Zeck (4 page)

“Jas? Back me up, man. He’s obviously not going to
believe me no matter how I say it, but let me try one last time. It’s not what
it looks like. Those photos are out of context! Dammit.”

“Phillip,
Zeck
speaks the
truth. That club is a BDSM club. The woman was there by choice and enjoyed her
time with
Zeck
. The club also has a no camera policy.
I was late here because I was attempting to call the owner about it.”

I collapsed onto the bed.
Photos? Oh no.
Bile rose up my throat, and I swallowed it down.
Something like that would spread worldwide in minutes. How would I ever get
work when the world thought I was some kind of pain slut? Tears dripped down my
cheeks as I reached for my clothes from the night before. Fortunately, I’d
gotten changed into my street clothes at the club before I came back here with
Zeck
. I pulled my jeans on and winced when they scraped
over each of my bruises. Only twenty minutes ago they’d been a sweet reminder,
but now they felt dirty. I pulled my shirt over my head and reached for my bag.

Stopping mid turn I gasped when I saw my reflection in
the mirror. There was a massive hickey on the side of my neck. I needed to
cover up and sneak out. I didn’t want to make things even harder for
Zeck
. He had enough to deal with already.

Looking around I saw his black hoodie tossed onto a
chair. Quickly I put it on and froze for a moment. It smelled of him. I
squeezed my eyes closed and took a deep breath.
Hmm.
The man smelled so damn good. I shook my head and snatched my
bag up. I needed to get out of here. I’d had a night with a famous singer. It
wasn’t reality but a snippet out of time. I hoped back in Australia those
pictures hadn’t made it into the mainstream media.
Maybe if I dye my hair and wear colored contacts I could still get a
job?
Gah
!

I paused and peaked around the door. There was a small
group of men standing around a table, but none of them were looking this way.
Taking a deep breath, I put my handbag strap over my head and slipped down the
hallway. With a racing heartbeat I pulled on the door and silently slipped from
the apartment. The hallway outside was empty but I didn’t know how long that
would last, so I sprinted for the elevator and pushed the button until the
thing came.

Once inside the fancy lift I leaned back against the
wall and closed my eyes. What had I done? I’d had a one night stand with
Zeck
Evans. He’d spanked my ass, and someone had taken a
photo… I pulled my phone out of my handbag and pulled up an internet search.
With butterflies going crazy in my stomach, I typed in “
Zeck
Evans scandal”. As the little circle spun on the screen, my breaths quickened
until I could barely get enough air into my lungs. The elevator dinged that I’d
reached the ground floor, and my phone lit up with a page of results. I
stumbled and reached out for a wall when the headlines hit me. “Right Time
Condones Violence Against Women.” “
Zeck
Evans Busted
Hitting Hot Blonde.” “Second Scandal to Hit Right Time’s World Tour.”

Blinking away tears, I pulled the hood up over my head
and made sure my hair was all tucked beneath the black material. Glancing out
the front of the building I could see a mob of what looked like media people.
Unfortunately, they were between the doors and the taxi line.
Dammit.
This was going to be the walk of
shame to end them all.

“Mademoiselle? Miss?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like some assistance catching a taxi?”

My shoulders slumped in relief.

“That would be excellent. But I need to avoid the
press.”

The man nodded, “Of course, mademoiselle. Please,
follow me.”

Grateful for the help, I followed him to a side door.
He quietly snuck me around to the front and into the most rear taxi.

“Good luck, mademoiselle. I do believe the press are
going to be most insistent with this matter.”

My stomach dropped as the taxi pulled away and headed
to my small apartment. The concierge was right. I could feel it in my bones
that I hadn’t heard the last of the paparazzi.

****

Zeck

Scrubbing my face I paced the living area of my
penthouse suite.
Issy
had vanished. She must have
overheard us talking, or she checked her phone and saw the reports.
Dammit!
I wasn’t ready to let her go.
All this shit with the media would blow over. It had with Dillon and Ashlyn, so
it would for us, too.

“
Zeck
? I have spoken with
Brian. He believes he knows who would have taken the photos.”

I turned to face Jas.

“That’s great. But it doesn’t really help. It’s not like
we can undo them being leaked.”

“No, but the band’s lawyers have begun getting the
photos pulled from sites. They were illegally taken without anyone’s
permission. The woman responsible will be facing criminal charges, and of
course a life ban from Brian’s club.”

“A woman did this? Submissive or
Domme
?”

Not that it mattered. Brian had promised a camera ban,
and I’d stupidly believed him.

“A submissive. I believe you turned her down several
times last night. Her name is Monique Royale. Brian is most apologetic over
this. He hasn’t got all the evidence he needs yet, but he is going to keep
looking until he does. He’s never had anyone break the no photo rule before,
and he intends to make example of her so no one else get idea.”

I scrubbed my palms over my face. I vaguely remembered
her. She’d come on to me several times and hadn’t seemed to be submissive at
all. Not that I knew how a submissive woman would act.

“Brian had more to tell me.”

Having spent most of the night pleasuring
Issy
, I was beyond tired. Wariness pulled at every muscle
in my body, and I really didn’t need anything else to be added to my already
craptastic
day.

“Spit it out, Jas.”

“
Issy
is with him. She
attempted to return home this morning, but the press were camped out at her
home. She felt she had nowhere to go, so called Brian. He is with her at the
club.”

My head snapped up.

“Nowhere to go? She should have bloody well stayed
here! Instead of sneaking off on me. Go get her, Jas. Bring my woman back here
where I can keep her safe. She’s too sweet to have to deal with this paparazzi
shit alone.”

Jas sucked in a breath and frowned at me.

“What?”

“You only just met this girl. Yet you are talking like
you love her.”

I rubbed my palm over the back of my neck.

“I don’t know about love, but I care about her. I
don’t know how to explain it, man. We just … click. When we’re together I feel
relaxed and at peace. When she trusts me to tie her up and take her I feel more
like a man than I ever have before. But it’s more than simple submission. I had
like, half a dozen subs try to tempt me last night, yet only
Issy
caught my attention. Somehow, she’s become vital to
me.”

The big guy nodded with a bit of a smirk.

“Ashlyn will be happy to have some female company on
tour. I’ll head out to collect her now. Oh, and as her Dom, you need to deal
with her running off. I believe a nice long spanking would set her straight.”

I stood in shock as Jas left.

“He’s right you know. Not sure about that spanking
shit, but Ashlyn will love having another woman to talk with. Your
Issy
is Australian, too, right?”

I turned to face Dillon. He’d been settling Ashlyn in
the second bedroom. Poor girl was about to drop that baby of hers, but Dillon
refused to leave me alone to suffer through this scandal.

“It’s not like the media say it is. Everything that
Issy
and I did last night was totally consensual, and I can
assure you we both enjoyed every moment. And yeah,
Issy’s
Australian. What can I say? I heard Aussies were the best so I had to get
myself one. You know?
Gotta
keep up with you.”

I was a little surprised my lame attempt at humor got
my best mate chuckling, but I happily joined him.

“Oh yeah, buddy. Once you try an Aussie, mate, you’ll never
want anything else. Trust me.”

I took a deep breath, and it felt great to laugh again.
The band’s publicist had passed down the message that we were to respond to all
questions regarding this current scandal with a “no comment”. They were
preparing a press release to cover the important facts, and it would also say
that
Issy
and I wanted our privacy respected. I
scoffed.
Yeah, right.
Like the media
would ever respect anyone’s privacy. But at least I wouldn’t have to stand in
front of a bunch of mics and try to defend my and
Issy’s
choices to a bunch of strangers I really didn’t give a stuff about.

“Man, you’ve got it bad.”

I growled a little at Dillon.

“Like you don’t?”

“Bro, I’m married! The whole bloody world knows I’m
whipped.”

I scrubbed my palms over my face again.

“I hate that the media knows about her. Last night was
awesome. One of the best of my life and now instead of lying in bed with her
enjoying our glow … it now feels dirty and wrong. Bloody hell, man. I just
wanted to sing. I never wanted this fame shit that’s taken over everything.”

Dillon came over and slapped me on the back. “I know
exactly how you feel, buddy. Fame is a strange beast. Like anything, there’s
good and bad. Don’t worry too much about it. It’ll blow over. Just wait.
Brittney will shave her head again or Miley will flash something she shouldn’t
and we’ll be left alone.”

Laughing, I shook my head.

“Yeah, I know. It just sucks to be in the center of
the storm. I’d much rather defend one of you boys than be the focus.”

“I know, man. But we’ve all got your back. It really
will blow over.”

With my hands on my hips I watched my best friend
return to his wife. An ache set up behind my ribs as I realized I wanted what
he had. With
Issy
I’d started to see my future, but
she’d snuck out at the first chance. Had she seen me as a notch on her bedpost?
She hadn’t seemed that way last night, but the evidence was glaringly obvious
this afternoon.

I shook my head and scrubbed a hand through my hair. I
was being ridiculous. We’d had one night, and I was going all teenage girl
planning a picket fence. When Jas brought
Issy
here,
I’d sit down with her. Maybe even include Phillip in the conversation. We’d
work out how to keep her protected until this shit blew over, and then I’d walk
away. It was the responsible thing to do.

It was an awesome plan. One that made total logical
sense. Right up to the moment
Issy
walked into the
room wearing my hoodie. Fuck, but she looked good in my clothes. I had several
inches on her, so the thing hung down nearly to her knees. It made her look
young and innocent. And mine. It definitely made her look like she was mine.

Where the hell was this possessiveness coming from?
I’d never been like this with a girl before.
Issy
lifted a trembling hand and pushed the hood off, and my heart sank. She’d been
crying. A lot. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. The tip of her nose was an
adorable pink. Suddenly I didn’t give a stuff why I was turning into a caveman.
My woman was hurting. I strode straight across the room and scooped her up.
Instantly she wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled her face into my neck.
Something deep inside me eased having her pressed against me.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

I nodded once to Jas before I retreated to my room.
I’d refused to let the hotel staff in, so the bed was still rumpled from our
night together. I stood her at the foot, and needing to feel her skin, I
stripped off the hoodie.

“By the way, I love how you look wearing my clothes,
baby.”

She lowered her gaze and blushed.

“I didn’t want to be recognized by the press. I was
going to post it back, honest.”

I put a finger beneath her chin and tilted her face
up.

“
Issy
, baby, I don’t mind
you taking it. My only objection is that you snuck off without a word. I had no
way of contacting you. Did last night mean anything to you at all?”

Tears welled in her eyes, and the breath in my lungs
stilled when she lifted a palm to press against my cheek. Jas and Dillon were
right. I’d fallen hard for this girl.

“Last night was amazing. I was looking forward to
spending today with you. Then I overheard you and your manager speaking. I did
a search on my phone, and the headlines turned my stomach. I felt so dirty I
had to leave. I can’t believe I ran like a coward, but that’s what I did. I
didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

I gently stroked my fingers over her face. “It kills
me you’ve been so upset and I wasn’t there to comfort you. Don’t ever leave
like that again. You stay and we deal with it together, okay?”