Page 12 of Laying it Bare Backstage

“No. We couldn’t find one we all liked and who meshed well with us. You met Ascher, our drummer. Jackson is our lead guitarist, Ryan our bass, and Nolan is our rhythm. I have another bodyguard as well, Ryker. But he only comes with me to big events.”

“You don’t have a bodyguard all of the time?”

“Nope. Just huge events and if there might be the chance of a huge mob issue. However, when I go out to eat or to a movie or something by myself, I don’t take one. I chat up the fans beforehand and there usually isn’t an issue. And when I hang out with the guys, it’s normally fine. When I head down to the beach, I don’t worry about it either.”

“But you had Jasper go with us today.”

“In case I had to chase you.”

My eyes widened at his admission.

“Just kidding.” His lips curled into a teasing smirk. “Although I told you I was prepared to chase if you fled. But I wanted you to be more comfortable. But he won’t go with us on our other dates.”

“You’re pretty close to the beach living here, huh?”

“You can see it from my back windows and it’s a less than ten minute walk to the sand.” He stepped back out into the hallway and led me to the back of his house.

The two of us peered out the window at the beautiful blue and sand not far away.

“While I’m working on some lyrics, you can sit out on my deck and watch the beach. And maybe we can take a walk down there later on. Or you can hang out in my living room and curl up on the couch and watch some television.”

“Is that the last of the tour of your house?” I shot him a saucy grin. Being so comfortable with him, I wasn’t concerned at all when I made suggestive comments like that.

“I’ll save the best for last. When you’re ready to stay overnight with me, I’ll reveal that room. I’m hoping your curiosity entices you.”

Would I be considered a hussy spending the night with him when we just started dating?I didn’t know who to ask. Ivy would tell me ‘hell fucking no! Jump on that invitation!’ And the girls at work would never believe me. I couldn’t deny I was tempted. However, at the moment, I needed his attention on his music. “You have new songs to write right now. I don’t want to be the reason a new album doesn’t come out and then your fans really hate me.”

That strange look passed over his face again. So quickly most would have missed it, but because I had a troublesome feeling it was almost as if I expected it.

“Okay. You make yourself comfortable. If you want anything to eat or drink before I take a break, help yourself. I don’t mind you snooping in my cupboards. I’ll take a break for lunch in a couple of hours and make us something to eat.” Pulling me into his arms, he dipped his mouth to mine and slid his lips along mine. When he licked his tongue along my seam, I opened on a breathy sigh and he invaded. His tongue curled around mine and he tasted every bit of my mouth. Just as eager, I pushed my tongue into his mouth. He tasted like sweet bakery treats, caramel, and something I was sure was uniquely him.

When he pulled away, he touched his forehead to mine. “Thank you for coming home with me. You might think you’re a distraction, but you’re getting my creative juices flowing. As well as some other things.” He pressed a kiss to my warm cheek and shot me a wink before he strolled down to his office.

Loving fresh air – and needing it to cool the blush staining my cheeks – sunshine, and the smell of the ocean, I pulled open his sliding glass doors and stepped out onto his deck. In addition to the amazing view of the beach, he had a decent amount of yard space in the back and on the two sides of his house. Plopping down onto one of his loungers, I lay back and closed my eyes, my thoughts whirling through my brain on auto replay. Catching Teak’s eye was undeniably a dream come true, once I was able to force down my uncertainties, so that I could admit to myself and others that I was immensely attracted to him. Mick had done a number on me, so I was sure those doubts were bound to creep back in again. Although Teakwassteadily proving to me that my heart wasn’t in any danger. However, I wasn’t quite so certain about the rest of me. A shiver raced down my spine. But I didn’t want to dwell on those two incidents. It would only serve to drive me insane.

Needing a drink of water, I rolled off of the chair and headed back inside, quietly. I didn’t want to disturb him. While I rummaged through his refrigerator for a bottle of water, his sexy voice crooned from behind his closed office door. Between his sensual tenor and the alluring words about finding that special someone in an unexpected way, I had to turn and lean against the bar. My legs grew wobbly and my panties dampened. I wasn’t being conceited, but I was certain I was the girl he was thinking about when he sang those lyrics.

Feeling like I was intruding, I forced my legs to drag me back outside. I’d wait for when he wanted to share this new song with me. I lounged outside for over an hour before I headed inside to see what was on television. I needed something else to occupy my thoughts and figured the television would also help prevent me from hearing a lot of what he was working on. However, as I passed the office door, it wasn’t lyrics coming through the wood. His frustrated voice was expressing his irritation with whoever was on the other end of his phone – I assumed since I didn’t think anyone else had entered his house.

“I want you to question every one of the security guards who was at my concert last night. And I want the security feeds checked for anything looking even slightly suspicious.” He barked. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

I felt bad listening in, but what he was discussing affected my life too.

“You can call me back directly or get in touch with Ryker.” He rattled off another number.

I scampered into his living room, and dropped onto his couch before clicking on the television and lowering the volume. Then I surfed the channels until I found one rerunning episodes of Friends. Another two hours passed, but I didn’t interrupt Teak even though my stomach had been growling for the past half hour. I wasn’t sure how long he had been on the phone before I had come inside and if he had finally been able to get back into a groove with his music; I was not disturbing him.

About fifteen minutes later, Teak strolled into the living room. “Why didn’t you knock and tell me to come feed you?”

“You sounded like you were on a roll so I wasn’t going to interrupt.”

“Well, I’m glad my stomach protested otherwise you might have starved to death out here.” Reaching out his hand, I put mine into his larger one and he tugged me up. “I have some snacks we can chomp on and then I’ll make us dinner at a normal time.”

In the kitchen, he grabbed two bananas, a bag of pistachios, and a bag of Nutter Butters. “They have peanut butter in them so they’re healthy.” Chuckling, he held up the cookies before gesturing to the refrigerator. “Grab two waters for us.” Then I followed him out onto his deck.

When I sat down in the lounger I had been in earlier, he placed the food onto the glass table before swinging his leg over the back of my chair to straddle it and sit behind me. Then he wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me against his chest, while he held out his free hand. “Hook me up with some food.”

I handed him a banana before grabbing one for myself.

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