When Tanner looked over at him it was to see him watching her. Of course after he said that last word she thought of totally inappropriate things that the word coming was connected with. Heat moved up her neck and covered her cheeks. All it took was a look from him, one that was more mature, carnal, and spoke of experience the likes of which she would never even begin to understand, for her to feel like putty around him. But Tanner needed to remind herself that guys like Jacks and the rest of the band could have any woman they wanted—as was evident by the groupies that were hanging around back here and by the door. Compared to those girls she was a slab of ground beef, and not even the quality kind.
“I’m going to head back, too,” Matty said, but he was focused on the redhead, and the way she was running a finger over her cleavage.
Once Matty and Five were gone, Beats stood, which had Zoe doing the same. “I hope we can catch up later.”
Beats grinned down at her and wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close. “You know it. It’s been way too fucking long.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the top of the head, and Tanner looked away. She knew that to Zoe that kiss would be akin to Beats giving her the moon. Tanner also knew that trying to talk sense into Zoe was fruitless, because her friend was madly in love with him, and besides telling Zoe again that Beats didn’t see her as more than a friend would only fall on deaf ears.
The sound of the crowd only being kept at bay by the thin wooden door and a handful of bouncers seemed to be getting louder by the second.
“It sounds like they want to bust through and come back here,” Zoe said and looked behind her shoulder.
“Nah, we’re good, although I’ll probably head back soon, too.” Jacks set his guitar on the ground, leaning against the couch, and stood. “You guys want to come to the hotel? Party?”
Zoe looked at her, but Tanner couldn’t gauge what she really wanted to do. Frankly she didn’t want to see the other two guys getting it on with those girls that were clearly easy.
“I won’t sugarcoat shit. It gets pretty crazy at these after parties, but we got the top floor at that swanky new hotel in Aspen.”
“I’d love to.” The excitement in Zoe’s voice was evident now, and when Tanner looked at her she could see a glow surrounding her. She looked at Tanner and gave her these really big grey puppy dog eyes. “I won’t go without you, but it’s been years since we hung out with them. It’ll be like old times, Tanner.”
Tanner knew it wouldn’t be, and didn’t want her friend seeing the debauchery that she could only assume would happen at a rock star party. “Um, I think Marcus and Matty had plans…” She glanced at Jacks.
“They’ll be done with those groupies before we even get to the hotel.” He took a step toward her and reached out for her hand. Once it was encased in his he pulled her up. She felt the calluses along his fingers and swallowed. And then he started to smooth his thumb along the back of her hand, and butterflies—like she was a damn teenager—started flapping in her belly. “I know it’s like a forty-five minute drive, but there are several empty rooms on the floor we took over,” he grinned. “Come on.”
She stared into his blue eyes, and before she could answer she already knew what she would say. “Ok.” Yeah, it had been that easy. She just hoped she could push away these feelings she had for Jacks, because she knew that being friends with him was the safest route, especially given the way she had left and so much time had passed.
She also worried about the experience of going to one of these parties, ones that would probably be filled with alcohol and half-naked chicks wanting his attention in the filthiest of ways.
Tanner didn’t know if she could make sure her jealousy didn’t show, because she had no claim over Jacks, even if he had claimed her in a way that had stolen her heart five years ago.
3
Jacks could hear the bass before they even got off the elevator, but there wouldn’t be any noise complaints, not when he was one of the four members of one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
It felt good to be in the spotlight, but it had never been about fame and money for Jacks. It had always been about the music, about getting it out there so people could hear it.
Of course he wouldn’t lie and say the money and possessions that he had because of this stardom weren’t great, but it was still about the poetry, the power within the words, and his buried emotions for the only girl he had ever loved—Tanner.
He glanced at her, with her dark hair that brushed along her shoulders, those soulful eyes, and that rockin’ body, and he had to will his cock not to get hard. Even though a lot of shit had happened in the last five years, the past was still very much a part of who he was.
He couldn’t forget about being with her in his bed, about sliding so deep inside of her, and knowing he was the first guy to take her. Fuck, he was getting hard thinking about that night, and what a night it had been that it still impacted him this way all these years later. He scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled.
“You okay?”
He looked at Tanner and nodded. He prayed she didn’t glance down, because no doubt she’d see the massive wood he was sporting.
The elevator finally stopped at the top floor, and the doors slid open. He thanked whoever had listened to his prayer, because she turned her focus back on the doors. He gestured for Tanner and Zoe to get off first, and then pointed to the last door on the far end of the hallway. There were several bodyguards standing on the floor in intervals. Zoe took the lead, and her excitement was tangible.
That had Jacks smiling. And then he moved behind Tanner and instantly looked down at her ass. She had always had a really fucking nice one, but Five hadn’t been kidding when he said she had curves on her.
Now she looked like a woman, and not the anorexic chicks that hung around backstage and gave out blowjobs, or the ones that spread their legs for them because they wanted to say they had slept with a member from Twisted Feather. The denim of Tanner’s pants molded perfectly to her ass, and his fucking cock throbbed like it held its own heart within it.
Shit, he didn’t want them thinking he was some kind of damn pervert checking her out and getting a boner like he was an adolescent teenager, but it was unavoidable. It might have been a long time since they had actually seen or talked to each other, but she had never been far from his mind.
They stopped at the double doors at the end of the hallway, and the girls stepped to the side. He hoped they were prepared for a fucking madhouse. He pushed open the doors, and the music pulsated outward powerfully. The master suite was probably the size of most of the other rooms on the floor put together. There were more chicks than dudes, but that was common whenever these parties were thrown.
Instantly he saw a few celebrities, some musicians, and a whole lot of staff and groupies. The majority of chicks were either dancing like they were at a strip club and collecting dollar bills, or grinding up on anyone that was right in front of them. Jacks stepped inside the room and gestured for Zoe and Tanner to come in, too. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought them to something like this, but honestly he hadn’t wanted the visit with Tanner to end.
He stopped and turned to face them. “You guys want a drink?”