Chapter 19 – Ravvi
Chapter Nineteen
Ravvi
I’m so fucked.
If I can’t make her love me after all of this… I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with myself.
Kidnapping might be the only option.
Damian joins in, offering backup assistance for our next round, but once the bus comes to a stop, we lie in one big cuddle pile.
I’m content, and we’re all safe. If I could stop time, I’d never leave this room again. I want the comfort of this moment to last forever.
Some small part of me aches to ask her what all of this means, and if we should be warning someone that she won’t be able to perform tonight. Except, I fear that would be a huge mistake when this morning has been the best of my life.
Instead, I run my fingers through her hair and purr her to sleep, like a total fucking coward.
I also keep my mouth shut when she wakes up still seated on my cock an hour later and leans over, grabbing her suppressants from the bedside table.
Damian abandoned us to take a shower while she slept, and no matter how I grit my teeth, I can’t bring myself to risk a fight by asking her not to take it.
Hell, I’m not even sure if it’s safe to stop the medication in the middle of a cycle. All I know is that I’m worried about her. This tour can’t be over fast enough.
“I didn’t think we’d be performing tonight.” Riot bumps his shoulder against mine as we stand around in the greenroom, waiting for Cove and Damian to finish their makeup.
I would normally laugh. My brother hates anyone touching his face, but the crowd loves it when they give him dark liner. It also matches the vibe of his outfit tonight, so he’s going to have to suck it up and deal with it.
We missed rehearsal, which is always stressful, but Cove was insistent about not canceling our show. It’s causing me never-ending anxiety to consider what might happen if she has another heat spike while on stage. We’re not the main performance, meaning her system only has to hold out for an hour.
Fuck me.
My hands are actually sweating.
“I thought the three of you would be holed up in the bus.” Creed comes to a stop at my side. “Maybe the four of you, depending on if Declan had cracked yet.”
“I thought they’d say fuck you guys and rent a fancy hotel with a nest,” Riot says, laughing.
I snort.
Declan glares daggers from his spot a few feet away. It’s not like Creed was trying to be quiet about it.
“Come on, we’re dying over here…” Creed rubs his hands together. “Did you finally get it in? Tell me you did.”
“We were hardcore rooting for you,” Riot chimes in. “I don’t pray, and I said a prayer last night that the two of you would just fuck already.”
The look on his face makes me chuckle, and I shake my head. My relationship with the twins is complicated. They’re two of my best friends, and I consider them to be family. I still resented them for a while for participating in Cove’s first heat, even if I was the one who put that in motion.
I’ve mostly moved past that irrational anger, but it was messy for a long time.
That’s life, though.
The older I get, the more I realize nothing is perfect. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches rather than whine over the idealized version of things you had in your head.
Last night and this morning were perfect. Better than any fantasy I could have conjured. I smile like a fool as a sexy little replay of Cove riding me flits through my mind.
“Oh, thank fuck,” Creed says, booming a laugh as he smacks me on the back. “Now, don’t screw it up by asking her to marry you or some dumb shit. My dad had to slowly lock my mom down over four years.”
I’m aware of that, but Jesus. I’m not interested in taking quite that long to get a ring on Cove’s finger.
If she lets me bond her, that’s a different story.
I could be patient about the legal stuff.
A bond is the ultimate level of connection, and there’s no escaping it. Bonds are for life, so it feels way more significant than a piece of paper tying our finances.
“Yeah, I got it,” I say, shoving my hair away from my forehead. It immediately falls back into place, and I frown.
“So, what’s the deal?” Riot asks. “Should we be planning for an early end to this tour?”
“I have no fucking idea.” I shake my head, shrugging. “She took her suppressants this morning.”
“Could she even stop in the middle of a pack?” Creed asks. “She needs to see McMillan.”
“I’m not bringing it up again,” I say, my jaw clenching. I agree that she should see the tour doctor, but things are still too fragile between us. “We’re finally in a good place. I can’t risk it.”
“That makes sense.” Riot nods, patting my shoulder. “Keep the peace for right now. That’s your ultimate goal.”
I would roll my eyes, but I truly believe he thinks he’s imparting some great wisdom that I haven’t thought of yet. Like I didn’t lie awake for hours watching Cove sleep against my chest while stressing about every possible thing that might come up and brainstorming outcomes.
“She can’t be pissed at you if one of us asks.” Creed smirks. “Let me or Riot take the fall if it needs to be done. I’m fine with taking one for the team.”
I don’t love the idea of being sneaky, but I’m also worried about Cove’s well-being. “Let’s see how things go, and I’ll let you know. But either way, I appreciate it.”
“You know we’ve got you,” Riot says, holding out his hand. “Now let’s get in the zone. I want to rock the house down.”
The show goes off without a hitch.
The next several follow a similar pattern. We’ve finally hit our stride, and it’s showing in our music and our performances.
Cove continues to take her suppressants. I’m not happy about it, but things are better between us than they’ve ever been.
I keep the peace and watch her closely.
If it comes down to it, I’ll break down and call my dad to warn him what’s up.
I love Cove, and that means looking out for her when she’s too hardheaded to do it for herself.
I also can’t stomach the thought of leaving the label in a lurch if we have to cancel shows last minute. Since we’re not the headliner, I’m sure they could find someone to sub out for us, but it would leave my dads scrambling to call someone in.
It would also leave it up to the other bands on tour with us to cover the shows until they had someone brought in.
That’s not fair to anyone.
Tonight we’re at a VIP performance in a club. It might be one of the smaller venues, crowd-wise, but it’s a big deal, since everyone here paid at least a grand per ticket. After the show, we have to head out and do the rounds, mingling with everyone.
Damian is prepped with his earplugs, but we’ll have to see how it goes.
Cove puts on a solid front during our performance, but she’s clearly exhausted after the show.
I give her a hug and mark her cheeks with my pheromones to see if it helps, but that’s the limit of what I can do.
We change and head out to do the rounds, taking pictures and chatting with the crowd. Luckily, by the time we make it out to the bar, most of the fans are focused on Liminal.
Damian and the twins aren’t even technically old enough to be in this venue, since it’s twenty-one and up, but the bar sure serves them without a single ID check.
We spend most of Liminal’s performance taking pictures and signing shit, but we’re able to relax significantly when the other opening act, Turning Pages, makes their way out after changing, following their set.
We were doing our own wardrobe swap while they were on stage, but having them out mingling takes even more of the focus off us.
After a while, one of the club managers shuffles us up to the VIP section, and it’s nice to have space to hang out and chill outside of the bus. Though Declan doesn’t take his eyes off Cove.
That’s probably a good thing with how many people are packed in the club. It’s spacious, but there are still a lot of bodies, even upstairs.
We become old news once Liminal makes it out to mingle with the crowd. They’re the headliner, and they’ve been in the game way longer than we have.
The speakers switch to playing normal club music, and the dance floor gets full as the vibe changes from a show to a party full of rock stars.
Cove saunters her way over as I’m nursing a warm beer, leaning near the half wall that looks out over the club. Her hand lands on my chest, and she smiles up at me. “How are you doing?”
I chuckle, twisting to the side to drop the bottle of beer on the high-top table. “Better now that I get to see your beautiful face.”
Her smile widens as she shakes her head. “God, that was cheesy, but I loved it. Don’t ever stop being you, Ravvi.”
I smirk, sliding my hand around and cupping her ass. “I don’t plan on it, Clover.”
That was bad. I’m surprised she finds you appealing at all, a low male voice says next to my ear.
I’d roll my eyes, but I don’t want Cove to think the move is directed at her. Instead, I ignore the whisper and focus on the omega.
She stretches up on her tiptoes, flattening her hands on my chest to keep steady. After our set, wardrobe put her in a flirty little skirt and tank top with sky-high heels. It’s not her normal stage style, but she’s sexy as sin.
I bend, meeting her in the middle for a quick kiss. Well, I intend for it to be quick, but it turns naughty real fucking fast.
You’re trying too hard, the same voice taunts close to my ear.
Ignoring it, I focus on my omega. She smells so sweet, and I ache to devour her whole.
Cove pulls back to breathe, and I growl, following her lips. With the death grip I have on her ass, I wouldn’t be surprised if I left bruises.
I loosen my hold a little but make sure she’s steady as she settles back on her feet.
“Wanna dance with me?” she asks, fluttering her lashes.
My cock throbs, and I nod. “Fuck yes.”