The Bass

by Moira Callahan

  The night before Victorious was to leave town, Shade waited down in the parking area. Cat was coming over to allow them to spend the night together. She’d arranged with her boss to go in late tomorrow giving them all the time they could manage before the flight out. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Digging it out, he saw it was a text from the guard shack letting him know she was on her way up.

  Anticipation hummed through his veins while he made his way to the spot she always took. Smiling when he saw her, he waited until she’d parked her car. He pulled her door open, and wrapped her up in his arms the minute she was outside the vehicle. Pressing his face into her neck, Shade soaked up her warmth.

  Cat’s arms came around his shoulders, and one hand burrowed into his hair. “I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow.”

  “I know, kitten.” He hated the idea he’d be leaving her behind. Giving her a squeeze, he brushed a kiss to her lips. “Let’s go to the house. We’re doing dinner with the gang, but the night is ours.”

  Taking her overnight bag once she pulled it from the car, Shade laced their fingers together for the short walk. He found he needed to keep in contact with her. The clock was ticking, and he didn’t plan to waste any time they had.

  Once they reached his place, he put her bag by the stairs and tugged her with him to the greenery room. Settling down in the large armchair, Shade pulled her into his lap. “How was work today?” he asked softly.

  “Good, pretty relaxed actually,” she told him. Wiggling in closer, she pressed a kiss to his throat. “We had a light day today, mostly housekeeping. It’s early still, but whenever we have a moment we like to update everything. That way when tax season rolls around we’re not all running around like chickens without heads. It was nice to do something a little less stressful than normal.”

  “Simon’s still okay with you going in late tomorrow?”

  She nodded with a smile he could feel on his skin. “He’s good with it. I think he’s getting a kick out of the fact that I know you all. Will you autograph something for me to give to him?”

  Shade snorted at that, and squeezed her closer. “You don’t have to ask, kitten. I’ll dig something out to take with us over to dinner. The guy’s will have some fun with this.”

  “Is he still trying to buy the land?”

  “Not recently, he hasn’t. If he did I’d sic you on him for daring it. You’d go in and smack him for me, right?”

  “You know I would.” Shifting in his lap, she pressed a hand to his cheek, and drew him in for a kiss. “I’d kick his ass for you, babe.”

  Shade couldn’t help the smile against her lips. “My feisty little kitten.” Sliding his hand into her hair, he took control. She met him straight on, her tongue sliding over, tangling with, and dancing with his. Her low, needy moan had him changing the angle to deepen the kiss further. Had him demanding more from her until she wiggled around to straddle his lap.

  Soon she was rocking against his aching cock, her hands up under his shirt, lightly scraping her short nails to his skin. Breaking the kiss to suck in a breath, Shade pressed more kisses down her throat. He had her shivering in need when he flicked out his tongue to stroke the hollow of her throat.

  “Shade, how long until dinner?”

  Her question pulled his mind back to the present, and made him shoot a look to his watch. “If we’re quick we can both have what we want, grab a shower, and make it there with time to spare.”

  His answer was apparently what she wanted to hear. She slid off his lap, and began to strip down. Shade could only watch for a minute, letting his gaze coast over all the skin she’d bared for his pleasure. Only when she dropped her bra did he jump to his feet to shed his own clothing, collecting the condom from his pocket. He’d taken to carrying at least one, usually two, around with him at all times.

  Rolling the condom on, he sat back in the chair. Cat climbed onto his lap again, and leaned in to kiss him. Cupping her ass, Shade drew her in tighter, kissing her the entire time. She rubbed her pussy to his cock in a manner designed to push him to the edge. Not that she seemed to be having better luck. By the color rising up her chest, he was sure she was on the edge herself.

  He wasn’t about to have that happen. Lifting her enough to get his cock in place he bit her lip. “Grab my cock and guide me in,” he demanded.

  Shade should have known better than to have her put her hands on him. Cat wrapped her slim fingers around his cock. Then the little witch tapped her fingertips up the length, back down, and grabbed on to squeeze. All he could do was hold her ass tighter, and let out a strangled sound.

  She gave a laugh, another squeeze, and then pressed his cock head to her pussy. Cat rubbed him up and down her wet folds. Finally she pressed him to her opening, and slid down an inch. All she could manage with his death grip on her ass. He knew he had to be leaving finger-sized bruises on her, but he couldn’t quite dredge up the inner strength to loosen his grip. His brain’s primitive side liked the plan to mark her up a little too much.

  He let out a string of curses when she pressed down against his hold to take his cock in deeper. Halfway down, Shade lost it, and yanked her down while lifting his hips to push his cock in fully. They both let out sounds filled with need and want. Wrestling for control, Shade pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “Cat?” Her name was all he could get out.

  “More. Now.”

  She wrapped a hand around his neck, her nails biting into his flesh. She used her other hand to scrape down his chest, leaving a burning path. With a growl, Shade lifted her up. Then he began to fuck her hard and fast.

  Cat was right there with him. Moving up and down his cock. She made the little needy sounds that drove him crazy each time he bottomed out inside her. Throwing her head back, she began to circle her hips slightly.

  Shade peeled a hand off her ass to press flat to her lower belly. He worked his thumb between her folds to find the swollen nub hidden there. Flicking his calloused thumb to the tender flesh caused Cat’s inner muscles to clamp around him hard. The inarticulate sound she let loose pushed him to new levels.

  Sinking deeper into the sensations, he let them guide him and allowed everything else go. No thoughts, no worries, only the feelings right there and then. Her pussy gripped at his cock tighter like a vise, and her nails dug even deeper into his back to pull him closer.

  When she shattered, he followed her into the abyss. Her name tore from his throat on a bellow that might have rattled all the windows. Not that he could tell given the buzzing in his ears. His vision wavered for a moment. It had been the hardest orgasm he’d ever experienced.

  Shade caught Cat to him, pulling her in tight to his chest when she would have fallen backward. Burying his face in her throat, he wrapped her up tight. Her pussy continued to clench rhythmically around his cock through the cool down from the mind-blowing orgasms they’d shared.

  Gently, he stroked his fingertips up and down her spine, eliciting the occasional shiver from her. When he had the energy to do more than fight for air, Shade eased her head back to run his gaze over her face. “You okay?” he asked. He hadn’t been anywhere close to gentle with her. Cat was quite tiny in comparison to him and he worried about hurting her when he lost control. She seemed to like it, but this today had been a whole new level for them both.

  She hummed out a sound, her lips curling up into a beautiful smile. “If I didn’t feel like I needed a nap, I’d say again. But I know we have to go to dinner. With that in mind may I make a reservation for another round like that later?”

  The laughter that popped out surprised him, but he couldn’t help to nod. “You most definitely may, kitten. Anything my girl wants my girl can have.”

  She snuggled closer and pressed a kiss to his throat. “Good, I’ll take another serving later then.”

  Unable to resist, he hugged her closer and pressed an open mouth kiss to her neck. He held her tight for a couple more minutes. When their bodies began to cool, he helped her off his lap. Removi
ng the condom, he grabbed up his clothing and then followed her up the stairs. He snagged her bag before jogging up on her heels.

  In the shower Shade wrapped her up close in his arms. The need to hold her close and never let go was riding him hard. He didn’t want to leave her behind. Yes, she would be with him soon enough, but all those days in between were days he wouldn’t or couldn’t see her.

  She rubbed a hand to his arm, and leaned her head back to brush a kiss to his jaw. “I know, babe. I know.”

  Closing his eyes, he figured she did. His kitten was one smart and intuitive woman. Somethings didn’t need words. Like the fact he was already missing her, and they hadn’t actually separated yet.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Her cell phone rang right on schedule the next morning. Smiling, Cat picked it up without looking at the screen. No one else was idiotic enough to call her that early. Only Shade had the right to break her morning routine.

  “Hey babe, how’d it go?” she asked.

  “Fucking amazing,” he said. Soft voices sounded over the line. Given the time, she figured he was either in the dressing room backstage, or more likely on his way back to the London hotel the band was staying in. Victorious was scheduled for four shows in London before moving on to their next stop. They’d done three with one more the following night.

  “The crowds are good?”

  “Hell yeah. They are fucking wild. Not exactly anything new, but I have to admit it’s a totally different feeling when it’s an international crowd. I can’t explain it. You’ll see what I mean when you meet up with us. What time is it there, kitten?”

  “Ten to nine,” she told him. Normally he tried to catch her before she got to the office, but it didn’t always work out. Sometimes those with backstage passes held them up longer than planned. Simon was being good about the calls. He understood having to deal with separations during a relationship. He, and his wife had gone through something similar when he’d first started out and the woman had still been going to medical school. His understanding was making the pros and cons list she had for taking Simon’s job offer harder to get a definite thought on.

  “Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was. The boss isn’t going to give you grief about this is he?”

  Leaning back in her chair, Cat felt her lips curl up. “No, he’s out for the day at meetings with his advisor, and then has a luncheon with the accountant. He won’t be back for hours yet.”

  “Thank God,” he muttered. The line muffled for a moment before he was back. “Sorry about that, Mark wanted to know what I was ordering from room service.”

  “How’s the food over there?”

  She could almost picture his nose wrinkling up. Shade was a foodie, much like the other guys to different degrees. They all had different thoughts on the cuisine they got during the international trips, most was good, but not all. “Not too bad. They’re treating us like royalty over here.” His laugh made her toes curl in her shoes. “We were out the other day on the way to one of the interviews Christine lined up, and had ourselves our first official Royal sighting. It was pretty fucking cool. All the years we’ve come here it was a neat first for us.”

  “Oh, who’d you see?” she asked, curious now.

  “Jeremy is ninety percent sure it was the Queen. I’m with him on it, and Chase, too. Mark and Lance aren’t quite there. We’re hoping at least one crappy photo we took will bring them over to our side on this.”

  Cat laughed at his words, shaking her head. “I’m sure you can get them to see the light, babe.” Waving in the co-worker who stuck her head around the door, Cat tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear while she signed some papers. “Is everything else going well? No more glitches I hope.”

  They’d had a small technical issue during their first sound check that had pushed the show back a half hour. Not something Victorious was known to have happen, but not exactly unusual in the business. They’d gotten things moving, and made it up to the fans by playing longer than originally scheduled.

  “Nope, we’re smooth as silk. We have plans to do all our sound checks earlier before the first shows whenever we have to have the gear moved from now on. Tommy thinks it might be the difference in power sources that caused the first issue, but he’s not completely convinced. Since he’s a worrier we’re more than happy to go with whatever our resident genius tells us to do.”

  Tommy was the man in charge. He ran the roadies, got everything in place, and ensured all the equipment got from point A to B on time, plus ensuring it was always in tip-top shape. Tommy was quite the character from the stories the band shared. Cat couldn’t wait to meet the man in the flesh.

  “Hopefully it’s nothing else,” she said. Passing the papers back she smiled at the young woman who took them and left her office. “It does make some sense, though. The Europeans have a different system than we do here in America.”

  “True, but we have parts specifically for that. It’s not like it’s our first overseas trip. Tommy’s worried that it’s a sign or something like that. Not exactly what we want to hear from him.”

  Cat winced. “No, I can imagine not. Has he pulled out the kit yet?” From what Shade had told Cateline about Tommy, he had what one would call ‘mystics’ in his ancestral tree. Folks who believed in things beyond what they could see, hear, or touch. Born in the bayou, the man had grown up with voodoo priestesses, and other mystics in his everyday life. While Cat didn’t subscribe to such thought she knew that Tommy did. If he believed in something hinky in nature messing with the band, and his kit could or did help, she was fully on board with him doing whatever was necessary.

  “Not yet, but he’s got it close by at all times. Well, the food’s here now, kitten. Which means I’m going to let you get back to work. I need to get some sleep before we get up for the show tonight. I will talk to you before we go on. Be good, kitten.”

  “You be good, rock star,” she teased. “Sleep well, and keep me in your dreams.”

  “Always, kitten.” He made some kissy noises into the phone that had her laughing before hanging up.

  Setting her phone aside she rested her head back on the chair for a moment. The ache in her chest swelled for a moment. She loved talking to him, and hearing his voice, but each time they hung up, the ache got worse. Cat worried how she was going to survive the next weeks before seeing him again. What had her scared to her core was the fact she’d have to leave him again when their time was up.

  Cat rubbed at the ache in her chest and forced herself to get back on task. While Simon wasn’t in the office it didn’t mean the work stopped. If she was lucky she’d have something to keep her mind off Shade for the rest of the day.

  ****

  For the next week her life was a hectic mess. Simon had projects going full steam ahead that needed constant babysitting. Which meant he was in the office less than he normally was and left Cat to deal with everything that cropped up internally. Lori was a huge help. The woman put in some extra hours where she could to give Cat the time to talk to Shade before each show.

  The time difference was a pain, but they were making it work. She was damn happy when the weekend rolled around. Friday was a late night for her. She’d had her regular workload, plus some contracts requiring updating prior to the office shutting down for Christmas. And then there had been several special contracts Simon had needed couriered out before the day’s end. To say she hadn’t been bored throughout the day was an understatement.

  So when she got home all she wanted was a long, hot shower. With that happy thought firmly in place, Cat stripped down on her way to her bedroom. She could practically feel the pricy, but completely justified showerhead’s massaging quality working its magic already. Nowhere near what Shade’s fingers could accomplish, but it would do in the interim.

  Twenty minutes later she had some take-out on order, her fuzzy pajamas on, and was comfortably slouched before the TV. Flipping through channels she happened across an interview Victorious had done.r />
  Smiling happily at her find, Cat settled in to listen. The interviewer asked the obvious questions like why the band was finally breaking its silence with the media. Jeremy handled it easily, and soon the questions moved on to the new album coming out. All the men spoke about the various songs.

  Then the questions turned personal. Lance was first in the spotlight for that one. He actually cracked a smile for the camera while talking about Jennifer. When he laughingly admitted to having had a crush on the woman prior to ever meeting her, Cat laughed softly. The man was blushing. Which led to the band members doing a little good natured razzing on camera.

  The interviewer congratulated him before turning to Shade. His question had Cat sitting up straight in shock. “I’ve heard some congratulations are in order for your bassist, too. Are we correct that you too have been seeing someone recently?”

  She didn’t have to look away from Shade’s face to know the other members had all tensed. Each man was instinctively private, and would protect one another’s privacy to their grave. It was pretty much the reason Victorious had always shied from the media. While they loved to share their music with the world, they’d never quite accepted the need the world seemed to have to delve into their everyday lives too.

  Shade nodded slowly. “I am seeing someone.”

  The interviewer didn’t seem to be getting the signal that Shade wasn’t ready to talk more on the subject, and kept poking. “We’ve heard through sources that you met her on this tour. And that perhaps some wedding bells are in your future.”

  Cat knew Shade well enough to see the anger flicker in his light brown eyes though not a trace showed on his face. His smile was still a little cocky, and he gave a shrug. “Not sure where you’re getting that from, but you are wrong. My girl is not with me on the tour. While I wish she was, every single day, life doesn’t always go according to plan.” He looked directly at the camera and gave a wink.

  Clutching the pillow she’d been holding tighter to her chest Cat let out a sigh. God she loved that man. She fell back against the sofa cushions when the interviewer finally took the hint Shade’s love life wasn’t up for discussion. Shaking her head she smiled, and then sat upright.