by Jenna Jacob
Brad and Cole stuck with us, as promised, and escorted us backstage, where the guys were doing their sound check.
When Burk and Ozzy spied their women, each let out a wolf call.
Mia and Sofia sexily sauntered toward their men, leaving me unblocked and uncomfortably exposed in my little shimmery dress.
Ross locked a dark, sizzling stare on me and dropped one of his drumsticks on the floor.
Angst bloomed like dogwoods in spring. Heat rolled up my body. My mouth went dry. And while my heart hammered like one of the drums in front of him, the air in my lungs turned to sand.
He clenched his jaw. Still holding me prisoner with an animalistic stare, he rose to his feet and prowled toward me as if I was his prey. As he stopped in front of me, his hands clenched into fists.
“Hey,” I said softly, voice and lips quivering.
“Jesus.”
The hungry stare Ross dragged down my body felt like a fiery caress. That needy pulse between my legs, the same one that ignited when he’d kissed me, started thrumming madly again.
“You look…Jesus…”
“Is this frivolous enough?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded, still searing me with a half-lidded stare.
“Do you like it?”
“Jesus,” he repeated a third time as if he’d forgotten any other word. “Yeah. Do me a favor. Keep the cards and buy all the frivolous things your heart desires. Got it?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I can’t do that.”
“Sure, you can, because…Jesus, I’m not taking them back. Not now.”
“I never pegged you for a deeply religious man.”
“What?” His brows slashed in confusion.
“Never mind.” I softly laughed, then suddenly remembered. “Oh, I bought you something today.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Well, technically, you bought yourself something since it was your money. I just picked it out for you.”
The flicker of surprise and happiness dancing in his eyes told me it had been a long, long time since anyone had done something nice for him. Suddenly, I wished I’d gotten him something…better, or more expensive.
It was too late now. But I could always surprise him again.
I opened my beaded clutch and pulled out a little silver key chain that was a tiny replica of a famous New York landmark.
“I know you grew up here and have probably seen the Statue of Liberty a million times, but…”
As I held up the key chain, a tiny smile tugged Ross’s lips as he pinched the silver loop between thick fingers. A look of wonder lined his face as he gazed at the miniature landmark as if seeing it for the first time.
“I don’t know if it’s true to scale since I’ve never seen it in person before, but I hoped that when I go back home you might look at this and think of me… Or, I mean, think about the fake girlfriend you met in New York.”
“Aw, princess,” he whispered, skimming his wide knuckle down my cheek. Ribbons of shivers slid through me. “I don’t need any trinkets to remember you. But thank you. I’m flattered you thought about me today.”
My heart clutched, and before I could stop myself, I lowered my lashes and softly whispered, “You’re all I ever think about now.”
Ross didn’t say a word, but then he didn’t have to. I felt his body turn to stone and practically heard his lungs seize. The air around us turned arctic and I instantly regretted saying anything at all. But instead of turning his back on me and walking away, Ross gently cupped my chin and tilted my head back. He held me with a look so teemed in torture I wanted to howl.
“I told you before, I’m not one of the good guys, princess. Don’t make me something I’m not…in here.” He pressed a feather-soft kiss to my forehead.
Sadness and arousal twined as one, sending a strange band of confusion to wrap around my heart.
I placed my hand on his arm and stared him straight in the eyes. “You are a good man, Ross. Deep down inside is a warm, caring, loving man.”
His lips pressed to a thin, tight line just as Burk, with Sofia by his side, clapped Ross on the shoulder.
“Let’s eat.”
Ross jerked his chin at the singer, then looked down at me. “Come on.”
“We’re leaving?”
“No. Food is catered in for us,” he explained as we followed the others backstage and down a long hallway.
“Good. It’s crazy outside. People are everywhere.”
“You want to see crazy…wait until they’re all inside.”
“That’s got to be overwhelming. Do you meditate before you perform?”
“Meditate?” His brows arched high.
“Yeah, you know…center yourself so you don’t get stage fright or anything.”
“Never had stage fright.”
“Have you tried it for other things, like stress or worry?”
“Ahh, no. That’s what beer is for,” he scoffed. “I don’t know how to meditate.”
Well, you’re going to learn, big guy.
“I’d be happy to teach you. It works wonders.”
“You’re not going to start pulling out crystals and shit, are you?”
Miffed by his patronizing tone, I sent him a scowl. “Maybe. Crystals have wonderful healing powers.”
A crooked smile tugged his sexy mouth as we continued down the hall. “Oh, yeah? Like what?”
“Clear quartz amplifies and distributes energy. Obsidian shields negativity, and amethyst removes negative thoughts.” I flashed him a sassy smirk. “Bloodstone cleanses the environment of bad energy. Moonstone is for new beginnings, and—”
“Did you bring one of those with you?”
“A moonstone?” I asked as the scent of something mouthwatering hit my senses.
“Yeah,” he said, leading me into a large room with several half-domed silver trays spaced across a long linen-covered table. Two servers dressed in dark clothes and white aprons smiled as we headed toward the food.
“Uh-huh. It’s in my purse.”
“After we sit down”—he nodded at a big round table in the center of the room—“I’d like to see it.”
“Why? So you can make fun of me some more?” I quipped tartly.
“No. Because I want to learn more about…the things you like. And I really want to hear about the eco-place you live.”
I didn’t know why Ross was suddenly interested in me, but I certainly wasn’t going to—as Bodhi would say—look a gift horse in the mouth. Any crack in his walls that I could squeeze through was a big fat win in my book.
“Ecovillage,” I corrected as he handed me a plate.
I didn’t bother asking what food items were in the steaming silver trays. I simply loaded my plate, grabbed a glass of lemonade, and strolled toward the big table. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed what I already knew—Ross’s stare was locked on my backside. No longer feeling insecure about the dress, I put a little extra sway in my hips before reaching my seat.
“You’re leaving a puddle on the floor, dude,” Ozzy chortled. “Extra napkins are on the end of the buffet table.”
“Fuck off,” Ross snarled before joining me. After he sat down, he raised a brow. “The moonstone?”
“Oh, right.”
When I set my purse on my lap and opened the clasp, Ross leaned over and peered inside, watching as I sorted through the small drawstring bags.
“No, that’s a citrine,” I muttered, pushing it aside.
“What does that do?”
“Keeps fears away and promotes creativity,” I replied, plucking up another bag. “That’s not it, either.”
“What’s that one?”
“Rose quartz. It helps bolster trust and happiness in relationships.”
He nodded, then pointed to the bright red stone inside my purse. “And that?”
“It’s a ruby.” I could feel my cheeks growing warm.
“For?”
“Improving vitality and sensuality.”
A sl
ow smirk kicked up one side of his mouth. “It’s a sex stone?”
“Among other things.” I quickly shoved it way down in the bottom.
“Um, princess, I have a question.”
Though I’d made love to Ross all night—in my dreams—I wasn’t brave enough to have a discussion about sex with the man…at least, not yet.
“Yes?” I whispered, angst spiking.
“Why are you carrying around a purse full of rocks?”
“They’re not rocks,” I sighed. Spying the moonstone, I pulled it from its bag. “They’re crystals. They—”
“No, I get that. I’m asking why are they the only things in your purse?”
“I left my smudge sticks and oils back at the hotel because I didn’t think I’d need them.”
“O-okay…that makes sense, I guess.” I had to give Ross credit. He tried to mask the fact that he thought me completely insane. “Is this the kind of stuff you learn about at your ecovillage?”
“Some. I’ve learned about a lot of things on my own, and from the others.” I took his hand, turned it over, and placed the moonstone in his wide palm. “Here, you keep this one.”
A mischievous glint sparked his eyes. “I’d rather have the ruby.”
I burst out laughing. “Okay, I believe you now. You are a very bad man, in a very good way.”
“No, he’s an asshole, but we still love him,” Syd drawled, then blew air-kisses at Ross as he and the rest of the others joined us.
“Better than being a douchebag like you,” Ross countered dryly.
“Are we interrupting anything?” Sofia asked with a hopeful little smile.
“Nope.” Ross shook his head. “Harmony was getting ready to tell me about her ecovillage.”
“I was?” I blanched and caught Quinn sending me a barely perceptible nod. “Oh, right…I was.”
“Ecovillage? What’s that?” Darren asked.
“It’s like a commune, but you don’t want people calling it that, do you?” Ross asked.
“Not really.”
“How long have you lived in an ecovillage?” Sofia asked pretending to be surprised.
“I-I was born there.”
“Wow. That sounds cool…I want to hear all about it.” She grinned with a smile so completely accepting, I wanted to weep and thank her for being so kind.
“Do you want the condensed version or—”
“No. We want the whole thing.” Ross winked.
“Okay, back in the summer of 1970, during the height of the Vietnam War, there were protests, and sit-in’s and love-in’s…and then the tragedy at Kent State happened.”
“I read about that in history class.” Darren nodded.
“It shook everyone to the core, especially my grandparents, who were both attending Berkeley. They were so convinced that the world was on the edge of destruction that they gathered up a bunch of their like-minded, free-spirited friends, loaded up their belongings, and headed east. They almost settled in the Rockies but decided to keep going.
“Late one night they were traveling the backroads of Kentucky, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, when they came upon an old man whose car had broken down on the side of the road. My grandpa and some of his friends liked rebuilding cars, so they stopped to help.” I paused for a second and looked around the table. Though everyone seemed genuinely enthralled, I worried they might be getting bored. “This really is a long story.”
“Keep going,” Ross urged. “It’s fascinating.”
The others agreed, so I continued.
“The old man was in tears. His name was Bodhi Floyd. His wife, Helen, had just died of cancer. He was so heartbroken; he’d planned to drive his car off the side of a bridge a few miles down the road, but his car just stopped running.”
“Helen didn’t want Bodhi to drive off that bridge,” Mia whispered.
“No, she didn’t, and that’s exactly what my grandma told him. It was too dark for the guys to work on his car, so they tied a rope to the bumper and towed it back to his house. Bodhi invited them to camp out on his mountain for the night, which they did. The next day, my grandpa and the other men fixed his car, but they never left. Bodhi enjoyed having all the young people around him so much he forgot all about ending his life. Instead, he started helping the group plant crops and build houses, right there on his mountain.
“Six months later, he joined everyone around the nightly campfire and passed an envelope to my grandpa. It was a deed to the mountain…Bodhi gave his mountain to my grandpa and his friends. That same night, that sweet old man died in his sleep.”
“Wow,” Ross murmured.
“They buried him beneath a big pine tree that looks out over a beautiful valley. Every morning, one of us from the group goes and visits his grave. We talk to him, leave him flowers, pinecones, and even a shot glass of mead from time to time.” I couldn’t help but smile thinking about some of the conversations I’d shared with the old man I’d never even met…but whose generosity touched my life in every way.
“Six months later, my dad was born, and my grandparents named him Bodhi.”
“Do your parents still live on the mountain?” Ozzy asked.
“My dad does. My mom…left.”
“Why?” Mia asked, face filled with sadness.
“People come and people go on the mountain. It’s what they do. If the wind calls them, they leave.”
I didn’t want to tell them the wind of greed had swept my mother away, so I told them what life was like on the mountain. About how my grandpa and his resourceful friends had built restrooms and bath houses. How they extended electric, water, and sewer lines from Bodhi and Helen’s house. About how, a few years later, the original founders of Gaia Garden turned the couple’s beloved farmhouse into our general store.
Everyone had a million questions, but each asked with genuine curiosity and sincerity. There wasn’t a hint of judgment among any of them. I was in the middle of explaining how we sheared the sheep and spun their wool for blankets and sweaters when the alarm on Mia’s cell phone began blaring.
“Time to get the fans warmed up for the bad boys of rock,” she announced, wearing a tight smile.
“You got nothing to be nervous about, baby. Remember?” Ozzy cocked his head as he stood and helped her from her chair. Then he wrapped his arms around her, carefully avoiding the wicked spikes on her corset.
“Nothing but twenty thousand plus people watching and waiting for me to screw up.”
“You’re not going to screw up. I’ll be in the wings right there with you. If you get nervous, glance my way. I’ll make obscene tongue gestures at you.” He grinned then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Then I will fuck up.” She rolled her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready.”
As Mia, Ozzy, Duke, and Mick hurried out the door, everyone else at the table stood. I didn’t know what was next on their agenda, but it didn’t matter. I was bubbling with excitement and ready to watch everyone perform.
Ross took my hand and glanced at his bandmates. “I’ll meet you in the dressing room in a few. There’s something I want to show Harmony.”
“Just go ahead and whip it out. We’ve all seen it before,” Syd drawled.
“I haven’t.” Sofia held up her palm and turned her head. “No offense, big guy, but I really don’t want to.”
“Fuck you,” Ross snarled at the bass player as he squeezed my hand and led me out the door.
“Where are we going?”
“Down the hall to the elevator.”
“Then where?”
“You’ll see.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ross
When Harmony told me she’d never been to a concert, I knew I had to do something epic to ensure this night was one she’d remember forever. Armed with one of the security pass keys, I commandeered the private elevator, then hurried her across the hall to the vacant VIP hospitality suite.
“Close your eyes,” I whispe
red as I shoved the keycard into the lock.
Instantly, her lids slid shut. I stared at the dark lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks and filled my lungs with the same sweet scent that had taunted me all through dinner.
“Ross?”
Clearly, she was growing impatient and curious. The old Ross would have tortured her by making her wait another minute or two. And while my Dominant longings had sputtered to life since meeting her, I couldn’t let that man take charge anymore. It wasn’t safe.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I led Harmony to the wall of heavily tinted windows that overlooked the arena. The place was packed, as always. Big, colorful beachballs tumbled over the crowd only to be launched high in the air. I pressed my palm against the glass, feeling the vibration from the thousands of boisterous voices below.
“Give me your hand.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Harmony complied. She was so willing, so trusting. The beast within snarled, impatient for me to spew more directives, like… Kneel for me, princess. Sucking in a breath to push down the weight of command filling my lungs, I cupped her hand and pressed her palm to the glass.
“Whoa, what is that? It…it tickles.”
I leaned in close, barely resisting the urge to flick my tongue along the shell of her ear, and whispered, “Open your eyes, little girl.”
The instant she lifted her lashes, she jerked her hand from the glass and drew it to her mouth as she gasped. “Oh, my… Oh, my goodness. Ross…there’s a million people down there.”
“Not quite, though it looks that way, doesn’t it?”
“I’ve never seen so many people in one place in my life. Oh, my goodness. They’re…everywhere.” She continued skimming her wide eyes over the crowd as if struggling to take it all in. “Can they see us?”
“No.” I pointed to the dark coating on the glass. “The owner of this suite likes anonymity.”
“Got it. Wow…so, so many people. Now I understand why Mia is nervous. I can’t imagine the courage it takes to step out on that stage and face…all that.”
A low chuckle rumbled from my chest as I silently watched her try to absorb it all. The wonder and awe glistening in her eyes and written on her face ignited memories of my own giddy excitement the first time we’d played a packed arena like this.