by Lynn Rider
“I love you too Meagan. More than you can probably imagine.” His lips pressed against the top of my head before he led me to the elevator.
“Ashton, you really didn’t have to do this. We could have stayed at Owen’s house.” I inspected the lavish hotel room.
He stepped closer. “Babe, I couldn’t do all the things I want to do to you if we were under your brother’s roof.” He pulled me closer and flashed a devious grin down at me.
“Oh yeah? What did you have in mind?” I smiled coyly.
“I promised to make it up to you very slowly tonight. But first, we need to shower then go eat dinner. ”
I raised my eyebrow. “Why do we need to shower?” I asked playfully.
“Okay, I need a shower, but I need you to wash my back.” He waggled his eyebrows, pulling me behind him toward the bathroom.
He started the shower before he pulled his shirt from his head. I watched the glorious muscles flex and roll beneath his skin with the movement, and heat spread between my legs. I silently wondered if I’d ever grow immune to his body.
A smile played on his lips as he took in my expression. “You keep looking at me like that and I may have to take you fast and hard again.” His brow line lifted, daring me.
I slid from the counter, keeping my eyes locked on him as I closed the distance between us. I worked at slowly unbuttoning my shirt. Button after button, I watched his gaze lower with the release of each. I parted the fabric and pushed it from my shoulders, allowing it to skim down my body and pile at my feet. His eyes met mine with a naughty gleam, and his smile widened when I hooked my fingers in the waist of my pants, pushing them down slowly as I made an exaggerated shake of my hips.
“Fuck, Meagan, I want you so bad. You’re killing me,” he said roughly.
He stood watching my every move with dark, lust-filled eyes. I reached for his jeans, unbuttoning them and skimming my fingers along the sensitive flesh of his sides, pushing them lower. Ashton stepped from them as he reached for me, opening the shower door simultaneously.
“I need you,” he said roughly as we stepped under the water. He pulled my head to his and with one swipe of his tongue along my lower lip, I opened, allowing him to assault my mouth. His hands were everywhere—rubbing, grabbing and clenching.
“You are so beautiful. I love you so much,” he said against my skin as his lips traveled down my neck to my breast. He pinched the nipple before he covering it with his mouth. I leaned back, thrusting toward his face harder as his hand snaked between our bodies and entered through my folds. He rocked his hand in and out, rubbing my clit with each thrust.
“I love you,” he said, dropping to his knees. His warm mouth covered my clit, and with each swipe of his tongue, a jolt of pleasure shot through me.
“I love you too,” I whimpered.
My eyes locked onto his and watched as he lapped at my sensitive flesh. I was at his mercy—exposed—but I felt beautiful, loved, and as powerful as a woman could be. With my first moan, he sucked harder on my clit until I screamed his name as my orgasm roared from my body. He kissed softly as my body convulsed through the last shiver of my release. His darkened eyes filled with equal part love and lust. I’d never had that done to me and it was earth shattering. I bit my lip, embarrassed for letting go so freely.
“Don’t do that,” he said, rising to his feet. He kissed me chastely against the neck. “I love watching you come. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world,” he whispered huskily.
I stepped back, taking his dick firmly within my grasp. He shook his head softly.
“This is all about you.”
“Then fuck me,” I said, connecting my blue eyes to his brown.
A smile spread against his lips before he raised my arms over my head, lifted my leg, and pressed me against the tile wall as he thrust into me in once fluid stroke. He pumped hard and fast, giving me what we both wanted.
“HOW WAS ROCKSTAR?” Leah answered cheerily.
I sighed. “Good … great, actually,” I corrected with a giggle.
“How was Kelly?”
I smiled. “She was good.”
“That’s good. So do you have a new bestie?” she teased.
“No one could ever replace you.”
“I know. I am pretty awesome.” She laughed. “I’m in the city, so I’m going to come by. I haven’t seen you in forever.” It had been close to two weeks since I was at their Hampton’s house, which was a long time for us.
“Sure, do you have Luke?”
“I sure do and he needs his Aunt Meg’s kisses.”
I smiled. I loved the sound of that.
My doorbell rang an hour later. “Dang, girl, I was wondering if you got lost!” I said, swinging the door open. Leah stood there with Luke and all his gear, a grim look on her face. “What’s the matter?”
She stepped inside and dug a newspaper from her diaper bag. “I stopped at the market down the block and saw that.”
I studied the paper as my eyes filled with tears. I glanced at Leah, who was still standing there, looking at me cautiously. “What do I do?” I asked as my eyes flipped down at the paper again.
“You call him. You explain it’s not what it looks like.”
I glanced back down at the paper in my hands and narrowed in on the picture taken about two and half weeks ago in a coffee shop with Douglas. My hand was over his, looking at him tenderly. To anyone looking at this, they would think we were two lovers sharing touching words. This was the moment I’d confessed to loving him, but not in the way he’d wanted me to.
‘ASHTON PROFESSES HIS LOVE DURING CONCERT TO A CHEATER!’
My hand covered my trembling lips. Leah set up shop for Luke and sat next to me, holding me as I cried. “What do you think he’s going to do when he sees it?”
“Maybe he won’t see it. He has a few weeks left on the tour. I’m sure he’s not frequenting supermarkets while on the road,” she said, trying to calm me.
“How could I have been so stupid to meet him in a public coffee shop?”
“Meagan, it wasn’t until Ashton dragged you up on that stage, singing that song to you, that you became someone.” I looked at her snidely. “I mean, you’ve always been someone, just not a celebrity. Hell, you know what I mean,” she said dismissively.
I did know what she meant. Next to the large headlining picture of Douglas and me was a small picture of Ashton and me on stage from the concert. No one had known who I was. I was his unidentified friend until that moment. Against my better judgment, I read the article.
“These things are horrible,” I cried. Leah rubbed my back but had nothing to say to counter my opinion. There was no bright side to this.
She spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make me forget all the horrible things I’d read about myself. As much as that bothered me, the idea of Ashton seeing it before I had a chance to explain hurt just as much. They were in Tampa and then onto Orlando today to do a couple publicity stops at radio stations before heading to Miami for their concert tonight. He had a busy day and I didn’t know how to drop this on him.
My phone rang just after eight o’clock. My stomach dropped, wondering if Ashton already knew when I looked at the screen and saw his name. I had called him several times today, each time getting his voicemail, and each time hanging up, wanting to tell him personally.
“Hey.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I need to tell you something,” I said soberly.
“Okay …”
“Leah came over this afternoon. She went to the supermarket on the way here and picked up the latest tabloid.” I sighed, bracing myself for this part.
“Babe, I know already. One of the roadies showed it to me in between Tampa and Orlando this afternoon.” His voice was quiet but absent of any anger.
“I’m sorry, Ashton. It’s not what it looks like.”
“Babe, how many times do I have to tell you about those shitty ass tabloids? Do you understand now? T
hey do that shit to sell papers regardless of the people they hurt.”
“I’m sorry, Ashton. I asked to him to meet me there, thinking that it was best in a public place. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I never dreamed someone was following me,” I cried.
“Wait, that’s a recent picture? When was this, Meagan?” he asked sternly, anger wrapped around the last.
“About three weeks ago.”
“Why did you meet him?” he asked pointedly.
“Leah told me he was moving back to London. I wanted to tell him I was sorry and say goodbye.” A sob rolled from my body that I couldn’t control.
“You sound awfully damn upset about that!”
“No, Ashton, it’s not like that. I’m upset that—”
“That he’s leaving? That I found out? Which is it, Meagan?”
“No, Ashton, none of that. I’m sorry that I was incapable of understanding how much I loved you. That I brought him into my life and kept him there, knowing it was you who I wanted all along. I led him on, broke his heart, and I’m sorry for that. No one should be treated that way. He is a good man who deserved better and I felt like I needed to tell him that. I’m sorry that you dragged me on that stage and that someone’s been following me and I’ve humiliated you, but damn it, I’m more sorry for hurting someone who I care for, but can never love the way he loves me.”
Not knowing what else to say, and too emotional to hear anything more from him, I hung up. As soon as I pressed end, I felt childish and stupid, but most of all I felt remorse. How could I have done that to Ashton?
I stared at my phone for what felt like an eternity, but it never lit up; he didn’t call me back. I cried myself to sleep that night, wondering if my selfish need for closure with Douglas had just cost me the love of my life.
“Leah, call me back,” I said, leaving a message on her voicemail as I drove to work.
I’d been off for four days and had a three hour rehearsal before curtain tonight. My heart ached with the hollowness that was usually occupied with Ashton. He hadn’t called this morning, and after hanging up on him last night, my vicious mind immediately reeled images of scantily-dressed groupies. I wanted to throw up in my mouth each time an image passed through, but as the morning was turning into afternoon, the images were rolling through so fast a constant state of nausea had taken residence.
My phone rang just as I was parking my car.
‘Leah Cell’
“Hey, I’m falling apart and need a friend, but I’m walking into work and if I don’t hurry, I’m going to be late,” I said through a quivering voice.
“Oh, Meg. I’m sorry. I was at the doctor with Luke. He’s been running a fever since yesterday. What happened?”
“What’s wrong with Luke?”
“We think it’s just teeth. One day I’m going to figure out this mother shit.” She laughed. “What’s going on with you?”
“Ashton and I had a fight over the tabloid picture last night. First he was okay with it because he thought it was an old picture. When I told him it wasn’t, he got mad. Then I got mad and hung up on him.”
“You hung up on him?” she asked, bemused.
“I know, real mature. I instantly regretted it, but my pride wouldn’t let me call him back and he didn’t call me. I haven’t heard from him since last night before they went on stage. I keep getting flashes of cheap women consoling him.” I groaned in exasperation as I walked into the building.
“Yeah, hanging up on someone is pretty juvenile, but what’s done is done. He didn’t stop loving you because of one photo in a tabloid or that you hung up on him. Give him some time and he’ll call you.”
“Should I call him?”
“I don’t know him, Meagan, but if it were me and Cliff, I would,” she said affirmatively.
“Okay. They’re in Miami again tonight, and then Jacksonville tomorrow night.” I sighed. “I won’t get off work until late anyway, so I’ll call him later.”
“I love you, Meagan. Keep your chin up. His tour is almost over and you’ll be able to be together.”
“If we can make it that long. Kiss Lukey for me.”
“You’ll last and I will. We’ll come see you when he gets to feeling better.”
“Hey, Meagan, a few of us were going over to Sydney’s for a drink. Do you want to come?” Suzette asked.
I looked up from my violin, glancing at the older woman. I didn’t know much about her other than she had always been really nice to me and seemed to get along with everyone else. I glanced at my watch to see it was still too early for Ashton to be off the stage.
“Sure, for maybe just one. I’m kind of a lightweight.” I smiled.
Sydney’s was a bar and grill that turned into a bar in the evening. It wasn’t overly crowded tonight but it was definitely busy. Our group found a table near the bar and gathered extra chairs to accommodate our group. As we settled in our chairs, I found myself in a crowd that I’d never really imagined together. It was a mixture of older and younger.
Suzette settled in the chair next to me as we ordered our drinks from the flirty waiter. “I think he was checking you out,” Suzette called out over the noise.
I shook my head. “I’m sure it’s all for the tips,” I assured her. My phone flashed in my purse.
1 New text – Ashton
‘Where are you?’
‘I’m at Sydney’s.’
‘Sydney’s?’
‘Across from my work. Why aren’t you on stage?’
‘Stay there’
‘Why aren’t you on stage?’
‘I was, stay there. I’ll call you in a little bit’
I glanced up to see Evan, our bassist, watching me carefully. I smiled weakly and glanced back at the odd text message. When I looked back up, Evan was still watching me, but the large frame coming our direction lured my attention away. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart started racing as my eyes scanned the room.
A subtle hint of a smile turned the corner of his mouth as he strode across the bar, grabbing a chair from a nearby table and making himself at home next me. I looked at him in awe as he sat there, arms crossed and eyeing everyone.
“What are you doing here?” I asked without moving my lips, trying to seem unaffected by his brooding presence.
“I’m as thrilled as you are. Don’t get me started.” He looked down at me and gave me a look that told me there was no room for argument. I nodded in understanding and turned to the wide-eyed stares of my coworkers.
“Everyone, this is Dave.”
Dave didn’t mingle with anyone and never cracked a smile. He sat absorbing our surroundings and eyeing Evan very closely. After my drink was half gone, I announced my departure. Many of my coworkers were several drinks in by that time, so decided to voice their opinions louder than necessary.
As we approached my car, Dave extended his hand out for my keys. “Are you crazy?” I asked.
“You’ve been drinking.” He had a point, but I didn’t want to give in yet. I’d just had him ruin my night by brooding over my coworkers, making it uncomfortable for everyone, especially me. How would I explain his presence tomorrow?
“One drink!” I scoff.
“Don’t make me call the boss,” he warned.
“He’s your boss, not mine. He doesn’t own me, pay me and he didn’t buy my car,” I said confidently.
Dave’s look of warning turned on full blast, causing me to dump my keys into his large hand. He gave me a tight satisfied grin as he pressed the unlock button on the key fob and opened the passenger door where I slid onto the leather seat without further protest.
My phone rang after one o’clock in the morning. “Hi,” I answered with a rough, sleepy voice.
“I wasn’t sure about calling and waking you, but thought you might be up and angry,” he said quietly.
“I was up most of last night, so my body gave out on me tonight.”
“Meagan, don’t be mad. I had to send him. If that picture w
as taken weeks ago, than those assholes have been following you that long. That was before they knew, so who knows how many are following you now. New York City is an easy place for them to hide in the masses or shadows. I have to protect you.” His reasoning sounded logical.
“Is this what it will always be like?”
“No, babe. Eventually, they tire of the story and it quits selling. Kyle and Kelly are rarely in the tabloids. I think the last time was when she was pregnant. We’re just new.”
“How long will Dave be with me?”
“Until I get back.”
“Then what?”
“I protect you,” he said matter-of-factly.
“So you’re not mad about my meeting with Douglas any longer?”
“Do you plan on meeting him again?”
“No.”
He laughed. “If you hadn’t hung up on me and allowed me to ask that question after you explained yourself, you would have saved us both a lot of tossing and turning last night. I didn’t sleep for shit.”
“It wasn’t really the best thought out plan, but Ashton, it really was innocent.”
“I know, babe. I love you more because you felt bad for hurting him. It confirms what an incredible person you are. Your explanation wasn’t bad either … a little scattered, but I loved every minute of it. Couldn’t stay away, could ya?” he asked arrogantly.
“I’m tired, Ashton.” I laughed quietly at his cockiness.
“I know, babe. I really am too. The buses are rolling out of here in a little while. Kyle is up front playing Xbox, so we’re ready to roll, but the other bus is missing Trevor as of the last head count.”
“Who took Dave’s place?”
“You don’t think I can protect myself?” he asked incredulously.
“You need someone to pry the skanks off.” I laughed.
“Our new guy is Ryan. He’s a big son of a bitch. Almost as big as Dave. The only problem is the girls kind of like him.”
“Jealous?” I mocked.
“Not at all, just need to keep him focused. We haven’t had a problem, but he’s never had puss … uh, I mean he’s never had women throw themselves at him like this.”
“Thanks, Ashton, I needed to hear that. I’m already insecure having you in Miami and me here.”