Double Time

Chapter 11

Reagan carried two of her guitars onto Sinners’ tour bus. Behind her, Brian and Trey had divvied up her remaining luggage and followed her onboard. Her stomach fluttered when she noticed the Eric Sticks sitting at the dining table, poring over musical scores. His untamed black hair, with a streak of canary yellow that started at his left temple and continued down a finger-thick strand that fell to his collarbone, caught her attention first. Then his ruggedly handsome features. Then his long, sinewy body and masculine hands. He glanced up, barely gave Reagan a second glance with a pair of piercing blue eyes, before his gaze settled on Brian. “Pictures,” he demanded and flicked a beckoning hand at him.

Brian dropped Reagan’s luggage and brushed past her to sit next to Eric in the booth. He began flipping through pictures on his cell phone. He’d been so excited when he had been allowed to turn on his cell phone after landing and found he had six new pictures and a video of Malcolm sleeping in his bassinet for the first time. While Eric ooo-ed and aww-ed over baby pictures, Trey struggled with Reagan’s abundance of luggage.

“I brought too much, didn’t I?” she asked.

“You think?” Trey laughed and stacked her four guitar cases on the only sofa on the bus.

“Maybe we should store them underneath the bus,” she said.

“Good idea.”

“You’re not going to introduce her?” Eric asked. He lifted his gaze from Brian’s three-minute-long, baby-sleeping video to look at Reagan.

Brian elbowed him in the ribs. “This is Malcolm’s first meal.”

Eric looked at the picture and grinned. “Niiiice.”

Trey stared at her as if he had no idea how to introduce her to Eric. Eventually he said, “This is Reagan. She’ll be on tour with us for the next two weeks. Dare’s idea.”

Eric scratched behind his ear. “Dare’s idea?”

“I’m Exodus End’s new rhythm guitarist. Taking over for Max,” Reagan explained.

“Oh. Max’s carpal tunnel syndrome. Pussiest reason for giving up guitar that I’ve ever heard. So why are you touring with us instead of rehearsing with them?”

“I think they’re afraid that I’m not man enough to go on tour with a rock band.”

Eric’s gaze traveled down Reagan’s entire length. “I’d hazard to guess you aren’t man at all.”

“She’s also Trey’s girlfriend,” Brian said.

Eric’s head snapped around in Brian’s direction, his bright blue eyes wide with astonishment.

“I know, right?” Brian said.

Trey cringed. Reagan wondered why it made him uncomfortable.

“Let’s go put some of your stuff under the bus,” he said.

A loud mechanical sound came from near the front of the bus. Before Reagan could figure out its source, Trey took Reagan’s arm and directed her to stand with him between the captain’s chairs along one wall while a good-looking young man maneuvered his wheelchair down the aisle.

“You ready to head out, Brian?” the man asked. “We’ll be on the road for hours. The other bus and equipment trucks are already in Topeka. They’ve started setting up.”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Brian said. “Where are the rest of the guys?”

“Jace and Sed went to get some necessities,” Eric said. “Jon left with the other bus. Jake’s napping.”

“Rebekah?”

Eric smiled and glanced at the back bedroom’s closed door. “She’s getting dressed.”

“We need to store some stuff under the bus,” Trey said to the man in the wheelchair.

The man started when he noticed Reagan crammed between Trey and the wall. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He extended a hand in Reagan’s direction. “I’m Dave. I run the soundboard when Rebekah lets me.”

Reagan reached around Trey to shake Dave’s hand. She had heard about Sinners’ bus accident and that their soundboard operator had been paralyzed in the crash. She hadn’t known that he was still part of the crew.

“You better be glad Reb didn’t hear that,” Eric said.

Dave grinned and ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “Rebekah is my younger sister. Also one of Sinners’ soundboard operators.”

“And my wife,” Eric said. “She’s a little kinky. Just to warn you.”

Trey laughed. He’d never heard Eric apologize for his wife’s kinkiness before. Of course, she’d been the only woman on the bus for the past seven months and the guys were used to her emerging from the bedroom dressed as a vampire or an umpire. She would then corral her husband into the back bedroom and a whole lot of happy emanated from that area of the bus for the next couple of hours.

“So Dave is your brother-in-law?” Reagan asked Eric as she worked out the dynamics of the bus occupants.

“Yep.”

“What are you working on?” Brian asked Eric, finally taking his attention off his collection of photos to look over the scores of music. “New Sinners’ songs? We just released the last album. Don’t you ever take a break?”

Eric collected his music and stuffed it into a folder. “It’s not Sinners. It’s for Hot Dog Junkie.”

Brian laughed. “I still can’t believe you named your new band that. Why not call it Wiener Eater? Maybe Trey—”

“Let’s go put this stuff under the bus,” Trey interrupted loudly. He reached for two guitar cases and handed them to Reagan. He grabbed the larger of her two suitcases and another guitar case and encouraged her to head toward the exit.

“Eric has a new band?” Reagan asked as she made her way back toward the exit.

“Some punk/emo/goth hybrid thing he’s working on with Jon Mallory. They’re still in the planning stages mostly.”

“What about Sinners? Is he leaving?” Reagan asked. She couldn’t imagine Sinners without Eric Sticks in the band.

Trey shook his head. “Side project,” he said. “Sinners is still his main focus.”

Reagan descended the steps and waited at the bottom for Trey to join her. She followed him to the side of the bus where he opened a compartment underneath.

“I should have asked you which guitar you wanted to keep out,” he said as he rearranged some luggage so he could fit three of her guitars and one of her suitcases in the cramped space.

“They’re all awesome. I’m glad you chose so I didn’t have to.”

Once Reagan’s things were stored safely underneath the bus, Trey shut the hatch and then reached for her. He drew her against the length of his body and kissed her.

“Don’t pay attention to what the guys say,” he said, still thinking about how Brian had almost revealed Trey’s homosexual tendencies to Reagan on the bus with that wiener eater remark. He wasn’t ready for Reagan to know that about him. Wasn’t sure if he ever wanted her to know. Trey did feel uncomfortable about hiding it from her, but since men were no longer on his menu, there was no sense in complicating his new relationship with Reagan with all those skeletons in his closet. There was an entire army of skeletons in his closet. And a few sailors. “They joke around like that a lot.”

“I should hope so. They’re guys. I’m sure Exodus End does that a lot too.”

Trey laughed. “They’re a bit rowdier than we are.”

“Rowdier?”

“Yeah. Dare figured if you couldn’t handle the five of us, there’s no way you could handle the four of them.”

“Well, don’t take it easy on me.”

“Sinners BC was an entirely different animal,” Trey said. “We’ve mellowed over the past year.”

“Sinners BC?”

“Before chicks.”

“Well, don’t mellow for my sake,” Reagan said. Her hands slid down his back to squeeze his ass. “I happen to like you naughty. The naughtier, the better.”

Trey grinned and lowered his head to kiss her. He knew he liked this woman. Even though she claimed to like him naughty, if she had any idea how truly deviant he could be, he was sure she’d go running for the hills. He’d start her on naughty lite and see how she handled that first.

“Good, you guys are back,” Sed called from several yards behind the bus. He was carrying several brown paper sacks. Jace, who was walking beside him, smiled a greeting before noticing Reagan’s hands on Trey’s ass. He blushed and averted his gaze. Sed glanced at Reagan long enough to ascertain that she wasn’t Brian. “Brian’s here too, right? You didn’t leave him in Los Angeles, did you?”

“He’s on the bus torturing Eric with baby pictures,” Trey said.

Sed smiled. “I can’t wait to hold the little guy.”

“Jess said she wanted one,” Trey said and winked.

Sed’s blue eyes widened. “Jess wants a baby?” he asked breathlessly.

“She’s totally in love with Malcolm. Her biological clock is ticking at warp speed.”

“You’re fucking with me,” Sed said and scowled.

“She seemed to genuinely want a baby to me,” Reagan said.

Sed spared her a second glance. “We’re getting ready to leave. You need to get lost now.”

Her face fell.

“Fuckin’ Sed,” Trey grumbled. “She’s with me.”

“That’s obvious,” Sed said.

“And she’s staying with me,” Trey added.

“I’m Jace,” Jace said to Reagan and smiled warmly.

“Oh God. Cute!” Reagan exclaimed and released Trey to grab Jace in a face-to-bosom, double-armed embrace.

Jace’s various chains rattled as he tried to extricate himself from Reagan’s bear hug. She finally released him, took a second look at him, and hugged him again.

“Jace doesn’t like to be touched,” Trey tried to explain as he tugged on Reagan’s arm. “But I like it.”

“Oh, sorry,” Reagan said as she released Jace for good this time. “I didn’t mean to attack you like that. I’ve never seen you smile before.”

Jace blushed again and stared at his boots.

“So she’s staying on the bus?” Sed asked, sounding none-too-happy about the fact.

“Yeah, for the next two weeks,” Trey said.

“I’m Reagan. Exodus End just hired me to be their rhythm guitarist.”

Sed and Jace both stared at her as if she had sprouted wings and took flight to Crazyland.

“No shit?” Sed shoved his grocery sacks in Trey’s direction. “You can tell me all about it later. I need to call Jess.”

Trey managed to grab the sacks before Sed released them. Sed dug his phone out of his pocket as he stomped up the bus steps.

“He’s kind of a jerk,” Reagan said.

“Kind of?” Trey said.

“He’s different once you get to know him,” Jace said. “He’s like that with strangers. Doesn’t know who to trust.”

“True,” Trey agreed. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him act like that. He must’ve thought you were a groupie.”

“That excuses him being a jerk?” Reagan asked, her eyebrows raised high above her grayish-blue eyes.

“You’ll have some groupies of your own soon. Then you’ll understand why it’s easier to be an asshole when they’re around.”

“So you’re an asshole to your groupies too?” Reagan asked.

Trey started backpedaling. “Well, no, I—”

“Trey just uses them for sex,” Jace said and headed up the stairs after Sed.

Trey was going to invest in four sturdy ball gags. One for each of the members of his big-mouthed band.

Reagan managed to stifle a laugh as she watched Trey try to come up with something to say after Jace dropped that bomb. She didn’t care that Trey had a long list of sexual conquests. One didn’t get as good in bed as he was without a lot a practice. It wasn’t as if she was clueless about what went on backstage. She had a few acquaintances in the business. No one as famous as Trey—well, until yesterday—but even small-time bands had plenty of women to keep them entertained.

“If you’re going to get upset every time one of your band members reveals one of your dirty little secrets, you’re going to go nuts.”

Trey raked a hand through his long bangs and held them out of his eye. “I’m not upset.”

“You don’t think I know these things already?”

His face fell. “What things?”

“That you’ve slept with a lot of women.”

He released his hair and it dropped to conceal one eye again. His typical devil-may-care expression replaced the worried one of just a moment before. “You’re not the jealous type?”

“If I was, I wouldn’t last as your girlfriend for three seconds. I see the way women look at you.”

“You do?”

“I can’t blame them.”

He grinned that sexy smile and even though it made her heart race, she couldn’t resist teasing him. “I want to take a pair of scissors to those bangs as much as they do.”

His sexy smile faded and he looked up at his bangs. “You don’t like my haircut?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “It’s much too sexy. It makes me want to grab you and do naughty things with you.”

He laughed. “One of these days I’m going to get used to you fucking with me and quit falling for your taunts.”

She produced an exaggerated pout. “And ruin all my fun?”

The bus engine started and Trey took her hand. “Time to sequester ourselves in a small space with six or seven other people who like to fuck with me.”

“This should be fun.”

Reagan paused at the top of the stairs. There was a lean man with a foot-tall, blond mohawk behind the wheel. How many people were crammed onto this bus?

“Hey,” the guy said, rubbing one eye and blinking rapidly as if he’d just been pulled from a deep sleep. “Are we finally ready to roll?”

“Let’s move,” Dave said. He’d given up his wheelchair, which was folded and tucked behind the drivers’ seat. He had a pair of metal crutches resting against the side of the sofa beside him.

Reagan offered a hand to the driver. “I’m Reagan.”

“Jake.”

“You’ll want to get to know him. He’s our guitar technician,” Trey said.

Jake squeezed her hand before honking the bus’s horn. “And occasional driver.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ll harass you later.”

“Booyah!” Jake said.

Reagan walked down the bus aisle and looked for an empty seat. Sed was sitting in one of the two captain’s chairs talking into his cell phone and flipping through the pictures on Brian’s phone with a huge smile on his face. “I’ll be home in two weeks. Get off the pill now.” He paused. “I’m sure.” Another pause. “I’ll still marry you even if you’re as fat as a hippo. I’ll just put you on a diet after the baby is born.” His face fell and Reagan couldn’t make out Jess’s words, but she was definitely yelling. “What?” he said. “What did I say?”

Brian was in the other captain’s chair watching his cell phone anxiously. Sed waved it around as he tried to talk himself out of the hole he’d dug himself into with his fiancée.

Jace had settled onto the sofa across from the captain’s chairs. He was on his cell phone too, texting at a hundred miles an hour and blushing again. He looked tough and so cute at the same time. Reagan wouldn’t mind sitting next to him for the entire journey to Topeka. There was a narrow space between himself and Dave, but not enough space for Reagan to sit. She didn’t think it was appropriate to sit between them and wiggle until they gave her some space. That left the booths around the dining table. The bus moved and Trey placed a steadying hand on her lower back as she stumbled.

Reagan shuffled to the dining area and sat across the table from Eric Sticks. He offered her a smile when she’d settled against the wall. Trey slid into the booth beside her.

Eric’s gaze searched Reagan’s face. “Should I know you?” he asked after several minutes.

“What do you mean?”

“New guitarist for Exodus End. Trey claims that you’re his girlfriend. Either you’re a close personal friend of Dare’s or famous.”

“Neither.”

“She entered that Guitarist for a Year with Exodus End contest,” Trey explained.

“She won?” Eric asked.

Reagan nodded.

“Are they hoping to use a hot woman to get some new fans?” Eric asked.

Trey’s arm wrapped around her waist and he drew her closer to his body. “I can see why you might think that, but they hired her before they saw her. Completely based on the merit of her guitar work.”

“Don’t think a woman can hold her own?” Reagan asked. She knew she was part of a male-dominated profession, but she didn’t tolerate double standards. At all.

Eric shook his head. “Never crossed my mind. I was much more confused by Trey claiming to have a girlfriend than by you going from unknown to a soon-to-be world famous guitarist. I figured Trey must be doing a favor for his brother.”

Reagan took Trey’s hand and looked into his eyes. “Why does everyone find it so hard to believe that you actually like me? Do I have spinach in my teeth?” She bared her teeth at him.

Trey pretended to scrape something out her teeth. “There you go. Now they’ll believe that we’re involved for sure.”

Reagan smiled at him.

The bedroom door opened and a petite blonde emerged wearing a sexy waitress uniform. The fabric was pink gingham with a lacy ruffle around the bottom of a short skirt. Petticoats made the skirt stand out and revealed her white thigh-high stockings and the pink ribbons circling the tops of her legs. The bodice of the uniform was low cut and showed off her cleavage—something Reagan had never had—to perfection. The young woman’s platinum hair was swept up into a sloppy knot. Canary yellow strands, the same shade as Eric’s long strand of hair, surrounded her face. She sashayed her way to the table and handed a drooling Eric what appeared to be a menu.

Reagan looked from Eric, who was perusing the menu with interest, to the woman who was snapping her gum and scratching behind her ear with the end of her pencil.

“What can I get you, sugar?” she asked Eric in an exaggerated Southern accent.

Reagan turned her head and found Trey grinning at the pair.

“Uh…” Reagan wasn’t sure what was going on. Eric had said his wife was kinky, not a waitress.

“What’s today’s special?” Eric asked.

“The sixty-nine is on special, sugar. Is that what you want?” The woman paused with her pencil hovering over her pad of paper.

“I have a big appetite today. I think I’d like an appetizer to start things off.”

“I have a real nice hand job available to whet your appetite for the main course,” she said.

“Does that come with special sauce?”

“It’s available with either cooling or warming lube.”

“Mmm. That sounds good. I’ll take the hand job with cooling lube, followed with the sixty-nine special, hold the orgasm. I’ll follow that with a thick sausage in a pair of buns with some extra cooling lube sauce.”

Rebekah grinned. “Excellent choice, sugar. Will you need any dessert?”

“I’ll decide on dessert later,” Eric said. “But you might want to grab the chocolate syrup and whipped cream from the fridge. I’m feeling artistic.”

Rebekah wrote down Eric’s order and then turned her attention to Reagan. “Can I get you anything, sugar?”

Reagan’s eyes widened. Trey burst out laughing. “This is Eric’s wife, Rebekah,” he said. “She’s just messing with you.”

“Tonight I’m Eric’s waitress,” Rebekah said.

“I’m Reagan.”

Rebekah winked and tucked her pencil behind her ear. “Nice to meet you.”

“Miss,” Eric said in a highly annoyed tone. “Is my appetizer ready yet? I’ve been waiting for almost a minute.”

“It’s right through that door, sugar,” Rebekah said to her husband. To Reagan, she said, “We’ll chat later. Nice to have a bit of estrogen on this testosterone cruise.”

Eric slid from the booth and slapped Rebekah on the ass. “You can expect a very large tip tonight, babe.”

Rebekah smiled seductively. “You know I aim to please.”

Eric wrapped an arm around her waist and palmed her breast. “I love you.”

They paused at the small black refrigerator long enough to collect a bottle of chocolate syrup and a can of whipped cream before shutting themselves in the bedroom.

Reagan scowled. “Does she serve him like that all the time?” Not that it was any of her business, but she was all about empowering women.

“It’s a two-way street. Tomorrow Eric will probably dress up for her and satisfy one of her kinky little fantasies.”

“Do you like that kind of thing?” Reagan asked. She picked up the menu Eric had left behind and found a list of sexual acts. She’d only tried about half of them.

“Rebekah is really creative,” Trey said. “And Eric is well aware of exactly how lucky he is. I wouldn’t mind engaging in a few of their games. Looks like fun.”

Reagan pointed to a selection on the menu. “I don’t even know what this is.”

“I could tell you,” Trey said. He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “But I’d rather show you.”

“Give me my phone, Sed,” Brian said in the living area. “I need to call Myrna.”

“She’s sleeping,” Sed told him. “Jessica said she looked wiped.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Just tired. Relax, Sinclair.”

Brian slapped the cell phone out of Sed’s hand. “You relax.”

Trey offered Reagan a weary smile and then slid from the bench. He picked Brian’s phone off the floor and yanked Sed’s phone out of his hand.

“Hey, I was talking—” Sed protested.

Trey handed Brian his cell phone. “Don’t call her if she’s sleeping. She needs rest,” he said to Brian. “Go show Jace and Dave your pictures. They haven’t seen them yet.”

Brian’s angry glare softened when his phone’s screen saver caught his eye. He squeezed himself in between Jace and Dave, who immediately stopped what they were doing to distract Brian before he throat-chopped Sed.

Trey lifted Sed’s phone to his ear and winced when Jessica’s healthy tirade greeted his eardrum, “… if you expect me to have eight kids, then you’d better be prepared—”

“Jess, it’s Trey.”

“Oh what, is he hiding now? Coward. Knock him upside the head for me, will you?”

Trey smacked Sed in the forehead and received a punch in the thigh for his efforts. “Done. Listen, can you have Myrna call Brian as soon as she wakes up? Doesn’t matter what time it is or if he’s onstage, tell her to call him.”

“How’s he doing?” Jessica asked.

“Worse than you can imagine. You know that greenish hue he gets before he goes on stage?”

“Yeah.”

“Multiply that by a thousand. I’m going to give him the phone. You be sure to tell him how great Myrna and Malcolm are doing.”

“She’s been crying on and off all day. She’s having a hard time with this separation too. Aggie finally got her to lay down for a while.” If Brian heard that, Trey knew Brian would commandeer the bus and head back to L.A. Not that Trey blamed him. Trey didn’t like to hear that Myrna was upset either. The woman was Brian’s rock.

“Didn’t you go to law school to learn how to say exactly the right thing?” Trey said to Jessica. “Work your magic.”

Trey turned and thrust the phone in Brian’s direction. Brian was having a bit too much fun making Jace look uncomfortable by describing the entire birthing process. “Jess wants to talk to you,” Trey said.

“Is something wrong?” Brian asked.

“Nope. Everything’s great.”

Jace offered Trey an accusatory glare. Aggie had probably been texting him about the entire situation. The band needed to sit down and come up with a game plan to get Brian through this. He’d already scheduled a red-eye flight back to L.A. for the next morning. When would the man sleep?

“Thanks for getting me off the hook with Jess,” Sed said. He rose from his seat and stretched his arms over his head.

“I don’t think you’re off the hook,” Trey said. “Are you ever going to learn to think before you start saying stupid shit to her?”

Sed lowered his arms and shrugged. “Probably not.” He went to the fridge and found himself a beer. He turned to Reagan sitting in the booth at the dining table and said, “Do you drink beer, Trey’s Girlfriend?”

Reagan’s frosty expression made Trey grin. Most girls went limp when Sed so much as entered a room.

“Sorry, I forgot your name,” Sed said and scratched the back of his neck as he inspected the ceiling.

“It’s Reagan, and yes, I like beer.”

Sed grabbed two beers and slid into the booth across from Reagan. He twisted off a bottle cap and extended his peace offering to her. She hesitantly accepted it and took a swig. Deciding Brian had been temporarily placated, Trey slid into the booth beside her. “I could put in my tongue piercing now, if you’d like,” he whispered in her ear.

“Why wouldn’t I like that?” she said with a grin.

“Depends on if you want to talk or make out. It makes me talk funny.”

“And he clicks it against his teeth and drives us all nuts,” Sed added.

“I can’t sing with it in either, so I only wear it for special occasions.”

“And he has enough special occasions to keep the hole from growing shut.” Sed laughed and flipped his bottle cap at Trey. It pinged off his shoulder.

Trey glanced sidelong at Reagan. In all of his “conquests,” he’d never once considered what it would be like to have to answer to them once he settled on a more permanent relationship. It had never even entered his thoughts. He kept waiting for Reagan to get upset and tell his man-whore self to get lost, but she brushed it off with no problem.

“He keeps hinting that he has some talent with the thing but hasn’t proven it yet.” Reagan stifled a yawn. “I’m currently unimpressed.”

Sed laughed. “Sounds like a challenge. Are you up for it, Mills?” He took another swig of his beer, his eyes fixed on Trey as he tilted his head back and swallowed.

Reagan slid her hand up Trey’s thigh and brushed her knuckles over his fly. “Nope. He’s not up at all.”

The sudden stirring in his groin was about to brand her a liar.

“Eric and Rebekah already claimed the bedroom,” Trey reminded her. “Not enough room in my bunk to do a good job.”

“You better put your name on the bedroom sign-up sheet for tonight. And put your tongue where your mouth is.”

He tilted his head to one side as if perplexed. “Isn’t my tongue always where my mouth is?”

She grinned and took a drink of her beer. “You know what I meant. Back your claims with some evidence.”

“Sed,” Brian called from the adjacent living area. “Jess says you owe her five orgasms for that comment about her getting fat. She also claims to love you for some reason and says she will talk to you later.”

Sed grinned. “She still hasn’t figured out that I sometimes say shit to piss her off so she’ll ‘punish’ me.” He finger quoted punish. “Making that woman come is a privilege, not a punishment.”

“When’s the wedding?” Reagan asked.

Sed lifted his brows and stared at the ceiling as he made a mental calculation. “Eighty-seven days.”

“Are you doing anything special?”

“Hell if I know. Our mothers are hashing that stuff out. My job is to show up in a tux and repeat some vows. My mom wants to make sure the ceremony is traditional and momentous. Jess’s mother wants it to be Hollywood’s social event of the year. So Mom’s taking care of most of the wedding stuff, and her mother’s taken over plans for the reception. I don’t have a clue what’s really going on. I’m glad I’m on tour right now and can avoid most of the bullshit.”

“I think Jessica is ready to elope,” Trey said. “She seems pretty stressed out about it all.”

Sed paused with his beer bottle halfway to his mouth. “I should probably jump on that opportunity, but then she’d get pissed that I didn’t let her have her huge wedding.”

Sed knew how to handle his fiancée without her even knowing she was being handled. Which was good, because if Jessica knew Sed made a concerted effort to keep her either placated or riled, that would have really pissed her off. The guy was smarter than he looked.

“I’m never getting married,” Reagan said. “I mean, what’s the point? I guess if you want to raise kids together…” She glanced at Trey. “What do you think?”

Trey shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Well, I guess it depends. My parents have been happily married for over thirty years.”

“Mine too,” Sed said.

“Then you have Eric’s parents. He doesn’t even know who his father is. His mother dumped him off when he was a little kid. I don’t think a marriage would have made a bit of difference in that situation. I still don’t know a thing about Jace’s family situation other than his parents are both dead. And then there’s Brian, whose parents get along okay, but their parenting skills could use a complete overhaul.” He glanced over his shoulder at Brian, who was sitting in one of the captain’s chairs now, staring off into space. “Some people should be married. Brian should be married. Other couples? I’m not so sure.”

“I think it’s important,” Sed said. “With the right woman, of course.”

“Eric and Rebekah rushed into it, but they work. I think it was inevitable between the two of them. And then Jace…” Trey’s gaze shifted to their quiet bassist. “He asked Aggie to marry him and she said yes, but they don’t seem to be in any hurry to make it official. So yeah, it depends. I don’t think all couples have to get married or even should get married. Though it would be nice if all kids had a nice stable home to grow up in.”

“Single parents can do a good job too,” Reagan said.

Inwardly cringing, Trey wrapped an arm around her stiff body. He’d forgotten that she’d been raised solely by her father. “I didn’t mean to suggest that they couldn’t. Why are you thinking about marriage?”

“Everyone keeps talking about it.” She turned her face into his shoulder. “It’s not my favorite subject, trust me.”

“So if I asked you to marry me, you’d say no?”

She looked up him, her eyes wide. “You wouldn’t!”

“You’re right. I’d never ask a woman to marry me before she got to experience the power of my tongue piercing.”

She laughed and relaxed into his side. Yeah, the marriage talk made him uncomfortable too. He was glad they were on the same page again. Trey’s phone rang. He discreetly slid it out of his pocket and was careful to hide the screen from Reagan as he checked who it was. If it was one of his exploits, he wouldn’t answer. He was surprised to see Dare on caller ID. Not that his brother didn’t call him on a regular basis, but he’d just seen him that morning, so he wasn’t likely calling to shoot the breeze.

“What’s up?” Trey answered.

“Is Reagan there?” Dare asked.

“Nope, left her passed out in the jet’s bathroom.”

“Let me talk to her. Sam is pissed and I figured I’d better warn her.” Sam was Exodus End’s manager. Trey was pretty sure that Reagan hadn’t even met him yet.

“Why is he pissed?”

“She is his publicity stunt. Hard to publicize her when she’s there with you.”

“Does she have to go back?”

“Just let me talk to her.”

Trey passed the phone to Reagan. “Dare wants to talk to you.”

She gave him a puzzled look and accepted his phone. Trey wasn’t sure why the thought of her returning to L.A. so soon gave him a sinking sensation in his stomach.

“Give him my number. I’ll talk to him,” Reagan said. She recited her number for Dare several times to make sure he had it. “Thanks for the heads up.” She laughed at something Dare said. “I think I can handle him. Do you need to talk to Trey again?” She smiled at Trey and shook her head at him before telling Dare good-bye and trying to figure out how to end a call on Trey’s phone. Trey took his phone and buried it in his pocket.

“Are you going back to L.A?” he asked.

“Not if I can help it. The dude wants to dress me up, take pictures, and do some sort of publicity campaign with Exodus End’s hot, new, chick guitarist.” She rolled her wide blue eyes at him. “No thank you.”

“You’re probably going to have to do it anyway.”

Her nose curled. “What part of tomboy don’t these people understand? I don’t like to be fussed over.”

“I bet you clean up real nice,” Sed said. It was impossible to have a conversation on the bus without everyone knowing about it.

The icy glare she sent in Sed’s direction made it perfectly clear that she did not consider his statement a compliment.

“My wife makes hand-embroidered corsets,” Jace said. “If you’d like, I’m sure she’d be happy to make you some for your stage attire.”

“Wife?” several bus occupants chorused.

“Girlfriend. Fiancée. My woman. Whatever you want to call her,” Jace said.

“I’m not sure I have the right figure to pull off a corset,” Reagan said.

There was a general mumbling of disagreement, though everyone seemed to have their eyes focused conspicuously elsewhere to avoid her ice-glare.

“What part of hot chick don’t you understand?” Trey said. “I think I need to fuss over you more.”

Her phone rang and her stomach fluttered with nerves. She pushed against Trey to get him to stand up out of the booth. “I’ll take this in the bathroom.” She hurried into the small room near the back of the bus and slid the door shut.

Reagan’s hands were shaking as she answered the call. She’d pretended to be cool about Exodus End’s manager calling, but it was far from the truth. If he was thinking of exploiting her looks, he was going to be sorely disappointed. She didn’t have any aspirations to look like the ideal beauty. She just wanted to play her guitar. Sometimes she wished she’d been born with balls.

“Hello?” She hoped her voice wasn’t shaking too badly.

“Is this Reagan Elliot?”

“Yes.”

He laughed. “I wasn’t sure if Dare gave me the right number. He likes to fuck with me. Thinks it’s a good time. I’m Sam Baily, your manager. Well, manager by way of Exodus End.”

She had a manager. Feeling a tad overwhelmed by all the changes in her life, she closed the toilet lid and sat down. “Dare said you had an issue with me touring with Sinners.”

“It’s not that I have an issue with Sinners. I just found out you’re a woman and I swear I could not have devised a better outcome to that contest. The fans will love it.”

“Do you really believe that? It’s really hard to get metal heads to take a female guitarist seriously. It might be best to hide me behind the drum kit so they don’t know I’m there.” She hated that people saw her as female first and musician second. She’d loved that Exodus End had conducted the contest blind. She doubted they’d have chosen her if they’d known she was a woman. And if they had chosen her knowing that, she’d have always wondered if they’d really liked her music or were more interested in her ass.

“Are you kidding, doll? We’re going to work this from every angle. The band thinks you have star potential, both as a musician and a performer.”

Reagan rubbed her eyebrow with one finger. “They’ve never seen me perform.”

“Something about band practice. Anyway, doll, you need to get back as soon as you can. I’ll set up some appointments. Fashion consultant. Hair designer. Makeup artist.”

“I’m not really the kind of woman who likes that kind of thing,” she said.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to pay for any of it.”

“I won’t be back to L.A. for thirteen days,” she said, “and then I’ll be rehearsing with the band for the shows. I don’t think this will fit into my schedule.”

“You’ll make it fit, Reagan.” His carefree tone suddenly turned hard. “It’s in the contract you signed.”

She probably should have consulted a lawyer before she’d signed that contract. For all she knew it might say she had to have her brain transplanted into a cyborg body. “Well, you’ll have to wait until I get back to L.A. Technically, my contract doesn’t start until then anyway.”

He paused for a long moment. “Suit yourself. I’ll have your itinerary prepared for when you’re back. You’d better clear your schedule.”

“I should thank you for coming up with that contest. I’m not sure how you got the band to agree to something like that.”

“I can be very persuasive.”

Reagan wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “Well, in any case, thanks.”

“No thanks necessary. Just don’t disappoint us.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Your best plus ten percent,” he said. “Call if you need anything to prepare for the tour or if you decide to come back to L.A. early.”

After they disconnected, she sat there for a long moment, her heart hammering. How could anyone give ten percent more than their best? Unless they were holding back to begin with. She never held back. She’d be okay. This was her dream. It would all work out. Her best would be good enough. And if it wasn’t, she could always find a new job. She made a mean cup of coffee.

She sat there for a long time, wondering if she’d made the best decision in signing with Exodus End and in joining Sinners on tour. This was all a huge change for her. Maybe she’d jumped in a bit too fast. She wasn’t sure if she was mentally prepared for this.

A knock at the door startled her out of her musings.

She stood up immediately and slid the door open. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to hog the bathroom.” Trey stood on the threshold with a devilish grin on his handsome face.

Instead of letting her exit, Trey urged her back inside the small bathroom and slid the door shut.

“What did he say?” Trey asked. His voice sounded a little off, though she couldn’t figure out why. Maybe the acoustics in the bathroom?

She leaned back against the sink vanity and looked up at him. “That when I get back to L.A. they’re going to try to turn me into a sex object.”

“Does that bother you?”

She lowered her gaze. “I don’t know.”

“If Sam pressures you into doing something you don’t want to do, talk to Dare about it. He knows how to handle Sam. And if Dare won’t listen to you, I know he’ll listen to me.”

He stripped her T-shirt off over her head. She wasn’t really in the mood for sex. At least she wasn’t until Trey lowered his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Something hard flicked over the sensitive tip until she moaned and clung to his hair in surrender. That explained why his voice sounded a little off. He’d put a stud in his tongue for her.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she whispered.

He lifted his head, releasing her breast with a loud sucking sound. “I thought you might need a distraction.”

Reagan was convinced that Distraction was Trey’s middle name. He lowered his head to her other breast and she watched him rub the delightful metal ball near the tip of his tongue over her rapidly hardening nipples. “Trey. Trey,” she murmured. “What’s your middle name?” She suddenly wanted to know everything about him. His favorite color. His shoe size. Who he took to prom.

Trey lifted his head and grinned at her. “I’m not telling you that. You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t. I promise. I want to know more about you.” But not so much that he should stop what he was doing. She clung to his head with both hands and directed his mouth to her breast. He sucked and stroked her tender nipple as his hands moved to the waistband of her pants. Oh God, what would that stud feel like against her clit? She pushed his hands aside impatiently and unfastened her pants, shoving them down over her hips to her ankles and kicking them and her boots aside in one hurried motion.

He lifted her to sit on the edge of the cold vanity. A hard tremor shook her entire body. He began his descent, his mouth moving down the center of her chest. His lips, tongue, and that hard metal ball blazed a trail of pleasure across her skin. Her belly clenched as he suckled and licked his way down her stomach.

“It’s Sol,” he whispered.

“Soul?” She felt a spiritual connection with Trey. There was no questioning that, but she didn’t have any idea what he meant.

“My middle name is Sol. Like the sun.”

Reagan giggled.

“I told you that you’d laugh. My dad is incredibly clean-cut and my mom was a flower child. Dad picked out my and Darren’s horrible first names, and Mom picked out our ridiculous middle names.”

“Darren?”

“Dare,” he clarified.

“Oh. But Trey isn’t a horrible name.”

“Terrance is.”

“Nah, it’s not bad. At least you weren’t named after two presidents.”

“If you tell me your middle name is Bush, I’m not sure I’ll be able to continue.”

“Nope, it’s worse than Bush.”

“Most things are worse than bush.” He drew his fingers through the small triangle of pubic hair on her mound.

She slapped him while stifling a grin. “Naughty.”

“So tell me what it is or I won’t be able to concentrate. I’ll be too busy trying to think of presidents’ names. Is it Kennedy? Reagan Kennedy is kind of cute.”

“I wish.”

“Johnson? That’s almost as good as bush.” He glanced up at her and actually flushed. “I mean if you like cock. Which I don’t. But you probably do.”

She covered his mouth with one hand. “It’s Eisenhower.”

Trey sniggered. “You don’t expect me to actually believe that,” he said, his words muffled by her hand.

“I’ll show you my birth certificate sometime. My father is the quintessential Republican, and my mother couldn’t care less what he named me. Can we not talk about our parents? It’s a major mood killer.”

She moved her hand and pushed his head down gently, wanting to know what magic that tongue jewelry of his was capable of inflicting. This was not the sexiest conversation they’d ever had.

“I will never complain about my name again, Reagan Eisenhower Elliot.”

“You have no reason to, Terrance Sol Mills.”

Trey shuddered. “Now that you know all my secrets you have to stay with me forever.”

Reagan laughed and threaded her fingers through his silky hair. “I don’t think I could learn all of your secrets in a lifetime, Trey Mills.”

“Another reason to stick around.” His lips brushed her belly and goose bumps rose to the surface of her skin. “I have some good ones.”

He suckled a trail down her lower belly, occasionally drawing the metallic ball in a circle as he made his way to the rapidly swelling flesh between her thighs. When the tip of his tongue flicked her clit, she sucked a ragged breath through her teeth. The anticipation was killing her. He seemed intent on increasing her need rather than alleviating it. His lips moved up to her belly again, sucking a spot just beneath her navel that drove her absolutely insane.

“Trey. Trey,” she chanted.

“Hmm?” he murmured against her belly. He traced the rim of her belly button with his tongue, catching the stud on her skin and tugging it in a way that made her head swim. Now if only he’d take that circular tracing a little lower.

Fingers tangled in his hair, she pressed his head downward. He allowed her to direct him where she wanted him, his delightful tongue working against her swollen lips and then between them to her throbbing clit. He latched on with a hard suction and flicked his stud against the sensitive bit of flesh. Orgasm rapidly approached. She fought it, wanting more. It felt so good that she wasn’t ready for it to end. She wondered what his tongue would feel like a few inches lower. She pressed his head down again and he released her clit. He changed the way he moved his tongue, tracing the rim of her opening repeatedly and then pressed a bit deeper. Deeper still. The contrast between his softer tongue and that hard little ball had Reagan writhing against his face. He moved a few inches down without her prompting, catching the ball in his tongue on the rim of her anus and tugging repeatedly. No penetration. Just teasing the surface. She shuddered.

Reagan wasn’t much into anal play, but even that felt amazing. He nibbled on one swollen labium and sucked it into his mouth, rubbing that wondrous stud along the slick surface slowly at first and then faster, increasing her building excitement with each stroke. He repeated this on the other side and then latched onto her clit again. The flick of tongue sent her over the edge. He slammed two fingers into her pussy as she came, rotating them in wide arcs, working against her clenching muscles.

As her tremors stilled she became aware of her hands gripping his hair and the steady stream of swear words she was shouting into the small room. Her body relaxed against the counter and the mirror at her back. She released his hair and smoothed it with both hands.

“Sorry,” she murmured. “I got carried away.”

He licked a trail up her belly, his face tilted so he could look at her as he made his way upward. “That’s the whole point,” he said. He latched onto her nipple, sucking and flicking her favorite bit of metal in the world against the sensitive peak. His fingers began to glide in and out of her body in the same rhythm.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Yeah. Of course.”

“I’ve never had sex without a condom.”

She smiled. “That’s good. Very responsible.”

“Have you?”

She could feel the heat of embarrassment rise up her face. “Well, yeah, but only with steady boyfriends. After we both got checked out at the clinic, of course. Does that thought bother you?”

He shook his head. “Do you consider me your steady boyfriend?”

Oh, that’s what this was about. “Yeah. I suppose I do.”

“Do you want to make an appointment at the clinic with me?”

She nodded.

He grinned. “Good, because I forgot to bring a condom again. If this keeps happening, I’m going to end up with a permanent stiffy.”

She laughed and hugged him. “I don’t think that would be so bad.”