One Kiss from the King of Rock (The One Book 2) Page 4

  “They won’t if you don’t hold still,” she said, flicking her head to shift her hair. Then it was her turn to flinch when Jay gathered it in his hand and held it out of her face.

  “Let me help,” he said, the heat of his legs against her back, the backs of his fingers resting on her neck, spider-crawl shivers enveloping her head.

  She fumbled again, near punching Grip in his groin. “I’ve got this.”

  Jay’s other hand landed on her shoulder, steadying. “I’m sure you do.”

  He didn’t let go of her hair, holding it in a loose-tight way that reminded her of all the times he done that when they were naked and desperate for each other. When she was on her knees and he’d wanted to watch as she took him apart with her mouth.

  “Always had pretty hair, Evie,” he said.

  “You always liked controlling me with it.” Oh shit. She shouldn’t have said that. Jay made a rough sound, and his hold on her tightened. Body vibrating with excitement, she had to fight against tipping her head into his hand and looking up at him, exposing her throat for a remembered caress.

  “Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt this kinky little scene you two have going on,” Grip said. “It’s desperately sexy, and I’m happy to consider a threesome, but I just remembered I have track pants in my bag and I have somewhere to be.”

  Evie let go of Grip’s jeans and he stepped away, hands raised in surrender, laughing as he went to the showers. Jay was a beat slower releasing her hair. “How did we sound to you?” he said, his knuckles sliding on her neck, making her shiver as her hair fell back to her shoulders.

  “Richer. Edgier.” His fingers trickled over the rim of her ear, calloused pads, sweeping her hair there. Sexier.

  “Good.”

  She needed to get off her knees before she did something she was going to regret. “You made peace.”

  “More like a truce, but it felt right.”

  There was just the heat of his legs behind her now, as he stood with a foot either side of her own shins. She could smell the sweat on him. God help her, she liked the tang of it. This wasn’t a truce, it was an attack on her senses, but it felt unnervingly right, and it scared her.

  “Jay.” She put a foot forward and came to stand with a wobble. If she told him not to touch her again it would only imply it had affected her.

  “I’m glad you sorted it with the guys.” She fiddled with her shirt. She’d tell him there wasn’t going to be a truce for the two of them. But when she turned, the opportunity was gone and it was hard to tell if the vision of his perfectly bitable arse walking away was a blessing or a curse.

  SIX

  The fan meet and greet was full swing when Jay noticed how close Mum was standing to Errol. Sure, the room was crowded and the line-up for a grip and grin was long and winding but it’s not like there was a shortage of space that was making them stand almost shoulder to shoulder.

  Evie had carved out room for herself, although she was in constant motion, but every time he caught a glimpse of her, she was looking back at him. And every time they did that awkward eye contact dodge where you pretended not to be looking at each other but at some distant spec in the same linear geography. It was whack-a-mole addictive.

  “Hi, Alisha, good to meet you,” he said, taking the next fan’s hand and leaning close, so Alisha could take a selfie while she told him how much she loved him. Alisha had been a fan since the PoP days and had a theory about why they broke up. She didn’t get to finish telling him about it before his minder brought the next fan forward.

  Ahmed didn’t want a selfie, just a handshake. After Ahmed came Yoshi, Ruby Lee, and Daquan, then a person called Wizard Excelsior.

  Wizard had a long white beard and a purple cape and certainly looked the part. Jay grinned for the selfie, holding Wizard’s curly handled staff for him while he juggled long batwing sleeves and his camera.

  “It only comes when you risk. Never make decisions for someone else.” Wizard said in parting. Wizard clearly knew things. It felt a little like Jay had been blessed.

  Everything about moving to the States and starting World’s End had been a risk. It’d been going against all the advice he’d ever received. As he handed Wizard back his possibly magic staff, he caught sight of Evie. She’d captured that exchange on video. So far, she’d not posted anything to embarrass him, or earn the wrath of his own marketing people, but that didn’t mean he was in the clear. Evie wasn’t one to back off from a challenge.

  When the next fan stepped up, he was still thinking about Evie on her knees, the way she’d gasped when he gathered her hair, a little sound of pleasure he hadn’t expected to receive. “Hi, Yael, nice to meet you. Thanks for coming along.” He leaned into Yael’s side for the photo.

  He shouldn’t have touched Evie, not like he’d done. It was intimate, a rim shot of the kind of foreplay they’d once loved, but seeing her like that with Grip again had messed with his game plan to keep his distance.

  “Lucas, cool shirt,” he said, high-fiving a guy wearing an incredibly faded PoP Sun and Chaos tour T-shirt. Lucas turned his back and Jay signed the shirt, adding his signature to the ones already collected.

  He should’ve walked away when Grip did, not stood there willing Evie to show she wanted more of his touch. Without seeing her face, her eyes, he couldn’t tell. He’d run the shower water so hot it was scalding, trying to work the wrong-footed desire out of his body. Now seeing her train her camera on him, it came thundering back.

  “Good to meet you, Melissa.” He shook the fan’s hand and smiled.

  There’d been two women in his life before Evie and a lot since. He wasn’t short of options for company, never had been, but it was Evie he wanted at a fuck near-cellular level. Was it about revisiting his youth, or some fucked-up competitive thing that made him want to claim her again? Claim her before Grip got it together to.

  “Hi, Addison.” The woman pressed her boobs into him, so he stepped back and put his hand on her shoulder to hold her off. “You’re beautiful, but I gotta keep it G-rated.” It was one of the reasons he didn’t do closed-room grip and grins, wore well-fitted clothing without obvious pockets or places for sneaky hands to drift, and had to have training in how and where he could touch a fan to stop them mauling him without getting complaints.

  Not all of the guys minded the boob thrusts and the arse pinches, the sly grazes against your dick or the not so sly hands that came in for a grope. Jay wasn’t partial, and since he was an easy target, he didn’t want to get sued for seeming to grope someone back.

  Fifteen more minutes. All the guys were tiring. Only the fans challenging themselves to make Oscar smile were making a noise now and the room was starting to empty out. They’d all get a break before heading off to record a TV appearance. There was no sign of Errol or Mum, but Evie was everywhere, documenting, posting, talking to fans, handing out signed promo materials and checking to see if he was watching her. Whack-a-mole.

  “Sorry you had such a long wait, Min,” he said, arm out and raised for the tiny girl to scoot under and take her selfie. Evie took a picture of that and when Min stepped away, pinged the photo to her, making Min jump up and down. Cute, also good for business. His people never did super thoughtful stuff like that for fans.

  “Thanks, Evie,” he called, not sure she heard. He had five people left to see. He said each of their names, apologized for the wait, contorted himself and smiled, or pulled a face for the selfie if that’s what they wanted.

  Evie didn’t take any more footage, but she made a study of him. Reading him like he was a bar code and she could learn all about where he came from, and what he was made of by watching him work. And didn’t that make for some mental gymnastics. Why was she doing that? What did she want from him?

  He was the last one in the room to finish. All the other guys had gone. He thanked his minder and accepted a bottle of water and turned to find Evie close.

  “I need a favor,” she said.

  He scanned her face
to see if there was a catch. “Okay.”

  “You’re a natural at this,” she said, with an arm wave at the rope barrier and the strip of red carpet fans had waited on.

  Doing fan meet and greets always made him self-conscious. He found it more exhausting than playing a gig. But it wasn’t supposed to look like that and he’d learned to hide his discomfort. "We’re nothing without fans buying our stuff.”

  “You know how to avoid the worst of the groping and how not to creep on people. Teach Abel and Isaac. No one wants to maul Oscar, no one would dare, and Grip wants everyone to maul him.”

  Jay took a sip of water while he thought about that. Letting Abel take the lead had worked well at rehearsals. It might not work so well if he tried to ram his expertise into Abel’s face.

  “Unless it’s too much trouble,” Evie said into the silence with an eye roll, before she turned to walk away.

  “Evie.”

  She ignored him. Kept moving.

  “Evie. About yesterday.”

  She stopped.

  He didn’t know what he was going to say about yesterday, about ten years ago, but he didn’t want her to leave. Apart from the event staff and the caterer, they had the place to themselves, all the satisfied fans having been herded outside, and management disappearing like morning mist.

  When he didn’t keep talking, she walked on. His driver would be waiting. And chasing Evie was asking for trouble. He went after her, catching up in a few long strides.

  “I shouldn’t have touched you like that. It was inappropriate and I’m sorry.” That’s what he needed to say. He was sorry for a whole bunch of complex reasons that thudded against the front of his skull. Mostly he was sorry it’d come to the point where he needed to apologize at all.

  She stared straight ahead. “I thought you were only helping. In which case, there’s no need to apologize.”

  She was going to deny that gasp, like he was trying to. If she hadn’t wanted his touch she could’ve said. Could’ve shaken him off. She could’ve had him on the floor in seconds by headbutting his junk. Grip would’ve lent a hand. He’d felt the weight of her head tip towards his hand and her body sway near to his.

  “I don’t think you need my help.”

  Now she looked at him. “I don’t.”

  “Except you want me to show Abel and Isaac how to avoid groping and creeping.”

  “I think you owe them that much at least.”

  He’d never finish owing them in Evie’s eyes. “I’ve known Abel since primary school. He never made any attempt to find out why I quit. I always wondered why that was. Always wondered why only Grip, who won’t talk about it, kept in touch. I figured I lost you and I lost my best friends too. Seemed like a high price to pay.”

  “Lost me.” Evie snorted. “They taught you to avoid groping, creeping and the truth. Tell me you didn’t quit on me and the band. Tell me there is some other version of events that I’m ignorant of.”

  Fuck. He couldn’t. He was the one who’d called it off, who’d quit. He’d thought he was doing the right thing by Evie. He thought everyone was better off without him. He didn’t understand why she’d thought he’d hold her back, had been crushed to learn he’d been doing that. She’d let him go, like Errol said she would. They’d all let him go and he’d thought he’d known the workings of Evie’s heart, that the Tice’s were family.

  Tell me why you’re not a star? Shining brighter than me? Tell me why you kept secrets? Why you didn’t trust me? “Anything you need my help on, you’ve got it. Get Abel to ask me about handsy fans and I’ll show him the moves. Otherwise I’m just being a wise arse and he doesn’t need that.”

  She blinked, left one eye closed as if a little uncertain, and squinted at him. “I shouldn’t have liked you touching me. My body remembers us and it’s confusing. Please don’t touch me like that again.”

  “You got it.” It was best for both of them.

  She thrust her hand out. “I figure we should start over. It’s good to see you again, Jay.”

  It was his turn to look uncertain, He put his hand tentatively in hers. “I’m glad to be working with you, Evie.”

  They shook; hands going up, down. Brisk, impersonal. And then neither of them let go.

  Two beats too long, three. He didn’t hold tight, he wasn’t stopping her breaking the contact, pulling her hand away, but he wasn’t pulling his away either. Confusing wasn’t the word for the riot of emotions rippling through his body. Lifting his eyes from their joined hands, he found her watching his face, uncertainty registering in the frown lines against her brows.

  “I’m sorry about so much, Evie. I should’ve been smarter about you.”

  “I’m sorry too. We burned so bright, we just burned out.”

  He ran his thumb over her knuckles, one-hundred thousand percent in disagreement. If the light in her eyes, the warmth of her hand, how close they stood to each other and what that was doing to his dick was any indication, they were still highly combustible.

  “Jay.”

  They broke contact at the sound of Mum’s voice. Evie withdrawing too quickly for Jay to say more.

  He floated back to the car, high on the handshake contact and feeling as if having a normal, human relationship with Evie wasn’t out of reach. No one had tried to punch him yet, so anything was possible.

  “That went well. How is your hand? Tired?” Mum said, with her eyes on her planner. The questions were part mother, part manager.

  He gave his right hand a shake. It didn’t feel too bad. The new tactic of varying his greeting paid off. Something else he could teach Abel. “I’ll ice it. Hit the hotel pool and have a nap.”

  “I know you don’t want me in your private business but Jay, are you going to start something with Evie? Do you think that’s wise?”

  He looked out the window on his side of the back seat, watched the city scoot past. “No, and no,” hiding his face from her like a kid.

  “Okay.” Said in tone that meant I know you’re lying but I’m not starting an argument.

  He doubled down. “I’m not. We’re ancient history.” Evie might as well have been Helen of Troy and he was Menelaus launching wars to get her back. That’s how ancient they were, they were a legend that had no solid truth to it.

  “You still have feelings for her.”

  He was today years old learning it was impossible to get away with lying to Mum. “I want to know why she didn’t try for a music career. I gave her up because Errol said I was holding her back. That she didn’t know how to tell me I was doing that. He said she wanted to focus on her own career and stop being so invested in mine and she couldn’t do that while I was around.”

  Mum put her tablet on the seat. “That’s what he told you?”

  “You know she’s got a huge talent.”

  “Errol told you to break up with Evie?”

  “He told me Evie would never choose herself over me or her brothers. He blamed himself. Said he’d made a mistake letting her take on too much family responsibility after her mum died. That she didn’t know how to put herself first. That I’d be responsible for her never taking her shot when the timing was right if I didn’t give her space. So I gave her space.”

  “Did Errol tell you to quit the band too?”

  “No, that was all me. I didn’t cope well with losing Evie.” But Errol’s constant criticism of his musicianship had played a part. He didn’t think anyone would miss him. He’d been right.

  Mum shoulder bumped him. “You never wanted to talk about this.”

  He made a concerted effort to stop bouncing his heel repeatedly. “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

  “You didn’t have to give her up. You didn’t have to quit the band. My God, it was wrong of Errol to make you feel responsible for Evie’s life.”

  He swiveled to face Mum. “How could I be the reason Evie didn’t have a shot? I thought she’d talk to me, that we would work it out. But when I suggested we take a break, she took that t
o mean we were finished. That’s how little I meant to her. I lost her, the guys, the little family I’d built, but I gained everything else. Without all that, I might not be here.” He made a raise the roof gesture, both hands pressing up towards the car’s roof. “On top of the world.” He’d talked himself back around now. It didn’t matter what kind of spark and tinder he and Evie were, the scars were already too deep, there was no value in courting a second lot of third-degree burns.

  “Errol manipulated you. Maybe Evie and his sons as well.”

  “Why would he do that? He was only ever straight with me. And he was right, I wasn’t a musician’s elbow and I was lucky with my songwriting, where the Tice’s had proper training and skill. If I hadn’t listened to Errol then, I wouldn’t have put in the work, I wouldn’t be here now. All he wanted was the best for Evie.”

  “What did you want?”

  “I wanted Evie to have everything.” But he’d wanted to be part of whatever her everything was. He’d had enough of this; had to stop his heel bouncing again. “Speaking of Errol, what’s with the touchy-feely between you two?”

  “A mistake.” Mum patted his hand. “I’m sorry, Jay. You wouldn’t talk about it. You told me you’d had a fight with Abel. I thought you’d just grown apart from Evie. You were both young with so many choices ahead of you. I knew you were lost but I didn’t understand what you were going through.”

  “Who knows? We might not have lasted much longer anyway. And everyone has moved on.”

  “You haven’t moved on. You haven’t had anyone stay in your life longer than a year and most less than that.

  Haven’t found the right person. Haven’t looked. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m fucking busy.” She wouldn’t like the swear word. Fair’s fair, he didn’t like the interrogation.

  “That’s an excuse. You really loved Evie and seeing her again must be difficult.”

  “Are you my darling mother or my bitch please of a manager right now?”

  She grimaced. “Both.”

  The car pulled into the drive of the hotel. “Both of you can mind your own business.” He’d have to move quickly to avoid a long scene with the waiting crowd and he was desperate to get out of this conversation, out of his head.