Country Love (A Billionaire BWWM Romance) (12 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Tanner

Soundcheck had
run later than I wanted. When the houselights came up, I could see Monique
sitting there, her eyes blazing at me from clear across the stadium. It took a
superhuman effort not to throw my guitar to the ground and rush right to her.

"Tanner...?"

"Tanner...?"

"Tanner...?"

It was like
everyone needed me at once. My guitar tech asking something stupid about the
acoustic, Keith about an upcoming date change, Leo about security backstage.
They all came at me, relentless and needy, the people who depended on me for
their livelihood. The jackals who fed off my songs.

With one last, forlorn
look at Monique, I allowed myself to be swept into their nonsense. With only
time enough to wolf down a quick sandwich from the craft table, it was time for
the show to begin.

Each of us had
our own little warmup rituals. After a quick huddle, we went to separate
corners to be alone with our thoughts before showtime. Blake always found a
quiet corner and bent his head, his lips moving in silent prayer. Jimmy hopped
up and down, boxing the air ferociously with muffled little grunts and whoops.
Carter paced like a caged wildcat, six steps in one direction, then an about
face and six steps in the other direction. Fitch always disappeared entirely,
not emerging until the last possible second before we went on.

Me, I always
listened to the opening band. I liked the young guys, scrappy and full of rock
star dreams. Opening for me was the biggest moment in their career and their
excitement fueled my own. Sitting in the wings, I let myself get carried away
by memory...to the nights spent in my van, the one I had paid for myself even
though my father had offered to buy me a bus outright. The freedom I had felt
being unshackled from my parents' money, while at the same time missing my family
so badly it hurt. The loneliness that had seeped in...the people who were all
to ready to exploit it...the women who were only to happy to relieve it....

Dammit.

I stood up and
turned away from the stage just as they were finishing their last number. Out
of the corner of my eye, I saw the lead singer's face fall when he saw I wasn't
watching him anymore, and suddenly I was irrationally angry. The need, the
fucking unrelenting need, it felt like these people would rip me apart with
their bare hands if they could, take all the pieces of me they could rip apart.
I longed for peace, solitude, anything but the screaming fans who bayed for me
to give, give, give.

But I didn't
belong to me anymore. I was theirs, all of theirs, running a treadmill I
couldn't get off again. So I stomped my way onstage and smiled and waved and
gave them the time of their lives because that's what I do. That's what they
all needed me to do. I did it that night.

And the next
night.

And the night
after that....

Chapter
Twenty-Four

Monique

"Hey Mo,
catch!"

By now I had been
on the bus long enough to know better. I ducked out of the way just as the beer
can whizzed past my eyeball and splattered against the far wall in a shower of
foam.

"That one's
yours, Jimmy," Carter deadpanned.

I giggled behind
my hand, and took a quick shot of the exploded can.

"Is that
really something you want to preserve for posterity?" Tanner smiled as he
slung his arm over my shoulder. I nuzzled up into him.

"Yes, I'm a
journalist," I told him, then turned and caught him with my flash. He
smiled that smile of his and it occurred to me that I had never in my life been
so happy. I took another quick shot, wanting to preserve the moment, just for
me.

We were rolling
west now, on the road for a week. The hills flashed outside the tinted windows
and I felt myself lulled by the miles as I snuggled back down into Tanner's
arms. As long as I managed to push the time limit from my mind, I could bask in
a contentment I hadn't known in years.

As long as I
ignored the fact that it could never be fully mine.

Tanner's big palm
was inching inexorably down my shoulder, making its slow way to my breasts. I
suppressed a giggle and squeezed my eyes shut, feigning sleep against his
chest.

"Ah good, I
can make my move," he whispered playfully, cupping my breast.

"You think
you need to wait 'til I'm sleeping to get your hands on me?" I muttered
into his shirt, inhaling deeply. A week on the road and he still smelled
incredible. It was like sunshine seeped from his every pore.

"It's safest
that way," he said and I could hear the smile in his voice. "You're
less likely to bite me if you're sleeping."

I turned my head
quickly and nipped at his chest. He growled and heaved me onto his lap, me
shrieking and pummeling him to no avail.

"I'd say get
a room, but we have at least seventy miles to go before that's possible,"
Carter complained from his bunk.

"Ignore
him," Tanner murmured against my throat.

"I always
do," I said flashing a grin at Carter.

He raised a
middle finger at me, shaking his head. "I don't know how you get away with
it, Mo. The more shit you give me, the more I want you to like me."

"That's 'cos
she's magic," Tanner growled, rolling his hips under me. I could feel the
whole length of him, pressing at me insistently through his jeans. I was on
fire instantly, of course, but there was the small problem of our audience.

"Seventy
more miles?" I groaned, pressing into him.

"Has to be
only sixty-nine, by now," he sighed. His hands were at my waist, big and
strong, fingers delving into my skin. If I was wearing I skirt, I could just
hitch it up over my hips...but alas, I was an idiot and wore leggings instead.

"Save that
for me," I whispered in his ear, nipping at his lobe.

He heaved a groan
that would be heartbreaking if it weren't so funny. "Who the hell else
would it be for?"

"I dunno,
you and Blake seem awfully close," I teased.

He fell back against
the seat. "Thanks, that just killed the mood quite well. Better than a
cold shower, actually."

"Ah...a
shower, I remember those," I sighed, sliding off of him and settling back
into the seat across the aisle. "I still can't believe that with all the money
your label is pouring into this, they can't allot you more personal time."

"Doesn't
make them enough money that way," Tanner said, grim resignation setting in
around his mouth. He reached into the compartment behind him and pulled out the
battered acoustic he liked to noodle around with while he talked. I settled
back to listen, impressed as always with the artistry in his fingers. I mean, I
knew those fingers had some skills when it came to playing me, but guitar was
definitely their first language. "Nah, I'm not really my own man any more.
I'm a business. A corporation. All that freedom I sing about is kinda
hypocritical when I think about it too much. I'm just as much a slave as any
office drone, I'm just lyin' to them and to myself."

He ducked his head
and strummed, nodding as his fingers danced along the frets. I could tell he
didn't want to talk anymore, but his words left a hollow place in my chest.
Tanner Brock was born to be a rock star, could he really hate it this much?

Without thinking,
I reached for my camera. As Tanner turned his face down, the angle of the sun
through the windows caught the glint of stubble on his jaw. I snapped a few
pictures, then stood up, used to the rocking motion of the bus. I squatted down
and shot him from below, heroically slung across his seat, his cowboy boots on
display. He looked every inch the iconic freedom-loving cowboy.

"Any time
shit gets deep, you hide behind that thing, you know that?"

I froze and
looked up at him. He was peering at me out of the corners of his eyes while his
hands still made beautiful soft music. There was no use lying. "Yeah, I
do," I said, looking down at my camera.

I expected him to
chide me. Instead he nodded. "I hide behind this thing too," he
nodded, strumming hard before setting it aside. "Makes a physical barrier
between you and the world. But I don't want that with you. C'mere."

Blinking rapidly
to dissipate the tears that threatened to fall, I went to him, setting my
camera aside. He kissed me, long and deep, not holding back anything. I kissed
him back, too terrified of my feelings to do anything else.

I was falling.
Hard.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

Monique

Another show on
the books. Things were settling into a groove now. A punishing, exhausting
groove.

"Who needs a
beer?" Carter called the second he was on the bus.

The rest of us raised
our hands, me included. He handed them out one at a time as we entered the bus,
like an usher taking tickets before a show.

"Gotta
tighten the middle of the set," Fitch grumbled as he leaned back in a
seat. The bus rumbled to life and I rubbed my sandpapery eyes. I couldn't
believe they had to get on the road again so soon.

"I don't
want to talk about the set," Tanner sighed. "Please. I just need to
sleep." He crawled into his bunk and I hung back for a moment before
deciding to head back to a seat to review the shots I had gotten that night.

Tanner's arm shot
out from the bunk, his hand gripping my thigh. "Where do you think you're
going?" he asked in a voice muffled by his pillow.

"You said
you wanted to sleep..." I hedged.

"You think
I'm doing any sleepin' without you in my arms? I haven't seen you all day,
c'mere..." he smiled sleepily and patted the bed next to him,

I slid into the
bunk and he curled up against me with a contented sigh. Then Tanner pushed his
head under my arm, nuzzling into my chest. "I'm just going to stay here
forever," he murmured against my breasts.

I laughed and
stroked his hair. Two weeks left with this man. I kissed the top of his head
and he tilted his face up to mine, pressing his lips gently yet firmly against
my mouth.

"You
wanna...close that curtain for me?" he growled, his fingers delving
underneath my jeans.

Every cell in my
body was aware of him. And even though the rest of the band was only a few feet
away, that didn't seem to matter. What mattered was the feel of his lips on
mine, the rough scratch of day old stubble against my cheek, the scorching heat
of his hand tracing fiery lines down my body. I turned my head and moaned into
the pillow, hoping no one could hear me over the noise of the bus.

"Missed
you," he murmured against my ear. He rolled on top of me, the mattress
creaking underneath us. Embarrassment flamed inside of me, but desire burned
hotter.

"Need
you," I whispered back, arching into him. The way his eyes flamed brightly
when I said that was worth everything...the lack of privacy, the hectic
schedule, I didn't care about any of it when he looked at me that way.

He cupped his
hand gently at the back of my neck, pulling me flush against him. I wrapped my
legs around him and we moved together, the gentle rocking of the bus urging us
onward.

It could have
been a dream. We moved sleepily, languidly, silently coming together in
response to a need that couldn't be denied. I closed my eyes as he entered me,
the silent slide of his skin against mine sending me into shuddering ecstasy
almost immediately. The hot, tingling desire I had suffered with all the long
day away from him found relief over and over again as we dissolved into each
other.

When at last I
had had my fill, drunk with satisfaction, he rolled to the side and cradled my
head in his arms. I snuggled up and breathed the scent of him, the smell of
sunshine that seeped from his skin. His breathing was already soft and slow,
and I smiled, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Sleep well," I
breathed, feeling my own slide into sleep dragging me inexorably down. Rocked
by the bus's motions, I slept cradled in his arms all night, as safe as a baby.

It was the lack
of motion that woke me.

The bus had stopped.

Sunlight peeked
through a crack in the curtain, drilling right into my eyeballs. Tanner's eyes
were screwed tightly closed in rebellion against being awake. But a crash and a
muffled curse from Jimmy let us know we couldn't stay in bed forever.

"Good mornin',"
he smiled, his eyes still closed.

"Morning,"
I said, pressing my lips tightly together. I hadn't brushed my teeth the night
before.
 
"Where the hell are
we?"

Tanner chuckled.
"Somewhere in the United States, I'd suspect."

"You don't
know?"

"Nope."
His eyes fluttered open. Those eyelashes were criminal.
 
"I usually try to figure it out by
the name of the venue. I'm getting pretty good at it."

A sardonic
chuckle escaped my lips before I could catch it. He propped himself up on his
elbow and looked down at me, tracing a finger along my jaw. 'You okay?"

I shook my head.
"Sorry. Deja vu?"

He cocked his
head. "I'm almost certain this has never happened before. I swear I would
have remembered wakin' up next to a woman as beautiful as you." I smacked
him in the arm and he grinned wider. "And as violent as you."

"That's not
what I meant. I was talking about the waking up after driving all night and not
knowing where you are."

His grin slammed
shut. "Right. I remember you tellin' me your family moved a lot."

I was surprised.
"You remember that?"

He bent down and
kissed me sweetly. "I remember every single moment with you in the
graveyard. The way the sun shone through the trees, the way you were acting all
pissed so you wouldn't cry. How your eyes glittered when you told me 'no.'
You're a shit liar, Monique."

He drowned out my
protests, kissing me harder. By the time he pulled away, I found I didn't feel
like arguing with him anymore.