Chapter Thirty-Four
Paige
“‘It’s Not Over,’” I say, doubling down and placing my hands on my hips.
“‘Priceless,’” Maddox fires back in challenge, stepping toward me.
I swallow hard, biting back my annoyance. “Are you for real? ‘It’s Not Over’ would kill being played after ‘Always Attract.’ It would lift the whole second half of the set.”
“It slows the pacing,” he counters, closing in until he’s all I can see, clouding my head like he always does. “The lyrics are too moody. We’ll lose the crowd; that’s why it has to be ‘Priceless.’”
“We are the crowd,” I snap, pushing him back, needing the space to argue. “We’re the ones building the ride. Each song’s a twist or a drop—”
His eyebrows arch. “It’s a set list, not a ride at fucking Disneyland.”
“You’re insufferable,” I growl. “Of course it’s a roller coaster, you dumbass. Music resonates. It makes people feel things, the highs, the lows…” I glance at Beau and Eli for help. “You guys agree with me, right?”
Beau takes a slow step back. “Not getting involved.”
Eli grins, looking between us. “I mean…keep going. I like it when you two fight. It’s kinda hot.”
“Shut up, Eli,” we both snap in unison.
Heat rises up my neck as I watch the twitch of Maddox’s jaw, that cocky little smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
That mouth that did sinfully pleasurable things to my body.
He knows what he’s doing, pushing my buttons on purpose while giving me that look like he’s trying to decide if he wants to fight me or fuck me.
Maybe both.
I cross my arms as a scowl spreads over my face. His gaze lowers, lingering for just a second before snapping back up to meet mine.
“You always think you know best, don’t you?” I bite, dropping my arms. “You never leave room for anyone else’s ideas.”
“And you think you can read a crowd better than I can this early on your first tour?” he goads.
“God, you’re such an arrogant—” I bite out, voice shaking.
His smirk fades, replaced by a hard edge I know all too well, the Maddox I’m used to, any semblance of his playfulness now gone.
“I’m the frontman, Paige,” he says flatly. “It’s my call. Don’t like it? Not my problem.”
It’s a low blow, a dick thing to say, and he knows it. Beau shifts behind me, and Eli lets out a low whistle as he turns around, looking anywhere but at us.
The vein in the side of my neck throbs in time with the pounding in my head as I back away.
“You know what? Forget it.”
Turning around, I storm out, boots echoing down the corridor as my blood boils. I don’t stop until I reach my dressing room, shoving the door open and kicking it behind me with a growl. It doesn’t even have time to click into place when a hand slams against it, pushing it open.
“I’m not in the mood,” I mutter, stripping off my leather jacket and tossing it on the couch.
“You walked off before sound check.”
“I walked off because you weren’t listening.”
Maddox exhales a frustrated breath. “I am listening. You just don’t like that I don’t agree with you.”
I spin on my heel, thrusting my finger into his face. “You didn’t disagree. You shut me down. And in front of the guys.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Then what did you mean?” I blink hot anger from my eyes.
“You don’t get to act like every creative decision I don’t agree with is a personal attack on you.”
“I don’t,” I say, teeth gritting together. “But you could at least try to be open to them.”
“Playing ‘It’s Not Over’ after ‘Always Attract’ makes it feel too much like the album,” he says, taking a small step forward.
“So? That’s a good thing. The first time I heard those two back-to-back, I got chills, Maddox. Fucking chills. It hits.”
“Not everything that hits in headphones works on stage.”
“And not everything that works live has to be loud and fast,” I fire back. “You’re so obsessed with control, you can’t even hear when something feels right.”
“It’s not about control. It’s about knowing what lands.”
“And you think I don’t? You think because I’m new, I can’t feel what’s gonna hit a crowd in the chest?”
We’re standing close, barely a breath between us, our arguing pulling us together like magnets unable to resist one another.
“You want the set to mean something, and I respect the hell out of that,” he says, tone less sharp than before. “But not everything has to be a statement. Sometimes it just has to work.”
“And it would, if you stopped being such a pig-headed ass.”
I try to step back, creating space between us, but his hand shoots out, banding around my body, pressing hard into my lower back and crushing me to his chest.
“Why are you fighting me so hard on this?” he murmurs, voice a rasp I feel in my toes. “Why are you so desperate to win?”
This isn’t about the set list; in some way, it never was. Fighting with him like this, standing toe-to-toe, breathless and furious…it’s starting to feel like foreplay.
“Like you aren’t?” I whisper, sucking my lower lip between my teeth, loving the way his eyes darken before I release it. “Maddox Knox. Frontman. Human spotlight with an ego to match.”
Voice low, his eyebrow lifts. “Careful.”
“Or what?”
His gaze flicks from my mouth back to my eyes. He looks like he still wants to argue but can’t remember why.
“Go on, Knox,” I taunt, shoving at his chest, his grip only tightening. “Prove me wrong. Prove that your ego can…”
His hand moves fast, gripping the back of my neck, lips crashing onto mine in a bruising kiss, a clash of teeth and tongues. I groan, grabbing his shirt and ripping at the buttons, a couple of the tiny plastic disks pinging to the floor.
“God, I hate you,” I murmur against his mouth.
He chuckles darkly, tongue flicking against the seam of my lips. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
My hands push open his shirt and rake down his bare chest, nails scraping roughly over muscle and the smattering of hair covering his pecs. He hisses, dipping to nip my throat in retaliation, and I moan, eyes rolling shut.
My fingers scramble for his belt, the jingle of metal of the buckle sending arousal rocketing through me. I rip it free, pop the button on his jeans and sink to my knees.
“Paige—” he chokes out, voice rough.
I swore I wouldn’t do this, that he’d be on his knees long before I ever was. But there’s something about seeing this man, with hands clenched at his sides, barely in control, that makes me feel powerful.
I don’t look up as I free him from his boxer briefs. I don’t play or tease. This isn’t a distraction or a way to win.
I want to do this. I’m furious and wired with adrenaline and so damn turned on.
Tension snaps through his thighs as my palms drift higher, and I can feel his muscles contract, each clench a crack in his tight control.
I can’t wait to see him break. His breath hitches as I wrap my hand around him, thick and heavy and hard in my hand.
I take him into my mouth, caught in his eyes, dark and feral, his stare pinning me in place.
Deep. Hot. Full.
A strangled, involuntary sound tearing from his throat spurs me on. His hand threads into my hair, fingers twisting into the strands, not pulling, but anchoring himself like he needs to hold on or he’ll fall apart too fast. His cock throbs against my tongue, the taste of his arousal making me moan.
I slacken my jaw, working him slow and steady, savoring every second of this as my free hand drifts to his balls, rolling them gently before giving them a light tug as I suck him down.
As I close my eyes, the weight of him on my tongue is so damn perfect.
I slide back, lips tight around him, swirling my tongue over the tip, teasing his slit, lapping up every drop of pre-cum.
He shudders hard, trying to stay still, but he can’t help the twitch of his hips like he can’t hold back.
I swallow him again, burying my nose into the dark hair surrounding his cock.
“Fuck,” he pants. “Your mouth—”
I smile, looking up at him from my knees as he struggles to stay quiet, to keep it together. He’s already close; I can tell by the way his hands tighten in my hair, the way his breaths are more ragged now.
“Paige?” Eli’s voice cuts through the air, following a knock on the door.
Maddox goes rigid, and not in the way I was dying to experience. One hand shoots out against the wood, stopping anyone from walking inside.
“Mmhmm?” I hum around him, letting the vibration ripple through his cock, relishing the shiver it evokes.
“Have you seen Maddox?” Eli asks, clueless as to what he’s interrupting.
I glance up again, a wicked thought filling my head as I run my tongue slowly down the underside of his cock, tracing that sensitive vein that makes him twitch in my hand.
“Nope,” I say sweetly, as if I’m not on my knees, Maddox’s dick slick and hard in my mouth.
There’s a pause, then Eli says, “Okay, well, if you see him, tell him sound check in five.”
Footsteps retreat, and I don’t waste another second, taking him deep again, all the way to the back of my throat.
“We—” he gasps, groaning as his hips give in and jerking forward. “We don’t have time.”
I pull back, slow and teasing, my lips spit-slicked and swollen, breath warm against the base of his cock. “I only need two.”
Then I take him again, ready to prove it. One hand rolls his balls in my palm, the other wrapping around the base of his cock, working in tandem as he starts to fuck my mouth in short, messy thrusts.
I let him, want him to.
His breath comes out in broken pants, muffled groans and stifled curses, the sounds a symphony of Maddox Knox. Hands cradle my head, holding me in place as he cants his hips so hard it makes my eyes sting.
And I’m loving every single second of it.
“Shit, Paige,” he growls. “Oh, fuck, I—”
Thighs locking, his grip tightens as he lets go with a strangled curse. His cock pulses, spraying hot cum that spills down my throat as he watches, eyes lust-hazed like he’s mesmerized as I swallow it all. Every last drop. Licking him clean before I slowly rise to my feet, eyes locked with his.
Then I kiss him, plunging my tongue into his mouth, the tiny amount still remaining passing between us. He groans low in his chest, tasting himself, the sound so fucking beautiful, his hands grabbing at my hips like he needs to hold on or he’ll collapse.
I pull back, dragging my thumb across the edges of my lips before slipping it between them. His eyes flicker down to watch, the tips of his fingers pressing into my skin. I lean forward, close enough for him to feel the heat of my breath against his mouth.
“Being right never tasted so good,” I whisper. “Don’t you agree?”
I step out of his hold, walking around him like nothing happened and nudging him out of the way of the door, before glancing over my shoulder with a coy little smirk.
He’s still standing there, shirt open, cock out, utterly wrecked.
“Oh, and by the way?” I purr. “I’m still right about the set list.”