Rock Angel (Rock Angel Series Book 1) (42 page)

“What if someone comes in?” she asked, even as she shifted to give him easier access.

“We’ll be quick. You’re not attached to these, are you?” His hands were between her legs, massaging her through her black hose. He didn’t wait for an answer and she felt his thumbs pop through the nylon, tearing it open. She fumbled at his fly, then he was hoisting her into the air, her back braced against the wall, and with a powerful thrust he was inside her.

His hips swiveled as he rammed into her and the unbelievable pleasure of it made her gasp, bringing her knees up under his arms. Just as she felt a climax coming on the door burst open, then slammed shut as two squirming figures collided with them, obviously intending the same sort of act that she and Quinn were engaged in.

Quinn let go and Shan landed on her feet as he pulled out of her. “Do you
mind?
” she said sharply. “This room is taken.” All movement ceased. For a moment, there was silence.

Then, “Shan?” A familiar voice.

Shan gasped as the lights came on, revealing Denise and Dan, and Quinn leapt away from Shan as if she’d burned him. Denise’s mouth fell open and Dan looked startled, as well.

He was the first to recover. “Er, sorry. Didn’t mean to barge in.” When he looked at Shan, his eyes averted quickly and she realized that the top of her dress was pushed to one side.

As Shan tugged her dress back into place Denise opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she opened it again. Still, nothing came out. She appeared genuinely speechless.

“We’ll find another room,” Dan said, grabbing his wife and pushing her out the door. He reached for the light switch and they both saw his broad grin before the room went dark.

The next morning, Shan had to practically drag Quinn downstairs for breakfast. “You’re acting like a five-year-old who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar,” she told him.

“That would be better than where it was,” he groaned.

Shan rolled her eyes and, when they arrived in the dining room, they found a fairly normal conversation under way. Ty and Dave were chatting about some baseball game. Dan and Denise were whispering and holding hands, all lovey-dovey.

Then Denise looked up, saw them, and went gimlet-eyed.

Quinn quickly focused his attention on the newspaper, but Shan smiled at Denise as Dan went up to the buffet for seconds. “Did you have a nice night?”

“Very,” Denise replied. “Did
you
?”

“It was fine,” Shan said, which wasn’t entirely true. The sumptuous room had been wasted on her and Quinn last night because, for the first time since Daytona, they’d gone to bed without making love. “My room is really nice,” she added, just for something to say.

“I’m surprised you noticed,” Denise said. “Did you see any of it except the ceiling?”

Quinn slunk farther behind the newspaper, but Dave was suddenly attentive. “What’s this?” he said. “Did our little glamazon get some action last night?”

“No,” Shan said, frowning at Denise.

Denise lifted her eyebrows. “Really? That’s surprising. I’d think sex would be about the only thing you’d get out of him. Right, Quinn?”

“Just for once,” Quinn said from behind the paper, “could you mind your own business?”

“You never hold back,” she said. “Why should I?”

Quinn lowered the newspaper. “I don’t give a shit what you think, that’s why.”

“I couldn’t care less about you,” she told him. “It’s Shan that I’m worried about.”

Shan began to speak, but Quinn talked right over her. “Shan is perfectly fine,” he said.

“I doubt that, even though you might have her sweet-talked into believing she is. We all know how thick you can lay it on when you want something bad enough. How fine is she going to be the first time you have a craving for one of your frequent flyers?”

“Shut up, Denise,” Quinn said and this time his voice shook.

“How could you do this to her? I can’t believe what a selfish prick you are, Quinn.”

“And I,” he shot back, “can’t believe what a loudmouthed, meddling cunt
you
are, Denise.”

“Stop it! Both of you!” Shan begged as Dan returned to the table, his plate piled high with waffles and eggs. He surveyed the uncomfortable scene and looked at Ty. “Did I miss something?”

“I think we all did,” Ty said, looking mystified.

“Your best friend,” Denise informed Dan, “just called me a cunt.”

He looked at Quinn, a rare frown crossing his amiable features. “Dude, you called my wife a cunt?”

“She deserved it, sort of,” Shan said. “Now, can we drop the subject, please?”

“I’d rather not,” Ty said. “I hate to miss a drama.”

“You’re not,” Denise said. “It’s going on right under your nose.” Shan winced and put her hand up, as if to deflect further attacks, but Denise was on a roll. “And you,” she said to Shan. “What’s wrong with you? How can you possibly sleep with
Quinn,
with all you know about him?”

“I knew it!” Dave burst out. “Goddammit, I knew it!”

Quinn closed his eyes, dropping his head against the back of the seat.

“I had a feeling that’s what happened, that you waited until the rest of us weren’t around and crawled into bed with her. What about the rule?” Dave demanded, his eyes narrowing.

“Which one?” Shan asked, going through them in her head. Quinn had so many of them.

“The one that puts you off-limits. No diddling the guitar goddess, to use
his
exact words.” Dave jerked his thumb in Quinn’s direction. “A rule that apparently applies to everybody else!”

“Oh, get over it, Dazz,” Quinn shot back. “She never really wanted you to begin with. What makes you think she’d want you now?”

Dave’s face went crimson. He rose, stalked out of the dining room without another word, and Denise stood as well. “Let’s go,” she said to Dan. A naked note of authority rang in her voice.

Dan trailed submissively after her, looking back regretfully at his full plate, as Shan turned on Quinn with blazing eyes. “Is that the truth? Have you really been dictating who I can go out with behind my back?”

“It’s just logical, from a professional standpoint. I’ve heard you say yourself that you don’t think it’s a good idea to date a bandmate.”

“Bullshit! You obviously don’t have a problem with it as long as the one I’m dating is you! Now that you’ve finally got around to it, that is.”

He paused and she could see that she had him there. “You’re overreacting—” he began.

“Save it.” She got up from the table and he rose, too, catching her arm.

“Oh, chill out, angel. There’s no reason to go storming off.”

“I need to get away from you,” she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp, “because I could punch you, Quinn. I really could.” He watched her escape into the lobby in the same general direction as the others, then turned as a deep chuckle emanated from behind him.

Ty was still sitting at the table, eating steak and eggs and observing with amused eyes. Quinn scowled. “I thought you went out with the mass exodus.”

“Nope,” Ty replied, slicing off another bite. “Hell, I’d have paid to watch this!”

Quinn beckoned a waiter for a Bloody Mary, then he regarded Ty with suspicion. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Go ahead, let me have it. I know you’d never miss a chance to tell me what a dick I am.”

“I don’t think you’re a dick. Well,” Ty qualified, “you
are
sometimes, but I don’t think it applies here.”

“You hold the minority opinion.” The waiter brought Quinn’s drink. He took a long slug.

“Dan doesn’t think so, either,” Ty said. “He just won’t say it while his old lady is so steamed up. And Dazz is jealous. You hit that one right on the head, although you could have stated it a little more tactfully. Tact,” he added, “has never been one of your strong points.”

“Give me a break. What kind of a loser would moon after the same chick for—how long has it been? Two years, almost.”

Ty’s face split in a delighted grin. “I don’t know what kind of a loser would do that, man. Why don’t
you
tell
me
?”

Quinn took another slug of his drink, refusing to take the bait. Then he regarded Ty thoughtfully. “So you’re cool? You don’t have a problem with this?”

“What difference would it make if I did? Would it change anything?” Quinn didn’t reply. “That was always a good point you had about hookups inside the band, though. You might want to keep it in mind.”

“It won’t affect the band,” Quinn said firmly.

“Sure it will, but maybe it’ll be for the better. Can’t wait to hear the tunes you guys come up with now.” He grinned, lifting the final bite of steak to his lips. “It’s about time you snaked her plumbing. How was it?”

When Quinn didn’t respond, Ty’s grin widened. “What is it, classified? Come on, dude, gimme the goods.” Quinn remained silent and Ty whooped. “It must be too personal to share!”

Quinn speared him with a dangerous look, but Ty was still chortling. “Who woulda thought that little chicklet could ambush the wild man?” Quinn continued to glower and Ty snickered again. “I’m going to track down Dazz, chill him out some before we’re all stuck on the bus. You want to come?”

“No. I’d better start with Shan.”

“Yup. You keep that little woman happy.” Quinn shot him another deadly look and Ty was still laughing as he left the restaurant.

Quinn checked Shan’s room, then the bus. She wasn’t in either place, nor in the bar or any of the hotel shops, so he headed for the swimming pool, a sumptuous enclave resembling a tropical lagoon with lush gardens, fountains, and waterfalls. He didn’t see her there, so he began checking the alcoves that housed the various hot tubs and whirlpools surrounding it.

He was dismayed when, instead of Shan, he found Denise in one of the hot tubs. She’d changed to a swimsuit and a big sun hat and she was alone, sipping an orange drink from a tall glass. When she spotted him, her mouth twisted into a moue of disgust. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for Shan,” he said. “Have you seen her?”

“She’s in the sauna.” Denise said, jerking her head in the direction of a nearby cabana marked
ladies bath house
. “Hopefully sweating every trace of you right out of her body.”

He scowled, relieved but annoyed to find Shan here, with Denise standing guard like some kind of hat-wearing, Mimosa-swilling Cerberus. “Is it possible for us to quietly coexist until she comes out?” he inquired. “I’ve already heard more than enough from you today.”

“Dan always says you have the ears of a bat, but I don’t think you ever hear anything that isn’t exactly what you want to hear, Quinn.”

“What am I supposed to be hearing? You’ve already shared what a selfish prick you think I am. Duly noted. I’d appreciate it now if you’d just shut the fuck up.”

“I will not shut up,” she shot back, “any more than I would shut up and watch someone step in front of a bus when all it would take to save them is a word of warning. I will keep talking until Shan hears me.”

“Shan doesn’t need to hear anything from you. She doesn’t need saving either,” he said, “but I wish someone would save me from your big fucking mouth. Where’s Dan?”

“In the fitness center.” She gestured vaguely in another direction.

That figured. Dan was under strict orders to work out every single day they weren’t on the road, the penance he paid for the privilege of going onstage half naked. He suppressed a sigh, but sat down on one of the lounge chairs to wait for Shan.

Denise started right in. “You know how much she loves you, right? You know, but you don’t care. You’re going to break her heart and she might never recover. What a self-centered asshole you are, Quinn.”

His temper flared anew. “You know, Denise, I’ve never done a goddamn thing to you, not ever, but you have behaved like a complete bitch in every single interaction I’ve ever had with you. You’re like a rabid dog.”

She pulled off her sunglasses and he recoiled from the venom he saw in her eyes. “You’re the dog, Quinn, and you’ve done plenty to me.
Plenty.
You damage every woman you touch. First you fuck them, then you fuck them up, and you do it without a second thought.”

“I’ve never fucked you up,” he insisted. “Or fucked you, either, for that matter.”

She made a sound like she’d been punched in the gut. “
Yes, you have
,” she cried. “
On both counts!
”

“What are you talking about?”

She stared at him mutely for a few moments, then, “You still don’t remember. Jesus Christ, Quinn!” She turned her face away. “
Away from the lights of the city, we’re alone in the galaxy
,” she sang. “
Under the eyes of a million stars, there’s only you and me
.”

A thunderbolt of realization hit him. “Where did you hear that song?”

“You sang it to me,” she said.

He could barely remember the music festival where he’d written it. It was in D.C., a gig he’d played with the Accidental Evils and so experienced through a coke-fueled haze, but he did remember the girl who’d inspired the words.

He’d thought of her a few times over the years, always in a sweet light, the pretty blonde with the camera. She’d been his own age, seventeen, with a sharp, saucy sense of humor that he liked. They’d hung out, gotten high, and eventually wound up making out, then making love back at the campground where she was staying, somewhere over the river in Virginia.

Yes, he remembered her. She’d been sweet as a woman could be.

“My god,” he whispered. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Why? I’m just another chick you screwed, then ditched. When I saw you again, you didn’t know me. You’d forgotten all about me.” She pressed her lips together, squinting, and he understood, suddenly, how much he’d hurt her.

He hesitated, thought back. “You looked different, back then. Your hair was longer. Blonde, not red, and you wore it in braids. And your name…” He frowned. “It wasn’t Denise.”

“I went by D.J. then.” She shrugged. “I thought it was a good name for a photographer.”

DJ from DC
, he recalled, experiencing just a flash of that sweetness.

“After I moved to New York, I saw a flyer for Quinntessence and remembered that was what you wanted to call your band someday. When I went to the show, though…nothing. Not a glimmer of recognition.” This time her eyes did fill.