Love Resolution (Black Cat Records series)

by Michelle Mankin

  “Avery.”

  She felt his warm hard body slide in behind her. Her breath caught.

  “You look like a hooker,” he breathed, stirring one of the styled curls near her neck.

  “You would know,” she said acidly.

  “Every man in that audience is only gonna have one thing on his mind, and it won’t have anything to do with how well you play that guitar.”

  She turned to find his blue eyes blazing with anger.

  “Is that really the kind of attention you’re looking for?” He stalked out past her, onto the stage, the bright lights illuminating his taut body, his hand up in the air waving to the crowd.

  Brutal Strength launched aggressively into the set. Marcus hammered out power chords that she augmented with complex swirling riffs. Beyond the natural chemistry that they had always shared, an extra undercurrent of tension swirled between them tonight.

  Six feet plus of threat and intimidation, Marcus prowled around the stage always watching her, always close. Every brush against her seemed calculated.

  Trying to remain focused, her guitar balanced on her knee, she bent her head down and dug in on a spotlighted solo. Suddenly, she felt his body behind her and his lips on the bared skin between her neck and shoulder. Shit. Though she covered up brilliantly, he’d made her flub it.

  On edge, her stomach fluttered uncontrollably with nerves after that. She rushed all the way through the next song. At the end, she lifted her head just in time to catch a lewd hand gesture from a man in the front row.

  Is that really the kind of attention you’re looking for?

  Marcus was right. Damn him. She could feel his eyes on her even now.

  After JR punctuated the last number with a frenetic flurry, Avery let out a pent up breath. Marcus thanked the audience and headed off stage.

  JR hopped down from the riser and crossed to her, grabbing her elbow before she made it to the center mic. “You sure you still want to do this encore thing? Don’t you think you’ve already got him angry enough?”

  She shook her head, her jaw tight.

  “Ok. It’s your funeral,” he warned. “I’ll grab Dwight.”

  “Hey Phoenix.” She tapped the center mic. “You want another one?”

  The crowd roared in response. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Marcus spin back around.

  “Ok. Ok. You asked for it. Here goes Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh, Well,’” she said, turning her head to look at him. “And Marcus, honey. This one’s for you.”

  He scowled, digging his hands deep into his pockets, every line in his body tense as she strutted toward him. Her fingers picked out the instantly recognizable opening chords, her rebellious eyes meeting his displeased ones.

  When Dwight’s bass and JR’s drums joined her, she turned dismissively away from him, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. Back at center mic, she sent him the sarcastic message, singing the defiant lyrics while sassily swaying and undulating her hips to the rhythm. Her fingers flew over her guitar during the raucous, extended instrumental portions.

  As the crowd cheered their approval, she popped off her strap, guitar neck held in one hand as she strutted by Marcus, who hadn’t moved a muscle during the entire performance.

  “Whoa, Red!” Bryan exclaimed, extinguishing a cigarette under his booted heel. “Smokin’!”

  She acknowledged his compliment with a nod while handing her Ibanez to the tech.

  Bryan closed the distance between them, grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into him. “The cover wasn’t half bad either.” He grinned.

  She stiffened at first, but when she noticed Marcus watching, she covered Bryan’s hands with her own and moved them down to her ass. Then she placed her hands behind his head, brought his lips down to hers, closed her eyes, and pressed her tongue into his mouth.

  She felt a breeze of cold air lift her hair as someone blew past her.

  “He’s gone now.” Bryan broke off the kiss and stared down at her. “That wasn’t nice, Red.” His expression was a blend of hurt and anger. “If I want to be used, I’ll just go back to my girls. At least with them, it’s upfront and honest.”

  She stood there stiffly, shame darkening her cheeks.

  “Now.” He paused, pulling a rumpled cigarette pack out of his jeans pocket, his brows drawn down over glittering grey green eyes. “If you want to try that again, without an audience.” He shook out a cigarette and lit it. “Come find me. I’ll more than make it worth your while.”

  The meet and greet back at the hotel was torture. Everyone gave her a wide berth, Bryan and Marcus both staring daggers at her. She kept glancing at her watch. After she’d been there the mandatory amount of time, she slunk out.

  The evening had not gone the way she’d envisioned. Far from feeling triumphant, she felt like the biggest loser. Payback had been bitter instead of sweet. She inserted her key card and rode the elevator up to their reserved floor. A couple of roadies gave her wary glances as she passed them in the hall. Yeah, it’d been a shitty day.

  When she stepped inside her room and fumbled for the light switch, she suddenly found herself flattened against the wall, arms pinned at her sides.

  “That was quite a performance tonight, Ace.” Marcus’ eyes glittered, reflecting the city lights framed by the open curtains out her window.

  She swallowed nervously as he stared down at her.

  He pressed tighter into her, rocking his hips against hers.

  She moaned. Even as hurt and angry as she was, she wanted him and he felt so good.

  “You moan for the boy like that?” he asked, his voice a low arrogant rumble.

  She yanked her hand loose and slapped him across the cheek. Her eyes darted away and he gripped her chin turning her back to face him. His expression shadowed and possessive, he gazed down at her.

  “I suppose I deserved that.” He closed his eyes. When he reopened them, his expression was softer. “I fucked up, Avery. I fucked up real bad. I know just telling you how sorry I am isn’t going to be enough. I realize I’ll have to prove it to you, and I will. But for now I just need to be with you.” He lowered his head, sculpted lips touching hers and moving earnestly against them.

  A momentary resistance was all she managed before melting into him. “Marcus,” she breathed against his lips.

  He pressed his advantage, his tongue slipping inside her mouth and plundering it. Her heart thundered and her will completely collapsed. She had committed this to memory, but the exquisite reality of it was so much...

  Wetter.

  Hotter.

  Better.

  She grabbed his shirt and pulled him tighter, matching him stroke for stroke, tasting his mouth, teasing his tongue, tracing his teeth.

  “Avery,” he groaned, lifting his head and raining heated kisses down the side of her arched neck. His hands grazed the sides of her breasts as they moved lower. She felt corresponding swirling sensations low in her belly in response.

  This was so, so good.

  And so, so dangerous.

  No.

  “No, Marcus” Reaching deep inside, she found her resolve again. She pushed against his chest. “What kind of idiot do you think I am?” Warm tears leaked out of the corners of her closed eyes. “The things you did…The things you said. There’s no taking any of that back.” She struggled against his solid strength.

  “I don’t accept that.” He locked his arms. “I can make you forget.”

  “The drinking.”

  “I’ve quit.”

  “For now,” she replied, shaking her head.

  “Forever.”

  “Forever’s a long time.”

  “It sure as hell will be without you.”

  A loud knock sounded at the door.

  “Avery, you still awake?” JR called from the hallway.

  Marcus released her.

  Breath ragged, she avoided his eyes and practically ran to the door.

  He put a hand over hers, stopping her before she
opened it. “This isn’t over,” he said softly near her ear. “I’m getting you back in my life where you belong, and I’m giving you advance notice that I’m not gonna fight fair. Whatever it takes, that’s what I’ll do.” Taking her gently by the shoulders, he turned her around and ghosted the pad of his calloused thumb down her jaw line. “You belong to me.”

  He opened the door for her and acknowledged JR with a chin dip.

  “Marcus.” JR’s brow rose as Brutal Strength’s enigmatic front man stepped past him down the hall. JR turned back to her with a look of confusion. “What’s going on?”

  “Why are you here JR?” She touched her swollen lips with the tip of her tongue, tasting Marcus there.

  “I need your help,” he said, squeezing her shoulder. “Can I come in?”

  The next morning, through mirrored sunglasses, Marcus watched Avery from across the plane. She’d once again transformed into her standard garb.

  Thank God.

  She still looked sexy to him. He found himself imagining what she might be wearing underneath.

  Without disengaging from her conversation with Sam, her gaze flicked toward him. If he hadn’t been watching her so intently, he surely would have missed it. Opportunistically, he lifted his sunglasses and winked at her.

  She immediately shifted, drawing her long legs up on the sectional and tucking them beneath her. ‘Hail to the Chief’ suddenly emanated from her cell phone. She glanced at it and frowned. “Hello, Mary,” she answered.

  The airplane lounge suddenly went completely quiet.

  “No, I haven’t seen the pictures…That won’t be necessary…Yes, Mary…ok…ok…Yes...No, I won’t wear it again.” Blushing, she ducked her head down and lowered her voice.

  Marcus leaned forward to listen.

  “Yes, I am seriously considering it, but for now I just want to focus on getting through the rest of the tour. Ok… Will do.” She hung up and leveled her gaze at Sam. “Did you know Mary was going to call me this morning?”

  “I wasn’t sure.” Sam shrugged. “But with those pictures of you in the bar floating around I knew it was only a matter of time.”

  Avery sighed. A different ringtone trilled from her cell. “Crap,” she muttered.

  “Who is it, now?” Sam asked.

  “Marcus’ mom,” she whispered.

  “Shit,” Dwight exclaimed.

  Marcus cringed.

  “Hello, Rheta,” Avery started. “Yes…No, are you sure? …I didn’t think after all that’s happened…Ok, Mom…I know…I want…It is. I’m sorry.” Her voice went thready at the end. She plucked at the laces on her sneakers. “I wish things had turned out differently, too.” A tear tracked down her cheek. “Thank you. I appreciate that…I do… I love you, too.” She sniffed, placing the phone down on the cushion.

  Sam put her arm around Avery and handed her a tissue.

  “Dammit!” Avery exclaimed as the cell began to ring again.

  “I’ll get it for you,” Sam offered. “Hello? No, it’s Sam. We’re just getting ready to take off for Dallas…Oh, ok. It’s Justin.” She handed the phone to Avery. “He won’t take no for an answer.”

  Avery took it from her. “Hey…No…I’ve already had two uncomfortable calls, thank you…No, I’m ok,” she said in a small voice, glancing around uneasily. “Hey, I’m not alone. Can I call you back later? I promise…I miss you, too…I wish you were here…Love you, too. Bye.”

  The last conversation sparked an idea in Marcus’ mind. He’d meant it when he’d told her that he was going to pull out all the stops to get her back. He typed an email to Beth while continuing to eavesdrop on Avery and Sam.

  “I miss my sister, too,” Sam said softly, dabbing at one of Avery’s tears. “She’s on the road a lot. I wish you could meet her.”

  Marcus noticed JR’s mouth curve into a knowing smile.

  “What’s she like?” Avery asked.

  “Larger than life.”

  “Pain in the ass,” JR finished.

  “She and JR have some history.” Sam smiled. “She’s sharp tongued and brash, but no one has a bigger heart than she does.” She reached for her cell, pulled up a photo, and showed it to Avery.

  “She’s with Chris Alex?” Avery exclaimed.

  “Yeah,” Sam replied. “They may get married this spring.”

  “That’s great, Sam. Chris is a wonderful guy.”

  “Yeah. I think so, too.” She picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. “I can’t wait to take you around the metroplex once we land. We’ll go shopping at NorthPark. They have a Neiman Marcus store. And then head to Cavenders and get you some authentic Texas boots. We can grab some Tex-Mex at Mi Cocina.”

  “Whoa,” Avery cautioned. “That’s an ambitious itinerary. I’ve got sound check at two. And don’t you have a lot of concert prep stuff to do?”

  “JR and Trevor are taking care of that for me today.” She smiled. “We’re on our own until your sound check.”

  “Thanks, guys.” Avery smiled at them. A genuine Avery smile. One that reached all the way to her eyes.

  Marcus feasted on it, wishing it had been directed at him. Remembering a time when it would have been. He typed in a text to her.

  Marcus: I could taste you on my tongue after I left your room last night. I couldn’t sleep.

  Avery glanced down as her cell pinged with the incoming text.

  “Who’s that?” Sam asked as the captain came on the intercom alerting them to prepare for takeoff.

  “It’s nothing,” Avery said evasively, but loud enough to be heard over the rumble of the jet’s engines.

  Marcus persisted.

  Marcus: Remember that weekend in Tofino?

  She read the message. Her cheeks blossomed with color.

  Oh, yeah. She remembered.

  The time after the proposal had been sublime. Avery had been shy and tentative at first, but not after Tofino. They’d checked into the hotel on a Friday and didn’t leave the room once until they checked out on Sunday. The entire weekend had been spent in their oceanfront suite. In front of the fireplace, in the bed, in the garden tub and in the rain shower. He’d gotten her to open up and tell him exactly what she liked and then he’d set out to fulfill her every desire. He’d quickly discovered that whatever made her hot made him equally if not more so. The results had been exhilarating and explosive for both of them. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and texted her again.

  Marcus: I love you, Avery. I miss you.

  “I need to lie down.” She tossed her cell on the coffee table as if it had just bitten her.

  “We haven’t leveled off yet,” Sam cautioned.

  “Oh, well,” Avery fired back, glaring at Marcus as she stepped over JR’s legs and headed to the bedroom.

  The door slammed behind her.

  Avery stared down at the elaborately stitched black cowboy boots Sam had insisted on buying for her. Her mind replayed the kiss from the night before. She kicked herself for her willing participation. She needed to move forward. Kissing Marcus sure didn’t help. Neither did the texts he’d sent her on the plane. Those memories were too painful to recall.

  She swallowed and looked out the SUV’s tinted window as they waited at the stoplight under the overpass. She stared blankly at the concrete barriers.

  “Avery.” Sam squeezed her hand.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled distractedly, turned away from the window.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll make it in time. We’re almost there.” Sam studied her friend’s face. “You ok?”

  She nodded.

  “Really?” Sam arched a brow. “You’ve been pretty distracted all day.”

  “I’m sorry. I had a lot of fun,” Avery admitted, gesturing at the assortment of shopping bags littering the back seat. “At least half of these are mine. You’re a bad influence, Samantha Daniels.”

  “Yeah, I’ve created a shopping monster.” Sam laughed. “You’ve come a long way from the days when you used to go looki
ng for the nearest chair after only thirty minutes of combing through the racks.” She gave her an astute side glance. “Something happen between you and Marcus?”

  “Yeah.” Avery took a deep breath. “He came to my hotel room last night.” She turned her head to look at her friend. “He kissed me,” she admitted softly.

  “What a sneaky snake in the grass.”

  “Oh, it gets worse. I kissed him back.”

  “Interesting. Are you thinking about taking him back?”

  “I shouldn’t be.” She sighed and twisted her hands together. “I served my heart to him once on a silver platter and look how I got it back … sliced and diced.” She stopped, chewing on her lip. “I’d be a fool to sign up for more of that.”

  “Ok, Avery,” Sam said, shifting to wipe away the tear that had fallen onto her cheek. “It’s ok. No one says you have to.”

  The SUV darkened as they entered the underground parking garage.

  “What about Bryan?” Sam asked.

  “What about him?”

  “Come on, Avery. I saw y’all the other night after the show.”

  “That kiss wasn’t what you thought it was.” Her lips turned down. “I just did it to make Marcus mad. Plus, Bryan called me out on it.”

  “What about that kiss in the cab? Was that one to make Marcus mad, too?”

  It hadn’t been. Her lips set into a flat line. That kiss had been all about beginnings and full of possibilities, but was she ready for something like that? She wasn’t entirely sure.

  “I thought not,” Sam said, reading her expression. “Sounds like you’ve got yourself a choice to make. My sister would call it a delicious dilemma.”

  “Please, Avery?” JR held her hands and wiggled his tawny brows.

  “Oh, alright. But you owe me big time.” She pulled her hands back. “I’m a guitarist, not a social director.”

  “I know. “He flashed her a smile. “But you’re her friend and mine, and I won’t forget it.”

  “You’re right. I am. Go,” she ordered, shooing him away. “I’ll see you in five.” She took a deep breath and entered the room. Three sets of eyes rose to meet hers as soon as she closed the door. One set of light brown eyes were very familiar. “Hey, Chris.” She hadn’t seen him since their date at the Commodore.