Rock Me Two Times (5 page)

Ramsey lowered his empty bottle and tossed it into a cup holder. “Looking forward?”

Syon nodded and took another slow sip of his drink.

“You’re actually plotting about how to get her?” Ramsey exclaimed, turning to stare at him. “Let the chick go. Those
ladies
don’t cross the tracks very well.”

Syon shrugged as they pulled up in front of the Ritz. There was a mob of fans waiting, cameras going off the moment they stepped out. Ramsey reached out, stroking some of the hands thrust toward him. Girls squealed and did their best to snatch a feel of his bare chest. One leaned all the way forward and pulled her top down. Ramsey took a good long look before offering her his hand. The security men holding the mob back let her duck beneath their spread arms. She nestled up against Ramsey with a huge smile on her lips.

Once inside, they made their way to an open elevator and punched the button for the top floor.

“Oh my God!”
Ramsey’s new pet gushed
. “I so can’t believe I’m here!”

“Are we sharing?” Ramsey asked Syon over the top of her blond head.

“Sharing?”
The girl squealed again, louder. “Oh. My. God! I gotta text everyone!”

Ramsey grabbed the phone the girl pulled out of her purse, earning a squawk of frustration from his newest plaything. He cupped her chin and fixed her with his best attempt at a serious expression.

“Here’s the thing, sweetheart. No phone, and I’ll make sure you don’t have any time to miss your cyber buddies.”

“Alright,” she cooed.

Ramsey tucked the phone into the inside pocket of his leather jacket before the girl turned to give Syon a naughty look. She reached for his open vest, boldly running her fingers down his chest.

He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips before handing it off to Ramsey.

“Really, dude?” The elevator chimed as it arrived, and the doors slid open.

Syon offered him a two-finger mock salute before striding down the hallway away from the blaring music. There was no missing where the other members of the band were partying, but he turned and went down the hall toward his room and slid his key card into the door.

“Wait up, Syon,” Ramsey called. “I’ll be right back,” he said close to the girl’s ear as he opened the door and the music poured out like a tidal wave. He swatted the girl on her backside, and she giggled as she jumped forward to join the after-concert excess.

Ramsey made it down the hall just before Syon’s door closed all the way, bouncing it off his shoulder and pushing his way into the room.

“Fuck,” Ramsey growled. “You on the rag or something?”

Syon went toward the vanity where his makeup remover was already laid out.

“Orgies get old after about two hundred of them,” Syon answered.

“Like hell they do.” Ramsey opened the fridge and selected a beer. “She really got to you. Un-fucking-believable.” He yanked the cap off and took a long drink. “Is your pride really that tender? So she turned you down. There’s plenty of tail for the asking.”

“I want to see her again,” Syon said. “And it’s Kate. Her name is Kate.”

Ramsey started to say something, but he snapped his jaw shut, leaned back against the wall, and took another drink from his beer. Syon sat down and began yanking off one of his boots.

“Whatever,” Ramsey said at last. “The last time you got hung up on a girl, you wrote ‘Insatiable Craving,’ so go chase her ass for all I care. Just don’t forget I warned you where it was heading.”

Syon dropped his second boot onto the floor. “I think you just said it would take us to another double platinum record, so quit whining.”

Ramsey still hesitated before pushing himself away from the wall. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I said. Come on down if you change your mind.”

Ramsey stopped with his hand on the door. “Why are you such a romantic?”

“I said I wanted to see her again, not hit my knee and propose,” Syon shot back. “Sometimes, I even get to know a girl’s middle name before I take her to bed. You might try it once in a while. You know, to shake things up.”

Ramsey snorted. “We’ve got everything we ever wanted, so don’t let some chick convince you you’re not happy.”

Syon leaned back and closed his eyes the moment the door closed behind Ramsey.

He should go blow his load.

Find someone that looked like Kate and fuck her out of his system.

Instead, he removed his makeup and showered. The suite had three rooms, but Syon felt like a canned vegetable without a balcony. Most of the upscale hotels were going without balconies because of lawsuits over drunken falls. He could still hear the steady beat vibrating down the hallway from where the rest of the band was decompressing.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and wandered over to where his guitar had been set up. Only the bathroom light was on, letting him sink into the shadows as he fingered the strings, letting a melody flow from his mind to his fingers. The concert had taken the edge off his passion, allowing him enough patience to toy with a new rhythm.

* * *

“Overdosing on your sweet body sounds like a great idea.”

Kate growled and looked at her bedside clock…again. She needed sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she heard Syon’s raspy voice. B.O.B. was sitting on her bedside table, charging away. She’d moved her trusty vibrator onto the table the moment she found out her boyfriend Todd had been two-timing her. She gave a little snort and turned over, because what she craved was hard, body-to-body contact. Bare skin, raspy breath—in short, the whole enchilada. B.O.B. couldn’t deliver that. The moment she closed her eyes, all she saw was the way Syon’s eyes had narrowed before he kissed her.

Damn, the man could kiss.

“Oh, God, yeah…run your claws down me.”

Maybe she should have, because she wouldn’t be getting a second opportunity.

A Harley sat outside the costume shop the next morning. It was brand-new, the chrome shining in the morning sun. Kate paused for a moment to admire the custom work on the machine. It was definitely not factory specs.

Shit.

Sturgis was three weeks away. She didn’t have a second to spare for the boys who hadn’t gotten their orders in. But bikers didn’t tend to take “no” very well, and Percy would be the first one to run screaming, leaving her to face whatever growling grizzly bear of a disgruntled customer was waiting inside. The guy clearly had money and would expect a cut to the front of the line with a click of his checkbook pen. He wouldn’t want to hear that there were just so many hours in a day and she was maxed out. She took another swing of her coffee and squared her shoulders.

“Kate…
darling
…”

Kate froze on her way into the shop. She tugged off her sunglasses and leveled a hard look at Percy. He had a measuring tape draped around his neck and stood in the doorway between the machine shop and the cutting area.

He was beaming, smiling from ear to ear with his hazel eyes sparkling.
Darling
was worse than sweetie when it came to getting worked over by her partner. If there was an asshole in the shop¸ Percy wouldn’t be calling her
darling
. Nope.
Darling
meant Percy was licking whipped cream off his fingers and fully expecting her to join the party.

“I’m going home,” Kate declared preemptively. “I didn’t get enough sleep to deal with an ambush.”

Percy rubbed his hands together gleefully and walked up to her with an unmistakably giddy look in his eyes. He leaned in close, clasped her wrists with a death grip fueled by excitement, and whispered, “I could
kiss
you for being late. You’re too good to me.” He backed up and cleared his throat. “So I started the basic measurements, and you’re right on time to get going with design.”

“Design of what…?” Her jaw hung open as her gaze fell on the person leaning against the door frame behind Percy. Syon Braden was just as deadly without his makeup. More so. There was a raw power in his face.

And he was grinning with victory.

Total ambush!

“Mr. Braden—” Kate started.

“As I told Percy, call me Syon,” he drawled in a deep voice that sent a tingle through her.

Her partner shivered and rolled his eyes before turning around to face Syon. “You did.” Percy trotted off into the third room, which served as the office, leaving Kate facing Syon.

Starbucks was
so
not strong enough to help her deal with her morning. There was a charge in the air, setting her nerves on edge. It shouldn’t have been possible. The guy’s persona was just fucking huge.

“Come on in, everyone!” Percy called.

Syon crooked a finger at her, but there was nothing playful about it. He was arrogant and damned fucking proud of himself.

She abandoned her coffee cup and forced herself to stride forward with all confidence she could muster. Her system was going haywire again. The fatigue headache she’d woken up with—courtesy of Syon Braden—doing nothing to dull the impact of his presence.

Heat snaked through her, awakening her clit like she hadn’t gone three rounds with B.O.B.

She needed to stock up on batteries.

Syon was wearing a faded pair of jeans that looked extra yummy on him, and a button-down khaki shirt that complemented the lighter streaks in his hair. The spikes weren’t teased up as much today, but that just gave him a rakish appearance. She felt the attraction bleeding off him, growing stronger with every step she took. She was completely off balance having him here in
her shop
; he’d invaded her safe zone.

He knew it too. There was a look in his eyes that told her how much he enjoyed riling her.

Much as it unsettled and excited her, she knew exactly what he was doing. He was proving how much power he had, and it pissed her off.

“What are you doing here?” she asked when she was close enough to keep her words from traveling to Percy.

Syon pegged her with that intense gaze of his. “Chasing you.”

She stumbled past Syon through the doorway to the office, the gruff, sultry sound of his voice completely unhinging her thought process. There was a suspicious chuckle from behind her, but she couldn’t turn around to snap at Syon because Percy was watching.

No unprofessional behavior.

“Now, Kate, I’ve already spoken to Giles, and he’s on board with the whole thing,” Percy announced with a flourish of his hands.

Kate sat down in one of the chairs in front of Percy’s desk. Syon lowered his frame into another one. She cut him a sidelong glance—there were four chairs in the office, but he’d taken the one beside her.

Syon winked at her and pressed his lips into a silent kiss.

Her damned nipples puckered. She needed something a lot harder than Starbucks.

“When Mr—Syon called to confirm his appointment, I made sure to check with Giles so there wouldn’t be any tension over jumping his contract,” Percy continued.

“Giles is fine with you jumping me,” Syon said with a smirk.

Kate’s jaw dropped.

Percy let loose a peal of laughter. “You are so naughty.” He wagged a finger at Syon. “I love it, but I’m a married man.”

“Percy, could you fill in some of the details?” Kate asked as she steeled herself. Syon wasn’t a subtle sort of personality.

“Oh yes, sweetie…” Percy laid his hands flat on the desk as he leaned forward. “You’re going on tour as personal leather specialist to Toxsin.”

Words failed her.

Syon leaned on his armrest and looked at Kate. “I’m not the only member of the band running short on stage wear. We’re a little ignorant of what the wardrobe needs as far as maintenance. That’s where you come in. The band and I agreed it would be best if you joined us. That way, you can produce what we need, when we need it. No lag time.”

Kate’s eyes widened, and she started to shake her head. Percy made a low sound in the back of his throat as something crashed in the cutting room, followed by two more loud bangs and a shouted word of profanity.

“I’ll be right back.” Percy scurried out of the office.

“Bastard,” she bit out.

“Brilliant bastard,” he corrected.

Her mouth was hanging open again. “Don’t fuck with my life,” she sputtered. “Percy and I built this place from nothing. I don’t have time to be your groupie.”

His teasing expression evaporated. “You think I don’t understand having a dream? Or what sort of devotion it takes to turn it into reality?”

His tone was a slap in the face. Behind the sex appeal was a hard businessman. As in razor sharp. She drew in a stiff breath to calm herself. “Okay, you’re right. I’m insulting you without knowing anything about you, but
you
are messing with my life here. I have commitments, and if I piss off my customers, they won’t be back next year when you’re history.”

He absorbed her words, weighing them. “I only work with the best, and that’s you. I checked. You’ll do custom work for us that will get worldwide press. That will bring in new clients. Ones with enough money to keep you from working eighty hours a week for guys who want to trade you brake jobs for their pants.”

She had nothing to come back at him. He really had done his homework.

She was staring at the business side of his persona again, and her pride glowed as his word sunk in. Beyond the sex appeal, the guy was a brilliant musician, and it looked like he knew how to market it. No wonder he was swamping her in his sex appeal; he could channel his energy and fire it off like a laser.

“It will also give us time to get to know each other, Kate.”

She shivered. “I can’t do this.” She was chickening out, but it was safer.

“Of course you can,” Percy said as he reappeared and patted her on the shoulder before rounding the desk and settling into his padded captain’s chair. “I’ve already juggled the schedule, and the contract Syon is offering even covers designer rights.”

Designer rights. The fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for every struggling artist like her and Percy. A band with Toxsin’s fame wearing her work would catapult her to the top of the design-label world. Instantly. It was prime bait. Her mouth was watering.

Another thud and shout came from the cutting room. “Can no one get along without me for even five minutes?” Percy wailed before heading back out of the office.

“You sure know how to bait a hook,” Kate said.

“Maybe I give credit where credit is due. You’re a rare talent, Kate,” he said.

His expression became pensive, calculating, and she found it attractive on a whole different level. Some place where she enjoyed the sting of dominance just because it reeked of a level of confidence she couldn’t help but admire. Syon was no metalhead getting lucky on the charts due to a kick-ass marketing team pushing his work.

“Your band buddies can’t be keen on this idea of attaching me to your baggage train. Won’t I throw off the vibe?” she asked.

“Business is always first,” Syon informed her, his tone fitting the gleam in his eyes. “You can keep us looking top-notch. Our fans expect a certain image. We plan to give it to them.”

“And she will do just that,” Percy practically sang on his way back into the office. “When I said I had to juggle her schedule, I wasn’t kidding. No one sews leather like Kate. She could fit an angry goat.”

“I noticed she’s one of a kind,” Syon said.

Kate felt that touch on her heartstrings again, but this time, it scared the hell out of her. Syon was perfection: his body drool worthy, and the intensity flowing out of his caramel eyes absolutely mind melting. He was like some kind of drug, and she was afraid of getting addicted.

She was going to end up getting sucker punched straight in her heart if she stayed near him. “Thanks for the praise, but…”

Syon gave his watch a cursory glance. “The truck will be pulling up in front of your place in about an hour.” He sent Kate a piercing look. “Just as soon as the guys finish loading up what you need from here.”

“I’m packing you a ton of hides to start with, Kate, and I’ll ship you some more when I get downtown to shop,” Percy informed her like the pro he was.

“You planned all the details, I see,” she said, pursing her lips at Syon.

He gave her a stiff nod. “Yes, ma’am.” There was something in his formal response that hinted at a big part of him she knew nothing about, some darker portion of his person that scared her even more. She got the feeling she just might end up respecting him.

“This is going to look so good on our résumé, darling,” Percy cooed.

Shit.

Shit…double shit.

Custom work had seasons. After Sturgis, there was going to be a long dry spell. She and Percy could tighten their belts, but it sucked when they had to let their staff go because there wasn’t enough business. Designer rights would change all of that. Just one tour, and Timeless Creations would blossom into the business she and Percy had dreamed of.

“It sure will,” Kate agreed. She was folding but also taking a chance. Seizing the opportunity she’d been longing for. As a partner, she’d be a real deadbeat not to step up.

Percy threw his arms around her and squeezed.

“Have
fun
,” he said suggestivly in her ear. When he released her, he smirked. “Oh, and Todd called this morning, since you aren’t returning his messages. I told him you were going on tour with Toxsin and didn’t have time for him.”

She grinned, unable to control herself. “Awesome.”

Syon’s eyes narrowed. The little hint of jealousy pleased her. Maybe it was an irrational, immature feeling, but it gave her the leverage she needed to break away from Syon’s powerful persona. There were more hugs and squeals from the other members of the team before she walked out of the door and toward her car.

When it came to ambushes, Syon did them just as big as he did everything else.

* * *

Syon had said truck.

She hadn’t expected a semi, much less four mega-bus-style motor homes clogging the street in front of her house. They were all covered in images of the band members from past concerts. Not exactly subtle. The neighbors started coming out as Syon appeared with a grin that grated on Kate’s nerves.

A drab-colored sedan squeezed its way into her driveway as a team of movers strode through her open door to take charge of the suitcases she’d haphazardly tossed the majority of her possessions into. She had no idea if she even had a complete matching outfit at this point.

Syon introduced the portly, balding man who got out of the sedan. “This is Karl. He’s a property management representative.”

Karl offered her his hand. “Pleasure to be working with you.” She shook it before he held out his other hand for her house keys. “We’ll make sure everything is kept in order while you’re away, including your car.”

It was the smart thing to do, but she still had trouble handing over the keys. But the idea of what the tour was going to look like on her résumé helped her move into action.

“Hey, Ginger. Nice to see you again.”

Kate turned to see Ramsey coming out of one of the buses.

“You know Ramsey,” Syon said as the two other members of the band made their way over to her. They didn’t seem to notice that their motorcade was causing traffic to drive on the wrong side of the road. A few squeals came from open car windows as people realized who was standing in the street.

“This is Taz,” Syon said, introducing a black-haired Asian guy with amazing dark eyes. “Bassist and backup vocals.”

“Drake.” Another dark-haired guy but with ocean-blue eyes. “He keeps us all on beat on the drums.”

The last guy looked at her with a stony expression.

“Drake is still getting used to the idea of having you along,” Syon said with reluctance.

“Thanks, Syon,” Drake growled. “Now I’m the band asshole.”

“Is that news to you?” Ramsey chirped with a smirk on his lips. “I knew it the moment you reported for duty.”

“Reported for duty?” Kate asked, perplexed by the formal term coming out of Ramsey, with his shoulder-length hair, nipple piercing, and leather pants.