by K. A. Linde
“I don’t meet many powerful women,” he said. His voice was low and gravelly as his blue eyes bored into me. For a second, I was lost to him. Then, he smirked and opened his mouth. “So…have you done anything like you’ve read in these books before?”
I smacked him on the shoulder. “God, you’re terrible. Is sex all you think about?”
“After reading over your shoulder…”
My eyes widened at the admission. Had he just admitted to thinking about sex because of reading my book? Was he thinking about me? Oh fuck. This was…this was bad.
Because suddenly, I had the vivid image of Hollin holding me down with those big hands of his. Doing all the dirty things that I read about on the regular that, despite not answering his question, no one had ever done to me. It had just been fantasy. An escape into a reality that was so far removed from my own. I never thought anyone would look at the books I read and wonder if I wanted to be held down and fucked.
I couldn’t help it. I flushed all over and hastily looked away, but he caught the blush on my cheeks.
He grinned devilishly. “Mission accomplished.”
“What?” I gasped out.
“I love to make you blush.”
I shoved up out of my seat. “I am not one of your three-date-rule bimbos. I’m not falling for this stupidity, Hollin. Just…go bother someone else.”
I left the room, nearly running into Julian and Jordan on the way out. They looked at me in confusion, but I brushed past them. I needed to get far, far away from Hollin and his lack of boundaries. Or the fact that I liked that he had none.
12
Piper
The Cosmere show was night and day to whatever Campbell had thrown together at the opening of the tour in Lubbock. That had practically been a personal party rather than a concert. This was a full stadium experience. Impressive light displays, perfect acoustics, backup dancers. The whole shebang.
I avoided Hollin through the rest of the show and drowned in Campbell’s heartfelt lyrics with Annie and Jennifer. Blaire stayed on her feet through the show with the rest of us, but she spent as much time on her phone, doing Blaire Blush stuff, as she did, listening to the music. And at one point, she left right in the middle of their biggest hit, “I See the Real You.”
And now, we were at the door to backstage. We flashed our passes to the bouncer and then were through. Even Hollin and Nora were excited about coming backstage even though they had to have been backstage for their brother a bunch.
An assistant found us at the door. She smiled wide. “Hi! I’m Libba. Campbell sent me to get you. He said you could wait for him in the lounge.”
“Great,” Hollin said. “Show us the way.”
We bypassed a line of eager fans, hoping to get one last glimpse of the band. We followed Libba away from the crowds and through the crush of workers, who had made sure the show went off without a hitch. Then, we were at the door of a lounge full of booze and women. The other members of the band were already there.
Viv played bass. She’d recently dyed her hair purple and shaved it on one side. She was smoking a joint and crowed when she saw Hollin. They hugged, and Hollin dropped into a seat on the couch next to her. A pang shot through me even though I knew Viv had a girlfriend, Kris. Yorke played guitar and was the hottest guy in the band after Campbell. He had this dark and mysterious thing to him. All hard edges and broody silent treatment. I rarely heard him speak, but when he did, everyone stopped to listen. Yorke was sitting next to Santi, who was the effervescent opposite of Yorke’s taciturn demeanor. They were best friends and had met at a local LA talent competition when Santi showed up and played the drums so well that Travis Barker took him on as a prodigy. They’d paired up with Michael on keys shortly after that, who was currently video-chatting, likely with his wife and young daughter.
Viv had been introduced to them by the label. At the time, Santi had been singing lead, but it wasn’t until they added Campbell as the lead singer and his incredible lyrical talent that they’d taken off like a rocket. And now, they were an international sensation.
We were just missing Campbell in the room.
The door creaked open behind us, and a boom of screaming girls hit us.
“Well, that’d be Campbell,” Santi said with a laugh.
He elbowed Yorke, who looked back at him with a flat expression.
And then Campbell walked in the room, slamming the door behind him. He looked…tired. It had been a long day for him. He had to be exhausted.
“Good show, y’all,” he said.
Viv gave him a thumbs-up. “I found your hot brother.”
Campbell laughed. “Excellent.”
Despite exhaustion etched into his features, Campbell hung out with all of us as if he weren’t tired. He shook hands with Jordan and Julian, dragging them across the room to do shots. He hugged all of us, even signing the backstage passes for me, Jennifer, and Annie. Annie had asked, of course. She was the boldest of the lot of us. Jennifer had blushed from head to toe at the question.
“Seriously?” Campbell asked with a laugh. “It’s your goddamn photo.”
“It sure is,” she said, biting her lip.
He shook his head, but he signed the pass. Blaire didn’t offer hers up, and he carefully avoided looking at her.
I took a seat across the room from Hollin with another Bombay and lime. I’d done shots with Campbell, and the alcohol was finally hitting me. I had a high tolerance from all the wine, but even I couldn’t compete with tequila shots. If I was honest, there was no one alive who could compete with tequila shots.
Santi leaned into Nora and was telling a story about the lot of them getting lost in Salt Lake City earlier that week. Everyone laughed as he regaled us with how they’d had to hike several miles through snow to find someone who finally recognized Campbell’s face.
Campbell held his hand out. “Hey, it’s not my fault that the car broke down.”
“No, it’s Yorke’s,” Viv said. “He should work better at a stick shift.”
Yorke shrugged and kicked his feet up. “Sure.”
“Why were you even driving around by yourself?” I asked.
All eyes shifted to Santi, who held his hands up. “Hey, hey, hey, I swore there was good Columbian food in that shopping center. Made by real Columbians.”
“The food was delicious,” Viv said with a sigh.
“Damn straight,” Santi said. “Right back to my roots.”
Santi winked at Nora, who flushed.
Campbell narrowed his eyes at Santi. “Hey, that’s my little sister, dipshit. I know what that look means. Keep your hands to yourself.”
Everyone cracked up, except Nora, who looked indignant.
“Nothing is happening, Campbell! I’m taken anyway.”
“Yeah. Hands off our little sister,” Hollin piped up.
Santi raised his hands and threw his arm over the other side of the couch, wrapping it around Blaire. “You taken, sexy?”
Blaire opened her mouth in shock. “I…”
Campbell jumped to his feet. Everyone stared at him, waiting to see what exactly he was going to say. I was the most eager to see how this was going to play out. There were enough slightly drunk, half-naked women in here, all vying for Campbell’s attention. Blaire shouldn’t have even been on his radar. Even in her mid-length designer dress and heels with her hair down straight as a board to her waist, her curtain bangs falling forward, nearly into her blue eyes. But she was on his radar. He looked ready to rip Santi’s hands off of her. And he hadn’t even been that upset about his own sister.
Blaire arched an eyebrow. “Got something to say?”
Campbell looked down at Blaire, who met his eyes defiantly. It was a what are you going to do look.
Finally, he sat back down, grinding his teeth together. “No. Nothing.”
Conversation was stilted for a few moments after that. Jennifer yawned and gestured for them to leave. I should probably want to leave. Everyone else
seemed done. Blaire certainly was ready to escape. She hadn’t wanted to come in the first place. Nora even came to her feet to stand beside Jordan and Julian. Annie pouted a little about leaving so early…even though it was nearly midnight, but eventually, she relented when I caught Jordan squeeze her ass suggestively.
“Piper?” Blaire asked. “You coming?”
“No, come on,” Campbell complained. “Someone should hang out a little longer.”
“I think I’ll stay,” I said, which was a surprise, even to me.
“Me too,” Hollin said. “I can make sure she gets back safe.”
Blaire arched an eyebrow at me. “You sure?”
I was not. But this was fun. I was pleasantly drunk and not worrying about anything at all. I hadn’t thought about work in hours. That never happened. What would a few extra hours hurt?
“Yeah. I’m good. Love you.”
She squeezed me extra tight. “Have fun.”
Campbell slung an arm around my shoulders as we both watched my best friend head out. “Glad you’re staying.”
“You going to tell me what happened with you and Blaire?”
Campbell blinked down at me, donning the casual rocker vibe immediately. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t.”
He laughed. “Why worry about the past when the future is so bright?”
“You tell me.”
Hollin interjected mid-conversation. “What are y’all whispering about?”
Campbell faced his brother with his arm still around my shoulders. “Your girl sure is blunt.”
“I am not his girl,” I said.
Hollin gestured to us. “The bluntest.”
“Who said they wanted a blunt?” Viv cried. “I’ve got one or two here. Mostly joints though.”
Campbell released me with a laugh. He took the joint she’d offered and took a puff. He passed it back to his bandmate and lounged on one of the couches. Girls crawled under his arms. Both looked ready to do whatever he asked right then and there. This was a side of Campbell I wasn’t used to. Of course, there had been thousands of girls out there tonight who would have been just as happy to be in their position. It still wasn’t how I saw him. This was showman Campbell. Not back home in Lubbock Campbell.
Hollin glanced my way. “Shots?”
“Might as well,” I agreed.
Hollin ordered another round of tequila shots. Campbell hopped up almost instantly and was beside us as the shots were poured, as if he couldn’t sit still for a second. The bartender added a third for him. We held them up, clinking glasses before tipping the drinks back.
I coughed around the tequila and reached for the lime on instinct. I bit hard into it. This was the most I’d had to drink in a long time. If I kept going at this pace, I was going to black out.
“How do you do this every night?” I asked Campbell.
“I don’t know.” He fluffed his hair. “It’s the life.”
Hollin laughed, jostling his brother. “Don’t be an ass. There’s no way you could drink this much every night and still perform the way you do.”
“Hey, I can…sort of.”
“He doesn’t drink this much or smoke usually. This is Campbell’s hosting skills.”
Campbell snorted. “Hosting skills?”
“Yeah, you’re like a housewife. Except for the concert.”
“So, you’re saying, he’s showing off?” I asked.
“Obviously,” the brothers said at the same time.
I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “Well, that makes sense.”
“Speaking of showing off,” Campbell said, waggling his eyebrows, “want to see the tour bus?”
“Oh, yes!” I said, suddenly giddy with excitement. It was another thing I’d always wanted to see but never had.
Campbell and Hollin shared a look that I didn’t comprehend. Brother thing.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Hollin said. “After you.”
Campbell muttered something under his breath. Then, he gestured to the back of the room. “Let’s go this way. Security is going to have to check for a clear walk-through.”
We followed him through a maze of back hallways. Security stood in rapt attention at the door. They nodded at Campbell and checked for the all clear.
“Usually, the parking is pretty secure for the band,” Campbell explained while we waited. “But sometimes, superfans find their way through all the security to get back here. It’s happened a few times.”
“Do they try to kill you?” I asked.
Campbell sputtered in surprise. “What? No. They want a picture and an autograph.”
“You don’t arrest them?”
Hollin’s eyes were wide. “What do you think happens on tour?”
“There are lots of crazy people out there.”
“We try not to resort to violence,” Campbell said with a laugh. “Most people are cool, leaving when we tell them to. I’ve had a few stalkers and crazies, but security handles most of it.” A security guard nodded at him. “All right. Let’s go.”
We stepped outside, and there was the Cosmere tour bus. It had their logo in blue and gold on the side, almost like graffiti. Campbell opened the front door, and we followed him inside.
“Well, this is it. Our little slice of home.”
It was nice. Not anything fancy. I could see why they’d chosen to stay in a hotel while in Dallas. The beds were small though cozy. The space seemed cramped for five people to be stuck together all the time.
“This little nook is mine,” Campbell pointed out. “Viv gets the back room. We offered to get her a solo bus, and she told us to fuck off. Michael asked if he could have the solo bus, so he wouldn’t be with us all the fucking time.”
“Or so his wife and kid could travel with y’all?”
Campbell gestured to me. “Or that. But the record label nixed it. Said they could do gendered buses but not family. I don’t get the big deal, but here we are. One bus.”
“It’s not what I expected,” I said as I settled into the plush couch and leaned my elbows on the table.
“Nah, it’s nothing special. Gets us from point A to point B,” Campbell said. Then, his phone buzzed noisily in his pocket. He looked down at the screen and grinned. “I have to take this. I’ll be back. Help yourself to the booze.”
He disappeared down the stairs, leaving me and Hollin all alone.
13
Piper
I was alone with Hollin Abbey. This was a bad idea.
I swallowed and glanced over at him. He’d taken the seat opposite me on the couch, manspreading his legs wide and resting his arms across the back of the cushions.
“I could get used to this,” he said with a devilish grin in my direction.
“Most people could.”
“No,” he said calmly. “You.”
“Me?”
“I could get used to you like this.” His eyes crawled over me and answered the question on my lips. “A little wild.”
A hoarse laugh escaped my lips. “I am not wild.”
“You’re here with me…alone.”
“So?” I challenged him, coming to my feet defensively. “What? Are you going to put the moves on me?”
His smirk was so goddamn tempting. “I don’t have to.”
“And why not?”
“Because you want this as much as I do.”
I gaped at him for a split second before laughing softly. “Wow. You’re so confident.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Prove me wrong.”
“I don’t have to prove anything to you.” I had my hands on my hips, only a foot away from him.
He was so sure of himself. And, fuck, it was a turn-on. I liked it even if I wanted to throw it all back in his face in the same second.
Hollin leaned into me. “That right?”
I opened my mouth to say some other smart-ass response when his hands dragged my hips forward, and I tumbled into his lap. My skirt slid up d
angerously high on my thighs. And I could tell immediately how much I’d affected him.
“What are you doing?” I demanded breathily.
I should be standing up right this minute. I should shove away from him and tell him to never touch me again. But I didn’t. I sat there, straddling his powerful thighs, my hands on his shoulders and his face mere inches from my lips.
“I want you, Piper,” he said, his voice like smoke.
“Hollin…” I gasped out.
“I want to kiss you right now. Clearly, that’s a bad idea…”
Oh, fuck it.
Without an ounce of warning, I crashed my lips down onto his. It was like fireworks on the Fourth of July, wrapped up in opening presents on Christmas morning. It was everything I’d ever wanted in a kiss and more. His hands pushed up into my hair, sealing our lips together. His tongue roved against my lips until I opened for him, and then I was a goner. Utterly and completely gone. His tongue slid inside my mouth, taking control of the kiss I’d initiated. The first sweep of his tongue against my own sent shivers down my back. I squirmed against him, and he groaned, shifting his hips upward.
“I’ve been hard all day thinking about you,” he growled against my lips.
“Oh God,” I managed to get out as his lips ravaged across my jaw and down to my neck. The scratch of his beard made me hold on to him for dear life.
“Tell me you want me.”
“Fuck.”
“Yes, that’s what I want to do to you,” he said.
His hands slipped out of my hair and down my back. He grasped my hips and forced me hard against him. Holding me down into place over his cock. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I rolled my hips in micro circles against the thick length of him, wanting nothing but this friction to release all this pent-up energy.
Suddenly, his lips were back on mine. With the roll of his hips against my core and his mouth conquering me, I was close to releasing right then and there. It had been a long time since something other than my own hand and toy had gotten me off. I had a feeling Hollin would accept nothing less.