Stress recedes a notch. It doesn’t vanish. The list is still long. The radio wants a single. The hotel wants a headline. The file with Troy’s name exists whether I like it or not. But the chorus holds. That’s enough for one day.
We run it once more, quiet. Lou hums on the guide syllables. I sing under my breath to check count. Houston splits the difference on the guitar and keeps the tone dry. We cut a quick voice memo on my phone so we can pick it up clean tomorrow.
She leans back and rubs her eyes. “I’m not used to being taken seriously this late at night. Usually, this hour is for someone else’s crisis.”
“Tonight is for the song. And for sleep.”
She looks at both of us like she’s trying to locate the trap. She seems a little suspicious that there isn’t one. Then she lets it go. “Thank you. For treating me like I’m in the band without making me pretend I can play.”
“You can play,” Houston says. “I bet you could play all night long.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re trying to flatter me into bed.”
“Do we need to work that hard to get you into bed?” he says, teasing, gentle as he leans close. Then he kisses her.
When she pulls back, she murmurs, “Get me into bed? How pedestrian.”
He barks a laugh and pulls her onto his lap on the couch. His big hands grip her ass over her leggings, and she grinds against him as they make out fiercely.
I like watching, but I feel a little like I’m intruding at the moment. I grab my glass of water to head to my bedroom.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Lou murmurs as Houston licks her collarbone.
“Thought you might want privacy.”
She giggles. “We’re making out in the living room with you next to us. Privacy is not the goal.” She hooks a hand into my collar and pulls me in for a kiss that resets my brain. “See?”
“No. I didn’t. Show me again.”
She grins before she kisses me this time, then crawls into my lap. Houston, the helpful man he is, peels away her clothes while we make out. It’s all elbows and bad angles until she’s naked, but we don’t stop mauling each other.
“Your mouth was made to tempt me, baby,” I whisper against her lips.
“Tempt you into what?” Her lips curve.
I lift her off my lap and set her on her knees on the couch. It’s the perfect height for what I have in mind. I strip as I circle to the other side of it. She leans on the back, her ass arched in the air and unsuspecting. I cup her throat with my hand. “Now ask permission to suck my cock.”
Those plump lips part in a gasp for me, and I relish the shock on her pretty face. She smirks, willing to play this game. “Give me permission to suck your cock.”
I laugh once, then nod to Houston, who smacks her ass.
She gasps and glances back at him. “Naughty!”
He chuckles. “You’re the one not following orders.”
She looks between us, debating her next move. “And you won’t fuck me if I don’t?”
I shake my head. “I like you on your knees like this. Houston, she’s wet, isn’t she?”
He grabs her ass and spreads her wide in a brute move that makes her squirm. “God, yes.”
“So, lovely girl, if you want us to fuck you good and proper, you’ll ask for permission to suck my cock. I know how much you like it. That’s why you have to ask.”
Her cheeks flush. “Can I please suck your cock, Knox?”
“Yes.”
She leans forward for it.
