Kirsten walked into the bar and slid onto the barstool next to Phil, saying, “Hi luv! How’ve you been?”

“Kirsten! I’ve been fine! How about you?” Phil asked, slipping a friendly arm around her shoulders. She had worked with the band on Euphoria and decided to catch them while they were touring on it. She looked around the bar and said, “Oh, I’ll be fine as long as I don’t run into the pompous SEXIST ass you guys call a lead vocalist!”

“Jesus! Aren’t you ever gonna let him off the hook?” Phil sighed in frustration. “You know he didn’t mean what he said.”

“Listen, any time someone tells me that a woman doesn’t need to be in the recording studio because she’s only a distraction, I don’t forget it,” Kirsten said, shaking her head. “His fucking he-man attitude went out with the dinosaurs!”

“He was tired and got sick of seeing Sav and Vivian doing the whole competition thing for your attention, that’s all,” Phil said quickly. “It wasn’t even directed at you.”

“Well, since I was the only woman in the vicinity, I’m sorry if I took umbrage at his statement,” she said, a bit of anger still close to the surface. “Listen, I’m gonna go over and say hello to Sav and Rick, so I’ll catch you later!” She gave Phil a quick peck on the cheek, then headed for the table where Sav and Rick were sitting. Coming up behind Sav, she put a finger to her lips to silence Rick and slid her hands over Sav’s eyes.

“Guess who?” she said with a laugh.

“Um, ah, hmm,” Sav said thoughtfully. “You know, I don’t have a bloody clue!”

“I’m heartbroken!” she said, removing her hands and sitting down beside him. “Forgotten already.”

“Kirsten! Luv, what are you doing here?” he asked, pulling her in for a hug.

“Oh, I was in town, so I figured I’d catch your show,” she said with a smile. “Thought it might be best to try to catch up to you here instead of backstage, so I could avoid your unlovely singer.”

“Memory like a fucking elephant. Are you gonna ever forgive him for that?” Rick asked with a laugh.

“Only when I see him down on one knee begging for it,” she said, smiling over at Rick.

“Like that’ll ever happen,” Sav snickered.

“Ah, shit, if you were trying to keep out of his way, it would appear you picked the wrong place,” Rick muttered as Joe walked into bar. He looked around and spotted Rick and Sav sitting at a table and headed straight for them, not noticing Kirsten between them. He pulled up short as he saw her, then walked over and said, “Um, hi, Kirsten.”

“Hello, Mr. Elliott,” she said coldly.

“Ah damn,” Joe thought, “She’s still holding my big mouth against me!” All Joe could do was sit quietly and try not to put his foot in his mouth again in front of one of the most beautiful women he‘d ever laid eyes on.

Kirsten found herself staring at Joe, wishing he didn’t act the way he did. “If he wasn’t so fucking gorgeous, he’d be an easy man to hate,” she thought to herself. Then she shook her head, wondering where that thought had come from. She couldn’t possibly be attracted to this swaggering animal, could she?

Surprised by her thoughts, she sat back and listened to them talk for a bit. Joe seemed rather quiet, though he kept looking at Kirsten like she just might bite him. Finally, he jumped into the conversation and said, “You know, I’ve been thinking about tonight’s show and...”

Then he heard Kirsten mutter, “That must be a first, Mr. Elliott thinking? I thought I smelled cobwebs burning!”

Sav nearly spit his wine all over the place and Rick started belly laughing. Kirsten smiled, then caught a glimpse of Joe’s face. He looked so hurt! The smile disappeared from Kirsten’s face as she looked into his eyes. Then she said quickly, “I’m off to bed, boys. Night, Sav, Rick. Good night, Mr. Elliott.”

She turned and walked out of the bar, heading for her room. Glancing back at the table she’d just left, Kirsten found Joe still staring at her forlornly. She kept walking, shaking her head to clear it. This was impossible. How could that arrogant son of a bitch be that affected by what she’d said? She curled up in bed and lay staring at the ceiling for a long time, trying to get Joe Elliott out of her mind.

She woke the next morning to a pounding on her door. When she opened it, she found all five members of Def Leppard standing there looking a bit desperate. Letting them in, Kirsten sat in a chair and said, “Okay, guys, what’s up?”

“We’ve got a problem, Kirsten,” Sav said quickly. “Our chief engineer just took ill and his assistant is too new to run the mixing board by himself. You’re one of the best engineers we all know, so I guess we need to know if you’d be willing to take over for him?”

“Hmm, somehow I don’t think this was a unanimous decision,” she said, looking directly at Joe. “I know for a fact that Mr. Elliott thinks very little of females in this profession. In fact, I think he thinks little of women anywhere except in his bed!”

“Fat chance you’d ever find out about that, luv,” Joe muttered. Vivian kicked his shin and as Joe bent down to rub his now sore leg, Rick piped up, “Joe doesn’t have a problem with this, do you, Joe?”

“Just keep her the hell away from me!” Joe said, totally frustrated at this turn of events. But, being a pro, he’d put up with what he had to so that he could get his job done.

“I’ll stay on my side of the mixing table and you stay onstage and we shouldn’t have a problem, Mr. Elliott,” she said quietly.

“So long as I don’t have to put up with her bad mouthing me all the time,” he said. Now why’d he have to use the word mouth? She had the most luscious lips he’d ever seen. When she wasn’t pouring venom out in his direction. The rest of the band got along with her famously and the first week she’d been in Dublin, he had too. Then Bobbi had left him, he couldn’t sleep and Sav and Vivian had been jumping through hoops trying to get her to pay attention to them. He’d gotten frustrated and blurted out one sentence in a moment of anger. He hadn’t even meant what he’d said, only that what was happening had been a distraction. But he couldn’t take back those few words and now he was once again paying for speaking without thinking. It felt like New Mexico, 1983, all over again, only on a smaller scale.

“If you weren’t such an obvious target, maybe shit would just pass over, Mr. Elliott,” she said simply.

Joe couldn’t take any more. Every time she called him Mr. Elliott, it just grated on his nerves. He stared at her for a moment while the rest of the band waited for him to try and make a come back to that. Instead, he just got up and walked out of the room, slamming the door in his wake.

She stared after Joe as he left the room, forgetting the others were there until Sav said, “Um, Earth to Kirsten? Come in, Kirsten?”

“Oh, yeah, what?” she said, coming out of her daze.

“Will you do it?” Vivian asked.

“You’re lucky. I don’t have anything else going on right now, my schedule is actually empty. Fine, I’ll take all the lot of ya on, but keep Mr. Elliott on a leash, okay?” she said with a smile.

Rick, Phil and Vivian each gave her a quick hug and said their thank yous, then headed out the door. Sav looked at her as the door closed and said, “Why don’t you just try to get along with Joe? You know he was having a bad week, I mean damn, he and Bobbi had been together a really long time.”

“Sav, I’ve had a hard enough time in this business without cracks like what he made,” she said sadly. “I can’t take that kind of shit laying down.”

“I realize all that, but he’s really a decent bloke, luv,” Sav said quietly. She shot him a look and he threw his hands in the air, saying, “All right, all right, I’ll let it drop. You’re riding with us, for the moment, so get packed, we leave in an hour!” And with that, he headed for the door.

Kirsten threw her stuff into her cases and was waiting in the lobby for the band to come down. Joe was the first one down and he took a deep breath as he saw Kirsten sitting there waiting. This next couple of months was going to be a trial, with the hardest part being not just throwing the woman down and kissing her til she couldn’t bitch anymore, which was exactly what he wanted to do. Of course, she’d probably end up slapping the shit out of him, which is why he tried to banish that thought from his mind.

He saw her stiffen as she noticed him, as if he were an animal that just might pounce on her. She inclined her head in his direction then turned quickly away. Damn, she was a cold fish towards him! Which left Joe with the unwanted thought that he’d love to melt that icy exterior. He tried to look away, to avoid staring at her, but he wasn’t having any luck. Did she have to be so fucking beautiful?

They sat there, the tension palpable between them as the rest of the band came down. Sav sat down next to Kirsten and said, “Sorry, luv, the only bus that has any room on it is the one I share with Joe. So you’re stuck with us.”

Kirsten rolled her eyes towards the heavens, praying she was going to live through the next few weeks. Sav put a hand on her leg and whispered with a laugh, “Don’t worry, he only bites when asked to!”

“Well, that’s something that’ll never happen!” Kirsten answered, her back stiffening at the thought. There was no way she was going to get that close to him!

As it turned out, the bus ride was rather uneventful, as were the first couple of weeks she toured with the band. Joe kept his distance and Kirsten did her best to avoid even being in the same room with him. Then one night, everything just went wrong. The lighting guys messed up several cues and Joe’s microphone gave him trouble all night. Vivian ran into a problem with hecklers outside the venue and Joe had to finally tell them to sod off. Everyone came back to the hotel in a pissy mood and Joe was the pissiest of all of them. He started drinking as soon as he hit the bar and didn’t stop.

By the time Kirsten decided to go down to the bar, Joe was thoroughly drunk. She rolled her eyes as she saw the women fawning over him, including one that looked rather cozy on his lap. She needed to talk to Sav about a problem with his bass amp, but considered waiting until morning so that she could stay away from Joe. But she set her shoulders, took a deep breath and headed into the lions’ den. She walked over to Sav and started to talk to him, then heard Joe’s voice ring out. “Here comes the fucking ice princess.”

She turned slowly and found him staring right at her. Then she hissed, “Are you referring to me, Mr. Elliott?”

“Yeah, thought I felt the temperature drop when the snow queen came in,” Joe chuckled drunkenly. Sav grabbed her arm, but she went over to Joe anyway and said, “Well, the ice princess only comes out when I have to deal with swaggering, arrogant bastards, Mr. Elliott. Your friends seem to think I’m just fine!”

“Yeah, right! They’d prolly get frostbite if they tried to kiss you though!” Joe laughed.

“Oh, really?” She turned to Sav, grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him for everything she was worth. When she broke the kiss, everyone could tell frost was the last thing on Sav’s mind. He stared down at her as Joe’s jaw dropped. Joe spilled the girl from his lap and said, “Why don’t you try that on me? Somehow, I don’t think I got the message!”

He stood up and got right in Kirsten’s face. Their eyes locked and Joe mumbled, “Hey, I’m the fucking lead singer, why shouldn’t I get the most beautiful woman in the bar for once?” He put his hands on her shoulders and brought his lips down on hers before she could even think about stopping him. Kirsten’s mind wanted to resist those lips desperately, but her body had other ideas. Before she knew what was happening, her own lips parted and gave his tongue free access to her mouth. He explored her carefully, his arms wrapping around her body and holding her against him. After a moment, Kirsten came back to her senses and pushed away from him as the others whistled at them.

“Come on, baby, you know you liked it,” Joe said with a laugh. Embarrassed, Kirsten slapped him soundly across the face and yelled, “You sorry, cynical, ARROGANT bastard!”

Joe’s head whipped around from the force of her blow and the alcohol in his system insured that he ended up on his ass. He looked up just as Kirsten stormed out of the bar. Two of the groupies came over, offering to take Kirsten’s place in a heartbeat, but Joe brushed them away and looked up at Sav. He shook his head and said, “How come I think I just made a bad situation worse?”

“Actually, mate,” Sav said as he helped him up, “I think you just started World War Three. I just hope we still have a sound engineer tomorrow!” Then he headed after her. Catching her just as she hit the elevator, Sav walked up beside her and said, “You know he’s been drinking, luv.”

“Well, he didn’t have to kiss me!” she said breathlessly. Her heart was racing along with her mind as she turned and stared up at Sav. From the parted lips and heated eyes, he could see the kiss hadn’t had the effect she was claiming it had. He laughed and said, “I think the lady doth protest too much.”

“What?” she snapped.

“Jesus, you enjoyed that, I can see by the look on your face!” he chuckled. Her eyes went wide, then she mumbled, “That fucking obvious, huh?”

Smiling down at her, he said, “Yes, luv, it is. God, Joe would shit....”

“JOE isn’t going to find out, understood?” she growled.

“Okay, not a word from me,” Sav said throwing his hands up. But, he thought, there just might be a hint or two. “You’re not going to leave us, are you?”

She thought for a moment, then said, “Nah, I like the rest of you. But can you try to make sure we don’t have any repeat performances from Joe.”

“Joe, huh? I haven’t heard you call him that in ages,” Sav laughed.

“Ah, Christ, Sav, you know who I mean!” she nearly yelled. “Just keep him on a leash, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smiled with a mock salute. Then he watched as she got into the elevator and headed for her room. Then he headed back to the bar to do some thinking.

The next day on the bus, Joe was leery of coming close to Kirsten. She sat on the couch next to Sav, chatting away and doing her best to ignore him. Joe was hung over and in a surly mood, so he decided that rather than risk her wrath once again, he’d just go to sleep. He headed for his bunk without a word to either of them.

When they got to the gig, Sav jumped off the bus. That left Kirsten with two choices. She could do the nice thing and wake him up. Or she could just leave him and hope someone else got him up. She sighed at her own folly and headed back to the bunk he was sleeping in. Then she said quietly, “Mr. Elliott, we’re here.”

He didn’t move. So she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him slightly. “Mr. Elliott, wake up!” Still he didn’t budge. “God,” she thought, “the man sleeps like the dead!” So she put her knee on the bunk, leaned over him, gave him a rougher shake and said, “Joe, wake up!”

He turned over and pulled her into his arms without even opening his eyes. She tried to wiggle away, but Joe held onto her firmly and said, “Morning, luv.” Then his eyes came open and flew wide as he realized who was laying with him. He lay there for a moment, wondering how bad it was going to hurt when she belted him. But she simply extracted herself from his body and said coolly, “Mr. Elliott, we’re at the venue.” Then she turned and headed off the bus, leaving Joe to wonder what was going through her mind at that moment.

Kirsten headed straight for the mixing board and played with the controls absently. This just couldn’t be happening to her! She was NOT going to fall for that arrogant jerk! But as Joe stepped up on stage for the sound check, he looked straight at her and her heart jumped. She watched as he walked over the stage, making sure the microphone worked in all areas. She wasn’t paying attention as Phil stepped up on stage and strummed his guitar, blaring it out over Joe’s voice. Jumping, she turned him down, but not before Joe looked up at her and said, “I think he needs to go down a bit, Ms. Duffy. I believe you’re supposed to be able to hear me over him.”

Biting back a reply, she looked at the stage and said, “Hey, Phil, try it again, okay?” Phil obliged her and hit the strings again. It was back to the normal volume and Joe nodded, but he didn’t take his eyes from the mixing board. Finally, Kirsten looked at him and said, “Is there another problem, Mr. Elliott?”

“Yeah, my mic’s a bit dodgy here. You sure you’re not messing with it?” he said accusingly.

“Ya know, if you really think I’d let my personal feelings interfere with my job, you’re wrong, Mr. Elliott,” she screamed much louder than she had intended. Sav and Phil turned to look up at her, realizing Joe had just pushed another of her buttons. Then she finally got fed up and walked away from the board, saying, “You can find another fucking engineer! I quit!”

She stormed down into the backstage area followed by Phil, Sav, Rick and Vivian. All four of them started to plead with her to stay as she threw her things into her bag. She just kept shaking her head and saying, “I’m not putting up with him anymore! I didn’t ask for this job, you guys came to me! And if he can’t deal with me, then I’m out of here! I DON’T NEED THIS JOB!”

Then she looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. He leaned against the frame, just watching her. Sav turned on him and said, “Would you DO SOMETHING?? This is your fault!”

He shook his head and said, “I can’t fucking stop her. I don’t want her to leave, but if she wants to go, what can we do?”

“Why don’t you try shutting your fucking mouth for a minute?” Sav yelled. “You two are like fire and gun powder! Someone needs to lock you in a room and either let you kill each other or fuck each other’s brains out!”

Both of them turned to stare open mouthed at Sav. And Sav had just realized what he said. He closed his eyes and said, “Oh, fuck, I didn’t make this any better, did I?”

Everyone else in the room waited for Kirsten to blow up at that. But she was still so far in shock that Sav had actually said that, she couldn’t speak. And Joe just stared at her. Sav started pushing the guys out of the room before the inevitable fireworks began. He slammed the door shut behind him, leaving Joe and Kirsten to fight it out.

She stared at the door for a moment before turning back to her packing. Then Joe said quietly, “Please, don’t leave Kirsten.”

“And what am I supposed to do, stay here and let you keep insulting me?” she hissed. “I think not!”

“Well, you know, you haven’t exactly been terribly nice to me,’ he said hesitantly.

“This is my fault?” she yelled. She slammed her bag down and turned on him, screaming, “You’ve done nothing but take swipes at me since I got here! Ice princess? FUCKING SNOW QUEEN?”

“Well you haven’t exactly been the friendliest person in the world, now have you?” he said, his voice rising to meet hers. “You’ve done nothing but put me down since you got here!”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” she screamed and picked up a coffee mug that had been sitting on the table. Joe barely had time to duck out of the way as she flung it at his head. Then she grabbed a water bottle and threw it straight at him. It hit the wall behind him and drenched his back with ice cold water. He let out a yelp, then said, “Just what I should have expected. I end up shivering with the ice princess.”

Kirsten finally lost it and charged across the room to slap him. He grabbed her arm in mid swing and held her there. She tried to hit him with the other hand, but he grabbed that as well and pinned it behind her back. But it pulled her in close to his body and they found themselves staring into each other’s eyes. He could see her chest rise and fell quickly as her breathing came in quick pants. She struggled against his hands, but he wouldn’t let go of her, pulling her closer into his body. She closed her eyes and threw her head back with a whispered plea of, “Please, don’t do this!”

“Do what, luv?” he said softly.

“Don’t hold me or I’m going to do something I’ll regret,” she begged.

“What, like this?” he asked as his lips came down hard against hers. He let go of her arms and felt them go around his neck. His tongue ran softly over hers as she fought within herself. But she just couldn’t make herself pull away. He molded her body to his, feeling all of her as she melted into him.

Outside the door, Phil and Sav stopped and listened for a moment before Phil said, “What do you think is going on in there?”

“Well, either one of them is dead or they’re going at it hard and heavy. Either way, I ain’t going in there right now!” Sav said slowly. They walked away as Sav chuckled and Phil just smiled.

Joe pulled back as Kirsten whispered, “Just like that.”

“Why are you fighting it, luv?” he whispered into her hair. She looked back up to those eyes and said, “I don’t even know anymore.”

“Then stop, please,” he murmured softly. His mouth covered hers again, this kiss far softer than the one before. His lips pleaded with hers, wanting her to give up the ongoing battle between them. And she couldn’t help it anymore. Her fingers ran through his long blond locks as the kiss became more urgent, more passionate.

Joe picked her up, wrapping her legs around his body as he carried her over to the bench. He straddled the bench and laid her down on it, bringing his body down to cover hers. His hips pushed against hers through their clothing. She kept her legs around him as she pulled him down onto herself. Tugging at her shirt, he pulled it up and ran his fingers over the lace of her bra. A shiver chased through her at the sensation. His nimble fingers undid the clasp of her bra and he leaned back to admire her for a moment.

“Lovely,” he murmured as he lowered her head to her breast. His tongue ran out over her nipple, raising it to a hard peek under his attention. Her back arched up to him as she felt his hard cock straining for freedom. Grinding against him, she moaned softly. Then she pushed him up off her and her fingers went to the button of his pants. He groaned as she freed his throbbing manhood from its cloth prison and wrapped her small hand around it. He gripped her shoulders as her lips closed over him. She ran down the length of him, letting her tongue trace over the pulsing veins under the surface of his skin. Letting her tongue run under the sensitive ridge of his head, she heard him let out a moan. Then she went all the way down on him and he felt himself hit the back of her throat. His fingers wrapped through her hair, guiding her movements. And her hands gripped his firm ass tightly, pulling him deeper into her throat. Joe’s eyes closed as he felt tension building in his balls. “OH, fuck, luv, I’m gonna cum if you don’t stop this.”

Sucking greedily at his large cock, her fingers dug into his hard muscled ass. Her mouth pulled hard on him and she swallowed as much of him as she could, sending him shooting over the edge. Her mouth was filled with the salty taste of him. She let her hands trail down the back of his muscular thighs as she licked him clean. As he softened in her mouth, she pulled away and gave him a slow, sensual smile full of promises. He bore her back down onto the bench and kissed her full lips. The taste of his seed on her lips drove him wild. He wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman.

Unfortunately, Malvin had other ideas. He came into the room and froze as he saw Joe’s naked bum in the air. “Joe? I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve got to find Kirsten. Have you seen her?”

Kirsten peeked around Joe’s body and said, “Hi, Mal.”

Stunned, Mal stammered, “Oh, damn, I’m sorry!” His eyes flew wide as he realized exactly what was going on. “Kirsten, there’s a major problem with the board. They were hoping you hadn’t left yet.”

Joe smiled down at her as he pulled his pants up and said, “I don’t think she’s going anywhere, Mal.”

She glared up at Joe, but said, “I think I’ll stick around for a while, Malvin.” Malvin turned around without another word and headed back for the stage. Joe kissed Kirsten and said, “Can we continue this later?”

“We’ll see,” she said evasively. Then she took off for the stage at a run to find out what the problem was. When she got there, several circuits were on the blink and she spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get them up and running before showtime.

The show went off pretty well, with only a few minor technical difficulties. Afterwards, Kirsten ended up spending another two hours working on the circuits before she was satisfied they’d be ready for the next show. Joe was pacing the bus waiting for her as Sav just laughed at him. When she made it on, Joe jumped up and said, “About damn time!”

“Hold it!” she said quietly. “I’m not here for your entertainment, Joe. I do have a job to do!”

Joe looked down at her and said, “Then quit the fucking job, baby. I’d much rather have you here with me!”

Sav cleared his throat, about to mention that she was the best engineer around and without her, the show wouldn’t go on. But he never got the chance. She turned on Joe and said, “I can’t believe you just said that! Would you like to explain that statement to your band mate here?”

“Oh, come on, Kirsten,” Joe said with a smile. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m not your toy, Joe,” she hissed. “I’ve got a life that doesn’t involve you at all, if you must know!”

Hurt, Joe didn’t say anything. He just sat down and stared up at her. Then he whispered, “Please, let’s not fight anymore.”

“I’m not fighting, I’m going to bed,” she answered. “Alone!” Then she turned and headed back to her bunk, slamming her body down and trying to sleep.

“Joe, she’s not some groupie you can keep at your beck and call,” Sav said slowly.

“I’m not trying to, mate,” Joe complained. “I just want to be with her!”

“Well, just remember she’s a career girl,” Sav answered. “She’s not going to blow off her job just because you’re ready to play. She’s not Bobbi, Joe.”

Joe slumped down on the couch, not knowing what to say. They sat in silence for a long while before Joe finally decided to head for bed as well. He stopped by Kirsten’s bunk, but she was sleeping so soundly he didn’t want to disturb her. He got into his own bed and lay staring at the ceiling for a long while as he thought about her.

The next morning, the buses were already at the venue when Joe woke up. He checked Kirsten’s bunk, but she was gone. He headed into the amphitheater and looked for her, finding her working hard on the sound system again. He walked up to her and said with a smile, “Don’t you ever leave that thing?”

“Not when it’s not working right,” she answered without ever looking up. She kept at it with the her tools, trying to replace a fried circuit board as Joe said, “Doesn’t anyone else know how to do that?”

She finally sat back and looked up at him, saying, “No one else can do this near as fast as I can. Joe, I can’t do this right now. If you’re going to keep this up, then I’ve got to put a stop to it. I’m here to do a job, not keep you busy.”

“Put a stop to what?” Joe asked in confusion.

“Us,” she said quietly.

Joe stared down at her, stunned. Then he said, “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone then.”

Walking away quietly, Joe could only think that he couldn’t let her go. He’d have to do some rethinking before they made it back to the hotel that night. Proving anything to Kirsten was hard enough without the added burden of his emotional involvement.

With all of Kirsten’s hard work, the show that night went off without a hitch. After it, Joe waited for Kirsten to board the bus. But when the driver got aboard, he started the engine and started away without her. Joe ran to the front and said, “Wait, we’re still missing one person!”

“She already left, Mr. Elliott,” the driver answered. “’Bout a half an hour ago, actually.”

“Fuck!” Joe exclaimed, heading back towards Sav. Sav looked up at him and said, “What’s going on, mate?”

“She’s gone, that’s what’s wrong!” Joe exclaimed. “She took off to God only knows where without so much as a fucking goodbye!”

“What happened today?” Sav asked curiously.

“She was talking about calling the whole thing between us off, so I told her I’d leave her alone. I figured I’d talk to her tonight after the show,” Joe answered angrily. “But now she’s fucking gone, mate!”

“Maybe when you said you’d leave her alone, she thought you meant for good,” Sav suggested.

“Shit, you don’t think...Ah fuck!” Joe yelled. “I’ve got to find her, to explain it to her.”

“Well, maybe you’ll catch her at the hotel,” Sav said quietly.

“God, I hope so!” Joe said softly.

As soon as the bus hit the parking lot, Joe was off to the front desk. He found out she’d checked in, so he got her room number and headed straight up. There was no answer at her door. Frustrated, Joe went down to the bar and looked around. That’s where he found her talking to Malvin. As he walked up behind her, he heard her say, “Well, I’ll stick around til you get someone else, but then I’m gone, okay, Malvin.”

Joe spun her around and said quietly, “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”

“I thought it was best that way, Mr. Elliott,” she murmured and tried to get past him. But he stopped her and said, “Didn’t yesterday mean a damn thing to you?”

“What should it have meant,” she said, looking up into his eyes. Then she said sarcastically, “You got a free blow job, lucky you!”

“Jesus, I know you’re not really that fucking cold, Kirsten!” he said loudly. She pulled away from him as she caught several people staring at them. She looked around at the other patrons, humiliated, then turned and ran out the door before Joe could stop her. He took off after her, but the elevator door closed between them. Slamming his fist on it, he pushed the button and waited for the next one. It came a moment later and Joe jumped in, pushing the button for their floor quickly. Luckily for him, Kirsten’s room was at the far end of the hall and she hadn’t made it there yet. He took off at a run and managed to get his foot in the door before she could close it. He pushed it back up and found her staring up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Get out, Mr. Elliott,” she said evenly. But he closed the door as he entered and crossed the room towards her. Then he said, “Why are we back to Mr. Elliott? I thought we got passed that already.”

“Because,” she said quietly, “I can’t take being this close to you and calling you by your name. It’s, well, after all this time, now using it is a bit intimate and I can’t afford that.”

“Why not?” he asked slowly. “I thought we were on rather intimate terms, now, Ms. Duffy.”

“One incident that won’t be repeated,” she answered. “It can’t be!”

“Why not, Ms. Duffy?” he asked curiously. “Is this the return of the ice princess routine?”

She stared daggers at him at the use of those words. Turning her back to him, she heard him say softly, “Because I know now that was all an act. There’s a very hot blooded woman under that icy shell.”

“Maybe that icy shell is my only defense,” she whispered.

“Why are you trying to defend yourself from me, baby?” Joe whispered. She could feel his hot breath on the skin of her neck and it sent a shiver down her spine.

“Because, I refuse to fall in love with a man when there’s no future in it,” she said softly.

“And why isn’t there a future, luv,” he breathed into her ear. He hadn’t touched her yet, but just knowing he was that close was sending Kirsten into overload. She wanted to pull away, but her body just wouldn’t move. So instead she whispered, “Because, I’ve got my career and you’ve got yours. It just wouldn’t work.”

“Hmm, I seem to remember meeting you through our careers, luv,” he whispered. “And I’m damn glad we did meet that way. I know you understand my life a lot better than most women would.”

She couldn’t turn around. If she found herself in his arms, she’d be lost forever. So instead she said firmly, “Besides, we seem to do nothing but clash with each other. You don’t like me working, you just want me there to play with you. Well, I can’t do that.”

“Don’t worry, luv, you can work all you want,” he answered softly. “But after quitting time, I want you all to myself. And as for the clashes, sometimes those are a bit fun. Just try not to go for my balls anymore, okay?”

Giggling, she finally turned around and looked up at him. He smiled down at her, then got serious. “I don’t want to lose you, luv. Not when I just managed to find you.” He tangled his long fingers in her hair, pulling her lips up to his. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him tightly against her body as their tongues dance together. His kisses got hotter, harder, as he pinned her against the wall. Her hands went down, grabbing his ass and grinding his body into hers.

She slid down his body, bringing herself level to his groin. His hands hit the wall as she opened his jeans, freeing him to her touch. She ran his hand up his shaft, moving slowly. Her fingertips went lightly over the tip, sending a shudder through his body. Her tongue flicked out, licking up the drop of fluid she found there. Then she ran it lightly over the underside, sending another shudder through him. He looked down at her, watching as she slid his cock deep into her mouth. Her tongue traced over him, following over his hard hot flesh. Her fingers dug into his hips, pulling him forward until he took control and pumped into her throat. He didn’t want to cum yet, but he could feel the sensation building. He tried to pull back, but Kirsten shook her head and said, “No, I want to feel you cumming, Joe! Please!”

Her eyes pleaded with him to give her this and he couldn’t say no to her. He watched as once again she swallowed him into her mouth. Knowing she wanted this, coupled with the fact that her mouth worked over his flesh insistently, sent him over the edge in only a moment. “Oh, Jesus, baby, here it comes! I’m cumming for you, Kirsten!”

She felt his hot fluids spill out onto her tongue and didn’t stop her movements until he was completely spent. He pulled her up and said, “Shit, luv, that was fantastic!”

“Thanks,” she said with a smile.

“Hmm, seems I owe you a bit, doesn’t it?” he said with a wicked grin. He pulled her to the bed and sat down, trying to pull her over to him. But she moved back and looked down at him with a sensual smile. She unbuttoned her shirt slowly, one button at a time. Joe’s eyes shone with desire as she slid the fabric from her shoulders. Kicking off her shoes and pulling off her socks, her hands went to the button of her jeans. She turned away from him and bent over, sliding the denim down over firm thighs and shapely calves. Joe ached to strip the rest of her clothes from her body, but she shook her head with a laugh. With her back still to him, she undid her bra and let the frothy bit of lace fall away from her body. Then she pulled the thin material of her panties down over her thighs, leaving her ass bare to his hungry eyes. When she bent over, Joe gave a low whistle. She turned around, finally letting him see her bare form. Joe’s eyes went wide as he gazed over her body. Her breast were high, full and round. Her hips had a gentle curve to them.

He threw his shirt off over his head, then motioned for her to come closer. She walked slowly over to him, then felt his hands grab her hips and lay her on the bed. He laid on top of her quickly, kissing her roughly as she moaned against his lips. She could feel his hard cock rubbing over her thigh. She wanted it as badly as she’d wanted to taste him only moments before. For Joe, the taste of himself on her lips was intoxicating. He never wanted to stop kissing her. But he moved to her throat, nipping and sucking at the flesh of her neck.

His fingers pinched her nipples, bringing them to full attention. Then his lips replaced his fingers, teeth raking over the hard bud before sucking it fully in. Taking his free hand, she moved it between her thighs, using his guitar roughened fingers to rub her clit. Joe took over, his fingers moving slowly into her tight channel. As he went oh so slowly in and out of her, she rubbed her practiced fingers over her clit. Within moments, her body was bucking against his as her orgasm slammed through her. Joe smiled down at her, then quickly lowered his mouth to her mound. His tongue ran over her slit as his fingers kept working into her.

“Mmm, baby, you taste so good,” he murmured before dipping his tongue into her. He sucked gently at the already stimulated nub, sending electric shocks through her as she went plummeting over the edge again. Her eyes closed and she felt as he came back up her body and parted her thighs with his hips. His manhood probed for entrance as he whispered, “You’re so sweet, luv. I want you to taste yourself.”

Then he kissed her. She could taste her sweet juices on his lips and her tongue went quickly between them, seeking his. He plunged into her with one quick thrust and she whimpered against his lips as he filled her. As his hands went under her shoulders and pulled her down onto him harder, he whispered into her ear, “Oh, Kirsten, you’re so fucking hot, so tight on me!”

“God, Joe, I feel so full right now. You’re so hard, so big!” she gasped. “God, don’t stop!”

“I won’t, baby,” he breathed into her ear, sending shivers through her body. “You feel so damn good, luv!” His thrusts picked up speed and urgency, pounding into her tender body as she cried out his name. She was panting against his shoulder as he whispered encouragement quietly to her. Her hips bucked up against him as she felt her climax come over her. Then it was her turn to urge him on, saying, “Cum for me, Joe, please! I want to feel you cum inside me!”

“Oh, GOD, I AM!” he cried hoarsely. He slammed into her one last time, then collapsed on top of her. Breathless, they lay there for a long time before Joe tried to move off her. But she pulled him back down onto her, saying, “Don’t! I love feeling you on top of me like this.”

He shifted his weight a bit and laid there as they drifted off into exhausted sleep.

The next morning, Joe and Kirsten headed down to breakfast hand in hand. The rest of the band’s jaws dropped open as one when they saw them. Malvin looked over at them and said, “Now, does this mean we don’t need a new engineer?”

“Definitely,” Joe said quickly. Kirsten cleared her throat and said, “I think that question was directed at me, Joe, and I’m perfectly able to answer it myself.” Eyes rolled all over the table when they heard her tone of voice. Here we go again, they all thought. Then she smiled up at Joe, kissed him quickly and looked at Malvin. The others nearly fell off their chairs laughing when she finally said, “What he said, Malvin. What he said.”