“You wouldn’t need to be naked. Just having the paparazzi report me visiting you would be enough to piss off Heath.” And Jase.
“He still blaming me for the photos hitting the web?” Shuffling came from his end, and she wondered what he was doing.
“Sadly, yes.”
She thought Omega shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. We know the truth. Come over, and we’ll show the world whose woman you really are.”
I wish I felt the same way about Omega as I do Heath. He was a great friend and a charitable lover, didn’t hurt that he was a hawtie and treated her with respect. “It’d be a lie, Omega.”
“Sunshine, aren’t Tab and Heath promoting lies?”
Sam expelled a breath.
“I’ll support you any way you want. You want to engage in this farce with him, I’ll understand and wish you luck, while knowing I’ll lose you if you succeed.”
“You’ll never lose me.”
“I know.” She thought Omega sipped his drink. “You’re my beastie.”
She laughed and knew he grinned. He joked that a guy and girl couldn’t be best friends, because the beast in a man’s pants always got in the way of friendship. His bizarre wisdom prompted the ‘beastie’ joke.
“If it gets to be too much—even after the tour starts—one call or text and I’ll swoop in and save you.”
“Thanks.”
“And Sam?”
“Yeah?”
“If he doesn’t want you, he’s a fucking fool.”
Heath paused his video game and leaned against the sofa as Jase, Keys, and Derringer invaded his private domain. They didn’t even knock when they entered his bedroom.
He stretched an arm over the back of the couch and rested the hand holding the controller on his thigh. He’d wondered how long it’d take before he received the riot act. “Y’all can save it. I already know the rules. No touching Sam or you’ll kick my ass.”
Jase snatched the glass bottle of tequila off the table and tipped it to his lips. Regardless what his long-time buddy professed, the concept of him with Sam obviously bothered him.
“Partially right.” Keys settled in a seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. He interlaced his fingers over his belly and winced. “I’m going to shatter your kneecaps and Derr is going to kick your teeth in.”
“Good to know y’all settled that.” None of this surprised him. They all had spent years protecting her. If they’d suddenly decided to act otherwise, he would’ve worried. “I should point out that it’s gonna be difficult for me to sing without any teeth though.”
“I’m sure there are some chicks out there that are turned on by the old-man gummy look.” Keys curled his lips around his teeth and smacked his mouth.
Heath would’ve laughed if Derringer hadn’t strode straight to him and stood over him, the fists curled at his sides an obvious intimidation tactic. He glanced up at the Latino man. This was the most hostile he’d ever seen his normally laidback friend. Had someone else approached him in this manner, Heath would’ve taken offense. “Something wrong, Derr?”
He kicked Heath’s sneakers with his steel-toed boots. Pain lanced up his calf and jarred his knee. With a jerk, he slid across the sofa and rubbed the side of his foot. “Christ, man, that hurts!”
“You kissed our girl.”
How’d they find out about that?
“It was harmless.” Far from innocent. Heath wanted Sam back in his arms and his mouth on hers, with their tongues wedded. He knew just how he’d go about it too. Three days ago he’d warmed her up slow. At the next opportunity he’d just take what he wanted and demonstrate how aggressive he could be when he felt so inclined.
“Have you watched the video the rag reporter shot of you two in the store?” With a casual air Keys twisted the ring on his middle finger, but his vibe felt like a taut tension cable ready to snap.
“A few times.” A few dozen to be more accurate. Words failed him. It’d been like watching the beginning of the hottest porn in his life that’d been cut short. “Chill, Derr, before we go to blows.”
The bass man backed off a couple of steps, but made no pretense he was pleased.
“If the real kiss was half as hot as what didn’t happen, there was nothing ‘harmless’ about it. What is it with you two denying your attraction?” A slight pause as Keys extremities rapped against his thigh like he played the keyboard. “By the gleam in your eyes, I suspect you’re going to do something stupid that requires a good dental plan.”
“Let me clear something up, Fang.” Jase pointed the tequila bottle at him. “I don’t like or agree with this charade you’re engaging in with Sam. I supported her decision because that’s what a brother does. It’s exploiting her for the band’s benefit. That’s all kinds of wrong. We all know she hates when the paparazzi focuses on her.” He took another long swig.
“You should lay off the liquor. We gotta be up early in the morning and playing a gig tomorrow night hung over will kill your head. And we both know Sam hates it when you’re drunk.”
“You need to lay off my sister!” The bottle pinged loud when Jase slammed it on the table. “I know she’s attractive—”
“Correction.” Keys leaned his head back on the chair and eyed Jase. “Sam’s a hot babe.” In two strides Derringer was close enough to kick Keys on the foot, which he promptly executed. The lead guitarist leapt to his feet and got in Derr’s face. “For fuck’s sake I’m on your side! But I won’t sugarcoat the truth for any of you. I get why Fang’s eyeing her, and it has nothing to do with her looks. She’s sassy and smart. A man would be lucky to have her. One little problem, there’s no one worthy of her. Not even Fang, he’s a rat-bastard like the rest of us.”
Too close to the tour starting, he couldn’t allow his band mates to come to blows. Heath pushed to his feet and wedged himself between his two guitarists. “What exactly do y’all think I want out of this charade?”
“My sister in your bed.” Arms folded over his chest in a closed-off manner, Jase neared them.
“Not true.” He elbowed Derr and Keys further apart. “I’m insulted you think so little of me, Jase.”
“What do you want?” Derringer asked, holding his ground.
He was not comfortable answering that question with the entire truth. “Sam’s happiness is as big a priority to me as it is to y’all.”
“And?” Their resident jokester band member stared him straight in the eyes. There wasn’t anything humorous in his demeanor at the moment. “I’ll back you, Fang, provided you can prove you’re good enough for her, but she’s the one thing that could break our friendship.”
Before Heath could respond, his cell went off vibrating his ass and playing their hit single, Dark Passions. Poetic since he presently suffered from dark passions. He glanced at caller I.D. Tab. Just great. She’d been hounding him all week. “Hold that thought.” He hit the ‘answer’ button. “Tab, for the two thousandth time I’ve told you we are going to pace this at our discretion not yours.”
“Heath Fangor, you pay me to do a job. She’s evading my calls, texts, and emails.” Mine too. Even managed to avoid him while home, not that she’d spent much time at the house over the last three days. “Unacceptable!”
He winced and pulled the phone away from his ear. “Screeching’s unnecessary.”
“Get your ass on the Sam-problem, pronto! Her job starts tomorrow, and I have a sneaky suspicion she’s going to default on her deal.”
He knew Sam better than that. He might have no clue where they went from here, but she wouldn’t cut out on a deal. She blatantly evaded him and Tab. He allowed the adolescent behavior because he had no idea how to approach their dilemma.
Tomorrow would kick-start their six-month U.S. tour. Avoidance would be problematic. More so since their charade required them working in tandem. Had kissing her set them back that much? They must work out some minor issues before they blew their cover from the get-go.
“Sam’s not here. I have
no idea where she is.”
Jase elevated his eyebrows in a questioning manner.
“She’s got a cell. GPS her ungrateful ass.” He imagined her rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. “Imbeciles. I deal with imbeciles.”
“So, let me get this right, Tab. I’m not just fake dating Sam, but now I’m genuinely stalking her? I draw the line at that.”
“Good answer.” Keys nodded. “That’s a point in your favor.”
He frowned at the other man. He had to earn points to win Sam over in their book? When had his life gotten so bizarre?
“Got her.”
The woman ignored me.
“GPS has her at Double Shots.”
“What the hell could she be getting into at Double Shots?”
“Trouble there equates to sky’s the limit.”
He sighed at Tab’s comment. The establishment catered to rich starlets that had a taste for anything. His Sam had a proclivity for engaging trouble even when not looking for it. “You have a choice. Kickoff this tour in a good way—that means with my charade or Sam’s way. Let me spell out Sam’s way for you. That means… Legal. Setbacks. Your choice.”
“You have to go get her.” Keys again.
Jase snatched the phone from his grasp. “Fang’s walking out the door to retrieve her right now.”
“I am?” What just happened? One minute they were giving him shit about his intentions toward Sam, now they were sending him to rescue her. Heath shook his head. This was his family. Complicated with an army of contradictions.
“You need us to join you?” Derr asked as Heath reclaimed his cell.
“Y’all feel like babysitting me tonight?” A flutter of excitement streaked through his belly as he strode to the door. He was about to see Sam again.
I. Cannot. Wait.
At the door, he stopped and turned sideways to face them. “Just trust me where Sam’s concerned. That’s all I ask.”
None of them said anything. Heath didn’t require their support, but it’d be nice to have it.
“I trust you to fuck things up. We all excel at that.” Keys motioned to the group as he lifted the hem of his shirt just above his bellybutton. A nice size bruise darkened his abdomen. That’s why he’d winced when he touched his stomach earlier. “Sam’s gift to me because I pissed her off. I think she can manage you just as well.”
Heath chuckled. “That’s our girl.”
On the drive to the club, he contemplated what might’ve caused Sam to evade him so much. He’d kissed her for God’s sake. It wasn’t like he’d groped her. Okay, maybe he had. Just a little. Nothing to get worked up over. Except this was Sam, and even though she was no virgin, she wasn’t the type of woman a man played with. At twenty she’d had a total of two lovers.
The kiss they shared had been the best moment of his life. Not even the excitement of getting the record deal for Hot Wired compared. That indicated Sam meant more to him than any fling. If she asked, he’d walk away from the band tomorrow without regrets.
Nerves fluttered through his belly, and he put his fingers through his messy, overlong hair. Sam wasn’t on the same tarmac with him when it came to them. She required wooing, convincing they would be good together. But when he got his mouth on her and tasted her, coupled with the smell of her, he lost all sense of pacing himself. He hadn’t even realized he’d cupped her bottom and pulled her against his lower brain until she halted the kiss.
Goddamn her ass is a perfect fit in my hand.
He hadn’t been smooth talking her when he said she was his crack. Who the fuck needed drugs when Sam’s taste hit his palate and yielded a natural high. He was a junkie for her smiles and laughter. All the goddamn time he overdosed on her company, finding one excuse after another to hang with her. The days of keeping his addiction bottled up inside from discerning eyes was over.
No more. No fucking more!
I’m making my stand for her. The band could all go to hell.
The way she’d melted against him when he kissed her was burned into his pores and memory. The little noises coming from her as he worked his mouth over hers… no man could maintain his sanity in the face of that. Not even one with mostly honorable intentions like him.
His kneejerk reaction to Tab’s farce had been to shoot it down. But the more he’d listened to their agent’s reasons for the charade and Sam’s argument against it, he’d seen an opportunity he could use for his benefit. Tab had her endgame, and he had his. If he played this mockery just right, Heath might be able to persuade Sam to give them a shot. A real shot, not one put on for the band, the fans, or Tab, but because she liked him as more than a brother. Going too fast wouldn’t aid his end results.
Like a fool he’d believed her when she claimed he kissed like Jase. Looking back he realized she’d been as enthralled as him, and he’d permitted her to wound his pride when she attempted to save face. The woman knew him, but she had yet to discover how persuasive he could be. Or how hard he could push when he wanted something as bad as he wanted her.
He wasn’t even certain when he’d decided to make a full-on play for her. Sometime between the almost-kiss in the sex-store and Tab’s intervention. Sam was his. Plain and simple. She possessed no goals for her future and straddled a turning point in her life. With any luck they’d become one another’s forever.
He pulled his sports car straight up to the curb and tossed his key to a pimply-faced valet. Excitement scuttled along the line of hopefuls to enter the establishment. No surprise he’d been made.
“Mr. Fangor.” The Asian male bouncer came off his perch like a soldier at arms. “It’s an honor to have you join us.” The man led him past the line of those waiting to enter the establishment. Heath winked at the girls at the front, and they tittered like adolescents. He’d bet the proceeds from a single night’s gig those two possessed fake credentials.
“I’ll notify the owner immediately of your presence and acquire you a private booth. If you need anything else, just ask for me. Name’s Ace.”
“Thanks.” Somehow he’d coax Sam into privacy and hopefully steal a kiss or two. He wouldn’t push for more. He slipped the man a hundred dollar bill. “Point me in the direction of Sam Collins.”
The bouncer pocketed the bill with a grin. “From what I hear”—he tapped his ear piece—“she won’t be hard to locate. She’s on the private, rose dance floor with her own posse.”
A posse, huh? If another man groped her, Heath wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. “How many men are in that posse?”
“Three.” Ace pointed to the left and Heath spied Sam on one of the many dance floors. This one was quarantined for special guests, and it appeared she’d been given the royal treatment.
The snug, cherry-red shorts barely covered the lower curve of her ass. The loose black shirt exposed one shoulder and bunched around her waist. Her hair was free and bounced with her movements.
She rolled her hips and paused as she made a circling motion with her hands at those nearest her. Her posse mocked her moves and Sam nodded as if to approve their actions. By all appearances she gave dance lessons. At the perimeter of the private suite an audience gawked, cheering them on.
Heath strode straight to her, dodging dancers on the main floor and drawing attention to his attendance. Tab would be proud he had acquired notice because there was sure to be some snapshots hitting the web soon. He cared not at all about her happiness. Sam was his mark.
By the time he reached her area, Sam’s back was to him. Her giggles carried over the pumping beat. Without pause, he ducked and went beneath the rope at her stage. The buzz of whispers announced his arrival.
She whipped around and froze. “Heath.”
Everyone in her group ceased their movements and gawked. He could feel the anticipation of those in attendance. They waited to see what would happen.
“Heath’s not available tonight, brat.” He ogled the three males in her posse, decided one was obviously gay, but he hoped the other
two understood she was his. Lay one fucking limb on her and he’d start breaking bones.
“Oh, right, we’re in public.” She always called him by his stage name when in the community, but that wasn’t what he meant.
He barreled straight into her, and would’ve knocked her off her feet if he hadn’t steadied her by wrapping his arms around her. “It’s Fang’s turn to kiss you.”
“There’s a difference?” The question emerged as a breathy whisper.
“No,” Heath said against her lips. Her eyes widened. He thought she understood. This would be their first public kiss, and he could almost feel the hushed expectation of those watching.
He cupped the side of her face. Velvet flesh teased his palm. He ran his thumb along her jaw and fused their lips together. The soft plumpness of her mouth cushioned his. Holding her gaze, he placed the pad of his thumb on her chin and tugged down.
Heath slanted his mouth over hers and sank his tongue inside. On a groan, her eyelids closed. One of her arms wrapped around his waist and she sank her fingers into the hair at his nape, her nails indenting his skin. The slight sting heightening his senses.
Cheers went up, and the flash of cell phone cameras went off. They’d be all over the Internet within the next minute. Tab would be beaming.
Cherry, diet Cola assaulted his taste buds. Her favorite drink. Before tonight he’d have said it was better mixed with Jack Daniels. His estimation just altered. Sam and the soda were the perfect combination. And it proved she hadn’t been imbibing this evening. Meaning her attraction to him was legit.
She smelled delicious, a mixture between perspiration and her favorite perfume. He wanted to strip her and run his nose all over her body, breathing her scent into his lungs.
The feel of her against him made it really hard to convince himself to pull away from her mouth. If he didn’t halt the embrace soon, he’d drag her out of there and push her further than was proper.
Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) Page 8
