Seduction by Song Read online

  The promise is as exhilarating as any other coming from him. I wrap my arms around him and pull him down once more to seal it with a kiss.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  The band makes nice over the course of the night, going out for a dinner on the town and taking me with. Dante keeps his hands to himself and even respectfully sits a few seats away from me. If mere anticipation of seeing April again could tame him this much, I couldn’t wait to see what getting into an actual relationship with her might do for him.

  We all crash at the nearest motel—nothing fancy this time, but the rooms are clean and the beds are soft and I don’t have a single thing to complain about. Romeo and I fall asleep in each other’s arms and wake up still entwined.

  That, of course, is when the shit hits the fan once more.

  Romeo turns the TV on to catch up on the news as we order room service for breakfast, but the first thing we see is enough to make us both lose our appetites.

  “Romeo Ortiz, lead singer of the Rocks, announced late last night that his encore was delayed due to technical difficulties,” the pretty reporter on the entertainment news channel says, her eyes twinkling with mischief, “but our sources say the sexy singer was having a little romp in the hay with his newest lady—Erin Gouchet.”

  My picture flashes across the screen, drawing my back ramrod straight as I gasp.

  Next to me, a low growl rumbles up out of Romeo’s throat. He’s gone, flinging the door open, before I can even ask him what he intends on doing. I follow him, padding out into the hall in my bare feet as he storms down towards the room Dante and Vince were sharing.

  Their door is cracked open, the sound of guitar chords floating out from within. The music comes to a crashing halt when Romeo slams the door wide open and strides into the room with purpose.

  “Think very carefully about what you say to me right now, Dante,” he says as I stop behind him, unable to even put a hand on him—he’s literally shaking with anger. “Did you speak to the press last night?”

  There’s one terrible moment of silence before Dante sighs, his shoulders slumping.

  That must be answer enough because Romeo snarls. “You son of a bitch!”

  “It isn’t like that!” Dante says, standing to meet Romeo’s glare with one of his own. “Look, man—I was pissed as hell before we had that talk after the show and, yeah, fine. I leaked the story. I’m sorry!”

  Romeo’s eyes darken. His muscles are completely tense and coiled when I lay a hand on his arm, trying to placate him. “You’re sorry? Erin’s face is plastered up on the trash stations today and you’re sorry?”

  Dante turns to me, eyes full of genuine frustration and guilt. “I’m sorry. I truly am.”

  I nod, slowly, believing him as no sign of deception appears on his face. I curl my fingers at Romeo’s arm and tug him back more insistently. “Romeo, it’s okay—it’s okay. If the media didn’t make a scandal out of this, they would have found something to make a scandal out of. What’s done is done, right?”

  Romeo looks at me, his anger still not quite fading. “You aren’t mad?”

  I pause for a second. Of course I was mad—how dare Dante reveal something so personal, so none of his business, to those media vultures. Being mad wouldn’t help anything, though. It had been so hard getting the band to stop bickering that I didn’t want anything to come between them right now.

  “It sucks that I’m going to sift through hate mail again,,” I say.. “But I just want you guys to stay together and keep a good relationship and not fight over this anymore.”

  Dante nods, a bit sullenly. Romeo glares at him for a moment longer before he finally relaxes, at least a little.

  “This is your last strike,” he says, his tone indicating that he is completely serious.

  I shoot Dante a stern look over my shoulder as Romeo turns to leave, taking me with him. The band spends the rest of that morning separated once more, but Romeo unwinds as much as he can with all that pent up anger inside of him as we settle down for breakfast.

  Afterwards, we take the RV to the airport to pick April up. I’m confused at first to why they would want to take the bus when we would all fit just fine in a car, but Romeo just sighs and bops me lightly on the nose with his index finger before smiling at me.

  “Don’t ask such unimportant questions, Erin,” he says as he kisses me to distract me. “You’ll ruin the surprise.”

  I perk up at the mention of a surprise. Even though I used to hate surprises on principle, I had started to get used to them—Romeo’s surprises were always the best surprises.

  And this time proved no different.

  We find the gate with a few minutes to spare and I’m not left waiting for long. I gasp when I see April, tailed by both Maddie and Juliet, exiting the gate. I beam up at Romeo and drag him down for a passionate kiss.

  “How did you know I missed them?” I ask.

  He laughs. “They’re your best friends. Of course you would miss them.”

  I smile at him for a second longer before turning my grin to the girls, opening my arms wide to greet them. They don’t return my smile, though, instead looking rather…gloomy. I blink and drop my arms instantly—did they not want to come? Oh, God, did someone force them here against their will?

  I blink at myself. That last thought was the most ridiculous I’d had all year—maybe all decade. Of course they would want to be here. Not long ago, they were all bigger fans of the Rocks than I was.

  So why would they look so—hesitant?

  The answer strides out from behind them a second later, as though on cue. My eyes widen and I take a quick step back, instinctively grabbing Romeo’s hand, as I see my brother storm out of the gate towards us. I know that look—it isn’t his worried look, it isn’t his protective look.

  He’s furious.

  Romeo is looking at me with confusion when I flinch as Logan stops in front of us, shooting a disgusted look at our joined hands before fixing his scowl on my face.

  “How dare you,” he says, spit flying out of his mouth as he grinds the words out. “Your fucking face is on the news, Erin. With your name. With our name—and a label that might as well say slut.”

  My stomach clenches with guilt. I had been embarrassed to have my sex life aired in such a public place, of course, but I hadn’t considered what impact it would have on my family. Even though I knew Logan had no right to speak to me this way, maybe he did have a point—what if this media circus found my dad? What if they attacked him for information?

  Before I can work myself up into a true guilty fit, Romeo squeezes my hand and steps in front of me. The familiar look of anger is flooding his features again, and I knew that this could get dangerous—he already had so much pent up anger from all the fighting with Dante that I didn’t even know what he was capable of now. I had to stop him, tell him that Logan didn’t mean any harm—well, he didn’t think he meant any harm, anyway.

  “Hey, asshole,” Romeo says before I have the chance to explain. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but don’t you dare speak to Erin that way.”

  Logan jerks his head up, turning his glare to Romeo. They’re almost evenly matched in height and rage.

  “Get your fucking hands off of my sister,” Logan says.

  Romeo squeezes my hand again, reassuringly. “Look, your family isn’t my business—but Erin is. And I’m telling you that you need to apologize to her. Right. Now.”

  Logan stares at him for a moment before laughing, loud and throaty. “Oh, yeah? Who’s going to make me? You? A pansy, pampered singer who gets everything he wants at the wave of a finger?”

  I flinch, wanting to tell him that that wasn’t true at all. Romeo worked so hard to get where he was today and he never abused his fame or fortune. The words are lodged in my throat, though, the intimidating presence of the two men next to me rendering me speechless.

  “Take your hand off of her,” Logan says again. “Right. Now.”

  Romeo adaman
tly refuses, keeping my hand held warmly in his. “I don’t want any trouble, but you’re out of line.”

  “You’re going to get trouble if you don’t let my sister go right the fuck now,” Logan snarls.

  A moment of silence passes. Romeo doesn’t move, standing strong. He doesn’t provoke Logan any more than he has to in order to defend his honor—and mine—and I respect him for it. I respect him more than I’ve ever respected my hotheaded brother, who wanted the best for our family, but always led us to the worst.

  “Alright, pretty boy,” Logan says with a growl. “I warned you.”

  I open my mouth to tell them to stop, but I don’t manage to get even that simple word out before Logan is throwing a punch. His fist clips Romeo in the jaw, causing him to stumble back a step and finally let go of my hand. I barely notice that, though, as I scream, “No!”

  Neither of them seem to hear me, though, as I’m pushed out of the way. Romeo decks Logan clear across the nose, the sickening crunch of bone on bone indicating that he’s probably broken it. They fight for what feels like hours as I scream and scream for them to stop.

  There are tears in my eyes by the time Dante and Vince manage to pull Romeo back, while airport security comes to grab Logan.

  “Logan, how could you!” I faintly hear myself shouting as he tries to lunge forward. “I never want to see your face again! Don’t you dare come near me until you accept that I’m with Romeo, for good!”

  The fight couldn’t have lasted for more than a few seconds, really, but the damage was done. Logan is dragged away with a security team that saw him initiating the fight.

  Tears spill out of my eyes as I looked up to see Romeo’s bruised jaw—and all around us camera phones clicked and snapped pictures for tomorrow’s headline.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Sure enough, the tabloids run the story of the fight the never next morning. I couldn’t help but ask after my brother, though I refused to see him, before we left the airport—he suffered a broken nose and several fractured fingers while Romeo escaped with no more than a bruise sustained from that cheap shot Logan took at him without warning. I left as soon as I made sure Logan was getting proper medical attention—he was an asshole, a terrible human being, but he was still my brother.

  “I hate that fucking guy,” Romeo grumbles as I meet him backstage the afternoon before his next show to nurse his bruise, pressing an ice pack lightly to it like I had been doing all day and night. “I’m sorry, but I hate that fucking guy.”

  I laugh, wiping at the corners of my eyes as the sound comes out a bit watery. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. God, I—I still can’t believe he hit you. I am so sorry.”

  Romeo shakes his head and pushes my hand holding the icepack down as he can tug me forward and kiss me on the lips. “Nothing you could’ve done to stop it.”

  I fidget, wanting that to be true. I couldn’t help but think that I could have stopped it. Maybe I should have told Logan off ages ago. Maybe I should have just let go of Romeo’s hand at the airport. Hell, maybe I shouldn’t even be near Romeo—I seemed toxic, after all, getting him into fights and media scandals and concert failures.

  “—and concert failures!” someone rants on.

  I blink, startled out of my reverie. My eyes widen in surprise when I see Santiago standing right behind me, shouting something straight into my ear.

  Fights.

  Media scandals.

  Concert failures.

  All these were things listed by Santiago as why Romeo shouldn’t be gallivanting about with some girl. I look between the two men as Santiago continues to lecture us both while Romeo rolls his eyes in disinterest.

  “Look,” Santiago says, finally calming. “You do not love Louise—I understand. But you cannot continue like this, not with her.”

  I flinch. Santiago is talking about me like I’m not even there, but—I suppose that’s only fair. I did get Romeo into a fight, after all.

  “She did get you into a fight, after all,” Santiago says. “That is unacceptable.”

  I’m about to agree when I suddenly truly hear the words. I got Romeo into a fight? No—there was only one person to blame, and it wasn’t me or Romeo. I stand suddenly, dropping the ice pack that had been freezing my hand.

  “Sir,” I say with a boldness that comes out of absolutely nowhere. I almost swallow my own tongue when Santiago turns to me, still frowning. It’s only Romeo’s presence behind me, radiating warmth, that urges me to continue.

  I clear my throat. “Sir, I can’t allow you to blame me for the fight. I can’t allow you to blame Romeo for the fight. It was my brother who provoked him—he doesn’t approve. The authorities at the airport will be able to confirm this for you.”

  Santiago splutters a bit, apparently not expecting such a strong, defiant answer from me. He regards me for a moment in the same way he did the first time we met, as though he had some sort of infinite wisdom that he was judging me with.

  Ultimately, he sighs and nods.

  “She is quite the girl, Romeo,” he says.

  I clear my throat once more. “Excuse me, but I’m right here.”

  Santiago looks almost amused this time as he nods in my direction. “Yes. Yes, I suppose you are. Sit, please.”

  It doesn’t sound like an order—for once, I don’t think I would have obeyed if it was one. Instead, it comes out sounding like an invitation, so I take my seat while he stoops down to pick up the ice pack I dropped, pressing it into my hands again.

  “You are a good girl,” he says to me in a tone that once again reminds me of my father. “You treat this boy right. Perhaps I do not approve of everything that is going on here, but—you are happy?”

  I nod, unable to contain a small smile as I glance back at Romeo.

  “And he is happy,” Santiago says with a great deal of certainty. He straightens once more and tips his head in a shallow bow to the both of us. “I will deal with the media. You children behave, now.”

  And with that and a flourish, he’s gone. I blink back at Romeo, wondering if we’re still in trouble, but he’s cracked a grin and seems truly happy just as Santiago said.

  “Don’t worry about that old man,” Romeo says as he reaches out, tugging me into his lap abruptly. “He complains, but he’s paid more than enough to take care of a few media scandals.”

  I laugh, more in surprise than anything, as I settle on the couch next to Romeo, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. “So that was his stamp of approval, then?”

  Romeo nods, his eyes softening. “I’d say so—I’m glad for it, too. He may not be my father-in-law for much longer, but he’ll always be a father to me. Perhaps even more than he is to Louise. He’s a hard ass, don’t get me wrong, but he knows what he’s doing.”

  I nod, too, and drop my head to Romeo’s shoulder. “Did I ever tell you that you have my father’s blessing, too?”

  “Well, then we’re just meant to be,” he says, only half-teasingly as he noses at my jaw. “You know, you also never told me about this badass side of you. Is it just my imagination or is it growing?”

  I laugh, flushing red in the cheeks as I bury my face against the crook of his neck. “Oh, God. I’m so embarrassed—I never speak against my elders.”

  “Maybe you should, more often,” Romeo says before he presses a kiss to my temple. “Like I said, I love new Erin—so long as my tender, sweet, submissive Erin stays the same.”

  I smile and loosen my grip on him, sliding off of the couch and down to the floor at his feet. I settle my head down on his knees, looking up at him with something that was unmistakably love in my eyes as he strokes my hair.

  “That Erin will always be yours,” I say. “Forever.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Romeo has to take off for rehearsal before his show. He leaves me reluctantly with promises of later. I spend some time backstage getting to know the roadies that travel with the band. A few of them whisper behind my back when they think I c
an’t hear, and my whole body fills with warmth when I do hear them saying, “Christ, that dame’s a class act. She’s an angel next to that Valdez woman.”

  Although I didn’t truly delight in hearing others trash talk Louise, I couldn’t help but beam with pride knowing that they liked me. I was feeling more and more at home in this place, on this tour. Of course I would have to go back to school eventually, but it was nice knowing that there would always be a family here that I could visit.

  I’ve managed to convince the guys backstage to let me help distribute some water among the crew members since they refused to let me move any heavy furniture when the girls suddenly appear, rushing in with tight hugs for me.

  “Oof!” I laugh, hugging them back as tightly as possible. “Guys—I can’t believe you’re here! I mean, I can believe it, obviously—.”

  “You’re rambling, babe,” April says.

  I roll my eyes, miming the motion of zipping my mouth shut.

  “We had to give our statements to the police,” Maddie says quietly. “Logan’s in the hospital now, but they’re taking him in on assault as soon as he’s patched up—then we couldn’t get backstage because—.”

  “—somebody acts like a crazed fangirl,” Juliet finishes helpfully.

  Maddie blushes. “I do not!”

  “I’m not even going to bother arguing that one,” April says under her breath before wrapping an arm around my shoulders to steer me out towards the stadium. “Dante got us in. Now we’re breaking you out. Front row seats, center stage? Sound familiar?”

  I laugh and link my arm through Juliet’s, who immediately takes Maddie’s hand. We all head out to our seats together, buzzing with excitement as though it was our very first night here. I knew that we’d done this several times already, but something about this night felt different—perhaps I simply needed to hear it from someone to truly believe it.

  I was happy.

  Romeo was happy.

  We were happy together.