Chapter 5
Luke
I’m waved through the gate by a guard at the end of the driveway and pull up to the large white, three-story farm house a little after six-thirty.
Some of us still have normal eight to five jobs, that end up being seven to six most days thanks to paperwork and returning calls, so I wasn’t able to make the trip out here until five-thirty.
Several cars litter the circular driveway, one of which is an Aston Martin DBX. It’s that car that makes me realize I’m about to meet the guys that make up one of the most famous bands in the world.
Sloan is familiar to me but I’m nervous with the anticipation of meeting the rest of the musicians as I climb out of my SUV.
No doubt Sloan already ruined any chance I had at making a good impression.
He knocked me out so fast the night of the concert I wasn’t able to introduce myself — or defend myself against what I’m sure was a less-than-glowing explanation of who I am.
By the time I fully came to, everyone was gone except a medic and a security guard.
I ring the doorbell and a woman with gray hair and kind eyes, wearing a floral dress, opens the door.
“Welcome to the Kinkaid residence. How may I help you?”
“Hello. I’m looking for Sloan Alexander.”
“Mr. Sloan is downstairs in the sound studio. Please, come in.”
I’m led through the immaculate foyer where the grand staircase catches my eye. Light hardwoods, white trim, an earthy beige on the walls, and exposed beams overhead are not exactly what I pictured for the home of a rock god.
The elderly woman moves at an unexpectedly quick pace, leading me to a door tucked into a hallway. She opens the nondescript door and waves a hand down the carpeted staircase.
“Mr. Sloan is down there,” she says with a heavy southern accent. “Just be sure to knock before you go in.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” I nod and make my way down the stairs, shocked to discover I hear no noise seeping from the walls.
I knock once on the door at the bottom of the stairs and am greeted by an incredibly gorgeous redhead.
Vibrant copper locks frame her delicate features and her shy smile.
There is no helping the way my eyes grow wide.
Although I usually prefer women with dark hair, like the beauty I saw leaving Sloan’s, there is no denying this woman’s radiance.
She catalogues my appearance in equal measure, making me a little hot under the collar, but then her smile widens and she puts me at ease.
“You must be looking for Sloan. He said you’d be stopping by at some point today,” she says in an angelic voice. “Come on in.”
I incline my head toward her. “I’m Major Blackwell, ma’am.
It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I introduce myself with my rank because it’s how I’m addressed all day every day and despite loving the medical field, I feel being a soldier is more my identity than being a doctor at this point, so I rarely introduce myself as Dr. Blackwell.
As I’m gawking at the beauty who answered the door, Sloan comes around the corner from the connected room, making my stomach twist. I’m not sure I’d ever be fully prepared to see him face-to-face after all these years no matter how often it happens.
“It’s about damn time,” he grumbles. “And if you’d like to retain your eyesight, I’d pull your eyeballs back in their sockets before Noah catches you ogling his wife.”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment at being caught red-handed.
“My apologies…” I trail off, realizing I never got her name.
“Sienna Kinkaid,” she fills in the blank for me, holding her hand out.
“Mrs. Kinkaid,” I finish.
I drop her hand quickly after shaking it and swing my attention to Sloan. “Where are we doing this?”
“The guys and I are getting ready to start our last set. I hope you don’t have to be anywhere for a while.
I’ve been waiting all damn afternoon. It’s your turn.
” He slips through a door and I follow him, wanting to be outraged and give him a lecture about respecting people’s time — I was at work, after all — but suddenly, they’re all here.
Brett Donovan. Ryan Battle. And Noah Kinkaid.
I feel a bit out of my league, but manage to keep my shit together so I don’t freak out like a starstruck teenage girl.
The drummer is the first to speak to me. “Hey, man, how’s it going? I’m Brett. You must be that friend of Sloan’s.” He reaches forward, sticking out his hand. I clasp it firmly to give it a shake.
“Uh, yeah, something like that,” I stammer, unsure of what Sloan did or didn’t mention about our past.
“He’s not my friend. He’s an asshole I can’t seem to crawl out of,” Sloan calls back from across the large studio.
He’s standing by an amplifier talking to a guy I don’t recognize as a member of the band.
My eyes briefly catch the way the non-band-member’s fist lightly taps Sloan’s chest after Sloan makes some quiet comment to him.
Shockingly, Alexander has all his clothes on at the moment but this guy looks like he’d be alright if Sloan stripped every last article off.
I shake my head and tear my eyes away. I no longer care what Sloan does or who he does it with.
I meet Ryan Battle next. I’m not a short man and it’s rare that someone towers over me as much as Ryan does. He’s a solid wall of human flesh. Intimidating as hell.
“Could use a guy like you in the service,” I say.
“I thought about it, but music was always my passion,” he replies politely.
Before I have a chance to meet Noah, Sienna comes over and leads me back through the door and into the first room I entered when I came down the stairs. Half the wall is plexiglass and the other half is heavily insulated drywall, so we can see into the room the band is in, but not hear much.
“You can wait here. They’re on a bit of a time crunch to finish the rest of this song and work out the tweaks with their new sound engineer, but it shouldn’t take more than an hour. Can I get you something to drink?”
If I’m going to be here for an hour, I’ll need a pick-me-up.
“Got any coffee?”
She smiles and her eyes flash to her husband before answering. “Always. Be right back.”
Without the redhead to distract me, my eyes swing back to Sloan because he’s the most familiar face here, but when our eyes connect, he brings his hand up to his mouth and mimics sucking dick.
“Real nice, Alexander,” I mutter to myself. It’s then I hear the chuckle and notice the brunette from last night standing off to the side of the room behind me.
When I realize he’s making the gesture at her, not me, I feel something akin to shame in the pit of my stomach. It’s been a long day and this whole situation has me on edge. I chalk it up to being back in Sloan’s presence after all this time.