Hot wired series box set, p.94
Hot Wired Series Box Set, page 94
part #1 of Hot Wired Series
“What excuse are we going to give for you picking me up at the hotel and me not being with you to begin with?” Sugar drew on her jacket and zipped up.
“Good question.”
“I’m having an affair already?”
Even though he knew she teased, that rumor felt like a punch to his gut. “That ought to set their tongues wagging.”
She laughed.
“I’m going to stick with a no comment answer,” he decided. “Let them come up with their own ludicrous answers.”
“I like that. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with.”
He buckled his helmet on. “They can be entertaining.”
Whipping through town on his motorcycle with Sugar nestled behind him, he felt like the luckiest man on earth. The most envied too with the hottest woman as his transient wife.
Much too fast they made it back to her hotel. She climbed off and he missed her warmth immediately. He ripped off his helmet and helped her unbuckle hers. The expression she gave him came across as amused by his insistence at aiding her. Unzipping her jacket felt personal and a touch clandestine despite their public setting.
“Paparazzi are already here.” She stared over his shoulder, most likely in the direction of the reporters.
He suspected they were the same guys as before. “When I ditched them earlier, they probably came straight back here to wait. They wanted to get the scoop no one else has.”
“If I wasn’t an artist, I could see myself doing their job. It’d be exciting tracking down people.”
“I’d probably be in construction.”
She looked at him. “Ramos and Son.”
“Sounds right.”
“Is your dad disappointed you didn’t join the business?”
“Nah.” Derr shook his head. “He lets me know he’s proud of my success.”
“Thanks for the fun day, Derr. I really enjoyed meeting your family too.”
“This isn’t goodbye, Sugar.” No way was he letting this be the end of their relationship even if she sounded like it was.
“Yeah, but I like you too much. That’s the problem.” She stared at his chin, confusing him more with her lack of eye contact.
“How’s that a problem?”
“I could see myself in ten years being good friends with your sisters.”
While it scared him a little, he also liked that she envisioned herself with him in ten years. “Sugar—”
“I don’t like it when you say my name.”
The viciousness in her voice took him by surprise. At a momentary loss of what to say, he finally asked, “Why?”
“It sounds like an endearment. Something a lover would say. We’re not lovers. We’re barely friends, more like acquaintances that spent a nice day together. I don’t care what the tabloids say or what we want, this can’t happen between us, Derr.”
No idea what to say to the vehemence in her tone or eyes, he took a step away from her and lifted his hands at his sides in surrender. “Okay. This is me backing off.”
She held her jacket and helmet toward him.
“Keep them,” he said. “They were bought for you. You’re the only woman I’ve taken on my motorcycle, so they’re not likely to be used again.”
Sugar clutched them to her chest. “Sorry, Derr.”
“Never be sorry for being honest.” No matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t resent her honesty.
Before he could leave, she confused him further by stepping into his personal space and wrapping her free arm around his neck. “Nothing good will come of this.”
About to reply, she kissed him, and he went stupid, towing her against him and using his body to amplify her desire along with the drag of his tongue. Forgetting to keep the embrace PG, he cupped the back of her head and palmed her ass, rubbing his cock against her pussy. As a sexual creature, he wasn’t used to restricting himself, but using his skill to seduce mind and body.
With a gasp, she broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his, her eyes remaining closed as she caught her breath. He fiddled with her hair, rubbing a thick lock between his fingers. “You’re sending mixed signals.”
“I feel awful when I try to push you away. I’m confused, Derr. I want to be with you, but I don’t have time for a love affair.”
Dragging his fingers through her silken strands, he pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I don’t have the answers, Sugar. My life’s busy too. The other guys in the band make it work with their career minded women. I don’t see why we can’t too if we really want it to work. But...” Using his hand in her hair, he tilted her head back to meet her eyes. “Right now, we’re just friends who like kissing each other.”
“I love kissing you, Derr.” The fingers of her other hand slid along his lips. “Love the way these feels against my face. And this,” she trailed her fingertips along his scruff, “is scratchy and heightens the experience, has me fantasizing about it against other areas of my body. The way you rub your body against the right spots of my body... geez, I’m screwed.”
His blood heated so fast his dick went from semi-hard to painfully hard. “You can’t do that, Sugar.” Releasing her, he put space between them and sat sideways on his motorcycle seat, facing her. He folded his arms across his chest and watched her, aware they were courting paparazzi disaster the longer they remained public. So far hotel security had managed to keep them backed off. “I’m like any man. Words like that create a physical response. If you want to keep this platonic, then you can’t say shit like that.”
“Sorry, you’re right.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know what I want.”
“You need to figure it out.” She winced at his words and he trailed his fingertips along her eyebrow and down across her cheek. “My intent wasn’t to be harsh, but to remain honest with you. I’m not a boy-toy to be played with.”
“Honestly, it’d be easier if you were.” The sexy little grin that tipped up one side of her mouth lit his body on fire.
“If all you wanted was a vibrator to get you off, I can be that too.” Her breath caught, and she bit her bottom lip. He side-eyed the reporter that drew closer, snapping pictures of them from different angles. From an outsider angle, he hoped they looked like they were in a sexy pose instead of discussing important matters. Keeping his voice low, he continued. “Sugar, I like boundaries. I prefer to know where I stand with a woman and letting them know where they stand with me. I was pissed about the marriage until I realized it was you, then I didn’t mind having you as a ball and chain.”
She pinched his side and he winked at her.
“I want more than a friendship. I want to call you mine and glare down any man who’d claim what’s mine.”
“Caveman.” Even though she teased, little humor tickled her face.
He didn’t let her distract him. “We should take it slow, not go too fast or get too serious too fast, but in all honesty, I already feel protective toward you. And I absolutely need to hear you moan my name when I’m inside you, when you’re coming on my tongue, my fingers and damn sure my dick.”
“Jesus, Derr.”
He dragged his thumb along her cheekbone, admiring the flush in her cheeks.
“Attraction isn’t enough, that takes us only so far. We have to like one another.” Their foreheads met with their mouths so close he could feel her breath hitting his face. “Think about it. If you can handle what I want, then answer my call tomorrow. If you ignore my call, I’ll know you’ve declined my offer, no harm no foul, just respect for your candor.”
He kissed her forehead and forced himself to walk away. Shooting her one last look, he fired up his engine. “Answer my call, Sugar. I promise you won’t regret it.”
TWENTY-THREE
SUGAR ENTERED THE ELEVATOR with a heavy heart. Ashamed by the way she teased Derr. It wasn’t fair to turn him down and then tease him with what he couldn’t have. He was spot on about not treating him like a boy-toy. Although, he fit all her requirements for the perfect boy-toy. Even that had her feeling guilty.
Before tonight, he’d been the hot guy she’d met in Vegas and married in a drunken stupor. After watching him engage with his family, he was someone she could envision spending her life with. Someone she felt certain would support her and would put family first.
Family guys were her drug of choice because they recognized what mattered and allowed no one and nothing to come between him and his family.
That he described what he wanted from her added to his appeal. His ease with which he expressed his desires told her he wasn’t afraid of going after what he wanted and letting the object of his desires know his intent. He’d also given her an escape route, a clear sign he had moral standards.
The reminder of his visceral and explicit wishes still had her body humming with lust.
Could she trust her gut to have picked up on the right man? Her track record with men wasn’t great. But her momma used to say she had to kiss a lot of frogs to find her prince. She’d never wanted a prince, nothing so perfect, but craving a man that valued family and her career as much as his, seemed to be the unicorn of the world.
Their chemistry was off the chart, but... does that make him my prince?
Sighing, she leaned her head against the elevator’s wall. She had to decide what she wanted, truly wanted and not some wishy-washy half-assed decision. Sugar owed Derr that much. He’d been nothing but straight up honest with her about his wants. Whatever decision she made, she’d do the same for him. The problem remained that she wanted to make the right choice without any regrets.
She let herself into the hotel suite. Jack reclined in the living room, his tablet in his lap and his cell phone beside him on the sofa. He looked up at her wearing a smug ass expression.
“What are you gloating about?”
“I didn’t realize just how big a deal Derr is. There’s a hashtag campaign started about you two.”
“Already?” She dropped her helmet and jacket on a chair.
“A Megan Wambly posted pictures from the beach. One picture has been shared”—he fiddled with his tablet—“over two-hundred thousand times. Girl, we can’t buy marketing like this. Since it was posted, you’ve had an uptick in visitors to your website and sold five grand in merchandise.”
“Wow.” Stunned, she dropped her cell phone on the coffee table and plopped onto the chair opposite Jack.
“Can we keep him?” Jack asked. “Please, please, can we keep him?”
“What happens to my career when his fans discover we split?” How could one man’s presence in her life have this much impact in such a short amount of time? Not just to her but to her career.
“Don’t worry about that. You still have your loyal fan base. They’re the ones that count. Won’t hurt if we pick up just ten percent of the ones interested now.”
“Yeah.”
Silence fell between them as she pulled off her shoes and thought about what he said. The fans who’d been with her since the beginning would most likely remain loyal. Thanks to winning Tattoo Guru and starting the reality series her current wait time for a tattoo ranged anywhere from eight to ten months just for the consult appointment. Taking off like this to invest time into a new venture wasn’t just eating into her tattooing time, but her availability of appointments for the next year.
“Sugar?”
“Hmm?” She rubbed her feet.
“How do you really feel about this guy?”
Groaning, she leaned into the seat. “I’m terribly attracted to him, but this couldn’t be the worst timing.”
“I swear you’re the only woman I know that doesn’t want to find a good man to spend the rest of her life with.” Jack palmed the back of his neck. “I want you happy, that’s all I care about. Your career is hot, but that doesn’t mean you owe the world your happiness.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
“What does that mean?”
Sighing, he sat forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “If you think for one second he might be the one, then you owe it to yourself to give a relationship with him a try.
Nodding, she wondered how true that was. How could they make it work? When she went back to New Orleans, how would she find time to see Derr? Sure, they could visit, but when he started touring again those visits would become harder to arrange. Could they really make a relationship work like that? Even though her last one hadn’t survived a long-distance relationship, there’d been other factors that contributed to their breakup.
Do I even want to try to make this work? And risk the heartache if she got too attached to him? Giving him that much power over her emotions was more than she’d ever given any man. She’d been disappointed when she realized her last boyfriend wasn’t the guy for her. He’d been supportive of her career, but by the end he’d been cheating on her too.
“Is he interested in you?” Jack interrupted her introspection.
“Yeah, Derr made it clear he wanted to give us a go.” Ironic that he wanted a relationship at the beginning of their divorce.
“I knew I liked that guy. Bluntness is one of his strong suits.”
“Oh, he’s very blunt.”
A twisted smile hit his face. “I’ll assume by the red in your cheeks you liked that type of bluntness.”
“Jack, I’m attracted to him, but I don’t know how to make it all work. In less than a week we return home. We’re in the middle of shooting the show, would he even want to be involved in that process? Would Tab let him?”
“Speaking of Tab, I want to chat with her about blending merchandise for you two. Could benefit the both of us.”
“Bullshit, you just want to speak to Tab.”
“I want to do a lot of things to Tab.” He waggled his eyebrows at Sugar and his lurid expression jerked a laugh from her. “But I’ll start with speaking to her.”
“I gave Derr your cell so hopefully she’ll call you soon.”
Jack nodded as he picked up his cell and swiped right to take it out of sleep mode. A moment later it began to ring so he’d evidently put it on speaker.
“Who are you calling?”
“Dusty and I’m conferencing in Luc.” He placed the phone on the coffee table next to Sugar’s.
“Hey, fuck buddy,” Dusty answered, the sound of a tattoo machine in the background. “I have you on speaker while I’m inking my client. Say hi to Kathy.”
“Hello, Kathy.” The purr that deepened Jack’s voice to sin had Sugar shaking her head. He knew how to turn up the charm when he wanted. And when it came to women, he usually always wanted to turn on the charm.
“Hey, Kathy,” Luc said. “What type of tat are you getting?”
“A demonic kitty cat,” Kathy said.
For some reason Luc hissed. “You gotta take a picture of that, Dusty.”
“I’ll get her to do that.” Kathy promised. “Dusty, is your fuck buddy as hot as he sounds?”
Jack grimaced. “I wish you wouldn’t call me fuck buddy when you have a client with you.”
“Why? Kathy’s a high school friend.”
“It’s inappropriate, that’s why,” Sugar said. “It could also lead to legal problems for SIN.”
“Fuck me, Jack.” Sugar could imagine her friend wincing. “You didn’t forewarn me you have the boss on the line.”
Right, like Dusty was worried. She was a brilliant artist and she knew it. Her job security was high, unless she caused Sugar a legal case that could’ve been unavoidable. That was something she wouldn’t be able to ignore.
“You didn’t give me a chance to tell you.” He shook his head. “You opened with the nickname.”
“I don’t mind it,” Kathy chimed in. “I’ve known Dusty since she was twelve. She was a crude bitch then too.”
“Yeah, she was,” Luc agreed like she knew, but since Sugar had met Dusty in college they hadn’t known Dusty at twelve.
“I have a theory she came out of the womb calling her mom a cunt,” Sugar said.
Kathy laughed. “She’s got you pegged, Dusty.”
Jack grinned. “Where’s the placement of the tat, Kathy?”
“Her ass.” Dusty chuckled.
“Someone needs to whoop your ass.” Even though they weren’t on a video call, Jack smacked his hip to demonstrate how she needed her ass whooped.
“You’re not man enough.”
“Wait!” Luc interrupted. “Jack’s a man?”
Sugar rolled her eyes at their typical banter. “What’d we call Dusty and Luc for? I want to take a long hot shower and curl into bed.”
“I wanted to chat with them about you know who. Get their opinion, but it’ll have to wait until they’re alone.”
Christ almighty. Her life wasn’t up for discussion with everyone. Not that she minded Dusty or Luc knowing everything, but regardless what her friends and sister thought she had to do what she was comfortable doing. If she chose to give a relationship with Derr a chance, it’d be her decision. No coercion on their part would make a difference.
“Ooo... super, secret code. I love being on the inside.” That came from her sister as if she wasn’t always on the inside.
“We really should create a secret language, so we can talk in front of others.” The buzzing on Dusty’s end halted for a moment.
Sugar decided they were crazier than she realized if any of them thought she’d learn a pretend language just to communicate in secret while in front of others. Nobody had time for that bullshit.
“I’m jealous and curious,” Kathy said.
“We need to take a break anyway. Kathy’s been sitting for three hours.” Noises came from Dusty’s line. “Give me a few.”
“It’s all right.” Sugar devil-eyed Jack. In response he winked at her. “I don’t need help with you know who.”
“Y’all know Sugar,” Jack elevated his eyebrows at her, “so y’all know how she—”
“Sugar thinks you better shut the hell up, Jack.” Something in her voice had his gaze snapping to hers. She mouthed “Kathy tabloids”.
Sitting back, he nodded. “We’ll give you a minute. Great talking with you, Kathy.”
