Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) (14 page)

Derringer tipped him a curt nod as Jase delivered the beats for the next song. It was another hour of belting out lyrics before Heath was able to exit the stage for good.

Time to face the firing squad. The only opinion that mattered was Sam’s.

Sam’s belly rolled for the thousandth time since Heath sang his song about her,
if
Rockin’ the Heart was really about her. At first she’d been delighted he penned lyrics just for her, then the realization he did it only for the marketing seeped in. That was to be expected. So why was she so angry?

Several minutes ago she
’d heard the final song begin. She waited to confront Heath. She’d be professional and sensible, but he needed to understand she wouldn’t be suckered into playing the part of gullible fool again.

“
What the fuck was that?” she screeched the moment Heath breached the doorway.

So much for sensible and professional
.

They had little time before they
would meet and greet fans with backstage passes. Tone Deaf was already getting ready to schmooze them while Hot Wired took a moment to shower off the stink. Too bad Tone Deaf’s members hadn’t already departed because silence erupted like an explosion. They had zero time for her petty bullshit, but Sam was so furious she couldn’t see straight. She had to get her frustration out in the open before she imploded.

“
That was brilliant, Fang.”

Sam glared at Tab. The interfering bitch grated on her last nerve.
“I
will
punch you in your throat!”

Keys chuckled
, and in typical fashion made a joke of the situation. “Wait! Wait! Let me get my cell’s recorder working first so I can post the catfight on ViewTube.”

“
I’ll quit if that happens.”

Sam wished Tab would.

“You wanted the publicity, sweetheart, just giving it to you.” Grinning like a maniac, Keys imitated a shutterbug.

“
I’m with Sam.” Jase popped off as he dragged his wet T-shirt over his head and flung it aside. His shoulder-length, sweat-slick hair clung to his neck.

“
Best I can tell, this is Sam and Fang’s business, no one else’s,” Derringer said in a mild tone as he twisted open a bottle of water and brought it to his mouth, guzzling half the contents in one swallow.

“
Fuck you, she’s my sister,” Jase shot back as if that gave him every right to intrude in her business. “This shit’s getting ridiculous, and I don’t li—”

“
Shut up, Jase!” She grabbed Heath’s arm and hauled him across the room to the showers. “I can handle my business without your help.”

Heath strolled into the bathroom with composure, which rankled her worse. She slammed the door
with all her might and spun around with every intention of tearing his head off. Instead he trapped her against the door with his weight. His sweat seeped into her clothing and his odor should’ve turned her off, but didn’t. This was what he’d smell like if he ever got sweaty in bed with her.

Gawd…so not the time to be thinking of Olympic sex
.

She was furious with him.
Focus on that
!

“
This is what that song was about.” He kissed her hard enough he mashed her lips against her teeth. An abbreviated attempt to turn away from him caused him to dig his fingers into her hair and immobilize her against the door. Pressing his thumb against her chin, he tugged downward.

Zero resistance came from her as their tongues tangled together. The frenzied temper of the kiss left her breathless and clutching his shirt.
The digits wound in her hair departed her locks and his arm curled around her shoulders, drawing her closer. His other hand cupped the side of her head, and she lost all sense of time.

He tasted of beer, sex
, and sin. All vices that lured mankind to their damnation and she suspected her doom lingered on the immediate horizon.

His pelvis connected with her belly. Her abdomen cushioned the stiff outline of his erection.

I do that to him
.

It didn
’t matter that others had aroused him too. What mattered was that in the here and now,
she
affected him physically. His focus was wholly on her.

Fist-type pounding rattled the door Heath anchored her against.
“You’re not fucking my sister with me out here, you perverted bastard.”

With a sigh, Heath broke away from her mouth. His thumb ran along her cheekbone and he kissed her forehead.

“Don’t play with me, Heath.”

He
flinched as if she struck him.

“
I’m not,” he said against her forehead. His silver gaze fastened on hers. “I meant every word of that song.”

“
The band’s harmony needs work.”

He chuckled.
“I didn’t think it was bad for a first run.” Neither did Sam, but she wouldn’t admit to it. “Can’t you just say if you liked it or not?”

“
I’ve not decided.” The truth in so many ways. Giving him a chance also meant she opened herself up to heartache. That had nothing to do with the split she could cause between Jase and Heath if things went south, which ultimately affected the band, not to mention years of friendship.

More irate banging on the door. Jase wouldn
’t give up until they let him in.

Heath put some space between them, reached over his shoulders to
fist his shirt. The incandescent lights revealed his tattoos inch by inch as he pulled the cotton over his head. The garment hit the floor at his feet. He went to remove his skull belt buckle and she cast her gaze aside.

“
Don’t look away, Sam.”

Biting her
bottom lip hard, she forced her view back on him and sealed her contemplation on his face. From her periphery she surmised he released his buckle, popped the button on his jeans, and lowered the zipper. A happy trail of dark hair traversing from his bellybutton downward caught her attention, and she lowered her focus.

As if he read her mind, one of his fingertips traveled the path. Breath catching in her lungs, she gasped loud enough he grinned.

Heath bent over, unlaced his flame biker boots, stood, and toed them off, managing the disrobing without stumbling. His grace at the simple act of undressing surprised her. Hinted he’d be even savvier in the bedroom. Not that the two acts had anything to do with one another, but in her head at this moment they were very much related.

His hands lowered to the waist of his jeans
, and her breathing skyrocketed. The pants were lowered an inch, another and—pounding on the other side of the door vibrated her.

Sam spun around
and squinched her eyes shut.

Oh. My. God! I almost watched Heath undress.

The sound of denim struck the floor. “You’re loss, brat. You should’ve kept watching so you could see firsthand what you do to me.”

She gasped as footsteps
pattered away. With gusto she yanked open the door and glared at her brother. “Your interference is not wanted, needed, or appreciated.”

“
Has he been upfront about the threesomes we’ve participated in together?”

“
TMI, Jase,
TMI
!”

“
Not anyone’s goddamn business, Jase,” Heath yelled from the stalls.

Jealousy slammed into her as the spray sounded from the shower. She wasn
’t naïve and knew depraved shit transpired while on tour, but none of it was anything she wanted to know about.

“
I should give you an earful of what to expect with him.” Her brother pinned his hair behind both ears. “You’d blush so hard your hair would turn red.”

Keys threw his shirt and nailed Jase in the head with the balled-up item.
“Come on, man. Fang’s your friend.”

Jase flung the cotton to the floor. Puffing up his chest, he faced Keys as if he readied for a brawl.
“And she’s my sister.”

“
Nothing is going on with us.” If only she could believe that everything would be hunky-dory.

Derringer snorted.

“Bullshit!” Her brother’s attention snapped back to her. “That drama on stage was not nothing. It took me a moment to get you were pandering to the fans, but his song was real. Again, not nothing. The scruff-scratch on your chin is
not
nothing.”

Sam
skimmed her fingers over her skin.

Keys smirked.
“He got you on that one, Boo.”

She gave
him a blank look, but Derr explained. “No abrasion, hellion.”

“
Which means you gave yourself away by touching your chin.” Keys removed his chains from his neck as she processed what they said.

Jase delivered the final clarification.
“Tells me I guessed right, and the bastard kissed you in here.”

The name-calling wasn
’t necessary. “If he’s a bastard, you’re the ultimate bastard. I’ve caught you banging chicks left and right, but not Heath.”

“
We banged them together most of the time, Fang was just late to the party. FYI that means he showed up
after
you got your eyeful of me. He’s as perverted as me, just less obvious about it. You should know the minor details of the man who’s making a play for you, sis. And by play I
do
mean
play
.”

Fury snapped along her spine.
“I won’t listen to you degrade Heath like this any more than I’d stand by and let someone degrade you, Keys, or Derr.”

“
And I won’t stand around while he turns you inside out and then dumps you.”

Heath couldn
’t dump a non-existent girlfriend. Before she could say that, Heath spoke. “He’s right, brat.” His words alerted her that he’d vacated the shower and returned to the conversation. A towel hung low on his hips, and he dried his hair with another. “I am a pervert. You know that. The goddamn world knows that.” He shrugged. “I won’t apologize for my desires. No more than you will, Jase. But you’re wrong, I’m not making a play for her, and then planning on dumping her once I fuck her.”

“
You say that like it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll fu—sleep with her.”

Yeah, she agreed with Jase, Heath did s
tate that as if it was just a matter of time. The potency of Heath’s stare held her feet planted on the floor, a hostage to gravity, while she got the impression he tried to pass along something she wasn’t getting.

“
It kind of is an inevitable conclusion,” Keys said. “Fang’s gotten every girl he’s ever wanted.”

Sam flinched. A reminder she needed to hear.
“Y’all want to know what disturbs me?” Four pairs of eyes stared at her as they waited for her to enlighten them. “Not that Heath’s had threesomes with you, big brother”—
although that is way more eye-opening than I’d imagined
—“but that y’all seem to think any of this is your business.”

“
That’s what I said!” Derringer jabbed his chest with his thumb.

“
And another thing…you sleaze balls raised me. I believe I know a thing or two about keeping my legs together.”

Derringer groaned.

Jase shook his head.

Keys
crossed his eyes and managed to sound offended, “What a rotten visual. Have some care, Boo, some things cannot be unseen in your head!”

“
Not one I required,” Heath said, but the flare of his nose and stare implied he could imagine her spread eagle and beneath him, no assistance required. The visual not nearly as rotten as Keys let on.

She
disregarded them all. “As Heath just said, he doesn’t want me in a sexual way.” Heath’s eyebrows lurched upward. “Proof y’all jumping to idiotic assumptions about us is stupid and generating needless drama.”

“
I need the performance on stage, not off.” Arms folded across her chest, Tab barricaded the doorway.

Jase failed to appear chastised. Mutinous would
’ve been a more accurate description, but her brother was disastrous at dropping issues gracefully, at least not until he was damned good and ready. He glowered at Heath, his jaw locked and a muscle flexing, like a dog eager to fight over a bone.