Savage Rhythm (6 page)

He’d been perma-hard ever since that pseudo-scene after the show. Doubly so since he’d gotten her test results—she’d gone and done it, like she said she would. Now he had his end of the deal.

And he should be more pissed off about it. More worried that he’d agreed to that nonsense—no lies. What the fuck did that even mean? Who in the history of public relations had ever told the whole damn truth? Because that’s what this was supposed to be, a way to save the band’s image without screwing Soren or Bethany any more than either of them had already been screwed.

Then Molly had gone and changed the whole game up, just by being…Molly.

Declan sat in his car for a moment, not quite ready to go meet the guys on the bus, even though he’d been the one to call the band meeting an hour before Molly was due to arrive. They needed to figure out how they were going to handle her. But he just wanted to roll the memory around for a moment, enjoy it again: what Molly had looked like when she finally agreed to do something she’d wanted to do all along. When he’d told her he knew she was into submission. To watch her body respond, and her mind catch up, was such a fucking thrill.

He had no idea what a connection like that would feel like when he was actually inside her. Actually in a scene. It might ruin them both.

Fuck. She had no idea how hot she was.

And fucking
smart
. He was screwed. How the
fuck
did she know he wasn’t an alcoholic? What the hell else did she know? And how the hell were they supposed to keep her from finding out the truth about what had happened back in Philly if she’d already figured out one of their biggest lies?

He should be seriously aggravated, but he wasn’t. He was excited. So damn excited about the prospect of having a sub that he knew it was dangerous. He knew if he let his dick lead the way he would rush into things, and he wouldn’t do that again. He needed to know more about her. Needed to know that she was stable. Sane. Safe.

“Well, fuck me,” he muttered. He shouldn’t be allowed to feel this damn happy. And, as if on cue, his phone rang.

It was his Uncle Jim, calling him back.

“Finally,” Declan said into the phone. “Did you fucking hear from him?”

“Watch your language,” Jim said automatically. Declan smiled. Jim swore like a sailor, but it was nice to know the man still considered himself a father figure.

“C’mon, Jim. Please just tell me you heard from Soren.”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And what he had to say is none of your business. But,” Jim cut him off, “he’s ok. I can tell you that. And he’s dealing with it, so you might have to back off for a while, Dec.”

“You know he’s like my brother.”

“Then you shouldn’t have beat the crap out of him and kicked him out.”

“You and him are the only family I have.” Declan paused. “You’re the only ones who know.”

“You don’t think he knows that? Shit happens. Family sucks. You have to give him his own time.”

Declan didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much to say, except the one thing that scared Declan so much he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Jim heard it anyway.

“I’m looking after him,” Jim said. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to him.”

Declan exhaled. “Thank you.”

The pressure let off, just a little bit, the way it did after a show. Just enough to keep him going.

“Thank you,” he said again, and hung up.

The guys were waiting. Time to go face the music.

Brian, the band’s bassist, was slumped over the table in the bus’s little booth, looking miserable.

“Why are we here
early
, you assholes?” he muttered.

“Why did you get black out drunk the night before we have to leave on tour, you dumbass?” countered Gage.

Erik just smiled. Still not one hundred percent comfortable. Declan hadn’t noticed it during the show, so he didn’t know if it was a problem yet. But then again, he hadn’t noticed much of anything during the show but Molly Ward.

“Dec, c’mon,” Brian sighed, sitting up and putting his shades down. Dude was bloodshot.

Might as well just spit it out.

“Molly Ward knows I didn’t go to rehab. She knows I’m not an alcoholic,” he said, watching them all carefully. Erik looked to the other two, who weren’t any goddamn help. Brian was laughing, and Gage just looked at him with disbelief.

“How did you let
that
happen?” Gage asked. “It’s been one day. One fucking day!”

“She’s smart is what happened,” Declan said, glowering. “She figured it out. Knows about alcoholics, apparently.”

Which had been an interesting insight, all on its own.

“And that’s not all,” Declan continued. He sighed. “I promised her I wouldn’t lie during our interviews.”

Now Brian cracked up. “Oh, dude, come on. You know I have a headache right now, it hurts to laugh.”

Declan threw a straw at him, hitting him in the temple.

“This is a joke, right?” Gage asked. “Because I don’t see how you’re going to keep up this whole web of lies you made us all promise to support if
you’re
supposed to tell the truth.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Declan said. “You guys can lie all you want.”

“Oh, thank you so much for that,” Brian said. “You know this whole thing is your show, man. I still don’t know why you’re doing this. Come clean and let the chips fall where they may, you know?”

“You know where they’d fall,” Declan said through clenched teeth. “I’m not doing that to Bethany. Or Soren.”

Brian looked ashamed. “I know, Dec. Sorry.”

The group went silent. No one had said they approved or disapproved of what Declan had done—beating the crap out of Soren and kicking him out. They’d all known enough to stay the hell out of it. But there was no denying that it was a decision that had a major effect on all of them.

Erik cleared his throat. “I knew the deal when I signed up,” he said quietly. “It’s none of my business, and I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Yeah, I guess if we ever want Soren to come back…” Brian said, then looked at Erik. “Sorry, man.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know how it is.”

Declan could already feel a headache coming on. They never talked about Soren, or if he’d come back, or even where he was. Declan had always thought it was because none of them fucking
knew
anything, but it just occurred to him that maybe they did know. Maybe Soren talked to all of them but him. After all, no one but Declan, Bethany, and Soren knew the full story. Maybe Soren could face the rest of them.

Which was bullshit.

Which was dangerous. Declan needed to get in his right mind, his Dom mind, before Molly showed up, because that woman was dangerous, too. Whatever it was he felt with her, it hit him hard, deep, went right through all the usual defenses he had up. Which was fine, he could handle it. But the last time he’d felt anything close to that with anyone else had been Bethany, and he’d been so goddamn wrong about her…

Every memory of Bethany was tainted now with that night. With carrying her, blinded by grief and panic, not seeing Bethany in his arms, but someone else…

“Fuck this,” Declan said aloud and stood up. “You all know what the deal is. You all know how to kick ass. Let’s get it done.”

“Get what done?”

Declan turned to find Molly, in those damn sinful cutoffs and a white tee, a duffel slung over her shoulder and a sly smile on her face.

~ * ~ * ~

Molly could barely handle Declan’s eyes on her without melting into a puddle. She was
not
prepared to handle Declan plus three other hot guys. Maybe going from being a social hermit to living in a sexually charged tour bus was going to be more of a challenge than she thought.

The guy she recognized as Brian, the bassist, let out a low whistle, and said, “Good luck with that, Dec.”

“Shut the fuck up, Brian,” Declan said. He was wearing another black tank, muscles everywhere, flexing while he looked at her. Good Christ, but it never stopped. Molly hadn’t ever felt this continuously turned on. She had actually thought there was something wrong with her sex drive until she met Declan Donovan.

The irony burned.

“You going to introduce me?” she asked.

Declan frowned and reached for her, lifting her heavy duffel off her shoulder with no apparent effort and pulling her gently forward. He still kept her close to him.
Am I being marked?
she thought, and smiled.

“So this dumbass is Brian,” he said. “This is Erik, who’s filling in for Soren—”

Temporarily?
she wondered.

“And this here is Gage, our drummer.”

All the guys smiled at her and Gage saluted, an odd gesture coming from a dude with plugs in his earlobes. Molly smiled back and waved a little.

And then an uneasy silence settled in.

An awkward silence.

Oh shit, not good. Nooot good.
Had she interrupted something? There was obviously something going on that she didn’t know about, something beyond the obvious stuff, but she needed these guys to trust her.

“So—” she started.

She got only the one word out before Brian erupted with laughter.

“So you know he’s not really a drunk, huh?”

Gage choked on his beer laughing, and even Erik burst out, covering his mouth and shaking silently. Molly giggled, looking up at Declan, and was relieved to find the big guy smiling.

“Tough to keep secrets on a tour bus, huh?” she said to him.

He leaned down so quickly she couldn’t react. “Not as tough as you’d think,” he whispered.

That did it. Instant wetness.

Molly tried to blink herself back to Earth and found Brian leering at her. She’d have to set the tone right away.

“Yeah, you know, I actually have questions about that,” she said.

Brian shook his head and pretended to zip his lips. Gage shook his head, and Erik just smiled—and they all looked at Declan.

So that’s how it was. They all deferred to Declan. She didn’t know why she was surprised; the guy was a Dom and the obvious leader of the band. So she was still going to have to crack him to get at the story.

Molly really didn’t mind that part.

“You guys know I’m still going to have to write a book, right? With words in it? I’m going to be interviewing all of you, so don’t think you’ll get off that easily.”

“You have no
idea
how easily I get off,” Brian said, and ducked when Gage tried to smack him upside the head.

Declan rumbled.

“Ignore them,” he said, glaring at Brian.

But Molly only laughed. Brian had broken the tension, and now everyone knew what the deal was. She could work with that. They were all determined to keep something from her, and that was fine. She wished them luck. They were going to need it.

Molly looked up at Declan while Brian and Gage bickered. “Come to think of it, where am I going to be doing interviews?”

She heard Brian snicker. That did not bode well.

“First,” Declan said, hefting her bag over his shoulder, “Let me show you to your bunk.”

Molly looked up and down the bus. It was…a bus. There wasn’t much to see. The area towards the back seemed to have some bunks and a few closed doors, but it was all pretty much open.

Probably she should have realized this. There really wasn’t a lot of privacy on a tour bus. Her mind reeled with all the implications of this right up until she felt Declan’s hand on the small of her back again, urging her forward.

Did he know it was like an electrical shock every time he did that?

What a freaking habit.

She scurried forward, realizing her nipples would soon be visible through her poorly chosen t-shirt if he kept touching her like that, and not wanting to have to deal with being visibly aroused in front of these guys she just met. Though obviously—
obviously
—she was going to have to deal with it at some point.

“This bunk is yours,” Declan said, tossing her duffel into a bottom bunk at the very back, just a few feet from the room at the back with an actual door.

Molly looked at the bunk, which had only a small, thin privacy curtain separating it from the rest of the bus. She thought about the vibrator she’d packed, thinking she was being smart because it was clear that she was going to need frequent relief if she were going to keep her head around Declan Donovan. And then she thought about the fact that at any given moment she’d be basically exposed to four hot men, one of whom was able to get her halfway there with just a look, and all of them stuck together on a tour bus.

It had been so long since she’d had sex, so long since she’d
wanted
to have sex, and since she’d met Declan it was all she could think about. And now she wouldn’t even be able to masturbate without turning it into a show.

She might die.

“Is there a problem?” Declan asked.

“It’s awfully cramped for two,” she managed to squeak out. Then she blushed and looked up at his grinning face.

“For interviews! I meant for interviews!”

“Well, then, madam,” Declan said, sweeping his hand out towards the closed door. “Let me show you to your interview room. Also known as my bedroom.”

chapter
7

“You’re kidding,” Molly said.

Declan didn’t even try to hide his smile as he held open the door to the back room—his bedroom—for her.

“Nope,” he said.

Of course he would get the only bedroom. Of course there would be only one place for her to conduct interviews. Molly shook her head. So not only was she going to be unable to take care of herself when things got too…tense…around Declan, but she was going to be spending a lot of time with Declan.

On his bed.

“You don’t have furniture?” she asked.

“There’s a chair somewhere,” he said. “It’s covered with clothes, though.”

She could see that. The only clean space in the admittedly cramped room was the bed. And it was an impressive bed. Large. Smooth, soft looking sheets. Molly’s eyes swept over a set of metal loops bolted to the wall. And one in the ceiling.