by J. D. Chase
He bent down to the tray. From my reclined position on the bed I couldn’t see it. He stood with a bottle of champagne in his hands, then stepped next to the bed and expertly popped the cork. He held out his arm so that the fizzy liquid spilled over onto my stomach and I shrieked—partly in shock at the coldness splashing onto my skin, partly in excitement.
Lucas merely lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip. Then he leaned forward and passed the delicious liquid into my mouth without spilling a drop. Bubbles fizzed on my tongue and down my throat. Lucas tilted the bottle again so that champagne splashed over my breasts. Then he poured it in a line from the hollow between my breasts to my mound. I felt the coldness dribbling down my slit and it made me tremble. He gave a lascivious grin, set the bottle down and swooped his head to lick and suck every drop of champagne from my body. It was heaven—except for when he lifted his head from between my thighs . . . I wanted him to stay there—for a very long time!
He bent down to the tray again and reappeared with a bowl of strawberries. Apparently, you can’t have one without the other and he didn’t care if it was clichéd—he wanted to try it. He placed a strawberry between his teeth and lowered his head for me to bite it. He teasingly traced my lips with it, but each time I tried to bite it he lifted his chin. I reached out to hold his head instinctively, but immediately my hands were pinned above my head. A growled warning about being restrained followed, which spoke more to my sex than my ears, but I knew that if he’d wanted to restrain me, he would’ve done it already so I resisted the temptation to move when he released me.
Eventually, he allowed me to gently nip it with my teeth. Juice ran down my chin and onto my neck. He quickly swallowed his half of the strawberry and licked the trail of juice. Then he proffered a strawberry for me to bite in half. I obliged and gasped when the remaining half was inserted between my labia. This process was repeated until there was a line of strawberry halves along my sex.
Lucas stood back and admired his handiwork. Nodding, he picked up the bottle of champagne, sipped from it, then passed it in one long trickle into my mouth. He kissed me then. Softly and lovingly at first, taking his time. His hand worked its way into my hair at the nape of my neck and held it. Not painfully, but with enough tension for me to know that he could control the movement of my head if he chose to. It was a gesture that turned me on so much.
The kiss deepened suddenly into a passionate, all consuming, devouring hunger: A single moment, but the most incredibly erotic signal that ignited desires and inflamed passions. I had to fight the urge to clench my sex so as not to disturb Lucas’ strawberry art installation. Our mouths meshed and moved, tongues teased and traced, and our breaths became urgent pants. I moaned into his mouth at the intensity of my desire. My want. My need. Lucas’ response was to tighten his grip on my hair slightly. A thrill shot through me from my head to my toes then back to my sex.
He left me panting and wanting as picked up the champagne again. He poured some over his row of strawberry halves and set about eating them. I could only imagine what it looked like. I wished there was a mirror on the ceiling. He nibbled the fruit and he nibbled me. Licking, lapping, nibbling and sucking until I could stand it no more. My hips bucked as my body gave way to the climax that sought its impassioned release. I cried out his name and a string of curses as the fevered shuddering of my body refused to subside. Lucas’ fingers dug into my hips as he sought to keep his mouth over me, drinking in the evidence of my orgasm.
Eventually he knelt up, his face glistening and his black eyes shining. “Miss Prince, I cordially invite you to join the Mile High Club,” he said, his voice deep and throaty.
I smiled and replied in my sultriest tone. “How could I possibly refuse such a prestigious invitation, Mr. Hunter?”
Suddenly I gave into impulse and shot off the bed. I grabbed the champagne and advanced on the kneeling god before me. I poured a little champagne over his erect cock then licked and sucked it off. Then I positioned my mouth underneath his cock and poured some more. It splashed and ran off his cock into my mouth and all over my face. I caught as much as I could, then licked his throbbing erection and his balls.
My breath caught in my throat when his hand grasped the hair at the back of my neck again. He pulled me up to my knees and looked me in the eye questioningly, one eyebrow arched. I wondered whether I was going to get punished for my audacity—I sincerely hoped so! Respectfully, I lowered my gaze and assumed the submissive pose that I’d seen women form when I visited Odyssey with Scott. I heard his sharp intake of breath and cringed internally for a moment in case he asked me where I’d learned it.
I needn’t have worried. He instigated the biggest, filthiest romp I’d ever known. Not content with joining the Mile High Club with one sexual position, he kept changing so that we must have practically got through the entire Karma Sutra before he was sated. Hot and sticky, we collapsed in a heap. No words were needed. We just lay there in each other’s arms floating in post-orgasmic bliss.
We had a very respectful joint shower, dressed, then spent the rest of the flight cuddled up together on the leather sofa. I couldn’t quite meet the flight attendant’s gaze when we disembarked. A limo was waiting to take us to our hotel. Lucas had booked us into a separate hotel from the boys, Angel and Jenny; one that was far more luxurious. It was sheer decadence and elegance. Thanks to the time difference, we were able to eat a delectable dinner before retiring to our room where we had the most tender, almost vanilla sex before falling soundly asleep.
Lucas didn’t sleep for long. He began to toss and turn. Then he got up and paced up and down the room. I wrestled with the temptation to demand that he told me right there and then exactly what was on his mind. The voice of reason told me that if he wanted me to know, he’d have told me. And that there may be a good reason why he wasn’t bothering me. That perhaps sharing it with me wouldn’t make him feel any better . . . that it might make him more anxious. I resolved to do the only thing I could think of to help him—I’d take his mind off it, if I possibly could.
I slid my feet out of bed and padded across to the window where Lucas stood blankly staring out. His naked form was illuminated by the dim moonlight but it still took my breath away. I slipped my arms around his waist from behind and pressed myself against him, my cheek flush against his muscular back. I felt his tense form relax against me as he gave a long sigh. I could feel the stress slowly leaving his body so I hugged him even tighter in the hope that it would speed up the process. We didn’t say a word but eventually Lucas turned and lifted me up, carried me back to bed and quickly fell asleep with me curled up in his arms.
He must’ve slept soundly for the rest of the night because every time I awoke, he was sleeping. We didn’t move a muscle all night. The next morning he looked much more refreshed and his mood had improved. After a leisurely morning union where I found myself pressed up against the glass shower enclosure with my hands pinned above my head, we breakfasted and took a cab to meet Angel, Jenny and the guys.
We met them at the festival ground. Chad and Angel were all smiles, Ethan gave me a sly wink as he nodded to Lucas, but Travis was totally absorbed in Jenny. It was so sweet to watch them together—her all shy and introverted, and Travis behaving like a true gent in love. Despite the constant stream of semi-naked women, he only had eyes for her.
Scott hung back from the group and basically ignored us. My heart sank and I hoped that my reunion with Lucas wouldn’t trigger another episode of weird, extreme behavior. I mentally kicked myself for not finding the time to share with him the reason for my change of heart about Lucas, but there was nothing I could do about it at that moment. I tried to catch his eye and smile but he didn’t look in my direction at all.
Chad and Lucas went off to finalize arrangements for the band’s performance that afternoon so I took the chance to drag Scott off for a coffee. Unfortunately, Ethan decided to tag along so I couldn’t divulge anything. I couldn’t help but notice that Scott was
back to himself again in Lucas’ absence. I wondered whether it would actually make any difference if he knew of Lucas’ true history, or whether he really was jealous of Lucas being with me. He’d not made any moves on me when I’d stayed there—even when we’d visited Odyssey. I wasn’t sure what his problem was, but there definitely was one.
I was distracted by the arrival of Angel and Chad calling for me to go with them right away. I discovered that Travis was sitting in a tattooist’s chair, waiting to get a tattoo of Jenny’s name on his bicep, with Lucas demanding that he wait until after they’d performed. We could hear the shouting as we neared. Travis was adamant that he wanted it done right away and that Lucas couldn’t stop him. Chad and Lucas were explaining how it could affect his performance. Even the tattooist had told Travis that he should rest the arm afterward.
They were drawing quite a crowd, who were determined to see what the noise was all about. Jenny had distanced herself from the row and was lingering on the edge of the crowd, looking very uncomfortable. I could see that they were deadlocked so I discreetly took Jenny to one side and explained that Travis would be risking his health and the band’s performance unless he waited until afterwards and she was the only person who could make him see sense. Her eyes widened as she listened and her affection for Travis was clear. She timidly moved forward, slid next to him and whispered in his ear. Travis looked thoughtful for just a second before he pulled her onto his lap. She was mortified but before she could protest, his lips were on hers and the crowd began to applaud and whistle. After a thorough snogging, he lifted her off his lap and stood. She immediately shrank into his side. He grinned, took a bow and ambled off as if nothing had happened.
Lucas caught my eye and we both let out audible sighs of relief. As I returned to his side, he bent down and whispered, “Who would have thought that the hardest thing about managing a rock band is babysitting them?”
I giggled and put my arms around his neck, then I reached up and kissed him on the lips. As I released him and turned, my eyes met Scott’s and his expression was one of contempt. I smiled meekly but he stalked away into the crowd. Yeah, babysitting is a good analogy and Scott’s acting like a moody teenager.
The rest of the morning passed by without incident and the festival performances began. We wandered around listening to the various up-and-coming bands on each stage before having lunch. Lucas had asked everyone to meet backstage at least half an hour before their slot so they could get changed and focused. We made our way backstage and found Travis and Jenny already waiting.
I couldn’t help but think how good she was for him with her calming and responsible influence. But then I couldn’t help but wonder whether Travis’ almost model behavior was an act and whether he could keep it up. Then the thought struck that perhaps his loudmouth, uncouth rock star behavior was the act. If it was, he’d started early . . . he’d been like that for as long as I’d known him.
As we stood chatting, Angel and Chad joined us, closely followed by Ethan. The guys went off with Lucas to get changed and have a pep talk. There was no sign of Scott. I smiled when I noticed that Angel was taking the opportunity to find out all about Jenny. I was more concerned with Scott’s whereabouts. I took out my cell and called him. It rang and rang but he didn’t pick up. I assumed that he wouldn’t hear it if he was close to any of the stages. I decided to go and see if I could find him.
I wandered back outside, shocked to see how many people were now milling around. I was soon caught up in the crowd and pulled along. It was almost impossible to see anyone except those immediately in front of me. I decided to abandon the idea and had to fight my way back through the throng towards the backstage area. I looked at my watch and noted that there was only a few minutes before the band’s slot was due to begin. Just as I approached, I saw Scott talking to someone. Relief began to wash over me that he was in time but my heart seemed to beat out of rhythm when I saw who he was talking to. Joel!
My feet seemed suddenly heavy and everything seemed to blur. What’s Joel doing here? What’s he doing talking to Scott? It didn’t make any sense. Someone cannoned into me and almost knocked me flying. I put my hands out to steady myself, glaring at the back of the idiot who didn’t even apologize. When I looked back, Joel and Scott had both gone. I looked around but couldn’t see either of them. I entered the backstage area, flashing my pass at security.
I found Angel and Jenny and asked them if they’d seen Scott. They said he’d just raced through to get changed. I asked whether he’d been alone and they said he was. Angel was giving me a funny look so I quickly began to talk about how busy it was and how that was great news for the band. She took the bait and began to enthuse about who might be watching. My mind was whirring with the revelation that Joel was there. I needed to tell Lucas.
A couple of minutes later he emerged and called us to hurry over to the stage where they were to perform, saying they were about to start. He looked very harassed as I reached him and took his outstretched hand. Before I could say anything, he was tugging me out of the door and into the crowd. He pulled me into his side and charged through the crowd. The guys had already started as we battled our way to the front. I could see Angel pulling a very nervous-looking Jenny to the front too.
We managed it and Lucas pulled me in front of him, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder, swaying to the rhythm. I could feel him relaxing as we moved, his arms loosening their grip and his hips moving more fluidly. I figured that I might as well wait until the end of the boys’ set to tell him about Joel. I told myself it was hardly the right place to have a conversation and reasoned that we were both enjoying watching them perform.
I soon became lost in the performance. I may be biased but I truly felt they were as good as any professional rock band now. They played flawlessly and sounded incredible. They worked the crowd like experts, Ethan again throwing free branded goodies into the crowd. The response was awesome. I was on such a high just to be a part of it. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be on stage. The guys made it look easy. No, more than that—they all belonged there—talk about born to be rock stars! Ethan was practically making love to a group of ladies next to us as he sang; they loved it! Even Scott was caught up in the music and the atmosphere; his expression was euphoric.
As soon as they finished their set, Lucas said he had to dash off backstage again. I tried to tell him that I needed to speak to him but he silenced me with a kiss and disappeared into the crowd. I grabbed Angel and Jenny and asked them to come and grab a drink with me. I had no clear idea why, but with Joel around, I didn’t want them out of my sight. The sooner I could tell Lucas, the better. I knew he’d sort it out.
We were just finishing our drinks when my cell rang. Lucas. I answered and he informed me that he’d been summoned the by assistant of some music mogul who was apparently a major player in the rock scene. A meeting had been arranged for midweek and the guys were pumped. I told him where we were and he said they’d join us for a celebratory drink.
A few minutes later, Travis dashed in and lifted Jenny up, giving her a huge smacker of a kiss on the lips. She blushed furiously and tried to disentangle herself from him, smiling even as she berated him for his public show of affection. We all grinned at them and each other. Lucas and Chad went to the bar and got a round of drinks and bought them to the table. Lucas then filled us in.
“I know nothing is decided yet, but apparently Trey is very keen to meet next week and has even postponed a meeting with another up-and-coming band to see me before Denial heads off on tour. That seems mighty promising. I’ll just leak out word of the meeting to a carefully selected ear and the whole industry will know. By the time Trey meets with me, there’ll be a whole host of interest in the band, and he’ll be aware of it.” He grinned.
“Genius!” exclaimed Chad, gazing at Lucas with open adoration.
I caught Angel’s eye and we smirked. Lucas had obviously regained his hero status in Chad’s eyes.<
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We all raised our glasses then excited chatter followed. I caught Lucas’ eye and jerked my head. He raised a questioning eyebrow but followed me when I moved to another table. I leaned in close and whispered, “Joel’s here, Lucas.”
He frowned and shook his head. “Joel? Here? I doubt it. A rock festival is one of the last places on Earth he’d be found.”
Indignation flared inside me and I glared at him. “Well, that may well be the case, Lucas, but he’s here, I saw him very clearly from a relatively short distance. I’ll never forget his face. It was definitely him.”
His frown deepened. “Are you sure?”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “Isn’t that what I just said? I was looking for Scott because I was worried he was going to be late and when I was returning to the backstage area, there he was talking to Joel.”
“What? Scott was talking to Joel?” he exclaimed.
“Shhhh, keep your voice down,” I cautioned, looking over at Scott to make sure he hadn’t heard. “Yes, he was.”
“But why the hell would Scott be talking to my brother?” He looked so agitated. “Only one way to find out.”
He made to stand but I grabbed his arm. “Don’t you ask him! Haven’t you noticed that he’s acting like a sulky teenager again? I doubt he’d want to speak with you. Let me ask him. I think he’s more likely to talk to me.” I could just imagine Scott either ignoring Lucas or perhaps even enjoying having some power over him and winding him up. I knew that careful handling was best with Scott.
Lucas looked thoughtful for a second and I could tell he was fighting the urge to confront Scott himself. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for Mr. Control Freak Hunter to step back and let me handle it but, after a few moments, he nodded and said, “Very well. But we need to create an opportunity for you to talk with him privately that seems natural. You know, unplanned. Until then, I don’t want him out of our sight . . . Joel will not get another chance to talk to him today. Or any of our merry band of rock stars, come to that. I hope you don’t mind, Issy, but I think they should all leave with us on the jet as soon as possible.”
