Front & Center (Book 2 of the Back-Up Series) (7 page)

“Yes
, sir.”

“With the way today’s youth
just love themselves a scandal, this could sky rocket you right to the top. We’ll have to wait and see. Another unfortunate or fortunate reality today, dependin’ on how you look at it, is we live in the era of the Internet. We’ll know soon enough what people are sayin’ and if we’ll have to announce your relationship. Bottom line, if needed, we’ll do complete honesty and we’ll ride the wave.”

“We
agree.”

“Leila, darlin’
, are you ok with this plan?”

“Yes
, Mr. Vassler.”

“Darlin’ you have the
voice of an angel. I honestly feel as you become more recognized, your talent will influence public opinion. It would have been ideal if this little revelation came later in your success, but shit happens. Anyways, don’t you worry your pretty little head about this, understood?”

“
Understood.”

“
Perfect…our statement will be,
‘Jack Lair and Leila Marino are ecstatic to be tourin’ together as a couple. Their relationship is important to them, however, so is the success of their tour. They are dedicated to their fans and look forward to continuin’ on their excitin’ journey with the rest of their band mates in Devil’s Lair.’
Period.”

It’s
surreal, having people discuss your life as if you aren’t part of it.

“Louis, its Dylan. I will call
Publicity to fill them in.”

“Fine.
Hey Jack, Jen informed us you’re requestin’ security?”

“Yes
, sir.”

“
Under the circumstances with this Sorenson character, I understand you’d rather be safe than sorry. But I’ll have to get back to you guys on that. We’ll see what we can do.”

“Thank you
, sir.”

“
Charles you need to add anythin’?”

“No,
Louis. I’m comfortable with the statement. I will assign Krista in Publicity to Jack and Leila full time. We will be in touch regarding security.”

“
One more thing…” Louis’s voice booms over the speaker once again. “Jack, that song you sang in Boston, are you lookin’ to record it?”

“Um…I really hadn’t thought about it
, sir.”

Releasing his deep throaty laugh, Louis says, “Boy, that song is pure
gold. You think about it now. It’d be a shame to keep that beauty to yourselves. Hell, maybe those fans of yours will appreciate the chivalry. Every woman is a sucker for a romantic man.”

Watching Leila, I smile warmly.
Her returning smile calms me instantly. “I’ll think about it, sir.”

“Jack,
its Jen. Hold on the line, I’d like to talk to you.”

Louis and Charles both
say goodbye and hang up their calls. Dylan stands and says, “Well, that went better than I thought.”

“Really? He may have sugar coated it, but he’s definitely not going to be happy if this affects our popularity.” Leila challenges Dylan.

“No…y
ou two should feel better now. Believe me, if he wasn’t happy about your situation, you would most definitely know it.”

Leila and I exchange another look that doesn’t go unnoticed by Dylan. “I’ll leave you two alone. I’m sure you have things you want to discuss.
I’m going to get in touch with Publicity and prep them for what may come.”

“Dylan. Hey,
thanks man.”

He nods
and then smiles at Leila. “Yep, no problem.” Turning, he leaves us alone in the room.

“Jack?”

“Yes, Jen?’

“Dylan is right. It did go over better than I thought.
”

“Ok.”

“I want to apologize to you and Leila for the way I acted.” Wow, the sky must have fallen outside. We just got a rare apology from Ms. Baxter.

“Jen, we know you were just tr
ying to prepare us for the worst case scenario.” Leila looks over and winks at me.

“
Yes I was, Leila. Jack, I’ll be in Chicago. Until then, I’ll be in touch. Please be sure your phone is on and not off. Bye, children.” That was one of the shortest-lived apologies I’ve ever heard, but considering the person it came from, I’ll take it.

Once Jen hangs up, Leila expels a huge breath of air. Reaching
for her hand, I tease, “I love that you think you can change her.”

“I was that obvious?”

“Only to me. Are you ok with what Louis said?”

“Yea, I get it. W
e’ll have to wait and see.”

“That’s all we can do
.” Of course, the next few days we will be sitting on pins and needles waiting for the shoe to drop, but we’ll be sitting on them together. “Babe, I would like nothing more than to crawl into bed with you right now, but we have a show to rehearse for and we owe the guys an explanation.” Pulling her into a standing position, I wrap my arms around her tightly. “Rain check?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“You’re a badass, Miss Marino.”

@ammadden1- I love, love, love #Jack&Leila together, #Front&Center!

@madmax
i177 – they are so doing it! #JackLair, why couldn’t you wait for me? #brokenheart.

@lulubelle555- at boston DL show. So hot.  Love new song. #marryme.

@green-monsterpete- #DevilsLair boston show rocked. That new chick has him wrapped around her pinky. #whipped.

@queenofdanile1686-can you say
F@#% buddies? Come on jack and leila…we are so on to you. #denial.

@boomboom
.nyc1 – if I screw you, can I get in on ur band too? #JackLair

“Stop reading those tweets.” Jack slides into the booth, reading over my shoulder.

“I can’t help it, it
’s addicting.” He turns my head to kiss my lips. “So far no urgent fires that

are in
need to be put out. A lot of speculation of who you sang that song to.”

I look away and
violently gnaw on my bottom lip.

“Ok,
spill it.”

“I hate
that I can’t keep anything from you.”

Shrugging, he kisses my cheek. “Well?”

“Um…so my haters have doubled in numbers since the Boston show.”

“
So now there are what, twenty of them? Babe, L.R.V. Media’s publicity department is on top of the situation. Please stop stressing over it. Come to bed, I miss you.”

It’
s two a.m., and I’ve been scouring the Internet for the past two hours. Jack moves out of the booth, holding his hand out for me. “Come.”

“Ok.
I think my ass is numb anyway.”

“Ooh,
can I wake it up?” he asks, as he swats at my ass.

“
Very funny.”

A few grumbles
remind us we aren’t alone. “Ssh, the guys are sleeping.”

Jack pulls me into the room, locking the door behind us. “
You must be tired.”

“
I’m exhausted.” The past twenty-four hours have been mentally draining. I’ve been running through all sorts of scenarios in my head, most of which can’t be controlled anyway.

He moves behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Would you like a massage?”

“I would love one.”

“Well, let’s get rid of this,” h
e says as he pulls off my t-shirt, “and this...” he adds as he unhooks my bra. They both fall to the floor, at the exact moment that his hands mold over my breasts. Expertly, he massages my breasts at the same time. My nipples both immediately respond to his touch.

I arch my back,
groaning from how good he is making me feel, and rest my head on his shoulder. “Lay down.” He commands directly into my ear. Moving towards the bed, I lay on my stomach excited to feel his beautiful hands on my bare back. Jack straddles me, using both hands to firmly massage my shoulders, my back, and my arms.

“Oh G
od, Jack, this feels so good.”

“Just relax
, baby.”

T
hose are the last words I hear as Jack massages me right to sleep.

I wake h
ours later and am mesmerized by his beautiful face while he peacefully sleeps beside me. My heart swells with how much love I have for this man. It’s starting to scare me how much I need him.

The bus is parked
at the arena in Pittsburgh, having arrived somewhere early this morning. We have all day before we are due for rehearsals. I would like nothing more than to spend the entire time lying here, watching him.

Jack reaches for me, pulling me closer.
When I’m nestled against him, I softly kiss his chest and he opens an eye drowsily. “Hey, babe.”

“Hey.”

“What time is it?”

“
Not sure.”

Stretching, he repositions
his body against my own…his gloriously naked body. “Mmmm. You’re so warm.” His lips find my neck, and he starts sucking and kissing and riling me up.

“How did I get naked?”

“No clue.” He moves to my breast, pulling my nipple between his lips. As if on cue, his excitement grows against my thigh, setting my insides on fire. Rubbing my leg against him is just enough to clue him in to my desires and causes him to seductively say, “Hi.”

“Hi.”

It’s rare for me to be the initiator. Somewhere inside me a switch is flipped.

As
I kiss my way to his chest, his hands fall away from my shoulders. His smoky gaze penetrates me. His breathing accelerates at the same pace as my heartbeat. I love that I’m driving him crazy. Slowly I kiss my way down his body, until I reach the apex of his thighs. When I look up at him, he pins me with his smoldering gaze, watching me intensely, waiting for my next move. His lips are parted, his eyes are hooded, and he is so fucking hot.

Gripping his inner muscular thigh with one hand, and his base with the other,
I slowly trace his ridge with my tongue. Jack’s thighs flex beneath me and his forearms show the strain of his clenched fists. I can feel every cell in his body coiled and ready to burst.

I want to taste him…
all of him. I want to drive him crazy. Putting my lips over his tip, I tease him for a few seconds. When I finally take his entire length, he takes in a shaky breath. I hollow my cheeks and suck with all the force I can muster in my mouth. The results are evident in his moans. I continue to pleasure Jack, as he starts to shudder beneath me. His fingers find my hair as he succumbs to my efforts. I take everything he gives, until he is totally spent.

I
slowly kiss my way back up his body to his gorgeous face.

A
s I straddle his hips, I slowly lower myself over his tireless erection, never breaking eye contact.

“Baby
…” He tightly grips my hips, holding me down, forcing me to accept his entire length.

“Jack, let me move. I need to move.” He loosens his grip, allowing me to
take him at my own pace. His hands slowly move up my back, as he sits up until we are face to face.

My hands find his hair, his hands find mine. Nose to nose,
he silently brings me to the edge of reason. Nose to nose, I climax wordlessly. My panting is the only sound in the room. It is the most intense moment of my entire life.

Jack feels it too, because his first and only words are,
“Marry me.”

My
already pounding heart quickens even more so. He must feel it against his chest. He removes his hand from my hair, placing it directly over my heart. “Marry me.”

I’m unable to move. My eyes are pinned to his, and my chest still heav
ing from my frantic heartbeat.

“I love you. I can’t live without you. Marry me.”

Stroking his cheek, I gently kiss his lips.

“It doesn’t have to be now. But I need your promise. I need your commitment.”

I kiss him again and again. He must feel doubt because he adds, “Leila, I’ll do whatever you want. If you want to wait, we’ll wait. Whatever. But I need to know you’ll be mine in every way.”

It’s a desperat
e plea. A desperate attempt to ensure I am not going to run away. I meant it when I told him I don’t think I could ever leave, even with all his problems. But he obviously needs my promise. There’s a hint of sadness in his eyes. Actually, it’s more like that doom that follows me around. “The shadow of Jessa”, but I love this man. I love him more than anything in this world. I can’t be without him. I couldn’t survive. With all the doubt and uncertainty I have towards what lies ahead for us, the one thing I am most certain of is my love for him.

“Yes.”

He crushes me to his chest, burying his face in my neck, our bodies still connected. He kisses me over and over…my eyes, my cheeks, my lips.

“Really? You’ll marry me.”

“I will.”

P
ulling back he smirks, “I won’t pressure you, but Vegas is only a month away and we have three days off. How do you feel about me, you, and an Elvis impersonator?”

Scrunching my nose, he laughs
endearingly. “Ok…that’s a no to Elvis.”

“Don’t take thi
s the wrong way, because I love you and nothing will change that, but I really can’t think about anything else until Jessa’s results come in.”

He blinks a few times. Nodding, he says,
“I understand.”

Kissing him deeply, the dread in his eyes is hard to igno
re. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin our moment.”

“Baby, you didn’t ruin it. Leila, I love you. I’ll wait as long as you want.”

“I know. I love you too.”

Our bodies still connected, I attempt to lift off, when he holds me in place.
“Again?” I ask incredulously.

A slight shift of his hips
and a devilish smirk clearly answers my question.



Sitting on the quiet bus is a slice of heaven. No bickering, no raunchy comments, just quiet. The guys took off for food and said they would bring something back for us. I do have some calls to make. It’s time to tell Dad and Evan the truth. I’ve put them off long enough. As I sit in the booth holding my cell phone and pondering whom I should call first, Jack slides in beside me.

“So what do you want to do? Check out the sites? Have sex
for the next four hours? Play scrabble?”

“Scrabble sounds fun.” His pout causes me to giggle. “I w
anted to make some phone calls. I need to call my dad, Evan, and Lori. I want them to hear it from me and not from some blogger’s website.”

“Do you want me to sit with you?”

“No, I need to do this alone.”

“Does that
mean you are kicking me out?”

“
Yes, you’ll only distract me.”

Sighing he looks up, pretending
to ponder this request. “Fine, but only until you hang up. Then all bets are off.”

“Deal.”

“I actually wanted to make a few calls as well. I owe a call to Mom and Lizzy. You sure you want to do this alone?”

“Yep…wish me luck.”

“Good luck. Love you.” Kissing me, he scoots out of the booth and heads for the back bedroom.

W
ith shaky fingers, I hit my dad’s number.

“Baby girl,
how are you?”

“Hi
, Dad. I’m really good. How are you?”

“Fine. Busy at
work, blah, blah. Where are you?”

“We just got to
Pittsburgh. We have a few hours before we are due to rehearse.” An awkward silence falls.

“Lei? You ok?”

“Um…yea. Dad I’m calling to tell you something.”

“Oh my G
od! What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is w
rong. Just the opposite.” More silence, but this time my dad patiently waits. “Um…jeez this is hard…um…ok…I’ll just say it…I’m…I’m… seeing someone.”

“Holy crap
, Lei. You almost gave me a heart attack. I couldn’t imagine what you were trying to tell me. Is it Jack?”

Gasping, I can’t believe he guesses correctly so fast.

“What? You don’t think I saw the signs? Hopeless romantic here, remember?”

“
Yeah, thanks for that gene.”

“Sweetie, you need to own it. So Jack, huh? When did you two finally figure it out?”

“Um, after my farewell party.”

“Are you happy?”

“So much.”

“Then I’m happy. He’s a good man. Is he around?”

Uh oh. “Dad…”

“Relax…I just want to give him my blessing.”

“Dad, he’s not asking for my hand in marriage.” Little does he know.

“Yet…”

“Dad.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Does he…”

“Yes,” I interrupt his next question.

“
Good. Then let me talk to him.”

“
He’s on the phone with his parents. Can he talk to you later?”

“Sure, sweetheart.”

“Ok.
I have to call Evan now. Everything ok with you guys?”

My dad pauses for a second. “Um
, yea…it’s getting there. Don’t you worry about us, we’ll be fine.”

“How’s Barb?”

“Good. She’s handling it like a champ. She sends her love. I gotta go babe, I have another call. You have that boyfriend of yours call me later, ok?”

He suddenly rushes me off the phone as if the topic of Barb has him uncomfortable. I worry he is keeping something from me about her recovery. “Sure
…call me when you have time to talk. I love you, Daddy.”

“Me too
, baby girl, so much. Be careful.”