Wicked Indulgence (Wicked Innocence 2)

“You think I have a problem?” I ask, my eyes widening. I let out a laugh. “What did I do?”

“It’s…” She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “Never mind. I’m not singling anyone out, okay? I’m just saying upfront—to all of you—that I won’t put up with any shit. Understood?” She stares at me until I nod, then moves on to each of the other guys.

I hide a grin, focusing on a tiny chip in the paintwork of the table. This chick has balls. Her fiery attitude is doing nothing to tame my growing desire to bone her.

“We all have the same goal,” Max says. “We’re not going to jeopardize our careers over a piece of ass, right guys?”

I want to laugh, because I know that was Max’s way of telling her she has nothing to worry about, but the expression on her face is telling me she took it a whole different way.

“He means you have nothing to worry about,” I add, offering her what I hope is a sincere smile. “We want to push ourselves to be the best, and if you can help us with that, then that’s all that matters.”

Her expression softens, and she nods. “Okay,” she says, a hint of relief in her voice. “Then let’s get on with it. So, we need to drum up interest in you guys leading up to the release.” She pauses before continuing. “You’re in a transition stage at the moment, and things can go either way. You’ll either sink or swim. It’s my job to make sure you guys are ready for this. You think the last six months have been hard? That’s nothing compared to what the next six will be.”

“So what’s the plan then? More shows in shitty venues where nobody has heard of us?” I ask, cocking my head.

“No.” Her blue eyes focus on mine. “We’re hooking you up for a few live television performances of your new single—the Today show, Music Room, that kind of thing.”

“Shit, really?” I grin. “That’s fucking awesome.”

“I told you I’m serious about working with you guys,” she says, her expression intense. “This is nothing compared to what I have planned. I hope you guys are ready for this, because your lives are about to change in a big, big way.”

“So when’s all this start?” I ask, my excitement building. “The song is releasing next week. You guys haven’t exactly left much time to build up hype,” I add, my tone critical.

“Because we feel you’ll benefit more from our promotional ideas if they occur closer to the release date,” she explains. “But this new promotional strategy will start now. So, tomorrow morning you’ll be performing live on the Today show.” She wets her lips, her eyes sparkling. “If you can get yourselves up by four.”

“For you I’ll stay up all night,” Max chuckles.

She glares at him.

“Sorry,” he hastily adds.

She hands a sheet out to all of us. I scan the page; it’s a schedule for the next month. I whistle, impressed by what she’s set up for us. She wasn’t kidding. This is going to be full on.

We hang around for another half hour, until she can see that she’s just about reached the guys’ limit. There is only so much they can take in during one sitting—a side effect of indulging in too much alcohol.

“We can go over more of this next week,” she finishes.

The guys, grateful for the exit opportunity, make a beeline for the door. I hang back, chuckling at the look of dismay on Lyndall’s face.

“You get used to them,” I say.

She jumps, as if she just noticed I was still there. “Are they always so…” Her voice trails off.

“Wired?” I supply with a smile. “Usually. We take our downtime pretty seriously.”

“I hope you take your careers just as seriously,” she replies, lifting an eyebrow. Her feistiness makes me laugh. “I’m glad you find it amusing, Mr. Waite.”

“I’m thinking maybe you haven’t spent a hell of a lot of time around a group of male musicians,” I say. I lean against the wall and study her face as it reddens. “That’s not a bad thing—it just might be useful for you to know a thing or two about how to deal with them.”

“And let me guess, you have all the answers?” She rises from her chair and walks over to me. “I’m dying to hear this.”

I narrow my eyes at her, sure that she’s mocking me, but wanting to keep playing along. “Outside of music, these guys party. That’s it. But when it comes to giving their all for the band, they’re one thousand percent in. You won’t find anyone who wants it more than we do.”

“I believe that of you,” she says, stepping closer to me.

I swallow as the scent of her perfume hits my senses, her full lips inches away from mine.

“But the others, I’m not yet convinced. Tell me, Sax: how far are you willing to go to get what you want?”