When two mammoth buses pulled up in front of Wroth’s house, I was shocked speechless for a few minutes as I took it in. They weren’t what I had been expecting, that was for sure. I’d been expecting some crazy artwork on the buses pronouncing them OtherWorld’s sex caves. There wasn’t.
The buses were black and gray in color with no artwork in sight to scream who was on board. At least forty-five or even fifty feet long, with blacked-out windows, and growling from the power that was behind the engine, they were almost intimidating. When I followed Wroth and Marissa onto the bus that was supposed to be my home for the next three months, I was even more shocked. Maybe I was expecting shag carpets on the walls and cots to sleep on. Who knows, but reality was a far stretch from what had been in my mind.
As soon as I walked onto the bus there was a driver’s seat that was closed off from the rest of the bus with a door. Stepping through that door I came to a living room. An actual living room. Carpets on the floors, lamps on end tables, a recliner, long couch, and even a flat screen in one corner that was already on some news channel and I realized that it must have been connected to a satellite. There was a table with a cup holder on each corner as well as bench seats on each side.
Walking through the living room I came to a narrow hall with closed doors on each side. Curious, I opened the door on the right and found a pantry stocked full of nonperishable foods. Turning, I peeked inside the door behind me and found a toilet and a small sink and even a hand rail. I nearly laughed out loud thinking of traveling down the interstate going seventy miles an hour, holding onto the rail so I wouldn’t fall off the toilet while I did my business.
Past the narrow hall there was a door that I slid open and found what Liam had described to me as the roosts. Three bunks on each side with individual gray curtains covering each bed area. Sliding one of the curtains back on a middle bunk I saw that the bed was brand new and made up with white jersey sheets and a fleece blanket.
Dropping my backpack on the bed, I kept exploring. Another door stood in my way and I opened it to find a small kitchen. Very small. Just a sink, a small stove top and a huge refrigerator that took up most of the space. I shrugged and kept walking.
Another door, which I assumed was the end of the bus, took me into what was the bedroom. There was a shower in the corner with the glass frosted out to allow a little extra privacy. The bed was a twin and already made up for Liam. The rest of the room was set up as if it were a physical therapy room. All the things Linc had said he would need for Liam’s therapy had been provided along with some weights that I knew Linc would appreciate since he wouldn’t be getting his daily workout like he normally would. In the last four weeks he had resorted to running on the farm, and when it came to lifting weights, he’d started lifting random animals over his head. When that hadn’t been enough he would lift me and Natalie over his head. He had wanted to add Marissa to the pile, but Marissa had a thing about heights and was too nervous.
“What do you think?”
I turned around from examining the closet to find Linc helping Liam into the room. I gave Liam a smile that didn’t quiet reach my eyes before turning back to the closet that already had his clothes hung up inside. My smile rarely reached my eyes these days. As much as I had wanted to put Sharon Huntington’s bitchiness behind me and move on, it lingered; replacing some of my memories of my mother with fresh material to run through my head on repeat.
“Not what I was expecting,” I told him as I closed the closet door and turned around to try and get him comfortable. It wasn’t ridiculously early because we didn’t have to be in Florida until nine that night. Panama was the first stop on the tour and OtherWorld wasn’t scheduled to take the stage until nine, so we had plenty of time from what Natalie had told me.
Liam laughed as he sat down on the bed and then pulled his legs onto the mattress. “Yeah, I bet. This is the tame bus, though. Emmie didn’t have time to get it the way our original bus is.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m sure the fridge isn’t stocked with nothing but Monster energy drinks and booze this trip, but there won’t be much more that’s changed. So if you want an energy drink check out the crews’ buses. Still, we have a stack of video games that we do nothing but play in our down time on the other bus. Seriously, there is every console known to man over there with every game made for each. We get them even before they are put on sale, because Zander knows someone who hooks us up.” He laid his head on the pillows and chuckled up at the ceiling. “There are two flat screens in the living room since the living room is so much bigger. Everyone fights over the bedroom so we had it taken out and everyone sleeps in the roosts. Ever tried fucking a girl in one of those?”
“Can’t say that I have,” I assured him dryly.
He snorted. “Yeah, well it’s uncomfortable as hell. But the bathroom is bigger because of the lack of bedroom, and the shower is twice as wide as that one over there.”
“Sounds fun,” Linc said as he checked over his PT inventory. “Dallas, do you need me to bring anything else? I’ve got your luggage stored under the bus and put your pillows on your bed.”
“I’m good. Thanks for helping me.” Thanks for letting me jump on the bus so I didn’t have to see or speak to anyone else, was what I really meant to say. Linc nodded, letting me know that he had heard what I really had meant from my thanks. It was one of the million things I took for granted. Linc was tied for second place as my best friend in the entire freaking world, Lana being my second bestie too despite having only met her when she first moved to New York for college a few years ago. Linc had been around almost as long as Harper, and he knew me better than I knew myself. Sometimes.
I’d been avoiding everyone this past week, even Linc and Natalie. I would have even avoided Liam if I weren’t his nurse. Kind of hard to avoid someone when you were in charge of making sure they got their meds along with a dozen other things that I had to take care of. Thankfully, if Liam saw the change in me, he hadn’t called me on it. I wasn’t ready to talk about what was going on inside my head. Didn’t know if I would ever be. If Harper was here, she would have forced the topic by now, and for once I was glad she was on the West Coast with her ex-slut, rocker husband.
Everyone was piling onto the buses now. I heard Natalie yelling at the guys outside the bus, telling them to hurry their asses up. I had a copy of the schedule for the next week and knew she was going to make sure that it was followed to the letter. Natalie worked her ass off for Emmie and would always endeavor to make Em never regret hiring her even though she’d had no experience.
First stop was at Panama City Beach, before traveling to Orlando to perform at the Hard Rock at Universal Studios. Then it was up to Georgia for a few stops. That was all I knew, but I assumed we would then go to South Carolina followed by North Carolina and so on since it was an East Coast states tour.
From the front of the bus I heard Marissa and Wroth getting settled and once I was sure that Liam was okay I went to join them since I smelled coffee. I was just taking my seat on the long couch when the bus started moving. Natalie shot me a text telling me to rest up now, because it was going to be crazy once we got to the venue. More than likely the guys would want to go to the club afterwards and if Liam was going then I had to go too. Not that I was going to turn down a night at a club. I would kill for a night out just dancing and getting my drink on.
Two hours into the trip Wroth went to take a nap, leaving me along with Marissa since Linc was doing the same. We spent the next few hours painting our nails and I finally got to do what I’d been aching to do from the first time I had seen all of Marissa’s long, gloriously dark hair. There was so much of it and it felt so silky that it took me forever to get it braided, but by the time I was done it was beautiful in a side fish-tail braid.
While I worked on her hair I’d wanted to ask her about what was going on with her and Wroth. Over the last month I had seen things that had left me with nothing but questions w
here Marissa and Wroth were concerned. Like the tortured look in Wroth’s eyes whenever he looked at Marissa when she was unaware. Or the longing in Marissa’s eyes when he had his back turned. The way Wroth was so gentle with Marissa when it was public knowledge that Wroth was a woman-hater and wasn’t exactly gentle when it came to sex. More than a few one night stands had sold their story to whatever tabloid that would pay the big bucks for their sordid tales of the adventure they had had in Wroth Niall’s bed.
I knew that there wasn’t any blood relation between Marissa and Wroth, so I was beyond curious to know what the story was behind their relationship. But I kept my mouth shut on that subject because I didn’t want to embarrass Marissa in case she wasn’t comfortable talking to me about it. She was far too sweet to put her through something that was going to make her uncomfortable around me.
It was barely after lunch when the bus driver surprised me and stopped. A few minutes later the door opened and Natalie stepped into the living room. I looked up from the movie that we had been watching and frowned at her. “What’s going on?”
“Liam and Wroth need to come onto the other bus so that the guys can go over their set for tonight. There won’t be time once we get there.” She dropped down onto the couch next to me. “Remind me to google pranks later. I’ve got to find something kick ass to get back at Zander and Devlin with.”
“What did they do to you?” Marissa asked from her spot on the floor where she was adding some cute artistic designs to her toenails. “Did they Saran wrap the toilet and you ended up peeing on yourself because it ran into your pants instead of the toilet?”
Natalie made a distressed noise and covered her face with both hands. “How did you know?”
“Happened to me when I was seventeen.” She grinned and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’ve learned a few things over the years. I’ll help you get back at them.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.” Marissa stood and hobbled to the recliner so that she didn’t mess up her artwork. A moment later Linc helped Liam down the hall and Wroth followed behind him. I watched them get off the bus, impatiently waiting for us to get on the road again.
Linc finally got back onto the bus. “Liam wants you on the other bus with him, Dallas.”
“He shouldn’t need me over there,” I grumbled. I didn’t want to go on the other bus. I didn’t want to be that close to Axton. I’d worked hard to not have to go near him for almost a full week. Which also meant that our late night private time hadn’t happened. Something I wasn’t disappointed about, nor craving more of. I wasn’t. I. Wasn’t.
“He just said to tell you to get your ass over there. Everyone over there seems to be in a pissy mood anyway.” Linc shot Natalie a questioning frown. “You been pissing on everyone this morning?”
She shot him the finger. “Shut up, muscle head. If anyone should be pissed it’s me. I had to change my clothes and clean up a big puddle of pee.”
There was a honking from the other bus and I muttered a curse as I got to my feet. “Fucking rock stars.” I stomped down the stairs and raced onto the second bus since I hadn’t grabbed my coat. As soon as I was on board, the driver shut the door and I shot him a glare before stepping through to the living room.
Five rockers and one mini rocker were seated on the two long couches and the two recliners. I put my hands on my hips as I eyed the room. There was nowhere for me to sit, since Liam and his casted leg were taking up a majority of one couch. “Why do I have to ride with you? Your meds aren’t due for a few more hours.”
Liam shrugged. “I like having you close.” When I raised a brow at him he turned his gaze toward Axton who was sitting at the end of the couch with him. “We like having you close.”
“Fuck you,” I bit out before pushing Zander out of one of the recliners and dropping down onto it. I pulled the latch and propped my feet up while around me the band started warming up.
Wroth and Liam had their guitars while Zander had a portable keyboard in front of him along with his own guitar close by. Devlin had a few percussion instruments around him, but nothing very bulky and I wondered how he was going to get the effect he needed. I didn’t have to wonder for long because with his drumsticks in hand he proceeded to make me breathless with the way he could make what little he had in front of him come alive in a way that I’d never experienced before in my lifetime.
I’d never been impressed with drummers before. To me they were just there to keep the rhythm of the rest of the band. Nothing all that hard about that. But watching Devlin, with the passion seeming to flow from him as he rocked out, was almost exhilarating for me. Suddenly, I could see exactly what had caught Natalie’s attention, and why she would be so infatuated with this long-haired, beautiful man.
The band worked through three songs, and I tried to keep my eyes from straying toward Axton. Tried to keep my heart from beating my lungs to death as the rich, almost smoky quality of his voice washed over me. Of course it didn’t work, no matter how hard I tried. By the end of the first song my panties were wet. Before the second even started I was one big throb of need for a man who wasn’t good for my sanity.
When song three was over, my mind was foggy with desire and I was squirming in my seat. My cheeks warmed when I felt his gaze on me, knowing that he knew that he was affecting me so completely. I dared to look in his direction to glare at him, but when my eyes locked with his, I saw the same need burning back at me.
Quickly I looked away. Not good. Not good. When he looked at me like that I got weak. My resolve to keep my distance became nonexistent. It put crazy ideas in my head that would leave me full of regret when the desire-filled fog evaporated.
I need to keep my distance. I need to keep my distance. I. Need. To. Keep. My. Distance.
I wasn’t going to be able to keep my distance.
Being backstage at a concert was a first for me. I’d never even been to a real concert before. The madness of backstage gave me a headache and I didn’t know how Natalie could keep up with all the shit she had to do, even with Emmie helping her through the Bluetooth set that seemed permanently attached to her ear from the moment the bus stopped.
OtherWorld had exactly half an hour to get dressed in their dressing room before they took the stage. The road crew had arrived well ahead of us and was already setting up the stage since the two opening acts had already performed. I went with Linc who was helping Liam get ready just to make sure he was comfortable.
The dressing room was set up with a small buffet of sandwiches, fruit and veggies. I grabbed a few carrots and celery sticks while Linc helped Liam get dressed. Behind me four other men were stripping down and changing into fresh jeans, new OtherWorld T-shirts, and shit-kicker boots. They didn’t seem to mind that I was in the room with them, and I had no qualms about seeing their man parts. I was a nurse and nudity was not a big deal for me…
Liar, a voice in the back of my mind whispered sardonically. You would be so fucked if you saw Axton’s man parts right now.
I rolled my eyes at my inner voice and stuffed a strawberry in my mouth, hoping to shut that bitch up before I ended up strangling myself just to keep her quiet.
Natalie entered the room, freezing in place when she realized that the guys were all basically naked, and quickly turned around. Her face was blood red and her eyes were wild. I bit my lip at her reaction. Honestly I hadn’t kept up with whether she was a virgin or not, although I was sure Linc would have known that little detail with as much time as those two spent together. Linc and Nat went clubbing often but I had never heard about her going home with a guy, and there had never been any strange men walking around the apartment—unless you counted Linc’s one-nighters. But that rarely happened anymore.
Clearing her throat, Natalie finally focused on me. Her hands were trembling slightly as she handed me a backstage pass. I attached it to the bottom of my shirt, making sure that it was secure to give her a few extra seconds to compose herself. When I raised my head I pr
etended not to notice the change in her. “Where do I need to go? Should I go back to the bus? Or stay here in case Liam needs something?”
“You’re going to be backstage with Marissa,” Axton called out and I turned to find him doing up his belt. He dropped down onto a chair and started lacing up his boots. “If anyone gives you any shit, let me know. The crew knows that you will be with us. That doesn’t mean that venue security won’t give you some trouble. The passes will let them know you are with the band, but those guys can be real pricks sometimes.”
I shrugged, deciding not to argue because really I didn’t have a valid argument ready. I grabbed a few more carrots. I wasn’t hungry, just needed something to keep me occupied so that my eyes would stay away from things they had no business being on.
“The crew have already done the sound checks. You guys have five more minutes before you have to take the stage,” Natalie informed them as she turned, but kept her eyes on something just below the ceiling. “Emmie said to make sure you all are hydrated. Especially you, Ax.”
“Keep me a few bottles of water on the side of the stage. I’ll be fine.” He moved to the table where a whole case of water bottles were on ice. Picking up three, he handed them to me. “Thanks, babe.”
Of course I still had a mouthful of carrot and couldn’t tell him to hold onto his own freaking water. I gave him a glare, but didn’t put the bottles down, even though I had a sudden daydream of opening the bottles and pouring every cold drop over his head. Seeing my glare, Axton winked, making my panties instantly wet.
Four minutes later I followed the band to the stage, but stayed just past the curtains so that no one could see me but the band if they looked in that direction. Marissa and Harris were already there. Neither of them seemed all that impressed about what was going on around them and I figured it was because this had been part of their lives for so long that it was all second nature to them.