Mike! He hadn’t carried a bag in with us, but maybe he had one in the car. I was sure he’d let me borrow one of his shirts for the night. I glanced at the tub with longing, and then headed back to the main room to find my friend.

He leaned casually against the counter in the lounge area between what I assumed was his bedroom and mine, one foot over the other, playing on his phone. “That was quick.” He glanced up when he heard me come in, a smile falling from his lips. “I thought you were gonna take a bath.”

“Did you bring any extra clothes?”

His eyes drifted over me, from the flimsy, long-sleeved belted halter that just barely held me in to the skin tight leather pants that were too long without my heels, and back to my eyes. “Shit, brat. I didn’t even think about it.” Before I could say a word, or turn back to my room, he dropped his phone onto the counter with a thud and reached his arms back over his head, pulling his tee shirt up.

I swallowed, distracted by the way his jeans sat low on his hips, fitting him in a way that should be illegal. As the cotton moved higher, I was graced with a view I hoped never to forget: muscles, muscles, and more muscles. A perfect blend of a six pack, toned stomach, and ink-free skin. I don’t know what I’d done in a past life, but the gods were smiling on me at this moment.

I stared until he cleared his throat, drawing my eyes away from his body to his hand holding out the shirt to me. “It’s not great, but at least it’s something to wear.”

I nodded, forcing myself to reach out and snatch it before I turned and fled, wanting to put distance between us before he realized how red my face was. I made it to my room before I heard him laugh. Dick. He was an absolute dick.

Forcing my pants down my hips, I peeled them off my legs and kicked them across the room before practically ripping my shirt off, not caring if I ruined it. My bra followed them in a quick throw, and I sunk into the still hot water, hissing a little as my blisters felt the heat.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen more of him before. Hell, when you live with a gaggle of men, or as I like to call them, my flock of cock, in a rolling house the size of dorm room, you tend to see more than you want. Ink in places I shouldn’t know there are tattoos? Yeah, I’d seen it. Morning wood? Yeah, that was a real thing, especially if they’d been out drinking the night before. I unfortunately knew which of my friends had no problem pleasing their partners, and which ones had to obviously get freaky in order to compensate for their, uh, shortcomings. I’d even been asked to check not one, but three, genital piercings when their owners were sure they were infected—they weren’t, the big babies.

I’d seen and heard it all. But watching Mike strip seemed more intimate than anything I’d ever done with the boys. Shit. I shook my head, trying to force the thoughts away. I’d blame my sudden obsession with his body on the fact that I was trapped in the never-ending dry spell and it was fucking with my head. I’m sure people could survive decades without sex, but I didn’t want to. I’d already started to lose my mind.

I leaned my head back, forcing any thought of the opposite sex from my mind, thinking instead about the upcoming tour and wondering how my wardrobe would change now that I didn’t have a sexist prick making the rules. I’d love to dress more like me; it would definitely make me feel more comfortable up on stage in front of thousands of strangers. Maybe Lia would go shopping with me; it would be awesome to have some girl time. But the idea of going to a mall only brought up the image of the bodyguard that would have to go with me.

Sighing, I pushed myself out of the tub and let the water drain. Drying off with an oversized fluffy white towel, I eyed the navy blue shirt I’d dropped as soon as I shut the door, unsure if I wanted to put it on or give up and just sleep in the buff. I killed a few minutes cleaning up my own clothes and hanging up the towel before telling myself to grow up, grabbing it off the floor.

I was surprised by how big it was on me, falling mid-thigh with the sleeves dropping well below my elbows. I glanced at myself in the mirror and laughed. I looked like a teenager playing dress-up in her dad’s clothes. Hell, I’d worn dresses half the size before and had them cover everything that needed to be hidden. Apparently, I’d never realized how big of a guy Mike actually was.

Without my bags, I couldn’t brush my teeth or comb the tangles out of my hair. Sighing, I glanced at my reflection. I looked exhausted. Like death warmed over exhausted. Without the caked-on makeup, the deep black bags under my eyes were hard to ignore. Stress and sleepless nights definitely did not agree with me.

I shook my head at the stranger in the mirror, wondering where in the hell I’d gone and when exactly I’d left. The only jewelry I wore were the diamond stars in my ears that Nate had given me for Christmas two years ago. My hair, while having a few streaks of color, was cut in a conservative style and mostly blond. Gone was the crazy girl who thought of her body as a temple to decorate how she saw fit. Staring at her, this new woman I’d become, brought up tons of questions. Most importantly, was I gone for good?

I reached over and flipped off the light as I walked into the bedroom. I was too tired to self-analyze tonight, and in no mood to be hard on myself. Hollering a quick goodnight to Mike, I pulled back the covers and crawled onto the soft mattress. I was asleep before I gave another thought to the creepy guy from the parking lot.

Chapter Six

~ Mike ~

Lee called not long after Mols crashed, letting me know that they were on their way and should be here before we woke up. When she mentioned that she’d have someone bring my suitcase up to the room when they got here, I had to tell her that Molly needed clothes, too. When she stopped laughing at my cluelessness and lack of preparation, she promised to pack our friend a bag, find everything Mols needed, and bring them up herself.

I didn’t turn on the TV, or play with my phone, but sat in the quiet and replayed Molly’s version of what had happened in the parking lot. I wanted to find the valet, or whatever the fuck he was, and beat his ass into oblivion for scaring her shitless. Maybe tomorrow I’d bribe the concierge into telling me who it was, just so I could put the fear of God into him. I must have fallen asleep, even though I’d fought it like a motherfucker, because when she knocked on the door a few hours later, I practically jumped off the couch, grabbing my weapon from the end table.

I never used the goddamn thing, but it was never more than an arm’s reach away. Even when I wasn’t carrying my Beretta, which was more than a deterrent to keep people away than anything else, the .380 was strapped to my leg. Job requirement. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but hell, if it was a choice between Molly and someone else, you’d better believe the son-of-a-bitch would meet his maker without a moment’s hesitation from me.

The knock came again, this time followed by, “Mikey, you awake?” Leaving the 9mm on the table, I raced to let her in before she could knock again and wake up Molly.

I smiled at Red as I pulled open the door and lifted a tote bag off her shoulder. “I could have come down and gotten them.”

She only shook her head, staying in the hall instead of moving past me into the suite. “You had a long day.”

I adjusted the strap higher on my shoulder and reached for my own bag by Lee’s feet. “So did you.” We’d taken the same flights yesterday morning, dealt with the same layovers, and had handled the same inconveniences of travel. But she’d had to stay after the concert and put a smile on her face, playing nice. That shit was more exhausting than anything else.