Heavy Metal Heart: A Bad Boy Rock Star Romance (15 page)

"This is why you're mine," he said gently. "Not only are you the most gorgeous woman I've set eyes on in all the countries we've been, but you're brilliant and kind." He shifted in his seat before adding in a low whisper, "And just the smell of you is making my cock sit up and beg for that sweet pussy." 

"So charming," she said dryly. A sigh escaped her. It was a sigh of disappointment, but Torsten must have mistaken it for contentment. He tilted her chin up and pressed his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes and succumbed to the warm sensations of his mouth. His kisses were becoming comforting and familiar at this point, but no less arousing. 

Maybe he does love me. Everything he does shows it. But why won't he say it? What’s he hiding?

Torsten dug his fingers into her hips tightly. His breath grew ragged as his lips traveled down the side of her neck."Let's get home before I fuck you right here on the table." 

"Charming
and
 romantic," she teased she stood, carefully adjusting her dress. She took his hands and looked up at him as he stood. "Thank you again for a lovely dinner. This really was romantic, and so sweet of you." 

"My love, I keep telling you no need to thank me." He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. "Your company is all the thanks I need." 

Hand in hand, they strode across the terrace with the sun now fully dipped behind the Greek ruins, illuminating the structures in a breathtaking silhouette. The dark columns stood defiantly against a dark purple sky.

I have to appreciate where I am and who I'm with. Any other woman would kill to be in my place. I'm happy! That should be enough!

And yet Helena could not shake the need for more.

"Are you excited about staying in Dracula's castle?" Torsten followed the question with a playful bite to her neck. Helena laughed and squirmed beneath him. 

"You mean it actually exists?" 

"Well, it's the castle that inspired Bram Stroker to write the novel. And the person Dracula was based on was a prince of the neighboring region."  

Helena skimmed her hands across the naked skin of his back. She arched against him as his teeth pinched the skin of her neck again. 

They departed Greece two days ago. Outside their private luxurious train car, dense Romanian forest rushed by their window. The trees grew so close together they blended into each other. Sunlight could barely penetrate through even in the middle of the day. Helena would have been scared if she wasn't traveling with four tall, bearded and tattooed musicians. Least of all the one naked in bed with her. 

"We should stay at the castle," Torsten murmured in between showering kisses down on her neck, shoulders, and back. 

"Aren't we for like two nights?"

"I mean to stay there for good. Fuck the tour. Let's rule in our castle together as the vampire king and queen for all eternity." 

"Ouch!" Helena cried out in mock pain as Torsten bit her again. "You strike me as more of a Viking than a vampire." 

"Why not both? I can still pillage this fine booty." Torsten moved lower and clamped his bite down on her ass cheek. She shrieked with laughter until she wiped tears away. His eyes rolled back in mock ecstasy as he sucked on her supple cheek. 

"You're gonna give me a hickey on my ass!" Helena rolled away from him, still laughing as the suction broke. 

What a goofball.

"Mmm, I could bite and suck on you all day." Torsten crawled across the bed and pulled her closer to him. 

"Is that what we'd do as vampire king and queen? Just fight, bite, fuck and suck?"

"Sounds good to me." Torsten stretched out next to her, trailing his hands along her body. She closed her eyes to lose herself in the sensation of his fingertips on her skin. His touch was like a warm bath and an electric current at the same time. It warmed and comforted her to her core, and set every hair on end with eager tension. 

"Honestly I do love Romania," he continued softly. "I'm considering buying a house here. It's beautiful, dark, and wild. It would be a nice place to get away." 

"Get away from what?" Helena asked as she traced her fingers along the tattoo on his chest. 

"Work. Obligations. Responsibilities. You know, love. The usual shit." He sighed. "Once you're a celebrity, you can't get away enough." His arm tightened around her. "I can't wait until it's just me and my vampire queen with no one else around but the trees and the stars."

As if on cue, someone's fist pounded at their door. Helena jumped. 

"Fucking what?" Torsten bellowed. 

"We're coming up on the castle. Get decent!" came Stig's voice through the door. 

Helena looked out the window and noticed more space between the trees. Sunlight cast long beams onto idyllic brick houses. If she didn't know any better, it could have been a medieval village. The houses looked as if put together by hand, brick by brick. Narrow cobblestone streets wound through them. A quaint village ripped from a fairy tale. Maybe living in Romania wouldn't be so bad after all.

Ever since Greece, her mind and heart fought fiercely over confronting Torsten about his past and true feelings. 

Just ask him why he doesn’t trust you enough to talk about his past. Rip the bandaid off. 

No, why would you do that? He spends all day in bed with you and gives you countless orgasms! He said he wants to live in Romania with you! Don’t ruin these moments!

But you’re falling in love, hard. You need to know where you stand. 

The more Helena thought about it, the less she knew what was the right thing to do. 

The train slowed to a stop as she pulled clothes on. When fully dressed, she followed Torsten toward the front.

She shivered as she stepped off the train into the chilly, Romanian air. Light was still out, but the sun was setting fast. 

"Where's the castle?" she asked Torsten. 

"Turn around, love." He couldn't keep the excitement from his voice. 

She turned and saw the most majestic and ominous structure she'd ever seen. Standing on the edge of a cliff, shrouded in fog, it appeared to be floating in midair. The spires mounted atop the towers seemed to poke holes in the sky. 

Small, dark windows looked like rows of eyes staring down at her from along the walls and battlements.

A sense of awe came over her.  Just like the town surrounding it, the castle looked ripped from a dark fairy tale but there it stood, as real as ever. She felt a pang of fear, but also curiosity. This massive, ominous place would be her home for the next two days, as well as the venue for the next show. 

Torsten was clearly giddy. Apparently, they were the first metal band to book a show at Dracula's castle. Many others had tried but failed. Apparently, Romania liked him as much as he liked it.  

They rode a gondola to the front entrance of the castle. Even when she was eye level with it, Helena felt like a fly approaching a massive human face. 

"How is everyone attending the concert going to get in?" Helena asked. 

"There are ten gondolas that will carry groups of people in shifts," Torsten answered. "It's part of their admission price. They'll see the same view that we do. It's all part of the experience." 

"Wow. You're really dedicated to your fans."

He rubbed her shoulders with his strong grip. “It’s the least I can do for the people who got me to where I am.” 

The gondola descended slowly until touching down in front of the moat that surrounded the massive castle. There was no bridge that she could see. Before she could ask how they would cross to get inside, she heard the loud clinking of a chain as the drawbridge slowly descended. 

"A truly medieval experience," Torsten said with a wide grin. To him, this place was like Candy Land to a child. 

I suppose a medieval castle in the heart of Transylvania is like Candy Land to any metal head.

They crossed the bridge into a large courtyard. Vendors were already setting up their merchandise tables. A gothic looking woman dressed in all black with a with corset set up various liquor bottles and drinkware on two long tables.

"The show will be just through there, in the great hall," Torsten pointed ahead to a pair of heavy wooden doors, nearly tall as the castle walls themselves. "I wanted to make this a community event. Romania has fantastic unknown talent, so I invited local bands to open for us. With any luck, they just may get picked up by our label." 

Another gothic-looking woman wearing an ID badge approached them. "Welcome to Dracula's castle!" she greeted them in a high voice. "I'm Crina, the event coordinator. I'm happy to show you to your rooms and give you a tour of the castle!"

"You go ahead, love." Torsten sent her off with a kiss. "It's going to be a long sound check. We gotta sound decent somehow with all these stone walls around."

"You'll be great," Helena replied, stealing another kiss.

"I'll see you tonight," Torsten gave her ass a not-so-subtle grope before walking off to meet with the rest of the band. Crina was polite enough to pretend not to notice.

Helena followed her through the labyrinth of stone hallways. Normally she had a decent sense of direction, but there was no way she'd find her way around this place in just two days.

"How do you not get lost here?”

"Oh, I did a few times during my first week on the job," Crina answered with a laugh. "You get used to it if you're here long enough. And anyway, we have 24-hour security guards and phones that connect directly to the front office. You'll find your way to one or the other at some point."

"That's comforting," Helena muttered sarcastically.

"Here's your room." Crina opened a heavy wooden door and held it open. Helena walked through and instantly felt comforted. A four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room, draped in fur and rich velvety blankets. A fire already burned in the massive fireplace, covering the room in a romantic glow and chasing away the chill in the air.

"You must be weary from the journey. I'll show you the bath house. It's the biggest in all of Transylvania!"

Helena followed Crina just about twenty feet from the room. This heavy wooden door had the word "BATH HOUSE" carved in intricate, gothic script at eye level.

"I'll leave you here," Crina said with a smile. "There are fresh towels and private changing rooms inside. Keep following this hallway to the left to return to the great hall, and back to the right to return to your room."

"Left great hall, right room. Got it."

Crina turned on her heel and with her all-black outfit, seemed to disappear into the shadows of the dimly lit hallway.

"Now that's a real vampire if I ever saw one," Helena muttered to herself as she pushed on the heavy door with all her might.

Inside, the bath was the size of a gym's swimming pool, and already steaming. This room was just as dimly lit as the hallways, with nothing but small sconces casting light. It felt like a cave.

Helena shuddered off her clothes and settled into the hot water. The room felt massive and lonely. She wished Torsten didn't have to leave her so often. Despite spending every night and every moment on the road together, she felt like she barely got to see him. Preparing for each show, performing the show, then after parties, and meet-and-greets, and so on, seemed to take over an entire day. They still needed to get to know each other, and she missed him.

I wonder if he even misses me.

She sank in the water up to her neck and rested her head on the cool stone behind her, turning over her thoughts carefully.

He's a smart man, and so giving. He's so romantic and full of loving words and compliments. But saying a simple three-word phrase is something he's never done. Perhaps he doesn't take those words lightly and wants to know it's right to say them. Or maybe…

She didn't want to complete that last thought. It would be heartbreaking to consider it. But maybe the man she fell in love with just didn't want to commit by saying those words.

Tears welled up in her eyes before she could stop them. The words I love you had been on the edge of her tongue for weeks but she couldn't bring herself to say them. The fear held her back. Fear of being completely shattered again, after giving all of herself to another man who swept her off her feet and promised her everything.

She stood and reached for a towel to dry herself off. No more than a half hour passed since she entered the bath, but she couldn't stay there anymore.

"I should've asked Crina where the nearest bar is." She needed a drink and a strong one at that.

After drying off and returning to her room for fresh clothes, Helena walked in the direction of the great hall. She didn't even feel like talking to Torsten at that moment. She just knew the great hall led to the courtyard, which had alcohol. 

"Why the fuck is it still so fucking echoey in here!" Torsten bellowed.

"We are in a castle made of stone," Markus replied.

Torsten spun and jabbed a finger in his new drummer's face. "One more smart fucking word out of you and you're fucking fired! We need this shit fixed so we don't sound like a fucking high school gymnasium, not your clever fucking commentary."

Markus clamped his mouth shut while the remaining band members said nothing. They were well aware of Torsten's temper and his need for a perfect show.

"Ask the Romanian kids how to deal with this shit. I need a fucking smoke."

He stuck the cigarette between his lips and flicked his thumb impatiently on the lighter in his pocket as he strode outside. Once in the courtyard, he lit up and inhaled deeply.

Lars taught him to take deep breaths in order to relax, though he probably didn't mean with cigarette smoke.

I should go back to the room and get Helena's gorgeous mouth around my cock. That'll help me relax.
 Already, he stopped thinking of her as Lars' ex-wife. She was his woman. And what a woman she was.

Torsten exhaled the smoke slowly through his nose. Normally, he loved touring. Nothing thrilled him more than playing music in a foreign place, the challenge of playing in a new venue. It didn't usually get under his skin like this. But throughout this tour, he felt impatient with all of it. All he wanted to do was spend time with Helena. Touching her, fucking her, talking to her. Mornings and work obligations came pounding at the bedroom door too fucking fast.