THE SLAM AS Lucky left the bathroom sounded as loud as the one that had rattled the windows of JGB's bus earlier. Had that been the lead singer throwing the security guy against the vehicle’s metal frame? I would have to ask Marsha later.
Right now, I had to get myself settled down. It took a long, long time of scrubbing in the shower to rid myself of JGB, and even longer to convince my body to accept the fact that I wasn't going to get lucky with Lucky.
When I exited the bathroom, I found Marsha in the stacked bunk area with Rocky. Her back to me, her body language told me that I probably wasn’t the only one interested in fucking one of the Dragons.
"Hey,” I said, and she turned at the sound of my voice, but it was the Welshman who spoke first.
"You know that's his shirt, don’t you?"
Marsha's brows rose when she saw me in the Killer’s shirt that fell to mid-thigh on me.
"I couldn’t come out in just my shorts. And the hand towels are too small to cover me." I shrugged and the citrusy, rum spiced scent embedded in the cotton made me feel more than a little tipsy.
"Oh, honey." Marsha crossed to me, offering me her shoulder to lean on. "Lucky told me you were alright." Her gaze angled toward the front lounge where I suspected the lead singer lurked. I was mildly surprised. I would have guessed he would have retreated to the back where it would be easier to avoid me when I left the bus. "But you're not, are you?"
"I am, thanks to you." I curled my fingers around her arm. "I love you, Mars." My eyes misted. "I should have listened to you about JGB. I should have gone back to the hotel with you. What happened afterward, it’s my fault. I'm such a fuckup."
"Don’t say that." She took my hands, her expression hardening. "A guy who treats a girl like he did...that's a fuckup. A certifiable one."
"She's right." Rocky put his arm around Marsha's shoulder. I had forgotten for a moment that he was there. "Listen, this scheme of yours, it's dangerous for both of you. You should strongly consider calling it off."
Marsha offered him a grateful look. I didn't know if I was more surprised about that or the fact that she allowed the Welshman the liberty of showing affection to her so readily. Me, yeah. Her family, sure. Guys who were potential fuck buddies? Never.
"Is that the way you feel?" I asked, my fingers wrapping tight around my mother’s ring and my gaze searching hers.
"Yeah. Rocky’s right. It’s too risky. I don’t want something worse to happen to you, Raven."
"That feels like giving in. Like losing." I swallowed heavily. It hurt. It felt like my best friend was backing out on me. "Then JGB wins. And guys like him, Ivan and L..." I trailed off as his shadow fell over me.
"Don’t stop on my account, Angel." His jaw tightened. "Though lumping the guy who just rescued you in with that lot is low."
"One noble act doesn’t negate the rest." My gaze slammed into his, and it almost felt like the bus rocked again like it had when he had slammed out of the bathroom. "Wait a second." Hearing the hiss of air brakes, I peered around him and saw motion through one of the front lounge windows. "Hey." I frowned at Lucky. “Stop the bus. We need to get off." The frontman shook his head. Rocky glanced away. Marsha dropped her gaze to her feet, looking guilty. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded when no one would meet my eyes.
"Road trippin' with the RFC girls!" Rocky put his hand up in the air like he expected Marsha to lift hers to celebrate with him. "Hey, c'mon,” he cajoled. “Good friends should high five without even needing to look. Don’t leave me hanging up here all alone." He wiggled his fingers and waggled his brows.
"Yay! Slumber party!" Sky skipped in from the front lounge wearing the same frilly pajama set she’d worn the first time we’d boarded the bus. She carried a handled bucket that contained a blow dryer with assorted attachments and accessories. "I can dry your hair for you and do big curls if you’d like?"
"No." I shook my head at her. "I won’t like.” My tone dripped caustically. “What I would like is for your boyfriend to stop the bus so my friend and I can get off."
"Oh." Sky's face fell. "I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry. Lucky said..."
"And you always do what Lucky says, don’t you?" I remembered.
"Most of the time." She dropped her chin. "Except tonight. He got mad. I was supposed to stay with Cody and Alec at the merch booth, only I didn’t. I went with you and Marsha."
"Raven," Lucky called, and when I turned his way, he jerked his head over his shoulder. His hair was slicked back, glossed ebony from the shower, except for two wet strands. They hung from his temples like hooks and pierced the outer corners of his eyes. I found myself following one fat droplet that fell from the right one. It meandered down his cheek, through the forest of stubble then kissed the open seam at the edge of his lips. "May I have a word with you?"
"Huh?" A thought resurfaced. What did Lucky taste like? Rum? Mandarin oranges? My darkest most ill-advised desire? I gave myself a mental shake to snap out of it. "The dragon speaks." I pressed my palms together praying hands style and bowed my head over them. "I shall listen and obey."
"Alone." His right brow dipped when I lifted my head. “The back lounge." His voice lowered to an authoritative growl. "At once." He didn’t yell. He didn’t need to, because something in me responded. My feet started moving, but apparently not fast enough. "Come, Angel." He took my arm in his firm grip.
"Now wait a minute," my bestie protested. "Raven doesn’t have to go anywhere alone with you."
"It's ok," Rocky said. "Settle, sweets. You can trust him. You're among friends. Give them a moment. You're dead on your feet. You can wait with me in my bunk. We can talk or whatever."
Whatever other suggestions the Welshman made in his appealing singsong accent, I missed them as the lead singer led me to the dark room at the very rear of the bus. C1. The stabbin’ cabin. I straightened my shoulders and tugged my arm free as we entered. "I’m kinda fed up with guys manhandling me tonight, Luck," I said as he flicked on the lights. "You wanna talk? Talk. But the only stabbin’ that’s gonna be going on back here is gonna be me slicing you with whatever sharp object I can find if what you have to say pisses me off."
"Fair enough." His amused half smile appeared as he ducked around me and clicked the pocket door shut.
"So what?" I put my hand on my hips and held my ground when he turned around and only stared at me. At my legs in particular. I lowered my hands to my sides so the hem of my borrowed shirt wouldn’t ride up quite so much.
"You look good in my shirt, love."
"I’m not your love, your angel or anything else that implies in any way that I belong to you."
"Not yet." His low chuckle warmed me in certain places and reminded yet again what had almost happened in the shower.
"Not ever."
"So you say." He arched a brow. "Often."
I pulled in and blew out a breath, fingers opening and closing, trying to maintain my cool. "I wouldn’t have to say it if you would just leave me alone."
"Angel, that’s not even remotely possible." I opened my mouth to form another retort, but the serious expression on his face and the determined way he moved toward me had me taking a big step back instead. "W-what are you doing?" The back of my knees hit the couch, no further retreat possible as he stopped in front of me. Saturated hair. Smoldering blue eyes. Tiny rivulets of water slowly working their way downward over the chiseled contours of his naked chest. Oh, to be one of those droplets. "Here," he said. Dazed, I sucked in a sharp breath as he thrust something at me. "Your hair." He prompted when I stared at him blankly, fingers closing around the thing he had given me. "It’s as wet as mine." He used one of the towels he must have grabbed from an open cabinet while I had been distracted to scrub at his hair first, then the source of my distraction.
"Ok. Thanks." I scooted away from him, clutching the towel he had handed me. I couldn’t think straight when he was standing so close. I dabbed at the ends of my hair, dipping my gaze to the danger zone before lifting it and giving him a pointed look. "Do you think you could put on shirt or something before we have this oh-so important talk?"
"It's the summer. It gets hot on the coach. Besides, I'm more comfortable without one." Jeans riding low, he stalked closer. "Don't you want me to be comfortable?"
"I want you to keep your distance." I brought my hand up to stop him when it seemed like he was going to walk right into me. His skin felt smooth and warm beneath my palm, and the muscles of his chest rippled enticingly. Fingertips tingling, I dropped my hand. "Back off." My command issued breathlessly. "Quit trying to distract me."
"It’s seems only fair since that's what you've been doing to me from the moment you landed at my feet, Angel." The blue in his gaze beckoned like a glimpse of heaven through a parted veil. Mesmerized, I heard notes inside my head, music that had gone silent since the phone call about Hawk that took them and nearly everything else that mattered away from me. The notes grew more insistent, a sultry ceremonial tribal beat that matched my racing pulse as Lucky’s long fingers wrapped around my upper arms and he brought my body in direct alignment with his own.
"Don’t." I lifted my hands to his forearms, intending to push him away but instead holding him more firmly in place.
"Don’t what?" His darkened gaze dropped from my eyes to my mouth.
"Don’t call me that.” I licked my lips. “I'm no angel."
"You are," he whispered, and I held my breath as his head lowered. "A fallen one perhaps, one more beautiful than any woman I've ever seen. Hair like the night sky. Eyes like the golden glow of a fire, the part that generates all the heat, the part that will consume you if you dare to allow it..." His lips, those sensuous lips, stopped a warm breath away. His eyes lifted as if seeking permission, and I was lost in them, to him, about to say yes to the kiss, to whatever he wanted, until a loud knock and the startling words that followed.
"Lucky, come on, man. Put it back in your trousers for a minute and get the hell out here. Your sister is driving us all absolutely mad." I swayed as Alec's precise words and their meaning shattered the sensual spell the Dragon’s frontman had woven about me. "I'm not watching Top Designer again tonight. Tell Sky it’s someone else’s turn to choose the program."