Slash and Burn

by Jade C. Jamison

  She nodded but there was no smile, no confirmation that she believed it. He was wondering if there was something else he should say, but she brought her mouth to his and engulfed him in a passionate kiss. His thoughts shut off then as the blood rushed from his brain through his veins, warming him up before flooding his cock. Ordinarily, he’d try to fight it, but this woman ignited something in him he could no longer deny. Up until Brina, he’d had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude with women. He loved women, yes, but none of them stood out in the long run. Sure, there’d been the occasional chick who’d been worth a second round, but none of them had hooked him hard…until now. Something about her made new emotional rivers run inside him, made foreign emotions stir, made his brain work in strange ways. And he wasn’t going to question it any longer. He was hers—she could have his everything…not that he’d had any say in the matter anyway. His heart had already made up its mind.

  * * *

  Finally. Song number four on the set list and they were hitting a stride. Nick often felt helpless sitting at his drum kit, because there was only so much he could do when they were flailing. He’d been feeling like the kicker for a high school football team who’d made it to playoffs, but the offense was blowing it.

  The first song felt off—nothing he could put his finger on, but even he felt a little out of whack, and he was the guy who was supposed to be keeping time. When Brad grabbed a swig of water between that and the second song, his eyes connected with Nick, and Nick nodded. Yeah, Brad felt it too. The second song was slightly worse, and Nick felt like it was because of the first one—they were all feeling some weird energy and their nerves were becoming frayed, and—looking back—Nick saw that it was a pivotal point. One more wrong move and it would quickly become the worst show any of them had played. He took a deep breath and decided that, for song number three, their first single and the one the crowd would likely be singing to, his drums were going to be precision perfect. He was going to help the band as much as he could. That involved two things—one was completely ignoring them so the shit they did wouldn’t mess him up, but the second was paying close attention so he could make any necessary adjustments and possibly cover up any flub ups. Yeah, it was impossible. The hardest part of making music was being able to do two entirely contradictory things at any given time, and what made it worse was that, loving the music and being a part of it, it was hard to be objective about any of it. It was a visceral feeling, something that was deep and primal—Nick could rarely be cold or analytical about it.

  What he felt helped was he was able to actually make eye contact with both the women before they started playing the third song. He smiled and nodded to them, hoping they could feel that he had the utmost faith in them and knew that they were going to blow this audience away from here on out.

  Did it work? Hell if he knew, but something did, because—even though that song wasn’t perfect—it was what the other two songs should have been: precise, tight, and together. Now it felt like they were playing as a band and not like four people with different missions. And, after the song, he could tell they were all feeling relief based on the looks on their faces. Then Val took a few moments to hype the crowd up, and Nick himself took a long drink of water. He was beginning to appreciate the fan blowing on him. He knew some of the venues would be cooler considering it was mid-January, but some of them, like here in good old Texas, would be plenty warm, and that fan would be all that would keep him from turning into a human waterfall.

  From that point on in the set, they were on. Every song after that point was perfect—they were in sync, almost like they were one organism with different parts, and they were playing like they should have been all along. It was moments like those that made Nick continue to love playing live, because then he was able to feel the audience’s energy. They were loving the show too, and their energy was now feeding the band and the band was giving it back tenfold. Yeah, that was the way every show should be. That was what Nick lived for. There was no other feeling like it.

  * * *

  After the show, behind the stage and on a lower level, they were back in the dressing room area of the auditorium, and a couple of press people were talking with Val and Brad. Nick and Brina could have easily become part of it, but she shook her head, indicating that she wasn’t in the mood for an interview. Nick could tell it had been pretty overwhelming for her, and she was probably instead looking forward to the champagne waiting for them in a room somewhere down there. They had a small celebration planned for the first show to kick off the tour, and there might be more press people there, too, but it would be fun.

  A little champagne would be good for them all.

  It had turned out to be a great show, but it had also been exhausting. He knew he’d sleep like the dead tonight, and good thing. They were traveling tonight, and he usually found it even harder to sleep on the goddamned bus when it was moving. But sheer fatigue and a little alcohol would make sleep come easily.

  Brina wrapped her hand in his and he looked down. She was still wearing the fingerless black leather gloves she’d worn onstage and they were damp. Yeah, turned out they’d all been perspiring onstage. It was no wonder, because they’d worked their asses off. Still, Nick felt euphoric, just like all good shows made him feel. This was an early victory and one they needed. The rest of the tour would be great, because they’d just proven to themselves that they could and did work together as a band—cohesive, able to read each other, able to sense the problems and work through them.

  They were one.

  When Nick looked up from her glove to her eyes, she had on that cocky smirk she often wore, and he couldn’t quite figure out why. She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, “Trust me?”

  She grinned then. Hell, no, he didn’t trust this woman, no matter how badly his heart was entangling itself around her, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. So, instead of answering, he grinned back and raised his eyebrows. She was able to read him like a billboard, and she started walking away from the small crowd in the giant hallway. Earlier that evening, when there hadn’t been many people down there, her boots on the tile would have echoed against the walls of the cavernous place, but the sound was drowned by all the buzz and excitement of all the people ready to celebrate Val Hella’s first night on tour.

  She turned into what at first appeared to be an alcove and it was, but it led to bathrooms. She pushed on the door to the women’s room, still holding Nick’s hand. He had a feeling he knew what she was up to, but he said, “I can wait out here.”

  “Like hell you are.” He willingly let her pull him inside. There were six or seven stalls inside and the lights were low. Brina said, her voice raised, “Are you in here?”

  Oh, clever. She didn’t feel like bending over to see if she could see feet, so she was just calling out for anyone. He saw that she also looked in the mirrors over the sink, probably to inspect the bottoms of the stalls in case she could see anything, but just as that was registering in his mind, she pushed her free hand on his chest, slamming him up against the door.

  Her tongue in his mouth signaled his cock to grow hard before his brain even knew what was going on. He was ready right this second, and he could easily fuck her right then and there and walk away in four minutes flat, but Brina wasn’t some groupie he wanted to give it to after a show and then just walk away. No, she meant way more to him than that. So, even though her fingers were on the button of his leather pants, he asked, “Bri, we’re both sweaty from the show. You wanna shower first, maybe find a bed?”

  She smirked. “You seriously want to wait? I want you to fuck me, right here, right now, Nicky Sticks. You think you can do that, or should I find one of those guys out there to do it? I saw one of the roadies checking out my ass toni—”

  That was all the shit he needed to hear. No. No other guy was gonna fuck the woman who was beginning to feel like his. No other monkey was gonna paw his girl. She wanted dirty, nasty sex in a place like this? He could
and would deliver.

  It wasn’t long before she was crying aloud, making music and calling his name for the first time ever in the heat of the moment, and all the people outside seemed to melt away, because his heart decided to believe that maybe she too was feeling the same way about him.

  When they joined the party, Nick could have sworn that no champagne had ever tasted any sweeter.

  Chapter Fifteen

  NICK WASN’T SURE what time they’d arrived at their next stop somewhere deeper in the heart of Texas, but when he awoke, they were already there. They had a radio show that afternoon with a local station that wanted to interview them, and rumor was that they wanted the band to perform an acoustic version of one of their songs live.

  Val hadn’t quite decided yet, but Nick thought Brad was trying to talk her into it.

  He stretched as much as he could in that snug space, wishing Brina had been with him. But he knew that wouldn’t be such a great idea. He didn’t want to have to explain anything to Chris if the little guy asked, and he also didn’t want the eyes of Gracie, Brad, and Val on them—he didn’t want the questions, heard or unheard, or the stress that often went with worries about a band relationship.

  Not that those worries wouldn’t be legit.

  He remembered the stress and strain that had come from Val and Ethan early on. Even during the period when they weren’t together, there were days where they wouldn’t communicate, and it made it hard on them all. It was a feeling of discomfort most times. What he’d felt worst about was during their second indie tour, when Nick was pretty sure Val and Brad had hooked up again. He’d always felt like Val and Ethan were inevitable—they were like magnets. If they faced each other, they were repelled, but the second their backs were turned to each other, they’d be drawn into the other’s pull. Val and Brad, though…there had been something there that Nick didn’t know everyone else knew about. That time in the hotel hadn’t been the first time he’d found them together. There’d been an earlier time before Val had even joined the band that he’d caught them getting cozy in their van. The two of them had seemed like best friends who had a sexual attraction they were trying to deny, so even though the press tried to make it shocking and scandalous (“Fully Automatic front man steals guitarist Ethan’s woman—can the band be saved?” and garbage like that), a guy like Nick had seen it coming for years. Still, it was all that shit that created an undercurrent to all the other stuff that was out in the open, and it all played together. It made it hard some days to even want to work, and he loved playing the drums and being part of the band.

  So, yeah…for now, it was best to keep it under wraps. No gossip, no drama.

  He hadn’t even really discussed it with Brina. He didn’t know how she’d feel about it. Right now, he was just glad that she was feeling better about the band and its success as a whole. She’d been nervous the night before and they’d had some shakiness at first, but he felt like they were solid now, and she needed to enjoy that feeling too.

  He got out of his bunk and, once his feet were on the floor, he stretched properly. His muscles were still half asleep, and the movement was helping him wake up, getting his blood moving, warming him up.

  Hayley toddled down the hallway, a boisterous, cute giggle rushing from her lungs, followed by Gracie chasing her. The lovely blonde nanny said, “I’m gonna get you!”

  Nick backed up against the bunks so Gracie could get past, and it wasn’t until she’d gone beyond him, giving him a look of confusion and abashed amusement, that he realized he was wearing only underwear—no t-shirt, no sweatpants like he had the day before. He closed his eyes and shook his head. That had been stupid. He knew Val definitely wouldn’t want to see him in his underwear, nor would she want her kids to. He’d have to pay more attention.

  And, after accidentally sleeping with Gracie last summer, he figured the last thing she’d want to see would be him mostly naked, bringing back memories. That would explain the look on her face.

  Christ, what an idiot. He needed to get clothes on. Now. He’d showered the night before, so he just had to get dressed. He could brush his teeth and shave and all that good stuff after.

  But what little was left of the morning flew by quickly. Before he knew it, everyone was up and getting ready so they could find a place to eat that would accommodate requests for both breakfast and lunch, and then the band and a couple of crew members would head to the radio station for the interview and possible jam session.

  Val had two songs in mind for the “possibility,” and she told them during the ride to the studio that they might be doing an acoustic version of them. Brina asked, “You have an acoustic bass?”

  Val put her diplomatic skills to work. “I hadn’t thought of that. Brad and I rehearsed with acoustic guitars and thought that might be good, but a little percussion might not hurt. I don’t know if maybe Nick would want to bang on a tambourine and…maybe you’d want to try playing a bass-type riff on my guitar? Would that be too short a notice?”

  Nick started laughing. “I don’t even own a tambourine, Val, let alone have one with me right now.”

  “Well, yeah, I know that, but maybe Brina would want to play my guitar at the studio today.”

  Brina seemed to give it some thought, and Nick was pretty sure he could tell that just the fact that Val had confidence enough in her to let her try at the studio without even practicing made Brina feel lots better—not just about Val but also about her position in the band. “Nah, that’s okay, but maybe I could next time…if there’s a next time.”

  “Great. If it happens, I’ll try to give you more of a heads up.”

  “Sounds good.” Nick was sitting next to Brina, and it took all his willpower to not drape his arm over her shoulder. He wanted to pull her close, to show the world that she was his girl. And there was so much emotion he felt like he could infuse in her bones if he could just hold her whenever he felt like it.

  The timing wasn’t right, though. Not yet.

  The interview was pretty awesome, and the deejay asked all of them questions, not just Brad and Val, even though it would have been easy enough for most people to focus just on the power couple. It was apparent that the guy was a huge Fully Automatic fan, and he was thus far impressed by Val Hella’s offerings. He’d already listened to the CD a few times and labeled it a “solid effort.”

  As they were wrapping up, the deejay mentioned that the station would be drawing winners for the meet and greet with the band before the show. Nick raised his eyebrows, but none of the other three acted surprised at all. In fact, they all expressed enthusiasm.

  Nick then guessed maybe he should have read the itinerary…not that it mattered. He was cool with a meet and greet. He loved meeting fans. It was one thing to see songs on the charts, see record sales, hear and feel the audience, but it was quite another to meet people face to face, to have one person tell them how much their songs meant to that fan, a real live person. So Nick just smiled and planned to look at the itinerary on his phone later.

  Of course, he found it there.

  And, as promised, they made it to the venue in plenty of time for the meet and greet. Just like the show before, a local band was opening for Val Hella to get the crowd pumped for them. Nick had nothing to do while they waited, and they had venue people setting things up. Unable to help himself, Nick put his hand on the small of Brina’s back, wishing he could hold her tight. She turned her head and smiled at him. Then she whispered, “Wanna get out of here for just a minute or two?”

  “Whatcha have in mind?”

  She grinned. “Naughtiness.”

  “Sounds great to me.”

  “Think of it as therapy. I need something to calm me down and get my mind off the show. I know something that might help.”

  “Mmm. Me, too.” He extended his arm. “Lead the way, madam.” He hoped there were enough people there already that no one would notice the drummer and bassist were gone for a few minutes.

  Once out of the la
rge room, she took him by the hand to lead him, much like she had that night in her apartment. One thing Monica had completely nailed was that Brina loved to dominate in the bedroom. She wasn’t a dominatrix or into the BDSM scene as far as Nick could tell, but she knew exactly what she wanted to get out of every sexual experience, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for—or demand—it.

  So having her lead him around like a dog didn’t bug him one bit, especially because he knew he’d enjoy whatever they wound up doing. In fact, his pants were growing a little snug at the thought of it.

  This time, she pulled him into a dressing room, and as he looked around, he saw that it was her room. He knew before the end of the night that someone from their crew would clean up her room as well as the rooms belonging to him and the other band members so no one would ever know they’d been there.

  He didn’t have much time to look around, though, because Brina was mashing her lips in his before he had the door closed all the way. At that point, he let his cock rage, because they weren’t leaving this room without having their bodies swarming with endorphins.

  “Fuck me, Nick. Fuck me hard and do it now.”

  Oh, he really loved her bossy self, but he had something else in mind. He flipped her back against the door and said, “Oh, I’m gonna fuck you, but you’re just gonna have to trust me.”

  “Don’t mess around, Nick.”

  “I’m not.” He kissed her. “Just trust me, babe.”

  He saw her brows start to furrow because he’d called her that name again, but he touched her lips with his, touching his tongue to hers, to shut her up. At the same time, he ran his hand under her shirt, loving the feel of the smooth skin of her belly. His hand continued drifting up, his fingers passing each rib, until he got to her breast. He could feel the lace on the thin bra, and he took his time sliding each finger up to her pebbled nipple, and when he got them all to that point, he squeezed it until she sucked in a deep breath of air. “Goddammit, Nick, stop messing around.”