There were dozens of titles on the screen that were close matches to what I'd typed in, but a still shot of Kellan's face was staring at me on the very top of the list. "No, not really . . . but it's your first official video. I feel like we should watch it. Maybe it won't be so bad if we do it together?"
Kellan nodded and grabbed my hand. He tenderly kissed my wedding ring, an apology already on his face. I reached up to stroke his cheek, then turned back to the laptop. It felt hotter as it rested on my legs, like it was slowly burning a hole through the thin sheet covering me.
After I clicked on the link for the video, a short ad for perfume started playing. I read some of the comments below the video while I waited. "Kellan and Sienna are so hot together!" "OMG, I love these two!" "They need to be together! Are they getting married?" "I heard they already were!" "OMG, Kell-Sex forever!"
I frowned. Kell-Sex? The fans had already combined their names. Fabulous. And the moniker they'd given them was downright God-awful. Couldn't they think of something a little more . . . poetic?
The video started playing, and I clenched Kellan's hand. He didn't complain about how tightly I was gripping him. I could feel his eyes on me as I watched him and Sienna rolling around in a bed together. I'll admit, it was painful to watch at first, but after a while, I got sucked into the beauty and artistry of the video and I almost forgot that the man cringing in ecstasy was my husband. By the time the video ended, I saw what the fans were attracted to-Kellan and Sienna sizzled on screen.
Kellan cleared his throat, and I twisted to look at him. He was searching my face for any clue of what I was thinking. Giving honesty a shot, I told him before he could even ask. "The two of you look amazing together. I can see why the fans are so in love with the idea." Kellan started shaking his head, and I cupped his cheek to stop him. "Were you really thinking about me throughout that entire thing?"
He nodded, his face intense. "It was the only way I could get through it."
My heart swelled as we stared at each other. He really did only have eyes for me. Pushing aside what the world wanted for him, I focused solely on what he wanted, what I wanted. Feeling languid and content, I asked him, "Kellan Kyle, will you marry me?"
Moving the computer off of my lap, he gave me a teasing smile as he climbed on top of me. "I thought you'd never ask," he murmured, lowering his lips to my neck.
"Is that a yes?" I asked, giggling.
He ground his h*ps into mine as he brought his lips to my ear. "With you, it's always yes."
As he ran his lips down my skin, I thought about my mother . . . which was sort of a strange thought to have at the moment. But she'd called me that morning asking about wedding invitations; she desperately wanted to get some ordered. She'd tried to hide it over the phone, but I'd heard the uncertainty in her voice as she talked about my future. She wasn't sure if the wedding was still on. She watched TV. She noticed the magazines at the store. She heard the gossip just as much as I did, and I'm sure she had heard all about how hot and sweaty Kellan and Sienna were getting. If I were her, I'd wonder if Kellan and I were still together too. I'd reassured her that we were still getting married, but I hadn't given her a firm date.
Before Kellan's lips found their way to my chest, I pushed him back. He looked up at me, eyes blazing with desire. I had to swallow twice before I could remember what I'd wanted to ask him. "How long is the break in the tour schedule for Christmas?"
Kellan looked over my shoulder, thinking. "Ah, I'm not sure. Four or five days, maybe a week?" He looked back at me, a small smile on his face. "Why?"
Shrugging, I looped my arms around his neck. "Want to go to a wedding with me in Ohio?"
Rolling to my side, Kellan sat up on his elbow. "Anyone I know getting married?" he asked, amusement in his voice.
Smiling, I shrugged again. "Just some annoying wishy-washy girl that half the world hates."
Kellan raised a brow, then lowered his lips to mine. "They don't hate you." He chuckled against my lips. "They don't even know about you. And you're not annoying or wishy-washy. At least, not anymore."
He laughed and I smacked his shoulder. Jerk. Then I frowned. He was right about the "Kell-Sex forever" fans not knowing about me. And it was probably a good thing that they didn't. If they did . . . they would certainly hate me. Kellan kissed the corners of my mouth, erasing the worry lines. "I would love to marry you in December . . . in Ohio . . . in front of your entire family." Pulling back, he gave me a wide grin. "In front of my family."
I ran my hand up his chest, fingering his tattoo. "Can you find out the exact dates of the break? So I can tell my mom?"
He nodded and turned away from me, like he was going to do it right this second. I stopped him by pulling his shoulder back to me. His eyes flashed to mine as I placed a light kiss over his heart. "Could you do it a little later though?" I peeked up at him from under my eyelashes. "I'd like to have sex with you first," I matter-of-factly stated. Pride leaked into my smile; I'd asked him for sex unsolicited, and I hadn't even stumbled over the words.
Kellan's mouth opened in mock surprise. "Why, Mrs. Kyle, I am shocked at your brazenness." Then he beamed at me like I was his star student. His sexual protegee. His sextegee. His lip curved up into a wicked grin. "I'm also incredibly turned on."
He started to lean over me, but I pushed him to his back. Kellan laughed as I straddled him, but only for a minute; the sounds that came from him after that were anything but amused.
Chapter 14: Putting on a Show
It seemed like we went from leaving Seattle to hopping on a tour bus with Avoiding Redemption in a blink of an eye. The transition happened so fast, that I had a horrid feeling that I was forgetting something as we stepped onto the bus that would be our home for the next several months. I was pretty sure I wasn't forgetting anything-I had my clothes, my toothbrush, my laptop, my notes, and my rock star husband-what else could I possibly need, besides some privacy? All of the bands were sharing two busses this tour, so there was going to be a lot of people around us; privacy would be hard to come by in the coming weeks.
The first venue was the House of Blues on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. I thought it was the perfect place for the boys to kick off their tour. It was well-known, iconic, yet still intimate; everyone in the audience would have a great view. Fans were everywhere I turned backstage, screaming and hollering, giddy over all of the rock stars in their midst. It was a little chaotic, which only added to the anticipation in the air.
Kellan and Justin were signing autographs with some of the other musicians while I wandered the area. It was fun to see everyone in D-Bags shirts. On the tour before this, Kellan had been a last-minute addition and still relatively unknown. He wasn't anymore. I was positive that everyone here had heard their single with Sienna; most of them had probably picked up the album too. This time around, people experiencing Kellan on stage wouldn't be a happy accident. No, a lot of these fans, the majority of them from what I could tell, were here specifically for the D-Bags. It made this moment feel so much bigger and so much more exciting. Even though Justin was headlining this tour, it was definitely Kellan's show.
Besides the D-Bags and Avoiding Redemption, there were three other bands on the tour. The first one started off the show and the music reverberated through the walls. The crowd loitering backstage didn't lessen any now that the concert was in progress. If anything, it ramped the party up a notch-some people in the center of the room even started dancing as they lifted their drinks in the air.
While I watched Kellan from across the room, smiling and talking to a fan in bright red pigtails, I listened to the people around me. Most of them were talking about Kellan's looks. "Holy crap, he's hot! How the hell does he look even better in person?" "Fuck, look at that body. You can tell he's cut . . . but we should go rip off his shirt, just to be sure. Research, you know."
I snorted into my drink after hearing that line, and subtly turned away from the girl who had said it. He was cut, but hell if I was going to let her strip him. Her "research" would just have to be imaginary. Walking away from the girl who thoroughly wanted to examine my husband, I started picking up conversations that I found a lot less amusing. "He's dating Sienna, right?" "I don't know, I heard he said he wasn't in an interview." "They always say that, it just means they don't want to talk about it." "They're such a hot couple, have you seen the video?" "So jealous, but they're perfect together!"
I heard that sentiment repeated about three dozen times as I worked my way over to Kellan. When I finally got to him, I was already sick of Sienna . . . and she wasn't even here. Grinning at me, Kellan leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Thanks," he muttered in my ear as he stole my beer from my fingers.
I glared at him as I watched him tip it back. "Just so you know, I totally backwashed."
Kellan paused mid-gulp, then shrugged. Smiling wide once he was finished, he husked, "That's all right . . . I like your fluids."
Justin was staring at us with his nose crinkled. Lightly smacking Kellan in the stomach, I muttered, "You've been hanging out with Griffin too much." Kellan just chuckled and continued drinking my beer.
Justin laughed at our banter, then turned to face a fan when she stepped right in front of him and let out an ear-piercing squeal. It drowned out the music pounding around the room. "I love you, Justin!" she screamed.
Justin's expression shifted into the courteous, professional one that Kellan's often did when he talked to fans. "You're so sweet, thank you." She squealed again and forcefully shoved a CD case into his hands; she almost made him spill his beer. Not at all fazed by the outpouring of excitement in front of him, Justin nimbly signed his name across the hard plastic.
The girl fanned herself, then glanced over at Kellan. Her eyes practically popped out of her head. "Oh my God, Kellan Kyle! I am your biggest fan!" Justin looked offended for a minute, then laughed as he rolled his eyes behind her back.
Kellan's biggest fan plowed past Justin to get to her favorite rock star. I bit my lip to contain my grin; the girl was shaking. Kellan gave her a polite smile as he smoothly told her, "Thank you, I appreciate that."
Whipping out another CD case, she shoved Kellan's album in front of him. I glanced at the cover of the D-Bags' CD as she held it in her trembling fingers. The picture the label had ended up using was one that had all of the guys standing in a line, Kellan slightly in front of the others. Kellan's head was down and he was looking up at the camera with a seductive half-smile. It was an incredibly hot shot, but it conveniently cut off Kellan's hands so you couldn't see his wedding ring. The lengths Nick would go to to create the illusion that Kellan was single were as amusing as they were annoying.
"Can you sign this, To the girl of my dreams?" She sighed after she said it. Justin sniggered, then walked away.
Kellan covertly looked my way as he answered her. Lip in an amused curl, he said, "I don't think my girl would appreciate that." I hid my smile. Even though we were married in our hearts, Kellan was respecting my wishes by not publicly clarifying our relationship. He usually just said he was "seeing somebody," or he "had a girl in his life."
Fan-girl waved her hand. "Oh, I know you're with Sienna, and I don't really have a shot, but-" She giggled. "-it's fun to pretend."
Kellan snapped his gaze to the fan. "I'm not with Sienna. She's not my girlfriend. We only worked together on an album . . . and a music video." Remembering the video, he frowned. I subtly put my hand on his back.
The fan smiled and nodded, but it was obvious that she didn't believe a word he'd just said. Kellan flicked a glance my way and opened his mouth. Knowing what he was about to do, I pinched his back. While Kellan was being obscure about me to the masses, he probably wouldn't think twice about explaining things to fans on a one-on-one basis. I'd rather he didn't, though. When it came to his job, I'd rather be as anonymous as possible.