Superstar (5 page)

“Are you seeing anyone?”

“Nope.”

“Well now we got that out of the way,” she
said leaning in to continue the kiss, but he moved back.

“Still not a good idea,” he said with a firm
shake of his head.

Before she could respond the doorbell
rang.

With a muttered curse, Sioux rose from the
floor to admit Rocky. This was so not over.

Rocky McPherson was a tall whippet-thin
woman with a no-nonsense manner that could be intimidating on first
meeting. Or for that matter on the second or third meeting as well.
She looked to be in her late thirties, with a flawless sepia-toned
complexion. But as the daughter of an aging superstar, Sioux
recognized the subtle signs of work done by a skilled plastic
surgeon. Sioux was in no position to judge, having had to have
several rounds of treatments to correct the ravages of drug abuse
from her own face. Fortunately plastic surgery hadn’t been
necessary, but she certainly wasn’t above it. Besides, dozens of
acid peels and several rounds of microdermabrasion probably did
equal to at least one brow lift which she was sure Rocky had had.
Of course she wanted people to focus on her talent, but she had no
desire to look any worse than she had to. Sioux had little doubt
the woman kept her remarkable figure by sheer force of will. Fat
wouldn’t dare accumulate anywhere near her form.

Sioux knew of Rocky by reputation at least.
The woman ran a tight ship with almost military precision and Sioux
all but lost the ability to speak as the road manager steamrolled
into the room.

“So you’re Sioux Dupree,” Rocky said with an
accent acquired only in the finest European finishing schools. Many
affected the plummy intonations, though primarily on the East
coast, but Sioux knew an authentic one when she heard it.

“That’s what my birth certificate says,”
Sioux snapped back, irritated by the way the other woman was eyeing
her. Thad, still sitting on the floor, shook his head briefly
signaling that smarting off at the band’s road manager probably
wasn’t the best idea, but Rocky just stared at her for a moment,
then barked out a harsh laugh.

“You’re just like your mother. Smart mouth
and all.”

“You know my mama?” Sioux asked. Of course
her parents knew pretty much everyone who was anyone, but Sioux
couldn’t recall them mentioning Rocky. Certainly she’d never been
in attendance at their lavish New Year’s Eve parties. The woman was
eminently unforgettable. Then again, she had avoided those
festivities in the past few years herself, so perhaps she’d simply
missed her. She made a mental note to ask her mother about her.

“This business is very incestuous. I was
just starting out when your daddy had Dupree on tour. I worked for
him for a while.”

“He never mentioned it.”

“That was before you were born, and there
was no reason to mention me. I was very small potatoes back
then.”

Sioux nodded. Certainly no one would call
Rocky small potatoes now.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly thrilled
when B.T. told me you were going to be added to the bill. I mean,
he’s over the moon because the added publicity will sell tickets.
That’s all well and good, but it’ll be my job to keep you guys in
good shape and keep all the craziness from ruining the show. Thing
is, B.T. will be doing everything in his considerable power to
drive up the crazy level, while I’ll be doing everything I can to
minimize its impact on you.” Rocky made a dismissive gesture as
though to indicate that working at cross-purposes with the band’s
manager was just part of the job.

Sioux nodded. She’d worked with a couple of
road managers over the years, but she’d never considered the job to
be anything more than administrative and logistical.

“So, you have to listen to what I say and do
as you’re told. I can’t work with you otherwise. Got it?” Rocky
asked__ with an elegantly arched brow, an Anastasia special if
Sioux knew her brow work, and she definitely did.

Sioux nodded again.

“About the drug thing…”

Sioux finally found her voice. “I’m clean.
I’ve been clean for two years,” she said, trying not to sound
defensive and failing miserably.

“Yeah, that’s what they all say. You know
you’ll have to pass a drug test for the insurance company, right?
You’ll have to pee in that cup at least once a week.”

“Come on, Rocks...” Thad spoke for the first
time since Rocky blew into the room. “Once a week is ridiculous.
Surely the insurance company--”

Rocky cut him off with a sharp gesture.
“That’s not for the insurance company. That’s for me. Addicts have
a way of screwing up scheduling and pretty much everything else.
It’s my job to keep the Storm Crow show on the road. I can’t do
that if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.” Then her voice
softened, at least a bit. “You won’t be my first addict, but I’ll
be damned if I’ll fly blind.”

“Yeah but…”

Sioux interrupted him this time. “I don’t
mind Thad. Rocky doesn’t know me and she has no reason to take my
word for this. I’ll gladly pee in the cup. In front of her if
necessary.”

“That won’t be necessary. We'll leave
watching young girls pee to Chuck Berry."

Thad stood in the wings of Molson
Amphitheater watching as Sioux took the stage. She was wearing what
over the past week he’d come to think of as her uniform -- jeans,
white tank top and low-cut boots. A far cry from the designer
clothes she’d worn in her previous career. She wore a little more
makeup onstage than she had during rehearsals, but other than that,
she was low-key and unassuming. They hadn’t announced who’d be
replacing Crystal Clear so the audience was a bit restive. He
suspected they didn’t recognize her until she introduced herself in
that husky whisper of a voice that sent shafts of raw desire
through him each time he heard it. There was a low murmur, then a
full on roar so loud it drowned out her opening chords, but when
she began to sing, the tone of the crowd changed until there was
dead silence. With the skills of an old pro she worked her way
through her five-song set. She sang “Fever” and owned it the way
Tina Turner owned “Proud Mary.” It would never be a Storm Crow song
again. All the songs save one were originals and the crowd couldn’t
get enough. When she finished they rose as one with a deafening
roar. Sioux gave them a quick bow, then exited the stage so
hurriedly she almost crashed into Thad.

This close up he could see the way she was
trembling from nerves, and the sweat that poured off her. He handed
her a towel and she pressed her face into it. Even as nervous as
she was, she gingerly dabbed at her face with the towel being
careful not to smear her makeup.

“Oh God. I was so scared,” she said without
moving the towel.

“I don’t know why. They loved you. Get out
there for your encore. I think you did great.” Sioux nodded in
agreement, but this was only one night. They still had fourteen
more to go.

Thad let himself into his hotel room.
Toronto was one of his favorite cities and doing three shows there
was thrilling as usual. Just as Bobby Tom had predicted, they’d had
to add a show once Sioux’s presence on the bill hit social media.
Thad didn’t mind. He was always psyched at the beginning of a tour.
It was like his first time. Sioux had been a pro just as he’d known
she would be. They’d played a very long set and it was after
midnight. All he wanted to do was lay back with a couple of cold
beers and the L.A. Galaxy game he’d set to record before he
left.

He was halfway across the living room of his
suite when he realized what was bugging him about the room. The
scent. A sweet floral aroma saturated his senses, reminding him of
warm golden honey. Like Sioux. He knew she hadn’t been in his room,
but her fragrance was definitely there. He sniffed his shirt,
wondering if the scent had rubbed off on him when they hugged
earlier, but it was impossible to tell. He continued through the
living room of his suite and into the bedroom. A flip of the light
switch illuminated the room to reveal her lying on his side of the
enormous king size bed. She sprang up immediately.

“What on earth are you doing here? How the
hell did you get into my room?” Thad asked. It wasn’t the first
time he’d returned to find a woman in his bed. When he was younger
and dumber he’d even taken advantage of what they offered.

“The desk clerk is a fan,” Sioux said with a
careless shrug.

“Of course, can’t imagine why I didn’t think
of that. Why are you in my room?”

“I thought you might want to have sex,” she
said flatly.

Thad stared at her, convinced that he’d
finally lost his hearing after too many ridiculously loud
performances. “What?”

She shrugged. “Well, I’m horny and lonely. I
thought it might be fun to have sex.”

His mouth dropped open, but no words came
out. For one thing, much to his embarrassment, her words had sent
all the blood rushing from his brain directly to his crotch.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well,”
she said, as though that explained her outrageous proposition. He
gave her a pointed look and she continued. “Well, I hate to be
alone. I miss my girls, you know Kwai and Renita,” she said,
referring to the other members of Honeychile.

“I’m surprised you didn’t bring them with
you,” he said, latching onto anything,
anything
to change
the subject before he forgot his better judgment and joined her on
the bed.

Sioux shook her head. “All that’s past now.
I love them, but they wouldn’t want to tour with me. They’re doing
their own thing now. Kwai’s going to have an amazing solo career
and Renita is going to college back east. I have to do this by
myself.”

“So you’ve decided to just bunk with me?
Having sex as some type of security blanket?” He threw his bag on a
chair with so much force it immediately fell to the luxuriously
carpeted floor.

“Well, if you don’t mind,” she said rising
to her knees on the bed. Tonight she had her braids up in big
plaits and was wearing her trademark white tank top, only now it
was accompanied by a pair of low riding pajama bottoms. He forced
himself to stop staring at the flash of taut tawny flesh revealed
below the bottom of the tank top.

“Of course I mind.”

She tilted her head to one side and gave him
a puzzled frown. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you want to have sex?”

“Are you kidding me? We’re not in a
relationship for one thing,” he said hating the way he sounded like
a prude, but damn.

“A relationship?” she asked, sounding as
though she’d found something disgusting on the bottom of her shoe.
“Oh my God, you’re such a geek. Nobody does that anymore. I mean,
you’re a rock star.”

“I’m not a rock star. I’m a musician,
there’s a difference. And nobody in their right mind screws around
anymore. It’s crazy,” he said, not even trying to keep the
defensiveness out of his tone.

“It’s not like we’re strangers. We’re
friends, at least I thought we were.”

“We are friends, Sioux, and that’s the
point. I’d like us to stay that way.”

“You’re not making any sense. Do you have
any idea how many guys would love to be where you are right
now?”

Thad crossed his arms, pretty sure that if
he didn’t restrain his hands they’d give in to the urge to touch
her. “Of course I do. I’m sure you could go downstairs and find a
whole lot of guys who’d take you up on your offer.”

“I don’t do groupies anymore.”

Thad paused, brought up short by her
comment. “You have groupies?”

“Of course I do.”

He didn’t know why that surprised him.
“Guys?”

“Girls. Guys. Whatev,” she said with a shrug
of her elegant shoulders.

Now wasn’t that a kick in the crotch? “Guess
I should have known.”

“What, you thought guys were above all
that?”

“No, I never thought that. Actually I never
thought about it at all.” And really wished he hadn't thought about
it now. He didn't know which was worse, the arousal from imaging
her in bed with a groupie girl, or the blinding rage from even
contemplating the same with a groupie guy. Or any guy for that
matter.

“Well, I outgrew that a long time ago. How
about you?”

“Pretty much the same here.”

She laughed. “It was fun while it lasted,
but then so were a lot of things. I’m lucky I came out on the other
side alive and more or less whole.”

When he didn’t respond she continued with a
shrug, “Well, do you mind if I stay anyway? I really do hate being
alone.”

Thad hesitated. There was only one bed in
the room. He thought the sofa in the living room was a fold out,
but he really had no desire to sleep on one tonight.

“When we were on the road together, me Kwai
and Renita used to just pile in bed together.”

He almost groaned aloud at the visual of
three of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen cuddling together
in bed. “Sounds like loads of fun, but I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m
not your girlfriends.”

“Well, since you’re not attracted to me
anyway," she said and the sight of the pout of her luscious plum of
a mouth made him want to groan aloud.

“Who said I wasn’t attracted to you? You’re
a beautiful woman and if we weren't on tour together...” he
said.

“An attractive woman you don’t want to sleep
with.”

“I do want to sleep with you…”

“Then what’s the problem? I want to sleep
with you. You want to sleep with me. It’s just sex.”

“We are not having sex,” Thad bellowed
before walking over to the chest of drawers and pulling out his
pajamas and a change of underwear. Storming toward the bathroom, he
pulled his sweat-soaked shirt over his head, launching it toward
the nearest corner. Behind him he heard Sioux gasp. Damn, he’d
forgot the tattoo.