No way did I want to work with Layla’s father. I’d written him off the same night the fucker had had four of his personal bodyguards jump Jesse. I’d been drunk as hell that night, and gotten my own ass handed to me when I’d jumped in to help Shane help Jesse.
It took more than an hour to deal with my emails, and by the time I put my phone away Dallas was walking through the back doors. She had a smile on her face, so I was sure she hadn’t yet heard about the cluster fuck that had happened the night before or that her friend was basically a shattered shell of herself today. I didn’t want to be the one to wipe that smile off her beautiful face, but I didn’t want her to be blindsided by the news coming from someone else.
Before I could open my mouth, she threw herself into my arms and kissed all rational thoughts from my head. I wrapped my arms around her as she climbed my body, wrapping those long, silky legs around my waist. Her hands thrust into my hair, deepening the kiss and forcing me to back her against the closest wall. Her kiss was full of a wildness that stole my sanity in the blink of an eye.
Breathing hard, she pulled back a long time later. “I missed you,” she whispered before brushing another kiss over my lips.
“Ah, baby, I missed you too.” I skimmed my nose down her neck, inhaling the subtle yet intoxicating scent of her body wash. “Did you enjoy your breakfast in bed?”
“It was perfect. Thanks for that, babe.”
Reluctantly I stepped back and she unwrapped her legs from around my waist. I was rock hard, but would have to suffer for the moment. “I need to tell you something.”
Her eyes lost some of their brightness. “What’s wrong?”
“Last night Dev and Z got into a fight. Em is going to be here just before the show starts tonight.”
Dallas rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“The fight was over Nat…”
“Again. Not surprised.”
“…because they had a bet who could nail her first,” I finished, then stepped back when I saw her face cloud over.
“Excuse me?”
“I just found out about it myself, baby. They apparently made the bet before the tour started. I don’t know if Dev and Nat actually hooked up, but they obviously have gotten closer over the last two months. Or they had.” I grimaced for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few hours at the rage in Dallas’s eyes. “You should go find her, baby. See if she needs to talk.”
“I’ll find her as soon as I take care of Summer and Eve.” My face obviously showed my confusion because she rolled her eyes. “The douche twins. Devlin and Zander.”
“No,” I said, stepping between her and the path she had been about to take in search of both my bandmates. “Don’t do that, baby. Look, they beat the fuck out of each other last night. Z can barely stand and Dev looks like he might even have a concussion the way he was playing so shitty earlier.”
“Are you seriously protecting those two dickheads right now?” she snarled.
“Of course not. I’m trying to protect you. Neither one of them is in a good place right now, and I don’t want them to do or say something to you if you confront them. If they did something that hurt you in any way I’d have to kill them, and honestly I’m too pretty to survive prison.” That last part produced the smile I was hoping it would, even if it was smaller than I wanted. Leaning forward I kissed her, long and hard.
“Fine,” she conceded, pushing me away after only a few seconds of enjoying my kiss. “I’ll go check on Natalie. But if they cross my path I’m not going to hold back on telling them what I think of their sorry asses.”
“Fair enough.” I kissed her again before letting her go. “I’m going to go relax a little before the show. If you need me I’ll be in my dressing room… that has its own bathroom.” I wiggled my brow at her and she snorted but couldn’t hide the obvious need the thought of us putting my private bathroom to use caused in her. With a wink and a slap on her perfect ass, I left her to find her friend.
“Uncle Ax. Uncle Ax. Uncle Ax!”
My head snapped around at the sound of Mia’s voice. I didn’t say a word to the roadie I’d just been talking to as I broke into a run toward the running three-year-old who was hell bent on reaching me as fast as her little legs could get her to me. As I scooped her into my arms and twirled her around, I couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread over my face.
After only a few twirls I stopped and kissed her cheek. “Wow, look at my pretty girl. You’ve grown since I last saw you, beautiful.”
“Guess what?” she demanded with an excited expression on her face that made her big green eyes shine up at me.
“Umm… You are running away to become a trapeze star in the circus?”
“No, silly.” She rolled her eyes at me like I was the incorrigible toddler while she was the adult. “I’m going to have a brother!”
“Really? Does Daddy know?” I pressed another kiss to her cheek before turning to a very pregnant Emmie waddling instead of walking toward us.
“Pretty sure Daddy had a good idea before we left this morning.” Emmie sighed as she paused long enough to let me drop a kiss on her cheek. “Hey, stranger.”
“Em, we talk every day,” I reminded her.
She shrugged. “I haven’t seen you since January. That seems too long for me.”
“You’re right. It is.” I put Mia on her feet and wrapped an arm around Emmie’s shoulders. “How was your flight?”
Her eyes narrowed. Apparently I’d asked the wrong question. “Oh, it was wonderful. Considering that I had to listen to the cow behind us criticize the fact that I had my three-year-old in first class while her son had to sit in coach with his sister. The best part of the damn thing was when Mia finally turned around in her seat and asked the woman why she was so bitchy.” That produced a laugh from us both. Mia might only be three years old, but she took after her mother in more than just looks. “I kid you not, Ax. Mia used the word bitchy. And she was asking the same question I wanted to ask, but hadn’t because I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of my child, so I couldn’t exactly scold her for it.”
“Sounds like you had an eventful day.”
“It’s only getting started. I’m going to seriously bust some balls tonight.”
“You said balls, Momma,” Mia called from where she was jumping over a thick cord. “Daddy said that balls is a bad word.”
I coughed to hide my laugh and went over to pick Mia up. “Let’s find somewhere for you to play, Mia, before Momma’s head explodes.”
Mia glanced at her mother over my shoulder. “Oh. Okay. She does that a lot lately. Daddy said it was the baby doing it to her and that I shouldn’t take her too seriously. You shouldn’t either, Uncle Ax. She loves you too, ya know. But like she loves Uncle Jesse and Uncle Drake and Uncle Shane. Not like she loves Daddy. Daddy said that he would cut your balls off if she loved you like she loves him.”
I had to bite my cheek to keep from grinning. I couldn’t believe the words that came out of this kid’s mouth. She missed nothing and spoke her mind. She owned just as big a part of my heart as her mother did. “Sometimes you shouldn’t repeat what Daddy says, Mia. Sometimes it can make Momma’s head explode for real.” Chancing a glance at Emmie I saw that her face was blood red and she was muttering something under her breath. I tried hard to keep my grin at bay, but it broke free. “I’m gonna take her to Marissa. She will be in Wroth’s dressing room if you get worried.”
“I’m sure she will be fine,” Emmie said. “She likes Marissa. It’s me I’m worried about. I’m wondering what else Daddy has been saying lately.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over the top of her very large stomach. “If I didn’t love that man so much I would cut off his…” She broke off, but it was obvious that she had been about to say ‘balls’. “Be a good girl, Mia.”
“Okay, Momma. Love you big.”
Emmie’s face softened. “Love you bigger.”
Dallas
I doubt there was a more beautiful woman when she was pissed.
Emmie Armstrong was magnificent when she was raging. Long, auburn hair flying. Cute little nose flaring. Breasts heaving. Very pregnant stomach trembling under the force of her son’s kicking feet as she paced back and forth in front of the five rockers standing lined up as if she were a drill sergeant and they were her troops.
Her voice shook as she spoke. “I’m seriously not in the mood to deal with children, but that’s exactly what some of you have been acting like.” Her blazing green gaze went to Zander who was at one end of the line, then to Devlin who was at the other end. “Do you know how pissed off I am right now? Do you honestly think I signed up for this shit? I’ll gladly drop OtherWorld’s contract right now and you can go back to Rich Fucking Branson since he apparently put up with your childishness.”
My gaze went to Axton who was lined up with his bandmates. When Emmie mentioned Branson’s name I saw his face grow stormy. I’d heard through Harper that when Demon’s Wings had refused to resign Rich Branson as their manager, the creep had gone after Emmie. If Nik hadn’t stepped in between them and punched the douchebag, the man might have actually hit Emmie. After hearing that, Axton had convinced the band to drop Branson as soon as their own contract was up. From what Harper had said, it hadn’t taken much to get the rest of OtherWorld to agree.
“That’s bullshit,” Devlin grumbled. “You wouldn’t send a dead dog back to Branson.”
Devlin Cutter was well over six feet tall, maybe six three if not taller. Emmie, however was considerably smaller. Even with her belly sticking out like it was, Devlin probably outweighed her by over a hundred and twenty pounds. That didn’t seem to deter Emmie as she stepped closer to the drummer and poked him in the chest with her finger. “Try me. I don’t work with immature dickheads. And you and your buddy? Biggest dickheads I’ve ever met. You know what, Dev? I thought for sure it was going to be Liam who would make this tour so difficult…”
“Hey!” Liam pouted.
“…but he’s been a fucking saint.” Emmie went on as if Liam hadn’t said a word, and honestly I doubted she had heard him she was so focused on Devlin. “I expected better out of you, Devlin. You have your son with you this time, so I figured out of everyone you would be the responsible one. The one setting an example. Instead you…” She broke off and turned away from him. After a moment of deep breathing to calm herself she finally turned back and faced the five huge men. “Play time is officially over. The buses will be rearranged, the schedule will be adjusted, and things will be run my way or I will crack some skulls together.”
Zander opened his mouth, but as if she had expected him to run his mouth, Emmie shot him a chilling glare that had him quickly snapping his mouth shut. “Axton and Devlin, grab your shit. Wroth and Liam, you too.”
“Me?” Liam frowned. “But-”
“But nothing. You have a fucking boot over your cast. I’m seven months pregnant with a toddler along for the ride. We get the bedroom.” She softened her tone as she stepped closer to him. “And I just wanted to say… I’m proud of you, Liam. You’ve been doing so great.”
Liam swallowed hard, nodded his head sharply once, but otherwise didn’t say a word. Emmie’s praise had affected him enormously because it happened so rarely. Liam really had been doing a great job. Sure, he had his moments when he wanted to give up, but Linc had been helping him with that with more physical therapy exercises. According to Linc, exercise increased endorphins that helped with addiction cravings. Liam wasn’t even taking his pain meds any more. Just a few Tylenol when his pain level got intense.
“I want Marissa on my bus if I’m switching,” Wroth told Emmie.
“Sure. I don’t care. I assume Harris will move onto the other bus as well, so there will be plenty of room for her.” She sighed and stepped back. “Okay, fuckers. Let’s get going. We have to be in New Jersey tomorrow for the next show. Oh, and Zander? You have merchandise duty. You’ll be signing from five to seven thirty at our booth.” A groan came from Zander that sounded like it had been forced from him through torture. “Devlin, you take over after the show until two. I will be checking to make sure that you both show up and are there the entire time. Don’t make me hunt your asses down. I will make you sorry.”
I pushed away from the wall where I had been standing shamelessly watching the ball busting show Emmie had just put on for my enjoyment. Everyone but Axton left to do as Emmie had instructed. Axton wrapped his arm around Emmie’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “You look exhausted. Go lie down.”
Seeing how gentle Axton was with Emmie made my already soft heart start to melt all over again. Sure, I’d heard the gossip and the rumors about Axton and Emmie. How Axton was in love with her and how Emmie would probably be with Ax if it weren’t for her getting pregnant with Mia out of the blue. The former one I could see why people would think that and speculate. It was obvious that he cared about her, but I saw nothing more than affection and adoration that was more for a family member than a lover. As for the latter? I didn’t believe that one. At all. Emmie and Nik had something that I would admit only to myself that I wanted from my own relationship with Axton. Mia or no Mia, I was sure that Nik and Emmie would have always been together. They had the kind of love that would stand the test of time.
Besides, it wasn’t like Axton had inked Emmie’s name on his skin. I gritted my teeth, trying to fight back the wave of jealously the thought of Gabriella’s name on my man’s wrist caused. It ate at my soul like a cancer. I tried to fight it, but that evil bitch jealousy kept hitting back. Right where it hurt the most. My heart.
As I reached the two I saw Emmie’s shoulders droop, and with a small smile in my direction she nodded her head. “Okay. I wanted to call Nik too. Mia’s probably asleep so I can talk to him without her throwing a tantrum.”
“It’s only for a few weeks, Em. Nik will be back from the UK and able to join us before we get to Ohio.”
Her chin trembled for a moment before she clenched her jaw and nodded again. “Yeah. I’ll see you two later.” She hugged him tightly for a moment then headed toward the buses.
Axton watched her walk away until she was out of sight before turning to me with a grin on his face. “Well, looks like you won’t be able to hide from me now.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. “I know. Damn. Guess I’ll just have to lock my door at night.” Sharing a bus didn’t bother me anymore. Not after the last few days. When I’d stopped trying to hide the truth from myself about how much I loved him, I’d realized that attempting to set boundaries was useless. Why keep so much distance between us when it obviously made both of us miserable?
He wrapped his arms around my waist and lowered his head until our lips were nearly touching. “Wanna share a roost? I promise not to take advantage of you in your sleep.”
I tilted my head back just enough to meet his eyes. “But what if I want you to take advantage?”
Hazel eyes lightened to green and I was rewarded with the sight of those freaking sexy-as-hell gold flecks. “Then I am screwed. I would love to take advantage of you, baby. But we will both have to be good. Mia and Harris will be on the bus with us.”
I pouted up at him. “But, babe!”
Axton grinned and finally brushed his lips across mine. “Minx. You’re so freaking adorable when you pout like that.” Another kiss, which I took advantage of by sucking on his pierced bottom lip for a moment, and then he was pushing me in the direction Emmie had just gone. “Go. I’ll be there after I get my stuff. But I was serious about wanting to share a roost. I haven’t been sleeping that great on the other bus. I need you wrapped around me, hogging the covers, to get comfortable.”
“I might hog the covers, but you hog the bed. That’s why I have to wrap myself around you, otherwise I would fall out of bed.” Of course that wasn’t true. Axton kept to the middle of the bed and I could only get comfortable when I was pushed up against him with my head using his chest as a pi
llow and one arm over his waist. His confession that he couldn’t sleep without me was doing crazy things to my heart, but the same was true about my own sleeping habits lately. The only time I got a good night’s sleep was when I slept in the same bed with him. Whether we made love that night or not.
On my way to the bus, I passed a grumbling Wroth, without Marissa. Frowning I kept walking, knowing that if I tried to talk to the ex-marine now it would not be pretty. Wroth in a temper was not something I liked to experience first-hand. When I stepped onto the bus it was to find Harris sitting on the couch watching a movie, but no sign of his father or Marissa. I wished him a good night and kept going.
I stopped long enough to use the bathroom then brushed my teeth at the small sink outside the bathroom. When I was done I went straight to my roost and climbed in. I had the middle roost on the left side while Linc had the one directly above mine. I wasn’t sure who was going to take the one below mine, but if Marissa was still going to be on this bus then I knew that someone most likely would.
As I scooted until I was against the wall of the roost, I thought I heard a small hiccup and paused to listen closer. It didn’t come again, but I was sure that I had heard it—the kind of hiccup that accompanied crying. Shaking my head, I pulled my cell from my jeans before kicking them off and pushing them with my foot to the end of the bed.
Checking my phone, I saw that I had a few missed calls and texts. Two from my dad and one text from Harper. Opening it I snorted as soon as I saw the picture of her on the beach in front of her house in Santa Monica. She was in her bikini with Shane wrapped around her. Of course his lips were touching her neck, because Shane Stevenson’s lips were always finding their way to some part of Harper’s gorgeous body.