And maybe she’d begun to wonder that too after Tampa.
“Hey, Earth to Beth?”
Justice’s amused voice pulled her back. She set her phone down. “Every dish is a work of art. I want to remember this.” She picked up her fork, scooping up a bite of duck, cherries, almonds and a juice somehow related to hibiscus. She tasted it. Delicious. So tender and the flavor… A slow moan slid out.
“Good?” Justice leaned close. They were side by side at the bar in L’Atelier De Joël Robuchon, experiencing the tasting menu. Dish after amazing dish was presented with flair.
She dipped her fork in and shared a bite with him.
“Damn.” He took a sip of his wine, then held it out to her. “Want to try it? Your doctor said it’s fine to indulge in a few sips here and there.”
She eyed the glass for a second, the ruby liquid matching the dark and indulgent red-and-black interior of the famous restaurant. Accepting the glass, she took a small sip, allowing the wine to settle on her tongue.
Then she scrunched her nose. “Not a fan.”
He laughed a deep chuckle.
The baby kicked. She captured his hand and pressed his palm to the side of her belly. “Do it again. Talk. Laugh.”
“On command? Demanding, aren’t—?”
The baby kicked again.
The glitter of amusement in his eyes softened to almost boyish wonder. “I felt it this time. That’s our girl?”
“You sing to her every night. Even when you were gone, you talked to her or sang over the phone or Skype. She knows her dad’s voice. And she likes it when you laugh. I swear she wiggles.”
Leaning forward, he kissed Liza, his mouth more sweet than sensual. “She’s going to be strong. You’re not quite seven months. She’s like, what, maybe two pounds?”
A surprised gasp huffed out of her. “You know how big she is.”
“The doctor’s office is covered in those charts on the baby’s size. It was either that or stare at graphic pictures of delivery. I memorized the baby size charts.” He stroked her stomach.
The baby shifted again. “She’s going to be a daddy’s girl.” Her heart melted at the thought of seeing Justice holding their daughter. She’d never had a dad who adored her, but this baby would.
“You’re both my girls.”
He pulled back as their next course was delivered. They sampled every dish, talking about the sights they’d seen over the last three days.
“I think my favorite was the Seine River Cruise and the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. But the stained-glass windows in Sainte-Chapelle were stunning.” Liza shook her head. “I don’t know if I captured the magnificence in pictures.” Her thoughts skipped around. “I can’t wait to show my mom. Although I can only take in a few photos at each visit.” Being pregnant had made her long for her mom, but she didn’t want to dwell on that now.
“We’ll visit her after we get home and you rest up.”
“I don’t want go home. I don’t want this to end,” Liza said.
Justice held out his fork with a bite of dessert. “We’ll come back. And we can travel to other places.”
“We’ll have the baby. Right now it’s just us.” And a piece of her wanted to hold on to this moment forever.
“She’ll come with us. I know it’ll be different, but still good. We’ll make it work.”
Pushing away her plate, she said, “This has been a magical honeymoon. It’s been nice to get away from the tension and worries.” It had been good at home for the last month too, except their worry about Noah. Justice had gone out looking for him a few nights, and Liza hated his anxiety. His guilt about what he’d said to Noah in the session haunted him. The pressures of his growing fame pulled at Justice and the band daily. They’d gone back to writing songs for a new album, but that wasn’t going well, fraying their tempers.
Justice’s relationship with Christine had soured to the point he’d told Liza not to answer or talk to the business manager if she called Liza’s phone. When she tried to find out more, he deflected, usually changing the subject to their Paris trip, the baby or her book. And you let him, a voice in her head reminded her. She just didn’t want to rock the boat. Liza still hadn’t quite gotten over the way things had gone when he was on tour. That distance and growing feeling that she was second to his career, band and fans.
And why was she dwelling on this now?
“Have you thought of more names?” Justice asked.
She lifted her gaze to his, and even in the darkened atmosphere of L’Atelier, she caught the flicker of unease in his gaze and the slight clamping of his jaw. What was it? Maybe he’d be more willing to talk now? “Justice, you can tell me if something’s bothering you.”
The sounds of the bustling restaurant filled his pause. After a few seconds, he said, “I’m getting a little anxious about the show, that’s all. It’s going to be televised worldwide. We have the endorsements, and some of the footage will be in a commercial for the shoe company.” He smiled, shaking his head. “We’ll deal with that tomorrow when the preshow stuff begins. Tonight is you and me.” He settled his hand on her stomach. “And our girl. So names. I was thinking, my grandmother’s middle name was Rose.”
“Rose,” she repeated. They had a long list of names, but Liza already had her favorite. “It’s pretty, but I still love Savanna. How about Savanna Rose Cade?”
His lips curved, and his eyes warmed. “I like it. Let’s move that one to the top of the list.”
That smile woke up the pregnancy-enhanced sex drive. She threaded their fingers together. “I’m ready to go back to our room.”
His grin widened. “Still haven’t had enough, huh?” He leaned close, his mouth brushing her cheek to her ear. “Sex-starved hormones?”
A shiver went through her. Around Justice, she’d always had a big sexual appetite. But since he’d come home, it’d grown to something that bordered on desperate greed. She’d be embarrassed if Justice didn’t seem to love it so much. She turned her head, bringing her eye to eye with her husband. All the noise of the chef calling out orders, dishes clinking, food searing and people chatting faded to the background.
“You have one job, rock star.” This had been their motto for their trip.
“Keeping my perpetually aroused wife satisfied.”
“Bingo.”
His gaze slid to her mouth.
That made her squirm on her seat. Going down on him had become an obsession too. She just wanted him.
“Let’s go back to our room.” He stood, helping her from the stool, and they walked hand in hand.
It was a beautiful night in Paris, and Liza tried to soak it all in, right down to the feel of the man next to her. The long months when he’d been on tour had tested them, but they came out on this side of it stronger and more in love.
This trip was cementing their bond. By the time they went home, they’d be ready to start seriously planning for the arrival of their daughter and life as married lovers and parents.
* * *
The tour of the AccorHotels Arena left Justice awed. He’d watched the World Rock Stage show for years and dreamed of the moment he’d step out on that stage. Here he was in their private luxury box that was to be the Savaged Illusions loge on the night of the show. He looked through the massive viewing window down on the stage that had hosted world-famous singers.
It had been reconfigured to World Rock Stage specifications so the audience would surround the performers on three sides. An enormous screen would be behind them, magnifying their images so everyone in the arena would have a view. Their S.I. logo would be beamed on the stage floor and the ceiling.
“Scared?” River asked.
Was he? His nerves hummed. Tomorrow before they went on, he’d be wired to the hilt. At this second, it was an internal pressure building. Like a racehorse pawing the ground at the start gate. Or the revving of a car engine, waiting for the flag. “I want to get out there with every damned seat filled, those cameras o
n us, showing the whole world we’re Savaged Illusions and we’ve made it.” This was what success felt like—and it was damned good.
River gazed out. With his hair up in the man-bun thing that made Lynx scissor-happy, his jaw was bared and tight. “The kid no one knew. You’ll fucking know me now.”
The dark tone rivaled the low throb of his bass. This wasn’t a side River showed often. The deep and silent fury that lived in him came out with his bass in his hands or when he sparred. Otherwise, he showed the world the charming, happy playboy.
But Justice knew. River wasn’t even the name he was born with. No one had ever found his identity or where he came from. When River said, “The kid no one knew,” he meant it literally.
Justice shoulder bumped him. “You’re in the spotlight for a piece of ‘Expired Hero.’ Everyone will know you.”
River didn’t respond, and Justice didn’t expect it. All of them had their moment of glory because they’d earned it. It meant something different to each of them.
“Hey.” Beth came into the suite, her voice bubbling in that single syllable.
He turned, smiling. She spilled in with three other women, all looking radiant. Two wives and a girlfriend of one of World Rock Stage owners had found out they were sharing the same designer as Beth. They’d reached out to her and planned some events together. Today had been lunch and final fitting for the clothes they were wearing to the show tomorrow.
Beth had been wide-eyed with nerves this morning when the car came to pick her up. Justice walked her down to keep her from bolting, teasing her the whole way that she better get used to the life of rock royalty. Hobnobbing with stars and having designers falling all over themselves for the chance to get her to wear their clothes. And look at her now, she was glowing. The life agreed with her.
“We just toured the place. Oh my God, Justice, this arena is dazzling.”
He kissed Beth, said hello to the other women and introduced River. Simon, Gray and Lynx picked that moment to spill in, and the chatter ratcheted up.
Justice tugged Beth aside. “How’d it go?”
“We had so much fun! My outfit is so rock-chick cool. I mean…” She glanced down. “Well, I’m pregnant and not…” She waved her hand at the other tall and thin girls.
He tugged her chin up. “Don’t gloat, baby. Not everyone can be as beautiful as you.”
Her smile burned brighter than the spotlights on the stage. “Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. Anyway, it’s so surreal. I can’t believe they’re giving me a dress and shoes and…” She shrugged.
He loved to see her reaping the benefits of his success.
“Tomorrow, I’m going to their room. They have a whole spa thing set up, hair, makeup and nails. And get this, their nail technician can do your logo on my nails. I love that! Oh, and a catered lunch, and champagne that I can’t have, but they’ll have sparking water or juice for me. And chocolate. I’m going to take a million pictures.”
And he’d been worried about what Beth would do while he was working.
Finally pausing to take a breath, she said, “I forgot to ask. How’d practice go?”
Fighting a laugh, he pulled her against him, feeling her growing belly. “Know what I think?”
“What?”
“You’re getting spoiled and forgetting who’s the star of this family.”
“Huh, I was wondering when your ego would show up, Rooster.”
Wrapping an arm around her, he led her to the floor-to-ceiling viewing glass. “Look at this. Isn’t it incredible?” He gestured to the thousands and thousands of seats curving around the stage.
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re going to be amazing, and I’m going to be right here watching you.”
He looked down at his wife, and a deep, fierce love gripped his throat. There had been nights on the road when a hot body and his restless dick briefly tempted him. But he’d resisted, and this was why. Sex was easy, but this? The love and sharing with Beth?
Priceless.
It was Beth that anchored and gave him a reason to keep it all in perspective. Her and their kid.
* * *
Justice nodded as the reps kept chatting and slugging back the champagne. He knew the importance of schmoozing with VIPs, but damn, all he wanted to do was get out there on the stage and perform. His gaze shifted to the glass overlooking the venue.
The seats were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Energy revved up his system, creating a familiar buzz in his ears. The only downside to the night—their business manager was here. She’d arrived yesterday for the cocktail parties.
Christine’s voice droned on and on as she talked and complimented and sucked up so hard, she could have a second career as a vacuum cleaner. Justice refused to allow his manipulative bitch of a manager to ruin his night. They’d all known she’d be there.
“Justice, let’s get a picture of you with Myra,” Christine said. “Be sure that your cuff shows. We want to post it on your site to show the rock jewelry collection.”
He played the part, getting a few shots with the former model turned entrepreneur who’d offered Savaged Illusions a killer endorsement deal. After that he called the other band members over to do a few group shots.
Several boring pics later, River charmed Myra into letting him sweep her up, her long, bare legs draped over his arm. The rest of them gathered around as Myra squealed with laughter.
Now they had a more unique shot as the guys held up her legs and at the same time displayed the silver and leather jewelry.
The fact that the unscripted move annoyed Christine was a bonus.
“Well that looks like fun.” Liza walked in, flanked by a security guard.
Justice let go of Myra’s legs and crossed to his wife. She’d stopped just inside the door by the champagne bar. She’d spent the late morning and early afternoon getting ready with her new friends, and come over in their limo. His breath caught at his first look at her. Beth’s hair sheeted down in a shining mahogany curtain to the curve of her back, with wisps cut around her face. Although he loved her wavy hair, this was a stunning transformation. She had on a gunmetal-gray slouch dress that emphasized her bust and baby bump. Over that, she had a thin leather jacket with the sleeves pushed up. Silver bangles clattered on her wrists. Her legs were bared down to some ankle boots that exposed her painted toes.
“Damn, you look hot.”
“Thanks, we had fun. Did you know all the wives have their own security for tonight?” She waved toward the guy hovering behind her. “He was waiting for me when I got here.”
“Yep. World Rock Stage hired them. I don’t want you going out into the auditorium though. Stay in the suites, okay?” No one had bothered her here in France, but Justice wasn’t taking any chances with her safety.
“I won’t. Besides I’m—”
“Hello, Liza,” Christine cut her off. “We’re in the middle of something here. Perhaps you’d like to sit down and rest while we continue?”
Before he could tell Christine to fuck off, Myra interrupted by touching Liza on the shoulder and saying, “I love your shoes! Where did you get them?”
Liza turned her back on Christine. “Thank you! I’m Liza, and you must be Myra.” They walked away, Liza’s security guard close to her side as she told Myra all about her designer and exclaimed over the other woman’s jewelry collection.
“And you were worried,” Simon said below his breath.
“Justice,” Christine cut in. “This isn’t the time for Liza to suddenly play rock-star wife. We—”
The door opened, and their attendant announced, “Time to head to the stage. You guys ready?”
“Hell yeah.” Going to Beth, he laid a hand on her back. “Walk with me?”
“Of course.” She turned to Myra. “I’ll be in touch, and thank you.”
“I’ll see you after the show, Myra. Enjoy,” Justice added. He high-fived the reps from their other two endorsement deals and listened t
o Christine’s reminders, as if he gave a shit what she said. Done, they headed out the door and followed the attendant.
People rushed up and down the halls with carts moving food and drinks for the different loges. Justice’s mind was on the show, mentally running through their set and trying to keep his growing nerves controlled. Squeezing Beth’s hand, he said, “Did you see the crowds in the arena?”
Her eyes shined behind her glasses. “It’s crazy. I’ve never seen so many rock fans in one place.”
They stopped at a doorway leading to the tunnel. The attendant smiled and looked at Liza. “You’ll have to say goodbye here,” she said in a heavy French accent. “Band only past this point.”
Justice nodded. Security was tight, as it should be. The only people in this section of the arena were cleared and badged. “This is it.” He bounced on his toes, the energy snapping and crackling. Hot need pushed and prodded with the urge to get out there and perform. They were going to rise from the bottom in a dramatic opening for the concert.
“When you get off that stage tonight, you’re going to be world famous,” Beth said. “A true rock star.”
That got him focused on her. “You told me you don’t even like rock stars.” She’d said that the first time they met. It’d become one of their ongoing jokes.
“I didn’t.” She shrugged carelessly. “You’re growing on me.”
He laughed and laid his hand on her belly. “That’s my girl growing inside you.” He leaned down, kissing her, his tongue just touching hers. Electric heat sizzled between them, and he broke it off, a groan sliding from his chest. “You’re making me hard.”
Her eyes flitted to his band, the attendant and the security detail.
“I don’t care if they know. Eyes on me, baby.”
A flush warmed her face, and her tongue darted out to glide over her lips, as if she wanted to capture his kiss. Her gaze slid to his.
It seared right through him. “On that stage, I belong to the world. But offstage…”
“You’re mine.”
“Always.” With a kiss to her forehead—because he didn’t trust himself with her mouth when he was this amped—Justice stepped back. Meeting the gaze of a security guard, he said, “Appreciate it if you make sure she’s safe.”
Savaged Vows: Savaged Illusions Trilogy Book 2 Page 28
