“Not enough rooms anywhere else.” The room key hit the dresser with a clatter as Jay tossed it aside and pulled Katie into his arms. His lips on hers were crushing and Katie responded with a hunger that surprised her. It must have surprised Jay, too, because he pulled back and looked at her with one eyebrow cocked.
“You did miss me, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I missed you,” she whispered. “But there’s something else.”
“Really?” He nipped her jaw. “What’s that?”
“You’re … different. It kind of turns me on.”
He grew still for a moment, his arms locked around her. After a moment, his muscles relaxed and he drew back. “Different? How?”
Katie shook her head. “I don’t know. Quieter. More intense. Almost … dangerous.”
His chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath and released her. Leaving her gaping in confusion he went to look out the window. “What would you think about staying here for a bit?”
Taken by surprise at the abrupt change of subject, Katie looked around the room. “What’s caught your fancy, the floral curtains or the tiny bathroom?”
“Not here. In Birmingham.” He tossed a quick grin at her over his shoulder. “I’ve been thinking; you haven’t been here in a while and we could stay a couple of days if you’d like. And then … How far is it to Mississippi?”
Katie shrugged, still trying to process what he was saying. “Depends on where you want to go. The state line’s a couple of hours away. Why?”
Eyes lowered, Jay sat on the edge of the bed and bounced as if checking the quality of the mattress. “I was thinking if we were close we might visit Rosedale. You know, the Crossroads?”
Katie arched a brow. “Looking for guitar lessons, are you?”
Jay snorted in derision. “Hardly. I’m better than the devil’s ever thought of being.”
“And full of humility, too. I suppose you could always give a lesson, then.” She frowned in thought. “I’m not sure, but I think Rosedale’s on the other side of the state. We could stay here a few days, rent a car and drive around. Then we could go to Mississippi. We could stay in Memphis, I guess. Or Tupelo, it’s a fairly good-sized town.”
“Tupelo?” Jay looked interested. “Isn’t that where Elvis Presley was born?”
“Mm-hm. We could stay there, then turn the car in at Memphis and catch a flight from there.”
“Let’s do it.” Jay smiled, hazel eyes twinkling. “We can go home next week.”
Laughing, Katie shook her head. “This is an unexpected development, Jay.”
“Yes, it is.” Standing, Jay cupped her face in his hands and pressed a light kiss on her lips. “Right now, though, I’m going to grab a shower. I’ve no idea what time it is, but I assume we’ll have to leave soon.”
“Oh, yeah.” Katie had forgotten the upcoming concert. “While you do that, I’m going to get us another place to stay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The historic Tutwiler Hotel had always fascinated Katie. She’d never had a reason to stay there, but she’d always admired the graceful old building and decided to satisfy her curiosity about it by booking a room there for herself and Jay. Glad to have the accommodations for the remainder of the week arranged, Katie hurried to apply makeup and dress for the concert. She was sitting on the bed to wrap the straps of her gold sandals up her calves when the rattle of the bathroom door made her look up. Her jaw dropped and her breath stopped as she beheld a literal rock and roll wet dream.
The difference in Jay that had struck Katie with such force had solidified during his shower. His stance was more aggressive; his face was harder and the look in his eye left no doubt that he was in a dangerous mood. “Stand up,” he commanded. “Let me see you.”
Katie made short work of tying the second sandal and stood. The white chiffon of her dress undulated when she moved, making it look as though she were standing in a breeze. Like all of her dresses, it was short to the point of indecency.
Jay’s gazed raked her up and down, the danger in his eyes intensifying. He circled behind her and Katie lifted her eyes to the mirror. Long arms clasped her waist and the warmth of his body went through the light fabric as though she wasn’t wearing anything. “You look like a very naughty girl in this dress.” His voice was low and smooth as silk and Katie shivered. “A very naughty girl who’s playing at being innocent. But that’s exactly what you are, isn’t it? My naughty girl who looks like an angel.” He brushed her hair aside and lowered his lips to her neck, sucking and biting until she drew in her breath with a hiss. Jay ran his thumb across the mark he’d left, the brand of his possession, and smiled. “You’re also the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Katie turned to face him. “Back at ya,” she whispered before she attacked his neck. She wasn’t sure he’d let her do it; she’d never marked him before. Instead of drawing away, Jay put his hand on the back of her head, pressing her to him. Encouraged, Katie kept up the suction as long as she could, breaking away with a gasp for breath. It was a short one, though, as Jay tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her forward into a crushing kiss. When he released her, she stumbled and would have fallen, save for his hands holding her up. He chuckled deep in his throat.
“Oh, Katie, I do love you.”
“I love you, too.” She reached up to push back a curl that had fallen over his eye, but drew back in contrition when he moved his head, avoiding her touch. Carried away, she’d forgotten how much he hated having his hair fussed with when he was getting ready for a show. “I’m sorry,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “I forgot.”
His look softened. Taking her hand in his, he put it to his hair and curled her fingers around it. “Don’t be sorry.” He kissed her again, a tender caress against her lips, and smiled. “And now I have to get dressed.”
Katie let her gaze roam over him. “Well, if you must.”
His grin transformed his face before he turned away to rummage in his suitcase. Katie took the opportunity to do a last check of her appearance in the mirror, but Jay’s voice made her turn back.
“What do you think of this?” He held up a short red velveteen jacket. An image of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing up was embroidered in silver thread down one arm and the other was embroidered with a row of silver diamonds.
“It’s so far out!” Katie advanced to give it a closer examination. “Where’d you get it?”
“New Orleans.” Jay smirked. “Bought it off a drag queen in a gay bar after the show that night.”
Katie’s mouth popped open. “You did not!”
“Of course I did.” He grinned, his delight in her surprise obvious. “So you like it?”
“I love it. Are you going to wear it tonight?”
“I am.” He slipped it on and pulled the sleeves down tight to his wrists. “How do I look?”
“Fantastic,” she breathed. “But haven’t you forgotten your shirt?”
He sat on the edge of the bed to put on the beat up white sneakers he always wore on stage. “No, I’m not going to wear one.”
Katie looked him over, a slow smile spreading across her face. His jeans were just the slightest bit too snug and his bare chest with its light covering of dark hair peeked out between the lapels of the jacket. Hanging just below his shoulders, his hair was beginning to dry, curling in furious abandon around his face. “Man, I’m going to have to get a guard dog to keep the chicks off you tonight.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Not necessary. One look at my naughty angel will be enough to deter any unwelcome advances.”
A pounding on the door was followed by Walter’s bellowing voice. “Five minutes!”
Jay jumped off the bed, betraying his nervous energy. “That’s good. We’re ready.”
“Jay?” Katie beckoned him with one finger. “Come here for a minute.”
One corner of his mouth curved up in a half-smile as he stood before her. “What is it?”
“Don�
�t shut me out.” She put light fingers over his lips when he would have spoken. “If I’m part of your life, then I want to be part of all of it. I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said this … this dangerous side to you turns me on.”
Jay regarded her for a moment, his look speculative. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Yes, I do,” Katie repeated. Her nerve endings were sizzling again at the barely restrained strength she felt flowing off him in waves and she clutched the lapels of his jacket to help her shaking knees hold her upright.
“Why?”
Katie’s hands released their hold on his jacket and plunged into his hair. “Because,” she whispered, “I don’t want there to be one single facet of you that doesn’t have a memory of me, no matter what you’re doing.”
Jay’s eyebrows shot up, but a slow smile curved his lips. “Smart girl.”
Someone hammered on the door and Katie jumped. Jay remained immobile, still wearing that smile and looking into her eyes. “If that’s what you want … ”
Katie nodded as the hammering was repeated, followed by Walter’s voice shouting for Jay to hurry up. She felt Jay’s hand tangle in her hair and her head was yanked back. It didn’t hurt, but it surprised her and she gasped.
“Just remember,” he murmured. “You asked for this.” He reached out with his other hand and swung the door open.
“I’ll remember.” She’d seen a brief flicker of indecision cross his face and didn’t dare break eye contact.
Still holding her hair in a firm grasp, Jay ignored the excited babble of voices that had broken out when he’d opened the door. He gave her an unfamiliar grin. “Yes, but I’m not sure I will.”
Trembling, Katie followed Jay into the hall. His appearance was greeted by a feminine twitter of appreciation from the girls and a glower from Walter. The manager pointed his finger at Jay.
“You cannot wear that.”
“I most certainly can.”
“No, you can’t. In case you’ve forgotten, we are in the deep south, which, besides being a contradiction in terms since there’s nothing deep at all about these people, means that a bare chest is considered indecent exposure.” Walter’s pointing finger moved from Jay to the door of their room. “Go put on a shirt before you get arrested.”
“Cool out, Walter,” Katie said, miffed at the insult to her hometown. “If there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it.”
Walter glanced at her, not bothering to hide his condescension. “Really, Katie, I doubt you can take care of it.”
Realizing the time had come to divulge her private business, she firmed her jaw. “Yes, I can. My name … my father’s name still wields a lot of power in Birmingham, even though he’s gone. All I have to do is let people know I’m his daughter and I can … ” She swallowed, uncomfortable with the interested looks being cast her way. The feel of Jay’s arm slipping around her waist steadied her and she took a deep breath. “I can pretty much get away with whatever I want, and that includes Jay. It includes all of you if I want it to. So there.”
Walter lifted an eyebrow. “Well, that’s good to know.” He eyed Katie with more appreciation than she could ever remember getting from him. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now we know Jay won’t end up incarcerated for giving innocent young girls a glimpse of nipple, let’s go.” Looking much like the Pied Piper, he led the band and hangers-on toward the elevators.
Jay kissed her hair as they made their way down the hall. “It’s not a bad thing, love, having power. At least you use yours for good.”
“And your being able to display your chest is for the good?”
“My chest today, Adam’s tomorrow.”
As they crowded onto the elevator, Katie saw that Adam was looking over Jay’s outfit with anything but friendly regard. She stifled a giggle, knowing Adam’s blue and white shirt would end up unbuttoned to his waist by the time the band took the stage.
Jay’s grin held a hint of malice. “I don’t think he’s best pleased I thought of this first.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Katie found herself enjoying the sound check in the echoing Legion Field, especially when she noticed Nicky playing rhythm guitar and Stuart on bass. She leaned against the portable stage and caught Nicky’s attention during a break for Jay to berate the road crew on the volume of the stage monitors. Nicky smiled, brown eyes sparkling.
“You’re a walking inducement to ravishment in that dress, love.”
Katie grinned. “That was the plan.” She gestured at his guitar. “What’s up with the instrument? Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but it is a surprise.”
“Yeah, well.” Nicky folded his legs under him and sat as the road crew, belligerent at being told how to do their jobs, started bickering back at Jay. “We tried it in practice a couple weeks ago, to see if we couldn’t make ‘Paradox’ sound full like it does on the record,” he said, referring to the title track of their first album. “It’s all well and good for Jay to overdub guitar tracks in the studio, but it sounded a bit thin when we played it live.” He shrugged. “It worked, and we all like it. When Stu’s on keyboards, I take the bass, but mostly we keep it like this. The guitar was my first love, you know. I only took up the bass because I knew I’d never be able to compete with Jay, or Pagey, or Beck, or Clapton, or … ” He laughed. “You get the idea.”
Giggling, Katie nodded. “I see your point. But how about Stuart? He’s cool with it, too?”
“Oh, yeah! Especially when he noticed the chicks really go for guys with something strapped across their chest.” They turned to look at Stuart standing at stage right, preening for an adoring groupie. Nicky laughed softly and turned back to Katie. “And speaking of women, how’s my wife?”
“She was fine last time I saw her. I didn’t have a lot of time before I left, but I tried to ring her. Didn’t get her, though.”
“She’s at her folks,” Nicky informed her. “Something about buying things for the baby, I think.”
Katie grinned. “This is only the beginning, you know. Knowing Maureen’s mother, you won’t be able to get around your flat for all the baby things. I asked Maur what I should get and she told me a good godmother provides lots of diapers for the baby and lots of tranquilizers for the mum.”
Nicky threw back his head and roared with laughter. “That’s my girl, all right, always thinking ahead.” His laughter died off, though, as he shook his head. “Damn, I miss her.”
“You’ll see her soon.” Katie patted his knee. She glanced up as Jay stopped beside Nicky, still in heated conversation with a member of the road crew. Having had enough, he whirled around and stuck his face mere inches from the roadie’s.
“Fuck’s sake,” he growled. “Just do it the way I want it done with no more dialogue.” He pointed toward the offending speaker. “Now!”
Stuart, whose foot was propped on the monitor, caught sight of Jay’s face and prudently retreated to the back of the stage. The roadie stomped off, swearing a blue streak under his breath and Jay squatted next to Nicky. “Can you hear that monitor?”
“Nope,” Nicky said. “Couldn’t hear it last night, either. Why do you think Stuart and I were crowding you?”
“Fucking incompetent bloody fools. We won’t be hiring any of them again.” Jay’s expression lightened as he looked at Katie. “How bad does it sound?”
Katie smiled. “It sounds great. What I’ve heard, that is.”
Jay pulled a long strand of her hair to his lips. “That’s my girl.” He rose and nudged Nicky with his foot. “Up. We don’t have much longer ’til they open the doors, so let’s try to get this done.” He shot another dark look toward the roadie and went over to inspect his work on the faulty monitor.
Nicky sighed, getting to his feet. “Back to work, I suppose.”
Katie watched Nicky move off to confer with Stuart and almost jumped out of her skin when a blast from Jay’s guitar roared through the speakers as he played the blistering intro to “Paradox,” stri
ding along the stage with his head cocked toward the monitors. Beginning with George, the rest of the band joined in and Katie stepped back. Though Jay hadn’t said anything, she didn’t want to distract Nicky or any of the others when they were supposed to be working, so she thought it prudent to retreat backstage and wait until the sound check was over.
• • •
An hour later, Rick entered with another of the road crew lugging two coolers, and all the hangers-on appeared as if by magic, stampeding to appropriate the beers they’d brought. Katie’s eyes scanned the room and finally located Jay. He held a beer in his hand as he paced back and forth, looking for all the world like a caged beast. Katie shoved her way across the room to him.
It took a minute for him to notice she was there, but when he did he broke off in mid-stride and held out his hand. “Come with me.”
With no hesitation, she took his hand, although she did wonder where he planned to take her; the room was crammed full. There was another area, separate but with no door, lined on one side by urinals and toilets and by sinks on the other. Privacy was one thing, but Katie didn’t really dig the thought of spending time in the can. To her relief, they ended up in a corner of the locker room, Katie leaning against the wall and Jay’s back to the crowd, a clear indication they didn’t want to be disturbed.
Silent, they stood together, with Katie giving him all the comfort she could without speaking, and Jay taking it, his taut body relaxing as some of his pent-up tension dissipated. He took an occasional pull from his beer, but for the most part he remained leaning against her, his arm around her waist and his forehead resting on hers.
Her hands skimmed over his back, fingers exploring the indentation of his spine, feeling the warmth of his skin against her palms. One hand left his back and moved to his chest, the feel of his hair soft against the pads of her fingers. Her thumb brushed across his nipple and she was engulfed in a fresh onslaught of beer fumes as Jay sighed.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Katie sucked in a breath. “You won’t.”
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