Spike intrigued her. Out of them all, he looked the scariest with his multiple piercings. The rings in his lips and the two in his nose made her wonder how some things might work, but it was the ferocity in his eyes that had her counting him out. It wasn’t something she could pin down, and it wasn’t like she was some magical sage when it came to determining what was going on in other people’s heads, but a great anger simmered in his eyes—or maybe it was an emptiness of the soul. Something felt off with him, like she didn’t need to get embroiled in anything with him.
Noodles made her smile. The harshness of his tribal tattoos might make him seem fierce, but he played the keyboard with youthful exuberance, and he was always cutting it up with the other guys. There was a sense of freedom in his spirit. Again, she could be reading into things. His long, surfer-style hair gave him a free-spirit vibe, but he could be mean as fuck or a total ass. There was no way to tell. She, however, was looking for a hard, rough fuck, something to erase memories and drive her out of her mind for a sliver of a moment. A free-loving experience wouldn’t meet the bill.
Her roommate had shipped out that afternoon and hadn’t been replaced, which left her with that entire cargo container to herself all night long.
Bent was out of the picture. With Ryker playing with the band, the two of them spent far too much time together. Even now, they sat beside one another, rehashing the set. Ryker’s eyes were on fire, a green blaze of adrenaline sparking with untapped energy.
Ash made a beeline for Skye, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss of molten proportions. The passion simmering between those two stirred up a burst of envy Tia was none too proud to admit.
She’d never had that with Scott. Their sex life had been satisfying, but it had never been heart-stopping. Without a word, she stepped away and made a beeline for the couch. Bash it was.
She made it halfway across the room when a rough hand pulled at her sleeve.
“Where are you going, T?” Lyons asked.
The hardness of his gaze cut to the couch and the man sitting in it. Bash wasn’t paying attention to anyone and had his phone in hand, swiping the screen.
“What do you care?”
The metal legs of the chair he’d been sitting in scraped against the hard flooring. His grip on her arm tightened as he straightened to his full height. Standing so close forced her to tip her head back to glare at him.
“Don’t,” he said with a scowl.
“Don’t what?”
But they both knew exactly what was on her mind. She’d been very clear about her plans to forget Scott. The ache in her chest pulsed with a fiery intensity, shredding her heart.
“Can I have a word with you outside?” Lyons said with a growl.
She jerked her arm out of his grip. If they’d been alone, he wouldn’t have released her, but they were drawing attention from Bent, who eyed their interaction with a lifting of his eyebrow.
Her,Oh, hell no, was cut short with Forest’s entrance into the small room. Colonel Vane was in tow.
“Awesome show, guys,” Forest said in his deep bass. “Now, I have a surprise.”
Vane puffed his chest out, trying to look bigger while standing beside Forest.
Forest leaned against the doorframe, a cheeky grin on his face. “We have a change of plans.”
Vane approached Lyons. He stuck out his hand. “Amazing playing you did out there. No one wants to leave. They’re all still out there, talking about how cool it was to see you onstage.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m happy to hear that, but to be honest, it’s hard not to look good when surrounded by these guys.” He gave a general wave to the room. “What’s the surprise?”
“I think you’re going to like this,” Colonel Vane said.
FIFTEEN
Surprise
RYKER
Ryker didn’t minda change of plans. Whatever Vane had planned had to be better than T’s crackpot idea. All he had to do was keep her away from Bash. There’d been no mistaking the look in her eyes as she surveyed the room. He could see the gears churning as she weighed and measured her options. He hated every bit of it.
“What news?” Ash asked.
He peeled himself off his wife and gave the colonel his full attention. The other members of the band did the same.
“We’ve changed the tour line up,” Vane explained. He pointed at Ash. “It’s really your idea.”
