ALEXANDRA nodded when Rick finished his plate and said he had to leave. Her plan had gone well, and now she could regroup when she returned to Tucson.

“You’ve piled my plate with new work, Lex,” Rick said as he stood up. “I now have a ton of soon-to-be-disappointed promoters to contact, so they get early notice you won’t be coming any time soon.”

She dragged him into another hug before he turned to go. “Thank you so much, Rick. You’re a godsend.”

“Yeah, yeah. Butter me up. Promise me… no more rush relationships. Deal? They’re bad for you. I have a hunch this little trip is about you running away from the Wilkes fallout. I don’t entirely approve, but I understand. I only want the best for you. Okay, doll?”

She took an extra moment to rest her head on his shoulder as he patted her back. “I’m so grateful for that. You won’t regret it. I promise.”

Rick pulled away reluctantly, and as he made his way to her front door, he said over his shoulder, “Give Max my best when you get home.”

* * *

“Maybe I should call him,” Alexandra said to herself.

She stared at the pile of designer luggage in the corner of her walk-in closet. Her father would be happy to see her, but didn’t like surprises. Her private jet was prepped and ready to fly out to Tucson the next evening. Travel arrangements were in place. She had only been putting off contacting her dad just in case her plans fell through. Now that everything had been firmed up, she needed to let him know.

She attended a full-day meeting with her team at the label. It was productive. Together, they finalized the upcoming album cover. Normally the process could stretch out for weeks, if not months. It was good to check it off the list. And there was still a lot to do. Single cover shots had to be set up. The song list was also incomplete, and there were a few more recording sessions to be done when she returned. Still, they were making progress. The music video for the title track was already in the works. A director had been hired, and the shooting dates were set.

Alexandra also needed to figure out which direction she wanted to go when it came to her image. She was outgrowing her skater-chick-meets-Goth-revolution style, including the heavy eyeliner and canvas loafers. Even after all the mind-numbing, shoot-me-now brainstorming with a team of stylists she sat through for almost half the day, she had no idea how to reinvent herself.

Finally home, she went to the kitchen for some water. There was a package with her name on it sitting on the counter. She wasn’t expecting anything, but packages arrived for her all the time. Usually Alexandra would get her personal assistant to handle things like this, but the woman quit three months ago. She had a baby and decided to stay home to be with the little one. Alexandra couldn’t blame her one bit.

When her PA left, Alexandra couldn’t find the time to replace her right away. The world didn’t fall apart, so she tried to make do without one. One down side of not having an assistant now was whenever she got packages like this—with sender information she didn’t recognize—they would go into a box in the garage. She picked it up to carry it outside, and noticed an envelope stuck to the bottom. The note inside was from Evangeline.

Good thing I checked.

Evangeline’s note said, ‘Enjoy the little things you CAN control, Lexxi. And by the way, you’re welcome. Love, Eva.’

With her curiosity now piqued, Alexandra opened the box and…

Oh hell. Eva sent me an erotic massage care package?

She laughed out loud and hurried to take the box up to her bedroom. Something like this had to be checked out in a more private space. She threw the box on her bed and sat beside it to open the hot pink mini-trunk inside. It opened like a large jewelry box. Inside were some things she recognized, and others that confused her. She never used this kind of stuff. There was a feather, a bottle of all-over body massage oil, a pink mask with eyeholes.

Oh shit.

There was a pair of handcuffs too, and a small vibrator. She caught sight of some weird alien-sex gadget too. She ended up having to look online to find out it was a waterproof, u-shape, two-person, vibrating body massager.

Waterproof.

What was Eva thinking?

Alexandra sent her a text to tell her thanks, and at the end of the short message, she added rows and rows of question marks. Evangeline phoned back right away.

“You’re welcome, honey,” Eva said before saying hi.

“Eva! Thanks for the gift, but what the hell?”

“Come on, Lex. You’re human. You have needs. And you have no man right now, remember? Try it. It’ll take the stress off…and it feels so good…You’ve got to try that we-massager. I came so hard with mine a few nights ago. My legs shook for a whole hour afterward.”

“Way too much information,” Alexandra said, giggling.

“Try it. You’ll be calling to tell me the same thing afterward. Anyhow, love. I have a string of promo interviews to prep for. Let’s chat on the weekend if you get some time.”

“Take care, Eva. Will do.”

Alexandra hung up and strolled into the master bathroom. It was a welcome routine to fill the tub with hot, steamy water and Japanese bath salts for a hint of jasmine scent. While waiting for the bath to run, she remembered Evangeline’s massage set and thought, what the hell. She brought it in to try out one or two of them.

After undressing, she wrapped herself in an Egyptian cotton bath robe, and went into the attached sitting room where she often sat to think. On the one hand, she couldn’t wait to leave. On the other, the closer it got to her flight date, the more she wondered if Rick was right. Am I running away from my problems, or is something different at play? Deep down, she was secretly tired of some aspects of the business, as well as her screwed-up love life. She had been jaded and disheartened, and now, she wasn’t sure whether going home would energize her or make her more reluctant to return. She grabbed the cordless phone on the end table to call home. It rang, but no one answered. She checked the time. Dad was usually home by now. She put down the cordless phone and walked over to the filled bathtub. She would try phoning again in the morning to let him know her plans to come home.

Peeling back the robe, she let it drop to the floor, and stepped into the tub. She lowered herself in, allowing the bubbles, hot water and jasmine aroma to transport her away from all her worry. She sank deeper still to get her tense neck down in the steamy heat. All that was left above water was her face and the top of her head. She relaxed for a few minutes, and when the tingling burn of the water started to subside, she took her bath sponge and started scrubbing her legs.

God, my feet are so sore from running around all day.

She would give anything for Izumi, her regular masseuse, to massage her feet and back right now. Too bad she didn’t live nearby.

She lifted one leg out of the water and placed it to hang on the edge of the bathtub. She wanted to get the edge off, and found her mind returning to the erotic massage kit. She reached over to the small counter and took the waterproof we-massager from the kit. It was time she indulged in a bit of battery-operated self-love. She turned on the massager—thank goodness she looked that up online earlier—and placed it on her neck. The thing was pure heaven, the way it kneaded out those knots that had been annoying her all week.

Aww hell. Why not?

When her neck felt sufficiently relaxed, she slid it down between her breasts, over her stomach, and let it stop on her mound. The sensation aroused her quickly, and soon she was panting. The sensitive flesh between her legs began to throb with need. She began to imagine it was a man’s tongue devouring her as she bucked and screamed. She nearly came apart when she moved it lower, right over her folds. It was so intense, her legs trembled and buckled as she quickly reached her first peak.

It took her a few minutes to recover, but now she was into it. She bent the massager into more of an L shape, and positioned it so one end slowly entered her, while the other continued to massage her folds. Images of a gorgeously handsome, buff fantasy man surfaced. She pictured him taking over, teasing her hardened bud with his finger while he slid inside her.

She bit her bottom lip and moved a hand up to her breasts. She placed two fingers over her nipples, picturing his tongue as it circled them. She could hit her peak for a second time, it felt so good. She spread her thighs wider and rocked her hips as she indulged in the erotic fantasy. Before long, her hips moved faster. Her stomach clenched. She flexed and tightened as her climax spread out from her core, making every inch of her body tingle as she came with a wild, unbridled fierceness.

Panting heavily, she slowly eased the massager out and caught her breath. It was settled. She was taking this kit home with her.