by Cat Mason
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Hunter shouts, downing his shot and throwing the empty glass to the table. Yanking the glass from her hand, he repeats the process. “Fuck me. Holy shit. Just fucking fuck me.” Shaking his head, he heads out on stage just as Rose and her band, Fried Society, finish their set and disappear through the curtains on the other side.
Hunter paces in front of the microphone stand, yanking his hands through his hair as if trying to pull the strands from his head. Chase sits on one of the stools, sobbing into her hands while Camaron tries to console her, only to end up crying right along with her.
“Hello you fabulous motherfuckers of Philly!” Hunter screams into the mic, yanking it from the stand. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “I’ve had a fuckin’ night. Let me tell you, some crazy fucked up shit.”
Aiden presses a kiss to Cam’s cheek, his fingers lingering over her jaw. She smiles sadly, but neither of them say anything before he turns and runs out to climb behind his kit. I down my shot, honestly wanting another, but toss the glass to the table instead. Grayson and I grab our guitars from their stands, and follow suit, but Chase stays put. Instead of taking my usual spot closer to Hunter, I keep my distance. It is for his safety. After his horrible outburst, and the way he just stormed off, I want to rip his head off and shove it up his ass.
“Have you ever had a moment where the rug was yanked out from under you?” Hunter asks, stepping closer to the edge of the stage. “You know what I mean, Philly? One of those times when your heart stops and you can’t breathe.” The crowd screams, women in the front rows, all throwing up their hands, hoping he will pay attention to them. “Well, the woman who owns me, heart, cock, and soul, has blown me away. When I think she can’t surprise me, or make me fuckin’ love her any more than I already do, she goes and does something like tell me she’s havin’ my baby.”
The crowd explodes into screams and cheers of celebration. Hunter smiles, his entire face beaming with happiness and excitement. Looking over toward stage left, he arches his brow. “What the fuck are you sittin’ there cryin’ about? Get your ass out here, woman, and kiss your baby daddy!”
Pushing off the stool, Chase makes her way out. Aiden slams on the pedal of his bass drum, keeping in time with every step she makes across the stage. I come in on bass guitar, strumming in time with him while Gray makes his Fender speak a language all its own. Tucking the mic in the back pocket of his jeans, Hunter charges for Chase, unable to wait. Swooping her up into a hug, he takes her mouth with his in a scorching celebratory kiss.
My eyes drift offstage, landing on Camaron as she says something to the guys. Mike nods before following her down the ramp.
With one secret now out of the bag, next thing is to figure out what’s eating Cam.
Chapter Twenty-One
Home
Mack
The show went off without a hitch. The band is riding high on the excitement of Chase’s news only made the night that much more special for everyone.
Everyone except Camaron.
After making some excuse about some phone calls she needed to return, she squared her shoulders and left with Mike to head back down to the staging room where it was quieter. It is safe to say Cam has been losing her shit all week, if you ask me.
Since she was clearly in no frame of mind to take it on herself, I took the privilege of firing Aaron once Jared informed me he has all the right licenses and permits to drive the Big Bitch. Along with a tank, big rig, firetruck, and anything else on wheels. Even some things without, which really made me curious.
When I checked in with Henry, and brought him up to speed, he agreed it was the best course of action, given the situation. I will also be the first to admit it was a top highlight of my week to physically be the one to send Aaron’s ass packing. Only falling short to Ireland kissing my cheek in front of everyone after I beat that bragging bastard into a heaping pile of sobbing bitch boy.
Oh and when Ireland smashed his face like a rotten tomato.
That, I’ll be reliving for months.
Once I get everyone back to the hotel, and settled in their suites for the night, I head back to the room I share with Ireland. I can’t get the visions of her out of my head. Her shock at the things Aaron had said about her, the sweet look she gave me when she kissed me, but none of it compares to the way she looked on stage.
Fucking perfect.
When Ireland joined the band, I had already been assigned to stay back in Nashville with Rae, Daisy, and the kids. Even when we have all made the trip to a show, I stayed back with the ankle biters so that Daisy and Rae could enjoy the concert. Of course, I watched on the monitors with Jazz when I could, but it doesn’t compare to being up close and personal while she does her thing.
The lights shone down on her, the energy rolling off her in waves. I fed from it like a starving man. It sucked me in and I was unable to look away for even a moment. All of it made things very clear to me, as if I needed the epiphany.
Things between us are going to change tonight. No matter what I have to do.
Opening the door, I slip inside and hear the shower running. Sitting on the edge of the bed closest to the door, I kick out of my shoes and thumb through the checklist on my phone. I groan, forcing myself to stay focused on the task at hand, instead of doing what I really want to do. It takes every ounce of resolve not to give in to the desperate urge I have to barrel into that bathroom to touch her.
On the bus, it is very easy for her to ignore me. The tight confines make privacy nearly impossible, and there seems to always be something that needs to be handled that can’t wait.
Except tonight.
Everyone is tucked away in their respective rooms, with their other halves, with Jared and Mike told to keep shit confined and quiet for the night. Ireland has nowhere to go, but right here with me. We are going to talk this shit out if it kills me.
Famous last words…
The water turns off, steam pouring out of the two-inch crack in the partially opened door. My eyes lock on it as a shock of pale pink skin flashes in the opening. My cock hardens immediately, wishing that damn door would open and give me a look at the perfection that is her body.
The sink kicks on and off, the hair dryer runs for a good ten minutes, then the sink again. Glimpses of a hip or her hands make it impossible to take my eyes off the door. My patience is shot to shit and I am ready to fall to my knees and beg.
When it finally does open all the way, and she steps out in a white hooded sweatshirt and tight black boy shorts, I am damn near salivating.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” she says, walking over and tossing some things into her bag before zipping it shut and shoving it to the floor. Climbing onto the bed she crosses her legs and grabs the remote from the nightstand.
“You hungry?” I ask, leaning over and pulling the room service menu from the nightstand drawer. “We can order up.”
“Or,” she shrugs, not taking her eyes from the television. “We could go down and eat.”
Blowing out a breath, I toss the menu down on the bed beside me. “You don’t get to avoid being alone with me forever, you know?” I ask, standing to my feet and yanking the remote from her hand. “Eventually, we have to have this conversation.”
“What?” she asks, shifting uncomfortably. “What could there possibly be left to say?”
“That I can’t fix what I’ve done,” I say, dropping to my knees beside the bed and taking her hands in mine. “But, I love you. We’ve lost so much time already because of my mistakes. I don’t care if you spend the rest of your life punishing me for every time that I’ve hurt you; but, I swear to fuck, I’d die before I ever make you cry another unhappy tear.”
She gapes at me, her jaw nearly bouncing off her lap. I squeeze her hands, my thumbs brushing over her pulse points. Her eyes drop to our joined hands, but I continue to speak, knowing that I am getting through to her. “I know you love me. That you want me as much as I wa
nt you. Please, all I’m asking for is a chance.”
“I can’t,” she breathes, emotion filling her voice.
~Ireland~
“Don’t say that,” he pleads, his hands clinging to mine so tightly it’s as if he is afraid I will disappear if he loses contact for even a second. He has every right to believe that, because if he let go, I guarantee I would run like hell. His thumbs brush over my wrists causing a shudder to run through my body. I wince, trying to pull away, but he doesn’t let me. Leaning back a little, he meets my eyes, searching them. “I can’t give up when I know we have something here that is worth fighting for. What are you so afraid of?”
“You!” I scream, shoving free and leaping from the bed, my knees nearly buckling the moment my feet hit the floor. The single word admission is almost too much to bear, but it doesn’t stop there. With my next breath, everything comes flying out of my mouth without warning. “Me … you … us! Letting you in… Shutting you out for good. Everything about you terrifies me. You are the only person who can really hurt me; but, without you, I know I’ll never be whole. You hold parts of me that I can never get back, but pieces that, without you, I’ll never need. So for me to hear the words come out of your mouth now, that I would’ve given anything to hear eight years ago, it fucking rips my heart out.”
“Baby,” he whispers so softly as he rounds the bed towards me, that I almost miss it. The second he is within reach, one of his hands slides to the small of my back, pulling my body flush with the hard planes of his. Heat radiates, his warmth surrounding me like a soothing balm. My eyes flutter closed when the back of his other hand comes up and brushes over my jaw. “I loved you even before I knew what love was.”
“It sure didn’t feel like it,” I say, pushing back the tears as I open my eyes. “Forgive me if I don’t jump to believe you. Every time I put my faith in someone, they let me down. I can’t help waiting for that other shoe to drop.”
“Loving you was always easy, Ireland. If anything, I probably loved you too much.”
“How does loving me too much equal breaking my heart?” I ask, trying to shove him away. “That doesn’t make a bit of fucking sense to me. Just sounds like you’re a selfish bastard who didn’t know what to do with me once you got what you wanted.”
“Ireland, I’m not the kind of man girl’s dream of being with. I fuck everything up, always have. Thing is, Baby, the only regret I’ll ever have in my life is not staying in that basement with you eight years ago and letting you believe the lie that you fell in love with a good man,” he explains, pulling me hard against his chest. “You deserve so much better than settling for me. Even then, I knew you were destined for so much more than anything I’d ever be able to give you. Every damn time you looked at me, it was like you saw something or someone else. I never understood it. I sure as fuck couldn’t have lived with myself if your love ever turned into resentment because you finally figured out that what you actually saw wasn’t really there.”
“So, what’s changed now?” I ask, staring up into his eyes, a tear slipping down my cheek. “How am I supposed to believe you’ve suddenly had some epiphany and now you can’t live without me?”
“That’s the thing,” he replies, brushing away the tear with his thumb. “I’ve always felt so empty. When you walked back into my life, you began filling it. I can’t go back to how it was. Not now, not ever. You have the choice to walk away and find better, because we both know that you will. Or take me as I am.” Grabbing my hand, he presses my palm to his chest. “This heart, I didn’t know I had, is all yours. It always has been. All you have to do is accept this fucked up man, standing here, begging you to love him and be with him because you see something when you look into these eyes worth a damn.”
“In my eyes, Dominick,” I say, my fingers going into his newly shorter red hair and twisting the strands. “There’ll never be a better man for me, than you.”
“Jesus,” he mutters, his lips colliding with mine.
My heart swells in my chest. Tears clog my throat and burn behind my eyelids as my world finally begins to feel right for the first time in over eight years. Dominick’s hands go to my ass, urging my legs around his waist as he fumbles to the bed.
Lying me back on the white comforter, he breaks the kiss. Tearing his shirt over his head, he whips it to the floor before doing the same with my sweatshirt. His hands freeze on my sides, eyes glued to mine as his tongue runs over his bottom lip. Leaning down, he smiles before brushing his nose along mine. “I love you, Ireland,” he whispers, smiling against my skin.
Trailing his lips down my throat, his tongue traces my collarbone. Sighing, I grab onto his forearms as he makes his way down my chest. Greedily, I arch my back when he finally sucks one of my nipples into his mouth. He growls, the vibrations going straight to my clit.
The weight of his body presses into mine, and I welcome it. I want to feel all of him. “Please. Dominick,” I whimper, my hands going to his back in an attempt to bring him closer to me. “I need more.”
Leaning back, nearly his entire body leaves me. His fingers tug at the edge of my bottoms, pulling them free of my legs. Taking his index finger, he traces feather light circles up my inner thigh, stopping shy of where I want him.
My body trembles. I could scream in frustration, demand he get on with it, but I don’t. Every touch stokes the flames raging in me. Each second he holds back only makes me want him that much more. The pleasure in the anticipation is almost too much to bear. If this were anyone else, I would roll him over and take what I want without hesitation.
With Dominick, it’s different. My body, though desperate for the release I know he can give me, aches for this moment never to end.
Bringing my leg up to his shoulder, he turns his face and presses his lips to my ankle. My body shivers as he kisses a trail up the inside of my leg to my knee before doing the same with the other. “I’ll never get enough of you,” he whispers over my skin as he begins trailing kisses up my inner thigh. “Your taste on my lips, after you’ve kissed me, the smell of your perfume on my t-shirt. I’ll never wash that damn thing again.”
“Dominick.”
“The way you say my name.”
“Dominick,” I pant again when his hand cups me. His thumb rolls over my clit and I nearly come off the bed. Heat spreads throughout my body, my toes curl.
“I can’t wait to be inside you,” he continues, making me moan.
“Anytime you’re ready,” I say breathlessly.
“I need a condom,” he says, leaning back, his eyes going to the other bed where he tossed his bag when we checked in. “Make no mistake, I’m clean, baby. But, as much as I want to feel you without the barrier, I don’t want to take the chance of one of those positive piss-stick fucking things up later on, now that I finally have you back.”
Leaning up as best I can, I cup his face in my hands and pull him close. “I’ve been on the pill since I was fifteen years old, Dominick. I get tested regularly and never been without a rubber. Except with you. I don’t need anything between us.”
He nods in agreement, but says nothing. Pushing from the bed, he shoves his jeans and boxers down his legs, kicking free of them before climbing between my thighs. Flattening his hand on my abdomen, he slowly slides it upward until cupping the back of my neck. Fisting his cock with his other hand, he eases himself into me slowly. Inch by inch, I feel him enter me, my body opening for him.
“Put your legs over my shoulders, Baby,” he says, covering me with his body.
Closing my eyes tightly, I gasp. Every inch of him seated inside me has me stretched to capacity. I can’t focus on anything but the fullness.
His hand slides up my body, taking my hand. Pressing it to his heart, he leans in and kisses me softly. “I’m home,” he whispers into my mouth, rocking his hips in a slow, teasing rhythm.
I couldn’t agree more.
Our bodies move together like two puzzle pieces that finally have figured out how they fit. My c
ries, swallowed by his passionate kisses. My heart overflows when my orgasm overtakes me. Tears stream down my cheeks as I cling to him. Pulling back, he meets my eyes, the most satisfied smile I have ever seen spreads across his face as he thrusts inside me, again and again.
Wrapping me tightly in his arms, he pulls me from the bed, holding me flush to his body. Angling his hips, he thrusts up into me harder, faster, driving himself toward the edge. Pressure builds, my entire body pulsating against him. Biting down on my shoulder, he growls, stilling inside me as he comes.
Collapsing back to the mattress, Dominick pulls me into his chest. Brushing the hair from my face, I smile at him. “Okay,” I breathe. “You win. We’ll order up.”
A laugh rumbles up from his chest as he tightens his hold on me. “You’re so cute when you think you have a choice.”
***
“Dessert?” I ask when he takes my empty bowl.
“I’ve got that covered with a little help from Jasmine,” he says, running his thumb over my bottom lip to catch a drop of stray sauce from my pasta I ordered from room service. “Gotta promise me somethin’ first, though.”
“Oh?” I ask, watching his naked body as he piles the dirty dishes and trash on the cart.
“Yeah, if the kid asks,” he says moving around the side of the bed and grabbing a purple gift bag that looks like it came from a child’s birthday party. “This is what made all the difference.” Settling back on the bed beside me, he pulls a box from the bag.
Tossing the bag and tissue paper to the floor, he pulls me into his side and places the box in my lap. I look at him skeptically before my eyes drift down to the white box. “Cookies?” I ask, my eyes going back to him.