Until Korry (PULSETUNES ROCK GODS Book 4), page 21
Raff looked torn because even I knew his brief was never to leave Korry alone during transfers. Instead of getting out of the car, he slipped his cell out of his pocket and fired off a text message. Seconds later, both Mikey and Bodhi came running out of the building toward the car.
“Now, I’ll take Bernadette,” he asserted determinedly as he left the front passenger seat and came to help me out.
“Whore.”
“Bitch.”
“Slut.”
Raff held my arm and briskly rushed me past female fans as they hurled abusive names toward me until I was safely inside the studio’s downstairs reception area. In that snapshot in time, they had given me a first-hand account of some of the abuse levelled toward a celebrity’s girlfriend.
I consoled myself that with Korry still in the car, there had been no need to pretend to be all over him. Once safely behind the toughened glass of the reception area, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Korry being ushered toward the door flanked by Bodhi and Mikey on either side of him.
His presence garnered a much better response from his screaming fans, with Korry beaming his gorgeous smile and waving like the adored rock star he was. The second the doors closed on the outside world, Korry reeled on his heels to face Bodhi and the dark look in his eyes along with the deep crease between them warned everyone he was about to explode.
“What she went through yesterday should never have happened,” he roared, pointing toward me before Bodhi had had a chance to speak.
“Agreed.” Bodhi scowled darkly toward Raff. “I’ll debrief with him this morning after you guys get settled in the recording studio,” he remarked, nodding toward Raff. It became clear Bodhi blamed Raff for that girl getting in contact with me.
“Before you go pointing the finger, I’ll debrief you first. It’s simple. You fucked up. Who was your priority yesterday? Oh, that’s right, Jude and Levi,” he bellowed sarcastically. “It should have been her, given the hostile reception she’s been receiving,” he snapped, pointing toward me. “Is keeping abreast of the social media posts about us guys not part of the risk assessment for everyone’s safety these days?”
“I know things almost got out of hand,” he agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Out of hand?” Korry repeated, then scoffed. “If this guy wasn’t good at his job, our PA would have been seriously injured. Stop looking for a scapegoat, it was you who was in charge.”
Korry shot a glance toward me that said sorry again that I’d gotten hurt, then he strode past all three bodyguards and climbed the stairs to the recording studio.
“Fuck. What’s up with him?” Mikey asked as he looked at me for information.
“I think he’s tired of being treated like he’s an afterthought in the band,” I replied honestly.
“I think I know that feeling,” Raff agreed. I glanced from him to his security boss. Bodhi raised a brow before he glared at Raff.
“Well, I’m eternally grateful you were there. You did an amazing job getting that girl clear of me considering she came from nowhere. I was looking in her direction and I never saw her coming,” I added, sticking up for him. Knowing I couldn’t say more, I turned and headed up the stairs, leaving them all to discuss the incident among themselves. But I believed I’d given Raff my support.
By the time I reached the studio, the band was in the recording booth. I took a seat on a leather couch at the back and began taking care of the never-ending pile of incidentals that came from Screaming Shadows’ everyday band business.
“Again, Korry,” Perry said for the third time in as many minutes. Perry’s frustrated tone pulled my attention from my task. I glanced toward the sound booth and saw Korry shaking his head. “Fuck it. Let’s move onto the next song. I’m not feeling that piece today,” Korry said after wandering over to speak to Perry through Levi’s microphone.
Levi stepped toe to toe with Korry and I read a terse interaction between them but couldn’t hear what was said.
“I don’t know what’s up with this guy today,” he said of Korry to Perry through the mic. “Let’s take it from the top and hopefully his timing will be better.”
As they were about to start recording again, Mikey turned up with the catering order for lunch and Levi leaned forward. “On second thought, maybe a break might help Korry iron out his temper.”
One by one the guys filed out of the sound booth leaving Korry sitting in there alone.
I stood as the guys all pulled their lunch orders from the large box and nodded toward the sound booth. “Is it okay if I …” I asked Perry, trailing off.
“Please do. Any idea why he’s like this today?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s a bit of everything, social media, his friendship with that woman, Blaire … me,” I said honestly. Perry shot me a sympathetic smile because he believed the romantic relationship between Korry and I was real. “Go cheer him up, take him out back and blow him if you need to. Time costs money,” he jokingly remarked. I glanced down at my feet, cursing how easily I blushed despite all the shit that occurred daily between the guys, then turned and headed toward the booth.
CHAPTER 47
KORRY
“I really am sorry about this morning,” Bernadette said as she entered the recording booth. I glanced up at her but didn’t reply. “It’s my fault you can’t concentrate today,” she suggested. “I don’t blame you. No one should need to go to these lengths to keep their career on track. Throwing you and me together was a stupid idea,” she said, looking tortured by our circumstances.
“And here we are,” I muttered dryly. “Don’t worry, I behaved like an ass toward you. I’ll try to keep out of your way,” I said as I unplugged my keyboard and untangled the wires. After reconnecting the electricity again, I turned it back on while she stood silently watching me.
After some thought, I’d concluded my growing attraction toward Bernadette complicated our relationship. I’d also recognized that it frustrated me, and that there had been times when I’d manufactured ways of pushing the boundaries between us. “We need to talk later,” I said in a softer tone.
“Okay,” she mumbled after a short hesitation. “That’s progress on this morning at least.” She gave me a shaky smile that showed me how nervous she felt about what I had to say.
“Look, I just need to get through this session, then we’ll sit down and find a way to make this easier for us both.”
“Sounds good,” she said, sounding relieved. She flashed me a more genuine smile. “Won’t you come and eat something? I ordered some extra sandwiches in case anyone wanted more.”
“No. I’m good here. I just need to get my mood under control.”
“All this stuff about Blaire has put unnecessary strain on you,” she said.
“And you,” I countered honestly.
“We’ll get through it,” she reassured me. “Like I said before, if I had to do this for anyone in the band, I’m glad it’s with you.”
“Aww, you sure know how to make a guy feel better,” I said in a slightly brighter tone.
“Ok, let’s hug it out. At least Perry will think we had a lover’s tiff this morning and now we’re making up,” she said, waving me over to her.
I felt the first genuine smile of the day on my lips as I dropped the lead I had in my hand and pulled her into a hug.
Levi opened the door to the booth and strode in. “That looked cozy,” he suggested with an edge to his tone.
“It was,” I muttered and winked at Bernadette just to fuck with him. “Later, sweetheart,” I said, excusing her.
Our PA smiled back at me. “Looking forward to it,” she replied.
“What’s happening later?” Levi asked after she’d left the booth, staring at me with narrowed eyes.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Don’t fuck with her,” Levi warned.
Since he and Perry had been riding my ass all morning, instead of protesting my innocence, I just chuckled, glanced at Bernadette through the window and smiled. Seeing how Levi’s jaw ticked in frustration gave me a sense of satisfaction, and by not reacting to his comment, I hadn’t given him any fuel to take his argument further.
Before we began recording again Deakon invited me to join him on the fire escape on the other side of the building. It wasn’t really a request, more like you need space, dude. He was right. By the time we went back to the others, I felt in a better place, then again, I had smoked a whole joint on my own which I guess mellowed me out. From then on, the rest of the session went off without a hitch.
The transfer back to our apartment was much smoother, mainly due to both Bodhi and Raff managing the crowd outside the studio this time. By the time we’d gotten home, I was starving because I’d been too pissed and sexually frustrated to eat during the day, and also partly due to the other hit of marijuana I’d smoked in the car on the way back. I chuckled when Bernadette flashed me a goofy smile right before she disappeared into her bedroom, because I figured she might have gotten a teeny bit high from the passive smoking due to the confined space in the minivan.
“Is it okay if we eat right away, or do you want yours put aside for later?” I asked as my stomach rumbled from hunger pangs.
“Sure, I can eat,” she replied quietly from behind her closed door. “I’m just changing into something comfortable then I’ll be right out.”
After instructing the chef to serve dinner, I also freshened up and tried to stay on my best behavior by wearing some gray sweatpants and a clean, black T-shirt.
When I returned to the dining area, Bernadette was already seated.
I slumped into my chair and let out a long breath.
“Tough day?” she asked with a creased brow as she studied me. Her question was moot because she had been there to witness the carnage the recording session was.
“This shit with Blaire, and what happened to you … as well as what went on this morning between us … it’s been a lot. I guess my temper caught up to me,” I admitted now that I’d had time to reflect.
“I should apologize too. I wasn’t exactly innocent this morning, waking up like that. I can see now why you might have thought…” she trailed off and flashed me a sheepish smile, “and then when you pulled me back against your front … it’s hard, right?”
“Not now, but I’m not in control of my morning wood,” I teased, unable to stop myself from flirting again.
She chuckled and shyly covered her eyes with her hand. My gaze was drawn to the large emerald stone set in platinum that she wore on her middle finger.
“That’s a serious piece of bling you’ve got yourself there,” I stated.
“Yeah, it is.” She held out her hand out and examined the stone. “Anyway,” she digressed, getting back to our discussion without elaborating on the ring. “You guys’ minds are always only one step from the gutter. I mean, take this situation, we’re two opposites thrown together, and the only thing you can offer is the current status of your genitals.”
I laughed. “Christ, I’m such a dick … and yes, it isn’t easy,” I replied, glancing up at the chef as he arrived by my side and placed an appetizer of bruschetta.
We began eating and the silence between us felt awkward, so I tried to make light conversation. “You told me before that you have four brothers. How old are they?”
“Paul is my twin so—twenty-nine, John is thirty-two, George is thirty-four and Stephen is almost thirty-seven.”
“Nice family planning right there,” I mused.
Bernadette nodded. “I suppose. Although my parents had decided three boys were quite enough, until Paul and I had other ideas,” she replied, smiling.
“How do they feel about you working for us?”
“No one minds … apart from Stephen. He’s the cop in the family.”
I cringed like I was scared. “And the others? What do they do?”
“Paul is in marketing—John, construction, and George has his own mortgage brokerage.
“You sound as if you’re close to Zena,” she stated, switching the focus back on me as she cut up her food.
“Yeah, she’s the baby of the family. I never seem to get enough time with her,” I admitted. “I have the least complicated relationship with her out of all my siblings. Her outlook on life is like mine.”
“What about Louis. Are you two close?”
“Sometimes I think we get one another, and at other times we don’t see eye to eye.”
“Funny, Stephen and I have that same kind of relationship too. It must be oldest sibling stuff,” she mused before she ate another mouthful of her food. My eyes were drawn to the deep cherry lipstick she wore, and I became somewhat fixated by her lips as we continued to make small talk, learning a little more about each other.
Once we’d finished our food and the chef had left for the night. I suggested moving into the living room area to watch a movie since the atmosphere between us appeared relaxed again.
Chef had placed another bottle of red wine on the table to breathe before he’d departed, so I grabbed this and took it to the living room with us.
“Favorite movie?” I asked, as she curled up at the other end of the sofa and I poured us each another glass of wine.
She shrugged. “I’m easy.”
“I don’t know that one,” I teased as I reached out and set the wine bottle down on the nearest end table. “Or were you referring to something else?”
Her usual flush stained her skin as she smiled and rolled her beautiful blue eyes to her hairline. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Nope, it’s like a disease when I’m with you. You’re too easy to get a rise out of.”
“Well, I’ll take your teasing over that hot temper of yours any day.”
“Fuck, how many times can I say I’m sorry?” I asked, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.
She chuckled. “It’s fine. I’m over it. I can only imagine what you’ve been going through these past couple of weeks.”
“It’s been tolerable because of you,” I replied honestly. Reaching for my weed stash, I took out a joint I’d already prepared and lit it up. After taking a few puffs of it, I offered it to her.
“Yeah? After last time?” She scoffed.
“Sharing this won’t have nearly the same effect as the cookies. It’ll just chill you out.”
“Best not,” she said, eyeing the thick joint before glancing up at me again.
“Well, if we all did everything we’d best not do, life would be boring,” I suggested, taking another long hit. I held it out again. “You sure you don’t want to try even a little?”
“That’s what you said last time and look how that turned out,” she mumbled as she clutched her chest and looked mortified.
“One puff?” I coaxed because … why not? Stoned Bernadette was fun to be around.
“I’ve never puffed on a cigarette, I’d choke. The thought of it scares me.”
I laughed. “What if I take the puff and blow in your mouth.” She chuckled as her face grew red. “Bernadette Cassidy, was that a dirty thought I read in those beautiful, less than innocent, eyes?”
“I think I’ve been around you for too long,” she protested, confirming her mind had gone to the gutter as well, laughing.
“Want to try it?” I persisted after taking a drag on the joint myself.
“What would I need to do?”
“You must have seen us guys do it to girls before.”
She laughed again. “Korry, I’ve seen some things a gallon of bleach couldn’t erase from these eyes.”
I turned toward her and knelt on the couch facing her. “I’ll take a drag and all you have to do is open your mouth and take it.”
She began giggling again because everything I said, although innocent enough, appeared to have a double entendre for her. As I watched her I realized she was a little buzzed already from passively smoking my weed in the car and the few glasses of wine she’d had.
“Bring your face closer,” I instructed. Sitting straighter she leaned toward me until our faces were about a foot from one another. I positioned her where I wanted her by holding her shoulders. “All you need to do is breathe in through your mouth when I blow out.”
“Right,” she mumbled. “And this won’t have the same effect as the cookies, right?” she asked, her eyes nervously searching mine.
“Nah, it should just make you relaxed,” I stated.
“Alright, hit me,” she said in a serious tone.
I inhaled deeply, held it in my lungs for a few seconds and then closed the space between us until I was a couple of inches from her face. Cupping my hands around her mouth I blew steadily into hers and she took a deep breath.
“Hold your breath for a few seconds,” I ordered.
She fought a cough but did as I asked then blew it out. “Damn, it’s made me light-headed.”
“Again?” I asked, feeling buzzed from the weed by then myself.
“Sure,” she said, nodding more confidently this time.
“Good girl,” I mumbled as I placed the joint that was almost done in my mouth and took a long drag again. I quickly put it out and turned back to Bernadette who was sitting with her mouth open waiting for me.
Seeing her sitting there so innocently, made me laugh. But as I wanted her to have the last of the hit, I quickly clasped my hand on the back of her head and crashed my mouth down on hers. She inhaled as we clashed teeth and lips before she inhaled, again coughed, spluttered and pulled her head back from me.
The smoke made her eyes water as she laughed and coughed. “Oh, God, I’m … dying,” she mumbled between coughs and sputters.
I laughed. “Do you feel the high from the smoke?”
“Probably but I’m … too busy trying not to die to notice the full effect right now,” she squeezed out, wiping tears from her eyes. “That was sneaky, stealing a kiss like that,” she said dryly.
“You think that was a kiss? Jesus woman, who are the guys you’ve been kissing?”
