Creed of Redemption (S.I.N. Rock Star Trilogy #2) (4 page)

“What? You know I have difficulty telling you guys apart,” she jabs. I release her immediately. I want to fucking punch something, but instead I swipe a row of shampoo off the shelf. She wants my fucking brother? Well, fuck her. I can’t even look at her right now.

“Diesel,” she squeals over the mess I made.

“Stay the fuck away from me, Lourdes!” I don’t even get what I came down this aisle for. I make a beeline for the register to check out. Thankfully, I’m the first one back on the bus. I need a moment to regain my composure. I bring all my stuff in and leave it on the counter. I head to the master bedroom and lock the door. The urge to fucking punch something is still strong, so I start the shower and let it get hot before I get in. I angrily stroke my dick as the water rains down on me. I’m furious that Lourdes has me feeling this way. I hate that she can still get under my skin. I pump my dick faster, hoping that each stroke rids me of my desire for her. Only when I finally come, it ignites my anger even more. I get too much pussy to jerk off.
Fuck her, goddamn it
!

I hear someone beating on the bedroom door. “Diesel, open up man.” I recognize the voice to belong to Keyser, yelling.

I get out of the shower and towel myself dry. I wrap the towel around me before I walk into the bedroom and open the door. “What the hell Keyser?”

“You just disappeared. I came to check on you.” He looks genuinely concerned. He must sense that something is up.

“I just wanted some privacy to have a shower before everybody got back on the bus. Why are you being weird?” He looks relieved.

“Makes sense. I wish I would have thought of that actually,” he laughs. He shakes his head, feeling foolish. “I just need to make sure I get my shower before the women do. They can spend an eternity in here. Especially in that tub.”

“Yeah, well let me change and it’s all yours. I’ll make dinner when I come out.” That seems to satisfy him.

“Okay. I’ll put the groceries away then.” He walks off. I don’t even bother telling him to wait until I pull out what I’m going to cook. I just close the door and fall back on the bed. I’ll get dressed in a minute.

I don’t know how long I’m out for. I awake to pitch blackness and the bus moving. I stumble around until I finally find the light switch. I grab my phone off the dresser and see that a couple of hours have passed. I guess I was more tired than I thought. That and busting that nut didn’t help. It was over after that. Shit. Now, I’m late starting dinner. Those fuckers probably already baked the pizza. I find my duffle bag and just throw on a pair of basketball shorts. The minute I walk out of the room, an aroma of herbs and spices tantalizes my senses. It smells so damn good.

Lily and Lourdes are in the kitchen cooking. I see that Lily is making a spinach salad with strawberries and walnuts. Lourdes’s back is still to me as she pulls chicken breast from the oven. She is bending over again and flashbacks from the scene earlier come rushing to my mind.
Fuck me
. I divert my attention to the guys sitting at the table across from the kitchen.

“You guys are actually eating healthy?” I chuckle. “Sorry, I crashed. I just knew your asses would have gone for the pizza.”

“Oh, believe me, we wanted to, but the women said no. They knew you were set on eating something healthy so they volunteered to cook so you could sleep,” Gable admits.

“Yeah, we were outnumbered.” Keyser grins. I can’t help laughing now.

“How were you outnumbered, dipshit? That’s two against three or three against three if you count my vote.”

“Whatever. You get your damn healthy meal, while we eat like birds. You know Xander is pussy whipped so his vote is whatever Lily’s is. That makes it three against two.” He has a point there.

“Hey,” Xander objects. We ignore him.

“I’m going to eat that shit with my beer,” Gable chimes in. We all laugh at the banter we have going on while the women give us evil stares from the kitchen.

“Did I just hear you call our food shit?” Lily asks in mock exasperation.

“Don’t pay them no mind, babe,” Xander says going to her side. He leans down and gives her a kiss. I want to barf. Those two are nauseatingly sweet. I’m glad he’s happy though. I catch a glimpse of Lourdes looking at them longingly. She turns back toward the stove and begins putting the chicken on plates.

“Is there something I can help with?” I ask. I’m not a complete ass. I appreciate that they cooked and let me sleep.

“No, I think we got it,” Lourdes says softly. The sass from earlier has disappeared. I step aside and let her arrange the food to be served. The guys waste no time grabbing a plate as soon as they’re given the go ahead. They talked all that noise about my healthy food and now they’re rushing into the kitchen. It’s quite comical.

Lourdes doesn’t grab a plate for herself though. Instead she heads toward the back of the bus.

“You’re not eating?” Xander questions before she gets too far.

“No. I nibbled while we were cooking. I’m going to go grab a shower.”

“Oh. Okay then,” Xander replies. I look over at Keyser. I wonder if he ever got his shower after I knocked the hell out. I know he wanted to get in there before the women. His eyes meet mine and he answers my unasked question by giving me a thumbs up. I must have really been out because I sure as hell didn’t hear him in there.

We all finish our food in record time. Xander volunteers to put everything away and load the dishwasher. I know we’re going to have to come up with some kind of chore schedule so this place doesn’t become a pigsty, but for tonight, I’m just glad it isn’t me. While everyone heads to the card table to resume their game of Spades, I opt for some alone time in my bunk. I grab a pen and paper from my bag. I have a song I’ve been working on that I haven’t told the guys about because I’m not sure if I want it produced or not, yet. I started this song when Lourdes walked out of my life. The lyrics make me feel vulnerable. I don’t know if I want to share that. It was around the same time that Sevyn dropped the news that his father was dying. They don’t know how much time he has left. He hasn’t come clean about his health with his investors or shareholders. From what Sevyn tells me, he’s trying to get his affairs in order and ensure that Sevyn is in a position to take over after he’s gone.

Whatever, Claude has been dead to me since high school, and me to him. I don’t want to give him another thought. I have so much shit built up inside. My lyrics are my outlet—my release. Some of these songs will never be shared. They’re mine. It’s part of the reason why my process is so private. The guys don’t necessarily understand it, but they respect it. It works for us. I give them the lyrics that I want to share and then help lay tracks to it. I haven’t touched this one particular song in a few weeks, but now that Lourdes is back in my life, the words are flowing. I have to get them down on paper. I can’t go back to her, though, so the quicker we get off this bus and I get some action, the better. The temptation is just too great—too real.

T
he smell of eggs wakes me before my alarm. I’d set it last night so that I could get up and jot some notes about their experience so far. I had an idea to write a book about their journey, if it’s okay with the group. I’ll talk with the guys later today to see if they’ll give their permission. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. I have no doubt that these guys are going to be famous once the world has a chance to hear them. I would have an exclusive look into how their life as rock stars started from the beginning. I’m super giddy at the prospect. I just hope they say yes.

I ease from my bunk and note that Diesel’s bunk above mine is empty. Maybe he slept in the bedroom. The moment I step into the kitchen, my ovaries damn near combust. Diesel is making omelets, wearing nothing but pajama bottoms that are hanging dangerously low. The corded muscles of his back flex with each flip of the egg. I’m guessing he can feel my presence, because he turns and catches me staring. I can see the imprint of his cock as it moves against the cotton fabric. I will my eyes to look up, but then his abs hypnotize me even more.

“Are you hungry? Hello?” He waves his hand to get my attention and I snap out of my lustful trance. Apparently he has been trying to get my attention, but I was too busy enjoying the view.
Nice. I’ve been busted.
“Well?”

“Well what?” I ask flustered. I walk the remaining way into the kitchen to see what k-cups they have for the Keurig. I need coffee.

“I asked if you were hungry. I have egg white omelets with just veggies or you can have the one with the works to clog your arteries. Pick your poison,” he says jokingly. I’m glad that things are light between us this morning. I was sure our store scene would set us back to not even being friends. I don’t even know why I threw Sevyn in his face. He was being all flirty and making me feel things that I’m not supposed to feel. I have forgiven him, but I won’t forget—I won’t get caught up with him again. I was mad that he made me want him so I lashed out.

“I’m sorry about what I said to you in the store yesterday, Diesel. I knew you weren’t Sevyn. It’s just you were coming on strong and I didn’t want that.”

“Old news,
princess
!” I laugh because his use of my nickname doesn’t sounds as condescending as it did last time. “What’s so funny?” He pours orange juice into a carafe.

“Nothing. Look, I don’t want to fight. You guys have a forty-show tour over the next four months. I just want to keep the peace.”

“You’re staying the entire four months?” He looks surprised. “I thought you were only sticking around for a month tops.”

“Xander—that sneaky bastard,”
I hear him murmur to himself.

“That was the plan. I just decided last night I wanted to stick around. I have a proposal for the band.”

“Shoot,” he encourages.

“Um, I kind of wanted to wait and talk to everybody,” I say hesitantly.

“You need to understand the hierarchy around here, Lourdes. I’m the primary decision maker for the band.”

“I thought that was Desiree’s job,” I retort. I feel our easy vibe this morning slipping away as his jerk tendencies threaten to emerge.

“Calm your tits, princess. Don’t be cute,” he says defensively. “She’s our manager, true. She’s the liaison between us and the label, but I still speak for the group.”

“Wow. Does anybody else get a say? Sounds pretty narcissistic if you ask me,” I push.

“Well, nobody asked you. You’re the one that has something to ask of us. I decide what to take to the group and then we vote as a band. It’s my fucking duty to look out for us and filter unnecessary bullshit. It’s worked for us thus far. You’re getting into something that is not you’re business. Either tell me what you want or don’t. I’m going to eat my damn omelet before it gets cold. He grabs a plate and leaves me standing in the kitchen so I follow him.

“Okay. I don’t want to get into the whole group dynamic thing, so if I need to present my idea to you, so be it.”

He takes a seat at the table, and I slide in next to him.

“I want to write a book,” I rush out. “About the band.”

“What about us? We really don’t need our personal shit exploited,” he grumbles as he eats his eggs.