Rock Gods: Baden

by Brandy Munroe

My eyes veered south.

  Hers followed mine.

  “Oh my god, really? I’m pissed at you, and all you can do is stare at my tits?”

  “They’re nice tits and they look even better when you hike them up like that,” I leered and wagged my eyebrows in jest.

  She lowered her arms and rolled her eyes.

  “Baden, what in the fuck possessed you to accuse me of fucking my cousin?” She scrunched her nose up in disgust.

  “In all fairness, when I made that uncharacteristic comment, I didn’t know he was your cousin.” I tried to add some humor to the situation. I had no intention of letting it escalate to the point where Crystal was going to stay mad at me.

  “From where I saw things, it looked like he was hitting on you, and I got jealous. I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion,” I quickly apologized. “I’d only ever been jealous once before in my life, and I have to say I don’t like how that makes me feel.” Maybe my honesty would lessen the blow of the mistrust I displayed.

  “Even if he was one of my past fuck buddies, Baden, you can’t throw that in my face every time you get jealous. How would you like it if I called you out on every groupie you ever slept with?”

  I was beginning to see her point.

  “Neither one of us were saints before this.” She continued, “We’re going to have to let the past stay in the past. We are going to run into people in which we have had previous relationships. This business is very incestuous. Everyone knows each other. I am not going to ignore or stop talking to people for fear that you are going to get jealous and act all caveman.”

  “I don’t want to throw my past conquests in your face, but you’re right, I wouldn't downright ignore them either if they showed up at a show.” She was right; even if Keith was someone she had fucked, it was none of my business. Those days were done for both of us.

  “Do you accept my apology for my caveman behavior?” I asked.

  “Aw, did we just have our first fight?” she mocked.

  “Yes,” I confirmed. “Do you want to come back to my hotel room for makeup sex?”

  Chapter 34

  Crystal

  I loved waking up wrapped in the protective cocoon of Baden’s strong arms. My heart forgave him his jealousy last night; however, my head attempted to overthink it this morning. The makeup sex was amazing. But again, sex with Baden was always phenomenal.

  He apologized by giving me three cosmic orgasms before taking anything for himself. Our chemistry in the bedroom had never been an issue. His selflessness was one of the most endearing things about him. I knew it came from being dominant in his previous relationships. I’d done a bit of reading on the subject.

  I’d never come straight out and asked Baden how far involved he was in this practice. Had he participated in some of the underground clubs that popped up during my search? I was curious, however, that was one door I had no intentions of ever opening.

  Was his jealousy destined to rear its ugly head again at some point? He was used to being in charge, and now he was required to treat me as an equal. Not simply sexually, but professionally as well. The charity festival was a week away. The tour was to begin immediately after. Any residual doubts or insecurities were going to have to be dealt with before then. I refused to spend the next three months waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for Baden’s jealousy to appear at another inopportune moment.

  Thankfully, no one except the three of us was within hearing distance of Baden’s accusation.

  I knew he was awake before he said a word. I recognized the heaviness of his breathing. And the fact that his morning wood was digging into my butt. I would take care of that later, in the shower. First, I needed to come clean about how his jealousy made me feel.

  I know he went to sleep believing everything that happened last night had been forgiven, and it was. However, forgetting it occurred in the first place was something that required closure.

  I wiggled my ass into his groin, drawing out a low needy growl.

  “Good morning,” I said as I turned to face him.

  “Is it?” he questioned. “I could hear you thinking in your sleep.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I pulled out of his arms and set myself up against the headboard.

  “It means you tossed and turned all night until I trapped you in a bear hug.” He threw his legs over the side of the bed and headed toward the bathroom, giving me a perfect view of his naked torso, butt and muscular thighs.

  Speaking of thighs, mine were still throbbing from the attention they received last night.

  I followed his lead and headed to the bathroom to relieve my bladder. I leaned against the door frame waiting for him to finish his business. I completed mine while he washed his hands. It seemed natural to do these mundane things without having to say a word to each other. It was a routine we had done many times before.

  He left the bathroom and took his place on the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard. I took the time to brush my teeth, morning breath and all. Then I returned to my spot on the bed.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” he began, and I let the words sink in. “I was jealous when I saw this young, good looking man hitting on you and you weren’t doing anything to discourage it.”

  My mouth gaped open. “Baden, is that how you saw it?”

  “What I saw was this guy buy you a drink, squeeze himself between you and Jade, and the two of you were whispering in each other’s ear all night,” he growled defensively.

  I bite my lip to keep the giggle from escaping. Yes, I supposed Keith was good looking. I never thought about what we were doing from Baden’s viewpoint. He wasn’t wrong about the drink, or the whispering.

  “I was trying not to embarrass Keith by advertising to the entire table that he needed to recheck himself back into rehab before his parents found out he skipped out. Keith can’t afford any more slip-ups. This was the last straw as it was. I was reminding him of everything he had to lose if he did not return to complete the three months the family demanded. They would have disowned him, Baden, and wrote him off as a lost cause. I couldn’t let that happen,” I explained.

  Not that it mattered; the issue of why Keith was at the club was not the underlying problem, Baden not trusting me was.

  “Even if I was to let a good looking man buy me a drink and enjoy his company, that did not give you the right to accuse me of cheating,” I reminded him.

  “I may have been jealous and said something I shouldn’t have, but I never accused you of cheating, Crystal.” He was adamant about his statement.

  He was right. He had not accused me of anything. When I attempted to introduce Keith, Baden made the assumption he was one of my previous conquests. No doubt coming to that conclusion from the interaction he witnessed.

  If the roles were reversed, would I not come to the same conclusion about him?

  “I guess we both jumped to an unjustified conclusion,” I admitted. “I am with you, Baden, only you. Will I run into people from my past? Of course, I will. And so will you,” I interjected. “What I won’t tolerate is you trying to control me.”

  “Oh, babe,” Baden drawled, “I would never dream of trying to control you, subdue you, or ask you to tone it down. I like your wild try anything once attitude.” He pulled me on his lap so that I was straddling him.

  He brushed his thumb across my erect nipple, and my body tingles in anticipation. This, this was what we were great at. Reading each other’s bodies like we were connected mentally.

  “And to prove to you I no longer desire that lifestyle,” he reached above his head and grabbed on to the slates of the headboard, “I’m going to sit here and let you do whatever you want.”

  He was relinquishing control. Giving me all the power.

  I reached for his cock. His lips tipped into a wicked grin. Oh yeah, he was into this. He was willing to prove to me that he was completely done with his old dominating ways.

  He would no sooner wan
t to control me than I would want to control him.

  “I don’t play like that. I need your hands on me, Baden. Touch me while I ride you,” I commanded. Okay, maybe I did like to play like that, just a little. “We have to make it quick,” I told him. “I promised my father I’d show up for family brunch.”

  “You’re the one on top, Crystal,” he teased as his hand made its way to my throbbing clit. “You control how slow or how fast you want this to go.”

  Okay, so maybe I could be a little late for brunch.

  After taking care of his morning wood and showering, I pulled a fresh pair of underwear from my backpack. This thing carried all the essentials for a sleepover. Even with the shower and the change of clothing, my body vibrated and glowed with the freshly fucked look.

  “Did you want to come with me?” I invited Baden. Except for what’s his name, I’d never brought a man to meet my family. My father had already met Baden on several occasions, however, never as my boyfriend.

  “I would love to, but I promised Adam a drive back to Tranquility.” He leaned in and kissed me on top of the head.

  “Okay, maybe another time?” I was slightly disappointed. I should have asked him last night when I got the text about brunch.

  “I wish I hadn’t promised Adam I’d give him a lift. I would have loved to go with you. This way I could meet your other male relatives, so there’s no repeat of last night.” He sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.

  “Let me see, there’s my father, two uncles, and my cousin; that’s it. No more male relatives,” I confirmed. “Although I thought we decided that last night’s mistake was more about your caveman tendencies to think I should not have any male friends.”

  I needed to set the record straight. I was not going to tolerate any more outbursts like last night.

  “I would never deliberately do anything to make you jealous any more than I believe you would do that to me, Baden. We are both going to run into people from our past. Once the tour begins, groupies will be coming out of the woodwork. Especially with Maddox being off the market. You, Adam and Bash, are going to be getting the overflow of women.” I winced at the thought of groupies throwing themselves at the band. I’d been in the industry enough to know that some of those bitches did not know the meaning of the word ‘NO.’

  “Maybe it’s time we get ahead of this,” Baden waved his hand between the both of us. “We get Anita to release a statement about our relationship. This way, we control what’s being printed before we head out on tour.”

  It made sense. It wasn’t the first time Baden had suggested this.

  It didn’t make me any less nervous.

  Someone was bound to make the connection between Christmas Davies and Crystal Divine. I was astounded that with all the social media coverage the band was getting that it had not happened already.

  Was I ready for the fallout of what this could create? At least on tour, it would be harder for the paparazzi to stake me out while traveling on the tour bus.

  We had one week before the tour began. Did I want to spend it defending myself to a horde of paparazzi that would no doubt camp outside Bentley Records hoping to get a glimpse of the once disgraced Christmas Davies?

  Chapter 35

  Baden

  Crystal and I sat quietly, hands laced together in solidarity. We waited for Anita to confirm she was going to work her magic and spin our love story in a way that did not come back on Bentley Records or Divine Chrysalis.

  The last thing any of us wanted was some unscrupulous reporter focusing on Crystal’s past and attempting to portray our relationship as another way for her to try to sleep her way to the top.

  Anyone who witnessed Divine Chrysalis's live performances would know she was anything but a no-talent groupie.

  I convinced her that dealing with the paps now on our home turf would be easier than trying to dodge them while on tour. If we gave them this week to get it out of their systems, we could enjoy the sights of each new city in which we traveled without fear of discovery.

  So here we were sitting beside each other on the soft leather sofa in Theo’s office. I gave Crystal’s hand a reassuring squeeze. It wasn’t as if we'd hid the fact that we were a couple. We had been outwardly affectionate in public.

  Anita looked in Theo’s direction and pointed to Crystal and me. “They’re serious?”

  “It would appear to be the case.” Theo was his diplomatic self, as usual.

  Panic began to surface in my chest. “Are we too late? Have the paparazzi already beat us to the punch?” I could feel Crystal’s posture stiffen beside me. So what if they did? I was positive Anita would be able to turn this around before every one of Crystal’s nightmares became a reality.

  Anita began laughing hysterically. “Did the two of you even bother coming up for air, or did you simply fuck each other’s brains out all weekend and tuned out the rest of the world?”

  I jerked in my seat. Anita was nothing but a paragon of virtue and class. The words spurting out of her mouth had Theo sitting straight up with a scowl on his face. This was the very reason he did not want his baby sister working with rock stars. When he had asked his friend Jackson Naile to hire Anita, Theo never imagined that she would end up being the liaison between Bentley Records and Naile Public Relations. However, here she was and doing a phenomenal job of it to boot.

  While Theo and I were shocked at Anita’s vulgar accusation, Crystal found it rather amusing. To think Theo thought that hanging with the guys would be a bad influence on his sister. Turns out it was the women.

  After Anita stopped laughing long enough to speak, she pulled out her tablet. That thing might as well have been another appendage the way she was never without it attached to her side.

  “I’m sorry I was unprofessional, it’s just that the Bentley Records fan site had been blowing up since you planted a most inappropriate kiss on Crystal at The Sendoff after your show.”

  She loaded the video that had been blowing up the internet and passed the tablet to Crystal and me.

  Sure enough, there it was. The possessive kiss I gave Crystal to show the world she was mine. If anyone had any doubts before that kiss, they certainly didn’t now.

  “Oh shit,” Crystal put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes took on a petrified gaze, and her face turned ashen. I was afraid she was going to projectile vomit the tall mocha latte I used as a bribe to get her here this morning. Crystal was not a morning person, and I booked this meeting for eight a.m.

  I wasn’t the only one with that concern. Anita jumped up and brought over the garbage can that was sitting beside Theo’s desk. “Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.” She rubbed Crystal’s back. “It was that bad, huh?” she giggled. “I would have thought with all his experience Baden would be a better kisser, but by the way you’re reacting…” she shrugged her shoulders.

  “What the fuck?” I glared at Anita. “Crystal wasn’t opposed to the kiss. She’s mortified that we were outed before we could do damage control.” I was irritated at Anita’s flippant attitude towards our dilemma. Surely she would have to be as concerned as Crystal and me as to the fallout this could bring.

  Anita stared at me in confusion. “What did I miss?” She looked to Theo for answers.

  I raised my voice. “What did you miss?” It was my turn to corner Theo. “You told me Jackson’s team knew about Crystal’s past. The photo would only be the beginning. Once the connection was made between Christmas Davis and Crystal Devine, who knew what the outcome would be?

  “Everyone does know, and like Anita so eloquently pointed out, if the two of you,” Theo gestured towards Crystal and me, “had spent some time outside of the hotel room, you would have seen that the majority of the feedback is positive.”

  “Of course, the article by Audio Alley didn’t hurt.” Anita once again flipped through her tablet and cleared her voice before reading the article in question.

  “Has rock god Baden ‘Bad Dog’ Dogger finally met his mat
ch? I think so.

  He was seen in a lip lock with sexy Crystal Divine, lead singer of Divine Chrysalis at The Sendoff. Some of you may recognize Crystal Divine as Christmas Davies.”

  Crystal gasped.

  Anita held her hand up at the interruption and continued.

  “The woman who was brave enough to take on the giants in the industry. Her courage gave others the nudge that was needed to come forward and announce that they too were no longer going to be victims.”

  “Wait, she’s painting me as a hero. That can’t be right?” Crystal’s sudden outburst brought a smile to Anita’s lips.

  “Oh yeah, and if you would stop interrupting me…” Anita raised an eyebrow.

  Crystal sank back into the sofa, her hands never leaving mine. I knew she was appreciative of the comfort it provided; however, it appeared as if I was not the only one in Crystal’s corner.

  “If my memory serves me correctly, the former members of Get Bent stood behind Cover Me Grey when lead singer Steve Grey proclaimed that Christmas Davies, AKA Crystal Divine, was, and I quote, ‘a no-talent bitter ex groupie.’

  From the looks of that lip lock, it would appear that all has been forgiven between the once rivals.

  And if anyone thinks for one second any of that garbage thrown out by a particular icon has merit, I suggest you follow the link below and take a listen to the talented Ms. Divine for yourself.

  Divine Chrysalis’ debut at The Sendoff went viral as the bombshell belted out original tunes written by the band.

  In conclusion, I tip my hat to the second hottest couple in rock and roll.

  Of course, the first being myself and my hot rocker boyfriend.

  If you think I’m biased, well, meh. Keep your opinions to yourself.

  This is Audio Alley signing out.”

  Anita sat back and waited for our reaction.

  “This is a good thing, right, babe?” I cautiously asked Crystal.

  “This is a fantastic thing,” Anita interjected. “We couldn’t pay someone of Audio Alley’s caliber to put a positive spin on this. Maybe we should invite her to the opening of the festival. Give her some VIP passes for her fans? Or would that look like we bribed her to write that article?” Anita was babbling.