Page 40 of Songbird: Black Kite
“It sounds pretty fuckin’ sweet, that’s for sure,” he said, the pride in his voice unmistakable. He continued to stroke the guitar, his palm flat against the strings as he slid his hand up and down the neck like he was touching a lover.
His movement distracted me, and I couldn’t think of another thing to say, my focus completely on watching him pet the fucking Gibson as though he’d hypnotized me.
“You play?”
I turned to him, taking him in as I considered the question. His hair was long, brushing his shoulders and still damp from what I assumed was a recent shower. In profile, he was near perfection, his strong nose and full lips balanced beautifully with his deep eyes. Hawk had a face that most people would call broody, always looking deep in thought, as though he was one second away from either throwing hands or throwing you out. He was the kind of guy who always looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I had the strangest urge to touch him, to offer him comfort and solace and safety.
It was a bizarre feeling, considering I’d barely spent four minutes in the same room as him, but I couldn’t deny it. Something inside me wanted to give Hawk a hug.
Instead, I just shrugged, brushing off his question.
“A little.”
Turning his head, Hawk looked at me, surprise in those broody eyes. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak again, there was a loud squeal from one of the other girls in the room and it drew both our attention. Sitting up on my knees, I peered over the edge of the couch to see one of the girls who had been in the VIP area with us was now straddling Lewis, her skirt drawn up and her ass exposed as she bounced up and down, clearly fucking him right there on the couch.
“Jesus Christ,” Hawk muttered, sounding pissed off. “Make up your mind, you stupid fuck.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Nothing.” He stood, holding out a hand to help me up. I didn’t need it, but I took it all the same. We stood there, side by side with our backs to the wall, watching as the room descended deeper and deeper in to a full-on orgy. It seemed that once Lewis started it, everyone else was happy to join in, with roadies and other crew members sucking on exposed tits or getting blow jobs right out in the open. I’d never seen anything like it, even on a night when our football team won big.
Searching the room, I finally found Sabrina, standing off to one side with Gavin, of all people, looking to be deep in conversation, her arms gesticulating wildly as she spoke and he scowled at her, shaking his head.
Leave it to Bri to meet a rock star and immediately start giving him shit.
“You wanna get out of here?” Hawk suddenly asked me. I turned to him, seeing that he was slouched back against the wall, his fingers toying with a strand of my hair, twirling it around and watching the pieces switch from blonde to red and back again as he did. When I didn’t say anything, he looked at me, taking the piece of hair he was holding and bringing it up to his mouth, running the ends over his lips like a paintbrush. He closed his eyes at the sensation, and I felt another one of those tingling thrills dance through me. “I wanna show you something. Will you come with me?”
I didn’t know where he wanted to take me, and I didn’t know what he intended when we got there.
What I did know was that for this moment in time, I had Hawk Jameson’s full and undivided attention, and I wasn’t going to waste a second of it.
“Yes.”
Chapter twenty-five
Wren
Fifteen Years Ago
Hawktookmyhandand towed me out of the greenroom, ignoring the few people that called after him. When we entered the hallway, I noticed that Charlie was still there, his face betraying a quick look of surprise as Hawk and I appeared before he quickly replaced it with his bland, stoic expression, falling into step behind us as we walked. We wove our way through the bowels of the arena, passing crew members who were hard at work disassembling the stage and packing all the equipment into large black cases which they then loaded on wheeled trolleys to be hauled to the next town.
The whole thing was rather impressive, and as we moved, I could see that everyone knew their job, doing exactly what they needed to do as efficiently as possible. It was like a well-choreographed dance where all the dancers were long-haired metal heads with faded tattoos.
“Phil!” Hawk called suddenly, dragging my attention from the busy work going on around us to an older guy who appeared to be directing traffic, so to speak. “Hang on a sec.”
“Hey, son,” the old guy said. “Who’s this you have here?” he asked, his smile wide.
“You pack up my baby yet?” Hawk replied, ignoring Phil’s question. “I need her.”
“She’s already on the bus, son,” Phil said, apparently knowing exactly what Hawk was talking about. “I know you like to have her with you when you travel.”
“Thanks, man. ’Preciate it.”
And with that, we were off again, this time making our way outside into what appeared to be the back parking lot. The space was packed with long-haul trucks and busses, but one stood out among the rest, its gleaming black and silver paint job loudly proclaiming who would be traveling inside.
Holy fuck. That was theBlack Kitetour bus.
The wind howled across the parking lot as Hawk continued to drag me along behind him. It was so fucking cold, but Hawk didn’t seem to even notice, moving with long, determined strides toward the bus. I kept up as best as I could, glad that I’d worn my Chucks and not the stupid heels that Bri had tried to convince me to borrow. The door to the bus opened with a loud hiss as we approached, the driver giving Hawk and smile and a nod which Hawk also ignored.
