by Terry Towers
Giving my head a shake, I sat up on the bed and smiled. “I am now.”
“I’m sorry, I can come back.” Despite her words, she didn’t attempt to turn away.
“Don’t be shy, come in.” I pulled back the blankets and patted the empty space on the bed next to me.
She returned my smile, entering the room and making her way to the bed.
“Wait.” I blocked the bed, keeping her from sitting down. “You’re not wet, are you? It’s a little too dark to tell.”
“No, I was out by the pool sunbathing.”
“With Zack?”
She nodded.
There was a part of me that was a little jealous, but on the other hand, the three of us had had a good time last night. She wasn’t the first girl we’d shared, but she was the first girl that meant something to both of us. I wasn’t quite sure where Zack’s head was, but I’d seen him with the “girl of the day” and with women who he liked spending time with. She was definitely one of the ones that he enjoyed spending time with.
But to what extent? I wasn’t sure.
Moving my hand, I gave her room to slip into the bed next to me. Once beside me, I pulled her into my arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. “What’s got you worked up, sweetie?”
She looked up at me, her stunning green eyes looking deep into mine. “What do you mean?”
“It seems to me that you have something on your mind, now spill it.”
Violet snuggled a little closer. “I’m just in one of those moods where I’m wondering what the future has in store for me. I thought I had it all figured out, but now I’m not too sure.”
“Well, life doesn’t always turn out like you planned. In reality, it rarely turns out like you planned. Curveballs come and you have to work with what’s thrown at you and keep on going, no matter what the obstacle. Nothing is impossible.”
“What did you plan for yourself?”
I sighed, rolling over to my back and pulling her to me. She slipped her hand across my chest and nuzzled her chin against the crook between my shoulder and neck. “I planned this. Or at least a version of the life I’m living anyhow.”
“What’s missing? You seem like you have it all.”
“I don’t have everything.” I wasn’t like Zack. I wasn’t a girl-a-night kinda guy, never was. I needed that connection with someone—the kind of connection I had with Violet—that was physical, mental, and emotional.
“What are you missing that would make your life complete?”
You. I cringed, for a moment fearing that I’d spoken my thoughts out loud. I wasn’t quite prepared to let her in on the fact that I was falling for her. Fuck that, I wasn’t falling because I’d already fallen.
“It’s about time for me to settle down, I think. The wife and kids and all that good stuff.”
“That would interfere with your tour schedule and how much music you produce.”
“Hence the problem. The rest of the guys aren’t ready and I’m not willing to be the one that breaks up the group. We’re in it together. I’ve been quite frugal throughout my career, so I have a nice nest egg set aside.”
“So, you’d leave if you could?”
“I don’t want to say that exactly. If I had a reason that was good enough to, then yes. But at the same time, I love music, I love performing. Even though the rigorous schedule can sometimes get to me, I know there’s a part of me that could miss it.” I twirled a lock of her satiny hair around my finger. “I’d like to find a happy medium. Less touring. Maybe a woman to share my life with. That I could start a family with.”
“That’s a nice plan.”
“Yup. I have an amazing house that I bought last year in the Beverly Hills area. It’s amazing. I couldn’t have even dreamed of such a house when I was growing up. But I rarely live in it and it was bought with the thought in the back of my head of eventually starting a family there.”
She lifted her head and propped it on her hand, looking down at me. “I never knew that.”
Grinning, I replied, “It’s not like you know everything about me, yet. I still have a few surprises up my sleeve, Miss Hudson.” Dropping the lock of her hair, I retrieved another, repeating the twirling process, watching the silky strands slip from my fingers.
“I bet. The lucky lady that ultimately snags you will have a lifetime of surprises.”
“That’s the plan. Traveling the world for leisure instead of work would be nice. We could travel; experience the best restaurants, most exciting rollercoasters, and most intriguing locations in the world.”
“We?” She lifted her head and looked up at me. Our gazes locked and something more passed between us, something I’ve never felt before—with anyone. It was intense and genuine, and I was momentarily at a loss for words.
I hadn’t meant to use the word we, it had just slipped out. But the way she was looking at me, it led me to believe that she was entertaining the idea. Was she feeling the same thing that I was sensing between us? If I were a betting man, I’d have said she was.
My whole life was based on taking chances and those gambles had paid off. Should I take a leap of faith and hope she was on the same page? And what about Zack? We’d come to a nonverbal understanding that we were going to share her, but attempting to take things to the next level—a very high level at that—could cause some serious problems between us and put the band at jeopardy.
But I couldn’t stop myself. I had to take the leap and see where we stood. “Yeah. We. It might sound crazy, but I don’t think it is.”
~*~ TT ~*~
Violet
Was I hearing correctly? Because to me it sounded like Dylan wanted me to move in with him and be his girlfriend. I sat up on the bed and out of his embrace, raking my hand through my hair.
“Now, I—” How was I even supposed to word what I was about to ask? What if I’d misheard or misunderstood? I was potentially about to make a gigantic fool out of myself. “What are you suggesting, exactly?”
He followed my lead and sat up, letting the blanket fall to his waist. For a brief moment, I was distracted by the look of the chiseled muscle of his chest. He really encompassed the term tall, dark, and handsome. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some sort of dream.
I blinked, but he was still there in front of me looking as sexy as sin. “I think we should give this a try”—he motioned with his hand between us— “us a try. You can keep your place in New York but consider coming to see my place in California and perhaps thinking about it as your own.”
My brow creased. I wasn’t sure what to think. Of course, I was falling hard for him, but was this the right move for us, especially with everything going on with the press? And with Zack…. What would this mean for my career? Would Carter drop me from the agency?
“Isn’t this moving a little fast?”
“I don’t think so. No. Remember, we spend all day, every day, together and have been for over a couple of months now. Sometimes we have to take chances in life. Though I don’t think we’re a gamble in the least.”
“And what if it doesn’t work out?”
He grinned. “I think we’re already down the rabbit’s hole at this point. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of chance of turning back now.”
Dylan had a point. We were already too far to turn back around, and after last night it wasn’t just me and Zack or me and Dylan. The three of us were in this together.
“What about Zack?” I couldn’t help but ask. I needed to know the arrangement that he envisioned.
His face went blank. I could tell he was thinking about the answer. Perhaps he hadn’t thought this through as well as he’d like to think he had. “I think Zack will be Zack and make his own decisions. Zack has never been one to settle down. Will he change? I don’t know…” He reached out and took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. “What I do know is that I want to be with you. Not just sexually, or you as our band manager, but as a couple. We can keep it under wraps for n
ow until we get our feet under us. But I do want a relationship with you, and I want to have someone to share that big-ass house with.”
My heart melted. What an amazing, beautiful, sincere man. And he wanted me. There was no back and forth or indecision with him, I could see the feeling in his eyes, and it warmed me to my very core.
A smile slowly spread across my lips. “I’d love to take the leap of faith with you.” Leaning forward, my lips captured his and I sighed against his mouth. My heart was open and welcomed him in. For the moment, I pushed the feelings I had for Zack, which rivaled those I had for Dylan, to the back of my mind and heart. Zack had made it clear he was a lone wolf. He’d made his decision and now I was making mine.
Chapter 16
Violet
My body ached. We’d made love three times throughout the day and I seriously doubted I could take another round, even if I wanted to. Zack had been oddly scarce throughout the morning and afternoon. I wondered what he’d been up to while Dylan and I laid in bed, napping and playing.
But I had more pressing concerns right now. My stomach was growling and starting to tighten up, no doubt angered that I’d skipped both breakfast and lunch.
“I gotta eat.” I announced swinging my feet out over the edge of the bed and sliding out, just quickly enough that Dylan missed in his attempt to grab my wrist and pull me back onto the bed with him.
He groaned, but when I looked back over my shoulder at him there was a wide grin on his face as his eyes feasted on my backside.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower first.” I began making my way across the room and to the bathroom.
“Oh. Yes, let’s take that shower.”
At the entryway of the bathroom, I spun around and put my hand up, stopping him from entering the bathroom with me. “Just for your knowledge, there won’t be any sex going on in that shower. If you join me, we’re getting clean and then grabbing some food. That is it. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
I gave him another look, not sure if I could trust that wicked smile and the mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Okay. Fine.”
Lowering my hand, I allowed him to pass and watched as he walked over to the massive shower stall, which could easily accommodate three people, if not four, and adjust the shower settings until he was satisfied with the temperature and stepped inside. Once in, he crooked his finger at me beckoning me to join him.
“No hanky-panky,” I stated as I slid open the door and stepped inside.
“None at all. Scout’s honor.”
I raised a brow at him. “Were you really a scout?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He winked as he brushed his wet hair back and out of his face.
Damn he was a sexy man. A really sexy man. I nibbled on my lower lip as I grabbed the bottle of shampoo and began to lather my hair, refusing to look down at his dick and doing my best to keep from making any type of body contact. If we touched for any length of time, it would end up with me never getting lunch. As it was, even the slightest of touches as we brushed past each other was turning me on.
“I wonder where Zack is?” I asked, rinsing out the shampoo and squirting a large dollop of conditioner into my palm.
“Hard to say. Zack can get preoccupied pretty easily.”
“Preoccupied?” I took a minute to really massage the conditioner into my scalp; the pressure of my fingertips felt nice and relaxing.
“Yeah. He…” Dylan sighed.
“He what?”
“He doesn’t have a problem finding entertainment.”
Crinkling my nose up at him, I frowned. “You mean, like women?”
“Sometimes. I don’t wonder where Zack is. It’s best not to. He’ll be around when he’s ready.”
Was Dylan just trying to turn me off Zack because he was jealous? Would Zack spend the night with the two of us and then less then twelve hours later have his dick in another girl? Even though I’d already agreed Dylan and I would date on the down-low, I felt a stab of hurt. I couldn’t expect to have them both could I? But my feeling hurt meant that’s exactly what I was expecting.
“What’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but no sound came out. I wasn’t sure if I could voice my concerns without upsetting Dylan. But wasn’t honesty one of the most important parts of being in a relationship? To me it was, anyhow.
Taking my time rising out the conditioner under the warm water, I tried to figure the best way to word my thoughts so it wouldn’t upset Dylan. “Well, I’m not sure how I feel about what happened last night and then him just finding some new woman to screw not even twelve hours later.”
Dylan’s expression became unreadable as he placed his hands on my shoulders and moved me out from under the stream of water so he could rinse the suds off his body. “Zack is Zack. He’s never been a relationship guy. That being said, I know he cares for you. How much, I’m unsure. Does he care enough about you to give up his lifestyle? I don’t know about that either.” Finished rinsing, he turned off the water. “That’s something you’d have to ask him directly.”
“I see.” Exiting the shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it turban-style around my hair and then another around my body. Once done, I passed a towel to Dylan as he stepped out of the shower and he immediately began to dry off.
I had to pull myself out of thinking I could have them both. It wasn’t fair to Dylan who wanted to commit. Besides, who has two men? That wasn’t how things worked.
“Violet, baby.” He stepped up to me and hooked his index finger under my chin and lifted my eyes so that our gazes locked. “The best way to deal with Zack on a personal level is to not expect too much. When you don’t expect much, you don’t get disappointed.”
Dylan looked so sincere and the caring was so intense in his eyes that it melted me. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
~*~ TT ~*~
Zack
“Yes. Of course, I’ll do it. In fact, I’m taking some time off tour currently so I can be there as early as tomorrow if needed,” I said to the person on the other end of the phone, excited to hear what they had to say.
Seeing a shadow block out the sun from behind me, I turned to see Dylan and Violet. Motioning for them to take a seat across from me at the patio table I gave them a smile. I’d been so excited over the news I was receiving I’d completely forgotten about them. As they settled themselves across from me, I quickly finished the call and disconnected.
“Hey Zack, where have you been all day?” Violet asked.
“I’ve just been soaking up the sun and went for a walk. Nothing special, just chilling.” I allowed my eyes the luxury of drinking in every inch of her. She’d changed from the bathing suit into a knee-length floral yellow sundress. It looked nice on her; she looked sweet and refreshing. I found it amazing how she could look sweet and innocent one moment and the next have my jaw dropping to the floor and my dick going into an insta-erection.
“Who was on the phone?” Dylan asked while flagging one of the waitstaff down.
Seeing Violet had made me momentarily forget the news. “Yes. I just had a momentary mind fart.” I smiled. “Remember I told you a while ago that I had a half-brother I didn’t know about? We did the whole DNA junk and it confirmed it.”
Dylan nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, we’ve been chatting for some time now and kept promising to hook up when I got a chance, but I’ve never had an opportunity, we’ve been so busy.” I grinned and looked back to Violet. “Maybe if our manager wasn’t such a slave driver…”
She stuck her tongue out at me, causing my smile to widen. My girl was both sweet and sassy. My world stopped turning for a split second. My girl?
“Okay, well, what about him?” Dylan urged.
Fuck, squirrelled for a minute. Violet being my girl, or not my girl—whatever the case may be—was an issue I’d have to figure out at a later time, there was no immediate rush that I was aware of. “Anyway, he wants to get together, but not only that
, he and his wife just had a baby and he asked if I’d be the godfather to their new baby, Emily. I told him that I’d be there tomorrow.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Violet reached across the table and took my hand. Her hand was warm and soft. Her touched warmed me to my very core. “I’m really happy to hear that.”
“As you both know, to discover you have family when you haven’t experienced that in a very long time is exciting. I’m honored they’d want me to be there.”
“Not everyone has a rockstar as a godfather,” Violet said smiling. “Lucky baby.”
“I’d like to think lucky me.”
“Yeah. I think I can speak for all of us, being that we’re all only children without family, finding family you never knew about is something special,” Dylan said and Violet nodded her agreement.
“I think we all hope to connect.” Violet gave my hand a squeeze and then reached for Dylan’s and did the same with him. “We do have each other. We’re not blood, but we’re close enough.”
Dylan and I exchanged a look and grinned. I didn’t think she had thought through what she said before saying it.
“What?” She looked from me to Dylan and back again. “What’s so funny?”
After leaving her in suspense for a minute I took pity on her. “I’d hope after what the three of us experienced last night that we’re not blood.”
Her face paled. “Oh…. Oh no, that’s not what I meant.”
“I’d hope not. I’m into some freaky stuff, but even I have my limits.” Giving her a wink only added to her embarrassment.
She snatched her hands out of our grasps and crossed her arms over her chest, pinning us with a glare. “That’s not what I meant. You both know it. So let’s get back to the topic at hand. When are you leaving?”
“As soon as I can get a flight out. The baptism is in a few days, but at least you two can still enjoy the resort.”
Watching Violet’s expression I could tell she was disappointed. It upset me that I was disappointing her, but I vowed to myself I’d make it up to her when I got back. “I’ll make it up to you Violet. I’ll make it up to you both. I promise.”
