by S. A. Price
“Way ahead of you.” He winked and pulled her with him towards the billiards room.
The room, now devoid of all life except them was a study in seedy pool hall chic. The lights were low, the table illuminated by an overhead stained glass canopy. The felt on the table was purple, a custom job, and the actual table itself was a mahogany monstrosity, gleaming with the result of daily cleanings with wood polish.
Smaller tables with chairs and several overstuffed chairs filled the periphery, but the focus of the room was the table. He turned as she followed him into the room and smiled. The look he was giving her gave her the butterflies, making things clench low in her center.
“You’re not thinking about playing pool are you?”
He pulled her to him and kissed her hard. “Hell no.”
“Your thinking about fucking on this pool table, aren’t you?”
He kissed her again and picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Seconds later she was sitting on the edge of the corner and he was working his way down her throat, his hands stealing under her skirt.
She moaned as he found her, his fingers slipping past the edge of her barely there panties to pet her. He growled when he found her wet. “Always ready for me baby…” he murmured and nuzzled her collarbone.
She leaned back, and his free hand guided her, poised at the small of her back. He dipped his head low and grasped the bottom of her t-shirt with his teeth and dragged it north, over her flat stomach and breasts, exposing everything to the cool air of the room.
His mouth planted searing kisses across her skin, and at intervals he would nip or lick at her. She arched harder, her arms lifting to lie on the table itself, above her head.
“You look so fucking hot Nat..” he murmured and she heard the muffled staccato of his button fly being pulled open. Seconds later she was gasping as he sunk home.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about…” he growled and latched onto a nipple, wetting it, abrading it through the lace material.
She lost herself in sensation, the raw need and power he took her with. “So close…” she moaned, her hands lifting from the pool table to run through his hair. He pulled away from her breast and then kissed her. “Scream for me Nat…”
She did, though it was muffled by his own mouth. She shattered, her body shaking with the force of it. Fast and dirty, it wasn’t romantic, it was naughty and decadent and she loved it. He followed her over the brink, panting, a look of contentment on his face.
“Ummm I needed that.” He whispered in her ear.
“You’re not the only one.” She offered and sat up kissing him hard.
They uncoupled and righted their clothing, and Winter went back to her and pulled her close. “Naughty girl…”
“Naughty Boy…”
He nodded. “Especially when it comes to you baby. You know, I could do with a shower and an early night in.”
She knew exactly what that meant and nodded. “That sounds fabulous, especially since I’m not at all tired.”
The look in his eyes was heated. Oh no he was nowhere near done with her. “I think I can remedy that.”
Laughing, Natasha jumped off the edge of the pool table and scampered off towards their room. Winter as her lover was awesome, but Winter as her friend and lover was so much better than anything they had before. Now all that was left was to take care of Shesha, and they could live happily ever after.
EIGHTEEN
Saffron walked into the living room, her laptop in hand, and a frown gracing her face. Winter noticed immediately that her eyes were narrowed on the screen, and she wasn’t watching where she was going.
“Saff, girl watch out…” He called and she narrowly missed the ottoman that was in her path to the couch. She looked at them and shook her head.
“Thanks Winter.” She said softly and shook her head again, her eyes going back to the screen.
“Well good morning to you. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”
“Oh trust me, this is not a good morning… well maybe it is. Depends on how everyone is going to take this.”
Rhys raised a brow.
“News from the net, apparently you guys, with your new mega rock star status, have hit the Nail-list dot com’s radar.”
“Well I think we have arrived then wouldn’t you say?” Rhys commented and got up from the small table he was sitting at near the window. “Well come on, what’s it say about me?”
“As if you need a larger fucking ego,” Saffron rolled her eyes settled in on the couch on the vacan’t cushion next to Winter.
“Baby, you should be excited, you’re currently nailing a hot commodity!” Rhys said and slipped onto the couch next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “So, all of us or just me?”
Winter, who was leaning on Lola, looked at her, praying it was just Rhys. The last thing he needed in this bid to keep Lola was to have all his dirty laundry printed on that list.
And that’s what it would be, because groupies that started those things didn’t have any shame, and wore their conquests on their sleeves like a badge of honor.
“As of right now, just you and the Sultan over here,” she said and shook her head. “Though I think that is because Tosh and Chand haven’t forsaken their normal playmates like you two have.”
Lola turned her head and smirked. “The Sultan?” she asked and Saffron went to answer her but Winter, knowing exactly why saffron had called him that, laughed.
“Well read it off, since Winter has his nervous laugh going.”
Saffron looked at Lola and gave her a wan smile. “Hmmm okay well…”
Rhys looked over her shoulder and his eyes lit up as Saffron read from the website.
“Ok so Rhys Bellamy from Thirteen Shades of Red,” she started and then scoffed. “Boy belongs on the dark side. Long, thick and can go all night, though he’s been known to pass out once he’s hit the finish line. Won’t do oral, though will gladly accept it. Kinky to a point, will keep in touch with the ones he likes the most. Word has it he’s totally taken now by his girlfriend Saffron Richards, and she doesn’t share.”
Rhys looked up and grinned. “All true. At least they got it right.”
Saffron shook her head. “Love how I’m the bad guy in all this. Not the jerk that refuses to do oral, no he’s on a pedestal.”
“As you recall I didn’t refuse with you…”
“I didn’t have a choice did I? Had I…”
Winter knew the kinds TMI conversation they were about to get into when he heard two words from Lola he didn’t want to hear.
“And Winter?” Lola asked.
Saffron looked at Winter, whose eyes went wide. He hoped the point came across loud and clear or he was going to have a lot to explain. Saffron winked and shrugged. “Nothing special, you know...”
“So say it.”
“Eh…”
Lola waved at her. “Gimmee.”
Saffron looked at Winter again, and then shrugged again, as if to say Sorry buddy, and handed the tablet over to the other girl. Winter blanched and exercised a small amount of power, so the hand off was slowed. He spied what was on the screen and almost grabbed for the device.
Winter Tulane--- 13 Shades of Red
Wicked and wild. Hung perfectly with one hell of a back swing if you get my meaning. Likes his interludes with no less than five girls at a time. Loves oral, watching, and always uses condoms. King of dirty talk. Likes it rough. Likes to keep in touch for future encounters. Insatiable.
Shit.
He sighed and pulled back on the power, giving himself a mild headache. Lola palmed the tablet and her eyes went to the screen. Well now she knew why Saffron called him the Sultan.
He watched her face as she read the small entry. And then again. Shit shit shit. Finally her gaze met his and he winced slightly, seeing a mixture of astonishment, you-gotta-be-kidding-me and… pride reflected to him. Surprised, he gave her a lazy smile and arched a brow.
“I think we will leave you two alone…” Saffron said and levered herself off the couch and then pulled Rhys up. They walked out seconds later, leaving Winter alone in the spacious living room with Lola.
She was quiet a few minutes and then bit her bottom lip, as if she was trying to figure out what to say.
Winter licked his bottom lip and sighed. “I told you…”
She shook her head. “Five at a time?”
He cringed. “On a slow day. If I’m being honest it was more like five was when I was under the weather.”
She laughed and got off the couch and turned towards him, her hands on her hips. “You’re like McDonalds! My god, I thought it was exaggeration when I saw all those girls wearing that fucking “Long Hard Winter” t-shirt at the last three shows! Clearly you have been busy.”
“And I didn’t hide that from you.” He said quietly, watching her as she paced.
“I honestly thought stories of your exploits were exaggerated.”
He held up his thumb and forefinger. “A teeny bit.”
“Clearly.”
“I’m not saying I didn’t make a fuck ton of mistakes Nat.” he used her real name and then shook his head. Fuck if she hated him because of his man whoring, things were going to get shitty quick. “I don’t regret my actions either.”
She gave him an incredulous look.
“I mean I was single, painfully so. I did what I did, at least I own it.”
She sat down on the chair facing him. “Winter, no offense but, between our first breakup and then the little unpleasantness of that misunderstanding with Rhys, you weren’t prolific, not like this. What changed? I mean…”
He sighed. Fuck he didn’t wanna have to go there with her, not now.
“Look I’m trying to be cool about this, but… help me to understand why I should be cool with this?”
He sighed again. The only smart option was to tell her the truth, none of this nancy pussy footing about and being a jerk about something he couldn’t control. He swore he would never be the kinda guy that would just be an asshole because he couldn’t talk about his feelings, and take shit out on the woman in his life. Too many jerks already populated the world already; he didn’t need to add himself to it. Being straight with her was the smartest thing he could do, if he wanted to keep her.
“You’re right. And after that shit with Rhys and you left, and we weren’t talking, I was angry, and bitter. Then I saw you were dating Cosmos, right after, and two weeks later word reached us about your engagement. I said fuck it, and drowned my sorrows in pussy. I figured since you forgot me so easily, I could at least try.”
She blinked at him. “You’re telling me that it took five girls at a time to drown the feelings you had for me?”
He shook his head. “More like ten most of the time. Unless I saw something about you on the net, or someone mentioned you and him. Then it was like Caligula’s court in my room. Not one compared. I learned that twenty girls at once had less than a glimmer of what you gave me. So I drank, I watched. I tried to forget you. Then I found out you guys broke up. By that point I had made my bed, I just continued on. What happened with the two of you anyway?”
She shook her head, her gaze guarded. “That’s a story for another day. Today we are dealing with your Appleseeding across this great land.”
He looked horrified. “I do not have kids peppered around!”
She waved him away. “You know what I mean.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, I really am. My actions in the past might fuck with our future and that’s something I need to own. You know, at this point in my life Lo, I could have anyone I wanted, anytime, anywhere and any way. Hell I have. It doesn’t interest me. Not anymore.” He got off the couch and crawled across the room to her and knelt at her feet.
“What does interest me is you, that bed in the other room, and the sounds I’m going to hear from that sexy mouth soon after I carry you in there. I choose you, baby. Sex is nothing, not unless it’s with you. They couldn’t replace you, couldn’t compare. I choose you baby, I always will because I am nothing without you. I knew that then, and I know that now.”
***
Lola looked at him, surprised at the raw emotion on his face. True, his words were just bordering on king-ego-dickish, but he was sincere. He never minced words before, and she had to give him props for his honesty.
No, she wasn’t happy about how much trim he fucked. No she wasn’t happy about the crazy shit he did. But it was in his past. He had been committed to her since New York, a month, and didn’t even look at another girl, let alone flirt with them. He was choosing her, over everything, was committed to what they had going. If not, this entire situation would have blown up into a hellish fight, which is what she had been ready for as soon as Saffron and Rhys had left the room. That it didn’t said a lot about how far they had come, as a couple and individually.
She looked at it from an outside standpoint. She knew he wasn’t a saint when they broke up, knew that he had his wild times, and if she was honest with herself, Cosmos was a passing fancy that was meant to hurt him, especially her reckless actions with him, which had been a large contributing factor to her situation with Shesha.
So in effect, her actions had fueled his reaction. That was on her. What was on him was him continuing down the path. People made mistakes. Hell she wasn’t safe from that adage herself. It just depended on if you cared enough about the person that made the mistake to accept it as a lesson and move on.
She looked at Winter, really looked at him. He was holding his breath. He was so goddamn scared…
She gave him a small smile. “It is kinda flattering, in a twisted, bizarre way. I mean most girls would be so disgusted, and tell you to fuck off, that you have had your quota of women for the next several lifetimes.”
He blinked.
“I’m not most girls though.”
He blinked again.
“I know what comes with the territory Winter, I’m not stupid. Hell if Saffron can be confronted with copious amounts of Rhys’ conquests, that he still talks to, I can be ok with this… I mean it’s not like you are carrying on with them anymore.”
He shook his head. “So you forgive me?”
She touched his face, her palm cradling his stubble roughened cheek. “Nothing to forgive. It’s not like you cheated on me. That,” she commented, her eyes going narrow, “would end up with your balls in a vice.”
He smirked. “Never going to happen. I’m an asshole, but I’m loyal.”
“Yes you are. So? What was that about a bedroom and me making lovely little sounds?”
Winter grinned at her and swooped in, claiming her lips with his. She kissed him back, hungry for him. Everything else fell away, everything but the feel of his lips on hers. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her down off the couch, her legs straddling his as he settled her on the floor. He leaned her back so she was propped on the couch cushions and moved his kiss down her throat, and nipped at her collar bone.
“You made me forget every one of them when you walked back into my life Nat,” he growled and lifted her up, his hands on her ass. “I’m never giving you up, not again.”
She smiled. Gods she loved him. “So let’s get to that bedroom. You have some convincing to do.”
NINETEEN
Vegas during the day was as bright as it was at night, the sunshine gleaming off all the metal and reflective surfaces. A forever light patch in the darkness of the desert. The buses had pulled into the Carnegie hotel and casino a little after six in the morning, but you wouldn’t know it to see the copious amounts of people still milling around the strip.
The only good point about getting in so early was that the fans hadn’t amassed and their check in was swift and painless. Saffron had grabbed the Shades rooms while the new tour management for the Angels, A meely young guy named Kevin with watery eyes, handled Lola’s band.
She didn’t have much of a chance to talk to the guy, what with him thrown o
n in Chicago and her spending more time with Winter and Shades than on her own bus. All she knew was the guys were ok with him, and he didn’t mistreat her rabbit so he was ok in her book.
Finding their elevators to the room was an adventure but after three wrong turns and a detour through the craps tables, they were ascending towards the nineteenth floor and a few hours of sleep. She hoped. The ride in from Utah was bumpy and not conducive to sleep. Since Chicago they had eight other dates in Kansas, northern Texas, Denver, and Salt Lake City and the tour was starting to take its toll on everyone. Almost thirty days on the road already and they were only about halfway through their projected dates. Thankfully they were in Vegas now, for a week, with only two dates to play which meant a little bit if R&R for everyone. It was needed.
The room was spacious as most upscale rooms were in Vegas and was more than enough for the two of them. Winter had let them in, dropped his messenger bag and pilots case and flopped on the over large couch. She followed suit and snuggled in.
“Nice room.” She said as she laid her head on his chest.
“Yeah. Good views too. I’m so damn tired. All I wanna do is take a shower and sleep for about twelve hours.”
“That sounds like a fine idea.” She agreed. “So we should do that, and then order room service? Or maybe before we pass out for the duration?”
He nodded. “Food would be good…” he said and yawned and closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath.
She woke up in the same position a couple of hours later, completely unsurprised she had passed out. Winter’s rhythmic breathing has lulled her into relaxation quickly. She levered herself off his chest and sighed. “Sweet Jesus we fell out.”
Winter opened his mouth to answer her when his phone went off. It was a song she didn’t hear from it before. He sat up. Who the hell was No Use For A Name’s Hail to the King for?
“Shit. I gotta take this.” He said and got off the couch as he hit the button on his phone.
“Hey!” she heard as he walked into the bedroom. There was some murmuring and then he walked back in. “Yeah… Room nineteen-seventeen. Gimme like twenty yeah? You got it.” He hung up the phone and smiled at Lola.
