by Nashoda Rose
Crisis put his hand on the small of my back to guide me into the room. “I was thinking the first few chords should be no instruments. Like a ballad.”
“Yeah. Let’s try that,” Kite agreed.
I stopped when I saw my brother leaned over, hand resting on the recording table, talking to some guy I didn’t know. He glanced up and smiled at me, but it was soon lost to lowered brows when he saw my hand in Vincent’s.
“Give us a minute, Dan,” Ream said to the other guy.
The guy nodded and walked out a door on the other side of the room.
Logan and Kite remained on either side of us, neither saying anything, but ready for Ream’s reaction.
“Vincent and I are together.” Ream’s eyes cut to Crisis, who remained quiet and still. I knew he’d speak up if I needed him to, but he was giving this to me. “I want you to be okay with this.” I took a deep breath and Ream’s gaze came back to me. “I need you to be,” I corrected.
Ream’s shoulders were tense and he’d crossed his arms over his chest, legs braced. I saw the uncertainty flicker across his face as he took in what I was telling him. Ream knew Crisis’ history with girls and his overprotective nature was going to make it hard for him to accept this. He may have accepted us being friends, hanging out, even living together, but having a relationship was different.
What made this worse was the issue with Tammy, so Ream was not going to like this happening, especially right now.
His glare was directed at Crisis. “You’re putting my sister in danger.”
I stepped forward and put my hand on Ream’s chest. His heart raced beneath my palm and it took him a second before he dragged his gaze from Crisis to look at me.
I took a deep breath before I spoke. I knew how to be strong. I’d done it for years, but that was a different strength. One where I had to do things in order to survive. Things I wasn’t built to do, but forced to. Now, it was about finding my strength within my vulnerability and Ream needed to understand that no matter what stood in front of me, I wasn’t running. I was living.
“Do you remember when we were kids and I was in the closet, scared the wind would take me away?” He sighed, then nodded. “It did Ream. It took me away from you and I lived in its hold for years.”
His expression was pained as his lips pursed together.
I let my hand drop from his chest. “I’ve run from it ever since I escaped. It’s been chasing me and I was scared of it catching me.” Crisis moved even closer to me, his hands on my hips. He understood. “But now I don’t have to run. I’m not scared of the wind or trying to fight against it. I let it in.”
“But this chick—”
I interrupted him. “Yeah. It’s bad timing. But I’ve lived with fear then numbness all my life. Now, I don’t have to. Ream,”—the hardness in his face eased as I said his name—“I swore to never waste a second of my freedom. To live. To find some sort of normal.”
“A stalker after your boyfriend isn’t normal.” Ream’s eyes shot to Crisis.
“And neither is having a brother in a famous band. This is the normal we get and it could happen to you just as easily. From what I read, before Kat, you had your share of women, too.”
Five seconds it took before it was like an overfilled balloon deflating as all the tension left him and he lowered his head, briefly closing his eyes. “I saw it,” he said. “I was trying to ignore it.” He looked at Crisis. “You’re my brother and I love you. I also know the shit you’ve done.” His arms dropped to his sides and he inhaled. “And that you like her—a lot.”
“Love,” Crisis corrected.
Ream stiffened. “Yeah. Maybe I saw that, too.” He looked back at me. “And you?”
I leaned back into Crisis and his one arm curled around my waist. I loved that he was giving me this. He didn’t fight with Ream or get angry; he stayed quiet and relaxed and let me have this. “I broke and he slid inside and found me. But he didn’t take me. He waited until I took him.” Crisis leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “So yeah, I love him.”
Silence.
I knew the moment Ream let it go when his hands at his sides uncurled, and when he looked at Crisis there was acceptance. “You better fuckin’ marry her.”
“Ream,” I scolded.
There was a look between the two men I loved as my eyes darted from my brother to Crisis. It was an understanding as both of them nodded.
“Okay, now that it’s settled and no one is killing one another, let’s get some work done.” Logan slapped Crisis on the back.
We settled in. Well, the boys did as they went on the other side of the glass, and the guy Dan came out of what looked like an office and started sliding colorful levers up and down. Crisis sat me at a small table along the far wall, kissed me then said, “Study, babe. You need anything, tell Dan and he’ll get me.”
But I didn’t study. I couldn’t, not when they were playing the most heart-wrenching song I’d ever heard. It was almost haunting as Logan sang in his deep graveled voice, holding the microphone in his hand, eyes closed and the words filled with so much emotion.
On the chorus, they all sang, except Kite, and their voices came together in a perfect string of melody. It had been a long time since I heard my brother sing, but I easily picked his out amongst the others.
And Crisis . . . there was no question he was hot playing the guitar and singing. The energy in him filtered out through his fingers and vocal chords.
“Hold up, guys,” Dan said.
The music dwindled to a stop. Crisis winked at me through the glass and I smiled back.
“It’s too harsh,” Kite said, turning to Logan. “It needs a softer sound for that part.”
Logan nodded. I didn’t hear anything more as the sound from the room cut off.
Crisis turned his back to the window and strode over to the drums. I saw Kite’s eyes dart to me then he pursed his lips together as if contemplating. Then all the guys were gathered around the drums talking.
Ream turned abruptly and stared at me. I had no idea what was going on until Dan turned on the sound again. “Yeah. Haunting. It’s perfect,” Crisis said. “Let me ask her.” He lifted the guitar strap over his head and passed it off to Ream then came through the door.
“What’s going on?” Dan asked.
“We’d like to change it up. Go talk to Logan for a sec.”
I knew it was a hint to get out while Crisis talked to me. He strode the few feet toward me and it was a sexy swagger. He was thrumming with excitement and there was a sparkling glitter in his bright blue eyes as they locked on me.
“What?”
He didn’t hesitate as he picked me up in his arms. I looped my arms around his neck and my ankles on the cusp of his lower back. He lowered his head and claimed my mouth, and it was claiming. Crisis was taking parts of me I didn’t know existed.
He groaned underneath the hard kiss and his hands gripped my butt. I noticed he gradually moved us over to the side of the room where the guys couldn’t see us from where they were standing. He pressed my back up against the wall as he continued to explore my lips with an intense need.
“Jesus. I’m addicted to you. Having you watch me while I play . . . it’s like being handed the best fuckin’ Christmas present ever.” He smoothed back my hair and I slowly slid down his body until I was standing. “I didn’t see any books open.”
I frowned. “You’re a distraction.”
“I love that,” he murmured as he kissed me again. “Since you’re not studying, want to join us?”
My heartbeat picked up. “Meaning?”
“You trust me?” His hand cupped the back of my neck, thumb gently stroking back and forth. I nodded. “The song needs a softer tone behind Logan’s. Not the whole song, but in parts.” He leaned into me, his hard cock pressed into my abdomen. “Your brother being around is a pain in the ass. I want to drag you upstairs and fuck you so badly right now.”
And now it was a lot more than my h
eartbeat racing. It was my blood rushing through my veins and the throbbing between my legs. The door opened and Crisis glanced over his shoulder at Dan, who shook his head grinning at us.
“You in, baby?”
Sing with Tear Asunder? Sing with my brother. And Crisis. “I don’t know the words.”
“Shit, neither does Logan. It’s a new song Kite wrote. Don’t worry about it. You’ll learn it.” He ran a finger over my red just-kissed lips. “I saw you that night, Haven. When you sang, there was a thrill inside you.”
Because I was taken away to another place, the words flowing through me. Singing had always taken me away to another place. “Okay.”
He growled, picked me up again and twirled me around. “Fuck yeah. My girl is going to sing.” He slid me down his body, snagged my hand and slapped Dan on the shoulder as we walked by. “Wait until you hear her voice. Man, you’re going to get hard.” Then he scowled. “Fuck, that. You get hard for my girl, I’m kicking your ass.”
There was no response or I didn’t hear one because the door shut behind us. It all went down so fast and the guys took it seriously as they went over the song with me. It didn’t take long to figure out my parts as I sat on a stool while Logan stood beside me. He looked completely non-threatening and at ease as he sang his part while mine drifted in and out as a soft undertone to his deep huskiness.
It was Emily walking into the studio several hours later that finally broke us up. When she saw me, her eyes widened then she smiled. She leaned over next to Dan and her voice echoed into the room. “Hi, Haven, boys, it’s after nine. I ordered Thai and Tear is licking his chops so you might want to move it if you want to eat.”
It was really cute the way Emily eyed Logan and he stared at her through the glass as if he was going to leap through the window and fuck her right in front of Dan. She winked at him, then left.
Logan reached for me, took my hand and squeezed. “That was incredible. Thank you.”
Crisis came up behind me, his hands on my hips, breath a warm breeze just below my ear. “Guess I need to feed my girl before I take her home and eat her out,” he whispered.
“Shut the hell up. Seriously, she’s my twin sister.” Ream had just been walking by us with his guitar. He cuffed Crisis on the head. “I may accept this, but I’m not listening to your filthy mouth talk to her that way.”
“Fuck, right—twins. Does that mean it’s like I’m fucking you, too? Cause that’s just—”
Ream shoved him in the shoulder and his hands left me as he staggered back. Crisis laughed and Ream grunted, shaking his head.
I laughed and Ream’s eyes cut to me. Then he moved in and pulled me off the stool into a hug. I was stiff for a second before I let go and wrapped my arms around my brother like I used to.
“I’ve been waiting to hear that sound since you were four years old,” he whispered. What? “That was the last time I heard you laugh.” He hesitated. “Thank you.” But it wasn’t me he thanked; it was Crisis who came up beside us.
I TOSSED MY phone aside but wanted to throw it against the wall, but I couldn’t because Haven was with me and I needed to be cool, not pissed right the fuck off.
I grabbed Haven around the waist as she sat on the end of the bed putting her socks on. I pulled her backwards on top of me and kissed her neck.
She didn’t squeal or struggle, which was fuckin’ nice; instead, she curled her hand around my neck and brought her lips to mine and kissed me.
“Who was on the phone?” she asked.
I hated to tell her. It had been two days since Logan’s and it had been quiet and sweet. We didn’t go out jogging in the mornings; instead, she ran on the treadmill and I worked the weights, and yeah I couldn’t keep my hands off her after seeing her panting and sweating. Both days we ended up on the bench naked.
“Don’t know for sure.”
She sat up. “But you think it was Tammy?” There was a hesitation with a lowering of her brows as if she was contemplating something. Then she did. “What did she say?”
I’d hung up on her and the most I said was hello. “She missed seeing us jogging.” She’d been about to say something else and I did the exact opposite as to what Luke asked and hung up. But fuck, I didn’t want to hear her voice. I didn’t recognize it, but the reality was there hadn’t been much talking when I’d fucked Tammy.
She reached up and cupped the back of my neck, her fingers weaving in my hair. Jesus, I wanted to taste her again, slip inside her and have her ride me. The thought of her on top of me, her breasts in my hands, her eyes closed, head tilted back, lips slightly parted . . . fuck, I hated that she had exams to go write.
“I’ll be fine. Luke is with me.” She tugged on my neck and I leaned down and kissed her. It was slow and hard. Feeling her tongue slip into my mouth was fuckin’ heaven. “I’m worried about you.”
Ah, fuck that was cute. She was concerned about me and that right there was what made her fuckin’ special. She’d been through hell, lost her child, nothing in the world worse than that, yet she was worried about me. Roman and I were meeting up with Vic at the Unyielding Riot office. He was starting an investigation on Tammy and needed everything I could remember about her.
“Love you, Ice.” I kissed her again and she melted beneath me, her mouth pliable and sweet. I groaned, pulling back. “Have to get ready. But babe,”—I slipped my hand under her chin—“be careful today.”
Fuck, I didn’t want to leave her. She was strong and tough as hell, but parts of her had cracked and I was afraid of her building up that shield of ice again.
She ran her finger over the crease between my eyes. “I have pepper spray, a bodyguard and a gun.”
“With no bullets.” She knew how to look after herself. Jesus, I was becoming Ream, worrying about leaving her. I kissed her one last time then hopped into the shower.
When I came out, Haven was gone. I went downstairs and Kite was sipping his coffee, leaning against the counter.
“You want me to come?”
“No.” He hadn’t met Tammy and I felt better knowing he was around if I wasn’t back by the time Haven finished her exam. I snagged his coffee and took a sip. Kite didn’t say anything; I’d been doing it for years. “After her exams, I want to take her away. Somewhere hot.”
Kite’s pierced brow rose. “You aren’t sneaking off to get married, are you?”
“No. Jesus, Kite. It’s been a week.”
“No, it’s been months. You guys may not have been fucking, but you were together long before you whipped out your cock.”
He was right. I was Haven’s a long time ago. “Then maybe she’ll marry me sooner rather than later. I was thinking . . .” Kite huffed, but I ignored him. “Vegas. None of this bullshit Logan is going through.”
Kite burst out laughing. “Yeah, you try and do that, Kat and Emily will be all over you and not in a good way. Not to mention how pissed Ream would be for doing a Vegas wedding with his sister like some drunken mistake. And your mom . . .” Yeah, fuck, my mom, “ . . . she’d be worse than all of them put together.”
“Haven wouldn’t want a big wedding. She’s not like that and I’m good with whatever she wants.” I was even a little surprised at myself because a big event like me getting married would be a huge media draw and, normally, I’d be all over that, but I had no intention of sharing a special day with strangers. Shit, I was thinking about getting married. No, not thinking. I was damn sure I was. I just needed to get Haven on the same page.
Kite grinned and raised his mug. “Morning, Haven.”
I swung around and saw her standing by the library door, Luke behind her. And from her frown, she’d heard at least part of our conversation. I stalked toward her and it was a stalk because I wouldn’t allow her to escape even if she wanted to.
I looped my arm around her waist and kissed her neck. “I thought you left.”
“Luke wanted to go over a couple things.”
“So, you heard?”
“Most.”
“Good.” I was pushing my luck here because Haven had yet to wrap her arms around me. I pulled back so I could look at her. “Can’t wait to call you my wife while tasting your pussy.” A flicker of a smile and her hand rested on my hip. I lowered my voice and came in closer so my lips just grazed her ear. “And, baby, tonight, we are having a ceremony for my cock and your pussy.”
“Do I get to dress him in a tux? Maybe with chocolate and vanilla ice cream”
Jesus, it was fuckin’ nice she played along with me. “Sure. As long as I can put yours in pink cotton candy.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me.
The buzzer went off on the intercom and the doorman announced that Roman had arrived. I kissed her one more time then went to meet Vic and end this shit.
I WALKED OUT of my Sociology 101 exam, Luke beside me. We passed two girls in the hall who looked at me with a sort of sneer, then giggled to themselves. I stiffened, frowning as I walked by. I looked over my shoulder at them and they laughed again.
Luke’s hand settled on the small of my back. “You know them?”
“No.”
He stiffened, moving in closer to me while he put his phone to his ear.
“Haven,” Dillon called as he came out of the classroom, Kevin with him. “Hey.” He nodded to Luke who didn’t nod back. It was nothing unusual for me to be with a bodyguard as Roman had been with me last week, but as far as everyone knew, it was just because of me being Ream’s sister. “Easy exam.” I nodded. “So, I guess everyone knows now. Maybe they can come to the party Friday night. That would be wicked.”
I glanced at him. “Knows?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, that Ream has a twin sister. And the other crap, hey no judgement here.”
My breath locked in my throat and I stopped walking. “Judgement?”
“Yeah, that you stripped.” Bile rose in my throat and I swallowed several times.
Dillon took out his phone and typed something, then scrolled. He held it out to me, but Luke intercepted and took the phone while he already had his cell to his ear, although he wasn’t saying anything.