inside of me, and I’m clawing at him. He’s
groaning my name and saying everything I could ever want to hear
from him: I love you. I missed you. You
belong to me.
All too soon, it’s over,
and we lay side by side, fingers laced together and
panting.
“ I didn’t wear that outfit
on the plane.”
“ Figured as
much.”
“ Then why did you spank
me?”
We turn toward each other
at the same time. A grin kicks up the corners of his mouth.
“Because you let me.”
***
“ The press is getting
worse,” he says.
We’re lying in bed, our
bodies flush from sex, in the shower no less. “I’m
sorry.”
“ They started following
Kelly around. She’s having nightmares about men taking her
away.”
“ Oh God,” I croak.
“I’m—I’m sure everything will settle down once the tour’s
over.”
“ Not so sure we can wait
that long. It’s not fair to Kelly.”
He has a point. It’s not
fair to Kelly or to him, or to Parker for that matter. “What would
you like for me to do?”
Cole lays his arm over his
face, shielding his eyes from me. “I don’t know.”
“ We could send her to a
private school, you know, like where the football players and
politicians in Charlotte send their kids,” I suggest. “Or hire some
bodyguards. The company I use is—”
“ Damn it, Rae. Does every
problem you run across have to be solved with money?”
He sits up in bed, the
sheet falling down his waist. I stare at his back, at the words
tattooed on the right side. They’re the lyrics to the song I wrote
him, right after we first met.
“ Do you have a better
suggestion?” His shoulders go all tight, and I sit up, scooting
close to him and wrapping my nude body around his. “I’m not your
enemy, Cole.”
“ I never said you were.”
He throws back the covers and pads across the room, taking a beer
from the mini-fridge.
Despite how hot he looks at
that moment, covered in nothing but the tattooed lines of his
favorite sayings, I feel cold inside. “You don’t have to. Your
actions speak louder than words ever could.”
Chapter
Twelve
Cole
I want to apologize to Rae
but I can’t.
In fact, I just lied to
her. No one’s following Kelly around, and all but the local papers
have lost interest in me.
I was a passing trend,
someone that they thought they could make money on, but then
another actress, with another bad habit, got in a fight with
another actress. Suddenly, I wasn’t so hot and I was really damn
grateful.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t
the only reason the press stopped writing about my family and
me.
Four days before the New
Year’s Eve Party, Everett came to town and we had a little
talk.
“ If you don’t break things
off with her, then I will end her career, and I’ll make sure that
little sister of yours goes to live with her very God-fearing
grandparents.” He had opened with this, while taking the lid off
his coffee.
“ She has lawyer that would
eat you alive if you tried that.” Rae loves Kelly almost as much as
me, or maybe it’s the same as me, because I know she would do
anything for her.
He blows on the top and
takes a sip, his actions so calm while I rage inside. “Her lawyers
are my lawyers, hired by me.”
“ You sure you want to do
that? “ I ask, one last desperate chance to stay with the girl I
love, and keep my sister safe. “There are lots of things people
don’t know about you. Things Crystal told me.”
Everett makes a sound of
disbelief and then another sip. “Crystal doesn’t know anything
other than what I’ve allowed her to know. And I really doubt the
word of an addict will mean jack shit anywhere.” Everett flashes me
a smile.
There’s bump on his nose,
one that I put there, and I want to break it again, just to see if
I can make it bigger this time.
“ I’m sure things have
been difficult with all the press that’s been hounding y’all. Would hate for
that to get worse.”
“ Sure would hate for
everyone to find
groaning my name and saying everything I could ever want to hear
from him: I love you. I missed you. You
belong to me.
All too soon, it’s over,
and we lay side by side, fingers laced together and
panting.
“ I didn’t wear that outfit
on the plane.”
“ Figured as
much.”
“ Then why did you spank
me?”
We turn toward each other
at the same time. A grin kicks up the corners of his mouth.
“Because you let me.”
***
“ The press is getting
worse,” he says.
We’re lying in bed, our
bodies flush from sex, in the shower no less. “I’m
sorry.”
“ They started following
Kelly around. She’s having nightmares about men taking her
away.”
“ Oh God,” I croak.
“I’m—I’m sure everything will settle down once the tour’s
over.”
“ Not so sure we can wait
that long. It’s not fair to Kelly.”
He has a point. It’s not
fair to Kelly or to him, or to Parker for that matter. “What would
you like for me to do?”
Cole lays his arm over his
face, shielding his eyes from me. “I don’t know.”
“ We could send her to a
private school, you know, like where the football players and
politicians in Charlotte send their kids,” I suggest. “Or hire some
bodyguards. The company I use is—”
“ Damn it, Rae. Does every
problem you run across have to be solved with money?”
He sits up in bed, the
sheet falling down his waist. I stare at his back, at the words
tattooed on the right side. They’re the lyrics to the song I wrote
him, right after we first met.
“ Do you have a better
suggestion?” His shoulders go all tight, and I sit up, scooting
close to him and wrapping my nude body around his. “I’m not your
enemy, Cole.”
“ I never said you were.”
He throws back the covers and pads across the room, taking a beer
from the mini-fridge.
Despite how hot he looks at
that moment, covered in nothing but the tattooed lines of his
favorite sayings, I feel cold inside. “You don’t have to. Your
actions speak louder than words ever could.”
Chapter
Twelve
Cole
I want to apologize to Rae
but I can’t.
In fact, I just lied to
her. No one’s following Kelly around, and all but the local papers
have lost interest in me.
I was a passing trend,
someone that they thought they could make money on, but then
another actress, with another bad habit, got in a fight with
another actress. Suddenly, I wasn’t so hot and I was really damn
grateful.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t
the only reason the press stopped writing about my family and
me.
Four days before the New
Year’s Eve Party, Everett came to town and we had a little
talk.
“ If you don’t break things
off with her, then I will end her career, and I’ll make sure that
little sister of yours goes to live with her very God-fearing
grandparents.” He had opened with this, while taking the lid off
his coffee.
“ She has lawyer that would
eat you alive if you tried that.” Rae loves Kelly almost as much as
me, or maybe it’s the same as me, because I know she would do
anything for her.
He blows on the top and
takes a sip, his actions so calm while I rage inside. “Her lawyers
are my lawyers, hired by me.”
“ You sure you want to do
that? “ I ask, one last desperate chance to stay with the girl I
love, and keep my sister safe. “There are lots of things people
don’t know about you. Things Crystal told me.”
Everett makes a sound of
disbelief and then another sip. “Crystal doesn’t know anything
other than what I’ve allowed her to know. And I really doubt the
word of an addict will mean jack shit anywhere.” Everett flashes me
a smile.
There’s bump on his nose,
one that I put there, and I want to break it again, just to see if
I can make it bigger this time.
“ I’m sure things have
been difficult with all the press that’s been hounding y’all. Would hate for
that to get worse.”
“ Sure would hate for
everyone to find
Similar Books
