by Meghan Quinn
“Don’t listen to that dipshit. He wouldn’t know his asshole from his mouth if he had to choose.”
Maisy knew she should listen to Cruz, but it was hard when she so desperately wanted the approval of the man that had ingrained himself in her skin. She so desperately wished she could forget about him, say screw it and let him be, but she couldn’t. For some annoying reason, she needed his approval, she lived for it.
Maisy looked around and noticed everyone was outside, throwing a football around, of all things. It always surprised her how normal Shattered Souls was on an everyday basis. They were so grounded and such normal guys; it blew away any opinion she had formed of rock stars.
“Why aren’t you outside playing football with everyone?”
“Because you’re in here. I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“You didn’t have to,” Maisy said, while looking him in his deep brown eyes that almost matched hers.
“I know. But I wanted to.”
Cruz continued to stroke her hair, almost lulling her to sleep. His big hands running through her hair was incredibly soothing, almost hypnotic. She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but she liked it. They could just lay there in silence together and enjoy each other’s presence. Most of the time Cruz was an ass, sarcastic and trying to bang any girl that came his way, but when he opened himself up, he could actually be sweet and caring.
“Baby girl, I have to move my hand that’s under your shoulder, it’s falling asleep.”
Maisy barely registered what he was saying because she was in such a state of bliss. She felt him move his arm which left her cold so she grabbed it and wrapped his arm completely around her body so she was practically spooning his arm. Cruz shifted his weight so he was laying with her and scooped her up so she was saddled right next to him. They shared a pillow that was on the couch and snuggled closely.
She was in heaven.
Cruz kissed the side of her head and said, “Relax, you deserve it.”
“Thank you.”
She turned her head so she was looking at him and leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips. It was nothing romantic, just a friendly gesture to say “thank you for everything.” Cruz smiled at her and they both put their heads back on the pillow.
If anything, they were really good friends who comforted each other. She didn’t really feel anything romantic for him, just a bond that she used to feel with Kaid. It was warm, comfortable and she knew if she ever needed Cruz, he would be there for her.
He put on a show for everyone, but he really was a softy at heart.
***
Rook had to extract himself from the main cabin of the bus or else his fist was about to be balls deep in Cruz’s throat in two seconds. He returned to the room in the back of the bus and paced the floor while dragging his hand through his hair, trying to figure out what the hell he just witnessed.
Cruz and Maisy? Was that really what he just saw? Not just holding each other on the couch, but they kissed…on the lips! When the hell did that start happening? He didn’t even know Cruz was, for real, going after Maisy. Rook knew Cruz joked about it all the time to pull Rook’s leg, but he didn’t think Cruz was actually going to try to get together with Maisy. Didn’t Cruz realize Maisy was supposed to be with Rook?
No, how would he when Rook wanted nothing to do with her? Rook was a zit on a warthog’s ass to Maisy, so anyone would assume he wanted nothing to do with her, which he didn’t, but he also didn’t want anyone else with her. She was too good for Cruz; she was too good for Rook for that matter, but if she was going to be with either one of them, she sure as hell wasn’t going to end up with Cruz.
He had no clue what the hell he was going to do, but one thing was for sure, there was no way on Rook’s ball sac that he was going to let Cruz cuddle with Maisy anymore. Rook didn’t care if he had to break all the rules in his book, he was not going to be on the same bus while Cruz and Maisy held each other. Fuck no.
“What are you pacing for?” Grey asked, as he walked into the back of the bus with Landon and Kaid.
Rook didn’t answer them, he just sat on the bed, grabbed his guitar and started playing a song he was working on.
“He’s in looooooooove,” Landon said in an obnoxious tone that instantly annoyed Rook.
“Fuck off.”
Landon laughed and continued, “Oh, you going to sit there and cry about it? Cruz and Maisy, sitting in a tree…”
Rook set his guitar down and launched at Landon, pinning him to the ground.
“Finish that sentence and I will use your dick as my own personal punching bag.”
“Jesus. Sensitive much?” Grey asked.
“I don’t need it from this dick stick.”
Kaid sat in the corner of the room just watching the whole interaction unfold. The guys in Shattered Souls knew how to push each other’s buttons and they did it very often. It was how they had fun on the road, seeing how mad they could make one another. Landon and Cruz were usually the winners because both Rook and Grey were hotheads.
“Now are you guys in here for a reason, or did you just come by to annoy the crap out of me?”
“We just wanted to see how you were. We haven’t really talked to you in a while. We usually only see you right before the concert,” replied Grey with concern.
“Yeah, well I’ve been occupied.”
“With Maisy stalking?” Landon asked, while blocking his crotch at the same time.
Smart man, Rook thought.
“No, I finally finished the collage of naked photos I’ve been taking of you guys while in the shower. I’m selling it on eBay for a good chunk of change.”
“Sick fuck,” Landon said, while shaking his head.
“What are you idiots up to? Anything good? Where’s Willow?” Rook asked while looking around out the window, trying to brush off the intense conversation Grey tried to start.
“Willow and Quinn are hanging out,” Grey replied in a strangled voice. “Isn’t that just awesome?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Kaid asked, confused.
“Oh, don’t you know? Grey gets a boner every time he sees Willow,” said Rook while laughing.
Landon glared at Grey while Grey stood there neither confirming nor denying his boner problems.
“Dude, I thought we talked about this,” Landon said, irritated.
Grey blew out a frustrated breath. “I know. It’s just, God, she’s so fucking hot. I don’t know how you do it Kaid, being around two gorgeous women and not having one ounce of urge to fuck them.”
Kaid laughed. “Well, when you grow up with them as sisters and your only family, it’s kind of hard to get all hot and bothered about them.”
“Must be nice. Don’t get me wrong, I love Quinn with everything in me,” Grey said, while looking at Landon. “It’s just, there’s something about Willow that I can’t get out of my head. I don’t understand it. And I swear to God, are her nipples always hard? I think that’s half the problem. Her tits are amazing and then she always has hard nipples, it’s difficult to concentrate.”
Rook chuckled at the expense of his friend. Maybe Rook’s problems in the romance department weren’t half as bad when compared to what Grey was going through. The poor guy clearly had a serious lust for Willow, but also had a girlfriend, so he could do jack shit about it. At least Rook had a choice of whether or not he wanted to be with Maisy. Well, he did, until Cruz the dickhead came along. Rook was going to have to have another talk with his friend, and he knew exactly how it was going to go. Either Cruz took a fist to the face or he backed off of Maisy.
“Well, not that I really want to be talking about Willow’s tits, but her nipples are pierced, so that could be the reason.”
Grey groaned out loud and put his head in his hand while Landon had a slight smirk on his face, as if he was imagining what Willow looked like shirtless.
“Shit, that’s hot,” Rook said.
“Maybe you should sleep with Will
ow,” Landon said to Rook. “You’re both troublemakers; it would be a perfect match.”
Willow was hot, but she wasn’t the girl for Rook. She would most likely be a really good fuck, but he knew if he ever took Willow to bed, he could kiss any possibility he had with Maisy goodbye. Girls didn’t like sharing their men.
“No, she’s more your style Landon. You guys would be hot together and you know she would be good in bed. Hell, she has her nipples pierced. Imagine the things you could do with those.”
“And the tongue piercing,” Kaid said, while picking a piece of lint off his shirt.
All of the guys shot their heads up and looked at Kaid as if he just said free beer for life. Rook could see from the corner of his eye that Grey was breathing heavily and Landon even seemed intrigued.
“Tongue ring?” Grey croaked.
“Yeah, you guys never saw it?” Kaid took a second to think. “She must have her neutral colored barbell in right now. Sometimes she changes it out so she doesn’t scare people right away. Yeah, she has a tongue ring. She got it when she was sixteen. Maisy got one too.”
Rook’s jaw fell to the floor. Maisy had a tongue ring? His edgy angel? Made sense if he took a second to think about it. She was so perfect and pristine on the outside with her long golden locks and big brown eyes, but inside she was edgy and different.
“Is it really that amazing?” Landon asked, with pure curiosity.
“What? Head with a tongue ring?” Rook asked. Landon nodded. “Man, you have not lived until a chick blows you with a tongue ring.”
“He’s right.” Kaid agreed, which made all the guys once again look at him in shock. He shrugged. “I’ve had my fair share of head in my day. I dated this one girl for a long time who had a tongue ring and I think the only reason I stayed with her was because of the amazing head she gave. When you find a little treasure like that, you have to keep it around as long as you can until you can’t stand the chick anymore.”
“Kinkaid. I’m shocked,” Landon said, while holding his heart with his hand. “That was very ungentlemanly of you.”
Kaid patted Landon’s face. “Get used to it, sweetheart. I’m not the little priss you like to think I am. I hold my tongue around the ladies because they are practically my sisters. I don’t want to gross them out. But you assholes are a whole other story.”
Rook laughed and thought about how he missed hanging out with his guys, or just people in general. He was so busy avoiding Maisy that he had completely cut himself off from the world. Maybe it was time for a change. He was only driving himself crazy. Yeah, he was getting some good work done, but then again, when Maisy was around, he felt like he was more inspired. She was becoming his muse, a muse he needed and wanted.
As Rook laughed with his guys about all the awful blow jobs they had in their life, Rook promised himself that he was going to make a better effort to be around his guys and, first thing in the morning, he was going to go after Maisy. He had denied himself too long and he would rather get some sort of pleasure out of her and possibly fall into a pit of despair than not be with her and have to watch Cruz manhandle what Rook considered his. The latter was by far the worst of the two options.
Chapter 8
The other tour bus finally arrived. Maisy was relieved because she was ready to have her own space and be able to spread her crap out rather than have it shoved into a little cubby or in the bus down below.
Their bus was not as nice or as big as Shattered Souls, but they didn’t care; it still had a nice living space that was in all soothing earth shades, a nice bathroom, bunks and a bedroom in the back. They all decided that they would leave the back bedroom for nights where they needed to stretch out or if they had a special someone come along. That idea was Willow’s, of course, but the person who did have someone come back to the tour bus had the responsibility of cleaning up and making sure all sheets and linens were thoroughly cleaned. Willow called it the Fuck Bed, but Maisy refused to refer to it as that. She wouldn’t mind spending some time in the back room with a strong man, but she didn’t want to think about Willow or Kaid doing the same thing in that room.
They arrived in Denver early in the morning, which was where they were greeted by their bus. They all had a photo shoot that morning before their concert. Twisted Perfection was taking pictures for their album and Shattered Souls had a photo shoot for an upcoming magazine interview. If they hadn’t done the interview already, Pete was going to try to slip Twisted Perfection in as well, but it was already too late.
Maisy was feeling more at ease lately with the friendship she built with Cruz; it kind of came out of nowhere, but he cared about her and it was nice. The camaraderie she received from Cruz was helping her relax more out on stage, which helped her perform better. Plus, she rarely saw Rook because he quarantined himself. It was nice because Maisy was actually able to concentrate on what the hell she was doing. The only bad thing was that…she didn’t get to see Rook. It hurt her heart to see him lock himself up in the bedroom. What was so bad that he didn’t want to interact with others?
Making sure she felt at home in her new bunk, she hung up some pictures of her and her bandmates together. She had a pillowcase with bright pink and yellow flowers on it that she took with her everywhere. It was the one thing she had from her mom, so Maisy always made sure to have it with her. Whenever she rested her head on the faded fabric, she felt at home.
As she was putting her pillow in the pillowcase, she felt a strong stature behind her. Maisy smiled to herself because she knew it was Cruz coming on board for a tour. The rest of the gang was at hair and makeup, but she had a little bit of time before she was scheduled to be in a chair, so she decided to stay on the bus and make it her own space.
“Hey stranger,” Maisy said while turning around.
“Hey Beautiful,” came the deep baritone voice of Rook Tyler.
Maisy stumbled backward at seeing Rook out of his cave of despair and fell into her bunk while banging her head at the same time. A sharp pain shook through her head as she tried to right herself so she wasn’t flailing around like a fish out of water on her bed, in front of Rook.
“Hey, careful. Are you ok?” Rook asked, while sitting on her bunk and checking her head, or at least trying to, since Maisy was backing far, far away from him.
She was extremely confused as to why Rook was in her bus, let alone trying to check on her well-being. Was he high or something? Did he realize that he was actually talking to her?
“I’m fine,” Maisy said, while getting up and pulling down on the crop top sweatshirt she had on. She wasn’t in her fine clothes yet, not when she was about to go get her make-up and hair done. So she was sporting leggings, a crop top sweatshirt, no make-up and a poofy bun on the top of her head. She was borderline hot-mess status. The only thing helping her not cross the line was the fact that she had brushed her teeth already and brushed her hair before she put it up in a bun.
Rook stood up as he looked at her bare stomach where neither her shirt hem nor waistband met over her skin. His hand reached up and traced her hip bone making her almost melt right in front of him.
“Do you have a tattoo?” he asked, fascinated with her body, as if he had never seen the female form before.
Totally confused and forgetting her “I hate Rook Tyler” motto, she answered him. “Yeah, I have two.”
Rook bent at the knees and took a closer look at the tattoo on her hip. It was a lifeline that went across her hip bone at an angle and in the middle were music notes. It was the definition of her life. Without music she would be dead. Music saved her life because it brought her to Willow and Kaid and, without them, she never would have survived the crap she went through.
He lightly dragged her waistband down just so he could take a better look at her entire tattoo. The gentle stroke of his thumb over her tattoo sent chills to her very core, causing her loveliest lady bits to start to throb. She cursed her traitorous body as Rook closely examined the tattoo that meant something
to her. The other tattoo she had, not so much, but she wasn’t about to show Rook where that one was.
He finally stood up and looked her in the eyes. She was confused when she looked back because she couldn’t read what he was thinking. She never could. He could be extremely happy and Maisy would never know because he always had the same facial expression.
“When did you get that?” Rook asked, almost in a whisper.
“When I was eighteen, when I was finally old enough.”
Rook didn’t say anything; he just took off his shirt off and showed off the few tattoos that scattered his body. Maisy already knew what they were because she had seen many pictures of Rook with his shirt off in magazines. He had random lyrics scrolled over his body, a gun on the inside of his upper arm, a few music notes, and Chinese symbols that Maisy didn’t know what they represented, but what was making her life turn around was the tattoo that peeked up from Rook’s hipbone that she had never seen. He pulled down his waistband slightly and showed her almost the same exact tattoo as she had, but instead of the music notes being in the lifeline, they were at the beginning and the lifeline extended off of the music.
Maisy didn’t know what to say. It was kind of crazy that they had almost the same exact tattoo.
“When I first saw you, playing at The Tavern, I wondered if you had any tattoos. I wondered if a needle had ever inked your perfect, pure skin. I wanted to know, I wanted to strip all your clothes off and see if my edgy angel decorated her body in ink.”
Edgy angel? What the hell was that? He definitely had to be high, but when she looked into his eyes, they were clearer than ever.
A clear mind was nowhere in sight. Maisy couldn’t focus because Rook was crowding her in the hallway of the bunks. Her back was up against the wall as he moved toward her. He placed both his hands on her hips and looked her in the eyes.
“This tattoo,” Rook said, while stroking her hip tattoo with his thumb, “is so fucking sexy. When I got mine, I knew it would be my favorite tattoo. The fact that you have the same one solidifies that decision.”
