“Yes. Back pocket.”
She set our stuff on the seat beside her and looked me over. “What got into you, Lorne? Why did you jump into a crowd like that?”
“I don’t know. That prick touched you.” I touched my fingers to my temple and felt a thin trail warm, sticky blood. “It was more than worth it, taking one to the head to defend you.”
“Shit! Let me see that.” She switched on the rear overhead car light and turned my head to inspect the wound. “We need to get you to the hospital.”
I nearly laughed. Her concern was endearing, but it was ironic, coming from a woman who had spent the most of her adult years beating the shit out of other women, and getting beat up herself from time to time.
“Amanda, it’s fine. It was just one punch,” I said.
“Sometimes one punch is all it takes,” she said.
I instantly hated myself. Fuck! How could I be so insensitive?
“I’m sorry, Amanda. I didn’t mean it like that.”
She waved me off. I could tell it bothered her. “It’s fine. Really. I don’t take head wounds lightly anymore, you know?”
“Yeah.”
A silence stretched between us.
“Where’s the driver?” she said after a few minutes had passed. “We should go back to the hotel. It’s not safe out here.”
“What about the others?”
“We came over here in about eight vehicles. They can figure it out.”
She wound down her window and told the guard on her side we were leaving. Two of them insisted on staying with us. She agreed and they got into the front seat. The driver started the car and took off. I hoped everyone was okay. Kevin had been sitting at the bar to watch the show. He must have been right in the melee when it broke out.
We got to the hotel soon enough and went up to my suite. Amanda made a beeline to the fridge and came back with an ice pack. She ordered me to sit and applied it to my head. She told me to hold it there and keep the pressure steady, leaving toward the powder room closest to the door. She came back with a first aid kit. I studied her worried face. She nibbled on her lower lip as she cleaned the bruise and applied a small adhesive bandage. All I wanted to do was lean in and kiss her.
“Amanda,” I said softly, to get her attention.
Her eyes flicked down from my forehead to look me in the eye.
“It’s all right, I’m going to be fine.” I took her hands into mine and kissed them.
She leaned into me and laid her head on my shoulder. “Promise me you won’t do something like that again.”
“Something like what?”
“You know what I’m talking about. I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around. I can take care of myself…and that guy was harmless.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “He’s lucky I didn’t rip him to pieces. No man gets to touch you like that.” I lowered my voice. “Do you know why, Amanda?”
“Nope,” she said, tilting her head up to look at me. “Tell me.”
I kissed her lips tenderly. “You’re mine.”
Chapter 16 - Amanda
It was a good thing all Johnny did was kiss me after declaring I was his. I pulled off him the second the suite door swung open. Kevin, Fred, his team, and another five bodyguards walked in.
“How in hell did Johnny end up getting hit?” Kevin shouted across the room. He rushed over and looked at Johnny’s head.
“I’m fine.”
Kevin was seething. He turned to look at Fred. “How could all of you let this happen?”
“Calm down, Kevin.”
Johnny stood up. “I told you already. I’m fine. They didn’t let this happen. I went into the crowd. And no one intentionally punched me. I was hit when some dude braced to punch someone else. It was an accident. What I want to know is what even started all that?”
Johnny walked to the bar and grabbed two bottles of water. He looked up at told everyone to help themselves to whatever was in the fridge, and brought a bottle over to me. He looked a little worse for wear with the bandage. I glanced around at the others. Everyone else appeared to have gotten off unscathed.
Thank goodness.
Fred looked over at Johnny. “I’m not sure what sparked it, but a group of men that like don’t need much. It was a powder keg. From what I saw, it started at the back near the bar and spread out from there, like dominos.”
“It was a fight over a spilled beer,” Kevin said. “I was taking my phone from my pocket and I bumped into the guy near me. His drink spilled, and he got his drawers in a knot. I apologized to the dipshit. I didn’t realize he would lose control and start cussing. Then the guy on the other side of me told him to shut the fuck up. The first guy broke the bottle and started brandishing it at the two of us. Maybe they’re from two different gangs or something. Hell if I know.”
Johnny broke out laughing, and clapped him on the back. “Kevin? You started a fight in Lady’s old band member’s bar? I can’t believe this was all your doing, Pops.”
While they laughed it up, Fred came over to me. “That was good work in there, Amanda.”
“Thanks.”
Kevin checked his watch, and announced, “It’s late. Get some rest everyone.”
A few guards left with Kevin. Fred and his people crossed our suite to their guest rooms with the rest of the private security team assigned to Johnny.
Johnny stood in the kitchen, the side of his face red from where the ice pack had been. “Where were we?”
He did not wait for me to answer. He strode over to me and threw me over his shoulder before heading to the master bedroom.
* * *
In my eyes, Johnny was already amazing in bed. Tonight, he pulled out all the stops to drive me to climactic insanity. It started when he lowered me onto the bed and went over to his suitcase. He took out a small, flat wooden box and brought it to the night table. I had not seen it before. It looked like a vintage treasure chest or jewelry box, with tiny lion-shaped embellishments around the latches. He opened it. Inside was lined in red velvet, but I could not see exactly what was down in the box.
“Going kinky on me?” I teased.
He nodded. “Only if you’re up for it.”
“Am I going to need a safe word?”
He laughed. “No. It’s not that kind of party. I won’t hurt you.”
I was intrigued.
He held up a broad, black, satin ribbon from the box. “Ready?”
“Yes. I trust you.”
“Good. Get all of those clothes off that fine body of yours. I want you naked. Now.”
“Okay,” I said, letting out a shirt burst of laughter. “Are you sure I don’t have to call you master?”
“You don’t. This is going to take some time. And I’m already rock hard for you.”
“Got it.” I got up on my knees and turned my back to him. “Unzip me.”
He undid the zipper while I carefully removed the double-sided fashion tape on each side of the dress front.
“I want you to take it off me, Lorne,” I purred. “I love feeling your hands on my body.”
He groaned and slowly peeled the dress off my shoulders and down my hips, along with the lacy panties I wore.
“I have to remember to replace the ones I tore off you,” he whispered.
“Yup. You sure do,” I said with a wink.
“Where do you get them?” he said.
I sat and picked up my legs so he could get it off my feet. “Online. I’ll send you the link.”
“See? If my private mall idea took off, we could cross the hall and get you a few dozen right now.”
I laughed, but his eyes grew dark, lustful. He sat on the side of the bed and reached into the mini-chest. He stripped a handful of ribbon ties from it, placing the first one over my eyes. He tenderly wrapped next two soft, cool ribbons around my wrist. He laced another ribbon through the ones already on my wrist, and lifted my arms, tying them together, and then anchoring them to th
e center support of the headboard.
With the loss of sight, my breathing sped up in anticipation. Truth be told, I was willing to try just about anything with him. I trusted this man completely in the short time we had gotten to know each other. Johnny had shown me only kindness and tenderness. Tonight at the bar, I got to see that fiercely possessive side of him, and although I did not ever want him trying that stunt again, the protective gesture tugged at my heartstrings.
When he told me I was his a little while earlier…God, he reached into my chest and kick-started my heart. If he had said that other phrase women loved to hear, I would have been in a puddle on the floor. I did not need him to say it. I already felt it.
Johnny smiled as he adjusted the knots so they would not dig into my wrist. “Try to move it,” he said in a low, raspy tone.
I tried tugging my arms up. They could move slightly, but I was not going anywhere. “I can’t get free.”
“Good.” He did not tie my legs, but pulled them apart, and groaned right afterward. “All you have to do is relax and let me please you.”
My other senses were heightened with the blindfold on. The slightly warming sheets tickled my back, and the cool air of the room played on my chest. I spread my legs farther apart, exposing my already hot pussy to the light ripples of chilled breeze. I was getting wet, and could smell my arousal already.
I felt his body weight shift and move from the bed. He returned a minute or so later. I shifted around slightly on the bed. I could feel his eyes were on me.
“Don’t move, Amanda. I’m going to start soon. I just want to look at you for a minute.”
I took a breath and tried to relax, but was on edge. I felt him settle between my legs. He did not touch me with his hands. Something light and soft moved across my body. It felt like a feather tracing down one side. He moved it up to my face. It travelled down my neck, over my collarbone, to the peak of one nipple, across my ribcage, and by the time it swirled around over my lower belly, I was soaking wet and undone. I tilted up my pelvis, desperate for his touch.
“I want you so bad right now, Lorne.”
I pulled at my arms, forgetting they were bound.
“Just wait for me, baby.” His fingers traced along my folds now, and after, his hands pressed down on each leg, splaying me further. His tongue grazed along my inner thighs, moving up one and down the other without any contact on my mound. My legs trembled slightly at his touch. I was so aroused, I could wrap my legs around his hips like a vice and pull him deep inside me.
I gasped when his tongue passed over my clit. He lapped slowly, dipping his tongue between my folds. He was tasting me, teasing me, stretching out my longing, expanding my need until my aching body was wound up so tightly it could burst. My control was gone. I writhed on the bed under his touch, and in the next moment, he buried his head in tight and devoured me. I squealed. I convulsed as a wicked orgasm took hold, sending waves of raw pleasure all the way from the strands of my hair to my toenails.
My senses were overwhelmed, and as my ragged breathing caught up to me, he slid three fingers into my clenched, needy channel and moved up my body.
Kisses. Everywhere.
He pumped his fingers while his lips played on my stomach, up between the peaks of my breasts, to my neck and ear lobes. As his tongue landed on my nipple, his thumb began to press down and stroke against my swollen clit, all while his fingers invaded my pussy. I was engulfed in flames of heavenly sensations, confounded, overcome. I buzzed as my nerves switched between the three points of his steadfast attention, until they culminated in another intense peak. I whimpered as I came, sucking in cool breaths, still panting from my racing pulse.
On instinct, I yanked my arms, meaning to hold on to him. He kissed my check and shifted off me again. Placing a pillow under my hips, his hands rans down my legs to my ankle. He raised them high in the air, and in a moment, I felt his firm flesh at my entrance. I gasped for breath when he buried himself to the root, joining his body to mine, melding with my heated core. He rested my legs on his shoulders and began to thrust into my yielding center. Pulling out. Driving in. Giving. Taking. Becoming one with me.
“God, Lorne,” I cried out, almost drowning out his own sounds as he slammed into me for the final few times before we came together. Our shouts seemed to echo around the room in that surreal, primal pinnacle, and everything around us disappeared.
He lowered my legs and placed his forehead to my shoulder. After a while, he pulled out and stretching out beside me for a minute. One by one, he removed the ribbon ties, and finally the blindfold.
“How was that?” he asked in a breathless whisper.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed into him, sated and content. “Incredible.”
“And what else do you want to tell me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I want to hear you say, Amanda. Tell me.”
“I’m yours.”
He smiled and kissed me again. I could not be any happier.
Chapter 17 - Amanda
The morning after. I was in bliss. My body was warm, and whenever I caught sight of my reflection, my face and neck looked flushed, as if the sun shone out from my chest and lit the space around me. Johnny was not around this morning. He had left early with Kevin, Fred and a few guards to meet the crew at Bellagio. Afterward, they planned to meet a concert promoter friend who happened to be in town at the same time. I missed him, but it didn’t register that he was gone—the cellular memory of his touch lingered on my body all day.
I took advantage of the time alone. I had a long workout in the hotel gym, returned upstairs for a shower, and got dressed to check out the stores. While I was out, Johnny sent me a text to see how I was doing. He mentioned he was back at the hotel to grab some old lyrics from his laptop, but would not be there long enough to wait for me. I told him it was fine, and that I would see him tonight. For a split second, the fleeting question of what would happen after the tour surfaced again. That detail was in a state of limbo. I pushed it away. At this point, I was ready to do anything to be with him, and believed he felt the same.
Shopping was not a frequent pastime—I would only cave on trips to the designer outlet malls when my bestie Eva nagged and guilt-tripped me continually. Today, I did not mind it at all.
I felt like hearing Eva’s voice again, so I phoned her up.
“Hi Rachel,” she answered.
“Eva it’s me…oh…geez,” I rolled my eyes when it hit me she was teasing about my alias. “Haha, good one.”
“So how is Johnny doing?”
“Pretty good.”
“I still can’t believe you’re dating that rock god. Where is he? Can I say hi?”
I giggled. “He’s not with me right now.”
“Well call me back when he is. Anyway, how is Vegas?”
“How do you know that’s where I am?”
“Pffft. Seriously? Girl, you and Johnny superstar are all over the internet. That little bump and grind dance you two did at Whiskey River has had a few hundred thousand YouTube views overnight. Never mind the all-out clash fighting that broke out.”
“Oh.” I shrugged. I would be naïve to think something so sensational could stay under wraps. “Well it is what it is.”
“Be warned, though, Amanda. The more people who see that, the more likely you’ll be made. But at least then you can tell me what’s really going on, because it’s clear to me there’s more than dating going on.”
I ignored the comment. “So how are you?”
“Same ole stuff, hun. What are you doing? I’m hearing all sorts of noise in the background.”
“I’m shopping.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No. I must be channeling you, hun. I’m walking into all the stores and everything looks perfect for me.”
“You’re messing with me, right?”
“No, really. I almost bought us matching Stetsons.”
She erupt
ed in a roar of laughter. “And where the hell are we going to wear that in Miami, missy?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s all the plaid and spurs I’ve been seeing around here that has me feeling for a little country fashion flair.”
“Okay,” she said, laughing. “I’d try anything once with you.”
“Good. Then I’m going back for them.”
The phone chirped a reminder that the battery was critically low. Somewhere between Johnny telling me I was his and rocking my world, I had forgotten to connect it to the charger last night. I smiled. It was totally worth it. I told Eva I would call her back later, and dropped it back into by handbag.
After my brief foray into Las Vegas shopping was over, I returned to the hotel suite, armed with a few more bags than I had planned. Back inside, I ordered room service for lunch. I relaxed as I waited for the meal, stretched out on a lounge chair in the large enclosed sundeck attached to the living room. The food arrived soon enough, and after it was finished, I moved to the corner of a large sectional couch in the living room, and pulled my phone out of my pocket to catch up on emails. It was dead. I went to the bedroom and hooked it up at the night table. I tapped the power button on my phone, but nothing happened. I tried again and the screen flickered on and then shut down again.
I assumed the battery needed some extra charge before it would turn on. I left my tablet in LA, so I was temporarily disconnected. Bummer. I set the phone down on the night table and decided to check messages later. I was about to return to the living room when I noticed Johnny’s tablet laying on the office desk near the window. He had probably left it out when he had come back to the room for his old song lyrics. I figured he would not mind if I used it. I grabbed it and took it with me to the living room.
I sank back against the plush couch and turned it on. It powered up right away. The internet browser took me to Johnny’s official website. I scrolled around, checking comments. There was nothing new. While I was looking, a bubble popped up at the bottom of the screen. I tried to hit the tiny ‘x’ to close the bubble, but must have missed. It opened to Johnny’s email inbox.
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