“I’m going to kiss you good-bye, Kate.”
“Okay.”
She wasn’t sure what she was saying, only that she wanted one last taste of him.
Syon didn’t disappoint her. He leaned down and closed his lips over hers. It was a sweet meeting of their mouths this time. He pressed short little kisses against her lips before deepening the pressure and slipping and sliding his way across her mouth. He massaged her head, sending little ripples of delight through her.
But he lifted his head away too soon.
Or maybe not soon enough.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Kate.”
He watched her climb aboard and stood there with the wind of the rotor fluttering the open sides of his vest while they lifted off the rooftop. Below him, the area surrounding the Staples Center was teeming with fans still pumped with energy. The restaurants surrounding the auditorium were filled to the brim, customers spilling out onto the pavement as music blared and alcohol flowed.
Syon Braden stood above them, looking like he belonged right there. Up high. Unreachable.
Yeah, rule number two. She needed to follow it, or she was going to have a long, hard fall when the god of music finished with her.
* * *
Ramsey walked out onto the roof as the helicopter headed off into the night. “I didn’t mean to screw it up for you.”
“You didn’t.” Syon sighed. “I don’t hide who I am from chicks.”
“Weren’t you even tempted?”
“Maybe this time.” Syon shot his buddy a smirk. “She needs to know who I am, or there are going to be hurt feelings. I’m not a complete asshole.”
Ramsey crossed his arms over his chest, which was bare except for an open black leather jacket that exposed his nipple piercing. “Yes, you are.”
“Takes one to know one,” Syon shot back at his bandmate.
Ramsey curled his hand into a fist and smacked it into his opposite palm, but Syon shook his head. “Save your energy for the girls,” Syon said, heading back into the building.
“Got some cuties up in the penthouse suite over at the Ritz,” Ramsey said. “Plenty to go around. Big tits, little tits… I think Drake might have brought a drag queen back, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise when the skirt drops. I’m betting his cool, crisp Brit demeanor will finally fail.”
Ramsey yanked open the door to the first of the SUVs waiting to take them to their after party. Syon slid in beside Ramsey and pulled the door closed.
“Keep poking Drake with a stick, and he’s going to kick your ass one of these nights,” Syon predicted.
“Can’t help it,” Ramsey replied. “He’s like Data from Star Trek. No emotions. Only, I’ve seen him bleed, so I know he’s human…hence…”
“You won’t stop dicking with him,” Syon finished off.
Ramsey nodded.
The interior of the SUV was decked out in party lights and long bench seats terminating at a minibar. Their music was playing. There was a sea of flashing cameras as they passed the press, but security staff did a good job of keeping them on the sidewalk so the driver could thread his way down the ramp and into traffic.
“You could have had the bird drop us off before taking her home,” Ramsey complained.
“I think she might have jumped out if we’d climbed in after her.”
Ramsey selected one of the single-serve bottles of whiskey and popped the top loose. “That would have given me an excuse to hold her down.”
Syon picked up another whiskey and toasted with it before taking a swig. “I’m looking forward to her sitting on top of me.”
Ramsey lowered his empty bottle and tossed it into a cup holder. “Looking forward?”
Syon nodded and took another slow sip of his drink.
“You’re actually plotting about how to get her?” Ramsey exclaimed, turning to stare at him. “Let the chick go. Those ladies don’t cross the tracks very well.”
Syon shrugged as they pulled up in front of the Ritz. There was a mob of fans waiting, cameras going off the moment they stepped out. Ramsey reached out, stroking some of the hands thrust toward him. Girls squealed and did their best to snatch a feel of his bare chest. One leaned all the way forward and pulled her top down. Ramsey took a good long look before offering her his hand. The security men holding the mob back let her duck beneath their spread arms. She nestled up against Ramsey with a huge smile on her lips.
Once inside, they made their way to an open elevator and punched the button for the top floor.
“Oh my God!” Ramsey’s new pet gushed. “I so can’t believe I’m here!”
“Are we sharing?” Ramsey asked Syon over the top of her blond head.
“Sharing?” The girl squealed again, louder. “Oh. My. God! I gotta text everyone!”
Ramsey grabbed the phone the girl pulled out of her purse, earning a squawk of frustration from his newest plaything. He cupped her chin and fixed her with his best attempt at a serious expression.
“Here’s the thing, sweetheart. No phone, and I’ll make sure you don’t have any time to miss your cyber buddies.”
“Alright,” she cooed.
Ramsey tucked the phone into the inside pocket of his leather jacket before the girl turned to give Syon a naughty look. She reached for his open vest, boldly running her fingers down his chest.
He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips before handing it off to Ramsey.
“Really, dude?” The elevator chimed as it arrived, and the doors slid open.
Syon offered him a two-finger mock salute before striding down the hallway away from the blaring music. There was no missing where the other members of the band were partying, but he turned and went down the hall toward his room and slid his key card into the door.
“Wait up, Syon,” Ramsey called. “I’ll be right back,” he said close to the girl’s ear as he opened the door and the music poured out like a tidal wave. He swatted the girl on her backside, and she giggled as she jumped forward to join the after-concert excess.
Ramsey made it down the hall just before Syon’s door closed all the way, bouncing it off his shoulder and pushing his way into the room.
“Fuck,” Ramsey growled. “You on the rag or something?”
Syon went toward the vanity where his makeup remover was already laid out.
“Orgies get old after about two hundred of them,” Syon answered.
“Like hell they do.” Ramsey opened the fridge and selected a beer. “She really got to you. Un-fucking-believable.” He yanked the cap off and took a long drink. “Is your pride really that tender? So she turned you down. There’s plenty of tail for the asking.”
“I want to see her again,” Syon said. “And it’s Kate. Her name is Kate.”
Ramsey started to say something, but he snapped his jaw shut, leaned back against the wall, and took another drink from his beer. Syon sat down and began yanking off one of his boots.
“Whatever,” Ramsey said at last. “The last time you got hung up on a girl, you wrote ‘Insatiable Craving,’ so go chase her ass for all I care. Just don’t forget I warned you where it was heading.”
Syon dropped his second boot onto the floor. “I think you just said it would take us to another double platinum record, so quit whining.”
Ramsey still hesitated before pushing himself away from the wall. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I said. Come on down if you change your mind.”
Ramsey stopped with his hand on the door. “Why are you such a romantic?”
“I said I wanted to see her again, not hit my knee and propose,” Syon shot back. “Sometimes, I even get to know a girl’s middle name before I take her to bed. You might try it once in a while. You know, to shake things up.”
Ramsey snorted. “We’ve got everything we ever wanted, so don’t let some chick convince you you’re not happy.”