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“There’s more where that came from.”
Jade sprung up on her tiptoes and kissed his stubbled cheek. She laughed at the surprised look that crossed his face, then stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
Jade pursued what she wanted relentlessly. And she wanted more of Ryker Vittroli.
Chapter 5
Jade
After a relaxing day at the hotel, the band’s schedule required them to load onto the bus for the next stretch of the tour. This would be their last hotel for probably a week.
Without fail at 5 a.m., Tawny began her infamous round-up.
Her yell resonated throughout the suite as she pounded on everyone’s doors. “Come on, ladies! Let’s move it! We have to be on the road in 45 minutes to make the next city! You know the drill!”
Jade rubbed her eyes and groaned. No matter how much sleep she got the night before, 5 a.m. was way too early. 7 a.m. — no-problem; 5 a.m. — a never-ending struggle.
Jade sat up on the edge of the bed. She rubbed her face and sat there a minute in the pitch-dark, mentally murdering Tawny for setting up such an early stop.
Someone rapped at her door, then it opened a crack, letting light in.
“Jade?” Ryker’s voice rumbled.
“Debatable,” she grumbled, her voice rough with sleep. “I feel more swamp-demon than human right now.”
He chuckled. “When you’re ready, your demoness, we’ll go down to the bus. Heads-up, there are paparazzi outside.”
“Of course there are. Maybe I should consider combing my hair then.”
“You can do whatever you want. Comb your hair; don’t comb your hair; wear a hat; put a sheet over your head; whatever.”
That perked her up a bit. “Put a sheet over my head?”
“Sure. If you want, I’ll even carry you to the bus that way.”
Jade started laughing. The feeling overtook her as she pictured that happening. She plopped backward onto her bed, belly-laughing so hard that her stomach muscles hurt.
“Can you imagine the headlines?” she cackled. “‘Jade Lewis Three Sheets to the Wind?’ or ‘Jade Lewis — Hog-tied By Her Own Security!’ Our PR team would have a field day with that.”
He laughed. “I told you, my team will help you do whatever you want to do as long as it’s safe. If you want to wear a sheet or three and have one of us firefighter-carry you to the bus, we can do that. The label hired me to keep you safe, and I can keep you safe while that’s happening.”
“Mr. Vittroli!” Tawny practically shrieked.
Jade still couldn’t see anything through the crack in the door but, from the loudness of the screech, she guessed Tawny was probably standing near Ryker in the hallway.
“Ma’am.”
“What nonsense are you putting into Jade’s head?!”
“You heard what I said. I’m not repeating myself.”
“I can’t allow that behavior on my tour!”
Ryker sounded amused. “Why the fuck not? They’re rockstars. At least they aren’t snorting coke, getting shit-faced, and destroying their hotel rooms. The label should be happy if all the press gets are pictures of silly pranks and fun shit.”
Jade snickered.
“The headlines would be ridiculous! It isn’t acceptable! Jade, get your lazy ass out of bed and make yourself look presentable.You’re being such an asshole lately.”
