Talon (Ashes & Embers Book 4) (23 page)

"
S
eriously
, Asia, I love your house. I totally want to just move in. How many bedrooms do you have?" Kat walks around the kitchen, opening and closing the drawers. "These drawers don't even slam. It's amazing. What life is this?"

I chew my muffin, watching her in amusement. "They're like soft glide or something. They came with the house."

"Remember when your cabinets barely opened at all or fell off the hinges?"

My teeth grind together. "Yeah, Kat, I do. I'll never forget those things. And ya know what? If I had to, I'd live like that again. I couldn't care less about kitchen cabinets." Sipping my coffee, I swallow it, hoping my annoyance goes with it. "What matters to me is the man who has provided all of this for me."

She leans against the kitchen island where I'm sitting on my usual stool and studies me. "So, how are things going? Tell me the truth, because I've been a little worried." Honestly, she's not a bad friend. She's just easily distracted by bright and shiny objects and doesn't have much of a filter when it comes to pointing out the obvious about someone's situation. Especially mine.

"Are we allowed to talk about details?"

Waving her hand, she perches on the stool across from me. "Screw Dr. H for now, Asia. You're my best friend, so you can tell me whatever you want. She knew you were my friend when you got into this, so of course, she knew we would talk. I just can't tell
you
anything I've learned at her office."

"Okay, then. Things are a lot better."

"You finally fucked him, didn't you?" she yells, pointing at me. "Finally! I knew you looked different when I got here today. Your vag is thanking the heavens and spreading glow juice though your veins."

"Glow juice? You are a twisted, horny freak, Kat."

"I know.”

Shaking my head, I finish off my coffee. "Great. Anyway, yes, we finally
slept together,
and it seems to have brought us closer. We're both really happy right now. At least I think he is." I chew my lip. "I'm pretty sure he is."

"I'm sure he is," she confirms. "I can't believe you tortured him for two months with no sex."

Geez. I hope Talon didn't feel like I was torturing him the entire time. "I didn't torture him—"

Her eyes bug out at me. "Um, yes you did. You don't marry a hot as hell rock star and make him celibate. That was a huge, risky move, but I commend you for sticking to your guns. You are totally my idol. I could never get a guy to stay without giving him the goods by the third date."

"It really wasn't like that. He understood my reservations. He's actually a really sweet guy." My lips curve into a smile just thinking about him.

"So, is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You know—" a sly smile touches her lips "—about the eleven inches."

My mouth gapes open. "Kat! I can't believe you asked me that!" My cheeks burn and I can't even look her in the eye. Does the entire female population know about my husband's cock? That's something I never thought I'd have to worry about.

"Well, he's kinda known for it. Google it."

"No! That's disgusting. He was right; women just wanted to use him. He's more than a piece of meat."

She tries to stop herself from laughing but isn't doing a good job. "You should see how red you are. You're so cute, Asia. And I am very envious of what you've got."

"Shut up, whore," I tease. "The size of his dick was the furthest thing from my mind, believe me."

"Is he good? I seem to remember you telling me Danny was a two-minute wonder."

I grimace at the thought. "Ugh. Don't remind me. If you must know, Talon is amazing. Words can't even describe, and I'm not even gonna try because it's too personal. I just never thought it could be that way. He's wicked sensual." A tingling sensation ripples through my pelvis as flashbacks of him crawling all over me flip through my mind.

She pouts. "Damn. I love Rob, but he's kinda just missionary. I'm jealous. You love him, don’t you?”

"I'm definitely getting there. It's been a really hard journey to get to where we are now. But, yeah." We smile at each other and giggle like we did when we were younger. "I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with him."

"I'm so happy for you, honey. This is exactly what I wanted for you. I've never seen you look better or happier." She leans forward a little. "So you know I type the notes for all the chats and stuff for Dr. H, but everyone is identified with a number and I don't know who they are. Though, I'm fairly confident I have figured out what your numbers are, and I can't say too much, but… Dr. H. thinks you two have the best chance out of all the couples of staying together."

"Get out!" I squeal. "You really think she thinks that?"

She nods excitedly. "I'm as sure as I can be about which notes go with you two, and I'm sorry if that weirds you out, but you know I love you, right? I know I can be a crazy bitch, but I love you."

"I know that, Kat. I trust you and I love you. I never would have met him if not for you."

"Well, the other couples have had some serious issues. One has been unfaithful, one is pregnant already, and the other two just can't seem to get their shit together. It's really crazy."

"Oh wow! What a shame." I feel really bad for those other couples, because this really is not an easy situation to go through.

"Well, I didn't want you to feel like you two were the only ones who had issues. It hasn't been all unicorns and rainbows for the others either. They're all trying to work it out, though. But, Dr. H did mention in her notes that these two certain numbers—" she glances sideways with a little grin "—are the most devoted to each other and much more 'serious about being married than the others.' And I'm sure that’s you two."

Taking a deep breath, I feel a new sense of confidence come over me.
We're doing well.
And according to what Kat just said, Dr. H's notes indicate that we are the most devoted to each other.
We.
That means him, too, which means he must be telling her good things.

"Kat, thank you for telling me that. It makes me feel so much better. But don't tell me anything else. I don't want anything to mar this for us."

"Okay. I understand."

I take our coffee cups to the sink to rinse them before placing them in the dishwasher. "Did you and Rob set a wedding date yet?"

"Not yet, but we're working on it. He has to coordinate with his job and all that. Thankfully, Dr. H. will be flexible with me, so I can take off whenever I want to. I'll keep you updated when we finally have a date."

"You better. I'm excited to start planning with you." I wish we could have planned my wedding a little more personally, rather than having to follow all the rules of the team for the project. I would have much preferred to get married outdoors, near a lake perhaps, or maybe even a small beach. And if I had known Talon before our wedding—wow, that sounds crazy—I think I would have liked him to wear something more his style, rather than a tuxedo. The one thing I regret the most, though, is not being able to experience a proposal. Instead of a romantic night with my guy getting down on one knee and sliding a handpicked symbol of his love onto my hand like Kat was able to experience and have memories of forever, I got a phone call from Dr. Hollister.

"You have to show me the new outfits you're making!" Kat begs. "I cannot believe you're designing clothes for Ashes & Embers and freakin' Sugar Kiss. It's too amazing for words."

"Isn't it nuts? I still really can't believe it. Talon is going to take pictures of the guys wearing some of it while on the tour. I can't wait to see."

She follows me down to my craft room to see some of the designs I'm working on, and she actually tears up as she touches all the outfits and looks at the sketches Tal and I have pinned up to the idea board.

"Asia…I am so proud of you." She pulls me in for a hug. "I could not be happier for you. In just a few months, your entire life has turned around. I always knew great things would happen for you."

Squeezing her back, I know I owe it all to her. "I wouldn't have any of this if you hadn't helped me so many times or had faith in me. I don't even know how to thank you."

She pulls away and wipes her finger under her eye. "That's bull. You would have been amazing, no matter what. I just tried to give you little shoves. Now, you can thank me by taking me to the spa. It's about time for us to leave, I think?"

Glancing at my watch, I nod. "It is. Let's go get pampered."

I never thought I'd ever be able to take my best friend for a day at the spa to get the works. It still feels surreal to me, or perhaps like a dream and I worry I'll wake up any minute and be back in my little apartment, wondering if I'll have enough money to eat next week.

F
rom the car
, I fire off a text to Talon while Kat drives us to the spa.

Five minutes later, he replies.

Whoa! My thighs burn and clench together as I stare at the screen.

"Are you guys texting? I've never seen you smile like that. And you're blushing!" Kat exclaims. "You guys are adorable."

"He's even sweet and sexy in his texts."

She shakes her head from side to side and lets out a little whistle. "You two got it bad. I love it."

I love it, too.

T
onight’s show
kicked ass and was our biggest turnout to date, completely sold out. We played tighter than we have in a long time, and the fans went wild over the new material. It was fucking awesome to see all my hard work being appreciated, even though the guys made some changes I didn't exactly love.

We're staying at a hotel tonight and hitting the road again tomorrow afternoon, so I ditch the party after the concert and have one of the roadies drive me over to the hotel. I've been in the band since I was eighteen years old, and this is the first time I've said fuck it to the party, the drugs, the alcohol, and the women.

Why? Because I can't wait to get to my hotel room to be alone and call Asia.

My brain is fucked, my heart is aching, and my dick is pissed off for going cold turkey.

I undress quickly but carefully, actually folding my stage clothes—because she made them. Her hands sewed all these patches, dyed the fabric, put it all together.
For me.
That still blows my frigging mind.

Before flopping on the bed, I grab a soda from the fridge and hit Asia's number on the main screen of my cell phone.

"Hi!" she answers happily in her little elfin voice, instantly melting me.

"Hey, baby."

"How was it tonight?"

"It was fuckin' epic. No fuckups, everything was perfect, and the fans loved the new songs."

"Of course they did. You wrote them, right?"

"Mostly."

"Then they can only be amazing. Tomorrow night is the one I can watch live, right?"

"Yup. And then the next live one is on Halloween night."

"And then you come home? After Halloween?"

The cold soda feels good on my throat that's dry and raw from singing backup mixed with breathing theatrical fog on stage. It’s only going to be worse for the Halloween show. My throat will be wrecked by then.

"Yup. Then I come home."

"And then there's another short tour, you said?"

"Yeah, I think it’s the first week of January."

"Okay." Apprehension plagues her voice.

"It's a short one. A little over a week." I'm not sure if I'm trying to assure her or myself that a week of not seeing each other again won't be so bad.

"Okay, I don't want to think about it right now."

"Me neither. I fucking miss you."

"Talon, I loved finding the note and the gifts. That was incredibly sweet."

"That's me. Sweet."

"You can be."

"Don't tell anyone, or I'll have to spank you."

Her giggle radiates from the phone. "I might like that."

I groan, adjusting my cock which has jumped to attention. I'll never get the image of spanking her sweet ass out of my head now. "Baby, don't get me going when I can't touch you."

"You got me going first."

It drives me wild knowing she wants me, but I can't stand wanting her and not being able to have her, so I change the subject to try to calm my lower region down. "How was Kat and the spa?"

"It was good. She asked me if the rumors were true."

"Which rumors?"

"About your eleven inches."

I choke on my e-cig vapor. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I wish I were."

"Jesus. I hope you confirmed it."

"I told her the rumors were false and it's actually fifteen inches."

Cracking up, I turn off the light and prop some pillows up behind my head. "I'm sure it feels like fifteen for you, little one."

"For real. Other than asking about the size of your man parts, she kinda told me that Dr. H thinks out of all the couples, we're the most devoted to each other and taking our marriage the most seriously."

"Really? Go us."

"That's what she said. She's not supposed to talk to us about it, but she was telling me the other couples are having a ton of problems."

"That sucks. I think we're doing okay now."

"I do, too."

I take a drag on my e-cig. "Are you happy?"

My nerves fire up when she doesn't answer right away. "Aze?"

"I'm thinking, Tal."

"You have to think about this answer? That doesn't sound good."

"No…I was just thinking of the right words."

"Yes is one word, and it sounds right…"

"I wanted to say more."

"More like yes, or more like no?"

"More like yes."

"Okay. What are they?"

She sighs and does a little growl that's kind of sexy. "You ruined it now. So it's just yes."

Fuck. I want to know what she was going to say. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"I want to know what you were gonna say. You can't do that shit to me, baby."

"I'll text it to you."

Text me? "What the fuck, you can't talk to me?"

"You make me sorta nervous."

Shit, if this conversation morphs into a step back, it's going to wreck my good mood. "Nervous how? You can tell me anything. Lay it on me."

"I'm happier than I've ever been. You give me butterflies all the time, and I want you to feel that way, too." She pauses. "Do guys get butterflies? Or is that just a female thing?"

Butterflies. I'm way beyond fucking butterflies with her. I feel like I've got pterodactyls taking up residence inside me.

Laughing a little, I answer her honestly. "Yeah, we get butterflies. But only when the chick is adorable and hot as hell. Like you. So stay happy, okay?"

"Do I make you happy, though? I don't mean just sex, I mean, like, everything?"

"Yes. Everything. You've redefined happy for me."

I'm met with a deafening silence.

"Asia? You fall asleep over there?"

"No, silly. Sometimes you just make me so happy that I can't even think or talk."

"Great. I make you brain-dead," I joke. "Just what I always wanted to do."

Her laughter makes me want to hug her, pull her clothes off, and kiss all her ticklish places. The king-size bed I'm in is taunting me with its huge space and lack of my naked wife.

"I should go," she finally says. "I have a lot of soap and lotion orders to fill tomorrow. Are you going to sleep now?"

"Yup, I'm in bed already."

"Call me or text me tomorrow?"

"I will, babe. Remember to set the alarm. I miss ya."

Two seconds after I end the call, there's a knock on my hotel door.
Shit.
I hope it's not one of the horny groupies that follow me from show to show. I climb out of the bed and cross the room to peer through the peephole in the door, and I'm surprised to see Storm standing there.

I swing the door open and look at him questioningly. "What's up?"

He pushes past me and stalks around the room, even checking the bathroom, before his eyes land on me. "You alone?" he asks.

"Fuck yeah, I'm alone. I was just gonna watch a movie and fall asleep."

He nods and grins. "Good. I wanted to make sure you weren't fucking up or wasted."

I wave my hand at him and sit on the bed again. "Dude, I'm good. I'm not gonna fuck up. I just talked to her; everything is awesome. I'm not going to screw this up."

He throws himself on the bed next to me and rolls over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "I miss Evie. I just talked to her, too."

"I miss Asia, too. More than I thought. It's kinda fucked up."

"Yeah, it is. We used to play and party and get laid. Now we play and sit on the phone and wonder if they're missing us."

"That pretty much sums it up." I lean back on my pile of pillows and reach for the remote.

"It's worth it, though. Drinking and fucking got boring after a while, ya know?"

I nod and choose a horror movie from the movie guide. "Yeah, I do know."

He kicks off his boots and makes himself comfortable on the other side of the bed while I stare at him. "What are you doing?"

Taking the remote out of my hand, he turns the volume up a little and shrugs. "I'm gonna stay here and watch this movie with you. We haven't done this in years. Remember you used to hang out in my room when we were younger, and we'd stay up all night watching Headbangers Ball?"

"Fuck. I loved doing that. As far as big brothers go, you were pretty cool."

He kicks my leg. "Were? I totally mentored your coolness. And I'm even cooler now, man."

I shake my head and laugh at him. "Whatever. If you're staying, you gotta be quiet. And stay on your side."

He leans his head against mine and snaps a quick picture of us with his phone. "I'm gonna text this to our girls and tell them we're having a sleepover. They'll fuckin' love it."

I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder off me, but he's right. Asia will love getting a picture of Storm and me, and she'll probably sleep better knowing Storm is shacked up in my room.

Sure enough, a few minutes later my phone is buzzing.