“I remember that. You were all of a sudden very interested in taking up the drums. She said you couldn’t have your guitar so you beat the shit out of Kip’s drum kit for a month.”
“I will never be a drummer.”
“No. You are the Guitar Goddess.” His face is full of pride for me.
We grow quiet for close to ten minutes. Both of our gazes are focused straight ahead, lost in our own thoughts. I swing my legs as I often do when my feet don’t touch the ground. He reaches down and gently grabs my hand, and we remain quiet for another little while. This man still holds my heart, whether he knows it or not. His gentle touches and simply holding my hand makes my heart swell.
“I’m sorry, Hen. For everything.”
“I know.”
I hear someone shouting next. “Where the fuck are you?”
It sounds like Koi. “Jagger!” His voice grows even louder. Jagger stands from the back of my SUV and rounds the car.
Koi sees him at my car. “Oh. All right.” “Hen?” he calls out.
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“All right.” He paused. “Jag, we go on in twenty-five. You ready?”
“Ready to go.”
“All right. See you inside.”
Jagger walks back around the car to me. He holds his hands out to me, and the old familiar feeling takes me over. I put my hands in his, and he stands me up.
“I know this shit doesn’t go away overnight. It doesn’t go away with one apology. Time mends all wounds, though. I don’t have the right to ask you for anything, but I would like us to at least try to get back to a place where we speak, and maybe eventually we can be friends who don’t feel awkward or angry around each other. If we have the chance to build something else one day, then we will just let it happen. Can we do that?”
“Yeah.”
He pushes my hair behind my ear and runs the pads of his fingers down my face. I close my eyes and my face leans into his hand. I miss this so much. He touches me like I’m the only woman on earth.
“Hey,” he whispers, and I open my eyes.
He stares into them and then looks at my lips.
“I love you, friend,” he says, and my eyes burn with tears.
“I love you too.” My voice cracks.
“Hey. You don’t cry any tears for me. I don’t deserve them.”
He runs the pads of his fingers down my face again, and then he leans down to put his forehead on mine. His lips are only a few inches away from mine. I can feel his breath on my mouth.
“I’m so sorry, Henley. I will regret that night for the rest of my life. You have no idea.”
I think I do.
I lick my lips because that’s what I do when Jagger is so close to me. I didn’t mean to. My body betrays me every time I’m around him. He leans in the last few inches, and his lips touch mine. They aren’t pursed in a kiss. No, his lips just simply touch mine. His lips are parted, and my own parted lips are between his. He doesn’t move for the longest time. His hands are on either side of my head. I part my lips a little more, because again, that is what happens around Jagger Carlyle. The tips of our tongues touch and he pulls back far enough to change his angle. His lips lightly touch mine again, and then our tongues briefly touch. This goes on for God knows how long. Just our lips touching and parting and the tips of our tongues touching. I have never felt so overwhelmed by love like I do right now.
“Five minutes, Jag,” Cam yells.
Jagger continues the kiss for several more moments, and then he pulls away slightly, his eyes still closed, our breaths ragged. He opens his eyes, licks his bottom lip, and lets his lips softly touch mine one more time. He pulls away slightly once more and rests his forehead on mine.
“Thank you for hearing me out,” he says.
I just nod because I can’t form words at the moment. He pulls his forehead back and brushes my hair from my face again. He looks my entire face over and kisses my forehead. He steps back a couple of steps. He closes my hatch, grabs my hand, hands me my keys, and opens the driver side door.
“Hey.” I look up into his big crystal-blue eyes, and he touches my face again. “Be careful going home, okay? Will you text me and let me know you arrive safely?”
I stare into his baby blues for a minute.
“Look.” He shrugs. “If you don’t want to text me, will you let Koi and Kip know you are safe?”
“I will text you, Jagger,” I say softly.
“Okay. I gotta go.” He leans down and kisses my forehead again.
He hesitates as he takes a few steps back, but he finally turns around and walks toward the venue. I watch him walk away. Even his backside is beautiful. When he reaches the entrance, he touches the door frame with his hand, turns, and looks back at me. I don’t drop my eyes from him. He smiles, and I smile back, and then he is gone.
I slump into my seat a quivering mess. I hope I can remember the way home.
Luckily, I do, but the drive is one big blur. I’m still lost in that kiss. I pull into the garage and close the door behind me.
Once, inside, I stare at my phone. Should I wait to text or just text him now? I don’t want to give him the wrong impression. Hell, I don’t even know what impression I have of us anymore. I know he is sorry for what happened, and I doubt my reaction again. Did I overreact?
Fuck it. I pick up my phone and text him.
Me: I’m home safely
I set my phone on the ottoman and pad to my bedroom to change into a pair of yoga pants and a tank. I return to the living room and settle in to binge watch The Vampire Diaries. I can’t help it. The Salvatore brothers are smoking hot. Not that I would know anything personal about one of them. My phone chirps.
Jagger: Good. Doors locked?
Me: Are you on stage?
Jagger: Yeah, between songs.
Me: Ok. Doors are locked.
Jagger: Sweet dreams.
Me: Play beautifully.
I send Kip and Koi a message to inform them that I made it home safely. I fall asleep during the second episode of TVD. My phone chirps and wakes me at some point. When I look at my phone I discover it is 3:30 a.m.
Jagger: You up?
Me: Yeah.
Jagger: Did I wake you?
Me: Yeah, but it’s okay. I fell asleep on the couch watching TV. I need to get up and go to bed anyways.
Jagger: Are you going out to smoke now?
Me: Are you spying on me?
Jagger: I just know you.
Me: I just lit up.
Jagger: No, I’m not stalking you. I promise. Can’t sleep.
Me: Wired from the show?
Jagger: Yeah. We’ve had two weeks off, so I’m not exhausted like I normally am.
Me: It always takes me hours to find sleep after a show, no matter how tired I am.
Jagger: I remember. Caleb wouldn’t go to sleep until the sun came up. I remember him staying up all night playing Xbox or... with a pretty lady.
Me: He was such a playboy.
Jagger: Every woman wanted to fuck him, and every man wanted to be him.
Me: He was really humble about it though. I have seen musicians treat women like shit. He was always such a charmer.
Jagger: He had major game. He could talk a nun out of her panties.
Me: Yeah, he could.
Jagger: Go back to sleep. I’m sorry I woke you.
Me: It’s okay. Sweet dreams.
Jagger: Always.
I toss and turn for an eternity, thinking of Jagger. I wish he were here holding me because I would find sleep instantly.
Chapter 24
THREE DAYS LATER, I’m awakened in typical
Kip style.
“Stick it in me. Oh yeah. Oh God, right there,” a woman demands, followed by a man grunting.
“Oh God, I want to piss on you,” the woman says and the man grunts again.
Then I can hear a steady stream of piss.
“Oh, that is beautiful,” the man says.
I finally crawl out of the bed and look at my cell. It’s 8:00 in the morning. I’m going to kill him. I was up all night writing. I make my way to the master bath, but I can’t piss because the porn is streaming through my home’s surround-sound system. Jesus Christ.
“Lick it up, big boy,” she says.
I can hear a human tongue lapping and hope it isn’t really urine he is lapping up. “That’s a good boy. Now lie back. I’m going to sit on your face, you fat fuck,” she says.
I’m sorry you have to hear this, baby Jesus. I can hear the muffled groans of the man.
“You like when I ride your fucking face, don’t you? Fuck me with your tongue.” Then I hear the sound of a slap on skin. It sounds like it hurts.
“You like it when I beat you? You are such a worthless fuck. Do I have to do this all myself? Turn over,” she screams.
When I walk into my living room, I discover it is filled with Koi, Kip, Cam, Jagger, Samantha, Jessica, Kathrine, Griffin, and Rhys. They erupt in laughter. They haven’t been up all night. I narrow my eyes on Kip. He smiles and wiggles his brows at me. Sometimes I just want to throttle him. I start toward him, and the dumbass just stands there grinning. I walk up to him and grab his hand. It is time to teach Kip a lesson about waking me up in the morning. I lead him down the hall to my bedroom and push him onto the bed. His eyes are as big as half dollars. I pull out a few scarves from my closet, and straddle Kip on the bed. His dick is hard. Men can be so predictable. I tie one hand up to the headboard, and then the other. I do this with slow precision, so he thinks I’m trying to be sexy. I’m making damn sure the little shit can’t get out of it. I stand from the bed and head to the door.
“Are you closing it so you and Daddy can have more privacy?”
He has the smuggest little smile on his face, so I turn and wink at him. Then I yell for Samantha and Jessica.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
Samantha and Jessica enter my room, anxious to see what I have done. “Uh oh,” Sam says.
“I need you to retrieve your bag of toys,” I say to Samantha.
“What bag?” She plays coy.
“The bag you keep in the back of your car for bad little girls, you fucking freak,” Jessica says. Samantha rolls her eyes and leaves to retrieve the bag.
“Sit with him and make sure he doesn’t move.” Jessica sits down with him, and rubs her hands all over his stomach to mess with his head. Both of them.
I return to the living room and turn the annoying porn off. Who pisses on people? I find some Bury Your Dead and turn it up in only my bedroom. I walk back to my room and see Jessica has discovered a feather in my bedside table. She is using that on his stomach now, and Kip looks like he is temporarily in love.
I’m finally able to pee. I return through the living room to the kitchen. I need coffee, badly. I smell coffee before I round the corner to the kitchen. Jagger holds out a cup of coffee to me, and I kiss him on the cheek. I take a swig and head to the deck to smoke a cigarette.
The guys follow, and I discover Shaun, John, and Dale lounging around, with their South African accents, beautiful smiles and soulful eyes. Shaun’s dark hair frames his attractive face and mischievous grin, while John’s handsome face holds a laid-back, welcoming smile. Dale gives me a wild-child smile with dark promises in his eyes.
I light a cigarette when Samantha walks through the French doors and sets a huge duffel bag on the table in front of me. I open it and almost have a heart attack. Jesus, I knew she was a freak, but really? Who needs this much stuff? I discover she has a small sex store in a bag. It will definitely do the trick. I put my cigarette out and turn toward the house.
“Can we watch?” Koi asks.
“Absolutely. I might need help holding him down.”
“I can’t wait,” Rhys exclaims.
We return to the bedroom, where the only sounds audible are death metal. I chose this music for a reason. When I return, Kip smiles until he sees the men following me. A look of panic crosses his face again.
I set the bag on the bed, and the guys crowd around, staying close to the walls. I open the bag and pull out a ball gag. I straddle Kip and force it over his head and into his mouth. Next, I pull out a collar and leash and put it around Kip’s neck. He really looks scared now. I lift off him and look at Jessica. She knows that look. She reaches down and unbuttons his jeans, sliding them down his legs while running her tongue across her teeth. Kip just closes his eyes. He doesn’t know whether to be afraid or excited. Then, I pull out an ankle restraint bar and bind each ankle in them. Over the death metal, I can hear the roar of laughter behind me. Next, I pick up a strap-on and throw it at Jessica. She puts it on. Bless her. Kip’s eyes are about to pop out of his head, and he struggles against the ties at his wrists. He is about to be my bitch. I look back at Koi and Jagger, and I motion them over.
Once they are close enough, I yell over the music. “I need to flip him over on his stomach and restrain his hands behind his back. Let’s take his shirt off while we have his hands untied.”
The guys take a hand each, untie one at a time, and I take his shirt off. They force him on his stomach and then put his hands behind his back. I put another bar restraint on his wrists behind his back. I’m so thankful Sam is a freak. I find a riding crop and smack him on the ass. About the same time the music ends on the current playlist, we hear Kip scream through the ball gag. The room erupts in laughter.
“Up!” I say to Kip, and he bends his knees and puts his ass in the air. Jessica starts thrusting the strap-on in and out of his face, which solicits a whimper from Kip.
“How many times have you done this to a girl?” Jessica yells at him.
She is really good at this. He makes an “I don’t know” sound, and Jessica orders me to hit him on the ass. I do, and he screams again through the ball gag.
“No,” Jessica says, and pulls his boxers down, exposing his bare ass. “Now hit him.”
Kip’s eyes grow large again, and he shakes his head “no.” Slap! He screams again. Jessica reaches in the bag and pulls out a long black paddle and begins thrusting the strap-on in and out of his face again.
“How many times have you shoved your dick in a girl’s face?” she asks again.
He whimpers again. She hits him with the paddle in the left ass cheek, and I follow behind with the riding crop to the right cheek. He screams again. His white ass is bright red. Jessica climbs on the bed behind him with the strap-on pointed at his bare ass, and I pull my camera out. I take picture after picture of her thrusting it in and out, pretending to insert it in his nether region. I also take several of her hitting his red ass with the paddle and riding crop. The best pictures show Kip’s face, and the fear-excitement is plainly there, ball gag firmly in place. The guys each take disturbing pictures with him. When I have had enough fun, I have Koi and Cam place Kip on his back, and I take the ankle restraints and the ball gag off.
“Now what did we learn today, Kip?” I ask.
He looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes. “Wake you with porn every morning so you and that hot little dom over there can tie me up and beat my ass?”
Jessica is obviously not satisfied with his response, because she calls his name, and when he turns his head to the opposite side of the bed, she rams the strap-on in his mouth. I lose it. That is the funniest thing I have ever seen, and it causes me to double over with laughter. The entire room is having a tough time of it as well.
“Tastes like cotton candy,” Kip says, and we all lose it ag
ain.
WE SPEND THE morning and afternoon at the beach munching on food, drinking beer, and listening to music. Kip proposes marriage to me and Jessica several times and is now a self-proclaimed Mormon. We play volleyball and corn hole, and we each got our own nap in at some point. Jagger and I don’t speak a great deal, but when we do, it isn’t awkward. I catch him looking at me several times, and he simply smiles. The smile reminds me of our last kiss. It is super panty-dripping—I mean dropping—hot!
When night falls, we build a fire in the pit. The guitars come out, and we play into the night. I sing and play mostly cover songs with everyone there. Some of the guys sing and pick songs they are writing.
As the intoxication grows, we play less and less, and collectively decide to take a stroll down the beach. Cam and Kathrine disappear in the opposite direction of the group. Ten-four! Koi grabs Jessica’s hand, and Samantha slaps Kip on the arm when he attempts to grab hers. Jagger and I walk closely with each other, and I find myself wanting him to take my hand. We don’t walk far before Shaun, Dale, and John stop by a party a few houses down. It appears to be a bunch of college kids going on a rip. Samantha’s eyes hone in on all the women at the party. She likes college girls, so experimental. She nods at me, and I smile back in understanding, so she hauls Kip off to the party.
Koi, Jessica, Jagger, and I continue down the beach. Jagger and Koi are arguing about a Pink Floyd song, and I take the moment to give Jessica a smile. She winks back. I knew these two would end up hooking up. Jessica jumps into their dispute and agrees with Jagger. Smart move, girl.
“You are really agreeing with this asshat?” He points to Jag.
“Yeah. I am. Right is right. This isn’t a gray area. That is the correct interpretation of the song.”
“Yeah?” Koi asks, smiling down at her.
She backs up as he moves toward her like a predator, and then she turns and takes off running, but Koi chases her down. He picks her up and turns her around, which is when my best friend wraps her legs around my brother. I try not to think too much about it. Otherwise, I will begin planning their wedding tonight. Koi drops them into the ocean and takes her under water. She comes up shouting expletives at him, but she is interrupted when he kisses her. I give them their privacy since Koi doesn’t get it often enough.
Broken (The Guitar Face Series Book 1) Page 24
