Go fucking figure.
“Taylor, you want to get your head out of your ass and concentrate?” Hunter barked from behind his drums.
What the actual fuck?
All eyes were on me, and I had no clue why. “My head isn’t up my ass,” I argued.
“So, the last chorus we played you just decided to take a break?” he further whined. The look on his face made me want to shove those damn sticks up his ass… sideways.
“I was playing.” Wasn’t I? My gaze sliced around the room, over Evan, Scott, and Jack’s bland expressions, before landing on Leila. And instead of the scowl Hunter sported, a brilliant smile spread on her face. What was she grinning at?
“Cut him some slack, Hunt,” Jack said, coming to my rescue. “We all know how distracting love can be.”
Wait… what?
“I’m not distracted, for fuck’s sake.” And as I said that I knew he was right. I hated when he was right. I circled a finger and barked, “Count us down.”
That time I made sure to play my part, killing it like the god I knew I was. I’d show that motherfucker distraction. We played through to the end. I waited for Jack to sing the last line and then flipped Hunter the finger.
“That’s more like it,” he said condescendingly. Asshole.
“Bite me.”
“No thanks,” the annoying fucker actually responded.
“We’ll pick up tomorrow,” Jack informed us. It was earlier than our usual quitting time, and the idea to head to Queens hit hard and fast.
As I was casing my guitar, Leila placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You have no idea how happy I am seeing you like this.”
On their own accord, my lips twitched with a smile that I quickly suppressed. I could argue or even deny her insinuations. I didn’t. Instead, I threw an arm around her shoulder and said, “Hey, what’s the difference between a G-spot and a golf ball?” I gave her my token pause while watching the smile fall off her face. “No? Okay, I’ll tell you. A guy will actually search for a golf ball.”
She shoved me playfully. “Still an ass.”
To that I chuckled, kissed her cheek, and said, “Bye, band.”
Thirty minutes later, Alec idled at the curb while I dialed Camilla.
“Hi.”
“Hey. You home?”
“Yeah.”
“Open up for me.” I saw the blinds move in the window facing the street and a sliver of her smiling face between the slats.
“Trey, I’m working.”
“I won’t bother you,” I lied.
A sigh came over the phone, yet her face contradicted that by continuing to smile. “Fine.”
“I’m fine here, Alec. I’ll call you later when I need you.” He gave me a nod just as I tugged the bill of my hat lower over my eyes, searched the street, and jogged around the house to the side door leading to her apartment.
It cracked open, prompting me to quickly duck inside, where Camilla waited in white short-shorts and a pale-pink tank top. Free of makeup and shoes, her hair in its normally high ponytail, she sparked that craving I’d battled since yesterday.
“What are you doing here?”
“Practice ended early,” I said, as if that was a perfect explanation.
“I’m on a deadline.”
Hooking my arm around her waist, I pulled her into my body and kissed her. Slowly, softly, perfectly. And when I stepped back, based on her parted lips and hooded eyelids, my guess was I’d effectively distracted her from working.
“Um… okay, then.” She swallowed audibly as I removed my cap and hooked it on the banister. “Are you coming up, or do you just want to make out here?”
My response was to throw her over my shoulder, and when she squealed, I smacked her perfect ass. “We don’t need your landlord thinking I’m murdering you.”
“He’s old and deaf,” she said while slipping her hands into my back pockets and squeezing. And by doing so, she further provoked the fucker already stretching between my legs.
At the top of her stairs, I maintained my hold on her and asked, “Can you take a break?”
“A short one.” Already heading for her room, I tossed her on the bed just as she added, “But I need to finish before I pick Alivia up.”
“Oh, you’ll be finished by then.” I took a moment to memorize her perfect body, and when she bit down on her lip, shyly waiting for me to move, the moment was over.
Those little shorts she wore were on the floor in a heartbeat. But fuck, I wasn’t prepared to see the tiniest G-string I’d ever laid eyes on… and hell, if I hadn’t seen my share. It barely covered her, but regardless, it needed to come off. Her thighs quivered a bit when I dragged it down her legs to join her shorts on the floor.
The entire time Camilla remained silent, her eyes pinned to my every move, her chest heaving with each labored breath. That flimsy cotton tank top barely contained her breasts and did nothing to hide two perfectly pebbled nipples.
Without further delay, I gripped each ankle, dragged her toward the edge of the bed, and knelt to bring my face right where I wanted it to be.
I met her eyes for a beat to ensure she was paying attention. And then I lapped a lazy trail from bottom to top at a snail’s pace to begin a tantalizing pattern. She mewled with each glide of my tongue, up and down, left to right. There wasn’t a part of her I didn’t taste, except for her clit. I purposely avoided it while swirling a soft tongue above and below it, plunging a stiff tongue inside her and working her up into a quiet frenzy.
Her fingers gripped the comforter beneath her. Her thighs clamped around my head. Her pained moans begged for me to finish her off. And when it all came together in a fevered pitch, then and only then did I latch on to her clit and suck forcibly until her pussy began convulsing against my mouth. Just before she calmed, right when I felt her peak, I slipped two fingers inside her and watched her orgasm practically split her in half.
While she came down from her high, I kissed my way up her body until my mouth gave her a sampling of how sweet she tasted. Despite how my cock practically howled for his turn, I simply pulled her into my arms and gave my heart what it craved… getting lost in my new reality as her lover.
Chapter 30
Camilla
After giving me an earth-shattering orgasm, Trey watched TV on my couch as I resumed trying to work on the website I had to get done. Keyword try. My efforts weren’t without interruption. His game was to ask me random questions regarding sexual preferences. Position. Kink. Whether I’d ever get my clit pierced.
Typing and squirming. Lots of it.
We had a little time before Alivia needed to be picked up, and I simply couldn’t focus on getting my work done.
Who could blame me? I had a hot rock star a few feet away ready and primed for the taking. I couldn’t remember a time I’d been this horny. Sex wasn’t a thing for me. Not to mention mind-blowing, orgasm-guaranteed, unforgettable sex.
I also couldn’t remember when I’d ever been so happy. It probably sounded harsh, especially since I had given birth to the most perfect little angel. But through those joyous moments, my insecurities, fear, and doubt that I could be both a mother and father to her, without my own family to support me, overshadowed the happiness.
This kind of happiness, though… seeing Alivia flourish in her new relationship with Trey, having him there for not only our daughter but for me, was indescribable.
Giving up, I saved the final version of the nail salon’s site I’d been working on and quickly tapped out an email to the owner with the link for her to review what I had done so far at her convenience.
There was still more I should’ve tackled, but tomorrow was another day.
Trey’s eyes were on me the moment I stood to stretch. “Done?” he asked with a devious smirk.
“For now.” I took the few steps needed to close the distance and sat beside him with a smile.
“It’s only two,” he said matter-of-factly.
“
Yes, I know.”
“What to do?” No doubt he had plans for the ninety minutes we had before she needed to be picked up from camp. He jumped right to it by running a fingertip over the edge of my neckline, following the way it dipped between my breasts. While his eyes followed the motion, I tried to control my breathing that one simple touch hampered.
But then a faint buzzing stole his focus. He retrieved his phone from a back pocket and frowned. “Hello?” Whatever the person on the other end said caused him to bolt up off the couch like his ass had been shot.
“When?” He snatched the remote and flipped to another channel, and right there on the screen was a grainy picture of Trey holding my daughter in his arms. The scrolling headline read, Does our favorite cursed rocker have a love child?
It took a minute for my brain to catch up, and when it did, my heart began to frantically pound. The reporter flipped through a few images. One of Trey holding her, one of me beside them laughing as she blew out her candles, one of Alivia clinging to him with her lips on his cheek. With each one, had me feeling sicker to my stomach.
“Yes. Get him here immediately.” His eyes caught mine when he said, “She’s at camp.” An excruciating eternity passed as he listened and before he finally added, “Okay.” He then jabbed his phone with such force it bounced out of his hand and onto the floor.
“Trey.” It was everything… a plea, a prayer, a question, a petition, a scream.
He gripped my upper arms and forced me to stare back at him. “That was Krista, our PR rep. Those photos have been leaked to the press by an employee working at that PlayScapades place. We have no idea how, since anyone working that day had to hand over their phones.” When I stared blankly while blinking, he felt the need to say, “Because they involve me, it will create a frenzy.”
“What kind of frenzy?” I asked breathlessly.
His expression said it all. “Pack a bag. The best place for you is to be with me in the city. Once they track her back here…”
His pause angered me. “What?” I asked impatiently. “What will happen?”
Ignoring my question, he instead said through gritted teeth, “Go pack, Camilla.”
When I had yet to move, he gripped my hand and practically dragged me toward Alivia’s room.
“Trey… this is crazy. Maybe we can go to Debbie and Carson’s and stay with them.”
“You don’t want to bring this to their doorstep, Camilla. The only way I can protect you is if you’re with me.”
“But Alivia is at camp right now. Alone.” My baby was out there, and I had no idea what she faced or would face if we didn’t get to her soon.
“The director would’ve called you. We’re ahead of their game. We’re going to get her and take her to the city before they figure things out. Right now, only one news channel covered it. Once the rest catch on, they’ll be coming out of the woodwork to…”
Another pause had me wanting to tear my hair out. “To what?” I asked hysterically.
“To photograph her. It’ll become a contest on which paparazzi prick can score the best picture. And because she’s my daughter, after what I’ve been through, they’ll stop at nothing to get the story. Interviewing teachers or coaches… friends… no one will be spared.”
That reality snapped me out of my daze to grab her suitcase and start filling it with things she’d need. Meanwhile, Trey went right to her bookcase and yanked out the books he had been reading to her these past few weeks, her iPad, and her favorite Hello Kitty doll before shoving them all in the bag.
It took fifteen excruciating minutes to have a bag filled for each of us when his phone buzzed again. “Alec is outside. Let’s go.” I pushed aside questions on how he could have arrived so fast. Trey must always have him hovering nearby.
As he took the bags, I grabbed my phone and purse. I had no idea how long we’d be gone, and the panic within me began to boil over.
“My work.” He glanced at the desktop that contained my entire livelihood.
“Don’t worry about that. As of now, you’re effectively on a leave of absence.” It wasn’t a suggestion, and I had no fight in me to oppose him. All I cared about was my daughter.
On the drive to her camp, Trey had me calling the director to alert her we were on our way. He then instructed me to tell her to be ready to meet us with Alivia in tow when we pulled up. At the same time, he spoke to Jack, filling him in on what the plan was.
The ten minutes it took to get there were the longest of my life. When Alec pulled down the long driveway that led to the camp, Trey said, “No one is here.” I wasn’t sure if he voiced that out loud for my benefit or his.
In a whirlwind, Alivia was deposited in the booster seat that was always present in Alec’s SUV. “Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy.” She looked from one of us to the other. “Why did you pick me up early? It was almost snack time.”
“I’ll get you the best snack in the city,” Trey responded with a forced smile. He then looked to me for guidance.
“Sweetheart, we decided to spend a few days with Daddy in the city,” I spoke for him.
“We are? Why?”
I didn’t want to lie to her, and she needed to be prepared if this got bad. Taking her hand in mine, I said, “Sweetie, do you know how there are people in this world who are on TV or in the movies?”
She nodded. “Famous people.”
“Right. Well, sometimes people who sing are famous, too, and people want to know things about their lives.” I glanced at Trey, who seemed to be struggling during some sort of inner battle. “Well, your daddy sings in a band with Jack, Leila, and the other people you met at the beach house.”
“I know,” she admitted casually as Trey and I exchanged surprised expressions. “Devil’s Bear. Shane told me,” she went on to say. “They play rocking roll.” Normally I would have laughed at her errors, but I couldn’t find the humor at the moment. “Shane said sometimes he sings on stage in front of millions of people with the band. And they have to be careful because a lot of people want to meet them and get pictures with them. That’s why they go to a special school and Mr. Oscar is always with them to protect them.” I should’ve been relieved, but I wasn’t.
“Yes, like that. Well, now that you have Trey as your daddy, you need to be careful too. So, we’re going to be careful, and it’s easier to do that at Daddy’s house in the city for a little while.”
Trey raised his brows and motioned a clear message that it could be a long while, but I chose to ignore that. I needed to take one day at a time.
“Okay,” she said, completely unaffected by what I was terrified of. “Did you remember to pack Kitty?”
“Yes,” I said with a smile. “Daddy packed Kitty for you.”
“And your favorite books,” he added.
“Cool.” And as she began giving us details of her day at camp, I stared at Trey, not liking his blank stare and severe frown.
The chaos was obvious even before we hit his building. Throngs of people littered the sidewalk, cars double-parked from corner to corner. A police siren blasted, while an authoritative voice called out over an intercom to “move your cars immediately.”
“Fuck.” Remembering his role, he cut his eyes to Alivia. “Don’t ever say that word.”
How the hell would we get into his building? Alec pulled up to one of the police cars and lowered his window. He spoke in quiet tones, prompting the officer to glance at Alivia before doing the same.
“Mommy, is that because Daddy’s famous?” she asked, staring at the mob with trepidation.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
The officer began barking orders to those who were blocking the path into Trey’s building. Another immediately came over to our idling SUV, clueing the mass to who was inside.
All cameras pointed our way, and my blood ran cold, feeling so exposed. I had always known this was a possibility because of who Trey was, but I hadn’t grappled with the lengths they’d go to for that exclusive snippet of his life.
>
While the police woman who spoke to Alec called for backup, a second officer began plowing through the mob, shouting at them and having little success.
“I’ll carry her out.” Trey robotically unsnapped Alivia while his eyes were on me. “You’ll hold my hand and follow, head down. Don’t engage.”
“Daddy, will they hurt us?”
“No,” he responded emphatically. He then held Alivia’s face in his hands as the gravity of the situation began to hit her. “They just want to take your picture. Your job is to hold on to me, okay, Squirt?” She nodded but remained quiet while he gathered her in his arms.
Alec appeared at Trey’s door and through the tinted glass we watched him nod, prompting Trey to ask, “Ready?” The door flew open, and Trey expertly bolted out with Alivia in his arms, his large hand holding her small head against his shoulder to shield her face. His other hand reached back and grabbed mine so hard I flinched.
It all happened so fast, yet it unfolded in slow motion. The screaming questions, of which I couldn’t make out anything that made sense. The flashes. The claustrophobic feeling clawing at me when bodies pressed closer as we made our way into the building.
Once behind the glass entryway, Trey released my hand and rushed toward an already waiting elevator.
“My Kitty,” Alivia cried with tears shimmering in her eyes.
“Mr. Alec will bring her up soon,” Trey said before releasing a weighted breath when the elevator doors closed on the bedlam just outside.
As Alivia trembled in his arms, he continued to clutch her tiny body to his. “Shh, it’s over, baby,” he said while rubbing her back, purposely avoiding looking at me.
And I hated that he’d lied to her, although I would’ve done the same, because it wasn’t over… this was just the beginning.
Chapter 31
Trey
I felt awful for having to walk through my door and deposit them in Alivia’s room. But I needed to release the anger festering in my core and sparing them from seeing my own fears was necessary. Panicking wouldn’t help the situation—nor would it slam a lid back on the can full of those slimy worms already on the move.
Trey Page 20
