Songbird (25 page)

“You have more than one?” he sounded like a
little girl. I doubted he’d like the comparison.

“You think you’re going to be attacked for
revenge?” Max picked up the gun studied it and handed it back.
“Nice little thing.”

“I know we’re going to be attacked.” I put
the gun away.

“Well.” Guy stretched. “Ultimately, this is
Nick’s decision. This is his show.”

“Bella makes sense now.” Arc snapped his
fingers. “Short for Belladonna.”

“It’s an Italian term of endearment you
uneducated swine.” Max glared down at him. “Did you learn nothing
when we went to Italy?”

“They really like arches and that Jesus guy
is kind of a big deal?”

“Archibald.” My tone was firm and held the
echoes of mothers past.

“The mom voice.” Arc shuddered. “She used the
mom voice on me.”

Max growled and hit Arc hard enough to knock
him out of the chair. “Could you fucking grow up for ten
minutes?”

“The mom voice.” Arc repeated and curled up
on the floor in the fetal position. “I may never recover.”

Nicholas ignored their antics. “Guys, I’d
like a moment with Bianca.”

Without further comment Max reached down and
yanked Arc to his feet. Together they left us in solitude. Nicholas
waited for Guy to close the door then walked over to it. A few
seconds later he kicked the door and startled yelps could be heard.
With a disgusted sound he locked the door and came back over. I
frowned and picked up my whisky.

He sat on the coffee table then as if just
realizing they were there picked up one of my notebooks. He flipped
through it, stopped, muttered too low for me to hear, and then
continued flipping. When he stopped again he hummed some of the
bars and grinned.

“These are really good.” He set the book back
down.

I lifted a shoulder. “They’re almost six
years old.”

“You were ahead of your time.” He nipped the
whisky glass from my hand and sipped. With a grimace he set it out
of reach. “It’s warm.”

“But excellent quality.” I reached for the
bottle and he pushed that out of reach as well.

“Arc was just kidding around by the way. Max
carries too. Thanks to the assaults on my record, I’m not allowed
to own a gun.”

“You’re awfully calm about this.”

Nicholas shifted forward planting his knees
on other side of me. “What should I be?”

I had to shrug again. “A little pissed I lied
to you?”

Nicholas shifted some more so that he was
completely straddling me instead of sitting on the coffee table.
“Funny. I’m not angry. You had to protect yourself. And Bianca is
still your name. Where does Sheridan come from?”

“My great grandmother. Nicholas.” My voice
held warning when he pressed his torso against mine pinning me to
the sofa.

“Door’s locked.” His gaze dropping to my
mouth. “And I haven’t kissed you in a few hours.”

“Less than two hours.”

“I’m not firing you, in case you’re
wondering.” He rubbed his mouth against mine but didn’t kiss
me.

“You’re not?” My breath caught when he
nibbled on my bottom lip.

“No.” And then he stopped teasing.

Every kiss with Nicholas was a new
experience. Each one was different but at the same time one thing
tied them all together. Desire. Nicholas’s desire bordered on the
requirement to breath.

Someone knocked. “Food’s here.” Guy called
through the door. “Henry’s got keys, Nick. So does Taylor.”

“Fuck.” Nicholas nibbled my mouth. “You’re
staying in my bed tonight.”

“We’re on the bus tonight.”

“So what?”

“Decorum?”

“With the door completely closed, it’s sound
proof. And I have my own bathroom back there. No chance of the guys
catching you changing and being rendered blind. If they saw any
naked part of you I would burn out their eyes.” Nicholas rubbed his
entire body against me hard. “You know you want to.”

“I can sleep in my bunk.” My weak voice shook
a little and I didn’t mention my legs were often naked. In his
current mood he may demand I wear pants all the time instead of my
skirts.

He laughed and kissed me firmly again. “No.
You can’t. Not up for discussion.” He got up when keys rattled in
the door. “Christ, I’m coming.”

“Nicholas?”

He stopped and turned to look at me with a
raised brow.

“If, and I do mean if, I share with you, will
you wear your hat?”

“My hat?” His brows drew together.

“Yes. Only your hat.”

His grin spread so quick and bright it was
like watching a lightning strike. “Sure. My hat.”

The door knob rattled and Nicholas shifted
back to the panel to kick it. “I said I was coming.”

I took the brief reprieve to gather my brain
back together and shove my notebooks away. All of this could wait
until later. Right now it was time to eat and then there was a
concert to perform.

A siege was underway. Maybe it was just a
little dramatic for me to describe it in that manner, but still
appropriate. Oh, and he knew it.

I finagled my way out of his bed after the
concert by the grace of luck. He’d been too tired to do more than
wash and collapse. Since he started snoring within minutes, I
didn’t need to come up with an excuse that would likely be pitiful
and transparent.

In Salt Lake City, I did the same thing,
though every opportunity he got I was pressed against one surface
or another. Really, his actions were no more complicated than a
horny teenager—pin and kiss me stupid—but his skill level was
another matter entirely.

The battlements were failing and though I
tried with all my wit to outmaneuver him so I could think, he
didn’t allow it. He warned I couldn’t outrun him and standing my
ground was working even less. We both knew it was only a matter of
time before my resolve crumpled completely.

After two days, Taylor and the Five proved to
be an exceptional addition to the team. No complaints were reported
from the remaining crew; in fact when I asked I received an eye
roll and a “duh” statement from some of the roadies. Apparently,
Jimmy hadn’t been well received.

With the successful shows, and no temperament
from Nicholas during interviews I should have consider myself
blessed. Things were—mostly—going well. Tomorrow was a true off day
as today was spent in transit.

We were on the way to Denver and had finally
reached the Rockies. There were twice as many stops on the east
side of the Mississippi, and we hadn’t even gotten there yet.
Finally reaching the mountains still felt like an achievement.

The video sent by Taylor and his proposal
played unseen—again—when goose bumps went up my back. I could feel
his eyes on me. If I looked up he’d send me a slow grin and his
eyes would heat. So I didn’t look up. Instead I refocused on the
video Taylor emailed over.

Roadster was a few miles in front of us and
we stopped at the same time but Taylor apparently couldn’t wait
until the next break to hand me his new production proposal. There
was nothing sane about changing a stage show in the middle of a
tour but I was willing to humor him.

Nicholas pulled the earbuds I had connected
to the laptop out of me ears and sat entirely too close for casual.
“What are you doing?”

“Taylor is proposing some changes to the
production. I’m reviewing the model animation the Five created to
determine if that’s what’s best for the show.” I shifted slightly,
not away, as there wasn’t any room for that, but subtly enough my
meaning should have been clear. Hands off.

Nicholas ignored my silent warning and
wrapped an arm over my shoulders peering down at the monitor. His
fingers absently played with the locks of hair falling over my
shoulder and tickling his arm. “A little late in the game to be
making changes, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and no. Technically, when Jimmy quit,
we should have met Taylor and the crew early to go over staging,
etcetera, before the sound check in Vegas. Taylor, however, is good
at his job, and the show details I sent him was enough to get him
up and running.”

“Hmm.” Nicholas’s brows drew together as he
watched the image I hadn’t paused. “There aren’t any laser lights
on the panels, I thought.”

I shrugged. “Taylor has some things
configured in. I haven’t read the written proposal yet.”

“Why do you call them the Five or the Furious
Five? There aren’t five of them.”

“There used to be.” I frowned. “Taylor,
Tyler, Juliette, Henley, and Fitz.”

He squeezed lightly. “Sorry. I don’t remember
seeing Henley or Fitz.”

“You may not. Henley is extremely quiet and
only speaks when he feels it’s important. Fitz is a perfectionist
that will run minor tweaks all the way up to and during show time
if it’ll improve performance. He’s often running around so pinning
him down for an intro is a little tricky.”

“Huh. Maybe next show we could at least get
the rest of the intros.” He pulled gently on the hair he was
playing with before running his fingers through the tangles he
created.

“The five of them could run any show. And if
we count me in Tyler’s place there are still five.” I swatted at
his hand and he ignored me.

Nicholas pulled out the headphones so he
could hear what was going on instead of just watching it. He tapped
the mouse pad and started the video over. “I don’t mind changes for
the better. The shows have been running smoothly. Even I can see
that.”

“If it’s sound, we may have to set up ass
crack early and run down the show changes live before sound
check.”

He sighed. “Well, ass crack early isn’t a
stranger. As long as I have coffee.”

I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed that he didn’t
try to kiss me or not. With the guys sitting nearby playing cards I
would have protested for form. But he didn’t try.

When he realized Taylor was a lot more
advanced than Jimmy had ever been, Nicholas commandeered my laptop
and started firing off demands through the messenger. I didn’t
think they’d ever be friends—I had too much history with Taylor for
Nicholas to be comfortable with that—but maybe Nicholas would at
least respect Taylor in a professional manner. Taylor was replying
just as fast as Nicholas was sending out and I let them go.

Giving in just a little to fatigue, I leaned
some into Nicholas and closed my eyes. Just for a moment, I told
myself. Just a little while.

The bus was no longer moving. The constant
sway and noise wasn’t the first thing I noticed. The fact I was
lying in a bed instead of sitting in the lounge space was.

I shot upright and glanced around. I was
alone in Nicholas’s bedroom and no longer fully dressed.

A glance at the clock brought a wince to my
face. We should have been in Denver for two hours now. I leapt out
of bed and frantically searched for my skirt and blouse. At least
he’d had the decency to leave me in my chemise and underwear.

When I stepped out in the public space fully
dressed Nicholas looked up from what looked like one of my
notebooks. The guitar was in his lap and his hands still strummed
absently.

“You look better. You’re not sleeping
enough.”

I walked over and snatched the notebook.
Closing the cover, I slapped him over the head with it. “You didn’t
ask permission.”

His scowl transformed into an innocent smile.
“Didn’t I?”

This wasn’t a battle I was going to win with
him smiling at me like that. I checked for the rest of the band.
“Where are the guys?”

“Inside. Taylor has the vendor’s permission
to set up today. So they’re putting everything together. After
lunch we’re going to run through the changes and tomorrow morning
before sound check too. After the conference interview for me.”

“Today is supposed to be an off day.” I
reached for his coffee and sniffed it before drinking.