by Thomas, C. M
“No one, Zane. Shut up, Gia.” Amy wouldn’t talk about this, that was for sure.
“Gia will just tell me later.” Zane grinned.
“I will not. I can keep a secret, you know,” Gia said.
“I know, baby G. Me and Anna have to get ready for tonight. Have fun at your party, Amy.”
“Thanks, and thank you both for calling.”
Zane hung up.
“So, those were your sisters?” I grinned.
“Yes, and they are even worse in person. Or mostly Amy.” Zane kissed me on the top of my head. “You ready for tonight?”
“I am. Looking forward to it. What time is it?” I looked around to see if I could find a clock.
“We have an hour, baby.”
“An hour? Are you kidding me? I need to get in the shower now.” I jumped out of bed and Zane burst out laughing. I slapped him on his shoulder.
“Sorry, but I’ve never seen anyone jump so fast out of bed.”
“Ha, ha. Do you know how long it takes a girl to get pretty for a night out?”
“You already are pretty, baby.” Smart-ass.
“Maybe, but now I need a shower, and you don’t get to interrupt me all the time. Got it?” I pointed my finger at him.
“I will try to stay out of your way.” He leaned back on the bed and turned on the television.
Fifty-five minutes later, I was ready. Zane kept his promise; the only time I saw him was when he went to take a shower. I walked into the living room. Zane was standing with his hands in his pockets and looking out of the window. He was wearing black jeans and a white button-down shirt. He looked amazing. I just looked at him, dreaming. Is he really mine? This drummer with the perfect body, the most amazing smile, and with eyes so deep and full of emotions? Not to forget his personality. He was not this shallow person I thought he was. He loved his family and would do anything to make them happy. I had a huge smile on my face. Right now, I was happy. As if he could sense me staring at him, he turned around and came over to me.
“You look like a dream, baby.” He looked at my body from top to bottom. I wore a white tank top and tight white jeans, my favorite red pumps, and a lot of long silver necklaces. I felt good in this outfit. And more than that, I felt sexy. Especially when I saw the look on Zane’s face. He almost looked like he wanted to eat me.
“You don’t look bad yourself.” I smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. The moment his lips touched mine, my body was full of desire. I melted into his body, and a small moan escaped my throat. His hands moved down to my ass, and he squeezed it. This feeling of him touching me was amazing. I broke the kiss and looked at him with dreamy eyes for sure.
“We should go. The others are waiting for us.”
“I know. But couldn’t we just stay here?” He gave me his best puppy eyes.
“No, I want to celebrate my birthday and Liam’s. You haven’t even seen him today.”
“I have. The band was here earlier while you were sleeping.”
“Anything wrong? I thought you guys were taking the day off.”
“No, nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk to them about getting some more security. Dax said last night that he needed extra guys to keep you safe.” Were they using their extra money on me? This was not their problem. Zane held his hand up. “Don’t even think about saying that this isn’t our problem. I told the guys that I would pay. But they wouldn’t let me.”
“But—” Before I could finish the sentence, he kissed me to shut me up.
“No buts. We’re in this together. All of us. We all want you safe.” Not knowing what to say, I just kissed him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby. Come on, let’s go.” He took my hand, and we walked out of our room down to the restaurant. When we got down to the private room in the restaurant, all the others were there: Kylie, Marco, Dax, Liam, Cole, Caleb and some of the roadies. I knew that some of the roadies were close to the band.
Kylie came over to us and hugged me. I hadn’t seen her since last night. Shit, a lot had happened since. I knew Zane told her about “D.” I just hoped she would ignore that tonight.
“Anna, you look amazing.” She turned to Zane. “You’re lucky I like you. Or else I wouldn’t let her be alone with you tonight.” She grinned at him.
“Why, thank you, Ky. I like you too.” He hugged her. Kylie just smiled at me and looked like nothing had changed. And I was so grateful for that. We walked towards Liam, and I hugged him.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thank you, Anna. You look amazing. Are you sure you want to date my brother?” He grinned over at Zane.
“Keep your hands off her, baby brother.” Zane laughed when he said that.
“I’m not a baby!” Liam snapped with a smile on his face.
“Sure, you’re not.” Zane kept laughing. I liked seeing him like this. He was so free and relaxed. Cole walked over to us and put a hand on my shoulder.
“You know, if you get tired of him, I will keep you warm at night,” he said, clearly flirting with me. The look on Zane’s face changed. I held a hand to his chest.
“Don’t bother. I won’t get tired of you.” I stepped closer to him and whispered in his ear, “Never getting tired of you, handsome.” I kissed him on the cheek. He pulled me close and turned me in his arms so I stood with my back against his chest. He kept his arms wrapped around me.
“Shut up, ass. Go get your own girl. This one is mine.” He kissed me just below my right ear.
Fifteen minutes later, dinner was served. I didn’t think I’d ever had this much fun at a dinner. We talked, laughed and joked. It was like we all had known each other forever. I knew the band did, but here it felt like we all had. I sat between Liam and Zane. Zane sat back in his chair and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer.
“Having fun?” He gave me a small kiss on my cheek.
“I am. I like this. How easy we all talk to each other.” I smiled.
“I know. I almost can’t remember what my life was like before you came on tour with us,” he whispered in my ear so no one else could hear him. I knew if one of his brothers heard that, they would talk about all his one-night stands for sure. I was grateful that they didn’t hear what he said.
When we were done with dinner, Caleb stood and looked around the table.
“We have a surprise for you, baby brother. We hope you have had a good day. But we also know that you’re missing your other half.” The look on Liam’s face went from happy to sad in a split second. “Oh no, not her. I was thinking more of your twin.” Caleb grinned, and Liam laughed with him.
“Yeah, I do miss her.”
“We asked her if she would come, but she has some big test this week, so this is the next best thing.” Caleb turned on the screen on the wall; a moment later, Amy appeared up there along with Gia.
“Hey, Li, happy birthday. I miss you so much. Don’t tell the others that, though. I hope you guys are having fun, and working hard. Okay, I know you guys don’t work hard, but I hope you have fun. I’m sorry I couldn’t join you tonight, but I have a test that I can’t miss. I hope this is okay. I know we talked earlier today. I’m looking forward to you guys coming home for the summer. Gia wants to say hi too. Have fun, guys. Love you all.” She blew a kiss.
“Happy birthday, Liam. I hope you have an amazing day, and they’re spoiling you. I can’t wait to see you guys this summer. I missed you all. Mostly Zane, but you all know that. Love you.” She waved, and then the video went black. I looked over at Liam and saw his eyes were all shiny. Kylie noticed this too, and walked over and hugged him.
The rest of the night we just had fun. After dinner, we walked to the bar in the hotel and just relaxed in great company. It was fun to see the band like this; I got to see the band
privately. Since I’d joined them, it had been their professional sides I’d seen—apart from Zane, who I was really happy I’d gotten to know privately. The face he put on when he was at work was so different from the “real” Zane.
When it was midnight, it was officially my birthday. I turned twenty-two years old.
Chapter 20:
Zane
Seeing Anna with my family this evening was amazing. Even though my parents and sisters were not here, it still felt like the whole family was together. And she fit right in with the rest of us. She was relaxed, and for the moment I hoped she had forgotten about her stalker. I would not let him ruin her birthday.
Right now, I was dancing with my girl in this small bar at the hotel. The music that came from the jukebox in the corner was loud and mixed with the loud voices from the conversations around the bar. There were a lot of people here tonight; some were standing at the wooden bar drinking and talking, while others were sitting at the small tables at the other end of the bar. The air smelled like a mixture of perfume, sweat, and beer. I held on tight to Anna, and she looked up at me smiling, showing me her dimples. I smiled back at her and just held her.
Soon it was midnight and officially Anna’s birthday. At the moment the clock hit midnight, Kylie came running over to Anna and me.
“Happy birthday, baby sister.” She pulled Anna out of my arms and hugged her. Kylie looked over Anna’s shoulders, and the look in her eyes was far from happy. She looked serious or even scared. I knew it was hurting her that Anna was hurting. But right now, I couldn’t do anything about it. Dax was doing everything he could to find the fucker. And until then, I would not let her out alone.
“Thanks, sis, but I’m twenty-two now. So not a baby.” Anna grinned. She was a little tipsy, but not drunk.
“I told you. You will always be my baby sister.” Kylie kissed Anna on the cheek before she walked over to Marco. Then the other guys came to congratulate her. Finally, it was my turn. I turned her around and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“Happy birthday, beautiful girl.” I kissed her.
“Thank you. And thank you for this evening.” She rested her head against my chest. We stood and swayed to the music. This moment was perfect. I had this beautiful and loving girl in my arms. I was on tour with my brothers, and we were doing well. Very well. The only thing I could want right now was Anna’s stalker to be identified and dealt with.
We stood like this for about thirty minutes—not saying anything, just holding each other. I could feel Anna’s body getting heavier.
“You tired?” I put my finger under her chin and made her look up at me.
“I am. I think I will go upstairs now. You can stay down here.” Like hell I was going to stay down here. I’d much rather be sleeping in my bed with her next to me than staying down here drinking and looking at my brothers while they tried to score a girl for the night.
“I’m going with you, baby. I want to be with you, not my brothers.” I took her hand. We walked over to the guys and said good night. Around fifteen minutes later we were in our room, alone. Just the two of us, together.
“I think I will get ready for bed.” Anna walked into the bedroom and was almost in the bathroom before I caught her.
“Not so fast, baby, I have something for you before you go to sleep.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course I did. You are my girlfriend. Remember?”
“Like you would let me forget.” She grinned at me. But she was right, I wouldn’t let her forget that. Ever.
“Never, baby.” I held her close to me and kissed her. Her lips on mine was just the most amazing feeling. Her hands moved around my neck, and her fingers played with my hair. I moved my hands down to the hem of her top so that I could feel her skin. She broke the kiss and pulled her necklaces off. Then she pulled my shirt out of my pants and took it off. Her hand on my body, skin to skin, was something I’d never felt before. She looked up at me, her eyes full of desire. But at this moment, I let her take the lead. I didn’t want her to be scared of me, or of wanting me.
“Kiss me,” she pleaded. Not wanting to let my girl down, I did just that. Played with her tongue, and just got lost in her. Kissing her felt more important than taking my next breath. While we kissed, her hands were all over my chest and back. The blood was boiling in my body. I wanted her so much, but more than that, I wanted her to be safe. To have the experience of being in control.
I kissed her, trying my best to make her feel good. I pulled her closer to me so she could feel just how much I wanted her. Then she took one of my hands and moved it under her top, and up to her breast. I opened my eyes and looked her in the eyes.
“You sure, baby? We don’t have to,” I said into our kiss.
“I want you to touch me, but I don’t think I can have sex tonight.” She closed her eyes. Like she was ashamed.
“Hey, don’t be ashamed. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, okay?” She opened her eyes again and nodded. I took her hand and pulled her over to the bed. I sat down on the side of the bed with her standing between my legs. She kicked her shoes off and wrapped her hands around my neck.
“Just touch me. I want to erase his hands on my body.” Her eyes were shining. Not knowing what else to do, I just held her close and kissed her, moving my hands to her top and slowly pulling it off. When her top was off, I just looked at her a moment. She was wearing a white lace bra. It looked perfect.
Kissing her and at the same time feeling her body against mine was an incredible feeling. I lay back on the bed and pulled her down on top of me.
She laughed when we hit the bed. I just smiled at her before kissing her again. My hands were around her waist, holding her close to me. My cock was so hard right now that I thought I could come from just feeling her heat against my cock. She moved her legs so she was straddling me. She sat up and looked down at me, smiling. Her hands explored my body. From my face, down my neck, to my chest. Her fingers were playing with my nipples. It made me let out a small growl.
“It feels amazing, baby.” She smiled down at me and kept exploring my body. When her hands got to my pants, she looked down at me.
“Can I?” Her cheeks turned pink. Such a pretty pink. Her shyness made me remember that not only was she almost raped, she also didn’t have the experience with sex like I did.
“Sure, baby, but can we move farther up in the bed?” She moved to my side, and we moved up on the bed. I lay back down and looked at her, still giving her all the control. Giving her my trust. She looked like she didn’t know what to do now, that she just realized what she asked before. Before she could think more of it, I pulled her close to kiss her. Carefully, I touched her breast, feeling her nipple getting harder behind her bra. She moaned while her hand moved down my chest to my pants. Moments later she had my pants open and was trying to take them off. I lifted my hips and legs from the bed so she could pull my pants off. I was still kissing her; our tongues were battling each other. Then, before I knew it, I could feel her hand on my cock. Even though I still had my boxers on, the feeling of her touching me was so different from anything I had ever experienced before.
“God, that feels good, baby,” I groaned. She smiled at my lips and moved her hand into my boxers. Her hand wrapped around my hard cock, and I almost exploded when I felt her small hand wrapped around me. I growled and pulled her closer to me, still touching her breast and kissing her. Her hand started to stroke my cock; if she kept this up, I would come in a matter of seconds. She just kept stroking me while we kissed. I could feel the tension building in my body, then my balls tightened. I came.
“Fuck, baby,” I growled. My release was all over her hand. I didn’t know when I last came like that in my boxers. Who was I kidding? I’d never had a release this powerful. I couldn’t wait to come inside her. But not tonight. I lay back, trying to catch my breath. Anna w
as lying next to me, looking happily into my eyes. I turned around on my side and pulled her close.
“That was amazing, baby. But you didn’t have to do that.” I kissed her on her nose.
“I wanted to. I wanted to feel your body, and I wanted to make you feel good. I know you normally have a lot of sex, and right now I can’t give you that…” Her words died out, and she became sad.
“I don’t care. I want you.” I kissed her on the forehead. “You. Not some random girl. I will wait. For as long as it takes.” Her eyes looked surprised. “You thought I would leave you if you didn’t give me sex?” She closed her eyes and tried to move away. But I just pulled her close and put my finger under her chin, making her look at me. Then I just waited. Waited for her to tell me what she was thinking.
“Sometimes I do. I don’t get why you want me. I’m broken, scared, and normal. You? You’re a rock star. And the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. I don’t see how this could work. I’m just Anna. You’re Zane, drummer of Deep C.” She blew out a deep breath. I really didn’t know how to convince her that she really was all I wanted.
“First, you’re not broken, you just have some scars that need healing. Second, you don’t have to be scared. I will keep you safe, baby. My security team will keep you safe. Please believe that. And third, we’re perfect together. I want to share my life with you. Share all my winnings with you. I want you to comfort me when things are tough. I want you to share your ups and downs with me. I want my family to know you. I don’t know much about relationships and love. The only true love I’ve seen is my parents and Liam and Evie. Liam and Evie ended so badly, and still now three years later he’s heartbroken.” I took a break and looked at her. Her eyes were full of tears. I wiped them away with my finger. “Don’t cry, baby. I mean what I say. I want to be with you. And I think I might be a little bit in love with you.” There, I’d said it. I knew that I was not just a little bit in love with her. I was head over heels in love with her.
She gasped and looked at me.
