Chapter 23
MADDY
“Hurry up!” Sutton squealed as we slipped on the VIP lanyards Beckett had handed to us at the rear entrance of the venue in Milan. We’d been out shopping while the guys had gone to a meeting, done soundcheck, and met their VIP ticket-holders. But we’d gotten caught in traffic and were now running super late.
Sutton grabbed my hand and pulled me down the corridor. “Move it.”
“I am.” I hooked my purse over my shoulder as we scurried along at a super-fast walk. “But you don’t have to rip my arm off.”
We followed Beckett through the depths of the venue toward the guys’ dressing room. Crew crowded the corridors, standing around with anxious, pissed-off looks on their faces. Several people glared and sneered at us as we picked up our pace.
We deserved every cutting look. I’d texted Slip from the car several times to let him know we were on our way and again once we’d arrived. The guys had refused to take to the stage until they saw us .
I broke into a run, scuttling along as fast as I could in my high-heel ankle-boots. I didn’t want to delay their show any longer.
“Sloane? You there?” Beckett jogged in front of us and radioed his fellow team member. “I’ve got the girls. We’re seconds away from the dressing room.”
The door at the end of the corridor swung open, and Blake stepped out before Sloane. He waved Sutton and me inside. “Not happy, ladies. You’ve got one minute. Not a moment longer. We’re already ten minutes late.”
“Thanks, Blake.” Sutton patted his shoulder, then dashed over to Flint. He leaped off the sofa, picked her up, and spun her around as he kissed her.
I barely had time to blink. Slip shot over to me from the drinks table and crushed his lips to mine, stealing my breath and weakening my knees.
The taste of licorice coated his tongue, no doubt from the throat tea the guys often drank before a show to protect their vocal cords. “Mmmm.” I smiled against his hot lips and inhaled the scent of his cedarwood cologne. “We made it.”
“You’re here. Now everything is perfect.” He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. His hands fell to skim across my butt. “Damn, Mads. I love this leather skirt. Total boner.”
“I promised you I’d buy one. Remember? It just took a while.” After our hot video calls, how could I not?
“I remember every conversation we’ve had.” He shimmied his hands up to my waistline and brushed his thumb over my ribs and the hemline of my short, glittery tank top. “But baby, you’re fading away. You’re nothing but skin and bone.”
“Stress does that to you.” I’d lost a couple of pounds in recent months, but it was nothing I couldn’t afford to lose. And at least it would keep Mom off my back.
“I don’t want you to worry,” he murmured against my hair. “ I’ll be home soon.”
“I know.” But as I stood back, the dull haze gleaming in his eyes and his dilated pupils caught me off-guard. New concern crawled through my chest. Had he taken his pain-killer? God , I hoped he was okay. I didn’t want him to be in agony.
“Slip?” I rubbed his forearms. “What about you? Are you good?”
Nothing could dampen the glorious smile that inched across his face. “Sure am. You’re here. Having you with me is everything.”
He erased my concerns with a steamy kiss. Hmmm. So good. One thing was certain—we both needed this time together.
I broke our kiss and dragged my thumb across the fine line of stubble above his lip. “Yeah. It’s good to be here. I can’t wait to see the show again.”
I hadn’t seen the band play since they’d performed in Vancouver during the early weeks of their tour’s first leg across the USA and Canada. As I ran my hand over the soft leather of his vest, his heartbeat thudded beneath my touch. I bit my lower lip, loving the quickened tempo of his pulse against my fingertips. “But you’d better get going. You’ve kept the fans waiting long enough.”
“They can wait.” He kissed me again, long and hard and sensual, with a whole lot of craving and lust. His hands tugged and clutched at the back of my tank top. Yeah, I couldn’t wait for him to tear my clothes off and have his way with me again, like we’d done after I’d arrived that morning. I was down for more lovemaking...but later.
“Babe, I love you.” I dragged my lips from his in a panting mess. “But go. Get that butt on stage so I can perv on you while you play.”
He drew me flush against his body and whispered in my ear, “You make me hard just thinking about that. ”
I closed my eyes as the reverberation of his voice lingered inside me. Why did his words weaken my knees? “We can’t do anything about that now.”
“Mmmm.” His low voice hummed in his throat as he nibbled on my earlobe and tugged on my earring. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” I wobbled on my feet, delirious and high from his touch and kisses. “Go before the crowd gets angry.”
“Let them. You’re worth it.” He cupped my face and brushed his thumb along my jaw.
“I’ll be waiting for you.” It took all my strength to step away, just like it had at lunchtime when the guys had left the hotel. “I’ll see you after the show.”
“I’ll be counting down every minute. Love you.” After another quick kiss, Slip charged over to the guys, clapped his hands, then flung his arm around Lewis’s neck. “Woohoo. Let’s do this. Let’s rock Milan.”
Giggling, I stepped in beside Sutton. Her cheeks were flushed red, and every trace of her lipstick was gone. Flint’s eyes sparkled as he wiped his fingers over his mouth, clearly trying to erase the evidence of their kiss. Penny, the band’s hair and make-up artist, rushed over to redo Flint’s hair, but he shooed her away with a big not-needed grin.
I curled my arm around Sutton’s elbow. “Our guys are crazy.”
“Yeah. That’s why we love them.”
Once the guys had clipped on their transmitters and hung their ear monitors around their necks, Sutton and I followed them and their entourage along the corridor toward the stage. Slip skipped and danced around the other guys, hyping them up for the show. It was impossible to not get swept up in his electric energy.
But as the guys gathered in a circle with their team, and Flint gave them a pre-show pep talk, Slip closed his eyes and winced. He leaned sideways, stretching his right hip and his knee, and rubbed his lower back.
“Hey?” I touched his arm. “Take it easy tonight.”
“Yeah. I will.” His devilish smile sent heat coiling through me to my core.
I raised a suggestive eyebrow. “I don’t want to play nurse the whole time I’m here.”
“But you in a tiny white uniform would be a total fucking turn-on.”
“Not going to happen. So don’t hurt yourself, okay?”
“Promise.”
The guys took to the stage twenty minutes late, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. As Sutton and I stood in the crew area just off to the left-hand side in front of the stage, the audience screamed and sang along to the songs and ogled our guys. Sutton didn’t take her eyes off Flint, powering out the hits and playing his guitar. Swaying and dancing along to the music, she fanned her hands over her heart and mouthed the lyrics. Cole hammered out the set on his drums. Lewis blazed up a storm on the bass. But like always, Slip held me captive. The stage lights shimmered off his electric Fender and his body glistened with sweat. He flicked his hair this way and that as he strummed out the tunes. Every muscle in his toned arms flexed and bulged as he worked his fingers at pace across the strings. Damn ...total turn-on.
The band hit one of my favorite songs. Flint took to the mic.
Pages full of words and lines,
Captured moments for all time.
Thoughts of you fill my mind,
Feelings unravel and unwind.
Is this love? Is this for real?
Is this forever? A true deal?
Is the answer written in the stars ?
Coz my heart breaks every time we’re apart.
When you’re not here, I can’t breathe,
Is it wrong I need you next to me?
The way you make me feel is so right,
Babe, I’m coming over,
Yeah, I need you tonight.
I bit down hard on my lip, trying not to laugh. This song had me and Slip written all over it.
From the moment we’d met two years ago, something invisible had drawn us together. His unwavering love and concern for his fellow bandmates, and his need to play music, had struck my heart. He made me feel beautiful with just one look, sparked life into my soul with a touch of his hand, and had shown me how to have fun again after Noah had left me broken. He made my constant travel and work, and taking care of Mom, easier...and he gave me something to look forward to—spending time with him.
Were those factors compelling reasons to stay together?
Why did I have this ever-present guilt that my life and responsibilities were holding him back? That I was a handbrake? Ergh!
I didn’t want to think about those things now. This vacation was supposed to be stress-free fun.
But this morning still lingered in the back of my mind.
Finding him knocked out from sleeping pills had scared me out of my wits. I prayed it was a one-off event.
I wanted to believe it was.
Mom’s addiction was a constant knife twisting in my chest. I didn’t want Slip to become reliant on powerful drugs to control his pain or fall into taking recreational ones for his ups and downs. I wasn’t against anyone dabbling in the latter now and then for a bit of fun. But I’d seen alcohol and drugs destroy people. I didn’t want any usage to become a habit .
I wanted Slip’s hip to get better. For him to be well. I cared about him too much to see him go down the path of self-destruction.
And I’d do everything I could to ensure that didn’t happen.
“They’re so good.” Sutton swooned over the booming music. “Just look at them. Look at this crowd. This is amazing.”
A sea of excited fans, waving their arms and cell phones in the air, danced in front of their chairs. The heavy beat booming through the speakers hummed through my veins. I understood why the guys loved performing so much. The high was addictive. Despite being on a popular TV show, I never got to experience anything like this. Filming finished months before the season hit the screen. I only briefly met fans at events and award shows as I passed designated ticketed areas...and they weren’t necessarily there to see me. This was different. This was an immediate rush of adrenaline. Pure adoration. It was incredible. So wicked.
And damn. Slip, standing up there, rocking up a storm, did strange things to my heartbeat. With each song the band played, heat meandered through my body and pooled deep in my core.
“Milan!” Flint hollered into his mic and swung his guitar behind his shoulder. He snapped the microphone off the stand and walked down the short catwalk into the crowd. At the end of the platform, he halted and pointed across the audience. “How y’all doing?”
The auditorium erupted with shrieks, screams, and whistles, and the random ‘ I love you, Flint.’ The biggest grin spread across his face. “I love you too. We all do. The guys and I are thrilled to be spending this evening with you. We’re honored to be here, and we hope to rock your world tonight. Would you like us to do that?”
The elevation in the cries from the audience hurt my ears, but I laughed .
“Flint. Woohoo!” some fan screamed from the front.
Then something pink and lacy flew through the air and hit Flint in the head.
Sutton laughed, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh, my God. Is that a bra?”
“Yep.” I giggled.
Flint held it up by the strap. “Thank you for this. But it looks way too small for my girlfriend, Sutton.” He held it out toward the section of the crowd where it had come from. “Would you like it back? ...What?...Sign it first? I don’t have a pen.” He patted his back pockets and looked around the crowd. “Anyone got a pen?”
A security guard grabbed one off someone in the front row and handed it to Flint. Flint tucked his mic underneath his arm, yanked the cap off the pen with his teeth, and signed the bra. He then tossed it back to the girl. “Done.” He straightened and pointed at the crowd. “Anyone else want something signed?”
The audience shrieked and yelled as T-shirts and posters were waved in the air. He quickly signed a hat and some banners the security team had passed him. After a minute, he held up his hand and chuckled. “Alright. Alright. I’d love to sign something for everyone, but that’s all I have time for. We’ll be here all night otherwise. And I’d much rather play some music.”
The other guys stood on stage, laughing and clapping.
“How do you do it, Sutt?” I sighed, nudging my arm against hers. “How do you put up with the panties and bras being thrown at Flint and the constant line of women and men wanting your man? Especially after Beau cheated on you.” Her ex had been a downright asshole.
She hooked her arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “Because I trust him. Being with Flint feels different. It feels right. Loving him is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m confident in us, especially now we live together. ”
“Slip and I have never done that.”
“You will.” She rubbed my arm. “Isn’t that exciting? That you have another step to look forward to?”
“Kinda.” Yeah, it was.
“Slip loves you. Being hurt in the past sucks, but Slip isn’t Noah. That man up there would do absolutely anything for you. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Yeah. It is.”
As another wayward two bras were thrown onto the stage. Flint played up to the attention, signing them and tossing them back into the crowd. But I couldn’t let Flint have all the fun.
I touched Sutton’s arm. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a sec.”
I scooted over to the shadows, reached beneath my very short, A-line leather skirt, and wriggled off my panties. With a skip in my step, I dashed toward the band. I flashed my pass to security and made my way along the front of the stage between the crowd control barrier and the riser. Right in front of Slip, I waved. His eyes widened and a cool grin lit his face. He stepped toward me and loomed over the edge of the stage. Concern flickered across his eyes. “Mads? What’s up?”
“I love you.” I threw him a cheeky smile and tossed him my panties.
He caught them against his chest. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Laughing, he scrunched them into a ball, smelled them, and tucked them into his pocket. Ew! But whatever.
He formed a heart shape with his hands and blew me a kiss. “Love you.”
Lewis chuckled into his mic. “Mads, did you just toss Slip your panties?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. The whole auditorium didn’t need to know that, but what was done was done. I winked at Lewis and nodded .
Slip’s smile was as big and bright as the sun. “Fuck yeah.” He pumped his fist in the air as he stepped back behind his mic. “They’re from my gorgeous wife, folks.”
“Who’s gonna get lucky tonight?” Flint hollered into his mic while pointing at Slip and making his way back toward the guys. He smiled and shook his head at me. “You just made Slip’s year, Mads. Now, let’s get back to the party. Who’s ready to rock the roof off this place?”
Cole tapped his sticks together, then hammered on the drums, breaking into the intro for another song.
Still shocked that I’d actually stripped off my panties and tossed them to Slip, I scooted back to Sutton, clutching my loose skirt around my thighs. Going commando wasn’t new but it still felt weird. Cool in the air-conditioning. And sexy.
“Oh, my God.” Sutton burst out laughing and hugged me. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Me either. But Flint can’t have all the fun.”
“I’m sure they all do. But see what you just did?” She thumbed toward Slip. “You do fun, crazy, wild things together. He makes you smile and happy. You shine when you’re with him. Stop looking for a reason to leave him and focus on the ones that keep you together.”
Sutton was right. “I will. Promise.”
“Slip will treasure those panties. Forever.”
“I hope not.” Giggling, I wrinkled my nose. “They’re old ones.”
“Guys don’t care about that. He’s stoked he’s got your panties in his pocket. Look at him!”
The goofiest, sweetest smile had embedded onto his lips. His eyes smoldered as he glanced in my direction. Warmth flooded my chest. He always looked at me like that. Like I was the most beautiful person he’d ever met. Like he couldn’t wait to get me alone. Like he wanted to do dirty, wicked things to my body.
God. Now wasn’t the time to get even more turned on.
But watching Slip, it was hard not to.
For the next hour, the guys entertained the crowd.
Sutton and I met them backstage after they’d finished their encore.
Slip rushed to meet me, cupped my face, and kissed me. He was hot and sweaty, but I loved every touch.
“We need to get out of here,” he murmured against my lips.
“Don’t you have to stay?”
“No. You’re here. That’s more important.”
“Okay.”
He had a quick chat with the guys, Blake, April, and Ava, then took my hand. After he grabbed his bag from the dressing room, we headed out the back door and into a waiting car. We zoomed off through a special entrance before hardly any of the crowd had left the venue. The run was clear all the way into the center of the city to our hotel.
Beckett saw us into our room. But the little smirk on his face said he knew why we’d left in a hurry. “Have fun, guys. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night, Becks.” Slip waved farewell.
The door had barely shut before Slip’s hands circled my waist and guided me back toward the bed. “Knowing you’ve got nothing on underneath this skirt drove me wild during the show. It was hard to concentrate on anything else. I’ve had a fucking hard-on since you tossed me your panties. Thank God my guitar hid that from the crowd.”
“You needed some underwear too. Not just Flint.”
“I’ve had lots thrown at me. But yours rendered me useless.”
“It was hot, watching you while wearing no panties. Very hot, actually.”
“Hmm. We’d better do something about that.” He slipped his hand underneath my skirt, then brushed it across my bare pussy. A low, husky growl rasped in his throat. “I wanna fuck you in this skirt. Make you come undone. Taste every inch of you.”
“What are you waiting for then?”
“You to take my clothes off.”
“I can do that.”
I stripped Slip out of his sweaty gear and left everything in a pile on the floor.
He caught the bottom of my glittery tank top, peeled it off over my head, and tossed it aside. My bra quickly joined it. His gaze meandered down my chest; so did his fingers. As he massaged my breast, my heart thundered against his touch.
Placing my hands on his shoulders, I guided him back toward the bed. When he connected with the mattress, he sat. I straddled his lap, my soft A-line skirt pooling around my hips. My bare pussy teased his rock-hard cock. “You sure you don’t want to take my skirt off?”
“No. I want to be inside you. I need you. And this skirt is a total turn-on.”
I lifted my hips, took his cock into my hand, and teased it against my opening. Letting out my breath, I lowered onto him.
“Fuuuuck.” Slip’s eyes fluttered shut. His hands circled my back and knotted in my hair. “I miss you. I miss this. I miss us.”
“I’m here now.”
With a rush of hot breath, our lips connected. Moaning into his mouth, I rode him. Rubbed against him. Rocked my hips in time with his. He filled me. Stretched me. Owned me.
“I love you, Mads. Like nothing else.”
With him deep inside me, heat enveloped my body. Circling my hands through his hair, I kissed his lips. “I love you. But promise me one thing.”
“Anything. You name it.” He met my gaze .
I clasped a handful of his hair and held his head still. “Don’t ever scare the shit out of me again like you did this morning.”
“I won’t.” He closed his eyes. “I promise.” He flattened his hands on my hips, pulled me forward, and drove into me slowly. “You’re my reason for living. My reason not to falter. To not give up. You’re my everything.”
“Good.” I pushed him back onto the mattress. Hovering over him, I wriggled lower onto his cock, and took him as deep as I could. I kissed, bit and tugged on his lower lip. “Now, let’s get dirty.”
“Want to ride my face?”
My pussy screamed yes . “I want to do everything and anything.”
“I’m happy to oblige.”
“So am I.”