Chapter 6

Ash

When I opened my eyes, they fell upon the most amazing sight. Beautiful long blonde hair flowed over the pillow next to me and big blue eyes looked forward with sleepy satisfaction. Her perk breasts were barely covered by the sheet. I rolled onto my side and pulled her flush against me, her nipples teased my chest. My cock flared and laid heavy against her thigh.

"Morning, angel," I growled. She pressed her lips to my chest and snuggled deeper into me.

"Morning," she rasped.

"How are you feeling?" She looked at me with tears in her eyes and I could tell she felt helpless.

"Fine," she lied. I knew she was lying because of the way she looked away from me when she said it.

"Eyes on mine," I demanded while pulling at her chin. "Never lie to me. Always tell me what you're going through. How can I take care of you when you refuse tell me what's going on?" She paled slightly, but nodded her understanding.

"I'm feeling okay," she sighed heavily. "Pissed about yesterday."

She was choosing her words carefully. I traced a finger down the column of her throat, she swallowed and smiled. I kissed her on the forehead and changed the subject. "We have rehearsal today. Do you feel up to coming with me?"

She nodded and slid off the bed, pulling the sheet with her, leaving me there with nothing. The morning light peeked through the curtain behind her and when it caught the sheet she truly looked like an angel. Was this a sign? I was a firm believer in fate. Was she sent to me for a reason? Why now? Why didn't she come meet us as soon as she and Liana struck up a relationship? I may never know, and I sure as hell wasn't going to question the whys.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Okay, well we have to be down there in an hour," I smiled. "Get that beautiful ass in the shower and I'll have your clothes laid out by the time you're done. Do you want some coffee?"

"Please," she smiled and dropped the towel on the floor. I swung my legs off the bed and caught her before she hit the in-suite bathroom. I used that moment to run my hands down her sides and kiss her with everything I had.

We pulled away breathless, and I lightly patted her ass to get her moving. "I'll be back in a minute." She nodded and closed the door. I waited until I heard the water running before stepping out to make coffee.

We were the only ones up, so after I started the coffee I went in search of everyone else. I beat on Gabe's door and cracked it open. He was lying face first on the bed, a pillow covering his head. "Wake the hell up! Coffee's on and we have an hour." He growled some type of acknowledgement and I went to Kane's room.

I opened the door and got a face full of Kane's bare ass and some chicks bare fake tits. "Yo, Kane! Loose the bitch and get up. You've got an hour!" He jumped up and looked around like he was not quite sure where he was. I left him to take care of whatever that was.

When I opened the door to Reed's room, I got more than I eyeful. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing an illusion. Reed was in bed and thankfully covered, but curled up on his gigantic chest was the one person who shouldn't be in there at all.

"Liana!" I whispered, screamed. She jumped up and immediately covered herself.

"Oh, fuck!" she gasped. She shook Reed a few times before he too realized they must of fallen asleep together last night.

"Yeah, you better get your ass up and pretend to be on the couch asleep before your brother walks in here and sees this shit. Rehearsal is in one hour, so get your shit together." I closed the door and went to grab a cup of coffee.

As I poured the cups for Mary and I, Liana came out dressed in a pair of boxers and a Glory Days shirt. She had a pillow and blanket and pounced on the love seat. She curled up closing her eyes. Reed still hadn't come out of his room.

"How does Mary like her coffee?" I asked Liana.

She opened one eye and said, "Cream and three sugars." Then closed her eyes and pretended to be back asleep, I laughed to myself.

When I went back into the room, I set the cups down on the side table and sat on the bed. The water was still running and I had to smile. I could hear her humming softly the song I'd sang to her the night before. I started to get up and join her but stopped when she started to sing.

I'm the one

Who cares where the world ends

Where it begins

As long as you are by my side

I found myself in the doorway, staring at her standing in my shower, singing my song, with soapy water sliding down her body. My dick hardened and before I knew it, I was pulling her from the shower. She was soaking wet and looked at me, embarrassed.

"Oh. My. God, Mary," I said shocked. "You are fucking amazing!"

"No," she shook her head. "Not really." She tried to pull away but I held her to me. I kissed her roughly. This woman sounded nothing like she did before the accident, but even different she sounded amazing. Her voice was rough, sultry, and sexy as fuck!

"Yes, really. Haven't you ever heard yourself? I mean really heard yourself?" She frowned and reached for a towel. I let her go for a moment.

"Just drop it Ash," she begged. "Doesn't matter how I sound, it'll never work. If I can't talk for more than a few sentences, how the fuck am I supposed to sing?"

She snatched her bag up and pulled a pair of shorts and a t-shirt from inside. She put on a matching black thong and bra along with the other clothes. Seeing the coffee on the night stand, she snatched it up and made her way out to the living room. She plopped down on the couch next to Liana who was now sitting up no longer pretending to be asleep.

Mary

I can't do this. He wants me to sing. As bad as I'd love to let myself believe, I know deep down that this just won't happen. The slight taste of blood in the back of my throat assured that singing was not an option.

Ash was standing behind me; I knew this because in the short time that I've known him, he had made his way into my conscious. He was there staring at me. I turned toward him and gave him a small smile to let him know I wasn't mad at him. He relaxed and walked forward.

"Ok, time to go," he reached for me but I shook my head.

"Going to stay here with Liana," I paused to swallow. My throat hurt. "After she gets ready, we'll be down in a few."

Ash nodded and said, "Someone will be outside to bring you when you're ready." He walked to the door and opened it. He held it open for the guys to go through, and then looked up at me. "Call me if you need anything. I'll have my phone."

After that the room fell in silence. I turned to Liana and raised a brow. "You sleep here?"

"Yeah," she blushed. "Fell asleep in Reed's bed. Thankfully Ash woke us up before Gabe caught us." She blew out a breath, causing her bangs to fly up, and then she laughed. Loudly.

I couldn't help it, I laughed too.

Finally, when we both calmed down, she got up and went into the shower. I sat on the couch and pulled out my phone. There was an email from the newspaper in Phoenix. They wanted me to cover the Glory Days show in Phoenix next weekend. I shook my head and replied that I was declining the job. Talk about your conflict of interest. I don't think that would've gone over well with Ash and the guys. I wanted to keep my work separate from them. They were great and I totally planned to get a good picture of me with them before we left tomorrow afternoon. I'd probably blow it up and hang it above my couch.

"You ready," Liana asked from the door to Reed's room. She'd gone simple today and wore a cute green tank top with a pair of denim shorts. I was wearing a simple sundress in violet along with a pair of strappy sandals.

I opened the door to find Eric waiting patiently for us. He hit the elevator button and we arrived at the arena within minutes. Music was blaring from the speakers and I smiled to myself. This was going to be fun. Liana and I were about to get our own personal concert.

I pulled her hand and we came around the side of the stage. They all smiled at us when we came into view. Ash winked and Liana punched me in the arm. I spotted two folding chairs and grabbed them, setting them up in front of center stage. Liana giggled as the song came to an end.

"Are you ladies looking for a free show," Ash asked into the microphone.

"Hell yes," Liana shouted. I only nodded.

"Any request?" Gabe asked.

I didn't want to yell because of my throat so I looked at Liana, "Tell him I want to hear "Devils", please"

"Ash, your lady is requesting "Devils", so make it good!" She laughed some more and I watched as he turned to Kane.

Kane held his sticks in the air and tapped them together and yelled, "1...2...3...4!" The deep bass from the drum sounded in my ear and I smiled. This was one of my favorite songs from their first album. Ash sang with all his might and I was eating it up. My God! That man knew how to work a crowd.

His seductive growl reverberated throughout the arena and I felt it in my sex. Heat pooled the closer he got toward the end of the song. At one point he sat on the stage, swinging his legs off the edge. He motioned for me to come up there and I shook my head no.

I didn't want to be anywhere near that microphone.

The song ended loud and long. If he'd held that note for a second longer, I think I would've come in my pants.

Ash told them to take five and jumped off the stage, stalking toward me. I was on my feet and smiling like an idiot when he got to me.

"Hey," I rasped. My voice still sounded like shit. Ash didn't comment, but the look of worry in his face made me feel guilty.

"I really enjoyed having you here to watch," he smiled. "Got any other suggestions?"

Pretending to think really hard, I tapped my chin and hummed a little, making him wait for it. In fact I really didn't care what he sang as long as he sang. Hell, he could sing the alphabet and I'd be happy.

"Will you sing "Tonight" for me?" It's not one they sing in their live shows anymore and I really wanted to hear it. Ash rubbed his calloused hand up and down my arm and leaned in to kiss my lips.

Pulling back too soon, he laughed and said, "Angel, I'll sing for you daily if you'll let me."

He pulled me close again and pressed his lips to mine. A loud banging started from the cymbals on the drums and Kane said, "Quit sucking face! We gotta practice!"

We broke apart laughing and he turned for the stage. He took a running leap and hoisted himself up on the platform. The backs of his arms flexed and I groaned at the sight. Ash Martin was male perfection.

"My lady wants to hear a ballad," he said to the guys as he walked over and grabbed a black acoustic guitar. Once strapped in he moved forward and started strumming out the beginnings of the most romantic song I think I'd ever heard.

.

After the practice we all hit one of the restaurants in the hotel for a quick bite. Again we were the center of attention. People tried to approach, but were turned away by security as we tried to eat in peace.

At one point, when Ash took a second to place an arm around my neck and pull me in for a quick kiss, a flash bulb blared from somewhere outside the window. I turned and saw a guy sitting in the shrubs. David took off immediately out the side door while dialing someone on the phone, but the guy was already gone.

"Fuck," Ash growled. "I'm so sorry. That picture will be on the internet in the next half hour. Maybe we should leave."

"No," I said as I placed a calming hand on his wrist. He paused and looked over at me. "Don't let them win. Eat your lunch." My voice sounded off. I cleared my throat, smiled reassuringly to him and took a bite of my salad.

We laughed and talked some more. Gabe finally brought up something that I didn't want to talk about. "What time is your flight tomorrow?"

Ash took my hand under the table and squeezed. Liana answered for me, "We fly out at three." I looked to Ash and he looked as sad as I felt. I knew this crazy fairy tale had to end, I just hoped that it would stretch out for eternity.

"I don't want to go," I whispered to him. He leaned over and kissed me just under my ear. I shivered in response. His hand drifted to my upper thigh and I squirmed slightly in my seat. Anytime he touched me, my sex instantly responded. Heat pooled in my belly and all I wanted to do was to ditch lunch and take him upstairs and have my wicked way with him.

"I know, angel."

We left our lunch and made out way back out through the casino. The guys stopped for autographs and pictures along the way. Kane was assaulted and mauled by a group of women. At one point, while he was posing for pictures, I noticed him squeeze this girls butt. She sighed heavily and leaned into his side. Kane whispered something into her ear and she nodded.

David stood next to me while we waited for the guys to finish with their fans. "You okay." He asked quietly. I liked him, and I trusted him the more I was with him. He was older than me by about ten years.

"Yeah," I rasped. My voice was getting worse and David noticed.

"If you need anything, please let me know. Okay?" I nodded and got caught up watching the craziness of the fans. Mark and Eric were doing a good job at crowd control. A few security guards stepped in to be an extra set of eyes.

A sound behind me had me looking over my shoulder. The group from the pool was walking by and was smiling toward me and Liana. "Hello again, ladies," the tattooed one said. "I see they've kept you around; must be one great piece of ass."

It all happened at once. Liana lunged forward and grabbed the guy by the shirt. She didn't have her hands on him long before David pushed her back and had replaced her hands with his. "You need to leave. If I catch you within a hundred feet of these ladies again, your ass will be in jail. Do you understand me?"

"Fuckers!" Liana yelled and when David moved the slightest bit, she lunged for the guy again, but was suddenly yanked back by a huge arm wrapped around her tiny waist. A tattooed arm came around my front and shoved me behind Ash as he took a protective stance in front of me.

"Liana!" Reed yelled at her. He had her up and off the floor, her legs kicking out like she was running in place. "Chill, baby." With his voice she visibly relaxed.

Ash's face came into view and I sighed. He was beyond angry as he started running his hands up and down my arms, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No," I laughed. "He didn't touch me. Liana did all the grabbing and David did all the threats." He didn't seem convinced. I finally had to push him away and adjust my shirt. I didn't want to look like I wasn't in control. That could be used against them.

"Ok, let's go back to the room. I need to rest for a while."

I don't know how much resting we were going to do.