The Last Love Song (A BWWM BDSM Romance) (10 page)

Then, as if stepping out of the shadows, Vaughn was by my side. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes!" Trakka said, cutting me off before I could say anything. "There are some agents of the enemy here, but Zenaida is way too much of a badass to let them bother her."

I wished I was. I wished I felt that way - and I did in every other situation. I'd met politicians, criminals, heroes, celebrities, and diplomats. I'd performed at a concert that was attended by the damn president! But Camden still got to me. I hated it so much.

"Okay," I said, drawing myself up, steeling my nerves. "Trakka's right. I’ll be cool."

Trakka slapped a hand on Vaughn's shoulder. "Your bodyguard here will stay close, won't you buddy?"

"Whatever she needs."

That settled it. "Okay, Trakka. I'll stay for you."

"Just until we play my album, old lady, then you're free to go get your beauty sleep." He squeezed me in a sweaty hug and then melted away into the crowd as quickly as he'd appeared.

"You're okay?" Vaughn asked.

"Yes," I said, determined to will myself into being as "okay" as I made myself sound. "Just... stick a little closer? There's a guy here that I want to avoid."

"No problem."

He shadowed me the rest of the night. I mingled with industry bigwigs and fellow artists, and I stuck it out until Trakka silenced the room to announce his album. "Peace on Earth, War on the Moon," he'd called it. It wasn't about space travel or science fiction at all. Trakka was a man that made little sense, but he could compose a beat better than most people I knew.

Jet eyed me only once while Trakka's first song was playing. I sidled over to where Vaughn watched over me and nodded in Jet's direction when I was certain he wasn't looking. "Him," I said. "He's Camden's."

"Got it."

Vaughn planted himself physically between Jet and I, though he wasn't standing that close to begin with. Anytime he moved, though, Vaughn moved, making certain that there was no way he'd get past and get to me no matter how he circled the room.

The album finished playing and I was on my way toward the exit when he finally tried to approach. Vaughn blocked him from getting close, so he shouted around the big man. "Come on, Z, I just wanted to say goodnight."

"Say it from there," I said.

He looked between Vaughn and I and must have realized that he wasn't getting through. "Conversation's over, buddy. Walk away," Vaughn said, his voice like ice.

"Camden means it, Z, he just wants to collaborate. No more bullshit."

"Time to go." Vaughn lifted the smaller man by his arms, squeezing him so he couldn't take a swing. Jet kicked and cursed but Vaughn was fast, and soon he'd planted the poor guy on the other end of the room.

I didn't hear what he said to him - I could only watch from my spot near the exit - but Jet's angry expression quickly melted into fear. In fact, he looked a little sick.

Then Vaughn was back at my side. "I called the car," he said, "Let's roll."

What an awful night
. I felt so foolish. First I'd made an utter idiot out of myself with Vaughn, and then I'd gone and panicked at the mere mention of Camden's name.

I had to get over it. We were so much younger back when we were together, when he pulled what he pulled. We were in the public eye, now. He wouldn’t try anything because he could never hope to get away with anything. Touching me would kill his career.

Of course, he was crazy enough to do it if it meant dragging me down with him. That was the problem - everyone thought I should just move on, get over it, but they didn't know just how crazy he was. But I did.

"Home, Ma'am?" The driver asked.

I didn't have the energy to get angry at his "Ma'am." At twenty-eight, I was ancient in pop culture's eyes already.

I opened my mouth to speak but Vaughn cut in first. "I think the lady needs another drink."

"Yes," I said without thinking. Somewhere quiet. I wasn't ready to wallow in bed yet. "Hotel Lioness has a lounge in the lobby, do you know where that is?"

"Of course."

We were there in fifteen minutes. Vaughn led the way inside after sending the driver off. He motioned for me once he felt it was safe enough inside.

Sure enough, the dark lounge was quiet, and while not exactly empty, it was dark enough that I could go unrecognized if I was careful.

Vaughn led me to a booth off in a corner. "I'll order from the bar," he said "Wouldn't want a waitress to recognize you and freak out."

"Get something for yourself," I said wearily. "I'll feel so much better about this shitty night if I'm not drinking alone."

A small smile played on his lips when he nodded.

He fetched drinks from the bar -whiskey for me, beer for himself - and settled next to me in the booth.

I had no idea what to say. So I brooded over my drink and tried to calm my jittery nerves.

When he finally spoke, it did nothing to soothe my anxiety. "Why did you request me, Zenaida?"

My mind raced.
I needed to see you. I need you to speak to me, to touch me
. I didn't answer at all.

He stared at me with those intense blue eyes - the very first thing I had noticed about him.

"Let's play nice," he finally said. "How was your week? What have you been up to?"

I spouted idle chatter about rehearsals. He talked a bit about his assignment for the week - some actor doing a late night talk show tour before heading home to the east coast.

I didn't care about any of it. All the while I waited for the dominant sexual side of him to appear, but he gave no hint of it.

Finally I reached the end my rope. I couldn't stand wondering anymore. I had to know where I stood.

"You never asked about my… assignment," I whispered after a lull in our conversation.

"I didn't ask because I trusted that you did it."

"I'm just surprised. I thought you might want to hear about… how it went." My cheeks burned as the memory.

"That isn't how this works."

"Oh."
That's it, then
. Likely he'd found someone else to focus all that kinky energy on. Someone less difficult. I sank back in my seat, clutching my drink.

"You can't hire me out and just expect me to say the things you want, or to do the things you want. When it comes to us, Zenaida,
I
am in control. Not you. Letting go is something you're going to need to learn."

His words were exasperating, and a relief at the same time. He wasn't pulling away, he was teaching me a lesson. A hard one, too - I didn't relinquish control easily.

But I focused on one word in particular. "Us?" I squeaked.

He laughed. "I'm not nearly through with you yet, honey," he said. "Now come here." He pulled me tight against his side, wrapping a thick arm around my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I asked, though I didn't resist.

"Holding you," he said. "I know tonight was rough. I can be nice, you know. I'm just not dancing to your tune."

I rested my head against his chest. Enveloped in his warmth, I felt something then that was even better than the sexual thrills that I'd anticipated.

I felt comfort.

I was emotionally ragged after that party. Too anxious to face the rest of my commitments. I would do it anyway - I was Zenaida after all. I hadn't become who was by letting my nerves get the better of me.

But I sure wished I could just focus on rehearsals and otherwise stay home.

I treasured that feeling of safety that I’d had in Vaughn’s arms. Short as that time had been, it stuck with me, and I clung to the memory as I navigated the next handful of premiere parties and social events without him. I knew that Camden himself was away so bumping into him wasn’t a concern - but people that he worked with kept showing up and whispering his name to me. He wants to collaborate, to work together, he wants to leave the past behind.

He wanted to launch one of his new artists off of my name, that was what he wanted to do. Regardless of who he was, I wasn’t interested in any new artist that I didn’t discover myself. Like Trakka. Not only had I helped create a hip hop star out of him, I’d made a loyal friend for life.

No one who was close to Camden could ever be my friend.

Lexi was at my side for the late night talk show appearance I had lined up later the next week. I’d mostly given up on seeing Vaughn again before the award show - his company just kept him too busy, kept sending me someone else. And I couldn’t bring it up with Lexi. No way. The girl would lose it.

“You’re unusually quiet,” she said, standing between me and the mirror while my stylist teased my curls higher and higher on my head. “Is everything okay? Anything happen while I was away?”

I straightened the skirt of my dress - red this time, slinky, sexy as hell. “Nope. Showed my face around town a bit, but there’s nothing to report.”

I wanted to keep my encounters with Camden’s people to myself. Nothing had really happened, all they’d done was talk to me. Letting myself get too upset about it was letting him win.

But Lexi, as usual, was on top of things. “I hear you-know-who has been sending out feelers,” she said, “I’ve heard from his camp a couple times myself.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And? I assume you have an opinion about this if you’re bringing it up.”

“It… may be worth considering. Wait!” I’d opened my mouth to bite her head off. “There’s rumors that he may be joining the label, soon. The execs have already said that if it happens, they aren’t going to pressure you into anything, but working with him might-”

“Off the table!” I snapped.

“But-”

“Off. The. Table.”

Finally cowed, she cleared her throat and looked down at her clipboard.

I eyed my assigned bodyguard by the door and sighed. He was a familiar face - Bryan, I think - but he wasn’t who was I was hoping to see. I masked my disappointment by scowling.

“Have you double-checked what they plan on asking me?” I asked, more than ready to change the subject. I didn’t look at the script myself - Lexi took care of that, and she prepared my answers for me. I was as prepared as I could be. Still, it never hurt to keep on top of any changes in the plan.

“Yes,” she said, looking down at her clipboard. “They wanted a few different song clips, though. The one we gave them needed too many bleeps, they were censoring more than they could actually play on air.”