Not that those worries wouldn’t be legit.
He remembered the stress and strain that had come from Val and Ethan early on. Even during the period when they weren’t together, there were days where they wouldn’t communicate, and it made it hard on them all. It was a feeling of discomfort most times. What he’d felt worst about was during their second indie tour, when Nick was pretty sure Val and Brad had hooked up again. He’d always felt like Val and Ethan were inevitable—they were like magnets. If they faced each other, they were repelled, but the second their backs were turned to each other, they’d be drawn into the other’s pull. Val and Brad, though…there had been something there that Nick didn’t know everyone else knew about. That time in the hotel hadn’t been the first time he’d found them together. There’d been an earlier time before Val had even joined the band that he’d caught them getting cozy in their van. The two of them had seemed like best friends who had a sexual attraction they were trying to deny, so even though the press tried to make it shocking and scandalous (“Fully Automatic front man steals guitarist Ethan’s woman—can the band be saved?” and garbage like that), a guy like Nick had seen it coming for years. Still, it was all that shit that created an undercurrent to all the other stuff that was out in the open, and it all played together. It made it hard some days to even want to work, and he loved playing the drums and being part of the band.
So, yeah…for now, it was best to keep it under wraps. No gossip, no drama.
He hadn’t even really discussed it with Brina. He didn’t know how she’d feel about it. Right now, he was just glad that she was feeling better about the band and its success as a whole. She’d been nervous the night before and they’d had some shakiness at first, but he felt like they were solid now, and she needed to enjoy that feeling too.
He got out of his bunk and, once his feet were on the floor, he stretched properly. His muscles were still half asleep, and the movement was helping him wake up, getting his blood moving, warming him up.
Hayley toddled down the hallway, a boisterous, cute giggle rushing from her lungs, followed by Gracie chasing her. The lovely blonde nanny said, “I’m gonna get you!”
Nick backed up against the bunks so Gracie could get past, and it wasn’t until she’d gone beyond him, giving him a look of confusion and abashed amusement, that he realized he was wearing only underwear—no t-shirt, no sweatpants like he had the day before. He closed his eyes and shook his head. That had been stupid. He knew Val definitely wouldn’t want to see him in his underwear, nor would she want her kids to. He’d have to pay more attention.
And, after accidentally sleeping with Gracie last summer, he figured the last thing she’d want to see would be him mostly naked, bringing back memories. That would explain the look on her face.
Christ, what an idiot. He needed to get clothes on. Now. He’d showered the night before, so he just had to get dressed. He could brush his teeth and shave and all that good stuff after.
But what little was left of the morning flew by quickly. Before he knew it, everyone was up and getting ready so they could find a place to eat that would accommodate requests for both breakfast and lunch, and then the band and a couple of crew members would head to the radio station for the interview and possible jam session.
Val had two songs in mind for the “possibility,” and she told them during the ride to the studio that they might be doing an acoustic version of them. Brina asked, “You have an acoustic bass?”
Val put her diplomatic skills to work. “I hadn’t thought of that. Brad and I rehearsed with acoustic guitars and thought that might be good, but a little percussion might not hurt. I don’t know if maybe Nick would want to bang on a tambourine and…maybe you’d want to try playing a bass-type riff on my guitar? Would that be too short a notice?”
Nick started laughing. “I don’t even own a tambourine, Val, let alone have one with me right now.”
“Well, yeah, I know that, but maybe Brina would want to play my guitar at the studio today.”
Brina seemed to give it some thought, and Nick was pretty sure he could tell that just the fact that Val had confidence enough in her to let her try at the studio without even practicing made Brina feel lots better—not just about Val but also about her position in the band. “Nah, that’s okay, but maybe I could next time…if there’s a next time.”
“Great. If it happens, I’ll try to give you more of a heads up.”
“Sounds good.” Nick was sitting next to Brina, and it took all his willpower to not drape his arm over her shoulder. He wanted to pull her close, to show the world that she was his girl. And there was so much emotion he felt like he could infuse in her bones if he could just hold her whenever he felt like it.
The timing wasn’t right, though. Not yet.
The interview was pretty awesome, and the deejay asked all of them questions, not just Brad and Val, even though it would have been easy enough for most people to focus just on the power couple. It was apparent that the guy was a huge Fully Automatic fan, and he was thus far impressed by Val Hella’s offerings. He’d already listened to the CD a few times and labeled it a “solid effort.”
As they were wrapping up, the deejay mentioned that the station would be drawing winners for the meet and greet with the band before the show. Nick raised his eyebrows, but none of the other three acted surprised at all. In fact, they all expressed enthusiasm.
Nick then guessed maybe he should have read the itinerary…not that it mattered. He was cool with a meet and greet. He loved meeting fans. It was one thing to see songs on the charts, see record sales, hear and feel the audience, but it was quite another to meet people face to face, to have one person tell them how much their songs meant to that fan, a real live person. So Nick just smiled and planned to look at the itinerary on his phone later.
Of course, he found it there.
And, as promised, they made it to the venue in plenty of time for the meet and greet. Just like the show before, a local band was opening for Val Hella to get the crowd pumped for them. Nick had nothing to do while they waited, and they had venue people setting things up. Unable to help himself, Nick put his hand on the small of Brina’s back, wishing he could hold her tight. She turned her head and smiled at him. Then she whispered, “Wanna get out of here for just a minute or two?”
“Whatcha have in mind?”
She grinned. “Naughtiness.”
“Sounds great to me.”
“Think of it as therapy. I need something to calm me down and get my mind off the show. I know something that might help.”
“Mmm. Me, too.” He extended his arm. “Lead the way, madam.” He hoped there were enough people there already that no one would notice the drummer and bassist were gone for a few minutes.
Once out of the large room, she took him by the hand to lead him, much like she had that night in her apartment. One thing Monica had completely nailed was that Brina loved to dominate in the bedroom. She wasn’t a dominatrix or into the BDSM scene as far as Nick could tell, but she knew exactly what she wanted to get out of every sexual experience, and she wasn’t afraid to ask for—or demand—it.
So having her lead him around like a dog didn’t bug him one bit, especially because he knew he’d enjoy whatever they wound up doing. In fact, his pants were growing a little snug at the thought of it.
This time, she pulled him into a dressing room, and as he looked around, he saw that it was her room. He knew before the end of the night that someone from their crew would clean up her room as well as the rooms belonging to him and the other band members so no one would ever know they’d been there.
He didn’t have much time to look around, though, because Brina was mashing her lips in his before he had the door closed all the way. At that point, he let his cock rage, because they weren’t leaving this room without having their bodies swarming with endorphins.
“Fuck me, Nick. Fuck me hard and do it now.”
Oh, he really loved her bossy self, b
ut he had something else in mind. He flipped her back against the door and said, “Oh, I’m gonna fuck you, but you’re just gonna have to trust me.”
“Don’t mess around, Nick.”
“I’m not.” He kissed her. “Just trust me, babe.”
He saw her brows start to furrow because he’d called her that name again, but he touched her lips with his, touching his tongue to hers, to shut her up. At the same time, he ran his hand under her shirt, loving the feel of the smooth skin of her belly. His hand continued drifting up, his fingers passing each rib, until he got to her breast. He could feel the lace on the thin bra, and he took his time sliding each finger up to her pebbled nipple, and when he got them all to that point, he squeezed it until she sucked in a deep breath of air. “Goddammit, Nick, stop messing around.”
“I’m not.” Man, not only was she bossy, she was impatient, too. But maybe she had a point. The meet and greet was going to start any minute, and it wouldn’t do to have half the band missing. He knew what he wanted to do, though, and having her boss him around and hurry wasn’t going to help.
He didn’t know how to shut her up except to get on with it, so he kissed her neck just a little, but then he gave her breasts one last squeeze before getting down on his knees. If she hadn’t been wearing that tight-ass black leather super-mini skirt, he wouldn’t have been inspired, but he wanted to give her an intense orgasm. He knew his tongue could do it better than his cock could. Once he was situated, he reached under her skirt and yanked on the tiny panties, pulling them down. When he had them past her knees, he grabbed her leg at the back of her thigh and raised it, but she helped. He pulled the panties down over that long boot and left them hanging on the top of her other boot. He held her leg up to the wall in such a way that she was spread and he could get at her easily, and then he pulled her lips apart with his other hand. He heard her start to say something, but he knew exactly how to shut her up at this point. He stuck his tongue down below her clit and then licked upward, as though she were an ice cream cone. Just that one stroke had her making a guttural noise. So he ran his tongue up again, eliciting a loud gasp, and she shoved her fingers in his hair. “Mmm.”
Yeah, that was just the beginning. He kept a steady pace for half a minute until he sensed her growing impatience. Her thigh muscles were tight and quivering, and she wanted a release. He knew it would help calm her, and he wanted to make her feel good. So he sped up the pace of his tongue, treating her like his friends would play a shredding guitar solo—no more moving in just one direction. He needed to move up and down now and go faster, and then she’d respond by giving in to the inevitable.
He could tell she was getting closer, because her gasps were almost constant. When she did come, her noises became mere moans, and she was loud, louder than he’d ever heard her before. Her thigh quivered even more and he could feel all her muscles squeezing and clenching as she enjoyed wave after wave of pleasure. When she was done, she had a huge smile plastered on her face and she even laughed. “Holy shit.”
Nick kissed the inside of her thigh. “Good, huh?”
She let out a long breath of air. “Hell, yeah. Beyond amazing.” She let go of his hair, smoothing it out almost as though he were a pet, and said, “Damn. I wish we didn’t have this fucking meet and greet. I’d blow you and have you come all over my face.”
It was Nick’s turn to laugh. He’d never actually seen a real girl do that—he’d only ever seen that happen in porn movies. Before he could say anything, she grabbed his t-shirt by the shoulders and he stood obediently. “Got a condom or would you like a blowjob?” Before he could even answer, her lips were on his, demanding he give into her.
Like it was an effort. His hard on was relentless now, and he really didn’t care how he got off. She said, “Condom now. I’ll blow you later.”
God, his cock couldn’t take it. He reached in his back pocket for his wallet and fished out a condom. In no time, it was covering his dick and she was facing the door, shoving her ass out, and he couldn’t resist the temptation any longer.
Oh, Christ, she felt like heaven, and she made it that much better by crying out her pleasure once more. Then she dropped her voice and said, “Give it to me, Nick.”
“I am, baby.”
“Hard.” He could barely hear her when she said, “I think I’m gonna come again.”
Oh, shit. She did, and when she started groaning again, clenching against his dick, he lost it. He couldn’t hold back any longer, and the explosion in his head felt like paradise. His hands were holding her at the waist and he pumped in her as long as he could, but it was over too soon.
He stood there for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. Maybe this had been a bad idea, because now all he wanted to do was hold her close and go to sleep. He did not want to talk with people or smile or even play a show.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. The smiling would come easily.
He kissed her neck and sighed. “Fuck,” he said, but his voice barely came out as a whisper.
“We better get our asses back before they wonder where the hell we are.”
“Probably should.” He pulled out of her and tore the condom off, and it was as though he’d drained himself of every little ounce of energy he had. Maybe they’d have some cans of Red Bull at the meet and greet, because the crew knew that was one of Brina’s favorite drinks, and they tried to accommodate them all. He thought he could use one about now. He found the trashcan and tossed the condom in it and then zipped up his pants.
When he turned around, Brina already had her skirt back down, hugging her ass again, but she had the panties hanging from her index finger, and she pointed it toward the ceiling, twirling the underwear around in a circle. “Want these?”
He grinned. “What—as a souvenir?”
She walked over to him, her boots clicking on the tile. “No, as a reminder during the show.” She tucked them in his front pocket and damned if he didn’t feel his cock twitch again. Shit. He was such a typical guy.
No…Brina made him feel like a man. She made him want to be a one-woman man, probably for the first time ever. The grin hadn’t faded from his face. “Yeah, I can do that. When do you want ‘em back?”
She kissed him and then said, “Think of them as a ticket. You bring them to me next time you want to fuck.”
He started laughing. “Well, I’d be giving them back to you now.”
She smirked and tapped him on the nose. “Let’s go, Nicky Sticks.” Brina laced her hand in his and led him back out the door. He would gladly let her lead him around to wherever her heart desired, whenever she wanted.
He wasn’t even thinking straight when they walked back in the room where the meet and greet was being held, but they were still hand in hand when they entered through the door. There was a press person there, something Nick hadn’t anticipated, and a photo was snapped before he could make sure their hands were separated—not that it would have mattered. Jerking his hand out of hers would have been ridiculously obvious anyway. They’d been caught and there was no getting around it.
There was more than that, though. Nick suspected he looked just like Brina, and that woman had an undeniable just laid appearance about her.
The guy with the camera let it rest against his chest while he lifted a notepad and pen and began walking toward them. “So how long have the two of you been dating?”
Brina didn’t even let Nick answer. “Long enough.” She turned to Nick and kissed him on the cheek.
Nick felt his heart swell much as his cock had earlier, because Brina telling the press meant one thing—it was real, more real than he’d allowed himself to imagine before now.
Chapter Sixteen
BY WEEK THREE of their tour, the days and places began to blend together, just like every tour before that one had. Nick wasn’t sure where they were anymore, itinerary or not. All he did know was that they were getting ready to begin a new leg of the tour, one that included some of his old friends, the ban
d Last Five Seconds. He’d known them since their indie days and, in fact, it was Clay Smith, LFS’ beloved guitarist, known to fans as Jet, who had gotten Fully Automatic their chance. Nick loved those guys and hadn’t seen any of them in ages. Now that they were part of the tour, he knew they were going to have a great time and have awesome shows. The biggest thing with having world-famous Last Five Seconds along was that they were going to be the headliners and Val Hella would become the opening act or, for the few shows where they had three bands, Val Hella would be the second band.
Nick knew it would be a great show every time, though. Last Five Seconds always brought it, and he’d never seen a single show of theirs that disappointed.
He and Brina were no longer a secret, and so he was often tempted to get cozy in the bunks but always thought better of it in the end. They had their weekly hotel tryst and they didn’t get much sleep when they did that, but it was fucking worth it.
Well, the three times they’d done it thus far. The rest of the time, they found some out-of-the-way place or waited for everyone to clear out of the bus for a meal and then took advantage of the hour by themselves.
Nick had never thought he would have been able to consistently enjoy sex over and over again with the same woman, but he was. It didn’t hurt that he was smitten with this girl. Yeah, Nick was afraid to admit it to himself, but he was falling hard.
They weren’t going to meet Last Five Seconds until they were at the venue the first night they joined them. Nick was jazzed, and he wanted to talk to Brina and get her excited about it too, but when he found her backstage, she was doing something on her phone. She was leaning against a wall, and Nick was overwhelmed by the sound of the crowd. That was all he needed to hear—they would be stepping up their game now that the boys of Last Five Seconds were joining them, and the audiences would be bigger and ready to rock harder.
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