Flesh & Bone - a contemporary romance: The Minstrel Series #2 (23 page)

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Have fun.”

Sebastian climbed onto the stage and the crowd started yelling. He breathed in deeply, loving the moment. Nothing like a full house of half-crazed fans calling your name. The house lights were blinding, so it was tough seeing anything past the first couple rows. He searched for Eva and felt relief when he spotted her claiming her chair, hanging her cane on the back before sitting down. She flashed him a thumbs up, and he laughed.

He screamed out, “Hello, Salzburg!” and the cheers grew deafening.

“You may have heard this one before, but I promise you, our version is different!” Sebastian strummed the first chord of their rock remake of Katja’s folksong, “Sun & Moon.”

God, won’t you calm my mind

I feel like it will implode

The difference between them and I

Is like the sun and the moon

Sebastian’s voice blasted the room, full and growly, increasing in intensity as he neared the bridge.

I'll take the long way around

sling shot around what I thought was the darkest side of the moon

Coming round took so long

Sun light nearly stole my eyes

Sebastian screamed out the high note on “stole my eyes,” and the fans went wild. Sweat broke his brow, and he jumped energetically across the stage, making love to his guitar. He never felt more alive than he did on stage playing before a full house of enthusiastic fans.

They played all their hits and some of their new ones, too. As usual, the crowd demanded an encore, and Hollow Fellows were prepared to give it to them.

When the show ended, the fans stormed the stage, pushing empty chairs out of the way, calling their names.

“Sebastian! Sebastian!”

The smile fell off his face when he saw them push around Eva. She was walking toward the stage and was overcome by bodies. She lost her balance and fell to the floor.

“Eva!” Sebastian jumped off the stage, pushing back at his fans. “Back off, everyone!” He heard the girls gasp, but he didn’t care. “Eva!”

He reached her and helped her back to her feet. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just couldn’t move fast enough to get out of their way.”

“Sebastian, Sebastian! Can I get your autograph?”

Sebastian helped Eva to the front of the stage. “I can make it from here,” she said, looking sheepish.

“Are you sure?” He felt terrible that she’d fell. She could’ve been trampled.

She smiled at him, and his heart melted. “I’m sure. Go make your fans happy.”

The hotel wasn’t fancy, just a boxy, four-story building off the autobahn on the Austrian/German border. Eva shivered in the cool early morning darkness and stifled a yawn. A meal had been set up in the greenroom for the band where polite conversation was made with the concert promoters. The act Sebastian and Karl had performed on stage—best friends rocking together—ended when the fans disappeared. Fatigue wrestled with the clamoring voice in Eva’s head that recited she was dead weight, a waste of space, and deserving of Yvonne’s constant sneering. Eva had offered to help with the CD table, a position Yvonne had claimed and ran with obvious experience and expertise. Yvonne had waved her away with a demeaning flip of the hand.

Eva stifled another yawn. Not only was she physically spent, but her ego still stung from her embarrassing fall. She wasn’t glamorous or Goth. She wasn’t graceful or hip. She was plain and backward, completely out of her element.

Eva felt small and invisible and when Sebastian asked her if she was ready to go, she nodded sharply.

The hotel lobby was empty at that time of night, and Sebastian walked directly to the night clerk at the counter. His arm rested on her shoulders and he drew her close.

“I have a room booked for me,” he said softly in her ear. “You are
more
than welcome to stay with me, but I can book you your own room if you prefer.”

Eva’s stomach flipped and flipped again. She had considered that leaving on tour with Sebastian would mean sharing a hotel room. Could she really expect him to pay for an extra room for her every night? Besides, she wanted this, right? She wanted to be with Sebastian. She whispered back, “I’ll stay with you.”

The corner of Sebastian’s lips pulled up in a way that made Eva’s knees liquefy. Sebastian accepted the keycard from the clerk and pulled both of their suitcases to the elevator. The bell rang as the doors opened to an empty space, and Sebastian waited for Eva as she entered first. They stood side by side facing the door, arms brushing. Eva could smell his heat and concert sweat. She swallowed hard as she watched the numbers climb to the fourth floor. She was really doing this.

Sebastian unlocked the door and held it open for her. She limped inside and exhaled. The room was nice. Burgundy carpets, dark wood furniture including a desk, a table with two chairs, a flat screen TV on the wall… and a lone, king-size bed. Her legs trembled as she sat in one of the chairs.

Sebastian dragged in the two suitcases. He put hers on the suitcase bench and opened his on the floor. He glanced at Eva as he plucked out clean clothes. “I’m going to have a shower.” His eyebrows jumped as he waved to the room and he grinned crookedly as he teased, “Make yourself at home.”

Eva smiled back, feeling her lips stretch unnaturally as she fought her nerves. She caught a glimpse of herself in the floor-length wall mirror. She was sitting straight-backed and stiff with her hands clasped on her lap like she was an old nanny applying for a job. No wonder Sebastian disappeared into the bathroom as fast as he could. She wasn’t exactly emitting the message,
come get me.

Eva checked her phone and found the expected message from her sister. She’d changed her name and it took a moment for Eva to make the connection.

Gabriele Smith

Can you at least let me know that you’re okay
?

Eva Baumann

I’m okay. Safe and sound in Salzburg
.

Gabriele Smith

Are you sleeping with Sebastian?

She ignored that last text. It wasn’t any of her business. Eva never asked Gabriele personal questions like that about Lennon, though she was pretty sure her sister was a virgin on her wedding night. They were both raised to believe that sex was a sacred act reserved for the marriage bed. It was a value Eva had always espoused. It just made sense to her. If you love someone, make it official and plan to be together for a lifetime. Her parents were a good example of that. They were sure to let their daughters know that they had waited (the memory of “the talk” still made her squirm) and were glad that neither had a history with anyone else but each other. And they’ve been happily married for twenty-four years.

But wasn’t that an old fashioned belief? People just didn’t wait anymore and… it was already too late for Sebastian. Yvonne would always be a part of Sebastian’s memories. A shadow. There were two women on their bus and Sebastian had seen one of them naked many times. The wrong one.

Eva sighed. The past couldn’t be changed. She could only make her own memories with Sebastian now. The question was what would that look like? Eva decided it was time to throw caution to the wind. She needed to live her own life. She respected her parents’ values, but that didn’t mean she had to share them. She’d spent too many years being afraid. Tonight she needed to be strong. Fight back at fear.

The bathroom door opened and Eva’s breath hitched. Sebastian stood there in his pajama pants, no shirt, just his beautiful bare chest slightly damp. His hair was darker and shiny, clean but still messy. Eva didn’t think he owned a brush, and she was glad. She loved his unkempt look.

Sebastian tilted his head and smiled slyly. “I take it by the way you’re staring that you like what you see?”

Eva snapped her slack jaw closed. “I need to brush my teeth.”

Sebastian laughed and claimed the side of the bed opposite the window. He reached for the remote and turned on the TV. Eva collected her toothbrush and paste from her suitcase and made use of them in the bathroom. She wasn’t ready to change into her pajamas yet. Her nerves were jumping, and she didn’t want to look pretentious or overly eager. Another deep breath before exiting the bathroom.

Sebastian eyed her blouse and skirt. “Are you going to sleep in your clothes?”

“No, I’ll change. I’m just… not tired yet.” She climbed onto the bed beside Sebastian and let her cane fall to the floor.

Sebastian lowered the volume on the TV then flipped onto his side. He propped his head onto his hands and grinned at Eva. “You’re really cute when you’re nervous.”

Eva wiped her hands on her skirt. “I’m not nervous.”

Sebastian snorted. “Yes, you are. I’ve never seen you more nervous.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed and poked her in the ribs. “It’s true.”

“Well, maybe it is. We both know I’m venturing into new territory.”

Sebastian ran a finger along her arm sending shivers up her spine. “And I’m impressed, Eva. You have a way of surprising me anew every day. I admire your bravery.”

He admired her
bravery
? Eva almost laughed out loud.

She turned on her side to face him. The room was dark except for the bluish light flashing from the TV and a faint glow of white from the outside street lamp that lit up Sebastian’s face. She drew a finger over his brow and along his cheekbone. “You were fantastic tonight.”

“We haven’t done anything yet,” he joked.

She smacked him playfully.

“Oh, you meant the concert,” he said. “Thanks.”

Eva’s skirt had inched up when she’d twisted over to her side, and the tip of her scar peeked out. Sebastian touched it with his finger, and she froze.

He held onto her gaze. “Can I see it?”

She winced. “It’s ugly.”

“There’s nothing ugly about you, Eva. Not even this.” He slowly traced the line of her scar, and she stopped breathing. The tip of Sebastian’s finger was like a hot iron, scorching her skin, burning her, but in the best kind of way. He gently pushed up her skirt, higher and higher, and internal fireworks exploded in her body. Her heart thudded in her chest as she watched his hand.
Stop, go, stop.

Go.

Sebastian paused for a moment and smiled at her, his eyes locking on to hers with intensity and desire. Eva’s heart was about to burst. Heat birthed in her belly and flared up her neck. She felt the burn of flush on her face.

Was she really going to do this?

Sebastian’s finger continued to climb, tracing the thick white line slowly, until he reached her panty-line. She pinched her eyes closed,
wanting
this, but knowing she was in way over her head.

Sebastian leaned in, his breath hot on her cheek. “You’re so beautiful. Every part of you.” His lips traced a moist course down the curve of her neck. His hand remained on the bare skin of her hip and she shuddered. His lips found hers and she responded eagerly, taking him in, loving his scent and the taste of his mouth.

He flipped himself on top of her, his body tense and hard along the length of hers, bracing his weight on his forearms to keep from squishing her. Eva’s breaths came in short bursts. Her fingers knotted in Sebastian’s hair, and she pulled him closer. She could feel his pulse rapidly beating against her skin, his breath, hot and fast under his kisses. His fingers crawled underneath her blouse and drew small, hot circles on her stomach reaching higher until they traced a line under her bra-strap.

And then it happened. His hand cupped her breast, and she stiffened. Her heart beat so fast she felt dizzy, and sweat broke out on her forehead. The frightened little bird that lived inside her screamed, flapped its wings and pecked away at her ribcage.

“I’m not ready,” she whispered.

Sebastian stilled, and his kisses stopped. He eased off her and flipped onto his back. Eva heard him struggle for composure.

“I’m sorry, Sebastian.” Tears of frustration and humiliation burned her eyes. “It’s like I’m delayed,” she explained. “The accident put everything on hold and even my own ability to function normally in a relationship is handicapped.”

“
Shh
.” Sebastian turned onto his side and stroked her face. “It’s okay. You got me a little excited, I admit, but I’ve always said that you control the pace. We can go as slow or as fast as you want.”

“I love you,” Eva said. “I’ll catch up. I promise.”

“I love you, too. And it’s not a competition. We have our whole lives ahead of us.”

Eva couldn’t love him more than she did right now. His gentleness and understanding were everything she needed. She couldn’t believe she’d found someone so perfect.

She tugged on her skirt, once again covering her scar.

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

“About what?”

“About the accident. I know you don’t like to talk about it, but maybe it will help.”