[The Shifters Committee 05.0] Sensual Hero

by Rebecca Foxx

  “I’m sorry, Nicole,” he whispered to her sweetly.

  “I should never have done such a thing to you.”

  The look on Nicole’s face lit up; a cloud lifting off of her shoulders and being replaced with relief.

  “You didn’t rape me, Tanner,” she said as she held his arm.

  “As you could tell, I rather enjoyed it.”

  She winked at him and they made their way back through the crowd in the club and out to the parking lot. They climbed into his Chevelle and they were headed her home.

  It was a night that would set into motion a chain of events that shocked and surprised the whole of the community, but they really didn’t care. They were happy and that’s all that mattered.

  Chapter 9 – Transitions

  It’s been said that opposites attract but rare are the circumstances wherein the opposites stay together. That couldn’t be less true for Tanner and Nicole. They had fallen for each other and the bad-boy nature of Tanner kept Nicole on her toes and excited, and the calm nature and balanced personality of Nicole kept Tanner on track.

  He even began to reorganize his salvage business and she helped him put together a business plan that helped him flourish in that environment.

  Nicole’s family and what friends she had left were both surprised and happy for her. They were surprised because Tanner was just not the type of man they saw her with and one ex-boyfriend decided to make a play for her when they were at a motorcycle poker run.

  He failed and walked away from the event with two fewer teeth.

  Tanner did, however, seem to mellow over the weeks and the months that passed while they were dating. She provided a sense of calm and peace that was new to him and refreshing. Her desire to get in touch with her wild side was not lost on Tanner as he allowed her to do whatever she desired. At one point, he even allowed her to tie him up and have her way with him.

  His salvage yard needed a woman’s touch and sure enough, she provided it and made it more gender-neutral which increased his business by 30%. They also spent quite a bit of time out in the yard with their sleeping bag and blankets; Nicole riding Tanner on the hood of an old Lincoln, or bent over the trunk of a classic Mustang.

  The spice they provided each other quickly drew them together in a deeper and intimate manner than anyone thought possible; themselves included.

  After a year together, Tanner rented a tuxedo and proposed to Nicole. Nicole was so shocked that he would even know where to get a tuxedo, let alone wear one, she responded in the affirmative. A few months later, they were married and for their honeymoon, they rode his/hers Harleys to the Pacific Northwest.

  They were quite the sight.

  Love can appear in the strangest places and between the most unusual of pairings. Nicole was an angelic figure, whereas Tanner was much more devilish and troublesome.

  Given the opportunity to know one another, their love for each other bloomed and because of their differences, they drew out the best in each other.

  THE END

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  Rock My World

  Chapter One

  "I have to say that this is probably one of your best ideas, Lila."

  "Wait a minute, say that again. Did you just admit that I was right about something?"

  Megan frowned, not wanting to repeat herself again. But Lila was her best friend and it was worth putting her pride aside.

  "I said that it was a good idea to have this getaway."

  Lila presented Megan with a glass of wine and then sipped from her own. "Vegas is always a good idea. A girls' trip is always an even better idea."

  They toasted and then sipped on their wine. Megan turned to peek out of the window. Their room had an entire wall of bay windows. Light poured in and the view to the Strip below was spectacular.

  "I can't remember the last time that I had a vacation."

  Lila shook her head. "I’m not sure that you have ever had a vacation. You are constantly working and before that, it was all about school."

  Eyebrow raised, Lila stared directly at her friend. "There was a time that you used to be fun and pretty carefree. The Megan that I met in high school was the lead varsity cheerleader, voted most popular, and the life of the party. Total contrast from the woman that I know now."

  Megan downed the rest of her wine, setting the glass on a nearby table. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

  She felt warm from the wine surging and hoped that it would give her the liquid courage that she needed to hear the truth about herself.

  "I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or anything, but you haven't been 'That Girl' in a while, now Meg."

  "So wait. I grow up, become more responsible and successful, and that means that I lose Party Girl status?"

  Lila shrugged. "Something like that. I've been your friend for ages, so I believe that she's still in there. Somewhere. Deep, deep down in there." Lila craned her neck as if she was trying to peer deep into Megan's inner being.

  Megan waved her hand, swatting away the words that Lila spoke. "Whatever you say. I'm happy to be a little boring in my life."

  "Fortunately for you, you have a great friend like me in your life in order to help combat those boring times. No more talk of boredom and monotony this weekend. We will surely make some new memories. Fun ones."

  "I think that I should feel some kind of way about what you are saying, but I get it. I do need a little spice in my life."

  Megan sat quietly thinking about the point that her friend was trying to get across to her. She had been a bit boring lately and she had not taken the time out to have any fun. Focusing so much on climbing the career ladder, she had not penciled in any free time into the schedule.

  "Good. And just to drive you crazy, there is no agenda this weekend. We will just spontaneously do things. Let the weekend just happen." Lila stared at her with a smirk.

  Megan could feel the itch rising. She liked things by the book and scheduled. It was the way that she led her life and part of the reason she had been so successful thus far. As much as she wanted to dispute the suggestion, she had agreed to come out and have fun, and there was but so much fun you could have if you were playing task master the entire time.

  "Fine," she gave in, throwing her hands up. "Fun. No schedule. Get dressed. Do things. Make this an epic weekend."

  "I can't believe it. You are ready to have an epic weekend?"

  "Come on, Lila. You act like I don't have any fun at all. I do remember how to have a good time. And step one starts with a glass of wine." Megan raised her glass and then swallowed the rest of the liquid.

  "I don't like that look in your eye."

  "What look?" Lila asked with a grin.

  "That one," Megan pointed to her. "That one that you get when you have one of your ridiculous schemes in mind.

  Lila poured them both another glass of wine. "No. Nothing ridiculous. I'm just proud of you for being willing to let your hair down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I like to have a good time. I'm not saying that you have to end the weekend married to a stranger, I'm just saying that you have to be open to having some fun."

  They toasted again.

  "Here's to an epic weekend full of memories that we will make into private jokes, letting our hair down, and plenty of drinks and good food," Megan commented.

  "And don't forget the shopping."

  "And yes, the shopping. We can't forget the shopping."

  Megan hugged her friend. "Thank you. I feel like I can find that Party Girl again."

  "Well tell her to get dressed in something cute because we need to go and hit the strip."

  "I have just the outfit for the evening."

  With a frown, Lila looked over to her. "Why don't you let me pick out something for you? You have the best legs and you never show them off. And while you're at it, why don't you let me do your makeup and your hai
r?"

  "Apparently, I’m boring and I need a makeover."

  Lila pouted. "Sorry. I love you?"

  Megan shook her head. "Let's get going. Time is wasting, and I believe that there is a good time out there waiting on us."

  Clapping her hands and giggling, Lila ran off to the closet to start preparing for their outing.

  "Tonight is going to be epic! I can feel it!" she yelled back to Megan.

  Megan was too busy flipping through the event listing to answer. She knew that there was no way that Lila would back off of being her glam squad. That was completely alright with Megan. She could use a bit of glam for a special weekend.

  Something specific caught her eye.

  "Lila, I know what we are going to do first."

  "No planning," Lila said, throwing a few dresses on the bed.

  "No. We can't miss this." Megan pointed to what she had been looking at.

  A huge grin spread across Lila's face. "No, we certainly can't miss that."

  "Great," Megan replied. "Make sure I wear one of those smoky eyes. I have never done that before. May as well do something different."

  Chapter Two

  Megan looked at the woman in the mirror and was not sure that she even knew who that woman was.

  "I clean up pretty damn well," she exclaimed, turning around again and again in the full length mirror.

  "I think so. You look amazing, Megan. Now let's get out of here."

  Lila dragged Megan out into the hallway. The elevator came and they took it down to the lobby. It took a moment to hail a cab, but when they got one, Megan felt a rush. They gave the driver the address to their destination. Megan admired the lights as they drove by on the Strip. Her stomach was giddy with excitement. Lila was right, she needed to be a little more social and have a good time.

  They pulled up to the arena rather quickly, Lila tapping Megan on the shoulder, excited about where they were going.

  The name of the band was plastered across the top of the marquis.

  Paradise.

  That made it all the more real.

  "What luck is it that we come to Vegas and we get the chance to see Paradise?"

  "We don't have tickets just yet, Megan. Come on. Hopefully we can work a little magic and get these tickets at the will call. I made a few phone calls and we should be able to get in."

  When the cab stopped, Lila pulled Megan out, dragging her by her hand. "Let's go. We need to get to will call before they close."

  They made it there just before ticketing closed. Megan wanted to jump with joy when the agent told them that they had two tickets waiting for them for the show.

  "For once, your love life has come in handy, Lila."

  Crinkling her nose, Lila giggled. "It's about time that I date someone who has some kind of perks."

  The ticketing agent handed them the tickets and pointed in the direction of the entrance.

  Once Lila opened the envelope, she let out a gasp.

  "What?" Megan grabbed Lila's arm.

  "Look! Backstage passes after the show."

  Megan felt like she had died and gone to heaven. "This is just too unreal."

  They made their way inside the venue, which was small and intimate. Megan was happy that they weren't going to be in a huge arena. Concerts at smaller venues made it easier to enjoy the music and the atmosphere.

  The night was magical. Watching her favorite rock band of all time was the most amazing moment. Megan and Lila knew every single word to all of the songs and they were on their feet dancing every moment of the concert.

  As the concert was wrapping, a man with a headset came and tapped them on the shoulder.

  "You two have backstage passes. Follow me."

  Lila and Megan held hands as they followed the man. He led them from the audience, down a corridor. Both women stared, taking it all in.

  They stopped at a door and the man pressed a button on a walkie talkie.

  "Yes, we have the backstage guests. Is the band ready? Alright." He turned to Lila and Megan. "You two come on in and meet the band."

  Megan's heart was racing, knowing that through that door was one of her favorite bands. Sitting in that room was her favorite singer, Diamond Dylan Page. She squeezed Lila's hand.

  "Can you believe we are doing this?" she asked her friend.

  Lila shook her head. "Quite unbelievable."

  Standing in the room, there was the band that Megan listened to over and over again in her playlist. She closed her eyes and opened them again, not able to believe what she was seeing.

  A man walked over to her, hand extended. His hair was spiked, dark, and cropped. He had a crazy amount of rings on his fingers, a white tee-shirt and a pair of dark colored designer jeans. His smile was golden and warm.

  "I'm Dylan. Nice to meet you two beautiful ladies."

  Lila shook his hand first and then stepped back. "I'm Lila and this is my best friend Megan."

  When Dylan's hand touched Megan's, Megan felt a jolt. She was unsure what it was, but she could not shake the feeling that surged through her when they touched.

  "Megan. You are beautiful."

  "I bet you tell a lot of women how beautiful they are."

  Dylan nodded. "True. I don't have a shortage of beautiful women around me. But that does not minimize what I say to you. Megan, you are absolutely gorgeous."

  The two of them stood there as if they were the only people in the room.

  "Umm, hello. The rest of us are still here."

  Another band mate stepped up, waving.

  "Forgive me. This is Les and Carl. Guys, please meet our special backstage guests Lila and Megan."

  The women smiled, waving.

  "Why don't we all get a few drinks and a little to eat and get to know one another?" Les offered.

  "I have another idea," Dylan interjected. "This backstage food is nothing. Why don't we all head out. Find a diner with the greasiest food, and kick back with some food, some good conversation, and the company of two very beautiful women?"

  Les and Carl nodded in agreement, looking to Lila and Megan for confirmation.

  "Sure," Megan blurted out before seeing if Lila was game. Wasn't she supposed to be having a good time and doing things spontaneously?

  Lila shrugged. "Why not?"

  "Great. Follow us. We have a car waiting for us out back."

  The band picked up some duffle bags and led the way. Megan looked to her friend, speaking with her eyes only. She could not believe the turn the night had taken.

  A large, black SUV was waiting out back in the alley.

  Everyone got in comfortably and they were off. Making small talk in the vehicle, they all determined that Megan and Lila were from out of town on a girls' trip and that they wanted to explore the city as much as possible. It so happened that Carl was from Las Vegas and had a home there where the band crashed when they played close by.

  They found a diner that was perfect and the men led them inside. Fortunately, it was not crowded and they found a table in the back that was out of the way.

  A few diners took a double take, wondering if they recognized the celebrities, but then turned back around when they decided that it just could not be the band members from Paradise eating at an out of the way diner in Las Vegas.

  "How do you all do it?" Megan asked.

  Dylan slid in to the booth next to her. "We're used to it. We love our fans, but most of them are pretty respectful when we are out and don't crowd us too much."

  Les passed everyone a menu and they all took a glance.

  "I think these kinds of places all have the same kinds of food," Lila commented.

  "You should look. There are a few gems here on this one."

  Carl pointed to a place on the back of the menu where there were other items that were not listed with the other food.

  "Amazing. I think I will order something from this part of the menu," Megan commented.

  The waitress came by and took their orders and brought th
e food back just as quickly. There was more food on the table than Megan thought that any of them could possibly eat. But the men dug right in. Lila and Megan glanced at one another, laughing to themselves.

  "I hope you women know that you are in for a wild night tonight," Les commented as he dug in to his food.