biggest shows of this tour,” She growled at me, “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that I’m just unwinding and that you’re being a bit of a dictator. I’m thinking that this is something I always do before a show and that you’re overreacting and need to mind your own damned business!” I was shouting; it would be a surprise if hotel security didn’t come knocking on the door at any moment, but I didn’t care.
I could see how angry she was, her level of anger matching mine, and I doubted there would be any way in hell she’d back down. “It used to be something you’d do, but it’s not any longer. Not on my watch.”
“Then maybe you need to turn around and piss off so you’re not watching.”
She stared at me a moment and then closed the distance between us. As she closed in, I started to get a whiff of her perfume. It was the same perfume that she was wearing the other day and it smelled amazing.
Stopping just before she reached me, she wagged her finger under my nose. “I’m not intimidated by you. I have a job to do and evidently, part of that job is to save you from yourself.”
I could think of some places she could put that finger of hers, her whole hand for that matter. Though waving it under my nose wasn’t one of those places. “I don’t need saving.”
“I beg to differ.”
“If you want to beg, I can think of some very fun ways to make you beg.”
Her green eyes narrowed as they stared into my blue ones. “I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“We don’t have to sleep.”
She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not going to fuck you either.”
“Never say never.”
Her jaw clenched and anger flashed in her eyes. Fuck she was sexy all riled up as she was. Maybe I didn’t need to fuck her, maybe just riling her up would be good enough.
Taking a deep breath in, she closed her eyes and then slowly released it, opening her eyes back up. “Okay, I think we’re getting off track and need to get to the issue at hand.”
“What’s the issue at hand?” I’d legitimately forgotten. The alcohol had one half of my mind in a haze and my dick was controlling the other half.
“The issue is why are you drinking before the concert?”
“It’s just my way of relaxing. And now, I have to order another bottle of that.” Turning, I began walking toward the phone located on a stand next to the sofa.
She was faster, running past me and blocking my path. “No.”
“Then what do you suggest I do for stress relief before the show? I can’t drink and you don’t seem inclined to spread your legs for me.”
“I won’t continue to tolerate your rude comments, Mr. Wyatt. How could you possibly be stressed? You’re about to get in front of thousands of people who adore you. How could that be anything other than invigorating?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Now I was starting to feel bad. She was seriously killing my buzz. I’d just met her; if she thought she was going to get to the center of my creamy core this quickly, she had another thing coming.
She chewed at her lower lip a moment before answering. “Listen. I don’t know much about you, so maybe I don’t. But what I do know is drugs and alcohol isn’t the answer. Though I do have a suggestion. The hotel has a masseuse on staff. I’ll give them a call and have them send someo
ne up. There’s nothing like a good massage to release all the stress.
“Oh, I think there’s other alternatives.” I closed the distance between us. Yes, I did promise the guys to behave myself, but she came to me, not the other way around.
Her hand shot out and she braced her palm against my chest stopping my advance on her. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m just asking for a pre-concert massage. There’s some parts of me that are really solid right now.”
“You really are certifiable.” Her jaw clenched and the anger raged on in her eyes again.
“I’m just asking you to massage me, baby.” Damn, if she wasn’t the sexiest woman I’d ever seen all flared up like she is. If there was a way to turn this encounter into one where I would bend her over the sofa and fuck her senseless, I’d do it. Though she wasn’t going to be nearly that easy.
That’s when she slapped me. My body jerked back, ever so slightly.
It had been quite some time since I’d been slapped by a woman. And she had a pretty damn good arm on her and didn’t hold back. My cheek was really stinging. Placing my hand on my cheek, I began to caress the stinging area.
One thing that slap did was sober me.
Fuck. I’d just done what I’d promised Dylan I wouldn’t do. Double-fuck fuck.
With a sigh, I took a step back giving her space. Her chest was heaving as she stood before me, visibly attempting to control her anger.
“Okay, I’m going to say this once and only once. I’m working really hard to get out from under my father’s shadow. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let you ruin my career. So you need to stop acting like a horny teenager and start acting like a serious musician and entertainer. It’s not just about your dick. You have younger people who look up to you, kids. Instead of being king of the douches perhaps you should consider being the role model that you should be.”
She had a point. As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point.
Walking over to the sofa, I flopped myself down onto it and motioned for her to sit next to me. When she didn’t budge from her spot, I added, “Please. Sit, just for a minute.”
She hesitated, but eventually did as asked and came around the sofa to sit beside me. “I’ll give you a minute.”
“Listen. I didn’t mean anything by my behavior. I apologize. I was just messing around with you. You have no idea how sexy you look when you’re riled up.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me but didn’t interrupt.
“I wasn’t just messing around when I said that I get stressed out before a show.”
“Why? I’m having a hard time getting my head around the idea that you’d have an issue onstage.”
“Dylan and I were just a couple kids off the streets of L.A. Just like thousands of others. I still wonder why it was us that made it; what has made us so special. Sometimes, I fear that the audience will see through the persona that I’ve made up and see that I’m not entirely the person they think I am.”
“You mean the playboy?”
He shrugged. “It’s an image I have developed for myself and it seems to be who I am now.”
Her features softened and she reached out, touching my thigh. Her touch certainly didn’t help my horniness level. “It doesn’t have to be.”
“Not too many people know this, but I have had an anxiety attack or two in the past before a show. The alcohol numbs it a bit.”
“You can’t use the alcohol as a crutch, Zack. You need to learn better, healthier ways to cope. My mother was a drug addict. She OD-d when I was twelve. She didn’t face her demons, so her demons destroyed her. You’re way too talented to allow anything to destroy you.”
“I’m so sorry.”
There was pain in her eyes, and I wished I could take that pain away from her, but I couldn’t. But there was one thing I could do: I could try to do as she asked and find more productive ways of dealing with my stress.
“It’s okay. It was sixteen years ago.”
“I’m still sorry.”
She shrugged. “Thank you.”
“How do you deal with all the stress?” I grinned, attempting to lighten the mood. “I hear the new group you’re managing has a real asshole for a front man.”
Laughing, she ran a hand through her hair. “I run and I like yoga.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tease her about how flexible she was, but I stopped myself. Old habits die hard and all that.
“How about this: we can be yoga and running buddies.”
Her mouth dropped open as she gave me a peculiar look. “You want to go running with me?”
“Yeah, why not? I can run.”
She spread her hands out as she stood. “Okay then, it’s a date. Running tomorrow. I’ll check in on you again before the show.”
Spinning, she made her way across the living room to the door to let herself out. I may have come to an understanding, but that didn’t mean I was a saint. My eyes had a mind of their own as my gaze became fixated on her tight, round swaying ass with each step. One good thing about running with her was that I could feast my eyes on that sexy ass of hers. My cock jerked alive again. I was going to have to rub one out before the show.
I did give myself a mental pat on the back for not using her moment of vulnerability as a chance to touch her. It would have been so easy for those few moments to pull her into my arms and have her melt against me. Becoming a whole new respectable, responsible Zack was going to be hard, but I was always up for a challenge.
Chapter 5
Violet
Closing the door behind me, I closed my eyes and fell back against it, letting out a loud huff of air. My heart was beating so rapidly inside my chest I felt as though it was going to explode past my ribcage.
That was intense. He threw me a curveball that I didn’t expect. I’d gone into the room expecting a confrontation, all the while hoping to talk some sense into him. I got the anticipated confrontation, but what I didn’t expect to get was the heart-to-heart.
Zack always came off as so strong and confident. Hell, cocky would be a better way to describe how he came off in the public eye. Who’d have thought his confidence wasn’t anything other than smoke and mirrors?
I didn’t even want to start thinking about his hotness factor. No wonder women fell over themselves to get with him. It had taken all my strength not to give in to him and keep up the cold exterior.
There were rumors circulating that he was easily one of the best lays in the industry. Would the hype be well deserved or all just hot air? Either way, it didn’t matter. He was off-limits.
Pushing myself off the door, I began making my way to the opposite end of the floor where I’d find Dylan’s room. I’d already done a quick check on the other guys, making Dylan my final stop.
What would it be like to have sex with a superstar anyhow? I was twenty-eight so I was hardly a virgin, but I wasn’t overly experienced either. There’d been a couple of guys in college, but things just never worked out.
I’d always had a drive within me to succeed. While other girls and women were focused on finding Mr. Right, I was working at being the best in academics. I had to be the best in all my courses through school and upon graduation. When I decided to follow in my father’s footsteps, I’d vowed to myself that I’d become the most sought-after manager in the business.
I’m sure a shrink would have a field day with me, attempting to dissect why I had such an intense need to overachieve. They’d have lots to work with between my mother dying when I was a preteen and my father dying a few years ago.
Arriving at the opposite end of the floor, I found myself in front of Dylan’s door. Hopefully this visit would be a little more seamless then the last.
Knocking on the door I was happy to see that I didn’t have to knock a second time as the door swung open. What I wasn’t quite as impressed over was the fact that Dylan answered the door wearing nothing except a white hotel towel wrapped low on his hips.
You’ve got to be fu
cking kidding me, I nearly groaned out loud, catching myself at the very last second.
“What was that?” Dylan’s brow creased as he looked down at me.
“Nothing.” Putting a hand over my neck, I coughed and cleared my throat. “Something caught in my throat, that’s all.”
“Ahh, I see. Did you want to come in?” He stepped aside and I walked through the entryway and past him into the room. His room was virtually identical to the one Zack was staying in.
“Fuck,” Dylan growled from behind me.
What the? Stopping, I turned to see that the towel had caught in the door and as he closed it; it had pulled free from his hips, leaving him standing buck naked behind me.
Don’t judge me. I had to look. How could I not?
My eyes drank in every inch of his gorgeous, naked body and ohmygod what an amazing body it was! Every inch of him from head to toe was magnificent, rivalling the bodies of men in marble statues. He definitely spent more than his fair share of time in the gym.
But his most impressive feature by far was his dick. He wasn’t even erect and he had the biggest dick I’d ever seen up close and in the flesh. The wicked part of me longed to reach out and stroke that beautiful shaft of his, but of course I refrained. I was a professional after all.
“See something you like?” Dylan asked.
His face flushed when he noticed me staring. Yes, I was staring. Realizing I was caught with my hand in the proverbial cookie jar, I sucked in my breath and covered my eyes. I’m not sure who was feeling more awkward right now, me or him. My money was on me.
“Sorry. I’m turning around now.” I clumsily turned keeping my hand over my eyes even though with my back turned it really wasn’t necessary any longer.
“No need to now, I mean, you’ve already seen the goods.”
“I really didn’t see much.” I opened my eyes, lowering my hand.
“First you ogle my junk and now you’re insulting me.” He walked past me, the towel once again tied firmly around his waist.
“Insulting?” It took me a moment before it clicked what he meant. “Oh no…. No. I mean you have an amazing penis. Beautiful.”