Trust Me (Beggar's Choice #2) (13 page)

“Really? I’ve heard that you
don’t go for the old foreplay. You fucking cheapskate, at least buy me dinner
first!” she shouts. There’s a roar of approval and the man laughs out loud
blowing her a kiss and I relax. She’s got this. “Now are we going to sing for
you or have I got to talk to Don Juan over there for a bit longer?” she purrs.

“Sing!” comes the reply from the
crowd.

“Well alright then,” she laughs.
“Now we’re going to do things a little differently for the next song. Because
I’m singing I’ve handed my trusty violin to someone else. Do you want to know
who?” They shout and holler and I grin. “Well now, I’m going to let Sid Hudson
play it for me. Have you met him?” The roof seems to raise with cheers and she
laughs. “Be gentle with him. He’s sort of a virgin at this!” Bram laughs out
loud and I hold the violin out and curtsey mockingly to the accompaniment of a
lot of very rude comments. She grins widely at me, her cheeks rosy and her eyes
so bright they hurt. “Be kind,” she chides the hecklers. “There’s many a good
tune played on an old fiddle,” and then she holds up her hand obviously ready
to get on with the show. “Okay boys are you ready?” and we swing into action.

Nell

I stare out at the audience and I
feel invincible. I’d forgotten what a rush it is to hold people’s attention
like this at the front. Then Adam plays the first chords of the song and
suddenly Sid is next to me cradling the violin under his chin. He holds the bow
away before pressing it to the violin and playing the beautiful opening to the
song. He’s amazing just like I knew he would be, full of power and grace and
the notes slide from him so fluidly almost like silk. Then Seth kicks in with
the drums and within seconds it’s me and I open my mouth and lose myself in the
first words of a beautiful love song, all about waking up so in love with
someone that it amazes you.

Drinking
in the morning sun

Blinking
in the morning sun

Shaking
off a heavy one

Yeah
heavy like a loaded gun

What
made me behave that way?

Using
words I never say

I
can only think it must be love

Oh
anyway it’s looking like a beautiful day

I sing about loving his eyes and
seeing the light, and I’m singing to Sid even
though the audience is roaring along. I’m singing it to him because he’s the
only thing that I can see at this moment, his face alight with happiness as the
bow flies over the strings and music pours from him. Then we reach the chorus
and suddenly Bram is next to us. I motion to the crowd to clap along and Bram
holds his hand to his ear indicating that he wants to hear them sing, and this
beautiful theatre rings out loud to one of the most rousing choruses that I’ve
ever sung.

I look around and the boys are
all grinning widely, exultation on their faces, and for the first time in three
years I feel like I belong and that I’m with the family that I choose and not
the one that was chosen for me. Then we storm to the close of the song and the
final chorus, and suddenly there’s an enormous upswell of a roar and Charlie is
there grinning maniacally, his arm around Sid and singing along with wild eyes.

It’s almost an anti-climax when
we finish and for a second there’s silence and then the most enormous roar of
approval. I cup my hand to my ear laughing and then raise my hands in a gimme
more gesture, and the audience stamps and cheers. Out of the corner of my eye I
see Charlie shouting something in Sid’s ear and then Sid shouts out and
grabbing Charlie by his waist, he swings him round laughing.

I stare at Charlie. He looks
different somehow. He always looks happy on stage but there’s a new dimension
to him now. He mutters something to Sid who grins widely and stalks over to
Bram and Adam who are standing by Seth hunched over his drums grinning. He
shouts something to them and Seth laughs, tossing his drumsticks into the air.
I smile watching them even though I haven’t got the faintest idea of what’s happening,
and then Charlie comes towards me, grabbing me round the waist and lowering me
into a Hollywood sweep.

“That was fucking fantastic,” he
shouts. “Thank you for that Nell. You don’t know how grateful I am.”

“Why?” I’m mystified. “Is Mabe
okay?” He smiles so widely that I think his jaw will crack and opens his mouth
to say something, but the audience obviously think that something else is
happening because we’re still on stage, so they start to stamp and shout.
Charlie smiles at me and after standing me up again he goes to his microphone.
The noise gets louder and he smiles, just standing casually altering the height
of the microphone stand. I’ve never seen anyone with such a command of the
audience because when he’s ready he gestures for them to quiet down and they
instantly fall silent. I feel a presence next to me and it’s Sid.

“What’s happening?” I ask, but
instead of answering he just grins and I stare at him because he looks so young
and happy.

“Listen,” he says, nodding to
Charlie.

“Well now,” Charlie drawls. “I
think we should carry on the tradition of the evening which has been a head
fuck for everyone. Do you want to hear another one?”

The audience roars with approval
and Sid leans down in his sidelong stoop and whispers in my ear making me
shiver. “It’s going to be Florence and the Machine’s ‘Heavy in Your Arms’”

“Why?”

“It means something to him and
Mabe. I don’t know. I also don’t ask because I’m pretty sure that the answer
might make my ears bleed.” I laugh and start to mentally run through the
lyrics, but then Charlie starts talking and I forget what I’m thinking.

“So, I think you should all say a
huge thank you to Nelly for filling in for me.” A huge cheer rings out and I
curtsey, making Sid laugh. “Now seeing as you did that so nicely and you were
so good to our girl I think that you should all be the first to know that I’m
going to be a dad.” I gasp but it’s drowned out by the huge wave of noise that
I think could be heard back in London.

I turn to Sid grinning widely.
“You’re going to be an uncle,” I shriek, and he laughs throwing his head back.

“I know it’s fucking brilliant,”
he shouts, but then Charlie holds up his hand.

“In honour of my impending
fatherhood we’re going to do another song. It’s Florence and the Machine’s
‘Heavy in your Arms’ and it’s a song that was playing the first time that I
made love to my wife.” He bows mockingly at the cheers and Sid groans, wincing.

“I fucking knew it. Eugh!” I
laugh really loudly bending slightly, and then see Charlie raise his hand and
the intro starts.

Ten minutes later we run off the
stage to cheering that seems to go on forever, and I laugh as I turn to see
Charlie being pulled into the hospitality room buried under a wave of man hugs
from the boys, and to the accompaniment of a huge cheer from within. When it
finishes I hear Mabe saying very indignantly. “Is it my imagination Charlie, or
did I just hear you announce to 5000 people that the first song we fucked to
was that one?” There’s a wave of laughter and I can hear Charlie protesting.

“I said made love Mabe, even
though it made me sound like a completely sad twat. That must be a sign of my
impending maturity.” He pauses. “I think we’re going to be fine babe.”

I laugh but turning around I come
to a complete stop when I find Sid leaning against the wall staring at me with
a gaze heavy with some deep meaning. I gasp, feeling the laughter change to
something deeper that fizzes through me making me tingle. I see his chest move
in a sudden deep breath and everything seems hot around me like I’m standing in
a dark cave unable to see anything else.

Then he moves and his warm hand
slides down my arm until he reaches my hand. Grabbing it he tightens his grip
and jerks me round sharply to face away from him. “Move,” he says gutturally
and I groan as I feel him hard against me. Moving quickly he pushes me ahead of
him until we reach a door. Pushing me forward into what I dimly recognise to be
a cleaning cupboard he shuts the door with a sharp click and we stare at each
other for what seems like forever while I feel all the passion that we had on
stage arc between us, and then he makes an animal sound and in two strides he’s
on me.

Grabbing my face between his
long, clever fingers he stares at me for a second and then from one beat to
another his mouth falls on me and we’re lost. In a dim part of my mind I
register that he’s hot and damp, that his lips are soft and warm and his body
is hard against me, his cock rigid and pushing against my stomach. Then his tongue
twines with mine and I’m lost, descending into a dark, red lit world where the
only reality is our panting breaths and groans and the rustle of clothing.

He pulls away from me and I gasp
a protest trying to pull him back but in the dim light filtering from under the
door I see him smirk and he grabs my hands placing them on his head. “You might
want to keep them there,” he says in a hoarse, deep voice.

“Why? What are you … oh God,” I
moan, as he lowers himself to kneel on the floor and reaching under my skirt he
rips my knickers clean off. He licks his lips making his intentions very clear.

“I’ve been wanting to taste you
since the moment I saw you at that audition,” he whispers, and I open my mouth
to say I don’t know what, but then all thought is lost as he spreads my thighs
and buries his head between them. He licks me in one long sweep up my pussy
ending at my clit which he delicately licks. I moan and grab his head,
clutching my fingers in the sweet, soft fall of his hair. He looks up at me and
it’s the most erotic thing that I’ve ever seen – Sid Hudson framed between my
legs. He closes his eyes for a second and inhales deeply. “Christ you smell
fantastic and the taste of you … it’s unbelievable.”

We stare at each other for a
second and I reach out and trace down one of his high, broad cheekbones until I
end up at his jaw which I cup feeling the harsh rasp of his stubble. Then he
smiles carnally and leaning forward he buries his face in my pussy and eats me
as if I’m dessert. He’s not playing around now. He suckles with sharp, sweet
pulls on my clit and from the noises and groans that are coming from him I know
that he’s enjoying this as much as I am, and it’s this knowledge that makes me
let go in a way that I’ve never done with a man before. I slide further down
the wall, canting my hips lewdly and almost riding his face, feeling his
stubble harsh on my inner thighs and the sharpness of his beard against my
clit. Holding me up with one hand he reaches up and I feel him slide two of his
long, talented fingers inside me. He thrusts them in and out and then makes a
swirling motion inside me that I swear makes my eyes cross and I break. Letting
go of his hair I push my hand across my mouth to muffle my choked scream as I
come and come while he licks me madly. I come down slowly and he soothes me
with slow licks until I squirm and push him away.

“So sensitive,” I gasp. He smiles
slightly but it’s a strained one as he rises to his full height. His eyes are
hooded and at half-mast and he’s breathing heavily. He draws his hand across
his face and then lowers his fingers to his mouth sucking on them.

“Sweet,” he says in a voice so
hoarse and deep it’s hard to understand him, and I moan and shift as incredibly
I feel myself getting wet again.

Reaching down he grabs my head,
angling my mouth to his satisfaction and kisses me deeply. His kiss is ravenous
and he eats at my mouth as he thrusts himself against me, his cock so hard that
it almost hurts. He pushes his hands down and I feel him grip my arse, and obeying
his unspoken command I lift up and wrap my legs around him. We both pause and
groan at the feeling of his cock hitting my clit dead centre, and then we go at
each other like animals, rutting against each other, our only thought to be
closer, to get him deep inside me.

He reaches down to my skirt and I
shift so that he can reach my hem and gather it up until it reaches my waist.
He groans as if in pain when he sees my bare pussy and I mewl in protest,
seeking his mouth again. “Wait baby’” he pants, reaching to his jeans where he
rips at the buttons. His cock springs free, hard and eager, and I reach down
grabbing him firmly.

“Commando,” I mutter. “I like
it.”

“Don’t sweetheart,” he groans,
pulling my hand off himself. “I’m so ready I could come on a breath of air. I
need to be inside you.”

“Yes, now,” I moan and arch as he
thrusts two fingers inside me groaning at the wetness he finds there. He grunts
a laugh.

“I can’t wait. I’m sorry baby,
I’ve got to. All that on stage has got me so turned on I can’t even speak
properly.”

“Do it,” I hiss, grabbing his
head and pulling him towards me. I’m dimly aware of cleaning supplies falling
around us with muffled thuds and crashes, and at first the banging on the door
seems like just more background noise, but then Sid stills and mutters a
heartfelt groan of ‘
fuck off no’
and I heartily agree when I hear Mick
shout.

“Sid are you in the cupboard
mate?”

Sid looks at me despairingly and
I grimace, loosening my legs reluctantly from around his narrow hips as he
lowers me gently to the floor. I’m unsure how to deal with this now that the
moment is passing and everything seems a bit like a sordid cliché. A rock star
fucking in a cupboard – who’d have thought it. I’m drawn back by him tapping my
face. “Don’t look like that,” he says pleadingly. “This isn’t done.
We’re
not done, you know that.” I stare at him. Does he mean that he wants to go
somewhere with this? The banging increases in volume until we can’t ignore it.

“Sid are you in the cupboard?”

“Fuck off!” Sid shouts, suddenly
losing his temper. Tucking himself back into his jeans with a contorted
expression he pulls his t-shirt down over his erection. “I’ll go first,” he
says in a low voice. “Stay in here until I can get Mick away and then come
out.” I feel my heart sink – he’s already trying to cover this up. I feel sick
at this. I know I’m nothing special but I don’t think I’m exactly road kill. He
must catch something in my face because he groans. “Don’t look like that Nell.
Listen I’ve got to go because he’s never going to give up. He’s like a fucking
Rottweiler, but this isn’t over. I’ll find you later.”