Page 15 of Laying it Bare Backstage

Serenity stepped into her bathroom and a few minutes later returned with a small bag in her hand. As if reading my mind, she casually tossed out. “That Naomi doesn’t know my name. I mean I don’t know how she could have figured it out. Although I guess she could have just followed us home last night.” A tremor shook her body with her reasoning. Then she dropped the little bag inside the bigger one and zipped it up. “I just need to add a few pairs of shoes.” She lifted her gaze to me and tears shone in her beautiful eyes.

I couldn’t pack for her or take away the shit that she had been smacked with over the last twenty four hours, but I could provide her with security and solace. Walking over to her bed, I pulled her into my arms and held her close. Then I rained kisses along her temples and cheeks. “It will be okay. We’ll get this sorted out. And until then, you stay with me.” And even afterward, but now was not the time for that discussion. I would not push that on her while she was vulnerable. But from the moment I met her backstage after my concert, I was determined to make her mine. And I planned on keeping her. But right now, her safety was my priority. When things returned to normal, I’d share my plans for our future. “Pack some personal things to help you feel more at home at my place and anything you need for work too. Where do you want to wait for the police?” I didn’t think she’d want to sit outside. She didn’t need the visual as a grim reminder.

“We can wait outside for them. That’s where they need to check anyway. It’s not like the person broke in.” She shook her head. “Being a little rattled last night, I would have thought Ivy or I would have noticed if someone had been following us.”

Not that I didn’t believe Naomi was psycho enough to be behind this shit, but ... “Mick knows where you live, right?”

She leaned back and stared up at me, her forehead creasing in confusion. “Yes. But he broke up with me. I didn’t dump him and make him mad. He’s the one who tossed me aside.” Hurt mixed in with the puzzlement, marring her beautiful features.

I hated that the prick had treated her like that and still had the ability to make her feel bad about herself. “He might have realized he was an idiot to let you go. And now the fucktard is jealous. If he’s still in town here. I don’t know. I’m just hoping we cover any possible angle. I want to make sure we give the police every piece of information we can think of for them to look into this.” I cupped her cheeks in my hands before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. “And you do know he was an imbecile? There isn’t anything wrong with you and his loss is my gain.”

She gave me a small smile. “And my best friend being an uncontrollable lunatic with next to no boundaries ended up leading to mine.”

Her words warmed my chest. How could anyone not recognize the treasure she was? While I wasn’t a genius, I also wasn’t stupid enough to let her slip through my fingers. Other parts heated as well, but I needed to employ patience. I planned to have a lifetime with her. But I hoped I didn’t have to wait too long to have her truly in my bed. “She did make it marginally easier, but I wasn’t planning on giving up. I would’ve just had to go with Plan B.”

“Which was?” She grinned at me.

I was glad I could distract her a little bit. All too soon, we’d be hashing things out with the police and everything would come rushing back over her. “I didn’t have one at that point. So thankfully, I hadn’t needed to garner one. But I would have figured out something, eventually.” I snapped my fingers. “I could’ve written a song about finding you and you disappearing and had them play it on all of the radio stations offering a prize, until some listener realized who I was looking for and helped me track you down.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of trouble to find a mystery girl.”

“Ah, but she is so worth it.”

Her grin brightened. “My computer and chargers along with some books are in my living room. Then that should be it.”

We strolled out to the front of her house. A small but bright kitchen sat on the left, white appliances and island top and dark wooden cabinets made up the homey space. We veered to the right and into her living room; where she snatched her laptop up off of the coffee table. A few books were strewn across the cushions of the tan leather couch and two charges sat upon an end table. After tossing the books into her duffel, she packed the other items into her computer bag. A matching love seat and recliner along with a fifty-five inch flat screen completed the area. “You and Ivy have a cute little place.”

“It’s really small, but it works for us right now.” She paused for a moment and her lips pulled down into a frown. “Did you text Ascher yet?”

“No. I wanted to get you taken care of first. I plan to do that while we wait for the police.”

“Can you ask him to let Ivy know I’m fine and to please not blow up my phone with texts and calls. I’ll talk to her later. But I know I won’t feel like rehashing this again right away after talking with the police.”

“I can let him know that. You’re ready then?”

At her nod, I slung her duffel and computer bag over my shoulder and we headed to her back door. After she locked up, we circled around to the front again. While we waited for the police, I stashed her bags in the backseat of my car and sent Ascher a few texts.

A police officer showed up about fifteen minutes later and scoped out her house, bagged up the photo and blade for evidence – reassuring us it was indeed animal blood – before inundating her with about a hundred questions. Even though it annoyed me because I could tell she was mentally drained, I was glad he was thorough. I had interjected about the two other incidents and our thoughts about the crazy fan and her ex. He had jotted down their names, but informed us it was all circumstantial. I had to agree, but it put my mind at ease to at least have their names on record. When he was finished, he handed her his card and informed us they would investigate, but there wasn’t a lot to go on.

After he slipped into his cruiser, I hugged Serenity. “You can chill out on my couch while I make us some dinner.”

“You don’t by any chance have a huge soaker tub I can immerse myself in?” She sighed.

Naked images of her reclining in the tub I didn’t have flooded my brain. I hoped my excited cock didn’t scare her off. She had to have felt him pushing at the zipper of my shorts and into her stomach. “No, but my shower has a nice pulsating head that will feel wonderful on your muscles.” My hands itched to caress every inch of her skin and so did my mouth. I shook away those naughty thoughts. I needed to get my dick under control, not have it punch through my clothing. “We can also walk along the beach tonight if you feel up to it. The waves crashing along the sand is always soothing. Although you can hear them from my deck in the evenings too. You decide if you want to walk the beach or listen from my deck. It can be your choice. Give me your phone so I can type in my address. Then we can head out.”

Once I had her tucked into her car, we pulled out onto the road and she followed me to my house. About twenty-five minutes later, after the two of us pulled through my gate, I ushered her inside and had her drop her computer bag on my coffee table and then walked her back to my room where she dumped her duffel onto the end of my bed.

“Hmm, this is supposed to be the magnificent wonder of the house. The finest of all the rooms.” Her eyes scanned the area, your typical king-sized bed, dresser, nightstand, and closet and she grinned.

“Ah, but your curiosity got you here and that’s most of the battle. I don’t need an extravagant bedroom; I just need you in it.”

I didn’t miss her slight intake of breath or the hint of pink coloring her cheeks.

Smirking, I tugged her into my arms and kissed the crown of her head. If I did anything else at the moment, I would be more than tempted to tumble the both of us onto my bed and do a hell of a lot more with my mouth. “If you don’t find it awkward or uncomfortable, I can clear a drawer out for you and some space in my closet so you don’t have to live out of your bag.”

“I like that idea. I can pretend I’m on vacation with you.”

I’d rather she acted like she was moving in with me, but I’d take the small win. She was staying with me. Besides, right now it was more a forced arrangement. When this situation was resolved, I needed her towantto stay with me. Stepping over to my dresser, I pulled all of the t-shirts and jeans out of one of the drawers before heading over to my closet to hang up the items. “That drawer is all yours now. I’ll make some room in here as well for what doesn’t fit.”

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