"We don't have to stick around too long if you don't feel comfortable there. I mean, if it's a problem going there then we can skip it or I can get another photographer."
"No, really, it's fine. I can't avoid a whole city just because of one bad thing. It's not like Molloy is even still there."
"That's true. And being with you will be so much more fun. I'll book a nice hotel and we can go out for dinner. A proper date. Somewhere fancy."
Yikes, no.
"I'm not sure I've got anything to wear."
I wasn't even kidding. I'd packed my backpack with clothes for being on tour. Jeans and t-shirts. Nothing that I could wear to a fancy place. And, even if I had my entire wardrobe at my disposal, I didn't exactly have a range of formal wear. Dread crept through my body. I wasn't an upmarket kind of person.
"Maybe we could just get burgers?"
"What's romantic about that?" Savage replied.
"Burgers can be plenty romantic. You were pretty keen for a burger the other night."
Savage poured two glasses of wine and set one on the sofa beside me.
"We can go shopping. Give me an excuse to spoil you."
"You don't need to spoil me. I'm not good with accepting gifts. I don't like people buying me things."
He rolled his eyes. But he'd already bought me all the photography equipment and had paid for my camera to be fixed. I couldn't just keep taking things from him.
"I should've expected that but just this once? Please?"
His thigh pressed against mine, reminding me that we'd missed out on morning sex. We were in sex deficit.
"Okay, but nothing too fancy. I'm a simple girl. I have simple tastes. That's why I like you."
I gave him a cheeky grin but he pulled me to him, spilling my wine.
"Is something wrong?" I asked. He didn't seem his normal self, even if he was holding me tight.
"Nope. Well, apart from the fact that it's now afternoon time and we've not had sex all day."
He shot me that leering look.
"Don't you have to go in for sound check and all that?"
"I think we've got time for a quickie."
I couldn't argue with that.
Savage
SEX WITH ALICE JUST kept getting better. I'd been with a lot of women but had never had any kind of connection with them like I did with her. When we were together, it wasn't just about getting each other off but exploring each other. Every single part of her delighted me. I'd be happy to explore that woman for the rest of my life.
We barely made it to the bed. I needed a smaller hotel room or one with more surfaces for sex. I pushed her onto her back and she wrapped her legs around me.
"First, we have to remove all these layers of clothing," I said.
With that, I peeled her jeans off her. Then, I began kissing up her thighs, starting at the knees. She squealed and tried to pull away but I had tight hold of her legs.
"That tickles," she screamed.
"But you love it."
"Yeah, less talk, more kiss."
I couldn't argue with a command like that.
When I got to the soaked fabric of her panties, I gently tugged at them with my teeth, my breath tickling the flesh beneath. Her back arching like crazy. Without removing them, I nibbled my way down the line of her slit. Her squirms became filled with frustration now. I loved seeing her frustrated like that, her eyes wide with lust and her body taut.
"We don't have time to mess around," she said.
"We always have time to mess around."
I ran my fingertip just under the fabric, teasing her.
She tried to talk but her words just came out as a groan.
"You want these off?" I asked.
"Yes," she almost shouted.
"Wow, what's the magic word?"
"Please. Please. Please."
I gave a little laugh and lowered her panties over her hips. I wanted to taste her luscious wetness before we fucked. She jolted when my mouth touched her bare flesh. As I moved my tongue inside her, she writhed. God, she loved this. And I loved the way she loved it. I could tongue her all day but she was right, we did have to hurry. I had to stop teasing and get to the end result.
With a combination of my tongue and fingers, her writhing turned to bucking. And those moans became a scream. The entire hotel must've heard that.
As she relaxed, I studied her face. Such a smug satisfaction. Which did I love best? Her face before she come, the expression just as her orgasm hit or that look she got afterwards?
I think I needed to investigate that much further. Maybe make it a lifetime project.
I grabbed her hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Then, fumbling with my fly, I took my jeans off. She grinned as I entered her, her muscles gripping my cock so tight.
No other woman ever felt like this. So right. Like her cunt had been made specially to fit my cock.
She rose to meet every thrust, her hands balling up the bed sheets. I plunged hard into her, holding her legs to keep her with me.
I'd be late to sound check but screw that. I needed to be inside my woman. My cock was all that mattered for now.
Savage
"DID YOU TELL HER?" Gary asked after the show.
"I told her my mother is in hospital and we're going to see her. That's all she needs to know. I can't explain the rest without telling her that Molloy wants to press charges. Let's just keep this simple."
Gary shrugged. "Your call."
Then he wandered off to talk to someone else.
Alice came back with drinks.
"What's up?" she asked.
We sat on a sofa in the corner of the room.
"Nothing."
Hell though, she'd be angry if she found out that I was lying to her about visiting my mother. I had to make sure she never found out. All our problems had come from me trying to direct her life without telling her but I didn't want to put the option of her going public about Molloy on the table, even.
I put on a smile to make sure she didn't suspect anything.
Tonight had been our final show before moving on. I thought it'd been the best night of the tour so far. The music kept getting better, the crowds crazier. Why couldn't it just be about the music, not this image shit?
I knew Gary wanted the best for my career but he was opening up a can of worms, dragging my mother into this. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Lies piled on lies.
Rather than dwell on that, I had something else I wanted to discuss with her.
"When the tour finishes, I want to sell my house. It's far too big for just me. I was a wanker, wanting a big house to show off when I bought it. I want to get an apartment."
"Yeah, you said that. It's a good idea."
"Well, do you want to go apartment hunting with me when I get back?"
"Sure."
"I mean, apartment hunting for both of us. Unless you fancy living in a huge house with a ton of empty rooms? I mean, if you wanted to squeeze out a ton of kids, then the big house might not be so big..."
I looked at her, trying to gauge how she'd take that. She didn't seem displeased.
"I don't think I'll be squeezing out a ton of kids any time soon. Maybe one day. In reasonable numbers."
Then she grinned. That made my heart sing. She hadn't shot me down. She hadn't said it was too early to talk about it. I'd always said I'd never settle down but then, settling down had never looked so good.
"So, five?"
"Five kids? No way. One would be okay, maybe two. Five little Savages would be totally unmanageable."
"They could start their own band. That would be sweet. Then they could support us in our old age."
"Or they could inherit my music ability, and we'd starve to death."
I didn't know enough about her music ability to comment on that. But I saw her point. Five little Savages would be a total nightmare. Little brats. They'd drive us nuts. God, I hoped our kids would take after her.
"Okay,
let's just start with the apartment."
She nodded. "Works for me."
I didn't fist-bump the air. I didn't even squeal. But she'd said it worked for her. I'd be waking up every morning to sweet Alice sex and her smile and her beautiful face.
"You will cook bacon for breakfast every day, right?" she said.
"Not every day."
"Most days?"
That seemed reasonable to me. I'd happily cook her bacon. Hell, anything she wanted was okay in my book. If she wanted to start up her own business or keep working, that was fine. If she wanted to never work again, that was fine too.
"We're going to a bar, you joining us?" Buzz said.
I looked at Alice but she shook her head.
"Unlike you guys, we have an early start in the morning."
Buzz turned around.
"Told you they'd just want to go back to the hotel to screw. Totally pussy-whipped."
I jumped up and grabbed him in a head lock.
"I said I had an early start."
"Never stopped you before," he mumbled, obviously overawed by my superior strength.
"And I'm not pussy-whipped."
"Yeah, you totally are."
I let go of him.
"Well, if this is what pussy-whipping is like, bring it on."
Alice
WHEN SAVAGE HAD SAID we'd stay a nice hotel, he hadn't been joking. I thought the last hotel had been fancy but this place was like a palace. I had to carry my phone with me when I walked around the suite because I was scared I'd get lost.
I went into the bathroom. It had the most massive bathtub I'd ever seen, more like a mini swimming pool.
"That has spa jets," Savage said. "I have plans for that later."
I bet he did.
The bed was even more massive.
"Plans for that too?" I asked him.
"Hell yeah. First though, we're going shopping."
I groaned. I'd hoped he'd forgotten about that. I hated shopping. I was too short and too curvy for clothes to look good on me. Especially the designer stuff. Sometimes, I got offered clothes on fashion shoots but it wasn't worth my while. Still, if it made him happy, he could dress me up in something he picked out.
The first few shops we went to were as bad as I suspected. The clothes looked terrible on me. They clung to the wrong bits and were too big in others. Anything that fit my hips and butt was way too long on me.
"This isn't working," I said to Savage. "I'm not a designer dress person."
"It's not you, it's the dresses. Don't they make clothes for chicks with boobs?"
Where had he been all his life? Everyone knew that. It was just facts.
"We could cancel dinner."
The assistant came in with some more outfits. I could tell by looking at them that they wouldn't work.
"I'm not supposed to do this," she said, "but my friend has a store. It's not famous designer names like here but a lot of her own stuff. And, to be honest, I think it'd be more your style."
She gave Savage a business card.
I wasn't sure if she was trying to talk up a friend's business but, when we got there, it was a significant improvement. The clothes actually fit me for starters.
I tried on a black lacy dress.
"This is way too low cut," I said. "Look at how much cleavage I'm showing."
The dress clung to every curve. Not like the ill-fitting designer dresses, but in a way that was just too much. Too sexy, that's for sure. I was all tits and arse in it.
"We'll take it," said Savage.
"You haven't even looked at it."
"If you say it shows too much cleavage, I'm happy."
"Well I'm the one who has to wear it," I said, hoiking up the neckline. That was really too much cleavage. I mean, you couldn't see nipple but it wasn't far off it.
Other than that, the dress was amazing. It actually fit my curves.
"Does it make my butt look fat?" I said, turning around in front of Savage so he could see.
"It makes your butt look like the sexiest thing ever." He walked over and ran his hand down my buttocks. Then he leaned on my shoulder, his mouth close to my ear.
"I want to fuck your brains out while you are wearing that dress."
"That's not really anything new," I replied, but I flushed, wondering if we could fuck in the change room without anyone noticing. If Savage wasn't such a well-known celebrity, I'd probably suggest it but when you could end up as a trending story online, you can't risk being caught screwing. Well, Savage probably would but I didn't want my sex life known all over the world.
"You are really horny, aren't you?" he whispered.
I shook my head, trying to deny it but my whole body buzzed.
Savage grabbed another dress off a rack. Something a bit less formal.
"Get this one to wear to the hospital today."
After buying shoes and other bits and pieces, I got changed into the day dress and we headed to the hospital.
"We should get flowers," I said as we walked through the foyer. There were several florists. "I'm sure your mother would like that."
He seemed about to argue but then walked into the first shop and grabbed an arrangement of roses. He handed them to me to carry to the ward.
His whole attitude changed as soon as we'd arrived at the ward. His shoulders drooped and his jaw clenched. He didn't want to be here, that was certain, but why fly all this way if he felt like that about it?
Before we went in to her room, he paused.
"We don't need to stay long. Just get the photos and get out."
"That's not very nice. We aren't just here for a photo op. She's your mother."
He sneered. "Yeah, but... Well, we don't want to tire her out."
That sounded reasonable. It seemed a long way to travel for a short visit but she would probably appreciate it.
I followed Savage into the room.
Savage
MY STOMACH CLENCHED as I walked into the room. This was the last thing I wanted to do. Well, obviously second last or we wouldn't be here. But it was only to protect Alice, nothing else. I reached out for Alice's hand and her fingers twisted in mine. Just the warmth of those fingers gave me more courage than anything else in the world could.
"Ash, so nice to see you," Mother said, shuffling up in her bed. She spoke in a weak voice, fully playing the part of an invalid in recovery. I hated contaminating Alice with these lies and pretenses.
I tried to grin.
"How are you feeling?" Alice asked. She let my hand drop and walked over to Mother's bedside. "These are for you."
She placed the roses beside the bed.
"As well as can be expected. We weren't properly introduced before."
I did the introductions then, not wanting Alice to talk to her for too long, indicated for her to take some photos.
Alice got her camera out.
"Oh, I need to fix my face before we take any photos," Mother said.
She reached over to her bedside table, then gave a groan. Another pretense.
"You look lovely, Mrs. Savage," Alice said.
Mother gave a brittle laugh. "Oh, my name isn't Savage. That's not a real name. Anyway, Vivian is better. I'm not that much older than you."
Ha, she liked to think she wasn't much older. She did look good for her age. I had to give her that. And she never was a Mrs. I never knew who my father was. From what Mother had said, that was a good thing. I believed her when she said that, because her taste in men had always been questionable.
She reached out again for her makeup bag. I grabbed it from the bedside table.
"You can't put makeup on, anyway. You've just had surgery."
The photos wouldn't ring true if she looked too well-groomed. While Alice set up her camera, I rubbed my thumb and finger together to remind Mother of the money at stake here. She rolled her eyes but she knew the game.
I sat on the bed beside her, the roses on display in the background. Alice snapped a few photos. T
hen Mother got a magazine and we pretended to look at it together. I poured her a glass of water. Then a couple of shots of me holding her hand. The usual hospital bedside stuff.
"Got enough?" I asked Alice.
She nodded.
"Okay, we'll we're off," I said.
"Nonsense. You only just got here and I've been so bored. Sit down and chat for a while."
"Really, we need to be going."
Alice made a move to sit down. I pulled her up. There was no way I'd stick around any longer than I had to. Mother knew why we were here but she just put on a distressed face. Her lip trembled and she wiped at her eyes. Damn her.
If she was going to pull tricks like that, I wouldn't pay her. Then she gave me a sly smile. Screw it. She knew the whole story and would have no qualms blurting it all out to Alice if she wanted. That was the danger I'd warned Gary about.
I wandered to the window, looking out at the view. We'd stay ten minutes, no longer.
"You're different to Ash's other girls," Mother said to Alice.
"Yeah, she is." I might've sounded more defensive than I meant to be but I wouldn't have Alice insulted. "She's not an airhead, for starters."
"Of course, I mean nothing by that," Mother said. "You're gorgeous and I bet you keep Ash on his toes."
Mother and Alice laughed. I pushed down the heavy lump growing inside me.
Mother asked Alice how we met. Nothing risky in that story. After she'd finished, I looked at my watch.
"I really have to go," I said. "We have other things to do."
I grabbed Alice's hand.
"Will you be back to see me before you leave town?" Mother asked.
"Probably not. It's only a quick visit."
Mother sighed. I didn't hang around for long farewells.
As we waited for the elevator, Alice glared at me.
"I know you have some issues with your mother but you could be nicer to her."
"You don't know what she's like."
"Well, you've not told me anything. And your mother seems to really care about you. She was so hurt at some of the things you said."
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 21