Seth ground his teeth as he tried to get rid of the press. It took a while. After Scarlett’s little show they were all over the rest of the band. The others -- fuckers -- deferred all questions concerning Scarlett to him. Naturally, she was all the press wanted to know about. By the time he got away, the other guys were practically rolling they were laughing so hard -- in the plane, away from the press, so no one knew the press was as much of the butt of the joke as Seth was.
“Ha, ha. Very funny, guys,” Seth groused as he boarded the plane and threw himself into a seat. “Way to throw a man to the wolves.”
“It wasn’t our idea to handle Scarlett’s presence with those vultures the way you did,” Ferris said, waving Seth’s protest away like it was nothing. “You did that all on your own.”
“Well, what the hell else was I supposed to do? They were acting like Scarlett was not only a permanent part of the band but my lover as well!”
“Much as I’d love to beat the shit out of you, the chemistry on stage between the two of you was rife with sexual tension,” Arsen said. “Made for a great show. What did you expect people to think?”
“Not that we were an actual couple!” The thought should have given him hives, but Seth was finding it didn’t. At all. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.
“What, exactly, would be so bad about people thinking you and my sister were together? And I caution you to be careful how you answer that question.” Arsen looked like he was just hoping to get to beat the shit of him, as he’d stated earlier. He couldn’t, but Seth could tell he wanted to.
“Why would you even ask me that, Arsen? She’s your sister, for Christ’s sake! You know my lifestyle. It’s not like you don’t live it, too. Do you really want her a part of that?”
“Who said she would be? Besides, I imagine if you strike up a relationship with Scarlett, you’ll finally be through with the rock-and-roll lifestyle. The women. Drugs. The only thing you’ll stay for is the music. Well, that and the adrenaline rush we get when a show’s going as great as it did tonight.” Arsen nodded toward the back of the plane and the bedroom where Scarlett had likely retired. “Scarlett was a huge part of the success tonight. Instead of thanking her, you pretty much summed up her position with the band as a fortuitous accident that’s extremely temporary. As was any relationship with you.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Seth muttered. “There is no ‘us.’” He made air quotes. “She’s not with me, and I’m certainly not with her. What the fuck, man?”
Titan straightened, taking several steps toward Seth, a menacing look on his face. Seth was certain Arsen didn’t have the strength or skill to beat the shit out of him, but Titan did. In spades. Instead of throwing Seth a beating, however, the man looked over his shoulder and pushed past him to go to the rear of the plane. His seat was next to the door to Scarlett’s room. He sat there, his arms crossed, like a sentinel. There was definitely no getting past him.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Ra said, taking his seat and stretching his legs out to cross them at the ankles. “The girl can flat-ass play that guitar. She’s a huge asset we’ve been under utilizing.” He nodded to Arsen. “Thanks for volunteering her for tonight. She’d never have agreed unless you bullied her into it. Most guitarists I know would have rather suffered through a mediocre performance than admit to needing someone fill in. You did it on your own without one of us having to. We owe you as much as we owe her.”
Arsen raised a fist to Ra, who hit it with his own. He glanced at Seth, then made his way to his own seat.
Seth had never felt so much like an ass as he did at that moment. And what was Scarlett doing? Why wasn’t she out here with the rest of them? She never hid or segregated herself from them. She liked the comradery.
Once they were in the air, Seth made his way to the back of the plane. Titan’s gaze never left him. It was more than a little unnerving. Before he could talk himself out of it -- or Titan could forcefully talk him out of it -- Seth knocked softly on Scarlett’s door.
And waited.
And waited…
He knocked again, louder this time. “Scarlett?” He called her name as he glanced at Titan. The big man didn’t even seem to blink, his stare on him was so focused.
When there was no answer yet again, Titan shifted in his seat to bring Seth’s attention fully on him. “You’ve got one more try then you get back to the front of the goddamned plane.”
Seth started to protest, to tell the big man he’d keep pounding on the door until she either answered it or he broke it down, but something in Titan’s eyes told him the other man wasn’t fucking around. He would take matters into his own hands if he had to, and he wasn’t letting him disturb Scarlett if she didn’t want to be disturbed.
Once more, he pounded on the door, this time more forcefully. “Come on, Scarlett. Open up.”
There was a pause, then the door was yanked open. Scarlett didn’t face him, only turned her back and headed into the en-suite bathroom without a word. Before he could catch himself, Seth glanced back at Titan. Then scowled. “Don’t think I need your permission to talk to her,” Seth said, his chin going up. “I don’t.”
“Keep telling yourself that, pretty boy.”
“Why?” Seth asked, truly perplexed. “You’ve never been like this before. She’s traveled all over the world with us doing pretty much as she pleased. She can take care of herself.”
Titan stood, advancing slowly on Seth so that Seth took an involuntary step backwards. “Because, until now, there’s been no one who could truly break her heart.” Titan held Seth’s gaze, probably to let him realize just how serious he was. “Don’t do it, Seth. If you don’t want her, stay the fuck away from her.”
“But how --”
“You make this right,” Titan growled. “Then you get the fuck out.”
All Seth could do was nod before entering Scarlett’s room and closing the door. So much for his cocky demeanor. The thing was, it wasn’t Titan he was worried about. It was Scarlett. And not because he thought she’d stab him or anything violent, though that wasn’t out of the question. No. For the first time in his life, he was afraid he’d hurt someone he truly cared about, and that was unacceptable.
“Scarlett?” He approached the bathroom. Heard the shower going. “You can’t hide in the shower all the way to Las Vegas. It’s over an hour, and you’ll run out of water.”
Immediately the water shut off. She jerked the towel from where she’d hung it over the enclosure then stepped out, towel wrapped securely around her. Her hair hung in a wet mass down her back, and she immediately reached for a comb to untangle it.
“I’m not hiding from you, Seth.” Her voice was even, and her movements didn’t betray any anger, but Seth could tell she was seething. “I’m washing off the sweat and makeup and hairspray. Which I would have done before you barged your way in here, but there wasn’t enough time. Next time you think it’s a good idea to invade my privacy after a show like that, give me at least an hour to get myself together.”
“Look,” he started, not wanting to beat around the bush. “I’m sorry for the way I handled the press back there. I didn’t mean to imply you’d never play with us again or that you weren’t important to the band. You are.”
She shrugged as she twisted her hair up in a towel. “No biggie.” Though Seth could tell it was. He’d managed to cut her to the bone with his careless words.
“I just want you to know how sorry I am. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She spun around, reaching for and throwing her hairbrush almost in one motion. He barely managed to duck, batting the thing away so it slammed into the door. Which made him cringe because Titan would probably be busting through that door any second now.
“Fucker!” Scarlett spat. Then she seemed to make a visible effort to control herself. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths before turning back to the mirror. She squirted a small amount of hair gel into the palm of her hand before rubbing her hands together and smoothing it through all that dark auburn hair, then fluffing it up to separate the strands a little.
When she turned back to him, all the anger had evaporated from her face as if it had never been. Instead, she had a pleasant smile plastered on her lovely lips. “No need to worry about it, Seth. It’s me who should be thanking you for the opportunity to play on such a grand stage.” She strolled past him into the main part of the bedroom and found underwear, which she slipped on under her towel. One of Arsen’s T-shirts followed, then she let the towel drop. “I’ve been getting calls from all over either wanting me in bands or wanting me to form my own band, which is why I hadn’t already showered before you nearly beat my door down. Again. I got one from Soul Reapers. You know they lost their lead to a motorcycle crash a few months ago. They have a style and sound similar to SnowFyer’s, and think I’d be a great fit.”
Seth knew Soul Reapers. No way he was letting Scarlett anywhere near any of them. “Like hell,” he growled, lunging for her. He snagged her arm and pulled her to him, his arms closing around her to hold her to him tightly. “You belong here. With me.” He stopped, shaking his head slightly before stammering. “Err, with us.”
“Let me go, Seth.” Her voice was calm, her gaze level and steady.
“Not until you swear you aren’t leaving.”
“Not making that promise. After tonight I realize I don’t want to be behind the scenes anymore. Arsen will be back by the next tour. I’ll stay until the charity concerts are done, but then I’m leaving. If not for Soul Reapers, then someone else. I might form my own band and see how it works. Either way, I’ve got a shot to make it on my own.”
“You don’t need to make it on your own. You’re part of us now. Everyone knows the success of this last show was because of you. That will only grow stronger after we’ve had a chance to actually practice together. These charity shows will be perfect for showing off what you can do.”
“And when the new wears off?” She shook her head. “No, Seth. I won’t disappear into the background again.”
“What the fuck, Scarlett?” Seth shoved her away from him. Not hard, but enough to convey his frustration. “You never mentioned wanting out front.”
“I didn’t, then,” she agreed, shrugging. “Now I know what I was missing. I like it.”
“So we’ll --”
“Save it, Seth,” she snapped. “My mind’s made up.” She turned her back on him. “Leave. And shut the fucking door behind you.”
“No fucking way,” he growled, lunging for her again. This time, she slapped at him, struggling to get free. Not hard, but enough he was sure it would make a racket. “Stop it! Titan is right outside the door and will break it down if he hears you struggling.”
“Fuck you, Seth!”
“Gladly,” he said, pulling her firmly against him, maneuvering her arms behind her back before falling onto the bed with her. “But we need to come to an understanding first.”
“Go to hell! There’s your understanding!”
All the struggling had caused her T-shirt to stretch over her breasts tightly, revealing the tight peaks of her nipples. Seth’s gaze fixated on her tits and he wanted like anything to simply dip his head and take one nipple into his mouth to pull at it right through the thin cotton.
“My understanding is your hard nipples. Tell me you don’t want me and make me fucking believe it, Scarlett.”
“I don’t want you,” she bit out. “Not now. Not ever!”
“Then why are your pupils dilated? Your breath coming in gasps? I bet if I stroked between your legs I’d find you wet for me.”
“If I’m wet, it’s certainly not for you, you bastard.”
“Then who? There’s no one here other than me.” Taking a chance, he lowered his head and kissed lightly, just grazing his lips over her neck in a caress.
She shivered, her back subtly arching before she caught herself. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not you.”
“So, you don’t want my lips on your neck?” Seth ruthlessly grazed her again, this time adding his tongue, tasting the sweetness of her skin with a groan.
“Of course not,” she whispered, her voice ragged with need. Her arms were still pinned behind her, but her legs were spread where he’d managed to fit his body between them. She closed them around him, probably a reflex on her part.
“And you don’t want my hands on your skin.”
“No,” she gasped when he skimmed one hand up her waist to the side of her chest. He didn’t venture into forbidden territory. Merely petted her.
“Your whimpers betray you, Scarlett. I think you want me very much.”
“What if I do? It’s not like you haven’t wanted me for years. I know when a man’s horny. You get hard every time you look at me.”
“Not denying that, honey. Especially when I got a look at you in your stage garb.” He pulled back to look her full in the eyes so she could see the truth of his words. “I’ve never seen a woman who could compare to you. Not now. Not on stage. You’re sex and sin in red leather and high, high fuck-me heels.”
“You’re just wanting to get laid.” Her dark red brows knit together, but he could tell she wanted to believe him.
“I could do that without all the pretty words. Maybe not with you, but with any other woman in the world.”
“Maybe that’s why you want me. I’m the only woman who presents a challenge to you.”
“You tell yourself that, Scarlett. But I think you know that’s not why I want you.”
“You want a conquest. The one woman you can’t have because my brother would kick your ass six ways to Sunday.” There was hurt in her voice she tried to mask, but Seth heard it. For some strange reason, every protective instinct roared to life inside him, and he found himself needing to reassure her.
“You’re not a conquest, Scarlett. You’re…” He struggled for the words inside him, not wanting to lead her on or say anything he didn’t mean. She was right when she’d told the press he wasn’t the kind of man to settle down with one woman. “You’re an addiction. Something in my blood needs you. Sometimes, I feel like I’ll die without it.” There. He could admit that much, at least. Even as he said it to her, he knew she was much more than that, but he had no idea what. Or maybe he just didn’t want to admit it to himself.
She tightened her legs around him, lifting her chin challengingly. “So, you just need to get a fix. Fuck me until you’re sated and then you’re done.”
“Maybe,” he said, cocking his head to the side. Because he was sure he wouldn’t be. “I just know I want you. Need you.” He slid her his cocky grin, the one that melted panties in every corner of the world. “The only question is, are you woman enough to take a man like me?”
“No question there,” she snorted. “My only question is, once you have me, how are you going to let this ass go?”
“You let me worry about that.”
Seth wasn’t sure who moved first, but the next thing he knew, they were fused at the mouth. Even restrained as she was, Scarlett was passionate and aggressive, demanding what she wanted with her kiss alone. She nipped his lips before lapping at his tongue.
“Before we start this,” he said between licks at her tongue. “Set the rules.”
“You don’t fuck me,” she said, without hesitation. “Anything else goes.”
Seth growled, releasing her arms from behind her back. “Unacceptable.”
“Too bad, baby,” she said, this time biting his chin and squeezing his ass with her fingers. He actually felt the bite of her nails as she pulled him to her. “Those are my terms.”
“Then at least tell me why.” There was no way he was going to make it without fucking her. Already he was trying to come up with ways to tempt her to change her mind.
“Because I don’t have condoms here, and any you might have were intended for someone else.” She actually chuckled at him. “You’re not going in bareback, so yeah, not happening tonight, big guy.”
“Christ,” he bit out as he raised himself up to whip his shirt off. Scarlett sat up, her hands going to his chest to sift through the smattering of dark hair over his pecs. Her mouth found a nipple, and he had to bite back a cry. Her fingers scraped down to find the fastening of his jeans, deftly undoing them nearly before Seth realized it.
Scarlett shoved him back on to her bed, snagging his jeans as she went. She had them slid down his legs and pooled in the floor along with his underwear just as he lay back. Woman was fucking good at this. Which begged the question: exactly how many lovers had she had?
Before he could fully appreciate his musings, Scarlett leapt upon the bed and draped herself over his torso. The touch of her lips on his cock nearly made him come. When she engulfed it with the heat of her mouth, Seth couldn’t control the buck of his hips. Or the shout he bit out. He was about to lose himself in the exquisite sensations when Scarlett slung her leg over his body to position her pussy in over his face.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” he bit out before gripping her ass and pulling her down onto his mouth.