This Is Forever (22 page)

She knew her BFF was looking for a love like that. She prayed he found
it; she wanted to see him happy too.

Winter
joined them fifteen minutes later and Toro said his good nights, leaving for his room down the hall.  She had made room on the bed for him, Rococo dozing happily in his hutch.

Winter
cuddled her to him and kissed her head. “I love you so much baby.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. She was alive, with the man she loved, and at a crossroads. It was time to let things go, things she held onto for her own protection. She didn’t need them anymore.

“I’m going to lose the Lola moniker I think.” She said softly. “I like being Natasha. Winter loves Natasha.”

“
Winter loves Lola too babe. Winter fell into lust with Lola once upon a time, don’t lose that naughty girl. I love every facet of you. Keep the name for professional purposes. And when you wanna send me dirty pictures via your cell. Easier.”

She nodded
and grinned. The man was a kinky bastard. But she understood it. Lola allowed her to be just that little bit more wild than Natasha would ever be. Still, she didn’t want to hear the name from his lips anymore, enjoying the way her given name rolled off his tongue more. “Don’t call me Lola anymore, Okay?”

He agreed.

Epilogue

Six months later

Natasha kissed Winter softly and pulled away. “Have fun. I will see you on Saturday.”

“
Gonna be a bitch without you Mrs. Tulane…” he mumbled and pulled her in for another kiss.

She glowed, loving to hear him call her that.
“I know, but I have to get shit settled here. And I promised Toro that I would have dinner with him and Torch tonight. Once I get the house together and Rococo settled at my parents I will be along. Promise.”

He frowned. “And what am I going to do till then?”

She gave him a little smirk. “All phone sex and dirty photos baby…”

He growled and kissed her hard.
“Tease.”

She nodded. “And you love it. Get going.”

Reluctantly, Winter let go of his wife and grabbed his luggage. “I’ll call once I’m settled in the room.”

She nodded. “I’ll be waiting.”

She watched him walk out the door of their new town home, a wonderful find just outside of the French Quarter and sighed as the door closed behind him. She had an entire house to get in order, a rabbit hutch to set up in the sun room and three deliveries of furniture coming in the next two days. Thank god for movers.

Natasha
looked down at her left hand and smiled at the two rings nestled there. It felt good to be Mrs. Tulane, felt even better to have the past behind them. The wedding was worth everything and helped to put it all to rest. She was looking forward to the future she was creating with the love of her life and her band.

She turned, walking down the long hallway to the kitchen, noting that they would need to have the place painted soon as well. Once in the kitchen she grabbed her mug of tea, still incubus because her voice wasn’t back to hundred percent, close, but not there just yet, and opened her email.

Scrolling through, she deleted spam left and right, and then smiled as she saw an email from Fiona. She opened it and grinned.

Congrats on the new place. Expect us to visit after the album has been finished. If you get antsy, call me, we will hit the spa.

Oh… and I’m soon to be a Sadie…

Natasha opened the attachment to see Fiona’s hand with a rock that should have weighed her delicate bone structure down. Holy fuck. Murphy proposed. It looked like they would have a royal wedding to attend soon.

She sent an email back congratulating Fiona on her engagement with a promise that at her bachelorette party Nat would sing “Sadie Sadie married lady” from
Funny Girl
for her and promised to call soon regardless.

Scrolling again she saw an email from Swann, Xxieda’s assistant. As this was nothing new she opened it to see what press she was going to have to do. Nothing major so she sent the email back accepting.

At the bottom of the list was a message from Morbid Museum with the subject: You are going to piss yourself laughing.

Frowning she opened it.

Hey Lady Hotness.

Ooh so it was Gatsby and Stoli. She read on.

So thought you would wanna see this. Apparently you, much like Saffron, are now free and clear. Congrats on snagging him for good. The wedding was choice! See you guys in a month!

She looked down and found a link and clicked it. What she read had her grinning like a fool. Under the listing for
Winter on TheNailList.com was a late edition:

Edited to Add: Winter Tulane is now a married man, and the lucky bitch to snag him is none other than Strange Angel’s front woman, Lola Cavendish. Rumors of their romance were unconfirmed through the last tour, but it seems our sources are late to the party. We lost a damn good one girls…

It wouldn’t keep them from trying, but it was a good deterrent. Hell, if nothing else some of them would get more aggressive, trying to say they bagged a very happyily married man. Well they could try. Winter had given up all his playmates, for her, and she trusted that to keep. After all, they weren’t forever, and what they had transcended time.

She emailed the girls back, laughing and told them she was looking forward to seeing them. For everything, she didn’t think she could become friend with Winter’s
ex’s, but she had. Event after she found out what happened with them and him at the beginning of the last tour, she still was cool with them. After all, she had rejected him, and by their own account, he might have done it, but he wasn’t into it. She never told him she knew, and she never would. It was the past, and the past for them would stay there. The future was all that mattered, the future they would have together.

She closed down her email and stood, taking one last sip from her tea and walked out of the kitchen to start her day, when a text came through her phone.

So what were you saying about dirty pictures?

Naughty fucker
she thought as she shivered. Not apart twenty minutes and he was already horny. Leave it to Winter to keep it interesting. She shook her head and wrenched up her shirt, angling herself so he could see not only her breasts, but the mark they both shared. She made a coy face as she palmed a breast, her fingers going to pinch the nipple and snapped the selfie and sent it to him.

He texted back seconds later.

That’s what I’m talking about baby.
If I was alone right now…

She laughed and texted back.

I expect reciprocation.

As soon as I’m alone, Rhys might throw a fit if I whipped my cock out right here.
He wrote back.
XO

She sighed and shook her head. He was right.

***

The ostentatious hummer limo snaked through the lazy streets of Metairie, towards its final destination. The tour over, all dates and commitments fulfilled, they were on their next adventure, which was starting to record the new album.  They were on their way to The Warehouse
, the state of the art recording studio nestled in the guest house of one of the estates that called the area home.

The entire
band, would be staying at the main house for the duration of the recording, to ensure that the end product was fantastic. Staying on site would work to their advantage, as they had a horrible habit of working at night, sometimes starting in the wee hours, when inspiration hit them. Their last album was a pain in the ass to make because of their mercurial moods and odd schedules. Xxieda figured this would be the best way to solve all problems.

“So who is this guy we are working with?”Nyx asked as they finally slowed to a stop in front of what looked like huge iron gates.

Xxieda smiled. “Rusty. He is amazing and hard as shit to book. We had heard that he was booked but when I called him and pitched the project he was rather interested. So he well be staying here too for the duration. Should prove to make some damn good music.”

“Well I’m looking forward to it,” Rhys
said as Saffron tinkered on her tablet. “I miss the creative side.”

Winter
, who had just put down his phone and was playing with his wedding ring and Chandler agreed in unison, while Tosh, on the phone, gave the thumbs up.

They came to a complete stop minutes later and stepped out, the
Louisiana heat hitting them in the face. It was late in the day, and there was a breeze, but it was still stifling. Xxieda sighed. “I hope He’s here…” she walked towards the two story guest house, set off to the side of the main plantation home, a columned monstrosity  that sat a few feet back from the drive, the lazy ferns  swinging slightly in the breeze from the second story porch.

The
guest house was brick, angles, and looked like it shouldn’t ever have been built in the dirty south.  It looked like it would be more at home in a fairytale forest, or the very least Vermont.

They all followed Xxieda and Dante in, past the great room sitting area, which felt and looked a lot larger than the façade suggested. As they entered the control room Xxieda started talking to someone. They filed in, Nyx the last one to enter, as she was entranced by the great room, or more importantly, a picture hanging there of a girl walking towards a tree, nude. It was haunting, and somehow familiar.

“That’s Rhys, Chandler, and Nyx. Guys, meet Rusty.”

Hearing her name, Nyx looked up, going to offer her hand and stopped dead.

The man before her was tall, black hair cut short and styled in a rockabilly pompadour style, the front a shock of Blue that she knew was not in any way a dye job. His button up shirt was open at the neck, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off two very tattooed forearms,
the material around his biceps all but straining.

He smiled at her, his full lips pulling into a sexy smirk. She knew exactly how they felt on her skin too. Guy liner framed his bright green eyes, and the stubble on is jaw had her wanting to bite her lip.
She knew how that stubble felt along the sensitive skin of her stomach and inner thighs. She knew that the tattoos went all the way up his arms, and he was hiding several more under his shirt, and lower, even down his Diesel jean- encased thighs. She also knew what else was hiding underneath the denim.

Nothing about this man was a secret to
her because “Rusty” was the guy that she had been searching for since she woke up after her sweet sixteen, after finding a letter that said one simple word--- Soon. Soon her ass. She was twenty six. Ten years was not soon.

“Yeah we have met.” He said to Nyx and shook her hand. “Long time no see.”

She licked her lips, her mouth going dry as she tried to speak. He winked at her and then turned away to talk more with Xxieda and Nyx walked out of the room.

Son of a bitch.
What was she going to do now?

Stay tuned for the next novel in the 13 Shades of Red series:

Make Damn Sure

Strange Angels Play list:

In my dreams with you- Steve vai

Falling Down- The Birthday Massacre

Control- The birthday Massacre

Possession- Sarah McLachlan

Help I’m alive- Metric

I hope You’re Unhappy (acoustic
)- Farside

He’s My Thing – Babes in Toyland

The Only Exception- Paramore

E.T. – Katy Perry

Set list for the tour:  13 Shades of Red

Make Damn Sure- Taking Back Sunday

Until the Day I die- Story of the year

Stay with me- Finch

The Martyr- Cursive

The Crimson-
Atreyu

What do I have to do? – Stabbing westward

Kiss you to Death- Alkaline Trio

Seven Years-
Saosin

I Loved the Way she Said L.A -
Spitalfield

Steal you Back –Jimmy Eat World