by Cari Quinn
“Dammit, Faith.”
She scraped her teeth down my earlobe. “Let it go, Warden. This is happening.”
I gripped her hair at the base of her neck, dragging her mouth to mine. “What if I don’t want it to,” I said against her lips.
“Why lie right to my face.” Her fingers coasted down my belly to my dick. She palmed my shaft and swiped her thumb over the head. “All it takes is one touch.”
“I’ve had hard-ons before.”
She pushed me back on the bed, then stripped down my underwear. Before I could push her away, she had me in her mouth. She looked up at me as she bobbed her head down, taking me deeper with every sucking stroke of her mouth and hand.
My fingers twisted into her hair. She took more of me and I bucked my hips involuntarily. “Faith.”
She hollowed out her cheeks as she sucked her way to the end of my cock and swirled her tongue around the head. She did it again, and released me with a greedy hum. “It’s not just about making you hard. It’s your eyes as you watch me.” She twisted and pulled at me until my damn eyes were ready to cross. “In the shadows, I felt it. Here, in the light, I have proof of it.”
I slapped the mattress as she sucked me deep. I couldn’t guarantee that I could control myself if I grabbed her hair again. The need to bury myself inside of her mouth, inside of her pussy—it didn’t matter. Both were equally brutal.
I reached over my head for the headboard, for the pillow.
She knelt between my legs, hovering over my cock as she sucked me in, she didn’t let up, didn’t allow me to even breathe.
“Faith.”
She hummed around my shaft and tongued under my head. I didn’t want to come in her mouth. I wanted her up and over me, taking me deep, but she wasn’t having any of it.
I released one of my hands and pulled her hair. She peeked from the curls and bangs that had fallen forward, watching me go insane.
She wasn’t stopping until she had what she wanted.
Me.
My cum.
I gripped her hair and growled out her name, letting her have what she wanted. Like I was ever going to be able to deny her. Her nails scraped over my belly as she swallowed me down.
My chest heaved, and my brain quieted. I dragged her up my sweat-slick body and buried my face into her neck. “You might have to wait for payback.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Smug shit.”
She made this humming little purr of a laugh and dragged the sheet up. “Tired shit.”
I brushed her hair back. “We have a few hours.”
She settled herself along my side and tangled her legs with mine. “Good. Maybe when I wake up you’ll have found some strength for another round.”
28
Keys
Well, we didn’t get to start another round. A 911 text came through and we ended up with an emergency band meeting. Reed hadn’t come back the night before, and we were about an hour away from soundcheck.
Still no Bats.
Quinn and I slipped into the room to find Wyatt pacing the living room.
I sat next to Owen on the couch. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t give a shit that you’re understaffed. There should be video from the SUV.”
My eyebrows shot up at Hunter’s sharp tone.
“What video?”
“I had dash cams added to all your vehicles,” Quinn said.
I spun around. “You what?”
He crossed his feet at the ankles as he stood against the wall near the door. “Don’t give me that outraged face. You guys are at your most vulnerable in the car.”
I swung my gaze to Indie. “You knew this?”
She pushed her hat off and scrubbed her nails through her white-blonde hair. “It’s my job to get you from one venue to another. If I can get more eyes on you idiots, all the better. And look, I still lost one of you.”
I slumped down into the cushions. I should have known about the extra security things. Not even because I was currently banging my bodyguard, but he should have told me.
I aimed my rage at Quinn, but before I could blast him he shook his head slightly. His face was stony, and his gaze was uncompromising. I so wasn’t winning that conversation. I sighed and rested my cheek on Owen’s leather jacket. I hadn’t been paying attention to Bats. He’d been moody since the drop of our new album. Even by Reed standards, he’d been combative.
Wyatt’s thumbs were flying over his phone. His auburn hair was usually perfectly styled and neat. Now, it was wavy curls and sticking up. He shucked his suit jacket and rolled up his cuffs as he spoke quietly into his phone.
Zach sat on the other side of me, Lorraine cradled in his arms.
I patted his hand. “When did you see him?”
“He doesn’t talk to me anymore, Keys. He stalked off the stage after the encore and I haven’t seen him since.”
Gabe Matthews, our new head of security, came in with an iPad in his hand. “I found him.”
Indie rushed over to him. “Where?”
“He just called for a car. I sent Patrick.”
“Good, maybe he’ll beat some sense into him,” Hunter growled.
“I’d prefer to do it,” Wyatt said with a low, flat voice. With his sleeves rolled back and powerful forearms flexed, he didn’t look like his usual elegant self. He was more the brawler race car driver I’d known years ago.
“No one’s beating no anyone.” Owen stood up. “We don’t even know what happened yet.”
“She happened,” Wyatt snarled.
I sighed. “Here we go.”
“No one wants to talk about it, but we all know that bottom feeder has been all over him. Her career’s headed for C-level fame and she’s doing anything to save it.”
Hunter held up a hand. “Vic’s in New York doing some show for Netflix.”
“She was.” Wyatt folded his arms. “She was at the show last night.”
“Awesome,” I muttered. I’d been in my own world last night. Even on stage, I’d been so focused on the songs and…well, and Quinn. There hadn’t been much room for anything else.
“And you didn’t say anything?” Zach said as he crossed to Wyatt.
“Hunter wants to trust him. I’m trying like hell to do that, but every time I do, he pulls some bullshit like this. And he won’t explain a goddamn thing.”
“Would you?” Hunter threw his phone on the end table. “Would you be so excited to have one of us dig into why you were seeing a chick?”
“Not a problem.” Wyatt tipped his head down as he crowded into Hunter. “I’m a one and done guy.”
“Jesus.” Hunter held up a hand. “I gotta warm up. Fucking Bats,” he muttered as he strode out of the room.
Indie looked up from her little powwow with Gabe. “All right guys, get ready. Cars roll out in ten.”
We all stood. Quinn held the door for me, and followed me into the hall. We were quiet until we got inside our suite.
“What was that about?” Quinn dipped his fingers into his pocket and jangled coins.
“You did some research on us, right? And I told you about Victoria.”
“Hunter’s ex, now Reed’s current?”
“He says no, but I don’t know what to believe. He won’t give us a reason why she’s always hanging around. Just pulls this ‘it’s my business’ BS.”
He moved to the desk. “Victoria Shaw?”
“Sheer.”
His fingers paused over the keys. “The actress?”
I shook my head. “Seriously, why do all the guys fawn over this chick?”
“I didn’t say I did.”
I dropped onto the couch. “Sure.”
“Not the kind of blonde I’m interested in.”
“Smooth, Warden.”
“Just speaking truth. I logged into work and pulled her credit. Wyatt’s correct. She’s struggling. She just tried to get a three-million-dollar loan and was denied.”
; I rushed over to him. “How the hell do you know that?”
“Just pulled her credit report.”
“Just like that?” I peeked over his shoulder.
“Any bargain basement PI can do that, Faith.”
I put up my hands. “Excuse me. You’re all of the awesome. My very own bodacious badass bodyguard.”
“Appreciate the alliteration.”
I crossed my arms and cocked my hip. “Makes my girl parts tingle when you throw around big words.”
When his face closed off, I was afraid I’d gone over some invisible line. Work mode equaled no teasing?
He pulled me in front of him and jerked my ass against his front, and wound his arm around my shoulders. “You enjoy a loquacious man, Miss Keystone?”
I tried not to shiver. Really. But I don’t think I’d ever heard Quinn use a teasing tone.
“I’m far more likely to manipulate an engagement of force, than to use erudite language.”
“That was a whole lot of wrong.” My voice sounded way too breathy.
He lowered his mouth to the skin between my shoulder and neck and gave it a playful nip. “Time to go.”
I turned in his arms and went up on my toes. He stared down at me, but didn’t move in for a kiss. I was shocked that he’d initiated any contact actually. I tugged on his lower lip, watching him watch me as I flicked my tongue between his lips.
He bent his knees and curled his arms around me, lifting me off the floor. His mouth was hot, consuming, and rough. Every inch of my mouth was invaded. I was pretty sure his fingerprints were also going to be branded on my skin.
Then he put me down, turned me around, and smacked me on the ass. “Time to work.”
I spun around. “Who are you?”
“Keep on moving, Faith.”
I tried to stuff down my smile as I grabbed my Go-Bag and left the room. It was going to be a very good day. And I was right. The show was amazing. Bats and Wyatt were raging at each other, but used it on stage to bump up the songs to a whole new level of intense.
The crowd fed off of the energy and gave it back to us. We ended up doing two encores that night. Indie didn’t even yell at us when we went beyond the park’s curfew.
Bats disappeared after the show—again. But this time, Gabe had Patrick shadowing him. Whether that would become a problem remained to be seen. Since Bats was playing Houdini, I couldn’t get away. Unfortunately for me, it seemed like Quinn was going to be dragged into that end of security as well.
I felt his eyes on me as I made the rounds. The first night had been the big VIP party, this afterparty was more like our general touring. A few friends, some people that Ripper Records had on a list to entertain, and a handful of special fan club winners.
Things were getting back to normal, and the memories of the night of the wedding were getting farther and farther away. I was actually starting to believe that maybe it really was a one-time thing.
But part of me wanted to thank her. The terror brought me a happiness I’d never known I was missing.
Quinn would never have been in my life without her. I met his gaze across the room. He was deep in conversation with Gabe, but he’d paused to make sure I was good. Odd to be thankful for something so scary.
But I was.
I didn’t want to let him go. With the threats lessening, and my life slipping back into pattern, I wondered just how long I’d be able to keep him with me. Just how long could I ask him to protect me when there was no threat?
And what the hell was I going to do when he wasn’t around anymore?
29
Quinn
We descended into a lull. Nothing seemed to be going on except what was becoming our normal. Faith was flourishing. I was drowning in rehearsals, her shows, more endless hours spent listening to a cacophony of instruments.
I was gaining an appreciation for the amount of work she did—what her band did. I was even learning to enjoy some of her lessons in genre music. Nights were spent racing to touch every part of her. Desperation seemed to chase us into the morning, and an eerie stasis filled the daytime.
I didn’t watch her every move anymore. I actually started building on the plans for security measures for the band with Gabe. It gave me a purpose, and helped to keep me sharp. She didn’t need me at all.
It was humbling to know that, but it was also one of the reasons she filled my head far more than she should. She didn’t need me, but for some goddamn reason she wanted me.
She lit up when she saw me, and she opened pieces of me I’d thought were long dead. I’d decided years ago that I didn’t need anyone long term. My line of work as a Ranger had initiated it, and working security perpetuated it.
Now, I didn’t know what the hell to think.
And for the first time, I was taking things day by day. It was terrifying, and thrilling. Until the night I couldn’t find her.
My training locked down the outward panic. On the inside, I was
I checked in with Owen first. “Have you seen Faith?”
He was sprawled in one of the battered couches that seemed to always be in the backstage venues. A slightly scary and yet objectively gorgeous brunette was curled under his arm. “Nah, mate. She was on the phone with Foxy Murphy last I knew.”
I frowned. She usually spoke to Devon during the day. I heard many a confusing conversations between them when they had one of their video chats. They spoke in a completely different language sometimes. “Thanks.”
He sat up. “Do you want me to help look for her?”
The girl next to him had laser beams for eyes. And they were aimed at me, set on destroy. “I’m good.”
I made my way through the party. I checked the side rooms, and then finally went to find Indie.
“Aww, crap.”
My chest tightened at the look on her face. “Tell me you know something.”
Indie sighed. “I knew things had been too damn quiet. These freaking kids are going to give me an ulcer and a heart attack in the same week.”
“Why, what else happened?”
She pointed to the corner. “Everyone’s favorite princess arrived ten minutes ago.”
I gazed over my shoulder. Victoria Sheer was holding court. She’d crashed a few of their shows over the last few weeks. And each time it was more of a spectacle than the last. If I hadn’t been on a Faith seeking mission, I would have noticed.
As usual, I had tunnel vision when it came to her.
“Everything good there?”
She shrugged. “I’ll probably have to sit on Wyatt so he doesn’t do something stupid like toss her out the window.”
I tried to push down the panic. I didn’t want to infect anyone else, but I couldn’t really concentrate on Indie’s problem. “Is there somewhere she’d escape to?”
There’d been no indication that she was overly restless, but when it came to Faith, it was usually something impulsive that pulled her away. And it was the impulsive part that I couldn’t pinpoint.
The one thing about us that was fundamentally different.
Indie tipped her hat back. “Well, we’re in the city. That’s always a danger.”
I frowned. “How so?”
“Has she been playing any new music at the hotel?”
“All her music is new to me.”
Indie snorted. “Truth. But has she been playing something incessantly?”
I cracked my knuckles. “There is one song that’s been playing so much that even I’m getting to know the lyrics.”
She snapped her fingers. “What is it?”
My molars clicked together. “I don’t sing.”
Indie pulled out her phone and typed then started flicking through screens. “A show on the west end. Probably too far. I don’t think she’d go out of the way for that one. Maybe for Griffin House, but not this derivative douche.”
“English, Indie.”
She started tapping again. “Okay, these three places are my best guess.”
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out and looked at her text. “The Gull, Sin City Mage, and Maggie’s? Are these bars?”
“With live music.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.”
She flashed a tight smile. “Welcome to my life. Keys used to sneak out after shows all the time to go see live music in the area.”
“Why didn’t I know about this?” There was suddenly a dull throb in my temple. It had been awhile since that particular reaction was attributed to Faith. “What the fuck was she thinking?”
“She’s not. She’s a junkie, and she’s been missing her fix.”
And now she was out there unprotected. Exactly the time someone that was watching her would wait for.
Goddammit.
“Patrick,” I shouted on my way out of the room.
“Yeah?” He jogged to meet me. “Problem?”
“Notice someone gone?”
He frowned, then his brows shot up. “Oh, fuck.”
“Yeah, she gave us all the slip.” I pulled out my phone. “I’m forwarding you three places. You go for The Gull. See if she’s there. Check in with me if you find her, or if you don’t.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
We split up, and I headed for the back where the trucks were. They were packing up to go to Michigan on the overnight. I just had to hope they hadn’t put my BMW on the tow hitch yet.
Gabe met me in the parking lot. “I had your car pulled around.”
I fisted my hand around my phone. “I didn’t want you to leave the band unattended.”
He shrugged. “They’re fine. I’ve been talking to Indie and I checked out the three places Keys usually goes to. Maggie’s is closed down for a violation. I’d go to Sin City Mage.”
“Thanks.” I nodded to one of the drivers as he pulled up and hopped out. “I’ll check in when I find her.”
“Good luck.”
I slid into the car. The Beemer was outfitted for stealth, speed, and bullets. Right now, I needed the speed. I didn’t give two fucks if she was pissed at me. I was going to freaking kill her.
I slammed it into gear, gravel spitting out the back of my tires. I used the dash to find the address for the bar. It was in the heart of Chicago, on a street that had as many drug dealers as pimps. I’d lived here for a few years after I’d gotten out of the service.