His Assurance (Assured Distraction Book 3) (10 page)

Lola jumped in. “Journey, is this what y’all do all the time?”

“Hell yeah, it’s what we’ve been doing since we partied in high school, Lola. Of course, I would never admit that to Mom, but you’re not her, now are you? And besides, it’s legal now. I don’t need your permission.” The other girls chimed in with some ‘hell yeahs.’ I wondered at this point how well Journey and Lola knew each other. Obviously, Lola was more on the conservative side growing up where Journey often took a walk on the wild side.

“Oh, my God, it’s just one shot.” Ivy got in the middle of it again. She opened a purse resembling a piece of carry-on luggage and produced airplane-sized liquor bottles. She passed something clear out to the girls and Hayden before they clank them together and knock them back. From the girls’ faces, I could tell the liquor didn’t faze them, so I kept quiet about it. The look Hayden gave me was exactly what I was thinking; it was going to be a long night for some of us. He was still underage, and I knew for a fact he rarely went out partying with friends. Of course, all of his friends were associated with AD, so he drank as often as he wanted. Now that he had little Crew to take care of, though, the stakes were a lot higher on keeping custody. One DUI or MIP and something could go wrong for him, so that was always in the back of Hayden’s mind.

“The limo awaits, ladies,” I announced, and they all deposited their phones in little purses while heading out the door. Even Ivy dropped the carry-on after she pulled out something she dangled from her wrist.

I stayed behind to lock up, and when I turned, Lola stood there looking at me. I could see by her face she was not happy. “Hey, what’s the matter?” I pulled her to me and hugged her.

“What have I gotten myself into here? Ivy is going to cause trouble the entire time we’re here. I can already see it.”

“Yeah, she’s got the potential for leading others down a path to destruction, but let’s roll with it for now. Journey doesn’t strike me as a girl easily led by others. If she’s anything like her sister, she’ll be fine.” I wanted to reassure Lola, but we both entertained the same thoughts.

When we climbed in the limo, they had popped the top on the champagne. Oh, yeah, what was it I’d just said?

“To Journey’s fucking twenty-first year of fun and games,” Lauren said, and they all clinked glasses. I looked at Lola and smiled.

If I said, “Maybe we better not” one time that night, I repeated it a thousand damn times. The limo dropped us at the front door of the first club, which was great because even with sunglasses and a ball cap on, fans recognized Gunner before we walked in the door. Girls were everywhere screaming his name, asking for autographs, and wanting pictures. This continued until we got inside. Apparently, the word got out fast that he was out in Austin, so the fans wanted to see and touch him.

The t-shirt he wore fit tightly across his chest and arms. If all of those huge muscles didn’t capture the women’s attention, then the beautifully colored sleeve tattoos certainly did. He had added some new ones since I saw him last, and I intended to spend a lot of time getting to know them better when I had full access to them. I might have even dreamt of running my tongue over the ones I found on his chest when we were frantically going at each other earlier.

The bouncer at the door was expecting us because Gunner called ahead. Gunner prayed people would be cool around him, but if not, we have the VIP area as a retreat. Before we left the house, Gunner and I discussed staying sober for the night so someone would always have their eyes on the girls and Hayden. The girls didn’t need the two of us to get the party started. As soon as we were at the table and ordered drinks, the five of them hit the dance floor, pulling Hayden along for fun. They danced around him like they knew him forever, and if the look on his face was any indication, he enjoyed the attention.

“I’m glad to see Hayden having a good time with the girls,” Gunner whispered in my ear over the loud music. “He never goes out unless it’s with all of us. He needs some friends closer to his age.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s having a hard time enjoying himself with all of these girls.”

“I didn’t say he was stupid.” He laughed and then left a row of kisses below my ear. “I wish we would have stayed home tonight. I would have been perfectly happy to entertain you in so many other ways.” He lightly bit the same spot where his lips stopped and then gave it a wet kiss to soothe it.

The chemistry between the two of us was exactly as I remembered in Paris. While we were apart, we texted, Skyped, and talked some for about a year. I felt like I knew him even though we had only spent one night together after the concert.

We were alone at the table in the middle of a crowded club, but when he put his arm behind me and pulled me in closer to him, it felt like it was just the two of us. The scent he wore was just as I remembered it, and the intent look on his face as he stared at me, made my blood feel like fire pumping through my body. He moved his face closer to me, and the smolder behind his eyes had me mesmerized. He finally spoke breaking the spell he was weaving under my skin.

“What are you thinking about so hard? I can see the wheels turning behind your eyes.”

“Just how we’ve only been together one night, but I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer.”

“You have known me a while.” He moved in slowly pressing his lips softly across mine. I loved the way he kissed me. It seemed like it was different every time. Sometimes, like now, it was slow and soft and lingering and other times it was like he was hungry for them to the point he would devour me.

He moved his hands to my waist pulling me across his lap, and the kiss deepened becoming more urgent. I couldn’t get enough of him. I wrapped my hands around his neck and ran my fingers up the back of his head until I felt that soft, long hair on top, and gave it a slight tug. The longer strands that fell in all the directions were something I loved to get in my hands. It attracted me to him from the beginning and made him look every bit the part of the rock star he portrayed on stage.

Behind his drum kit when Assured Distraction was in concert, he always started with his hair loose, and it flew around while he played a solo or a long drum entrance the band had on a couple of the songs. His dark locks were long all over then. By the end of each show, he would secure it in a thin strip of leather. When they toured Europe, videographers filmed the concerts, and I watched them over and over. Seeing that hair flying added something strong to his sex appeal, and I wanted to catch his every move. Now the sides were shaved short, and the top was long. I didn’t know which way I liked it best.

When he spoke, it broke the dream state our kisses had me in, pulling me back to the scene we were surely causing. I didn’t care at that point, and I doubted he did either.

“Can we go home now and leave them here?” he said against my ear just before he lowered his lips to the spot directly beneath my ear, nibbling and kissing the skin of my neck down to the curve. I was completely on board with that idea, but we both knew we couldn’t.

“Damn, Gunner, as good as you make that sound and feel, you know we can’t. We have two weeks. I promise we can spend a lot of it alone while they do whatever they want. We’ll only be apart when you have to do band business.” I laid my head on his shoulder, facing inward so I could deposit little kisses to his neck as he did to me. I hoped mine drove him as crazy with need as his did to me. His scent, the mixture of masculine soap and the cologne he always wore brought the desire to an inner crazy I had to work to keep tamped down for now. The longer I lingered around the smooth skin of his throat, the more it made me want to have him right there in the club.

To our surprise, the girls didn’t cause any trouble that night. It made me worry about what they were saving for the concert. We went to three different places to drink and dance. I was even able to get Gunner on the dance floor in one that wasn’t overly crowded.

By the time we got home, I was exhausted. The limo pulled up to the door, and Gunner and I were the first out. I needed to ditch the hooker heels immediately, which I did as I walked through the door on the way to my room. Everyone came in behind me except Ivy. After I changed and came back down to get a bottle of water, Gunner stood by the door.

“What are you doing?”

“Waiting.”

“On what?”

“Ivy.”

“What? Wait, where is she?”

“Out there.” He nodded toward the door.

“Out there, where?”

“In the limo.”

“Why are you so cryptic? What the hell is she doing in the limo still?” I grabbed the door intending to go out, but he held firm.

“I think you need to rethink what you’re doing.”

“Well, she needs to come in so we can go to bed.”

“Yeah and as good as that sounds, I like to know all of my guests are safe inside before we do that. You’re not getting out once I get you in there.” The look he gave me could have melted my panties.

“Wait, you didn’t say what she’s doing. Is she talking to Hayden still?”

“Some people might call it that.” It finally dawned on me what he was trying to say, and he busted out laughing at my expression.

“Slow on the uptake there, my little cherry pie.” He wrapped his arms around me and began working on making me forget what was happening outside.

“Shit, go get her.” I tried to resist his open mouth kisses on my neck, but damn, he made it hard to do.

“Oh hell no. As desperate as I am to get you under me, I would never cock-block Hayden like that. He’s a big boy. He’ll send her in when the deed is done.” He slid his hands down in my sleep shorts and cupped his big hands and long fingers around my ass lightly squeezing while he continued the assault on my neck. I swear the man has a thing for my ass cheeks that I didn’t remember from before.

“That makes it sound like he’s with a prostitute.”

“It’s drunk limo sex. Been there, done that?”

“Ewww. Not a visual I want to have before we get in bed together.” I tried to push him back, but he pulled me in tighter and picked me up under the thighs, parting my legs, so they wrapped around his waist. When he spun around and pushed me against the wall, it placed his hard cock against me in the perfect location. Damn it felt good.

I pulled his mouth to mine and scorched his lips with a kiss that only added to the fire down below. I was ready to rip our clothes off when the door flew open, banging into us where we stood against the wall behind it. Killed the passion, instantly.

“What the fuck?” Ivy said with her slurred speech pointing out her obvious intoxication.

We couldn’t move apart because Ivy leaned against the door pushing it against Gunner’s back. To add to it all, Hayden was with her, and he pushed Ivy harder against the door obviously intending on continuing what they must not have completed in the limo.

“Babe, you ready for round two?” Hayden’s drunken whisper was loud enough for us to hear from our position. Hayden started grinding on her causing the door to bang against Gunner’s back in a telling rhythm.

“God yes,” Ivy practically screamed out.

That’s all Gunner could take, and he gave a quick push against the door with his foot causing the two to fall.

“Put me down, Gunner.” We rounded the door and stared at the two who were laughing sprawled out on the floor. In another time and place, this would have probably been hysterical but at that moment, neither of us were laughing.

“Dude, what were y’all doing back there?” Hayden had the nerve to ask as if we were the ones doing something wrong. Of course, with the two of them looking up at us as we stood over them, it was not the wisest question he could have asked.

“Well dumbass, we might have been doing what you intended to do when you were banging Ivy against the door that in turn was banging against me. And I enjoy a good threesome or foursome as much as the next guy, but it’s never going to happen with you and her. Now pick yourself up and go home.”

This only served to make both of them howl with laughter, but Gunner was getting more pissed by the minute. Reaching down, he picked Hayden up by the shirt and stood him up against the door frame, and then grabbed Ivy under the arms and stood her up beside Hayden.

“What’s it going to be, lover boy? You can go home in that limo, or you can walk. Either way, you are going home.” Hayden looked at him with the best sober look he could manage and nodded, kissed Ivy on the cheek, and wobbled back to the limo.

“I think I’ll go to bed now,” Ivy offered with a smirk. “Y’all just go back to whatever it was you were doing behind the door. Don’t mind me.” She stumbled up the steps, and when the door slammed, we heard her burst out laughing again.

I looked at Gunner, and we both started laughing until we were doubled over from it. The look on Hayden’s face was priceless when Gunner stood him against the door by his shirt.