“The ones who aren’t terrified of it,” Kelly said and released Owen’s face. He gave Owen a thunk on the side of the head as an afterthought.
Owen punched Kelly in the thigh and turned his attention to Gabe’s cellphone.
“Owen?” Gabe said.
Owen’s warm, blue eyes rose to meet Gabe’s gaze. “Huh?”
“I think you should give my phone back now.”
He looked down at the screen and started scrolling through Gabe’s apps. “Why?”
“Because I have a lot of blackmail material on you and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Owen found the game he wanted to play and started flinging birds at pigs. “Not half as much blackmail material as I have on you,” he said calmly. “And you care what your mama thinks of you.”
“You don’t want me to call in a favor from Cuff, do you?” Gabe didn’t have to explain what he meant. Owen knew if Gabe called Kelly Cuff in the privacy of the bus, it meant he wanted to use Kelly’s special talents.
Kelly sat up straighter on the sofa, a devilish glint in his dark eyes. “Do you want me to tie him up or tie him down?”
Owen glanced at Kelly as if Gabe’s threat was reward rather than punishment. While he was distracted, Gabe snatched his phone out of his hand.
“I think I’ll take this to the bathroom so you guys don’t bother me,” Gabe said.
“What?” Adam called after him. “Are you going to jerk off for her with video rolling?”
Gabe sighed heavily and rather than correct Adam’s lewdness, he said, “Yep. Twice. So do not disturb.”
Chapter 12
“Are you driving?” Nikki asked Melanie as they waited for the valet to retrieve Nikki’s Bug.
“It’s your car.”
“I’m not sure if I can sit still for that long. I’m a bit tender down there.” Nikki’s eyes rolled southward. “Shade f**ks like an animal.”
“And you think Force doesn’t? Why do you think they call him Force?” Melanie would never tell her the secret behind Gabe’s nickname. She liked that there were things between them that were not widely known. She was sure half the planet knew more about his life than she did so what she alone knew, she’d keep to herself. Something to treasure. She couldn’t wait to get to know him better. To learn all the nuances of his personality and history that weren’t part of the public record.
They’d exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes in the hotel suite, mostly because she didn’t want to cry in front of his band mates. She’d felt stupid enough crying in front of him.
“I’ll take the wheel at the halfway mark,” Nikki promised.
“Fine.”
Before they were even out of the hotel’s drive, Nikki had her shoes off, her seat reclined, and her feet up on the dash.
“That was fun, but I don’t think I could handle more than one night with that man. I’m exhausted,” Nikki said.
“I figured you’d be sobbing by now,” Melanie said. She almost laughed at the irony. She was the one who was almost in tears, not Nikki. And Nikki didn’t even recognize that Melanie was upset.
Nikki rubbed her crotch through her jeans. “I’m tender, but I’m not that sore.”
“I mean like you used to in college. You’d call me to come pick you up, cry on my shoulder, and then we’d eat ice cream. Remember that?”
“God, don’t remind me. I was such an idiot, thinking the way to a guy’s heart was through his dick.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I think I fell into that pattern just so we could do the ice cream thing together afterwards. You’ve always been so good to me, Mel. I’d start missing you while you were spending all your time studying, so I’d get drunk and sleep with some loser because I knew you’d come rescue me. Anytime I just called and asked if you wanted to hang out, you were always too busy, but if I was upset over a guy, you’d be there for me in an instant.”
Melanie stopped at a red light and looked at Nikki. She had that needy puppy look on her face and yeah, Melanie, liked it. She wanted Nikki to need her. She had never wanted Nikki to sleep with jerks just to gain her attention though.
“I had no idea, Nikki. I’m sorry I didn’t make more time for you when you weren’t in crisis.”
Nikki shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad. I had some great sex in college. And a lot of mediocre sex. Still, nothing compares to last night. And this morning.” She fanned herself. “That man knows his way around a vagina. And no wonder he likes threesomes—he’s too much for one pu**y to handle.”
“Did you really ask that waitress to double-team him?”
Nikki grinned. “She was happy to join us. You missed out on some serious fun, Mel. Ever had a woman go down on you?”
Melanie flushed and her gaze automatically went to Nikki’s lap. “Uh. No.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
And Melanie was pretty sure she didn’t want to know. She did want to change the subject. She’d known that Nikki was wild, but she’d had no idea she’d go to those kinds of extremes.
“So you don’t want to be in a real relationship with Shade?” Melanie asked.
Nikki laughed. “Hell no. I just wanted to f**k him. Do you know how hard it is to maintain a relationship with a musician while he’s on the road? With so many girls like me trying to get in his pants?”
Melanie turned her attention back to the road as she searched for a sign pointing the way to the interstate. “I guess I’m about to find out.”
“What’s that mean, Mel?”
Melanie shrugged. “Gabe wants to try a relationship.”
Nikki slapped her on the thigh with the back of her hand. “Shut up. Are you serious?”
“Probably not. I doubt he’ll even call me.”
She couldn’t believe she’d become such an annoying, needy pest that she’d actually shed tears at the thought of leaving. He was probably glad to be rid of her. Ten more minutes in his presence and she’d have attempted to have herself surgically attached to him.
“If he breaks your heart, you know who to call for ice cream.”
Melanie smiled. “You know, even without the broken hearts, we can just hang out. Like this. Even have some ice cream.”
“Yeah?”
Melanie nodded.
Nikki sat quietly for a long moment, as if she were trying to get her courage up. “Um, Mel?”