Authors: Cassidy Browning
Tags: #Romance
Finn gave her a squeeze. “What did you say?”
“I said I should take some notes. I might forget what I did.”
Decker laughed. “Don’t worry about that right now. We made special arrangements with sky to have a camera in the back of the room. We got every minute of it.”
The cheers and whistles continued for several minutes, until the emcee came back onstage. He looked a little dazed himself, but held out his hands for silence until the room quieted down.
“Thanks, folks,” he said, turning a wondering look on Daphne. “That was absolutely incredible. We can see why the world loves you. I don’t think there’s any doubt of the winners tonight, is there?”
The audience hooted and cheered in response, and Daphne blinked at Decker. Winners?
He gave her a wink and took the microphone from Phoenix again. “Thanks, everybody. But we didn’t really come here to compete with anyone. This was more for us than the contest. Since the first prize is, I think, a free weekend at Clifftop Fantasies, where we’re already staying, I believe my partners here will agree that it should go to someone else. Thank you for sharing falcon’s maiden flight with us.”
He led Daphne and Finn offstage, still amidst thunderous applause, while Phoenix announced that Daddy Dave and his two boys would be awarded the first place. Daphne heard happy barking as the door closed behind them into the small changing room.
“Was it okay?” Daphne asked as Finn and Decker cleaned the
liquid
latex off her. They had helped her out of her heels
,
and she was leaning against the chair she’d used earlier to have the needles inserted. The wet cloth made her feel chilly and a little shaky, but Decker had explained that he wanted to get the paint off her first, because taking out the needles would give her more endorphins. He wanted her to be able to enjoy that part, relaxing and coming down slowly.
“You were beyond magnificent,” Finn told her, stopping to give her a long, sensuous kiss. Then he went back to slowly rubbing paint off her breasts and stomach, occasionally running a hand over the feathers so that she would get another rush.
“Yes, you were,” Decker agreed, giving her a lingering hug from behind but then quickly stepped back and resumed cleaning her up.
When they were done, they settled her back into the chair and began removing the feathers and needles. Each one sank her deeper into a zoned-out, satisfied
,
and happy doze. She was only barely aware of being wrapped in a warm blanket and led out to the car to go home.
Finn woke up early. Daphne was tucked up into him, his arm around her, her breathing deep and rhythmic. He lay for a few minutes enjoying the feel of her soft, warm body against his. Something about the situation seemed a little off, and it occurred to him finally that Daphne had slept the whole night through. That was unusual. Normally no matter how little sleep he got, Daphne was up later and awake earlier. She seemed to exist on no more than two or three hours of sleep a night. He knew she’d been sleeping a little more lately, but surely it was a miracle that he’d woken up before her.
A second after he’d thought that, her eyes popped open. No lazy mornings in bed for Daphne. Either she was fast asleep or wide awake. No middle ground.
“Good morning,” Finn said, running a hand over her, feeling the small scabs from where the needles had been in her skin the night before. Daphne smiled and stretched like a cat, giving him better access. His hand found its way to her breast
,
and he began teasing and pulling on her nipple, drawing a moan from her.
“You were wonderful last night,” Finn said, moving his hand down her torso and replacing it with his mouth.
Just as he reached her pussy, Daphne gasped. “Last night! You said there was a video?”
“Mmm.” Finn ignored her distraction and pushed a finger into her. “Later.”
“But I—Oh.” Daphne had been starting to push herself up, but his actions finally seemed to get her attention. She arched her back and sighed. “Oh, baby, that feels—”
There was a sudden loud, demanding knock at the door
,
and a voice yelled, “Finn! You’ve got to see this!”
With a sudden flurry of blankets, Daphne sprang out of bed. Finn was close behind her, muttering, “What has that asshat been up to now?”
They threw on clothes and followed Andy down the stairs. The rest of the band and Decker were gathered around the dining room table, where a laptop was set up. There was music coming from it, soft but familiar, and as Finn got closer he saw that it was the video of Daphne’s performance at
The Keep
.
He stared at the images until he noticed the YouTube banner at the top of the screen. Then he looked at Decker, who was smiling a little enigmatically.
“Did you post that?”
Decker nodded. Finn stared at him, wondering whether to be angry or not. Then he leaned closer and looked at the screen.
“Holy shit—fifty thousand views already?”
“Yes, and it’s only been up a little over two hours.”
Daphne was standing next to him, her eyes fixed on the screen. Slowly she sank into a chair, staring. Finn watched her, concern building. She was so quiet. Was she going to freak out? Did she not like what she was seeing? Was she mad at Decker for posting the video?
He put a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t move. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her. “Daph?”
She jerked a bit and turned to look at Decker. “You posted this?”
A flash of doubt crossed Decker’s face. Finn debated getting up and standing between them. He’d seen Daphne in a fit of rage once or twice, and he was pretty sure Decker would not be prepared for what could happen if she was reacting badly.
Before he could act on his impulse, Daphne said, “This is called ‘Falcon’s Fantasy.’ You called me ‘Falcon’ last night. What does that mean?”
Okay
. Finn’s muscles relaxed a little, although he stayed leaning forward, on guard. She apparently wasn’t going to attack. But he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
Decker’s eyes focused on hers
,
and a current seemed to pass between them. It made Finn a little uneasy, but he didn’t interfere. He watched Daphne closely as Decker reached over and put a hand on hers where it rested on the edge of the table.
“Falcons are the most agile and graceful birds,” he said quietly. “They are also extremely powerful, and there’s nothing more beautiful than grace, strength
,
and energy that is properly disciplined. Falcons embody that mixture.”
Daphne was silent again. Her eyes darted toward the screen, where a vision of her still danced, but were drawn back to Decker as if by a magnet.
“Is that what I am?” Her voice was soft and wistful.
“It is exactly what you are, or at least what you can be when you are focused. When I watched you dance last week, I knew that was how I would always think of you. You just need to give as much energy to your craft as you do to your insecurities. If you were my submissive
,
that’s what I would use as your scene name.”
“If I were—” Daphne stopped. “Can I use it anyway? I mean, even if—”
A wistful look came over Decker’s face, but he smiled and nodded. “Even if. I’d be honored for you to use the name.”
It was like there was no one else in the room. Decker and Daphne were assessing each other with a look so sexual that Finn couldn’t help but feel a little rejected. Standing, he started walking toward the stairs. He should have been the one to post the video, he berated himself. He shouldn’t stand in their way anymore.
But then Daphne was on his back, her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She planted kiss after kiss on his ear, screeching in between each kiss, “Did you
see
that? Fifty
thousand
hits so far! And I have a scene name! I have a scene name, Finn!”
Decker shut down the laptop as Finn turned back into the room. Suddenly Allie was setting the table for breakfast
,
and everybody was laughing and chatting. Daphne was still squealing and pummeling his chest with her fists between kissing and biting his ear.
Finn found himself smiling at Decker. “Nice work.”
Decker nodded. If he’d had doubts about what he’d done, they didn’t show. He raised one eyebrow. “So. What do you two have planned for the day?”
Finn’s phone began to ring before he could say anything. He realized, flipping it open as Daphne jumped down, that he hadn’t planned anything special for the day. They needed to celebrate Daphne’s victory last night, as well as the fact that her video seemed to be going viral already.
“Mr. Scott?” The voice was female and unfamiliar.
“Yes?” Finn walked into the living room, holding his free hand over his ear to block out the excited chatter from the dining room.
“My name is Kelly Stewart. Do you have a moment?”
* * * *
Decker was helping Allie bring in plates of bacon and pancakes, which he put down near his own plate with a warning look at the band members. There had been far too many mornings when he’d missed out on pancakes because of the boys’ fast hands and insatiable appetites. Today he was determined to get the first batch. They were done recording, anyway. They didn’t need the extra energy.
There was a shout from the living room
,
and everyone turned to see Finn trotting back to them, waving his phone. It was eerily reminiscent of the morning when the call had come from the Los Angeles television station.
“That video is already working magic!” Finn said. Everybody stared questioningly at him. He grabbed Daphne and kissed her soundly on the lips. “The Reno Summer of Rock Festival had a band cancel at the last minute, so they’re wondering if you would come and perform the weekend after next.”
Decker waited a second before asking the question that was probably on everybody’s mind. “Is it wise to do a public appearance right now? With the scandal?”
Daphne shot him a grateful look, as if she hadn’t been quite willing to ask.
Finn frowned thoughtfully. “I think so. It’s not like her career is likely to be hurt by a sex scandal. Rock stars are kind of expected to get involved in that kind of thing.” He gave Daphne a stern look. “But it won’t be happening again. Will it, Daph?”
“Absolutely not!” Daphne shook her head vigorously, although her cheeks had gone bright red.
“And it kind of shows the world that she’s too tough to be embarrassed. In fact, it’s probably a good thing to get out there while your name is still in the news, especially now with the YouTube thing. We want people to be aware of you, and the more often they hear about you the more likely they are to remember you. Right?”
“Right.” She didn’t sound completely convinced, but she sat down at the table with a bright smile for Finn.
“When is it?” Decker sat down
,
too, resisting the thought that he should go see if Allie needed anything else brought in. But the boys were taking their places at the table
,
and he didn’t trust them not to grab all of the pancakes again. He really didn’t want to have to ask Allie to make more.
“Next Saturday night. They want her to play at eight o’clock. You know what that means, right?”
Daphne looked up at him. “What?”
“It means we’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do between now and then to firm up that routine, get a costume made
,
and get the whole thing recorded. I don’t want you dancing in the middle of a field wearing nothing but
liquid
latex and covered in needles. That music track we used was really rough.” Finn was in full managerial mode now. He turned to the musicians. “We’ll need you guys to get together and work out the pieces. Can you all stick around for the next two weeks? I’ll arrange for filming. I think a lot of it should be shot outdoors, don’t you, Daph? It’ll be more fitting for the bird theme.”
Decker watched him barking out orders. Finn was in his element, making plans, working out details, taking the bull by the horns. But judging by Daphne’s face, it wasn’t her element. She looked like a little kid who’s just been told that Christmas is over
,
and it’s time to pick up the wrapping paper.
“You know, Finn,” Decker said, taking two pancakes and handing the plate down the row. It was okay that the boys had gotten to the bacon first. He finally had first pick of the pancakes. “You have a real gift for organization and business. I admire that about you.”
Finn stopped in the middle of his planning and smiled. “Thanks.”
“But I think your timing is a little off.”
Finn stared at him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that today is Sunday. Your girl gave a marvelous performance last night
,
and you’ve just gotten a great opportunity.”
“Yes?”
“So today is not for planning. Today is for celebrating.”
Finn glanced at Daphne and then back at Decker. His face registered annoyance then resignation. “But I need to—”