Rock Your Body: A BWWM Romance (26 page)

“Pale?”

Tamra laughed. Ashy, maybe. Never pale. “Bruce, I’m fine.”

“I’m going to call Kelly.”

“No, don’t. I’m fine. I just need a nap.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit some buttons. He was calling Kelly and Tamra didn’t want to bother her. This could be insubordination on Bruce’s part, but she wasn’t going to call him on it. He was a big sweetheart, despite his scary exterior.

He spoke to Kelly then hung up. “She’s on her way over.”

“This really isn’t her concern.”

“Well, it is because she’s your friend.”

Good point. “Okay. Fine, but I’ll be okay if everyone leaves me alone.”

“I’ll leave you alone as soon as Kelly gets here.”

“What do you think is going to happen?”

“I don’t know, but I know that Colin is safely back in his studio so I can keep an eye on you.”

She sighed and chose not to argue with him.

***

Colin left the dishes then went back to the studio. Docta Hop was listening to what they’d recorded that morning.

“If I may say something,” Docta Hop said.

“No, but I have a feeling you will anyway,” Colin said.

He might as well ache, he’d been through the shredder for how he felt.

“You are an asshole.”

“Yep, I am,” Colin agreed.

“You agree?”

“I do. I never should have said that to Tamra.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. Now if I were a lesser man, I’d go give that fine lady a shoulder to cry on, but I won’t. You clearly love her, man. Why she has any feelings for you, I have no idea.”

“You think she has feelings for me?”

“Yes. If she didn’t, then your accusation wouldn’t have hurt her.”

Colin realized that the Doc was right. How stupid could he be? Of course she cared about him. And if she did, she wouldn’t put him in danger. That made her idea a good one.

“I am an idiot, too.”

“You should go talk to her.”

“We have work to do,” Colin said.

“Coward. I can wait.”

Colin mulled it over. He did have to fix this. “Thanks.”

He trudged up the steps to Tamra’s room and was surprised to find Bruce sitting in a chair next to her bed. “Is something wrong?”

“She got dizzy and I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Kelly’s on her way.”

“Kelly?”

Colin sat on the edge of the bed. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a little dizzy,” she said.

“Did the doc say that would happen?”

“Only if I overdid it.”

“And I didn’t help by getting you upset.”

Bruce stood. “I’m going to do a perimeter patrol. You’re in good hands.”

He left.

“I’m sorry,” Colin said.

“For what?”

“Don’t play dumb. For what I
said
. That I intimated you slept with me because it’s a job. That was wrong.”

“It’s fine. You’re upset.”

“And you’re injured.  That’s no excuse. And the more I think about it, this benefit concert might be a good idea.”

***

Tamra’s head hurt, but she thought she heard Colin say he’d do the concert.

“What changed your mind?”

“I know you love me, whether you want to admit it or not, and you would never put me in danger.”

Love? She wasn’t ready to go there yet. Not at all. “Well, I won’t put you in danger for sure.”

“But you’re not ready to admit your feelings.”

“No.”

“I can be patient, but I know you love me.”

“Don’t you have music to make?”

“It can wait until Kelly gets here. I’m not leaving you.” He pulled the covers back. “In fact, I’m going to keep you company until she does.”

“No funny business,” she said.

“No funny business. Just cuddling.”

She appreciated his warmth as she snuggled up next to him. If she could have, she would have made love to him, but her head was pounding and her stomach was iffy from the room spinning a bit.

“Don’t you have to rehearse for the concert?”

“Yes, I will and I’ll have to get some of my usual musicians. They’ll do it if they can. They
’re
good guys.”

“Shouldn’t you be coordinating that?”

“No.” He shifted and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll get Roger to do it all.”

“Roger needs a raise or a bonus,” she said.

He texted with one hand then put the phone on the nightstand. “All taken care of.”

“I hope you pay him well.”

“I do. He’s priceless. I couldn’t be me without Roger.”

She laughed. “You couldn’t be you?”

“I couldn’t be Colin Brennan, the brand, without Roger. He keeps me on task and organized.”

She was getting sleepy being next to his warm body. She closed her eyes.

***

Kelly knocked on the door and Bruce answered. “She’s upstairs. Colin’s with her.”

“Thanks for calling me, Bruce.”

“She scared me a little. Not sure she even knew I was behind her, but good thing I was. I thought I’d have to catch her.”

“Give you deadly assassins over a medical emergency any day, huh?”

“I would rather be looking down the barrel of a Glock.”

“I’ve got Charlie coming in an hour to relieve you. Can you be back in twelve hours?”

“Yes, I can.”

She nodded at him then went upstairs, realizing she had no idea which room was Tamra’s. Then Colin emerged from one, looking mussed. He smiled at Kelly. “She’s asleep. I’d like to talk to you anyway.”

“About?”

“This benefit concert.”

“You in?”

“Yeah, I’m in.” He glanced at the door to Tamra’s room. “You want to check on her?”

“Yes, I would.”

Kelly entered the room almost on her tip toes so as not to make noise. She looked at Tamra who indeed looked pale. She was sleeping peacefully so Kelly would have to be satisfied. This case was bigger than they’d originally thought and Tamra had been the casualty.

They both knew the risks of what they did. Tamra was more willing to take the physical ones and they’d agreed early on that Kelly wouldn’t unless necessary. When they had no other choices.

Kelly shook her head at Tamra, feeling guilty for her friend and partner’s injuries.

Colin was waiting for her in the hallway. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Not yours either,” she said.

He grimaced. “Hard to feel that way.”

“Let’s go talk somewhere else. She isn’t waking for a while, I bet.”

He led her to the kitchen. “Can I get you something?”

“I would kill for a soda.”

“All I have is Diet Coke,” he said.

She smiled. “Haven’t had one in months. I’ll take it.”

He pulled two out of the refrigerator and opened them. “You need a glass?”

“Nope, I like it from the can.”

Colin leaned against the counter.  He crossed his legs at his ankles, the can in one hand. He was clearly a man comfortable with himself. “Do you think this plan to flush out Tamra’s attacker will work?”

“Yes. We’re going to lay some groundwork to help with it. You need a little more press on that photo shoot you did with Tamra.”

“Why?”

“We have to make it clear you are still a couple. In my mind, this is why Tamra was attacked.”

“I’m not comfortable with it, but I’ll go along. I trust you ladies.”

“Good. That’s important.”

***

Colin liked talking to Kelly and for a moment he forgot about all the drama surrounding his life. He was used to things going wrong. He was used to activity, but not threats. This was new.

Somewhere along the line, he must have pissed off someone..

“So, you don’t have any idea who could be doing this?” Kelly asked. “No one in your past who would have a vendetta?”

“I have ex-girlfriends just like anyone else.”

“Anyone you slighted in high school?”

He thought about that for a moment. “There was one, but I can’t imagine she would still hold a grudge. We were young.”

“I’ll need a name,” Kelly said.

“You are not going to disrupt this poor woman now.”

“I will look into her background. For all you know she’s moved to Alaska. I just want to rule her out,” Kelly said.

“Fine.”

He didn’t like that Kelly would have to poke into anyone’s life just because he once dated them.  There was no getting around it. He gave Kelly the woman’s name and hoped she had moved to Alaska. That would be the end of it all.

He’d been in high school. Still a stupid kid.

“Anyone else you might like me to look at? Any of your recent girlfriends have a problem with you?”

“Not that I can think of. Most of them are pretty successful in their own careers,” he said.

“There was that string of supermodels that you dated.”

He laughed. “Guess you guys know all about me.”

“Yes, we know a lot about you.”

“Even the size of my dick?”

Kelly laughed. “No, only Tamra knows that one.”

***

Tamra came out of sleep as if she’d been under water. Hers was not a quick awakening, but a slow realization that she was no longer asleep. That was odd for her because she normally woke up in an instant.

Colin had left and Tamra had a vague notion that Kelly was here. Had she heard her voice?

Sitting up, the room didn’t spin. In fact, Tamra felt better than she had in days. Her strength was back, but she figured if she did too much she’d have a relapse.

She showered, then wandered down to the kitchen for a snack. Kelly sat talking to Colin.

“You didn’t need to come here, Kelly.”

“It’s fine. It ended up being a good rap session with Colin, here. I think he’s more comfortable with the idea of the benefit concert.”

“I’m going to be very busy pulling this off,” Colin said.

“So are we,” Tamra said. “You have to perform and we have to do all the security. I’d love a walk through of the place so we have some idea what we’re dealing with.”

“I can get in touch with Carie,” Colin said. “I’m sure that the school will be amenable.”

“I hope so, or we won’t be doing this,” Tamra said.

Kelly looked at her watch. “I need to get Sophie from a meeting. I’ll come by tomorrow and we can strategize.”

She left.

Colin looked in.

“How you feeling? You look better.”

“I feel so much better. I guess I needed some sleep. Of course I probably won’t sleep tonight, since it’s already well into the evening.”

“I’m up, so you can keep me company,” Colin said.

“How is your recording going?”

“We made a lot of progress.”

“Where is the Doc?” Tamra asked.

“He had some errands to run.”

“I never think of superstars having to do errands.”

Colin laughed. “I have people to do that for me. You want Roger here for your powwow?”

“Yes that would help. He’s a great asset.”

“Yes, he is. You hungry?”

“Starved.”

“Sit. I’ll make you something.”

“Just a little snack,” she said.

He opened the refrigerator. “I can make you a sandwich.”

“That’s fine.”

CHAPTER 21

Colin liked making food for Tamra. This felt so domestic and he had to admit that he would enjoy this on a daily basis. He had to convince her to stay. He wanted her in his life. Especially in his life regularly.

Would she go on tour with him?

Would she be waiting for him when he got home? She had a business to run, but could she do that from anywhere? He had to know.

Before he handed her the sandwich, he said, “I expect payment.”

“Oh?”

“Just a kiss. On the lips.”

She frowned, then eyed the sandwich. Her lips pressed his and he tingled all over. Damn. He was so done in by her that this was nuts. “Sandwich?”

She held out her hand.

He smiled, then put it in front of her. “That wasn’t so awful.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

He laughed. She actually admitted it. “I’m wearing you down, Tamra.”

“What do you have to do to prepare for this concert?”

“Changing the subject. Fine. We need to figure out our set, then practice those songs. We need a day, but I have to make sure everyone is free. Since we aren’t recording an album, they are off doing other things. If my usual band isn
’t
  ready, I have a few backups I can call.”

“Sounds like a lot.”

“No, it’s just logistics. We can do it. Let me text Carie while I’m thinking of it.” He did and she answered right away. “She’s excited and will get the word out and she’ll find out when you can tour the place.”

“Preferably after school is out.”

“Right. No need to have the kids mob us.”

“Us? You’re going to be there?”

“I need to see the venue.”

She nodded. “Yes I guess you do. You’ll need to check sound and lighting?”

“Yes, very good. We could make a roadie out of you yet.”

She laughed. Her sandwich was gone. She consumed it as if she hadn’t eaten in days. He hoped that her renewed appetite was a good sign.

“I don’t think I’ll quit my day job.”

“Probably better pay and better hours. A roadie’s day is pretty long. They get to the venue hours before I do.”

She cocked her head. “Do you have any odd thing you like backstage?”

“Bottled water and Diet Cokes.”

“No candy or weird food?”

“No candy. No weird food. I usually can’t eat too close to a performance. I usually have butterflies.”

“You get nervous/?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I would not have thought that.”

“People are paying for a good time. That’s a lot on one person’s shoulders.”

“Never thought of it that way.”

“When a performer stops getting nervous that means they stop caring and should quit,” Colin said.

She seemed to mull that over. “I’m craving potato chips. Any in the house?”

He laughed. “Yes.”

He pulled a bag out of the cupboard and opened them for her. She took one, then bit it. Her eyes closed. “For some reason, this tastes better than usual.”

He watched her eat it as if she was having a sexual experience. Turned him on for sure.

***

Tamra woke the next day with Colin in her bed. He’d charmed his way in with the promise that he would keep his hands to himself. Right now, he was wrapped around her. She couldn’t move, but she didn’t think she wanted to.

She needed to scratch her nose so she did and he pulled her closer. Guess she wasn’t moving.

She turned her head to study him. He had the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a guy. His mouth came to a perfect bow and if he had been a girl he would almost be pretty. Until you looked at his rugged and sharp jaw. That was all man, as was the smattering of hair on his chest and the fine planes of his muscles.

“You like what you see?” he said, his voice still rough from sleep.

“How did you know I was staring at you?”

“I can feel your breath on me and it wasn’t the rhythm of sleep.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled. How did this man want her? He could have anyone and he was her wrapped around her, his eyes dark with passion. He hadn’t moved, just stared at her as if willing her to want him.

She put a hand on his chest, feeling the muscles underneath his skin. They were sharp and lean and spoke of power. This amazingly attractive man, probably the subject of many young and not so young women’s dreams, was in her bed. Had insisted that he wanted to sleep next to her.

Even if she didn’t want to have sex. Though she was changing her mind on that and she was close enough to him to know he wouldn’t turn her down. She put a hand on his face. “How did you get here?”

“Remember? I turned on the charm and you let me into your bed.”

“Like the big bad wolf?”

“Nah, a harmless puppy.”

She laughed. “Colin, you are anything but harmless.”

“I like how you say my name,” he said.

“Hm.”

“You are still not committing to anything? I will wear you down, eventually.”

“Why are you working so hard?”

He leaned toward her and kissed her softly. “Because I’ve never felt like this. I don’t ever want to lose this feeling.”

How could she not love him? She didn’t want to. Nor could she verbalize her feelings. She wasn’t ready to. Would he wait? She hoped so, because she just couldn’t say those words until she was more sure about him. And more sure about herself.

Where was this going? She had no idea.

“Such deep thinking for first thing in the morning,” Colin said.

“True. Let’s not think. Let’s just do.”

***

Colin let go of her and Tamra took off her shirt. He smiled because he knew what was next. And his friend in his pants could not have been happier.

She shifted towards him. He took command of her lips. Her fingers jammed into his hair and held his face close to hers. His tongue darted in and out searching for hers. When they connected the jolt went all the way to his toes.

He stopped kissing her. “You sure?”

“Yes. I don’t want to think. I just want to be. Be here with you.”

He smiled, his hand covering her breast, his thumb rubbing her nipple, bringing it to life. She moaned, her eyes falling closed, her fingers tightening in his hair.

“You are so beautiful,” Colin said.

She was. Just simply beautiful. Her skin was flawless and her eyes that deep blue. She opened those eyes to look at him. Then her hand slid down the length of him.

“I don’t need much foreplay. What I need is you inside of me.”

He shucked off his boxers as she slid her pants off. She straddled him before he could make a move. She was on him, her hips rocking and moving up and down along his length. “That feels so good. You feel so good. I missed you.”

“You missed my body.”

“No, I missed you, too. I missed be able to touch you. Show affection. Please don’t shut me out.”

She didn’t answer, but kept with her rhythm until he could feel her clenching around him and he followed her over the cliff. She collapsed onto his chest, her breathing heavy. He wrapped his arms around her, never wanting to let her go.

“It’s hard for me, Colin.”

“Yes, it was hard for you.”

She pinched him. “That’s not what I mean. It’s hard for me to trust.”

“I get that. Tell me about that man. What did he do to you?”

She nuzzled his neck. “He made promises and didn’t follow through. Then when I broke up with him he didn’t stay away.”

He rubbed a hand down her arm. “He stalked you?”

“He made some of my private life public on his Facebook page. He revealed things that I had told him in confidence. I trusted him.”

Her voice broke. He held her tighter. She was reliving it all. A shudder went through her and he was sorry he’d asked. He needed to know. He had to have some idea what he was dealing with.

“So for our relationship to become public, you are giving up a lot?”

She sniffed. “Yes.”

“Then I know you love me. You’re putting my needs above yours so that I’m safe.”

At that moment, he fell even deeper in love with her.

***

Tamra, feeling better a few days later, did the walk-through with Kelly, Bruce and Colin. Colin was taking notes for his crew. The rest were going over the plans for security. The concert would be on a Saturday afternoon so that no one could lurk after school and hide in the building.

“We’re taking every precaution,” Tamra said to Colin.

He stood in the middle of the gym, looking around at the venue. “I know. I trust you.”

They hadn’t spent a night alone since he’d charmed his way back into her bed. She was enjoying the sex, that was for sure. Her heart was also melting. She couldn’t imagine what life would be like without Colin.

She still hadn’t told him her feelings. She truly appreciated his patience, but she just wasn’t ready. He said it often enough.

Kelly had a map of the school including all of the entrances that had to be covered. They sat at one end of the gym, not wanting Colin out of their sights.

“I think we can hire some local cops to cover some of these doors,” Kelly said.

She wrote that down on her pad of paper. Tamra knew she’d take care of that. Tamra’s job was to be a shadow to Colin when he wasn’t on stage. His cousin would be ready with the car at the back of the school for when the concert was done.

Normally, Tamra would have let him do a meet and greet, but she couldn’t risk it this time. Instead, if the stalker was caught, he’d give them some backstage passes to auction off for the charity and then some of his fans could meet him then.

He’d chafed at the idea, but she’d convinced him this was necessary.

“Once you know names, arrange a meeting so I can brief them,” Bruce said.

He would do the work on the ground, coordinating all of the men. Kelly would arrange any other detail. They had a good plan. Colin would come in and leave by the back door. If the driveway was blocked, his cousin could drive across a field. From that field there were three ways out.

Tamra’s first priority would be to get Colin out of the school if anything suspicious happened.  She’d have one of her men as back up.

Colin knew he had to do whatever she said.

“I think we have it all together,” Tamra said.

“I’m confident that we’ve covered every contingency,” Kelly said.

Bruce nodded. “I wish we could do a dry run.”

“Not going to happen. There are a few things going on in this gym for the next week. Other than midnight, we can’t get in here,” Tamra said.

Bruce frowned. “Okay. Then we’ll have to hope this all goes smoothly.”             

“Well, we want to flush out this person, so not that smoothly,” Tamra said. “If it all goes how we want it to, we’ll catch the person.”

“Yep. I don’t often hope for a plan to go awry, but that’s the best cas
e
scenario,” Kelly said.

And then Colin would be safe.

***

“I don’t feel it’s safe for you to go,” Kelly said.

“But, Mom, I can be in the crowd and I’ll do whatever you or Aunt Tamra say to do,” Sophie said.

She was set on going to the benefit concert and Kelly was set on her not being there. The situation was shaky as it was. She didn’t want to have to worry about her daughter also.

“No, it won’t be safe. I don’t have time to keep an eye on you.”

“What if I get Dad to come?”

“He isn’t trained to do what I do,” Kelly said.

They were in the car on the way home from Sophie’s dance practice. Neither of them had eaten dinner yet and Kelly didn’t want to have this conversation now, let alone on an empty stomach. Her head was light. She just wanted to eat.

Sophie went on and on about the event.

“You’d think that you’d be happy that you’ve been able to meet Colin. Why do you have to bug me about this?”

“Because it’s a concert.”

“He’s going to sing three songs. That’s it. Not a full scale event. The sound system won’t be as good as his.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s Colin Brennan.”

She almost relented at that moment. Just to shut up her daughter, but she’d never been that type of parent. She didn’t discipline by expediency, but right now she wanted her daughter to stop talking.

“Sophie, I’m hungry and tired. All you are managing to do is irritate me. You know the answer if you irritate me.”

Sophie pressed her lips together and Kelly was thankful for the silence. She could think about what to serve for dinner and what she had to do to keep Colin safe. Not only would she never forgive herself if something happened to him, her company would never survive the bad press.

She pulled into her driveway and realized that a strange car was parked in front of her house. Larry disembarked, a big smile on his face.