Rocking a SECRET (15 page)

“Let’s sit down, and I’ll explain it all to
you. At least the parts I know.”

* * *

Kace

I can’t believe it’s Chad. We’ve always been
good friends. I mean I kind of get it after seeing Cameron. I
didn’t know she was still hung up on me. It’s been almost five
years since she was my girlfriend. And it was only for two
months.

After we tell them everything, Wayne and
Brett look like they want to beat Chad up, too. “Seriously? You
blackmailed him with pictures of his mom and Marvin? What is wrong
with you?” Wayne asks him.

“I wanted him to get knocked down a few
pegs. My sister’s not the only girl whose heart he’s broken. But no
one cared because he’s the star. I thought if he got a bad
reputation, the fans would turn on him. But they didn’t. They loved
him even more. And then Stella came along, and she’s a badass as
well as being smoking hot. But you fell under his spell, too. I
mean, what’s he got, a magic cock?”

“It’s very nice, but ‘magic’ is going a
little far,” she tells him, trying to ease some of the tension in
the room. I love her for it, but nothing’s going to calm me down at
the moment.

“But why my mom, dude? There were a few
things I really didn’t want to do, but I couldn’t have those
pictures leaked.”

“She sacrificed everything for you. I knew
there was nothing you wouldn’t do for her. Including giving your
girlfriend to Marvin. How was she, by the way?”

“Wait, was that why you were at the bar at
the Cosmo looking all pissed off that night?” Wayne asks me.

“Yes, but no. It was an act. They went
upstairs together and stayed up there long enough to make it seem
like they’d done something.”

“Are you sure?” Chad asks, taunting me.

“I’m about to punch you myself. Why are you
goading him when you know he already wants to kill you?” Stella
asks him.

“So, you knew about my fun. Did you think it
was Wayne? I bet you did.”

“He was a suspect, yes.”

“But I wasn’t, was I? No one pays any
attention to me or Brett. We’re just the filler.”

“That’s bullshit. You’re crazy talented, and
Brett, well Brett’s pretty much a genius, musical and
otherwise.”

“The fans don’t see it that way. Our stuff
sells way less than yours.”

“Maybe if you’d focused your energy on
trying to get more exposure instead of blackmailing me, you’d have
more fans. Or if you’d just come to me and talked.”

“I can’t believe you hurt my Kace, Chad. How
could you do that?”

Oh sweet Mother of God. We all forgot she
was still in the room. Cameron needs help. Like serious help. When
she puts her arms around me, I jump up.

“Cameron, I am not yours. We were together
five years ago. For two months. We’re not getting back
together.”

“If I can’t have you, neither can she,” she
says, pulling a gun from her purse and pointing it at Stella.

“Put the gun away before you hurt yourself,
sweetie,” Stella tells her standing up.

“I’ll shoot you. I swear I will.”

“No you won’t.” Stella moves so fast, I
almost don’t see it happen. She pulls the gun from Cameron’s hand
and elbows her in the chin, knocking her over. “You have to cock
the gun if you want to shoot someone. Otherwise nothing will
happen.”

“Damn, that was hot,” Wayne says. I shoot
him a glare and he shuts up.

“She needs a psych evaluation, Chad,” Stella
tells him.

“I know. She hasn’t mentioned Kace in a
couple weeks so I thought she was getting over him.”

“I got her, Stell,” Nate says, pulling
Cameron to her feet and walking her out the door.

“Now, we need to figure out how to get past
this,” Marv says.

“I’m not getting past this. He tried to
destroy my life. And the group.”

“We have a contract with the hotel. They’ll
sue if we break it.”

“Chad going to jail should be a good enough
reason to break it.”

“You don’t really want to press charges, do
you?”

“The hell I don’t. I’d rather give up all my
money and move in with Stella than let him walk free so we can do
some shows.” I turn to Stella for confirmation. “I can move in with
you, right?”

“Yes.”

“What about us? Are we moving in with
Stella, too?” Wayne asks.

“I’m fine with whatever Kace wants,” Brett
says.

“You would be,” Chad says with a sneer.

“How many of the shows would we have to
do?”

“All of them,” Marv tells me.

“I can’t commit to that right now.”

“So take it one show at a time,” Stella
tells me, rubbing my back.

I look up into her eyes. She’s going to get
me through this. I can do anything—including getting up on stage
with the guy who blackmailed me—if she’s with me. “Okay. But when
we’re not on stage or doing press, I don’t want him anywhere near
me. And every copy of those pictures—and that tape—better be
destroyed.”

“Fine. I guess I should say thanks,” Chad
says.

“Don’t. I’m doing this for Wayne and Brett.
I could care less about what happens to you.”

Everyone finishes eating in silence. After,
we go back out to the stage, but none of us are into it now. We
decide to just quit for the day and rest before opening night
tomorrow. Stella and I go back to my suite.

“How are you holding up, K?”

“I’m not.”

“What can I do? Or I should say, is there
anything I can do?”

“Just be with me.”

“Always.”

A few hours later and we’re naked on the
couch. I realize that I need to apologize to her. “I’m sorry about
Cameron.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for.
You couldn’t have known she’d been so obsessed with you for all
these years.”

“She pulled a gun on you.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve had a gun on
me. And all your fans would love to do it, so it probably won’t be
the last.”

“I don’t want you to be in danger because of
me.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Unless you want me
to.”

She sits up, her hair falling over one
shoulder as she leans on her hand. God, she’s so beautiful. I don’t
know what I did to deserve her, but I’m not letting her go.

“I don’t want you to leave. That’s the last
thing I want.”

“Good. Now stop worrying and kiss me.”

I smile as I pull her back down to me. I do
more than kiss her. All night. I know I should be resting for my
show tomorrow, but I need her. All of her. Because I have a bad
feeling about letting the show go on. And despite recent events, my
instincts tend to be spot on.

Stella

I’m getting ready in the suite while Kace
finishes some interviews. I wanted to look sexy, but not over the
top for tonight. I chose a sleeveless white top that’s high in
front, but drapes low in back. Rhinestones drape over my shoulders
on each side. I paired it with a short black skirt that has a
fringe overlay in different lengths. Sexy, blinged out high heel
boots with a peep toe are on my feet, and my hair’s in a messy bun
with strands hanging down all over.

“Hello, gorgeous,” Kace says, walking into
the bathroom.

“Hi rock star.”

“You look amazing, love.”

He puts his arms around me and kisses the
nape of my neck. I lean back into him and we smile at each other in
the mirror. “I can’t wait to see you up on stage tonight.”

“You’ve seen me on stage all week.”

“Not with hundreds of girls screaming for
you.”

“You want to hear that?”

“No. But I want to be able to sit there and
know you’re going home with me.”

“Sit? You’re going to sit through the
concert?”

“What do I get if I stand?”

“Hmm…an extra orgasm?”

“Just one?”

“You’re so greedy—but I love it.”

“And I’m standing without the extra ‘o’ so
no worries there. I just had to mess with you.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you more.”

“Not even possible.”

“We could be here all day, so let’s just say
we love each other equally.”

“That works.”

I turn in his arms and we kiss for several
minutes. Until Nate knocks on the door, letting us know we need to
leave in five minutes. I put on my lipstick—I knew better than to
put any on before Kace got back—and grab my clutch. We hold hands
all the way down and through the crowds again.

I make sure everything’s set for him
backstage. My mom’s handling his changes, along with Brett’s for
tonight so I can be in the audience. I thank her again, and go out
to my seat in the front row.

“Oh look, it’s the slut who thinks she can
keep Kace,” the girl to my right says to her friend.

I ignore her. And the girl to my left. And
then the ones behind me. Oh yeah, this is going to be a really fun
night.

They’re forgotten when the lights go down
and the show begins. I stand up with everyone else, and sing along.
Kace catches my eye and smiles as he sings to me. I smile back, and
continue to sing right back to him.

When the first song is about to end, he
grabs a white rose from a stage hand and brings it to me. I take it
from him as he sings the last note and then leans over to kiss me.
“Lots of extras tonight, Stell. Lots.”

I laugh as I step back and he goes back over
to the other guys. They talk to the crowd and launch into another
song. I hold onto my rose. I know if I set it down, one of the
girls will grab it.

Kace surprises me with another rose and kiss
after this song, too. I’m sensing a pattern, which lasts through
the whole show. When the last note is played, I have eighteen roses
and eighteen kisses. I can feel the glares of every woman in the
theater, but I don’t care. I’m feeling loved and cherished by my
man. Who could ask for more?

I carry my flowers to the backstage
entrance, past all the girls lined up trying to convince the guards
to let them in. I see a young teenage girl with her mother. She’s
not yelling or screaming. Just hanging back, waiting patiently.

“Would you like to meet the band?” I ask
her.

“You’re Kace’s girlfriend, Stella.”

“I am.”

“She’d love to meet them,” her mom tells
me.

“Let’s go then.”

I lead them to the front and tell the guard
that they’re with me. We walk back and into the large green room.
Kace runs over as I walk in the door, picking me up and spinning me
around.

“Hi, love. Did you like the show?”

Before I can answer, he notices my
companions. He raises an eyebrow at me. “I brought this beautiful
young lady back to meet you and the guys. And I loved the
show.”

“Hi. I’m Kace,” he says holding out his
hand.

“Hi,” she says timidly.

“Oh give her a hug for God’s sake.”

Her eyes widen as he does just that. “Guys,
come on over and say hi to our fan. What’s your name, honey?”

“Kayla.”

“Come say hi to Kayla.”

All three guys come over to hug her and take
pictures. They also sign the tour shirt she bought and give her
some extra merchandise.

“Thank you so much,” her mom tells me.

“You’re welcome.”

“That was very sweet of you,” Kace says,
nuzzling my neck as he hugs me.

“She wasn’t acting crazy out there. She was
just waiting for a glimpse of you.”

“The girls were pretty mean to you, weren’t
they?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“You shouldn’t have to ‘handle’
anything.”

“You forget that I grew up around rock stars
and pop stars. I know this life, Kace.”

“And you still want me?”

“I do. I want you very much. I love you very
much.”

“I thank God for you every day, Stella. I
really do.”

“Same here, K.”

“Aww, isn’t this sweet. You two lovebirds
are so freaking adorable,” Chad says, putting his arms around
us.

“What part of stay the fuck away from me did
you not understand?” Kace asks him through gritted teeth.

“Smile pretty for the cameras,” he replies
just as a flash goes off. “Catch you later.”

I pull Kace into me again, and rub his back.
“Don’t. He wants you to react. He never got what he wanted from
you. He’s going to keep baiting you, hoping he can get you to snap.
But you’re not going to because you know what he’s doing.”

“Sexy brain.”

“Throat.”

“Tits.”

“Magic cock.”

“Delicious pussy.”

“Biceps.”

“Ass.”

“Abs.”

“Eyes.”

“Smile.”

“Best girlfriend ever.”

Before I can respond, his mouth is on mine.
We stay wrapped up together as flashes go off around us. It’s not
until a reporter clears her throat several times that we pull our
mouths apart. We don’t let go of each other, though.

“Yes,” Kace says to the woman with a
glare.

“I want to interview you, Kace. We had such
an
amazing
interview last year in Houston.”

He slept with her. I’ve never been a jealous
woman, but I want to scratch her eyeballs out. Instead, I just grip
Kace’s hair a little harder. He smirks at me before turning back to
her.

“I’m busy. Go see one of the other
guys.”

“You’re turning me down?”

“Yeah, I am.”

She storms off as Kace looks back to me with
that smirk placed firmly on his face. “Jealousy looks good on
you.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“You shouldn’t be, but you are. And it’s
sexy as hell.”

“You’re mine.”

“I am.”

“And I’m not interested in sharing.”

“That’s good, because neither am I.”

Kace does a few interviews, but doesn’t
leave my side. Photographers ask for pics of him alone, but he
tells them we’re a package deal. I tell him he doesn’t have to do
this, but he says that he wants it to be very clear that we’re
together.

We sneak out as soon as we can. We’re both
horny as hell and he takes me against the wall as soon as we clear
the door of his suite. It’s hard, fast, and dirty with me bracing
myself on the wall as he fucks me hard and whispers naughty things
in my ear. After we both come hard, he carries me into the shower
and I face him when he takes me this time.