My blood turned to ice. Fear seized my heart. “It happened one time. I barely remember it. I woke up with her naked in my hotel room with no memory. There were too many nights like that, and that’s when I got my shit together for good.”
“Jesus. Fuck. Do you think there are more pics?” Jace squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dude, I swear to you I have my own shit going on, and I’m really at the end of my rope.”
“It’s not your problem, my brother.” I slumped down to sit on a planter outside the studio door. I wasn’t sure if my legs would hold me up.
“Oh, I know you think it’s not my problem.” Jace closed his eyes, looking like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “I swear to fuck I’m so ready for our break from all of this.”
“Dude, it was so long ago. She swore it meant nothing.” I stopped to scrub my hand down my face. “Sienna set me up with most of the women—”
“Well it explains her weird reaction to Zoey.”
“I need to tell her,” I whispered, almost to myself. “Tonight after the show.”
Jace looked at me with absolute disdain. Then his expression softened, and he sat next to me and patted my shoulder.
“My dude, I’ve thought for years that I let you down when we hired them.” Jace shook his head. “I’d confront her, but I’m afraid that if I bring it up it will show up on TMZ.”
“I don’t think she has a thing for me. I’ve never gotten that vibe from her. I mean, we’ve never spoken about that night.” I felt like such a fuck-up. “But, I’m not the best at these things. As we’re all aware.”
“We’re late for this interview. We need to get in there. Remember, you’re going to get asked a lot about Zoey today, just be prepared.” Jace looked me in the eyes, almost challenging me. It stung.
“Jesus. Do you seriously think I’d risk anything with Zoey? I’d never deliberately hurt her, Jace. Never.” I stood and moved to the door. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
The rest of the day I was on autopilot, just going through the motions. I’d been doing this for so long, I felt like I nailed my part of the interviews. Whenever anyone asked me about Zoey, and everyone did, I stuck to a basic script like a pro:
Yes, Zoey is Z.
I grew up in an abusive, alcoholic home.
Zoey and I fell in love before LTZ was famous.
She broke up with me before our first tour.
I wasn’t aware that Carter had asked her to break up with me so I could have my shot at fame.
We lost touch.
I wrote the songs to try to get over her, but all of us at LTZ protected her identity.
Carter brought us together again.
We’ve both been in love with each other all of these years.
Zoey is my future.
Repeat.
By the time the driver dropped me off at the hotel, I needed to wind down before the rest of the evening unfolded. Even before Jace showed me the photo, I’d planned to tell Zoey about Sienna. The incident was always in the back of my mind because it was the catalyst for me turning around my life. I’d been an idiot to think that a calculating woman like Sienna would just forget it and move on. Sienna’s behavior toward Zoey was unacceptable.
I knew I had to man up and tell her. To fix it. I was just so worried that after my behavior in LA, Zoey wouldn’t give me a third chance. Was it worth the risk of her feeling as disgusted with me as Jace seemed to be? Or would it be worse if she found out some other way?
It was a no-win situation, and losing Zoey wasn’t an option.
Chapter 27
ZOEY
After Ty headed out with the guys for all of their press obligations, my plan had been to stay offline for the entire day. Of course, curiosity got the better of me. The photo Jace took of me and Ty was everywhere. As someone who never really understood the appeal of social media, suddenly I found myself obsessively checking every five minutes to see how many likes our pictures had. By noon, my new Instagram account had close to a million followers. It was nuts.
Ty encouraged me to go shopping in the designer stores on 5th Avenue while he took care of the band business. He left me his Amex black card with strict instructions to buy whatever I wanted. I knew he didn’t care what I wore, but after the incident with the paparazzi, I’d been stressing about it, knowing we’d be photographed together. I figured it was important to step up my game fashion-wise and, unfortunately, wearing Alex’s hand-me-downs wasn’t going to cut it.
By the end of my shopping spree, I’d bought the softest black leather Prada miniskirt with a thick, built-in belt and a slight flare to accommodate my curvy behind, a stretchy, black V-neck cashmere sweater, and black ankle boots with studs at Valentino, black Diesel moto trousers, and a few blouses, T-shirts, and jeans from the sale rack at Bergdorf Goodman. My favorite purchase was an expensive bottle of Creed perfume called Spring Flowers, which smelled just like its’ name. I wanted to bathe in it.
After a quick bite, Sergey and I returned to the hotel where he helped me unload my purchases. Ty and I hadn’t spoken much that day, only a few check-in texts because he was so busy. After another quick check of the social media accounts and entertainment gossip sites, I was relieved to see that the coverage hadn’t been too scary. I’d even go so far as to say that it was mostly positive.
I was in an absolutely great mood.
With a couple of hours to spare, I showered and got ready before Ty got back. Zoning out under the spray, I pictured Ty and me walking hand in hand at the premiere and smiling as the cameras flashed. I felt so happy about everything, quitting my job, moving in with the love of my life. Everything. Lost in my fantasies, I was startled when Ty rapped on the shower door.
“Butterfly? How’s my gorgeous naked girl?” Ty’s piercing blue eyes peered at me, his hair tucked under the black skull cap he used to try to hide his identity. He looked a bit tired. Stressed.
“Daydreaming about the sexiest man I know.” I smiled at him. “Wanna join me?”
“God don’t tempt me. I’m headed to Zane’s suite for one more interview but thought I’d check on you. Are you coming with me to soundcheck? If you want to chill, I’ll be back to change after.”
“I’d like to be with you guys.” I hoped it wouldn’t be annoying for me to just hang around.
Ty’s smile spread across his face. He grabbed a towel and held it out to me. “I was hoping you’d come with us.”
Stepping out of the shower into his waiting towel, I squealed when Ty kissed me and copped a feel of my boobs. I shooed him away good-naturedly and he left to finish up his interview while I got ready. Assessing my purchases, I decided on the miniskirt, thigh-high tights, Valentino booties, and a plain black T-shirt. Using a YouTube tutorial, I fluffed and teased out my hair a bit and did my makeup with a neutral eye, black liner, and red lips. After spritzing on my new perfume, I was waiting on the blue couch when Ty got back.
“Wow, babe. You’re so beautiful!” He knelt down and took my booted foot in hand. “These are fucking rad!”
“Thank you for my Pretty Woman moment.” I handed him his Amex back.
“Well, you outdid yourself.” Ty kissed me and gestured to the door. “Mmm. You smell fantastic too, I want to eat you up but we gotta go.”
Security ushered us through the staff elevator into two Escalades. Jace, Ty, and I rode off to the venue in one with Sergey. Connor and Zane rode together with their own bodyguards. None of us spoke on the way, everyone was lost in their screens for the twenty-minute ride over. I was now at over two million followers.
The cars pulled into the loading area where golf carts were waiting for us. Sergey accompanied Ty and me to Ty’s dressing room where a very chatty production assistant handed me an all-access pass. Once inside, Ty perused the catering setup and made himself a cup of tea, glancing over to me to see if I wanted one. I shook my head and sat on the green pleather couch.
“I missed you today, did you have fun?” T
y sat next to me, tracing my thigh under my miniskirt with his index finger. He seemed a bit distant and distracted, but I’d never been with him before a show of this magnitude.
“It was fun.” I watched his finger move higher. “I’m not used to spending that kind of money on clothes.”
“I love spoiling you.” Ty leaned back on the couch and slipped his arm around me.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” Ty traced my lips with his finger. I leaned into him, touching my mouth to his for a delicious kiss.
“I’m a little nervous, Ty.” I reached up and took his index finger in mine. “I’ve never been backstage at a show like this.”
“Sergey will be with you the whole time.” He squeezed my finger. “How are you holding up? The press seems to be okay so far.”
I took his hand in both of mine and massaged it. Studying his blunt-tipped nails and the calluses on the tips of his playing fingers, it occurred to me that nothing about my man was ugly. Even his hands and fingers were beautiful. My mind wandered into thinking about how later those hands would be all over my body.
Ty’s baritone snapped me out of it. “Zoey?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking that maybe we didn’t need to be so worried about everything.”
A shadow passed over Ty’s face as he seemed to consider what I said. “Let’s hope not.”
Confidently, I pressed my lips to his, and he returned my kiss, opening his mouth and our tongues danced a bit. Pulling away, he kissed my face, my temples, my eyes, and my lips and got up, went over to the mirror, ran his hand through his hair, and walked over to the door.
“I’d rather be kissing you, but I should go do soundcheck without a boner.”
“Ha Ha. Can I watch you guys?” Feeling emboldened, I deliberately flashed my thigh-highs when I stood.
Ty’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “You are an evil, evil vixen.”
“Just giving you something to think about.”
“Mean. Really mean. Of course, you can watch, your pass lets you go anywhere you want, babe.” He pointed to my All-Access laminate.
Arm in arm we walked out to the stage, where the rest of LTZ was already in the middle of soundcheck. Drums. Guitar. Bass. Vocals. Ty strutted out to the front and grabbed his mic.
“Check. Check. Check.” Ty’s deep voice boomed to the empty room.
Jace’s cymbals chimed and he tapped out the opening beat to Down, looking over at me and nodding slightly. I braced myself, trial by fire, I guessed. Ty looked over at me and I gave him a thumbs-up sign so he knew I was okay with them doing the song.
It was a revelation.
Ty’s voice weaved and ached and articulated as he got into it. When the first chorus approached, Ty clutched the mic with both hands, his head thrown back, hair flying out behind him, the lights of the stage illuminating him like the rock god he was. His mouth opened wide and he belted out the chorus with as much passion as I’d ever seen, punctuating each lyric angrily. Belting the chorus in perfect pitch. My body broke out in goosebumps. I’d never seen him on a big stage, and now that I had it was clear why LTZ was the most popular band in the world.
Not only was he an exquisite specimen of the male species, but also his power, passion, and authenticity were unmatched.
The band immediately launched into the next song. My eyes were fixed only on my man, I was mesmerized by Ty as he got lost in his stage persona. After the third song, Zane took off his guitar and set it down. Jace and Connor also stopped playing. Ty didn’t move. He stood at the front of the stage, looking out into the nonexistent crowd, panting from the exertion.
“Are we good?” Buck, their soundman called from the mixing board.
Zane held up both thumbs. Ty remained fixed at the front of the stage. Crossing over to him, Zane socked him in the arm, causing Ty to snap out of his trance. Laughing, Zane clapped him on the shoulder and basically shoved him in my direction. Jace whispered something as he passed by. Ty gave him a pointed look before crossing the stage, taking my hand, and leading me toward the dressing room.
Suddenly, Ty stopped in his tracks and looked at me pensively. “Z, I’m sorry we did Down, I went into autopilot when Jace started the song.”
“Don’t be, it was fine.” I shrugged.
“But—”
“Ty, that song isn’t about me anymore, is it?” I looked up at him and smiled.
Relief spread over Ty’s features, and his face lit up. “No, it’s not. I didn’t want to upset you, but man that song is cathartic.”
“It really didn’t bother me,” I assured him. “I just loved watching you perform.”
“So, are you ready for the red carpet and the premiere?” We resumed our walk to the dressing room. “I need to get back to the hotel to change.”
In the backseat of the car, I was nestled under his arm while Ty traced the elastic on my stockings with his finger. The minute we were inside our room, Ty pinned me against the wall and enveloped my body, devouring my lips. I shuddered when he reached under my miniskirt to caress my ass.
“I’m telling you, these thigh-high stockings. I can’t fucking resist you,” Ty growled. Nibbling my earlobe, he moved my panties to the side and slipped two fingers inside me.
“Holy shit!” I sucked in a breath and gripped the back of his head.
“I love everything about you, butterfly. Everything. Nothing else matters but you.” Ty urgently kissed along my neck, latching on to the space behind my ear that drove me mad. “All I have thought about for the past hour is how much I want to taste you.”
“Oh, yes. Babe, please,” I breathed, writhing against his pumping fingers. I wanted him. Now. Just us connecting before we faced the public.
Ty crouched in front of me, leveraging the wall to keep me upright while his unoccupied hand hitched my left knee over his shoulder. I held my skirt up around my waist so I could see what he was doing and moaned when he pulled my panties to the side and took a long lick down my wet slit.
Alternating between suckling my clit and lapping at my pussy, his lips made me crazy as his fingers stroked inside me, curling against my inner walls. There was nothing in the world more arousing than looking into Ty’s eyes when he went down, or in this case up, on me. It didn’t take long for my entire body to shudder and explode against his mouth. Satisfied, Ty removed his fingers and adjusted my panties while I breathed through my recovery.
He stood and fixed my skirt then kissed me. “That should take the edge off. Now I need to get showered or I’m going to be late.”
Following him into the bathroom, I watched Ty strip and step into the shower, sporting an impressive woody. I wanted to return the favor and started to pull off my shirt to join him.
“Don’t even think about it, babe. We don’t have time.” Ty cupped his cock and shooed me away. “Besides, we’ll have all night after the show.”
“Fine,” I sassed, flicking water at him from the sink where I was freshening up.
While Ty finished showering and getting dressed, I texted Alex to give her an update on the last couple of days. She had been reading the posts and confirmed they were skewed to the positive. I sighed with relief. Then I began to actually get excited. The night was going to be such a cool experience! My first movie premiere. My first time seeing LTZ play live. My debut as Ty’s significant other.
Life couldn’t be any better. I had been worried for nothing.
Ty emerged from the bathroom, looking scrumptious in black jeans, a white T-shirt, and black lace-up boots. His damp hair flowed around his clean-shaven, chiseled jaw. Sergey was waiting for us in the hallway. He escorted us to the theater where Ty was meeting the guys for the red carpet. When we pulled around the back to the designated meeting place, the rest of the band was in a huddle with Katherine. She beamed when we walked toward the group arm in arm, and she handed me another VIP All-Access laminate pass, this one for the Phantom Uprising screening.
“Zoey, are you going to walk the red carpet
with Ty or come inside with me and meet him after?” Katherine took my elbow.
“Ty, what do you want me to do?”
Ty encircled me tightly in his arms. “Do you want to come with me? Or would you rather your red-carpet debut be at the Christmas show when you have a fancy dress on?”
“Award show, all the way. This is already a lot to get used to.” I smooched him and wished him good luck. Then he was on his way with the rest of LTZ.
Sergey, Katherine, and I made our way inside and were shown to the cordoned-off VIP area. Once seated, I promptly felt a little awkward because I hadn’t met Katherine until minutes before and now, we were stuck having to make conversation.
“Zoey, I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you from all the guys and Carter, I’m happy that you and Ty have found your way back to each other again.” Katherine’s slight, bony hand lightly caressed my shoulder, she had a soothing, motherly way about her.
“Thank you, Katherine. I’m hoping the LTZ fans feel the same way.” I didn’t quite feel comfortable in the setting but did my best to fake it. “So far so good.”
“There seems to be a genuine interest in both of you, Ty was interviewed about it all day today. It seems like everything is good.”
Katherine’s phone kept buzzing, so our small talk was cut short. While waiting, I took a picture of the stage and texted it to Alex and read some more of the Instagram posts. A few pretty heinous comments had been posted, which made me feel icky, so I put the phone away. I distracted myself by reading one of my non-profit class books on my Kindle app. Soon, the hum of the crowd got louder and louder when everyone poured into the theater for the screening.
Turning around at the sound of Ty’s voice, I couldn’t help but ogle him. He graciously worked the crowd, smiling, shaking hands, giving hugs to the movie producers and, holy hell, Idris Elba, Chris Pine, and Gal Gadot. Overwhelmed, I quickly turned back around so I didn’t gawk like an idiot. Feeling his nimble fingers stroke the nape of my neck a couple of minutes later, I looked up into Ty’s gorgeous, smiling face. He held his hand out and drew me to my feet, tucking me into his side. Proudly, he introduced me as his girlfriend to all the stars and a bunch of the movie executives, with his arm draped protectively around my shoulders.
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