“She’s right here,” she said, raising her hand, looking annoyed that I was talking about her like she didn’t have a say. “And Jimmy doesn’t have to know anything. Not that I ever saw a rule against interpersonal dating when I signed my contract, but if no one tells him, there’s nothing to worry about. Which, then, begs the question whether you’re going to tell him or not. Because, and maybe I’m just biased, but I get the impression that you’re a bit of a snitch.”

“I just think this is a terrible idea, for you guys to work together and—”

“Fuck each other?” I interrupted. “You can say it. I’m sorry you miss out on the verb all the time. Must be hard having a fire crotch.”

He opened his mouth to say something, and I knew what too, but Perry was quick and leaned toward him. “My foot is aimed at that same shin, so you better watch it.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, running his oversized hand through the red sea on his head. “When did the two of you become so volatile?”

“When you started insinuating shit and threatening to tell Jimmy that Perry and I are together. When did you start caring so much about what we do?”

“When I had to work with you.”

I narrowed my gaze at him. There was something hesitant in his eyes, the twitch of his brows. There was something else but I wouldn’t get at it tonight.

“Anyway,” I went on. “So what is the deal with Rose? You banged her and then what? Banged someone else? She banged someone else? She was your one and only unrequited love?”

His eyes darkened over that last part and I admit I felt a little bad. It was enough to shut me up.

He licked his lips. “We dated and we broke up. It didn’t end well.”

“Who broke up with who?” Perry asked.

“Does it matter? What’s done is done.”

I felt like asking the serious question. “Are you still in love with her?”

He gave me a wry look. “What do you think? No. I got over that shit a long time ago. I had to. It’s just a bit weird to be back here and back with her. She’s changed, too.”

The waitress brought over our food and I doused my crispy oysters with Louisiana hot sauce before asking, “How so?”

“She’s harder. That’s all.”

“So she wasn’t always the type to want to blow my head off with a shotgun?”

He smiled, close-lipped. “I reckon not.” His smile faded and he paid attention to his food. “But I guess I’ve changed too.”

“Well you’ve obviously upped your jackass levels.”

“Yeah. I guess this is just what people call the human experience,” he said before shoving a large shrimp po-boy in his mouth. He took a huge bite and sighed happily. “Now this tastes like home.”

But with cryptic comments like that, sometimes I had to wonder where exactly Maximus’s home really was.

***

By the time the three of us returned to the bed and breakfast, I was three sheets to the wind. Not stumbly drunk, but horny, loud, enthusiastic and hyper drunk. I kept wanting to drag Maximus and Perry into bar after bar in secret hopes of climbing on stage and taking over—it seemed like every single bar in the French Quarter had live music of the highest quality. But Perry was onto my scheme and the two of them basically forced me back to my room.

We quickly said goodbye to Maximus and I was eager to attack the living shit out of Perry behind closed doors. All that urge for music and no release meant I had extra energy in my blood, my dick hard as a rock and ready to go.

I also had my plan. Which was an incredibly immature plan, but a plan. And even though part of me felt for Maximus at times, his sob story over Rose wasn’t enough to eradicate that he slept with Perry when she was possessed, manhandled his way on to our show, and had some major problem with Perry and I screwing each other’s brains out.

So I decided to emphasize that very point. The walls between our rooms were paper thin and I was about to take Perry to whole new levels of orgasm. I was going to fuck her like she’d never been fucked before, and I was going to make sure Maximus could hear every single one of her moans.

I quickly locked the door behind me and started pulling off my clothes.

Perry smiled, blushing. “Dex, at least let me close the curtains.”

I nodded at them. “Close them then. Then get back here and start stripping for me.”

She frowned good-naturedly. “You’re certainly bossy tonight.”

“I’m a lot of things tonight,” I said. I walked over to my carry-on and peered inside. Yup. The vibrator was still there. I knew Perry was fairly inexperienced with sex so there was a good chance she’d never used one with anyone other than herself, and even on her own I couldn’t be sure.

She walked over to me and I told her to take it all off.

“Slowly,” I added.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down? We could re-enact the scene from True Lies.”

“Oh, baby, what we’re about to do will never be in any James Cameron film.”

She looked a bit nervous at that, so I walked toward her and helped pull her shirt over her head. “Do you want me to help you?”

“I think I got it,” she said. I stepped back a foot, her breasts still in groping distance, and watched as she shimmied out of her jeans.

“Don’t you think we should turn off the lights?” she asked, that strain of insecurity breaking across her brow.

I steadied my gaze at her, making sure she felt the heat coming off of it. “I want to see every single part of you. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Show me.”

She reached behind and undid her bra, and my erection twitched. I’d never felt so thick and so hard before. Even she was impressed, and I’d been impressing her a lot lately.

She slipped off her underwear next and tossed it across the room with a flick of her foot.

I grinned. “Perfect. Now get on the bed, all fours, facing the wall.”

She hesitated but I grabbed her around the waist, pressing her full breasts against my chest, my cock a pylon of steel against her. I kissed her hard, my tongue twisting and snaking with hers, my lips engulfing her wet ones. Then I pulled back, feeling dizzy with lust, and ordered her to get on the bed again.

She did as she was told. I added in that she had to keep facing the wall, no peeking. To her credit, she complied as I fished the vibrator out of the bag. I’d bought it just the other day, figuring she might have fantasies that she’d never learned to express. Petty as I was, it was a dildo not much bigger than my own cock. I didn’t want her to start comparing mine to her imaginary boyfriend’s.

I stood behind her, feeling the weight of the device in my hands, wondering if she was going to love this or if she was going to freak out. Only one way to find out.

“Spread your legs,” I commanded.

She did as I asked. Such a lovely view.

I lay down on my back and slid up under her, tool in hand like a vag mechanic. The tips of her breasts brushed against my face and I teased her nipples with my tongue. She moaned in response, back arching, wanting more. I was going to give her more.

I moved back down and put one arm around her waist, pushing at her lower back until her pussy was in my face. Then I angled the vibrator around, turning it on to a low buzz, and gently pressed it into her opening while I slowly teased her cleft with my tongue.

She froze. “What the hell is that?”

I removed my mouth from her sweetness. “Nothing you need to worry about. I packed a friend along on our trip.”

“It’s new, right?” she asked in terror.

I almost laughed. “Yes, it’s new. Now unless you’re going to tell me how badly you need my cock, I think you oughta keep your mouth shut. Moaning and groaning is encouraged though.”

I put my lips back on her wet ones and started stroking her clit with my tongue in slow, delicious swirls. I pushed the vibrator further into her, wishing it was my own dick she was squeezing and ignoring my growing blue balls. This was about her. This was about rocking her world. This was about rubbing it in. Literally and figuratively.

It didn’t take long before it sounded like Perry was trying out for Jenna Jameson’s American Idol. I pushed her to the brink, thrusting in the vibrator while sucking her swollen clit at just the right moment. She cried out—loud as hell—swearing, yelling my name, moaning, spasming in my mouth and shaking from head to toe. I quickly slid out from under her, using the moment as fuel, and pressed her flat to the bed. It only took a few quick jerks from my hand before I was joining her in our vocal Olympics, coming in hot spurts all over her back. Fuck yes.

I collapsed on top of her, her ass the nicest cushion, and put my lips to her ear.

“What did you think of that?”

She only whimpered in response, her face down in the bedspread.

“I suppose we were a bit too loud. Pity the walls are so thin,” I remarked, oh so casually.

She finally turned her head, her cheek down and smiling. “I can’t believe you did that on purpose.”

“What?” I asked innocently.

“You made me come so hard I was screaming.”

“Hey, pipe down, people are trying to sleep,” I said, shushing her.

She tried to look annoyed but her face looked far too flushed and blissful. She felt as high as I did. “You wanted him to hear.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t have gotten you off like that?” I whispered. “Because if that’s the case, I’ll never give you an orgasm like that again.”

She grinned lazily. “Don’t threaten me.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t want him to hear.”

“How long are you guys going to be involved in this pissing contest?”

“Until I’m certain I can piss the furthest.”

She eyed me. “Dex, you’re unbeatable. Seriously. Let it go.”

I returned her steady gaze. “Perry, I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you. I’m not going to stop showing you off or rubbing it in to everyone I know anytime soon. Especially not to him and especially after tonight. You’re mine. And you’re mine alone. From now until the end of time.”

A softness came over her eyes, and I hoped it wasn’t pity. I cleared my throat and got off of her, wanting to downplay the heaviness of my words.

“I’ll get some towels to clean you,” I told her quickly, ducking into the bathroom to grab some. I came back to the bed and sat beside her, gently dabbing at her lower back until she was clean. “All done.”

I tossed the towels aside and she rolled over on her back, breasts splayed, her hair coiled around her like black silk. She’d never stop taking my damn breath away.

She crawled under the sheets and I joined her, flicking off the light until it was just us in the dark, the taste of her still on my lips.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Once again we woke up hung over. Actually, I woke up before Perry, just as the sun was beginning to rise off the gingerbread roofs around us. Damn alcohol never let me sleep in.

I rolled out of bed and quickly slipped on my clothes, wanting to get out to a nearby café and bring back something greasy for the both of us. There was one across the street that did pulled pork egg benedicts, and I was just ordering two of those, plus two giant to-go cups of Bloody Marys (I loved this town), when someone tapped me on the shoulder.