by L. D. Davis
“I won’t be hurt because I won’t be rushing into anything with him,” I said firmly. “He just likes me because I hate him and Alden can’t fathom that anyone could possibly dislike him.”
Greg laughed warmly. “Okay, maybe that’s it after all.” He held up his hands in defeat. “I promise I won’t mention it again.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I said. “Why the hell is a doctor on tour with Friction?”
“Alden doesn’t like hospitals,” he said with a shrug, as if that explained it all. When I simply raised an eyebrow, he continued. “Alden fights – a lot. I stitch him up or bandage whatever needs bandaging, but when I first came on tour with the band, it was to keep an eye on Hash. He was going through withdrawals and the withdrawal symptoms were a bitch. I really liked being with the guys and they really liked having me around, so I became a permanent fixture. I do physicals and prescribe meds and all of that when they’re sick. ”
“I don’t think there’s enough medicine in the world to cure Alden of his big head,” I said with a sigh as I watched him amble across the room toward us. Even in a tux and a bow tie, he looked badass.
“Thanks for not fucking my date,” Alden said, sitting down and slinking an arm across my shoulders.
“No problem,” Greg said. “But next time, I can’t make any promises.”
Soon, the table began to fill up with the other members of the band and their companions if they had any. Hash had some trampy blonde with him who kept making eyes at Alden. James didn’t have a date, but was married with a kid on the way. His wife was at their family home in L.A.
The first forty minutes of the event consisted of a lot of boring speeches by the mayor and other important people in the area while we ate dinner. When Alden wasn’t eating, his arm was across the back of my seat and his thumb caressed my bare shoulders. The first few times he did it, I had given him a dirty look, but this was Alden. He was going to do it anyway. After a while, I was so used to it that when he stopped, I actually missed his touch. When I realized that I was missing his touch, however, I wanted to drown myself in my glass of wine.
The first performer was a pop diva, a young woman who had won one of those televised talent competitions. I didn’t really follow her career, but I did like a few of her songs. When she played one of her slow songs, Alden looked at me with his cocky expression.
“Would you like to dance with the sexiest, most talented fucker in the room?” he asked.
“Why, yes.” I smiled. “Yes, I would.”
I turned away from Alden and looked at James across the table. “J, will you dance with me?”
The table erupted into noisy laughter and taunting as I got up and took James’s arm. I looked back at Alden, who looked so angry I swore I saw steam coming out of his ears. He was snapping at his friends and glowering at James and me.
“You must really enjoy insulting his ego,” James said with a big grin as he put his hand on my waist.
“It’s entirely too big,” I said haughtily. “He needs to be knocked down a peg or two.”
“He’s going to kick my ass for dancing with you,” he said. “But it’s worth it. The look on his face was priceless.”
“How can you stand him?” I asked. “He’s such an asshole sometimes.”
James shrugged as he settled his blue eyes on me. “He’s the biggest asshole I know, but he’s the biggest asshole I know with the biggest heart. So,” he said slowly, “you should be very careful with it.”
I couldn’t help the burst of laughter that bubbled through my lips. “That’s just ridiculous. Alden barely means anything to me and he knows it. Trust me. It’s not like that.”
James looked at me thoughtfully. “If that’s the case, why did you agree to go with him?”
“My friends and agent think the experience will help my career,” I said, unashamed.
He sighed and looked away for a moment. When he looked back, he was all seriousness.
“It’s none of my business, but that asshole is one of my best friends. You are different to him.”
“It’s only been a week,” I objected.
“I don’t care how long it’s been,” he pushed forward. “You’re different. Maybe at first, you were just a challenge because of the way you reacted to him that first night, but now it is more than that. Alden doesn’t…keep girls around, and he’s been with you just about every day this week.”
“What about Trisha?” I found myself asking before I could think about it.
“She is in love with him,” James said with a sigh. “He cares about her, but he doesn’t want her like that, but that doesn’t keep her from repeatedly trying. She’d rather get hurt ten times over for even the smallest glimmer of hope that he may want her back someday.”
“That’s kind of sad,” I said, frowning.
“It is, and I don’t want to see Alden reduced to that, Noa. Ever.”
“So…” I bit my bottom lip. “Maybe I should back out of going on the road with you guys?”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, don’t do that. Then he’ll be impossible.”
“You mean he’s not now?” I smiled a little.
James chuckled. “He’ll be even more impossible. Just be careful. Don’t fuck with his head.”
“I’m really not that kind of girl.”
“Don’t accidentally find yourself being that kind of girl,” he warned and then his eyes flickered to something behind me. “Oh, he is pissed.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw Alden storming over to us. He roughly grabbed my arm and shoved James away.
“You have a girl to dance with, fucker,” Alden growled, forcing me into a slow dance stance with him.
“Stop being a fucking baby,” James said, smacking Alden in the back of the head. Then he leaned in close to us and said, “By the way, you smell fucking delicious, Noa.”
He quickly moved out of the way and Alden’s fist hit the air next to his head. He walked away chuckling.
“That was mean,” I said.
“What you did was meaner,” he objected as he scowled down at me.
“You asked me a question and I answered. You asked me if I wanted to dance with the sexiest, most talented fucker and I did just that.”
“You are a wicked little one, aren’t you?” He suddenly smiled. “I am so going to punish you later.”
I snorted. “I’m feeling punished now.”
Sunday morning, Alden stood in my kitchen. He was leaning against my counter, reading the newspaper and drinking a glass of orange juice. He was only wearing a towel and his body was still moist from his shower. I had stopped short as I entered, gawking at his muscular, inked body. I tried to keep my eyes from looking down at his towel, but I just couldn’t stop and—
Holy fucking shit.
That thing was barely contained under the one hundred percent Egyptian cotton towel. One false move and I’d be playing peek-a-boo with Alden’s one-eyed monster.
“Umm…” I said and cleared my throat. “Maybe you should put some clothes on.”
“If I did that, you’d have nothing to stare at¸” he said with a sly smile without looking up from the paper.
“I wasn’t staring,” I said quickly and then walked into my own damn kitchen as if it didn’t bother me that he was standing in there more than half-naked.
“Okay, then. Prolonged looking.”
“Shut up, Alden,” I snapped.
“Better watch that mouth,” he said, suddenly behind me and talking in my ear. “I’ll have to punish you again, but then…you might like that.”
I elbowed him in his hard gut, but he didn’t seem to notice as he chuckled and then planted a kiss on my neck that left me trying hard not to drop my coffee.
After we returned from the gala, Alden took me out of my dress. He kissed my back as he released the zipper, and he left a trail of kisses on each shoulder while he pulled the straps down my arms. I had objected and called him names, but it didn�
�t count much since I was panting. By the time the dress and my undergarments were pooled on the floor, my snarls and jabs at his manhood turned into begging for release as his fingers manipulated my clit and nipples. Every time I got close, he would pull back just enough to keep me on edge. He did this repeatedly for a half hour until I was almost sobbing, begging for an orgasm.
“Now,” he had murmured, his lips moving against my sex. “Who was the sexiest, most talented man at the party?”
“You!” I had cried, trying to press his head down so I could fuck his face.
“That’s a good girl.” He grinned. “I guess I can let you come now.”
Oh my word, did I come. Alden worked his magic and had me gushing all over the place.
Now, just the idea of him making me come like that again sent a small ripple of want through my body and to my core. Ignoring the ripples and whatnot, I started to leave the kitchen with my cup of coffee, but Alden grabbed a fistful of the back of my shirt and gently tugged me backward.
“Alden,” I huffed as he pulled my back against his bare chest.
“Look, Little One,” he said, once he had me enclosed in his arms with the paper in front of me. “We made the paper together.”
“Again?” I sighed. Since our first outing, my face had made it into a couple of the tabloids, but more than that, there were pictures of me with Alden, and me alone all over the internet. It made me uncomfortable because I was sure someone somewhere was digging into my past, and I wasn’t sure how Larson would react to it. I hadn’t heard from him in months, but could my arrangement with Alden bring him out of the woodwork?
I finally focused on the picture in the paper. It was a color picture of Alden and me on the dance floor. His arms were around my waist and my hands were on his shoulders. I was smiling up at him and he had a big grin on his face. I remembered the moment, because he had just told me a stupid joke, one of those jokes that were so stupid that you couldn’t help but to laugh.
“That’s a nice picture,” I admitted quietly. I don’t know why, but looking at the picture while in Alden’s arms put me on edge.
“I haven’t been able to take my eyes off it,” he said quietly. “Until you walked into the room anyway.” He kissed the top of my head. “Looking at this, one could assume we were a happy couple.”
Oh! Stupid heart – why must you beat so hard and fast?
I swallowed hard and forced myself to look away from the photo. “I need to go pack for New York,” I said lightly.
Alden was quiet for a moment, but then he kissed my head again before releasing me.
“We’re not leaving until about two,” he said, following me out of the room. “You have plenty of time to pack.”
“Yeah, but I need time to clean before I go. It’s getting a little raunchy in here. You can go…do whatever you need to do so you’re not in my way. I’m sure there is some hussy somewhere in need of a sea serpent.”
“I’ll help you clean,” Alden said as he pulled clothes out of his bag on my bed.
I laughed. “When was the last time you cleaned something? Besides your dick – I’m assuming you clean it.”
A big sexy grin appeared on his face and he gestured lewdly at me, making the sea serpent…bounce.
Good god.
“You want to do an investigation and find out?” he asked.
“Ewww,” I said, screwing up my face.
“For your information, Little One…I clean. Sometimes.”
“Like when the maid is on vacation?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
He looked at me nonchalantly. “Yes. When the maid is on vacation.”
I snickered. “I’d love to see you scrubbing a toilet, but you’ll just be in my way.”
“No, I want to help,” he said, looking sincere.
I studied him for a moment. I could get him to reach all of the high places I rarely got to dust, and it would be amusing to watch him scrubbing a toilet. The great Alden Breck – writes, produces, and plays music, does charity work when he’s not boning desperate women, and scrubs toilets. Hell yes.
“Okay then, Mr. Breck.” I smiled at him from across the bed. “I will assign you a few tasks.”
He winked a hazel eye at me and smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.”
And then he dropped his towel.
Fuck.
I spun around just as the monster came loose. I didn’t get a very good look at it; I only saw the enormity of it and holy cow!
Fortunately, I really did have to turn my back on him while I went into the bathroom closet to check the status of my cleaning supplies. I busied myself with this task a little longer than necessary until I was sure that the sex god with the tattoos and piercings was dressed.
I grabbed an armful of cleaners and closed the closet door. When I did, Alden was standing there – dressed. I squealed and smacked him.
“Stop sneaking up on me!”
He chuckled and then leaned in the bathroom doorway, displaying his powerful forearms as he crossed his arms.
“What tasks have you for me, Miss Eddington?” he asked.
I put the cleaners down on the sink and then handed him the toilet bowl cleaner.
“I want you to clean the toilet,” I said with as serious of an expression as I could muster.
“With what?” he asked.
I pointed to the toilet brush behind the toilet. He looked at it for a moment before plucking it out of its holder.
“This is used for cleaning the toilet?” he asked and then suddenly pointed it at me. I shrieked and jumped back. “I thought it was used for brushing hair. Come here, let me brush your hair.”
He teased me, making me laugh and shriek as he pointed the thing at me. Finally, he backed off and I gave him a list of shit to do, which was just hilarious. I was giving Alden Breck a list of common house chores to do.
We both got to work a few minutes later. I plugged my iPod into the stereo in the living room and blasted the music. After about a half hour, while I was mopping the kitchen floor, Alden came up behind me and scared the shit out of me again when he put his hands on my waist.
“I haven’t heard any Friction off that thing yet,” he said with a raised eyebrow.
“Friction? Who’s that?” I asked. When he gave me a murderous look, I dropped the mop and ran away, but Alden caught me around the waist, careful not to hurt my ribs.
“If you don’t get some of my music on that iPod right now, I’m going to spank your ass,” he growled in my ear.
“Okay, okay,” I breathed as I felt his breath on my neck.
“Hop to it, Little One,” he said, smacking my ass once and giving me a gentle shove in the direction of the stereo.
I walked over to the stereo and stopped a Justin Timberlake song. Damn, I really liked that song, too. I picked up the iPod, made sure it was locked and then I started to rub it between my hands.
“Babe, what the hell are you doing?” Alden asked.
“Putting some friction on my iPod,” I said, trying not to laugh.
“Your ass is mine,” Alden said as he began stalking toward me.
I ran away, even though it hurt to run at all, but I was having fun, and so was Alden, and it actually didn’t involve a sexual act. Eventually, we did get back to the cleaning, this time, while listening to Friction on Alden’s iPod.
***
I loved Alden’s New York apartment. Now that he wasn’t being a cold-hearted bastard, the place felt warm and homey and I couldn’t get enough of staring out of the large windows at the city below us.
“Do you like it?” Alden asked as he stepped up beside me and handed me a glass of wine.
“I do.” I smiled. “Your whole apartment is rather awesome, but I really love this view.”
“I’ll give you a key,” he said, leaning against the glass to watch me watch the city. “You can come here whenever you like – when you’re not already with me, of course.”
I snorted. “I’m ‘with you’ for nine wee
ks, Alden. Then you’ll go your way and I’ll go mine.”
“I’ve decided that I want you in L.A. with me while we’re writing and recording.” His expression was serious, but I couldn’t help but to think he was joking.
“You’ve decided?” I laughed. “Funny. Thanks, but no.”
I sipped my wine as Alden’s eyes watched me with calculation. He must have been off his nut if he thought I was going to stay with him in L.A. for however long it took them to put an album together. Seriously. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to get through all of the charity events and the other appearances in between with his cocky self.
It didn’t matter that he gave me the best orgasms of my life. Or that he sometimes made me laugh so hard that I snorted. Or that he really was sexy – though I’d never tell him that. No way. And it didn’t matter that under his very, very thick, cocky exterior he was actually very sweet and compassionate, especially where his younger brother was concerned. It definitely didn’t matter that he was actually kinda nice to cuddle up to. None of that really mattered. It wasn’t enough to make me want to spend any additional time with him. Period.
“I think you’ll change your mind,” Alden said with a small, but actually kinda sweet smile that made my toes wiggle.
“What makes you think so?” I asked with doubt.
“You’re going to fall in love with me,” he said with absolute confidence. Total, unshakeable confidence.
I stared blankly at him for a moment. “Are you on drugs?” I asked seriously.
He had to be on drugs. Because seriously, what he said was just plain absurd.
“I don’t do that shit,” he said, clearly offended. “You think just because I’m an awesome rock star with tattoos and piercings that I’m on drugs?”
“I’m not that shallow,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m simply looking for a reasonable explanation for your delusions.”
“There is your first problem, Little One,” he said and then caught my chin with his finger. My goodness he smelled good.
“What is my first problem?” I asked in a bored tone.
