Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
Tatum
I’d been here before. Well…not this exact bar, but the vibe was the same as the one in Dallas where I got kicked out for brawling with Courtney May.
The sticky floors sucked at the soles of my shoes, and I worried that my jeans were having the same experience with the wooden bench I’d parked myself on to supervise the band.
Otis flopped down next to me, offering a bottle of beer that I accepted a little too eagerly.
“How are you doing?” Otis asked, clinking the neck of his bottle on mine and drinking deeply.
“I’m…okay, I guess? Glad you’re here to help me. I’m worried about how tonight will turn out.”
Otis looked around, his gaze stuttering over Harvey, who had the avid attention of two girls on a nearby table. He sighed and seemed to sag in his skin as his friend moved into the touch of one girl while the other mouthed at his ear.
“Otis?”
Taking another pull on his beer, he forced his attention back to me and tried for a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“You’re doing great. Our first set of shows is under our belt, and your itinerary is flawless. Now it’s just time and miles.” His eyes flickered back toward Harvey. “And avoiding any scandals.”
I hummed in agreement and took a healthy sip of my own drink.
The music changed, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Toby and Lainey slip out of the shadows and take up positions on the dance floor.
From where I sat, I could see both had glazed eyes and dreamy smiles on their faces as they began to move slightly off the beat.
“How the fuck am I going to manage that?” I muttered, glancing at the bar in time to notice a blonde sidling up toward Calix. Fuck me.
My skin heated at the memory of him invading the bathroom that morning.
I’d been rushing, trying to breathe calmly and not think about how easily I could be trapped in the tiny space when he’d barged in like he ruled the world and started asking questions that proved how comfortable he was invading people’s privacy.
Nice ink.
I rubbed my hip, the one that had a small tattoo of a pair of lips that I got after losing a bet to Ruby when she was first signed. She’d wanted me to get their band logo, but this was my compromise.
“What if you rebrand?”
“Well, then you’ll have to get the new image on the other hip.”
I smiled softly at the thought of my bestie and made a mental note to check in on her.
“Holy shit, are you filming this? He’s totally going to fuck her.”
The chattering of the girls at the table beside us dug into my ear in the same way creepy music caught your attention in a horror film, warning that bad shit was about to go down and you would do best to brace yourself.
Taking my own advice, I gripped the seat beneath me and turned in time to make eye contact with Calix.
His lip lifted in a sneer. He reached for the woman in front of him and pulled her in by the throat, attacking her mouth in a kiss that was hot enough to ignite something low in my belly.
His eyes burned into me as he maneuvered her head how he wanted, taking everything from the girl.
I lifted a brow at him, refusing to show how he affected me.
Screw him if he thought I’d be impressed by this show of dominance that would probably end in more work for me.
His icy eyes bore into me as he slowly raised his middle finger behind the girl’s back.
Squeals broke out behind me, drowning out my scoff of annoyance as my lead singer finally decided to break off the PDA and move toward the bathrooms. His saunter told me all I needed to know about what was about to go down.
Mind your business.
Miss Likes-to-be-choked beelined for her friends while I tried to ignore visions of her tripping on her heels. It’d be a shame to ruin thousands of dollars of rhinoplasty. Truly. I’d definitely shed a tear.
“Why do you look like you’re thinking violent thoughts?” Otis’s voice broke through my fantasy, and I did nothing to hide the guilt.
“She’s going to cause more work for me. I can see it now.”
He grunted, his gaze straying back toward Harvey as a commotion on the table behind us caught my attention.
“It’s already live streaming. This is going to go hella viral, just make sure you get him to say something so your fans know it’s still him.”
The girls around the table looked ready to hump blondie’s leg in their excitement for the show their friend was about to put on.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Otis muttered, the excitement apparently enough to pull his attention away from his best friend.
We watched in growing horror as the girl accepted the offered cell phone and struck a pose.
“Hey, besties. I hope you’re settled in somewhere comfortable and private because things are about to get hot and heavy with Calix Quinn from Goats and Vandals. Let’s do this, sluts!”
“Oh, hell no.” I was out of my seat and stalking after the bitch before I knew what I was doing.
“Keep an eye on the others,” I ordered Otis, jogging to catch her before she could fuck up my tour.
A cloud of sickly sweet candy scented perfume tightened my throat.
As her hand reached for the bathroom door, I tangled my fingers in her hair and yanked hard.
Her phone clattered to the ground, and I caught a glance of the screen showing the ceiling above us as rows of hearts drifted up from the chat box.
Sorry, thirsty bitches, but no one would be seeing Calix Quinn’s dick if I had anything to say about it.
Stepping forward, I brought my heel down hard, aiming for a confused emoji that drifted across the screen, and relished the crunch.
“What the fuck, bitch?!”
“Considering you were planning on filming and disseminating pornography without consent, I think I should be saying that to you.” My voice was so calm that I surprised myself.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” She talked a big game, but her eyes darted toward the door, then back the way we had come before landing in the vicinity of my throat. No eye contact. Coward.
“I’m the manager who has to clean up the shitstorm you’re trying to bring to my door, and I want you to hear me loud and clear on this.
If you lay a hand on the man in there. If you take footage of his naked body, even without the intent to share, I will bury you.
You will find yourself so wrapped up in legal shit your grandkids will be paying off your debt.
Take your little friends out there and leave.
Do not pass Go, and if you even think about collecting two hundred dollars, I’ll take that from you too. ”
The girl’s lips flapped. No words coming out. Just when I thought I may have scared her shitless, she scooped up her ruined cell and bolted.
Releasing a breath, I pushed into the men’s room, ready to tell Calix it was home time.
Halfway across the room, I ran out of steam and flopped onto the closed seat of the vacant cubicle beside where I assumed Calix was waiting.
Burying my head in my hands, I took a moment to think through the encounter outside.
Was it concern for my career or jealousy that had made me act out like that?
I didn’t want to think the thing in the shower had changed anything between us. I still hated him, but maybe…not quite as much?
Shit. I didn’t know.
“You took your time.”
I hummed in response to the deep voice echoing through the partition beside me. I had to admit, as much as I may have been confused about the man himself, his voice was pure sex. I’d known that since the first time I heard it.
“Are you ready for this, baby girl? I need you so bad.”
“Ah…” My voice was barely recognizable. High and tight and far too turned on for my liking. I needed to say something.
“Calix,” I squeaked.
“That’s right, baby, say my name. I’ve got what you need.”
I jerked back as something long and fleshy pushed through a hole in the divider I hadn’t noticed.
Calix’s penis. I hated to admit, it was a really pretty cock, long and thick with a juicy vein running along the underside up to a velvety smooth plum shaped head. It didn’t have any of the jewelry that decorated Tobias’s length, but the size and girth seemed similar.
A small bead of precum welled on his tip, and without thinking, I reached up and ran my thumb through it. A deep groan echoed through the room, and I snatched my hand back, wondering what the fuck I was doing.
“Give me your mouth.” His voice had the same hypnotic quality as when he belted out songs in front of packed audiences but still felt more intimate than a random hookup should.
The thought of him sharing this with that influencer bitch I’d sent packing caused a bolt of red-hot fire to shoot through me.
I refused to identify the emotion that came with it, but guilt was close on its heels.
I shouldn’t be doing this. The right thing to do was to tell Calix what had happened with the girl.
To insist we leave the bathroom and go back out with the others…
Where he would find someone else to bring back here.
I released a heavy breath and watched his leaking dick kick hard at the sensation.
Or I could get him off and leave, knowing at least one of my band members wouldn’t be causing me more trouble for the night.
The reasoning was flimsy at best, but that fact did nothing to stop me leaning forward and running my tongue over his tip.
“Fuuuuck yes. Good girl.”
The praise warmed me. Calix Quinn, the cold, unobtainable man, whispered words of worship as I took him deep into my throat and began to work his length in earnest. He tasted like sin and secrets, and I couldn’t help the hum of pleasure as more precum seeped across my tongue.
My panties were soaked. The dirty tryst turned me on almost as much as Calix’s vulnerability, and I slipped a hand into my jeans to find some relief.
“Are you touching yourself?” he asked as I gasped around his length.
I hummed an affirmative sound and felt satisfaction bubble up in me at his tortured groan.
“I want you to come before me, baby, but you have to do it quick. You have me right on the edge.”
Circling my clit in quick strokes, I used the other hand to jack him off as I bobbed over his length, saliva making my hand slide easier.
Heat pooled low in my belly, and I shoved two fingers into my pussy, gathering my own moisture and furiously rubbing at my clit until I broke apart with a choked scream.
“Are you ready for me, baby?”
I’d barely caught my breath before I wrapped my lips back around him and sucked hard, squeezing his base in my fist.
The bitter saltiness of his release barely registered as I swallowed fast. My heart beat double-time, and as soon as his erection stopped kicking, I threw myself out of the cubicle and raced for the exit.
His taste lingered on my tongue as I burst out into the warm night air, but all I could think of was the sound of my name on his lips as he came.