Hearts Collide Page 8

It was going to be a lot of fun.

  Once she beat him down a bit, and he apologized for ditching her, she would reveal her good news.

  Forest had spent the last few days working non-stop to modify one of his VR gloves. He’d even pushed off designing the special foot sensors, much to Bash’s irritation. Noodles didn’t seem to care, but the keyboardist let most things roll off his back. It was hard to get Noodles concerned about much of anything.

  With Bent due back any moment, Piper let herself into his rooms with the key Forest had given her and perched at the edge of Bent’s couch with the best view of the door. Leaning forward, she cocked her head and listened for the tread of his steps.

  There was no way to know if he would head to his rooms first. He could have easily gone to the kitchens, the recording studio, or hung out in any of the many common areas. A trip to the recording studio was unlikely. Given his near aversion with anything to do with playing guitar, she wasn’t worried about losing him to a jam session. If he ran into Forest, that might get more complicated, but Forest wouldn’t show Bent what they’d been working on without her.

  A yawn escaped her and she stretched out her tired muscles, leaning back into the overstuffed leather sofa. She had opened the glass doors leading out to the deck, and the gentle calls of the seabirds mixed with the distant roar of the surf to form a lulling melody. She would miss the incredible tranquility of Insanity once her job was done, but until then she would soak up the California sun, allow the pounding surf to soothe her frazzled nerves, and let her hopes and dreams take flight on the ever-present breezes blowing off the ocean. She yawned again and allowed her eyes to drift closed.

  A loud bang had her jerking awake. Bent held open the door and ushered in a barely dressed blonde into the room.

  “What the fuck you doing here?” His growl set her gut churning.

  The woman’s brows arched up as she gave Piper a hard once-over. “This your sister?” Her screechy voice said the woman knew damn well that wasn’t the truth.

  “Naw,” Bent nuzzled the woman’s neck, but his gaze never once left Piper, “she’s just the hired help.”

  Piper unfolded her legs and took to her feet. “You’re a piece of work.”

  The woman had the audacity to drag her ruby red fingernails across Bent’s chest. There was no need to claim him. Piper had zero interest in Bent.

  “Hey, nobody asked you to stick around.” His attention bounced around the room, casting for something. Whatever that was, he didn’t seem to find it and the heavy weight of his gaze settled back on Piper.

  She rolled her shoulders back and met his hard expression with a harsher one of her own.

  “You’ve missed three days of therapy. You’re not—”

  “I don’t give a fuck about therapy. I. Don’t. Need. You. I don’t want you. And as far as I’m concerned, your ass is booted.”

  The woman gave Piper a victorious stare.

  “I don’t think you understand.” She pulled out her cellphone and tapped the screen.

  “I understand just fine, and if you think calling Forest is going to change that, you’ve got one hell of a surprise coming. I’m done. Just came to gather a few things, then I’m punching out.”

  “Punching out? What the hell does that mean?”

  “Yeah, wrap your pixie brain around that one, Piper. I’m done and soon to be gone.”

  She ignored the female cling wrap and approached Bent. “You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?”

  “You’ve got a dirty mouth, pixie. You might want to fix that before I do.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Girls with filthy mouths get them cleaned out with soap.”

  “Or, stuffed with dick.” The woman giggled and dragged her hand down Bent’s waistline and didn’t stop until she cupped his groin.

  Bent’s eyes rolled with irritation, but he didn’t remove the woman’s hand. He let her fondle him with Piper standing right there.

  “If you think for a second I’d let you—” Piper rolled her shoulders back and leveled her chin.

  “Hey, it’s either that or bend you over my knee and redden that ass.” He held her with a penetrating gaze, and she knew exactly what he was doing. It wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t capable of running her off with his ass-holery.

  “I’ve got a filthy mouth.” The unnamed bitch had her hand on Bent’s crotch and stroked his growing erection.

  Bent yanked her hand free and pushed her through the doorway. Her squeak of surprise was followed by a giggle.

  “If you think that kind of thing scares me off, then you don’t know shit.” Piper shouldered past him and out into the hall. “Enjoy your fuck-fest, but don’t think for a minute this changes anything.”

  “Or what? You going to bring big bad Forest over to yell at me?”

  She spun on her heels, fingers curled into fists. “You’re a coward, Bentley Hawthorne…a weak-willed scaredy-cat coward. I’ve known five-year-olds with more courage than you.”

  His eyes rounded with her use of his full name, but he didn’t react like he had down on the beach. He stalked toward her instead with a look full of menace.

  “Don’t call me that,” he warned. “Or, maybe I hadn’t been clear earlier?”

  Oh, he’d been plenty clear. She simply didn’t care anymore.

  “You’re a mother-fucking ass-wipe and dickhead excuse of a man.” She jerked her chin in the direction of the dumb blonde. “Enjoy your evening, but mark my words, I’ll see you tomorrow. Therapy starts promptly at nine am.”

  The muscles of his shoulders bunched and his fingers flexed. His breathing deepened and his eyes smoldered in anger.

  “Don’t push me, pixie.”

  “Or what?” she taunted. “You’re going to run again? What are you so afraid of?”

  “I didn’t run. I left.”

  “Lying sack of shit. You came back from three days of running. You’re too damn scared to put in the work needed, because you’re terrified you might just fail. If you act like a loser—”

  One moment he was standing in the doorway. In the next beat of her heart, he had her pinned against the wall.

  She sucked in a deep breath and met the fierceness of his expression. Anger seemed to be the only thing she could draw out of him. Why not use it?

  There was only one problem.

  There was too much of him. Too many powerful muscles flexing. Too much anger in his eyes. Too much male power descending upon her. His breaths heaved in and out. Slow and measured, they were in stark contrast to her staccato gasps. His hand flexed around her throat, not the powerful hand, but the smaller, weaker one. His fingers dug into the tender tissues of her throat and held her against the wall.

  “Don’t ever call me a loser, Piper.” His warning came in a low, thunderous growl.

  “Then prove me wrong.” Her words croaked out, lacking any confidence. She clutched at his wrist, trying to loosen his hold.

  He leaned forward and tipped his head down until his nose practically touched the tip of hers. She could barely focus on his eyes, but what she saw stole what remained of her breath. Her lungs seized and her heart fluttered. The bottom dropped out of her world, or maybe it was the lack of oxygen which made the world spin.

  “I have nothing to prove to you, pixie.”

  She clawed at his wrist, then dug at his fingers.

  Not as strong as his other hand, she pried loose his pinky finger and took in a gulp of air. Digging at his ring finger she got that one free too.

  Her heart rattled beneath her breastbone. But not out of fear. The electrical charge racing up and down her nerves had nothing to do with being afraid of Bent. His natural musk flooded her nostrils, woodsy and dark it made her swoon. His determined gaze weakened her knees. His breath brought the tease of something dark and delicious. Her responses were exactly the opposite of what they should be, and incredibly dangerous because of what that meant.

  She trembled and it had no
thing to do with fear, and everything to do with something she refused to accept. In an odd turn of events, she didn’t surrender to the stimulus wrapped around her throat.

  Her legs wobbled, but they didn’t buckle. He wasn’t actually closing off her airway, but he was asserting control. The firmness of his grip made it impossible to ignore his power, or his ability to cause real harm, but he wasn’t choking her. He held back. Perhaps it was his restraint which short-circuited her learned response. She wasn’t afraid.

  She peeled off his middle finger, overcoming the weakness of his grip with her much smaller muscles.

  “Prove you’re not afraid.” She clawed at his index finger. “Prove you’re not terrified that I might actually be right.” She ripped his hand free of her neck and gulped in air.

  He slammed his good hand around her windpipe. Much stronger, this one did cut off her air. She gave a squeak of alarm and her eyes popped wide. His furious gaze drilled into her, flayed her from the inside out, and ripped through her defenses.

  Her conditioned response flared. Her arms dropped to her sides, compliant and accepting of whatever came next. The strength of her legs fled and her body sagged. Her gaze slipped and tumbled, full of capitulation. She watched her body’s surrender from the outside, incapable of controlling what came next.

  As her body submitted to Bent’s power, his lips crashed against hers. The taste of him flooded her senses and woke something up. The sweep of his tongue had her parting her lips and inviting him in. He lashed at her mouth, tasting the seam of her lips before plunging deep inside. He kissed her with the combustion of his rage and she surrendered to the force of his desire.

  “Are we doing a threesome?” The squeaky female had returned, likely wondering what had happened to Bent and the cock she eagerly wished to suck. “With her?”

  Bent’s body stilled. His lips hovered over Piper’s. The heat of his body filled what little remained of the empty space between them. The rigidness of his arousal poked at her belly, but all she saw was the sudden widening of his eyes. He didn’t move back, but his grip eased.

  “Don’t ever test me again, pixie. That isn’t a fight you’re equipped to win.”

  “You’re wrong.” She had every intention of winning, because her victory would be his as well. Why couldn’t he understand her job was to help him heal? She wasn’t the enemy.

  His fingers tightened around her throat and his lips crashed against hers once again. She expected him to retreat, not begin another assault. She clutched at his wrist and tried to pry away his fingers, but found herself completely at his mercy. He forced his way inside her mouth where he tested the limits of her resolve. Rich and dark, she needed more, and he certainly had a talented tongue.

  Something shifted between them, hands forcing their way between their bodies.

  “I can’t wait to taste your cock, rock star.” The blonde’s actions had Bent’s body turning rigid.

  It was exactly the distraction Piper needed to get free. Ignoring the pawing of the woman, she shoved the woman back. The bitch wobbled on her spiked heels and then fell on her ass. Piper gripped Bent’s powerful shoulders, jerked her left knee up hard, and forced it into his groin.

  His bellow shook the walls and he doubled over. Piper took the moment of surprise, and his incapacitation, to slip out from under him.

  “What the ever-loving fuck, Piper!”

  She backed away. Her entire body buzzed from the intensity of his kiss. She wanted more, but terror gripped her mind. Her soul ached for the fierce desire revealed in his eyes. The potency of his need swirled in the air between them, unfulfilled, unspent, and building toward an inevitability she couldn’t deny.

  The blonde scooted back, a look of disgust etched on her plastic face.

  Bent grabbed at his crotch. One hand pressed firmly against the wall while his chest heaved with pinched breath. He turned his head toward her, and behind the pain in his eyes he issued a promise. One which filled her with dread.

  She took another step back, and then another.

  “Who’s running now Piper Raines?” The deep rumble of his voice was layered with pain. He forced himself to an erect posture and turned toward her.

  When he took a step, Piper ran.

  Nuts

  Bent

  All the air had been sucked out of Bent’s lungs. An intense, mind-numbing ache spread from his groin to his stomach. The urge to simultaneously puke and defecate warred within him, but he was in too much pain to decide which to do first. Piper had kicked his nuts into next week. The woman had power in her tiny legs, enough to bring him to tears. A single step and he wanted it all to end.

  A scrabbling sound behind him had him turning his attention to the blonde. She was nothing more than one in a hundred nameless fucks, good for only one thing.

  That was a problem.

  He no longer cared to fuck whatever her name was. She stared up at him, an expression of disgust morphing from one moment to the next. With Piper’s departure, greedy and unadulterated lust filled her face.

  “Ah, baby, let me take care of that.” She shifted to her knees and came at him, one hand lifting to paw at his dick again. “We don’t need that bitch to have some fun.”

  The thought of the blonde touching him made his skin crawl. An odd sensation considering he’d let her blow him not less than an hour ago as he had maneuvered the Porsche through the hairpin turns lining the coastline. Now, however, the idea of her mouth wrapped around his dick shriveled what remained of his balls. His erection fled, and he didn’t think he’d be getting it up anytime soon. Not until he iced the throbbing mess Piper had left behind.

  He stepped past the girl.

  “Party’s over.”

  “What?” A look of surprise filled her face, cracking her thick makeup.

  He reached into his pocket and tossed two one-hundred dollar bills at her feet.

  “Find one of the staff. They’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  “But,” she whined, “we were going to party. You promised.”

  Her blathering had him lifting his shoulders to his ears. A shiver worked it’s way down his spine. The thought of her touching him made his entire body want to cringe and pucker. Compared to the perfection of Piper’s mouth, the bitch felt unclean.

  “I said the party is over.” He barked the words, feeling only the tiniest bit of guilt when she shied back from his bellow. He could still taste the wonder that was Piper on his lips, and he wanted more.

  The blonde would find her way home. Incredibly resourceful, groupies always seemed to manage the complexities of transportation fine. She’d either suck or fuck her way home. Either way, the blonde was no longer his concern.

  The fiery redhead on the other hand was a whole other matter. What the hell had he been thinking assaulting Piper like that? Kissing her like that? Despite the ache in his balls, his dick twitched thinking about another kiss.

  He ran his hand through the mop of his wavy hair. He regretted his actions, even while wanting to chase after Piper to kiss her again.

  Shit!

  He’d assaulted her. No way to excuse what had happened. Maybe this would finally be the last straw? The one thing that Forest would decide had crossed the line? He could only hope, and pray Forest was able to pay whatever price Piper’s silence brought. He pulled out his phone and composed a text.

  BENT: I kissed Piper.

  FOREST: WTF?

  BENT: She’s probably coming to tell you now.

  FOREST: LOL Lover Boy, what took U so long?

  BENT: Not funny. I assaulted her.

  FOREST: WTF!!!

  BENT: Take care of it.

  FOREST: Like fuck!!!

  BENT: UR the manager. TAKE CARE OF IT!

  FOREST: UR an ass. Piper’s here.

  BENT: Good! Get rid of her.

  And good riddance.

  After weeks of trying to get rid of Piper, an emptiness slammed into him now that she would finally be gone. He stagge
red under the weight of that realization. No more snarky comments. No more trading insults back and forth. No more of her insistence that he comply with her silly physical therapy exercises. No more staring into her impossibly gray-green eyes. Or counting the freckles over the bridge of her nose. Or loving the way her short hair curled at her ears and stuck out in every direction. No more of her lilting laughter that grated on his nerves.

  A loud banging sounded on his door, pulling him from his thoughts.

  “Go away!” He didn’t want to speak with Forest.

  Wait, Piper is with Forest!

  He sure as shit didn’t want to see her. He couldn’t face her after what he’d done. Choking was a trigger for her, and he’d known that. He’d known it and used it against her. To kiss her. To finally taste what he’d only dreamt about. He deserved to roast in the deepest hell for abusing that power.

  “Open the damn door.” Ash’s multi-toned voice reverberated from behind the thick wood.

  Angel Fire’s front man drew women like flies with the power of his voice. Unfortunately for the groupies, Ash had found his one and only. Skye Summers had become Ash’s accidental bride nearly a year ago. The wedding wasn’t such an accident for Ash. He’d known Skye was his soulmate and wanted to make certain she never left. Their love had been destined by the fates, and now they were expecting a kid.

  Bent pulled his palm down his face. How would he explain to Skye what he’d done?

  The doorknob jiggled, but Bent had slammed the lock in place. It wasn’t opening without a key.

  “I said go away.”

  “And I say open the fuck up!” That wasn’t Ash. That snarky voice belonged to Bash.

  What the fuck were both Ash and Bash doing at his door?

  The unwritten rule at Insanity stated private spaces were to remain private.

  He didn’t go knocking on their doors and they didn’t knock on his. If he wanted company, or if the band needed to meet, then they did that in the common areas.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  “Open the fuck up, twat-face!” That voice belonged to Spike, lead guitarist of the band.