Giving Up the Ghost

by Stella Price

  Bell pouted. “So that means we don’t have time for our usual marathon.”

  Saffron pretended to look through her papers, waiting to see what Rhys would do or say. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “We don’t have time for anything I’m afraid hun. I told you before, Saff has dibs.”

  “And I’m sure she doesn’t mind sharing do you Saffron? I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Ew. Saffron looked up and gave her a sweet smile. “Sorry hun, I don’t share.” She winked at Rhys and Winter grinned. Nothing like going public. Belle looked at her with a scowl and she knew the word was going to be out on the fan sites soon that Rhys was dating… and they wouldn’t be happy. Unless she valued her spot by his side for the future. Girls that talked rarely lasted once they opened their yap.

  It seemed Bell might have lost this round, but she wasn’t forlorn enough to think that she wouldn’t be again. Her pout turned into a superior smirk and she let him go. “Shame. We could have set the bed on fire.”

  Saffron threw up in her mouth a little bit at the thought. She composed herself and scoffed. “You’re not my type.” She said with a good natured smile. She turned to Rhys and gave him a look and walked out of the green room towards the stage to finish her rounds before they went on. She didn’t make it fifty feet before she felt a tug on her hand and was pulled back into the circle of Rhys’ arms.

  “You handled that well.” He said and nipped her ear.

  “Nothing to handle. Girl has had you once, she will have you again. She knows it and I do. Code of the road. She can’t argue with a no, not and have the hope of a future encounter. That one knows the rules.”

  “Maybe, but I have no intention of hooking up with her again. There’s a few things I regret in this life, and fucking that clingy twit is one of them.”

  Changing his tune? She had to give it to him; he was trying to make what was between them more than a fling. If he wasn’t he wouldn’t be addressing any of this. She turned her head and kissed him on the cheek. “Woulda coulda shoulda. It makes no difference now. You should get back to your adoring fans…”

  “Should, but I won’t.” He turned her and walked her into one of the rooms backstage and closed the door as he pulled her to him. They kissed, hot and hungry, and she rubbed against him.

  What was it about this guy? His slightest touch turned her past 10 on the lust-o-meter and sent all her good sense on hiatus. The kisses got more feverish, and soon she was against the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist while his hand was unzipping his pants.

  “You can’t wait?” she asked as she arched and he surged forward, seating himself inside her in one thrust.

  “I could but why…it’s too good.” He kissed her again and then nipped her shoulder. “And I have been thinking about how good you feel for hours now…” he took her hard and fast and she loved it. He whispered naughty things to her, making her even hotter for him.

  “Sweet Christ your soaking baby. Maybe I should get to my knees and finish this off the right way, I do love those hands gripping my hair while you come for me.”

  Saffron moaned and then whimpered. Gods she loved his tongue playing wickedly between her thighs.

  “That’s it baby… I know it turns you on. I know your close, so come for me… that’s it come for me baby cuz it’s only a taste of the night to come.”

  Saffron shuddered and then bit his shoulder as she groaned out her passion. He kept talking telling her exactly how amazing it felt, and how he wanted her on her knees. She couldn’t agree more.

  As the shudders subsided he pulled out and she slipped to her knees and took him into her mouth, eager to finish him off. It didn’t take long, and he praised her for her talented tongue.

  “Sweet Christ Saffron.” He said through gritted teeth as he came for her. Saffron looked up at him and grinned, and licked her lips. She got to her feet and batted her eyes at him. “Better? Think you can control yourself now? You do have a job to do.” She chided.

  Rhys pulled her closer and kissed her. “You think you can?”

  “Hey I wasn’t the one that just rocked the anytime anyplace…”

  Rhys scoffed. “You were a willing participant.”

  She couldn’t deny it. “Granted. Now get cleaned up. They are bound to come looking and it wouldn’t do for them to figure it out.”

  Rhys smirked. “Oh that would be a shame…”

  Saffron punched him in the arm. “Rhys all that’s going to do is get them mad.”

  Rhys shook a finger at her. “Nah, makes them more determined to steal me away… not that they can.” He kissed her again. “You going to watch the set?”

  “Do I have a choice?” she asked and righted her skirt.

  “Cher, there is always a choice. But I know you can’t resist me.”

  “I think that might be the other way around.”

  He shrugged. “Tomato, toe-mah-toe love.”

  He walked out of the room then, leaving her with a chuckle as she relearned to walk. He was bad for her, but it really didn’t matter. She was stuck with him, at least till the end of the tour. Then, who knew where it would go.

  ***

  Saffron thought for the tenth time in the past hour that Rhys’ voice should be illegal. Panty scorching didn’t even cover it. She watched from the side of the stage, as powerless as the other women in the crowd and at the other side of the stage, to do anything but listen and shiver. He was really laying it on thick tonight, she knew and she figured she could be the reason for his stellar performance.

  “It’s nice to know you work alone…” he rasped into the microphone and once again, Saffron got chills. Lord, was he a showman. Women screamed, watched him from the crowd below as he went to his knees and growled down at them. Hoping to catch his eye they licked their lips, hoisted themselves up on the barricade and stuck their chests out, winked and smiled. Rhys played it off for a few minutes then turned and looked over to her, winked and then went towards Winter as the breakdown of the song hit, and the entire middle of the floor broke out into a dance pit, the guys and some of the more hardcore girls in the audience showing their style through some pretty violent dancing.

  Saffron always marveled at how crazy it could get; yet actual contact with other people when someone was showing off was minimal. No, if you knew your shit, like the kids in New York did, and it seemed some of the kids here, you were responsible in your moves and the others respected you for it.

  The song ended soon after and the lights went down as the music completely died, sending the crowd and the groupies on the other side of the stage into raucous applause. Saffron rolled her shoulders and then leaned against one of the columns keeping the ceiling up and checked her watch. Another three songs and they would be completely done, and she would have to deal with some serious shit.

  Winter had reported to the rest of the band that Rhys and Saffron were an item, either that or they all just figured it out because After that little display in the green room they were all smirking at her and treating her with a more chummy attitude.

  Gone was the slight invisible wall that was up between band and manager, however thin it was. Where Nyx and Rhys were both friendly and made her feel at home before, now, everyone was taking an interest in talking to her. It felt good to not feel like a total outsider. But she knew it was going to come back and bite her.

  Like Xxieda finding out sooner or later, and then the fun would be over. Could she keep something going with Rhys if she wasn’t working with him and with him on the road? Probably not. She wanted him, loved what he did for her physically but didn’t trust him as far as she could spit. It wasn’t a flaw in his character, or hers, it was just the way the world of touring bands worked. Any girl that thought that their guy was faithful while on the road was fooling herself. Too many adoring fans, too many opportunities for something awesome.

  She agreed with it, which made her a bit on the different side when it came to being a girl, as her jealousl
y factor was all but nonexistent. But just because she was okay with it didn’t mean she was going to put herself in the position to get her heart trampled and smashed.

  If shit went south, and she wasn’t able to do this with him… she wasn’t going to do him anymore, which would be one hell of a loss to her libido, and if she was honest to her whole self. She liked Rhys, liked the guy he was, all his quirks, warts and all. Had she found him in mainstream society, and things were different, she would hold on and not let go. As it was though, guys that lived the lifestyle rarely gave it up until it made one hell of an impact on them, usually death of some sort, be it of the band, music, or person. Well he had lived through the latter, and was still rocking through so it was a safe bet he wasn’t going to give it up for anything. Dreams of fame and fortune were close to being more then dreams, and damn her if she ever was going to be the one to stand in the way of that.

  The crowd went wild, pulling her from her internal musings to see that the set was over and the band was walking off stage. She smiled as Rhys, sweaty and smiling walked up to her. She spied over her shoulder his contingent of admirers that were camped out on the other side of the stage, the looks on their faces anything but friendly.

  “Well?” he asked as he got closer and opened his arms.

  She threw a towel at him and smirked. “I’m still trying to figure out how the hell you sweat so much up there.”

  “I have no idea. For a long time I thought it was the booze but I think it’s safe to say I was wrong. I haven’t been getting shitfaced nightly.”

  She nodded and then arched a brow. “Your fan club looks like they want to light me on fire.”

  Rhys laughed. “Nothing you can’t handle. So? Fancy a shower?” he waggled his eyebrows.

  “I should say you need one.”

  “I’m not going alone. I need someone to wash my back.”

  Saffron scoffed. “And you’re adoring fans?”

  Rhys looked over his shoulder and then back and sighed. “They aren’t invited. You’re going to make me go play nice aren’t you?”

  She laughed. “Hey I’m not the one Johnny apple seeding around the country. You messed up that bed yourself before you met me, and don’t forget, they are the reason you’re out here in the first place.”

  Rhys pouted and then nodded. “But they aren’t as fun as you…”

  Saffron smirked and moved closer. She doubted that, knowing full well that those girls were a rare breed of female that lived to shock men. Fun? Right. She couldn’t compete there, but she knew she didn’t have to. “Then go play nice for about fifteen minutes, and then meet me in my room, I’ll be the one in that divine shower purring under the spray of five showerheads.”

  Rhys groaned and shook his head. “Fifteen Minutes? I can do fifteen.”

  Saffron nodded and turned to leave and was stopped as Rhys grabbed her hand and spun her around. He pulled her close to him, plastering herself against his soaking wet chest and kissed her soundly, rolling his hips into hers, making her gasp.

  “Good. Keep it warm for me Cher… I won’t be long.”

  Chapter 12

  I want to know what you’re thinking. There are some things you can’t hide. – Information Society

  “I know I sound like a teacher when I say this but does everyone have all their crap? Can we bounce?” Saffron asked as Tosh and Chandler both slinked onto the bus, fifteen minutes late. Chandler she could see, he had his own personal groupies show last night, but Tosh…

  She looked over to Nyx, who seemed unconcerned and shrugged it off. If the woman he was sticking it to on the regular wasn’t pissed off he was taking a walk of shame, well she wasn’t going to bother with it either.

  Rhys was sitting in one of the side cubbies, a notebook in his lap, and a pen in hand as he scribbled away. She smiled at him and caught his eye, and he winked at her.

  “Well I’ll take that silence as a yes.” She said in a droll tone and nodded to Clancy, their drive who put the bus into gear and Saffron sat at the seat closest to her, about half the length from Rhys.

  “So? Anything important? I don’t know about anyone else but I could use the sleep.” Chandler said with a lazy smile.

  Saffron shook her head. “Two days on the road till Nola and home sweet home for you guys. We will stop in Texas so Clancy can get some sleep, Us too I guess, and then back on the road.”

  Rhys, Winter and Tosh all nodded. Chandler stretched and yawned. “Beauty. Wake me up when we stop for eats.”

  He left them all, climbing up into his bunk and closed his partition. Winter laughed and shook his head.

  “Christ he’s a lightweight.”

  “Lightweight? Wint he had six girls in that room with him last night,” Nyx said without looking up from her magazine.

  “So did I you don’t see me all in need of sleep and fluids.”

  “That’s because that’s you every stop on the tour.”

  Saffron shook he head as Winter sat with Tosh on one side of the bus and pulled out the controllers and turned on the Xbox, queuing up some team play shooter and slipped headsets on. They would be outta it for at least as long as it took to complete the mission they were on.

  Rhys crooked his finger at her and she went over to him and he put the notebook down and pulled her into his lap, snuggling her close. He had been extremely affectionate since he got back to the room last night. They had made love in the shower, her sitting on the sink in the bathroom, the bed, the large overstuffed chair and the couch in her room, and she was surprised she could still walk. The man was insatiable, not that she minded.

  “So now that this is out in the open, Welcome to the crew Saffron.” Nyx said as she finally looked up from her reading to give them both a smile. “Happiness looks good on both of you, especially you Rhys. I haven’t seen you that light since… well.” She waved away the end of her thought. They all knew what she was going to say and it was probably better it wasn’t vocalized.

  “Couldn’t have picked better man, Saff is top notch, and she works her ass off.” Winter said and then stuck his tongue out as he moved with his gamer self and then growled as he got shot.

  “And don’t worry about Xxieda either,” Tosh offered “We won’t say shit. You’re too cool to get fired.”

  “So it’s common knowledge that she would fire me?” she asked as she laced her fingers with Rhys’.

  “Rhys is a liability,” Winter offered and Rhys frowned. “No offense man but in the last year and a half you have gone through how many support staff?”

  “Wow, and now I sound like a big old whore.” He grumbled.

  Saffron laughed. “Please I know how it is, and I’m not stupid enough to think I’m the only one that ever worked with you to grace your bed. Truth? I don’t care and I don’t hold grudges.”

  Rhys smiled at her. “You aren’t the first but I could be damn happy having you be the last.”

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at them. Saffron, now uncomfortable from the scrutiny, pulled her hand away and frowned.

  “What?” Rhys asked with a self satisfied grin.

  Winter gave him a careful look. “You’re talking the big R then?”

  Rhys shrugged. “Why the hell not? Saff is perfect.” He said and grabbed her hand and kissed it.

  Winter looked at him long and hard and then smiled and shrugged. “Welcome to the family then Saff.” He winked and went back to his game.

  With that acceptance, everything settled down. They occupied the miles with snacks, video games, books and a movie, some craptastic B movie from the early 90’s that Tosh had been dying to see. There was a lot of yelling and popcorn, and Nyx and Saffron had started a new game of “Don’t…”

  “If you have some crazy knife wielding murderer chasing you, don’t run up the stairs…”

  “Christ! If your friends are missing and you have the car keys, don’t wait for them, get your crazy ass outta there!”

  It felt good to be accep
ted, and to be close to Rhys. She enjoyed the cuddle time, especially since they didn’t have to hide it. She loved the way he held her, like she was a cherished thing, loved the way he smelled.

  Dinner had gone well. They had stopped in Texas, letting Clancy take his much needed rest and all checked into the same hotel. They ate at the hotel’s restaurant, a steak house with a microbrewery attached to it. They ate, drank and ate some more, regaling each other with stories from the road. The band was really interested in some of the shit Saffron had gotten into with her pervious tours, and Saffron laughed at every story they had, especially the one that Rhys told about when they were trying to get Xxieda to sign them.

  “So there we were at Winter’s parents house trying to figure out how the hell to get her attention. We knew she was interested, I mean she had flown down to see us play at some shitty dive in Metairie,” Rhys said and took a sip of his beer. “So Winter’s crazy uncle Cletus…”

  “Hold on, you have a relation named Cletus?” Saffron asked as she tried not to choke on her beer.

  Winter shrugged. “My mother named twins Winter and Phaedra. You tell me where the sanity is in the Tulane household.”

  “Anyway, So Cletus says we need to make one hell of an impression, and suggests we send a stripper.”

  “But the normal kinda stripper wasn’t going to fly, I mean X doesn’t dig chicks.” Chandler said and then ordered another round for the table.

  “So Rhys decided to send a guy to the offices… But he didn’t call the right agency…”

  Saffron grinned. “So what happened?

  Rhys watched her with mischief shining in his eyes. “They sent a 300 pound stripper with a flogger over to the headquarters, and get this, as they get there, X had her dad and ma at the place showing them about. So the stripper gets into it, thinks they are there for X’s Dad and decides he’s going to flog the bastard.”

  Saffron erupted into peals of laughter.

  “So amidst the chaos of a 300 pound half dressed stripper running after her father around the third floor of the building, Xxieda finds the note she was supposed to get from the stripper from us telling her not to forget us. She called Rhys then and told him she would sign us on the spot, and to call off the stripper, her father was whipping up one hell of a spell to take the guy out.”