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Shifters & Bad Boys Bundle (Shifters & Bad Boys. Man love, bdsm, and rockstar romance. Book 1)

Page 30

by Anita Lawless


  “You could’ve picked up a damn phone,” I yell in return. “Could’ve let me know you were all right somehow. Do you know how many sleepless nights I spent wondering, worrying? And what about now? You fall back into my life, literally, and won’t tell me anything.”

  He holds up his hands. “Fine. Sorry.” His chest expands with a deep exhale. “I guess we’re even.” Then he pins me with eyes so full of pain the gaze sucker punches me in the gut. “I hope you two are happy.”

  I have to look away from the raw pain he shows me. “Sure, yeah, we are. Andre’s a great guy.”

  “Yeah.” He lets the air go and he sags in his chair. “He is.”

  Silence moves in thick and heavy between us. It almost chokes me, and I’m relieved when the door opens again, but that relief flees and my stomach sinks to my toes when the object of our conversation walks in.

  “Noah, holy shit!” Andre boyish face lights up. His blue-grey eyes sparkle. “Buddy, I can’t believe you’re alive!”

  He runs in the room and gives Noah’s shoulder a hearty shake, as if he’s ensuring our ex-lead singer isn’t just a figment of his imagination.

  “Surprised you’re happy to see me.” Noah glares up at Andre.

  Tension flutters low in my stomach and my gaze darts between the two men.

  Andre draws back, wearing a confused frown. “What’d you mean?”

  Noah scoffs. “Sounds like you didn’t wait too long to move in on Merry after I left.”

  Andre looks at me.

  “Hey, I wanted to wait to break it to him.” I hold up my hands. “Rita has a big mouth.”

  Andre rolls his eyes. “I should’ve known.” He gives Noah a sympathetic gaze. “Look, you were gone a long time…”

  “And it just sorta happened,” I add, trying to help Andre out. “We both thought you were dead.”

  “So you keep saying.” Noah stands and moves closer to Andre, so they are almost nose to nose.

  I squish myself between them, making space before they go all gronk on me. “I told you I waited six months.” I say this to Noah, trying to keep my tone soft as I once more deliver the blow. “Hell, Noah, I’m human. Me and Andre…we grew close through our grief.”

  Andre nods to confirm my words.

  Noah glares at us both, then his face softens with obvious sadness. “I’m not gonna pretend I like it, or that I’m okay with it, but I wish you both the best.” He gives Andre a brief handshake and then limps out of my dressing room. Before he disappears, he throws over his shoulder, “So where can a former rockstar get some sleep around here?”

  “Hey,” Andre says. “You can crash in my room. But you gotta fill me in first.”

  I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow. “Let him rest up. We’ve already been bugging him about his story.” To Noah, I say, “But when the concert’s over tonight, you are so filling us in.”

  His face goes tense, his lips thin. “I’ll tell you what I can.”

  ***

  Chapter 2

  The concert is a blast and we perform two more songs for an encore. The sun is coming up when we finally rip into some nachos Rita makes backstage in her dressing room. Andre brings the beer. Noah is just waking up as we once more assault him with demands for answers.

  “So where have you been?” Rita says before popping a cheese drenched chip in her mouth.

  Noah raises his shoulders then lets them droop. He gives a prolonged sigh. “It’s complicated.”

  “Were you kidnapped?” I ask.

  His hazel eyes pin me. “There are these … people. I met them back when we were still playing small gigs. They thought I owed them something, but I was paid in full. They decided they wanted more. But I managed to escape, and here I am.”

  “That’s cryptic. What, are you running from the Mafia?” I take a mouthful of beer as Noah pins me with another glare.

  “That’s all I can give you.”

  “Noah, if you’re in trouble,” Rita puts a hand on his wrist, “let us help you. And we can’t do that if you keep secrets.”

  He gives her a look that shows gratitude for her concern. “What I’m involved in, no one can help me with. Trust me.” His pleading gaze scans all of us.

  “Okay, buddy,” Andre says, holding out his fist for a knuckle bump from Noah. “We’ll leave your secrets alone, for now. You need your space. We get it.”

  “Thanks.” Noah gives an appreciative smile.

  I chew my bottom lip, hating that Andre is essentially making us all give up on this subject, and way too easily in my opinion. But I’ll let it rest for tonight at least.

  A knock comes at the door then our weary looking manager, Regina Tyler, walks in. Her hair is a disheveled mess of sable curls and the buttons on her sequined blouse are mismatched. I wonder who she got lucky with last night. She does that a lot lately. Disappears after a concert, but I never see who with. I think she’s scooping up all our male groupies, much to Rita’s disappointment.

  She opens her mouth to speak, but then notices Noah and frowns. “Who’s this?”

  “New roadie,” I blurt, and the others nod their head in agreement. We can’t tell Regina it’s Noah just yet, or she’ll demand he go back to being the face of No Mercy. Better to wait and break it to her gently. That and the fact Noah doesn’t want to sing ever again. She’s going to have a fit when she finds out.

  She chews on a well manicured nail and keeps staring at Noah. “You look really familiar.”

  Andre jumps up and looks at Noah. “Hey, I need you to check out those cables I was telling you about. I almost forgot.”

  Noah appears relieved by the quick excuse to leave the room. He simply nods at Andre and gets up, keeping his head low as the two exit.

  “Cables?” Regina says. “What cables?”

  “Long story.” Rita offers Regina a chair. “What’s up?”

  Regina’s confused expression is wiped away by one of pure excitement. “I just booked you all a prime gig. I’m talking major bucks, but it’s a smaller venue. Very exclusive.” She sits and plucks a nacho from the massive plate sitting in the center of the coffee table.

  “Where at?” Rita and I say in unison.

  “Details!” Rita demands.

  Regina leans over and speaks in a conspiratorial whisper, “Have you ever heard of Night Glamour? It’s a club run by some very rich, very elusive people. Old money that’s been in the city forever, or so I’m told.”

  “And we got a gig there?” My heart speeds up and I swallow down anxiety.

  Regina nods. “Wait’ll you see this place.” She takes out her smartphone and pulls up a picture of the club, which she shows me and Rita.

  It’s decorated in art deco style, with long windows filling up most of its charcoal grey front. A neon purple sign above a silver door reads “Night Glamour.”

  “I went there once with a guy who worked as a bouncer there,” Regina says. “You’ll love it. The club is themed, so everyone that goes there has to dress up like their favorite monster before you can get in.”

  “How cool!” Being a huge fan of monster since I was little, this thrills me.

  Mom and I used to stay up late every weekend when I was a kid to watch 80s horror. She introduced me to such classics as Fright Night and Freddy Krueger.

  “We gotta go find Andre and tell him,” I say. “He’ll think this is the shit.”

  The three of us make our way past the small road crew as they put away our stage gear. Andre and Noah are nowhere to be seen backstage, but we find Andre just outside his dressing room, alone. I exhale my relief, since the last thing we need is Regina catching on to Noah’s true identity.

  “Hey, sweetie.” I hook an arm through Andre’s. “Regina has amazing news! Guess who wants to book us?”

  “Who?” He looks at her with wide blue eyes and slides his arm around my waist.

  Regina jumps on the spot in her excitement. “Night Glamour! They want you to play there next weekend.”

  H
e looks confused. “What’s Night Glamour?”

  Regina gasps in obvious shock and lightly slaps him. “You’re kidding me? It’s only the most exclusive club in the city. All the biggest acts have played there. Jack White, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse. This could lead to all sorts of breaks for No Mercy. Seriously.”

  He shrugs. “If it’s a good opportunity, I’m all for it.”

  “Cool!” Regina still looks a little disgusted by his lack of savvy when it comes to Cosmo City’s night life. “I booked you for Friday and Saturday night.”

  “Two concerts in a row again?” Rita whines.

  “Oh come on.” Regina waves her off. “When my Uncle Devin was touring back in the 80s, he and Onslaught would go a month straight without a break. Don’t be a wimp.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Rita rolls her eyes.

  Whenever Regina wants to motivate us, she pulls out old stories about her Uncle Devin, a drummer in a legendary metal band known as Onslaught. They’d toured the world back in the days of big concerts and even bigger hair. Regina tells us we kids have it easy these days, even though she’s only two years older than us.

  “Well I can’t wait,” I say, which further annoys my best friend. “Monsters and garage rock. Two of my favorite things in the world.”

  Oh, yeah, did I mention we’re a garage rock band with a retro style? That’s our thing, and so far it’s working for us.

  Once Regina gives us a few more details and promises to text us the rest of the information later, we part ways and head home, Good, cause I’ve exhausted.

  “Hey, little lady.” Andre sidles up beside me. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” He tucks his hand in the back pocket of my jeans.

  I laugh at his bad pick up line. “Of course you can.” So much for sleep. If Andre’s coming home with me, we won’t be catching any zzz’s for a few hours.

  ***

  Chapter 3

  I barely shut the door before Andre grabs me and kisses me. His tongue glides in my mouth, twining with mine. His teeth tug at my lower lip as I sigh into his kiss. We stumble toward the couch, still kissing and tearing off clothes as we go. By the time we fall back onto its cushions, we’re both naked. Cool air skims over my wet sex, making it tingle even more.

  I push him down on the cushions and kneel between his legs. While watching his face, I grip his cock and slowly pump my hand up and down, up and down. His eyes narrow from lust and he smiles. My lips press into his scrotum and I lave this thin skin with my tongue. He moans and his balls tighten as his penis grows harder. My tongue trails to his perineum and I tease this tiny flap of skin until he groans and thrusts into my coiled hand. I suck it deep into my mouth, which drives him mad with desire.

  Then I lick the length of his shaft before I lap pre-cum from his hole. His eyes flutter closed and his head falls back on his shoulders until it rests on top of a couch cushion. I taste beneath his glans with my hand still gripping the base of his cock.

  He begs for my mouth and I wrap my lips around the head of his penis, lowering my head until his glans brushes the back of my throat. I suck him hard and swallow, eliciting a long growl of pleasure from him. Then I pump my lips up and down fast, and he tells me my mouth is heaven. While I blow him, I squeeze and fondle his sac with one hand.

  “I want to taste you,” he says in a ragged voice. “My turn.” He wraps his big hands around my arms and yanks me up onto the couch. Then he kneels in front of me.

  He positions himself between my legs and lowers his mouth to my inner thighs. White teeth nip their way up my tender flesh. A pink tongue flits out and traces around my sex, but he denies my clit these same wet, warm strokes. I moan and try to push my throbbing pussy closer to his face. He simply chuckles and restrains my hips, licking and biting his way down my other inner thigh then kissing behind my knees.

  Finally his tongue presses into that sweet spot, and he grinds the wet muscle into this swelling nub, making me arch my back and groan. My pussy grows wetter and I beg him to slide a finger inside of me.

  He suckles my clit, making it pulse with explosive delight as one finger thrusts in and out of me. My eyes flutter shut as I soar closer to the edge of an intense climax.

  But the sound of my squeaky apartment door opening, followed by footsteps, interrupts my almost orgasm and makes my skin prickle with fear. Who the hell is in my place, and how dare they wreck my getting off.

  “Andre,” I whisper, as his tongue flicks over my clit again. “There’s someone in here.”

  He raises his head, looking dreamy-eyed. “Huh?”

  “Someone’s in the apartment with us.” The tiny hairs on the back of my neck raise up.

  “What a fucking time for an intruder,” he growls. “Are you sure?” He stays between my legs as we both look toward the shadowed hallway.

  A figure flits across the slice of light spilling in from my bedroom window.

  My heart pounds against my ribs as I look back at Andre. “Yeah, kinda.”

  He motions for me to stay where I am and gets up, grabbing his pants off the floor as he does. I whisper I’m not letting him go alone, but neither of us get a chance to investigate before the intruder appears in the entrance of the hallway.

  “Hey, sorry I messed up your … thing.” Noah’s voice is low and ragged. He sounds angry and hurt, and guilt twinges through me.

  “How did you get in?” I ask, grabbing my tank top from the floor and pulling it on. “And what’re you doing here?”

  “I still have a key. You know, from when you and I lived together.” His voice is laced with bitterness, and more guilt twinges through me, even though I’ve technically done nothing wrong.

  “What do you want?” Andre moves closer to him, until I grab his wrist and hold him back. A pleading look from me helps to stop him.

  “I left some stuff here. In the bedroom. I’ll only be a minute.”

  Andre lunges forward again. “You can come back tomorrow and get it. We’re busy right now.”

  Noah steps into the low light of my living area. His hazel eyes seem to flame yellow with anger. “Yeah I can see that. I’ll only be a minute.”

  He turns away and Andre stomps after him. “ I said you can come back tomorrow.” He grabs Noah’s shoulder and yanks him around.

  Noah raises a fist just as I reach them. I press my hands to their chests and he lowers it, glaring at me as he does so.

  “Please, don’t do this.” I glance between them. To Noah, I say, “You don’t want to break your best friend’s face.” To Andre, “And you don’t want to break your fingers. If you can’t play Night Glamour next weekend, not only will Regina and Rita kill you, I’ll kill you.”

  Noah touches my arm and frowns. “Night Glamour? You’re playing that place?”

  Beaming, I look at him. “Yeah, Regina booked us a gig for next weekend. Isn’t that great?”

  He doesn’t appear impressed. “It’s not a good venue for you. I think you should turn it down.”

  Almost in unison, Andre and I say, “Are you kidding?”

  Noah huffs an angry breath. “I know people who know people inside Night Glamour. Stuff goes on inside that club … You have no idea.”

  “We’ll take our chances,” Andre snaps, crossing his arms over his defined pecs and giving Noah a glare that says he wants him gone ten seconds ago.

  “Is that where your friends are?” I say to Noah, narrowing my eyes at him.

  “Those people are no friends of mine.” He turns from us and walks back down the murky hallway. “I’ll be by tomorrow for my stuff. And good luck with the Night Glamour gig, but I won’t come with you.”

  I stalk after him, grabbing his t-shirt to stop him. “You just got back and you’re bailing on us again?”

  He gives a low growl deep in his throat and scowls down at me. “It’s way more complicated than that, sweetie.”

  “Then tell us!” I shout, standing on my tiptoes to get in his face.

  He simply shrugs me off and turns
away, muttering as he heads for the door. “Hope you and your man have a great time.”

  ***

  Friday night we arrive at the club and Regina shows us to a back entrance. As we walk from the van we’ve rented for tonight, I peer inside Night Glamour’s floor to ceiling windows. They remind me of watchful eyes tracking my every step. I see cube-shaped levels that pulse with blue light near a raised stage, a spiral staircase that looks to be made from wrought iron, and royal purple couches on one end. Round, black tables with silver chairs dot an area just off the dance floor.

  While our small road crew is setting up and the others choose a dressing room, I peek out at the crowd from the side of the stage. Attendance is thin right now, but there’s an hour to go before we start, and more people are pouring through the entrance. I decide to head backstage with the others, find a dressing room, and warm up my voice.

  There are only two dressing rooms, so I share Andre’s. He wraps his arms around my waist as I go over the song selection for tonight.

  “We should finish what we started last night.” His lips feather over my neck.

  “We already did.” I slap his hand and move away, plunking down into a folding chair. “Two times last night. Be good. I need to practice and you need to tune your guitar.”

  He frowns. “This isn’t because of Noah, is it?”

  My head snaps up. “Huh?”

  “You never turn down a before-show quickie.”

  I roll my eyes. “Sweetie, get a hold on your male insecurity, okay? This is about the show. Playing in Night Glamour is a big deal.”

  Andre moves closer and kneels next to my chair. “You two were high school sweethearts. He’s back. Hell yeah I’m insecure.”

  Sighing, I put down my lyrics and stroke his cheek. “Let it go. You’ve got nothing to worry about, hon.” Then I dip my head to give him a deep kiss that I hope reassures him, because we don’t have time for this.

  It seems to work, and Andre picks up his guitar and starts plucking and tuning. Good, I think, as I go back to my songs. I’m glad my current boyfriend can’t read minds. If he could, he’d see my bluff. Noah’s return has stirred up more than I want Andre to know, and I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit I’m torn over who I want to be with. But I’ve got more on my mind than my love troubles. Right now I need my voice in prime condition so we can pull off a stellar concert.

 

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