by Raine Thomas
Curious, Sage wandered closer to the buffet. He saw Rosemary smile as the staff member returned carrying another one of the banquet chairs surrounding the tables. The guy carried the chair over to the table where Sydney waited for Keith and managed to fit it among the other chairs already set there. It took a moment for Sage to deduce that Rosemary had noticed the number of chairs wouldn’t accommodate all of The Void members and their guests and she had taken action.
The realization had him smiling as he approached her. He caught the flash of surprise in her lovely eyes when she spotted him, as well as her warm smile.
“I swear I don’t have any sound equipment on me this time,” he said as he stopped a few feet from her. “Your safety is assured.”
She laughed. “Thank God. I’ve seen enough of the venue floor for one night.”
“We didn’t get a formal introduction earlier in all the chaos,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Sage Strickland.”
“Rosemary Montgomery,” she said, accepting the handshake. “Oh, wow. Listen to us. Sage and Rosemary. We should get married, have kids, and create our own spice cabinet.”
He saw the moment her flippant comment registered to her. Color filled her cheeks and her smile faltered. When he laughed, her uncertainty left her expression.
“I’ve gotten plenty of flak about my name over the years,” he admitted. “I tried out a few stage names along the way. None of them stuck. You can at least shorten your name if you want. Not so much for me.”
“Yeah. Rose or Rosie is fine. Just not Ro. Makes me think of fish eggs or rowing your boat to shore.”
He issued a small cough as another laugh threatened him. “I see your point. Why don’t we make a pact to have the spice names die with us?”
She smiled. “Deal. And, hey, you’ve always got DJ V, right? Short for Virtuoso?”
That had him standing a little straighter. “Know about that, do you?”
“Of course. My roommate’s boyfriend is a DJ and he idolizes you. You’ve worked with some of the musical greats. It’s impressive that you can do that as well as your work with The Void. The music industry is better for it.”
Every word rang with sincerity. He found her earnest support of his career deeply touching. She didn’t even know him.
When he just stared at her, she tilted her head and said, “You’re thinking about how much I resemble Lily, aren’t you?”
“No, I—”
“It’s okay,” she interrupted, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “I hear about it all the time lately. People seem to love pointing out that we look like twins except for my hair and eye color and the freckles.”
Since she didn’t seem upset about it, he said, “Well, I did notice the resemblance earlier. That wasn’t what I was about to say, but now that you bring it up, why did you cover up your freckles?”
“What?”
“Before the concert, I could see your freckles. Now you’ve covered them with makeup.”
She lifted a hand to the bridge of her nose, clearly flustered. “Oh. Well. I’ve always hated them.”
“That’s a shame.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Their gazes locked and held. Despite the bustling event taking place around them, Sage saw nothing but Rosemary. Just what was this connection he felt between them?
The moment shattered as Lily approached and linked arms with her sister. “Rosie, come and meet the rest of the band.”
“Oh, sure. Bye, Sage. It was nice chatting with you.”
“You too,” he said.
As Rosemary allowed Lily to tug her away, her eyes held Sage’s for a moment longer before she finally turned around to match Lily’s stride. He smiled as he watched her go, replaying their conversation in his mind. She had known far more about him than he’d expected. Even better, what she knew seemed to meet with her approval.
Noelle walked over to him and stood behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. Her gaze followed his straight to Rosemary.
“She’s the one,” she said.
Chapter Four
“God, I’m exhausted. I could collapse right here.”
Archer glanced down at Lily after she issued the vehement declaration as they stepped into their hotel room later that night. No sooner did they get inside the door than she gripped his arm with one hand and tugged off both of her high heels with the other, dropping them there in the small entryway. When she returned to her feet, the top of her head didn’t even reach his shoulders.
“Well, we can’t have that,” he said, reaching down and lifting her into his arms. He ignored her gasp and turned to his bodyguard, Trey, who had secured the room before they entered it and would be sleeping on the room’s sleeper sofa. “Good night, Trey.”
“Good night, sir.”
Lily lifted a hand and wiggled her fingers at Trey in a weary gesture of farewell. The big man smiled and gave her a small salute in return. Archer strode through the door leading to their bedroom and kicked the door closed behind them, then headed right to the bathroom. He sensed Lily’s bafflement until she saw the steaming jetted tub ready and waiting.
“How...?”
He grinned as he set her on her feet and turned her so he could unzip her dress. “A quick call ahead to let them know we were almost here.”
“I’m surprised Ryan let housekeeping into the suite,” she joked.
Careful to control his reaction over her reference to her way-too-attractive-for-his-peace-of-mind bodyguard, Archer shrugged and said, “I’m sure he stood over them breathing down their necks the entire time.”
She laughed as she stepped out of the dress pooled at her feet. “Well, however this came about, thank you. I can’t wait to get into that water.”
“Me neither.”
She lifted an eyebrow at that, smiling when he started removing his own clothing. Within a minute, they were both undressed and sliding into the blissful water. He was relieved that it wasn’t scented with anything too floral. It smelled more like something herbal with a hint of citrus. Whatever it was had Lily breathing deep as she arranged herself in the scooped seat across from him.
“This is absolutely amazing,” she sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back against the padded headrest.
“I completely agree,” he said, his gaze on her.
Her lips curved into the hint of a smile. “Cheesy,” she murmured, telling him that even though she couldn’t see him, she knew he had just tossed her a line.
She knew him so well.
Lifting one of her feet onto his lap, he began pressing his thumbs into her arches. She moaned in a way that had his entire body responding. So he did it again. Her eyes opened to narrow slits, their color having deepened to violet.
“You know what that does to me,” she said in a voice that had gone husky. “You seem to have ideas outside of just going to sleep.”
“Is that an objection?”
“No, but I think you’re trying to kill me through lack of sleep.”
He grinned. “Drama queen.”
“Yeah. I’m all about the drama, all right.”
The sarcastic comment had the humor leaving his expression. He knew how much Lily hated drama, yet that’s all she had experienced on this tour.
Shaking off the stab of guilt, he forced his smile back onto his face. “Less than a month left to endure these late nights.”
“It’s not the late nights I mind so much,” she grumbled. “It’s the early mornings.”
He chuckled. “I know. But you get to sleep in tomorrow.”
“Yay.” The response was more a yawn than a cheer.
“Then we get to make some wedding plans.”
“Yay,” she said again, this time with more enthusiasm.
Her tone relieved him. Up until a few days ago, Lily had seemed more stressed than happy about planning their wedding. Their engagement had happened unexpectedly in an attempt to keep the press off Keith and Sydney. He feared Lily might
be having second thoughts. Her underwhelming response to any questions involving the wedding plans had made him think she might call it off.
Ever since she recruited Rosemary to help with the planning, things had been different. Lily was now showing the excitement about the wedding that Archer had hoped she would.
He didn’t know Rosemary very well. She’d always been quiet and reserved whenever he’d been around her. But if her presence made Lily feel better about planning their wedding, he would be indebted to her forever.
Setting the wedding date so soon after the tour’s end date hadn’t exactly helped Lily’s stress level. Archer knew she thought he was rushing things, and he had to admit—at least to himself—that was true. His schedule after September was insane for months to come. He couldn’t imagine trying to fit in wedding planning on top of it.
More than that, though, was the bone-deep fear within him that Lily would realize how much she hated the life he had dragged her into by getting involved with her and tell him the engagement was off. As crazy as he knew it was, he hoped that marrying her as soon as possible would keep that from happening.
“How did the interview go?” he asked, referencing the interview she’d had with a contributor to Elle magazine before the concert that evening.
“I think it went well. I’m getting the hang of being on the receiving end of all of these questions.”
He smiled. She was usually the one conducting the interviews for the articles she wrote.
“I made sure to mention the album a couple of times,” she went on, meaning The Void’s upcoming album, Eternal Muse. “I have to admit though, I feel like I’m just regurgitating the same content over and over in all of these interviews. It’s hard to keep it fresh.”
He had spent a good amount of time coaching her on giving interviews. She was an exceptional writer but she hadn’t had any experience answering the often personal questions put to celebrities by the press. He had given her tips on how to offer responses without sharing too much personal information. Based on the couple of interviews she’d done that he’d read online, she’d been following his advice.
“It’s not usually hard to keep the media entertained,” he said as he switched his massaging to her other foot. “As our wedding plans progress, you can throw some details in there to keep them at bay. If you need more tips, we can run through them again.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight. My brain can’t handle it. I’ll be a total vegetable when we meet with Rosemary tomorrow.”
“How did things go with her earlier?”
“Fine. It was really good to see her again in a context away from our mother.”
Sensing her hesitation, he urged, “But...”
She sighed. “But she’s practically a stranger to me now. It’s been years since we spent more than a couple of hours together. I really hope the wedding planning helps me get to know her again.”
“I hope so too. You deserve some family normalcy.”
“Thanks. And thanks for keeping the room reservations you had made for me, Sydney, and Aria during the tour. Having Rosemary nearby makes me feel better about dragging her around the country with us.”
“Of course.”
The cost of the room was just a drop in the bucket to him. Lily didn’t like spending his money, but he’d spend every last dime he had to keep her happy. It was a fact of their relationship that had caused problems between them more than once.
He was glad that the vast differences in their incomes had become less of an issue lately. Between the recent bonus Lily had received for her work with The Void, the back-pay she had received from House of Archer and the money she would continue to earn from the show, and the significant number of endorsement offers awaiting her when they returned to L.A., Lily’s bank account was flush.
Sadly, the change in her financial status concerned Lily more than it thrilled her. She was worried that her new influx of income would reach her ex, Johnathan Wingerson’s, ears and make him push for a larger settlement in the lawsuit he had pending against her. Archer had told her a few times not to worry about it. He was in regular contact with his attorney, Shelley Custer, with whom Lily had recently agreed to work since she was already handling Archer’s case.
“I still think you should have let me pay for the room while Rosemary is staying in it,” Lily said as though she had read his thoughts. “I can afford it now.”
“Like I said, you’re just starting to get your income flowing. I planned on paying for the room regardless in case Aria decides to rejoin us for a while or Sydney kicks Keith to the curb and needs a place to stay.”
She chuckled. “Maybe I’ll kick you to the curb and need the room.”
“There’s that too.”
His response was issued in the same playful tone Lily had used, but her words sent a little jolt to his heart. The idea of losing her was so painful that even joking about it bothered him.
Lily had already made a number of sacrifices in their relationship. Yes, she was earning some great money now, but it wasn’t doing what she loved. She was doing something to help further his career. None of the articles she had written so far while on the tour had been published. He saw her getting more frustrated and worn down about it as the days passed. It had gotten to the point where he’d given serious thought to pulling some strings on her behalf, but he knew if she ever found out that it would end their relationship.
“You know I love you, right?”
Her gaze shifted from teasing to puzzled. “Of course I do. You know I was joking about kicking you to the curb, right?”
“Of course I do.”
He knew he hadn’t fully convinced her when she carefully removed her foot from his lap and eased from her seat until she knelt between his legs. His breath tangled in his throat as her hands came to rest above his knees. Her beautiful eyes met his with such intensity he had no choice but to stare back.
“Dane, I love you,” she said as her hands gently ran along his thighs. “Yes, I have issues getting up in the morning and dealing with the hectic pace of this tour. Yes, I occasionally want to kick in the teeth of the fans who continue to throw themselves at you. Yes, I think things between us have moved full-steam ahead in ways I never anticipated.”
He tried to swallow and couldn’t. Her hands had progressed from his thighs to the juncture between them. When she grasped his hard length and gave him a long, firm stroke, what breath he could conjure escaped in a strangled sound.
“But I wouldn’t trade what we have for anything in the world,” she whispered, leaning up and bringing her mouth to his.
All of the feelings she had generated with her words made themselves known in that kiss. Love, yearning, and desire blended with an odd sense of helplessness.
He was helpless to defend his heart against her.
When her lips parted, he immediately took advantage. He had to taste her. Their tongues met in a sensual dance that was growing more familiar every day, but no less powerful. It made every cell in his body light on fire. His mouth slanted over hers again and again, desperate to indulge in her as she continued to torment him with her talented hands.
They broke apart after a minute to catch their breath. He couldn’t stop though...couldn’t get enough of her.
His lips moved along her delicate jawline to the side of her neck where her pulse thumped in sync with his raging heartbeat. His hands lifted to her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her hard nipples. She gave him the sexy noises he wanted to hear, pushing herself up to encourage him to take her nipple into his mouth.
Who was he to deny the woman he loved?
Her hands finally stopped teasing him and moved to the hair at the nape of his neck as he took her nipple into his mouth. He circled it with his tongue, adding a few quick, wicked flicks until she started to writhe against him. Only when she whimpered did he give her the gentle suction she craved.
It turned her into putty in his hands. She melted against him with one long, s
eductive sigh. He kept her upright and pressed against him, his fingers kneading her backside as he switched to her other breast. Her hands held him in place, her head thrown back as she relished the pleasure he gave her.
When her movements grew more urgent, his hand slid around to the front of her body. He reached between them, gliding over her soft skin and slipping a finger inside her. He barely contained a growl of satisfaction when he felt how ready she was for him.
Rather than take her right then like his body insisted, he pulled away from her breast and once again claimed her mouth. She responded eagerly, clutching his shoulders and matching every probe of his tongue with her own. He added a second finger alongside the first, loving her body’s response as she squeezed him so intimately. His thumb began to rub her sensitive flesh in a slow rhythm. Her hips raised and lowered like she was riding him, driving him out of his mind. He couldn’t wait much longer.
Once again, his lips moved from her mouth to her breasts. It forced her to ease her movements or she’d pull away from him.
“Please, Dane,” she pleaded when she couldn’t take anymore. “I’m so close. I want you inside me when I come.”
Her words pushed him right to the edge. Without hesitation, he removed his fingers and lifted her so he could fill her how they both wanted. She took her lower lip between her teeth to contain another moan as they were fully joined.
God, was that ever hot.
They began to move. His hands shifted to her hips to control their pace. Her hands slid to her breasts, sending lust spearing through him.
“Is that going to make you come?” he asked.
“Maybe,” she said breathlessly. “This definitely will.”
One of her hands trailed slowly down her torso. His gaze followed, watching as she finally reached her goal and began pleasuring herself. The sight of that while feeling her body’s response made him wild with need.