Wary, Myrna watched Brian approach the bed. Her eyes moved to the camel-colored leather restraints in his hand and then to the chain suspended from the ceiling above her. She’d never been restrained before. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like it. She was, however, open to new experiences and willing to experiment with Brian.“Before you start,” she said, “I want you to promise me you’ll stop if I ask you to.”“Jace said I should gag you when that happens.”Her eyes widened and her heart began to race.“But I’m not Jace,” Brian continued. “I’ll stop if you ask me to stop. Do you trust me?”She hesitated, her eyes dropping to the restraints again. “I think so.”He walked around the edge of the bed and placed the restraints and an MP3 player on the nightstand. Empty handed, he crawled onto the bed with her. They knelt in the center of the mattress, facing each other.He took her hands in his and stared into her eyes. He still had his stage makeup on, which reminded her how sexy
A moment later he spanked her with the paddle and, surprised, she released his hand. He left the ice inside her and backed away. Cool water dripped down her inner thigh as the ice melted. Something hot burned a trail over her lower back.“Ah!” she gasped, twisting away from the heat. It was very hot but didn’t burn for long. The smell of paraffin alerted her to his current antics. A second splash of hot wax dripped over her thigh.The bus rocked forward. They were on the road again. She wondered fleetingly if anyone had found her car, but lost the thought as another piece of ice trailed over her skin, beside the hardening wax on her thigh. Brian’s thumb touched her chin. When she opened her mouth, he put something on her tongue. A sweet square of chocolate melted in her mouth. She turned her head to inhale Brian’s scent on the T-shirt still draped over her shoulders. One of Brian’s best solos now played in her ear.She protested when he tugged the ear bud out of her ear again. She enj
The bus lurched to a sudden halt, sending empty beer cans scuttling over Myrna’s sandals. Something thick and gooey spilled from one of the cans and trickled between her toes. She retched and jumped from the bench, slipping with her first step and sticking to the floor on her second. She’d had enough! She stomped over to where the guys sat perched on a pile of dirty clothes playing a video game in the living area. There was a sofa under that mountain of filth somewhere.Myrna planted her fists on her hips and glanced from one band member to the next. “All right, guys. Some things need to change around here.”Four pairs of eyes turned toward Brian. Control your chick, they seemed to say.She pointed to her foot. “Would someone like to tell me what just dripped out of a beer can onto my foot?”“A loogie?” Trey guessed.“As in phlegm?” Myra sputtered. “Oh. My. God.”Brian tossed her a dirty shirt, which smelled like ass, and she used it to wipe the slimy mess off her foot. It wouldn’t su
Brian smiled slightly, but didn’t look at Myrna when he said, “Don’t we all?”They didn’t lose their tail as they wound through the aisles, but Kevin was a little less obvious about following them. He watched them from one aisle over.The store had an excellent butcher who produced choice cuts of fresh meat. “We’ll have to clean out the freezer when we get back,” Myrna said. “I can’t pass up this meat.”“The freezer is highly toxic,” Trey said. “Can’t we just throw out the whole refrigerator and get a new one?”“Yeah, let’s do that,” Jace agreed. He was tossing T-bones into the cart as if they were having a buy-one-get-ten-free steak sale.“Sheesh, Jace, are you hungry?” Myrna asked.“There are fourteen of us.”“Good point. Get ground beef. I’ll make chili.”“Do you really want to be trapped on a tour bus with a bunch of guys who’ve consumed large quantities of chili beans?” Brian asked.Myrna laughed. “Another good point. Okay, I’ll make lasagna instead. Tomorrow.”“Now you’re talkin
Myrna shook her head at Brian. “We’ve been through this a hundred times. I’m not staying in L.A. with you.”“You can get your work done while we’re rehearsing and in the recording studio,” he said. “And we have a music video shoot in a couple of days. You can use that entire day to work.”Lounging on his back in one of the curtained bunks, Brian trailed his fingers lightly over her bare shoulder, tracing the spaghetti strap of her satin nightgown. She lay on his belly, her folded arms on his chest and her chin resting on her interlaced fingers. She stared up at his face, which was mostly concealed in shadows, contemplating her options. He’d been wearing her down for almost a week, and as much as she wanted to have fun with him, she knew she had to use this opportunity to get caught up on her work.“You know if I stay, I’ll want to watch everything you do. You’re too much of a distraction. Besides, it’s only a week. It won’t kill us to be apart for seven days.”“We’ve been together alm
Why was she so nervous? They were just parents. Yes, one of them was Malcolm O’Neil, but that shouldn’t make her tummy flutter or her palms sweat.“Are you okay?” Brian asked.“Fine,” she squeaked.“Don’t be nervous. They’ll love you.”The mood backstage was more sedate than usual, with scarcely a scantily clad woman to be found. Brian opened the dressing room door and ushered Myrna inside. The instant Brian stepped into the room, a stunning woman grabbed him in a crushing hug and kissed him square on the mouth.“Excuse me,” Myrna said crossly.“Mom,” Brian gasped. “Can’t breathe.”“I don’t see you for two months and you greet me with ‘can’t breathe’?”He gave his mom a hug that lifted her feet off the ground. She laughed.“Put your mother down,” a deep voice said behind Myrna.She turned and looked up at Malcolm O’Neil. Her heart did a somersault in her chest. She’d been afraid of this. She gaped up at him like a fish out of water —her throat trying to produce sounds, her mouth openi
“Just because you’re popular doesn’t mean you’re talented,” Malcolm said, scowling.If Myrna had a cotton swab, she would have cleaned out her ears. He didn’t really just say that, did he? Eric’s fingers gripped the back of her jacket. Was he trying to keep her from jumping Brian’s father and kicking the shit out of him? Probably a good move on Eric’s part.“They just don’t make music like they used to,” Malcolm added.“Thank God,” Myrna grumbled.“I mean Sed doesn’t even sing,” Malcolm said. “He just screams and growls.”Eric’s fingers gripped Myrna’s jacket even tighter.“And Brian solos constantly,” Malcolm continued, the furrow in his brow deepening. “He wouldn’t know a good riff if it bit him in the ass.”“Malcolm…” Claire said in warning, but she was grinning to herself in agreement.“And why in the hell do you need three bass drums, Sticks?” Malcolm asked. “You only have two feet. And fourteen cymbals? I mean really. What’s the point?”“Different sounds,” Eric said quietly.“Yo
Myrna suppressed the urge to kick him in the teeth.She shrugged. “Well, if you can’t…”He grunted, the arms crossed over his chest tightening until his biceps strained the sleeves of his T-shirt. “There’s a difference between can’t and won’t.”“The outcome is the same.”The band started the next song. Myrna watched with her usual enthusiasm, pretending to ignore Malcolm, who tapped his toe occasionally and shifted his hands into his pockets during Brian’s solo. This might be easier than she thought. He wanted to be up there with Brian. She knew he did. So why was he holding back? And why did he find it necessary to belittle not only Brian, but his entire band?The majority of the crowd was a mosh pit—bodies ricocheting off each other in chaos. When the song ended, the audience surged toward the barrier as individuals tried to situate themselves closer to the stage.“Wild crowd tonight,” Myrna commented. “Ever had a crowd like this one?”Malcolm snorted. “Ever heard of Woodstock?”“Oh