Rock Hard: A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance (11 page)

It had been awhile since he said anything. Shit. He said something to me that sounded like it needed a response. What had he said? Right. Something about having any girl out there. The egotistical statement that launched me into a long bout of navel gazing. He was waiting for a response. What to say?

“If you could have any girl out there then why pick me?”

Damn it. I was looking for something to say but that seemed like the completely wrong thing. Bad enough that I was dealing with my own insecurities without voicing them to the guy who was way too hot to actually be interested in me!

To my surprise his reaction was to laugh. He trailed a hand along my left arm leaving a trail of goose bumps and fire, and then down to where he gripped my stomach and pulled me against him as his lips brushed against my ear. I closed my eyes and sighed as I felt his hot breath, somehow hotter and more sensual than even his cock pressing against my ass.

"You really don’t know?" he asked. “You’re just full of surprises Mia. If anything I think you being naive about how goddamn hot you are just makes you that much more interesting.”

I sighed again. This was so incredible. So unbelievable. Here he was whispering exactly what I wanted to hear, though there was still a part of me that worried at how he was able to come up with exactly what I wanted to hear so easily. Almost as though he was practiced at this. Almost like it was a routine he’d practiced with other girls in countless other cities on countless other tours. Still, for the moment it didn’t seem like he was going to pull away because I'd opened my big fat mouth and I hate to say it, but in that moment that’s all I cared about.

"I thought you were the most gorgeous woman I'd ever seen when I first saw you at the diner. That’s why I approached you even though I don’t normally do that with fans Then to discover you weren’t even really a fan? Well that makes you a challenge. And there's nothing I love more than a challenge."

He disengaged and it sounded like he was walking away. I stood rooted to the spot though. I couldn't move. Had he really just said that? I felt like I was about to have an orgasm right here staring out over the crowd and he hadn't done more than whisper a few words while making one hell of a promise. The most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen?

Talk about laying it on thick. I hated that I was falling for it. I hated that my emotions were an instrument he was manipulating like a skilled master.

"Are you coming?"

Oh hell those words could mean so many different things. And right now I knew exactly what it meant. My body was shivering and I felt an impossible pleasure between my legs. Holy shit. I really was in very real danger of coming just standing here thinking about what he'd just said! So I stopped for a moment and caught my breath. Tried to get my body under control. I was so fucking turned on, but I needed to get a handle on this. I was not going to come at just the thought of feeling him pressed against me!

After a moment I thought I could trust myself to turn around and face him. And so I did, and I realized I wasn't prepared at all. He'd pulled away from me but he was still right there. He was looking down at me with an obvious hunger and lust in his eyes, but underneath it all there was something else. There was a tenderness there. An almost hesitation that made it seem like he was in unfamiliar territory. That quieted my worries that I was just another groupie, though I suppose a skilled player would be able to give off that feeling.

I wanted nothing more than to jump on him. To grind my pussy against his cock and complete the delicious orgasm that had been building inside me. That had been threatening ever since he first pressed up against me. He was looking at me with tenderness and I was the one who was thinking with the brain between my legs and feeling the need to give in to pure animal lust.

Only I didn't. It was as though electricity was jumping between us, but I didn't give into that energy that was surrounding us. There was still something that was holding me back. Whether that was the fact that he was who he was or because we were in public was up in the air.

"Where are we going?"

"I was thinking back to the meet and greet?"

I sighed in disappointment. There were a lot of places I could think of going with him and a meet and greet where I’d have to share him with other women was the last of them. I was so keyed up that I would’ve done just about anything he asked in that moment. Apparently the disappointment was plain on my face, because he smiled.

"Don't worry," he said. "It'll only last for a little while, and then maybe I can show you my tour bus?"

Crap. I was disappointed when he said he wanted to go to the meet and greet, but at the same time going back to his tour bus felt like one hell of a step that might be going too far in the opposite direction. I could worry about that later though. The meet and greet sounded like a good idea now that I was coming down from that moment when I would’ve done anything and the more rational part of me was taking the reins in my brain once more.

Yeah, I really needed a breather to figure out what the hell it was that had me losing control every time I looked at him. Before I really lost control and did something crazy!

I smiled and reached out to take the hand he was offering. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I told myself that all I was doing was following him, having a little bit of fun. Having a little adventure that I could think about for the rest of my life.

I told myself that's all it was, but I had a feeling that so much more was happening. That I was pretending I was in control even as things were spiraling out of my control.

Despite those worries I let him lead me back to the meet and greet and whatever might be waiting beyond that.

12: Meet and Greet

Meet and greets. They were a necessary evil in the business, especially in a post-Napster world where people didn’t think music was worth anything and meeting the band or seeing them live had become the product while the music was more of a loss leader.

It was a damned screwed up system that made me wish we’d hit it big in the days when music still sold like hotcakes and the money flowed right along with it.

But it didn’t. Especially not these days and extra especially not for a group whose biggest hits were a decade in the past. No, pressing flesh with the fans was where the real money was made on these tours.

I glanced across the room to where Mia was standing with her friend. Blake had brought her straight into the meet and greet which I supposed was a good sign. At least he hadn’t decided to blow the whole thing off like he had at past meet and greets. Not that I would begrudge him doing that. I know I wanted to take Mia out to my bus right now and fuck the consequences.

The “meet and greet room” was actually just the greenroom repurposed for moving fans in and out on a conveyor line. Definitely not one of the better setups we’d had for these things. With four of us and all the fans moving in and out and security on top of that it was tight quarters. A line of women ran around the edge of the room and out into the hallway beyond. All of them looked ecstatic, but that was about par for the course at these things. As always I plastered on a smile and remember that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they’d paid extra for even if for me it was just Tuesday, or whatever the fuck day it was. They tended to run together on tour with none of the usual markers to let me know the day or time.

So as much as I wanted to throw Mia over my shoulder and take her back to the tour bus I kept that smile on my face as I met each fan in turn and signed something for them. Every meeting was the same. They squealed, gave me a hug or a handshake, and then security inevitably had to move them along.

I glanced over to Mia to see how she was taking the girls getting up close and personal with me, but there was an unreadable expression there. Damn. She was so beautiful. I couldn’t help but think about how much I wanted her to be the one pressing up against me as I…

No. I chased those thoughts away and concentrated on work and not on how delicious Mia looked in that tight outfit that showed off every hot curve of her body. I definitely wasn’t imagining what it would be like to lean over her, to run my tongue over that body. To taste her.

I shook myself free from those thoughts again. Damn. I realized I was getting one hell of a reaction down below and it happened to coincide with hugging a lady who looked like she was old enough to be my grandma. I wondered what the hell she was doing at this concert, and I had the very rare experience of wanting to sink into the floor and disappear as I realized she was grinning up at me.

Yeah, she felt my reaction to Mia. Whoops. Thankfully she was ushered away by security, staring at me with that huge grin on her face the entire way out. I guess I gave grandma a little bit of a thrill.

I probably should've stopped thinking of Mia after that incident, but it was so much fun.

The meet and greet seemed to stretch into eternity, but eventually the long line of women waiting to press flesh and get a picture and a quick autograph were gone. Talk about an eternity that went by in a blink! Finally it was time to get away from this green room and have a little bit of fun with Mia. Maybe take her for a tour of the bus.

Not that I thought she was the kind of girl who’d necessarily fall for that old line, but I figured it was worth a shot. There was just something about that girl that got me all twisted up inside and I wanted to know more about her even if I didn’t get to know more about her in the traditional sense that I got to know a girl when I invited her back to my tour bus.

It was a testament to how interested I was that I’d take conversation or copulation.

I licked my lips and looked at Mia, wondering what kind of fun was I going to have tonight. Only before I could say anything Todd was there with a hand on my arm. Because it was Todd I didn’t immediately pull away, but I was annoyed that he was keeping me from Mia.

“Not so fast there loverboy,” he said.

“But I’m in Twenty Promises, not Loverboy,” I said.

Todd paused for a beat and then he groaned and rolled his eyes. Hey, what can I say? I’m a sucker for a really good bad pun.

“Come on, you know we still have work to do,” he said.

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and realized Blake was trying to sneak out with Mia’s friend Kayla. My eyes narrowed and Todd followed my gaze. As intended. If I was stuck doing more business then Blake had to come too.

“Hey Blake! Not so fast there!”

Blake froze right at the door and squeezed his eyes shut. The horny bastard knew what was coming and he was trying to sneak out early. Just like him to try and shirk his responsibility, though that was a move I’d pulled plenty of times way back when.

“After party buddy,” Todd said. “Time to schmooze!”

“Fine, let me see if Mia is up for the after party.”

Todd grinned. “Going to a rock and roll after party with the great Grant Thompson, lead singer of her favorite band? I’m sure she’s going to jump at that.”

I didn’t bother to correct him. It would take too much time to explain how incredibly wrong he was, and I didn’t want to get into that now. What I really wanted was some alone time with Mia, but once again it seemed work was going to keep me from what I really wanted to do.

Damn pop star lifestyle getting in the way of a simple date. On a tour bus. Behind a massive arena. Where I’d just finished a massive concert in front of a crowd of thousands of screaming women.

Yeah, the simple life and all that.

I figured I’d open with something nice and simple when I got over to Mia.

"So are you going to come to the after party with me?"

"After party? What's that?"

I grinned and decided the smartass approach was the best in these circumstances. She seemed like the kind of girl who would appreciate that approach.

"Well it's a party we have, and it's sort of after the concert so we settled on that name…"

Mia grinned and smacked my chest. I felt a tingle where her hand made contact. I loved it when she touched me, even if it was to give me a playful smack.

"Smartass," she said. "I meant where is it? Who's going to be there? Is this a real rock 'n roll after party with drugs and booze?"

I held my hands up and smiled. Maybe this would’ve been that sort of party ten years ago, but now that half the guys were married men and the other half were too old for that shit anyways there was none of that crap. We weren’t young enough that we could burn the candle at both ends like that and still be functional for shows like back in the day.

"Nothing like that. Maybe some booze, but definitely no drugs. It's just a gathering we have after every concert for our friends and some of our biggest fans. It's a nice way to unwind."

Mia cocked an eyebrow and fixed me with a playful smile. "Some of your biggest fans, huh? So what makes you think I'd be welcome there?"

"Fair enough," I said. "I take it the concert and my serenade didn't improve your opinion of the band or our music?"

Mia moved in closer. Reached up and straightened out a part of my vest that didn't need straightening out, but at this point I was looking for any excuse possible to have close contact with her so I wasn’t exactly complaining. And damn was that close contact fucking delicious.