Showing up outside the music venue at close to midnight, Keira wheeled her bag across the uneven concrete with it tipping after every three steps. Stupid piece of crap luggage. The wet asphalt shined under the overhead lights, casting long shadows as some people lingered in the parking lot. There were women in the shortest leather skirts she’d ever seen chatting with the security guards dotted around the place.

The tour buses were parked around the back. Keira had her credentials wrapped tightly around her wrist. An assistant on the tour whisked Eric away in a black town car the second the plane landed. Keira had been put in a different car and driven to the venue. The driver was nice enough to point her in the direction of the tour buses because the waist high barriers made it impossible for him to drive her closer.

The trip from the record label to the airport had given her only a taste of what it would be like to be on tour with Eric and she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she would be able to handle it. She just hoped she didn’t screw it up. If she did, classes started back up in September, but she wouldn’t know if funding was available for her until the end of August. If this didn’t work out she could be out of a job for a while. Must be a professional. Must do amazing work. Must not bang the subject of her job and potentially kill any possibility of being able to pay her bills. She repeated the mantra in her head.

Three levels of security guards checked over her badges giving her wary looks. She glanced down. A peasant top and flowing ivory skirt didn’t exactly fit in with this crowd. The nerves were back with a vengeance and she concentrated on breathing and keeping calm. The last security guard pointed her in the direction of the lead bus after scrutinizing her badge like she was trying to get into the Pentagon. Not knowing where she should store her luggage, Keira, left her bag at the door to the tour bus.

She’d check inside and figure out where she should stash her stuff. The bag wasn’t too big, but she didn’t want to carry it up there, if it needed to go under the bus. Fear and excitement warred inside her as she took a deep breath to compose herself before walking up to the open tour bus door. The assistant told her to get comfy on the bus and they’d be back soon. Seeing the inside of a tour bus wasn’t something she ever thought she’d do, let alone going on tour with the band.

Lugging her oversized purse up the steps, she maneuvered up the turn at the top and the smell of sex and liquor hit her like a slap in the face. Staggering back for a second, laughter, squeals and deep voices filtered to her little hiding spot at the top of the steps. Unable to help herself, she peeked around the corner of the partition at the top of the steps and her brain froze.

Four guys, maybe five, she tried not to look too hard at what exactly they were doing. Four guys and, at least that many girls and a whole lot of skin. Skin, smacking, sucking and more were all going on up there. Stumbling back down the stairs and nearly face planting, she ran straight into the bare chest of a man at least a head taller than her. Her heart raced and she thought she might need to wash her eyes with bleach. Strong hands gripped both her arms to steady her and right her on her feet on the concrete just outside the bus steps.

“Hey, where you going sweetheart? The party’s just getting started,” he said, tucking one of her curls back behind her ear. Despite her earlier shock, when she glanced up at the guy she’d run into she found a dopey smile spreading across her face. His bright blue eyes and spiky black hair made for a stunning contrast. A strong jaw, covered in a five o’clock shadow and lush lips made her forget her own name as she stared up at him, unable to look away.

“Don’t leave so soon. We don’t get many like you around here. Nice look,” he said, winking. She wasn’t dressed like those women in there, if you could describe mostly naked as dressed. She wasn’t a prude, but she felt like she could skip the first year of an OBGYN residency after just a peak of what was going on in the other room. Appreciating and drawing the naked form were part of her job and something she enjoyed, but the display up there couldn’t be described as anything more than an orgy. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it wasn’t her thing. He turned her around and attempted to walk her back up the stairs, into the bus of nakedness. Glancing behind her, up at the dark foreboding steps she held onto the metal railing at the bottom, stopping his advance.

“I think whoever’s in there is a little busy,” she squeaked.

“Exactly, and wouldn’t you like to join in the fun?” he asked, licking his lips. Holy crap, this guy was a walking billboard for sex, but as hot as he was and as much as nakedness in the artistic form didn’t shock her, joining in on an orgy wasn’t in the cards for her.

“No, definitely not, I’m not here for that. I’m joining the tour,” she said. He gave her a quizzical look before the sultry smile snapped back into place.

“I can think of a few things we can explore, if you’re going to be joining the tour,” he slid his hand across the skin along the gap between her top and skirt. He leaned in, breath tickling her ear. “I’m sure there are more than a few things we can teach one another.”

She shook him off and backed up, knees hitting the bottom of the steps. The hit to the back of her legs had her sitting on the bottom step of the bus, right at crotch height to the now towering half naked man. He bent down and whispered in her ear.

“There’s a lot I would like to show you. If you head inside, I’ll clear the bedroom and make you feel things you didn’t think were possible.”

“Wow,” shaking her head, Keira couldn’t believe how thick this guy laid it on. She’d almost be impressed, if she wasn’t dead set on keeping things professional and hadn’t already had her eye set on the one guy she’d sworn herself not to touch.

Clearing her throat, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him back, her fingers lingered for just a second on his hot and sweaty skin. Standing on shaky legs, she pushed him back a little farther. This guy was walking sex, but she had a job to do and getting involved with this guy, whoever he was, did not seem like a good idea. New tactic. She extended her hand and he glanced down at it, his eyebrow raised.

“Hi, I’m Keira. I’m joining the tour. I’m the photographer traveling with Eric Newcastle until his tour starts.”

His eyebrows scrunched down even further. “I’ll be doing a photobook of every show? For fans to buy? A special kind of keepsake?” Her voice got higher with each statement that made it seem like she was asking him questions. A commotion from behind her saved them both from his complete confusion.

“Owen, what the hell are you doing down there? Get up here, you’re missing all the fun!” shouted someone from behind her. The barreling stomping coming down the bus steps had her turning around to see a guy with a clean-shaven head, lunging for, apparently, Owen, before freezing when he saw her.

“Why hello pretty lady,” he said, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. And then a bit more than kissing it as he turned her hand over and started sucking on her fingers. She whipped it back from his full-on mouth assault. “Joining the party?”

“No, not joining the party,” she squeaked. Was this what they were always like? She’d need a stun gun for the tour, maybe a little pepper spray. She was supposed to be the freewheeling bohemian and these guys made her feel like a pearl clutching grandma.

“She’s looking for Eric. Apparently, he somehow managed to con the label into allowing him to bring along his own personal groupie to ‘take pictures’ for the fans,” he said, using air-quotes.

“I’m not a groupie! I’m a photographer, here to do a job,” she said, rounding on Owen.

“Keira, you made it!” Eric called out from behind Owen. Saved by the fiery haired guitarist, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Eric! I was looking for you,” she said, pushing the guys aside to get to him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, stepping a little in front of her while he said ‘Hi’ to the guys.

“Our bus is back there,” he said, thumbing toward the smaller bus parked behind the bus of nakedness. Thank God. Not that they didn’t seem nice, but she couldn’t imagine sleeping on a bus filled to the brim with horn dogs that probably needed to be disinfected. Gah, she was such a grandma right now.

Relief washed through her as she reached around Owen to grab her suitcase. Eric took it from her hand and pulled it along. Holding onto her bag on her shoulder so tightly that her fingers turned white, Keira looked back at the guys still standing outside of the bus.

“We’ll see you later!” called out the bald guy, while the blue-eyed Owen stared after them. “Are you okay? Everything all right,” he said, keeping his voice low as we made our way to the other bus.

“I’m fine. What is up with them?” Keira whispered to Eric.

“Those guys? Well, let’s just say that they enjoy the party. A lot. The first few weeks were a bit insane, but then I had to take a step back from all that craziness. I’m not in a band, I’m a solo guy and their level of closeness, especially when it comes to getting naked, was a bit too intimate for me,” he said, chuckling.

She couldn’t hold back her laugh.

“You’re telling me. I’ve never seen more taints before in my life. I wasn’t even sure what half the body parts I was looking at were. They were all so tangled up in there.”

Gesturing to the bus with the open door behind them, Eric ushered her inside. At the top of the steps, no noticeable smells, no noises other than the hum of the engine, peeking around the corner, a small living room with leather couches along one side, a small booth on the other with an even smaller kitchen area. There were two burners, a microwave and a few cabinets. It was all decked out in plush reds and browns.

“I’ll give you the grand tour,” he said, bringing her back up into the living area. Back further, a set of two bunks lined either side of the bus, each with their own tv. A tiny bathroom that Eric warned her was never ever for number 2. And at the back of the corridor, another door. He opened it, revealing a cozy bedroom tucked in there. Not as cramped as she would have thought. His guitar was laying across the bed. Some other furniture stashed around the room, a dresser, wardrobe and a queen-sized bed, which took up most of the space.

Flopping on the bed, Eric motioned for her to sit down next to him. Her breath caught in her throat as she sat next to him.

“They’ve upgraded my accommodations since signing me up for my new tour. This place is ridiculous. I hope you like it,” he said, laying back on the bed, his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. His shirt lifted a bit and she got a look at the deep v headed down into his jeans. She laid back and a blush crept up her neck when her mirrored reflection looked back at her from the ceiling. Thinking of all the things she could watch him do to her in those mirrors had her squeezing her thighs together. Down girl! You’re here for a job.

“Just when I get used to how my life is going, there are even more curve balls thrown at me. Even when they are great curveballs, it still takes some getting used to,” he said, glancing over at her. Goosebumps raised across her whole body and she had to suppress a shiver. Squeezing her thighs together, he took her breath away. His tousled hair was falling over into his eyes, with the green peeking out from behind all that hair. She wasn’t going to make it.

“Sometimes those curveballs are what make things worth living,” she said, smiling back at him. She covered her mouth as she yawned. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket, checking the time.

“You’ve got to be tired. Come and lay down.” He patted the bed beside him and pulled the blankets down. Her mind whirred with excitement, but she had to stop herself from diving in like she wanted to. “It’s not like we haven’t slept next to each other before. Just sleeping, I promise,” he said, holding up his hands up. “We can both be completely clothed. But the bunks don’t have sheets on them yet, so I don’t want you to have to sleep out there.”

He made a good point and she was so tired. The adrenaline of the day wore off about ten minutes ago and she was crashing. She nodded and he smiled wide, lecherously, if she didn’t know any better.

“I’ll go into the bathroom and get changed, you change in here. I’ll go get your bag,” he said as he hopped up and darted out of the bedroom before she could say anything else. Standing and pacing, she checked herself in the mirror and promised she wasn’t getting in over her head. She totally wasn’t, not at all. Nope.