Feuds and Interludes (Rock ‘n’ Romance Legends #1)

Chapter 14

Fourteen

B oone

I lay on the bed with the compound lights shining through the window with a big fat smile on my face. Next to me, dead asleep, was a perfectly sated Shane Butler with perfectly manicured hands. One of them was splayed on his bare chest, the light catching the sparkles in the teal paint, and the other was tangled in my hair. I didn’t mind it since it was him, and his nails were dry.

We’d had such a great talk. I couldn’t believe he’d opened up so much to me, that he’d finally seen me, not the spoiled brat he’d thought I was. Not that he was totally wrong. I could be a brat, and an insufferable perfectionist, but so could he. I hoped we could work around those things, because I really really liked being with him like this. The fact that he knew about my health challenges and hadn’t freaked out, that we were in similar positions with our bands…it was almost too good to be true, to have someone like him.

I dared to hope that I might even be close to having that musical partner I’d always dreamed about.

God, what would it be like to play and sing with him? Oh fuck, or to write with him? I giggled out loud, and then covered my mouth when he stirred in his sleep. I didn’t want him to leave. I liked pretending we were a couple.

Annie and Brandon were happy for me earlier when Shane joined us. They’d already let me know that they liked Shane, but if he hurt me, they’d implement the most egregious revenge plan ever. I appreciated their support and hoped it wouldn’t come down to that because the Thompson twins—no, not the band, my band—were brutal in their attacks. I wouldn’t want them on the hunt.

I couldn’t stop staring at Shane. He even frowned in his sleep. But watching him orgasm? I’d never felt such satisfaction in sex with another person. I always worried about my performance, but with Shane, I was more worried about pleasing him, helping him relax. I knew he was concerned about tomorrow, but I had a feeling it would be a really good thing for him. Lydia knew what she was doing. She’d protect him.

My phone buzzed, and I looked at the clock. It was nearly two a.m. I picked up my cell and saw a notification from the app for the flight charter company I’d bought shares in. Seemed the trip I’d booked for Gran to come up on Sunday had been canceled. Huh. I’d call her in the morning. She often went to bed late, but two in the morning was late even for her.

Shane mumbled in his sleep and turned toward me, and it was way too much of a temptation not to touch him. I ran my thumb over the crease between his brows, and his eyes opened.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He grunted and pulled me into his body, sliding his knee between my thighs. Sweet Jesus, he felt so good, and pressed up against his chest was where I wanted to spend every night. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Don’t say it’s morning time,” he mumbled.

“It’s not,” I whispered, kissing him. “Go back to sleep.”

He sighed. “Stay with me, Boone. Right here.”

I looked up at him, and he still had his eyes closed. Was he talking in his sleep?

He slid a hand down and grabbed my ass, pulling me in tighter to him, and he groaned.

I definitely did not mind the sleep-groping or the sleep-talking, but the sleep-twitching was something else. At first it was like a puppy dreaming, hands and feet moving, but then a few times he tensed up, and one of those times, his hand that was still tangled in my hair yanked on it—hard.

I sucked in a breath, and when he didn’t let go, I tapped on his chest. He mumbled and rolled over, loosening his grip, thankfully. I curled up to his back and sighed.

I hadn’t known he had his back completely tattooed until that night. I hadn’t gone that route with my art. I’d only enjoyed the piercing needle as far as body modification was concerned. Shane’s strong back was covered with a vast black and gray mural like something out of Ancient Greece with a quote in the middle of a stormy sky. “To Live Alone is the Fate of All Great Wicked Souls.” It disturbed me. Was that him being flippantly pessimistic, or did he truly believe that? I drew over the letters with my fingers and thought that, no, I didn’t want his fate to be alone.

I wanted him for my own.

I finally dozed off for several hours, waking when I felt Shane move next to me.

“Don’t wake up,” he whispered.

I grabbed his hand to keep him from leaving and pulled him down for a kiss.

“No matter what happens, Shane, you’re not alone.” I wanted to say more, but I knew he needed to get in the right headspace for his meeting. I squeezed his hand and let go, gazing up at him from the bed.

He stared at me with his head cocked to the side. “How was I so wrong about you?”

I grinned up at him and rolled onto my back with my arms over my head, letting the covers slide down below my belly button. “I have no idea, but I’d love to be wrong with you again.”

He shook his head, leaned down to kiss me, then bent farther, slid the blanket off my hip and laid another love bite on my hip bone, causing me to bow up off the mattress.

“Fuck,” I cried out. “That feels good. I love it.”

“Let’s do this again.” He pulled on his pants and shirt, then turned for the door. When he opened it, he looked back and his scowl had returned. “Thank you, Boone. See you later.”

I waved as he shut the door, and then I moaned, sinking into the bed. I stretched my arms above my head and wiggled my toes. I had time to rest, but I was vibrating with energy. I was concerned for Shane, but also needed to focus on my purpose here. We were done rehearsing and it was time to start laying tracks down.

Morrison was thrilled with the new songs, but my voice wasn’t cooperating yesterday. The plan today was no singing, just instrumentals, and there were a few guitar parts that I wasn’t completely solid on, including this guitar part on “Over The Moon” that Morrison suggested I add slide to. I hadn’t done a lot of work with a slide and it just wasn’t coming out the way I wanted. Probably I would have Morrison track that part…or maybe… Would Shane do it? Would he agree to play on a Stellar record?

That thought had me springing out of bed. I tripped over my shoes on my way to the bathroom, did my business, and then grabbed my guitar. I lost track of time and nearly missed breakfast. I called Gran on the way but got her voicemail.

“Hey Gran, I saw the flight for tomorrow was canceled. Everything okay? Call me. Mwah.”

I hurried up the steps and found Annie and Brandon finishing up their breakfast.

“Good morning, good mo-orning,” I said in a singsong voice.

Annie turned her head slowly and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, Debbie Reynolds. I thought you weren’t singing today.” Her eyes widened when she looked at me.

“Oops,” I whispered. “Sorry I’m late.”

Brandon was finger-drumming on the table. “Not late yet, but you better hurry. I think Felix is closing up.”

I rushed over to grab food, which was scrambled eggs and bacon with some sort of biscuits that looked delicious. Perfect. Felix greeted me cheerfully, then his smile fell.

“Uh, you’ve got…” He pointed to his neck, but before I could ask, Leland shouted for me.

“Hurry up, Collins. More is ready for you.”

“Got it! Be right there.”

I said thanks to a bewildered-looking Felix and hurried over to my band.

As I sat down, they both stared at me.

“What?” I asked with a mouthful of eggs.

“Uh, Boone?” Brandon had stopped mid finger-drum. “Did you sleep with a vacuum cleaner last night?”

I frowned and shoved more food into my mouth, anxious to finish and get on with our day.

“Unless Rose was right and there really is a ghost in the lodge,” Annie said, picking up hers and Brandon’s trays. “Or a vampire.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be done in three minutes.”

They nodded at me, elbowing each other. “We’ll see you in the studio.”

“Yeah, you and your?—”

Annie yanked Brandon towards the door, cutting off whatever he was going to say.

I sat like a happy camper eating my breakfast, songs running through my head. Today was going to be a great day.

My great day lasted until I went into the bathroom upstairs at the studio. The one where Shane and I had our first run-in, I guess. After I washed my hands, I snagged one of Morrison’s packaged toothbrush/paste combos. I looked in the mirror…and spit the paste out, getting it all over my shirt.

Oh my.

Shane had somehow managed to add another silver-dollar-pancake-sized hickey on my throat, and now breakfast made sense.

What was it with this guy that he got so overzealous? And why did I like it so much?

I rinsed my shirt, but the toothpaste wouldn’t come out without a major scrubbing, which stretched out the waffle-weave material. I went back into the bedroom and dug through the closet and dresser, which Morrison had told us the first time we came here were fair game, and prayed for a turtleneck, or at least a flannel.

Most of the clothes were giant-sized, not for a men’s medium like me. I didn’t want to feel like a little kid in my grandpa’s clothes, so the only option was a women’s cut, slim-fit, long-sleeved boatneck shirt, which left my throat exposed, as well as the original hickey on my collarbone.

“Well. This is a statement.”

I shook out my hair, knowing it would definitely not cover the marks, and I marched down the stairs with my…shit…chin out and tits on display?

Frickin’ British-isms. I’d grown up around them, seeing as both grandparents were raised in the UK. You’d think by now I’d get them right.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said as I opened the door to the control room.

Morrison and Leland had their heads together and they both turned and looked at the same time.

“Hey, Boo—oh,” Morrison said.

“ Someone’s boo. Damn,” Leland said with a laugh. “You do realize someone been gnawing on you.”

I tossed my hair. “Whatever do you mean?” I rolled my eyes and they both laughed, and I hoped that was it. But no. Leland was full of humorous quips about my love bites. In fact, I wasn’t aware there were so many songs about hickeys, but do you know that Leland was ? And he sang every one of them before lunch?

“I think the Judas Priest one is my favorite,” he said to me as we packed up to go to the mess hall. We had guitars and drums tracked on two songs, and after lunch the plan was to add in some keyboards to one of them. I’d originally written the melody using Gran’s piano, and so I was hoping to recreate it.

“Wonder how things are going with Soul.”

My ears perked up at Morrison’s musing.

“You think things are going to go well ? With his temper?”

My hackles rose. It wasn’t my place to stick up for Shane, but I wanted it to be. I didn’t like hearing Leland criticize him, even if what he said was true.

When we sat down to eat, I asked, “Hey, Morrison? What would you think if I asked Shane to play that slide part on ‘Over The Moon’?”

The two producers looked at each other and then back at me.

“I think he’d kill it. I don’t know what he’ll say, but I think it’s a good idea.” Morrison stroked his chin. “You know what, you should also see if he’ll sing the harmonies with you.”

Leland looked between the two of us. “That would be…that would be fire .”

“Yeah, your voices really complement each other. Let’s talk to him after?—”

Leland cleared his throat, gave a quick shake of his head.

Morrison’s eyes flared, and he gave me a weak smile.

“Sure. After. Uh, you guys almost done? I’m gonna head back, I want to work on that piano part some more.”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

I wasn’t sure how I could concentrate on my own music while my heart was worried and hurting for Shane. I had a bad feeling and I couldn’t shake it. So I channeled it instead. And I played my ass off. Leland and Morrison sat with me and helped me tweak a few parts, but then I played that shit all the way through until I was fucking crying, it was so damned pretty. I wanted it to be pretty for Shane. I wanted to create a piece of music that showed him how much he’d made me feel, how honored I felt that he would share space and time with me, let himself be vulnerable with me.The lyrics were a start.

What can I say

What can I do

It’s all Feuds and Interludes between me and you

We say what we don’t mean

We mean what we don’t say

We fuss and we fight then we just walk away

Metal Menace, all growls and sharp words

You pull me in close while you hold me at bay

Your lips soothe my ire and leave bruises behind

Frustration sensation at war in my mind

Can we meet in the middle

Without weapons or rage

Or are we just destined for tabloid front page

Can you ever see me as more than my faults

Can I ever fit perfectly

In your world of vaults

Our rivalry runs deep as our bloodlines and bones

But we can rise higher above the unknowns