Treat Me (One Night with Sole Regret #8) (4 page)

“I’ll just have her dropped off.”

“I don’t mind pick—”

“I
said
I’d have her dropped off. Why is everything an argument with you, Jacob?”

He hadn’t been arguing. He was just trying to be helpful.

“We’re going to the zoo tomorrow,” he told her, “so make sure she wears something comfortable.”

“I know how to dress our child, Jacob,” she snapped.

His ire was starting to rise. This woman knew exactly how to push his buttons and she so enjoyed poking at them all.

“I didn’t say you didn’t know how to dress her. Jesus Christ, Tina, I can’t say more than two words to you without you jumping down my throat.”

The line went dead. He pulled his phone away from his face and stared down at it in disbelief. She’d fucking hung up on him. That figured.

“What a bitch,” he grumbled under his breath, before taking a deep, steadying breath and shoving his phone back into his pocket. Thank god that personality trait wasn’t genetic. Julie was a perfect angel. No one would ever convince him otherwise. And Amanda was fun and cheerful and level-headed. Hard to believe the two were sisters. Maybe Amanda was adopted, he thought as he headed toward the building.

Shade stalked through the backstage door into the venue. Here he was in his element. But as he ventured further down the corridor, he recognized someone who shouldn’t be in his element at all. He’d already told the woman that he wasn’t interested in seeing her again when they’d parted ways in Tulsa. What in the hell was Nikki doing backstage? And with Gabe?

“Why is she here?” Shade asked Gabe, not sure why he cared so much.

Gabe immediately bristled, standing to his full impressive height, his bright red mohawk making him look even larger and more intimidating. But Shade wasn’t the least bit frightened.

“If Amanda can come to our shows, then so can Melanie.”

Shade shook his head. “Not Melanie. If you have a thing for her, of course she’s welcome.” He reached behind Melanie and pulled Nikki out from hiding. “Her! What is
she
doing here?”

Nikki tightened her hands into fists and glared at Shade. “What, did you forget my name already, asshole?”

Why did women always call him that? Because he refused to let them walk all over him? Because he knew what he wanted or didn’t want and made no apologies for either? Did that make him an asshole? Shade shook his head. “No, darling Nikki, I didn’t forget your name, but you can’t be here. I don’t want you here.” And why did it bother him so much that Nikki was there? Was it because she was the last woman he’d slept with before losing himself to Amanda? Her presence made him uneasy. He didn’t think he’d fall to her seductive charms again, but he didn’t want to compromise his growing relationship with Amanda. If Nikki wasn’t around to test his resolve, he’d have nothing to worry about. He knew the chick was still interested in him. Why wouldn’t she be?

Nikki’s lower lip quivered, all the fight going out of her in an instant. She totally wanted him—and he’d probably hurt her feelings—but he had a long history of interacting with women he wasn’t interested in and he knew from experience that if he showed them kindness and respect, they thought it meant he liked them and then he couldn’t shake them. Maybe that was why he’d been labeled an asshole. Better an asshole than a dude with dozens of crazy stalkers.

“I invited her,” Gabe said. “I invited both of them, okay? It’s none of your concern.”

Shade’s eyebrows shot up. Gabe had
invited
Nikki? Really? There was only one reason he could think of to invite a girl like Nikki along on a romantic weekend with your new girlfriend.

“So they’ll double up on your dick, but not mine?” Shade was teasing because Gabe was being entirely too serious about the situation. Unfortunately, Gabe’s girlfriend took his jest at face value.

“You are the biggest pig I’ve ever met in my life!” Melanie screamed at him.

Hmm
 . . . 
pig is a step up from asshole. Maybe she hates me less than I thought.

Melanie continued her tirade while Nikki smirked at him. “I don’t know why anyone would do anything with you other than kick you in the nuts.”

Or not . . . 

Nikki stepped forward, apparently thinking Melanie had compromised his armor. “Can I talk to you?” she asked, looking up at him with those bedroom eyes of hers.

“No,” he said flatly. “I have nothing to say to you. If I had, I would have called you.”

Melanie actually growled at him. “You have no problem fucking her in a public hallway . . .”

He had to admit that he’d had a good time with Nikki. She was a fun party girl, but not someone he wanted to get close to. Not someone he wanted in his life. Not someone like Amanda.

“Or a sauna,” Nikki supplied.

Shade’s balls tightened at the memory of what wonderful things Nikki had done to them in that sauna. Yeah, Nikki needed to get lost as soon as possible. Not that he couldn’t control his libido, but he’d rather not have to worry about it.

“Or a sauna,” Melanie spat. “But you don’t have the common decency to carry on a polite conversation with her?”

Did Melanie have any idea what kind of woman her friend was? Nikki wasn’t interested in polite conversation. She wanted to fuck, and that was all she wanted to do. Which was fun for a weekend, but it didn’t amount to anything. The fact that she was here set off all sorts of warning bells in Shade’s head. His big head. The little one would consider a second go at her. She was exceptionally bendy.

“That about sums it up,” he said and turned on his heel to stalk away. He didn’t want to hurt Nikki’s feelings by pointing out her loose transgressions to her best friend—who seemed to think she was Nikki’s guard dog—but at the same time he didn’t want Nikki to think she had a chance to be with him. So his best course of action was to walk away. He managed not to grin at the sound of rage Melanie bellowed at his back. That chick really hated him. What the fuck did Gabe see in her?

Shade entered the band’s dressing room and was immediately wrapped in the arms of their tour manager. He couldn’t help but be aware of Sally’s large, soft breasts pressing into his chest, but she was like an older sister to him, and he knew how much she and her husband—a member of the crew—loved each other. Shade would never make a move on Sally, and he was pretty sure she’d refuse him if he tried. But he did enjoy her hugs and not only because she had a great rack.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” Sally said. She pulled away and looked up at him, her bright blue eyes set off by thick black eyeliner. She dressed like a groupie, but was entirely professional when it came to running Sole Regret’s tour.

“Am I in trouble again?” he asked with a teasing grin.

“I’m sure you are, but that’s not why I need to talk to you. There’s an opportunity for Sole Regret to play at Rock on the Range on the
main
stage. One of the scheduled bands had to cancel and the event coordinator called me—desperate and begging.”

Shade shook his head. “I already told you we aren’t performing at Rock on the Range this year. It’s during Julie’s weekend—”

“Jacob,” Sally interrupted. She only called him Jacob when she was flustered. “I know you want to see your daughter. I understand that. Bring her with you—”

“No,” he said. “She doesn’t like the loud place”—which was what the four-year-old called concerts—“and I don’t want her exposed to that environment. She’s very impressionable.” He dropped his eyes, unable to stop himself from staring at Sally’s boobs. He swore that some women had eyeball magnets on their chests. Their tour manager was one of them.

“I think the band should vote on whether or not to perform—”

“They’re going to have a hard time performing without a vocalist. I’m not—”

His words were cut off when Sally suddenly stumbled forward. She bumped into his chest before he could catch her. “You okay?” he asked, steadying her. But Sally didn’t answer because she was being screamed at by one very upset Nikki.

“You fucking bitch, I saw him first.” Nikki grabbed Shade by the arm and tugged.

What the fuck?

“I already told you I’m not interested,” Shade said

“Yeah, because you’ve moved on to this
slut
,” Nikki spat.

“I’m married,” Sally said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“This
married
slut,” Nikki said.

Sally shoved Nikki, who stumbled back and then with an angry growl launched forward and took a swing at a stunned Sally. Luckily Shade’s reflexes kicked in. He managed to grab Nikki’s wrist and prevent the blow from connecting.

“Not cool,” Shade said to Nikki, lifting an arm to block the blow she directed toward him. Her half-assed slap turned out to be a diversionary tactic so she could grab a handful of Sally’s thick black hair.

Sally shoved Nikki again. “Back off!”

Melanie was the one who pulled them apart. She didn’t say a word, just took Nikki by the arm—Nikki went inexplicably docile beneath her friend’s touch—and escorted her out of the dressing room and into the corridor.

“What the hell just happened?” Sally said, smoothing her hair with both hands.

“I fucked that chick last weekend. She seems to want a repeat performance.”

Sally rolled her eyes at him. “Why don’t you try keeping it in your pants for a change?”

Shade chuckled. “
It
doesn’t get off on dry humping.
It
prefers hot, slick orifices.”

Sally shook her head. “You probably get what you deserve, stud. But I’m not sure why
I
was assaulted.”

“She obviously thought you were her competition.”

“For you?” Sally snorted. “She can have you.”

Shade’s ego stung slightly. He knew Sally had eyes only for Kris, but she didn’t have to be so harsh. “Guess I’ll go tell her that you gave us your blessing.”

He started to walk away, but Sally caught his arm. “You do
not
have my blessing. I suggest you stay the fuck away from her,” she said.

He planned to do exactly that.

“And I think you owe me for putting up with your crazy sex partners.”

“Fine,” he said. “I owe you one.”

Sally grinned deviously. “So I guess you’ll be performing at Rock on the Range after all.”

Shade scowled at her. “Nice try. I already said no. Julie comes first. You can run me into the ground on any day except my weekends with Julie. I’m not bending on this issue, so you might as well quit pushing.”

She sighed with resignation. “Fine. I get it.”

“You aren’t going to mention this to the rest of the guys, are you? The last thing I need is everyone ganging up on me.” Not that it would change his mind.

Sally shook her head. “No, I’ll keep it to myself. That daughter of yours is a lucky little girl, you know.”

“I do my best to be a good father.” Yet he always felt as if he wasn’t measuring up and that he didn’t get to see her nearly enough. That was why he was determined to make the most of the time he did get to see her and why he guarded those precious moments ferociously. Performing at Rock on the Range on the main stage was a big deal, but nothing was more important than his daughter.

Sally left him while she went to make sure the setup was running smoothly. She was excellent at her job, and usually Shade had a hard time telling her no, but she knew better than to try to schedule performances or events during his visitation weekends.

Shade ventured out into the backstage area to chat with other musicians, the roadies, and the fans who had lucked into backstage passes. Next to performing onstage, this was his favorite part of the rock star gig. He met so many interesting people, and there was always someone to talk to, always someone to share a beer with and pass the time. The cellphone in his pocket vibrated, and he pulled it out to see who wanted to interrupt his good time.

His heart stumbled over a beat when he saw that the message was from Amanda. God, he couldn’t wait to see her later that night. And if he was lucky, all weekend long.

I know you’re probably busy,
her text said,
but I can’t stop thinking about you.

Understandable,
he texted her back in jest.

Egomaniac,
her return text accused.

Any man lucky enough to have you thinking of him would have a swollen head.

In his mind’s eye, he could see her smile. See her eyes light up and the green flecks in their hazel depths brighten with mischief. Very soon he wouldn’t have to imagine what she looked like as she thought of him. He would see for himself.

Her reply came quickly
. I hope you have TWO swollen heads when you think of me.

He laughed out loud.
No doubt. I’ll see you soon.

Not soon enough.

She sure made it difficult to keep his head on his work. A pretty brunette stopped in front of him and smiled. “Can I get a picture with you?” she asked shyly.