Edge

by Anna Brooks

  But damn… it’s a special kind of hell watching her move. Her body is so fluid and flexible it makes me want to kick everyone else outta here and have her give me a private show. Naked. Horizontally.

  This concert and the next few are going to be a lot less involved for her. We need her close and within our reach at all times. The venues for her next couple of shows are highly guarded at the gates and even more than they normally were for her before.

  Damien stands across from me, and I clear my throat. He smirks as he shrugs, totally caught staring at one of the dancers. Sure, the other women are pretty, and they have nice bodies, but none of them compare to Quinn.

  She’s in short ass booty shorts and a tank with a big sweatshirt over it, one shoulder exposed. Her hair is in a ponytail, and she’s strutting her ass around in high heels. She’s a knockout. But she’s also happy here in her element. The light in her eyes brightens up the room closed off with dark blinds.

  The music starts again, and the choreographer claps his hands. Quinn spins and drops in a squat to the ground, then straightens her knees, slowly standing with her ass sticking out. She finds me watching her and smiles. I wink at her, and she bites her lip, then is pulled into the arms of a dancer as he spins her.

  Damien clears his throat, and I flip him off.

  An hour later, she slides on a pair of sweatpants and flip-flops. The choreographer takes her shoes, and we wait until everyone else is out of the room. “What did you think?” she asks, still slightly breathless. Tendrils stick to her forehead from the sweat that beads down her face. Down her neck. Between her tits. I’ve never had the desire to taste someone’s skin like I do right now.

  “You were great.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Always are, babe.”

  She swings a foot back and forth, nervous. “Thanks.”

  Damien sticks his head in. “Clear.”

  I put my hand on her back and steer her out of the room. She leans into me, and my fingers dig into her sweaty skin. Damien is in front of us, leading the way to her room, and Brenden and Landon are behind us. We take the stairs to the second floor, and once we get to her room, Damien and Landon enter ahead of us to do a walk-through while Brenden and I stay in the hall with Quinn.

  “All good.”

  “Thanks, guys.”

  “No problem, Quinn.”

  “Sure, babe.”

  “Welcome, girl.”

  They respond at the same time, and I usher her in, kicking the door shut behind me and engaging the locks. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starved.”

  “What do you want to eat? I’ll order room service while you shower.”

  “Do I smell?”

  I lift a shoulder. “No?”

  “Oh, my God.” She runs into the bathroom.

  “I’m joking, Quinn. You smell like you always do.”

  The shower starts, and a second later, the door opens. “What do I always smell like?”

  “Flowers.”

  Her nose scrunches because she totally knows I’m lying. She stinks like sweat. But it’s not bad, not on her. “Can you order me a chicken sandwich with fresh fruit and veggies, please.”

  “Sure.”

  There’s an awkwardness between us, and I hate it. Just as she’s shutting the door, I stick my hand in it. Her perfectly manicured eyebrow raises. “Yes?”

  “We’re good, babe.”

  “Okay, Wes.”

  * * *

  As I watch her on stage, I can’t help but regret telling her we’re fine. I shouldn’t have done that. Because now she glances over at me and smiles. And it’s making me hard. Just like she did last night. She slept next to me and I was on top of the covers staring at the ceiling all night.

  Torture.

  I never stopped wanting her.

  But I can’t have her right now.

  And me thinking about her making me hard is the perfect example of why. Because as she’s singing, I’m imagining her lips on mine. When she closes her eyes, it reminds me of the look she gets when I make her come.

  I force those thoughts of her out of my head while she finished her concert, and luckily, it’s uneventful.

  She signs some autographs when we get outside. Once I get us locked inside the bus safely, and as soon as we’re driving, I grab some food for both of us. Prepackaged but healthy, we eat and then she takes a shower and goes into bed.

  I go in after her, and the smell of her soap gives me an instant hard-on. Could I pull out the couch for a bed? Yes. Am I going to? No.

  So I crawl in next to her but keep my hands to myself. She’s actually sleeping right now, which is unusual for her to pass out that fast. I have no problem falling into a REM cycle myself. Until I’m woken up by her.

  She presses her ass against my crotch, and no matter how hard I try to stop it, my dick gets hard. “Quinn.”

  She moans and does it again. “Quinn.” I shake her a little bit, and she gasps as she wakes up. Then her entire body turns to stone as she scoots away.

  “Sorry,” she whispers, pulling the covers up to her chin.

  This is torture. I roll to my back and throw my arm over my face, taking deep breaths to try to calm down.

  “I lied,” she whispers.

  “What?”

  “I lied,” she repeats. “I felt so much more.”

  I drop my arm and fight to keep from pulling her against me.

  “I still stand by my reason, but I want you to know everything I said was a lie. You’re not just a bodyguard, and I felt you all the way inside, Wes. So deep I don’t think you’ll ever be able to get out. And I understand that I hurt you and—”

  “You didn’t hurt me,” I interrupt her.

  “I didn’t?”

  “You pissed me off.”

  In the dark, quiet hotel room, I hear her swallow. “There’s a difference?”

  “Yeah, babe. Big one.”

  “Oh. Well, still. I’m sorry.”

  Silence passes, and I turn on my side to face her. She’s still got her back to me, but I talk anyway. “I knew you were lying. There’s no way with the chemistry between us, how damn hard you make me, how unbelievably perfect we fit together, that the way I feel is one-sided. But I fucked up, Quinn. I left you, and that fucking lunatic was waiting on the balcony for you. You cloud my judgment, and as much as I want to try to stay pissed at you, it’s fucking impossible.”

  I grab her shoulder and roll her to her back. Her eyes find mine, and even in the dim light from the clock, I can see they’re glossy.

  “I should step back. I really fuckin’ should let Damien take the lead, but I can’t be away from you. Can’t trust another man to do what I was put on this earth to do. And I will, Quinn. I’ll protect you, and after I get him, we’ll talk about you and me. But until then, I’ve gotta focus, baby.”

  “So you’re not mad at me?”

  “No.” I settle a hand on her hip, my thumb making a vertical pattern against her sleep shorts. “I’m not mad.”

  She takes double the time she normally does to blink. “Are we… we’re really okay, then?”

  “Yeah. We’re good.”

  Her legs shift beneath the covers.

  “You need sleep.”

  “Okay.” Her lips part.

  My fingers tighten on her hip. “Quinn.”

  “Touch me.”

  “Dammit, I—”

  “We’re safe. He’s not here. Don’t bring him here. Touch me, Wesley.”

  She grabs my wrist and opens her legs, guiding my hand down. I want nothing more than to touch her, eat her, fuck her, even though I know I shouldn’t… but I’m going to anyway. “Are you wet for me?”

  “Yes.”

  Tossing the covers off, I yank her panties down, and before they even clear the bed, my mouth is on her. Her back arches, and she mewls. I growl against her pussy, ravenous. It’s been too long without this. She tries to close her legs, but I push them back open. “Leave them open.�
��

  Her thighs shake, but she complies, and as soon as I slide my tongue inside her, she screams. I reach up and clamp my hand over her lips while she comes in my mouth. Good hell, she tastes delicious.

  As she’s coming down, I drop trou and stand at the side of the bed. “Come here, baby. I wanna see how flexible you are.”

  She crawls off the bed, and before I turn her around, I pull her against me, rocking my cock against her stomach as I kiss her deeply. I could make out with her for hours and never tire of it. But unfortunately, we don’t have forever.

  “Turn around.”

  She licks her lips, then spins.

  “Bend down.”

  She leans forward.

  “Deeper, baby. Grab your ankles and tilt your ass up. Just like you did in rehearsal. Teasing me, testing me to see how long I could go without taking you.”

  Her entire body folds in half, and with a tilt of her hips, she’s offering herself to me.

  I slide my thumb inside and rub her clit, getting her as ready as I can. Wet. Needy. She’s gonna really feel me in this position, and when she starts whimpering, I pull my hand away. “Wes.”

  “Hold on tight.” I bend my knees to reach her sweet spot, then get just the tip inside before I grab her hips. “You ready?”

  “Yes,” she pants.

  “What are you ready for?”

  “You.”

  “Yeah?” I pull her to me, and she almost falls forward, but I hold her steady. We both make animalistic noises as I use her hips to guide her pussy. I fuck myself with her, pushing and pulling her. Her flexibility is a huge fucking turn-on, and I have to bite my lip to keep from coming already.

  “Hurry, baby. You need to get there.”

  She whines, whimpers… screams, then moans. “Wesley.”

  Then I finally let go and pull her up so her back is against my chest. I tilt her chin up and kiss her as I come down from the highest place I’ve ever been.

  Chapter 14

  Quinn

  Tears fall from my eyes as the crowd stands. I laugh as I wipe them thinking how ridiculously emotional I get almost every time I sing this song. It’s one of my favorites, and one of the only ones the record label let me put on the album that I wrote. It was just when I found out about my dad after my mom died.

  At the time, I felt so alone.

  And I dreamed that I’d find a man who would give me the parts I was missing. Who would make me whole. And after last night, Wesley and I didn’t even need to say anything else for us to know how it was between us. How it should have been all along if I wasn’t an idiot.

  Going off script, I turn around and walk the few feet to where Wesley is and wrap my arms around him. The drummer keeps up the beat, and I take a moment to gather my composure as my emotions rise even higher. He kisses the top of my head, and I lean back. “I didn’t know it then, but when I wrote that song, it was about you.”

  He closes his eyes, and his arms tighten around me. I know I need to get back out there, but he doesn’t let me go. “Wes, I gotta go.”

  “Don’t come here and say shit like that to me when I can’t show you how much it means to me.”

  I smile at him.

  “Go.” He taps me on the butt. “I’ll be right here.”

  I feel him behind me, and it’s more freeing than I thought. Knowing he was going to be behind me while I performed made me worry I’d feel self-conscious. Which makes no sense because there’s no difference if he’s in the wings or behind me. It seems silly that I’d care about something like that.

  But it was. Or is. Actually, it’s not. Totally not.

  He’s hidden behind a black curtain that runs the entire height of the stage. There are four of them, but I know exactly where he is.

  And I have the best show I ever have in my career. Simply because Wes is at my back the whole time.

  This is the third show I’ve done this way. The first was in Boise, then we stopped in Seattle, and now, we’re in Portland. I’ve absolutely loved being back in my element, and tonight was just the best. I don’t know why; I just know it was.

  I finish up my encore with a huge smile, and after the show, Wes ushers me backstage. Damien is in front of us, and when we get to the dressing room, one of the guys… Lincoln, I think, opens the door for us.

  A beautiful bouquet sits on the center table. “Pretty. Who are those from?”

  Wes yanks me back into his chest while Damien charges into the room. He takes a look at the card, then Wes. “Get her out.”

  Wes doesn’t even give me a second to blink before he’s rushing us to the back. I almost trip, but he keeps me upright, and we go through the back door and onto the bus, that’s only about three feet away. He locks us in and is on his phone as he walks through the bus.

  “I take it they were from him?” I ask after Wes finishes his call.

  “Yeah. Fucker crawled in the ceiling to deliver them. Jesus. I don’t like this shit, Quinn. He won’t get to you, but he’s just gonna keep fuckin’ with you. You were beautiful out there tonight. You always are. But tonight, you let go of everything, and I saw that. He wasn’t on your mind, and if he keeps this shit up, it’s gonna start fucking with your head.”

  “I’ll be fine. I have you. You were close. That was why I was free tonight.”

  He swallows and leans down. His lips find my forehead, then my cheek, then my lips. “It wasn’t me, babe. It was all you.”

  As much as I want to argue with him, I know that wouldn’t be helpful, so I simply smile.

  “We’re already on the road, so we’re good for a bit. I’ll be right back.” He kisses the top of my head before he goes to the bathroom.

  “Okay.” I slip my shoes off and grab a Diet Coke from the fridge. Just as I flick the TV on, my phone rings. It’s an unavailable number, but I still answer it. A lot of other people in the industry have unlisted numbers, so I never know who it could be. “Hello?”

  “Did you like my flowers?” A chill runs down my spine before I even take a breath. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. On your balcony. I just wanted to show you something. Why didn’t you come with me?”

  My hands shake so hard I’m having a difficult time holding the phone. “You did hurt me.”

  “I know. But I made it for you.”

  “What did you make?” I manage to get out.

  “A book, silly. It has pictures of what our life will be like. I like pictures. Did you get the pictures I sent to your house? You’re so pretty when you sing. I’m sorry I cut you, but I didn’t like you touching anybody else. You should only touch me.”

  I fight past the bile settling in my throat and swallow. “Terry, why are you doing this?”

  “This is what you want. I know it. You want it. I want it. My mom said you wanted me to have the cookies. They’re my favorite. I knew it then. I wasn’t sure before. When you used to sing for me—”

  “When did I sing for you?”

  Wes saunters down the small hallway, and as soon as he sees my face, his steps double.

  “All the time. I brought you with me wherever I went. I got made fun of.” He pauses, and I hold the phone out, my hands shake so badly Wes has to take over, then puts it on speaker. “They made fun of me because I listened to girl music, but I knew, I just knew you were singing to me. And then you gave Beverly a job. I knew you were looking out for my family and for me. You gave me cookies. And now I’m going to give you what you asked me to.”

  Wes nods at me.

  “What did I ask you to give me?”

  “The beauty of peace, a walk in the park, all I want from you is to be my light in the dark.” He quotes my favorite song. Or what was my favorite… “You want me to be your light. You just have to come with me. You never want to come with me. Why don’t you want to come with me, Quinn? Why? Why!” The line goes dead, and I suck in a breath like I’ve just got the wind knocked out of me.

  “You get that?” Wes asks into his phone as he’s pulling me into his ar
ms, switching the side of his head that his receiver is on. “She hold him long enough to get a trace?”

  A trace? My phone is traced?

  “Fuck. Yeah. Location? Right.” He tosses his phone on the couch and tucks me into him. “Untraceable, it was a burner.”

  “I gave him cookies.”

  “When?”

  I have to rack my brain. “Beverly’s only worked for me for like eight months. It was Gail’s idea to hire a chef. I was fine making my own food, but she insisted on hiring someone because all celebrities have their own chef. She made cookies for Christmas, and I sent her home with a bunch because I knew she had a son at home. The way she talked about him, I thought he was young.”

  “I think she treats him that way.”

  “All I did was send home leftovers. How is that—”

  “No, baby. Don’t take his shit on. I told you that already. We’re close, Quinn. He’s getting bolder, so he’ll show soon, and we’ll take him out.”

  He pulls me to him, and I nod against his chest. “I, um… wanted to ask something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you think that maybe Gail… like… that she could have something to do with this?”

  He sighs, then kisses my temple. “No. I did in the beginning, but not anymore.”

  “Why not anymore?”

  “Let’s just say that when your dad dealt with her, that was one of the things that I requested he confirmed.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You don’t need to. Just trust that I’ve got your back and I’ll take care of everything.”

  I tilt my head up, the frantic beat of my heart back to normal now. “I do, Wesley. I trust you.”

  Wesley

  “You’re the shit, Graham. Thanks, man. I owe you. Again.”

  “No, you don’t. It took longer than I wanted. Besides, the only way you could pay me back is to take a picture of the look on her face, but because I know as soon as we hang up your ass is calling her immediately, we’re even.”

  I’d love to see the look on her face, too, but I won’t waste my time in delaying this. “Gonna get this shit over with.”