Chapter Twenty-Six

Cross

 

 

Making sure Indie wasn’t going to be alone on her bus had been my main priority when I saw what had happened there. Fucking Drink. If he so much as got within ten feet of her again…

Right now I needed to concentrate on the show tonight. And the fact that I’d have to face him and try not to put my fist through his face.

“What’re you going to do until show time?” I asked Indie.

“I’m not sure. Normally, I’d be taking pictures.”

Indie sounded so sad that it was like a punch in the gut. I’d do anything to make her happy.

“Maybe I’ll go shopping,” she finally said. “I need a new camera and laptop obviously.”

“I said I’d replace your camera. Looks like I owe you a laptop as well.”

She shrugged. “Not really. Eric owes me a laptop, but I don’t think I’ll try to collect.” When she giggled I filled with relief.

My phone dinged and I didn’t have to look at it to know what the text would say. I needed to come get ready for the show. “Let’s finish cleaning up. I have to go soon.”

“Right.”

Once we actually started working on the mess, it didn’t take all that long to make it look like nothing had happened on the bus at all. Then I waited for Indie to get her things together before leaving. I wanted to make sure Drink was in the venue and far away from her until we got to the bottom of all this.

“I’ll be back for the show,” she said when we got the venue door. “But I don’t want to go in there right now. I’m liable to do some damage if I see him.”

“Got it.” I ran my hand over her hair, then leaned in for a quick kiss. But there was never anything quick with Indie. When my lips touched hers, I wanted to taste, to linger, to savor.

When I pulled back, her face was the best shade of pink and she licked her bottom lip, like she was still in the moment. I know I was. Alas, I had to let her go. But then I focused on the dressing room door much too hard. The closer I got, everything around me seemed to disappear. I knew what was inside that room and knew I’d have to act like things were normal at least a little.

Ransom and Dixon were half-dressed and throwing a football. The number of women who would pay good money to be in there with them.

“Where’d you disappear to?” Ransom asked as he caught his ball.

“Nowhere.”

“I’m guessing somewhere with Indie,” Dixon said and laughed. “I know I’d disappear somewhere with her.”

I stopped, put my hands on my hips, and raised my eyebrows at him.

“I wouldn’t, of course,” he countered. Then I turned away and he said, “But I would.”

Ransom tossed the ball as I swung back around to give Dixon a verbal lashing and the ball hit Dixon pretty hard in the chest, making us all laugh. “You deserved that,” I said.

This whole interaction just proved that we needed someone on bass who fit in with us better. Drink sat off to the side messing with his phone. Ignoring us, ignoring what was going on. Just ignoring.

He hadn’t always been like that. He used to be in the band. Now he was just in the group.

“Why would you waste your time with that girl when there are hundreds you could have every night?” Drink asked without looking up from his phone.

“Not everyone wants a different girl every night,” Ransom answered before I could.

“If you’re smart, you do.”

Drink took hooking up to a new level. A nasty level. A level that had required antibiotics more than once.

“So where were you this afternoon?” I asked Drink.

“Why do you care?”

I shrugged. “I don’t.” I did, but he couldn’t know that. Not yet.

Drink glared at me and I at him until someone knocked on the door quickly and a female voice called out, “Five minutes.”

Ransom, Dixon, and I hurried to finish getting dressed while Drink sat in that fucking chair with his phone. I didn’t care what he did or what he looked like when we went on stage. If the universe was on our side, the number of shows he had left with us would be small.

There was nowhere in the world that was like being on stage. Most of the time I still couldn’t believe this was my life. The music, the fans singing along with Ransom… Just all of it. I played through our sets on autopilot that night. I was there but not really there.

Then I saw Indie to the side watching us and the rest fell away. Though honestly, she looked empty without her camera around her neck or up in front of her face.

Indie was already walking away from us down the hall when we came off stage. As much as I wanted her with me, this was better. Away from us until I could go to her alone.

Drink didn’t shower before he left the dressing room for wherever the hell he was going. Even better for us.

“Hey.” I caught Ransom after we each showered and were getting dressed again. Kissing Cinder was whaling in the background. “Just a heads up. Indie’s staying on our bus tonight.”

“Oh, really?” He smirked at me and folded his arms in front of him.

I rolled my eyes and said, “Drink broke into her bus today and shredded every picture she had. He demolished her laptop… that’s after he broke her camera earlier.”

“What?” His head jerked back and his face reddened instantly. “You know it was him?”

“The camera, yes. He did it in front of her.”

Ransom’s fists clenched against his still folded arms.

“The bus… no, we don’t have proof it was him, but she had pictures of him with young girls, so I think it’s a pretty good bet. That’s why he’s been pissy with her about taking his picture.”

“Fuck.” He ranked his finger through the hair on the back of his head. “Why doesn’t he just leave if he’s unhappy?”

“I’d guess the money and the women keep him here. But I don’t want her alone on her bus in case he decides to come back.”

Ransom nodded. “She could always get her dad to stay with her.”

“Yeah. I didn’t think of that.”

“I bet you didn’t.” Ransom wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I gave him a hard push.

“Do you want me to stay… well, somewhere else, but that’d be on Drink and Dixon’s bus and I really don’t want to do that. Actually, I don’t think Dixon wants to do that.”

“No. It’s not like that.” I turned and grabbed my shirt off the counter. “I just wanted you to know she’ll be there and have Dixon come stay on our bus, too. Can’t fucking blame him for wanting to get away from that guy.”

“Noted.” He pulled a shirt over his head. “How do you think Dixon has stomached being on the bus with him all this time?”

“I think Dixon likes that Drink doesn’t give a fuck about anything and stays out of his business altogether. I think Dixon does that same.”

“Yeah, probably.” I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, then added, “I’ll see you later.”

Before leaving him behind, I sent Indie a quick text to let her know I was headed out. We hadn’t made plans on where to meet up, which was pretty dumb. We should’ve had a plan.

Turned out we didn’t need one. I ran right into her as soon as I stepped out of the door of the venue.

“Sorry,” I said with a laugh. I grabbed her arms to make sure she didn’t fall.

“My fault. I’m basically stalking the door.” She wet her lips again. “I didn’t want to wait inside. Just in case… ”

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

I slipped my arm around her shoulder and led her to my bus. But before we got there, I asked if she was hungry. I certainly was. Performing did that to you.

“I could eat. Want to go out?” she offered.

“Not really. How about we order something?”

“Even better. Chinese? Pizza?”

“Chinese for sure.” I called Lawson and asked him to take care of that for me. By the time Indie and I got things situated in the bedroom, setting up the TV, picking out a movie and grabbing a few drinks, Lawson knocked at the door with a bag of Chinese food for us.

We set up a picnic on the bed, cardboard boxes of delicious food, and filled our plates as the movie started. I let her choose. Wonder Woman ended, I cleaned all the food up because neither of us had taken a bite in an hour and Indie started a second superhero movie. This time we stretched out side by side on the bed as the anti-hero clad in red made us laugh.

Partway through, I heard Dixon and Ransom’s voice out in the main area. They weren’t being loud, they just weren’t far away.

Damn, I wanted this girl. It’d been a while since such a strong desire for a woman had washed over me, but I wanted her. In my life, in my bed. I wanted everything.

Then she went and laid her head on my shoulder. That small movement made me hard. I’d spent so much time hard since meeting her. Well, maybe not since that first day, but soon after. I slid my hand down her arm until I could hold her hand.

Fuck. I needed to kiss her.

I cupped the side of her face and tilted it toward me. She looked up at me with her big, blue eyes and I saw it. She wanted me to kiss her as much I wanted to kiss her.

It was the softness in her eyes, the way she wet her lips and waited. I could move slowly. I could move fast, but with her I would move slowly. Savoring every piece of Indie she was willing to give me.

I kissed my way down her neck, at the same time pushing my hands up her shirt. She sighed into my mouth my hands cupped her breasts. We needed fewer clothes on. I reached behind me and pulled my shirt off in one tug. She gave me a half grin, then yanked her own over her head. I let my mouth explore without any other purpose than making her feel good.

In no time, our clothes were off, tossed around the room like we’d been in a hurry when in fact, we weren’t. She closed her fist over my dick and I thought it was all going to end there. Her fingers had a chill to them. The cold against my hot.

Indie moved her hand between us, but I had to stop her quickly—otherwise, this was going to end and I didn’t want it to end. It was like I was fifteen without any control. Really, it was Indie sapping any control I’d thought I had.

I pushed a finger into her wetness, then added a second, stroking and circling until she groaned and tightened. The sounds coming from Indie were going to be my undoing. I needed to get inside of her. After sliding a condom on, I settled back between her legs.

Being inside Indie was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Her hands against my hot skin, the way she moved her hips in perfect time. It was like we were meant to be here. Meant to be together. There were so many things I wanted to do to her… with her. But those would have to wait for another time. Right now, I wanted to see her as she came again. Watch her as her world fell apart. Have my eyes on her as mine fell apart right after.

“Fuck,” I murmured against the skin on her shoulder.

“Nah. We just did that,” she said back, her eyes closed and a small, satisfied smile on her face.

“Funny girl,” I said as I kissed her until we were both left breathless again. “I’ll be right back.”

I slid off the bed, rid myself of the condom, and put some boxers on before climbing back into the bed with her. Indie had moved just enough to pull the sheet over herself. It wasn’t going to take long for me to fall asleep, but I sure as hell didn’t want her to leave. So I pulled her into my arms and she let me.

“I think I’m just going to sleep here for a while,” she said, still not opening her eyes.

“I wasn’t letting you go, anyway.”

Indie burrowed into me, the small spoon to my big.

If I had it my way, she’d stay right there with me forever.