Chapter 12
Twelve
STONE
The crowd tonight is incredible. Sometimes the vibe hits just right, and you end up performing for an audience that isn’t just watching you perform but rather becomes captivated by the performance. They move together like some sort of deep-water sea creature as the music ebbs and flows around them.
Fuck, I wish I could look over and see Hazel watching. I don’t understand her hesitation. It’s driving me crazy trying to figure it out. I mean, the crowd is incredible, but I think she’s not telling me the whole truth.
I slip up and miss a note while I’m distracted by my thoughts of her. Xan catches it, giving me a sharp look that screams, what the fuck? In response I give him one of my practiced smirks and a small shrug of my shoulder, to which he scowls and looks away.
Even when I was in the depths of my addiction, I didn’t miss notes. What is wrong with me? The answer is clear. Hazel Archer has managed to seep under my skin, and fuck if I don’t want to keep her locked right inside me.
But I do need to focus. I owe our fans the best show I can give them. Especially this crowd.
By the end of the show, I’m buzzed purely off of the energy from the audience. My blood hums in my veins, and my hands shake. After handing off my guitar, I jog back to my dressing room. I know for a fact I can’t be in the greenroom with the guys tonight. Too much temptation.
I’m in the middle of unbuttoning my jeans to take a cold shower when the door flies open. I’m used to Darren entering with no warning, so I’m not startled, but instead of our manager, it’s Hazel.
She looks like a rock goddess as she rushes toward me. Fishnet tights under a short, pleated black skirt show off her shapely thighs. Her long sleeve, deep purple shirt pulls tight over her perfect tits.
I’m instantly sporting a semi just from one look at her, but the thing that really fucks me is the huge smile on her face. The usual somber note in her eyes has been erased; they glitter with excitement and pure joy.
The door swings shut behind her just as her arms wrap around my neck. “You were incredible,” she says excitedly.
I’m enveloped by her scent, a mix of vanilla and citrus, and lose my mind. Spinning us, I press her back into the wall and slam my lips over hers. For a moment she stiffens with shock, but then she melts against me, her lips parting and fingers diving into my sweaty hair.
My tongue sweeps into her mouth, gliding over hers as we kiss each other hungrily.
She meets me stroke for stroke, passion for passion.
I reach down and lift one of her thighs, wrapping it around my hip, so I can press my aching dick against the heat of her pussy.
She mewls against me, rocking her hips back and forth.
My other hand cups one of her tits over her shirt. Her nipple pebbles beneath my thumb as I tease it over the fabric until it’s hard enough to pinch. I nearly cum in my fucking pants at the sound of the gasp she makes.
I tear my mouth from hers and press kisses down her neck as I keep tormenting her nipple with teasing strokes and rough pinches.
She gasps as I suck her neck just below her ear.
I have every intention of leaving my mark on this woman.
If I could hang a flashing light around her neck with my name, I would.
She must be into it because she tilts her head to the side, giving me more access to continue my assault on the deliciously delicate skin.
I move the hand that’s holding her thigh higher.
My fingers slide under her skirt and slide back to her amazing ass.
My fingers splay over her cheek and squeeze.
She moans, her lips seeking mine back out.
The tip of my cock is free from the waistband of my boxer briefs, and every time she rocks against me, I feel like I could bust like a teenage boy.
The door swings open. “Great show toni—” Darren says.
Hazel immediately stiffens, dropping her leg and pulling her mouth from mine.
“Fuck.” I drop my forehead to hers. “Do you need something?” I ask him, not willing to budge from Hazel.
“To make sure you weren’t getting high or drunk.”
Hazel slides out from her spot between me and the wall. Her cheeks are flushed a crimson red, and she won’t pick her gaze up from the floor. “I’ll, uh, see you later.”
She’s gone before I can say anything, darting past Darren, who doesn’t move from his place against the door he swung open to make it easier for her. I loathe the way he smirks at her while she passes him.
“Don’t,” I warn him as I adjust my aching cock, pushing it down.
“I didn’t say a word.” He holds his hands up. “But I am glad you’re taking my advice. This is perfect.”
“I’m not taking your advice.” I move toward him. “My attraction to her is real.”
“Right.” He keeps that same damn smirk on his face. “Which is why you had her against the wall like a groupie. I’m kind of bummed you didn’t give me an invite to join in.”
I release a feral growl and advance toward him. Adam steps into the room, placing himself between us. Darren might be our manager, but I’m not afraid to punch him in his smug ass face.
“Relax.” He steps back into the hall. “I’m just fucking with you. Glad to see you weren’t getting high or drinking. I’ll see you on the bus.”
“You good?” Adam asks as Darren closes the door behind him.
“Yeah.” I turn around and head for the small bathroom. “I’m going to shower.”
Everyone who sees me as I walk toward the bus gives me a wide berth. The scowl on my face might as well be etched in stone as my thoughts stay locked on Darren interrupting what Hazel and I were doing.
How far would that have gone?
I know the answer for me. I would have fucked her right against the wall. Over and over until we were both left in an exhausted heap of skin and bone. If just her kisses taste so good, what will her pussy be like?
One thing is for damn sure, I will find out.
I climb up the steps onto the bus and find my bandmates sprawled on the couch.
Tobias’s eyes are glazed as he inhales a bowl of pho.
Xander is glaring at the back of Jade’s head.
Good to see they’re still pissed at each other.
The curtain swings open, and Darren steps out wearing a pair of basketball shorts, a crewneck sweatshirt, and a shit-eating grin.
He approaches me. “Looks like you wore her out. She’s passed out on her bunk,” he says quietly.
I shove him out of my way and walk back to the rows of bunks. Her bunk’s curtain is pulled closed, but I don’t let that stop me from peeking inside. She’s turned toward the wall, but her body rises and falls steadily with each breath.
Damn.
I wanted to check in with her after the moment we shared. Make sure she’s okay and not freaking out about anything. Maybe even do some more of it.
But I don’t want to wake her if she’s sleeping. Sighing, I pull the curtain closed quietly. While I’m back by the bunks, I plug my phone in and grab my notebook. Maybe I can use what happened earlier for inspiration.
I wonder if she might do the same. I tried to get a peek at what she was writing last night, but she was pretty protective of her work. I get it, so I didn’t push, even though I wanted to.
None of what I’ve told her about enjoying her book was bullshit.
I truly can’t wait to read more of her work.
Her style of writing is refreshing and bold.
The more I get to know her, the more I hear her voice in what she writes.
And yes, I only read her book once, but there are lines, paragraphs, that stand out to me.
I walk out into the front of the bus to join everyone else. Jade scoots over on the bench seat and pats the spot she made for me. I sit and look over her shoulder at the video she’s editing for social media. It’s several clips, each of us the focus of one, that she’s putting to one of our songs.
“Is that for the gratitude carousel?” I ask.
“Yes.” She hands the iPad over. “Check it out and let me know what you think.”
I swipe through the photos she’s selected. They’re perfect, as usual. I stop on a photo of Hazel and I on the bus from a couple days ago. We’re working side by side, each of us focused on our work.
“You’re putting this in there?”
“Yeah. The whole idea of this combined tour is Blue Sunday and Hazel Archer helping bring inspiration to each other. I figure putting her in city gratitude posts is the smart thing to do.”
“Yeah.” I nod and push the device back to her. “I agree.”
“She posted one of you that I took at her signing and posted it on her socials.”
“She did?”
“Yep.”
“Let me see.”
She opens the app and pulls up Hazel’s account. Sure enough, the second to last photo is a candid shot from behind of me watching her sign books for her fans. You can’t see my face, but I’m sure everyone knows it’s me by this point. Especially with the paparazzi photos from afterward.
“Did you suggest that?”
Jade smiles. “No. That was all her idea.”
Darren barely suppresses a chuckle, and I look up, giving him a sharp glare. Jade looks back and forth between us, one auburn brow arching. She doesn’t ask what’s up, though, and he keeps his mouth shut.
As everyone trickles to bed over the next couple hours, I find myself wishing that she’d wake up and join me. Unfortunately, she stays in her bunk for the entire six-hour drive, and I don’t get a chance to see her until we’re checking into the hotel.
Between everyone on our bus and the security team on the other, there’s no time to pull her way and check in. In fact, she barely spares me a glance. Is it regret? Or embarrassment? Some combination of the two?
She’ll have to get over it all, because there’s no way it’s not happening again.