Текст книги "Sentenced"

Автор книги: L. L. Collins

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

I shrugged. “No biggie. I like doing it.”

“Have you been in contact with Jaded’s manager today? What time are they arriving?”

I nodded. “Yeah. They should be pulling in any time now.”

Cal grinned. “I can’t wait for tonight. I bet this weekend is record numbers here at The Outrigger. I have everyone scheduled for the next three nights that I can. I hired extra security as well.”

“Yeah, their manager Natalie requested one of the security be placed near the stage.”

Cal lifted his brow. “Really?”

“I guess with their new fame, the last few shows have been a little unruly.”

“Well, okay then. I’ll take care of that.”

“I’m looking for Johnny?” Cal and I both turned at the voice. It was a woman in her twenties with long blonde hair and a killer body. I didn’t know who she was, but I wanted to get to know her. In my bed.

I held up my hand. “I’m Johnny.”

She eyed me just as much as I’d eyed her and then smiled. “Natalie, Jaded Regret’s manager.”

Oh yeah. “Nice to meet you! This is the bar manager, Cal.”

They shook hands and she turned back to me. “I just got them all checked into their rooms upstairs. They’ll be down in an hour or so to set up. Is there anything you need help with?” She looked over to the stage area, leaving us to check it out.

We both followed her, watching as she looked at everything we’d done over the last few days. “This looks great, guys. I have the feeling you’ll have standing room only in here, plus spilling out onto the beach all three nights.”

Excitement coursed through my veins. I loved it when small bands got big like that. I nodded. “We’re ready.”

She looked at me for a beat too long, so I gave her the look that got me what I wanted. “I’ll be down with the band in a little while. Thanks for working hard to get this ready.” Natalie winked at me as she walked away, and I was momentarily disappointed she didn’t give me her room number.

Cal whistled. “Lucky bastard,” he muttered.

I looked over at him. “What was that?”

“That girl is smoking! But I know you realized that. She was practically drooling over you.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

Cal gaped. “What? I know you aren’t blind, Johnny. I think there’s smoke still trailing from where she walked away.”

I rolled my eyes. “Dude, you need to get laid.”

“That I do,” he agreed, looking around. “I never did hook up with that girl the other night. But the next day, I met this older lady, bro. She’s one of those, you know. . . .” He looked at me like I was supposed to read his mind. “You know what they call them? A MILF?”

I roared with laughter before I could stop it. “A MILF? Dude, what are you, eighteen?”

Cal laughed, too. “I know, I know. But for real. She’s in her forties, but has a body that doesn’t quit. She looks like she’s in her twenties, easily.” His description immediately made me think of Mia, and the many times my hand had been busy with the images of her since I’d met her.

“You met her here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She came in for a drink last weekend. She seriously looked like she could be a bikini model. I’m seeing her this weekend.”

“How are you going to have time for that?”

“She’s coming here in the early afternoon. She made it pretty clear she was into having a good time, if you know what I mean.”

“I do,” I said. “But where are you going to ‘have a good time’ in the middle of your afternoon shift?”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “We have a hotel right upstairs.”

I thought of the day I used his office, but I decided not to tell him that. The hotel room gave many more options. “You sure do. Well, have fun.”

“I bet Natalie gives you her room number later after the show,” Cal offered. “She totally eye-fucked you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t ever say that again.”

“What?”

“You’re not a fucking chick. Don’t say that shit.”

He shook his head at me and walked back to the bar where we kept busy without any further discussion.

The roadies had just finished setting up Jaded Regret’s instruments and I was full of nervous energy waiting for them to come down. This was always the way I felt before hearing a new band, and this one had quite a bit of buzz attached to them. I stared at the bass drum, captivated by the logo to the band centered on the drumhead. It was both feminine and edgy, everything I expected Bex to be. I wouldn’t admit that I’d played their album on repeat since I downloaded it, and I knew every word.

Bex’s guitar was leaning up against a speaker, and I wanted to go touch it. It was black, smooth and shiny with the logo in the corner. Before I could even step towards the stage, I heard commotion coming from the hallway. Just as I was about to investigate, the doors opened and in walked Jaded Regret. I knew there were four of them, but my eyes were glued to Bex.

Fuck. Me. She was even hotter in person than she was online. Maybe the girl didn’t own shirts that covered her stomach, or maybe she just knew how fucking hot she was. Either way, I loved it. She wore a cropped tank top, showcasing washboard abs that I instantly wanted to lick. She wore a red ball cap over her long hair and lowslung jeans that showed a peek of that tattoo I wanted to see up close.

Her arms were toned and tan. She turned back to one of the guys as they walked, pointing at something on the stage. I was transfixed. I felt Cal move up next to me, but I couldn’t look at him. Musicians were my weakness, as were hot as hell women. She checked both the boxes. I vowed to myself right then and there that she’d be mine sometime this weekend. I’d show her just how hospitable The Outrigger could be.

Natalie breezed in after them. I only knew because I saw her long blonde hair out of my peripheral vision. I’d thought she was the one I’d be after until I saw Bex in person. Hell, I wondered if they liked to do some sharing. That would be epic. I was still staring at Bex, watching as she stepped up onto the stage and grabbed her guitar. She strummed the strings, and I swore she gave me a hard on just from that alone. I seriously needed to get a grip if I was going to watch her play for three nights.

The guys took their places behind her, each of them making adjustments and doing sound checks. The familiar pull in my gut made me ache. I remembered doing this, each of us having our own routine to warm up and get ready to play. Forcing my eyes from her, I looked at the other band members. I’d read their bio enough times to memorize who was who. Beau, the drummer, had short dark hair, a short beard, gauges in his ears, and tattoos covering every bit of skin I could see. Tanner, the bass player, had short blond hair and looked the most clean-cut of all of them. Ryver, the second guitar player, had dark hair and olive skin, most likely some sort of Hispanic descent. I wondered if any of them were her type, and what her type was.

My gaze drifted back to Bex. She was facing the guys, still warming up. God, I couldn’t wait to hear her voice. Getting a view of her backside for the first time was quite a treat. She had another tattoo on her back, just sticking out from the bottom of her short top, and her ass filled out the jeans just like I expected them to. I wondered what she did to keep in shape and assumed it was something awesome like boxing or something. I could picture her in the ring with another woman, kicking her ass clear to next week. That made me hard, too.

“Hot, isn’t she?” Cal finally spoke. I nodded, crossing my arms in front of my chest as she turned back around. I slid my sunglasses over my eyes, even though it wasn’t bright in here.

“I’m going to have her before they leave,” I said presumptuously.

I felt Cal looking at me. “Oh, boy.”

“What?”

“You haven’t read much about her, have you?”

That caught my attention. “What does that mean? Is she a lesbian or something?” That would abso-fucking-lutely kill me.

He cackled. “No, bro. She’s a ball buster, man. No one gives that woman shit. She has quite a reputation. She’s respected as hell, but no one crosses her.”

I scoffed. “We’ll see about that.” After all, she was a hot woman. She had to be used to being hit on. And she’d want to be hit on by me. Plus, I didn’t want anything from her other than her body. The nice part was, she was traveling after this. Maybe she’d end up in the Denver area or back here in Florida, and we could hook up again.

Cal whistled. “I want to be around when she cuts off your balls and shoves them in your mouth.”

I rolled my eyes. “She can’t be that bad. Look at her. She’s probably a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Cal said. “I’m going to grab some more beer from the back.”

“Need help?” I didn’t say it convincingly, and he knew it.

“Nope. You stay here and daydream. That’s about all you’re going to get.”

“You watch and see,” I said. “She’ll come to me.”

As soon as Cal walked away shaking his head, Natalie stepped up. “They’ll warm up and practice for a little while and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“No problem,” I said, forcing my eyes to hers. “They can take as long as they want.”

Natalie was watching me, so I made sure to make my expression blank. I knew the look on her face well. She was trying to figure out how to ask me out or flirt with me, but she was intimidated. Good. That’s the way I liked it. Plus, as hot as she was, she didn’t hold a candle to Bex, and my sights were set on her.

I forced myself to go back to the bar and clean up, preparing for the impending rush. The show wasn’t supposed to start until nine o’clock, but I knew people would come several hours early to get a good seat. The sounds of Jaded Regret filtered through my head as I made myself keep my eyes off of them. Bex hadn’t started singing yet, and I wondered if she was going to at all.

“Can I get a Coke?” I lifted my eyes and met hazel ones. Oh, shit. Bex was standing at my bar. Her voice was light and gravely, sending shocks directly to my groin. I’d somehow missed her getting off the stage and heading this way. My eyes traveled her body. It looked even better up close. I could see that the tattoo on her lower stomach was some sort of flower or something. Her belly button piercing was a dangling guitar. Her skin glistened with sweat.

I reached blindly for a cold glass and filled it up, my eyes never leaving hers. She didn’t look like she was going to rip off my balls and stuff them in my mouth. Take that, Cal. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

Her eyes narrowed, snatching the glass from me and gulping the liquid. She slammed it down on the counter. “Oh, please. Tell me you can do better than that. Why don’t you just come out and say it.”

Oh, we were going to play that game, were we? I was good at the asshole game. Her eyes flitted to my arms as I crossed them in front of my chest before she looked back at me. “Say what, princess.”

“First of all,” she started, spitting her words out like bullets. Oh, so this was the Bex Cal warned me about. I liked it. I could do a lot with that spitfire mouth. “My name isn’t fucking sweetheart or princess. It’s Bex. Not anything else. And what you wanted to say was, you want to fuck me, but instead you gave me some lame pick-up line that you thought would work on this weak ass female because you’re used to others falling at your feet. I’m not going to get down and suck your dick, no matter how much you flex your muscles for me. Your tats and muscles might work for the idiots that come to this bar, but not for me. We straight?”

She might’ve thought that would deter me, but she was wrong. So I laughed instead of responding. “Bex. That’ll sound good in my bed later.”

She snorted, slapping her hand down on the counter. “Un-fucking-believable. What is it? You have some sort of brain damage? I’m. Not. Fucking. You.”

This wasn’t going the way I anticipated. “Let’s start over,” I said, reaching out my hand. “Johnny.”

She eyed me carefully, but didn’t hold out her hand. “Bex.”

“Bex, welcome to The Outrigger. This is the home of the best orgasm you’ll ever receive.”

She lifted her eyebrow, lifting the glass to her lips again. “You always this cocky?”

I shrugged. “Don’t have any reason not to be.”

“Well now you do,” she said, setting down the empty glass.

“Why’s that? You have a boyfriend?”

Bex narrowed her eyes on me. “It doesn’t matter if you were the last dick I had the option of having, I’d still pass.”

She was lying. I could read it in her eyes. But I’d let her have that one. “If you say so, Bex.”

“I’m here to play music, not to stroke your giant ego. Find some barfly that will be impressed by the size of your . . .” Bex paused, looking me up and down, “ . . . muscles and succumb to your every command. This girl isn’t one of them.”

She turned on her heel and walked back to the band, avoiding my gaze as I continued to watch her. So she was feisty. I liked that.

The bar broke out in catcalls and thunderous yelling and screaming as Jaded Regret took the stage. When I’d assumed it was going to be a huge crowd, I’d been correct. The entire place plus the beach outside was filled. I’d been sweating my ass off and wishing for a cold shower for hours, but now that I saw Bex on the stage, I definitely needed one.

I was wrong about her only wearing shirts that showed her stomach. Bex was wearing a tight black dress and tights. Her hair was down and framing her face, and her eyes were black with makeup. She stepped up to the mic, her dark red lips fascinating me. A small smile played on her lips as she held up a hand to the appraising audience. This was the hottest sight I’d ever seen.

“Thanks for coming,” she said, effectively silencing the crowd. “It’s so great to see such support in our hometown. Let me introduce you to my guys before we get rockin’ here tonight.” More screaming and catcalls ensued. “On the drums is my brother from another mother, Beau.”

Beau nodded, picking up his drumsticks and banging out what I could only call an epic solo. The girls screamed, some of them shouting lewd comments at the guy. I remembered this well, and my band had never been anywhere near as popular as Jaded Regret.

“Next up is Tanner on the bass. Take it away, Tan.” I’d heard some great bassists in my life, but this guy was fantastic.

When he bowed to the screaming crowd, Bex stepped back to the microphone. “And last but certainly not least is Ryver, my partner on guitar when I’m too into belting out the lyrics to play. Go on with your bad ass, Ryver.”

Ryver grinned at her. “Only if you join me.” She bumped him playfully and they counted down together, both of them playing in sync. I watched as her fingers moved deftly over the strings, her eyes looking at Ryver the whole time. I wanted to hear her sing. Right. Now.

When they finished, they fist bumped and Ryver moved back next to Tanner. “So, you guys might’ve heard our fabulous news.” A few screams and catcalls followed her statement. “But those of you that haven’t, I’m going to tell you. Next month we’re going on tour with my idols, my inspiration. The one—the only—Halestorm.”

Thunderous applause drowned out anything else she said. She nodded, soaking it up. Watching her up there was something else. “So to celebrate that, our first song of the night is going to be one of my favorite Halestorm songs. I hope you enjoy. I’ll be throwing in a few of their songs tonight as a tribute to them.”

She nodded to the guys and the music began. I sure hoped no one wanted a drink because I was going to watch every second of this performance. I recognized the song immediately as “Here’s to Us.” I loved the lead singer of Halestorm, but the second Bex started singing I was lost. Her gravely voice started out low and then lifted, singing the notes like they were made just for her. She tapped her foot on the ground as she swayed with the microphone, her guitar hanging from her, unplayed.

When she sang ‘tell them to fuck themselves’, she looked directly at me. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was on purpose. I got it. Bex was tough. But I was tougher. I never wanted her to stop singing. Her voice was like a drug. The guys stopped playing and Bex’s voice was the only sound heard throughout the bar as she finished the last line of the song. The room was silent for a moment as if spellbound by the pureness of her talent.

Seconds later they came alive, hooting and hollering at their performance. I now understood why they were opening for Halestorm and predicted they’d have a big record label coming after them very soon.

“Thank you, Outrigger.” Her voice curled down into my gut and twisted it around. “This next one is very special to me. It was our first song we did as a band. It will actually be our first single released. It’s called, ‘I Won’t Let You.’” A few screams got her attention, and she smiled. “Some of you know it. That’s awesome. Take it away, boys.”

I watched as Bex’s fingers started moving over the strings, her head down and bobbing as they played the intro together.

“They’re awesome, aren’t they?” I jumped, not expecting Cal to start talking next to me.

I nodded, not wanting to miss a second of Bex performing by talking. She started belting out lyrics about ‘not letting you hurt me,’ ‘I won’t stay,’ ‘you can’t do this to me.’ It hit me right in my core. It was like she was singing directly to me. Thankfully no one was moving from watching them, so I was off the hook with refilling drinks.

Two hours later, Jaded Regret bowed and ran off the stage. I breathed out, my chest tight. That was the most epic show I’d ever seen. And I got to see them for two more nights.

Natalie walked up. “This is a great crowd. I have the feeling this weekend will be record setting.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “They deserve it. They’re great.”

I felt her eyeing me again. I wanted her to take me back to the band, but not for the reason she might think.

“Do they want anything? Food?”

Natalie nodded. “Yeah. I put their orders in already.”

“I’ll get it and bring it to them if you want.”

“Sure, that sounds good. The setup okay there you think?”

“Yes, it’ll be okay there until tomorrow.”

Natalie leaned over and put her hand on my forearm, pressing her breasts against me. “Bring the food up to room 301, okay?”

I looked over at Cal, hoping to God he was okay with me bailing on him for a while. I had to see Bex. “Sure thing. I’ll check on it in a minute. They want any drinks?”

“There’s stuff in the suite,” Natalie answered. I watched her as she walked away. She was hot with curves in all the right places. Too bad someone else had ruined my appetite for anyone else tonight.

I may or may not have stalked the kitchen for the band’s food, ignoring Cal’s warning to leave Bex alone before I headed up to their room. When I got there I knocked, trying to balance the to-go containers without dropping anything. I wondered which one was Bex’s.

Natalie opened the door, welcoming me in. The band sat around a dining room table littered with drinks. The guys all looked at me, questions in their eyes. Bex was playing on her phone, oblivious to me.

“This is Johnny. He works for The Outrigger and makes sure the bands have what they need.”

A round of ‘Hey Johnny’ came from the guys, but still nothing from Bex. Well then. That was how this was going to go. I set down the containers, watching as the guys grabbed their respective meals and started digging in. Bex acted like she just realized someone was in the room. Lifting her eyes, she looked at me with nothing less than contempt.

She opened her container and turned to the guys, dismissing me.

“Thanks so much for bringing that up,” Natalie said, hanging on my arm again. Damn, she was just a little too clingy for me.

“You got it,” I flirted. I looked her up and down, knowing the effect it was going to have. She grinned, looking back at the band for just a split second.

“I’d like to thank you in private,” she whispered.

Bam. There was the proposition. If only it was from the other beautiful woman in the room.

“Thank me for what, sweetheart.” I flexed my arm against her hand, and her eyes widened. She didn’t mind being called sweetheart. Maybe I should focus on her for the night. She was sure to be a good time.

“For being so . . . helpful with everything.”

I lifted my eyebrow. “Is that so?”

She nodded, biting her full lip. She was sexy, that was for sure. I wasn’t dead. Bending over, I put my lips near her ear. “I like being thanked. What did you have in mind?”

A crash came from across the room, making both of us jump. Natalie’s head swung to the noise. Bex was standing, her hands clenched next to her and the chair upturned behind her.

“Natalie,” she spat. “A word.”

Natalie looked confused but went immediately to Bex, who led her out of the living space and to the bedroom. The guys looked at me, shrugging their shoulders at what had just happened. I guessed that was my cue to go. Cal would kill me if I went with Natalie to her room. I had a lot of work to do before I could go home for the night.

“Nice meeting you guys. See you tomorrow,” I announced. They all waved, their mouths full of food. Natalie and Bex were still in the room, so I let myself out. She knew where to find me if she wanted to thank me.

I had just reached the elevator when I heard a door open down the hall. I looked to see who it was. It was Bex, making a beeline directly for me. Did she see me? I stepped back so she would have to go around me to get wherever she was going.

Right before she ran into me, she saw me. Fire shot through her hazel eyes. She was pissed. I forced my face to be passive. “Going somewhere?”

“Get out of my way,” she demanded, her jaw set. “I don’t have time for your bullshit.”

“Whoa.” I held out my arm and stopped her.

“Johnny.” Her voice was stirring thoughts and images in my head. “Let me pass. I’m going to my room.”

“Let me come with you.”

She laughed. “You’re something else. Weren’t you just propositioning my manager? And now you think I’m going to invite you into my room?”

“To be fair, she propositioned me.”

She waved her hand. “Whatever. I’m going to my room, and you’re going . . . wherever. Leave me alone.”

I stepped forward so she had no choice but to step back against the wall. “That was the fucking hottest performance I’ve ever seen. You’re a natural and deserve all the success you’ve had so far. I know you’re going to skyrocket from here.”

She eyed me but didn’t say a word. The air changed between us, and I suddenly felt light headed. She smelled like something exotic, and her eyes surrounded by the dark makeup were too hot for me not to be affected. Her eyes flitted to my lips and then back, and I knew she was full of shit. She wanted me.

“Bex,” I said, loving the way her name rolled off my tongue. I could imagine grunting it as I filled her tight pussy. Caging my arms against the wall, I leaned down. She looked up at me, the anger from her eyes gone.

Before I could think any further, I crashed my lips to hers. Groaning into her mouth, I feasted on her tongue, entwining it with mine in the hottest kiss I’d ever had. She responded, nibbling at my tongue and lips. I pressed my body against hers, instantly hard. Sorry Cal, I thought. I’m totally going to fuck this rock star.

Just when I was about to touch the skin I’d wanted to feel since I first saw her online, she stepped back and broke our kiss. Her face contorted and she smacked me across the face so hard I saw stars.

“Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Me.” With that, she turned on her heel and disappeared into one of the rooms down the hall.