Chapter One
Kit
My eyes fluttered open as the tour bus took a sharp right turn. I rolled over and checked my phone, groaning when the display told me it wasn’t even noon. The show the night before had been crazy, and we ended up partying with our opening band until it was time to leave Albuquerque at three in the morning.
I still couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in just a short amount of time. At twenty-four years old, I was living my dream. Five weeks ago, I was hired on to be the new bassist for the heavy metal band, Something Wicked. The tryouts were announced on social media, and I had been lucky enough to be living in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, where the auditions were taking place.
That morning, my piece of crap car and my equipment were my only hope in making a last ditch effort to fit in somewhere in the music industry. I’d been in two other bands before landing this new gig. One of my bands had split because our drummer and guitarist decided that they enjoyed partying more than working. The second one, I wouldn’t even have called it a band. We played covers of number one hits for drunks at a shady bar on the southwest side of Phoenix. I made thirty dollars a weekend after splitting the funds with my four other band members and the guy we had helping us with moving our equipment from the van into the building.
Something Wicked had just released an album, and their first single was rising up the charts. This tour was our chance to spread our music to the world, landing a spot playing at several festivals during the summer. I was at a point in my life where I either needed to get hired with a band that was actually going somewhere or find a job in corporate America.
As I stared at the bunk above my head, I chuckled softly, thinking how I would never fit in anywhere but the music business. I wasn’t secretary material. With my multitude of tattoos, piercings, and a new hair color every few months, no one was going to hire me to work in a high rise building with people in stuffy suits. The relief of knowing I’d be on the road, playing music, almost brought me to tears the moment I’d gotten the call. I’d packed my bags for the tour a week after landing the job and spent my last dime on clothes to wear on stage. The day I loaded my bags into that bus was the start of something big for me…I could feel it.
Now, I was performing sold out shows. Being thrust into the spotlight hadn’t changed me much. When you were working for a band that had been noticed by several outlets, and the interview requests start pouring in, you kind of realized that what you had going on was a big fucking deal. The fact that the vocalist for Something Wicked was widely known in the industry sealed the deal that what we were doing was going to explode…and soon.
Aiden Hawke fronted our band, and he ran every aspect of the business side for Something Wicked. This was his baby…his brainchild. I admit I had been a bit star struck when I’d first met him. He’d been in two other bands, one of them hitting number one on the charts a few years ago, throwing him into instant stardom. That venture went south, and he disappeared for about a year before coming back with the new band. Kade Lancaster and Jude Oakley came from another semi-known punk band after a terrible breakup and falling out with their record label. Kade was already pegged as one of the best up and coming guitarist in the industry, and Jude had already graced the cover of two drummer magazines, showcasing his talent.
I, on the other hand, was busting my ass to amount to something in the male dominated industry. There were only a handful of women bassists, but I really didn’t give a fuck about statistics. I loved playing the instrument, and I was going to make damn sure that I succeeded in chasing my dreams.
The hiss of the tour bus coming to a stop was the only indication that we’d arrived in Las Vegas. Today was our first festival of the season and, from the rumors, it was going to be a big one. The Get Rocked Festival lineup had been the talk of the circuit over the past few months, and the attendance numbers were slated to be record setting. The past two weeks on the road had given me a little insight into how my new life was going to go. Sleep for a few hours, then hit the ground running until it was time to load up and do it all over again in a different city.
I slid out of my bunk, careful not to wake any of my bandmates. It was still well before their usual wakeup time, so they wouldn’t even notice I was gone. After I made a quick stop in the bathroom and changed into my workout clothes, I tiptoed past the bunks and made my way out to the front of the bus. Our tour manager, Steven, was brewing a pot of coffee and called out for me to grab a pass out of a manila envelope that was tossed up on the dash of the bus. I found my laminate and tucked it into my workout shorts as I made my way down the steps. I turned and shut the door before looking around at the back lot.
Food tents were being set up behind the parking area, and beyond that was an area reserved for VIPs. I walked around a few of the workers and pretty much ignored the stares. Yes, I was a chick with spiked blonde hair and carried a badge indicating I was with the band, but I sure as hell wasn’t a band whore like I knew they were thinking. I saw the lust in their eyes, but I didn’t let it bother me. I came into this knowing that some people wouldn’t take me seriously. I’d been through hell and back in my short time in this world. Not much bothered me anymore.
I turned left at the food tents and started my morning jog. As I ran, I checked out my surroundings, making a mental note of the stage we were supposed to be performing on later in the afternoon. I would have to study the schedule again, but I was fairly certain we were set to go on around four that afternoon.
The venue wasn’t scheduled to open for another hour, so I was pretty safe to jog around the entire area without being bothered. A few people nodded as I passed them, but I didn’t stop to chat. I needed this moment to myself. It was mandatory that I worked my body to its limits so I could be ready to throw down once we walked on the stage.
Something Wicked was a metal band. We hit the stage hard and didn’t stop until the last note was played. Aiden was a force of nature when he was performing, and he never gave anything below two hundred percent. Kade and Jude were just as fierce, and I had no problems keeping up with them. I smiled to myself when I thought of how well we worked together. I was quickly realizing that I was exactly where I needed to be.
As I made my final lap and headed back to the bus, a few bands were still arriving, and their crews were just starting to depart the tour buses. I noticed a few guys from other bands talking by their bus, but I walked away quickly before they looked up to see me pass. I was a huge fan, but wasn’t ready to introduce myself.
Once I was back to the shelter of my bus, I paced as I slowed my breathing. Even with the dry heat, sweat pebbled on my skin. My muscles burned deliciously, and I smiled when I felt the rush overcome me. I needed a shower and some breakfast.
When I climbed aboard the bus, Aiden Hawke was just coming out of his bunk. His red and black hair was in disarray around his head. One eye was squinted shut as he moved toward the hot pot of coffee. He froze for a moment when I made a move to walk past him. His nostrils flared and his eyes roamed over my workout clothes. I saw the fire burn in his stare when his gaze passed over my breasts and the column of my neck.
I wasn’t oblivious to the way he looked, either.
His tattooed arms flexed as he reached for a cup from the cabinet above his head. One of the two hoops in his lip moved as he rolled the thing with his tongue. I swore my right eye twitched when he did that. It was all I could do not to ask him if I could take over with my own tongue.
“Coffee?” he mumbled as he poured his own cup. When I didn’t answer right away, he tossed his two-toned red and black hair to the side and out of his emerald eyes. Holy hell, he was hot as fuck and completely off limits. “Kit?”
“Yeah,” I replied, almost too quickly. “Let me shower first.”
“Good morning.” Kade smiled as he passed me in the bunk area, his dark, short-cropped hair glistening from his recent shower. He was tall, almost freakishly so.
“Where’s Jude?” I asked, not wanting to accidently catch him in the shower…again. That man had no shame.
“He left to grab some food,” Kade laughed. “I think you are safe to jump in the shower.”
I shook my head and grabbed my bag, making my way toward the back of the bus. The small bathroom wasn’t much, but it was all I needed. Having short hair myself, it didn’t take long for me to do my business and get out. I was dressed and heading back to the front of the bus before Jude returned with a cardboard box and two of our crew.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Jude said, pulling me into his arms. I patted his shoulder and kissed his cheek. Jude and Kade were constant flirts, but I knew they would never make a move on me. Aiden growled low in his throat and narrowed his eyes at Jude.
“It’s almost afternoon, Jude,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Morning for me,” he huffed. “Here’s some grub.” He sat at the small dinette table by the window and rested his elbows on the tabletop as he watched the activity outside. Jude pulled the hair tie from his hair and shook out his dark blond curls. I always loved to watch him beat the hell out of his drums, tossing that wild hair around his face as he let the music take over.
I peeked in the box and sighed in relief. Among the foil covered breakfast burritos was a plastic container full of fresh cut fruit. Our two roadies, Butch and Lyle, sat heavily on the couch and reached for their food, giving everyone a grunt as they tucked into their breakfast.
“You make me proud sometimes, Jude Oakley.” I took my food after gaining a mumbled reply from our drummer and sat cross-legged on the end of the couch next to our crew. The guys dug into their heart attack food with gusto. They were guys, after all.
Our driver, Joe, came back and handed Aiden the envelope with all of our passes and schedule for the Get Rocked Festival. We were required to go sign autographs for the fans in the VIP tent at two, but until then, we were free to meander around the backstage areas.
As much as I was excited to see all of the bands, I planned on hitting the Las Vegas Strip for some fun after our set. I needed some time away from the guys, and spending a night on the town sounded like the perfect excuse to be alone before we were to leave early the next morning.
It was imperative I got away from Aiden Hawke. We’d been stuck on the bus for the past fourteen days, and his closeness was affecting me more than I ever wanted to admit. We’d touched by accident the first day on tour, and I’d felt it in places I hadn’t been touched in months. How could one simple touch send fire straight through my soul? Shaking my head, I had to dislodge the visions of him and any intimate moments that my stupid, sex-deprived brain was conjuring up every single time I was near him.
If there was anyone on the face of the planet that was off limits, it would be the lead singer of Something Wicked. It didn’t matter that he’d been exceptionally observant of me. It also didn’t matter that we’d almost kissed last week when we’d tried to pass each other in the bunk area of the bus.
It was a lapse of judgement after we’d both been drinking heavily after a show. I was heading toward the back of the bus to get something from my bag, and Aiden was heading for the front. We were the only ones on the bus, and when we turned sideways to pass each other in the small space, my breasts rubbed against his chest and his hands clamped down hard onto my hips. We were frozen for a moment as we stared at each other, not moving a muscle.
Aiden’s eyes roamed my face, and when they landed on my lips, I automatically swiped them with my tongue. His eyes heated and my pussy ached with need. I didn’t remember who broke away first, or if we realized at the same time that kissing would’ve been a bad decision, but we looked away and the incident was never spoken about again.