Easy Glamour

by Maggie Marr

  “Tilt your head back,” she said. Her hands dipped into the jar and brought out some goop. “It has eucalyptus and loads of other good stuff. I’ve seen it work on so many singers. It’s a miracle cure. I promise.” She leaned toward me and began to massage under my jaw. Her fingertips stroked the ointment into my skin. Long gentle strokes on my neck.

  “I have to”—her mouth was open the tiniest bit and her breath hitched in her chest—“I have to rub it into your skin and then I add more. Finally we put a hot towel over the top and you lay here for half an hour.” She was so close to me I could see the pulse in her neck fluttering at a fast pace. Her arm brushed over my chest as she reached round to the other side of my neck. She leaned across me and her breasts pressed to my chest. Who knew brown goop could be so intimate?

  The top half of her body was pressed to my chest as she reached over me to get to the right side of my neck. I met her gaze. She paused. Her breath hitched. Her pulse rate went up. She looked at me. My hand pressed against her back. My fingertips slipped against her silk shirt, beneath that long auburn hair that drifted down her back. I pressed her forward with my hands and she didn’t resist. How could she resist? Those lips. Those damn dangerous lips were on mine again.

  A soft kiss filled with want and desire. Her mouth opened and her tongue pressed along the seam of my mouth. I opened to her. My other hand came up to her jaw and caressed her face. Fuck, I wanted Tasha. And as much as she might have rules regarding musicians, she couldn’t deny that she wanted me, too.

  A soft moan escaped her lips and I was hard. My hand drifted from her arm to her breast. My thumb traced over her bud of a nipple. Another moan and her lips pressed harder against mine and I deepened our kiss. My other hand shifted over her hip to the edge of her skirt and her thigh. Heat pulled through me as I felt her flesh under my fingertips. Her soft flesh that I wanted to touch and lick and kiss.

  I pulled on her shirt and it fell open. My thumb stroked over her tight nipple and a low moan came from Tasha’s mouth. I pulled her forward to me and slipped her shoulder from her silk shirt and then reached in and cupped her breast. Her shirt fell away and with a flick I unsnapped her bra. My lips grasped the pink nipple and rolled it deep into my mouth. Her head fell back and waves of auburn hair fell over my hand as I pulled her to me. She moaned, long and low. Her bud was like sugar. My tongue licked around the edge of her nipple and tiny pants of breath escaped from Tasha’s mouth.

  I moved my head and grasped her other nipple in my mouth. God, she was perfect. My other hand pressed up her thigh. Her legs were open to me in a brazen way; her body begged me to stroke all her pleasure points. My fingertips pressed against the damp lace of her panties and her body jolted under my touch. I slid my finger beneath the edge of her panties and she shifted back and allowed more room for my fingers. Gently, slowly, her skirt was now up over her hip. I pressed my fingertips to the hot wet spot between her legs. She was mine. With me sucking her tit and about ready to finger fuck her, the low moans coming over Tasha’s lips told me that she had surrendered to the desire between us. I slid one finger into her tight hot pussy and her hips arched upward to meet my hand.

  My lips pulled away from her pretty hard pink nipple and I claimed her lips again. A moan passed over her lips as my tongue slipped inside her. I sat up and pressed her back against the couch. Her hand reached for my hard cock that now bulged against my jeans.

  I could barely stand it. I wanted her. The hot moist part of her pussy was ready for me and I needed it. I pulled her panties down over her hips and my hand pressed against her nub. I lay her back and moved kisses down over her belly. My tongue trailed up one side of the soft skin of her thigh and then back down to her pussy. God, her beautiful hot pussy. I placed her thighs over my shoulders and bent to her. My gaze met hers and she looked at me through languorous lids as she waited for me to suck her. My tongue entered her folds and I stroked up her warm rich center. The taste of her, sweet and earthy, her exposed center hot and soft against my tongue, was sweeter than anything I had ever tasted. I slid two fingers deep inside her as I stroked up again and then I kissed her clit. My tongue circling the swollen nub. Her body arching with each touch, with each jolt of need that pulsed through her.

  I would take her over this edge with my tongue. I pulled her pussy into my mouth and sucked. My tongue danced along the edges and then the center of her clit as her hips arched up, up, and up as my mouth provided her the pleasure she sought. Again my fingers pulsed deep within in her and my tongue pressed around her clit as I sucked. Her hips bucked upward into my mouth, riding the edge of pleasure. Then, with one long shriek, my name was on her lips.

  “Rhett!” A tremble coursed through her and she was over the edge, her sex clasping around my fingers again and again and again as she bucked upward into my mouth and then stilled.

  Tiny trembles of pleasure rippled through her body as I pulled my mouth from her. I leaned upward and my lips kissed hers. She looked at me her eyes soft and rich with sated desire. Her hand wove through my hair.

  “I told you I don’t date musicians.”

  I couldn’t speak. My voice was gone. But if I could, I would have told her I’d never once said anything about dating.

  Chapter 5

  Tasha

  I had just been the recipient of some awesome head and for a few minutes that had been enough. But Rhett still couldn’t speak, and I still hadn’t told him that Left Coast intended to drop his album with the Legend name instead of Delgado. After I finished my attempt to fix his throat I got dressed and left. Once in my car I mentally chastised myself all the way down the canyon.

  What the hell had I been thinking at his apartment? I hadn’t been thinking, obviously. Now was the worst time to become involved with anyone, and especially a musician. Not only just a musician, but a musician who was a debut artist at Left Coast, an artist who I was specifically banking on to save my label.

  Not the best scenario, but I would have to worry about this later. I zipped west along sunset. I was already late for a baby shower being held at Amanda and Ryan Sinclair’s house for Lane MacAvoy. They had just returned from their honeymoon in New Zealand. While I’d gone to high school with Amanda, I’d only known Lane casually, but the invite was one I’d happily accepted. Amanda was the reason Left Coast knew about Rhett. It was her tip to Billie that had allowed us to sign what was, without a doubt, the full package. I pulled to a stop in front of Amanda’s house, liberated the baby gift wrapped in bright blue, and walked up the steps to the front door.

  The door opened upon a spectacle of pale yellow and baby blue balloons. Bouquets of blue and white hydrangeas decorated the house.

  “Tasha!” Amanda squealed and pulled me into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came. I know you’re so busy right now.” She closed the door behind me and led me through her house to the backyard.

  A lovely little tent was set up in the garden with long white tables and white chairs. Blue and white hydrangeas were set in different shaped glass bottles along the tables. A lemonade bar was set up on the far side. I recognized a number of guests. Rhiannon Bliss and Maeve Bliss who I had met at Amanda’s wedding. Rhiannon would soon be Amanda’s sister-in-law, as she and Sterling had just announced their engagement. There was also an assortment of actresses and friends we’d both known at Archer.

  I walked toward Lane. Two women, who looked nearly identical to Amanda, stood beside Lane. One had short hair and glasses, while the other had lush rich locks that hung over her shoulder. I glanced between the two women; not only did they look similar to Amanda, but they also looked like the twins I had seen at the wedding.

  “Tasha!” Lane said. She caught me by the arm and pulled me in for a kiss. “I’m so glad you made it. I hear you are super busy over at Left Coast right now.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I watched the twins exchange a look.

  “This is Sophia,” Lane said and waved to the woman with the low-cut dress and the long lush hair, “
and this is Ellen.” The woman with glasses smiled at me. “They’re Rhett and Amanda and Sterling’s sisters.”

  Of course. They all looked so similar, and yet different. The shape of their eyes, the shape of their mouths, even the way they carried themselves was like Amanda and Sterling and Rhett. The Legend genes were strong. And yet, Rhett and his two sisters only shared the rich black hair. Both Sophia and Ellen had Rhett’s coloring—the darker skin, the smoldering dark eyes. They both perused me as if puzzling who I was and how I was connected to them.

  “You’re working with our brother, Rhett, on his album,” Sophia finally said. She flipped her long locks over her shoulder. Her eyes took me in from top to toe. While she seemed nice, there was a sharpness in her eyes, as though she wouldn’t be easily fooled by anyone. I smiled. Her brother had the same sort of look.

  “How’s that going?” Ellen asked. Her voice was softer, and while she seemed quieter, she was no less sharp than her sister.

  “Good,” I said. “Well, it was. You know he lost his voice.”

  The sisters exchanged a look.

  “No,” Sophia said. “We didn’t know.”

  Ellen rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and crossed her arms over her chest. “Rhett can be difficult to get hold of.”

  “Unless you go to his place.”

  Again they looked at each other. “And we try not to go to his place.” They said in unison and both wrinkled their noses.

  “I was there,” I said. “It wasn’t so bad.”

  “You?” Sophia asked. She pulled a perfectly plucked brow upward. “You were at my brother’s apartment?”

  Heat flushed in my neck. “I had something for his laryngitis. Tea and a salve that we often give to artists if their throat is hurting or—”

  “But you took it to him?” Ellen asked. Her eyebrows formed a question.

  I didn’t like this line of questioning. I suddenly felt as though I was getting the third degree from Rhett’s sisters.

  “I mean, there are messenger services,” Sophia said, twisting a lock of her hair between her fingers. “I’m just curious as to why the president of Rhett’s label would bring a box of tea and some ointment to an artist who hasn’t made a dime for the label yet.”

  Heat rose in my chest. Well, when she put it like that, my going to Rhett’s apartment did sound pretty ludicrous.

  “While he’s not made us any money, yet,” I said smoothly, “we’ve definitely spent a great deal of money on him.”

  “Ahh,” Sophia said, as though everything became clear. She was obviously a person who understood the idea of money driving any business. “Of course. It’s about the money.”

  She glanced at Ellen as if to say, see I told you, it’s not what you were thinking.

  “Our brother has this way with women,” Ellen said. I grasped a glass of lemonade from a passing waiter and took a long drink.

  “We wouldn’t want him mixing business with pleasure. It often doesn’t turn out well,” Sophia said.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about me. He is a musician,” I said. “I grew up surrounded by them.”

  “And you even dated a few,” Sophia added.

  I looked at her. These two women were not women who minced words. I’d only just met them and they had already implied I was sleeping with their brother and mentioned the most tawdry affair I’d ever had. Who were they? Wow, no wonder Rhett was guarded. I doubted he’d ever managed to have secrets with twin sisters like these around.

  “Johnny Tucker?” Sophia said and looked over at Ellen. “Isn’t that who she was involved with?”

  Now they were speaking about me in the third person as though I wasn’t standing right beside them? I glanced from Sophia to Ellen. These two women were unusual.

  “Yes, it was Johnny Tucker,” I said, addressing them directly. I might as well be truthful, and it was no big secret that Johnny and I had been involved after my father died. “But you’ll have to excuse me,” I said. I walked away from the twins and into the house, pretending like I needed to use the bathroom.

  *

  “Ellen and Sophia are really something, aren’t they?” Amanda said. She peeked out the window toward the backyard where her two half-sisters stood. Amanda handed me a glass of champagne. “I wondered how long it would take before they cornered you.”

  “I’ve never been so flustered. I mean I’ve talked to so many artists, but those two women …”

  “They’re direct and they look so similar. Your head starts to swim, right?” Amanda said.

  I nodded and took a long drink of champagne.

  Amanda sighed. She again glanced out the kitchen window toward the tent where Ellen and Sophia still stood, now speaking with Rhiannon and Maeve. “I want to love them and I want them to love me.” Her lips thinned. “But I’m not sure it’s going to happen.”

  “Amanda, how could they not love you? You’re amazing.”

  “So much has happened in all our lives. They’re pleasant when we’re together, and nice, but there is something lodged between us. They’re guarded and I always feel as if I’m somehow being judged and that I’m failing. I don’t know? Maybe it’s a leftover competitive sibling thing that will never go away. Especially since they knew about Sterling and me and how Daddy claimed us while he kept the three of them a secret. That had to hurt, right? You can’t just let go of those things. I mean, Sophia is all about the dollars and success, and Ellen is all about academics and appearances.” Amanda took another drink. “I just wish it were easier to become one family.”

  “How is Anita with it all?”

  A smile broadened across Amanda’s face.

  “She is the easiest one of all,” Amanda said. “But Daddy? Now he’s being a huge baby. But, hey, if you’re going to do asshole things you have to be willing to pay the price when everyone discovers your asshole behavior.” She poured another glass of champagne. “Have I shocked you yet? With the new and improved Amanda who tells it as she sees it?”

  I smiled. “I like you this way,” I said. “Honest and unafraid. You seem more comfortable and less hesitant.”

  “I am,” Amanda said as she placed the empty champagne bottle in the recycling bin. “Why pretend to be something I’m not? Life is too short. Daddy can suck it if he doesn’t like it. Speaking of half-siblings, how is my brother doing with your label? I tried to call him a couple of times when we were in New Zealand and got no response.”

  “Probably because he couldn’t speak.”

  “What?”

  “Lost his voice,” I said. “A day in the studio and it was gone. He’s been hiding at home, resting his voice. But he’s back in the studio next week.”

  “No wonder I haven’t heard from him. I mean, I do have to practically force him to engage with me but, surprisingly, he’s the one I have the least problems with. Him, I understand. I can speak to him and not feel so judged.”

  “Maybe it’s the girl thing combined with them being half-sisters. Remember that you’ve only just met them very recently.”

  “Maybe,” Amanda admitted. “How did Rhett’s first song sound?”

  “Good,” I said. “I mean great. He has a rich voice and, well, I’m guessing you already know he also has the Legend charisma.”

  “I do know. I’ve seen him on stage. You should see the women swoon.”

  Heat throbbed through me and I hoped that Amanda did not notice anything. I felt shame over what had happened on Rhett’s couch, yet I could still imagine what it would feel like to have his lips all over my body, flowing through me. My desire for him was out of control. I dropped my gaze and rubbed my lips together, then took a sip of champagne. Amanda tossed some napkins in the trash and I hoped she didn’t see the look of guilt on my face.

  “I think he’ll be a huge hit, as long as the sound is good,” Amanda said.

  “I want to release him as Rhett Legend instead of Rhett Delgado,” I said, wondering how she would react.

  Amanda’s champ
agne glass froze at her lips. She crinkled her eyebrows. “He’s agreed to that?”

  “I haven’t told him.”

  Amanda shook her head and she looked past me toward the living room. “I can’t imagine Rhett saying yes to that. Sophia seems ready to trade on life as a Legend, and maybe even Ellen will do the same, eventually. But Rhett? Rhett is still … well, he has this thing where he wants to do it all on his own.”

  “He is doing it on his own. No one is singing for him or writing for him. It’s Rhett and his band. I just need a bit of marketing help.”

  “I get it,” Amanda said. “I mean, I know the name can help. I just don’t think Rhett is ready to accept anything, including the success that comes attached to the Legend name. I mean, I only recently got him to accept me.” Amanda glanced at the ceiling. “And him and Sterling? Don’t even get me started. They’re like two dogs in a cage.”

  “What are you saying about my absentee betrothed?” Rhiannon joked as she entered the kitchen. She smiled at Amanda and clasped me into a hug. “Hi Tasha, it’s nice to see you again.”

  “Same,” I said.

  “We were just talking about how my two brothers can’t seem to get along,” Amanda said.

  “Ha!” Rhiannon said. “That’s an understatement. Dylan and Steve had to pull them apart after the wedding reception.”

  “I was at the wedding reception,” I said. “I don’t remember that.”

  “Maybe it was after you left.” Rhiannon said. “I’m certain it was. Sterling had too much to drink and was arguing with Steve about The Lady’s Regret, and then said something about being a real Legend. Rhett overheard Sterling and before we knew it the two idiots were brawling.” Rhiannon leaned against the kitchen island. “Steve stepped in and separated them.”

  “I was annoyed that all of them had chosen my wedding to air their grievances with one another. What a bunch of kids,” Amanda said. She turned her gaze to me. “So, as you see, being a Legend, real or otherwise, doesn’t seem to be something that Rhett is really ready for.”