July Flames
Page 10
Fergus frowned. “What about us?”
“You’ve been staring at her nonstop for the past couple of hours. And not like a bodyguard, or like the rest of these love-struck fools either, but like a man who’s already staked a claim.”
Fergus shook his head. “I haven’t slept with Aubrey.”
Colm grinned. “Go ahead and tack the yet on there. We both know you’re thinking it.”
Fergus leaned back and sighed. He hadn’t talked about his feelings for Aubrey to anyone. He could have shared with Ailis and Hunter, but until this morning, he’d been determined to fight the attraction.
Now, there was no way he could turn back.
“We kissed this morning. And if you guys hadn’t shown up when you had, I wouldn’t have given you the same answer to your question about us.”
Colm winced. “Bad timing.”
Fergus chuckled, then glanced back toward Aubrey, still dancing. “Finn and Miguel. The ultimate cockblock. All damn day.”
Fergus hadn’t managed to steal a single minute alone with Aubrey since they’d shown up. Whenever she wasn’t running through sound checks or in hair and makeup, Miguel and Finn had flanked her, proclaiming she was their girl.
Erick and Rich stopped by the table.
“Hey, F-Fergus. What’s up? Who are t-they?” Erick asked, noticing where Fergus’s gaze was focused.
“My cousin, Finn, and a friend, Miguel,” Fergus replied. “They’re in town for a bachelor party this weekend.”
“She’s having f-fun,” Erick said.
Rich laughed. “I’ll say. It’s a shame those guys only have eyes for each other. Looks like Aubrey’s going to be odd guy out tonight.”
Erick grinned. “I d-didn’t know they were g-gay.”
Rich slapped Erick on the back. “I’ll tell you how you can tell, Erick,” he said as the two men continued to their table.
Colm and Fergus both took a harder look at the dance floor.
“Eyes for each other?” Fergus mumbled.
Colm seemed to be just as taken aback by that comment as him. “You think?”
Fergus shrugged, then studied Finn and Miguel closer. There was nothing overt about their behavior toward each other. For the most part, their attention was totally on Aubrey.
But then…
Fergus saw it. A shared glance. A heated one. It only lasted a second, but it made him wonder.
“Finn only goes out with girls,” Colm said.
Fergus nodded. “Yeah, but Miguel is very open about being bi. Maybe—”
“Hey, guys,” Hunter said, walking over with Ailis. “We were thinking about moving this party to Landon’s suite. Ailis has a little bit of a headache, and I think we’ve both reached our limit on socializing with strangers. Thought it might be cool if we downsized to just family, so we could visit for a little while.”
Fergus nodded. “That’s a great idea.” He rose from the table. “I’ll grab Aubrey, Finn, and Miguel.”
“I’ll settle the tab and tell Padraig and Landon we’re heading out.” Colm walked to the bar.
“What’s the plan?” Finn asked when Fergus approached, seeing everyone starting to gather near the exit.
“Thought we’d head up to the suite. Give ourselves a little family time. It’s nearly three a.m. now.”
“Cool.” Miguel and Finn thanked Aubrey for the dance, then went to join the others.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then,” she said.
Fergus frowned. “What? You’re not coming?”
“You said family time.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You’re included in that.”
“But—”
“No buts. We’re going to hang out for a little while, then you and I are going back to the room together.” Fergus tugged her closer, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “I owe you a punishment, remember?”
She bit her lower lip, but there was no mistaking the desire in her eyes.
“Come on,” he said, propelling her toward his family. “You keep looking at me like that and the party ends here.”
She lifted her face toward his. “I wouldn’t mind saying good night to the others.”
Fergus couldn’t resist stealing a real kiss. Aubrey met him halfway, and the peck he’d meant to keep short and sweet, lingered.
It was a pretty public proclamation, kissing her in front of the band and so many members of the crew. There were probably several fans documenting the kiss with their camera phones.
Fergus knew what he was doing. Knew exactly what he was starting here.
Time wasn’t on their side. Though Fergus’s primary objective from the record company was keeping Aubrey safe, there was no way in hell he could leave her when the tour ended with the stalker still on the loose.
Which meant it was time to up the ante, draw the bastard out. Fergus didn’t want any more innocents to suffer. From this point on, he’d be the target.
However, that wasn’t the only thing—not even the main thing—driving the kiss.
She was his—and it was time the rest of the world knew it.
Finn and Miguel were both staring at them, wide-eyed, when they broke apart and continued walking toward them.
“Wow. Way to steal our girl,” Miguel muttered, though the shit-eating grin on his face proved he was amused by Fergus’s obvious display of jealousy.
Finn slapped him on the back. “So, drooling on the client is bad form, but kisses are legit? You’re going to have to go over your list of bodyguard do’s and don’ts for me after this job ends. I think it might be an interesting list.”
“Shut up,” Fergus murmured, prompting the others to laugh, including Aubrey.
They crowded onto the elevator, chatting as it climbed. They’d all spent the majority of the day in each other’s company, but when two or more members of the Collins family got together, the conversations were endless. So were the laughs.
The next hour passed quickly as the party quieted down, all of them catching up, sharing old family stories with Miguel and Aubrey, Landon finally giving up on trying to relay everything that was happening and looping Sunnie in via FaceTime on his phone, the two of them talking about their plans for the wedding, which was taking place the day after the Fourth of July concert.
They’d picked that date because all the family had plans to attend Hunter’s concert, so everyone would already be in Baltimore. Sunnie had insisted on having every single member of the family at her nuptials, so she’d chosen the date with care, even if it meant no rehearsal dinner the night before. According to Sunnie, the reception would be so epic, no one would mind one less event.
Ailis and Hunter excused themselves first, Ailis’s headache growing worse.
He, Aubrey and Padraig shared one of the couches, and he listened quietly as Padraig explained that he was a widower when Aubrey noticed his wedding ring and asked about his wife. Fergus had only met Mia a couple of times, but he’d heard many, many things about her from Pop Pop, his family and Padraig. Though she’d only been a Collins for a very short time—less than a year—she’d had a huge impact on his family.
Fergus was glad to see that Padraig could talk about Mia without quite as much sadness these days. Time appeared to be healing Padraig’s wounds, though Fergus suspected the pain of losing her would never fully subside.
Aubrey listened, and even wiped away a tear as Padraig talked about his own wedding day. Fergus had been stationed in Afghanistan, unable to make it to the wedding, so a lot of what his cousin shared about the event was new to him as well.
Finally, they rose, everyone ready for bed. It had been fairly tame as far as bachelor parties went, but from the smile on Landon’s face, it was obvious it had been the perfect night.
Fergus and Aubrey walked to the elevator hand in hand, kissing once they were alone inside. As the doors slid open, he led her to her suite. Then he stopped short.
On the floor outside the door was another rose.
Glancing around, Fergus noticed that someone had smashed the video camera on this hall as well.
He’d checked the video feed leading up to someone breaking it the last time the rose had appeared outside her hotel room door. All he’d seen was a man in sunglasses with a ball cap pulled low over his face, the hood of a hoodie pulled over his head. Every part of the man had been covered—head to toe, and he’d worn gloves. There was no way to distinguish him from any other man in the world. He hadn’t even been able to discern his race. Fergus had watched the grainy film right up until the man had smashed the camera with a hammer and the video went black.
Fergus knew when he checked the footage here, he’d discover the same.
Aubrey gasped when she spotted the crushed rose. “I don’t—”
Fergus grabbed the rose and attached note, quickly opened the door, ushered her inside, and locked the door behind them. He did a thorough scan of the suite, checking even the shower in the bathroom and the closets.
“It’s crushed.”
“Yeah.” Fergus didn’t like the fear in her voice as he looked at the flower in his hand.
“There’s a note.”
There was always a fucking note. He opened it.
He’ll never touch you again.
Aubrey dropped down onto the couch, and Fergus could see she was fighting hard not to cry. “Who? They always appear after someone’s been hurt.”
“I know.” He kept waiting for Aubrey to state the obvious, to point out that the crushed rose was clearly a warning for him, but she didn’t seem to realize that. “Let me make some calls.”
For the next forty-five minutes, Fergus spoke to Marcus, Blair, the head of Hunter’s security team, then at her request, he called Colm to make sure the family was safe. That was when he realized that was where Aubrey’s fears had taken her. She mentioned Finn and Miguel dancing with her. His chest had been tight with anxiety until Colm assured him they were all fine and would remain in their suite the rest of the night.
He considered telling her his theory on the rose, but she was too wired at the moment, pacing the living room. He’d talk to her about it tomorrow after she’d managed some sleep and had a little less tequila in her system.
She wasn’t drunk—neither of them was—but she wasn’t seeing the whole picture either.
From his calls, he’d learned that no one had seen Doug. And according to the security team, the footage from the hallway camera revealed the same man they’d seen in the first video. He’d concealed himself well again.
Most importantly, for Aubrey’s peace of mind, everyone on the crew had been accounted for, and no one had been hurt.
“Fergus…” she started, dropping down onto the couch.
He sank down next to her, taking her hand. “It’s okay, Aubrey. I’ve got everyone on high alert. If he was planning to hurt someone, it’s going to be harder now. Marcus has called the local police and reported the incident. They’re sending a couple of officers over to check things out and stand guard on this hall. I don’t know what else we can do right now.”
She squeezed his hand. “There isn’t anything. You’ve taken care of it all. You always take care of it. Fergus, I don’t know how I ever—”
She stopped short, but Fergus could fill in the blanks. He knew why she wouldn’t let herself say the rest.
He had spent the better part of the day thinking about her request this morning for hard, rough, raw. That was exactly what he wanted as well.
But Aubrey was mistaken in her belief that any kind of sex would allow her to remain distant from him.
He’d considered explaining that to her this morning…then realized he wanted to show her.
Wanted to push the hardest limit she had.
Trust.
Fergus wanted it, and he was prepared to force the issue.
Now.
Chapter Nine
“Aubrey. Bedroom.”
Aubrey’s heart started to race when Fergus stood, tugging her up as well. She’d fantasized about this moment nonstop since this morning. Hell, if she was being honest, she’d indulged in racy daydreams about the man since the first day she’d lain eyes on him.
He released her hand briefly, picking up the shopping bag he’d returned to the hotel with this afternoon.
“Pajamas?” she asked.
He shook his head. “While Miguel, Landon and Finn were guarding you earlier—”
“Guarding me?”
“They stood watch backstage during your sound checks while I ran some errands.”
They’d had some issues with the soundboard, so that task had taken twice as long as usual. Aubrey hadn’t even realized Fergus was gone. It spoke to the level of trust he had in his family and friends that he’d left her alone.
“Where did you go?” she asked.
“Aubrey. You told me what you wanted this morning. If you’ve changed your mind about that, say the word and we’ll take off our clothes, crawl between those covers and make love all night.”
Her chest tightened the second he said the word love, and she fought to catch her breath.
There was very little Fergus missed. He recognized her distress and cupped her cheek with one hand, the other still holding the bag. “Okay,” he said. “So the plan remains the same. Rough, raw.”
His words didn’t help her breathing, but the constriction was no longer based on panic. He knew exactly what to say to turn her terror to arousal. No small feat.
She nodded.
“Take off your clothes, Aubrey.”
His request caught her off-guard. They’d done nothing more than kiss a few times, and he’d touched her breasts exactly once. She licked her lips nervously. “What about your clothes?”
He crossed his arms, his expression stern. He didn’t bother to answer. It wasn’t as if he needed to. She could tell he wasn’t going to repeat his request or allow her to stall.
“Your safe word is Rottweiler. If it’s too much and you need a break, say that, and we’ll stop, talk, reevaluate. Don’t use it unless you mean it.”
She smiled, despite her anxiousness. He’d chosen a word that would make her feel in control, even as she longed to let go of it.
Aubrey couldn’t quite believe she was doing this.
“Rottweiler,” she whispered. “That works.”
He raised one eyebrow, reminding her that he’d given her an order. She’d seen evidence of his military training countless times since he’d started serving as her bodyguard, but none so much as now.
This Fergus was so commanding, so stern, so freaking sexy.
She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. His gaze lowered, looking at her with obvious appreciation.
Aubrey tried to decide which article of clothing to take off next. Bra or jeans? Which would leave her feeling less revealed, less vulnerable?
She opted for the jeans, unfastening them, then slowly pushing them down. She bent over to tug off her boots and socks, then kicked away the denim.
Then she stood upright, sucking in a deep breath as she resisted the urge to lift her arms and cover herself.
It was a strange desire. Aubrey had limitless confidence when she was onstage, performing before thousands of people. Some of her costumes skirted the lines of indecency—slits to her hips, low-cut fronts, plunging backlines that nearly revealed her ass. She wore all those things easily, no shyness, no reserve.
But now, standing before an audience of one—Fergus—she felt uncertain of herself, afraid of not being good enough. It wasn’t a new fear for her—she’d suffered the same through most of her childhood, constantly criticized by her mother, then jilted by all three of her lovers.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Aubrey. Stunning. Perfect.”
She smiled at his praise. Once again, it felt as if he could read
her thoughts, and as always, he knew exactly how to put her at ease, how to bolster her wavering confidence.
At least, he did. Until he said, “Keep going.”
She closed her eyes as she reached behind her back, unhooking her bra. She held on to the cups as long as she could before finally allowing the lace to fall to the floor.
“Look at me, Aubrey.”
Her cheeks felt warm. God. Was she blushing? She never blushed.
She raised her gaze and saw the naked desire in his. He hadn’t lied. He did think she was beautiful. Perfect.
If only…
She reached for her panties and shimmied them over her hips to the floor, stepping out of them.
Her eyes remained locked on his because he gave her the strength, the courage to keep going.
“Turn around. Full circle. Slowly.”
She took an unsteady breath, then did as he requested. She’d never had a lover take such delight in simply looking at her.
Of course, she’d never had a lover like Fergus. She was twenty-six and she’d slept with three men, all of them cut from the same Doug-like pattern. Weak men who seemed content to ride the waves rather than direct the sails.
She knew exactly two sexual positions—missionary and doggie style. Something told her Fergus knew a hell of a lot more.
Once she’d completed the three-sixty, she faced him again.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, Aubrey. Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded, zero hesitation. Absolutely nothing in her life was certain, everything up in the air or in litigation. She’d gotten nothing she’d ever asked for.
Until now.
Until him.
“I’m sure,” she said, her voice steadier than she would have expected.
He gave her a ghost of a grin, his first since leading her to the bedroom. “Go to the bed, bend over the edge, facedown. We’ll get the punishment out of the way first. If you behave during that, I’ll give you a reward.”
Her stomach fluttered with excitement as she assumed the position he requested.
She’d never had a father, and while her mother had been overprotective and controlling, it was never in a maternal way. Since she was three, she’d been treated like an employee, never a daughter.