Reckless In Love
Page 22
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She was right to change the subject. To talk about the business she’d come here to learn rather than the fact that they wanted to jump each other. Nonetheless, the thought of moving away from her was physically painful. But he had to do it. And he also had to shift his focus away from kissing her beautiful lips to the intelligent idea he was certain was going to come out of them.
“Of course I want to hear your idea. Tell me what it is.”
“That first night when the woman took off her shirt, even though it was pretty shocking, I just figured that was how things were after your shows. But then, tonight, when that little girl was there with her mom...honestly, it totally freaked me out that she’d see another woman behaving like that.”
“It wasn’t how things used to be after my shows. Lately, things have been getting more and more out of hand.” And he’d been letting them go, because he’d been distracted. As if he were watching everything happen from a distance, even while trying to fight his way back to the front lines. Trying and failing. “We really need to screen people before they get into the VIP room.”
But how were they going to do that? Make his fans all fill out a questionnaire? Are you planning to strip off your clothes so that Drew can sign a naked body part? If so, please step into line B.
As though she could read his mind, she said, “I don’t know how you could do that, exactly. Especially because I’m not even sure most of those women are planning to do anything. They just see you and get excited.” She flushed as though she understood that excitement, and he loved seeing it despite knowing neither of them could do anything about it. “But maybe you could just divide your VIP area so that there’s a special area for kids. Anyone under eighteen can go in one section so you know for sure they won’t see anything they shouldn’t.”
“That’s a really good idea.” Then, only adults would be ambushed by naked breasts they hadn’t asked to see. “I should have been quicker tonight. If it hadn’t been for you saving the day, that girl would have gotten an eyeful.”
“I’m still trying to get over the eyeful I got that first night,” she said with a laugh.
“Me, too,” he agreed, not expecting her to stop laughing after he said it.
“You didn’t like seeing the woman’s boobs either?”
“No.” Again with his word of the night. “I mean, I’m a red-blooded guy and all, but I’m not averse to a little foreplay,” he said teasingly.
Her skin flushed at the word foreplay, and just that quickly, the air in the bus heated up again, sparkles of electricity bouncing back and forth between them.
Talk about foreplay. Ever since she’d joined his tour, the attraction had been building up like crazy. If they were to kiss now, it would be explosive. And he wouldn’t be able to stop with just a kiss. He’d need to have all of her. Again and again and again, until he’d memorized the taste of her soft skin, the swell of each beautiful curve, the sounds of her pleasure as she gasped her bliss into his ear and begged for more.
“I feel like such a sexist jerk for thinking it wouldn’t bother you, too,” she said, breaking him out of his desperate imaginings. “You don’t know those women. I was just making dumb assumptions based on the fact that you’re a guy. No matter what my dad says, clearly all men aren’t pigs.” He could see her brain moving, working, reconfiguring her thoughts into a new pattern. “James, or one of the local security staff he’s brought in for the night, could lay down the rules to the adult VIP room after your show. Clothes on. Hands off. And there could be zero tolerance for people going too far. They can say it’s a security thing, if you’re worried about hurting anyone’s feelings. But the fact is that you’re too popular now not to have those kinds of rules set up.”
He never wanted to upset his fans, but things had been spiraling more and more out of control for a while now. Because he was surrounded by an all-male crew, they’d probably figured he was okay with it, too. It had taken a woman’s touch—a brilliant woman’s touch—to make a change for the better.
Mom would have loved you, he found himself thinking.
“How about we both talk to James about it tomorrow?” he suggested.
She looked surprised that he would ask her to be a part of the meeting with his head of security, even though it was her idea. “Sure, if you think it’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea.”
“Thanks. Any other ideas you have, tell me, okay? Like I said, after doing so many shows, we kind of end up on autopilot here. But it doesn’t mean we can’t do things better.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“And about the rest of our talk tonight...even though I want to kiss you even more now than I did before, I’m going to try really, really hard to keep my promise to your father.”
She swallowed hard, her gaze dropping longingly to his mouth for a split second before she looked back into his eyes. “Me, too. Really, really hard.”
Sweet Lord, if he didn’t get out of there in the next ten seconds, all bets would be off. “Good night, Ash.”
“Good night, Drew.”
He knew just how this would play out tonight, had already lived through the impossibility of trying to sleep in his bedroom while she moved and breathed and just simply existed in the other part of the bus. But tonight, he was surprised to realize things were different.
“Of course I want to hear your idea. Tell me what it is.”
“That first night when the woman took off her shirt, even though it was pretty shocking, I just figured that was how things were after your shows. But then, tonight, when that little girl was there with her mom...honestly, it totally freaked me out that she’d see another woman behaving like that.”
“It wasn’t how things used to be after my shows. Lately, things have been getting more and more out of hand.” And he’d been letting them go, because he’d been distracted. As if he were watching everything happen from a distance, even while trying to fight his way back to the front lines. Trying and failing. “We really need to screen people before they get into the VIP room.”
But how were they going to do that? Make his fans all fill out a questionnaire? Are you planning to strip off your clothes so that Drew can sign a naked body part? If so, please step into line B.
As though she could read his mind, she said, “I don’t know how you could do that, exactly. Especially because I’m not even sure most of those women are planning to do anything. They just see you and get excited.” She flushed as though she understood that excitement, and he loved seeing it despite knowing neither of them could do anything about it. “But maybe you could just divide your VIP area so that there’s a special area for kids. Anyone under eighteen can go in one section so you know for sure they won’t see anything they shouldn’t.”
“That’s a really good idea.” Then, only adults would be ambushed by naked breasts they hadn’t asked to see. “I should have been quicker tonight. If it hadn’t been for you saving the day, that girl would have gotten an eyeful.”
“I’m still trying to get over the eyeful I got that first night,” she said with a laugh.
“Me, too,” he agreed, not expecting her to stop laughing after he said it.
“You didn’t like seeing the woman’s boobs either?”
“No.” Again with his word of the night. “I mean, I’m a red-blooded guy and all, but I’m not averse to a little foreplay,” he said teasingly.
Her skin flushed at the word foreplay, and just that quickly, the air in the bus heated up again, sparkles of electricity bouncing back and forth between them.
Talk about foreplay. Ever since she’d joined his tour, the attraction had been building up like crazy. If they were to kiss now, it would be explosive. And he wouldn’t be able to stop with just a kiss. He’d need to have all of her. Again and again and again, until he’d memorized the taste of her soft skin, the swell of each beautiful curve, the sounds of her pleasure as she gasped her bliss into his ear and begged for more.
“I feel like such a sexist jerk for thinking it wouldn’t bother you, too,” she said, breaking him out of his desperate imaginings. “You don’t know those women. I was just making dumb assumptions based on the fact that you’re a guy. No matter what my dad says, clearly all men aren’t pigs.” He could see her brain moving, working, reconfiguring her thoughts into a new pattern. “James, or one of the local security staff he’s brought in for the night, could lay down the rules to the adult VIP room after your show. Clothes on. Hands off. And there could be zero tolerance for people going too far. They can say it’s a security thing, if you’re worried about hurting anyone’s feelings. But the fact is that you’re too popular now not to have those kinds of rules set up.”
He never wanted to upset his fans, but things had been spiraling more and more out of control for a while now. Because he was surrounded by an all-male crew, they’d probably figured he was okay with it, too. It had taken a woman’s touch—a brilliant woman’s touch—to make a change for the better.
Mom would have loved you, he found himself thinking.
“How about we both talk to James about it tomorrow?” he suggested.
She looked surprised that he would ask her to be a part of the meeting with his head of security, even though it was her idea. “Sure, if you think it’s a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea.”
“Thanks. Any other ideas you have, tell me, okay? Like I said, after doing so many shows, we kind of end up on autopilot here. But it doesn’t mean we can’t do things better.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“And about the rest of our talk tonight...even though I want to kiss you even more now than I did before, I’m going to try really, really hard to keep my promise to your father.”
She swallowed hard, her gaze dropping longingly to his mouth for a split second before she looked back into his eyes. “Me, too. Really, really hard.”
Sweet Lord, if he didn’t get out of there in the next ten seconds, all bets would be off. “Good night, Ash.”
“Good night, Drew.”
He knew just how this would play out tonight, had already lived through the impossibility of trying to sleep in his bedroom while she moved and breathed and just simply existed in the other part of the bus. But tonight, he was surprised to realize things were different.
