Gavin: Pure Passion (Hamptons Book 1) (20 page)

“They only help when it’s too late,” Azer grumbles. “The same thing happened with Madison.”

“Who’s . . . ?”

“My ex-girlfriend. She left me because my fans threatened and stalked her. They even broke into her apartment.”

“Oh my God.” I slump back and shut my eyes.

“Lane, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t let you out on the street alone anymore,” Gavin tells me.

“It’s going to be OK. Once we’re in Miami we’ll have our peace, and once we come back I’ll be staying in the city with Macey. Nobody’s going to find me here so quickly. The legal notice of my website and my Facebook page goes through my agency, which means nobody can just find my address like that,” I explain, slightly breathless.

“What if they follow you after a show or a rehearsal?” Azer presses.

“I take a taxi?”

“Which can be followed,” he says drily.

“Guys, I’m about to have a full-scale panic attack here. You’d think I couldn’t even get out of the car anymore because somebody’s pointing a rocket launcher at me.” I try to cover up my insecurity with a giggle. I find it sweet how much they’re worried for me, but I somehow doubt that those nut jobs who wrote to me would actually do something serious. It’s just a feeling, and my intuition has hardly ever failed me.

Now I’m sitting in Gavin’s bedroom, waiting for him to come back with the clothes one of his employees went to pick up for me. Because I’ve already taken a shower in the meantime, I’m wearing sweats that are way too big for me and a shirt I could probably fit in three times. His clothes smell like him even though he only just got them out of the closet. The shirt is funny. Princess Peach and Princess Daisy from the
Super Mario Bros.
games are on it, holding a green mushroom. Over the picture, there’s print reading
2 Girls, 1 Up!
I sink back onto the bed and look up at the ceiling. I’ve never been in this room before, but it looks extremely kitschy. The interior designer was definitely female. One hundred percent. Everything is kept in pastel nuances, the ceiling is decorated with stucco, and the furniture looks like it just fell out of a fairy tale. You can tell this is definitely not the permanent residence of a boyband.

Chapter 13

“Come on, Lane. You don’t have to be scared,” Gavin encourages me as we approach the private jet.

“Hah, that’s what you think,” I gasp. I have a fear of flying, a pretty bad case, and I don’t want to get in this big metal contraption. I would have preferred to just stay here, but Gavin insisted I come with him and the guys. He wants to rehearse some more while we’re in Miami this coming week, in Coral Gables, to be exact. Linden has a house and a lot of friends there who were Thalia’s friends to begin with.

As we reach the plane, I stop short, refusing to let him drag me up the steps. “I seriously can’t get in there,” I whine.

“Babe,” he murmurs, laying both of his hands on my arms. “I promise nothing will happen to you. You get in there now, put on that seat belt, and immediately take your anxiety medication, all right? Everything is going to be fine.” Then he gives me a tender kiss.

I return it desperately, clinging to him. Gavin takes the chance and lifts me up into his arms, then he looks into my eyes. “If you won’t walk yourself, I’ll have to carry you in.”

“They’re going to notice,” I warn him.

“I’ve carried a few women into this plane, they won’t care,” he says, smiling at me.

I regard him with a pang of jealousy. “If you say so.” Unfortunately I can’t quite keep a bitchy tone out of my voice.

“Lane, I had a life before I met you and girlfriends before you, too, you have to deal with that.”

“I am,” I snap at him.

As we reach the door, he sets me down on my feet and looks at me emphatically. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I disappear into the plane and walk toward one of the window seats. Mike is in the one across from me.

“Bad mood?” he asks carefully.

“No, I’m just worried about letting this machine carry us to Miami,” I tell him.

“I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you for your great results yesterday.” He smiles.

Yesterday we got thirty-nine out of a possible total of forty points. The only flaw was that Gavin forgot a step once and stopped while I was turning. “Thanks, but that means now we have to work pretty hard to keep up the good score.”

“Oh, Gavin is going to work hard.”

“At what?” Gavin asks, turning up next to us and looking at Mike darkly.

“At keeping up your good scores from yesterday’s show.”

I regard Mike. He’s nice, very good looking like the others, but a very quiet person. His hair is blond, sort of long—not long enough for a ponytail, though—and his eyes are a steely gray. His body is also muscular, but not as much as Gavin’s. Of all his friends, Gavin is the fittest by a long shot. He has wide shoulders, muscular arms, and abs to make any girl kneel.

I lean back and fasten my seat belt to demonstrate to him that I won’t be moving anytime soon. I’ll stay here with Mike and wait until my anger, or rather jealousy, boils down a little.

As the jet takes off half an hour later, I grip the armrests, squeezing my eyes tightly shut.

“Are you afraid of flying?” Mike suddenly asks, putting a hand on my knee.

I nod hectically, and I’m breathing so heavily that I can’t reply.

“Did you take your meds?” he inquires.

This time I shake my head. “No.”

“Shit!” There’s a short pause, and then he calls out, “Gavin!”

“What’s up?” he replies.

“Lane’s about to start hyperventilating.”

“Dammit!” Gavin curses, coming over to my side. He doesn’t seem to care that we haven’t reached thirty thousand feet yet. “Are you all right, Lane?”

I repeat the shake of my head. “No, and you . . . shouldn’t be . . . moving around yet.” My stammering escapes my mouth like shallow breathing.

“We’re at cruising altitude, the lamps turned off right before Mike called me.”

“Right.”

“I’ll bring you to one of the bunks, and there you can take a pill and try to sleep a little, OK?”

“OK,” I repeat after him.

He opens my seat belt and helps me up.

“You guys OK over there?” Alexis calls.

“Yeah, we’re fine!” Gavin replies as he carries me to the back of the plane. He brings me into a separate room and puts me down on the bed, but I refuse to let go of him. “All right?” he asks with worry in his voice.

“I think so,” I whisper.

“You need to let go of me if I’m supposed to look for your medication.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Should I lie down with you for a bit?”

I nod, but I still won’t let go of him.

He sighs and pries my fingers from the back of his neck, then he lies down next to me. Gavin pulls me into his arms and I cuddle up to him as closely as I can. His fingers stroke my hair until he reaches the back of my neck, which they start caressing.

“Why were you so angry before?”

I stiffen. “That was a touch of . . .”

“Jealousy,” he states.

“Yeah,” I admit, pouting. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not the only girl in your life, and there will probably be more after me, but . . . there’s nothing I can do about my jealousy.”

The laugh that vibrates through his chest tickles my cheek. “Being jealous isn’t so bad as long as it’s within limits.”

“It’s not like I’m going to beat up every girl who gets too close to you,” I reply.

“I don’t think you’d even be strong enough,” he teases me.

“A baseball bat will give anybody the necessary advantage,” I joke. I’m glad he’s distracting me from my fear.

“Well, do you own a baseball bat?” he asks, amused.

“Uh . . .”

“See, you’re no danger to anybody.”

“Only to you,” I murmur.

“Why to me?”

“I could withhold sex,” I answer seriously, but then I can’t hold it anymore and giggle.

“You wouldn’t be so cold,” he says with indignation.

“Who knows.”

“You know!” he says.

“Guys, have you finally realized you want each other bad, or is Lane not feeling OK?” Mike asks through the door.

“She doesn’t want to be alone!” Gavin answers loudly.

“Oh . . . Because it almost sounded like . . . Well, never mind! Joel wants to meet us as soon as we land in Miami, just so you know, Gavin.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

His footsteps move away from the door. In the time Gavin and Mike were talking, I calmed down a little.

He kisses the top of my head while his thumb caresses my temple.

“If I fall asleep, it’s all going to be your fault,” I whisper.

“Would it be so bad if you fell asleep?”

“Only if you don’t stay with me.”

“Then I’ll stay here and wake you up when we’re about to land, deal?”

“No,” I reply quietly.

“Why not?” he asks, confused.

“Because I’d like to sleep through the landing, too.” I cuddle up against his chest, smiling.

“All right then, I’ll let you sleep.”

I lift my head, turn around so I’m half on top of him, and grin at him. “Now I don’t want to anymore.”

“Then what do you want?”

“To cuddle,” I answer determinedly. I lay my head in the hollow of his neck while my hands wander over his body. “I just want to cuddle.”

“And I want to caress you.”

“Do that.” I laugh and put one of my hands against his stubbly cheek. Gavin is way too masculine. He only shaved a few hours ago, and he already has a shadow again. I slide up a little and nestle my cheeks against his, which sends a pleasurable shiver over my skin.

He grumbles quietly as I kiss him lightly on the nose. “Do you want a hotel in Miami or are you staying at Linden’s?”

I smile at him. “I think I prefer a room at Linden’s place.”

“I thought so. Besides, we should slowly tell the guys about us since they’re suspicious anyway, and I’ve had enough of avoiding their questions and lying to them.”

“I’m sorry you have to,” I whisper.

“I don’t have to, but I’m doing it for you so nobody can let anything slip,” he murmurs. “But I know I can trust them, they would never sell us out.”

“I . . . When are you telling them?”

“I don’t know, preferably right now.”

I lay my head back on his shoulder. “It would be better to let them know, but maybe we should wait a few more days, Gavin.”

“I’d say we tell them after visiting Linden’s and Thalia’s friends. By the way, she’s excited to see you.”

“I want to see her, too.”

“The two of you have become good friends, huh?”

“Not really. We got along well, but after she left we kind of lost touch.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it work again.”

“Huh.” I nod and curl back up in his arms.

“Where do you want to go?”

“I’m just where I want to be,” I answer quietly, laying my leg over his and closing my eyes. “I love you,” I whisper.

He stiffens. For God’s sake, why is he so rigid?

“What’s wrong?”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” he murmurs.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No.”

“And you’re not going to say anything else?”

“I love you, too, Madeleine,” he whispers, kissing me on the forehead for what seems like the thousandth time since we’ve been lying here.

A sigh escapes my lips as he caresses me. I notice that I’m slowly drifting off and finally fall asleep.

“Gosh, this is just as amazing as your place in the Hamptons,” I say as the stretch limo pulls up in front of the big mansion.

“Do you like it, Lane?” Linden asks.

“From the outside, definitely.” The car stops. Without waiting for the others, I get out and crane my neck to look up at the palm trees. It’s breathtakingly beautiful here. The air is warm and balmy. On the way to Linden’s house I was constantly pressing my face up against the window, because I was so impressed. I’ve never been to Miami before, I only ever heard about how beautiful it’s supposed to be, but all that I heard can’t even touch what I actually just saw.

Gavin comes to my side. “Are you feeling well?”

“Yeah, thanks,” I answer quietly, smiling up at him.

“Guys, you’ll have to carry your own bags, there’s no staff here right now . . . And nobody dare wake me with rock music again at such an ungodly hour . . . Oh yeah, and Azer?” Linden says.

Azer glances at him. “Huh?”

“If you turn my kitchen into a pigsty again . . . I swear I’m going to drag your face through the mess you make,” he threatens jokingly.

“Gavin can clean for us again,” Azer says, amused.

“In your dreams! I need to rehearse for the show, so clean up your own messes,” Gavin replies with a laugh.

“Aw, you’re such a killjoy. So Lane can do it,” Azer keeps teasing. “As the only woman with so many men . . .”

“You’re such a dick!” I tell him. “I’ll become your personal drill instructor before I clean up your mess.” I give him a wink and go get my bag from the open trunk of the limo.

“You’re giving him hell, that’s good. Thalia missed her chance and now he keeps annoying her,” Alexis says.

I smile at him. “I’m sure she keeps him happy, though.”

“True. It’s always fun listening to them bicker.”

I laugh lightly. “I guess it’s not so bad, then.”

“Not if you have a friend like Linden, who is much more sensitive to his teasing than she is. It’s happened a few times that he chased Azer around.”

“Did he catch him?”

Alexis shakes his head. “No, Azer is fast and clever, he knows how to get out of Linden’s way and make him laugh.”

“I can imagine it vividly, he makes me laugh, too.”

“So yeah, what’s the plan? Are you coming to Delsin’s place, too?” Linden asks.

“Aw, I wanted to take a nap!” Mike cries.

“And I was going to stop by my parents’ place,” Azer says.

“What about you guys, Gavin, Lane?” Linden asks, turning to us.

“Uh, sure,” Gavin replies.

“I’ll just tag along,” I reply with a smile and a shrug. It’ll be good for me after last night’s and this morning’s hate messages. I’d love to turn off my phone and never switch it on again, but that’s not an option, so I uninstalled the site manager app. Now at least I don’t have this sword of Damocles hovering over me everywhere I go.

“Good, let’s bring the luggage inside and get going. Thally is getting impatient, she won’t stop texting me,” Linden explains, laughing.

Gavin takes my bag. As I try to protest, he winks at me. I follow him inside as Linden calls after me, “Lane, you can have the room next to Gavin’s, he’ll show you!”

“Thanks,” I reply as we reach the front door, where a middle-aged woman is waiting for us.

“Hello, Gavin,” she greets him, giving him a warm smile.

“Hi, Mrs. Atkins. I’d shake your hand, but as you can see, my physical strength is being shamelessly exploited here,” he answers with a grin.

“Go on, be a gentleman and bring this young lady’s suitcases inside.”

I grin at him and then turn to her. “Hi, Mrs. Atkins, my name is Madeleine Dubois, but please just call me Lane.”

She shakes my hand. “It’s a pleasure, Lane.”

Then we go inside and Gavin leads me upstairs to the second floor. “Our rooms are at the end,” he explains as we’re walking down the wide hall.

I look around. Modern art is covering most of the walls. The furniture is an exclusive mix of modern and antique. I find the mix of wood types and styles very interesting, and especially pretty and harmonious. “Is this your house or Linden’s?”