“Good girl,” he said before he kissed me again. We headed out onto the stage. Just like Gay asked, he played to the crowd, working all the girls into a frenzy as he crooned every sexy lyric to them rather than to me.
Jacinda and I danced for all the boys, who hooted and hollered their appreciation. They didn’t care that they couldn’t hear us sing. It was all about the way we shook our asses. I felt my hatred for their kind starting to burn.
Hopefully once this deal came through with Jasper Carrington we could have a little more freedom to cultivate a legitimate musical act.
When it was over, security ushered the band, sans Tony Paul, to a private limo. I grabbed my tote bag and chased after them, just like Tony had requested. But it was an awkward ride to the estate. None of them felt especially compelled to include me in their conversation, even Jacinda.
Truthfully, none of them really engaged in conversation at all. Without Tony Paul as the glue that bonded them together, they seemed unable to connect to each other.
It made the ride seem even longer than it was.
Once we got to the house, I made my way immediately to Tony Paul’s room. There was another bottle of champagne, two flutes and a plate of fruits and chocolates. I lifted the folded note. “Pass the time wisely,” it read. I smiled when I read his name underneath.
I had finally enjoyed champagne the night before, when Tony Paul insisted we toast our new romance properly. He quickly erased all memories of Doyle Quinlan by pouring drops of the sweet bubbly liquid onto my skin and then licking it away, teaching me to do likewise. We got a little tipsy, allowing us to explore each other even more freely.
So I didn’t fear popping the top and pouring a glass as I waited for my man. I decided to pour myself a luxurious bath, where I sipped on champagne and nibbled fresh fruit, staring out at the inky black sky and thinking of all the things that Tony Paul would do to me next. I felt sexy and womanly as I toweled myself off and crawled into bed completely naked. “Our bed,” he had called it. I reached across the empty bed to his space, willing him to return to me sooner rather than later.
I drank because it was the only real thing to do. I couldn’t concentrate on anything on his TV. Music only made me long for him more. So I sat dutifully in “our” bed and sipped champagne as the night dragged on till well after midnight. Soon my eyelids were too heavy to hold open. I nodded off sometime around two.
I didn’t wake up again until daybreak. I had a massive headache from all the champagne, so I squinted at the bright light coming in the window. I glanced over at the space next to me in bed. Tony Paul was sprawled, half naked and face down. I inched over to him to wake him softly with several kisses. His eyes barely opened. “Hey, baby,” he murmured.
His breath reeked of alcohol.
“Have you been drinking?”
He rolled over onto his back. “You know how it is. Fans buy the band drinks all the time.” He glanced down at my breasts, bared by the sheet flung around my waist. “I’d have to be drunk to have missed this,” he said as he pulled me down for a kiss.
He tasted of booze. This was more than just a couple of drinks. He was still half-drunk as he grabbed my breast, twisting my nipple like a radio knob. I gasped in pain. “Like that, huh?” he murmured.
He hadn’t even fully opened his eyes.
He was asleep by the time I scooted over to my side of the bed.
I, on the other hand, couldn’t go back to sleep. I tossed and turned until nearly eight o’clock. Finally I gave up and went for a shower. Just as the steam filled the large stall, the door opened and Tony Paul stepped in. He was naked and beautiful and, fortunately, sobered up. He took me into his arms immediately. “Good morning,” he said softly before he kissed me. He must have felt me pull back against his arms because he clutched me tighter and his kiss grew more demanding. Finally I relented and wilted against him.
“That’s my girl,” he grinned. His hands slipped easily over my wet body. “Mad at me?”
“I’m not happy,” I said.
“I’m sorry about last night. But you know that was business. It’s just what we have to do. Look at that guy Vanni. He was at the club for nearly four hours signing autographs and taking pictures.”
“Yeah, but he left with his girlfriend,” I pointed out.
“Who?”
“You know, that girl that was with him. Andy.”
He furrowed his brow. “I don’t remember any girl.”
“She was working as his assistant.”
It finally clicked. “Ah. The fat chick.”
I glared at him. “Tony.”
“What?” he asked with a shrug. “You know it’s true. Rock stars don’t date fat girls.” He ran his hands over my body. “We date girls who look like you.” He planted a kiss on my forehead.
“You make that sound like it’s a compliment,” I jeered.
He laughed. “Come on, Lacy. Be honest. I’m not trying to be mean. Fat runs in my family. When I was in seventh grade I weighed two hundred pounds.” He took my hand and put it on his rock-hard abs. “Tell me you’d want me if I looked like my dad.”
“I would,” I insisted.
He clearly didn’t believe me. Instead he pulled me closer. “But even if you’re right, even if he’s dating that girl, he had to play nice to all the fans that came out to see him. He has to maintain the illusion.”
I sighed. “Fine. Tell me you impressed Jasper at least.”
He shrugged. “Can’t say. He left before I did. I met him, shook his hand and then he was out the door. By then we had about three hundred people who wanted to stay for the meet and greet, so that took a while to get through.” He fit our slippery bodies together. “But I’m all yours for the next two days. I promise.”
He grabbed a mesh sponge and dabbed some fragrant shower gel on it before he turned me around to fit himself along my back while the shower spray hit my torso. He began soaping me in slow, tantalizing circles as he tugged on my earlobe between his teeth. “Ready to wake up properly, you dirty girl?”
I nodded before I rested the back of my head on his shoulder. He slipped his hand between my legs, his fingers parting my lips and targeting the hard little nub that had been begging for his touch all night. I trembled as I leaned against him for support, opening my legs so that he could work his magic. He latched onto my neck with his teeth as he rubbed me off, fast and deliberate. I clutched his arms as I struggled to stand. I didn’t even bother to hide my cries of joy. I knew no one in that monstrosity of a house could hear us in that secluded shower stall. It only excited him more. His rigid cock poked against my backside. “Come for me,” he demanded softly in my ear. “Come for me and I’ll fuck you right here in this shower.”
I nodded and held on tight as he took me right over the edge. I panted for breath as he turned me around into his arms for a kiss. He planted the scrubber in my hand and turned around so that I could return the favor. I started at his shoulders and worked my way down, taking my time to wash every inch of his strong, sinewy back. As I got closer to his ass, I noticed there were several scratches there. “What’s this?” I asked.
“What’s what?”
“You have scratches all over your ass. Like, from fingernails.”
He laughed. “Yeah, and?”
I stepped back. “Yeah, and who did it?”
He turned to face me. “You did. Our first night. Don’t you remember?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t scratch you last night. I would have remembered.”
His eyebrow arched. “Even with the champagne?” he asked.
My eyes narrowed as I stared at him. “Where were you last night?”
He hit the faucet dial with his hand and cut off the shower. “I told you where I was,” he gritted. “Now that you’ve fucked me, you don’t trust me?”
“To be fair, I didn’t trust you before,” I quipped before I turned to leave. He pulled me back.
“Where’s this coming from, Lacy?”
“You tell me that we’re going to be together last night, you tell me to be naked and waiting, and then you crawl into bed sometime before daybreak reeking of booze with scratch marks all over your ass. What the hell am I supposed to think?”
“You’re supposed to think that I came home to be with you. That’s the important part, isn’t it?”
“Is it?” I challenged.
He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around to face the wall, pressing me up against the tiles. “I’ll show you what’s important,” he growled as he kicked my heels apart. He grabbed me by the hips and slid into me with one decisive stroke.
All protest died on my lips. I had hungered for him all night long and finally he was inside me, big and hard and powerful. I propped on my forearms as he slammed into me. He slapped my ass as he rode me hard and furious. I almost slipped out from under him, so he grabbed my hair and pinned me against the stall.
“This is what’s important,” he muttered into my ear. “Me fucking you, whenever, however and wherever I can.”
“Tony,” I murmured.
“Tell me you’re mine,” he commanded. “Say it!”
I shuddered hard as he reached around to finger my clit while he fucked me from behind. “I’m yours,” I finally eked out, right before I came so intensely I nearly swooned in his arms.
He withdrew, still raging hard. He swooped me into his arms as he kicked the stall open, carrying me carefully over the plush rugs that led back to his bed. I landed on my back and he planted himself between my legs, impaling me again and making me cry out as he filled me.
“Scream for me,” he commanded. “Fucking scream.” He rode me hard until I complied. “Grab my ass. Dig your nails in, girl. Stake your claim.” Again, I had no other choice but to comply. I was delirious by the time he finally toppled over the edge, taking me with him.
I could barely move when he collapsed beside me. He peered at me out of the corner of his eye. “Any questions?”
I shook my head. Within minutes he was snoring. I cuddled up beside him and attempted to catch up on some of the sleep I had missed all night.
I woke to Tony’s hands and lips on my body as he roused me a little more gently this time around. He sank between my legs and didn’t come up for air for almost ten minutes, by which time I was incapable of movement or speech. As soon as I was able, I returned the favor. He guided me with gentle instruction as I learned how to please him with only my mouth, my hands and my tongue. He cried out as he came in my mouth. He pulled me up into the crook of his arm.
“My god, lady. You are a marvel.”
I shrugged. “I just love you,” I said softly.
He gathered me into a strong hug. “Oh, Lacy. My Lacy.”
I listened to his heartbeat under my ear, like a primal lullaby. My eyes grew heavier and heavier until finally he had to sit me up or I would have gone back to sleep. “We have to eat something,” he said with a grin. “To keep our strength up.”
I shook my head. “No food. Just sleep.”
“You’re just afraid to leave this room,” he decided.
“Why leave?” I murmured as I brushed my fingertips over his body. “I’ve got all I need here.”
“You make a valid argument.” He reached across me to the phone and dialed one number. “Yeah, we’re taking lunch in the bedroom today. No, that sounds fine. Bring a pitcher of tea as well. Thanks, Eugenia.”
“Room service?” I asked as he nestled back in bed beside me.
“The best in Austin,” he grinned.
I huddled under the sheets when the food arrived twenty minutes later. Tony Paul was in his bathrobe as he answered, taking the tray from one of the servants. “Thanks, Eugenia,” he said to the lithe woman with the foreign accent.
“Your mother said to bring you the paper,” Eugenia said as she motioned to the folded entertainment section on the tray.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile. He closed the door, taking the tray to the sitting area facing the river. I slipped out of bed to join him. He ditched the robe and pulled me into his lap so that we could feed each other.
“Ever thought you’d live like this?” he said softly.
I chuckled. “I’m not exactly living like this. More like playing hooky.” I thought about Mama and the trailer, which soured my mood.
“You could live like this,” he said as he ran his hands along my bare legs. “With me.”
“I thought you weren’t a one-woman man.”
His eyes met mine. “Who told you that?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to betray Jacinda’s confidence. “Does it matter?”
He stared into my eyes for a moment before he looked away. “No, I guess it doesn’t. In a few years, we’ll all live like this. More money than we can spend and devoted fans all over the world.”
“I don’t care about that,” I said as I nibbled a sandwich.
“Then why sing at all?” he wanted to know.
“Because I love it,” I said, as if he should have known. “Don’t you?”
It was his turn to shrug. “It’s the only thing I’m good at,” he confessed softly. “Ever since the seventh grade, when I went through my growth spurt. I grew a foot, my voice deepened and suddenly people wanted to hear what I had to say. It made me feel important.”
I brushed his hair from his face. “I get that.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “There’s just something about being loved like that. Worshipped, almost. It makes me feel untouchable. Like nothing bad can ever happen to me.”
“The force field of fame,” I murmured. He nodded.
“Exactly.”
I placed the plate on the end table and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Well, I’m here now,” I said.
He said all he needed to say with a kiss.
We made out like a couple of teenagers, kissing and murmuring things to each other as we delighted in this new discovery phase of our relationship. We barely moved from the sofa by the time the sun started to set outside. “I suppose they’ll start worrying about us soon.”
He shook his head. “They never bother me when I need some private time,” he assured. It momentarily made me wonder how many times he had brought girls here. I knew better than to ask. “Tomorrow we’ll join the land of the living. I can show you the rest of the house, the property, the river. But today is our day. Just you and me.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said as I reached up for another kiss. No other words were needed as we moved our party back to the bed.
A half an hour later, he was sweaty and panting hard as he lay beneath me on the bed. “You’re going to turn me into some dried out husk,” he said with a smile.
“Just making up for lost time,” I said as languished in how he felt enclosed inside me. Why hadn’t anyone told me what I had been missing?
By seven, he called for our dinner to be brought up. Only this time when the server knocked, she didn’t give anyone time to answer. Gay barged in, carrying a tray, while we scrambled to cover ourselves.
She placed the tray at the foot of the bed. “Well, at least I know now why you didn’t bother to answer my calls.”
He glanced at his phone on the nightstand. “The sound is turned off.”
“I gathered,” she said as she glanced down at me. I knew I was as red as a tomato. She turned back to Tony. “When you can pull yourself away, I need to talk to you about business. It’s important.”
He nodded. He knew better than to cross his mother. She gave me another look of derision before she spun on her heel and left the room. “I guess I should follow,” he said with a sheepish smile.
“Probably,” I agreed.
He scooted out of bed and slipped into his discarded pair of jeans. He reached into his chest of drawers for a T-shirt before he turned to leave. “Go ahead and eat,” he said. “You don’t want it to get cold.”
I nodded, but my appetite had evaporated. I decided I should throw on some clothes as
well, given that anyone could come into the room at any given time.
I grabbed my tote bag, which was next to the sofa. I spotted the newspaper that had been sitting on our lunch tray on the coffee table. Out of curiosity I reached for it, turning it over until I found the section that had been circled. It showed a photo of Tony Paul in the midst of six women, two of which flanking him on either side, their hands on his chest and abdomen as they kissed either cheek.
I read the caption. “Local rock star spends hours meeting his adoring fans.” I skimmed the article, which validated Tony’s story, from the fans buying him drinks to the late hour he finally departed Southern Nights. I sighed as I placed the paper back on the table. It appeared I freaked out over nothing.
I came up with lascivious ways to apologize.
By the time Tony returned to the room, he was quiet and reflective. “Everything okay?”
He nodded. “He wants me. Jasper Carrington wants to sign me.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “That’s so great! When?”
“He’s coming back this way at the end of the month, on his way to South America. He’ll have all the paperwork ready for me by then, all we’ll have to do is have our lawyers look over the contract and then…,” he trailed off, incredulous. “I just have to keep doing what I did last night. Focus on the fans. Give everyone a show.”
I kissed him. “I’m so proud of you.”
He caressed my face. “This is shaping up to be the best day ever.” He glanced over my outfit. “Except who told you to put clothes on?”
I giggled as he tackled me on the bed.
Chapter Ten
With Tony Paul’s good news came new complications. Despite what he had promised, Tony Paul was not able to show me around his home the following day. Jasper had scheduled a photo shoot to get press materials ready for his brand new act. Tony ended up dropping me off at Southern Nights by eight o’clock the following morning. I gunned the engine for home, where I slept almost the entire day.
My hibernation had the added benefit of not hearing my mom drone on and on about the evils of falling in love with a musician. I blamed her almost entirely for the misunderstanding Tony and I had the previous day. She had planted all these doubts and suspicions where there shouldn’t have been any. No matter how dire her warnings had been, Jacinda was wrong. Tony Paul had become a one-woman man the minute he stopped chasing after his groupies.
Southern Rocker Chick Page 14