Hard Rock Love Box Set, page 17
He let her, allowed her to enjoy this moment, kissing her back lightly until she pulled away with a satisfied little smile.
“Did you manage to get it?” he teased, raising his eyebrows in question.
“Mmmmmmm, I think so,” she replied. “Might have to check again.”
“You can do as much of that as you’d like the next time we meet,” he promised, turning back to his food to finish the last few bites.
“And when will that be?”
“Depends on you, darling. Do you want to meet again?”
“You know I do, you can tell, can’t you.”
“Yes, I most definitely can. It’s written all over your face.”
“Unfortunately, I have plans later today, or else I would say tonight.”
“So eager, are we?”
“You’ve forbade me all other means of pleasuring myself.”
“It is you who chooses to obey, never forget that.”
She gave a little sigh in response, and Sebastian could see her contemplating her choices in life that had led her to this moment. “Should we exchange phone numbers then? We can discuss it more that way…” she trailed off, looking to Sebastian for approval.
He nodded. “That sounds like a grand idea. Why don’t you go grab your phone?”
She rushed to comply, still making sure that her hips were swaying in sultry lines as she made her way back to his room to grab her phone. When she came back, Sebastian had finished his meal, and was waiting expectantly with a little smile. “Well?” he asked, and she handed him her phone, open to a new contact.
He put in his phone number, pausing to consider if he should put something special as his contact name. He could do something a little cheeky, such as Sebastian: Come when called or something along those lines, but he decided it would be better to save such things for later, and so instead kept things clean, professional. He handed her phone back to her, and Bella wasted no time in sending him a text, smiling at him as she hid away her phone. “Something for later,” she teased, before finishing the last few bites of her pancakes. “Is there any way you can bring me back to my apartment? It’s not terribly far.”
“Of course, it’s the least I could do. And it will give me some more time to spend with you.” Sebastian grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. “Now, shall I grab your things? Would you like to wear your dress from last night, or this?” He gestured to his t-shirt, and Bella giggled.
“If I came back in just a t-shirt, I think I might scandalize my neighbors.”
“Dress it is then, go get changed.”
She slid down from the stool with a sly glance, heading back to his room again to get changed and grab her things. Sebastian sighed, smiling to himself as he gathered his own things, deciding that he would get himself ready for the day after dropping off this lovely little distraction.
After all, no matter how much he might hint at it, there was no way he could ignore her and complete any work while she was around.
Bella lived in a nice area of New York, or as nice as they went without getting terribly expensive. Her apartment building was quaint, with a bakery sharing part of the first floor, and Sebastian found himself watching her as she sauntered inside, not leaving until he no longer had any sight of her.
Oh, he was going to enjoy continuing to play with her so much.
He considered all his options as he drove back to his apartment. Of course, they could just schedule a time to meet again, and then he could take her again in a way she would never ever forget. But there was no creativity in that, no class, no reason to make her want to come back except for his exceptional skill at pleasuring. And while he had no doubt that she would keep coming back time and time again, he also knew that he wanted something more out of this than just an evening distraction.
So, a full day it would be, something she wasn’t bound to soon forget.
A stroke of inspiration suddenly hit, as Sebastian remembered that he had a high-class event to attend in a couple of days. At the moment, he had no one to go with, and it would certainly be entertaining to dress her up and make her the talk of the socialite crowd—even though he had no doubt she would stir waves even if she showed up in just a t-shirt and tennis shoes.
But how much more fun it would be to show her his power, and her power respectively, how much he could elevate her, what it meant to stand by his side.
With a pang, he remembered another time, when him and Lillian had schemed to rule over the world together, had dreamed under the stars of the things they might do, just the two of them. But they had been fifteen then, and so naïve. And though she had been the first one that Sebastian had ever truly loved, and maybe still the only one, maybe always the only one, it was clear she didn’t want him any longer.
She had been such a bright light, always optimistic, persevering in spite of everything. She had made Sebastian feel like he could conquer the world, and even though she hadn’t known about the turmoil that had been happening in his life at the time, she had kept him steady through all of it. But those were other times, and he pushed the thoughts from his mind. Even if Bella would never be Lillian, probably never rival the calm she made him feel, never tease quite so brightly and innocently, he had someone new to distract himself with. And he was determined to make the most of it.
Twenty
It was only the second concert of Dreams of Compass Gods’ tour, and Ash was already beginning to feel the stress. Having only existed as a small band for the beginning of its career, the band had never travelled far from New York City, choosing instead to occasionally play small venues. The popularity of the band was growing at a rapid pace, thanks to the coverage on magazines. Their manager had insisted that it was time to expand, with a tour to neighboring states.
At first it was going to be a short tour, five to seven stops at most, but when all the tickets sold out within half an hour of them going on sale, their manager had decided the best thing for the band would be to expand into further territory. So now they were stuck travelling to the other coast, playing shows at several large cities in California.
Ash knew perfectly well that Lillian would be able to manage in the time that he was away, and he had assured her that he would be careful, and that he wouldn’t let himself fall into bad habits, but he worried about how he would be without her.
Without even noticing it, she had become an integral part of his life, a stubborn, bright, adorable rock that kept him true to himself and made him want to be better. He was missing her already, her cuddles and her teasing and the sound of her voice, even though the two of them had been Facetiming regularly. It didn’t feel quite the same as having her next to him. He just wanted to hold her in his arms again. Ash smiled as his phone buzzed, and the glimpse of Lillian’s name lit up on the screen.
Thinking of you.
Hey Lil’, what you been up to?
Just wondering how your day went.
Could’ve been better, maybe if you were here.
She sent a couple of blushing emojis, then a picture of her cat, Coby.
He’s been keeping me company while you’re gone.
I hope there’s still room for me when I’m back?
We’ll see… Maybe I’ll leave you a little somethin’ when you’re back.
He loved how she still seduced him, even after all this time.
Oh? Well, don’t replace me with the cat.
Jealous much?
Only because I’d rather it be your cat. ;)
Ash!
Ooh baby, I’ll miss you.
I’ll miss you too, rock star.
Ash snorted at this, glancing up from his phone screen to look in the mirror, making sure his hair at least looked decent, so if he was suddenly pulled away he wouldn’t be a complete disaster.
And you’ll always be my blanket gremlin~
Who said I was ever your blanket gremlin?
Just as Ash was about to answer Lillian’s teasing text, one of the stage assistants came into his dressing room. He was a boy who was a little too young for anyone’s standards.
“Ash Bennett, you’re needed in dressing room six. The stage manager needs to discuss changes to the set with you,” he said, clearly a little nervous.
“Sure sure, give me a sec.”
“You’re needed now, Ash Bennett, sir, the manager said this couldn’t wait another minute.”
“Well, he’s a little over-dramatic,” Ash teased, standing to follow the boy out of the room and to where his manager was waiting.
In the hurry of the moment, Ash left his phone behind him on the table, the screen lighting up as another couple of texts from Lillian came in.
Hey Ash, there’s something I actually wanted to talk about. I know now may not be the best time, especially when you’re far away and not likely to come back for a while as you finish stuff up. But I need to say this to you soon, and I want you to hear my voice when I do. Can we call?
A few more minutes.
Ash? Just, let me know when you’re free, and ready.
Lillian stared down at the messages on her screen, wondering if she had overdone it. She knew Ash was busy, but this was really important, and they had just been texting only a moment ago. She had been realizing things recently, and she wanted to tell them to Ash, to make sure that he seriously felt the same way.
After a brief meeting with his band mates and manager, Ash was hurrying back to his dressing room. While his band mates were trailing behind him, debating on which song they would play for the encore (which was most likely going to happen), Ash suddenly noticed that he couldn’t find his phone anywhere.
It wasn’t on the table where he thought he had left it, and it wasn’t on his chair or anywhere on the floor. He thought that maybe it might be in one of the pockets of his other clothes—though he didn’t know how it would have ended up there—but it wasn’t, no matter how many times he checked.
Not quite frantic yet, but beginning to feel a little more worried, Ash caught one of the passing assistants by the shoulder out in the hallway. “Have you seen my phone?” he asked.
The assistant shook her head, continuing about her business in a manner that made Ash think of a terrified mouse
He continued asking people until the manager found him.
“Have you seen my phone?” he asked. “I think I might have lost it.”
“There’s no time for that now, we’ll have some people search after the show, now go, get someone to do your makeup,” he said, clearly feeling the pressure of the moment, ushering Ash back down the hallway. “I’m sure we’ll find it later.”
The longer it took for Ash to respond, the more worried Lillian started feeling. She was beginning to think the worst, even though she told herself everything was fine. But for some reason, it definitely didn’t feel that way right now. Did he maybe think she was breaking up with him? The way she had phrased it could maybe lean in that direction. She considered sending a text saying that wasn’t the case but decided that that would do more harm than good.
Ash wasn’t the kind of person to avoid confrontation, and that wasn’t what she wanted to talk about anyways. She was sure he was just busy for the moment, maybe about to start his second show, and after that was done he would message her back, and then they could talk.
The crowd was much larger than any show Ash had played for before. There was nothing that could truly express the feeling of standing in front of a sold-out venue—until you were actually standing in front of one. The lively faces of all the people, cheering and chanting his name. The energy of thousands of fans intertwined into one giant ball of electricity. Ash could feel the blood coursing through his veins, as everything that was un-important in this moment dissipated into nothingness. This, this was his arena.
It had been a long time since Ash felt even slightly nervous performing in front of a crowd. But this time, it was different—this time he could feel it—this was his big break. The fans were cheering even louder, smoke filling the stage as clouded silhouettes emerged from the rising trap door.
When the entire band was exposed to face the audience, Ash began his guitar solo. The spotlight focused on him as the crowd went silent as to listen to every single delicate note Ash was playing. He could feel the endorphins surging through his body, knowing thousands of eyes were solely on him. And when he hit that last G chord, his band mates chimed in with a loud cheer from the audience.
Dreams of Compass Gods played a smashing show that night. All night long, the audience sang merrily to all of the songs, knowing every single lyric and every single note along the way. All Ash could feel was pure, raw, adrenaline. It was exhilaration.
And after that moment, the rest of the night blurred together for Ash. He was only vaguely aware of the lights, the rhythms and vibrations of the instruments behind him, the smell of smoke and drugs drifting through the air, and the faint haze that seemed to exist in these types of environments.
And then, the faint thought that something was about to go wrong; that something was about to go terribly wrong.
Twenty-One
Though Sebastian was tempted to continue to flaunt his influence by sending someone to pick Bella up, he thought it would be better if he went himself. After all, there are quite a few things that shouldn’t be discussed with a third party around. Besides, he already knew the way, had no trouble remembering how to get to her apartment on his own after having driven her home the first night they spent together.
He parked on the street, slipping a few quarters into the meter, hoping that they wouldn’t take too long. He looked like someone right out of a movie as he leaned against his Mercedes, sunglasses in hand, his devilish charms drawing attention from all the girls who walked by. He grabbed his phone from his leather jacket,
I’m here.
He wasn’t quite sure if he should go inside since he didn’t know exactly where she lived or for a matter of fact, where the front door was…Like most of the nicer apartment buildings on the lower east side, the door was behind a locked gate. Then his phone buzzed as a response came in from Bella.
I’ll be down soon, hun!
Sebastian sighed, walking back to his car to lean against it again, waiting for the moment when Bella would appear and grace him with her beauty again. True to her word, it did not take long, and Sebastian couldn’t help but smile and kiss her gently on the cheek when she came bouncing up to him.
“Miss me?” she joked, and Sebastian nodded.
“You know I did,” he murmured against her, and Bella giggled as he kissed her again, enamored by the moment, knowing that what he was feeling wasn’t necessarily as true or as real as he might want it to be. They had only just met, after all, and to him, Bella was an escape from other thoughts and emotions—not someone he genuinely pursued seeing in this light.
But now wasn’t the time to be concerned with that.
“Can we go? I’m starving,” she said between kisses, arms wrapped around his waist. “I thought we were going to go get breakfast.”
“We were indeed, but I see something much more delectable in front of me,” Sebastian teased in a low voice, making Bella blush. “But if it is breakfast you want, I guess that can be accommodated.”
He drew away from her despite her half-hearted, teasing protests, and opened the passenger-side door for her. “Shall we be on our way?”
“If we must, I guess,” she replied, sliding into the seat and strapping herself in. Sebastian walked around to the other side, realizing with mild amusement that he had definitely overdone it on the parking meter. Well, whoever parked there next was going to be very pleased, that’s for sure.
They headed to a quaint little place in the upper area of the city—an expensive French establishment that served authentic crepes and delicate-tasting mimosas. It was one of Sebastian’s favorite places to take people if he wanted to impress someone, particularly because he knew the wait staff and often conversed with them in mixed French and English. The food was also just unarguably delicious, and it was an easy choice, even not knowing Bella’s preferences in terms of breakfast foods. After all, there were so many ways to have a crepe.
When they arrived, Bella looked around with excitement. “This is the place?” she asked. She was taken by the paintings on the wall, Michelangelo adorning the many canvases that the restaurant featured. The staff were well-dressed as well as well-mannered.
“Of course. Why would I take you somewhere only for it to be a decoy?”
“I don’t know, there’s a lot of things you might do,” she responded, and Sebastian shook his head in mock disappointment.
“Really Bella, is that the best you can do?” He leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear. “I know there are several things you’d probably like me to do, even here, with everyone watching.”
Sebastian lightly kissed her ear, then with the tip of his tongue, grazed her ear lobe to lightly wet it. Bella’s face went red, and she turned away slightly before composing herself. “You made it clear we were going to wait for such things.”
“Maybe I’m tired of waiting.”
“Well that’s your problem, not mine,” she quipped, and Sebastian raised his eyebrows, smirking.
“I think you’re going to regret that later, when I make you beg.”
“Try me,” she said, lifting her chin to give the illusion of looking down at him. It was almost cute, that she thought she might be more intimidating than him. They would see about that later.
“Oh, I plan to, don’t you worry about that.” He winked.
Sebastian was cut off from further teasing when the hostess approached the two of them.
“Your reservation for ten, Mr. Léon?” she asked, and when Sebastian nodded, she ushered them into the small restaurant. There were only three other people dining—another couple, and a single older businesswoman reading a mass-market paperback fantasy novel—but the place managed to feel full and lively nonetheless. It was something about the energy of the staff, the music that they were playing over the speakers, and the warmth of the decorations. The hostess seated the two of them at a table tucked away by the window, then disappeared to return with menus for drinks and breakfast items.
