Toxic (Addiction #1) (9 page)

“It will be fun,” replied Willow, trying to ease her friend’s mind a little. “What do you have in mind for us?”

Quinn held up two dresses and both Willow and Maisy’s jaws hit the floor. The label wanted to grab people’s attention, that was for sure. Willow was up for the challenge though.
 

She grabbed the dress and went behind her partition. “We’re going to rock the crap out of these dresses tonight, Maisy girl.”

Chapter 5

The last thing Rook wanted to do was go out to dinner with Twisted Perfection, but since it was a media opportunity that the label set up for them, he really didn’t have a choice. He spent the rest of the day once again brooding in the back of the bus, but he got a lot of work done, which was good. He knew his ability to produce number one hits while sitting in the back of the bus was one of the main reasons why his bandmates didn’t push him to be more social.

Cruz’s attempt to push Rook’s buttons about Maisy was still bugging him. Rook didn’t want to have anything to do with Maisy, but with Cruz in the works now, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. Rook gritted his teeth and decided to let Cruz work his magic. If Maisy wanted Cruz, well then that was her own bad choice; Rook couldn’t do anything about it. Just a couple more days and he would be out of the hell of sharing a bus with her. He could make it a couple more days, right?
 

The guys and Quinn all waited outside the studio as Willow and Maisy were finishing up with hair and make-up.
 

“What’s taking so damn long?” Rook said impatiently

“Hair and make-up got stuck in traffic. Cool your jets, Rook,” Quinn replied.
 

Like they needed hair and make-up, they were gorgeous enough as it was, they didn’t need any more primping.
 

Rook was uncomfortable as hell and it wasn’t just because he had to eat dinner with Maisy while Cruz hit on her all night. Quinn had Rook in a pair of stiff, tight jeans and a tailored button-up shirt that hugged him in all the right places, with the sleeves rolled up and some thin suspenders. His hair was freshly cut, but it was the perfect length, thankfully. He hated when it got too short. The guys were all wearing outfits like him and had their hair styled perfectly to Quinn’s liking. They looked good, but you could tell they were all uncomfortable in the new threads.
 

Rook was just about to complain again when the girls walked out. Rook had to hit himself over the head because he thought he was dreaming for sure. Willow came out first in a light pink, lace dress that was cut dangerously low in the front, hugged her entire body, and stopped at just above her knees. Her hair had more layers and her bangs were thicker and swept to the side.
 

Willow was not the reason that Rook was practically panting like a dog though. No, it was Maisy. She came forward wearing a mint green dress that was long in the back but short in the front. The hem touched her mid-thigh, showing off an expanse of toned legs sporting nude colored heals. A brown belt with a bow cinched her waist and the bra she was wearing was doing wonders for her cleavage. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in smooth waves and she wore a brown braided headband that cut across her side-swept bangs, giving her a bit of a hippie vibe.
 

She was drop dead gorgeous and all Rook could do was stare.
 

“Damn you girls look good,” Kaid said, as he walked up to his bandmates and held out both arms for them to hook their arms around. “I’m one lucky man. Where we headed?”

They all got in the limo that was waiting for them and headed to the restaurant. Rook stayed as far away from Maisy as possible in the limo and kept his head down. If he looked up, he knew she would catch him staring and that was the last thing he wanted.
 

They pulled up to the steakhouse that actually turned out to be quite nice, almost ritzy. Rook knew the label wouldn’t make them eat at a place where the house challenge was eating a ten pound steak, baked potato and buttered biscuit, but he was surprised they sprung for a ritzier place than usual.
 

The restaurant overlooked the Willamette River and the ambiance was candlelight with a rustic feel. It was romantic and all Rook wanted to do was jump back in the limo and head back to the bus. The last thing he needed was to be in a romantic setting with Maisy looking like she was.
 

Media stood outside of the steakhouse and took pictures of all of them walking into the restaurant. Shattered Souls stopped and took a picture together, then had Twisted Perfection join them, just like the label asked. Grey answered questions about the band and introduced Kaid to the media. Willow and Maisy stood behind Kaid and smiled, just like they were so dutifully taught.
 

“Can we get a picture of all of you one more time?” A cameraman asked politely, surprisingly.
 

They all linked arms and took one last picture. Rook was on the end, next to Kaid who was next to Maisy. He could smell her from where he stood and she smelled intoxicating. Whatever she was wearing was doing the trick because he felt himself drift over to her.
 

She looked up at him and smiled, he returned the smile. A camera flashed in their eyes and they turned to see the rest of the gang headed inside. They turned to retreat after them when a cameraman made one more request.
 

“One picture of the two lead singers together.”

Being the ever-so-accommodating rock star, Rook wrapped his arm around Maisy’s waist and pulled her in close. She fit perfectly in his grasp and he felt his heart starting to meld with hers. It was bad news, but he couldn’t pull away for the life of him. While the cameras flashed, he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

“You look beyond stunning tonight.”

The shocked look on her face hurt him. She thought he was a monster and the fact that he would give her the time of day to lend her a compliment shocked her to the core. It was upsetting to see the impression he gave her. He wanted to distance himself from her, not make her feel like crap around him. If he thought about it, that’s what being an asshole was, making people feel like the crap you just shit out. Fantastic!

He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the restaurant. When they got out of camera shot, she tore her hand away from his, leaving him cold and confused.
 

“What the hell was that?” she said, while pointing toward the doors.

“It’s called the media. I thought they briefed you on that earlier today?”

“Don’t be a smart ass. What was all that affection about?”

“Affection? I was just taking a picture with you. Don’t read too much into it, boo.”

“I’m not your boo!” she practically shouted.
 

Rook just shook his head and walked away. Why did he always have to end up being an ass? Was it actually ingrained in his blood? That would be a sorry life to live, if it was. He knew he could be a good guy when he wanted to be, but apparently, whenever he was around Maisy, she brought the asshole out in him. He knew he was being an ass, that wasn’t a surprise to him because it was the only way he knew how to guard his heart.
 

***

Maisy had no clue what the hell just happened, but the last thing she knew, Rook was whispering in her ear about how good she was looking and holding her hand and then next thing, he was walking to the table without her. The man was so damn confusing, she didn’t know how to react most of the time.
 

When she first walked out of the studio with Willow, she didn’t mistake the look on Rook’s face, it was pure lust. He was checking her out. She felt his heated gaze look her up and down and stop at her face. She watched as he tenderly licked his lips as if he was getting ready to eat her for dinner and not some astronomically over-priced steak.
 

She couldn’t stop looking at him in the limo, even though he wouldn’t look up from his lap. He was hard to look away from, even with Cruz flirting with her the entire drive over. Rook looked so good, it took all of Maisy’s energy not to throw herself at him and beg him to take her to the back of the bus. His hair was trimmed, but he still had the same messy hair that stood up from his head. His scruff was trimmed so it was barely a shadow caressing his jaw. He smelled like he was conjured up from every woman’s fantasy. It was hard to stay away from him.

She wanted to know what he was doing in front of the cameras, holding her and whispering to her, but when she confronted him about it, her intuition was right, he was using her in front of the cameras. She was an idiot for thinking he might just want to be near her. That thought was slashed in two the minute he took off toward the table without even the briefest look behind him to make sure she was coming.
 

What a dick!

As she approached the table, she noticed there was one seat left open for her. Luckily, it was next to Kaid but, unfortunately, it was also next to Rook, who looked visibly uncomfortable when she sat down. She tried to scoot closer to Kaid, but there wasn’t much room to move around. They were packed together like sardines. Fan-fucking-tastic.
 

They all had a glass of red wine in front of them, except for Rook who held a glass of dark beer, apparently he wasn’t a wine guy. Grey held up his glass for a toast while he had his arm wrapped around Quinn.
 

“To new friendships and one kick-ass tour.”
 

Their glasses clinked together as they all held up their drinks and took a sip. The wine was drier then she expected and she wished she had a beer like Rook, but she wasn’t going to complain. She was going to take whatever she could get.
 

Everyone seemed to be engaged in their own conversations. Grey was talking to Quinn and Willow, who just so happened to be sitting next to Grey, imagine that. Landon, Cruz and Kaid were all talking about some chick who was sitting next to the fireplace and trying to guess whether or not she was a true red head and if the carpet matched the drapes.
 

Which left Rook and Maisy, saying absolutely nothing to each other, until Rook finally broke the uncomfortable tension that was brewing between them.
 

“You don’t like the wine?” Rook said next to her ear, startling her.
 

“Uh, it’s a little dry but it’s fine.”

“Here.” He handed her his beer. “I saw you eyeing it. I will pretty much drink anything.” He took her wine and sipped from the long-stem glass, then grimaced. “Fuck, that’s gross.”

Maisy couldn’t help but giggle. “Told you.” She grabbed his beer and took a sip. “This is so much better.”

“I wouldn’t take you for a beer kind of girl.”

“Yeah, what would you picture me drinking?”

A wicked gleam floated across his eyes as he licked his lips. “I don’t know. Something sexy though, like a martini. You would sit there, one of those sexy ass legs crossed over the other, spinning your olive around in your drink and eyeing every man in the bar until you found your prey.”

Maisy had to swallow hard from the deep voice he used to describe her. He called her legs sexy. God, she could feel herself getting worked up just from his brief description.

“You couldn’t be more wrong,” she said with as much gusto as she could muster.

“Oh?”

“I pretty much will swallow anything that will come my way, even if it’s dry.”

Rook smiled and said, “It would never be dry when it came to me.”

Jesus.

She needed to fan herself. She got up from her chair and motioned to the bathroom to Willow. She got the hint and excused herself, asking Quinn if she needed to go as well. Thankfully Quinn said no, giving Maisy much needed private time with Willow.
 

They got into the bathroom and Maisy leaned against the counter as Willow looked her up and down.
 

“Good God, I think I almost came in my pants just watching you two interact. I feel like sex was pouring out of you both. I’m all hot and bothered.”

If Maisy wasn’t so scared of messing up her make-up she would splash some cold water on her face. Instead she grabbed a cloth, wet it and put it on the back of her neck. She needed to cool down somehow.
 

“I don’t understand what’s happening. One minute he is too good to talk to me and the next he is sharing his beer. I just don’t get it.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like he wants to slit his wrists when he’s near you, that’s for damn sure.”

“What should I do? He is such an ass but I can’t help myself from being drawn toward him. It’s as if my brain is saying ‘hell no,’ but my soul is begging to be close to him. I don’t want to screw anything up for us.”

“What do you mean?”

Maisy threw the wet rag into the trash bin and looked Willow in the eyes.
 

“We’re finally here; we finally are where we want to be. We’re in the midst of putting together our first album; we’re on tour with one of the biggest bands ever and we are clothed and fed. I don’t want to screw anything up for us by getting mixed up with Rook. One word from him and we’re over.”