Tight lines fanned outward from Heath’s eyes. His stance went from slouched to standing tall and straight, using all of his six-three-height to intimidate a somewhat shorter opponent.
“I don’t feel like partying tonight.” Sam couldn’t recall a time she wanted to forget life with drugs and alcohol like she did this evening. She’d given up drugs over a year ago and while she drank spirits on occasion, the hangovers weren’t worth suffering through the next day for the small window of forgetfulness they provided. Enticement for the drugs was a hard bitch to ignore though.
“Then we’ll brew up our special brand of magic in your hotel room.”
Unnecessary jealousy blazed from Fang’s gaze. “In case you missed it, we were talking before you interrupted.”
Unperturbed, her beastie pivoted only his focus. “In case you missed it, now we are talking and you’re not.”
Sam put her hand out to halt any intention by Heath to confront Omega physically. “You don’t have the right to act this way, not after stage-fucking that chick less than six hours ago.”
Frustration evident, he slammed both sets of fingers through his hair, one after another. “You gonna hold one mistake against me?”
“Big mistake, Mr. Rock-Star Fuck-up.” Omega went from cool and detached to enraged, his entire body vibrating with his anger. “It’s all over the internet. The press is exploiting the mis-fucking-take like it’s a new nine-eleven in progress. They’re painting my girl here”—he tilted his head in her direction and hugged her a little tighter—“as a naïve casualty of Fang’s rock star bogus promises. She should’ve known you weren’t serious about her. Poor, pitiful, and delusional, and those fucked up groupies of yours are loving her torment while speculating how big an argument Jase is going to start with you. Brokenhearted and spiritless, she’s ashamed to show her face in public. I aim to let the fucktards know if anyone lost here it is you. If anyone should be ashamed it is you.”
Sam wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Heath at a loss for words until now. He opened his mouth several times to respond, but remained silent. Closing his eyes, he ran his palm down his face and groaned. When his eyelids flipped upward, the anguish she saw reflected in his silver gaze told her all she needed to know. He beat himself up worse than she ever could.
“Heath, don’t—”
“Time to wake up this party, sunshine.” Omega dragged her away from Heath. The moment they were out of earshot, he said, “Uh uh. Don’t you dare ruin the effort I’m putting into helping you. He needs to suffer a little while, endure half of what you’ve gone through.”
“He doesn’t deserve to simmer in remorse the way he is.”
“Beg to differ. If a man doesn’t ferment in the misery he’s created, he’ll never learn from his mistakes. I should know. Evening.” He shot a devastating grin at a group of female partygoers and they twittered like a bunch of brainless twats. Oh, yeah, they recognized him. No telling what the tabloids would say about him showing up to her rescue.
“Heath wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.” She glanced at the man she loved just as Omega pushed her into the penthouse living room where the celebration was in full hardcore swing. Gaze zero-locked on them, Heath bore his guilt like a Scarlet Letter.
“Key words are ‘on purpose’. He won’t take your feelings or forgiveness for granted next time.” Her beastie hauled her to the liquor bar, poured spirits into a cup and offered it to her. “I don’t have any dust, so this will have to suffice.”
“We gave that up.” Even so, it was a good thing he wasn’t in possession of any cocaine because she wanted a fix really bad at the moment.
“Right answer, even if I don’t believe you.”
She looked up at him. He watched her, consideration weighty. “You worried about me backsliding?”
He shrugged. “Aren’t we all just one problem away from relapsing? Drink up, then we’ll party.”
“I told you I don’t want to party.” She skimmed the crowd. Derr made out with two chicks on the sofa, dividing his time between them. Gonna be a wild night for him. Keys and Jase weren’t anywhere to be seen. She breathed a sigh of relief that her sibling wasn’t present to provoke trouble with Omega.
“Trust me when I say you need to party, at least for a little bit.” He pushed the glass toward her lips. Like a dutiful girl she chugged the liquid, while wondering why she allowed her friend to guide her actions. Maybe subconsciously she wanted to give Heath a taste of his own medicine.
Dixon sidled up to them, and she made the introductions. She drowned out their conversation as she contemplated Heath. He wouldn’t repeat the stage-fuck. She felt certain of that. Witnessing the anguish on his face when he realized the rumors the tabloids fanned, she had little doubt he wanted to punch her sibling for crafting the drama.
Keys slinked up to them a little while later. “Care to introduce me to your friend, Boo?” Like he didn’t know who Omega was.
“Omega Starr.” She waved at him. “Winston Cornell—aka Keys.”
“My dad knows your dad.” Omega extended his hand, and her ivory plucking newly self-appointed bodyguard dismissed the polite introduction.
“My dad knows everybody.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his demeanor hostile—at least to her it was hostile because she doubted Omega noticed. “Or owns them. It’s a crapshoot either way.”
Only her beastie would laugh at a politically incorrect statement like that.
“Now, explain why he’s at my party.” Keys looked her dead in the eye.
“I’ve told y’all a thousand times Omega wasn’t responsible for those damn pictures hitting the Net.”
Blond eyebrows domed upward on his forehead. “I believe you on those pictures, but I also know what he was to you. Fang won’t like him here.”
“I’m helping her with payback,” Omega said.
“He’s my best friend, Fang doesn’t get a say in that,” she muttered at the same time Omega spoke.
Keys grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Are we busting kneecaps?”
“No.” Sam shook her head and snorted at his enthusiasm. “Didn’t you just get laid? Shouldn’t you be mellow afterward?”
Hot Wired’s guitarist and resident jokester laughed. “How is that any of your business?”
“How is any of my problem your business?”
“Boo, you’re always my business. We’ll be right back.” He carted her off to the balcony like an errant child. In the moonlight and city illuminations, he folded his arms over his chest and studied her.
“What?” she demanded when she couldn’t take the broody silence any longer.
“I saw the bullshit on the web. Fans are always going to talk.”
“I know that, Keys.” She walked to the railing and rested her palms on it. “I got a little jealous of him grinding all over that chick on stage.”
“We both know that was nothing compared to what has happened. And if you were watching then you know he was uncomfortable with the stage-fuck.”
“He’s mine!”
“Yours already?” She could hear the humor in his tone as he sidled up next to her.
She could feel him watching her, but she didn’t look at him. “I slept with him.”
Keys whistled. “I told Jase, Fang wouldn’t be able to resist.”
“I swear you guys are the worst hens! Stop gossiping about my life.”
“I wasn’t gossiping, but apparently stating a fact.”
She glared at him. “Not one word about what we did. I don’t need yours or Jase’s approval. I love Heath, and I won’t apologize to anyone for how I feel about him.”
He clasped her nape, and he agitated her like a parent who shook an errant child. “If I was your daddy, I’d spank your ass for that disrespect.”
She elbowed him in the gut, and he grunted. “More disrespect for ya, Daddy-Keys.”
He popped her on the ass, and she yelped. “You deserved that.” She elbowed him harder, and he cursed. Gawd, he w
as a pain in the ass just like her brother. She and Jase excelled at petty sibling brutalization, but so did she and Keys. “I am teasing, show the abs some mercy. The ladies will thank you.”
Sam snorted while Keys thumbed his belly. “You’ll just have them kissing the boo-boo away. Do you require a new boo-boo lower?”
He chuckled. “No thanks. I’ll pass this time. And boo-boo’s? Seriously, Boo? We’re not five.” She laughed, and he gave her a firm hug of solidarity. “Fang’s in love with you too, you know?”
She whipped her head back to peer at him. “He told you that?”
“He admitted it to all of us the night Jase punched him at the concert.”
Tears distorted her vision, turning Keys into a watery apparition. That’d been the night they made love. Heath had confessed his feelings for her to them before he told her. Another girl might be angry by that, but Sam was delighted. He’d made a stand against her brother and band mates before he knew how she felt toward him, which confirmed the validity of his emotions for her.
“I’ve already made her cry,” Heath said, interrupting them. “Should I deck you for doing the same, Keys?”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Keys maintained his hold on her, but Sam had eyes only for Heath.
Obviously unsure of her reception, Heath thrust his ePad into her grasp. “Hit the play button, brat.”
She sent him a questioning look, but followed his instructions. What pulled up was a ViewTube video of him in his hotel room with Big Al draped across his lap, purring. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I need to set the record straight. Both for the fans and my girl. I made a mistake at the concert allowing the performance with the girl on stage. I mean no disrespect toward her, but I should’ve halted the show before it started. It sent the wrong message about my feelings for Sam. So let me clear the air before further inaccurate rumors and gossip spreads. I am in love with Samantha Collins, and her love creates the lyrics that soothe my soul. I would never hurt her purposefully, and that’s what I did tonight. It pains me that Hot Wired’s fans are eager to glory in her sadness, while not calling out my shameful actions. I’m not above reproach and no man should disrespect his better half the way I did Sam. She’s an amazing woman. I don’t deserve her love, but by the grace of God, or mild insanity on her part, she loves me regardless of my countless faults. Sam, I’m sorry for hurting you publicly. I love you more than music.”
The video ended with him on his knees, his hands crossed over his chest and the words “forgive me” in bold lettering filling up the screen.
“I think that’s my cue to piss off.” Keys kissed the top of her head and murmured, “Told you,” before making a hasty retreat.
“I want the fucking world to know how I feel about you.” His fingers sliced through his hair, and he caught the back of his neck with his palm. “I understand the paparazzi acting like bastards, but the fans….” He shook his head. “They mystify me.”
“They’re simple really. If I have you, then they don’t have a chance of snagging you.”
“Brat, you stole my heart long ago. They never had a chance.”
Heath lowered his arm as Sam curled her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. Bending his knees, he engulfed her in his hold and stood with her clasped tight against his body. His hand dive-bombed her hair and angled her head so he could dominate the embrace. Thrusting his tongue between her lips, he shifted so she was trapped between the wall and his chest.
Tucked tight against him, he asked against her lips, between kisses, “Am I forgiven?”
“Mmhm…let me show you how much.”
The subtle buzz of vibrations woke Heath. Big Al purred from the foot of the bed. Snuggled face-first in his arms, Sam remained asleep, her soft breaths puffing against his chest. This was how he wanted to wake every morning for the rest of his existence, rousing to the touch and scent of the love of his life.
Caressing her hip, he worshiped her silky skin. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled. Her scent was an exotic mix of woman and lust. Love marinated in his heart like musical notes, matching chords together to craft the perfect melody, the sweetest ballad that spawned a tumult of emotions from his soul.
He wanted to give her all she desired and was determined to protect her from everything. Including her overprotective sibling. No one controlled Jase. Not even their pushy agent who bullied almost everyone into doing what she wanted.
Remaining by his side, Sam would be forced to endure paparazzi abuse. An evil that went with the biz of fame, and another facet of life he couldn’t regulate.
The vibration picked up once more, and his phone trembled on the bedside table.
Stretching carefully so as not to disturb Sam, he nabbed the mobile and swiped his finger across the screen to connect the call. “Yeah.”
“Jase is in Sam’s room,” Tex said in hushed tones.
“So?”
“You’re in there with her.”
Oh…shit!
If her brother saw them in their current state of undress that’d usher in calamity for all involved. Especially after he promised not to have sex with her. Wouldn’t matter that she’d said she loved him, he knew Jase well enough to know he needed time to acclimate to their relationship. At this stage he wasn’t sure any of them possessed enough time for Jase to adapt to their romance.
The door to the bedroom opened and the early afternoon sun silhouetted his friend.
“Busted.” Heath disconnected the call and prepared for the explosion. “Before you go ape-shit, let’s move it out of the room and let her sleep.”
Jase’s attention missile locked on Sam. Words weren’t necessary when the murder in his eyes shouted everything. White-knuckled fists clarified anything Heath might’ve missed, and Jase’s jaw clenched, hardening.
“Out. There,” he said through gritted teeth and spun around. The door slammed behind him.
Heath cringed as Sam bolted into a seated position. Sleepy-eyed, she blinked her confusion as the sheet slipped to her waist. Any other time, he’d find the view of those pierced nipples provocative. Well… they were still stimulating, but he couldn’t act upon that detail. Whatever influenced her to get those piercings, he was damn glad.
With a groan he ran his palm down his face. She pulled the sheet up to cover herself, which he found amusing.
“Jase saw us.”
She whipped around, the fabric of the bedding rustling with her movement. Eyes widening a fraction, she expelled a slow, slow breath.
“We knew this day would eventually come.”
He’d expected panic. Her practicality pleased him. “Yeah.” He stole a kiss and pulled the sheet from her grasp, exposing her fantastic breasts. “Do you know how much I adore these piercings?”
Fingers shifted through his hair. “After the third orgasm thanks to your tongue and this mouth”—she ran her thumb over his bottom lip—“not to mention all the ‘fuck, and I love this sexy shit’, I think I kinda got the hint you like them verrrry much.”
He Eskimo kissed her, ingesting her pheromones into his lungs. After an all-night marathon of epic sex, he wanted her again right this moment. At what point did the sex become mundane? He prayed never. “Didn’t want to miss a chance to make sure you knew.”
A sultry grin curved her lips. “Maybe you can get your dick pierced for me to play with.”
He shuddered at the very idea of someone stabbing a needle through his junk. “No.”
She giggled.
“Wicked woman.” Jesus fucking Christ, her teasing tempted him to drag her under him and bury himself inside her. But not with Jase in the outer room. He’d most likely interrupt before they got too far anyway. “If you hear things crashing, don’t worry, and for the love of God don’t investigate.”
“Not funny.”
Nothing humorous about his expectation of Jase’s reaction, but he respected his friend’s feelings too. How could he not when they’d been buddies for over a decad
e?
He could feel her watching him as he climbed out of bed and pulled on his jeans. Time to face a pissed off brother and explain why he shouldn’t be upset. He had a feeling preachers saved atheists easier than his coming confrontation would be.
Jase crammed his hands in his jean pockets and stared out the window. Sam and Fang. His sister and his supposed to be best friend were banging one another. It nauseated him. The jackal would use his sibling and discard her once he tired of her. That was his M.O. Long term relationships weren’t his department, weren’t even on his goddamn newsfeed. To his knowledge, Fang had never had a girlfriend unless fuck-buddies were counted or his fourteen-year-old high school sweetheart he stood up at the Homecoming dance. That would be his sister’s conclusion, alone and heartbroken once Fang cut her loose.
Anger tightened his chest.
His gut churned at the visual he’d just viewed. Curled around one another naked, leaving no doubt as to what had transpired between them. Some things couldn’t be unseen. At this crossroad, he totally understood where Sam was coming from on that one.
Equal parts baffled and disgusted by Fang’s temptation for his sister, he tried to understand how he could yield to his base needs and exploit a woman he should be protecting. Men often told him Sam was hot, so he understood Fang found her attractive, but… there was always a but with any argument he made for or against their relationship.
He didn’t give a damn what Fang claimed, they’d raised her together. That should’ve created a brother-sister type bond between them.
Jase removed a hand from his pocket and rubbed it down his face. The wavy strands of his long hair flitted around his cheeks and he swiped them back, jailing the locks at his nape.
They fucked.
He was obligated to defend his baby sister, that was his role as brother and more so when she didn’t know what was best for her. Fang wasn’t a positive detail in her life. Unreasonable or not, he didn’t care what Fang proclaimed—didn’t give two fucks if Fang loved her like a woman—no excuse was good enough to fuck his sister.
Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) Page 21
