“I’m not in the mood for a pep talk, Keys.”
He pointed at himself. “Do I look like the designated pep talker?”
She turned to peer at him. He gave her his boyishly charming grin. She gripped his hand. “Please, Keys. Not right now.”
He squeezed her fingers between his. “What are you going to do?”
“I have options.” Not really, but she wouldn’t be treated like a thirteen year old either. Had she thought it wise to get out from her brother’s thumb six months ago? It was the only alternative she had now. But at the same time her brain kept screaming what of Heath? She’d never wanted to see if a relationship would work out as much as she did this one, but with Jase causing problems… weren’t they doomed to fail? He’d make their life a living hell.
“I know you do.” Even though he agreed, his expression said he recognized the lie. “You planning a hasty exodus when we land?”
Unable to face his genuine concern, she stared out the window. “Haven’t decided.”
He grunted.
She gave him her focus again. “What does that mean?”
Keys pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. It was connected to a chain clipped to his belt hoops. He flipped open the well-worn leather and slid out a gold AmEx card. Wedged between his knuckles, he held it toward her. “Whatever you decide, I want to know you’re taken care of.”
“That’s sweet, but I’m good.” His care choked her up.
“Don’t be prideful.”
Unable to withstand the affection in his gaze further, she turned away from him. “I have a trust fund.” Which I won’t touch.
“We both know you won’t contemplate using those resources.”
“You’re making a big assumption Jase won’t freeze the account.”
“He won’t.”
Wouldn’t matter. First at the top of her list was transferring that blood money back to her brother. He’d made it obvious those zeros were his way of controlling her.
“Boo, a part of me understands Jase’s worry. You’re the baby sister I never had. I love you in ways I can’t love my brothers. I want what’s best for you. And Fang… well, Fang won’t hurt you on purpose, and he damn sure doesn’t look at you like a brother. I don’t know why he doesn’t because Jase is right, he should.” She grasped a swath of hair and studied potential frayed ends as Keys kept talking. “We all took responsibility for you when your parents died. Yeah, we suck as role models, but I like to think we did a decent job. You at least felt loved, and you didn’t get to be this fucking awesome without us.”
She shot him a saucy grin. “You alone are to blame for my awesomeness.”
“I know, but it didn’t feel right not giving the others a portion of the accolades.” He wagged the credit card at her. “Take it. I cannot tolerate the thought of you being alone without means to support yourself.”
She pushed his hand holding the plastic back into his lap. “I’ve not decided what I’m doing.”
“Fang holding you up?” Keys nodded in Heath’s direction. “He can’t take his eyes off you. I bet if I don’t move soon, he’ll find a way to kick me out of my seat.”
She glanced at Heath. Sure enough he stalked them with his gaze. “I like him, Keys. I want to give him a shot. What’s so wrong with that?”
“Are you sure you’re not mixing up brotherly fondness for something that’s not there?”
“I’m sure.” She’d have thought the same if not for the way she felt when he kissed her. In those moments the world rotated around him. “I like the way I feel when he kisses me.”
“My offer to kiss you still stands.”
She could tell he was only half serious. Thank God. “That proposal makes me want to gag. I’ve never felt that way with Heath.”
After a long moment, he said, “You know a normal man would take offense to that, but I’m delighted you aren’t interested.” They sat in pleasant silence for a while before Keys dropped the card in her lap. “Listen, Fang isn’t going to last much longer. He knows you’re upset, and if there’s one thing he hates it’s when his girl is upset.”
She frowned and tried to return his plastic. He refused. “He hasn’t had a girl long enough to see her upset.”
“You’ve always been his girl, Boo.” She blinked at him, and a warm bud of hope settled in her gut. “Sitting here thinking back, I realized from the time you roughly hit eighteen he’s been acting weird around you. He hasn’t had a steady girl since then either. You are his girl, and he’s never liked it when you were upset. I can’t tell you what to do. We both know Fang’s a good guy. I can’t say what Jase is going to do in the long run.”
“He’ll divide the band.” That reality made her decision all the harder.
“Maybe.” He pummeled his overlong, sandy-blond locks with his fingers. As he talked, Heath pushed to his feet and swaggered toward them with determination locked on his features. “If he does, I’ll follow Fang. Jase is a brilliant drummer, but Fang’s the brains and talent behind Hot Wired. I know which star to hang my hat on. Just go easy on Fang if you decide to leave him. That song he wrote you, it came from his heart.”
Heath kicked the base of Keys’ seat. “I need a word with her.”
Keys grinned and kissed her knuckles. “Told you,” he mouthed.
The moment he vacated the seat, Heath plopped into it wearing a mulish expression. “What was that heart to heart about? Warning you away from me too?”
“No.”
“About Jase—”
“Nothing needs to be said. We knew he was going to be difficult.”
Heath rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe more difficult than I expected.”
Blown away once more by Sam’s ability to schmooze the crowd, Heath came off the stage with a long-legged stride.
“Ah-mazing performance, guys.” She clapped her hands and beamed with all smiles. Praise for all band mates, but her eyes were alight for him. She peered at none other.
That look of pride is all for me.
Regardless that Jase would disapprove Heath twined their fingers together and placed a quick smooch on her lips. She clasped his jaw and brought him back for a longer kiss. God the woman did him under.
Too early to say I love her. Waiting for the right moment would kill him.
“You smell good.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and inhaled the scent of her hair.
Eyes twinkling, she delivered him a saucy smirk. “Wish I could say the same for you.”
“Rude!” Despite his stink, she snuggled against him, and he grinned. Heath caught sight of Jase, fire and brimstone burned from his friend’s expression. Trouble approached in a pissed off swagger of biker boots, leather pants, and ratty T-shirt, while beating out a rat-tat-tat rhythm against his thigh with his sticks. “You should be nicer to your boyfriend, brat, if you plan to keep him.”
Sam rolled her eyes, but her smile remained. Before she could say anything, Tab was in their face. “Thank me later for saving your reckless butts from one royally pissed off drummer. Celebrity Beef wants an interview with the hot couple.”
“I think I’d prefer facing Jase,” Sam mumbled as Tab ignored her and led them to a secure area, with Tex following close behind. Their agent continued to grumble.
“Don’t know why you had to spill the happy news and make this love-nest official. Causing problems for me. This is going to blow up in our faces. Watch and see. Will create more drama than necessary. Or need. Always causing problems for me. Al-fucking-ways. You’d think it’s a hobby the way you five go about it. Hello, Mr. Mendoza! You remember Fang?” The way she greeted the man, no one would know she’d just been bitching beneath her breath—or what Tab considered beneath her breath, because it was usually loud and clear for the offensive party to hear.
“Good to see you again, Ralph.” He shook hands with the media man that’d conducted more than a dozen interviews with him over the past couple of years. He was one of the few that could be trus
ted to report the truth rather than sensationalize even the most mediocre of news. “Meet Samantha Collins, my girlfriend and Jase’s sister.”
She nodded at the reporter, but didn’t offer a greeting. Jaw jutted at a slight off-kilter angle, her gaze narrowed, cynicism clearly blazed from her expression. She had a right to distrust reporters. Over the years they’d scandalized her even when she’d been toeing the line.
Ralph hit the record button on his device, and his photographer readied a camera. “Thanks for giving me your first interview.”
“Our pleasure, huh, Sam?”
“Mmhm….”
“So what was it like when you two looked at one another and said ‘he-she’s hot, let’s do this’?”
“I’m pretty sure I never said that. Not my lingo, ya know?” She gave the other man a flirty smile. “I’ve had a crush on Fang since he gave me a heart-shaped jewelry box for my tenth birthday.”
Ralph emitted a burst of laughter. “Impressionable young thing, huh?”
Heath felt like an idiot with his grin eating up his face. She never ceased to surprise him. “I don’t remember that. I can barely recall how old I was when I punched Jase in the face and we became fast friends thereafter.”
“Y’all were thirteen. I was nine. I plotted revenge and—”
“You put gum in my hair, Sam. I had to shave my head to get it out.”
Wicked humor spread across her features. “Good thing you weren’t a girl.”
“It’s obvious you’re comfortable with one another. Any marriage plans?”
Heath expected Sam to explode. Instead, she shot back with, “We’ll get married when I’m pregnant.”
“Are you trying to conceive?”
“Nope.” Sam circled her fingertip on his belly. “I wanna savor him for a while. Keep him all to myself.”
“She’s teasing you,” he tugged on her hair just a little. “Be nice to Ralph. But no, we’re not discussing marriage or planning babies. Just seeing how things work out at the moment.”
Ralph nodded. “You were recently in the news for grand theft auto. Do you have anything you’d like to say about that in your defense?”
Deadpan she said, “I hope I’m awarded conjugal visits when I’m found guilty.”
Heath busted out laughing. Ralph blinked, obviously unable to discern her seriousness. In between chuckles, Heath clarified, “Those charges were dropped.”
“Good to know.” Ralph cleared his throat. “Do you have any special nicknames for Fang?”
Without batting an eyelash, she leaned toward the recorder. “Pookie. That’s spelled p- o- o- k- i- e.”
Heath chuckled. The one endearment he’d forbidden her from using. If he were a betting man, he’d bet she used it because he’d coaxed her back onstage against her wishes this evening. She excelled in the subtle art of revenge.
“Interesting endearment.”
“I’m an interesting girl.”
She could say that again.
“How does Jase feel about your romance?”
“You’ll have to ask Jase that question.” Sam twirled a swath of her hair around her index finger.
“Come now. You’ve got to have some sense of how Jase feels.”
Offering support with pressure on her shoulder, Heath saved her from the inquiry. “He’s concerned. As he should be. This is a new relationship and we have no idea where it’s going, but they all understand that we have to give it a try.”
“Do you think your romance could break up the band?”
Sam flinched. She’d been straightforward about that being her biggest worry.
“No.” Heath pulled her snug against him, providing comfort the only way he knew how at the moment. “No way. All of us know we have to keep this”—he motioned between him and Sam—“separate from the band.”
“It’s a bit naïve to think Jase won’t be upset if you break his sister’s heart.”
Jase would be furious and would never forgive him if that happened.
“What if I break Fang’s heart? That’d piss off Jase too.” Playing the devil’s advocate much, Sam?
“Really, Ms. Collins?” Amused reservation contorted Ralph’s mouth and created parallel lines between his eyes. “No offense, but Fang’s track record with relationships is sparse at best.”
“He’s a rock star. At best, he’s had liaisons not relationships. There’s a difference.” Sam clasped the hand that rested on her shoulder. “What do you know of my past romances?”
Unsure where she went with this, Heath waited.
Ralph shrugged. “Other than your criminal record, not much else is known about you except for your affair with Omega Starr.”
Yeah…that bastard had taken her virginity, paid a reporter to hide out in the bushes and snap shots of their private moment. As the sole heir to a movie producer tycoon, the asshole was untouchable. Heath had tried. Rumors said he videoed some of their intimate moments. If that proved true, Heath would be tempted to kill him.
“Yeah…Omega.” She laughed. “He’s a good guy.”
Like hell! Asshole was his nickname in Heath’s head.
“You got anything to say about your on again-off again relationship with him?” Ralph moved the recorder a little closer to Sam.
“Just that we’re still friends.” They were? Why? How’d Heath miss that little aspect? “For the record, not all the rumors are true in that relationship. The point is, Ralph, you reporters know very little about my love life because I’ve dated mostly kids’ of celebrities. None of them want their broken hearts headline news, and their parents have taught them how to ditch you story hounds.”
“Is that what you did to Omega Starr? Break his heart?”
“No.” Frustration leeched across her forehead in a frown. “Didn’t I just say we’re still friends? He’s more like a friends with benefits type of relationship.”
“Is that status current?”
“Not since Fang came into the picture.”
“Time’s up, Mr. Mendoza,” Tab interrupted and Heath wasn’t sure if she were afraid where the conversation was going or if she truly wanted them to wrap up the interview. “The rest of the band should be ready to meet with you.”
“Thanks for your time, Fang and Ms. Collins.” Ralph pressed what Heath assumed was the off button on the recorder. “If they get a chance, I’d love to interview them as a group.”
A bunch of photos were snapped of them throughout the interview, and Heath looked forward to seeing what aspect they caught of them together. So much could be portrayed with a single image.
“Catch ya later, Ralph.” Heath led Sam away. “Why didn’t I know you and Omega are still friends?”
“Knew you wouldn’t approve. We kept it low-key. Our sexual status is over now that we’re together.”
The idea of that bastard touching her in that way gave him a bad reaction. “Damn right it’s over.”
Her eyes were glittering when she tilted her head just enough to get a gander at him. Her voice dropped to a sultry tone. “You the jealous type, Heath?”
He stopped walking and turned to face her. Aware that Tex was near enough to hear, he lowered his voice. “Where you’re concerned, hell yes.” He coiled a pink swath of her hair around a digit and gave a little tug. “I want more details when we have some privacy.”
“The rumors aren’t true.”
“Which part of those rumors?”
She wedged her fingers between his belt and pants. “He didn’t pay anyone to take pictures of us.”
“He took your virginity.”
“Yes, but when those photos were released he was furious. He tried to lessen the consequences for me.”
“He could fake anger and the rest.” He’d been raised around some of the best actors in the field. It was plausible he’d learned a thing or two.
“I know who the guilty party is.”
“Who?” He’d make them pay.
“It wasn’t Omega.”
; “Sam….”
“Why does it matter?” She peered over his shoulder and the loss of eye contact felt important. Her antsy bearing indicated he knew the person behind her humiliation.
“Humor me.” He tugged again on the strands coiled around his finger.
“Jase’s last girlfriend.”
The impact of her words stunned him. “Brittany?”
“Yep. And she was paid a fortune for it.”
Jase had devoted more time to that relationship than any other he’d ever had. They all knew she was a media seeking money-grubbing bitch, but Heath hadn’t realized just how big of a troublemaker she’d been.
“I owe Omega an apology.” When she frowned, he explained. “I confronted him about you. He told me to get my facts straight and talk to you. I told him I knew he was a lying bastard and trying to save face in front of his friends.”
“You confronted him in public?”
“Always did think it best to have witnesses to any threats I issued.”
“You threatened him, too?” Was that horror or amusement painted on her face?
“I told him if he came near you again, I’d break his knees.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Couple of months after the incident.”
Sam laughed. “You do realize he has black belts in a couple of different forms of martial arts, right? He’d kick your ass three ways to Sunday, Heath.” A palm slid up his chest and his pulse quickened, as she clasped his nape. “But it’s really hot knowing you defended my honor, even if it didn’t need defending.” She scratched her nails across his scalp. “He’s one of my best friends. That won’t change because of us. The only thing that’ll change is our hookups. Sad thing too because he is a decent lay, and I’ll miss—”
He suspected she teased him. On the off chance she wasn’t, he did the only thing he could think of to shut her up and kissed her. She giggled the moment his mouth came down on hers. Proof she provoked him.
“I don’t want to talk about him fucking you.”
Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) Page 16