Chapter 28
Twenty-Eight
JADE
Present
Waking up beside Xander feels so much better than I’ll ever admit out loud.
At least to him. He passed out almost immediately last night.
The thing that really got me was the frown that crossed his face when I got up to clean myself up and turn the lights off.
It melted even more of the ice around my heart.
His eyelashes fan across his perpetually tan skin. If it weren’t for the stubble growing along his jaw, it barely looks as though he’s aged when he’s sleeping. It’s unfair, really, considering how hard he partied there for several years.
My phone vibrates on the table with a text notification.
Darren
Have you seen Xander? I asked Hans if he went out last night because he’s not answering his door
Fuck. I don’t want anyone to know about what happened last night.
Regardless of what Xander says, it is unprofessional for me to be sleeping with him.
Sure, Darren saw us kissing, but we could chalk that up to a heat of the moment mistake.
But last night wasn’t the same, and I hope it wasn’t a mistake.
“Wake up.” I shake Xander. “Darren’s looking for you.”
His eyes flutter open, and he looks around the room in confusion before focusing on me. A slow smile crosses his face as he looks at me. He reaches over to pull me to him.
“It wasn’t a dream,” he says with a goofy ass grin.
I smack his hands away. “Where’s your phone? You need to call Darren.”
“Are you texting him? Tell him I’m with you.” He pulls the covers down exposing my breasts.
I haven’t
Did you check the gym? Sometimes he gets up early to work out
Xander pulls the sheets down to my feet and tries to worm his way between my legs.
“Stop that.” I press my thighs firmly together.
He just smiles and presses his face to my belly, kissing just below my navel.
Darren
I already worked out for an hour
He never came down
I roll my eyes. Of fucking course Darren wakes up at five in the morning to work out. My fingers sink into Xander’s hair as I pull him away from his attempt to nuzzle his way back to my pussy.
“Get your phone and call Darren before he shows up at my door ready to file a missing person’s report.”
He sighs and tosses the sheet off his body.
I watch as he gets to his feet in all his naked glory and walks over to the desk where he left his phone.
With his back to me, I can appreciate the beauty of his chiseled body.
His broad shoulders, planes of muscle that taper to a narrow waist, and his round, firm ass, it’s all masculine perfection. He doesn’t skimp on leg day, either.
“Fuck.” He groans and turns back to me, setting his phone down. “I was hoping to have you for breakfast this morning, but he wants to talk to me about something.”
“What does he want to talk about?” I make a valiant attempt not to look at his cock which is impressive even half hard. But my eyes dip down, and he catches it.
“My eyes are up here, Freckles,” he says with a grin, his stupid dimple popping. “I don’t know. He won’t tell me.”
My neck flushes at being caught checking him out.
He steps into his sweatpants and pulls them up. They do nothing to hide his erection. I grab the sheet and pull it back up my body.
His eyes meet mine and flick to my neck and where I have the sheet clutched against my breasts. He stalks across the room to me and kneels on the bed. I roll my lips between my teeth and look away.
“Hey.” He places a finger under my chin and tilts my face until I have to look into his eyes. “You can look at me all you want. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that he knows all my tells. Curse of pale skin and a man who studies me like a textbook.
“What are we doing?” I whisper.
“You’re falling back in love with me.” He winks.
“Seriously, Xander. We shouldn’t do this again while you’re on tour.”
He tilts his head and looks at me. “I can’t stop wanting you.”
“You’ve been fine for fifteen years.”
He scoffs. “I’ve been the furthest thing from fine.”
My stupid heart twinges. I think I’ve lost her to the cause. Only my brain remains on the same page.
I grab the closest item of clothing, which happens to be his shirt, and pull it on. “I’m not saying this was a mistake.” I stand up, the shirt dropping to the middle of my thighs. “It’d just be too easy for us to be found out while we’re on tour.”
“So?” He pulls me to him. “Who cares? You’re phenomenal at your job. There’s no one like you in the business.”
“I do.” My hands land on his abdomen as I tilt my head back and look up into his eyes. “I worked hard all my life and then your dad called me to take over for your last publicist. People know I’m connected to your family, and no one takes me seriously because of it.”
He frowns and shakes his head.
“When you were trying to get into Juilliard you didn’t want your dad to pull any strings, right? I specifically remember a conversation about not wanting to be seen as a nepo baby.” I search his eyes with mine. “It’s the same thing.”
His shoulders drop, and I know I’ve got him. My point hits home.
“What if we sneak around and are careful?”
“We’ve already been caught kissing.”
He scowls and runs a hand through his hair. “I hate this.”
“Think of last night as us just getting it out of our system. We cleared the air, we’ve forgiven each other. We’re good now.”
His eyes darken. One moment we’re standing talking, the next his hands have slipped behind my thighs and lifted me into his arms. I cry out in surprise, my legs wrapping around his waist as I cling to his shoulders.
My back hits the wall just as his mouth covers mine.
His hands slide up my thighs until they each fill with my ass.
He grinds his cock against me, the thin layer of cotton the only thing keeping him from slipping inside me.
My hands glide from his shoulders up into his hair as he angles the kiss deeper.
He licks into my mouth, dragging his piercing along my tongue. I lose myself to the moment, letting him take what he needs from me. He groans when my hips grind against him.
The moment dies when his phone vibrates in his pocket. But he doesn’t put me down. He runs his nose along mine.
“I hate this,” he says. “And I need you to know one thing.” He waits until he knows he has my full attention.
“I will never get you out of my system. I could spend every moment of every day buried inside you, and it would never be enough. You are all I want. You are all I’ve ever wanted. Understood?”
I nod once and drop my legs from his waist.
“When you change your mind, you know where to find me.” With those words he releases me and steps back.
I watch him walk out into the hall. My back slumps against the wall, and I press my hand to my kiss swollen lips. I’m so fucked.
Tobias drops down into the chair across from me at the hotel coffee shop where I’m getting some work done.
I’ve just finished editing the video of Xander playing piano after sound check the other day.
After going back and forth on whether I wanted to keep it for myself, I decided that the world needs to see his talent.
It’s a widely known fact that Stone and Xander met at Juilliard and are both excellent on many different instruments, but during acoustic sets Xander sticks to guitar. Not to mention the raspy, sexy voice that he has and doesn’t get nearly enough spotlight in my opinion.
“What’s up?” he says, tugging his baseball cap further down over his forehead.
“Just about to upload this.” I slide my phone across the table to him.
He hits play and leans over the screen. His tattooed fingers immediately tap in rhythm. A soft smile lifts the corner of his lips. He slides it back to me when the song ends.
“He’s so disgustingly talented,” he says with a full grin.
“You all are.” I set my work aside to focus on him. “How are you?”
“Living.”
I laugh. “I’m glad.”
“Darren was freaking out this morning about Xander.” His blue eyes lock on mine with an unspoken question.
“I know. Woke me up with his texts about it.” I sip my latte. “Do you know if he tracked him down?”
He shrugs. “Not my circus.”
“Speaking of circuses, where’s your security?” I look around realizing he snuck down here alone. “They should always be with you on tour.”
“Oops.” The way his eyes twinkle with mirth. “I forgot to tell him. Good thing Tour Mommy is down here with me.”
I roll my eyes at the nickname he gave me. Not that it isn’t kind of accurate. Helping corral the guys has been part of my unofficial job description, especially on tour. I shoot off a text to his bodyguard to let him know he’s down here.
“Excited for the meet and greet tonight?” I ask, setting down my phone.
“Yeah, I live for meeting the fans.” His leg bounces under the table. “Maybe I’ll bring a couple back to the room tonight.”
His bodyguard walks into the cafe, a scowl on his face as he drops into a chair at a nearby table. Tobias looks over his shoulder and then slides his eyes over to me.
“You told on me.” He smirks and twirls his lip ring. “Mean Tour Mommy.”
“Gotta keep you safe.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’ve been taking care of myself for years.”
“It’s different now.”
“Right.”
We both look up when Stone, Hazel, and Xander walk in with their bodyguards trailing them.
Tobias reaches over and pulls a table up to the one we’re sitting at.
Xander skips ordering, an energy drink in hand already, and drops down into the chair beside Tobias.
Stone stands beside Hazel, his arm wrapped around her waist while they order.
After they order, Hazel drops down beside me. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” I bump my shoulder against hers. “Did Sierra make it in last night?”
“Yeah, she’s getting ready now. We’ll leave for the signing when she gets down here.”
“Mind if I tag along?” I could use the space. Especially when Xander’s eyes haven’t left my face since he sat down.
“Not at all. I love having you both with me for these. Especially when it’s at a big store.”
She’s come out of her shell over the past few months, but when there’s a big sold out crowd, she still gets anxious.
I’ve been talking to her about looking into hiring a personal assistant.
Just so when the tour is over she can go back to focusing fully on writing the next book and not worrying about all the admin stuff.
Stone brings their drinks over and grabs a chair, turning it to sit backwards at the end of the table.
“Morning,” he says in greeting to everyone. “Did everyone have a good night?”
“I did,” Xander answers without looking away from me. “Best night I’ve had in years.”
Tobias glances back and forth between us, suspicion in his eyes. “Glad someone did. I couldn’t sleep for shit.”
“Why?” Stone’s forehead creases in concern.
Tobias shrugs. “Too much energy, I assume.”
I see the way both Xander and Stone stiffen. Tobias has several diagnoses that affect his mental health. He’s also been known to mix his prescriptions with street drugs. It doesn’t bother Stone from an addiction recovery standpoint, but I know both he and Xander are worried. We all are.
Xander and Stone share a look, and Tobias shoots to his feet. His chair scrapes loudly across the tile.
“Christ, you guys are annoying as shit.” He pushes the chair in and looks at Hazel and me. “Have a good time at your signing.”
He walks out, tugging his hat down further. We all watch him go, his bodyguard trailing him. I pick up my phone and shoot a text off to Darren. He has the most success in calming Tobias down.
“I guess I should go up and change clothes since I’m going to go with you today,” I say to Hazel. My jeans and hoodie are too casual.
“Okay, I’ll text you when the car is on the way.”
“You two stay out of trouble before the show today,” I say to Xander and Stone as I stand. “I don’t want any messes to clean up.”
“Us?” Stone smirks. “We’d never cause trouble.”
“Right.” I pat his shoulder as I walk past him. “See you later.”
The weight of Xander’s gaze follows me until I leave the cafe.