Redeeming You

by Lisa Cardiff

  Just then, the door opened and the driver handed Alec a large brown box with two fountain drinks balancing on top. He handed her a drink and raised the lid of the pizza box.

  “What kind did you order?” she asked peering into the box.

  “Half sausage and peppers for me and half pineapple for you,” Alec answered handing her a slice.

  “You rock,” she said folding the slice lengthwise and lifting it to her mouth. She loved pineapple pizza.

  “Don’t forget it, sis.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Tiredness had settled into his bones over an hour before, but Cam refused to go to sleep until Taylor set foot on the bus. She never showed up after the performance and after asking every crew member and roadie in the vicinity, Jax told him Taylor took the night off and she left with Alec.

  He shouldn’t be mad, but she could’ve texted or left a simple voicemail. He hadn’t heard a word from her, not even after he started texting her an hour ago. Even worse, Anna had shown up tonight even though he’d spent the better part of the last year avoiding her and ignoring her calls. After combing through some recent press about him, she got it into her head that he needed her and she offered to accompany him on the last two weeks of the tour. No way. He couldn’t believe he actually dated her for a while, if what they did could be considered dating. He seriously questioned his past judgment when he chose to spend time with her over Bre before Bre left him.

  Cam heard the bus door open and he stood up, hoping to see Taylor’s face. It was quickly becoming his favorite view.

  “Hey,” Marcus said, tilting his chin up when he saw Cam standing near the front sofa.

  “Are you back for the night?” Cam asked, not that he cared, but he kind of hoped he’d have some time to talk to Taylor alone when she came back. Alec still needed to shower, so it could have worked, but not with Marcus around.

  “Yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I’m ready to get the hell out of Vegas.”

  “I know what you mean,” Cam responded. Not just about Vegas though. He was ready for the tour to be over. He needed some space away from the guys and time alone with Taylor without all the crowds and pressure of being on tour. He craved normalcy.

  “I saw Anna with you in the green room after the show.” Marcus sat down on a small sofa stretching his legs out in front of him, his head resting against the wall just below the dark tinted windows.

  “I don’t know why she showed up.” After his relationship with Bre ended, he cut Anna out of his life. Anna reminded him of his mistakes and he really didn’t want to relive that every time he saw her face.

  “I guess she still thinks she might be able to change your mind about being together.” Marcus closed his eyes.

  “I don’t know what I ever saw in her.” Cam stuffed his hand into his pockets.

  “Her connections,” Marcus mumbled without opening his eyes.

  Anna’s family was in the music business and he thought getting close to her might help Chasing Ruin get signed. In the end, it didn’t matter. Chasing Ruin had enough talent that they didn’t need her connections or Jax’s family connections. “Temporary madness,” Cam commented more to himself than Marcus.

  “That too,” Marcus said. “That’s why I don’t bother with names anymore. The exchange of information creates expectations and I don’t do relationships.” Marcus stood up and rocked back on his heels. Then, he cleared his throat. “Everything still good with Taylor?”

  Fuck. Marcus did hear something before the show. “Are you trying to ask me something?”

  Marcus lifted his hands in the air. “It’s just a question.”

  “That isn’t your business.” Cam glared at him.

  “Fine, we don’t have to talk about it, but don’t fuck things up again. Nobody will side with you this time. Alec will be all over your ass if you mess with her.”

  Cam was well aware of that. Alec and Marcus didn’t take sides when everything hit the fan after Bre left him for Jax. They just wanted the band to stay together because they were so close to being signed, but if he hurt Taylor, no one would have his back. He’d be a has-been within seconds and he couldn’t even complain. He would deserve it. “That’s it?” Cam said. “No lecture.”

  Marcus shook his head. “Nope. You don’t need me to lecture you. I don’t want anyone prying into my crappy life and I’ll stay the hell out of yours, unless it fucks with mine.” Marcus walked toward the rear of the bus. “I’m going to bed. See you tomorrow.”

  “See ya,” Cam said, dropping onto the sofa Marcus just vacated. “Oh, and Marcus?” Cam called after him.

  Marcus paused without turning around.

  “Can you keep whatever you think you know about Taylor and me quiet until the tour ends?”

  “I don’t know anything…for sure,” Marcus replied as he opened the gray curtain dividing the living area from the sleeping bunks.

  Well, this just sucked. Marcus knew something had happened or was happening between him and Taylor, and Taylor had disappeared. Based on the pattern of his life recently, he likely already succeeded in screwing up things with Taylor. It was the one constant in his life. Everything he touched turned to shit.

  Less than ten minutes later, Alec and Taylor stepped on to the bus. Their voices were hushed and their heads were bent close together. Cam eyed Alec carefully to determine whether Taylor had disclosed their relationship. He couldn’t tell, but Alec was a hard person to read. “Where’d you guys go?” Cam asked cautiously.

  “Dinner,” Alec responded. Taylor wouldn’t even look at him. In fact, he was positive that her eyes roamed every square inch of the bus except for where he sat.

  “Tay,” Cam said, and she looked at floor rather than at him. He swallowed hard and forced the sound from his dry mouth. What the hell happened between the start of the performance and now? “I didn’t realize you had the night off.”

  She lifted her eyes to face him, and pain, anger and hurt flashed across her face. She shrugged, then she removed her gray button up sweater tossing it onto the sofa next to him. “Alec said you had company and you didn’t need me tonight.”

  Cam turned to Alec who was studying him a little too intently for his taste. “Really,” Cam said, his voice empty and his face blank.

  “Yeah, we saw you with Anna and I figured you’d be good for the night.” Alec leaned his shoulder against the wall almost daring Cam to contradict him. He wouldn’t, not when he didn’t know what Taylor had told him.

  Glancing at Taylor again, he saw her shake her head almost imperceptibly. So she hadn’t told Alec anything and she clearly didn’t want anything to come out right now, but there was no way he’d allow her to believe he wanted anything to do with Anna. Anna was like a disease that kept infecting his life with her venom. He needed to have her banned from backstage because she was a part of his life he didn’t want to have thrown in his face any longer.

  Cam laughed halfheartedly, directing his attention to Alec. “I should kick your ass for leaving me with Anna. You know I can’t stand her. She’s developing stalker-like tendencies and it’s starting to scare me. Do me a favor and save me next time.”

  “So you’re really done with her?” Alec asked and Cam didn’t know if he was asking for himself or Taylor. Without a doubt, Alec had suspicions about what was going on between him and Taylor, but now wasn’t the time for everything to unfold.

  “I haven’t talked to her in over a year except when she randomly shows up backstage. You know that.”

  Alec pushed away from the wall, shoving his hands in his pocket. “Yeah, maybe. I can’t keep up anymore.”

  Cam didn’t believe that for a minute. Alec had an agenda tonight and it clearly involved putting a stop to anything between him and Taylor. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, man,” Cam said, stretching his arms out on either side of the sofa.

  Alec snorted, then started walking to the back of the bus. “Taylor,” he called over his shoulder.
“Do you want to watch a movie?”

  “Sure, I’ll join you in a minute. I need something to drink.”

  Alec nodded. “Grab me a beer,” he said, closing the curtain separating the sections of the bus.

  Taylor opened the refrigerator sifting through the contents, probably looking for the beer that Alec stocked for himself.

  “I missed you tonight.” He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

  “Uh huh,” she mumbled. “It looked like it.”

  “Well, then you weren’t looking close enough.” He bent his head to press a kiss against her neck.

  “Yeah, right.” She tried to push his hands off of her waist. “I’m not blind.”

  Cam skated his hands along the contours of her waist, brushing the sides of her breasts and sliding back down again.

  “Cam, not now. What are you doing? Alec is less than ten feet away,” she whispered.

  “Touching my girl,” he answered, brushing his thumbs across her nipples.

  She sighed. “Is Anna your girl too?” Her voice cracked.

  Shit. He didn’t want her to think he betrayed her when he didn’t touch Anna any longer than it took to push her body away from his. He’d done fucked up stuff like that in the past, but he didn’t want her to think it when it wasn’t true and when he wasn’t even tempted to touch anyone but her.

  “No. I don’t want anything to do with her.” She tried to twist out of his hold, but he pulled her tighter against him, forcing her to stay put. “I haven’t had anything to do with her in a long time.” He laced the fingers of one hand through hers and squeezed lightly. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know what to believe. You didn’t object when she glued herself to your body in the green room. That hurt.”

  Cam sighed. “You obviously didn’t stay for more than a second because I put an end to that immediately. I told you I wanted to be with you. Seeing her didn’t change my mind. Not even close. She doesn’t compare to you.”

  Her shoulders dropped and she leaned back into him for a few moments and he buried his nose in her hair. He could stay like this for hours if she’d let him. “I’ll give you a pass on this tonight because we can’t talk about this right now.” She spun and ducked under his arms.

  He grabbed her hand before she reached the closed curtain. “You believe me though, right?”

  “I don’t know, but I want to,” she whispered clutching her hand over her heart. “I really do.”

  Without saying another word, she pushed the curtain to the side and retreated to the back of the bus.

  Cam sat back down on the sofa, rubbing his hands up and down his face repeatedly out of sheer frustration. He’d give her a few hours to herself, but he refused to allow Taylor to push him away for an extended period of time. She had a hard time trusting him and the longer he let this go, the more she’d talk herself into pushing him out of her life for good. He didn’t want that. He wouldn’t accept it. She meant too much to him.

  ***

  As she closed the curtain behind her, Taylor covered her face with her hands. She didn’t know what to believe. Maybe she walked into the green room at the worst possible time and if she’d stayed for one more moment, she would’ve seen the truth. He used the relationship word before the performance. He didn’t have to do that to keep her around, but maybe he meant it.

  “Taylor.” Marcus opened the curtain shielding his bunk about six inches.

  She took in his messy blonde hair and the dark circles under his eyes so uncharacteristic of the Marcus she remembered. What was going on with him lately? He seemed so disconnected from everything. “Did I wake you?”

  “Not really. I haven’t been sleeping well these days.”

  Taylor switched Alec’s beer to her other hand. “Do you need something?”

  He chuckled, but it didn’t sound light or carefree. It was bitter and hollow. “That’s an interesting question, but no. I’m good.” He propped himself up on his elbow.

  “All right,” she said. Something wasn’t right with Marcus. She made a note to talk to Alec about it. Maybe he knew something.

  Marcus cleared his throat. “Nothing happened between Cam and Anna. He can’t stand her.”

  “Oh…okay.”

  Marcus didn’t shut his curtain or say another word.

  “Why are you telling me that?” she asked, not sure she wanted to discuss her relationship with Cam with him. She liked Marcus from the moment she met him two or so years ago. He was funny, charming and not judgmental.

  “Hypothetically, if something happened between you and Cam, I’d think that you’d like that information, but since nothing happened, I guess it doesn’t matter. Right?”

  She worried her bottom lip. Marcus blindsided her. She realized there was a real possibility that Marcus would put the pieces of the puzzle together, but she didn’t think he’d say anything to her. Marcus and Alec had known each other for a long time. In fact, they were in two bands together before they found Jax and formed Chasing Ruin, but that didn’t mean she thought that Marcus was her friend. He always seemed somewhat shallow, but not in a bad way. Maybe shallow wasn’t the right word. She never considered him a deep thinker, but maybe she misread him. “I don’t know what to say,” she said after a few prolonged seconds.

  “You don’t need to say anything.” Marcus closed his curtain again. “Just passing along some information that may or may not be of interest to you. Nothing special.”

  “Thanks,” she said, smiling softly as she continued to the back of the bus to join Alec. She wanted to run back to Cam, kiss him, and apologize for not trusting him, but she needed to keep everything in perspective. Cam rejected that woman tonight, but there’d be hundreds of women standing in line after every show, at every club and at every party wanting a piece of him, if only for a night. She wanted a lot more and maybe he’d decide she was too much work. For that reason alone, she kept on walking. Forgetting the long list of reasons why she and Cam wouldn’t work long term wasn’t in her best interest. Tonight was a reality check, one that was a few weeks overdue. Cam stayed true to her, but with his lifestyle, that might not always be the case. If she were smart, she’d remember that and keep their relationship in perspective.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Taylor didn’t mind the motion of the bus at night. Alec complained that the movement made him sick, but she liked the subtle rocking motion and the steady hum of the engine. The size and comfort of her bunk, however, left a lot to be desired. She wasn’t very tall, unlike the guys, but she still felt cramped and claustrophobic.

  When she tried to roll onto her back, she couldn’t move and that’s when she felt it—an arm draped over her waist. With her heart beating out of her chest, she twisted slowly to face the owner of the arm.

  Cam.

  Holding her breath so she wouldn’t wake him, she lifted her head so she could see his face. He looked beautiful when he slept with his dark eyelashes resting on his high, defined cheekbones. And his lips—the way they curled up at the corners was sinful. They should have a warning stamped across them. Smiling faintly, her fingers drifted over the swirling design of his tattoo, starting at his forearm and ending several twists and turns later where his collarbone met his shoulder. As much as she liked that tattoo, she loved the guitar nestled between his hipbone and the deep groove of his lower abdominals even more.

  Leaning closer, she pressed her mouth against his chest, kissing him and slowly drifting lower with each press of her lips—once, twice, three times.

  He groaned. “Tay, what are you doing?”

  Trying to silence him, she pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh…don’t talk.”

  He tugged her finger from his lips. “You’re not mad?” he whispered, his drowsy crystal blue eyes suddenly alert and questioning.

  Smiling, she shook her head. She didn’t know how much time she had with Cam, but she needed to stop worrying about it. Right now
, things were good and she’d enjoy the ride. If they crashed and burned, she’d survive. She always did. It wouldn’t be the worst thing that had happened to her.

  Pushing him on to his back, she slipped down his body, her eyes never leaving his. When she reached his boxers, she shoved them down over his narrow hips, her index finger tracing the music notes of his guitar tattoo.

  He leaned up, balancing on his forearms on the bed and a chunk of blonde hair fell in front of his eyes making him even more devastatingly handsome than a few seconds earlier. “You’re fucking with my head right now. What are you doing?”

  “Says the man who crawled in my bed uninvited.” She rolled her eyes even though she didn’t know if he could see her. Then, she pushed him flat on his back again. Circling her hand around his hard shaft, she slowly guided it into her mouth. Normally she didn’t like doing this, especially since her ex demanded it all the time and it felt like another way to manipulate and control her, but with Cam she actually wanted to taste him, to watch his face as she took him in her mouth.

  Groaning as her tongue caressed his rigid length, Cam tangled his hands in her hair just enough to gain her attention, but not enough to cause pain. She let his subtle movements and tugs guide her as she licked, swirled and sucked him into her mouth. He was warm, sweet, and salty, and she couldn’t get enough of him. Some of her friends claimed to enjoy doing this for their boyfriends. She didn’t get it until that moment when every moan or gasp that escaped his mouth added fuel to her already burning arousal.

  He lifted his head, watching her movements, his face drunk with desire. “Oh god, that’s incredible,” he said, his words low and barely audible and she reveled in the power of giving him pleasure. His hips arched and she knew he was close. She moved faster, sucking hard and drawing him into her mouth until she could feel him at the back of her throat, filling her. With each stroke of her mouth, her desire increased.