Page 158 of The Stalker

22

The Soundcheck

Hayden appearedin the doorway to the bathroom on the tour bus and smiled at Tatiana. “Morning, preciosa. You slept in.”

They had been up well past midnight doing a BDSM scene, and she was exhausted this morning.

She nodded as she yawned and stretched her stiff muscles. “What time is it?”

“Almost eight. We shouldn’t be too far away from the venue. Maybe a couple of hours?”

“Soundcheck is at noon, yeah?”

Hayden nodded as he slipped into the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms before he kissed her. They lay together in silence for a minute, and Tatiana closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift off as she enjoyed Hayden’s warm embrace.

It was a little brighter in the room when she woke again, and she licked her dry lips before blinking and looking up at Hayden. He still had one arm around her, but he had a book in his other hand and was reading it.

“What time is it now?” she asked.

“Quarter to nine,” he said as he set his book aside.

“Which means we’ll be arriving at the venue soon.”

“We will.” Hayden kissed her and smiled. “So I’d better keep you in my arms as much as I can until then.”

She smiled up at him. “Sounds perfect. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He indicated to his phone, which was sitting nearby. “April sent me a text. Apparently, Heather has been texting her about us some more.”

“Oh, god. Just what I needed to hear,” Tatiana groaned.

“She made some excuses for us. Then I got a few texts from Heather asking if I would consider another date with April,” he chuckled.

She shook her head, frustrated that Heather was being so persistent with wanting to find out the truth about their relationship. “What did you say to that?”

“I told her that my date with April made me realize that I didn’t really want to date anyone right now. Just focus on the tour and see what comes up once I’m back in Chicago.”

“So you told her the selective truth, then?” Tatiana grinned at him.

“Pretty much.”

Tatiana sighed and wrinkled her nose while looking at the window across from them, hating everything about needing to keep their relationship a secret. She hated more that her fear for Hayden’s safety was so intense. The emails the stalker had been sending played on her mind constantly, and the thought of him being taken from her was terrifying.

Hayden put his hand under her chin and turned her face to his, looking deep into her eyes. “I love you, preciosa. The authorities will find my stalker, and I will ask you to marry me.”

Tatiana swallowed as she stared back at him, unable to look away. It was another thought that played on her mind frequently. Sometimes, she dared to dream of a world where they could get married and be happy together. It was rare, though. Most of the time, she couldn’t get past the idea that he would somehow be hurt and she would be left a shell of the person she was before he’d come into her life.

“I hope so.” She couldn’t manage anything else before her throat closed over and her fear for his safety overtook her.

The buses pulled into the back of the arena venue just after ten, but Tatiana and Hayden didn’t leave his bus until shortly before the midday soundcheck. She escorted him into the venue alongside Gabriel, with Ethan giving her sidelong glances as they did. Her jaw was tight, and she glared at him when he caught her eye.

As they made their way to Hayden’s dressing room, Daniel was walking toward them from the other direction, carrying some sound equipment.

“Hey, Dan,” Hayden said with a cheery smile.

He had softened considerably toward the roadie since getting together with Tatiana, which amused her.

“Hi, guys. Looking forward to the concert tonight?” he asked Hayden, but smiled at Tatiana.

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