“Funny.’’ She pointed at her straight face. “I’m laughing so hard right now.’’ My lips twitched at that and I looked away. Fuck, she made me go from mad to amused and back again in a blink of an eye. She was dangerous. “You have trust issues.’’
The warmth in my chest evaporated in a nano-second. My skin crawled over my entire body. I wanted to leave this room, walk away and spend a few hours at the gym in my house to get it out. To forget. To push these memories, these thoughts out of my fucking head. But I should be past that now. I thought I was.
Instead, I kept a calm exterior while I was consumed on the inside. Right under her nose and she didn’t know it. She didn’t know what I was capable of, what I had done. She didn’t know that a few words, some things could set me off. But I knew it. I fucking knew.
“I give my trust to very few people and I think it’s smart considering how public Kinky Shine is.’’ My voice was clipped, my words cold.
“It’s smart to a certain extent. It can be unhealthy too, but we’re not friends so it’s not like I have anything to say. But,’’ she took her phone and held it up for me to see. “This lets you be fictively close to other people without ever having to trust anyone. You don’t have to tell your fans your life, Dex. Just give them some tiny peeks into it. There’s no harm in it.’’
“I wouldn’t know what to say.’’
She shrugged. “Anything really. You could answer your bandmates’ tweets and engage in a little convo like you would when face to face or over the phone. Your fans would eat that shit up.’’ She toyed with her phone, eyeing me. “But if you’re not feeling it, I could help you. You would be the one tweeting, but I could, I don’t know, brainstorm with you and show you some of my tweets to give you ideas.’’
I scratched my jaw. I knew she was paid for that shit, but still. Trust, that fucking trust, didn’t come easily to me. Even when talking about tweeting dumbass things. “Alright.’’
“Good.’’ She touched her phone and sighed. “You guys have real issues with punctuality.’’
My phone buzzed on the table and I checked to see Maxen’s text.
Can’t make it. That pussy is still calling out for me before I let it go. Have fun with mini-Floyd.
I groaned and didn’t reply. “Maxen isn’t coming.’’
“What!’’ Her eyes turned hard again, and this time around it wasn’t my fault. “Tell me he was in an accident.’’ I arched an eyebrow at her. She waved me off. “I don’t want him hurt, but he better have a good reason.’’
“Is sex a good reason?’’
Her cheeks flamed red and she fidgeted in her chair. “Uh.’’ She shook her head. “For real?’’ She sounded dumbstruck.
I nodded. “Apparently. If he has a choice between sex and a business meeting he’s going to pick sex. Unless it’s a band practice.’’
She blinked her big eyes and nodded, suddenly very quiet. She visibly deflated. “Do you think the other guys will make it or is Beckett going to say he just found the most perfect coffee shop and Otis is at an after, after, after party?’’
I chuckled in spite of myself and grabbed my phone. “Let me check with them. You never know.’’
“Who would have thought you’d be the one committing to this.’’
I smirked looking down at my phone as I quickly typed a text for Otis and Beckett. “I had to be here to apologize.’’
Beckett’s text came through first.
I’m still stuck. Ask to reschedule.
“Beckett wants to reschedule and I bet you Otis will not see my text until three this afternoon. He’s probably back asleep.’’
“Do they behave like this with my father?’’
I put down my phone and uncovered the two plates between Harley and me. There were two different salads with some cold chicken. “At first, but your father is a tough fucker when he wants to be.’’ I gestured to the salads. “Now delve in. They’re not going to make it.’’
She took a good sized serving and started chewing, her thin eyebrows still bunched over her eyes. “If I have to track them down at their place, I’ll do it. I swear they’re going to regret it if they don’t make it to the next meeting.’’
I smirked and put some food on my plate. I wasn’t hungry, but the guys stood her up and I didn’t think me leaving would be a good thing. Not just yet. I had been an asshole yesterday and I was still trying to make amends. Or some shit like that.
“I’ll give you their addresses if they don’t.’’
She stopped chewing and smiled at me. “Really?’’
I shrugged and tried to ignore the warmth coming back in my chest. “Why not?’’ I pushed my food around my plate. “If I’m doing that Twitter thing, they’re not going to escape.’’
“Thank you, Dex.’’ She put down her fork and knife and pushed away her plate. She had barely eaten anything.
“Weren’t you hungry?’’
She shot a look at her plate and shook her head. “Thought I was, but…’’ She took a sip of sparkling water. “I think I was just nervous.’’ She checked her phone again and put it back down. “I’m sure you want to be elsewhere. You can go, but thank you for coming. You may not stay much longer on my shit-list.’’
I smirked at her and put down my utensils. “You’re easy to sway then.’’
“No, I’m not, actually.’’
She looked away from me, her cheeks pink again. There was something very strange about this woman. She was sexy, anyone could see it. Maxen spent one fucking long hour telling me about how he’d love to bend her and fuck her with all he’s worth if only she hadn’t been Floyd’s daughter. But that wasn’t what had me confused. She seemed innocent. Even when she cursed or talked shit, she had that fresh innocence about her that…drew me in.
“I’m a lucky fucker then.’’
She laughed softly, almost shyly as she looked back at me from under her eyelashes. When women did that it usually turned me off because I knew they wanted me or one of the guys to fuck her, but not Harley. It was real shyness. And it was too fucking sweet and appetizing to see. I twitched in my jeans and I tensed all over. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Do you…’’ she started and then stopped, shaking her head.
“What?’’ I was barely breathing, trying to ignore what was going on in my pants. I couldn’t believe that shit. Why now? Why her?
“Do you want to maybe start with your Twitter account?’’
HARLEY
I didn’t understand why I suddenly reacted this way. My whole body was going berserk. My heart hammered in my chest as if I was on the very edge of a cliff and about to slip off of it. My blood boiled hot in my veins, rushing to my head. My face was hot as if I was standing in front of a fire. And my palms were drenched. Even breathing was difficult.
Dex Bowers was doing something to me and I didn’t know what it was. But right now, I was very much aware that it had nothing to do with the anger I had felt towards him yesterday.
He continued looking at me, gazing at my eyes as if searching for something there. But what? I shouldn’t have asked him to stay. In fact, why did I ask him? This morning when I woke up I swore I’d do everything in my power to limit my interactions with him. I must have a split personality disorder. That’s the only explanation regarding my body’s reactions and how I had behaved these last twenty-four hours.
“Alright.’’ He took a deep breath as if bracing himself for something. Maybe I had misjudged how bad this was for him.
I bit the inside of my cheek and tried to act like it was chill. But on the inside, I was bursting. I didn’t understand where it was coming from. Just yesterday I wanted to strangle the man, and now I asked for more alone time with him. It was one of those time when I didn’t understand myself.
“I wrote the article announcing your and the other guys’ new Twitter accounts, but it’s not live yet. I wanted to post it after settling everything with you, Maxen, Otis, and Beckett.’’
&nb
sp; “Sorry they’re messing up your plan.’’
I shrugged. I should have foreseen this. I knew musicians and I knew some could be flaky sometimes. And these guys had been treated like mythical creatures since they’d signed with the label. It was time for some reality check on top of a 101 course about online social presence.
“Shit happens, right?’’ I took another sip of water and watched my hand shaking mildly. Dex had me troubled. The last time someone troubled me like this was…No, even then it hadn’t been like that. “So, we first need to choose a pic for your profile.’’
He pursed his lips and scratched his strong jaw. In the quiet room I heard the low sound of his short beard against the pulp of his thick fingers. My eyes followed the movement and then trailed up his tattooed arms. Now that I wasn’t mad at him anymore I couldn’t help but feel mesmerized by the intricate lines of his sleeves. They were mostly dark with some hints of dark green and red.
“I don’t have selfies on my phone. I took pictures of the guys and stuff I’ve seen, but no selfies.’’
“Take one then.’’ I tilted my chin toward the phone next to his hands on the table.
He looked down and frowned at it as if the damn thing greatly offended him. He was a very strange, mysterious man. After all, I had never had the chance to ask him that one question we all wondered, men or women: why had he never been seen with a woman in the four years since Kinky Shine became the phenomenon we all knew? Before meeting him I had wondered if maybe it was to hide the fact he’s gay, but now, I’m not so sure.
“I hate that shit, I hope you know it,’’ he mumbled and picked up his phone, messing with it a few seconds before extending his arm in front of him and scowling at his phone.
I had to bite on my lower lip to stop myself from laughing at his face. Even all broody and scowling he was good looking. But a scowling Dex on Twitter wasn’t exactly what the label or my father had in mind when convincing the band to work with me on this.
“Smile.’’
He looked at me and glared. “Do I look like a smiling fucker to ya?’’
I rolled my eyes. “Do that smirk thing. You have that down pat.’’ I pointed at his face in the general direction of his lips that slowly started to relax. Then one corner of his mouth moved upward and his sexy dimple, I meant, his dimple appeared. “Take that picture now.’’
He clicked and finally relaxed back in his chair. I hadn’t noticed how tense he had been until now. He truly had a hard time with all this. It wasn’t just a figure of speech.
“Show me?’’
He was back to scowling at his screen and my chest squeezed suddenly. I brought a hand to my heart and frowned. What was that? Instead of dwelling on it, I stood up and walked to him. I went behind him and looked over his shoulder at the small screen.
In the picture he wasn’t looking at his phone, but away. He probably still had his eyes on me. His dark eyes looked as intense as usual, but not angry or annoyed. He had one of his eyebrows slightly arched up and his dimple was on full display, drawing the eyes to his mouth and his dark pink lips. His unshaven cheeks and jaw only added to his sex appeal.
“I’m telling you now, I will not take another fucking selfie,’’ he growled with his smoky voice, his head tilted to the side and upward to look at me over his shoulder.
“No, it’s perfect.’’ I shook my head and cleared my throat. “I mean, it’s fine.’’ I grabbed the back of the closest chair and pulled it back to sit on Dex’s left.
His frown came back. “Why are you sitting here?’’
The caution in his voice gave me pause. I looked down at myself and then back up at him. “Uh, I think it’d be easier to work if I’m next to you. But if you—‘’
“No!’’ He put a hand on my forearm before I could push back and stand up. His palm was hot against my bare arm. I could make out the callouses on his fingers from playing the guitar. The weight of his big hand now curled around my arm had me feeling hot as if the temperature in the room abruptly went up. “Stay, you’re right.’’ His voice was rougher, lower too. It made me shiver and I had to look away.
I had a hard time swallowing. My body betrayed me in the most embarrassing, the most irrational and the most extreme way. Even I could say what it was; attraction. I was attracted to this man, a man I had wanted to strangle not twenty-four hours before. And now I was almost panting like the common groupie out there. Honestly, I was disappointed in myself.
“Let’s work on your bio, then. It’s short so write a sentence and you’re good to go. If possible, add a hashtag or two.’’ I pointed at his phone, now trying my best to use my most professional voice. If he picked up on my sudden attraction I’d have to call my best friend Delaney to kill me as soon as possible and end my misery and embarrassment.
Even with my eyes firmly on his phone in his hand, I could feel his eyes on me. It was maddening. I wanted a peek at him, an idea, a hint as to what he was thinking, why he was still so focused on me. But I needed to play it cool. I wasn’t a fucking teenager anymore!
He sighed, twisted a little in his chair and then quickly typed something on his phone. When he was finished he extended it to me. I glanced back at his face and locked eyes with him. My breath left me at once. Damn, I had a big problem.
*
DEX
“Can I tweak it a little bit?’’ she asked softly without looking up from my phone.
“Knock yourself out.’’
It still surprised me that I willingly gave her my phone. Other than the guys I had never lost sight of my phone or given it to someone else. You kept things on your phone that a groupie, a journalist or any scumbag out there would be delighted to get at for the world to see. I wasn’t keeping secrets on it, but there was my personal email address, my credit card was connected to some app and stuff like that. Oh, and I had a few phone numbers people would love to get, starting with my bandmates’.
But she wouldn’t take these numbers. That’s probably why I wasn’t so worried. After all, she was working for the label for the short term and I was pretty damn sure she could ask them our phone numbers if she wanted them.
I breathed more deeply and her vanilla perfume hit me again. Goosebumps, fucking goosebumps appeared on my arms. And I was still semi-hard in my pants. Just that, I couldn’t understand. I glanced down to my lap and I could make out the fast growing bulge, partially hidden by the table and my t-shirt. I tugged on the hem and covered my zipper completely. Only, the stretched fabric made it even more obvious. I twisted on the chair again and put a hand on my lap, going for nonchalance to hide my hard problem, but I was anything but nonchalant.
Fuck. I needed a stiff drink. Something that would numb my edges. But there was only orange juice and water in here. Of course they wouldn’t have vodka or tequila for a fucking brunch.
“Check it out and tell me what you think.’’ Her singing voice, so sweet when she wasn’t angry, startled me.
I grabbed the phone from her slender hand and cursed myself when the feel of her satiny skin on my fingers made me grow harder still. Fuck.
@KinkyShine frontman. Still a mystery to most, but myself. #KinkyShine
I nodded. “That’s good I suppose.’’
“Click save then.’’ She tilted her chin at my phone and I followed her command. That was new to me too. I remembered giving a hard time to Floyd when we had first started working together. Apparently the fact that his daughter was messing with my cock without doing much of anything was fucking with my head more than I ever thought possible.
“You’re set up now. I’ll probably publish my article on the blog later today. Don’t freak out if you get lots of notifications. Your fans are going to follow your account and tag you in anything and everything. If you see a tweet you like, then favorite it.’’
“I know how Twitter fucking works, Harley.’’
“Yes, but something tells me you’re not going to get comfortable with it for a little while. I’m trying to guide
you here.’’ She sighed and rubbed at her temple. I saw her doing that same thing yesterday when she was so obviously trying to restrain herself from murdering me.
“Should I tweet something now?’’
She shrugged. “Your call. You can tweet something generic about tweeting for the first time. I know you’ve had an account back in college, but it doesn’t matter. This is your official one now.’’
I nodded and quickly typed something and hit tweet. I cringed. “Done.’’
She stood up abruptly. “Already? Shit, when you want to be, you are fast.’’ She snatched her phone from where she had been sitting across from me and typed quickly. A small smile stretched her lips and I couldn’t look away. My cock got even harder and I was sure it couldn’t get any worse. The hand on my lap spasmed and lightly squeezed my dick. A fucking shiver coursed through my limbs and I had to clench my jaw to stop a groan from escaping me. Was it how Maxen felt when he was with an attractive woman? Because I could now see why he always wanted to go and fuck anything that moved then.
“That’s good Dex. Simple, but you’re engaging your fans.’’
I looked back at my first tweet.
@TheDexMystery:
First tweet. I don’t know shit, but hey, must start somewhere. Say hi?
“I forgot the hashtag thing.’’
“So what? It’s not that important. You’re the Dex Bowers anyway. Your fans will be all over your account in no time.’’ She walked back to her chair next to me and sat. “If I click publish on my article now I bet you there would be a thousand fans following you in a half hour time. Maybe more.’’ She chuckled. “And don’t get me started on the Kinky Shine’s website. As soon as I give your PR team you and the guys’ Twitter handles they’re going to go nuts.’’
“Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that. How do you turn off this thing’s notifications?’’ I closed the app and started messing around, looking for the parameters.
“Here,’’ she said and put a hand on mine, stopping me. “I can do it if you want.’’
Her cheeks were pink again and she was the first one to look away. Apparently she wasn’t that sure of herself contrary to how she behaved and acted. Who was the real Harley, then? Was it the sure woman who took no shit from anyone or the young woman who seemed so innocent?
Dex (Kinky Shine #1) Page 4
