by Terry Towers
Damn, and double damn. Knowing the moment was broken, he pressed the ACCEPT
button and brought the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”
His frown deepened as his greeting was answered by Nadine’s voice. Yup, dealing with her was just what he needed.
Hanna had turned back to him, her eyes beginning to narrow at him as Nadine
continued on with her spiel – something about there being an error in the paperwork. The guys all had to go back in and sign a new agreement. He opened his mouth to tell her to shove off, that they’d do it in the morning, but quickly remembered the appointments with the realtor. That was one thing he didn’t want to put off. Tomorrow was the beginning of his exclusive time with Hanna; the last thing he wanted was Nadine dampening his mood or putting a cloud over their time together.
He sighed in defeat. “Yeah, I’ll be right over.”
As if knowing what the conversation was all about, Hanna’s green eyes grew stormy and she turned her back to him, watching the numbers flash above their heads until they reached their floor.
“Hanna, I…”
The doors slid open with a whoosh and without waiting for him, she exited and
marched toward the door to their penthouse. “I know,” she called over her shoulder. “Just go. I’ll be here when you get home.”
I’ll make this right when I get back, he promised her silently as he jabbed at the button for the lobby with his index finger. Damn Nadine.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Bo let out a long, loud sigh as he checked in with the front desk clerk of the hotel where Nadine was staying. After confirmation that he was indeed being expected he was given directions to her room. His plan was to get in and out as quickly as possible and back to Hanna.
Arriving at her door, he hesitated, surprised at how quiet it seemed inside. Normally you’d be able to hear the guys down the hall. Especially Anthony. Anthony took the term loudmouth to a whole new level, especially when he was high – which Bo knew for a fact he would be.
“Ahhh, fuck it,” he grumbled, knocking lightly on the door.
Movement sounded within the room and less than a minute later the door was slowly opened to reveal Nadine.
“Hey Nadine, are the guys…” Bo’s eyes lowered from her eyes to take in her attire.
Or lack thereof. A semi-sheer red nightgown covered her slender body, the hem of the skirt dropping to just above the knee.
“Come on in,” she said, stepping back into the room to usher him in.
Chuckling softly, feeling foolish for what was becoming apparent was a setup, Bo gave his head a shake. “The guys aren’t coming, are they?” he asked, not taking a single step into the hotel room, already knowing the answer.
She shrugged, giving him a guilty smile. “I just wanted a minute to talk to you –
alone. I didn’t want to do it in front of the guys.”
“And you felt it necessary to meet with me in your hotel room wearing that.” He motioned toward her scantily dressed body without lowering his gaze.
Can’t believe I fell for it. Fell for it, hook, line and sinker. He shook his head in disgust with himself as he turned to leave.
Stepping forward she placed a hand on his upper arm, stopping him. “Bo! Wait!
We’re going to be working together. I just want to make things right between us. That’s all.”
He pulled his arm from her grasp, not believing her for a second. “There’s nothing to make right, Nadine. Nothing at all. We had a brief thing, broke up; that is, if you could ever consider us together to begin with, and then you fucked the whole band. End of story.”
She cringed, but within seconds a soft seductive smile touched her lips and she moved out into the hallway, inching closer to him. “Oh, come on, Bo. Don’t be like that. There was something between us. We both know it. We could be the perfect power couple in the music industry. It’s so perfect.”
Bo softened slightly, not because he was buying a thing she was selling, but because of how desperate she was appearing, standing in the hallway of the Ritz Carlton hotel, wearing barely anything, attempting to seduce him.
Mistaking his softening for something more, Nadine moved closer, placing her hands on his chest and pressing herself against him, her eyes locking with his, determination glimmering in them. “I’m telling you Bo, she’s hiding something. I know it. Drop her, and give us another chance.”
Bo froze for a moment. Was it that apparent that Hanna was holding something back or was Nadine just saying whatever she could think of to get him second guessing his relationship with Hanna? His moment of pondering left him unaware of Nadine for a moment too long as she stretched up against him in an attempt to kiss him.
The feeling of someone watching them and the faint click of… what? A camera? Oh fuck! Pushing Nadine away he spun around to see the elevator doors closing with what was undoubtedly a photographer inside.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! A stream of curses rushed through his mind as he raced to the elevator pushing the down button, though he was never going to catch the other man.
He heard Nadine call out behind him, but didn’t pay her any mind.
What if he hadn’t been mistaken and it had been a reporter? Dear God! He and
Nadine plastered all over the tabloids, her dressed and looking like she’d just been fucked and him… Well, considering she was pressed up against him, it would be hard to
convince anyone that there was nothing going on.
Hanna. Oh Hanna. I am so sorry baby, he murmured to himself as he pressed the button for reception.
Taking a deep breath in, he slowly released it. First thing was first. He needed to get to the security office and see if that was indeed a reporter taking a picture of them. If it wasn’t someone taking a picture then it was all good. He could put the incident behind him and move on. But if it was… If it was then he was going to have to have a long talk with her. Maybe he could convince the hotel security to allow her to see the video. If she saw the video then she’d know nothing was going on.
But that still wouldn’t stop the pictures and gossip from circulating. It wouldn’t stop people from thinking he was cheating on Hanna. He groaned; he didn’t even want to think about the cruel headlines that would rise up out of this.
A rock star with two women fighting over him wouldn’t be all that out of the
ordinary, but for Hanna it would be hurtful. It might even be the final straw. No. He refused for that to happen.
Arriving at the first floor, he rushed to the reception desk and requested to speak with the manager. Within ten minutes he was in the security room having his fear confirmed.
It was a reporter. And that was a camera he heard clicking.
“Would you like us to call the police and you can file a report, Mr. Savage?” asked the hotel manager, a stout balding man who appeared to be in his late 50s.
Bo shook his head. “Not a fucking lot of good it would do me,” he growled with a little more anger than intended, making the hotel manager wince.
Tabloid reporters were like cockroaches – they were afraid of nothing and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. A visit from the police was commonplace for them.
The picture would still be posted and the shitstorm the picture was going to cause would still happen.
Chapter 7
Hanna fingered the neck of the unopened wine bottle, contemplating whether she was going to open it or not. Her willpower was being tested, worse than ever at that moment.
She’d been having too much wine lately. She’d even gotten tipsy her first night with Bo.
She was walking a dangerous road.
It’s not worth it, she told herself, opening the door of the wine cooler and placing the bottle back inside. Drinking casually with Bo was one thing, but drinking alone to numb the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety within her was quite another and she knew it. It was a good part of the reason she’d spent six months trying to get herself back in control o
f her life. She wasn’t going back.
Feeling a small sense of pride for denying herself the wine, she moved from the kitchen and made her way upstairs to get ready for bed.
She was in the process of pulling one of Bo’s t-shirts over her head when she heard the front door opening. A smile crept onto her face, despite the foul mood she’d been in all evening.
“Hanna, babes. You home?”
Her grin widened. “Where else would I be,” she teased as she exited the bedroom wearing only his t-shirt with his name written across the front and a pair of black lace boy-short panties.
“Don’t know. Maybe you decided to leave me for Tyson,” he yelled back, his voice carrying a teasing note.
Laughing, she rolled her eyes as she raced down the winding staircase, her mood lifting when she noticed him at the bottom, smiling up at her, but despite his smile she could see worry in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Upon reaching the final stair of the white marble staircase she leapt into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as he held her tight against him.
Slipping her arms around his neck, she brushed her lips across him. Any smidge of anger she may have had evaporated as concern filled her.
He hesitated as she pulled back in his arms to look him dead in the eye, her green eyes searching his grey ones for a clue to what was bothering him. “Bo?”
Keeping her secure in his arms, he began walking toward the living room, his
expression grave. “We need to talk.”
Hanna could swear her heart stopped beating for a moment. Talk? The talk? Her body stiffened as she unwrapped herself from him to stand before him.
“About what?” Wasn’t the talk reserved for breakups? A lump caught in her throat and the bottle of wine came to her mind as her frown deepened. She shook the image loose. Wanting to talk could mean a million different things.
Chuckling softly, he brushed a lock of red curls from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Nothing like that, babes.” Taking her hand he led her further into the living room and sat down on the sofa, pulling her onto his lap.
“But, it’s not good.”
He cringed. “Yeah, it’s not great. But, just listen. Okay?”
Hanna nodded. “What’s going on?” Her eyes narrowed at him. “What did she do?”
She could hear the contempt dripping from her voice and didn’t give a damn. Bo already knew she hated the woman, nothing new there.
He thrust a hand through his dark hair in agitation, as if gathering his thoughts. “Well, as you know I went to Nadine’s hotel to sign some contracts.”
“Yeah.”
“And I was led to believe the guys were going to be there as well, signing the new contract.”
“That bitch!” She didn’t need to hear more to know where this conversation was
headed. Rage filled her. She was going to… Dammit! She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she was going to do something about that bitch… “What did she do?”
Brushing her cheek with the back of his hand, he pulled her tighter to him. “Calm down a second, let me finish.”
“Fine,” Hanna grumbled, melting into him, laying her head on his shoulder, allowing the strength of his arms around her and the deep, spicy scent of his cologne to relax her.
“Go on.”
“Well, I got there and it seems I was the only one invited.”
Hanna gritted her teeth, but said nothing.
“And she answered the door with barely anything on. A little teddy I guess you could call it.”
“Go on…” She looked up at him, her eyes locking with his.
“I told her I wasn’t interested. Not now, not ever. I was about to leave and she followed me into the hall. She tried to kiss me and that’s when they took a picture.”
Hanna jolted upright in his arms, eyes wide. “Picture!”
“It seems a tabloid photographer snuck into the hotel. He saw it as a juicy picture I suppose and snapped one… a few maybe, I don’t know, and took off. He was out of the hotel before security could nab him.”
“A picture of you and her.”
“We didn’t kiss, Hanna.”
“But did it look like you were?” Hanna could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
She knew how these things worked. Within the next couple of days the tabloids would have the picture of Bo kissing his half-naked manager plastered all over America. Hell, all over the world.
“I’m so sorry Hanna, but from the angle, I think so.”
Hanna chewed at her lower lip, trying to keep her emotions in check, trying to keep from getting hysterical. It wasn’t his fault. “So in a few days it’ll look like you’re cheating on me with my doppelganger who happens to be your manager. But of course, they’ll say stuff like you’re trading up. Dumping the chunky chick for the type of girl you should be with.”
The tears began to flow, and she let them. Why couldn’t those assholes just leave her and Bo alone? Sure, most people would argue that it came with being famous, but at the same time, did being famous mean they had to give up every single pinch of privacy? It was like they were fish in an aquarium.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry. I never meant for this. I’m really sorry.” He wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs and kissed her softly. “I’ll make this right. I promise.”
She wished she could believe him, but he wasn’t a miracle worker. The press loved scandal and in this case, a scandal just fell into their laps.
“I can get a copy of the security camera recordings. We let the press air them, it’ll show nothing happened.”
“But it’ll show your manager making advances on you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s no better. It’ll plant the seed in the public’s heads about you – about us.
You’ll still be on camera with your slut of a manager nearly naked and groping all over you.”
“Well… I wouldn’t go so far as to say groping.”
She cocked her head to the side and raised a brow at him. “You wouldn’t, huh?”
He gave her a light squeeze and grinned. “Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll blackmail us instead of publishing the photo.”
“That was supposed to be funny?” Despite attempting to keep a stern expression, a smile crept onto her features.
Bo shrugged, his grin widening. “Not even a little funny?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure? Not even a little?” He poked her in the side, just below her breast, causing her to jerk back in his arms and giggle.
“Stop it!” She batted his hands away from her sides, as he prepared a full-on assault.
“You know I hate that! I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you!”
He feigned innocence. “Stop what?” He poked her again, and she slid from his lap onto the sofa in an attempt to get away.
“That!” She batted his hands away a second time, but he went in for the kill this time, a full-on assault of her sides with his torturous fingers. “Get away!” Laughing, she wiggled away from him, lost her balance and fell onto the floor. A soft "ooomph"
sounded from her as her nearly bare bottom came in contact with the cool marble floor.
“Bo! I’m serious!” She scrambled to her feet as he stood.
He wiggled his fingers at her, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Your laughing tells me different, sweet cheeks.”
“Sweet cheeks?” Laughing harder, she grabbed an ivory throw pillow from the sofa and tossed it at him. It hit him square on the chest and bounced off, landing on the floor at his feet.
“Oh, now it’s on like Donkey Kong, baby!” He lunged for her, but she managed to avoid him.
She rushed around the sofa, exited the living room and headed for the stairwell.
“Gotta catch me first,” she called over her shoulder, not daring to look back for fear he’d catch up to her, not that that would be such a bad thing. Not at all.
Bo ca
ught her a third of the way up the staircase and scooped her up and into his arms. “Got ya.”
Panting softly, she fingered his strong, square jaw with her index finger. Hanna’s eyes locked with his and as if by some force of magic the thought of the doppelganger, the paparazzi and her urges for a glass of wine evaporated. They’d gotten through a lot over the past month, this was only another roadblock, one they would worry about tomorrow; tonight would only be about them.
Chapter 8
“Where’s she going?” Hanna asked Bo as he turned away from the realtor who was
getting into her car preparing to leave, and made his way over to her.
“Oh, I convinced her that since we only have a few more houses to look at here in Staten Island, and all of them are vacant, she might as well leave the keys with me and we’d see them at our leisure and return the keys to her when we’re done later this afternoon.”
Planting a hand on her hip, Hanna gave her head a shake, her loose red curls swaying behind her. “And she agreed to that?”
A wide grin spread across his face, causing Hanna to roll her eyes at him.
“Of course she did.”
“Well, I had to guarantee her a sale, and slip her a few hundred, but…”
“Like every woman on earth, she gave in to the Bo Savage charm.”
Taking her hands into his, he pushed her backwards until her back was firmly against the wooden door. “Oh, not every woman falls victim to my charms, as you say.”
She grinned. “Oh please, you get everything you want.”
“Not everything.” He pressed his body into hers, his groin sporting a growing erection pressing against her stomach. He lowered his head, his lips skirting along the side of her neck.
Hanna gasped. “Name one thing you haven’t gotten that you wanted recently.” Her voice was beginning to waver, her body trembling softly against his.
“Like this morning, I woke up with a rock hard cock and you turned me down.”
“We were going to be late!” she protested, laughing softly. “And it was your idea to go house hunting. Not mine. I’m opposed to the idea – remember?”
