After their night backstage and then back on the bus, Keira had given up pretending that things were only professional between them. They’d gotten redressed in record time, her shirt inside out, but no one paid much attention to her. The two of them alternated between exchanging sneaky glances that made her pussy throb and want to beg for another round, as they left for the buses, grinning like idiots. They snuck back onto their tour bus while Uncharted were still up on stage, not that anyone noticed, but they usually hung around to watch the show and sometimes Eric went out to the merch area to sign autographs for fans.

He held her hand, pulling her along to the bus, navigating the underbelly of the venue and through the doors that led to the warm, humid air outside. They’d sped walked between the buses, making it to theirs in record time and climbing on board. Steve was nowhere in sight. They’d stripped back out of their clothes and almost immediately had another round in the living room booth. Not the best idea, between sliding off the leather seats and the awkward table placement. Next time, they’d make it to an actual bedroom.

But tonight, was another night on the road. She strolled through the belly of tonight’s venue, she needed Eric so she could run a new idea about her photography past him. The afternoons after sound check always dragged and she figured he was on stage playing around with some new arrangements for the songs he’d recently completed. She rounded the corner, following the signs to the stage when a shining explosion of glass knocked her back against the wall. Jumping and screaming, Keira covered her face as the pieces of glass flew everywhere. Shaking her head, she panted, grabbing onto her chest as little bits of mirror fell to the floor around her. Her blood pounded in her head as she tried to figure out what the hell just happened. In shock, she stood rooted to that spot, unable to move. Glancing to her side, Owen stood frozen, his mouth hanging open and his eyes bulging out in horror, through the open door to their dressing room. Once their eyes connected, he rushed over to her.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” he said, gently grabbing her shoulders and running his eyes over her.

“What the fuck?” she said, finally finding her voice. “What the actual fuck?” she shrieked. She pushed him away from her and shoved his shoulders. “You could have killed me,” she shrieked. Some of the roadies gathered in the hall. Someone appeared with a broom and cleaned up the shattered mirror pieces strewn all over the hallway.

Owen grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her into the dressing room, closing the door behind them. She yanked her arms from his hands and rounded on him, ready to lay into him. Stopping short once his drawn and pale face turned to hers, her anger ebbed away slightly.

“What is going on, Owen?”

He hung his head and paced in front of her.

“I’m sorry, okay? I went a little crazy.”

“No shit, I know, but why?” He was grabbing and ripping at his hair as he moved back and forth like a feral animal penned in at the zoo. Her heart rate got closer to normal and she watched him, still trying to figure out what was going on. He’d always been an ass, but something else was going on. “Are you okay?”

“Listen, I know you’re just here to fuck Eric and take your little pictures. I don’t need to explain myself to you,” he snapped.

“Owen—”

“Listen, I’m sure he had to pull some serious strings to get a professional knob polisher added to his backstage list, but he’s a rising star now, right? I’m sure you’ll be one of many.” Her head snapped back like he’d slapped her. She and Owen hadn’t exactly gotten along, but he’d never gone out of his way to spew venom at her like this.

“What the hell? Screw you, Owen! I am a hell of an artist and Eric didn’t bring me on tour to fuck him. But you’re right about one thing. He is a rising star and I see the number of people leaving after each show after he performs. So, you know what? Screw you!” Her heart pounded and the blood rushed to her head as her anger increased with each second. Who the hell did he think he was?

“I’m sure you’d love to, wouldn’t you?” he snarled.

“Not if you paid me. I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to get your head out of your ass,” she stood and tried to push past him. He grabbed her wrist and she tried to shake him off.

“Get off me,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Wait, I…I didn’t know anyone was out there. I’m sorry,” he said, glancing away and releasing her hand. And just like that, he’d sucked some of the rage out of her sails. This guy was mercurial as hell. “What’s going on with me…It’s not really any of your business, but I’m sorry I nearly hit you with the mirror, so you can chill out and back off,” he said, glaring at her. Like an asshole. Like someone who was trying to piss her off so she’d storm out. She’d seen his face before. If he was this much of an asshole he wouldn’t have cared if he took her head off with that mirror.

“It’s a hallway. It’s a hallway that people have been walking up and down all day to get things ready for your show. For a show, they are working their butt off to make perfect for you and the rest of the guys,” she said, the veins in her neck throbbing.

“I know. Trust me I know. I screwed up,” he said, hanging his head and rubbing his hands along the back of his neck.

“What’s going on with you, Owen?” she said, ducking her head to try to catch his eye.

“Everything is going wrong. Everything is falling apart,” he said, his voice cracking. Her chest tightened at the pain in his voice. He sat on the arm of the couch in front of her.

“I know you don’t really know me, but you can tell me what’s going on. I might not have any answers or good advice, but I can at least be an ear for you if you need it.” She stood and placed her hand on his shoulder squeezing it. He glanced up at her and she swore tears pooled in his eyes. He quickly looked away and shook off her hand. Clearing his throat, he stood and stared at his hands, which he fisted in front of himself.

“I’m fine. Everything is fine. I don’t need your help.”

“Okay, I just wanted to offer that up before you decided to start trashing your dressing room and chucking furniture out into the hallway,” she said, cracking a smile and trying to catch his eye again.

“Again, I’m sorry about the mirror. It won’t happen again.”

“No worries, I’ll make sure I check that the coast is clear before I walk past your dressing room.” He stood still as a statue staring at the wall behind her. Fine, if he wouldn’t give up what the hell that was about, she wasn’t going to push. “I’ll see you around, Owen,” she said, opening the dressing room door.

“Bye, Keira.”

The door closed behind her and she ran smack into Eric. He put his hands on her arms to steady her.

“Hey,” he said, glancing back at the dressing room door behind her.

“Hey, I was looking for you,” she said, moving toward the stage.

“You were?”

“Yeah, I wanted to know if maybe you might want to,” she glanced over her shoulder. “Join me back on the bus because I have something to show you,” she said with a coy smile and peeking up at him through her eye lashes. He looked over his shoulder before backing her up into a dark corner blocked by a stack of enormous equipment cases.

“Why don’t you show me right here?” He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her close. His breath brushed across her neck as he kissed his way from there to her lips. She locked her hands behind his neck and crushed her lips to his. If they were going to make this something real, she wasn’t going to hold back.