Cross (Courting Chaos Book 1)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  In the end, we figured it out.

  Indie let me know when she was getting on the plane and I’d been wishing like hell I could pick her up at the airport, but it’d be cutting it too close to show time with traffic. Instead, I waited for her on her bus.

  That was where I was sitting, dressed for the show, drinking a bottle of water, when Indie climbed aboard.

  “Ohmigod,” she yelled. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  I chuckled quietly. “I just wanted to make sure I got to see you before I had to go onstage.”

  Indie gave me a great big smile and shook her head. What I didn’t expect was for her to walk over to me, climb up on to the bench seat where I was and sit down on the table, one leg on either side of me.

  Fuck, she was going to kill me.

  I slid my hands up her calves to behind her knees, then against her thighs. The skirt she had on fell between her spread legs, but I pushed my hands until they met her panties. Indie put a hand on each side of my head and forced me to look up. When I did, she didn’t let go. She leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips.

  I wanted to hold her to me, keep her right there forever, but the desire wouldn’t make my hands move from the silk skin of her outer thighs. I pushed my tongue into her mouth and she let me. Then she pushed back.

  Everything Indie surrounded me and I couldn’t care less about what else I had to do today.

  When she pulled back to catch her breath, I scooted my hands around to her ass and pulled her forward. She laughed but fell back, bracing herself on the table. Then I shouldered my way between her legs. There was very little time, so I dove right in.

  First, I dropped a kiss near her knee, then a trail of them up the inside of her thigh. Indie groaned. I was so close to her pussy that I could already imagine what she was going to feel like. Another wet kiss and I hooked my fingers in her panties to yank them to the side.

  “Cross,” she said with a groan. “You have to go.”

  “I don’t have to do anything but this.”

  “No.” She pushed my head back. “You have a show.”

  This time, I groaned. She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t matter. I wanted to taste her. To give her an orgasm she’d still be thinking about while I was on stage. But she wasn’t wrong. I did have to go.

  “I’ll be there when you’re done,” she whispered against my lips, which made me even harder than I already was. Then she kissed me. And it was like starting all over again.

  If I didn’t get a few minutes to myself to take care of the ever growing issue in my pants before the show, the fans would get an extra surprise. Then again, I played drums so they’d only get a glimpse as I walked on stage. Still, I’d rather they didn’t.

  “Fine, I’ll go,” I said once I pulled away from her. Damn, that was hard. “You coming with me?” I stood up because I needed some air outside of the Indie bubble.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be a few minutes. I have to see my dad when I get in there and I probably shouldn’t… ” She waved a hand over her face and body.

  Her skin was flushed with desire, her lips swollen from our kisses.

  “Probably a good idea,” I agreed. Her seeing her dad like that might make things awkward.

  I wanted to drop one last kiss on her lips but thought better of it and got my ass off the bus.

  Going through pre-show on autopilot was the easy part. The hard part was the set we played. We sounded fine. I hated sounding fine. We were technically fine and most of the issues that popped up, the crowd probably never even noticed. But I noticed. We noticed.

  It was awkward as hell, no matter how good Jack was. And he was amazing, but these weren’t his songs. He just played them.

  I wiped down and headed for the shower. Going over the set had my mind so consumed that I didn’t think to look for Indie along the way. But she knew where to find me.

  As I came out of the shower, I pulled up short to Indie sitting on the couch scrolling through something on her phone.

  She glanced up at me and said, “Are more guys coming out there half-naked or… ?”

  I snorted. “No. They haven’t come in yet.”

  “Awesome.” She hopped up onto her feet, then came over to me. Sliding her hands up my arms to my chest had me wishing that either the dressing room door was locked or I had some pants on. The towel wrapped around my hips wasn’t going to contain my dick too long if she kept touching me. “Maybe you should put some pants on so we can get out of here.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” I hated to leave her, but my clothes were across the room. “You saw your dad?” I asked as I slid on pants. Didn’t even bother with boxers. They were just another barrier between her and me.

  “Yeah. Wanted to tell him he was going to need to get his own bus or share with someone else.”

  “Seriously?” I smiled over at her. This girl amazed me. In the face of someone like her dad, she was fearless. Confronted with an asshole like Drink, she didn’t even blink.

  “Well, I let him know that there might sometimes be things that he doesn’t want to know about going on on my bus. Up to him.” She wet her bottom lip as I pulled my shirt on. “How was the show?”

  “Awful.”

  Indie cocked an eyebrow at me.

  “OK, not awful but awkward as hell. It’s so weird playing with someone new and I’m not sure having a different sub every night is going to work. I hate disappointing fans.”

  “I could hear you guys. You were fine.”

  “I fucking hate that word,” I muttered.

  Indie watched me for a moment, then came over and grabbed my hand.

  “Come with me. I’m going to make you feel better.”

  And my dick was hard again. I didn’t even know if that was what she’d meant, but to me, nothing would make me feel better than Indie.

  She didn’t stop until we were inside her bus. Being alone, with no one even caring where we were, I couldn’t stop myself from acting on what I’d wanted earlier. But this time, I’d get her to the bedroom.

  Once we were inside, I turned on her and kissed her with everything I had. An erotic tangling of lips and tongues. I pulled her tank top over her head, then shed my own shirt. Still not good enough. I needed skin-to-skin and she still had a bra on. As I kissed down her neck, I made quick work of the clasp on that damn bra so I could pull it away, exposing her breasts to the air and me.

  Indie brushed her fingers through my hair and tugged on the ends. I needed to get her on the bed. After she laid down, I yanked her skirt and panties off in one movement. Then kissed my way down her body. I pushed her legs apart with my shoulders and kissed up her thigh the way I had earlier. This time, nothing would interrupt us. I’d burn whoever tried to interrupt us.

  When my mouth touched her, she jolted, as if I’d just electrocuted her. I tightened my grip to keep her place. The way her body twisted, the sounds I pulled from her, all good things that made sure I was doing my job. Her thighs clenched against the sides of my head. Her body tightened.

  I moved away, slid on a condom, and climbed back on top of her. Indie’s body was pliable. Like she was too tired to move. I smiled to myself and pushed inside of her.

  This girl, she felt like home. This was where I wanted to be. When her fingernails scraped up my back, I wanted her to dig deeper. I wanted her part of me, a permanent mark, a permanent part of me.

  Yet I knew she already was.

  My balls tightened and I knew it wouldn’t be long and while I didn’t want this moment with Indie to end, it couldn’t be helped. I felt it everywhere. Felt her everywhere at the same time until we were both left sweaty and gasping for air.

  I pulled out and rolled over onto my back and let my hand drop to my stomach. Indie rolled onto her side and threw her legs over mine. That was when I turned, kissed her, and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  First, I disposed of the condom, then grabbed us each a glass of water and came back to her. She was sitting
up on the bed with my shirt on. Damn, I wanted this every single day.

  “Feel better?” she asked as she took the bottle of water from me.

  “So much better.” I grabbed her head in my hands and kissed her. She giggled through it, so it wasn’t so much of a kiss, but it was a fun moment. A fun moment I wanted more of.

  “I’ve been thinking,” she said and my heart stuttered.

  Girls saying they’d been thinking usually didn’t mean good things yet I had no reason to suspect anything else.

  “I got back to school in August and you’re still on tour,” she said.

  “Yeah.” So it wasn’t something bad. Her thinking was about the future, a future that included me. “I don’t really like to think about it.”

  Indie smiled at me and said, “Me either but it’s something we need to plan for. Long distance relationships are hard.”

  I nodded slowly. They usually were but I wasn’t going to let it be.

  “You’ll go back to school, we’ll talk every day. I think Skype is going to be our best friend and I’ll come see you every single chance I get. Day off? I’m flying in.”

  She giggled. “You’ll want to go home sometimes. Don’t you miss your family?”

  “I do,” I said, trailing my fingertips over her shoulder and down her arm. “But if my choice is seeing you or seeing them, you’re going to win every time. We’ll make it work.”

  “Hey,” he eyes popped open widely, “when you’re ready, we could combine some trips.”

  I furrowed my brows because I didn’t know what she was talking about.

  “I could go with you to see your family when you’re ready for me to meet them.”

  I chuckled quietly. I was already ready. “So, the next time I go then. Actually, you can meet them at one of the shows in California. They’ll be there.”

  “Well, then,” she said then pushed on my chest so that I’d lay down, then climbed on top of me. “You know what tomorrow is, right?”

  I shook my head. If it was her birthday or some other special day, I’d have no way of knowing because she hadn’t told me.

  “Don’t worry.” She slapped my chest. “My birthday is in February. You have like eight months before you have to freak out. No, the tour has three nights in Detroit, which means we get to stay in a hotel. With a bed. With room service. And since Michigan is my town, I get to show you around.”

  “Michigan’s not a town.”

  “Shut. Up. You’re missing the point.” Her words were harsh, but her smile remained playful.

  “I’m definitely not.” I squeezed her hips. “Hotel. Room service. I really like the sound of that.”

  “We can see about hitting a baseball game, but I think that might take too much time.”

  “Yeah, we’re going to start trying some people out as Drink’s permanent replacement.”

  “Exactly. Either way, I’ll find some fun stuff for us to do. It’s all about balance, Cross Rhodes.”

  Balance. Yeah, I couldn’t think about balance right then. I reached up and pulled her lips to mine, letting her grind against me until I almost couldn’t take it anymore, then I flipped her over and pressed my body against hers.

  As long as I had her with me, the rest of the world could fall apart around us.

  Epilogue

  Indie

  Being in Detroit had been amazing. Sure, we’d been busy, or Cross had been busy anyway, which meant I’d done a whole of lot hurry-up-and-wait and exploring on my own. But being in Michigan had meant I’d gotten to visit some people and I’d already known the places I’d wanted to go to pass the time.

  Now that it was our last day before heading out West, I just had one thing left to grab before the show.

  My best friend Bellamy.

  “When’s she supposed to be here?” Cross asked, coming up behind me in the bus as I watched out the window for her.

  “Any minute. Her brother is dropping her off.” I glanced at him then back out the window.

  Cross wrapped his arms around me from behind. “And how long are we going to have a visitor?”

  “Two weeks-ish,” I said patting his arm gently then turned toward him. “Don’t worry. It changes nothing. Bellamy and I shared a dorm room. We’re familiar with the routine regarding boys.”

  “I don’t want to hear about that,” he said, wiping a hand down his face at my laughter.

  “Sorry.” I shrugged, but I wasn’t sorry at all. It was going to be awesome to have another girl around all of this testosterone. If I could’ve, I’d have gotten her to stay longer. “There she is!”

  I bolted out the door to the bus, not hitting any of the stairs, then running until I slammed into her. She squeezed me and I squeezed her. We jumped and squeezed like teenagers, then lost our footing and fell over onto the cement.

  That was going to leave a mark.

  But we didn’t care. We were a puzzle of arms and legs. Her red hair and my blonde.

  “Are you two OK?” Cross asked, his shadow cast over the both of us.

  I let go of Bellamy and stood up, then offered her a hand. “We’re fine. We’re idiots, but we’re fine.”

  “Shit, I’m going to be bruised everywhere,” Bellamy said, brushing the dirt off her shorts.

  “I’m Cross,” he said, extending a hand to her.

  She took it and said, “Bellamy.” Then she leaned my way and whispered loudly, “Jesus Christ, he’s hot.”

  “He can hear you,” I said back.

  “I know,” she pretended to whisper again and nodded her head slowly.

  “Come on.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her along with me. She’d need to get her things settled. Cross grabbed the bag she’d dropped and followed.

  “Wait, are there more like him? I think I could really enjoy this tour.” She looked over at me with an evil smile. “Is your dad seeing anyone, Indie?”

  “You’re so gross. Aim younger. You don’t want to be a sugar baby.”

  “I could totally be a sugar baby,” she countered.

  I wince and pretended to gag. “Think of the saggy balls, Bellamy.”

  Cross snorted from behind us. “Is this what I have to look forward to?”

  “Oh, for sure,” Bellamy said over her shoulder then shrugged. “Or probably worse, actually.”

  “Maybe I should bunk back with Ransom,” Cross said then groaned.

  “Don’t you dare,” I said, yanking open the bus door.

  “Maybe I should bunk with Ransom,” Bellamy said with a laugh and the wiggle of her eyebrows.

  She and I might end up driving Cross crazy before the two weeks ended, but we’d have fun doing it. Cross stopped close to me, so close that his front hit my back. When I turned my head to look at him, he dropped a warm kiss on my lips.

  “Ugh, is this what I have to look forward to?” Bellamy asked throwing his words back at us.

  “Oh, for sure,” I said back with a huge grin.

  “Probably worse,” Cross added with his eyebrows raised then he kissed me again. His lips pressed against mine but I couldn’t stop giggling.

  This whole thing was going to be a lot of fun.

  Acknowledgments

  Amy McNulty, once again, you rock. Thank you for helping take this story and make it something readable even if you had to type the word ‘awkward’ more times than any human should.

  Nancy Colbert Hardy, you make all the best covers. I say this every single time so you might be getting tired of hearing how awesome you are.

  I always thank my family because most people don’t understand how time-consuming writing a book is and how hard it is to make sure there is balance. I suck at balance sometimes but I’m constantly working on that. But I love that you’re here either way.

  Anyone reading this... I appreciate you! You’re taking the time and energy to read this thing that started out in my head and I can’t tell you how awesome that makes me feel. Even if you hated it, that’s cool, but still, you took the time to read i
t. Not so long ago I couldn’t imagine anyone would want to read my stuff so this is amazing!

  About the Author

  Heather Young-Nichols is a multi-published YA and contemporary romance author and a native of the great and often very cold state of Michigan. She is better known at home and to her friends as the Snarker-in-Chief, a job she excels at beyond anything she could have imagined. She loves many things, but especially cold coffee, hot books, and baseball. But not necessarily in that order.

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  heather@heatheryoungnichols.com

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