Libby

I’m staying in Knox’s suite tonight, in a different room, of course.

The hotel we’re staying in didn’t have any open rooms on his floor, and he insisted he didn’t want me that far away from him. It’s a two-bed, two-bath, so it would’ve been ridiculous for me to argue.

I’m relaxing on the couch in a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt when he walks in after doing his meet and greet. I usually go to those with him, but he said he was fine on his own tonight.

“Nice shirt,” he says when he sees me. “I look good on you.”

I chuckle, pulling at the bottom of the shirt and looking down at it. It’s one of his tour tees with his face on the front and all of the show dates are listed on the back. “These things are comfortable as hell. I could wear them every day.”

“Glad I’m also comfortable on you.” He whistles on the way to his room and turns back to look at me before shutting the door. “I’m going to hop in the shower real quick and then we’ll get going.”

“Where are we going?” I yell after him.

“It’s a surprise,” he shouts back. “You don’t always have to know every little detail, Graves.”

I frown. Oh yes, I do.

I watch TV, half-paying attention to it until he comes out wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt.

“I tried to find one with your face on it, but unfortunately, I don’t have one.” He tugs at the bottom of the shirt like I did with mine. “I think it’s only fair I get one.”

I get up from the couch. “I’ll get right on that, boss.”

I follow him out the door, down the hall, and into the elevator.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” I ask.

“You’ll see.”

The door opens right into the hotel’s spa. I’d been eyeing the brochure this morning, and they offer some of the most extravagant services.

“My muscles are sore as hell,” he says, opening up the door for me. “I need a massage and figured you could keep me company. I tend to get bored during these things.”

A massage sounds damn good to me.

Two women are waiting for us in the empty lobby. They’re older, most likely the best employed here, considering it’s after hours. I’m sure Knox is going to be footing a nice bill for this.

“Hello Mr. Rivers and Ms. Graves,” one says. “I’m Sabrina.” She points to the other. “And this is Pat.” She hands us both a flute of bubbly champagne. “Would you like to soak before or after your massages?”

Knox glances over at me. I shrug.

“We’ll do after,” he answers.

“Great,” Sabrina says. “Follow me.”

We’re led down a narrow hallway and into a private room that’s dimly lit with candles. Side by side tables take up the majority of the space, and lavender and mint wither through the air. There’s no doubt this is a luxury spa.

Oh, how I’ve missed these.

Sabrina points to each side of the room. “There are two dressing rooms with robes for you. We’ll give you some time to change.”

We both nod, and they leave the room. Knox starts to head towards a dressing room, but I stop him.

“Don’t come out until I tell you to,” I say, causing him to whip around and give me a confused look. I let out a breath. “I’m obviously going to be naked underneath my robe. I’ll change, get on the bed and cover myself up, and then tell you when to come out.”

“So I can’t see you naked, but you can see me?” he asks.

“I’ll cover my eyes up when it’s your turn.”

“You can look all you want. I don’t mind. I encourage it.”

He dips into the dressing room without another word, and I do the same. I strip out of my clothes and laugh to myself when I hang up my t-shirt. I never thought I’d be sporting anything with his mug on it.

The robe is warm and plush as I pull it over my shoulders and tie it around my waist. The room is empty when I walk back out. Thank God.

I drop the robe, hang it up, and tiptoe over to the table.

“Coast is clear!” I shout after I cover myself with the silky sheet.

The door flies open, and Knox comes out. His robe is loosely secured around his waist, giving me a glimpse of his muscular upper thighs. I gulp when he walks over to the hooks and drops it, giving me a full, beautiful view of his toned ass.

My mouth falls open. I want to look away. I need to look away, but I can’t.

“If you don’t want to see my cock, you better turn around now,” he warns.

I cover my eyes. “Let me know when it’s safe.”

He laughs, and a few seconds pass before he lets me know all is good.

I remove my hand and open one eye at a time. There’s a knock at the door, and the ladies come scurrying in when Knox gives them the okay. I make myself comfortable while they get ready for our massages. A quiet, low hum of music starts playing, and I relax when a pair of soft hands land on my back.

“This feels amazing,” I moan out, about halfway through our session. I can already feel the tension in my body start to disappear.

“It’s well deserved,” Knox says.

I turn my head to look over at him. “For me only being your assistant, you’re pretty good to me.”

“It’s the other way around, sunshine. You’re one of the best things that has happened to me on this tour.”

My mouth goes dry.

I have no idea what to say back to that.

So I gently smile and shut my eyes, ending our conversation.

I don’t open them back up until the hands stop.

“Are you ready for your soak?” Sabrina asks.

I look over at Knox in question. I’m not sure how to answer. I’ve never soaked after a massage.

“Do you want to do it?” Knox asks.

I shrug. “Sure.”

“We’ll be naked,” he clarifies.

“It’s fine. We’ll stay on our sides.”

Wait? What the hell did I just say?

I agreed to soak in a tub naked with him.

* * *

The soak is in what might be the most romantic environment in the world.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into when I agreed, but it definitely wasn’t anything like this. The only light source we have is candles, they provided more champagne, and chocolates were added to the mix.

Now I’m questioning myself on whether this was a good idea.

It definitely wasn’t.

We haven’t said a word to each other since we quickly dropped our robes and dipped into the tub. I was so concerned about him seeing me I didn’t get a chance to get a look at him.

“So … should we do our secrets of the day?” Knox asks, shifting around in the bubbles and finally breaking the silence.

“Sure, you go first, as usual,” I answer.

“I never cheated on Stella.”

I rudely snort into my glass of champagne. “Oh, come on. I might be young, but I’m not that naïve.”

He gains eye contact with me before replying. “I’m not lying.”

“There are pictures of you with other women, straight evidence. You can’t dispute that.”

“That’s true, but all of those were taken when Stella broke things off with me again. It was a reoccurring thing that eventually made me finally leave. The problem was that she begged me not to make public statements whenever we’d break up. When I wanted to defend myself, she’d always fight it, saying she didn’t want our relationship in the public eye. She liked to play games and knew if it looked like I was a cheater, no one would want to have anything to do with me, with the exception of fan girls, which she knows I’ll never date. She actually cheated on me once, and I think that’s when we started to go downhill.”

“Wow, that’s pretty shitty.” Whenever I heard the stories about their relationship, I always felt sorry for her and thought of him as the scumbag. I guess everyone has their masks they hide behind.

“It’s hard to prove your innocence when she has everyone on her side. Girls felt sorry for her when she’d breakdown during interviews. Guys bashed me because they wanted to be on her good side to get laid.”

“Why don’t you tell them about it now? Try to clear your name?”

“I don’t want to hurt her. She’s been through some rough stuff, and I never wanted to see her go through any more pain. So instead of getting back at her, I decided to end things and move on. It’s less messy that way. And to be honest, if someone wants to believe what the tabloids say, I don’t want them in my life anyway.” A few seconds pass. “Now it’s your turn, sunshine.”

I lower my voice, like I don’t want anyone else to hear my confession, and run my hands through the water as I start to open up. “The last tour I went on with my dad was when I was sixteen. There were a few bands that opened up for his show, and a guy named Adam was the lead singer of an up and coming one. I found him drunk off his ass in the bathroom one night and helped him. After that, we grew close and ended up having a secret relationship for a few months.

I stupidly thought I was in love and gave him my virginity. Three nights later, I walked in on him railing a groupie against a dirty bathroom vanity. I was so irate and hurt. He chased after me. We got into an argument. One of my dad’s bandmates overheard it and told him.

It all went to hell from there. He was twenty-two, and I was obviously underage. I had to beg my dad not to call the cops or let the press get any word of what happened. It would haunt me forever. He agreed but found other ways to ruin him. He kicked him off the tour and pretty much bad-mouthed him to everyone in the music world. It ruined his career.”

“What a dumbass. Is that why you hate musicians?”

“I don’t hate anyone. I don’t trust musicians.”

“Libby, we’re not all like him. I can tell you right now I’ve never fucked a groupie in a dirty bathroom against the vanity.”

I snort. “So you’re going to sit here and tell me you’ve never hooked up with a girl on tour before?”

“Not on this tour.” I stare at him, my face going hard. “The only woman I want on this tour is you.”

“I told you that can’t happen.”

“Then why are you in here with me? You knew we’d be naked, alone, and in a romantic setting.” He scoots in closer. “You knew that, didn’t you?” I gulp, nodding. “What did you think was going to happen in here?”

“I … I don’t know.”

“The ball is in your court.” He raises his hands up. “You want me? I’m right here. You don’t? That’s cool too. You’re fully aware where I stand.”

My body is moving faster than my mind, and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m on the other end of the tub crushing my lips to his.