“EJ.” Dad, nods slightly over to where Brianna sits, and I see her sinking further into her seat. This is getting out of hand and it’s getting out of hand fast.
“You know what? Everybody but she and I, leave. This isn’t your room, it’s mine. We have things to talk about.”
“So do we,” Madison argues as Knox agrees with her.
“I’m serious, all of you out. You can come back in an hour, but we need to have a chance to discuss things, and we can’t do that with the four of you looking at us like we’re a side-show circus.”
It takes everything I have, but I usher the four of them out, but not before confiscating the keycard from Knox. Once the door is shut and locked, along with the chain attached and deadbolt engaged, I lean against it, letting it take my weight.
“What are we going to do, EJ?”
The small voice tugs at me, as much as I don’t want it to. In most situations I pretend that I’m not the one making the decision. In everything I strive to be carefree and non-committal. Turning around, I see her still sitting on the couch, looking small and lost. In the blink of an eye I feel a responsibility I’ve never wanted to feel before. If there’s ever been a definition of man-up, this is it.
“We’re gonna get some coffee, order some breakfast, and talk about the situation we find ourselves in right now.” My gaze travels over her, landing on the smooth expanse of thigh she’s showing in the short as fuck little black dress she’s wearing. A memory hits me in the chest of sliding my hand along her thigh, up that dress, and shoving her panties to the side. Along with feeling her lips at my neck, biting and sucking as we sat in the backseat of a car, her straddling my waist. Clearing my throat, I do my best to tamp down the arousal, while at the same time wishing I could remember everything about last night. “But first, we gotta get you something else to wear, because knowing you’re sitting there without panties on, is making me want to do things other than talk to you. C’mon.”
I reach out, grab her hand, and drag her back with me into the bedroom, before I rifle through my bag, coming up with a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt. “Here, go take a quick shower in there, I’ll take a shower in the other room, and maybe things will look a little different.”
She holds the clothing in front of her like a shield. “See you in a few minutes.”
With a groan I head for the other bathroom in the suite. As I wait for the shower to heat up, I look at myself in the mirror. Fuck, we demolished each other last night if she looks anything like I do. A hickey on my neck, love bites on my abdomen and chest, when I turn in the mirror I look at my back, whistling at the scratches down the back.
My only regret about any of this? That my memory isn’t clearer, because damn I think we were good together, and I hope like hell she doesn’t run out of the suite before we can talk. I’d really like the chance to get to know her better, and figure out where we stand.
I have a feeling, the two of us? We’re about to become America’s new favorite couple, and we won’t have anything at all to say about it
Chapter Three
Bri
Once EJ leaves, I go into the bathroom and crank the water. With jerky movements, I throw the clothes he gave me onto the vanity. The ring on my finger sparkles in the impeccable lighting of this room, just like everything in Vegas. It looks bright and shiny at a glance, but the shadows can sometimes reach out and grab you, dragging you down a path you aren’t sure you want to go on. Sighing, I slide it off, carefully placing it on the granite countertop. Stepping into the shower, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. The water washes over my body, and suddenly I’m so damn tired.
Leaning against the glass, I slide down, curling my knees to my chest and immediately lose every bit of my cool. I sob, tears running down my face, stomach heaving, breath breaking as I try to comprehend what the hell has happened in the last twelve hours or so.
How did I go from having a crush on EJ to being his wife? How do we get out of this mess? Not to mention what am I going to tell my parents? We don’t have the best relationship, it’s been strained since I was a teenager, but they at least deserve to hear it from me. By now, the news is out, and what the hell am I going to tell my fans?
The heat of the water is getting to be too much, making me light-headed, so I stand up, quickly washing my body and hair. Getting out, I look at myself in the mirror as I dry off, really taking an inventory of my body. The evidence of the time EJ and I had last night is a roadmap across my skin. Love bites on my chest, down my stomach, there are thumb prints on my thighs, and I’m sore in all the best ways. I just wish I remembered all of it.
“Brianna, are you good?” I hear his deep voice outside the bathroom door.
Immediately I’m taken back to a fuzzy memory.
EJ’s body covers mine, his lips against my ear as I spread my thighs wide, allowing him to press inside me. Twining my arms around his neck, I hold on tightly as he grips my ass, tilting it, holding me still as he works against my core. His arm muscles are bulging, as he pushes in, withdraws, pushes in.
“You good, Brianna?” He pulls the lobe of my ear in between his teeth, tugging gently.
“So good,” I answer, tilting my head to the side to connect my lips with the expanse of his neck within my reach. “Don’t stop, EJ, please don’t stop.”
Shaking my head, I clear the memory, a small smile playing at the corner of my lips. “I’m good,” I answer quickly. “Let me get dressed and I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
Finding a toothbrush and toothpaste in a travel packet, still sealed, is the answer to prayers. I feel like a brand-new person, wiping my mouth, before putting my hair up in a towel. My gaze flitters to the rings lying there. They twinkle in the lights. Slowly, I grab them, placing them back on my finger; a small smile playing against my lips.
Finally I’m ready to face the world, even though I’m not wearing my own clothing. His clothes are huge on me, but it makes me feel like we’re a team. Leaving the bathroom, I see him sitting in a chair on the far side of the bedroom. There’s another chair facing him. He stands as he sees me. “Hey.” he gives me a smile, his dimple popping slightly in his cheek, barely visible beneath his beard.
“Hey,” I answer, slowly walking over to where he’s standing.
“You okay?” he asks as he indicates I should sit across from him. “I didn’t hurt you last night, did I? I don’t remember a whole lot.” His voice is sheepish as he runs a hand through his black hair.
“I’m okay.” I bite my lip, a nervous gesture I have. Kind of embarrassed about what I’m about to say. “I’ve never quite known what the term thoroughly fucked feels like, but now I know.”
A blush works its way up his cheeks as he ducks his head. “No other woman in the history of the world has made me blush,” he chuckles. “But I kinda feel the same way you do.” He lifts his shirt, causing me to gasp.
“Wow, ummm.” I have nothing to say about the marks on his body. “I guess we had a good time.”
“Yeah.” He reaches over to the table, holding up an empty condom wrapper. “I found a couple of these while I was waiting on you to come out, so hopefully we were protected. If we weren’t…” He stops, sighing. “I’ve only ever been with one other person without being protected. It was a serious relationship, but it ended three years ago, so you have nothing to worry about.”
This is one of the most embarrassing conversations I’ve ever had, especially with someone I just met. “I’m on birth control.” I push my hair back from my face. “And I’ve only ever been with three guys, none of them without protection, so you’re good with me too.”
He sobers up. “You and I both know that nothing is ever one hundred percent effective. There’s always a chance, no matter what. So please, let me know?”
He lets the rest of what he would possibly say trail off. “I will…” I squirm in my seat under the heat of his gaze.
“While you were in the shower, I checked my email aft
er what Knox said. There’s an email copied to both of us from the record company saying how good this PR is for everyone involved. They want us to stay married, and they’ve hinted if we don’t, they won’t push either one of our albums.”
My heart drops as I hear what he’s saying. The album I just recorded is my favorite; they finally gave me the opportunity to write some of my own songs, and I’m proud of it. Prouder of it than I have been about anything in a long time.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, they even brought Mom and Dad into this.” He leans back, spreading his legs. “About how I’m the product of one of the greatest love stories of all time, and how will that look and reflect poorly on them, if we don’t stay together.”
“That’s bullshit.” I get angry for the ultimatum they’re handing to us. Jumping up, I start to pace before putting my hands in my hair and yanking on the roots. Something to let me know this is real and not some crazy dream we’ve been dropped in the middle of.
“It is,” he agrees, leaning forward to put his hands on his knees. “They want it all from us though, Bri. They want Instagram stories of us together, us talking about each other when we’re apart, pictures of us moving in together, and our lives as a newlywed couple. They want it all, and they want it from us, because they know how much it would sell. They know how big our separate fan bases are and just how huge a combined on would be.”
It hits me like a ton of bricks. My stomach drops and I immediately realize what we’ve done to ourselves. Like a balloon deflated, I drop back into the chair, feeling like I do when I’m about to answer one of my parents texts asking for money. Pissed that I’m being manipulated. “We’re stuck, aren’t we?”
“I’ve given this serious thought. I don’t take it lightly. If we wanna keep our careers, which for me includes three other members of a band and a payroll. I shouldn’t ask this of you, but I don’t want them to suffer because what I’ve done,” he starts, and I know what he’s asking me.
“No, I get it, you’re gonna ask me to go along with this.”
“Obviously we have chemistry.” He points out. “Which is more than a lot of people start out with. If we actually give this a shot and we hate it, then we’ll figure it out, but the people who work for me, they have families.” He grabs his stomach. “And it makes me fuckin’ sick to think that something I did could move them to financial ruin.”
“I feel the same,” I whisper. “There’s a lot of people who keep Team Bri going, and I can’t do that to them. Not to mention myself, I’ve worked hard to have this career.”
For a few moments we’re quiet, and then I have to say what’s on my mind.
“I’ll go along with this, but I want to try for real, EJ. No other women. If we do this, we do it.”
He reaches out, grabbing my hand, kissing the back of it, where I put the ring back on. “We do it for real,” he agrees.
“Call Knox,” I tell him as I grab my phone and text Maddie asking them to meet us back in his room.
Two hours later, we have a plan in place, along with changing my social media names, and we have an announcement drafted. A checklist of things we have to do, that more than anything, make this sound like a business agreement, and I guess it is. Never in my life did I think my marriage would have a checklist attached to it.
Make up a story about how we met
Be sure and post a cute story on social media
Take a bunch of pictures with a photographer that will “chronicle” our (fake) dating life
Try to figure out what the fuck we’re going to do when this all blows up in our faces
Okay, I added the last one, but what else am I supposed to plan for? It stands to reason if it all comes crashing down, it’ll probably be on my head, and not his.
Reaper and Harmony have showed up, and they’ve agreed with what we’ve talked about. The plan we’ve come up with is hopefully foolproof, and everyone’s in agreement this is the best course of action to take. At some point, Maddie had my stuff delivered to EJ’s room, and we’re eating lunch before we finish what we must for the day.
“How many outfits do we need?” I ask as I get up to go to my bag.
“At least five,” Knox replies while checking stuff off on his phone. “We have to make it seem like the two of you have been taking pictures with each other for several months. Once we get the pics edited tonight, the two of you will upload them, and explain to the world you’ve been dating in secret for the past six months. Then, get ready.”
Maddie shakes her head. “Because all hell is about to break loose. You’re two of the most popular people in music right now.”
I glance over at Harmony, who gives me a small smile. “We’ll be here for you two, every step of the way. Believe it or not, Garrett and I know a thing or two about navigating the media.”
Her words give me hope. This could have been so much worse. Stuck with someone who has a reputation for beating the shit out of his girlfriends, a wandering eye, or someone I’m not attracted to. Somehow I have to believe this will work, because failure isn’t an option.
Chapter Four
EJ
“Look to the left.” The photographer that Knox and Madison have gotten for us instructs as he snaps a plethora of pictures. The non-disclosure this guy signed is the biggest document I’ve ever seen in my life – and I’ve seen some shit.
It’s been a long day, but Bri’s holding up better than I imagined she would. She’s younger than I am, but in some ways she comes across even younger than she is. So far I haven’t seen her blow anyone off or treat them badly, she hasn’t huffed and grabbed her phone, wanting someone to go get her a glass of water. Most people in her position would. Which is weird considering she’s in the pop world, and everyone knows those singers grow up so much quicker than the rest of us. The only thing it makes me want to do, though, is protect her.
About fifteen minutes ago, they cleared the room out. Instead of management and my parents, it’s now just us and the photographer. He’s turned the lights down low, and the picture area taking on a more romantic tone. I’m standing behind her, my body dwarfing hers. We’re both barefoot, and I can’t help but grin at how much bigger I am than her. We’re standing in front of a green screen, so when the pictures are done, different backgrounds can be dropped in.
“That grin, EJ, keep it,” the photographer instructs. “You two, just do whatever feels natural.”
“Your hair smells really good, like fruit,” I speak softly to her, keeping my tone low, so that only the two of us hear.
“It’s the hairspray I use,” she answers, her voice pitched equally as low as mine.
Nosing the hair out of the way and the strap of her shirt down, I place a soft kiss on the bare skin of her shoulder. Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I hold her back to my front. She tilts head to the side, giving me more room, and I have to remind myself that these pictures aren’t supposed to be X-rated, just sexy. Pushing against her ribs, I turn her around in my arms.
“You look pretty hot in this shirt.” She grins up at me, her eyes burning brightly as she flirts.
“You think?” I run my hand along her jawline. “It’s nothing special. Just a gray t-shirt.”
“Mmm.” She shakes her head. “See that’s where you’re wrong. It fits you just right and shows off all this ink on your arms. It’s pretty special.” She slips her hands up the back of it, running her fingers along my skin.
Her touch tickles, which causes me to laugh and her to giggle. In the end, she stands on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck, her lips meeting mine in a kiss. The first one I can remember us having. It’s not a passionate one by any means. It’s one of two people who have become comfortable with each other over the past few hours, and that makes me happy.
“Okay, you two. I got everything I need. I’ll send you these pics tonight, and then you can make your announcements.”
We break apart reluctantly. “Let me go get my bag.” She tu
rns, walking off quickly.
Our parents come back in, along with our managers. I do my best to make not eye contact. I don’t want to see how tired they are, how hard we’ve made everyone work because of a drunken decision. Quickly, I make myself busy by tidying up.
I don’t have a bag, just a couple of shirts and a jacket, along with some sunglasses, and a pair of swim trunks. As she comes out carrying the duffel bag, I hold my hand out for it. “Let me get that for you.”
“You really are a gentleman, aren’t you?”
“Try to be. My parents raised me to be respectful, and that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in life.” I put my hand on her back as we exit the studio. “It’s served me well so far.”
The photographer is talking to Knox and Madison, so I take the moment to turn to my parents. “Sorry we took up most of your day.”
“You might be twenty-six,” - Mom reaches over to give me a hug- “but you’re still my child, and I’ll be with you no matter what you need.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I wrap my arms around her neck, hugging her tightly.
“Are you two hungry?” Dad asks as he checks the time on his phone. “It’s going on six, and if you’re hungry, we know of a really awesome sushi place here in town.”
I’ve heard about this sushi place, but I’ve never actually been to it. It’s nicer than I’m used to, and when Mom and Dad go, they usually go with Jared and Shell. “You mean I’m gonna be allowed to go?”
“Only married couples.” Mom gives me a wink. “Seriously though, if you don’t want to be seen, we get it.”
“This should be fine.” I run my hands through my hair. “I mean, we’ll take a car over there, go in, come back out ,and hit the hotel. You have to leave in the morning too, don’t you?” I look over at Bri.
Power Couple: A Marriage of Convenience Romance (The Nashvegas Series Book 1) Page 3
