No Quarter (NOLA's Own #2) (33 page)

“Oh,
wow
!” breathed Alys next to me.

“No shit,” Lili and I breathed back in reply.

“There they are!” cried Flipper, waving at us.

“Crap, he must be getting drunk,” grumped Vivian under her breath.

Phil spun around on his barstool. He had been engaged in a conversation with Dean, Black Prophecy’s guitarist. When he spotted me, his eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped. The closer I got, the more narrow his eyes became until I was standing right before him, and his scowl was fixed. He wasn’t pissed because of my shirt. He was turned on by the peep show I had provided.

“Baby Girrrl…” he growled, snaking his arms around me and pulling me in between his knees. Dipping his head, he placed a warm wet kiss between my breasts, giving the spot a quick lick. “Fuck…I ain’t gonna be able to concentrate for shit tonight.”

“This is her then?” asked Dean, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Mmhmm,” grunted Phil in response, not taking his eyes off mine.

“You gonna introduce us?” Dean prompted.

“Nope.”

“Phil, you caveman!” I laughed and popped my head around to look at Dean.

He was handsome with light-brown hair and gray eyes. He smiled brightly at me.

“Hi, I’m Kenna.” I extended my hand to him around Phil’s broad shoulder.

Dean took it and pressed his lips to it instead of giving it a shake. “And I’m fucking enchanted.”

Phil stiffened. “If you wanna keep your lips intact for Robin, I suggest you take them off my woman.”

Dean erupted into laughter and was soon joined by a stunning brunette who I found out was his fiancée, Robin. She didn’t mind that Dean was fucking enchanted by me, for she assured me that she was equally enchanted as well.

“You want a drink?” Phil’s mouth brushed my earlobe.

“Yes, please. Jäger and a water chaser.”
No need to get tanked before dinner
.

With the introductions made, we all threw back a drink and made to leave.

Stephen, the lead singer for Black Prophecy, and his wife, Tara, smiled at me.

“We’ll see you all at the House of Blues then,” said Tara.

“Great,” I replied, surprised when she came in for a hug.

“I’m so happy he found you, Kenna,” she whispered to me. “He looks so…
beautiful
. You’ve made him whole.”

I smiled at her in return. “That goes both ways.”

Takami Sushi and Robata Bar was on the twenty-first floor of a high-rise building, and our table was out on an open balcony that overlooked LA. The view was breathtaking, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I knew Alys and Lili felt the same exhilaration I did because when the adorable hostess—
is everyone in this fucking city stunning?
—had brought us out to our table, we’d all shared the same slack-jawed expression.

Offered an impressive selection of custom-designed cocktails, we all ordered some “fruity-looking shit”—sometimes, it was hard to believe Phil was a
poet
—while we waited for the shit-ton of sashimi, maki, and nigiri to come out.

Everything was phenomenal and exquisite, down to the last detail.

We had never all gone out to dinner together before, and we were enjoying ourselves immensely. It had been almost two months since the day when we all came together and formed this tight little family. I could feel just how much we all truly meant to each other.

“Did you all ever consider moving out here?” Alys asked the guys.

With food like this, it was a wonder that they hadn’t.

“Hell no,” grunted X, massaging his flat stomach. “This place is for people who need the fame. We just want to make music.”

“It’d never really be home,” said Jason.

“Do you want to live out here?” Phil asked me quietly.

I caught on to his hidden meaning quick. His home was with me, no matter where that was.

He would never choose to live here, but if I wanted to, he wouldn’t give it a second thought. He loves me enough to travel to the ends of the earth because I’m his…and because
he’s
mine.

That thought struck me deep in my chest. Startled, I looked up into his eyes and saw the truth of it in them. He was silently telling me this, reaching out to me with his heart and mind, wanting me to feel what was the most important part of him
—me.

“No,” I replied.

He smiled, and my breath snagged in my lungs. It never failed to stun me completely—his unique primal beauty. He wanted to share all of himself with only me…and that stunned me even more so.

His kiss was soft, warm, and brief, nothing he hadn’t given me a thousand times before, yet I felt another little piece of myself being snatched away. One day, I was going to wake up and have nothing left of myself.
What would I have then?

Him.

It was strange that we were having this silent moment while the rest of the world carried on as though two souls hadn’t just exchanged bits of themselves with one another.

“Good. Because I would hate to live out here.” He grinned.

“I know you would. I think I would, too. Earthquakes terrify the shit out of me.”

“Not hurricanes?”

“Not so much.” I smiled.

He leaned over and pressed his mouth to mine again, his tongue tracing over my bottom lip. More than anything, I wanted to draw it into my mouth and swirl my tongue around it, but I wasn’t a huge fan of PDA. Him licking my chest in the lounge had been weird enough for me.

That was
so hot
though.

Running behind as was fashionable, we all piled back into the limo and headed for the House of Blues.

“Ready to have some fun?” Sheri asked.

Oh, hells yes!

The House of Blues on Sunset Strip didn’t appear similar to our own back in New Orleans. The one back home squatted between two buildings, almost invisible. This one was right there on the street, in your face. We pulled up to the front, and again, there were barricades to block off the crowds from the celebrities exiting the limos.

Phil looked down at me. “There’s gonna be a lot goin’ on, probably from the moment we walk through the door. We have to do signings and meet the fans, and I won’t be able to be with you so much.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m a big girl, babe. You act like I haven’t gone to the House of Blues before.”

“I know, but—”

“For God’s sake, Phil!” snapped Sheri. “Let your woman have some fun! We’ll all be in there together, okay?”

He sighed and kissed me sweetly. “Yeah, all right.”

“Showtime, ladies and germs!” said Flipper. “Who goes first?”

X grabbed Alys’s hand. “Tim, Lewis, and Lili, and then we’ll go. Yeah, baby?”

Alys looked a little pale but plastered a brave smile on her face. “I need a fucking drink.”

“We’ll hit up the bar when we get in,” said Sheri, laughing. “Although, I’d prefer a joint, if I’m being honest.”

“You guys got?” asked Jason.

“Lili, Alys, and Kenna ninja-ed their own stash over,” said Sheri.

Phil scowled down at me.

“Hush,” I told him.

“All right, guys! Let’s do this!” Tim rapped on the window, letting security know we were ready.

The noise of the gathered crowd was like a wave that pounded its way into the interior of the vehicle. After Tim, Lili, and Lewis made their exits, X and Alys hopped out, followed by Flipper and Vivian, Sheri and then Jason. The crowd got significantly louder with his appearance. He snagged her hand in a rare show of possessiveness and waved to the adoring multitudes.

Then, it was our turn.

Phil squeezed my fingers. “I don’t want to share you.”

I smiled. “I think that’s the other way around, babe.”

“I’m glad you wore the hat. Keep it as far down as you can, okay? Paparazzi are mad out there.”

“Okay.”

He got out first, pulling me along after him. When my feet hit the pavement, he wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me in tightly to him. The screams hit a crescendo as Phil waved and smiled, and we headed in with the rest of them.

“Is she Baby Girl?” came the shouts from all over.

“I’ll be your Baby Girl, Phil! I love you!”

Unable to contain it, I started to snicker.

“What’s so funny?” he grumped as we made our way up the wooden walkway.

“You have women lined up out there, offering to be your Baby Girl.”

“Yeah, well, there’s only one, and I found her, so they can fuck off.”

“Oh, come on!” I laughed. “Doesn’t it stroke your ego just a little bit?”

He grinned down at me. “Naw,
I got you for that.”

“Pfft!”

Once through the doors, the guys were pretty much whisked away for interviews, autographs, and photo ops, and we were ushered deeper inside.

“Wow! This place is great!” I exclaimed.

It wasn’t New Orleans House of Blues, but it was still a House of Blues. The feel of the place was certainly familiar.

“Let’s go do some shots!” said Lili, looking around for the bar. Then, her eyes grew wide. “
Shit!”
she hissed. “Of all the times
not
to bring my fucking camera—you guys! We are
surrounded
by rock stars!”

“You’ll have your chance tomorrow at the concert and the after-party,” Sheri told her. “Now, let’s go do some shots.”

We opted for the downstairs bar first, throwing back Jägers and getting some beers for chasers. Around us, the crowd was swelling, energy bursting from all corners. We three bayou backwaters were in total awe of our situation, watching the celebrities mingle in with the non-celebrities. There were so many faces I could put names to, and I wanted to meet them all, thank them for sharing their gifts, for creating music that I loved. I just had no idea where to start.

As it turned out, we didn’t have to venture far. A few steps away from the bar, Tara and Robin greeted us enthusiastically with more hugs.

“Come and meet some people!” said Tara, tugging on my hand.

Almost immediately, they introduced us to the lead vocalist, Everett, and lead guitarist, Malcom, of Watchtower, a real good fucking band.

“Everett! Malcom! This is Alys and Lili. You already know Sheri,” started Robin with the introduction.

“Hey, girl!” cried Everett, pulling Sheri into his arms for a huge hug. “How are you?”

Laughing, Sheri hugged him back. “I’m great!”

“You look amazing!” said Malcom, getting his own Sher-Bear hug.

“This is Lewis Lee.” Tara pointed.

Lewis waved.

“The fuckin’ chef?” said Malcom.

“That’s me,” replied Lewis with a smile.

“And Vivian, Flipper’s girl. And
this
”—Tara grabbed me and pulled me forward—“is Kenna, Phil’s
Baby
Girl
.”

Both of them stared at me in what could only been described as awe.

“Whoa,” breathed Everett. “You’re Baby Girl?”

“It’s what I’ve been told.” I grinned.

“It’s what he’s always called her,” chimed Lili’s voice.

“Trust us, we know. You’re a fuckin’ legend among us, you know that?”

“Actually, I’m just a doctor from the swamp. But thanks for the ego boost.”

For the next hour or so, Tara, Robin, and Sheri toted us around, introducing us to all the metal elite, until we ended up back downstairs at the bar.

“We’re going to go see what’s up with the guys. You want to come?” Tara asked.

I shook my head. The last time I’d caught a glimpse of Phil, he had been signing a very large boob, a shit-eating grin on his handsome bearded face.

He’s touching other women’s mega-titties and looking like he’s enjoying it. He should be ashamed. He can come find my ass when he’s finished with his groping.

“We’ll be back soon,” said Robin.

Sheri stood, deciding to join them. “You ladies enjoy the man-candy, yeah?”

“We most certainly will,” said Alys, laughing.

“I’m gonna find the head.” Lewis kissed Lili and walked off.

The four of us—Vivian had decided to hang—grabbed some more Jäger shots and beers and parked ourselves at the bar.

“I’m having a freakin’ blast!” cried Vivian. “Who fuckin’ knew we’d be meeting all these people?”

“Right?” crowed Lili.

I was sitting at one end of our friendship train, so the seat to the right of me was empty. To my left sat Alys, and she was looking at me, getting ready to say something, when her eyes shifted to just above my right shoulder and grew huge with shock.