by Dawn Ryder
Too scared to release.
He opened his eyes, drawing a gasp from her because she recognized the hunger in them. It turned her on, tightening her nipples. He locked gazes with her, caressing the strings of his guitar as he played the first, fleeting notes of “Insatiable Craving.”
He was singing to her, applying the words to her as he prowled toward her. People stretched up, straining to touch him. They ended up stroking his ankles as he passed them, but he was completely intent on her.
The intensity was mind-blowing. She strained toward him, reaching for just a fleeting moment of contact. The people around her were crowding her, pushing their way closer to their idol. She didn’t care. She threw her head back and laughed.
* * *
“Now that was fucking brilliant!”
Cid was in top form. Two of his personal assistants were at his elbows, each of them looking like they’d spent the day doing nothing but getting ready. From head to toe, they were buffed, primped, and dressed to kill. She’d never seen makeup so perfect or detailed.
The performers’ room was hot because of all the bodies in it. The roaring crowd could still be heard behind them.
“Denver PD just called for backup to deal with the party in the parking lot,” Cid crowed. “Perfect!”
“Kate is good for the show,” Taz spoke up.
Cid stiffened, cutting her a quick look. No one else really caught it, but she did.
Ignore him. He’s just pissing on his turf.
The guy saw her as a threat. She was sure of it now. She’d have to keep her eye on him.
“They’ve got more churches than bars in this city, so I want you guys to do a little riding. Got a few private invitations, but what we really need is connection with the masses. I’ve got the guys bringing your bikes around. Kerry and her team are going to fix you guys up with light makeup.”
Cid was good at what he did. Kate had to give him some credit. There were at least ten team members in the room, all of them organized and working together to keep Syon and his band looking top-notch. The makeup crew wore blue polo shirts. They didn’t hesitate to move right in and start using their sponges and brushes. Cid was going down his performance notes with the help of his tablets while the heavier stage makeup was removed and lighter coats applied.
“Costume production is going well, so don’t be afraid to play hard out there.”
Ramsey cut Kate a glance, one eyebrow raised.
“Is there a problem with my note?”
Ramsey snapped his head around to look at Cid. “I like looking at her more than you, Cid.”
The other members of the band laughed, a couple of the crew joining in. Cid’s cronies didn’t though. They cast her long, calculating looks.
The power shifts were like everything else Toxsin did—extreme.
Syon hopped out of his chair and captured her in a hug. “Me too,” he said as he nuzzled her neck.
“If you’re going to fuck, take her to the dressing rooms,” Cid tossed over his shoulder.
“What the hell?” Kate demanded.
Syon stiffened. “Kill your attitude, Cid. Kate’s not a groupie.”
“Yeah,” Taz chimed in, surprising her. “She’s taking me out for sushi tonight. I don’t hang out with groupies.”
“You should,” Cid shot back at Taz. “Your image needs a shot of heat. About ten of them. Time for you to get over that high school sweetheart thing. ”
“I told you before: don’t even make a reference to Joi.” Taz was suddenly dead serious.
Cid opened his arms. “Come on. It’s been what? Three years? At least Kate isn’t a prude.”
“Warned you.”
Taz grinned evilly at the road manager, looking a whole lot like a martial arts fighter who was getting ready to whup some ass.
And love every second of doing it.
Cid actually stepped back. “Okay. Got it. I’ve forgotten her name.”
Taz looked disappointed for a moment.
Syon chuckled. “Yeah. Sushi.” He kissed Kate again, trying to smooth out the hard set of her lips. “We owe Taz sushi. He takes sushi very seriously.”
They did owe him, and the reason made her blush. But it restored her good humor too. Ramsey was suddenly there, falling into step.
“Wait up,” Drake called as his makeup person refused to let him out of the chair.
They walked between rows of security men who had their arms out wide to hold back the fans. Barricades had been set up, but they were being pushed out of alignment by the surging crowd. Syon draped his arm across her back as the cameras snapped around them like fireflies.
Toxsin crew members pulled up on the Harleys, gaining a roar of approval from the fans. They slid off the bikes, and Syon and his buddies took their places.
“Take a ride with me,” Syon cooed to her. She shivered, enjoying the tremor.
She climbed on behind him and pressed up close. “I do enjoy rides…with you…”
Syon pulled away, in command of the bike. The engine roared with a vibration in the seat that teased her clit. The wind was crisp on her face, but it was the hard body she was holding on to that captivated her the most.
Cars slowed down as they passed, windows sliding open to reveal fans. Long-haired guys with tattoos and piercings screamed out. Girls in the bare minimum of clothing sent saucy looks, and more than a few flashed them.
They made several passes through the area around the arena before Taz took off, and the rest followed him. They made their way down to where the streets narrowed and more signs were written in Korean. It had to be close to midnight, but the sidewalks were still full. Groups of teens looked up, some of them gasping with surprise and raising their fists into the air. Taz called back to them in Korean.
For once, he was the wild one, tipping his head back and howling. He pulled up in front of a huge restaurant, built to look like a vintage Asian house. Two Korean girls in native dress smiled at them from the door before they bowed in perfect unison and greeted them.
Taz stopped and bowed. Syon pulled Kate behind him, and they stopped to bow to the girls as well. It seemed to be their duty to greet every person entering the establishment. Inside, there was a huge counter with bar seating and sushi chefs working behind it. Taz called out to them, and they raised their hands in acknowledgment.
Waiters were carrying huge trays of food around, some of it steaming hot. There was a cloud of moisture hanging out near the ceiling. There was the clink of dishes and conversation in an Asian language. Two more women in native dress hurried over and bowed to Taz.
“We’re going upstairs, guys,” Taz said. “Got a private dining room.”
He reached out and shook the manager’s hand. Kate watched a folded bill transfer between their hands before the girls led them up a staircase. The manager secured a thick red rope across the opening once they’d passed.
Upstairs, the noise level was considerably less. The soft sounds of Korean music floated around as they were taken down a hallway with walls that looked like they were made of bamboo and rice paper. One of the girls slid a door open and welcomed them in.
“Nice, Taz,” Drake said as he walked in and landed on a pillow that was meant to be sat on.
“Take your shoes off.” Taz was slipping off his boots at the door, still on the other side of it. One of their escorts was looking at Drake like he was a parasite.
“Oh…sorry. My bad.” He rolled over and got to his feet before making his way back to the door. An older woman had appeared from somewhere and was actually dry mopping the floor behind him. Taz reached out and smacked him on the ear.
“Where were you raised, in a barn?” Taz asked.
“Hey,” Drake complained, but the girls laughed happily with their chins down and their lips pressed tightly closed.
Once she was in the room, Kate realized there was an open place beneath the table for their legs if they didn’t want to sit crossed-legged on the pillows.
“
So, where’s the geisha?” Ramsey asked as he pulled up the edge of the tablecloth and looked beneath. “The one who gives us blow jobs while we eat, and we all try to figure out whose cock she’s got in her mouth.”
“Geisha are Japanese,” Taz said as he settled in. “And I came here to eat.”
The food started coming and didn’t stop.
Neither did the sake.
“Come on, Kate…try the octopi,” Taz insisted.
“Yeah, Kate, you don’t want to miss the octopi,” Ramsey said.
“She won’t,” Syon confirmed. “I make sure she gets plenty of tentacle.”
She stuck out her tongue at him.
Syon growled suggestively and stuck his foot out under the table. Kate ended up putting the octopus in her mouth to cover her shock as he pushed his way past her knees and right up to her pubic mound.
Taz had moved on to challenging Ramsey to a drinking bout. Drake happily made sure their sake cups were filled with the same amount.
Kate had to swallow the food quickly as Syon used his toes against her clit. His sock and her panties were the only things between them as he rubbed his big toe back and forth across her clit, stirring up the hunger the concert had left her with.
Taz and Ramsey slammed their cups down and started arguing over who had won.
“We need to go buy the chefs a drink,” Taz suddenly announced. “Let’s go downstairs.”
He was up and moving toward the door, Drake and Ramsey falling in behind him.
Kate didn’t make it out of her seat fast enough, because Syon was still playing with her. Before she knew it, Taz and the others disappeared, leaving her alone with Syon.
“Perfect,” Syon said with a dark promise in his tone.
Syon removed his foot, giving her enough time to clear her wits. He slid beneath the table before she realized what he was going to do.
“Syon…”
Her voice became a squeak as he hooked his fingers around her underwear and pulled it down her legs.
“I want ginger,” he said, his voice rasping as he pushed her knees apart.
She felt his breath on her cleft. “Syon…not here…”
“Oh yeah, baby.” He ran his thumb down the center of her slit. “I came here to eat…”
Words failed her. She was suddenly intensely conscious of her slit. Syon teased it with his thumb, moving from her clit to her pussy with a slow motion.
“First time I saw you…I wanted to know if you had ginger curls.” He pushed his fingers through her pubic hair. “I love them.”
“Someone is going to walk in on us.” She tried to push away from him with the help of the table, but he had his hands on her hips and held her still.
“Guess you’d better bite your lips.” He used his thumbs to pull the folds of her pussy open. “’Cause I am going to eat you out.”
The first touch made her shudder. She ended up grasping the tablecloth as her fingers curled into claws. She raised the edge of it just enough for her to see the back of Syon’s head where it was buried in her lap.
“Mmmm…” he muttered as he licked through the center of her slit. “Good.”
He was rimming her pussy with his tongue, sending her heart pounding. Her clit was pulsing, begging for attention.
Syon didn’t disappoint her. He lapped his way back to the little bundle of nerve endings and teased it.
“Oh…damn,” she gasped.
He chuckled and closed his mouth around her clit. Pleasure ripped through her, raising goose bumps all over her body. She forgot about being walked in on. Forgot about where they were.
Forgot everything except the way Syon was eating her out. He might have started slow, but there was nothing timid about his actions now. He was lapping her and sucking her, working his tongue against her clit in hard motions that were driving her to the edge of madness.
“Yeah…” she muttered, on the edge of climax. She pushed her hips toward him, twisting her hands in his hair. “Like that…”
She strained toward him as he worked his tongue. He pressed hard, pushing her toward the explosion and sucking her through it. She ended up sprawled out on the floor, the oversize pillow beneath her as Syon pulled a napkin from the tabletop and cleaned her.
It was strange to have him attend to such a personal chore. Stranger still to realize he understood her body so well. He rubbed the top of her thighs with his hands, massaging the quivering muscles before crawling out from beneath the table.
“You’re a maniac,” she said at last, sitting up and reaching for her wineglass.
“That’s what you love about me.”
The word “love” was a little sharp.
Only because you’re chicken…
With good reason. Syon had women throwing themselves at him. What sort of incentive did she have to offer for him to be monogamous?
But then again, he hadn’t insisted she be monogamous. Taz and the others came back, hooting with laughter over their adventure. They settled in as another round of food arrived. They laughed and ribbed each other. The unity was there, like a close-knit family. In a way, it was rarer than family, because what drew them together was the passion inside them. People might enjoy the idea of being rebels, but they went back to their respectable lives when the concert was over. Very few were willing to face the condemning nature of society at large.
She was lucky enough to be having dinner with four of them.
* * *
Percy caught up with her again in Milwaukee. “So how is it going, sweetie?”
“I’m not a very good gypsy,” Kate confessed. Cid’s crew was setting up her shop as she sipped coffee in an attempt to wake up. Her body was protesting, her internal clock thrown so far off, she didn’t have any hope of recovering.
But she had to work on the day they were building the concert stage, so it was up with the sun.
“You’re going to do just fine.” Percy offered her a long-distance pat on the shoulder. “Being on the road is hard, but the work I’ve seen is fabulous.”
“Thanks to your shopping.”
Percy made a happy sound on the other end of the line. “Wouldn’t miss it. Steve keeps asking when we need to go again. I think he’s fantasizing about those studs a little too much.”
“Well, I’m sure you can put his passion to good use.”
Percy laughed. “You know I will.”
The last of her shop was unloaded. The crew was unboxing her machines and setting up the cutting table. It took less than an hour, because she and Percy knew how to design a set kit.
She laid out a new hide, smoothing the winkles and studying the surface intently before laying out a pattern. Drake wanted a small pocket running down the right leg for his drumsticks. Kate considered the pattern, making a couple of new pieces to form the pocket.
“You’re intense when you work.”
Kate looked up to find Taz halfway into the suite. She lowered the shears she’d been about to start cutting with.
“Yes.”
“It shows in your work. You love what you do.”
Coming from Taz, it felt like a double compliment. He was more private than the other members of the band.
“I was wondering”—he pulled a tablet from his jacket, looking like he was working up the courage to ask her something—“if you can do something like this. If you have time.”
He laid the device on the table. She came around and looked at the picture of Loki from The Avengers.
“I like to cosplay when we’re not on tour,” he confessed.
Kate nodded. “And you want to be the bad boy.”
“I am the bad boy.”
Kate shook her head. “No, you’re not.”
Something passed through his eyes. It darkened his expression momentarily before he shook it off. “I’ve messed up pretty bad when it counted.”
“We all do.”
He offered her a shrug before leaving. For a moment she felt like going after him. There was someth
ing dark inside him, a pain that ran deep. But it was the type of demon only he could defeat.
Maybe he’d tell her more about it when she finished his Loki coat.
* * *
“Thank you, Milwaukee!”
The fans roared, and Syon left them screaming for more. Kate fought her way to the backstage entrance. She squeezed through the opening—two of Cid’s guys were blocking it and unwilling to move aside more than two inches, it seemed.
But the swarm of bodies behind her made it understandable. They tried to follow her, the men holding them back with pure bulk.
Syon looped an arm around her, pulling her close for a sweaty kiss. She followed him into the performance room, where Cid was ready to run the show.
“I’m out tonight.”
Cid turned around, looking at Ramsey like he’d lost his mind.
“Don’t think I heard you, mate,” Cid said incredulously.
“You did.” Ramsey wiped his makeup off. “I’ve got something I’ve got to take care of.”
“Yeah,” Syon joined in. “We’ve got stuff to deal with.”
“Someone’s got to meet the press,” Cid insisted.
“Fine,” Syon said. “I got that.”
Cid wasn’t pleased. Not by a long shot. A tide of red darkened his complexion, but Syon didn’t give him a chance to argue. He turned and jerked his head toward the doors. Ramsey was moving instantly, heading for the door with a hard expression on his face. Kate lost sight of him as they piled into a black SUV and made their way to the hotel.
The normal buzz was missing. Kate felt like the only one not in on the secret. But she didn’t get long to ponder it. Their driver pulled around the huge semicircle in front of the hotel and opened the doors to the delight of the fans.
“Got to talk to the press.” Syon dropped a kiss on her temple before letting Cid’s crew pull him away. The paparazzi were out in good number, snapping pictures of Drake and Taz as they made their way through the huge entrance doors of the hotel. Fans squealed and stretched out to touch them, some of the girls lifting their tops.
Drake stopped and smiled at one. Taz considered him for a minute, judging him sober enough to look out for himself. The girl smiled knowingly, boldly licking her lower lip. Drake offered her his hand, and the security guys let her slide through the barricade.