Chapter 18
Xander
Dublin, Ireland
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted as I flung my phone across the dining table.
“I’m guessing you saw the article,” Noah said as he sat down next to me with his plate piled up high with eggs and sausage.
“It’s bullshit.” I groaned and threaded my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Why can’t I shake her? She’s fucking engaged. Why is she still all over me in the press?”
“You know Kelly.” Noah shrugged as he dug into his eggs. His fork shook slightly, and I gave him some side eye. “She’s all about clout and who can get her the furthest. She might’ve hooked up with her manager, but he’s clearly not her end game. He’s just another step on her way to the top. Like you are.”
I didn’t say anything. I just sat there and watched Noah eat his eggs. His hand didn’t do the tremor again, but I was suspicious.
After a minute, Noah dropped his fork with a groan. “Seriously? Why are you staring at me? I’m getting a fucking complex.”
“Is everything okay with you? You good with being the only single Tin God left standing?”
Noah pushed his chair back and crossed his arms over his chest with a shit-eating grin. “So you and Harper are official? You’re not pretending anymore?”
I rolled my eyes. “We haven’t talked about it. We’re whatever. But I’m talking about you. How are you handling things?”
“Fuck.” Noah huffed and hunched over his plate again. “Is this about Liam? Did he have another relapse?”
“No. He texted me yesterday. I guess he got a job at a guitar store in Phoenix. This is about you.”
“That sounds totally like a place an addict should work,” Noah muttered under his breath.
“Fuck you.” I stabbed my blood sausage savagely. “He’s doing the work. He joined NA in Phoenix. He’s going to meetings, and he just got his two-year chip.”
“Good for him,” Noah snarked. “Congrats for reaching the bare minimum.”
I flung my fork down and reached across the table to grab Noah by the scruff of his neck. I slammed his face into his plate when Chase came tearing into the room.
“Fuck!” Chase leapt toward me, but I was too busy slamming my fist into Noah’s face to care.
Noah got in a few swings of his own, nailing me in the cheek and ribs. We went down in a crash of dishes and glass.
“Oomph.”
“Fucker.”
“Asshole.”
I swung a fist into his side when a splash of water hit us both straight in the face.
Pushing away from Noah, I sat up, coughing and spitting grungy water out of my mouth.
“What is it with you all?” Ella shrieked. She stood on a chair over us, still holding a vase in her hands. “Why does it always have to come to blows with you nutjobs?”
“He started it,” Noah sulked, holding his ribs with a grimace.
“You started it. Saying shit about Liam getting his two-year chip. Like it wasn’t a big deal. Like he was just some junkie scum.” I glared at my former friend. “Fuck. You.”
Noah moved like he was going to hit me again when Ella shouted above us. “Hey! Hey! Hey! I will grab the coffee next time. Do not test me.”
“What the hell is going on in here?” Harper asked from the doorway, surveying the scene of destruction. “You guys get that this house is a rental, right? Anything you all break or stain—” She flung a hand at the formerly white carpet. “Is on us to pay for.”
“Sorry, Harper.” Ella jumped down from the chair and lifted a hand in apology. “I was just trying to prevent more carnage.”
“Oh, I’m not mad at you. I know exactly who’s to blame for this.” She turned to raise her eyebrows at Jesse.
“Whoa!” Jesse lifted his palms in a display of innocence. “I was just breaking these two up.”
“Xander?” She blinked at me. “And Noah? What the hell guys? You’re the even-keeled duo. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Ask Mr. Hothead here.” Noah rolled to his knees and then stood with a painful groan. “He just attacked me out of nowhere.”
“Right.” I scoffed. “Because you didn’t do a thing to provoke me. Own your shit, Noah.”
He hobbled toward the door, really playing up his ‘injuries.’ “Words don’t hurt like fists, asshole.”
“Say you’re sorry, asshole!” I shouted at his retreating back.
But Noah just waved a hand and limped out of the room.
Everyone turned their attention to me, still sprawled in the mess that had been our breakfast. “I don’t care what you all think. I’m not the one owing an apology.”
“At least clean up after yourself,” Jesse said with a sigh. “I don’t want to eat in the middle of this fucking mess.”
I grabbed what I could and headed for the kitchen to clean up and grabbed a trash can.
“Are you okay?” Harper asked quietly from the other side of the large room.
I dropped my head and shrugged. “Not really. But I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” She shifted her weight for a second then asked, “Are we still going out today?”
“Fuck yeah.” I turned around and gave her a grin. “I have a whole thing planned.”
“It’s not another distillery or brewery tour, is it? Because I really don’t—”
I broke into her mini-rant with a laugh. “You like books, right?”
She nodded, suddenly mute.
“I thought we’d go check out Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Then maybe hit a pub for lunch, then Carrolls for some tacky souvenir shopping, and then dinner, just the two of us. And maybe after that, one more surprise.”
“That’s…wow. You’ve thought this out.”
I grinned, even though I could feel my cheeks heating. “You mentioned that you don’t get to see the countries we’re touring, so I wanted to make sure we hit some highlights.”
“Thanks, Zee. That means a lot.”
We stood there for a minute, grinning at each other.
Then I shook my head like I had to wake myself up from a trance. “But I guess I should wash off the eggs before we go.”
Harper’s eyes darted over my body, and she pursed her lips. “I should probably shower too. Get the stench of the venue off me.”
“You know there’s a drought right now.” I fought against the grin tugging at my lips and tried to maintain a stoic expression. “So in the name of conservation, we should probably shower together.”
“A drought,” Harper repeated, deadpanned. “In Ireland .”
I blinked dramatically. “It’s been on all the news shows. Hasn’t rained in like three weeks or something.”
Finally, she smiled. “I guess if it’s in the name of conservation.”
I walked to her side and held out my elbow like a gentleman. “Right this way, m’lady.”
Harper laughed, but she clasped my arm and let me lead her down the hall to our room. When we’d pulled up to the estate last night, it’d been late—in the early hours of the morning really. So I hadn’t got a chance to appreciate the place Harper had found for us to stay just outside of Dublin. But it was massive. A two-story villa with six bedrooms full of fussy antique furniture, overlooking Dublin Bay.
But the part I was eager to see right now was the large bathroom just off our room.
Our room . Because despite the extra bedrooms, Harper had passed out on the bed next to me this morning. I might’ve stared at her for a ridiculous amount of time before I finally fell asleep.
I dropped my arm and clasped her hand in mine as we stepped inside the white tiled bathroom. “You want to go first or second?”
A wrinkle formed between her eyebrows. “I thought we were showering together.”
“Just checking.” I shrugged at the eye roll she gave me. Crossing the room, I stuck my hand into the large glass shower stall with gleaming marble looking tiles with gray veining. “How hot do you like it?”
“What?” Harper looked at me with wide eyes. “Is there like a scale or something?”
“For water? Yeah. See there’s this nob that I can turn—”
“Oh!” Harper buried her face in her hands and giggled. “That’s not what I thought you were talking about.”
“Clearly, you have expectations for this little shower session.” I pulled my shirt over my head then slowly pushed my pants down my legs and kicked them free. Hooking my thumbs in the waistband of my boxer briefs, I gave her a smirk. “I hope I don’t disappoint.”
She watched me with wide eyes as I slowly pushed my briefs down and off my legs. My erection leapt into view.
Harper sucked in a breath and watched as I ran a hand up and down my length. “Never gonna be disappointed in that.”
Steam billowed out of the shower next to me, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of her and the way she hypnotically watched my hand move. And I couldn’t help but smirk. I jerked my chin at her. “Isn’t it your turn now?”
“You’re going to watch me?” I didn’t think it was possible, but her eyes grew wider.
I nodded slowly.
She groaned. “Fine. But don’t expect a Magic Mike show. Unlike some people , I don’t have any practice at this.”
“Hey that was only for a summer! And it paid for a whole year on the road.”
“Wait, what? I was talking about you guys constantly taking your shirts off in the first part of the tour. What are you talking about?”
“That. What you just said.”
Harper gave me a confused frown before shaking her head.
I sighed. “You don’t have to. I can turn around and give you so—”
Her shirt sailed right past my head.
“Ho-lee shit.”
Harper giggled, and it did amazing things to her bra-clad tits.
I groaned. “Go slower. I’m going to play this back in my mind every time I’m alone in the shower.”
She cocked her head. “Why are you thinking about being alone in the shower when I’m right here?”
“Good fucking point. Sorry to interrupt. As you were.”
“Thank you.” She gave me a smug as hell smile then did this shimmy move to get her pants off but also made her tits bounce and jiggle.
I about swallowed my tongue.
Then her cotton panties came down, and I forgot about breathing. Her bra followed them, and I gulped.
“So?” Harper stood in front of me totally nude with her eyebrows raised. A flush traveled from her cheeks down her neck to her chest. Her very full and voluptuous chest.
Lord have mercy.
“Ten out of ten,” I murmured. “No notes.”
Harper laughed, and I was hypnotized by her bouncing nipples. “I meant, are we getting in the shower? You know the whole reason for us standing in this room. Conserving water despite the gallons and gallons we’re currently wasting.”
“I don’t know about you, but it was just my excuse to get you naked.”
“Xander! I want to go do all those things you planned. We don’t have time to screw around.”
“As the person who made today’s itinerary, I declare we have just enough time to screw around once.” I tilted my head but didn’t take my eyes off her tits. “Maybe twice.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Get in there! You need to block the spray, so I don’t get my hair wet.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I followed her guiding hands and stepped into the shower stall. Standing with my back to the showerhead, I watched Harper step into the stall after me and close the door behind her.
“So, uh, what all are we washing?” She bit her bottom lip and blinked up at me.
“Every part I can reach.” I turned to grab the showerhead to adjust its spray when I felt her soapy hands touch my back.
She ran her hands all over me, mapping my back, up around my shoulders, before finally reaching around my hips and palming my cock. I braced a hand against the tile in front of me, sighing as her curious fingers tightened around me. She ran her hand up and down my length, stopping to tickle that spot under the head then going back down to squeeze the base. Up and down. Squeezing. Teasing. Fuck.
I groaned. “As hot as this is, can you grab that lube over there? Soap can get…painful if you use too much there.”
Harper pressed a kiss against the middle of my back then turned and grabbed the bottle of lube I’d stashed in here earlier. I took the opportunity to spin around and face her while still blocking the spray with my back.
Her eyes widened when she turned back around with the lube in hand and saw I’d moved. But she didn’t change her plan. After squeezing some lube into her hand, she stepped up to me and palmed my cock again.
I had to close my eyes for a second because it felt too good. Between the sensation and the visual of Harper standing in front of me totally nude, I was about to blow my load. “Christ, angel. You are too fucking sexy.”
She made this huffing sound like she didn’t believe me.
I had to open my eyes to see her guarded expression. “What the hell? You don’t believe me?”
Harper moved a shoulder like it didn’t matter to her, but I knew the truth.
“You’re literally holding the proof right there. You are so fucking sexy, Harper. I think about you when I’m alone. I try not to think about you when I’m on stage because I don’t want to pop a woody up there, but then I’ll see you standing offstage, barking orders…” I close my eyes and groan. “I’ve never been into mouthy, bossy women before—usually I have to be in control—but with you, I fucking crave it.”
“Really?” Harper whispered.
I opened my eyes and stared intently into hers. “ Really .”
“I just…I thought I was someone convenient. I mean we’re in this situation because of other people, not because of us and our feelings. And I’ve seen the kinda women you usually go for—I’m not them.”
“And I’m so fucking glad you’re not. I didn’t know what the fuck I was missing before. I think it’s safe to say that you’ve officially changed my type.”
“Xander.” She reached up with her free hand and tugged me down for a kiss.
I moved my mouth over hers and tried to tell her what I was still not ready to say out loud. I kissed her with an urgency I’d never felt before. I pulled her toward me as I kept kissing her, and she gasped when her naked tits rubbed against my chest.
She squeezed my dick, milking it as she kissed me back. My eyes rolled back into my head, and it was my turn to groan. Reaching down, I nudged her thighs apart with my hand and delicately traced her sex with my finger.
She was already so wet and glossy. My fingers skated over her pussy as I petted her. After a few passes, I gently nudged her lower lips apart and found her engorged clitoris.
Harper whimpered as I teased her. Her hand griped my dick convulsively, squeezing me tight.
“Fuck, angel.” My finger softly circled her throbbing clit. “You remember how we almost did this in public after the pub?”
Harper shivered against me, but I felt her hair rub across my chest as she nodded.
“Did you really want to keep going? What if someone came along and saw you straddling me? Saw you rubbing your tight little body all over me? Watched your tits bounce as I thrust inside you?”
I could feel Harper’s pussy flexing as she clenched on air. Pressing a thick finger inside her, I used my thumb to keep teasing her clit.
“Anyone could’ve seen us out there. Watched you kiss me. All it would’ve taken is one glimpse, and they would’ve known how fucking hot you are. How much you needed this. I was inches away from pulling down your top and feeling your gorgeous tits. And everyone would’ve seen. They would’ve watched me thrust my dick into your tight body. Heard the keening sound you make just before you come. The way you scream my name.”
“Xander!” she cried just before I felt her pussy tighten rhythmically around my finger. I added another, and she cried out. Gently tapping around her clit with my thumb, I gave it one little rub, and she broke again.
I had to wrap my other arm around her waist to keep her standing. Her pussy squeezed and clenched my fingers until my eyes crossed. Christ, it was so fucking hot.
Unable to help it, I humped my hips into her hand. I was so close. Feeling her come around my fingers, thinking about that night and what we’d almost done, I was on the edge. Just one more…
I gave a strangled cry and shot my load all over her belly.
Harper gasped as it hit her body, then groaned as my fingers twitched inside her.
I leaned down and gave her another soft kiss before gently pulling my fingers free. Patting her pussy, I smiled down at her. “Is it my turn to wash your back now?”