Chapter 7
Madden
I wake up wrapped in Thane’s arms, and I smile. Warm lips brush the back of my neck, and I shiver and wiggle closer to him.
“Are we still pretending to be strangers, or can I tell you how much I can’t wait to call you my husband in a week?” he asks.
“You’re getting married?” I feign shock.
“Oh, sorry. Don’t tell my fiancé about tonight, okay?”
I chuckle and turn over in Thane’s arms so I can kiss him.
“Can we spend the rest of this weekend in our room?”
“I don’t think our friends would stand for that. Besides, we have the rest of our lives for this.” He rubs his naked skin against mine to emphasize his point.
“Damn right we do,” I agree. “I suppose we should get dressed then so we’re not late meeting everyone.”
“Maybe we should shower. I don’t know about you, but I seem to have cum crusted into the hair on my stomach.”
“Sexy,” I laugh. “Yeah, let’s hop in the shower quick.”
In the bathroom, we climb under the hot spray of the large shower, sharing lazy kisses.
“Remember your first night at my place, when I had to put you in the shower?” Thane muses as I reach for the body wash and start working it into his stomach to wash off the dried cum he complained about.
“Of course. I wanted you so badly, I thought I was going to die having your hands all over me but being too injured and pathetic to put any moves on you.”
“You didn’t need any moves; I was gone over you the first time I laid eyes on you.”
“Sweet talker.” I kiss his chin and hand him the bottle of body wash so he can have the excuse to run his hands all over me, too.
∞∞∞
By the time we make it to the MGM fountain, everyone else is waiting for us.
“And just what were you two up to that made you so late?” Royal asks in his best impression of a stern parent.
“Sex led to shower, shower led to blowjobs. I have a feeling you’re familiar with the progression?” I tease back.
“Very. But we still had the courtesy to show up on time after fucking again.”
I stick my tongue out at Royal, and he chuckles at me.
“So, what did everyone get off the scavenger hunt list so far?” Beck asks. “We have a G-string,” he pulls a pink lacy pair of underwear out of Gage’s pocket and flings it at Royal.
“Hey, these are yours,” Royal accuses.
“Prove it.”
Royal rolls his eyes.
“Fine, if you feel good about cheating, you’ll have to live with that on your conscience.”
“I’m sure I’ll get over it,” Beck assures him with a sweet smile. “We also started a flash mob.” He pulls out his phone and shows off a video of a Beck in the middle of a flash mob dancing to Grease Lightning.
“Okay, you have two. We have three,” Royal says, showing off pictures of a random group photo, him stealing a Roman guard’s helmet, and being escorted from a casino.
Dani holds up a What happens in Vegas t-shirt, and Adam and Nox have a full ashtray.
Photo with celeb
G-string from stripper
Video of team member dancing on a stage
Wedding Photo at the Little White Wedding Chapel
‘What happens in Vegas’ t-shirt
Helmet off Caesars Palace actor
An ashtray with cigarettes in it
A picture of your teammate being escorted out of a casino
Group photo with random stranger
Picture of one team member getting a piggyback ride from a stranger
Start a flash mob with strangers and get a video of it
I look over the updated list, not at all regretting spending the past few hours in bed with Thane instead of gathering items. Even if Royal is looking at me with a wicked smile now that his team gets to inflict a punishment on us.
“What are you going to make us do?” I ask warily.
“Oh, nothing terrible. I had a feeling you’d be in last place, so I picked a little something up on our way over here.” Royal turns around and takes something Zade is holding and offers it to me.
“Are you seriously going to make me wear this the rest of the night?” I ask, holding it up in horror.
“Sorry, rules are rules.”
I sigh and step into the taffeta laden, white wedding dress.
“Aw, you look pretty, sweetheart,” Thane assures me, attempting to contain his laughter.
“Oh, you’re not getting off that easy, buddy.” Zade steps forward and hands Thane a pair of white high heels.
“I hate you.”
“Aw, love you too, man.” Zade claps Thane on the back.
“We’d better hurry up if we’re going to make it to the Downward Spiral show,” Beck says, checking the time on his phone.
Beck
By some miracle, we manage to get a spot near the stage. The crowd swells and cheers around us as the band steps on stage. Before Gage, I thought the lead singer, Lincoln Miller, was the sexiest man alive. Now, Lincoln is second. He reaches the microphone at the front of the stage and smiles around at the crowd. He looks even sexier in person, with his tattoos colorful under the stage lights, coal eyeliner smudged under each eye, and jeans hugging his shape in a way that should be illegal.
“How are we doing tonight, Las Vegas?” Lincoln asks, and the crowd goes wild, including myself and most of our friends.
“Should I be concerned by the drool on your chin?” Gage teases, putting a hand around my waist and pulling me closer.
“You can’t deny he’s sexy. Hell, they all are.” I gesture to all the other guys in the band, who are now in place as well. Gage grunts at my statement, and I laugh. I turn my head and kiss his chin. “They don’t hold a candle to you, baby.”
“One, two, three, four,” The drummer, Jude taps out the countdown and then they launch into one of their harder songs— “Whiskey and Regret.”
Nox and I dance together right in front of the stage to song after song, and eventually Dani, Madden, and Royal join us while the rest of the guys protect us from other rogue moshers.
I grab Gage when they play “Cherry Lane” and make him slow dance with me even if he does still have two left feet.
I can’t believe I slipped earlier and made that awkward wedding comment. I must’ve scared Gage half to death, but the way he’s looking at me now, swaying to the music, I could swear he’s not opposed to the idea.
I put my head on his shoulder, and Gage turns his head and brushes his lips against my ear.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he whispers before placing a few more kisses around my neck and the spot just behind my ear.
“Probably somewhat comparable to how much I love you?” I guess with a smile.
“Mmm,” he murmurs, nuzzling his nose against my jaw. “And you’re right, this would be a perfect song for our wedding.”
My face hurts with my ever-widening smile.
“Sounds like a plan,” I agree in a would-be casual tone.
When the show ends, and the band clears the stage, a bouncer approaches our group.
“The band is requesting to meet with you backstage,” he tells us.
“With who?” Nash asks skeptically.
“All of you.”
We look at each other, and finally Adam shrugs and gestures forward.
“This is badass; let’s do it.”
A mixture of nerves and excitement dances over my skin as the bouncer leads us backstage. How many people get the chance to meet their rock idols?
“Oh god, does my makeup still look okay or is it all smudged?” I ask Gage.
“You look perfect,” he assures me with a quick kiss.
Backstage, we’re lead to a room where he knocks and when the door opens, I nearly swallow my tongue when a shirtless Lincoln opens it, his body glistening with sweat.
“Hey guys, come on in.” He waves us in and my eyes are everywhere— half naked rock stars, a well-stocked bar, their guitars in the corner. “Nice dress,” he says when his eyes land on Madden.
“Uh, thanks. I lost a challenge,” he explains.
“Thanks for coming, I hope it wasn’t too weird I asked Marcus to grab you for me,” Benji, the keyboard player, says, coming forward to greet us. He’s not my type, a bit too feminine—I know, pot meet kettle—but I can’t deny he’s beautiful with his shoulder length blond hair and striking blue eyes. He’s still fully clothed, unlike most of the other guys.
“Nice to meet you, but why exactly did you want to see us?” Adam asks.
“I love your ink. I wanted to find out where you all get your work done.”
“Heathens Ink,” Royal pipes in, stepping forward and offering Benji his business card.
“Royal King?” Benji asks, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.
Zade opens his mouth to say something but Royal elbows him.
“Say one word and you’ll have to hope your dick can suck itself for the next month.”
“You’re going to stop Nash from sucking my dick, too?” Zade challenges.
“Watch me.” Royal smirks, and Nash just shakes his head at his men before giving them each a kiss, which seems to shut them up.
“You’re a tattoo artist?” Benji asks once Nash stops shoving his tongue down Royal’s throat.
“We all are. Well, almost all of us are.”
“I own Heathens Ink. Stop by any time and I’m sure we can fit you in.”
“I will. We’ll be in Seattle next month, so I’ll be sure to swing by, thanks.”
“Well, that’s settled. You guys want to hang out? We’ve got booze, blow, and the rest of the night ahead of us,” Jude offers.
Lincoln is in the corner, strumming his guitar, apparently done putting on his stage persona. But Benji and Lando both fix Jude with disparaging looks.
“Be more of a stereotype, Jude,” Lando, the bass player and other songwriter of the group, shakes his head. “You all are welcome to stick around if you want, but we don’t generally get too wild. Honestly, Lincoln tends to keep to himself after a show, and Benji and I are only good for about two drinks before it’s lights out.”
“We could stay for a drink or two,” Owen shrugs looking around at the rest of us to confirm.
“Hell yeah,” Royal agrees. “Oh, hold on, do you guys mind if I grab a pic?” Royal sandwiches himself between Lando and Benji and snaps a selfie. “That’s four for our team; suck it losers.”
“Dammit!” I shout, mentally trying to remember what was left on the list to check off, then an idea hits me. “Sorry guys, but we can’t stick around.” I grab Gage’s hand and drag him out the door.
“It was good meeting you. I get the feeling our paths will cross again,” Benji winks and offers his hand to me. How crazy was this night?