Girl on Tour (Kylie Ryans) (7 page)

“Trace,” she whispered. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You can, baby. I’m here. You can, I promise,” he reassured her. “Now, rub yourself over those sexy black panties. Tell me how it feels.”

“Good. Wet.” She whimpered again.

“Mmm, I wish I could be there to taste you. Is it throbbing for me?”

Her voice came out so strained it almost sounded like she was in serious pain. “Y-yes.”

“Slide your panties off, Kylie Lou. Kick ‘em onto the floor.”

He could hear her shuffling movements. Good girl was following orders. Lord knew it wasn’t something she did normally. He grinned to himself, feeling pretty damn special.

“They’re off,” she breathed into the phone.

“Spread your legs for me. As far as they can go.”

“Can I touch myself?”

Oh sweet Jesus.
He loved that she asked permission. He felt himself falling headfirst down towards the point of no return so he removed his hand and tried to pull himself together. He had to take care of his girl first.

“Yeah, you can. Just use one finger at first. Slide it inside for me. Once you’re good and wet you can touch your clit, if you’re a good girl.”

Her heavy breathing was full-on panting when she spoke again. “I’m a good girl. Promise.”

He growled into the phone. “Baby, I know you’re not alone on that bus, but when I let you come I need to hear you moan my name. Like that night on the bus. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” She let out a broken whimper and he stroked his cock from tip to bottom and back up again.

“Add another finger, baby. Once they’re both nice and wet, rub them over your swollen clit for me.” Her breathy moans and whimpers were about to send him over the edge.
Dammit
.

“
Oh God
, Trace.”

“Fuck. Come for me, sweet girl.”

“N-now?” she stammered.

He knew he couldn’t hold back much longer. “Yeah, Kylie Lou. I need you to do it now.”

“Okay,” she whispered urgently. Son of a motherfucker, he wasn’t going to make it. The pressure was building too hard behind the head of his cock as he pictured her touching herself. He was so close. Too close.

She all but screamed out his name and his orgasm burst from the head of his dick.

“
OhgodohgodohTrace
,” she moaned in a steady, breathless stream.

He let loose a guttural sound from deep in his chest. “Baby, I’m going to give you a minute to recover while I clean up. Wait for me, okay?”

“Mmhm.”

He grinned into the darkness. He knew she couldn’t form sentences, or hell, even words after she came.

After he’d done a quick cleanup, he grabbed his phone out of the covers and slid back into his bed. “Now that that’s out of the way, how are things?”

She giggled. “Okay, I guess. Be better if you and I were sharing a bus again.”

“And yet, we shared a bus for six weeks and you never slept in my bed once.”

She scoffed. “That’s because you kicked me out of your room.”

“Because you were drunk.”

“Technicality.”

Even in the middle of the night after phone sex she was quick. He was spent, literally, and could barely keep up. He yawned. “I almost forgot. Noel Davies asked about you the other day, about signing you to the label.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I think he was fishing for inside info.”

“Hmm, did you give him any?”

“I warned him that you were a piece of work and that he wasn’t man enough to handle you.”

“Trace!” she whisper-yelled at him.

“Naw, I didn’t say that. Well, not in so many words. But he did ask if I thought you’d be willing to tour with me for real one day, as in, long term.” He wondered if she had any idea how important her response was.

“Long as they keep the bus stocked with enough food so I don’t starve. You eat enough for five people.”

He laughed out loud, finally breaking the sound barrier between them. “You’re the one who kept eating all the bananas.”

“Only because you made such a big deal about it.”

“Hey, Kylie Lou?”

Now it was her turn to yawn. “Yeah?”

“I really am missing the hell out of you right now. And I hope the tour’s going well and no one’s giving you a hard time.”

“Miss you, too,” she said, returning to the soft whisper. Her voice was laced with a sadness he hated. “It’s going okay. I can handle it.”

“Say the word and I’ll come, wherever you are. They can do all this shit without me for a while.”

“Are we gonna talk about Gretchen Gibson?” she asked. It was the first time ever—well, no, it was the first time since the first day she’d joined him on his
Back to My Roots
tour—that he’d heard her be timid. Nervous.

“Do we have to?”

“No.”

He could practically see her biting her lip. “We will, babe. Promise I’ll explain about her and the tour and everything when I’ve had more sleep.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

Subject change needed. Immediately. “Your friend okay, the one who got sick?”

At that, she let out a little laugh, and he felt slightly better about the direction of the conversation. “She fell off that tailgate we were dancing on. Busted her ass.”

He laughed. “No shit? Is it on the video?”

“Nah, the guy recording lost interest in us before it happened.”

Trace knew better. He’d seen the video. The guy filming had lost interest in everyone else
but
her. She spoke before he could tell her this.

“So, um, have you? Fallen off I mean.”

“What? You mean have I been drinking?” He would’ve been offended, but after what he’d seen of Gretchen and what he knew Kylie had seen of him, it was a pretty fair question. But three beers hardly seemed worth mentioning. No need to stress her out. Especially since he had everything under control and she had enough to deal with. “Naw, babe. I’m good. You shouldn’t be worrying about that anyways.” This was why he didn’t know if what they were doing was a good idea. He was bound to screw up and she was already worrying about him instead of enjoying her own success.

“If you did, you could tell me. I can’t say I understand, but I know it can’t be easy.”

“Get some rest, darlin’. Stop worryin’ your pretty little self about me. Night, babe.”

“Goodnight, Trace.”

K
ylie
woke up to the sound of Lily’s voice singing one of her obnoxiously perky chart toppers. She’d been deep in a dream involving being very naked with Trace in the pond on his property. She struggled to hold on to the image of them entangled in the water but Lily’s voice wouldn’t allow it.

“Argh,” she grumbled, ambling out of bed.

Betcha wish you woulda called, betcha wish it wasn’t too late. Oooh ooh oh now I’m the one walkin’ out. Oooh ooh oh, now’s who’s the one havin’ doubts?

The weird part was, it wasn’t
actually
Lily singing. It was her voice coming through the speakers in the back of the bus. From Mia’s room.

Kylie sidestepped the piles of boots, clothes, and heels strewn in her path and leaned in Mia’s doorway. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Mia was straightening her hair in her mirror and singing along with Lily’s song blaring from her iPod dock.

Something must have alerted her to Kylie’s presence because she jumped, nearly scorching herself with the flat iron. “Christ!”

“Nope, just me.” Kylie shrugged. “Didn’t realize you were a fan,” she said, nodding to where the music was coming from.

“I’m not,” Mia said, reaching over to silence the iPod. “She put that on my iPod this morning. Some of her shit’s kind of catchy.”

“Did I miss an early morning jam session?”

Mia eyed her up and down. “What? Afraid you’re being left out? Can’t have that now, can we? God forbid the great
Kylie Ryans
isn’t the center of attention for five seconds.”

Kylie’s cheeks heated at the unexpected burst of hostility. She knew she should probably be used to it by now but for some reason she wasn’t. “Pardon me. I was trying to make conversation, trying to act like a professional, or hell, just a decent human being. I can see that you have no idea how to be either of those things so I’m going to give it a rest already.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me about being a professional or a decent human being,” Mia practically growled at her. “You don’t know anything about me, do you? Except what you decided the night I showed up at your party.”

“Oh but you’re the expert on me, right? You know who I’m dating so you know exactly who I am and what I’m about. I have no idea what the hell your problem is. And honestly, I don’t even give a shit anymore. You want to be a raging bitch all the time? Knock yourself out. I have more important things to worry about.”

Mia smirked, her lips curling into a hateful smile. “Right. Like Skyping your boyfriend to piss and moan about every little thing that doesn’t go your way. Or maybe you’re just checking in to make sure he still
is
your boyfriend. Or that he’s still sober.”

Bitch, meet line. ‘Cause you just fucking crossed it.
Kylie closed her eyes. Her breathing and heart rate were ramped up so high she probably could’ve mauled Mia Montgomery like a wild bear without breaking a sweat.

She opened her eyes, hoping she’d set the brunette across from her on fire with the blazing heat in them. When she finally spoke, her voice was dead calm. “You can say whatever you like about me. I’ve been called names you probably don’t even know the meaning of. And you can keep throwing your bitchy-ass attitude in my face every time I breathe too close to you if that’s what you need to do to be happy. I’ll smile. And I might even wink or blow you a kiss. I’m from Oklahoma, honey. I can bless your heart and hate your crazy ass all at the same time. But if you ever, and I mean ever, make another comment about Trace, his drinking or otherwise, then I promise, you won’t be able to whistle fucking Dixie when I’m through with you.”

She watched as Mia took a step back. Clearly, she’d gotten her point across. So she winked. “Anyways. Lovely chatting with you. As usual. See you at dinner.”

She’d been trying so hard not to think about what may or may not have happened with Mia and Trace before she came along. But it was becoming damn near impossible not to wonder.

S
he
was showering when she remembered the text her manager had sent the night before. He’d scheduled a video chat meeting for her with a possible agent. Her late night talk with Trace and the early morning confrontation with Mia had scrambled her brains. She finished up quickly and threw herself together as best she could.

When she made it to the media room, the door was locked. Kylie never even closed it, much less locked it. She checked her phone. It was ten minutes after the time Chaz was supposed to send the video chat request. He was a stickler for punctuality.

“Um? Is there a reason this door’s locked?” she called, knocking softly.

“Go away,” a muffled voice called back.

Great.
“Lily, open the door. I need to use the computer.” She took a deep breath. The constant hogging of the bathroom was one thing. But this was affecting her career. She texted Chaz to let him know she wasn’t able to get to the computer but was working on it. She knocked again, harder this time. “Seriously. I have a video chat meeting with my manager, like
now
. It’s important.”

“Use your phone. I’m on the computer right now.”

You’re always on the damned computer.
“My phone has shitty service and a delay. Please, Lily. I promise I’ll try to be quick about it.”

“God!” Lily shouted as she slid the door open and glared through red-rimmed eyes. “Mia was right about you. You’re such a self-centered bitch!”

She didn’t even have time to respond before the girl stormed past her. So she screamed at her retreating figure. “I’m self-centered? Seriously? Look in the frickin’ mirror sometime! You and Mia can both kiss my self-centered ass!”

With that, she locked herself in the media room. But she didn’t call Chaz right away. Instead she sat in the booth and took a few calming breaths, composing herself the best she could. Her phone buzzed. She looked at the text from her manager.

We’ve been through this. If you’re not going to take your career seriously then I won’t waste my time. I rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 8am. Don’t be late.

She rubbed her hands over her face and fought the urge to cry. Or hit something. Or hit the two other girls on the bus until
they
cried. God. She needed to see Trace’s face so bad she could hardly stand it. Needed to see his smile, hear his laugh. The real one, the one that gave her chills and warmed her all at once. Now.

As soon as the window with his handsome face popped up, she smiled. She knew she was probably blushing at the memory of their last conversation. “Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey, pretty girl,” he greeted her. “Sleep well?”

Just the sound of his deep warm drawl soothed away all of the swirling tension and turmoil inside of her. Kylie bit her lip and tilted her head to the side. “Not as well as I would have if you were here.”

She couldn’t see them all that clearly through the pixelated image on the computer screen, but she would’ve bet her Gibson Hummingbird that his eyes were turning that stormy shade of hazel she loved so much.

“Babe, if I was there, you probably wouldn’t have slept at all.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned forward, propping her chin on her hand as she did. “I’d be okay with that.”

“Kylie! Did you drink the last of the milk?” Mia’s voice interrupted her intimate moment.

Kylie leaned away from the screen and hollered back. “No! The self-centered bitch didn’t drink your precious milk. Must’ve been Lily.”

She smiled apologetically into the webcam. “Sorry about that. Things are kind of…” How were things?

“Everything okay?” Trace’s forehead creased. No need to bother him with her trivial girl problems.

She waved a hand to let him know it wasn’t a big deal. Even though Mia hating her and her wondering why was starting to feel like a very big deal. “Three girls crammed together on a bus is not the best idea ever, you know?”

“Sounds like a great idea to me.” Trace winked. She knew he was kidding but it stung a little. He was known for being a ladies’ man, and she was currently on tour with someone who may or may not have been one of his prior conquests.

She forced a smile. “Funny.”

Trace’s mischievous grin faded. “Okay, I’m not a total dumbass. What’s going on? You look…mad or worried or…something.”

She’d never been one to keep things bottled up. Just as she was opening her mouth to come out and ask him about Mia, Lily stuck her head into the doorway. “Hey, you almost done? My dad’s about to call back and my friend Jen is supposed to be Skyping me in like five minutes.”

Kylie wanted to tell Lily to catch a damn clue. Her dad rarely made any of their Skype dates or called her back. At least he hadn’t since they’d been on tour together. When he did it just provoked a meltdown anyways. Kylie had spent several nights locked out of the bathroom because Lily was shut up in there crying. She’d had to go without a shower more than once because of whatever Lily’s dad said or didn’t say during their chats. “Be done in a minute,” she grumbled.

“Kylie?”

She glanced back at the screen. Trace looked both concerned and irritated. “Yeah, sorry. Lily needs the computer again but—”

“Lily can wait a damn minute. I’m not getting off here until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

She glanced up. Thankfully Lily must’ve decided to let her say goodbye in private. “I need to ask you something. I don’t want to, and technically it’s none of my business.” She pulled in a lungful of air. “But did you and Mia…when you were on tour together, did you—”

“Seriously?” She watched as Trace raked both of his hands through his hair. “Are you going to ask me about every woman I’ve ever come into contact with? It may not seem like it, but believe it or not, I didn’t actually sleep with every single female I met before you.”

“Trace…that’s not what I was trying to say. It’s just, things between me and her are strained and she seems to hate me and I just wanted to know if you’d—”

“Kylie, I really need the computer.
Please
.” Lily was back and she had her whiny voice on.

“One minute,” she said, gritting her teeth and glaring at Lily with everything she had.

“I’ll tell you what, compile a list and I’ll circle the yeses. That work for you?” Even through the computer speaker, he sounded pissed.

“I’ll get right on that,” she snapped back at him. He’d asked what was wrong and she was trying to tell him and he was being a dick.

She reached up to slam the computer shut, the online equivalent of hanging the fuck up on him, but his expression was apologetic. “Wait. Kylie, please. My bad. I shouldn’t have gotten so shitty. It’s just, I’m under a lot of pressure right now and things with the tour are crazy.” He paused to scrub a hand over his face. “None of that is an excuse for being an asshole to you first thing in the morning. Or ever. Forgive me?”

She rolled her eyes. Only Trace Corbin could make a girl forgive him without ever actually apologizing. “Yeah, I get it. I shouldn’t be so—”

“Kylie!” Lily was literally stomping mad.

“Hey, Lily’s freaking out and—”

“Yeah, I hear. Look, this isn’t exactly the kind of conversation we need to have on here anyways but I’ll see you in a week in Nashville. Okay?”

She smiled and the tightness in her chest loosened slightly.
One more week.
It couldn’t come soon enough. “Okay. Call me later if you get a chance. I know you’re busy.”

“I will. Miss you, Kylie Lou.”

“Miss you, too.”

“Finally,” Lily blurted out, practically shoving Kylie out of her seat.

Kylie left the media room feeling more than a little agitated. For one, Lily was driving her nuts. And for two, Mia was lingering beside the doorway, smirking her ass off as Kylie passed. She wondered how much she’d overheard.

Just the sight of the girl reminded her of what was bothering her more than anything. Even more than Lily’s rudeness or fighting with Mia.

Trace hadn’t ever answered her question.