Fighting Me (16 page)

My lips find hers again, and I take a lot longer than a minute.

T
he band lands
right back on their feet the moment we arrive back in Nashville. After the new guitarist was brought on, practicing for the tour was nearly non-stop. Henry and I are passing ships during the day; he with the boys and Chase, or interviewing potential men for added security during the tour, and me with the kids. We’ve grown accustomed to stealing our few minutes during the day, but every night is spent lying in his arms.

When he isn’t worshipping my body like a temple, we talk. His fingers stroke along my body or through my hair, as I lie on his chest. We talk about whatever, because it doesn’t really matter. We’re together. He makes me laugh, and what’s better, my heart melts more and more every time he laughs. He tosses and turns quite a bit in his sleep, but seems to settle once he wraps his arms around me again. He mumbles things that I can’t understand, but then snores softly again after a few minutes.

Today is a huge day for everyone. It’s Jasmine’s first day of school and it has everyone in the house beside themselves, especially Hunter, Mack, and Henry. The poor men are just about to lose it because the kid is going to school for half the day.

What hell are they going to do when the heat schedule is over and she goes five days a week until four?

“Tell me again, Jasmine?” Hunter asks sitting down at the table. Grabbing a plate of bacon, he shoves an artery clogging amount on his plate before handing it to Aiden. Since this was a big day for Jazz, we all decided to make a big breakfast to celebrate and eat together before she goes to school and they practice their set with Ireland, once she gets here.

Placing her glass of chocolate milk back on the table, she scrunches up her nose. “If a boy even breathes on me, I scream and tell him that my daddy will whoop his ass.”

“Jazz!” Chase shrieks at her language. “Mouth.” Jazzie shrugs and goes back to blowing bubbles in her milk.

“You tell ‘em your Uncle Henry knows where to hide a body,” Henry says, mixing hot sauce into his scrambled eggs.

“Guys, it’s a bunch of five year olds,” I say, shaking my head.

“Obviously you don’t know what boys are like. I was a five year old boy once,” Hunter says, nudging Henry with his elbow. “Little bastards.”

“Hell, we’re like five year old boys now, sometimes,” Mack says, sitting down at the other end of the table. “Jasmine needs to just stay home. No boys chasin’ her at recess, pullin’ her pigtails, or trying to kiss her. That’s not allowed.”

“At five,” Hunter continues, lowering his voice. “I was already P-E-E-K-I-N-G up D-R-E-S-S-E-S,” he says, grabbing a piece of bacon, looking between Jazzie and me as he spells out his words. “Mack’s right. I don’t believe I’d like prison, so maybe we should just not send her and find a nice all-girls school. Or a tutor, we can do that.”

“I think you’re overdramatizing this just a little bit, Hunter.” I can’t help laughing, and the girls are giggling right along with me.

“Next thing you know, those little bastards will be tellin’ her to have parties while we’re out on the road,” Aiden says, making Hunter bury his face in his hands.

Camaron swats Aiden’s arm. “Stop that. At this rate he will have gray hair before she’s in third grade.”

Hunter’s eyes shoot up angrily as he runs a hand over his perfectly mussed up dark brown hair. “Watch your mouth, woman. The word g-r-a-y will never be in my vocabulary, or my fuckin’ hair line.”

“And on that note.” Chase giggles, standing from her chair. “It’s time to go to school, Jazz.”

Chase helps pack up Jazzie’s lunch box and backpack before we all get into the Suburban to take her. Chase and Hunter sit in the back with her, while I sit in the front with Henry. Being that the children’s privacy is held higher than the band, Hunter and Chase say goodbye in the car, even if Hunter does throw a huge dramatic pout about not being able to scare the shit out of a dozen or so little boys. Once he calms down some, I walk Jazz in while Henry lets the vehicle idle at the front for me.

The classroom is amazing. The entire room is painted in fairy tale themes, making Jasmine’s eyes light up the moment we step inside. After putting away her things, I help her find her seat and we meet her teacher, Miss Amanda. The woman is way too excited at eight o’clock in the morning on a Monday. I’m all for being in a pleasant mood, but she has me looking for the reality button. The entire time we talk, I keep waiting for her to break out in song, and once I even think she starts to.

Luckily she refrained somehow, I just don’t think I could take that before noon. Or ever.

Pulling up back at the house, we spot a tiny little compact parking and a girl with purple streaks climbing out. “There’s Ireland,” Henry says, putting the vehicle into park and shutting off the engine. “Fair warning, she’s a handful.”

Opening the door, I slide out just as Mack heads down the walkway to greet her. Ireland is bent down inside the back seat, yanking a bag and guitar case, as he reaches her. “Hey, let me give you a hand with that, I’m Mack.”

“Well, Mack,” she grunts, tugging on the strap before releasing it to spin around on her combat booted heel. “I can manage just fuckin’ fi…..” Her eyes widen in shock, her face goes completely white as if she’s just saw a ghost.

My eyes go to Mack, who looks just about the same as she does. “Ireland?” he asks, stepping closer. “Is that you?”

Y
ou never forget your first
. First cheeseburger, first car, your first piece of ass. Yeah, your first is how you base your expectations for every time after that. Ireland Tyler was that first, even if she didn’t know that. I was seventeen and stupid, but what seventeen year old is smart? Seriously.

Home life was horrible for me growing up. That meant I stayed there as little as possible. I got into way too many fights and stirred way too much shit, resulting in my very own juvie record by the ripe old age of sixteen.

According to the judge, I was a menace to society. He refused to take it easy on some asshole kid with a chip on his shoulder and a hangover. Instead, he sentenced me to anger management and I had to be a foster brother at the local city center.

Ireland knocked me off my feet the moment I first saw her. She was nothing like me. She had a good life and wanted to be there. Always smiling, always happy, and I hated that about her. Her hair was a lighter brown then, minus the purple of course, and she had these horrible brown glasses that covered too much of her face. Every day she would be carrying around an old acoustic guitar and scribbling in an old black journal. She was innocent and I saw nothing, but a corruptible girl and an easy escape.

I hurt her. I knew that I did, but I didn’t care. Sure, she was a sweet girl and I took advantage of that. Some people would call me a dick, but hey, maybe I am. I needed an escape and she was more than willing to provide it that day.

“I see you’ve met Ireland, the newest member of Shaft,” Chase says, walking up behind us.

“The fuck?” I ask, shaking my head.

“Oh, Nicky and I know each other. We grew up in the same neighborhood,” Ireland says, gritting her teeth. Her blue eyes harden as she stares at me, crossing her arms over her chest.

I can feel my nostrils flaring and my blood boiling at the use of that fucking name. A name that she knows I hate. Pushing past her, I yank her bags from the car. “Sure do,” I say, slamming the door a little harder than I meant to.

“What a small world,” Rae says, looking between us.

Ireland laughs, a smirk spreading across her face as she winks at me. “Only one thing smaller.”

This woman is out for fucking blood.

“Well, Gray and Aiden are supposed to be setting up inside,” Hunter says, starting toward the house. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”

“I’ll just help Ireland with her bag, we’ll be right there,” I say as Chase, Rae, and Henry follow behind Hunter.

“Aw, Nicky.” Ireland tsks. “You don’t look very happy to see me.”

“What are you doing here, Ireland?” I growl. “What kind of game are you playin’? Did you know I was here, is that what this is about?”

Her eyes widen again. Stepping closer to me, she jabs my chest with her black finger nail. “I never played games with you, Dominick, and I don’t want to either. I’m here for a job, to make music. Last thing I wanna do is dwell on past
mistakes
. I’m sorry that you think everything is about you, but sadly, it isn’t.” Grabbing the guitar case, she reaches up with her free hand and brushes her fingers over my jaw. “Don’t be upset, beautiful, it really is just how the world works sometimes. Better learn to roll with it.”

The words I said to her years ago in her parent’s basement come back and bite me in the ass. Turning on her heel, she starts up toward the door, swishing her plaid skirt covered ass as she walks. The only thing I hear is the word “mistake” echoing in my head. Another fucking word I hate, and that bitch knows it. My fists ball at my sides, and I can literally feel the anger radiating off me in waves as I shoulder the other bag and head into the house.

N
early a month
of interviewing through security firms and prospects with military and criminal justice background, I finally found two really solid guys to bring on the tour. Mike Walters did three tours in Iraq and is trained in hand-to-hand combat. The guy is barely six foot tall, but he was able to take Mack down with just the use of two fingers. He got bonus points for that. Lastly, there is Jared Elliot from the
Elite Shield
S
ecurit
y firm who looks like he’s sucked on sour grapes damn near his whole life. The man is like a fucking ninja and I swear he has super-sonic hearing. It has me feeling better about the tour. Splitting us up, and leaving Rae back in Nashville, not so much.

“Don’t like this,” I say, pulling Rae’s body into mine as we stand in the driveway outside the tour bus. Everyone is loading their shit and getting ready to head to Indiana for the start of their press tour for the new album. Hunter and Chase are snuggling Jazzie while Grayson holds a teary eyed Daisy in one arm and Bran in the other.

“Me either,” she whispers, reaching behind her back to link her fingers with mine. “It’s only two weeks of promotional tour stuff and a few smaller based concerts, then you’re back here with me for a week.”

“I want you sleepin’ in my bed every night,” I say, burying my nose in her hair. “Need to know you’re in my bed, waitin’ on me to come home. Want my pillow smellin’ like you when I lay on it again.” Rae looks up at me, a smile playing on her plump, perfect lips. “Yeah,” I say, rolling my eyes at her. “I sound sappy as fuck, I know, but keep it to yourself.”

“Yes,” she replies, titling her head to the side as she studies me. “Yes, you do.”

Bending down, I kiss her. She wraps around me, sighing into my mouth, as if she knows that’s just what I need right now. My heart hammers in my chest as I feel more things becoming clear to me. I don’t want to leave her, it feels like I’m leaving a part of me here. I’ve grown to crave this woman like a drug over the last couple months. I need her to calm the monster when it rages. We have spent every day together for months now. Even when I wasn’t around, most times I was still watching over her. Sure, I can see her face on Skype and hear her voice, but I won’t be able to touch her, kiss her, or listen to her breathe as she sleeps beside me.

I’m turning into a pussy.

Pulling back, Rae meets my eyes and I see something there that fucking levels me. Love. Oh fuck me, the woman has fallen in love with me. Fear courses through my veins, because she can’t possibly feel that way about me. For fuck’s sake… if she knew what I was capable of, she would run like hell.

What’s even worse is that I’m terrified that she will. My heart races, partially in fear, but partially because what I see when she looks at me in this moment has nothing to do with anyone else. I put that look there. I’m the reason for that smile. Dread and confliction settle in my chest at the thought that I may have just found what I’ve never had in forty years of my life, and yet, I know that one day it will be gone.

“You gotta go,” she whispers, brushing her lips over mine again, softly.

Turning my head, I see Aiden tapping his watch, shouting for everyone to get on the bus. Swallowing hard, I kiss Rae one more time before releasing her. She walks over and takes Brannon from Daisy, as Daisy wipes a tear from her face. “Tell Big Man bye, handsome,” Rae says, waving her hand.

“Keep the plants watered, kid,” I wave as both girls roll their eyes.

“Bye!” he shouts, making me laugh. I can’t get over how much he has come out of his shell. Talking and even potty training. Although, now it’s him pissing in the potted plants and baskets instead of Bits fucking with them. Nothing even remotely shaped like a toilet is safe and the girls hate how funny we think it is.

Climbing the steps, I settle into the driver’s seat and shift into gear. Honking the horn, I hit the gas and steer the Big Bitch down the driveway, counting the days until everyone is back under one roof again and I can get my hands on my girl.

“That was touching,” Hunter shouts from his old, ugly ass recliner. “You leave your balls with her?”

“You wanna make it to Indy alive, motherfucker?” I deadpan, turning onto the highway. Looking up in the mirror, I stare at him as he laughs.

“I’m a little jealous that you never held me like that Big Man,” Hunter teases. “Feel like you’ve been holdin’ out on me. There were nights when I needed a little cuddlin’ and affection from you. This hurts me.”

“Not kiddin’,” I reply, pointing out the window toward the exit ramp. “You and that ugly chair, right there, over the embankment.”

“That needs to be videotaped,” Ireland whoops.

“Don’t you worry, girl,” I inform her, keeping my eyes on the road as I merge onto the interstate. “Aiden is always on top of that shit.”

“Well,” Hunter says, “Since it’s a long drive, how about we play a game?”

I don’t even have to look in the mirror to know he is holding up the Scrabble box. “Are you kiddin’ me?” Ireland asks. “I’m nowhere near old enough for that boring ass game.”

“The way we play,” Chase says, with a laugh. “You probably are too young.”

“Whatever,” Ireland fires back. “Prove it.”

“How about a bet?” Hunter asks.

I roll my eyes and laugh. “And so it begins.” Looks like someone will be making use of his thong in Indy.

***

By the time we pull into the hotel parking lot in Indianapolis, everyone is itchin’ to get settled in their rooms and all I want is a shower and to hear Rae’s voice as she talks about her day. Nothing important, nothing that matters, just whatever comes out of her mouth.

After settling Cam and Aiden in a suite with Mike, I put Jared on Ireland and decide I’ll crash with Hunter, Chase, and Grayson in the bigger suite. Scrolling through my phone, I find Rae’s name along with the picture I snapped of her on the beach and press the button for Facetime.

“Hey,” she sighs, when her face pops up on my screen. Her hair is fanned across my pillow and I instantly wish I was there with her to wrap it around my wrist while I fuck her from behind and run my lips down her spine. Yes, I’ve got romance in spades. “How was the drive?”

“Long,” I yawn, relaxing into the mattress. “Were you asleep, baby?” I ask, looking at the clock and noticing that it’s after midnight.

“No, just lying here. Naked and all alone in this huge bed,” she says, angling the camera down just enough for me to see the top of her breasts.

“You’d test the strength of any saint, baby.” Chuckling, I lie back onto the pillow and stretch my legs out on the bed.

“Don’t want to test a saint, I’m trying to poke the bear.”

“Fuck,” I groan, throwing a hand over my face. “It’s gonna be a long two weeks,” I say, knowing that if tonight is any indication, she plans to do this to me the entire time I’m gone. “I hope you’re prepared for what it will be like when I get back if you keep that shit up the entire trip.”

She laughs, and my dick is hard instantly. “That sounds like a challenge. We both know how much I like those.”

“The things I would do to that body of yours if I was there, Rae.”

Leaning up on her elbow, she holds the phone back, giving me a better view of her body as the sheet falls away. “What would you do to me right now, Henry?” she purrs, her brown eyes darkening.

Sitting up, I lean back against the headboard. “Lie your phone on the pillow, Rae, and do everything that I say.”

A slow smile spreads across her face and she does just that. Sitting up on her knees, she props the phone up on a pillow, letting me see all of her. “Now what?” she asks, her hands trembling a bit.

“Touch yourself.”

Rae’s fingertips skim along her hip, and I shake my head. “No, don’t touch your pussy. Not yet. Make it last, baby, I could watch you like this all night.”

Cupping her breasts, she teases her nipples, tugging on the barbells. Her teeth bite down on that bottom lip. I’m fucking jealous as hell that I can only watch and not bite it myself. Tilting her head back, she closes her eyes and moans. I swear the vibrations travel all the way from Nashville and straight to my cock.

“I want your hands on me, your mouth,” she moans, running one hand down her abdomen as she rolls her hips.

I hear shuffling outside my door and muffled voices before a fist pounds on my door. “Big Man, we’ve got a situation!” I hear Jared shout through the closed door.

Are you fucking kidding me right now?

Rae stops immediately, her eyes widening. “What’s going on?” she asks, picking up the phone.

“I don’t know, baby,” I tell her, honestly. “I’ll call you back later, okay?”

Ending the call, I adjust my dick and climb from the bed. “I’m exhausted, someone better be dead.” I say, flinging open the door to meet a soaking wet Jared. The man looks like a drowned rat, and more pissed off than a caged bull. “What the hell happened to you?”

Blowing out a breath, he crosses his arms over his chest. “Ireland.”

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘Ireland’?” I ask, shoving past him and heading up the hallway. “Where in the hell is she?” The last thing I need is for her to be running around here unprotected and alone. For all I know the damn press is downstairs along with fucking Katheryn and her Shaft Spotters just waiting for something to post about the band.

“She’s back at the suite,” Jared says, smugly. “Not alone, either. A few men and at least one young lady joined her after she stripped naked and dove into the damn pool. I can’t deal with that shit. I wanted to kick her ass. Still do.”

“Well, if the press wasn’t here, they will be soon enough,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. My feet burn up the suite as I reach the door. Yanking it open, I stomp down the hall before pounding on the door. “Ireland, open the fuckin’ door or I’m coming in.”

When she doesn’t answer, I pull out the card key, and shove it in the lock. Shoving through the door, I enter a clusterfuck of epic proportions. There are bodies everywhere, men, women, and everyone is getting naked quick. The floors are covered with water and empty bottles of booze. “What the fuck is going on here?” I roar, picking up an empty bottle of vodka and smashing it against the wall.

Everyone flies apart, scrambling across the room for clothes and things to cover themselves. “Hey, Big Man. Welcome to the party!” Ireland climbs from beneath some guy, naked as the day she was born.

“Party’s over,” I say, grabbing a towel from the floor and tossing it to her. “Cover yourself up.”

Turning my back to the mess, I see Jared standing in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. “If you need any help tonight, get Mike. I’m going to call my girl and then I’m going to fucking bed.”

Running a hand over my hair, I head back to the safety of my nice, calm suite. As soon as everyone calms down and starts acting like they have sense, they add Ireland to the band. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit,” I groan, passing everyone and heading straight into my room, locking the door behind me.