The Song Remains the Same (28 page)

Rolling my eyes, my head swiveled back to Kenna, who had moved my hand away from her sweet warm crotch. I pulled her onto my lap, and my dick jumped.

Motherfucker.
Looked like I didn’t have whiskey dick after all.

“Let’s go fool around,” I said.

She laughed. My dick went Ironman.

“Come on. Please?” I begged, wiggling my groin under her ass. “I’ll make sure you come four, maybe five times.”

“Pfft!”

“At least three.”

Her laugh was warm and alive, a breathing fuckin’ entity that stroked me from the inside out.

“Maybe just once, but it’ll be good. You know I’ll keep goin’, Baby Girl.”

“I know.”

“Is that a yes?”

“No.”

“Is it a no then?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it.”

She pulled out her phone, and I totally felt her up, slipping my hands up under her shirt.

“Hey, Tiny. I’ve got Phil and Jace here in the bar, and they’re way wasted—”

“Is this the black bra I got you?” I asked, running my thumb over a lacy nipple. It was all tight and pebbled.
Cool.

She slapped my hand, so I pinched her back.

“Thanks, Tiny. See you guys in a bit then.”

I buried my face in her neck, licking and kissing her gorgeous skin. She tasted like honey and cream and…

“Vanilla,” I groaned. “You’re diabolical, Baby. Why do you hate me so much?”

“You know I don’t hate you, Phil,” she said, her voice low and rich.

I could feel it. It was like warm velvet touching me all over.

“Fuck, I want you so bad…” I groaned.

Next to me, Jason gave off a light snore. Son of a bitch had passed out.

Sweet.
Then, maybe Baby Girl wouldn’t mind too much if I put my hand back on her crotch.

“Damn it, Phil—”

“It’s
my
fuckin’ pussy, Kenna. I don’t even know why I let you keep it away from me. Ain’t right, woman. I need it. Give it to me.”

She was laughing at me, but I couldn’t care less. She was laughing, and that was fuckin’ awesome. I hadn’t heard it too much lately. I fuckin’ missed it.

“Miss you,” I told her, shoving my face in her neck and sniffing her.

Her arms went around me. “I miss you, too.”

“Just make it stop.”

“You’re the only one who can do that, babe.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

“I don’t. I love you. I love you, love you, love you. You’re so awesome, Baby Girl. The best. I just wish I wasn’t such a fuckin’ fuck-up.”

Sighing, she kissed the top of my head, and I smiled ’cause that made me so stupid happy. She twisted, and I raised my head.

Tiny and Carl. Damn it.

“You ready to go, Mr. D?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Kenna got off my lap, and I tried to stand, but the world fuckin’ went all slanty and shit. Tiny caught me under my armpit and grunted. Tiny was a huge motherfucker, probably outweighed me by fifty pounds or more. Kenna slipped under my other arm, and my hand went straight for a tit.

“Phil!”

“Leverage!” I barked.

Carl lifted Jace up into his arms like the little lady he was.

He woke up enough to swipe the whiskey off the table and cradle it to his chest. “Hey, Carl. You’re lookin’ awfully sexy.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

Kenna was trying to hold in her laughter. I wished she wouldn’t do that.

Next thing I knew, I was back in the shitty little room that Connor’s initiated ass should be in, and Kenna was tugging off my boots.

“Thought you said no!” I shouted, grabbing her. “Why you taking off my clothes, woman? You said no!”

“I’m getting you ready for bed, babe.”

Rolling us till I was squishing her flat into the bed, I was sloppy-eating her face. She didn’t seem to mind too much. I even got to play with her titties a bit.

When I woke up, facedown on the bed and fully clothed, I was less drunk but not by much. Kenna wasn’t in the bed with me. Raising my head, I saw her sleeping in the other bed. Death had crawled into my mouth, so I got up and somehow made it to the bathroom. I fell asleep on the toilet for a few minutes. At some point, I opened my eyes and wasn’t pissing no more. Getting up, I managed to brush my teeth and strip to my skivvies, and then I stumbled back to bed.

Her bed.

“Phil?”

“Who else would it be?” I grunted, all pissy and shit.

“What are you doing in my bed?” she snapped.

“Shut up, woman. My place in this world is by your side. Fuckin’ accept it.”

Wrapping myself around her, I passed the fuck out.

Vanilla. Light and sweet…

My own moan woke me up. My face was buried in her neck, and I was starving for her. Hand smoothing down over her tits, I pushed my aching dick into her ass, grinding hard. My hand slipped beneath her panties, finding her dripping wet and lava hot.

“Oh, fuuuck, Baby Girrrl…”

She just sighed—not unhappily, but a resigned sort of noise.

“You’re so fuckin’ wet…” I groaned.

“I’m
always
wet for you, Phil.”

As I bit her shoulder, my fingers slipped into the slick folds, finding her sweet spot.

“For fuck’s sake,” I swore.

“I told you it would be a bad idea to sleep in the same bed,” she hissed, yanking my hand out of her panties.

Dying to fuckin’ taste her sweet slice, I sucked my fingers clean. She moaned. I didn’t think she meant to, but she rubbed her soft bubblebum into my dick, and I nearly came right then and there.

“You’re just so fuckin’ perfect,” I told her, rubbing my face in her hair. “So gorgeous. Wonderful. I’m dyin’ to be a part of you again, Kenna…”

“Me, too.”

But she pulled herself out of my arms, and my head started to pound. Hangover hell was beating its way into my skull. I needed some fuckin’ water. Angel of Mercy, she brought me a bottle.

Kenna walked around the room, getting her shit together, and panic hit me hard.

“What are you doin’?”

“I’m leaving,” she replied, like it was no big thing.

“Where are you goin’?”

“Home.”

A little too fast, I shot up. “What?”

“I…” Looking as though she was about to cry, she sat down on the edge of the opposite bed. “We have a few days before the next show, and I thought it’d be good to go home until then. My flight leaves in a few hours, and…”

“Baby…” Looking down at my chest, I could’ve sworn I felt something sharp getting shoved through it.

“I’m not
leaving
you, Phil. It’s not what you’re thinking. I just need to get my shit together. I don’t want to spend the next few days in the same state as
that woman.
I think it’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet, and I’ll be good to go by Wednesday, okay?”

“No!”

Sad striking green eyes lifted to meet mine. “It wasn’t an easy decision, babe. But this way, I won’t have to fight with you about sleeping arrangements or be molested—”

“Molested?”
Talk about a slap in the face.

“You
are
molesting me. You’re trying to wear me down, so I’ll change my mind and give in to what you want. You like to say I’m a stubborn shit, but what about you? It wasn’t like I asked the impossible of you. All I asked of you was for you to hear Devon out. But you won’t. So, I’m going home to let my head and heart relax for a few days.”

Now,
I
wanted to cry. Kenna was right. I had been trying to wear her down to the point where she couldn’t deny me anymore. This woman was my heart and life force. All she needed was for me to speak with the man.

“Why were you with him last night?” I asked.

“I wasn’t. I came down to have a drink with you and Jason, and he was standing there, watching Brigid dry-hump you in the booth.”

I closed my eyes. “Is
that
why you’re leavin’? ’Cause I didn’t ask for that.”

“I know you didn’t. You were exceptionally cruel to her for it.”

“Was I?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Are you mad ’cause I was mean to her?”

“No. She made a complete ass of herself. Devon was there to take her for a fun night out, and she was more interested in getting in your pants. I think he’s had it with her. He’s spent all this money to bring her over, and she’s just…going after you.”

Hearing her tell it like it was had me feeling bad for the guy. I certainly wouldn’t be putting up with that shit, and I wondered why he had been. Devon was way better looking than I was. He was stupid talented, and he was fuckin’ loaded, too. It made no sense why Brigid had been all over me like white on rice.

Kenna’s phone chimed, and she checked her text message. “My taxi’s here.”

“Shit, Kenna, don’t go. I’ll fuckin’ fix all of this right now, okay? I’ll go find Devon and fuckin’ talk to his ass.”

“I want to go,” she whispered, sniffing back tears. “Right now, I just want to go home. It’ll only be for a few days. I just…I don’t do well with this sort of shit. I can’t be around her without wanting to cry. I just want to stop crying.”

I knew she’d had it rough when she was younger even though I didn’t see how anyone could make fun of her for her looks. She had me and some other serious contenders in the heavy-metal biz drooling over her ass. Devon wouldn’t hesitate to not only fuck her brains out, but also nail her down and claim her for himself, if he could.

I’d fuckin’ kill him if he tried, and he fuckin’ knew it.

Standing up, Kenna grabbed her bag. Shoving her favorite cabby hat on her head, she slipped on her flip-flops. “I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Please, Kenna…” I whispered. “Let me make this right.”

She smiled, and my heart broke.

“You will.” Coming up to me, she pressed the softest, most soul-shattering kiss to my lips.

Numbed in my head and aching to my core, I watched my Baby Girl walk out.

Kenna

Shit…what have I done?

Essentially, I had told Phil he wasn’t worth fighting for. That my poor battered feelings were more important than sticking by his side.

At the time, it had made sense to me to go home. Leave the fucking state Brigid was in, leave her snarky, nasty ass behind, and there she would stay.

Except…what had I sacrificed to escape?

As the plane ascended from Miami International Airport, these thoughts persisted on torturing me throughout the flight.

When I was able to turn on my phone, I called Phil, desperate to tell him that I loved him. He was right. My place in this world was by his side. However, my calls went straight to voice mail.

The cab ride home was agonizing.

I had left Miami to escape Brigid, but I’d ended up bringing her and the destruction she had produced with me. By leaving, she had won, and I was filled with shame for it.

Paying the taxi driver, I didn’t make it to the front door before I was calling Alys.

“Hey, Sweet Pea! Did you make it home all right?”

“Yeah, just got here,” I replied.

Thumping loud music and voices blared in the background. X and Connor were laughing.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re out having food and fun, which you should be here for!”

Sadly, I was in full agreement. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Phil. Is he with you guys?”

“No, I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Oh. Okay,” I said, slipping the key into the lock and opening the front door.

“If I do, I’ll let him know you’ve been trying to reach him, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Sweet Pea. Just do what you gotta do, and we’ll see you soon. It’ll all work out. I promise.”

“I love you, too, Muffin,” I choked out. I hung up before bursting into hysterical sobs.

Home.
Who am I kidding?

There was no home without Phil. Even on a tour bus or in a hotel room, I was home because I had been with
him
. I had lived in this house for the last fourteen years, and now, I felt lost and alone, undeserving of the love Phil had given me. I went to twirl my engagement ring, and a chill sank into my chest as I remembered, for what seemed like the hundredth time, that I’d surrendered it. That ring had become a part of me, and I felt naked without it.