“Which is the reason I’m standing here.”
“And you’re welcome for that. You want to become a big, famous writer, huh? I have something really big you can write about.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “If that shit works on your groupies, save it for them.”
“So you’re more sophisticated than that?”
“Apparently.”
I leaned in and had my lips an inch from her ear. I could smell the soap she used to wash her face. The shampoo scent in her hair. The smell of her laundry detergent. And a little hint of perfume clinging to her neck. The tip of my tongue tingled, wanting a forbidden taste.
“You’re going to come with us on the road for the last few shows, babe. And you’re going to experience everything this band has to offer. You’re the only one who’s allowed to write about what happens on the road.”
“Which will be nothing,” Olivia said. “Remember…”
“Untouchable,” I whispered.
I moved my head so the tip of my nose was so fucking close to hers.
Her eyes widened.
She blinked fast.
Her lips quivered for a second.
I reached down and grazed my fingers against the back of her thigh.
Her muscles tightened.
“Just getting one of your bags, babe,” I said.
I backed down the steps with a purple suitcase.
“I’m getting my own room,” she called out. “No. You’re getting me my own room. On a different floor in the hotel. I want to be as far away from you as I can.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “You just have to ride in the limo with me to the show.”
“No.”
I lifted the purple bag and slammed it on the trunk of the limo. I looked at the zipper and grinned. “No lock, babe. That’s dangerous.”
“What are you doing?” Olivia yelled.
“Going to snoop through your clothes,” I said. “Find out what kind of panties you wear. Something’s got you wound up tight.”
Olivia’s face burned red as I unzipped the bag.
She came running at me with force.
As I flipped up the lid to the suitcase, she was right there to smack it back down.
“Did I just see pink lace in here?” I asked. “Damn, babe, are you looking for your own Line Whore?”
“What? No. I don’t… I mean…”
“Flustered,” I whispered. I put my hand to hers. “It’s okay. Whatever happens on the road can stay there. It’s okay to experiment. You might find you like the taste.”
Olivia curled her lip. “I’d rather taste another woman than go near you.”
I leaned toward her. “That makes me so fucking hard, babe. Say it again.”
Olivia pulled her suitcase away and zipped it back up. She swallowed hard. Then she slowly smiled.
“What’s so funny, babe?”
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“The panties,” she said. She put her suitcase on the ground. “Pink. Lace. So fucking slutty too, Nash. And the best part… you’ll never see them. Ever. Now open the fucking trunk.”
I backed away and signaled to the driver to do his damn job.
Because Olivia had done hers.
My dick throbbed in my jeans and my eyes kept looking at the bottom of her shirt, waiting for a glimpse of it to pull up so I could see what kind of panties she was wearing.
She was using my own charm against me.
And I didn’t like it.
I could have left her ass right there on the sidewalk.
But what was the fun in that?
6
OLIVIA
My phone buzzed on the seat next to me again.
I shut my eyes.
Heat rushed to my cheeks.
OMG this is fucking horrible.
Nash tried to get my phone like he did the previous times.
“Is that your mother again?” he asked with a sly grin.
I told him the first couple of times it was my mother. Then my father. Anything to try to keep him on edge and maybe away. Truthfully my father probably had no clue where I was and my mother was working on her next drink and her next pool boy fling.
All I had to do was endure this.
Prove I could make Nash look good.
Get him to sign whatever contract they all wanted.
And then I was gone.
“Tell me who it is or I’ll find out anyway,” he warned.
“How far away are we?”
“A little while,” he said. “Could be worse. Could be stuck on the tour bus. Be thankful I got us a limo. I was going to have Bill bring the bus.”
“Bill?”
“Our driver,” Nash said. “Been with us for years. Since the first real tour.”
“He deals with… all of this?” I asked, making a circle around Nash’s face with my hand.
“Who wouldn’t want to deal with all of this?” Nash asked, pointing to himself.
“I can name at least one person.”
Nash leaned toward me. “I call bullshit on that, babe. You’re a fan. Your father told me.”
I shut my eyes and cringed. “No, he didn’t…”
“Oh yeah,” Nash said. “Funny how our lives work, right? I was eighteen, heading west for the dirty city to become a dirty rock star. And what were you doing? Living the high life on Daddy’s dime, partying with your friends, going to the beach every day, looking for preppy boys to fuck.”
“Excuse me,” I said. “Not even close. I had a steady boyfriend…”
I let the word linger.
Fuck.
What the hell was I thinking?
Letting something like that slip?
“Boyfriend,” Nash said. “Had…”
I shut my eyes. “It’s Zoe.”
“Zoe?”
“That’s who’s texting me,” I said. I needed to change the subject. “She’s a big fan of the band. She was the one who got me into the music. Okay?”
Nash nodded. “You told her you were with me?”
“She was at the show when you set the car on fire,” I said. “I had brought my friends with me.”
“But now you’re alone.”
“Toby said I needed to come alone.”
“But you told your friends?”
“Yes,” I said. “Just so they’d know where I was.”
“And your friend Zoe is texting you that much, huh?”
“She’s a big fan,” I said.
Nash leaned toward me. “I bet she’d be a Line Whore.”
I swallowed hard.
It tasted like jealousy.
That was not a good thing.
“You obviously chose the wrong person then,” I said. “We can go back to get her. You’d love her. Tall, skinny, willing to do anything with a guy like you.”
“How big are her tits?”
“What?”
“I have preferences,” Nash said.
“No. I’m not answering that.”
“Are they nicer than yours?”
I turned my left shoulder, trying to block myself. I looked down at my shirt then back up. My face burned hot again.