Mercy stared at them silently, still frowning.
“How can I explain?” Buzzy mused, taking in her confused gaze. “You see, much like his practically-married best friend Cory, our Noah is what you might call a one-woman man. Sure, when he's not attached, he takes as much advantage of the smorgasbord as the rest of us. But when he's in a relationship … he is as loyal as a dog. And he's the type of guy that most girls want, because truth be told, Noah would rather be in a relationship than be single. Hard exterior, but he is mush on the inside. He's a hopeless romantic,” Buz shrugged.
“He's a pussy,” Otis repeated with a roll of his eyes as he leaned back on the couch. “Give my brother a collar and a beautiful woman holding the end of his short leash, and he's a happy man.”
Mercy looked at Otis with a raised eyebrow. “Are you saying you don't believe in monogamy?”
Otis grinned, giving her that sexy smile that made most women want to toss him their panties. “Not at all. If the right woman came along at the right time in my life, monogamy would be a definite option. But I just don't believe monogamy meshes well with the rock and roll lifestyle. And I think guys like Noah and Cory are fooling themselves if they think it can. But that's just my opinion.”
Mercy was once again taken aback by Otis' candor. He seemed to be very up front about most things, all of his intentions laid bare unapologetically. She liked the fact that she never had to wonder what he was thinking or what his motivations were, the way she did with Noah. She always knew where she stood with Otis and that was comforting in a way.
“Well, I'm going to turn in. You guys have an exciting day tomorrow. Well, probably not exciting for you but … it'll be exciting for me.” she smiled, standing slowly as her eyes glanced over to Buzzy's bed once more. “You two enjoy your … after-party tart,” she said with a small smile as she turned toward the door and left. And as she walked down the hall to her own suite, she couldn't help but think about the things they had said about Noah. Were they right? Had she pegged him all wrong?
It seemed difficult for Mercy to wrap her head around. All she had ever seen was the revolving door of girls going in and out of his hotel rooms night after night. And of course, her memory of their own night together and the way he had treated her afterward. But maybe he had changed since then. After all, it wasn't like he had cheated on his girlfriend all those years ago. He had made it perfectly clear that they had broken up that night. Maybe he was faithful when he was in a relationship, as Otis and Buz said. She wasn't sure. But her thoughts of Noah wouldn't leave her alone, and she spent the night tossing and turning. Dreaming about him again, and wondering what it would be like to be in a relationship with him.
*****
The next day, Mercy sat on the floor in the corner of a small warehouse near Frankfurt where shooting on the “Pin-up Baby” video was taking place. The guys had been hard at work with their video director all morning, getting lots of staged rehearsal footage. The plan was to incorporate the rehearsal footage with live concert footage from last night of them performing the song, and then interweave all that with shots of a few models getting all dolled up in classic pin-up wardrobes and poses. Mercy thought it sounded like a fun concept, and she had been taking lots of pictures during the shooting.
She had her laptop open and her camera sitting right next to her, and she was downloading the recent shots to her computer. Her favorites were the ones where the guys were clowning around during the video shoot, and she couldn't wait to get some of them online. She had already posted the pictures from last night's concert, and answered several reader questions. All week long, she had been so excited to watch her readership grow considerably since she had been blogging about her travels with Jagged Ivory. And every time she mentioned to the guys how well it was going, she got the greatest thrill out of seeing Noah smile at her. She had no clue why. She only knew that it felt so good to have him look at her that way, with a smile that was meant only for her.
She had posted a couple of the short videos she had recorded with her camera to the blog, including the one of that first soundcheck she had watched, and the hits on her blog had gone through the roof. The readers were even beginning to send her questions for the band, and Mercy really wanted to be able to respond to them. And to her delight, the guys all seemed eager to participate fully in her little project. They agreed to sit down with her and answer as many of the readers' questions as they could while she filmed them with her camera. And Mike had no objections, seeing as how all the pictures and film footage she took was being copyrighted by her personally. He saw it as harmless free publicity for the band.
They were taking a break from filming to have lunch when Mike wandered over, pulling up a small stool and sitting down beside her. He looked at her computer screen with great interest as he studied the downloaded images.
“Are these for your little tour journal project?” he asked her.
Mercy smiled at his choice of words. “Yes, they are. And it's not so little anymore. I've got well over 3,000 readers now! That's way up from when I checked it first thing this morning,” she informed him.
“Yeah, well I'm not surprised,” he told her. “I got a message a little while ago from Max, back at the office in LA. He says this little project of yours is causing quite a stir.”
“How so?”
“Well, apparently, a couple of the videos you posted yesterday went viral. A link to them on your site has been passed around nearly half a million times. He said they mentioned it on one of those national morning shows.”
“Oh, my God! Seriously?” she nearly shrieked, and her voice echoed around the cavernous space, drawing curious glances from all within earshot. And all of the guys ventured slowly over to investigate.
“Hey, what's going on?” Noah asked with a concerned frown, looking from Mike to Mercy.
“Gentlemen … not that your careers weren't already flourishing … but it seems my daughter has just made you all Internet sensations,” Mike smiled. “This little tour journal idea of hers has officially gone viral.”
Mercy was surprised by the round of applause they gave her, and she could feel her face flush slightly, even though she knew they were just joking around with her. “Uh … actually, Dad … I can't take all the credit. The tour journal wasn't really my idea, it was Noah's. He suggested it as a way to put all my pictures to good use. The credit really should go to him.”
Noah looked at her with a small smile as the others turned their sarcastic, good-natured applause on him. He laughed and took a little bow.
“Well, whoever came up with the idea, it was a great one,” Mike responded. “We couldn't ask for better free promotion. And with the hits Mercy's blog has been getting, I've already been contacted by a few concert promoters stateside wanting to know if we'll consider adding more dates to the second American leg of the tour. You're also getting requests from Japan, Korea and others, so you might want to think about adding on an Asian leg after Australia in the fall.”
The guys looked at one another and then back to Mike in stunned silence for a moment as they digested his words, and Mike smiled at their reactions.
“We'll all sit down with a calendar later and talk about your options,” he told them as he stood up. “For now, I'm headed over to that lunch tent. I'm starving! Anyone want to join me?” He asked as he took off, heading out of the warehouse and over to where lunch was being catered for them under a huge tent.
“Yeah. I'm hungry too,” Benji said as he and the others followed Mike out. He turned as he walked away, saying, “Nice work, Mercy!”
“Thanks!”
“You coming?” Otis called to her.
“Yeah, I'll be right there just as soon as I'm finished,” she smiled. Once alone, she unhooked her camera from her laptop and began gathering up her things. As she moved to pull herself up off the floor, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm, helping her to stand. And her heart crashed into her ribs when she looked up into Noah's beautiful ligh
t blue-green eyes.
“Thanks,” she breathed softly.
“You're welcome.”
She reached past him to retrieve her computer bag, her arm lightly brushing against his. She couldn't think clearly when he was standing so close to her. “Um … I … I thought you headed for lunch with the others.”
“Yeah, I hung back. To wait for you,” he responded quietly. And Mercy was suddenly aware that they were practically alone in the small warehouse now, most of the video crew having gone over to the lunch tent as well.
“Why?” she managed to ask over her pounding heart.
Noah shrugged his shoulders. “I just … wanted to congratulate you. On the tour journal's success, I mean.”
“Oh. Well, all I'm doing is posting the pictures and video footage you guys are allowing me to take so … really, you all deserve the credit for it. Not me,” she answered.
Noah smiled softly at her. She was so damn pretty. “Well, let's just call it a good team effort then.”
She gave him that million dollar smile that he always saw in his dreams, and Noah suddenly couldn't help himself any longer. Without warning, he stepped closer to her and pressed his lips against hers. Gently at first. But then he felt her respond, her soft lips asking him for more as her tongue lightly begged for entry. His fingers threaded themselves in her silky brown hair as he allowed his own tongue to caress hers and explore the moist depths of her mouth. She tasted every bit as good as he remembered, and he was breathless when they finally pulled away.
Mercy panted softly as she stared into his eyes and then gazed down at his lips. She remembered the feeling of having those delicious lips on every part of her body, and the thought drove her mad with desire. Gently dropping her bag to the floor, she reach up, cupping the back of his head with both of her hands as she brought his lips down to meet hers once more.
She felt his arms snake around her waist, pulling her close as she drowned in his kiss. And she luxuriated in the feel of his hands as they slowly began to explore her body, gently caressing the curve of her back and her ass as he devoured her mouth.
Noah felt consumed by the heat. He wanted Mercy, and he wanted her now. How he had been able to keep his hands off of her this long, he couldn't understand. Wrapping his arms tightly around her once more, he turned, pushing her up against the wall as his mouth slowly began to explore the recesses of her lovely neck. He pressed his weight against her, pinning her in place with his hips, as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and his hands began to roam. Amid Mercy's soft whimpers and moans of pleasure, he let himself touch her. Gently squeezing her breast through the soft fabric of her top.
When his fingers lightly brushed against her skin as his hand ventured beneath her blouse, Mercy gasped loudly. She let her own fingers run gently through his soft, curly hair as he continued to trail warm, wet kisses over her neck. And when his fingertips brushed passed the lace of her bra, pulling the cup down and freeing one needy breast, she moaned softly as her lips lightly caressed his ear.
The sound drove Noah crazy. He kissed her hungrily once more as he gently massaged her breast in his hand, caressing it and lightly pinching the firm nipple between his fingers. He wanted to kiss her there. To lower his head and take that nipple into his mouth.
“Hey, Noah. Man, you're gonna … oh!”
Cory's voice stopped abruptly as he took in the sight and quickly turned his back to them. And Mercy jumped about a foot at the interruption, trying desperately to fix her bra and straighten her top.
“I am so, so sorry!” Cory's voice was apologetic as he addressed them. “Please don't mind me, just go back to what you were doing.”
He hurried out then, and Noah sighed heavily at the rotten timing. He wanted to resume and pick up where they'd left off but, he sensed the moment had passed. Mercy turned away from him as she continued to fix her clothing and Noah ran his hand over the back of his neck in frustration.
“Shit! I can't believe we just did that,” she quietly exclaimed. “What are the chances of Cory not telling everyone about this?”
Noah felt a little hurt at her words. Maybe she really did just want to forget the night they'd spent together. Or perhaps she was simply worried that Otis would find out. “You don't have to worry about Cory,” he said softly. “He won't say anything.”
“How do you know that?” she asked, turning to face him once again.
“Because I just do,” he answered quietly, looking into her eyes. “Cory and I are close. He keeps all my secrets.”
Mercy felt a strange tug at her heart as she returned his gaze, and she suddenly couldn't help wondering if Cory knew about their past encounter. But then again, why would he if Noah didn't even remember it himself?
“We should get out there before everyone starts wondering where we are,” she mumbled nervously. Gathering her things once more, she glanced back at him before she turned to leave.
“Mercy.” Noah spoke up as she turned to walk out. He couldn't just let her leave this way. They needed to … say something. Didn't they? He frowned slightly as he tried to decide what exactly to say. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly as a million things ran through his mind.
“Sorry for what?”
Noah stared at her for a moment, trying to make his thoughts make sense. “For kissing you,” he answered softly. “I should never have kissed you. I'm sorry.”
“No. Please don't apologize, Noah. I'm not sorry,” she admitted, stepping closer to him once more and looking into his eyes.
“You're not?”
“No.”
He smiled slightly at her words, but then quickly frowned once more. “I still shouldn't have kissed you. I had no right to do that,” he continued, sounding confused. “Not when you're involved with my brother. I don't want to get in between whatever you and Otis have got going on. Trust me, that would be bad news for all concerned.”
“But I'm not involved with Otis. Not romantically. There's nothing going on between us but friendship,” Mercy insisted.
Noah looked at her with bewilderment. Was she being straight with him? “But I … I thought that you … um … ”
“You thought what?”
“I thought …,” Noah muttered quietly as he ran his hand over the back of his neck once more.
“You thought we were sleeping together,” Mercy whispered, looking into his eyes, and Noah nodded slowly. Mercy smiled shyly at him. “No. We're not. We're just friends.”
“Does he know that?” Noah asked, looking at her intently, and Mercy's smile grew bigger.
“Well, he does tend to hear only what he wants to,” she laughed. “But I seem to remind him at least once a day.”
Noah smiled at her, suddenly feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She wasn't interested in Otis. And he felt indescribable joy as he reached out and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply once more. They smiled shyly at one another as they slowly turned for the door and headed out to grab lunch with the others.
Chapter Eight
After a week of hoping around France, Switzerland and Italy, Jagged Ivory made their way back to England for a couple of shows in Manchester and Birmingham before they were scheduled to move on to Scotland. And Mercy spent most of that time in a virtual haze of yearning and desire.
She and Noah agreed that it would be best for everyone, namely Mike, if they kept their romantic dalliance to themselves for the time being, although they no longer made any attempt to hide their interest from one another. There were plenty of shy smiles, longing glances and outright eye fucking going on between them. And Mercy had begun to live for the quick, stolen moments when they could share a heated kiss and a few seconds of groping. She loved the feel of his hands on her skin and his mouth on hers, and she wanted desperately to be alone with him. To spend a night in his arms again. And every time she entertained the thought, she wondered anew if he remembered their night together. She wanted so much to ask him, but she was terrified of what his answer mig
ht be. And if he really didn't remember, maybe reminding him might make him change his mind about being with her now. Mercy wasn't willing to take that chance. So she said nothing.
Noah knew that it wasn't going to be easy, keeping their involvement under wraps, and he was certain the guys would probably be able to tell that something was up with him. There was an unavoidable new pep to his step. He was so high on Mercy, he felt as if he were floating, and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops. When she was in the room, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her, and when she was near him, he had to touch her. He couldn't help himself. It was a tricky thing when others were around. He would slyly run a finger across her back, or allow his arm or his leg to lightly brush against hers. That seemingly innocent contact, coupled with their stolen fragments of time alone, were driving him mad with anticipation, and he had begun to scheme about ways they could spend an entire night together without Mike or the others finding out about it.
Cory, of course, knew what was going on, and he tried his best to help them out, running interference with the guys, or with Mike, to try and give Noah and Mercy a few more minutes alone, or to give them time to get it together before someone walked in. Noah never asked him to help, but Cory just stepped in willingly, eager to do what he could to aid his friend's love life.
Noah had begun making a show of asking Mercy about the tour journal and what was happening with it. It gave him a legitimate reason to be close to her, and it sometimes bought them a few minutes alone. They would start off talking about the blog and the questions the fans were asking, but if they were lucky enough to have no one else around, their conversation would quickly turn to the subject of “them.” And although he no longer worried about how she felt about him, his past behavior still bothered him, and Noah thought a lot about how best to bring it up. He wanted to admit to her that he remembered their night together and, more importantly, he wanted to apologize to her for the way he had treated her afterward. But he knew that he needed to find the right time. They had to be alone, someplace where there was no possibility of them being interrupted.
The Essential Jagged Ivory (Jagged Ivory Boxed Set) Page 13
