Rock God (Hearts of Metal Book 3) (21 page)

A mixture of cold dread and squirming disgust had washed over Shayna like a bucket of scummy pond water was dumped on her head. Shawn had been emailing her almost every day for the last month and a half, actually. She’d been deleting the messages, taking bitter joy as they disappeared unread.

She’d sighed. “It’s none of his business, Mom. No part of my ever will be again.”

“But maybe he wants to reconcile,” her mother said, her voice wheedling. “He’ll be more likely to stick with you than some rock god. Marriages aren’t always easy, and people make mistakes, especially during hard times. Maybe with what happened to the baby…well, maybe it was Shawn’s way of…” She’d sniffled, unable to finish the sentence, and it was the first time Shayna had felt shared emotion between them. But her next words put everything back to normal. “I think you’re old enough for me to tell you that your father wasn’t always faithful. No man can be faithful. And—”

“I really have to go now. Goodbye, Mom.”

Somehow she’d kept her voice level, and completely sapped of energy she’d hung up. Minutes before the call she’d been full of joy at freedom from Shawn, her new success with her novels, and how she felt alive again in Dante’s arms. After the conversation, all was ashes.

Your father wasn’t always faithful…

Shayna futilely put her hands over her ears. She felt sludgy, and now there was radioactive poison mixed with the sludge.

She sipped her wine and regarded Dante with growing worry across the table, her mother’s words continuing to seep in like venom.
He’s losing interest already,
that bitter voice taunted.
He’s just trying to find a nice way to tell you to leave.

The phone rang, and for a panicked moment Shayna thought it was her mother calling back. Her mouth opened to beg Dante not to answer, but no sound came.

“Ash!” Dante said with more cheer than she’d heard from him in weeks. “How are you?”

She sighed in relief even as she wondered who Ash was.
Stupid, really. Mom wouldn’t waste the money on a long distance call.

“That’s great!” Dante’s voice practically trembled with excitement. “I just have to call the guys, but for now count us in.

“Well,” he said when he hung up. “It seems we’re going on the road sooner than I expected.”

His eyes met hers, suddenly expectant, and a needle of panic dug into Shayna’s spine. What did this mean for her? What did it mean for their relationship? She tried to keep her voice calm and mildly curious.

“Oh?”

“You ever heard of the band Niteblade?” When she shook her head, Dante continued. “I’ve been working on organizing a charity tour. There’ve been a few setbacks, but it looks like it’s finally going to happen. It’s going to be called ‘Metal Feed,’ and half the proceeds will go to food banks and homeless shelters across the nation. And Niteblade has joined the roster! It’s going to be an amazing show!”

“That’s wonderful!” Shayna said, meaning it with all her heart. The more she learned about the heavy metal subculture, the more she discovered that most involved were the kindest people.

Dante’s eyes were wide with excitement. “It’ll be a pretty small tour, being that it’s only in the western half of the US. But that makes it easier. If everything works out, we could be on the road in as soon as two months.”

Two months…? He could be leaving her in two months. Less, even, since he was heading to the recording studio the day after tomorrow. A thousand questions burned through her mind, but she didn’t dare ask any of them.

“Are you okay?” Dante said.

The concern in his voice helped. Still, she avoided his gaze as she picked up her plate and went to the dishwasher. “I’m fine. I just need to get back to editing this manuscript. Congratulations on your tour.”

He raised a brow and gave her a stern look. “You can’t fool me. Something’s bothering you. Is it the tour?”

She couldn’t bring herself to ask the main question on her mind:
Are you tiring of me?
Instead, she brought up another worry that had plagued her since Coeur d’Alene. “Has your association with me hurt your reputation or career? Has there been any fallout since the wedding?”

Dante laughed. “No, in fact, I think it’s helped. Going by my website, many of my fans are expecting that dating a romance author has improved my sex life.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I must say that it has—though a gentleman never tells.”

Warmth filled Shayna, but then he spoke again.

“Honestly, most of the news is about Collette, like it always was. It seems she’s now being paired on and off with an old flame, Allejandro Garcia, one of those radio-friendly singers. I don’t know whether she’s getting involved with him for the publicity or if she just enjoys having men chase after her…” His lip curled in scorn. “She tried that game with me before, but I would never play. I don’t chase.”

Shayna nodded. If Dante pursued her, she’d think it was incredibly romantic. The thought gave her a sudden urge to defend Collette. “She quit music because she had a miscarriage last year and was too heartbroken to sing—like me with my writing.”

Dante’s eyes widened. “Really? I had no idea she even wanted children.” His features softened with sympathy, and then he frowned. “I don’t get why she didn’t just fucking tell me, though. I mean, I know I’m not the easiest guy to deal with, but she should have known she could trust me. And I wouldn’t have snapped at her like I did if I knew
that
.” Thousands of unreadable emotions passed across his face, and he rose from the table. “Why are you just telling me now?”

“I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you at all. Collette didn’t tell you. She only told me because she’d heard about my baby and wanted some advice.” She looked down and fidgeted with her napkin. “I just wanted to defend her, what with you judging her so harshly.”

“I suppose I did.” He looked chastened. “Damn it, I’d apologize, but since I’m not supposed to know…” He trailed off. “And this makes me feel bad all over again for snapping at you about your writer’s block. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Shayna said softly.

He rose from the table and kissed her forehead. When she didn’t say anything else, he stared at her. “I gotta get back to work. I have one more song to finish.”

Shayna blinked at his retreating form, unable to tell if he was mad. She hadn’t wanted to guilt trip him or anything. Was that what had happened?

She took care of her dishes and headed back to the office, trying to fight off the feeling that she was fleeing Dante and retreating into herself. Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind, however, sounding triumphant.

“Are you going to sit at his house and wait while tramps from every city paw at him?”

Shayna shook her head, but then her ex-husband’s voice spoke in her head, low and mocking.

“He’s tiring of you, Shayna-baby. Just like I did.”

Chapter Nineteen

Dante frowned as he sat in his basement studio. He should have been more tactful with Shayna in his announcement that they were going on the road. Likely he’d scared the hell out of her, saying it so casually. But he’d been so excited that Niteblade was getting onboard.

He’d decided for sure before he even got off the phone with Ash that there was no way he was leaving her behind. Being away from Shayna for the weeks at the recording studio would be agony as it was, secluded as he always made sure those days were. He was half-tempted to bring his cell phone to the recording this time, but he didn’t want to risk being tempted by calls he’d get other than hers—not to mention the fact that his timeless Do Not Disturb policy at the studio during sessions would be completely undermined if he did. Instead, he reminded himself that his hotel room would have a phone. He’d call her every night and try to wrap up early.

Yet, she’d been seriously bothered. And although she’d said that it wasn’t the tour causing her grief, her eyes said different.

Dante wrote out the last verse of the song that had finally come clear during dinner, and he started upstairs to reassure Shayna, but he stopped as he heard the clattering of her keyboard through the door of the office. She was really working. It wouldn’t do to bother her. She worked as hard as he did, he realized, and hated interruptions at crucial times.

Actually, maybe it would be better to avoid discussing it at all—at least for now. Maybe he’d give her some time to get used to the idea. That would also give him time to think of ways to make the trip easier on her.

He went to fold laundry, humming various potential melodies for a song and pondering the quandary. If there was a way to make the tour beneficial to her writing career… Well, he could take her to museums and domestic historical sites for research if she finally set a book in the States, but there had to be something more.

An idea struck him. It was so obvious that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before. More than that, it was too good, too perfect for it not to be a wonderful surprise if he could get all the details right. The look on her face would be exquisite. He knew it. He would have to make several phone calls…but that could wait. The rapid click of Shayna’s typing had slowed, and a break would do her good if he could lure her out of the office.

A slow, devilish smile spread across his lips as he headed out to the pool, singing as he slowly slipped off his clothes. Carefully, he peered over his shoulder at the office window, gratified to see the curtain twitch. Singing louder, he slid his boxer briefs down past his hips. The fence was too high for his neighbor, some TV actor, to see, but it didn’t matter anyway since the guy was off filming.

Dante jumped into the pool and swam a quick lap before looking back at the window. Shayna’s wide eyes stared back at him. She’d given up pretending not to watch.

Dante waved.

Shayna waved back. It seemed he could see her blush even in the twilight. He crooked his finger, beckoning for her to join him. Her lips parted, and the hungry look in her eyes made him grow hard despite the coolness of the water. She turned and left the office, and he smiled in triumph.

Her slim form appeared behind the sliding glass door. Dante licked his lips, watching her hesitate a moment before coming outside.

“Would you like to join me?” he called.

She shivered a little, and he felt a thrill of delight that she was so affected by him. He prayed she always would be.

“My bathing suit is in the wash,” she said with a little stammer as she came out.

He chuckled. “That’s exactly my point.” He swam by her, floating on his back. “After all, I’m not wearing anything. And I’m ready for you. Look.”

Her eyes widened and her rosy blush glowed faintly under the outside lights. “But…but…”

“No one will see,” he prodded. “The walls are high enough.”

She gazed at him pointedly. “
You’ll
see me.”

“Oh, yes,” Dante agreed, resting his arms on the edge of the pool. “And I’ll enjoy it very much.”

Shayna gave him a shy smile, one adorable dimple appearing before she stepped out of her sandals and pulled off her shirt. Her shorts came next, dropping past her hips in a tantalizing whisper of fabric, and Dante realized that this cute little striptease was far more arousing than that of any professional dancer he’d ever witnessed.

For the longest time she stood there in her bra and panties, hips swaying as she shifted nervously.

“Go on,” he said. His gaze roved over her, letting her know how much he appreciated the view, and with shaking hands she reached back and unfastened her bra, holding the cups in place for a moment before at last letting them drop. A blissful sigh escaped Dante’s lips at the sight of her beautiful, softly rounded breasts, and when she slid down her panties, he couldn’t hold back a groan of yearning.

She moved closer, an ethereal goddess with the body of a sinful pixie. Her time with him had healed that malnourished and damaged body; the unhealthy starved angles and hollows had smoothed into gentle curves and her skin was gold from the summer sun.

Impatience seasoned his lust at her slow progress down the pool steps. “If you don’t hurry, I’ll swim over there and pull you in,” he teased.

Instead of a blushing smile and immediate compliance, Shayna splashed him. The act was a dare if he’d ever seen one.

Pinning a forbidding frown on his face, Dante growled ominously, then swam over to the shallow end, his body cutting through the water like a blade. Shayna shrieked as he seized her, but he detected a giggle beneath the feigned horror.

The moment her silken flesh pressed against his chest, his erection bucked with excitement. Dante resisted the urge to ravish her on the spot, wanting to draw out the fun a little longer.

He carried her to the deeper end of the pool. As he did, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, her hot center pressing against his cock and driving him mad. His hands cupped her delicious rear, pulling her tighter to him as he took her lips in a long, deep kiss, and his tongue darted into her mouth, savoring the taste of wine and the unique flavor that was Shayna’s alone.

For an eternity, they kissed and touched, twirling in lazy circles. At one point Dante looked at the water nymph in his arms, awed by the power of his feelings for her, and unbidden, he mouthed, “I love you.” She couldn’t see, though. Her head was thrown back in ecstasy as she gyrated against him.

He watched her expression and fought the urge to say the words aloud, not sure if she was ready to hear them. He kept hearing Zander’s long-ago words about all she’d been through, and he didn’t want to force her to face any commitment she wasn’t ready for. And then it didn’t matter. He felt a slick wetness that had nothing to do with the water, and his throbbing cock could take no more teasing.

His hands held Shayna firmly while he worked himself inside her. The aquatic environment required a little more effort, but the mind-bending pleasure of her tightness made it well worth the work. Shayna’s low moan reverberated through his being, intensifying the depth of his thrusts, and the contrast between the coolness of the water and her tight heat drove him closer to the edge. Her thighs gripped his sides as she rocked against him, the water lapping against their bodies in hypnotic waves.