by Vivian Lux
Chapter Twenty-Six
August
Jules walked past where I was sitting in the lounge area of Bearsville Studios and didn't say a word.
He didn't need to. Just the way the molecules of air seemed to vibrate faster whenever he was near me was enough to make me completely lose my train of thought, and once again I was concentrating on the gentle ache in my pussy instead of the phone conference I was trying to bluff my way through.
He disappeared into the sound booth. I blinked over my coffee and realized that everyone on the other end was silent. "Right," I said into the phone. "I appreciate that."
It ended up being the right thing to say. "I'm glad you came to us," the rep enthused. "The demo is rough, but Xander thinks it's perfect for the end credits."
"It is," I bullshitted, trying to gather up the loose threads of this conversation. "So you'll let me know - " I trailed off, letting them finish for me.
"Should be by the end of the week, no later. Will the final cut be done by then?"
"They're finalizing today," I said confidently. "I'd still need clearance and to let the lawyers know."
"Of course."
"Excellent."
"Thanks, uh..."
"August," I reminded them for the millionth time. "I"m August Waverly. I'm the band manager."
The door to the sound booth creaked open and Jules walked back out again. He glanced over at me, and smiled, flicking his tongue out to wet his lips.
Then he reached back and lifted his shirt, turning to show me the line of four red scratch marks running diagonally across his back. "You injured me, love," he whispered, then winked and walked back into the recording studio.
My body flooded with heat and suddenly all the little bruises and nicks from last night started asserting themselves at once. The rawness of my sucked and bitten nipples chafing against the fabric of my bra. The tingling in my scalp from when he'd grabbed fistfuls of my hair to kiss me harder. The stinging pink handprint on my ass cheek.
And of course the throbbing soreness between my legs from where I fucked everything up by fucking him against a dirty bathroom wall.
"You're really good at your job, August Waverly," the rep was saying on the other line. "Out of the box thinking. The band ought to give you a raise."
The drummer already gave me something, that's for sure! I thought, and giggled semi-hysterically before clapping my hand over my mouth. I thanked the rep and the rest of the people on the conference call, then hung up before I completely lost my mind.
I collapsed back on the couch and stared at the ceiling.
My god. What had I done?
Even if I wanted to forget what Jules and I had done last night, my pussy still insisted on reminding me, throbbing and pulsing with a pleasant soreness.
Craving it again.
He'd asked me to make a mistake with him.
And wow had I ever.
Shaking my head, I stood up and headed into the sound booth. Jimmy looked up as I slid into place at my usual stool, and then gestured. "He's on fire today."
I looked through the glass. Jules was sitting at his kit, his shirt off, skin glistening as he tore through a blistering solo. It was the kind of inspired playing that should have excited me, but instead, I only stared at him in mute horror.
With his shirt off, the scratches on his back blazed out there bright red for everyone to see. And every time he twisted in his stool, they flashed out towards me like a giant warning signal. Danger!
Jules ended the solo with a resounding crash on the high hat. He tossed his head back, sending his dark curls swinging, then he broke out into a beautiful smile.
"Damn," Jimmy said, clicking the overhead PA on. "That's what I needed, man. I don't even think I need another take, that was spot the fuck on. Something must have finally clicked for you, huh?"
I could feel my cheeks starting to redden and I jumped up. "I have to make a phone call," I blurted.
Jimmy looked over at me like I'd grown a second head. "I'm not stopping you."
I nodded stiffly and turned to flee from the booth.
Every time I looked at Jules, I was reminded of last night. The breathlessness, the way we had attacked each other. It was just as much sparring match as it was sex, like we were trying to determine a winner.
And right now, I was certain it wasn't me.
Burning up inside, I looks down at my phone. Who could I call? I'd already burned through all of my admin work this morning in a desperate bid to stay as far away from Jules as possible. The only people left would be personal calls. Not my brothers, that's for sure. Leo would never let me hear the end of that. I could call CeCe, she would certainly understand. She'd had the same sort of reservations about dating Ewan. But actually, it was not the same at all. She had her father's label backing her, the power of her family name. I only had my reputation.
And so far my reputation was two for two with fucking the members of the band I was supposed to be representing.
Biggest mistake of my life.
I could pretend it didn't happen. But the way Jules had been smiling when he showed me that scratch, there was no way he'd let me forget.
So the only thing to do now was make sure it never happened again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jules
I saw her get up from the sound booth and stomp away.
She hadn't said a single word to me all morning. I'd thought that her smart-aleck mouth bothered me. But her silence bothered me even more. Especially since all I wanted to do was talk to her about last night. And about when we could do it again.
Instead of fixing my obsession, fucking her had only made it worse. Now that I'd been inside of her, all I wanted was to be there again.
But she wouldn't even look in my direction. Now she'd disappeared, probably to go hide on her phone some more so she could avoid having to look at me.
Fuck this. I wasn't going to let her start playing her games again. It happened.
And it was going to happen again.
"Oy," I called out. "Can we take five?" I feign a grimace. "I think that last solo tweaked my back."
"You're an old, decrepit man," Ewan deadpanned.
"I'm six months older than you!"
"Decrepit."
"Whatever. I need to walk it off."
"Yeah mate, whatever." Ewan looked at the booth. "That okay Jimmy? Hey, where'd August go?"
That was what I intended to find out.
She wasn't in the lounge, filling her time with busywork to avoid me. She wasn't using the front office to call journalists, building buzz for us.
She was outside in the bright autumn sunlight. Pacing.
"Getting your cardio in, love?" I called, bounding down the steps to walk with her. Then I stopped and looked around. "Bloody hell."
It was the first time I'd been out in the sunlight in a solid week, and in that time the autumn colors had peaked. The mountains around us were a patchwork quilt of reds and golds and sky blazed a clear and brilliant blue overhead. "I see why you wanted to come outside," I said.
She turned away from me. "I needed to think," she said dully.
"All we did was have a nice fuck, love," I teased her. "You sound like your puppy died."
She shook her head. "You don't get it."
"No," I said, balling up my fists. "I have to say, I really don't. You can't tell me you didn't want it, love. You could have walked out the front door."
She shook her head again. "I know. That was my mistake."
"Best mistake of your life."
"You are so cocky, you know? There are no stakes here for you like there are for me. I fuck this up, you just fire me, no skin off your back. You get to reap the rewards of all the hard work I've put into this comeback, and I get tossed to the curb!" Her eyes blazed.
I stepped back on my heel. "No one's tossing you to the curb, love."
She sighed. "Why am I even trying to explain? You couldn't possibly understand." She sho
ok her head and turned back towards the studios. "I need to get back to work."
Baffled, I followed her back in through the front door. She strode right past Ewan, Niall and Hudson in the lounge and slammed the door to the front office.
Niall glanced up at the sound and then bent back to his phone. Ewan winced and looked at me. "What did you do?"
"I haven't the faintest," I sighed.
Niall pulled his phone away from his ear and grinned like a maniac. "Well that's fucking brilliant!" he declared.
"Why are you so happy?" Hudson asked, smiling because Niall was smiling.
"That was Tally!" Niall crowed.
Hudson looked confused. "Your sister?" Ewan supplied.
"You have a sister?" Hudson asked.
Niall nodded. "Little Tallula. She's coming Stateside. Wants to know if she can stay with me." He looked down at the phone fondly. "Told her I'd have no idea where we'd be then, but wherever I was, she was welcome."
"Your mum's not coming?" Ewan asked.
He glanced up. "Mum would never come to the States. She still calls them The Colonies."
I snorted. "Oh, that's lovely."
"She's a nightmare. I dunno how Tally turned out so sweet with such a harridan for a female role model."
Ewan was still stuck. "So Tallula's coming to the States all by herself? She's old enough to do that?"
Niall rolled his eyes. "She's nineteen now. Nearly twenty."
"She is?" Ewan's eyes bugged out. "Jesus fuck, how did that happen?" Last I saw your sister she was still playing with dolls."
"Me too, in a way." Niall sounded sad. "We've been away a long time. Don't you ever miss your family?"
"I do," August piped up. I hadn't even realized she'd been listening. She walked over and patted Niall's arm. "I have little brothers. My middle one, Tate, he's at college, university I guess you call it, right now and he's having a hard time. I just want to scoop him up out of this rough patch, dust him off and set him standing upright on the other side of everything." She trailed off for a second. "But he's down on Long Island at Hofstra and isn't picking up his phone, so I can't do anything except worry."
She was trying to hide it but I could hear the small, frantic note in her voice. I could hear that vulnerability even though she tried to hide it and it made me want to kiss her so hard that I absorbed some of that worry and took it away from her. Share it with her so she didn't have to work so hard all alone.
Lightning flashed in my head and I suddenly knew why she was so adamant we'd made a mistake last night. And I knew what I needed to do to convince her that letting me in wasn't the worst mistake she could make after all.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
August
I'd been living in this cabin for close to five weeks now, but tonight was the first night I'd actually sat on the balcony with a drink. The air was sharp and clear and cold with the promise of winter soon. As I huddled with my bourbon, I could hear the rustling of the wind in the trees as it shook the leaves loose. They were falling all around like bright red confetti, as if Mother Nature was throwing herself a colorful good-bye party before the snows started falling instead.
"Why haven't I done this until now?" I wondered aloud.
My head was still humming with a to-do list that never ended, and in the back of my brain was the buzz of worry about Tate. I'd finally gotten ahold of him, only to have him cut me off abruptly, saying he was too tired to 'deal with' me right now. It was a move entirely unlike my sweet, sensitive brother, and it made my heart hurt.
The sound of a far off door slamming closed made me sink back in my chair. I'd been avoiding Eric - easy to do with the crazy schedule I'd been keeping lately - and definitely intended to keep doing that until we left the cabins. The recording sessions were winding down, all the padding I'd built into our schedule turning out to be unnecessary. Which was why we all had the night off.
There was the sound of footsteps crunching through the leaves, and I leaned back, trying to blend in with the balcony. "Don't look up," I whispered.
The footsteps stopped. Then started again. Stopped. Then started. Wandering away and then getting closer. Curiosity finally got the best of me, and I leaned over to see who was coming.
And caught a glimpse of dark curls. And dark eyes that glinted in the setting sun.
Jules smiled and waved.
"Shit," I hissed and leaned back. But he was already striding to my door.
"Goddamn..." I launched myself from my chair and flew back inside, intending to head him off before he got to my cabin. Before I ran the risk of letting him inside.
But he was already coming up the stairs to the cabin porch, his left hand hidden behind his back.
"Stop," I told him.
He grinned and halted. I shook my head. "Listen. We can't....The diner? The bathroom? That was a mistake."
His grin was so goddamn cocky I wanted to smack it off his face, if only to be able to touch his skin again. "I already told you love," he said, pulling his hand from behind his back. "I'm the best mistake you could ever make."
I looked down, disbelieving. "What is that?" I laughed.
He looked down at collection in his hand. Branches and twigs festooned in fiery reds and oranges and pine branches scattered through it. "I was walking over here and I saw the trees. All the colors, reds and oranges." He extended the foliage bouquet to me. "They reminded me of you," he said matter-of-factly.
Something tugged at my heart, yanking me in a direction I didn't want to go. "You saw branches, and they reminded me of you?"
"Well sure," he said, pointing to the pine needles. "Especially when these lot scratched me," he laughed.
I snorted, then smacked him, then laughed out loud. "You are such an asshole," I said, and it came out as more of a resigned sigh.
"An asshole, and a pain in the ass. Who could be better suited for each other?" he said. He swept his hand out to the where the van was parked. "Come on. I want to show you something."
"I don't trust you."
"Well that's not really fair, love. I mean, I trust you," he said. "Even though you stole my underwear while I was passed out." He shook his head. "Naked and vulnerable and you took advantage of me like that. You should be ashamed of yourself, love."
My face heated up. "I mean... it - it's right here," I stammer, stepping back and letting him in. "Do you want it back now?"
He cocked his head to the side. "I don't know," he mused. "I'm sort of getting used to going without." He licked his lips and leaned forward, his lips brushing my ear as he whispered. "Whenever my cock brushes the zipper by accident, it reminds me of you."
"Getting your dick snagged reminds me of you? You're saying I cause you pain?"
"In this general area," he said, motioning in a circle in front of his groin. "Yeah, that's precisely what I'm saying."
I glared at him. "You're a jerk. Just for that, I'm keeping your underwear."
He shot me a dangerous look. Something passed between us like an electric current. The hair on the back of my neck stood up even as my stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster. I heard a strange sound and realized it had come from my own lips.
"Fucking hell, August," Jules growled.
In two steps he had me back up against the wall. As he kissed me, her slid his hand up my skirt. "Then I'm keeping these," he hissed as he hooked his fingers on the side of my panties.
I don't know what perverse impulse took ahold of me, but I let him yank them down. He held them in his hand, squeezing them for a second. "The red lace ones? These match that red bra of yours, love?"
"I'm wearing it now," I told him with a proud thrust of my chin.
He nodded and stuffed them in his pocket. "Definitely keeping these." He grinned. "So how's that, love? Now we're both bare-arsed. Now come on. It's time I took you on a date."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
August
The sun was sliding down into darkness as we drove deeper into the woods. The furt
her we drove, the more confused I was getting. "You said we were going on a date," I said, gesturing to the dark forest around us. Above out heads, stars winked into existence and a fat moon hovered low on the horizon.
"We are," Jules said. He held the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip, after all these years still uncomfortable driving on the right side of the road.
I looked around again. "We are literally in the middle of nowhere. What restaurant are you taking me to?"
He looked at me with an amused glint in his eye. "We don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to restaurants, do we love? Thought we ought to try something new."
I licked my lips. Free-floating anxiety and the persistent chant of mistake mistake mistake in my brain had me antsy. "I have a lot of work I need to do..." I started to lie.
"Take a night off for once. You're always working."
"There's always work to be done."
He shook his head. "You're in the rock 'n roll business, baby. You've gotta give time for the muse do her work."
I looked over at him, amused. "Did you just say, 'the muse? That is unexpectedly poetic."
"That's the thing, love" he said softly. "I feel like you've got some misguided expectations when if comes to me."
I shrugged, and looked out the window watching the darkness close in and feeling like I owed him an explanation. And there was no other one, except.... "My last boyfriend cheated on me," I suddenly said, blurting out without preamble.
He went quiet. No reaction except a burst of speed that pinned me back onto my seat. Then I heard him take a deep breath and steady himself as he let off the gas. "Sounds like an wanker," he observed, his voice painfully steady.
"Sounds like a musician," I corrected. "You know? I've been working in this business since I was old enough to lie my way backstage. I've seen it. The distance when you're on tour months on end? The temptations of backstage parties? The offers of cheap, meaningless sex around every dark corner?" I shook my head. "No. It doesn't work. The life of a musician is murder for any type of real-life relationship."
