Blush (Rockstar #2) (8 page)

“Baby, don't cry. You know it kills me.“

“I can't help it.“

“I know we're already married, but I'd like to do this right. You deserve that. You deserve better than me, better than this, but this is all I've got. This,“ I motion around us, “and my love, my heart, hell, my soul. They all belong to you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife? Living with me, loving me, having babies with me, growing old with me? I'll always take care of you, love you with all that I am, and I will love you in this life and beyond. Say yes. Luciana Antonia Russo-Kingston, please be my wife. Be my forever.“

She doesn't pause. She falls to her knees and wraps her arms around my neck. Sera runs up with a mic and thrusts it into Lucy's face. Lucy sniffles then pulls back, cups both of my cheeks in her hands, looks me straight in the eyes, and without hesitation tells me, “The honor is mine, Jesse Kingston. I would love to be your wife, your love, your life, your soul. Then we'll be on even ground and nothing would make me happier. Everything I have, everything I am, is yours. Forever and beyond.“

Then I do what any man whose heart is leaping up into his throat would do, I pull the love of my life close and kiss her softly, sweetly, telling her without words how fucking happy I am in this moment. She undoes me. She unravels me. I couldn't speak if I wanted to. She's my everything and she's my forever. We're going to do this right. Lucy deserves the proposal, the white dress, the champagne fountain, and the big-ass cake and I'm going to make fucking sure she gets just that. Nothing less than perfect for my wife. Ever.

“I love you, Luciana Russo-Kingston.“

“I love you, Jesse Kingston.“ She giggles and the crowd goes crazy. I mean crazy. Feet stomping, screaming, cheering, whistling. Then they start chanting and at first I can't make out what they're saying but Lucy does. I can tell. Her posture rigid and stiff, her smile fake as she shakes her head.

“Blush Baby,“ she tells me in my ear. I know she hates that. She hated it in Vegas and she's hated it every minute since. She doesn't want to be singled out from the band. She wants them to be a unit. She meets my gaze head on. “It's time to look for a Blush Baby.“

Well, that's certainly one way to handle it. I'd have let it die, but Lucy is Lucy and she tackles shit hard.

I stand up and hold out a hand for her. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, she climbs up my body and I chuckle. My wife the monkey. That reminds me of the night we sang
Shock the Monkey
and the crazy drunk sex we had. Fuck, that was hot. She clings to me and laughs as the crowd continues to go crazy. Sera hands her her mic.

“One last song, Portland?“

The crowd yells out their affirmation that they want more, more, more.

I look at the guys who just grin and nod their heads.

“One more song,“ I agree.

“HOW DID YOU hide my mama?“ Lucy asks as she hugs Regina tight. I'm about to answer her when some fans come barreling up.

“Oh Jesse,“ the blonde one purrs, running her hand over my chest. Her fake tits nearly falling out of her skintight halter top, her pants obviously a size too small, her makeup caked on, and her lips painted fire engine red. She's the farthest thing from attractive as I've ever seen. Even with beer goggles she'd be one I'd pass over.

Her friend, a brunette, who is a little more conservative with a tight Falling Down tank top and tight jeans, starts rubbing her equally fake tits against my chest. Now her I might have gone for.

“What can I do for you ladies?“ I ask with a smile.

Blondie thrusts a CD at me. “Can you autograph this for me? Pretty please?“ Her hand slides up over my arm, up my biceps to my shoulder and she leans in so her breasts press against my side.

“Whoa,“ I hear Sera murmur.

Xander groans. “And so it begins.“

“Sure thing, darlin'. Who do I make this out to?“

“My name's Darla and my friend here is Cindy. We'd be willing to share you if you're up for a little company,“ she bats her eyelashes.

Her friend steps up and slides her hand over my abs and down to my belt loop where she hooks her fingers. I sign Darla's CD and hand it back to her.

“What about you, sugar?“ I ask Cindy.

She hands me a CD of her own and then asks me to sign her chest, just above her breast so she can have it tattooed. A bit aggressive but nothing I'm not used to.

She hands me a Sharpie and I lean in to sign where she points. She pulls her top down, exposing both her breasts and I let out a chuckle.

“There you go. Anything else I can do for you?“ I ask.

“Yeah,“ Cindy breathes, leaning against me, her fingers unhooking from my belt loop to slide, palm down, over my hip straight over my cock. I stifle a groan. I'm still hard from Lucy's tight little body wrapped around mine. I need to shake these two off, maybe pass them off to Xander or Ethan, so I can get my wife alone. I've never needed anything more in my entire life than I need to fuck my wife right now.

Before I know what's happening, Lucy is standing next to me, eyebrows raised as she eyes Cindy's hand on my dick. Fucking hell. I'm just so used to their aggression that I don't even pay it any attention anymore, but from the look on Lucy's face I don't think she's all that amused.

Lucy crosses her arms over her chest as Cindy continues to rub her hand over my dick. It's doing nothing for me, her hand rubbing me, but Lucy sees that I'm hard and, fuck, she assumes it's because of this other girl. Shit. I've been hard since Blush started their set tonight. God damn it. I don't think this is going to go down very well.

I know it for a fact when Regina Russo comes marching up, mirroring Lucy's pose, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, lips pressed in a thin line. The only difference is, Regina's toe is tapping and the tips of her ears are red.

I am so fucked and not in the way I'd hoped to be.

“A laugh, if purchased at the expe
nse of propriety, costs too much.“

—QUINTILIAN

“OH, I DON'T fucking think so,“ I murmur. Just who do these skanks think they are anyway? I stand next to Jesse, who is doing nothing to deter this whore from rubbing her hand over his dick which, by the way, is hard. Fucking bastard.

I cross my arms over my chest. He chuckles at this bitch and her friend who are rubbing all up on him. Just wow. Seriously? I just accepted this dickwad's proposal? He's supposed to be my husband and he's allowing this? Well, maybe I should allow some of the male fans to give me the same attention. Hmm. That actually sounds like a great idea.

I turn and walk over to Sera, giving her the look. She knows what it means. Her nostrils are flaring, her fists are clenched, and then a couple really hot guys come walking over asking for autographs. Childish, I'm sure, but two can play this game.

We're laughing and flirting as I sign their CD's. One of the guys is going to come to our concert in L.A. when we get back there and wants me to sign his arm so he can have my name tattooed. Pretty cool. And he's going to have Harley do the work.

I'm enjoying talking to both the male and female fans that have surrounded us for autographs and conversation when my dad comes over muttering Italian curse words under his breath. I'm about to ask him what's wrong when I hear
Welcome to the Jungle
by Guns N' Roses start blaring from somewhere.

We all turn to look and Xander's over there grinning like a loon while my mom is barreling down on the groupie whores.

“Oh, this is going to be freaking awesome,“ Sera says as we head over there.

“Oh boy.“

“I love Mama Russo,“ Meggie tells me with a bounce.

Jesse's raking a hand through his hair. Uncomfortable? Good. Asshole. Indulging the skanks. If I wasn't here, he'd probably be fucking them right now. Bastard.

I stand next to my mother, hands on my hips mirroring her position, Sera and Meggie on the other side. Jace and the guys are standing over by Xander, smirking while Jesse struggles.

“Just who do you think you're talking to old woman?“ Blondie says.

“Oh no she did not!“ Meggie screeches.

“Oh hell,“ Xander chuckles. “It's on like Donkey Kong.“ He messes with his phone and
This Means War
by Avenged Sevenfold starts blasting. I nearly laugh when mama looks over to X with approval.

“Who am I?
Who am I
? I'll tell you who I am, little girl,“ she sneers, advancing on the blonde and her friend. “I am Regina Russo. I am this man's,“ she says with a sneer at Jesse (go mama), “mother-in-law and if you think I'm going to allow you to continue to grope a married man, my daughter's husband, you're sadly mistaken.“

Blondie opens her mouth to speak and mama points her well-manicured nail in her face. “I don't know what it is you think you're going to accomplish by trapping this man in a position he's clearly not comfortable with—“

Blondie cuts her off. “Oh, he's plenty comfortable. In fact, he's hard as a rock right now.“

Mama sneers.

“I've been hard since Blush—since my
wife
went on stage,“ Jesse corrects.

“Hell yeah,“ Xander adds. “We all were. They're fucking hot as hell.“

“Truth,“ Ben says and fist bumps Xander.

“Hmm. Why didn't Mrs. Kingston come over and handle this herself?“ the brunette asks cockily.

“It's Russo-Kingston and she can't be bothered to deal with any of you skanky bitches. You can try to get your filthy claws into Jesse, but she knows who he's going home to and it sure as hell isn't you!“ Sera sneers.

“That's okay. I've gone home with him before,“ Blondie adds with a smirk.

Wow. I didn't see that one coming. I want nothing more than to turn and run in the opposite direction but I won't give this chick the satisfaction and I definitely will not be giving Jesse the satisfaction of looking in his direction. Right now there's just too much hurt, anger, and too many other emotions running through me to be near him.

Face to the Floor
by Chevelle starts playing and I nod my approval to Xander.

“In the fuck 'em and chuck 'em wing. Honey, you act as if that makes you special. How many have been in that wing, do you think? Oh well, it doesn't really matter. You were nothing but a plaything for these guys to get off with. That's it. You never got past the starting line. You see, me? The first time I was at Casa Falling Down? I was in his real bed. I got the code to the locks, inside and outside of the house. All in one weekend. Oh, did I say weekend? I did. You got what? A couple hours?“ At this point Blondie's smirk has fallen, both her and the brunette's faces are pale and drawn tight.

Meggie snickers and mutters, “Cum bucket.“

Harsh and gross but this chick is playing hardball.

Thunderstruck
from AC/DC starts playing and it pumps me up.

“So yeah, honey. You can think you matter. You don't. You were a fuck, a means to get off. That hurt look I see on your face? I feel no sympathy for you because you chose this. You. Chose. This.“ I accentuate each word with a poke to her chest. “So I, as Mrs. Russo-Kingston, didn't feel the need to dirty her hands on you. You're no threat to me. None of you are, which is why I was over there with the classy fans having a good time. If my husband can't think to just tell you to fuck off, then that's on him. But dragging my name into it, you made a huge mistake there. I'll do what he obviously doesn't feel comfortable doing because he doesn't want to lose paying fans. Hell, I'll give him the two hundred bucks for the tickets later. Now,“ I say stepping even closer. “You and you,“ I point to Blondie and her friend, “and anyone else who thinks they have a shot at Jesse, fuck the fuck off and get the fuck out of here before my Italian starts boiling. Right now it's only at a moderate simmer. ‘Kay, thanks, bye.“ I turn to stand next to my mom again when I get shoved from behind.

Kung Fu Fighting
from Carl Douglas starts to play.

“Are you fucking kidding me?“ I ask with a laugh. “That's the best you've got? Now I know you are truly pathetic.“

A new addition to the foray, a black-haired chick, who thinks it's smart to shove me curls her fingers into a fist and I smirk. That's when
Eye of the Tiger
by Survivor starts. I love Xander so much right now. When the fist comes flying at my face, I merely dodge and weave. I'm fucking Italian. My cousins are in the fucking mob. I had to learn to defend myself at a very young age and this chick is just slow as hell. I reach up and grab her fist and her eyes widen, her mouth forms a perfect “O“, and a collective gasp goes around the room.

I step up to her, my hand squeezing her fist painfully, as she tries to shake me off.

“You just bit off more than you can chew, honey,“ comes from Kennedy.

“You were seriously going to hit me?“ I ask incredulously. I look around the room. “She was going to hit me?“ They all nod. “Do you realize I could have you thrown in jail right now? I could press charges and they would stick. You'd be sitting in there all weekend because there's no court hearings until Monday morning and if your public defender can make the time to come see you, you
might
get out before suppertime. Then there's the fact that I could have turned around and punched you right in the fucking face, like I wanted to do, and break your fake-ass nose. But I didn't. Do you know why?“ She shakes her head.
Another One Bites the Dust
by Queen starts playing.

“A few reasons, really. First, I don't want blood on my clothes. Spenser gets pissy when I ruin new outfits. Second, I'm keeping these heels and I don't want blood on them either. Third, I don't want to hurt my hand. With the way things are going, I'd break it and it'd really suck being on stage with a cast.“

I hear the guys murmur their agreement and bite back a snicker.

“And last, but certainly not least, I feel sorry for you. All of you.“ They all flinch. “You have to stoop to this to try to get a rockstar and for what? Because he's famous? Because he's good looking? Because he's rich? Whatever your reason, it's sad and pathetic. You shouldn't be here doing this. You should be out looking for the real thing whether the guy has money or not,“ I growl and throw her hand down. “Now move the fuck on and get the hell out of here.“

“Whatever,“ the black-haired chick says and starts to swing for me again.
Cryin' Like a Bitch
by Godsmack cues up. I sigh, tilt my head as if to say seriously?, and let my fist fly right into the bridge of her nose. I hear it crunch, blood splatters, and she squeals like a pig.

“Bitch,“ I say, shaking out my hand. Cage steps up with security, gives me a nod, and they haul her off.

We Are The Champions
by Queen begins to play and I look at Xander. “Do you have a fight playlist?“

He nods. “I knew it was going to happen.“

I  snort.

“Anyone else?“ Cage asks. No responses. “Then move the
fuck
on.“

The bitches scatter like rats and the fans I was engaged with before, who must have followed us over, all start snickering.

“That's going to make the news,“ Damian tells me.

I nod. “YouTube as well, I'm sure.“

“Likely,“ Cage agrees.

“Why'd you let me do it?“ I ask him.

He shrugs. “I thought it'd take a couple shows for it to get to that point but I had no idea how rabid these Falling Down fangirls were.“

Ethan grunts.

“I knew it was coming,“ Cage adds. “I figured I'd let it play out, get out there wherever it's going to go because they're going to see you, Lucy. They're going to see you handle yourself in a manner they likely have no fucking clue you can. Those of us who know you, know you can handle yourself. Now everyone else will, too.“ He pulls me in to his chest and kisses my forehead. He picks up my hand which hurts so bad right now it's all I can do
not
to cry.

“Let's take a trip to the ER,“ Damian tells me.

I nod.

Jesse steps forward. I turn to him. “No.“

“Lucy.“

“I said no.“

“Dude, let it go for now,“ Ben says, a hand to Jesse's chest to keep him from coming toward me. My hand is killing me and I'm pretty sure broken but I
will
hit him if he steps any closer. My Italian's at a full-out boil and there is no holding me back right now.

“I'll go with her,“ Xander says.

“Me too,“ Sera adds.

“I'll stop in at your hotel in the morning, mama.“

She nods, lips pressed tight in a thin line.

My dad steps up and hugs me. “Nice punch.“

“Thanks daddy. I'll see you in the morning.“

He kisses my cheek. “Be safe, Button. Call and let us know.“

I nod and walk out of the arena, away from Jesse. Anger, disappointment, hurt, fear, disgust, and a touch of indifference flow through me. It's the indifference that has me worried. That should not be there but I know why it is. It's all I've got to protect myself when this shit happens—and it
will
happen again. I can't understand why—how he could allow that to persist. Ego boost? Habit? I don't know and honestly, at this point, I don't care. There's that indifference again.

“I don't know what—“ Xander begins.

“It doesn't matter.“ I shrug as I climb into the back seat of the car.

Sera puts an ice pack a roadie handed her over my hand and I hiss a breath. She cringes.

“Sorry.“

“Not your fault, sissy.“

“You know it's broken, right?“ Xander asks.

I nod. “I saw the bruising was immediate. Hopefully they can set it without surgery because there are two bones sticking up on the top of my hand.“

He nods. “Whatever it takes.“ He pulls me into his side and I rest my head on his shoulder, my hand on my lap, and Sera leans her head on my shoulder.

Cage's phone keeps going off and he finally turns it off.

Damian turns around. “Jesse.“