by Desiree Holt, Lisabet Sarai, Lily Harlem, Elizabeth Coldwell, Wendi Zwaduk, Imari Jade
“Asshole,” Axil muttered.
“What’s wrong with the two of you?” Bryanna asked as she stood outside her door.
“We need to talk,” he told her, hovering over her like an expectant prom date. He toyed with her hair.
“After you’ve sobered up some,” she said, swiping his hand away.
“I might not have the courage then,” he replied. “Or remember.” He pulled her away from her door towards his.
“Why can’t we talk in my room?” Bryanna asked as Axil slid the card into the lock and opened his door.
“This is just in case I pass out. You’re going to catch hell trying to get me out of your room.”
His statement made a lot of sense. The last thing she wanted to have was a six foot blond drunk and snoring loudly in her room. “Okay, only for a little while. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
He took her hand to escort her inside his room.
Axil pointed to a chair. “Sit. I need to use the john and freshen up a bit. I’ll be back.”
Bryanna sat down and reached for the remote. She turned on the television to block out the sound of him urinating then the sound of the shower. Moments later, the water turned off and Axil stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his head.
Bryanna ran her gaze over his chest and down to the towel. He sat down on the bed and began to dry his hair.
“What is so important it can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“I’m in love with you,” he said as he continued to rub the towel over his damp hair.
Bryanna opened her mouth to say something but she couldn’t form the words, especially since she already knew how he felt about her.
“I know I dropped this on you suddenly, but I just thought you should know.”
He didn’t seem a bit embarrassed to confess his feelings to her wearing just a towel. “Why are you bringing this up now?”
“Because of Collin.”
“What about Collin?” she asked, avoiding his eyes.
“Because he told me he’s thinking about asking you out, and I know how you feel about him.”
She had no choice but to look at him. “Now it all makes sense. You’re just afraid Collin will beat you at this game. Why are men so competitive?”
Axil rose and pulled her to him. Bryanna felt the towel slip from around his waist and drop to the floor at their feet.
“No, it’s true.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the floor. “Now I think I have to make love to you.”
Bryanna gulped. Now what am I going to do? “You’re still drunk.” And thick and hard. She moved away.
“No, I’m not,” Axil assured her. He reached for her, but Bryanna escaped his grasp.
“We can’t do this, “she told him. “It will mess up what we have.”
“What do we have, Bryanna?”
“A very long friendship that has withstood a lot of shit.”
Axil sighed then reached down for the towel and covered himself.
“When it happens between us, I don’t want it to be because you’re competing with Collin. I don’t want to be a pawn between you guys.” She headed towards the door. “Good night.” She opened the door and left.
“You are so stupid,” she said to herself as she walked to her hotel room. It was the first time she’d seen him nude. She shook her head as she entered her room. Thou shalt not screw your best friend.
Chapter Two
The sounds filtering in through her dressing room door made Bryanna jittery. They had sold out in Massachusetts a couple of days ago, and now they had also sold out the Los Angeles arena. Their manager, Jonathan Meyers, had popped his head in earlier to congratulate her. Apparently now they had sold out every venue he had booked them at for the next month or so. She sighed. Tonight, Simmer planned to introduce new songs and Jonathan planned to record a live music video during the concert. Sometimes it all seemed too much—like a dream.
The bad thing? Neither Collin nor Axil had spoken to her since before they’d left Massachusetts. Axil wouldn’t even look at her. Men could be such babies at times, especially when it came to such things as love and sex.
The lead-in group, Eruption, sounded like they had the crowd on their feet. The stomping on the stadium arena floor shook the walls.
Someone knocked at her door. “Ten minutes to show time, Ms Trosclair.”
“I’ll be ready,” she shouted at the door.
The man went off without another word.
Bryanna slid out of her seat and paced the floor. She didn’t normally get stage-fright, but she was running high on adrenaline, worried something might happen during the concert. She stopped pacing long enough to check out her costume in the mirror. The wardrobe girl had put her in a short little black dress and helped her slip her feet into stilettos. Her shoulder-length auburn hair had been combed to the top of her head and styled in a French twist to keep it out of her eyes while she performed. “Passable,” she judged before heading towards the door.
The other band had left the stage to a loud round of applause, and now it was Simmer’s time to shine.
Kurt caught her by the arm as she walked down the hall past the men’s dressing rooms. “Your dress is too short,” he told her.
Bryanna scowled at him. “I don’t design these costumes. I just wear them.”
Someone coughed behind them. Bryanna turned her head enough to confirm it was Axil.
“Try not to trip,” Kurt teased. “But I think he’s checking you out.”
“I won’t,” Bryanna said, trying to keep her backside from bouncing as she walked. She was pretty sure Axil was still pissed off at her for turning him down. And there was really nothing she could do about her butt bouncing all over the place. Blame it on nature and genetics.
Kurt helped her up the stairs. Damon and Jimmy entered from the other side and positioned themselves behind their instruments. Axil arrived from her side of the stage while Kurt walked to his drums. Normally Axil gave them a pep talk or gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze before performances…but not today. Mr Sunshine acted cold and distant.
Collin arrived last. He, too, marched past her without so much as a nod. Distance she could tolerate, but Collin’s took arrogance to another level. If they thought they could get to her by using the silent treatment, they were mistaken. She had ignoring people down to a science.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the MC announced. “Simmer!”
The curtains raised and the crowd went wild. The stage lights blinded her ability to pick faces out in the crowd. The music began to play…one of their older familiar songs. The crowd recognised it and began clapping louder.
Bryanna sang the first verse then Axil added his deep tenor voice to her sultry alto. Their harmony and pitch went together like bread and butter.
She left her mark and travelled across the stage with her mobile mic, taking command of the audience’s attention. An overhead spotlight followed her as she danced expertly atop her heels. The audience roared as she made it over to Collin, anticipating the next part of the song. Collin’s soft, sweet treble made her knees quiver like it did the first time she heard him sing. Amazing, she thought as he reached inside himself and hit the highest note on the male soprano range. She braced herself waiting for the glass in the windows to rattle. If it did, she couldn’t make it out over the screaming crowd.
The audience continued to scream at the top of their lungs. Jonathan was probably loving all of it and getting some great video for their DVD.
Bryanna danced her way back over to her mark and the song ended. She bowed and then they began one of their new songs. Axil had the vocal lead on this hot soul number. The strings of his guitar echoed through the mic and filtered out through the huge stadium.
Damn, he could play.
Bryanna fanned herself with her hand. Damn him. Axil could really get down and dirty when he had to.
Kurt, Jimmy and Damon harmonised the cho
rus with him then she and Collin joined him for the next verse. Their three voices blended beautifully and got a big round of applause from the audience.
Collin left his keyboard for the next song—a rocking little number only his sweet voice could master. He tore the house down when he danced, slim hips moving erotically to the beat. Young women tried to storm the stage and get to him. The security guards kept them back and they just stood there mesmerised by one hundred and sixty pounds of hip-wiggling dynamite. If he wiggled any more, she’d orgasm on the spot. Collin threw her a heated look then danced back over to his keyboard as they ended the song.
The curtain lowered for intermission, much to the audience’s evident dismay, and the band left the stage to change costumes.
“Baby, you were great,” Jonathan told her as she made her way to the dressing room amidst a sea of people. “Your butt is rocking the dress.” Jonathan always said whatever was on his mind—good, bad or inappropriate.
“If it was any shorter, she would have flashed the entire audience,” Axil said gruffly as he walked past them headed to his dressing room.
“Don’t pay him any mind,” Jonathan told her. “The audience loved it.” He kissed her on the forehead and followed the rest of the guys.
Bryanna was just about to enter her dressing room when Collin appeared, damp and sweating from his erotic performance on stage. He roughly shoved her inside then followed her in.
“Hey…” Bryanna whined, nearly falling from her heels. “What is your problem?”
He pulled her towards him, lowered his head and smothered her lips with his.
Damn, she thought as he pulled her tighter, squeezing her breasts against his muscular chest. Bryanna gasped for air as he pulled back, pushed her into a chair and headed towards the door. “I don’t ever want to see you in that costume again, you God damn little tease,” he spat out. He walked out, leaving her confused, dumbfounded and angry.
“Red lipstick does not suit you,” Kurt told Collin when he walked into the dressing room.
Curious eyes turned in his direction. “Go to hell,” Collin said before he wiped the lipstick from his lips then began stripping out of his costume.
“I’m already there,” Kurt said as he started changing out of his.
“What did you do?” Axil asked him. “I could hear you all the way down the hall.”
“Nothing,” Collin lied. Bryanna deserved everything he did to her and more.
Axil came after him, but Damon and Jimmy stopped him. “If you laid one finger on her I’ll…”
“You’ll do what, blond boy?” Collin asked. He wasn’t afraid of Axil and they could take it to the mat any time he was ready. “She’s lucky kissing her is all I did.”
Axil stormed out of the dressing room.
“You’re walking on thin ice,” Jonathan warned him.
“I don’t need a lecture from you,” Collin told him. “The costumes you design for her are inappropriate. Bryanna is not a piece of meat.”
“It got a reaction out of you, didn’t it?” Jonathan said. “I’ve never seen you dance that way on stage before and the audience loved the interaction between the two of you.”
“So it’s your plan to continue dressing her in skimpy outfits to keep me motivated?” He didn’t need any help.
“No—to keep you lusty and passionate. I bet you gave every female in the audience damp panties.”
“You are such a perv.”
“Call me what you want, but my quirks have put Simmer at the top of the charts.”
Collin frowned. Jonathan was such an arrogant bastard…and one of the best managers in the business. Still, he didn’t have to stoop to showing off Bryanna’s body to the world. The young woman could sing and perform like the best of them.
He wiped his lips again. And kiss.
Axil re-entered the dressing room, breathing fire and scowling at him, no doubt wanting to kick his ass for kissing his precious Bry. Collin stopped dressing and faced him. They were the same height and build. In a battle, he didn’t know if he would win but he’d try his best to knock Axil on his behind if it came to blows.
“Is Bryanna okay?” Kurt asked.
“She’ll survive.” Axil stared daggers at Collin. “No thanks to him. She’s a bit shocked but she’ll finish the concert.”
Axil was such a big drama queen when it came to Bryanna. He made it sound as if Collin had stolen her virginity.
“I didn’t hear her complain,” Collin replied. “Apparently she enjoys a man stealing a kiss from her and not the weak affections of a little boy.”
Axil went after him again. This time Kurt stopped him.
“You two are acting like a pair of kids. Can’t you put all this aside until after the concert?”
Axil pulled away from Kurt and began shrugging out of his costume. “Kurt’s right, Ripley. We’ll finish this later.”
“Any time or place, blondie,” Collin argued.
A stage man stuck his head in the door. “Five minutes to curtain.”
The men quickly finished changing.
Collin silently agreed to a truce as he pulled up the zipper on his black trousers, pulled on a grey shirt and put on a black blazer. But this would end tonight.
As Collin made his way back towards the stage, Bryanna walked before him in a stunning black formal gown that exposed her bare shoulders and back to him. The waistline of the gown came just above her spectacular behind. His trousers tightened in the crotch. She looked like a princess as she moved before him. He hurried to catch up to her.
Bryanna looked over, appearing surprised to see him at her side.
“I’m sorry,” he apologised quickly. “For the rough treatment, but not about the kiss. You mean the world to me and I would never do anything to harm you.”
“You’re right,” she replied angrily, turning away. “You are sorry.”
Collin cringed. He deserved that. He’d never done anything so stupid in his life, but Bryanna drove him crazy. “Let me make it up to you. Let me take you out to dinner after the show.”
Bryanna looked his way again. “We have an after-concert party to attend, remember? Photographers will be there to take our pictures and journalists will be there to interview us.”
“Afterwards,” he amended. “I know it will be late, but this may be the only chance I get to have a few minutes alone with you.”
Bryanna began her ascent up the stairs. “Okay,” she said finally.
Collin couldn’t help looking up at Bryanna’s behind. He bit his bottom lip. The sight literally took his breath away and made him want to do seriously foolish things. He also climbed the stairs and walked over to the piano. If he couldn’t win Bryanna’s heart with action, he planned to use his voice to serenade it with his songs.
* * * *
“Why do guys have to drink so much?” Bryanna asked, watching Axil and the rest of the guys slurping down champagne as though it was water at the after-concert party. All except Collin, that was, who stuck to bottled water. He stood apart from them, talking to reporters and giving interviews. Every now and then, he’d look across the room at her and smile. Arrogant asshole, she thought. Damn, he just oozed sex. It affected her in ways too embarrassing to speak of. And Axil coming to her rescue made it worse. Maybe agreeing to go out to dinner with Collin later might not have been a good idea.
“Come dance with me, darling,” Axil invited, suddenly being nice to her after treating her like a pariah for the last couple of days. He had changed out of his costume and now wore a black tuxedo.
“Sure.” She accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.
The disk jockey for the event span a mixture of hip-hop and soul music. She and Axil were fortunate enough to have him begin a slow number for their dance. Her three-inched heels brought her up to Axil’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. He smelt faintly of lemon drop mints, champagne and sensual male. And his cologne was so nice.
She inhaled as he moved her slowly around the floor.
Axil tightened his grip on her and pressed his body to hers. Her nipples hardened on contact. Bryanna sighed. What was she supposed to do? He was her best friend. When exactly had their relationship changed from playmates to potential lovers?
“I could dance with you like this all night,” he told her as he rocked his hips from side to side. Axil, like Collin, was a very good dancer.
Their parents had always thought they’d grow up and marry each other. Hmm, Bryanna thought. Maybe they were right. She and Axil were perfect for each other and had a lot in common. She glanced over at Collin, still near the press people. But where Axil had her heart, Collin had every other part of her mind, body and soul.
“Let me take you out of here. I’m dying to see Los Angeles.”
“Sorry,” Bryanna said regretfully as the dance ended and they walked over to where their group had assembled. “I have a date later.”
Axil looked at her as though she’d slapped him. “With whom?”
“Don’t get mad,” she cautioned before she spoke the other man’s name. “Collin.”
Axil’s body tensed beside her. “Why? After what he did to you earlier?”
“Don’t make a scene. He’s taking me to dinner as his way of apologising. He said he’s sorry.” She smiled for a picture.
“And you believe him?”
“Can we get a picture of the two of you together?” a female photographer asked.
Axil put his arm around her shoulders and drew her near. They smiled and a flash went off in their faces.
“Yes,” Bryanna answered. “I do. Anyway, I promised and I don’t break promises.”
“What if he tries something with you?”
“We’re going to a restaurant. I’m sure I’ll be safe.”
“Collin? Can we get a picture of you and Bryanna?” the same female photographer asked.
The anger radiated from Axil, making the huge hall feel stuffy.
“Sure,” Collin said taking her hand and pulling her away from Axil.
Bryanna grimaced. She felt like a yo-yo.