Groupie/Rock Star Bundle (16 page)

Vanni watched me with sad eyes as I made my own
departure, but this time it wasn’t running away from
him.

It was running to someone who could help me
save him from whatever it was Jasper had blackmailed him to
do.

I knocked on room #1225 sometime around
midnight, and it took a moment for someone to rouse and lumber to
the door. “Who is it?” Graham asked through the door.

“Andy,” I said.

There was a momentary pause, and then the locks
unlatched and the door swung open to where Graham gathered his robe
around his loose pajama bottoms and bare chest.

“I’m sorry to come here like this, but I need
to talk to you.”

He stepped back and let me inside.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked as he shut the door behind me
and followed me into the suite.

I shook my head and turned to face him. “You
said that Jasper knew how to make people and break people. Does he
use his company to bully young musicians to fulfill things outside
their contracts?”

Graham sighed and slumped into one of the
chairs. “I don’t know specifics,” he said, choosing his words
carefully. “At least nothing I could prove.”

I sat on the sofa opposite him. “What if
someone is under a contract? What could he do to sabotage their
career? Legally?”

Graham shrugged. “Things can be made a little
more complicated, depending on how many loopholes someone has to
work with. It would depend on what they’re promised under the
original contract. Did it get looked over by a lawyer?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know anything
except I just had a conversation with Jasper that sounded very much
like a veiled threat.”

He looked immediately concerned.
“Against you?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing like
that.”

“Against Giovanni?” he asked.

I said nothing.

He sighed. “My advice is to get a
lawyer involved to look over the contract. Find any weak spots,
then renegotiate. Giovanni has more power than he thinks right now
but it’s in Jasper’s best interest to make him feel that he
doesn’t. From what I understand there’s been a huge media push and
I don’t see someone like Jasper Carrington walking away from that
kind of investment over a grudge. More realistically it’s probably
just a huge game of chicken. Sounds like he’s bullying you because
he’s in a tight spot. But there’s nothing he can do that can’t be
undone, not with the talent of the band.”

I nodded. He rose and came over to sit next to
me on the couch, and took one of my hands in his. “I’m actually
more worried about you than Giovanni.”

I pulled back. “I’m fine.”

“You’re in deeper than you know,” he said. “Be
careful how much of your life you invest in this stuff. It’s not
worth it.” Then, softer but more emphatic, “He’s not worth
it.”

“You don’t know him,” I offered
weakly.

“How can you be sure you do?”

My eyes dropped from his. That, my friends, was
the $64,000 question.

He brushed my hair out of my face.
Softly he said, “Andy…” but my phone interrupted him.

It was Vanni. “Where are you? We need to
talk.”

The apology I had for Graham died on
my lips when I caught the look on his face. I remembered it well
from the night Lourdes called Vanni when we were together, alone,
in a hotel room. “I have to go,” I said as I stood. Then,
impulsively, I hugged him. He had helped me, even though he really
didn’t get anything out of the deal. “Thank you,
Graham.”

He held me just a beat longer than necessary. I
heard him call after me as I sprinted for the door, “Anytime.” I
knew he meant it and it was oddly comforting.

Nearly fifteen minutes later I
opened my own hotel door to Vanni, who carried a
suitcase.

I said nothing as I stood back and
let him in. Maybe I was crazy but it felt like the only decision I
could make when he pulled me into his arms and held me for a long
moment.

“She’s pregnant,” he said softly into my ear,
and I immediately stiffened. “It’s not mine,” he instantly
clarified. “But they want me to say that it is, or at least not say
that it isn’t.” He let me go and walked over to collapse onto the
bed. “I finally put my foot down. I don’t care if it costs my
career. I’m not going to create some lie around a kid’s life just
so a rich guy can keep away from an expensive divorce.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Before I came along,” he admitted. “He saw us
together at his Labor Day party and thought two birds, one
stone.”

“And Athena doesn’t know?”

His face crumpled in disgust. “That’s the
stupid thing. She’s known all along. How do you think she convinced
him to let her come out here?”

“So why can’t he have Lourdes in New York, and
let Athena start over here?”

“Because she’s not just his wife,
she’s his biggest talent. If she finds out there’s a kid she can
bring him down just to watch him burn. And she’s got the star power
to do it. Why do you think he’s freaking out so badly that Graham
is here? He’s done everything he can to keep her away from the
shows.”

He pulled me onto his lap and buried his face
in my hair. “It’s all such a mess. I just wanted to make music. I
didn’t want all the rest of this. It’s like I’m no longer me.” His
eyes met mine. “Except when I’m with you.”

My gaze rested on that full, sensual mouth just
inches away from my own. If I kiss him now, I’m a goner and I know
it. “Vanni…”

He groaned and his hand snaked up my
back and into my hair. “Say it again,” he begged in a whisper, and
before I could reconsider my lips were crushed under
his.

Perhaps it was the length of time I
waited for this moment without even realizing consciously that was
what I was doing – or perhaps it was the fact that he was one of
the best kissers I’d ever known in life or in fantasy – either way
any and all resistance evaporated. I melted against him like butter
as he slid me easily back against the bed.

I could have counted to ten, thought
of puppies and kittens or grandmas knitting goofy old sweaters, but
the raw truth was I never wanted a man as much as I wanted Giovanni
Carnevale. And he was on top of me, kissing me deep, exploring my
mouth with his demanding tongue and the curves of my body with his
strong fingers. My hormones delivered my willpower a KO punch and
all my remaining inhibitions flew right out the window. My hands
tore open his shirt so that he was bare chested over me, while his
hair hung in sheets around his face as he looked down at me with
those endless brown eyes, still lined with heavy eyeliner from his
show.

He slipped my shirt off my body while I fiddled
with the fasteners on my jeans. With one finger he released the
fastener on my bra and it slid easily from my shoulders, exposing
me once more to his wandering fingers and inquisitive tongue. I
lifted my ass so that he could slide down my underwear, until I was
bold and naked underneath him.

He groaned as he folded me into his
arms for another scorching kiss, and my legs automatically wrapped
around him to pull him closer to me.

His hand disappeared between our bodies and he
touched me where I ached to be touched. I called his name and he
responded with the urgency of his fingers, the frenzy of his desire
to bring me infinite pleasure.

I was trembling against him,
incoherent to his teasing, rocketing off into space under nothing
more than his hands.

It just made me ache for more. “Vanni,” I said
softly, “Please…”

“Say it,” he begged. “Tell me.”

“I want you,” I whispered. “I need you…
please...”

He shuddered against me and I felt
him strain against his leather pants. He lifted up to unfasten
them, and then he peeled them from his muscular legs. Seeing his
body reach for me was almost more than I could take, but he inched
off the bed. My inquisitive look was met by his smirk as he pulled
his phone out of his pocket and dramatically he powered it
off.

I giggled in spite of myself, and
watched as he reached into his bag and pulled out a condom. He got
back on the bed and kneeled in between my legs to tear open the
package with his teeth and make a pretty sexy spectacle of sliding
it on. Perhaps it was the specimen himself, as his dark skin
shimmered against my paler skin, and the dark hair on his chest
trailed a promise all the way down between his legs.

He eased himself back on top of me, cupping my
face in his hands. “Are you sure?” he asked one last
time.

“I’ve never wanted anything more,” I
whispered.

With that he gently pushed himself
inside of me and sank himself so deeply I didn’t know where he
ended and I began.

His eyes never left mine as he
started to move in slow strokes to savor every luscious inch. My
legs wrapped around him and urged him on, and he bent to kiss me
deep as his body obeyed my unspoken demands. I wanted to see him as
crazed for me as I had been for him, so my kisses grew more
demanding, my caresses more brazen. “Andy,” he gasped as he felt me
take him in deeper with each thrust.

“Say it again,” I said softly.

“Andy,” he repeated, over and over as our
lovemaking grew more urgent until it sent us both out of control.
My fingernails pierced his back as felt myself explode around his
hard body, and when I screamed his name it sent him over the
edge.

He was breathless when he collapsed on top of
me. After a moment he whispered, “Evil, evil woman for making me
wait for that.”

I giggled as I cuddled closer to him, feeling
that everything that had been between us was now gone.

By the time morning came we had only dozed in
between countless orgasms. We teased and pleasured each other in
various ways, and I knew after I had explored his body at length
with my own fingers, tongue and mouth that the first time wouldn’t
be the last. He was putty in my hands, and he showed his gratitude
in kind.

We shared a whirlpool bath and
ordered room service, exhausted after our night of passion but
excited about what the day may bring to release him from the crazy
soap opera that had become his life.

He pulled me into his arms after we had
finished breakfast in bed, and planted a kiss onto my nose. “Thank
you for one of the best nights of my life,” he said. “No matter
what happens today I want you to know that being with you kept me
sane when the whole world was falling apart.”

I brushed his hair out of his face,
and finally voiced something that had so far been left unsaid
between us. “Hopefully it doesn’t have to end.”

He bent to kiss me, soft and sweet, then rested
his forehead on mine. “I don’t have anything to give you, Andy.
Other than this. Please say it’s enough.”

“You’re enough,” I assured him. “I just don’t
want to be a number.”

He shook his head and traced my jaw
with his finger. “You blew them all away.” Another kiss. Longer.
Deeper. “But for now,” he whispered against my lips, “let’s take it
slow. Keep it between us. Enjoy what we have without involving
anything complicated.” He looked deep into my eyes. “Can you handle
that?”

“I don’t want the fame,” I told him. “I just
want you.”

He happily complied, and we didn’t leave the
hotel room for another hour.

I floated on air the rest of the
morning. Every move I made I could feel Vanni’s imprint from our
passionate night. I wasn’t a virgin before Vanni, but I felt like I
had never truly made love until he was the one to touch
me.

He sent me texts when we were apart,
and even when we were together, for all the things we couldn’t show
or say in public. He referenced what we had already shared, and
what he promised we would share that night. It was electronic
foreplay that had me counting the hours until we could be
alone.

I was nervous going to see the show that night,
afraid that Jasper or Lourdes would be there, trying to force his
hand to announce that he was about to be a father. The balcony was
empty, not even Graham had come to the show. That made me somewhat
sad, but the minute my guys took the stage I forgot about anyone or
anything else.

The music had special meaning to me now, and I
was especially enthusiastic.

I slipped away early to set up the fan meet and
greet in one of the meeting rooms. The caterer had already set up
refreshments, and I simply oversaw the merch display and made sure
that the guys had plenty of things to autograph for their new
fans.

By the time the band made it down to the
meeting room, it had already filled with about twenty people to get
some one-on-one face time with their new favorite musicians. Vanni
winked at me as he passed behind me to take his seat at the long
table, and the line of admirers began.

I soon realized the table wasn’t necessarily
the best idea for Vanni, who wanted to hug and take pictures with
each fan that came up to gush over how wonderful he was. So while
the rest of the band was content to sign merchandise and pose for
the occasional photo, it was clear that Vanni was the fan favorite
for how much he was willing to extend himself to his adoring
public.