You know what? I’m not full of threats on this one. I won’t stand for being forced into this shithole living situation while the bus I own is given to a first time wannabe pop princess who thinks it’s okay to belittle me. My thumbs fly over my screen as I send an email to my lawyer. There’s a chance there’s something in the subletting contract I have with the label that prevents something like this. Hopefully, I get a response soon, but I won’t hold my breath for any answers tonight, it’s too freaking late.
Not for the first time I regret the decisions of past me, for being too trusting and putting my faith in the hands of people who didn’t have my best interests at heart. It’s bit me on the ass one time too many, yet I can’t go back and fix it. I’m forced to grin and bear it all, waiting on pins and needles for when I’m screwed over again.
One day it’ll end; I won’t trip over mistakes I made when I should’ve known better. At least that’s my hope. For some reason, my mind takes me to a place where my bandmates are by my side, helping to make sure nothing like this happens ever again. They surround me, protecting me from anything that threatens to harm me, even if it’s myself.
Clearing the thoughts from playing before my eyes, I find Blake beside me. My free hand is still in his as he works to soothe the tender frayed edges of my soul. I wish we were on the deck at my beach house. I ache to hear the haunting sounds of his cello, drawing out the echoing notes into the dark night. I know he’d play something that speaks to my soul, allowing me to feel heard as I wrap myself in his music.
Without second guessing it, I fold myself into Blake’s chest. Breathing him in, I swear it’s like my mind conjures the ocean scent clinging to him, like we really are back home together instead of this cum-infested, beer-stained bus.
The salty freshness of a cool breeze glancing off the crest of a wave seems to dance with the grounding qualities of sage. With just one hint of his scent, I feel more balanced. I’m sure it helps that Blake’s arms instantly wrap around me, holding me close. One arm banded behind my lower back, and a hand cradling the back of my head, I snuggle into his neck.
“We’ll figure this out, Tigress,” he murmurs into my hair.
“I’m booking us a hotel room for tonight. I’m not sleeping here,” Nash says as he opens the door and steps outside.
My heart beats twice as fast. Once for Nash’s thoughtfulness. A hotel room was next on my scattered list of things to do, although I was holding onto the hope of getting things resolved tonight. And once for the way Blake makes me feel when I’m close to him.
Wait… did he call me— “Tigress?”
It must be something in my tone that gives away how much I don’t like it, because a chuckle bursts out of him. “You’re the strongest person I know. I thought the moment called for a nickname that matched. Something to give you a little more empowerment.” His hand smoothes down my hair, and he leans back to look at me. It’s almost weird seeing him without his glasses. “Did you not like it?”
“No,” I whisper, getting lost in his Caribbean blue eyes.Does everything about him revolve around the ocean?
The cocksure smile he gets when he’s not wearing his glasses shows up as his hand leaves the back of my head, and his fingers grip my chin. He tilts me back until he’s towering over me, his lips a hair’s breadth away.
“Is that because you’re my snuggle bunny?” Butterflies swarm through my chest and stomach. My lips part, but before I can answer him, he’s already speaking again. “Shh, Bunny. I already know the answer to that.”
I knew his lips were close enough to kiss me, hell, they were brushing against mine with every word, teasing me with the possibility. But somehow I’m still surprised when he presses them against me. I melt into him, loving every single move he makes to comfort me.
His tongue flicks out, teasing at the seam of my lips, and I don’t even think about it, I open for him, deepening the kiss. His hold on me tightens like he wants to get ever closer, and I can’t deny that I want the same thing, too. There’s such a sweetness to his kiss, yet demanding at the same time, like he has complete control over what’s happening, a control that I gladly give to him.
The sharp pain lances through my lip as he bites it, only to soothe away the sting as he softly sucks it into his mouth and runs his tongue over it. I moan, the opposing sensations confusing me. I don’t know whether to jump away or strip, so he has better access to all the areas he’s awakened.
I’m not given a chance to figure it out. He breaks the kiss, moving his lips along my jaw until they’re at my ear. “Sorry. I might’ve gotten carried away there. Let’s get you tucked away into whatever hotel Nash arranged so you can get a good night’s rest.” He trails kisses down my neck, laving at my pulse point before scraping his teeth over the tender area. “I need you out of my arms, Bunny, before I sink my teeth into you and leave some marks behind.”
An unbidden moan slips past my lips, and I feel him smile against me.
“Would you like that? Wearing my mark for everyone to see?” he asks, a thread of vulnerability hidden within the words.
The thought sends a thrill through me. “Yes.” I breathe out a longing sigh. “Just not on my nipples,” I warn, not wanting to get triggered the way I was with Tris.
Blake steps away, putting space between us. The overly confident, contacts wearing cellist winks at me. It sets off the butterflies again, and I stand dumbfounded as he walks off the bus. I lift my hand to my bruised lip and smile. Who would’ve thought a first kiss from my sweet nerd would be viciously tender?
And if I’m not mistaken… he doesn’t simply enjoy biting, it’s an actual kink.
Raina’s brow furrows as she listens to her lawyer on the phone. A small wrinkle forms between her eyes, but it doesn’t detract from her beauty at all. No, it makes her even more attractive, oddly enough. Makes her more attainable, less airbrushed and fake.
The driver takes a turn, making Raina fall into my side. My hand instantly lands on her jeans-covered thigh, wanting to convey that she can stay here if she wants. Her hand covers mine, her fingertips tracing over my skin. I flip it over and she threads her fingers with mine, squeezing tightly.
“Thank you, Mrs. Giordano. I appreciate you getting on this so quickly.” She nods her head like the lawyer on the line can see her. Whatever news she’s gotten is good; I can tell by the way her shoulders seem to drop. “I look forward to meeting her. On the thirteenth in Detroit. Got it.” She pauses once more, then thanks the woman before hanging up.
“Good news?” Nash asks before I can. He leans forward in his seat, eyeing her carefully, his tongue playing at the piercing on his lip. His gaze flicks to mine, and the fucker winks at catchingme. He doesn’t break his gaze from her for long, a worried tick appearing in the way his tongue runs over the metal. Probably a tell only someone who’s been around him as much as I have would notice.
“Yeah,” Raina mutters, not bothering to take her attention off her phone. She hums, working through a scale. It’s one of the things she does to warm her voice and keep it ready for singing. She does it all the time, and I’m not sure it’s something she notices, but she does it even more often on days we perform.
The longer she stares at her device, the deeper her frown becomes. “Those motherfuckers!” For a second I think she’s about to throw her phone, but she calmly puts it face down on her lap and folds her hands on top of it, bringing mine with her into the fold.
A giddy happiness pings around in my chest, and it doesn’t even occur to me to hide the smile growing on my face. If I’m honest, I find it hard to believe she’d choose to hold on to my hand instead of letting go. A small voice hidden away somewhere that I want to listen to says it’s because she finds comfort in me.
