From out in front of the stage the noise level was moderate. People were just now coming back to their seat after going to the bathroom or getting fresh drinks. The curtain was still up so they didn’t know that the band had taken the stage yet. The emcee, some local radio big-wig suddenly took the stage in front of the curtain, getting the fans screaming.
I put my fingers in my ears as the noise level became uncomfortable and Harris offered me some ear plugs. With a smile in thanks I put them in just as the drums and Wroth’s guitar became almost uncomfortable even with the plugs in. If the fans had been screaming for the emcee, they were roaring now as the curtains were drawn back and Axton greeted everyone.
“Panama City Beach!” he yelled and everyone in the convention center screamed as loudly as they possibly could.
That was all he had to do to get their attention. Three little words. I wondered if the words mattered or if it was just the sound of his voice. For me he could have just been saying random shit: sand monkey cloud. The words weren’t important. It was the man behind the words that caught your attention and trapped you until he decided to let you go. The ear plugs I wore didn’t lessen his magnetic pull. I doubted that if I were deaf it would lessen the pull.
For the next thirty minutes my eyes were glued to the stage as I watched him perform. He was magnificent, with sweat running down his face and his chest heaving as he enchanted everyone. When the next song was over he left the stage and walked toward me. Dumbly I offered him a bottle of water.
With a wicked grin he took it and swallowed the contents in two thirsty gulps. When I offered him a second bottle he shook his head, but didn’t turn back to the stage. “Ax..?”
His name was still hanging on my lips when he grabbed my hips and jerked me against him. My breath escaped me in a rush because I knew what was coming before his lips touched mine and a moan bubbled up at the anticipation of having his hot mouth devouring mine.
The kiss barely lasted a few seconds, but my entire body went up in flames so hot that it was a wonder my shoes didn’t melt. I clung to him, suddenly not caring that he made me stupidly weak or that I wasn’t the one he was in love with. Fuck love. Lust was just as good. Right?
“I’ll be back. Wait for me,” he commanded before running back onto the stage.
I just stood there, trying to draw in the lungful of air that he had stolen from me. Along with all my common sense.
Axton
I had never been into the whole drug scene. Sure I might have tried a few things back when the band first got started. I had been a curious idiot. But once had been all I’d wanted. Alcohol wasn’t something I favored all that much either. A few beers were all I really wanted, with something harder if the mood struck.
Getting on stage, performing for thousands of fans, hearing them chanting OtherWorld over and over again… That was what got me high. That was my addiction. By the end of the show my blood was rushing and my dick was hard as stone. Okay, so maybe my dick was so hard because of the kiss I’d stolen from Dallas halfway through our set.
When I walked off stage, to the sound of the crowd screaming for one more song even though we had given them three extras already, I felt like a live wire about ready to ignite at any moment. All I wanted was five minutes alone with Dallas. Five minutes was all I needed to get us both off. The first time. Tonight I planned on making her beg for more than one orgasm.
Someone tossed me a towel as we headed toward the dressing room. I wiped the sweat off my face and slung the towel around my neck before accepting a bottle of juice from Natalie. My throat was raw from singing and screaming along with the fans and, like usual, I didn’t want to talk too much right away. I needed a cup of hot coffee to soothe my throat and vocal cords before I spoke again.
When we got back to the dressing room, there was a whole pot of coffee waiting on me. Instead of heading for the shower I went straight for the table to pour a mug. After adding four teaspoons of sugar I swallowed half the mug in one gulp. It felt like it scalded the inside of my chest but my throat didn’t feel like it was bleeding anymore. A drink of cold water helped soothe any lasting burning.
“Emmie said to have you text her when you get a free minute,” Natalie told me as I pulled my sweat-soaked shirt over my head.
I glanced down at the watch attached to the leather bracelet I’d started wearing back in December. It had been a gift for Christmas from Emmie and I rarely took it off these days. Seeing that it wasn’t as late as I had assumed, I sighed. “I’ll take care of it as soon as I get out of the shower.”
“No rush,” Natalie assured me. “I don’t think it was work related. She would have said something if it was.”
Devlin came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, his long, dark hair dripping everywhere. “Marissa and Harris back at the bus?”
“Along with Wroth and Dallas,” Natalie assured him with a new hardness to her tone that had my head snapping around to frown at her. The way she was glowering at Devlin made me grin as I headed into the shower.
“Good. I’ll get dressed and head back to the bus so that Rissa can go clubbing with everyone else. I don’t feel like it tonight.”
“Are you sick?”
“Just tired, Nat.”
“If you say so.” She headed for the door. “I’ll see if she wants to go. The limo is waiting out front whenever the rest of you are ready.”
Before I stepped into the shower stall I stuck my head back into the dressing room. “Make sure Dallas is coming.”
“She’s coming. Trust me. Dallas is looking forward to a few drinks and some dancing.” Natalie narrowed her eyes on me. “Don’t fuck with her tonight, Axton. I have no problem kicking your ass if you mess with her.”
“Maybe she wants him to fuck with her,” Liam spoke up as he hobbled from the showers with Zander’s help. “Leave it up to Dallas to decide. It’s no one’s business but hers.”
With a killer glare at Liam, Natalie opened the door and slammed it behind her. I grimaced before shooting Liam a nod in thanks. Since the accident Liam and I had become closer. It was the nights I’d spent just talking to him until he fell asleep in the hospital, then sticking around until morning just so I could see Dallas. We had bonded more in those few weeks than we had in the fifteen years we had been bandmates.
During those nights we had found ourselves confessing things that neither one of us would have done under ordinary circumstances. We’d talked about both our relationships with Gabriella and I’d assured him that I’d never been in love with her. When we had run out of things to say about the feisty Italian rocker, things had gotten more serious and headed toward Dallas. Liam was loyal to her, because she had been the only one to help him through a time when he had desperately needed a friend. I’d felt so ashamed that I hadn’t been there for him, but Liam had told me he understood and there were no hard feelings.