Take Me On (Take Me Series Book 1)

by Summers, Stephanie

  Lila stood up and walked toward me. She seemed guarded with one arm crossed in front of her and clenching her other arm, like she didn’t know what to expect from me. What does she think I’m going to do? The last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable with me.

  “I’m sorry for getting so pissed before. That guy irritates the fuck out of me.” She nodded her head in agreement. “He’s a goddamn creeper who tries to attach himself to any girl he thinks isn’t with someone else already. He’s too weird to go out and find someone on his own. If he wasn’t Dax’s cousin, he wouldn’t be here. Someone in management insisted he be my assistant this time around since the others weren’t available.”

  “He sounds like a real douchebag.”

  “He is.” I took a deep breath to steady myself. It was the first time in ages I actually felt a little nervous around a girl. “It isn’t much, but at least no one will bother you back here and you can get some rest.”

  She shook her head and looked toward the door. “You’re the one who needs to be rested so you can perform. I don’t feel right taking your bed from you. Where would you sleep if I did anyway?”

  “Out there in the front lounge.” It was pretty obvious she didn’t want to share a bed with me again, and I had no one to blame but myself. I should have made it clear before that I couldn’t get her out of my fucking mind and that I wanted to spend more time with her. If only it were so easy to just tell her. I rarely had problems communicating with women, but this was different. This was on a deeper level than anything I’d felt in a very long time.

  “You don’t have a bunk?”

  I shook my head. “They’re not really built for people who are almost six-and-s-half feet tall. They make me feel claustrophobic. I have to squeeze in there and then sleep at an awkward angle with very little room to move. Then I have to go on stage all hunched over because my back is fucked up. Not good…”

  She looked down at the floor and smiled. She hardly ever looked directly at me, even when we spoke more intimately like we’d done in the not so distant past. It only made her more intriguing.

  “Is there an extra bunk at all? I could sleep there.”

  “No, they’re all taken.”

  “I can sleep out front. I doubt anyone will try anything now anyway.”

  “Please, sleep back here. I insist. These fuckers wouldn’t remember their ass if it wasn’t attached, let alone a display of anger from me, which isn’t all that rare when I’m surrounded by all of these idiots.”

  She smiled at me before looking back to the floor. “What if they try to dick face you?”

  I smirked and sat down on the edge of the bed, “No one will dick face me. I can promise you that.” I made it clear a long fucking time ago that I was not to be a victim of that prank, and no one—no matter what intoxicated state they were in—wanted to test me to see what would happen. That was definitely a perk of being bigger than everyone else. People generally didn’t fuck with you. Well, except for those shrimpy dudes that try to make themselves feel better by picking a fight their ass can’t handle. “The only thing I’ll deal with out there is noise, but I can live with that.”

  “I have an idea that might work for both of us.”

  I looked at her, my left eyebrow arching up, captivated by what she might say next.

  “I could sleep on this couch back here, and you could sleep in your bed. That way, I don’t feel bad for kicking you out, and you don’t have to worry about me.”

  That wasn’t quite what I was hoping she’d say. It was a slim chance at best, but I was hoping maybe she’d suggest we share the bed like we’d done before. I wanted to touch her so fucking bad that my hands ached, but I wouldn’t. Not until I was sure she wanted me to. “How about this? I sleep on this couch and you sleep in my bed. I promise to keep my hands to myself, too.”

  I didn’t know if she heard that last remark or not, but she didn’t really acknowledge it if she did.

  “You are one frustrating man, you know that?” She smiled at me, and I hate to admit it because it was such a non-guy reaction, but her smile made my knees go weak, though I was quick to hide it with a straight face. “Alright, I guess that’ll have to work because you aren’t going to budge are you?”

  “Nope.” And I wasn’t. I wanted her safe, and I wanted to be as close to her as I could.

  CHAPTER 17 – LILA STEPHENS

  My eyelids grew heavy, a yawn escaping past my lips, as I sat with Tori and chatted about the happenings of the day.

  “Go to bed! That’s like the fourth time you’ve yawned in the last 10 minutes,” Tori pushed my shoulder and laughed. “You’re making me tired.”

  “You know what? That’s a fabulous idea. Good night, sweetums.”

  “Night sweetie!”

  Sex noises permeated from one of the bunks as I walked by. I deduced that it must be Dax’s bunk. Kudos to the girl he’d picked up for being able to fuck someone in such a small space with only a thin sheet of material between her and the rest of the people on the bus. It wasn’t something I could ever imagine doing myself. I apparently couldn’t even manage to kiss a guy in private, let alone doing something so public.

  I headed back to the bedroom wondering when Ash would be joining me. He’d kept to himself quietly reading for those last couple of hours. I closed the door behind me and grabbed my pale purple spaghetti strapped night gown. I don’t know what I was thinking other than the fact that I usually get hot when I sleep. The gown barely covered my butt. It would’ve been extremely uncomfortable wearing such a slinky thing in the front lounge for anyone and everyone to see. I slipped into the nightgown quickly, leaving on my bra. There was no way in hell I was unleashing the girls that night. I wasn’t about to have a boob pop out of my nightgown while I slept. Sorry girls…

  The dark quilt was soft under my fingers as I pulled it back, and I realized it was the same one I’d slept under before. My skin glided between the hunter green sheets as I climbed into the bed. Well, actually it was a pull out sofa bed, but still a bed, nonetheless. The coolness felt wonderful against my skin. They might just have been the nicest sheets I’d ever slept on, despite the fact they were on a less than luxurious sofa bed.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if this was for real. Was I really laying there in his bed? How many women out there would kill to be where I was right then? How many women out there would kill to be where I was a couple weeks before when I was in his actual bed snuggled up with him in front of a fire while he kissed me? Too bad I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the man the bed belonged to. Why can’t I be a one-night stand kind of girl? I’ve never been that way, even back before… I couldn’t go there. I refused to relive the past because I would never get to sleep if I wandered down that road.

  The door opened slowly and Ash stepped into the small room. Slamming my eyes shut, I pretended to be asleep already. I heard him lie down on the couch quietly. I really wanted to roll over and look at him, to stare at all of his sexy manliness, but I was afraid he might be looking back at me, and that would just be too intense.

  I kept my eyes closed and felt myself drifting away.

  CHAPTER 18 – ASH LONDON

  The next morning—actually, afternoon—I awoke with a stiff back and a sore neck. I knew I’d regret my decision to sleep on the couch later when I was on stage, but it was worth it to have her close by. At least I wasn’t as bad off as I would’ve been if I’d slept in a bunk.

  She’d fallen asleep fast, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to her like I’d wanted to do. Unable to keep my eyes off her, I watched her for a while before falling asleep. I wondered what her life was like. What had she been like before we met? What did she like to do? What was her favorite food? I knew she liked pizza, but was it her favorite? What did she do for a living? And, as usual, there was the gnawing feeling I couldn’t shake. Was she playing an elaborate game with me just to take advantage later?

  Not everyone I came across was out to get something from me,
but it was hard sometimes to decipher the ones who were and the ones who weren’t. Lila didn’t seem to be the type to do that, especially since she had a legitimate connection to Tori, but I could never be too careful. I hated that I still suspected this of her, especially after she’d been there for me when no one else was, but I wasn’t ready to let my guard down completely when I knew so little about her. Even though I knew I wanted more, I was convinced the thing between us would probably amount to no more than flirting, and if I was lucky, maybe she’d let me fuck her at some point in the future if I could ever get her to trust me enough. Hell, maybe we’d even make our relationship a friends with benefits kind of thing. But, if she was sincere and wasn’t trying to play me, she seemed far too sweet to subject her to my life of debauchery full time.

  I stretched my arms and legs and rolled over to face the bed, expecting her to be gone. It had to be at least two in the afternoon, and I figured she’d slipped out before I woke up.

  As I turned my head, the sight of her almost took my breath away. There she was, lying on her stomach, covers flipped back over her thigh, exposing half of her ass. Her nightgown bunched up around her hip with little black panties peeking out.

  Fuck me. Her ass was just as good—better—than I imagined. I looked away from her, embarrassed for her that I’d caught her in such a compromising position. I quickly reached across the gap between us and flipped the covers back over her. Christ knows I wanted to keep looking at her and take care of what was going on between my legs, but it wasn’t right. What would she think if she saw me lying there stroking my dick while I ogled her? As much as I wished her reaction would be to invite me into bed with her, I knew without a doubt she wouldn’t want anything more to do with me.

  CHAPTER 19 – LILA STEPHENS

  As I awoke the next morning, my heart sank in my chest while I thought of my beloved old beagle dog. As soon as I managed to drag my ass out of bed and keep my eyes open, I’d call to check on him. Reaching for my cell phone from beside me on the bed, I clicked it on to see what time it was. 2:45pm. No surprise there. It’d been almost 5:00am before I even attempted to go to sleep. It was quite nice not having to worry about getting up and doing anything. The trip had practically turned into a proper vacation. I finished up the work I needed to do that week in the hotel so I was free and clear to do whatever I wanted and sleep however late I wanted.

  Rolling from my stomach to my back, I contemplated going back to sleep just because I could. Movement at the end of the bed caught my eye, and I remembered I wasn’t alone. As my eyes followed the movement in the room, I saw him—almost all of him—and I choked back a gasp. He stood there with only tight boxer briefs covering him as he rummaged through a bag. Good thing I was lying down already or I might have gone weak in the knees. Well, that was it. The verdict was in. He was definitely the most perfect man I’d ever seen in my entire life, and somehow I knew I could have him if only I could open my mouth and tell him.

  “Morning, Lila,” he said without looking at me.

  “Good morning. No, I should say good afternoon.”

  “That it is. I’ll be out of here in just a minute. I’ll give you some privacy,” he said as he pulled on a pair of light blue jeans that hung effortlessly from his hips.

  “Thanks.” That’s what I said, but I really wanted to tell him to stay… to crawl into bed with me and spend hours there ravaging my body.

  A moment later, he left, shutting the door behind him. It was probably for the best. I needed to check on Manny anyway.

  * * *

  I had no idea what time we arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina since I was thoroughly passed out. Finding myself alone on an empty bus, I plopped myself down and looked out the window. Most of the crew were running around here and there unloading equipment and taking it all inside a huge building that housed the arena they’d be performing in later that night.

  While sitting there, watching the world go by, my stomach began to rumble. I caught a glimpse of Tori’s curly mane and decided it was time to see what was going on for the day. I left the bus and made my way over to Tori and Matty.

  Tori flashed her toothy grin at me as I approached. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Better than I thought I would. I’m starving. Are there any plans to eat?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we were just talking about going somewhere. Matty looked on his phone and found a place with good reviews a couple of blocks from here.”

  “I’m ready whenever you guys are.”

  “Let’s go now then,” Matty exclaimed as he grabbed his wife’s hand and began leading her away. “I haven’t had any grub all day,” he said, rubbing his belly with his free hand.

  We walked down the street in the direction of the restaurant. A door near the back of the building opened as we passed. Ash emerged and the smallest hint of something passed over his face when he saw me. He softened for just a moment before straightening his back and casting his gaze at Matty.

  “Where are you guys headed?” Ash asked, glancing at me once more and then back to Matty.

  “Going to eat,” said Matty. “You coming?”

  “Hold on a minute,” Ash said as he hurried back inside the venue. He came back a couple of minutes later with Dax and said, “Let’s go.”

  Tori, Matty, and Dax walked ahead of me. Ash, taking his place beside me, peered down at my black ballet flats.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” He smirked. “I just wanted to make sure you had on sensible footwear. You seemed a little shorter than usual,” he said, patting me on top of the head. He towered over me even when I wore heels, but the difference was extra noticeable when I wore flats. Things had been a little chaotic the couple of times I didn’t wear heels around him, so I wasn’t surprised that he was only now taking notice.

  A bit of a crowd lingered outside the small restaurant as we approached. Walking through the people waiting around outside, I couldn’t help but notice the numerous smiles suddenly appearing on their faces. Gasps and excited murmurs spread throughout the crowd. The hostess’ jaw dropped as she looked at the guys. Light and airy steps that threatened to carry her away brought her over to us.

  “Hey guys! Welcome to Toni’s! I can get y’all in now, but I don’t think there are any tables left that are big enough for five people. I could try to scoot some people around and get two smaller tables put together.”

  Ash waved his hand and said, “No need for all that. If you’ve got two smaller tables, we’ll take them. You guys take one, and Lila and I will take the other one. Doesn’t matter if we sit together as a group, does it?” His eyes scanned my face for any sign of opposition.

  Taking my hand, he led me along behind the hostess. I fought the urge to pull away since we weren’t a couple and people were staring at us, but the warmth and strong grip of his hand calmed my nerves.

  The chair screeched across the floor, drawing even more attention our way, while he pulled it out for me to sit down. The waitress stood at attention, ready to take our drink orders, which we promptly gave her—wine for me and beer for him. She flitted off to fulfill our requests, and I had no doubt she’d be back in no time to take our orders. I could get used to this kind of rock star service.

  We both perused the menu for what seemed like only a minute or so before the waitress returned on cue to take our orders. After writing down what we wanted and asking Ash for an autograph, she left us alone, though I had no doubt she’d be back soon enough.

  “You don’t mind having dinner with me, do you?” That wickedly sexy smile of his crept across his lips. His eyes focused on me, mesmerizing me to ignore everyone else in the place and only focus on him. Well, him and the smell of delicious bacon wrapped food wafting through the air. It smelled too delicious to ignore.

  “No, it’s fine, I guess.” I looked away to keep myself from leaping across the table into his lap. The pull he had over me left me dazed and questioning everything about myself that had kept me single and celibat
e all those years. He’d shown me that he was strong yet vulnerable and that I had no reason to fear him as I was prone to do.

  “You guess? You’re breaking my heart, Lila,” he said, slapping his hand against his chest and laughing.

  I looked down at the table and smiled shyly.

  “Why won’t you look at me?” Leaning forward, his eyes focused on me.

  “What?” I made a point to look right at him, though it took all I had to not look away.

  “You hardly ever look at me or in my eyes, even after I’ve shown you a side of me that no one else has seen. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I never really noticed that I didn’t.” Total lie. I had a hard time looking most people in the eyes. A feeling of uneasiness always fell over me when I peered into another person’s eyes for too long, like I was going to see something I didn’t want to lurking behind them.

  “I know I’m hideous but I didn’t know I was so bad that you can’t stand to look at me.” The feigned hurt on his face made me giggle. “That must be why you didn’t want me to keep kissing you that night.” He put his hand to his face and pretended to wipe away tears that weren’t there.

  “You’re not hideous. Now, can we please change the subject?” The kiss that had freaked me out so bad was the last thing I wanted to talk about. A grown woman acting the way I did over a kiss was embarrassing to say the least, yet I wasn’t eager for a do-over.

  “Fine. So tell me more about you if we can’t talk about me and how you don’t want to look at me… or kiss me.”

  “That’s not much of a subject change.”

  “You said you didn’t want to talk about how hideous I am. You didn’t say we couldn’t talk about you.”

  I sighed to myself. “Okay, what do you want to know?” I realized how strange it was then that we hadn’t shared much of our personal lives with each other at all, despite the time we’d spent together.

  “What do you do for a living?”