“Hey, Austin!” Remi’s hand remained on Cami’s lower back. “This beautiful woman says she’s supposed to be up here.”
Much like Austin, Remi was wealthy, but you’d never know it to look at him. He wore jeans and the same black t-shirt the rest of his staff had on. When we’d entered the club, he’d been working at the bar near the entrance. I didn’t know him well, but I’d heard he had no trouble finding female companionship. He was a couple of inches over six feet tall and in good shape. He had neatly-trimmed, dark brown hair and a short beard. His deep blue eyes kept drifting to Cami.
I was just about to tell the asshole to get his hands off her when she pulled away from him and rolled her eyes. “It’s nice to know how forgettable I am.” She moved toward me. I stood and gestured to my chair as I grabbed another to bring to the table.
Remi grinned. “I must be off my game tonight. I usually remember all the pretty ladies I meet.”
“She’s not your type, Tiberius.” Austin’s use of the first name Remi hated made him cringe. Remi was short for Tiberius Maurice Remington III.
“I don’t have a type,” Remi argued.
“Sure, you do,” Cami replied with a sweet smile. “You prefer them gullible.”
My hand reached around the back of Cami’s chair to play with her hair. She gave me a quick sidelong glance before returning her attention to Remi. She’d noticed I was staking my claim, and I couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say about it later.
Remi chuckled. “Not gullible, but I do like women who are available. Do you guys need anything else? Is my staff taking good care of you up here?”
“Everything’s great,” Austin told him. “We won’t be here too much longer, at least, I won’t.”
Remi’s smile faded, and he nodded. “How’s Piper doing?” Piper handled bookkeeping for both of Remi’s clubs.
“She’s doing fine now,” Austin assured him.
“Tell her she can take as much time off as she needs,” Remi added. “I’d better get back to the bar. We’re short tonight.”
On those words, the dickhead walked off. Fine, he wasn’t a dickhead, but I still didn’t like him flirting with Cami.
“You can stop with the possessive act now,” Cami told me.
There were two ways to play our situation. Either I could pretend I didn’t know what she was talking about, or I could own that shit. I went with the second option. “Nah, I kind of like the possessive crap. It feels good.”
“So,” Bentley began as she looked between Cami and me. “Was there something you wanted to tell us?”
“I took your advice,” Cami replied for us.
“What advice?” Gage asked, looking at Bentley for an answer.
“It’s nothing,” she replied. “Just some girl talk I had with Cami.”
“Are you two fucking?” Austin’s question prompted Harley to smack him in the back of the head. “Ow!”
Samantha laughed, and Jared just shook his head.
“It’s going to be fun working with you guys,” Samantha told us.
“You must be new security team members,” Cami said in a blatant attempt to shift attention away from us.
“I’m Sam, and this is Jared,” Samantha said by way of introduction.
“I’m Cami.” She shook hands with both. “I’m stalking Reckless Release, so you’ll probably see me around a lot.”
“It looks more like Xan is stalking you,” Harley remarked casually. “How’s your head, Cami?”
“Much better,” she replied.
“Any word from the police on who put the oil on the stairs?” Gage asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing yet.”
“I’m still not convinced it wasn’t Glitch,” I told them.
“Mitch hasn’t contacted me again, so either he took the hint that I don’t want to talk to him, or the police convinced him he should stop,” Cami added.
“No more emails?” I asked.
“Not a one,” she replied.
“Does this mean we can expect a big public break-up soon?” Austin asked.
Bentley coughed to cover her laugh. When I looked over at her, she flashed me a quick smile before standing. “I’m going to get a drink. Does anyone want anything?”
“I’ll go with you,” Samantha replied. “I could use another ginger ale.”
While it was technically a meet and greet with the new security, both were on duty, so they weren’t drinking. Harley, Gage, Austin, and Jared ended up joining them, leaving me alone with Cami.
“Do you think they left to give us privacy?” Cami asked.
Looking over at the bar, I saw the others trying to discreetly look at what we were doing. Harley wasn’t trying to be discreet. “They want to see what we’ll do. Bentley might have been trying to give us privacy. The others picked up on the new vibe and want to see where it goes.”
“It would have been hard for them to miss this vibe with you are acting jealous of Remi,” she pointed out.
“I wasn’t acting jealous,” I argued.
“Really?” she asked with raised eyebrows. “Possessive? Should I be worried that you’ve forgotten our rules?”
“Nope,” I replied. “The rules are that each of us has exclusive use of the other’s body. Did I forget something?”
“You know what I was asking, but I’ll forgive you for pretending you don’t since I like your answer.”
“What’s the plan here?” I leaned closer to brush her hair away from her ear. “Are we going to tease them with what’s going on? Play it off like there’s nothing to see? How do you see this playing out?”
I wasn’t sure how she’d respond, but I wasn’t expecting her to stand up and crook a finger at me to follow her before walking toward the restroom area. My eyes were locked on her perfect ass as it swayed back and forth with each step.
“Fuck me, that is hot,” I uttered before I stood and hurried after her.
Chapter 44
Cami
I’d planned to keep things casual with Xander, but he wasn’t making it easy. His reaction to Remi had been amusing and a little worrisome. At least, it had been worrisome until I’d admitted to myself that I would likely feel somewhat possessive if the situation was reversed. We might not be dating, but our physical relationship was exclusive. There was something exhilarating in knowing that I was currently the only one with an all-access pass to Xander’s body.
Xander came up behind me in the dimly lit hallway. His arms slipped around my waist, and he pulled me back against him. Leaning forward, he spoke close to my ear. “Why’d you bring me back here, beautiful? You don’t strike me as the type to have a quickie in the bathroom.”
“Maybe I stole Remi’s keys to the office when he walked me upstairs,” I teased.
“Did you?” he asked, moving around to stand in front of me. “That would be beyond hot.”
“I didn’t,” I admitted with a sigh. “The idea didn’t occur to me until I was standing here just now. Such a pity.”
Xander grinned and backed me against the wall with his hands on my hips. “Add that to my wish list of fantasies. For now, why don’t you tell me what we’re doing back here?”
“I didn’t want to do this in front of our friends,” I replied as I put both hands on the back of his head to pull him closer. Xander gave no resistance as I brought his mouth to mine. The moment our lips touched, his hands on my hips pulled me even closer before sliding around my back.
I threaded my fingers through his hair as I sucked his tongue into my mouth, drawing a growl from the back of his throat. His knees bent so he could press his dick against me, and I adjusted my legs to give him better access.
What we were doing was insane. I was making out with Xander where anyone could come along and find us. Even in the VIP area, there were others around. Still, none of that mattered. I needed more.
“Ahem.”
Xander growled loudly at the interruption. “What do you want?”
�
��To cock-block you,” was Austin’s gleeful reply.
“Asshole,” Xander muttered.
I looked around Xander’s side to glare at Austin. “Why are you really back here?”
“I need to take a piss.” He gestured to the door closest to us. “I was tempted to just go around you, but I decided I should at least announce my presence first.”
“Or hold it,” Xander grumbled. “We should probably head back out to join the others.”
I almost laughed at his suggestion. “You don’t want to do that.”
“What makes you say that?” he asked with a grin.
“You’re still on top of her, dumb ass,” Austin told him as he walked by us and into the bathroom.
Xander chuckled. “It’s probably a good thing we were interrupted. This isn’t the place for all the things I want to do to you.”
“Tease,” I accused.
Xander stepped back and held out a hand for me. “Any chance I can talk you into going home with me?”
“No,” I said with a sweet smile. “But you can come over to my place.”
“I will definitely take you up on that offer,” he replied.
Chapter 45
Cami
It was after eleven, and I was still in bed on a Sunday morning. That rarely happened, even when I stayed out late the night before. Then again, I rarely had Xander accompany me home and keep me up for another three hours. I’d been too tired to worry about the implications of Xander spending the night. Since it was nearly five in the morning when we both fell asleep, it was fair to say he hadn’t spent the night. His alarm had gone off at eight, and he’d dragged himself out of bed to head to band practice. Thankfully, I’d been able to go back to sleep.
My phone started buzzing on the nightstand, so I grabbed it to see who was calling. I was surprised to see it was my mom. While we weren’t fighting, we only spoke when I called to check on her. My mom had never been happy as a wife or a mother, and she preferred to keep her distance from me. She wasn’t one of those moms who thought she was the victim. She was the first to acknowledge that she hadn’t been a very good mom, and she was genuinely sorry. That didn’t mean she suddenly wanted to be a mother, but she’d tried to make it up to me. After my parents divorced, she used a large chunk of her share from the sale of their home to pay for my college tuition. For that reason, I helped out with her bills. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal mother-daughter relationship, but it’s what I had.
“Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, Cami,” she assured me. “I just went out to get my hair done yesterday, and some people at the salon were talking about a rock band.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly developed a love of rock music and want me to help you find tickets to a show,” I teased.
My mom didn’t laugh because she didn’t have a sense of humor and had never been able to recognize when I was teasing her. “I still don’t like rock music. It’s too loud, and I don’t understand why anyone would want all those tattoos. Men with tattoos are unfaithful.”
“Not all men with tattoos are unfaithful,” I argued. Since my dad had tattoos, my mom was convinced all men with tattoos cheated on their wives and girlfriends. Once, I’d asked her if she thought it was something in the ink that made them stray, and she’d surprised me with a very detailed explanation of why men with tattoos cheated. It hadn’t made much sense, but I could tell she’d put a lot of thought into it.
“You simply can’t trust them,” she insisted. “That’s why I’m calling. At first, I told myself it was none of my business. You’re a grown woman, but I just can’t let this go on without saying something.”
I waited, already knowing what she was going to say. “Are you afraid I’m dating a man with tattoos?”
“I heard you’re dating some rock star,” she replied. “One of the women at the salon heard my last name and told me she’d heard this rock star was dating a woman named Cami Shaw.”
I hadn’t even considered telling my mom about my fake relationship with Xander. She didn’t watch much television, and the only celebrity news she kept up on involved the British royal family. I had two choices. I could tell my mom what was going on, but that was risky. If anyone brought up my relationship with Xander, she’d tell them it was a lie because she enjoyed those rare occasions she had juicy gossip to share. That’s why I decided to go with my second option and lie to my mother.
“We’ve been friends for quite some time, but things changed recently.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. The nature of my relationship with Xander had changed recently. I was merely leaving out the part about us deciding to have a dirty no-strings-attached fling.
“No,” was all she said.
“No?” I asked. “What do you mean by no? I’m an adult. I can do what I want.”
“That sounded very childish,” she pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter how it sounded. It’s the truth. I get to decide who I’m going to date.”
“Cami, I know I’m not a good mother. While I’m better than I was when you were a child, you still deserve more. I often wonder if hearing me argue with your father so often scarred you as much as me being distant with you.”
It had scarred me more, but I didn’t want to discuss my childhood or my parents’ failed marriage. “None of that matters now.”
“It does matter,” my mom insisted. “That rock star will cheat on you and hurt you. What if he gets you pregnant and you have to marry him?”
“Mom, it’s not the fifties,” I reminded her. “They have birth control, and women raise children alone. Hell, that was true when you got pregnant with me. You didn’t have to marry Dad.”
“I got pregnant with you on my honeymoon,” she argued. “You were just early.”
“Right,” I muttered. I’d been eight pounds and eight weeks early. “I forgot. Listen, Mom, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine. Now, if you don’t need help with anything, I have a few things to get done around the house, and then I need to stop by the hospital.”
“For a pregnancy test?” she asked.
Yes, my mom was a little off in the head.
“To see a patient,” I clarified, deciding against pointing out that I could take a pregnancy test at home. That would only lead to her asking how often I took home pregnancy tests.
“Okay.” She didn’t sound happy. “Please, just leave that inked devil before he destroys your life.”
Inked devil? My mom had never used that phrase before.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yes, later.” She ended the call without another word.
Looking at the time, I decided I’d eat and head to the hospital before I did my housework and errands. I smiled on the way to the bathroom. It was strange but sweet that my mom was worried about me.
Chapter 46
Xander
Everything was going great with Cami. We were still spending a lot of time together, my waffles were now almost as good as hers, and the sex was phenomenal. I had yet to find anything she wasn’t willing to try. I wasn’t into anything too kinky, but I’d been with women who liked things much tamer.
It had been two weeks since our first time, and we still hadn’t spent an entire night with each other. The closest we’d come was a few hours at Cami’s place after our night at The Project. I was dying to wake up with her in my arms again. I was also dying to wake her up to pleasure her several times during the night. Waiting was a struggle, but my wait was coming to an end.
We were at Euphoria for a Deluded Serenity show. Since they were opening for Reckless Release on the first stretch of our next tour, we’d decided to make appearances at some of their shows. They’d put on a great show, and Cami had enjoyed herself. Things were winding down, and I’d even managed to talk the DJ into playing a slower song. The song wasn’t slow enough for me to be as close to Cami as I was, but I didn’t care. I liked dancing with her pressed against me, and I was even mo
re turned on around her than usual.
Why was I so turned on? It was more than her sexy little black skirt that stopped at mid-thigh. It wasn’t even her low-cut red blouse or her fuck-me shoes that were responsible for my arousal. Sure, they contributed to it, but most of it had to do with our plans for after we left Euphoria. Cami had asked if she could spend the night at my place.
“I can’t wait to get inside of you,” I uttered. “Do you think Andy would let us use his office?”
Andy had been the manager at the Project for several years, and Remi had recently moved him to Euphoria.
Cami gave me a stern look. “We can’t have sex in Andy’s office.”
“Why not?” I asked innocently.
“I just saw him head back there,” she explained. “Something tells me he’s not going to let us fool around in his office.
“Damn,” I muttered. “In that case, I’d better take you home.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea. I’m exhausted.” She yawned before continuing. “I can’t wait to get to bed and sleep.”
“Sleep?” She had to be messing with me. “I had something else in mind.”
“It’s been a long day.” She batted her eyes. “Maybe we should call it a night. I’m sure Gage and Bentley can drop me at home.”
I leaned in closer and threaded my fingers through the hair at the back of her head to hold her in place as I spoke. “If you keep teasing me, I’m going to turn you over my knee.”
“Then I’ll definitely keep teasing you,” she replied.
“It’s time to go,” I told her before practically dragging her out of the club and out to my car.
Chapter 47
Cami
By the time we got back to Xander’s place, my body was throbbing with need. While we hadn’t talked about sex on the drive, it was on both of our minds. Xander’s hand slid under the edge of my skirt several times. His fingers merely caressed my inner-thigh, not going too far up, while I imagined them sliding into me.
I stepped out of the car and waited for Xander to come around to my side, my legs practically shaking with lust. When his hand settled on my lower back to guide me in from the garage, I looked up at him. “Please, tell me you have a condom. I’m not sure I can make it upstairs to your room.”
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