“What’s that, Ross?” Nikki asked patiently. She was used to his warnings after a year as Ross’ assistant photographer. “They can’t be any worse than Motley or Poison!”

“No, they’re just different,” he said with a sigh. “They're five unique men who get along better than most brothers. I mean, well, like this. Steve Clark fell into the bottle years ago and Phil Collen completely gave up alcohol, yet they’re still best mates. See what I mean? But what I’m talking about is that they have another vice that applies directly to you.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“They LOVE women,” he said.

“Don’t all rock stars?” she said quickly.

“No, you’re just not understanding me. They love women and women love them,” he said.

“Oh, come on, Ross! They can’t be any worse than Poison and I survived them,” she laughed, trying not to remember kneeing Bobby Dahl in the groin when he mistook her for a groupie and pinned her to a wall for a grope.

“No, there’s no playpen backstage or anything. Just, somehow, women fall completely in love with them. I’ve lost two assistants to Rick Savage alone! And, to be honest, if you weren’t so damn good at your job, I wouldn’t take you.”

“How could you possibly lose assistants to Rick Savage?” she asked with a laugh.

“Well, the first one followed him around like a lost puppy and completely neglected her job. I had to let her go. The second one slept with him the third night out and when she caught him with another woman, she walked out on me,” Ross said, shaking his head in frustration.

“Don’t worry, Ross,” she said quickly. “If I can withstand Nikki Sixx trying to get me to go back to his room, and he was quite persuasive by the way, I can hold my own with Rick Savage!”

“I hope so! You’re too damn good to lose,” Ross said quietly.

They flew out the next day to meet the band on the road. Ross allowed Nikki to bring her own camera equipment along, a testament to his faith in her. Someday, he knew, the girl was going to rival him on a professional level. But he was damn proud of her.

When they walked into the hotel bar, Nikki felt six pairs of eyes trace over her form. The band sat at a large table with a woman with long dark hair. The men looked her over appreciatively, while the woman stared daggers at her. There were two available seats left at the table. One was between a man with white blond hair and the woman and the other was between a guy with long straight blond hair and one with very long blond curls falling past his shoulders. The guy with the blond curls jumped up and pulled out the chair next to him, saying, “M’lady?”

She looked around and realized the fellow with the white blond hair had been drinking a good bit, so she had no desire to sit next to him. She walked over and took the chair offered and smile up at the man. “Thank you!”

Then she looked at Ross and saw him glaring at her. “Ross, you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I think introductions are in order.” Motioning to the white blond, he said, “This is Steve Clark.” Steve leaned over the table and shook her hand, mumbling, “Nice to meet you!”

“And this is Phil Collen,” as the man next to Steve stood up and extended a hand. Phil said quickly, “My pleasure.”

“Then this is Rick Allen,” he said as a man with one arm stood and put out his hand for her to shake.

Ross changed directions and motioned to the woman sitting beside him. “This is Joe’s fiancee, Karla Rhamdani.” Karla nodded her head briefly before turning away again. “This big blond bloke is Joe Elliott,” he said of the man with the straight hair sitting next to her. Joe stuck out his hand and said, “Nice to know you!”

Ross took a deep breath and said finally, “And the fellow on the other side of you is Rick Savage.”

Nikki put out her hand to shake Rick Savage’s, but he brought it to his lips as he said, “Please, call me Sav.”

Her mind raced and she finally realized why Ross’ two assistants had fallen for him. He was charming as hell! She smiled at him, then laughed. “So, you’re the one Ross warned me about!” she said to Sav.

“Ugh, Ross, how could you!” Sav said as a hurt look crossed his face.

“Listen, Savage, you’ve cost me two girls already. I figured she should know that!” Ross said with a laugh. The rest of the guys laughed as Sav grimaced. He mumbled, “Thanks a lot, Halfin. I’ll remember that. You know that first girl was not my fault!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to lose this one and the second one was you!” Ross said quickly.

“Hey, I told her what happened wasn’t a permanent thing, but she was psycho!” Sav said defensively. “She started acting like I was her personal property after one night!” He looked at Nikki and said, “Honest, it wasn’t my fault!”

Phil snickered as Sav twisted uncomfortably in his seat. Then Ross turned on him as well, “You shouldn’t laugh! Damn near lost Felicia over you!”

Phil’s face dropped as the band turned their laughter on him. Yet even as Nikki laughed, she could feel an invisible pull towards the man next to her. Jesus, let this month get over with soon, she prayed. She’d made the mistake of sleeping with one of their rock star clients once, and though it hadn’t been a bad thing, it was an experience she didn’t care to relive.

“So, Nikki, how long have you worked for the slave master?” Joe asked with a laugh.

“Bout a year now,” she said with a smile.

“So who have you worked with then?” Sav asked curiously.

“Poison, Motley Crue and,” she paused a moment before adding, “Metallica.”

“Wow! Ross has had you out on the big ones, huh?” Phil asked.

“And she handled them like a pro!” Ross said proudly.

“Those are some rough bands for a bird like you!” Rick said. “Have any problems with them hitting on you?”

“One in every band tries it,” Nikki laughed.

“Two in Metallica, don’t you remember, Nikki?” Ross said with a laugh.

Her voice lost all color as she replied, “Ross, I don’t want to talk about that! He didn’t hit on me, okay?” The guys could tell there was some tension there and Joe asked, “So who’s made fools of themselves over pretty little you?”

“Um, let’s see. Bobby Dahl tried to get me into their ‘playpen’ before having an uncomfortable meeting with my knee.” Six pairs of male legs crossed almost in unison. “And Nikki Sixx spent a week trying to sweet talk me into following him up to his room, til I threaten to call his wife.”

“What about Metallica?” Rick asked, full of curiosity now.

“Well, Lars got it, wait, you know what? I don’t think I want to talk about Metallica,” she said finally.

“Lars was all over her, until Jason Newsted pulled him off and knocked him on his ass. Then Newsted had the balls to...” Ross spoke up, but Nikki cut him off.

“With all due respect to my employer, Ross, shut the fuck up!” Nikki said flatly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay,” Rick said slowly, not wanting to let Nikki completely off the hook. “Did you ever sleep with any of them? We’ve ruled out Dahl, Sixx and Ulrich, how bout the rest?”

“I plead the fifth!” she said with a laugh, her good humor returning as quickly as it had vanished.

“You did, didn’t you,” Sav asked, surprised.

“Who?” Phil asked.

“Had to be Bret Michaels!” Joe laughed.

“Or Tommy Lee?” Rick asked.

She shook her head and laughed, saying, “I’m not telling!”

“Just please tell me it wasn’t Mick Mars,” Phil said and Nikki shuddered. Then she said, “That’s just too gross!”

Sav looked down at her with eyes that pinned her to the wall and said softly, “It was Newsted, wasn’t it?”

Looking into his eyes, she couldn’t make herself lie. She sat mute and nodded her head.

“Jesus! What is it with you and bass players?” Joe laughed.

Rick poked Sav and said, “See mate, there’s hope for you yet!”

“Sod off, Rick!” Sav said crossly.

“Okay, guys, enough about my sex life now, thank you! I’m sure Ross has a million questions for you!”

For the next hour, Ross asked questions about the band’s itinerary, making notes as he went. Nikki leaned back in her chair, only to discover Sav’s arm draped across the back of it. Rather than cause a scene, she tried to ignore it, though the contact with his warm flesh sent goose bumps racing over her body. She sat listening to them partially, but also she listened to the music coming over the bar’s speaker system from the jukebox. Suddenly, she heard a familiar song and said, “Oh my God, I can’t believe they’re actually playing this song in public!”

“You like Prince?” Steve and Phil asked at the same time.

“He’s cool, it’s just this song is so great to bump and grind to! And it’s named for me!” she laughed.

Steve and Phil looked at each other as the words rang out “I knew a girl named Nikki, guess you could say she was a sex fiend...” They both jumped up and walked around to Nikki’s side of the table. Grabbing her up, they said, “Let’s go!”

They each grabbed one of her hands and pulled her out to a small space cleared for dancing. At first, the two men barely moved as they watched her sway to the throbbing notes of “Darling Nikki”. Then Nikki decided to throw caution to the wind, forget who they were and have a little fun. She grabbed Steve by the hips, grinding up against him in time to the music. Phil came up behind her and suddenly Nikki was sandwiched in between the two guitarists. Then Nikki saw the first flash. Ross had grabbed his camera and started snapping away as he muttered, “Ballsy little bitch!”

As she looked at Ross, she saw he was looking none to happy, yet couldn’t pass up the chance at what could be an awesome photo. As Nikki turned to face Phil, she looked at the table where the rest of the band sat. Karla wouldn’t even look their way. Joe’s expression told her that if Karla hadn’t been there, he’d be right there with them. Rick was obviously aroused by the look on his face. When she looked at Sav, though, his face was completely blank. He might as well have been watching a blank wall. Inside, though, dismay warred with desire. What if she were interested in one of the two on the floor with her? It was an unspoken rule that nobody messed with someone else’s woman of the moment, even if the guy had a serious girlfriend at home waiting for him. Had he lost his chance to get to know the beautiful young photographer Ross had brought into their lives? He watch as Nikki danced with his friends and wondered which one she was attracted to. Then he saw Phil trying to move in for a kiss. She pulled back with a shake of her head and leaned into Steve’s body. So, it was Steve, was it? Steve wrapped his arms around her waist completely, and though she let him dance like that for a moment, eventually she unclasped his hands and set them back to a more neutral position on her hips. Damn, so she’d shook off both of the Terror Twins!

As the song ended, Phil and Steve headed back to the table, Nikki walked over to the jukebox and made a couple of selections. When she got back to the table, Karla got up and huffed out. Nikki’s eyes followed her, but she said nothing. And Sav seemed more distant than he had before, but again, she said nothing.

The song that had been playing ended and Nikki’s first song came on. Within seconds of the song’s beginning notes, four band members’ eyes started rolling and they all looked at her. Joe was the first to speak up, saying, “Please, tell me you didn’t play this song!”

“Yes sir, I did!” she laughed as ‘Separate Ways’ pounded through the speakers. “Journey’s fucking awesome!”

“Aw, Christ, we got another one!” Rick laughed.

Then she realized that while Joe, Phil, Steve and Rick rolled their eyes about the song, Sav was smiling down at her like she’d just given him a present.

“Bloody hell, Sav, you win!” Phil laughed.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Nikki asked quietly.

“Journey is one of Sav here’s bands,” Steve laughed. “None of the rest of us can’t bloody well stand them!”

She looked up into Sav’s eyes and saw a fire burning behind his eyes. And she knew just how easily she could get burned. She looked around and asked, “Anybody got a cigarette I can bum? Menthol, preferably.”

All four of his band mates turned to Sav, who pulled out a pack of Marlboro Menthols and handed her one. Rick spoke up and said, “Damn, this is getting weird.”

“What now?” she asked with a sigh.

“Sav’s the only menthol smoker of the lot as well, luv,” Joe explained.

She refused to look up at Sav again, for fear she would be lost forever. Instead, she turned to Joe and asked, “Got a light?”

Joe produced his lighter and flicked on the flame, letting Nikki light her cigarette. She leaned back in her seat and realized that Sav had moved his arm. Disappointed, she was none the less relieved that he wouldn’t be touching her any more. It was too damned unnerving!

At just that moment, several young women made it into the bar and began looking around. As soon as they spotted the band, they swarmed all over the table. One in particular honed in on Sav, hanging all over him and calling him baby. From the sound of what she was saying, she’d met him before and something had happened that Sav either didn’t remember or didn’t want to. Nikki looked over at him and saw the woman bend down and kiss him in a much more than casual way. Nikki pushed back her chair and headed for the jukebox, looking over the selections again. More to see what would happen than anything else, she punched in the buttons for Journey’s ‘Open Arms’ and took a seat away from the band to watch. As soon as the song started, Sav’s head shot up and he started to look around.

The fan was running fingers through Sav’s long curls as he looked around the bar and Nikki felt a flare of jealousy. She’d have given anything to tangle her hands through that mane! Then Sav’s eyes finally found her and he gave her a smile to rival sunlight. She returned the smile, then walked over to the table, leaning down to Ross. She whispered into his ear, “I’m beat! I’m heading for bed.”

Looking up at her, he said, “Well, have a good night! They’ve got a charity soccer match tomorrow, so be ready to start shooting.”

“Okay, Ross, see you in the morning!” she said brightly and walked quickly out of the bar. She just made it to the elevator when she felt him come up behind her. Feeling the heat of his body as he leaned over to her ear, she sighed as he whispered, “Leaving us so soon?”

She leaned her head back to answer and felt it land on his shoulder. His hands went to her waist as she said, “Yeah, busy day tomorrow. I’ve got to make sure everything is ready for Ross to start shooting.”

“Sure I can’t come tuck you in?” he whispered softly.

“Not if I want to keep my job!” she laughed.

He kissed her neck and said, “Let me know if you change your mind.” Then he was gone. She turned around and watched as he went back into the bar. It was almost as if she had dreamt their encounter. She went upstairs and climbed into bed, telling herself over and over that Rick Savage was completely off limits. She fell asleep and dreamed of him all night long.

The next morning, Nikki prepared Ross’s cameras and her own. Since this was something the band was doing for fun, Ross was letting Nikki shoot on her own. She rode to the field with Phil, Steve and Rick, and the four of them laughed like idiots the whole way there. Each of them tried to show up the other as they vied for her attention. She burned through a roll of film in the car watching them goof off.

When they arrived, Nikki was the first one out of the car. She turned around and pointed the camera at the door as the guys got out. Phil was the first one to get out, only not quite all of him made it. Grabbing him by the leg, Steve held on until Phil ended up on his face as the shutter clicked away. Then she turned to Steve’s giggling face and snapped again. After the first shot, Steve suddenly grew bunny ears as Rick held two fingers up behind his head.

Ross walked up and said, “They give you many problems on the trip over, luv?”

“Nah, it was like riding with the Three Stooges! Or a car load of clowns. I enjoyed myself,” she answered.

“Well, since they’ve got two soccer matches while we’re here, I’m going to leave you on your own today,” Ross explained. “Give you a chance to get to know them in another way.”

She beamed up at Ross. “Thanks for giving me this chance, Ross.”

“No problem, just don’t waste all your film on Sav!” Ross laughed and headed to the far side of the field.

Sav came up behind her as Ross walked away. He smiled at her and said, “Still warning you off me, luv?”

She spun around and said, “He doesn’t need to. I’ve got every intention of heeding his first warning.”

“Hmm, well, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, luv,” Sav said cryptically as he spun on his heels and stalked onto the field. The band took their places on the field while Nikki and Ross got ready on opposite sidelines. As the match started, Nikki realized just how seriously they took their game. Phil mishandled the ball, a simple mistake actually, and Sav was all over him screaming. On the pitch, these men nothing like the laid back crew she’d drank with the night before. They were intense. She watched in fascination while the film whirred through her camera. As the match ended, all five Leppards and the crew who played with them stripped off their shirts and headed for their cars to go to the pub. Nikki got back into the same car she’d ridden in earlier, but instead of Rick still with Steve and Phil, Sav sat on the opposite seat. He waited calmly for her to join him and for just the barest second, Nikki was tempted to ask Steve to move over just to spite Sav. Did he have to be so fucking confident?

With a sigh for her folly, she sat down next to Sav. His arm was draped over the back of the seat as she put her camera equipment away. As soon as she leaned back, it hit her. The clean smell of the sweat that even then was still dripping down his bare chest. She looked up at him and could barely breath from her desire. She wanted to lick every droplet of sweat off his glistening body. The faint aroma of a hard worked man was sending her senses into overdrive and she was almost physically fighting to control herself. She wanted to taste him and instead pressed her thighs to give her body some relief. And that slow sensual smile that beamed down at her made her melt. Uncontrolled, one hand went to his chest and retrieved a single drop of his moisture, then took it to her lips.

She closed her eyes at the salty taste of him, then realized what she’d just done. There was no denying it, the man was a candle flame and she was a moth, just like a million other women. That thought sobered her a bit and she spent the rest of the trip staring out the window.

Sav could sense a softening towards him from her, yet she was struggling with her desire for him. Meanwhile, every second he was around her, he wanted her more. Yet the last thing he wanted to do was push her into something she’d regret in the morning. So he pulled away and left her to her thoughts. Thoughts that, he hoped, were of him.

When they reached the bar, Nikki sat as far from Sav as she could. She ended up with Rick, who was more than happy to keep her company despite Sav’s stare. Little by little, fans wandered into the bar, flocking around the band like birds around a feeder. Most of them glanced at Nikki sitting with Rick and did their best to completely ignore the poor man. When Nikki saw what was happening, she excused herself and found a table near the back of the bar for herself. Soon Rick was again surrounded by his share of women and he gave Nikki a smile of thanks.

Some of the fans started getting rather insistent about bestowing their favors on the band. Joe was constantly finding himself face to chest with a pair of buxom blonde beauties, while the girl sitting next to Phil had her hands under the table, no doubt someplace shocking from the look on Phil’s face. One of the girls had forced her way onto Sav’s lap as he looked around helplessly.

Nikki couldn’t help but laugh as the band was molested by willing women. She pulled out her camera and snapped pictures as the hapless quintet was bombarded with offers of room keys and bathroom quickies.

Then the girl on Sav’s lap started to go to far. She’d spun around and was straddling him. Nikki could see the pained expression on his face as the girl got a double handful of his hair and pulled his head back for a full on kiss. Then she started to fumble with his shorts, getting her hand under them and grabbing Sav’s crotch. Sav let out a screech as she manhandled him. He wasn’t sure what to do, because his mother had always taught him never to hurt a woman, but this girl was pushing his buttons.

Nikki decided to rescue him and walked slowly back over to the table. When she got there, she stood behind him and grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair, forcing her to look up at Nikki. Then Nikki growled, “Get your fucking hands off my boyfriend!”

The girl shrieked and started to lunge at Nikki, but Sav managed to tangle her up enough so that she fell face first onto the floor. She turned and glared at Sav, then flounced out of the bar with as much dignity as she could muster.

Sav pulled her onto his lap as a shield from the other fans. Then he leaned over and breathed into her ear, “Boyfriend, huh?”

“Don’t get any ideas, Mr. Savage. You just looked like you were in trouble, so I thought I’d help out,” Nikki hissed softly.

“Well, I’ve already had the thoughts, so too late there, but your help was appreciated,” he chuckled. Then he said loudly enough for the women around him to hear, “How’s about a kiss, lovebug?”

Every female head at the table turned to stare jealous daggers at Nikki, while Joe, Phil and Steve just chuckled. Rick stared at Sav in openmouthed amazement. Sav had her trapped good and proper. If she said no, she just knew the other women would lynch her for denying Sav what he wanted. She forced a smile and said sarcastically, “Sure, sugarbear!”

Sav had fully expected her to jump off his lap at his suggestion, so he was shocked when she agreed. His hand tangled through her hair as he slowly pulled her lips to his. He fully intended to take advantage of *this* situation.

Dreading the contact, Nikki let him move closer to her reluctantly. As soon as they touched, Nikki knew she’d lost. His lips were so warm and soft, working gently against hers as he tried to pull her into the kiss. Her mouth betrayed her as her tongue darted out and ran over his lips. She felt his hand move around and cup her ass, holding her firmly against him. His tongue went into her mouth, exploring her hidden recesses. When she finally pulled away, Nikki was breathless, her heart racing. She looked away from him, afraid to see the desire in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, guys,” she said apologetically, “but I’m exhausted. I’ll just head for my room.” She got up from Sav’s lap without looking at him. Then she walked calmly out of the bar, but as soon as she reached the door she ran for the elevator. She punched the button and waited. Just as the doors opened, Sav emerged from the bar. He saw her and took off after her as she entered the elevator. She prayed for the doors to close him out But it seemed that even God was conspiring against her as Sav boarded the elevator.

Nikki couldn’t even look up at him as he crossed the elevator to her. He reached under her chin and lifted her face up to his. Then he whispered, “What are you so afraid of, luv?”

“You!” she cried softly. “You’re going to tear my world apart!”

Stunned, Sav didn’t know what to say. Finally, Nikki opened up on him. “Don’t you think I know what you rock stars are after? Quick conquest, then move on to the next girl!” She shook her head and calmed herself down. Then she continued, “I’ve already been a notch in the bedpost for one of you bastards, it’s not going to happen to me again!”

Sav watched her turn away and sob. As the elevator reached their floor, he grabbed her before she could run off again. “Nikki,” he asked, “what happened with Newsted? One second you defend him, the next you sound like you almost hate him.”

Nikki brushed him off with her arm and ran out into the hallway, Sav hot on her heels. Before she could open the door, he spun her around and pinned her to the wall, saying, “Please, Nikki, just tell me why you’re tearing both of us apart here!”

She slumped against the wall and said, “Okay, fine. Lars was being a total bastard, groping all over me and trying to drag me off into a corner. He’d really been drinking or I think he might have gotten the hint that I didn’t want anything to do with him. Jason got sick of watching him maul me, so he ended up decking Lars. To make a long story short, we ended up in Jason’s room.” She paused reflectively before going on, her voice barely above a whisper, “He was so sweet, I guess I just fell for him.” Then she turned away angrily, “The next morning, Jason acted like nothing had happened. I was crushed and I swore nothing like that would ever happen to me again. So now I just stay away from any involvement with all of you. And it was so easy, until I met up with you!”

Sav couldn’t say a word as she spun away from him and unlocked her door. With one last glance at him, she went inside and locked the door behind her.

He put his hand against the wall as he stared at the closed door. How the hell was he going to get past that? Then he realized he had been acting like a wolf that had scented prey since they’d met. She was just so damned intriguing! He was just going to have to slow down and show her how interested in her he really was. He headed for his room because he had no desire to return to the groupie fest below. He spent the rest of the evening planning just how he was going to show her he wasn’t like the rest of the men she’d encountered.

The next morning, Nikki rose early as usual. She dressed and headed for the restaurant, figuring no one else would be awake at this hour. Especially since they had a show to do that night. But as soon as she crossed into the room, she saw Sav sitting alone, reading a book as he ate. He spotted her and waved her over. Not one to be rude, she went over and sat down next to him.

“So, did you sleep well last night?” he inquired.

“No, actually I didn’t,” she sighed. “Had something on my mind that just wouldn’t go away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said sincerely as he put the book down.

“You should be,” Nikki said quietly, “since you were the cause of it!” She turned her head away, tears springing to her eyes at the admission.

Sav leaned over and turned her face back to his, saying, “Nikki, I’m sorry for the way I acted. I’ll try to back off. But before I do, you need to know this. It doesn’t mean I don’t still want to be with you, I’m just trying to do what you want.”

Her eyes met his for the first time as she said, “This has nothing to do with what I *want*, Sav. It’s just what I have to do. It’s either this or I quit my job and become one of your groupies, begging for your attention.”

Looking deep into her eyes, Sav could see the frustrated desire smoldering there under the surface. He pulled her ear to his mouth and said in a voice soft, yet sure, “You never need to beg for my attention. You’ve got it all.” Then he turned her face back to his, his lips taking hers in a kiss so soft and gentle she nearly cried. His tongue parted her willing lips briefly before he pulled away from her.

Ross joined them a few minutes later, eyeing Sav suspiciously before asking if Nikki would give him a moment alone. Before Nikki could get up from the table, Sav looked at Ross and said, “Get off her back, Ross, she didn’t sleep with me!”

Ross looked at the two of them and sat down with a sigh. “I just don’t want you to mess up your career!”

“I won’t,” Nikki said quietly, shooting a regretful look at Sav. She excused herself and headed back to the safety of her room.

Sav did his best to keep his word with Nikki, but he just couldn’t stay away from her completely. By the end of the week, they were eating together at every meal and everyone saw the two of them sitting in quiet corners talking. Ross watched them, angry at first, then he realized Sav was changing right in front of Ross’s eyes. The playboy was gone. Sav actually acted like he cared about Nikki. Ross chuckled at the thought. Was Sav really falling for her?

Then, at the fifth show since Ross and Nikki joined the band on the road, Ross had Nikki shoot under the stage while he took pictures of the band onstage. Nikki found a dark corner and stayed there, coming in after the guys were above. The roadies brought in about a dozen beautiful, willing young women to stay with the guitarists during their break. One group of three sat quietly plotting something while the others simply walked around nervously. During ‘Rock of Ages’, Steve was the first one down the stairs and was quickly flanked by several of the girls. When Phil came down, all but the three who’d cooked something up flocked over to him. As soon as Sav descended the stairs, the three remaining girls pounced on him. They led him over to a chair and pushed him into it. Two of them took off their shirts and leaned over into his face. He couldn’t seem to get away from them. Then he felt more than heard the third girl tugging at his zipper. He tried to get away from the first two girls, but they wouldn’t let go of his arms. The third girl had gotten his cock out of his pants and went to work on it with her mouth as he looked on helplessly.

At first, Sav kept trying to get away from them. But Steve and Phil were the only other men there and both of them were completely occupied with their own women. So Sav could only lean back and thank God Nikki wasn’t there.

From her corner, Nikki watched Sav breathlessly. She pulled up the camera and focused slowly in on Sav’s face as he finally let the pleasure surface in what the girls were doing. His eyes were half closed as he thought of Nikki. He wished she was the one touching him, rather than these unknown women. He felt himself tense at the thought of Nikki’s soft mouth.

Then he heard the quiet whirring of Nikki’s camera. His head shot up and he looked around for the source of the sound. He found Nikki sitting in the corner watching him, her lips half parted as she looked at him. She lowered the camera and stared back at him, wishing she could be the one with him at that second. Their eyes met as Sav felt his body tense in readiness for his climax.

Nikki lifted the camera again, focusing tightly on his face and eyes as he came. He stared back at her as he thrust his hips forward, his cock buried deep in the groupie’s throat. The girl struggled for a moment, not ready for what he’d done. She pulled back off him, choking and sputtering as Sav’s body relaxed. He couldn’t pull his eyes from Nikki until the girl got in his face and said, “What the hell did you do that for?”

“I could ask you the same fucking thing,” Sav said unevenly. “Where the fuck did you get the idea to gang up on me?”

“One of the roadies said you enjoyed that kind of thing!” One of the girls said defensively. “He said you liked pretending you didn’t want to have it happen!”

“Well, I don’t!” Sav said angrily. “Will you please get the fuck off me?”

The girls moved back, tears in their eyes as they realized what they’d done. Sav turned back to where Nikki was, but she was gone. “FUCK!” he yelled. Looking at the girls, he asked, “Which roadie was it?”

“A big guy with brown hair,” one girl answered. “I don’t know his name.”

“Fine!” Sav said, starting to calm down a bit, but still trying to locate Nikki. Then he saw Phil and Steve strapping their guitars back on. Nikki would have to wait until the end of the show.

Nikki ran for the bathroom, disgusted with herself. How could she have enjoyed watching Sav with someone else? She barely made it to the toilet before throwing up. What the hell had she been thinking?

Nikki stumbled out into the arena and found Ross. She told him quietly that she wasn’t feeling well, blaming it on some unknown stomach ailment. She was heading back to the hotel to lay down, would he give her apologies to the band for not being able to do her job?

He assured her he would, then watched worried as she left the floor. As soon as he turned back to the stage, he found Sav standing just above him, watching Nikki as well. The expression on Sav’s face was unreadable, even to someone who’d photographed him as much as Ross had.

Nikki grabbed her camera bag and fled the arena, hailing a cab as soon as she reached the road. Once in the vehicle, she warred with herself. The woman in her wanted to destroy the film she’d just shot, erasing its memory from her mind. But the photographer knew she’d captured something awesome on that film and couldn’t ruin it. The photographer won. She rewound the film and put it in a separate pocket from the film she would turn in to Ross. She’d simply tell him she hadn’t been able to get any shots because she’d been too sick under the stage.

When she got to the hotel, she headed straight for her room and lay down on the bed. She couldn’t get the image of Sav’s face out of her head. She fell asleep staring into the darkness still seeing those eyes as he came.

The phone rang about two hours later. Ross was calling to check up on her when they‘d returned to the hotel, making sure she wasn’t severely ill enough to need a doctor. She told him she would be fine, she just needed to rest. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

“Nikki, please, can I talk to you?” came Sav’s voice through the door.

She stayed silent, knowing she couldn’t trust herself to speak to him. If she let him in that door, she knew what she’d do and that she’d regret it forever.

“Please, Nikki! I know you’re not really sick, just let me talk to you! Please!” Sav begged. “Damn it, woman! It wasn’t what it looked like!”

She lay there, listening to him for several minutes before there was silence again. Then she heard a door down the hallway slam shut. Tears of frustration burned her eyes as she turned over to sleep once more. But slumber was far off now as she wondered just what he’d wanted to say to her. Finally, several hours later, she dozed off, reliving what had happened that night in her dreams.

The next morning when she woke up, she found a note that had been slipped under her door. Figuring it was from Sav, she was afraid to open it. When she did, she found written in a child-like scrawl “I can make you forget what he did to you last night.”

Puzzled, she slipped the note into her camera bag and headed for the car. She managed to avoid Sav by waiting until she saw him get in the car, then getting into the other one. The five hour drive was quiet, since Rick, Steve and Phil had all been out late the night before. They were sleeping it off now. Once they reached the venue, Nikki made herself scarce, hiding behind the scenes while the band did its sound check. She was in the catering room when she heard a rough voice say, “Did you get my note?”

She spun around and said, “Um, well, I guess so.” The man in front of her was a large guy with curly brown hair that was out of control. He motioned to her and said, “Come here and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Thinking she was safe in the arena, she followed him out the door and down the hallway. It came to a sudden abrupt end and that was where he struck. He grabbed her and slammed her into the wall, growling, “I knew you and that son of a bitch would never work out. So I’ve been waiting for my chance with you!”

He bent his head to her throat and starting chewing at the skin there. His hands were all over her and she couldn’t even make herself scream. All she could do was shake her head back and forth, trying to form the word “no“. She heard a tear and realized he had ripped her shirt open. As he started to paw at her breast, she finally managed to get a lungful of air and screamed the only thing she could think of at that moment.

“SAV!!”

Then her head was slammed back into the wall, causing her to see stars. Her assailant put his mouth over hers, keeping her from any further attempts at screaming as his hand went under her skirt. Tears ran down her face as she realized there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop the man in front of her.

There was a blur of motion, then the man was torn away from her, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see Sav on top of him, slamming the man’s face with his fist. The guy pushed Sav off him and threw a punch that landed on the side of Sav’s face, knocking him to the ground. But before the guy could take advantage of the situation, Sav rolled out of his way and was back on his feet. When the man charged at him, Sav kicked out at his midsection and knocked the wind out of him. He started to straighten up, only to be met by Sav’s fist in his face. The guy reeled away and Sav grabbed him, knocking his head into the wall. Nikki’s attacker fell silently to the ground, knocked unconscious by the blow.

Joe and Malvin ran up just as Sav made it to Nikki. Sav pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried, the tears of fear and helplessness pouring out of her.

Malvin and Joe stared down at the unconscious man as Joe asked, “Who is he, Malvin?”

“His name is Carl. He’s one of the road crew who started about three weeks ago,” Malvin explained. “A couple of his friends are on the crew, so they vouched for him while we waited on his background check. DAMN!”

The rest of the band and some of the crew ran into the hallway just as Carl regained consciousness. He looked for a way out of there, but found that the trap he had set for Nikki had closed on him instead. Joe simply looked at him and said, “Do you really want another beating, mate, cuz I know I’m up for it!”

Carl slumped down against the wall and stared at Nikki laying in Sav’s arms. He wanted to lunge at Sav. But there where too many people here, so he sat still and waited. The police arrived shortly after, while Sav was still cradling Nikki in his arms. He carried her back to the dressing room and laid her down, never letting go of her. All Nikki could do was weep.

The rest of the band cleared out, leaving Nikki and Sav alone in the room. He ran his hand over her hair as she finally started to calm down. She looked up at him and whispered, “How’d you find me?”

“Malvin said he’d seen you head out in that direction when I came offstage looking for you,” Sav said softly. “I was still trying to find you after what happened last night, trying to talk to you for just a minute. I walked the way Malvin told me and heard you scream.”

Nikki had never felt so helpless and weak in her life. When she thought of what Carl had tried to do to her, she felt her stomach start to heave. She stumbled into the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet as Sav rubbed her back and held her hair out of the way. Walking to the sink, she splashed water on her face, got a drink and then stared at herself in the mirror. Haunted eyes gazed back at her as the tears came again. Sav grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms, trying to erase the memory for her.

Malvin stuck his head through the door and said regretfully, “I’m sorry, mate, but you guys are on in five minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there, Mal,” Sav said quietly. Looking down at Nikki, he said softly, “Listen, why don’t you come wait for me under the stage. I think Ross will agree you need the night off.”

“I don’t think so,” Nikki said, remembering the night before. “I really don’t want to see what goes on under there!”

Sav gently lifted her face up to his and said, “Listen, I didn’t want those girls last night. That maniac set me up and told them I enjoyed acting like I was resisting a girl’s advances. That’s why when I tried to stop them, they thought it was just an act. After it was over, they said a big roadie with brown hair told them that was what I liked. I tried to tell you last night, but you were too angry to listen to me.”

“I wasn’t angry with you,” Nikki said quietly.

“Then why wouldn’t you open the door?” Sav asked, completely puzzled because he thought he’d known exactly what was going on.

Malvin looked in again and said, “You’ve got to get out there, Sav, it’s only one minute til show time!”

“We’ll talk about it some other time, just not right now!” Nikki said quickly. “Now go!”

Sav looked at her again, then took off running for the stage. Nikki left him a note saying she’d was going back to the hotel and called for a cab. She went straight to her room and crawled into bed, trying to sleep and forget what had almost happened to her.

Sav knocked quietly at her door, but she didn’t answer. Her note had said she was exhausted and would talk to him later, so rather than wake her he went quietly back to his room and off to bed.

The next morning, Nikki headed into the restaurant and found Sav waiting for her as usual. She slipped into the chair next to his and gave him a smile that set his heart racing. Maybe she’d forgiven what had happened with those groupies.

“Morning,” he said quietly, returning her smile with one of his own.

“Good morning,” she said softly. During the night, she’d woke up and thought over a lot of things, mostly concerning the man in the next chair. She’d decided that Ross be damned, she was going to take full advantage of the time she had with Sav. If he dumped her the next morning, well, she could deal with that. If not, they had two weeks left together and she didn’t plan on wasting them. She placed a gentle hand over his and looked up into his eyes.

He stared back at her for a moment, wondering what she was doing. He looked down at their hands, her fingers curling through his, then he looked back into her eyes. Without a word, he knew what she was thinking. He leaned over and kissed her, trying to let her see she wasn’t making a mistake by taking a chance with him.

Joe walked in and headed for them, whispering as he reached the table, “Um, Ross is right behind me, so I’d knock it off.”

Reluctantly, Sav let go of Nikki’s hand and tried to look as normal as possible. Nikki simply smiled up at Ross as he asked, “How are you doing this morning, Nikki? I know you had a rough night last night at the arena.”

“I’m fine, thanks to Sav,” she said with a smile, though she didn’t look at Sav when she’d said it. She knew Ross would see right through her if he saw the way she watched Sav now.

“Um, hey Ross,” Joe said suddenly. “Mind if Nikki rides our bus today? We were just talking about David Bowie and I’ve got some stuff with me I think she’d like to hear.”

Ross looked at Joe and thought over his request, then said, “Well, I guess it can’t hurt anything.”

The rest of the band made it downstairs over the next few minutes, getting ready to make the five hour drive to the next venue. Ross boarded the bus with Phil, Rick and Steve, while Nikki got onto Joe and Sav’s bus. Sav sat down on the couch and pulled Nikki down beside him, putting an arm over her shoulder. Joe gave them a smile as Sav said, “Thanks for helping out with Ross, mate.”

“Any time!” Joe laughed as he fell onto the other couch. “Feel like I’m back in school, hiding shit from Mum again!”

Nikki yawned unexpectedly and Sav looked at her concerned, asking, “Are you tired, luv?”

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep too well, after what...” she looked away, not wanting to complete the thought.

“Hey, we’ve got five hours to kill, why don’t you go take a nap?” Joe suggested. “I’m sure you won’t have a problem finding someone to play teddy bear for you.”

Sav threw a pillow in Joe’s direction and laughed as it hit him in the face. Then he stood up and said, “Come on, I’ll show you to my bunk.”

He pulled Nikki to her feet and led her by the hand back to his sleeping area. She looked inside and said, “Wow, not bad accommodations for a bus!”

“Well, I had no desire to sleep on a prison cot,” Sav laughed. Nikki kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed, then turned around and looked at Sav. She laughed and said, “Hmm, I do seem to have left my teddy bear in my luggage!”

“Will I do?” he asked with a laugh.

“Hmm, you’re a bit big, but any port in a storm, I guess,” she giggled. Sav got into the bed just as Nikki yawned again. He took her into his arms and pulled her on top of him. She laid her head on his chest as his hand ran gently over her hair.

“Nikki,” he whispered, “I’m sorry about what happened the past couple of days. I didn’t know how to stop those girls. I didn’t know what to do, but I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She looked up into his eyes and said, “Sav, it didn’t upset me. I got upset with myself because of what I was thinking when it was happening. It made me sick, the way I reacted.”

“Why? I guess I just don’t understand,” Sav sighed.

Nikki looked away and said, “I wanted to be the one who...Anyway, I got really turned on, watching you, when you, God, this is embarrassing!”

“Want to hear my embarrassing secret?” Sav asked softly. Nikki nodded, though she was still staring intently at the curtain in front of the bunk. “The only reason I stopped fighting them was because I started thinking about you, wishing it was you that was touching me.”

Her head snapped up and she looked back into his eyes. “Really? You mean we were thinking the...” She couldn’t finish.

“The same thing, luv,” Sav whispered. He leaned down and kissed her again. Then he pulled her tightly to his chest and said, “But not here, like this. We can wait til tonight at the hotel.”

“You’re right,” she said softly. She relaxed against him, laying her head back on his chest. They laid there, just being close to each other, as they start to fall asleep. Sleep claimed Nikki as she listened to the sound of his heartbeat roaring into her ear.

They woke with a start when Joe whipped the curtain back and said, “Get up, guys, we’re at the venue and Ross is on his way up here!”

“Ah, fuck,” Sav mumbled. He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Nikki just laid there, figuring she’d just tell Ross she’d borrowed a bunk to take a nap because she’d been so tired. Which was, actually, the truth.

Ross boarded the bus, looking for Nikki. She feigned sleep, hoping Ross would buy that she’d been in the bunk alone the whole trip. And since he had no reason not to, he believed it completely. He chivied Nikki into the venue, telling her she would once again be under the stage. She hadn’t been able to get any shots the first night because she’d been sick, so this was her chance. She helped him during the sound check, careful not to spend too much time staring at Sav lest Ross notice it. She gave Joe a hard time about miffing some song lyrics, though he said defensively that this was, after all, simply sound check. She flirted with Phil and Steve, who both looked to Sav first and saw him nod in encouragement. Ross shot photos of Rick showing Nikki how the drum pedals worked on his kit and her sitting back to back with Joe on the edge of the stage while they waited for some adjustments to be made. And Ross noticed Sav taking in every action of Nikki’s.

Ross wondered how Nikki felt about Sav. He knew the day before, by the way Savage had acted when she’d been attacked, that Sav had real feelings for her. Was she simply grateful that Sav had saved her from Carl or did she return his feelings? Ross decided to watch the two of them and quit interfering.

As the show got ready to start, Nikki headed under the huge stage, taking pictures of the band as they got ready to go on. Sav grabbed her for a quick kiss just before he headed upstairs.

The usual crowd of young willingly women waited along with Nikki as Sav, Phil and Steve came down the stairs. Sav kissed Nikki again, trying to get her to sit down with him until she reminded him she had a job to do. The girls piled around the three men, hands going everywhere as Nikki snapped frame after frame. With Nikki present, Phil and Steve were on their best behavior and kept everything strictly above board. Aside from a few wandering hands, nothing happened between the band and the half naked women, much to the women’s dismay.

The men headed back up the stairs to finish the show and the girls were escorted out from under the stage, though two of them had been asked back to the hotel by Phil. He may have been a good boy in front of the camera, but Nikki’s shutter wouldn’t be present in his hotel room.

Nikki perched on the stairs and took several shots of the band from that angle while they finished their set. They came below and dried off before the encore, while Nikki got pictures of Joe and Rick. Sav watched her work without a word, not wanting to disturb her. But God, was she beautiful!

They went up and did a quick two song encore, then headed below for the night. Nikki caught each of them as they came off stage, laughing and sweating. Then she started putting her camera away. Sav grabbed her and swung her around to face him, pulling her in for a kiss before she could say a word. His tongue ran over her lips quickly, then he heard Phil say, “Uh oh, boss man heading in!”

Frustrated, Sav pulled back and headed for the locker room to shower. Ross walked up to Nikki and asked how she’d done. She pulled out three rolls of film for him and said, “Oh, and there’s a partially used one in the camera.”

“Oh, well, can’t have that, can we?” Ross laughed. “Time for you to get used to being in an uncomfortable situation. Come on!” He grabbed her by the arm and headed for the locker room where the guys were showering. Nikki blushed as they entered a room filled with naked band members. She couldn’t even look at Sav at that moment. Ross elbowed her and said, “Get that camera out, girl!”

Nikki fumbled with her camera case, which gave most of the guys enough time to wrap towels around their waist. Phil, ever the exhibitionist, didn’t bother. He just went right on with drying himself and getting dressed as if Nikki wasn’t there.

“You bastard, Halfin!” Sav grumbled and Ross laughed. Then Ross said, “She’s got to get used to it!”

“You really are a son of a bitch, Ross,” Steve mumbled, making Ross laugh harder as Nikki finally got the camera ready. She shot off the rest of the roll as the guys paraded around in their towels, even catching one of Phil’s bare bum before the film ran out. She’d been way too embarrassed to take a frontal picture of Phil. She rewound the film and handed it over to Ross, much to the relief of the band who could now get dressed. Rather than leave, Nikki took a seat and kept up a steady stream of conversation with Steve, who had managed to get his jeans on rather quickly when Ross had dragged Nikki in. But she glanced over at Sav secretly several times, glad he’d never caught her at it. The man had a wonderful body!

Once the guys were dressed, they went up and greeted a few fans who’d made it backstage. Ross took all the pictures there, with Nikki simply loading his cameras for him. Then they headed back to the hotel, where everyone headed to the bar except Phil. The two girls from under the stage were already waiting on him, so he led them up to his room with a quick goodnight to the rest of the group.

Nikki stuck around for about an hour before pleading off with a headache. She looked at Sav, wondering if he would still want to come to her room. He gave her a concerned look, but Ross was watching her so she couldn’t even signal anything to Sav. She walked up to her room, not knowing what was going to happen. Changing her clothes into shorts and a t-shirt, she climbed into bed and lay there staring at the ceiling until she finally dropped off to sleep.

There was a soft knock at her door an hour later. Still groggy, she stumbled over to the door and opened it, only to find Sav looking down at her, a worried expression on his face. She stood back and let him in, closing the door quickly behind him.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said softly. “How’s your headache?”

“Actually, I never had one,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanted to get out from Ross’s prying eyes.”

“Ah, that I can understand,” he said with a chuckle. She stood close enough Sav could have just reached out and pulled her to him at that moment, but he waited to see what she would do. He didn’t have to wait long. She moved closer to him, standing on tiptoe to reach his lips with her own. At that kiss, Sav wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his body. He returned her kiss, his tongue reaching into her, learning her mouth. Her tongue danced with his as her hands twined through his long blond curls. A moment later, his lips left hers and trailed down her throat, leaving fire in their wake. Nikki’s breath caught in her throat as she felt his hands go under her t-shirt and up her back. A second later, her shirt went off over her head and Sav picked her up, carrying her over to the bed. He slid her shorts off next, then gazed down at her naked form with appreciative eyes. She heard him say softly as he lay down next to her, “You’re lovely, you know that?”

“Thanks,” she whispered, then gasped as his lips closed over the firm bud of her nipple. Her back arched up to him while his hand traveled over her. Down her belly, over her hips, then dipping slowly between her thighs. Her fingernails raked his back as she felt him teasing her clit with his fingertips. Then her hips thrust up to meet his hand, grinding against his palm as his fingers worked their way inside her. She groaned, “Oh, God, don’t stop!”

He smiled up at her, then lowered his head to her waiting sex. Fingers still thrusting away inside her, his lips closed over her clit and sent an electric surge through her body. She grabbed the covers as his tongue moved slowly over her hard nub. She fought for control as her body went over the brink and an orgasm slammed through her. “Oh, FUCK, SAV, oh, FUCK, YESYESYES!”

His fingers still went slowly in and out of her, intensifying her climax. He could feel the tight walls of her innermost channel clamping down on them as she cried, “OH, GOD, SAV! OH GOD DAMN!”

She lay weak on the bed as Sav moved up beside her and cradled her in his arms. She smiled up at him and said, “Thanks for that, Sav.”

“Trust me, it was my pleasure,” he chuckled. Then she caught him off guard and rolled over on top of him, pinning him to the bed. She nearly tore his shirt off in her haste to remove it, and he laughed, saying, “A bit impatient, luv?”

“God, yes,” she murmured as she moved down to the button of his jeans. She skinned them off him quickly and licked her lips at the sight of his throbbing erection. Running her hands slowly up his hard muscled thighs, she gave him a wicked grin and said, “Let’s see if I’m as good at this as that groupie was.”

Sav started to laugh, then felt her hand closing over his cock. He leaned up on his elbows, wanting to watch as she lowered her mouth over him. Their eyes locked as she took him into her throat, running her tongue over the sensitive underside of him. She felt him shiver as it ran under the ridge of the tip. With a quick breath, she took all of him and sucked firmly over the whole length. His arms could barely hold him up as she pulled away, then went down on him again. Over and over, she pulled slowly up the shaft, then quickly took all of him into her throat again, making sure to run her tongue over every throbbing inch as she went. He could feel his body tightening, readying for his orgasm, and tried to stop her. But she just kept going until he exploded into her mouth with a cry. She licked him clean with long slow swipes of her tongue, then trailed her tongue up his body and snuggled into his side.

“Oh, Jesus, that was fucking wonderful, luv,” he sighed as she put her arms around him. She started to smile up at him, then heard a knock at her door. They both went stiff as they heard Ross call, “Nikki? Are you okay in there?”

“OH FUCK!” Nikki hissed. Sav looked around the room and found himself trapped good and proper. While Nikki said, “Oh, I’m better now, Ross.” Sav made his way to the side of the bed and scooted under it. Nikki giggled as she threw on her robe and opened the door for Ross.

“I just wanted to check in on you,” Ross said quietly. “How’s your head?”

“Oh, it’s fine now Ross,” she stammered. He looked around and sat on the bed, bringing a muttered “OMPH” from Sav who was directly under him. Nikki coughed, trying to cover up the noise and Ross pretended not to hear Sav. Suddenly he found himself ready to bust up at the thought of the rock star under the bed and decided to have a little fun at Sav’s expense. “Have you seen Savage tonight?”

“No, not since down in the bar,” Nikki lied.

“Good, cuz that guy can be a real slick bastard with the women,” Ross said slowly. “Sneak up here when I least expect it and land in your bed without so much as hello if you don’t watch him! And I don’t think it matters if it’s a guy or a girl in the bed with him!” Nikki’s eyes went wide as she saw Sav’s hand coming up from under the bed, ready to throttle Ross at that moment. She came over and threw herself down next to Ross and put her foot on Sav’s hand to keep it still. “Oh, come on, Ross,” Nikki said quickly, “I don’t think any of these guys would do that!”

“I do!” Ross said with a chuckle. “But Savage most of all! He’s too fucking pretty to stay just with women.” Ross shook his head, trying to keep from busting up laughing as he said, “I’ll bet he and Elliott sneak out on the bus and Elliott puts it to him good!” Nikki was staring at the floor when she saw another hand come out and she tramped down on it quickly. “Somehow I don’t think any of them do that, Ross,” she said through gritted teeth, trying hard to keep Sav out of sight.

“Yeah, well, you can believe that if you want to, luv. Just stay out of his bed. Never know what diseases he’s picked up by now!” Ross said with mock sincerity. Then he got up and headed for the door, saying, “Keep your wits about ya, luv, and you’ll do just fine! And keep him OUT of your bed!”

“Yes, sir,” she said weakly.

“Have a good rest, Nikki,” Ross said with a smile, knowing there wasn’t going to be much resting going on that night.

“I will, Ross,” she said with a sly smile. As soon as the door closed, Sav came boiling up from under the bed, and nearly yelled, “I’m gonna kick his fucking ass for that!”

Nikki grabbed him by the cock, easily done since he was still naked, and said, “What, with this?”

Sav’s eyes traveled slowly down to where her hand gripped him and said, “Well, you better get it hard first. It’ll make a better weapon that way.”

Outside the room, Ross heard Sav’s voice and chuckled. So, they thought they were pulling a fast one on him, huh? He’d play along and have a little fun, just to see how far they’d go with this. He walked away chuckling to himself just as Malvin pounded on Sav’s door. “He’s not there, mate,” Ross said quickly. “He’s in Nikki’s room, just don’t tell them I said that!”

“You’re not pissed?” Malvin said in astonishment.

“Nah, just don’t tell them that,” Ross laughed. “I’m gonna have a bit of fun before I give them my blessing.” Malvin just shook his head and laughed. He could wait to talk to Sav until the next morning.

“So, Ross thinks you swing both ways, huh,” Nikki said thoughtfully. She pulled away and looked at him, wondering just what the hell Ross was up to. He’d never said any of that before and he’d always been very honest about all their clients. Sav saw the way she was eyeing him and growled, “OH FUCK NO! ONLY TIME I’VE EVER BEEN NAKED WITH ANOTHER MAN IS IN THE SHOWER!”

“Oh, really,” Nikki said with a raised eyebrow.

“Do I have to prove he’s wrong?” Sav said quickly.

“Hmm, how can you do that?” she said slowly. His hands went to the tie of her rode and undid it quickly, then pushed the robe off her shoulders. He kissed her roughly, trying to banish the thought from her brain. She giggled and said, “Hmm, you and Joe, huh? That could be interesting to watch....” She never got to finish the thought as Sav grabbed her and tossed her onto the bed. She landed face first and felt Sav move in behind her. His hands ran over her back as he said quickly, “Don’t even think it!”

“Sorry, already did,” she laughed. His teeth sunk into the flesh of her shoulder and she let out a yelp before saying, “Okay, okay, forget I even said that!”

He murmured against her skin as his hard cock probed into her mound, looking for entrance into her body. Still biting at her shoulder, he entered her with one smooth motion and heard her let out a moan. Leaning further into her, he said, “Now, does that feel like someone who would rather be with a man?”

“I don’t know,” she moaned, “I need a bit more proof!”

His hands went to her hips as he whispered in her ear, “I’ll give you all the proof you need, luv!” He pulled her back onto him, filling her body completely with each long slow thrust. Nikki’s knees went out from under her and she landed on her belly with Sav’s body covering her own. He never missed a stoke, just kept moving into her as he kissed her back, her shoulder and up her neck. Her hips came up off the bed to meet every thrust as she felt a tightness building in her muscles. She turned her head and whispered against his cheek, “Sav, harder, baby, harder!”

He nipped at her ear and said, “Whatever you want, luv.” Then he started to pump into her as hard as he dared. She started to tremble as her body surrendered to another mind blowing climax. “Oh, damnit Sav, cum with me, baby, cum with me,” she whimpered.

He gave in to her pleas, finally letting himself release into as he whispered, “Oh, fuck, Nikki, I am, I’m cumming too!” He collapsed on to her back as his body shuddered with his orgasm. His weight came down on her as she pulled his arms around her neck, snuggling under him. They lay there for a long while before Sav moved and pulled the blanket up over them both. Then he took her in his arms and they drifted off into exhausted sleep.

Ross nearly pounded on Nikki’s door first thing in the morning, but decided to let them sleep for a bit. No use having a grouchy assistant all day and Sav would probably just get pissed about ending up under the bed again. So he headed down to grab a bite to eat and was in for a shock. Sav and Nikki were in the restaurant having breakfast just like they did every morning now. He walked over to their table and said, “Morning all! Nikki, you consider what we talked about last night?”

“Yeah, but I still think you’re wrong, Ross,” she said with a secretive smile. Sav looked like a thundercloud, but couldn’t say anything without Ross knowing he’d been in the room. Ross saw the look and chuckled to himself. Then he turned back to Nikki and said, “I want you in the car with Rick, Phil and Steve today, all right? I’m gonna do some shots of Sav and Joe on the trip to the airport.”

Nikki bit back a response and simply nodded, knowing anything else would probably tip Ross off. Sav looked up helplessly, not wanting to be away from her already. But they couldn’t tell Ross anything, so he was silent as well. He’d have to catch up to her on the plane.

Malvin herded the whole bunch of sleepy Leppards into the cars in the next half an hour. Sav couldn’t even steal a quick kiss as Ross didn’t leave Nikki’s side the whole time. In the car, she sat in sullen silence as the others slept their way to the airport. When they got to the plane, Ross got his camera out and started snapping away. Aware that Sav was nearly foaming at the mouth to get back to Nikki, he dragged it out as long as possible. By the time Ross was done, there were only two seats left on the plane, one by itself and another by Sav. Ross plopped down into the one seat no one else would touch and said, “Hi Sav, how’s it going?”

“Fine, Ross,” Sav said shortly. The forlorn look on his face was priceless as he watched Nikki sit down by herself. Ross tried to talk to him, only to be faced with the back of Sav’s head. Sav was staring out the plane window, not paying any attention to what went on around him. And every so often, he looked over at Nikki, who couldn’t help but peek at him occasionally. Finally, Ross gave up and said, “Hey, Joe, can you switch me seats? I need to talk to Steve and don’t feel like yelling across the plane.”

“I ain’t sitting in that cramped little seat,” Joe complained. “Put someone shorter there and I’ll take theirs!”

Sav’s head swung around and Joe winked at him. Then Joe said, “Nikki, can you take Ross’ seat and let me have yours?”

“Sure,” she said uncertainly. And mentally she thanked Joe for his quick thinking. Moving over to the seat next to Sav, she gave him a quick smile and plopped down next to him. He gave her hand a fast squeeze as she snuggled down in her seat and got comfortable. Within minutes, Nikki was sleeping against Sav’s shoulder and he laid his head down on top of hers. Just after Sav drifted off to sleep, Ross pulled out his camera and snapped a few frames of the two of them sleeping soundly. The only other person still awake on the plane was Malvin and he was occupied going over Steve’s guitar plans for the next show. Ross smiled as he put his camera back in its case, then settled down in his own seat. With a mental note to rush this roll of film back from processing, he finally let himself fall asleep as well.

They spent four days hiding from Ross, until the band had a three day break from touring. Ross was all over Nikki, keeping her hopping constantly. The first evening, an exhausted Nikki was sitting in the bar as Ross went over plans for the last week of shooting again, when the bartender called, “Is there someone named Nikki Mays here?”

“That’s me,” she called wearily.

“Phone call on the house phone, ma’am!” he replied.

Suddenly worried, she picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

“Nikki, it’s Joe,” she heard. She turned around the bar and found him on the pay phone at the back. He winked at her and said, “Listen, you just developed a family emergency. You’re needed at home tomorrow night.”

“What?” she said, confused by what he was saying. Then she saw Sav heading for Ross’s table and making conversation. Joe came back on the line and said, “Sav’s talking to him so he doesn’t think Sav made this call. You two are getting out of here for a night, okay?”

“Sounds great, Joe, but what should I tell Ross?” she asked quietly.

“Eh, tell him your Dad’s stuck in Vegas with no ID and needs you to get him out of trouble in a casino,” Joe said with a laugh. “We’ll take it from there.”

She nodded and hung up the phone, then headed back to the table. When she got there, she avoided looking at Sav and told Ross, “That was my Dad. Someone stole his wallet in Vegas and he needs me there to take care of some trouble in a casino.”

“Vegas, huh?” Joe said as he walked up. “Who’s going to Vegas?”

“I’ve got to fly up there for the night,” Nikki said quickly.

“Hey, we’ve got some time off,” Joe said thoughtfully. “Sav, feel like a quick trip to sin city?”

“Um, I don’t know, Joe,” Sav answered. “I should prolly just stay here.”

“Oh, come on, mate, it’d be a blast,” Joe insisted stubbornly.

“Okay, okay! I’ll go!” Sav said with a laugh. Ross looked at the three of them and wondered how they’d gotten Joe involved in this obvious little scheme. But he played along and said, “Hurry back, Nikki. I’ve got some proofs coming in tomorrow that I’ll need you here to go through with me. And keep these blokes out of trouble Especially Sav. Sin city sounds like a bad place for someone like him.”

“And just what the hell do you mean by that?” Sav snapped, unable to take any more of Ross’s jibs.

“You know what I mean, Savage. You’re probably the wildest one of this bunch!” Ross laughed.

“Bugger off, Halfin!” Sav said crossly. He turned to Joe and asked, “When did you want to leave, mate?”

“I’ll get Malvin to make the arrangements, but probably pretty soon if we’re going to do any gambling,” Joe said with a laugh. There was something in the way Ross had talked to Sav, almost as if he were making fun of him. But Joe couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Malvin booked them on a flight two hours later. As soon as they were out of Ross’s sight, Nikki flew into Sav’s arms and stayed there until they boarded the plane. Joe just smiled at them and said, “Guess I’ll find something to do while we’re in Vegas, cuz somehow I don’t think I’ll be seeing the two of you!”

Sav chuckled and said, “I think you’re right, Joe. But thanks for your help getting Ross off our backs for the night!”

“Not a problem, mate,” Joe said with a smile. Then Nikki snuggled against Sav’s body and they all relaxed for the trip to Vegas. As soon as they reached the city, they checked into their hotel and Joe headed for the casinos. Sav looked at Nikki and said, “Well, what do you want to do?”

“Um, actually, I’m starved!” she said with a laugh.

“Room service or restaurant?” he said quietly.

“Hmm, room service works for me,” she said with a smile. So they headed slowly up to their room and Sav put a call in for their food. Nikki slipped into the bathroom and opened her bag, only to find a package inside with her name on it. There was a note attached that read, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Love, Joe.” She giggled, wondering what on Earth there was that Joe wouldn’t do. Opening the wrapping, she found a box containing a lovely, and very revealing, nightgown. She slipped the bit of frothy lace over her head, then put on her robe to cover it. When she was done, she went back out into the bedroom as Sav was setting the phone back into its cradle. He turned to Nikki and said, “It’ll be here in five minutes.”

“Hmm, how ever will we pass the time?” she giggled. Pulling her into his arms, Sav murmured, “I can think of a few ways, luv.”

“Um, maybe you better show me, cuz I can’t think of ...” she never got to finish that thought as his mouth closed over hers for a deep passion filled kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to his body. His hands ran over her back, then slowly down to the tie of her robe just as there was a knock at the door.

Sav went to answer it, expecting room service. Instead, it was Joe, who said regretfully, “We have to go back, mate.”

“What? Why the fuck do we have to go back?” Sav asked angrily.

“I just got a call on the house phone,” Joe explained slowly. “The band got challenged to a soccer match tomorrow morning and Phil accepted before he knew we were gone.”

“OH fuck!” Sav said in an explosive puff of breath.

“There’s no way out of it, I’ve already tried,” Joe apologized quickly. “I’m so sorry, mate.”

“Damn,” Nikki sighed quietly. “So much for our night away from Ross...”

“I’m sure there’ll be another time,” Sav said quickly as he pulled her up into his arms. “Did Malvin get us a flight back?”

“Yeah, if we head out now, we can make it pretty easily,” Joe answered slowly. The bellhop arrived with the food, so Joe said, “If you hurry, you’ve got just enough time to eat before we’ve got to go.”

“Might as well join us, mate,” Sav sighed. “No time for anything else, I guess.”

The three of them ate quickly, then Nikki headed into the bathroom and changed back into her clothes. Sav put their things back into their suitcases and took her hand as they headed back out of the hotel and into the lobby. A car was waiting to get them back to the airport, just in time to catch their flight to the next town. They got to the hotel at four in the morning and Sav and Nikki headed straight to his room for a little time alone before Ross found out she was back.

They woke to a knock on the door the next morning. Sav got out of bed and opened the door without thinking. When he saw Ross standing there, with Nikki in plain site, he froze and hissed, “Oh, fuck me!”

“What the hell is this, Savage?” Ross said, trying to appear as angry as possible.

“Um, ah, well...” Sav tried to explain.

“Nikki, get your ass dressed and we’ll talk about this downstairs!” Ross snarled, then turned on his heels and headed for the elevator. As soon as the door closed, leaving Ross alone with Malvin, Ross broke up laughing.

“You should have seen the look on Savage’s face when he saw me at the door!” Ross chuckled.

“You gonna let them off the hook anytime soon?” Malvin smiled.

“Yeah, but I’m gonna have a little fun first!” Ross said quickly as the doors opened. Ross headed into the restaurant and did his best to put on a stern face while he waited for Nikki to come down. Sav pulled Nikki into the room and looked around warily for Ross. They found him sitting at a table towards the back, staring daggers at Sav.

“Maybe I should handle this on my own,” Nikki said nervously.

“No, we might as well do this together,” Sav answered, taking a deep breath. They crossed the room and Nikki slid into the table across from Ross while Sav sat down next to her and took her hand under the table.

“Just what kind of shit are you two trying to pull?” Ross asked crossly.

“We’re not pulling anything,” Nikki said defensively.

“So what were you doing in Sav’s bed, Nikki?”

“Um, sleeping?” she answered, trying to diffuse what could get to be an ugly situation.

“Yeah, sure!” Ross said angrily. “And you always sleep, in the nude, with a man, right, Nikki?”

“Uh, yeah, why not?” she answered, trying to laugh this whole nasty thing off.

“Right, Nikki,” Ross replied quickly. “So, how long has this been going on?”

“Last night was the first time, I swear!” she said hurriedly. “And it’ll never happen again, I promise!”

“So who was that under your bed the other night when I came into your room?” Ross asked, looking away so as not to laugh at the humor he found in the situation before him.

“What?” Nikki and Sav said in unison.

“There was a man under the bed the other night,” Ross said, suddenly acting very unconcerned about the whole thing. “Maybe it was Steve, huh? He seems like the kind of guy that might hide under a bed...”

“You sorry bastard!” Nikki said, her eyes suddenly wide. “You’ve known all this time and never said anything!”

“I’m not a rocket scientist, but I’m also not completely obtuse!” Ross chuckled. “I just thought it’d be fun to see how far you two would go to keep this secret...how did you manage to get Elliott involved in this little charade last night, anyway?”

“It was all Joe’s...Wait just a fucking minute!” Sav suddenly exclaimed. “You’re not pissed about this at all?”

“No, not after the way you were with her after the whole Carl incident,” Ross explained. “I could see she wasn’t just another roll in the hay for you after that. And, somehow, I think she’s the first woman that’s got her head on straight enough to deal with you.”

“So you’re not upset at all about this?” Nikki said weakly, still not believing she wasn’t dreaming.

“No, luv, I’m not,” Ross chuckled. “Though I am hoping you’re not planning on staying with him and giving up on your career just yet...”

“I’m not, Ross,” she answered, but she didn’t notice the way Sav’s head snapped around at that comment.

“You’re not going to stay with me?” Sav asked quietly.

“Rick, I can’t,” she sighed. “But I’ll come to see you every chance I get, which should be pretty often...”

“Nikki, you can’t leave me!” Sav begged. “It’ll destroy our relationship just as it’s really ready to get started!”

“Shit, I think I’ll leave now,” Ross said, getting up without either of them noticing it.

“I can’t just turn my back on my life, Rick,” Nikki said evenly. “I’ve got another shoot with Ross starting as soon as we leave here, for three weeks with Bon Jovi.”

“So, you go running off with Bon Jovi and what am I supposed to do?” Sav asked hotly. “Wait around like a good little boy for you to come back?”

“It’s only three weeks, Sav!” she said quickly. “Then I’ll have a couple of weeks off before the next assignment...”

“NO!” Sav said emphatically. “You’ve got to stay with me, Nikki! Who knows what will happen if you don’t!”

“Is that a threat, Sav?” she asked, anger coming into her voice.

“Nikki, I love you, but you know the life I live,” he said, trying to persuade her to stay. “I can’t change it and I can’t make any guarantees if you aren’t here...”

“Are you saying you can’t stay faithful to me for three weeks while I’m working?” she asked suspiciously. “If you can’t do that, what’s the point in me staying here now?” She turned away and said, “Rick, I want a real life, you know? Husband, family, not some circus like this!”

“God, Nikki, you know I’m not ready for something like this!” he said angrily. “We haven’t even been together that long!”

“But there’s no chance of ever having that, is there, Sav?” she asked softly as she came back around to face him. “You’re never going to want to settle down, are you?”

“Why the hell are we having this conversation when we’ve only had two weeks together?” Sav asked finally.

“Because, I need to know if we’ll ever have a future and apparently we don’t,” she said sadly.

“Come on, luv,” Sav whispered softly. “Let’s not do this right now, okay?”

“Right, you’ve got a soccer game to go play,” she answered with a forced smile. “Don’t want to miss that, you’d really let your band mates down if you weren’t all there.” They got up and headed for the car, though Nikki’s heart just wasn’t in it anymore. She knew she was in love with him, but this couldn’t go on. Every day she stayed with him was going to make it that much harder to leave.

After the game, Nikki caught up to Ross at the pub they’d all gone to. Pulling him off into a corner, she whispered, “Ross, can you manage without me for these last couple of days?”

“Why, Nik?” he asked quietly. “Did you and Savage really have that big of a fight over this?”

“No, but I just know there’s no future in this thing,” she answered. “The only way to keep my heart in one piece is to walk away while I still can.”

“I guess I can understand that,” Ross answered thoughtfully. A thought occurred to him and he asked, “Are you going to quit, Nikki?”

“No, Ross, I just need to get away from Sav,” she sighed. “The whole problem between me and Sav is that I won’t quit my job. Why on Earth would I leave him AND quit working for you?”

“Are you going to tell Sav?” Ross asked quietly.

Nikki let out a long sigh and said, “I owe him that much, I suppose. Wish me luck, cuz I’m going to need it.” She gave Ross a quick hug just as Sav walked up to see what was going on. Ross excused himself quickly, leaving Nikki staring at Sav wordlessly.

“What’s going on, baby,” Sav asked, trying to pull her into his arms. But Nikki stepped back and said, “I’m leaving, Rick. I just can’t do this.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief. “You’re leaving me? Why?”

“Because, you’ve got a totally different life than the one I want for myself, Rick,” she sighed. “I can’t stay here and lie to myself that I’ll ever have what I want out of life if I stay with you. Can’t you see that?”

“No, I can’t,” he said angrily. “Do we always have to be looking at the future, luv? Can’t we just live for right now and see what happens?”

“I can’t,” she said, tears started to form in her eyes. “The longer I stay with you, the less I’m going to ever want to leave you. If I’m ever going to be able to walk away, I have to do it now. I’m sorry, Rick, but I’ve got to do this.”

“Please, Nikki, don’t go,” he begged, grabbing her by the arm. “I love you!”

“I love you, too, Rick,” she whispered, pulling away. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.” She turned and ran away from him without a backwards glance, leaving Sav standing stunned in the corner of the bar. She brushed past Joe with tears in her eyes. He walked up and said, “What’s going on, mate? Everything okay?”

“No, it’s not,” he said roughly. “She’s leaving, Joe.”

“What?” Joe asked in astonishment. “You’ve got to stop her!”

“I don’t think I can,” he whispered. “Where’d she go, anyway?”

“She tore out of her like Satan himself was on her heels,” Joe answered. “Go after her, Sav. Don’t let her go!”

Letting out a long breath, Sav looked at the door and said, “I’ll talk to her when we get back to the hotel room. Maybe she’ll have calmed down by then and I can get her to rethink what she’s planning to do.” He slumped down onto a chair and took a long hard swallow of beer as he tried to think of what he could say to Nikki to make her want to stay.

The band headed back to the hotel an hour later and Sav headed straight to their room to confront Nikki. But instead of finding Nikki waiting in the room, he found a note addressed to him in the center of the bed.

My dearest Rick,

I’m sorry, but I had to do this. If I’d stayed any longer, I won’t have ever been able to go. Rather than break my heart into a million pieces when you “can’t help yourself” with some groupie, I want to go now and save myself a bit of the pain. I’ll always love you.

Nikki

Sav sat down on the bed and let the tears come as he realized just what he’d let walk out of his life. He tried calling Ross, only to be told Nikki wouldn’t let Ross give him her phone number. A call to Joe ended in the same place when Ross told Joe the same thing. He thought about heading out to find her on his own, but the was no way he could leave mid-tour for anything less than a death in the family. So there was nothing he could do about it now. She was gone for good.

It was June of 1996 when Nikki stood nervously at the luggage pickup area of the airport. Wondering why the hell Ross had called her out here so urgently, she took her bags and grabbed a taxi to the hotel he was staying at. All he’d told her was that he was on assignment and had to leave far earlier than he was supposed to. So he needed her to take over photographing them for him. The money was far too good to pass up, so she’d caught the next flight out.

She was supposed to meet Ross in the hotel bar, so she headed in and took a table to wait for him. Engrossed in the newspaper, she didn’t even notice as Joe Elliott walked up and sat down at her table. He peeked around the paper, grinned and said, “Hmm, don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“JOE! What the hell are you doing here?” Nikki said with a surprised look on her face.

“Um, waiting for our new photographer to show up,” he said with a smile. He watched as her expression fell and her eyes grew haunted. Then she said, “I’m doing you guys?”

“I should be so lucky that you’d ‘do’ us, but yes, Ross has to leave. So I guess you’re up!” Joe said cheerfully, wondering what she was thinking at that moment. He could still remember the pain in her eyes when she’d left them nearly nine years before. When she’d left Sav. He’d only just found out that morning that Nikki was taking Ross’ place on their tour and knew that Sav still didn’t know what was happening. What kind of fireworks were going to happen when they met up again?

“So, I heard you guys all settled down since the last time I saw you,” she said, trying to disguise the hurt in her voice.

“Hell, luv, Phil’s married and divorced since the last time you were around and my divorce is final next year!” Joe laughed, deliberately leaving Sav’s name out of it.

“Yeah,” she said as she tried to laugh. “But I hear you’ve already got a new girl and she’s getting you into trouble!”

“Eh, nothing to worry about there,” Joe said with a smile. Then he saw her go stiff and knew who’d just walked into the bar without even looking up. Sav was frozen in the doorway, not sure what to do. A moment later he turned and walked right back out. Fuck, Joe thought, got chilly in here all the sudden. He turned to Nikki and saw the same frozen expression on her face as he’d seen on Sav’s.

Ross came in a moment later and saw Nikki, waving to her happily. Sitting down next to her, he said, “Think you can manage these guys by yourself?”

“Of course,” she said in a voice far too clipped for Ross’ liking. “Wish you’d given me a little more information before I’d come out here though.”

“Well, I was afraid you might not come and you’re the best person I could think of for them,” Ross said, trying to get past the shell that had suddenly formed around her. He‘d seen Sav leaning against the wall outside the bar and wondered if they‘d already had words or something. “I really hate leaving mid assignment like this, but they need me back at home.”

“I’d have probably still done it, Ross, but I’d have been a little better prepared,” she said softly.

Slowly, the rest of the band minus Sav made it into the bar. Phil and Rick greeted her like a long-lost little sister, while Vivian was very happy to get an introduction to her. A few minutes later, Joe pulled Vivian off to the side and filled him in on Nikki’s history with the band and most of all Sav.

Nikki excused herself about an hour later and headed for her room. She had a lot of planning to do for the next day’s concert, so she climbed into the elevator with her mind going ninety miles an hour. When someone else entered the car, she didn’t even look up from her notebook. The machine took off and she kept scribbling until it reached her floor. Only then, as she bent to pick up her luggage, did she look at the other passenger. Sav.

“Hi, Sav,” she said quietly.

“Hello, Nikki,” he said, though she couldn’t detect any emotion in his voice. Only what seemed to be a lot of stress. She couldn’t take the look on his face. As the door slid open, he watched as she nearly ran for her room and slammed the door shut.

When she got inside, she threw down her cases and sat on the bed, ready to cry her eyes out. He was married now, she knew that. And even if she’d once completely broken her own rule about sleeping with a client, she wasn’t going to cross that line with a married man. Not that he’d seemed the least bit interested in her anyway. As she collapsed on the bed to go to sleep that night, she realized that this assignment was going to be one of the hardest ones she’d ever taken.

After spending several days avoiding Sav, she headed down for breakfast one morning. Joe and Sav were sitting at a table towards the back, but Nikki had no desire to join them. Taking a table close to the door, she picked up the menu and tried to decide what she wanted. When she saw someone slid in beside her, she looked up and found Joe staring down at her.

“What’s up, luv, feeling snobby nowadays?” he said with a smile.

“No, just wanted a little peace before the next gig,” she said without looking in his eyes.

“We won’t bite, but I really think you should join us,” Joe said softly.

“I’d rather not, Joe,” she insisted. “You’ll see so much of me in the next few weeks, you’ll be positively sick of me anyway.”

“Hardly, luv,” he laughed. “Come on, eat with me.”

Nikki sighed. Joe just wasn’t going to let this go, was he? She decided to take the bull by the horns and got up, walking slowly back to the table where Joe and Sav were waiting for the others. Sav’s face was buried in his menu, so she sat down and did the same. Joe just shook his head and said, “I think you two know each other, right?”

“Hi Sav,” she said quietly.

“Morning,” Sav said in a short, clipped voice.

“How have you been?” she asked from behind the menu.

“Fine,” he said. When he didn’t say anything else, Nikki looked to Joe. But Joe was staring at Sav, openmouthed. Before Joe could say anything, the rest of the band showed up. Soon, they had Nikki engrossed with tales of the things that had happened over the last few years. Sav didn’t speak and wouldn’t look at her. Suddenly, he stood up and said, “I’ll see you guys on the bus.” Then he was gone without another word. Nikki refused to look at him as he walked away, turning to Phil instead and inquiring about Phil’s son with a forced smile.

When the bus headed for the venue, she decided to ride with Rick, Phil and Vivian to avoid Sav. She got her camera’s ready for their arrival at the venue, then sat back and tried not to think about him. When they got off the bus, Sav blew past several fans with out a quick, “Not now!”. Everyone acted like that was completely normal for him to do as they stopped to talk to the women who’d managed to get there early enough. But Nikki remembered the last time she’d toured with him as she got her camera up. He’d been there right with the rest of the guys, signing autographs and saying hello.

When they finally headed inside, she grabbed Joe and said, “What the hell was that with Sav? Since when does he blow off fans?”

“Luv, he’s been doing that for nearly two years now,” Joe said sadly. “Ever since he got married, actually.”

“Damn,” she sighed. “I really hate to see that.”

“So do I, Nikki, so do I,” he answered softly. He put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her inside the amphitheater. When they reached the dressing room, Sav saw Joe and Nikki so close together and jealous anger hit him hard. Joe was moving in on her, or so it seemed to him. He took off for the stage without a word to anyone.

“Boy, he just keeps getting friendlier today, doesn’t he?” Phil observed.

“Maybe me being here was a huge mistake,” Nikki said softly. “He obviously doesn’t want me around.”

“Just do your job and ignore him, luv,” Rick said. “He’s been in a temper ever since he made the mistake of marrying Dara. Come on, let’s get to work!”

When the rest of the group made it to the stage, they found Sav bawling out his bass roadie because the guitar didn’t sound right to him. Nikki stayed as far away as she could, using a longer lens to get shots of Sav from the opposite side of the stage. The anger was apparent on his face, but the only person he was talking to was his roadie. And he wasn’t talking to him, he was screaming at him. Finally Joe walked over and said something to him about it.

“Fuck off, Joe!” Sav hissed. “Why don’t you just go back to hanging all over Nikki and leave me the hell alone!” He threw down his guitar and looked at the roadie, saying, “Call me when the fucking guitar works right!” Then he stormed off the stage, leaving Joe stunned behind him. Shaking his head, and making a mental note that he needed to talk to Sav later, Joe went back to work on the sound check. And Nikki continued to snap away, though her mind wasn’t really on her work.

Ten minutes later, Sav was back out onstage, walking around with his bass. He seemed a little more satisfied with its sound and finished checking it quickly, hitting every corner of the stage without speaking to anyone. The only thing he said through his mic was “check, check.” Then he was gone again.

When Nikki and the others made it backstage, he was sitting in a corner sullenly, head in his hands. She wanted to go over and try to find out what the problem was, but she had a job to do. She took three pictures of Sav from a distance, but refused to get any closer. Joe came over and sat next to her silently as she photographed Phil and Rick goofing off with a water gun. More and more Nikki found herself studying Sav when he wasn’t looking at her. The differences in his face were plain, now that she looked closer, and she wondered if they were to blame for the way he was acting. Photographers have an amazing word of mouth, so she’d heard all about his troubles with Bell’s Palsy. Several friends in the business had been shocked at the thought that a man that pretty was having to deal with that kind of affliction. But Nikki couldn’t help but think that she still found him as attractive as before. Physically, that was. His attitude sucked and everyone around him saw it. With a shrug, she went back to work and finally put him out of her mind.

Joe caught a resentful look from Sav and decided it was time to handle this situation before it got out of hand. He hauled Sav up by the arm and dragged him into the hallway, then turned around and said, “What the fuck is your problem, mate?”

“Sod off, Joe,” he said crossly. Sav tried to turn and go back to the dressing room, but Joe wouldn’t let him.

“You know, Sav, you’ve had a real problem so far this whole tour and you won’t tell any of us what’s going on!” Joe said, his voice full of concern. “We’re worried about you, mate.”

“I don’t need anyone’s sympathy, Joe,” Sav growled.

“Ok, fine, fuck it,” Joe said throwing up his hands. But before Sav could leave, Joe said, “What was that fucking crack about Nikki then?”

“You two seem awfully buddy-buddy,” Sav sighed. “I guess I can understand it. It just hurts, that’s all. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it if you end up with her.”

“I end up with her? What the fuck are you talking about?” Joe said in astonishment. “I’m not interested in her, Sav. She was always your girl. And that, mate, is your problem to deal with. I’m just being friendly, like I was eight years ago. You, on the other hand, are being a complete prig. Think about that!” Then Joe turned and headed back to the others.

Sav followed slowly behind, thinking about what Joe had said. He had been rather abrupt with her, hadn’t he? He took the same seat and watched her work with the others until show time. Then he watched her through the show as she moved down along the front of the stage. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak to her. He couldn’t handle her rejection after what had happened with his wife. The pain was still too raw, too close to the surface for that.

When they got back to the hotel, Nikki took her cameras and such up to her room. She’d take pictures some other time, she just wanted a drink right now. She sat at the bar, away from the band, and ordered her first drink. Sav had seen her come in, but then she hadn’t come over to them. Puzzled, he waited a while and saw her order another drink. Then another. She put her head in her hands and stared off at nothing.

Sav made a decision. He might be taking a risk, but he had to talk to her. So he went up and slid on to the barstool next to her and said quietly, “Hello.”

Spinning around to face him, she said, “Oh, hi.”

“Long time, no see, huh?” Sav said slowly.

“Yeah, it has been a long time,” she said as she turned away from him.

“I missed you, Nikki,” he said finally. She ran her hand through her long hair and started to nod slowly, saying, “Yeah, I missed you too, Sav. But hey, we were honest with each other and it just didn’t work out. No blood, no foul, right? How’s married life?”

Sav took a deep breath, then let out a sigh. He hadn’t even told Joe the truth about what was happening in his life at the moment, but he wanted to tell Nikki. “She was moving out when I got ready to leave on tour.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Nikki said sincerely. She wanted to ask what had happened, but couldn’t bring herself to put the words together.

“So, what’s been up with you since you left me?” Sav said, and she could feel just a hint of bitterness behind his words.

“Um, not much, actually,” she said evasively, forgiving herself for that lie.

“You never got married?” he asked curiously.

“No,” she said truthfully. “Never managed to find a guy that matched up to...well, you know!” She turned away, embarrassed at that admission.

“Well, same here, only I did make the mistake of getting married,” Sav sighed, unable to look at her. She swung around off her stool, then turned around and looked at him. She ran her hand over his face and felt him flinch away from her. But she forced him to look at her and said, “I’m sure you’ll find someone someday.” Then she kissed him gently and walked away.

He watched her leave with regret-filled eyes, then walked back over to his band mates. Joe took one look at him, then at the door and said hurriedly, “Jesus, don’t tell me you’re going to let her walk away again!”

“Joe, do you really think she’d want me now? Look at me!” Sav said angrily.

“Damn, quit being so fucking hard on yourself, mate,” Joe answered. “Ditch the bitch and go after that woman!”

“The ‘bitch’ left me, okay? I don’t think she could stand to look at me anymore!” Sav said, his voice starting to crack. “So what would make Nikki any different?”

“Oh, fuck all, Savage!” Joe nearly yelled. He moderated his voice and said, “I’m sorry to hear Dara left you, but can’t you see that’s a good thing? She was only interested in what you could do for her anyway! Nikki never asked for anything but you!”

“That was a long time ago, Joe,” Sav said sadly. “I know she wouldn’t want me now.”

Joe rolled his eyes, but finally stayed silent. Inner demons were still tearing Sav apart over his looks and there wasn’t anything Joe could do but try to support him. He couldn’t force Sav to go after the one woman Joe thought was still perfect for him. So Joe was going to have to take the long way around and push them back together somehow. After an hour of sitting there not saying a lot, Sav finally excused himself and went up to his room to sleep.

The next day, Nikki had to ride the bus with Joe and Sav. Sav was already sitting on the couch when Joe and Nikki made it on, giggling like idiots over a joke Phil had told them. Nikki was standing just in front of Sav when Joe suddenly tripped and fell right on her, pushing her into Sav’s lap face first. She looked up at him and wanted to kiss him, but couldn’t. So instead she smiled up at him and said, “I’m sorry, someone’s got two left feet here!” Then they both looked at Joe, who was picking himself up off the floor.

“Sorry, luv, right clumsy of me!” Joe said quickly. But he didn’t offer her a hand to get up, leaving her laying across Sav’s lap instead. Nikki turned back to Sav and said, “Well, he’s such a gentleman he can’t even help a lady back up!”

“That’s Joe for ya,” Sav mumbled. He helped Nikki back to her feet and saw Joe scowl behind her back. Shooting Joe a look that told him, “Don’t you dare!” he said, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said softly. “Just remind me to stay clear of Joe next time!”

“I’m sure it won’t happen again!” Sav said quickly, giving Joe a full-on death glare.

“Never know, I can be clumsy!” Joe chuckled as he headed back to his bunk.

“And here I thought Sav was the one falling all the time!” Nikki joked. Then she gave Sav a wink and said, “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

“That’s okay, luv. Not like no one’s ever said it before,” Sav said quietly.

“Well, hey! Now that you’ve got those stunning glasses, I’m sure it won’t happen again,” she answered with a smile.

“I hope not,” Sav mumbled. Nikki took her things back to her bunk, then decided to lay down for a bit before they got to the next venue. She talked to Sav several times during the sound check and show and Joe was holding out great hopes for their reunion. But their conversations remained neutral, so Joe could tell they needed a bit more of a push.

After the show, Joe headed for Malvin. He had an idea, but needed Malvin’s help for it.

Just before they left, Malvin called the guys together and said, “Okay, we’ve got a problem, guys. One of the equipment trucks is down and we don’t have time to wait for it to get fixed. So we’re gonna have to put the extra stuff on the buses. Phil, Rory’s gonna have to sleep with you for the night, cuz it’s gonna take up all your extra bunks. Plus any extra bunks on Joe and Sav’s bus. Now, let’s head out.”

Because of the space crunch, Nikki decided to stay on Sav and Joe’s bus again that night. There were already four people on the other bus. She was so tired that she just fell down on the couch until they actually took off. Sav and Joe were sitting there talking about the gig when Nikki decided to turn in. She pulled back the curtain on her bunk and started cussing. When Sav came back to see what the problem was, she pointed at the crates of amplifiers on her bunk.

“Oh, shit! Are any of the other bunks free?” he asked in concern. They pulled back the curtains on all the bunks and only found Sav’s and Joe’s bunks free of the crates.

“Fuck! Now where the hell am I going to sleep?” Nikki said crossly.

“Take my bunk,” Sav said gallantly. “I’ll sleep on the couch. I‘m not ready to turn in yet anyway.”

“Are you sure?” she said uncertainly.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said quickly.

“Okay, just for tonight,” she sighed. Then she watched as Sav headed back up to the living area of the bus. When she crawled in, she found herself surrounded by Sav’s undeniable smell and had to fight to get herself to sleep.

Joe looked up at Sav with a grin. Suspicious, Sav said, “You wouldn’t know anything about this supposed ‘breakdown’, would you, Joe?”

“Me? No way, man. I was just as surprised as everyone else,” Joe said innocently.

“Yeah, right,” Sav said crossly. “Thanks for the night on the couch, mate.”

“Couch? Ah, fuck all!” Joe exclaimed.

“Nothing to do with it, right Joe?” Sav said again.

“Okay, well, maybe a little,” Joe said guiltily. “But I never figured you’d end up on the couch!”

Nikki was a little restless, surrounded by that unmistakable smell, so she decided to get up and grab a drink before she turned back in. The sound of her arrival was masked by the bus, so Sav didn’t notice her as he said, “Why the hell would she want to sleep with a freak show like me anyway?”

Stunned, she stood there for a moment. Then she crossed over behind Sav, put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but any woman you’re with is the luckiest in the world. You’re one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever known.” Then before Sav or Joe could say a word, she grabbed a beer and headed back to the bunk.

Sav just stared at her, wondering if she really meant what she’d said. Joe was about to bust, saying, “I told you, ya sorry fuck! I told you so!”

“Doesn’t mean much, Joe,” he said quietly. “She thought we were talking about someone else, not her.”

“Oh BUGGER IT!” Joe said loudly. “I give up, Savage! You wanna sleep on the fucking couch, more power to you!”

“I will then,” Sav said almost stubbornly. “So get off the bed you stuck me with so I can get some sleep!”

Joe huffed off to his bunk as Sav settled down on the couch and tried to sleep. But thoughts of Nikki kept him awake long into the night.

About four in the morning, Nikki sat bolt upright in bed after hearing a loud noise from the living area. She stumbled out, only to find Sav picking himself up off the floor. She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle and said, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just hurt my pride a bit,” he said, rubbing his backside.

“Why don’t you take the bunk?” Nikki suggested.

“No, cuz when the driver hits another curve, it’ll be your ass on the floor,” Sav said with a grimace.

“Well, I’m not the one who has to perform tomorrow!” Nikki said quickly.

“I’m not throwing you out of the bunk, luv!” he said emphatically.

“Fine, then get your ass back there and we’ll share it,” she answered finally. “We’re adults, I think we can handle it.”

“Um, that’s really not a good idea,” he said as he looked away. At just that moment, the bus lurched and Nikki ended up grabbing Sav to keep her balance. Looking down at her, he said, “I just can’t do it, okay?”

“Come on, Sav! It’s just sleeping, okay? It’s not going to interfere with your new girlfriend, I promise!” she said sadly. She grabbed his hand and heard him mutter, “I don’t have a new girlfriend, all right?”

“Oh, well, then no one’s gonna care where the hell you sleep then,” she replied, but now she was thoroughly confused. Who the hell had he been discussing with Joe then? Putting that thought out of her mind, she crawled across the bunk and pulled him in behind her. She scooted over as far as she could, leaving most of the mattress for Sav, then closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his familiar breathing as she drifted off to sleep. Sav stared up at the ceiling until he heard her breathing slow, then turned to face her and ran a hand very softly over her hair. His hand rested on her narrow waist as he finally let himself go to sleep.

The next morning, Nikki woke with her head resting on Sav’s shoulder. He felt her start to stir and pulled her in closer to his body, whispering in his sleep, “Love you, Nikki”

Laying there in shock, she let him hold her for a long while before she finally touched his face gently and said, “Rick, I’ve got to get up, baby.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, okay,” he mumbled groggily, letting her climb over him. She made it back to the bathroom and stared into the mirror, wondering if she’d only dreamt what he’d just said. For one brief moment, she thought she’d slipped back in time and they were touring on Hysteria again instead of Slang. But this was Slang and a lot of things had changed in those eight years since she’d last seen him. Including her. Maybe having her around had just brought back memories for him, so she wasn’t going to take what he’d said seriously. She splashed water on her face and headed out to face the day.

She found Joe sitting on the couch already awake with a knowing grin on his face. Looking at his smug grin, she finally got what happened to the equipment van and said, “Joe, what’s your game, babe?”

“Huh?” he said with feigned innocence. “I’m not playing any game, luv.”

“Then why fake that breakdown last night?” she asked quietly.

“Me? Fake a breakdown? Never, Nikki!” he insisted.

“Yeah, right,” she muttered as she filled a glass of orange juice.

“So, who got him into the bunk with you last night anyway? Let me guess, he couldn’t take it anymore and climbed in with you,” Joe said with a grin.

“Actually, Joseph,” she said somewhat crossly. “He got thrown off the couch by the bus last night and I insisted he get some real sleep. He wouldn’t let me take the couch, being an actual gentlemen, so I ended up making him get in the bunk with me. And before you ask,” she said as he started to speak, “all we did was sleep.”

“Damn, I’ve never met two more thick skulled people in my life,” Joe sighed. “Don’t either of you realize that you’re perfect together, always were?”

“Jesus, Joe, it’s been eight years! Don’t you think either of us has changed in that time?” she said quietly. “He has no desire to be with me anymore! Fuck, man, you were just talking about someone else last night!”

“Oh, God, thick skull, I tell you!” Joe said in exasperation. “We were talking about YOU!”

“What?” she hissed with narrow eyes. “You’re lying!”

“No, luv, I’m not!” Joe laughed. “Guess you’ll have to see for yourself, won’t you?”

She heard Sav getting out of bed and shut up quickly, not wanting to force an embarrassing situation. But as the day wore on, she thought more and more about what Joe had said. She still didn’t believe him, but she found herself watching Sav even more than usual. He started giving her nervous smiles about half way through the sound check, wondering why she was staring at him so much. Had he ripped his pants or something?

After the sound check, he sidled up beside her and said, “What’s wrong, Nikki?”

“OH, nothing,” she answered quickly, looking for some way to escape those probing blue eyes. “Just have a lot on my mind.”

“You sure?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m sure!” she said, forcing a bright smile. “Listen, I’ve got to talk to Malvin, so I’ll catch you later!” And with that, she was gone. He watched her back as she nearly ran away from him and his spirit fell. Maybe she really just didn’t want to look at him now. Her kind words seemed so false at that moment that Sav plunged back into the depression from his first days with Bell’s Palsy. She’d seemed so sincere last night, but maybe she’d had second thoughts about him. Sav walked slowly down into the depths of the amphitheater, the wave of emotional pain almost too much too take. He found an unused room and went in, curling up on the floor and letting his tears come for the first time in a very long time.

“Where the hell is Sav?” Malvin said crossly. “I haven’t seen him since sound check!”

A chorus of “neither have I” went round the room and everyone looked at Nikki expectantly. She looked at them and said, “I haven’t seen him either!”

“Shit! We’ve only got two hours to show time! Everybody start looking for him!” Malvin said quickly. “NOW!”

Joe and Phil headed for the buses while the rest of the group went through the backstage area. When no one could find him in any of the usual places, Nikki decided to take a chance and head down further into the building. Worry started to eat at her. What if something had happened to him? So she started calling his name desperately as she checked every open door. Soon Joe was right behind her with the custodian, opening the locked doors as well. He had to be down here if he was still in the venue. They’d dispersed the road crew to check the grounds, because the crowd had already started to come in.

“Shit! Nikki, I found him!” Joe called. He ran into the room and pulled Sav up to a sitting position, then got a good look at his face. His eyes were still swelled from crying as he tried to turn away from Joe, saying, “Just leave me alone, okay?”

“Fuck, man, what the hell is wrong with you?” Joe said angrily.

Nikki ran into the room and threw her arms around him, saying, “Oh my God, baby, don’t ever scare us like that again!”

“What’s it matter to you?” Sav mumbled.

Stunned, she pulled back and said, “It matters the world to me, Sav! Jesus, you scared the hell out of us!”

“Why?” he said sadly.

“Well, first off, you’re supposed to be onstage in an hour and it’s just not like you to disappear!” she said anxiously.

“So that’s the only thing, huh?” he murmured, trying to lay back down. “Leave me alone!”

Nikki stared down at him, wondering what the hell had happened in the last few hours. Then she turned to Joe and said, “Gimme a few minutes, okay?”

“Sure, luv, just get his ass back upstairs, okay?” Joe said softly.

“I’ll do what I can,” she answered as he walked out.

“Okay, Rick, what the hell is this about?” she said as Joe closed the door.

“I just don’t want to see anyone, okay?” he said without looking at her.

“Damn it, baby, what the hell happened here? This morning you were all smiles, now you look like an ad for Prozac!” she said slowly. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” he lied.

She ran her hand over his hair and said, “Please, at least talk to me, baby! You may have someone else on your mind, but at least we can still be friends...”

Sav jumped up and stood over her, yelling, “There’s not any one else on my mind, okay? There hasn’t been for eight years, Nikki! I’ve never stopped thinking about you, does that make you feel any better about yourself?”

She sat back and looked at him for a minute, then said, “Yeah, it does, actually” He turned on her, about to rip her apart when she said, “At least I know I wasn’t the only one.” Stunned, he looked down at her and said, “What the hell do you mean by that?”

“Okay, put on the fucking glasses, luv, cuz you’re being blind as a bat again!” she whispered softly. “I’ve never been able to get you out of my mind! But when I heard you’d gotten married, I figured you’d just forgotten me. So I tried my best to finally let go of you. Never worked, unfortunately for me.”

“But then you come back and see what I look like now and it’s easy to get over me now, right?” he whispered.

“What?” she said incredulously. “Oh, God, no!”

“Oh, come on! Dara started sleeping in a separate room the first night this happened, cuz she said I ‘needed my rest‘,” Sav said quietly. “She never shared my bed again, cuz she couldn’t stand to look at me! What’s gonna make you any different?”

“Because I love you,” she answered quietly. His head snapped up, sure he hadn’t heard those words from her. Then he saw the tears going down her face as she said, “I thought I’d lost you, but I couldn’t lose my damn feelings for you. It doesn’t matter to me if you look the exact same or if half your face has problems or if you end up looking like the elephant man. I love you, not what people see on the outside, but the real you! And you can feel sorry for yourself all you want, but *I* happen to think your still as gorgeous as you always were.” She looked up at him and said, “I know you don’t feel the same way any more, but....”

He pulled her to her feet and said, “Jesus, Nikki, I’ve loved you for so long! I just never though you’d ever be able to look at me again, without seeing what happened to me.”

Putting her hand to the right side of his face, she whispered, “I don’t see a damn thing wrong with you, baby.” Then she pulled him down low enough that she could kiss his eyebrow, then his eyelid, down the right side of his face and to the same side of his mouth. She kissed him tenderly, desperate for him to feel her love for him. His response was immediate as he pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss, his tongue gently probing for entry into her warm damp mouth. When they came apart, he said softly, “I’ve missed you so badly, luv!”

She snuggled down into his chest and whispered, “I’ve missed you, too, baby!”

They heard Joe calling for Sav, so they walked slowly up to the dressing room. As soon as Joe saw Sav’s arm over Nikki’s shoulder, he gave them a huge grin and said, “Bout damn time!”

“Shit, does this mean you guys are back together again?” Rick said with a silly smile.

“You could say that,” Sav said, smiling down at her.

“So, do we get to hear the pitter patter of little Savage feet next, mate?” Phil said as he smiled down at Rory. Nikki went dead white, but Sav didn’t notice as he said, “Hold up, Phil! Give us a chance to get to know each other again, all right?”

“Sav?” Nikki whispered. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, babe!” he answered with a smile. Then he saw the look on her face and said, “Is something wrong, luv?”

“We need to talk, please?” she said with pleading eyes.

“Okay, guys, ten minutes til show time!” Malvin called.

“FUCK! I’m not even ready yet!” Sav said quickly. “Can it wait til after the show, Nikki?”

“Guess it’s waited this long, it’ll keep a couple of hours,” she said softly. Sav ran around and changed clothes quickly, then took a brush to his short hair, thanking God he didn’t have to deal with the long stuff at that moment. Nikki got her camera ready and headed for the front of the stage, though she really wasn’t thinking about taking pictures that night. How the hell was Sav going to take the news she had to give him?

As soon as she went back stage, Malvin snagged her for a phone call. When Sav came back, he heard Nikki say, “I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay, Mom? Give me a few hours to get a flight. I promise, I’ll take the red eye, okay? No, just stay at the hospital and I’ll get a cab. Love you, too, Mom. Take care of her til I get there!”

Sav came up and put his arms around Nikki, asking, “What’s wrong, luv?”

“Family emergency,” she said quickly. “I need to find Malvin!” She gave him a quick kiss and said, “I’m sorry, baby, I’m gonna have to go for a couple of days.”

“Let me go with you,” he said softly. “We’re off for the next two days anyway.”

“Um, I don’t know...”

“Please, luv?” he begged.

“Oh, shit,” she murmured. “Okay, okay, you can come! But you’ve got to come back here in time for the next gig or no deal, even if I can’t.”

“I promise,” he said with a quick kiss. They found Malvin quickly and he got their flight to Akron, Ohio booked within ten minutes. They threw a few things into their bags and caught a cab to the airport in less than an hour. She caught the curious looks Sav gave her, but never gave him the chance to ask her his question. Once they were on the plane, she said how tired she was and laid her head down on his shoulder to sleep. Puzzled by her actions, he let her sleep and wondered just what was urgent enough to pull her back home from the tour.

As soon as they landed, Nikki grabbed their luggage and called for a cab. Once they arrived at the hospital, Sav took Nikki by the arm and said, “Listen, I know you’ve been avoiding this, but what the hell is this emergency about?”

She looked up at him with anxious eyes and said quietly, “My daughter, Sav.”

“Your WHAT?” Sav said in astonishment.

“My daughter,” she said again. “Come on, she got hurt on the playground and Mom didn’t know how bad she was! I’ve got to get to her!” Then a stunned Sav watched as she took off down the corridor. He followed her quickly, thoughts running through his head one on the other. Why hadn’t she told him about the girl? Who was her father? Where had she been while Nikki was on tour? Confused, he watched as she got the room number and went for an elevator. He got on behind her and just kept staring at her as she punched the button for her daughter’s floor. Nikki was practically running down the hall as soon as they hit the right floor.

Sav came up more slowly behind her and found her standing over a small child that was about six or seven years old. Nikki was talking to an older woman who Sav assumed was her mother, asking what the child’s condition was.

“Looks like she broke her right arm and maybe has a concussion,” her mother said quietly. “She hasn’t woken up yet, but the doctor did say the painkillers might knock her out for a while.”

“How’d it happen, Mom?” Nikki asked quickly.

“She took off for the very top of the jungle gym and got snagged on something,” her mother said quietly. “The arm broke when she tried to break her fall.”

“Little daredevil,” Nikki sighed. Her mother looked up and saw Sav standing by the door. Then she asked, “Who’s this handsome young man you dragged along with you?”

“Mom, this is Rick Savage. Rick, this is my mother, Kathleen,” Nikki said in lieu of a formal introduction.

“Rick Savage, Nik?” her mother said slowly. “You mean...” Then she caught the shake of Nikki’s head and changed what she was about to say. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr. Savage.”

“Please, call me Rick,” he said quietly.

“And you can just call me Kat,” Kathleen said with a slow smile.

Nikki ran her hand over the child’s hair and said, “Come on, Chelsea, wake up for Mommy. Please, baby?”

Sav walked over to the bed and saw the girl’s long brown curly hair cascading over her shoulders as Nikki pleaded with the child to wake up. Then Chelsea started to stir a bit. “Come on, Chels, you can do it. Look at Mommy!”

The girl’s face turned in to her mother’s hand and they heard a soft whimper as she fought the medication to come around. Sav put his hand on Nikki’s shoulder and looked down at the girl just as she whispered, “Mommy?”

Then the child opened her eyes and Sav froze when he looked down into the familiar baby blue orbs staring up at her mother.

He couldn’t speak. Was it really possible? He saw those exact eyes every time he looked into a mirror! And that dark curly hair! Even the shape of her face was just like his! He backed away from Nikki and headed out into the hallway in shock. That had to be his daughter laying there in that bed!

Ten minutes later, Nikki found him still looking around the hallway with a stunned expression on his face. He turned to stare at her and saw her looking down at the floor, nearly in tears. All he could say was, “Why didn’t you tell me, Nikki?”

“How could I?” she cried softly. “I already knew you weren’t going to settle down at that point in your life. All it would have seemed like was a trap and I couldn’t do that to you. So I kept her to myself and let you go on with the life you chose. She’s all I’ve had since the day I walked away from you.”

“You were going to let me miss out on having my own child with me, all because of something stupid I said all those years ago?” he said angrily. His voice got louder as he said, “I don’t fucking believe this!”

“Sir, please, keep your voice down!” a nurse hissed softly. Sav turned on her, about to yell for the interruption, when he realized the last person he wanted to scream at was the woman entrusted with his daughter’s care. Then it hit him again. His DAUGHTER. He watched as Nikki headed for the elevator, motioning for him to follow. He boarded the car wordlessly, still wondering why Nikki hadn’t told him a thing.

Nikki pulled him out into a small courtyard and took a cigarette from her pack, lighting it quickly. Her back was still to Sav as she said, “You told me what you thought of having a family, Sav. I wasn’t about to force one on you.”

“Damn it, woman! Don’t you think you should have let me make that decision?” Sav yelled. “You kept my child away from me! What gave you the right to do that?”

Spinning around, Nikki hissed, “You did! You told me you couldn’t be bothered with a wife when you were touring. That if I couldn’t travel around with you, you couldn’t guarantee what would happen if you got lonely! So, when I found out about her, what was I supposed to think? You’d suddenly grow up?”

“Excuse me? I’m how much fucking older than you?” Sav asked angrily.

“And you were how mature back in ‘87? I’d say about as mature as your average teenager!” Nikki replied. “I’m six years younger than you, but I had to grow up real fucking quick when I found out about Chelsea! Would you have been willing to give up the women that were out there on tour because I was stupid enough to get knocked up?”

“Yeah, if I’d have known about her, I would have!” Sav spat back angrily.

“And we would have made things work when I knew the only thing you wanted me back for was the baby!” Nikki said with tears in her voice. “I couldn’t have lived with that!”

“You were the one who left me, Nikki,” he said, reigning in his voice when he saw the trail of tears on her cheek. “Remember, I didn’t want you to go!”

“It couldn’t have worked then, just like it can’t now,” she said, turning her back to him. But he grabbed her arm and said, “Why can’t it work now, Nik? Because of our past or because you won’t let it? Don’t you want to be happy for once in your life?”

“I was happy, once,” she answered sadly. “Maybe that’s all you get in this life.”

“No, it’s not, Nikki,” he said slowly, realizing that she was slipping away from him again the same way she had before. Suddenly, he was desperate to stop this before he lost her. He put his hand under her chin, making her look up at him, and said softly, “I still love you, you still love me. Nothing’s changed as far as that goes. I’m sorry I got angry for what you did about Chelsea. You’re right, I did say that I wasn’t ready for a family back then. But I also didn’t know what I’d be missing when I said that. Don’t take my last chance away, please? I must have been mad to say what I did then. But I know now I want the wife and daughter I was meant to have! Please!”

Looking up into his eyes through her tears, she saw the unshed droplets laying in his eyes as well. He bent to kiss her, but she put up her hand and said, “This isn’t just about Chelsea, is it? If you just want to see her, we can work something out.”

“Damn, woman, didn’t we just go over how badly I need you in my life a few hours ago?” he said, shaking his head in frustration. “I never wanted you to leave, so how can you even ask that?”

“I just need to know, I guess,” she murmured softly. His fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck as he pulled her in and said, “I love you, you lunatic! Come on, don’t make a grown man beg and grovel!” Then, with an ornery wink, he said, “You know how temperamental we rock stars can be when we don’t get what we want!” She cocked an eyebrow at him and gave him a wry grin as he finally bent down and kissed her gently. She tossed her cigarette away and wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened, his tongue invading her mouth with soft certainty that wiped away her doubts.

As he pulled back, he took her hand and said, “Let’s get back up to Chelsea, okay? Your mum looked like she could use a break.”

“Okay,” she answered quietly, letting him lead the way back up to their daughter’s room.

“Mom, go home, get some rest,” Nikki said as she and Sav entered the room. “We’ll sit with Chels until morning.”

“That’s fine, hon. I’m exhausted,” Kathleen said quietly. “Rick, it was nice to finally meet you. Nikki’s told me a great deal about you and your bandmates.”

“The pleasure was mine, Kat,” Sav said softly, shaking her hand. She gave him a curious look and Nikki said, “He knows now, Mom.”

“I’m glad you finally told him, Nikki,” her mother answered. “It’s just not right to keep a child away from its father like that!”

Nikki looked down at the floor when she heard her mother start the familiar lecture. Then she said, “Mom, he knows, okay? Can we please drop it now?” Her mother started to say something, but Nikki just said, “Please, Mom?”

“Fine,” her mother said quickly. “I’ll leave the two of you to take care of your daughter then.”

“Thanks for being here, Mom,” Nikki said softly.

“You’re welcome, Nikki,” her mother answered quietly. Then she picked up her bag, put her hand on Sav’s arm and said, “Be good to her, Rick.”

Sav leaned down and kissed the older woman on the cheek, then whispered, “I will, I promise.” Kathleen nodded, then walked quietly out the door. Sav turned back to Nikki and said, “I mean that, Nikki.”

Putting her arms around his waist, she said, “You better!”

He kissed her on the tip of her nose and said, “Only if you behave yourself from now on!”

“Mommy?” came the soft whisper from the bed. Sav and Nikki turned around and saw Chelsea staring back at them. Nikki walked over to the side of the bed and ran a hand over the child’s hair, saying, “How ya feeling, sweetie?”

“My arm hurts,” Chelsea whispered.

“You broke it playing daredevil on the jungle gym, goofy,” Nikki said with a soft smile. “Gonna stay off the top now?”

“Uh huh,” the little girl whispered. Chelsea caught sight of Sav and looked up at her mom, wondering who the strange man was with her. He looked very familiar, but with all the drugs in Chelsea’s system she couldn’t figure out where she’d seen him before.

“You go back to sleep, baby and we’ll be here when you wake up,” Nikki said gently. The child nodded her weary head and turned back over in the bed to sleep. Sav pulled Nikki over to the couch and got her to lay down across his lap, saying, “Okay, now sleep, Mommy.”

“Yes, *Daddy*,” Nikki said with a smile. She snuggled in against him and was sleeping within minutes as Sav watched his daughter sleeping on the bed.

Everyone woke the next morning when the doctor came in to check on Chelsea. There was no concussion, so he told Nikki the child could go back home and just come back in three weeks for him to check her broken arm. As he walked away, Sav said quietly, “Nikki? Can we take her with us? On tour, I mean.”

“Are you sure, Rick?” she asked softly.

“I want the time to get to know her, okay?” Sav answered. So Nikki nodded in agreement. As soon as she was released from the hospital, Nikki and Sav took her home and packed her things to go with them as Kathleen watched with an approving smile. Just as Kathleen dropped them at the airport, Chelsea looked at her mother and said, “Mommy, who is he? He looks like the picture you gave me of Daddy.”

Nikki knelt down in front of the child and said softly, “Chelsea, he is your daddy, baby. Why don’t you go over and talk to him? He’d love that, sweetie.”

Wide eyed, the child walked over to Sav shyly and said, “Are you really my Daddy?”

“Yes, luv, I am,” he said with a small smile for Nikki. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here before, but I really want you to stay with me now.”

“You talk funny,” the little girl said in consternation. “Why?”

“Because I live someplace far away,” Sav laughed. “Everyone there talks like I do.”

The child considered this thoughtfully. Then she said, “You sound like Uncle Ross!”

“Yeah, a bit,” Sav said looking up at Nikki again. “Ross knows about her?”

“I could hardly keep it a secret, Sav,” Nikki said quickly. “I showed up pregnant just a couple of months after the assignment and he knew I was still missing you. It didn’t take a genius for him to figure out who her father was.”

Sav nodded slightly and turned back to Chelsea, who was still staring at him. He could see the disbelief still lingering in the little girl’s eyes as she watched him. But there was hope there as well, hope that she’d finally found the man she’d looked for all her young life. Sav and Nikki heard the call for their flight and bundled the child off into the airplane. She took Sav’s hand shyly and saw the broad smile on his face. So she held on tight as he got her into the plane and buckled into her seat.

“Daddy?” the child said timidly. “Sit beside me?”

All Sav could do was grin as he sat beside his daughter and held her hand during the take off. During the short flight, Sav asked Chelsea all about herself. What she liked, which turned out to be school, painting and music. What she didn’t, which was staying behind when her mother had to go out on assignments. She really wanted to go with Nikki, but Nikki had said she’d have to wait until she got older to do that. But Chelsea loved staying with her Grandma Kat, so it didn’t really bother her too much. Then she looked over at her mother and said, “Am I really going to get to do a tour with you, Mommy?”

“Yes, sweetie,” Nikki said with a smile. “And your daddy is in the band!”

The girl looked up at Sav in awe suddenly. “You play in the band, Daddy?”

“Yes, luv, I do,” Sav chuckled. “Do you know what a bass guitar is?” She shook her head and Sav continued, “It’s bigger than a regular guitar and sounds a lot lower, understand that?” She nodded and he said, “Good, cuz that’s what I play.”

“Wow,” Chelsea said quietly. She leaned against Sav’s shoulder and snuggled against him, watching him with huge blue eyes. Nikki smiled down at her, then leaned against Sav’s other shoulder. He laid his head down on top of hers and let out a contented sigh as the jet flew through the air.

They caught up to the band at that night’s venue and were met by puzzled stares when Joe and the others saw Chelsea with them. Sav bent down and picked Chelsea up, then turned to his friends and said, “Guys, I’d like you to meet our daughter, Chelsea.”

Four jaws dropped open at Sav’s words. Joe looked back and forth between them, totally bewildered for a moment. Then he turned to Nikki and said, “Your daughter?”

“Yeah, Joe, there was a reason I never came around you guys after that first month and Sav’s got her in his arms,” Nikki said with a soft laugh. “I couldn’t very well show up with a baby girl when I didn’t know how Sav would react, could I?”

“True,” Joe said slowly. “But, how? I mean, how’d he finally find out?”

“That trip home is directly related to a certain cast on little missy’s arm,” Nikki said quietly. “She got hurt and I had to fly home. Only Mr. Savage decided to go with me and figured out my little secret.”

Chelsea saw Rory standing next to his father and started to squirm to get down out of Sav’s arms. He set her on the floor and watched as she walked right up to Rory. Within minutes, as the adults around them talked, the children were playing together quietly.

Chelsea seemed to take to life on the road rather easily, loving the adventure of a new town everyday. And she and Rory had become fast friends, keeping both of them out of trouble. But much to Sav’s growing frustration, she insisted on sleeping right between her parents. Not that he minded his daughter being in the bed, but there was the simple fact that since they’d been back together, Sav and Nikki hadn’t managed to get one night alone yet. Nikki just laughed about it, saying they would have plenty of time for THAT later. He needed to get to know Chelsea for the moment.

Finally, the day before Nikki’s assignment for Ross was about to end, Phil solved their problem by asking Chelsea to spend the night in his room with Rory. She agreed with a broad smile and ran off to tell her mother about her “sleepover” with Rory.

“Can I, Mommy, PLEASE!” the child begged.

“Ask your father,” Nikki said with an amused smile. But she already knew what Sav’s answer was going to be. When Chelsea asked him, he made a big show of considering it before he finally said, “Okay, luv. Go ahead, but don’t stay up too late!”

Then Sav shot Nikki a meaningful look. Tonight, she was going to be his and his alone. Nikki shivered a little from the heat of his gaze, but returned his smile with anticipation. As soon as Phil shooed the children off to his room, Sav grabbed Nikki’s hand and said a hasty ‘goodnight’ to his band mates. He pulled her away from them as they listened to the laughter of the men they’d left behind.

As soon as the elevator door closed, Sav pulled her into his arms and whispered, “I’ve been waiting too long to be alone with you again, luv.”

“Well, we’ll have to see what we can do about that, huh?” Nikki said into his ear, then sucked his earlobe between her lips. He growled against her throat and pinned her to the wall just as an elderly couple boarded the lift. Looking at them in shock, Sav pulled back from Nikki and gave her another heated gaze. The old man laughed and said, “Honeymooners?”

“You could say that,” Nikki giggled as Sav struggled to adjust himself as casually as he could. The old man took his wife’s hand and whispered something into her ear, bringing a blush to the woman’s face. Nikki let out another giggle as they reached their floor and Sav pulled her off the elevator with a quick ‘goodbye’ to the older couple. He opened the door to their room impatiently, then picked Nikki up and carried her in, kicking the door shut behind him.

He laid her down on the bed gently, then moved up her body, kissing the flesh at the v of her blouse. He heard her whimper softly as his mouth found the soft skin of her throat and worked its way up her jaw line.

When his lips captured hers, he kissed her with all the repressed passion of eight long years apart. His long fingers tangled into her hair, pulling her ever deeper into the kiss. When he finally broke away from her, she was breathless and panting. Their eyes met and Sav said softly, “I love you, Nikki, more than my own life.”

“Love you too, Rick,” she said as she pulled him back down to her. Her hands dug into his back, holding him closer than she ever thought she’d be able to again. She nearly tore the shirt off his back in her desperate need to feel his skin again. Her nails raked over the muscles of his back, bringing a groan from deep in his body as he set to work on the buttons of her blouse. He kissed every inch of the skin he revealed as he went down to the soft flesh of her belly. Once her shirt hung open and away from her, he opened the front fasteners of her bra and slowly peeled the fabric away from her breasts. Looking down into her eyes, he let his hand go over her tender skin before lowering his mouth to her nipple. His tongue ran lightly over the hard peak, sending a shiver through her body. She gasped as his lips closed over her, sucking gently at her flesh. She felt him tugging at her jeans, undoing the buttons quickly with one hand. Then he pulled away from her and slowly removed her jeans and panties. His hands ran slowly back up her legs, over her calves and thighs and parting her legs gently. He kissed his way up her inner thigh, but Nikki pulled him up and said, “We’ve got time for that later, baby. I need to feel you inside me again!”

Sitting up, she undid his pants quickly and exposed his hard manhood to her touch. Her hand ran over the length of his shaft before she pulled him, still half dressed, down to her body. The soft fabric of his jeans rubbed against her thighs as he sank down onto her body. With a long, slow, deep kiss, Sav entered her with one painfully slow move. And for the first time in many years, both of them felt complete again. He poured himself into her body with far more patience than he felt inside. She held on to him, never wanting to let go again. But she could feel his need for her building, intensifying. His motion got harder, more passionate and she met him with an equal fervor. Sensing she was nearing her climax, Sav moved more forcefully and within a moment she was gasping his name as she came. Only once she’d been satisfied could Sav allow himself that final completion. He cried out her name as his seed poured into her body. Then he wrapped her in his arms and whispered, “I love you, Nikki.”

“I love you, too, Rick,” she said softly into his ear. They slipped out of the remainder of their clothing and lay together, enjoying the warmth of each other’s bodies. Then Nikki let out a sigh of regret and said, “You know, I’m scheduled to leave tomorrow. I really do have to get our stuff together to head home.”

“Nikki, please, don’t go this time,” Sav begged. “I know you love your job and everything, but I just can’t live without you again. And I don’t want to miss anymore of Chelsea’s life either. I want both of you to stay with me, forever this time.”

She looked up at him and saw the yearning in his eyes. “Please, Nikki, don’t go,” he said softly. “I need you!”

“We’ll see in the morning, okay?” she said with a smile as she curled up against his side. He held her tightly as he said, “I love you, baby.”

“Go to sleep, Rick!” she laughed. “I’ll give you my answer in the morning!”

The courier made his way into Ross’s office and Ross looked at the young man in surprise. Nikki was due in that afternoon. Why on Earth would she send her film ahead of her instead of just bringing it along with her? He took the package from the man and sent him out to his secretary for his tip.

He opened the small box and dumped the film out onto his desk. But along with the canisters, an envelope fell out. It was addressed to “My employer, Mr. Ross Halfin”. He tore into it, but inside he already knew what it read. He’d actually expect this letter eight years before.

“Ross,

I’m sure you know what I’m going to say. This letter is my resignation. I’ve loved working for you over the years, but Rick and I have finally decided to make a go of things and see if we can make a life together. Thanks for sending me on this assignment, you sneaky bastard! You finally brought the one person back into my life that I couldn’t live without. Thank you, Ross, for everything over the years. For all your support and all your help with Chelsea.

All my love,

Nikki.”

He sat back with a sigh. Ross had watched Nikki pine away for Sav for years and knew he’d made the right decision in interfering in her life this once. Knowing he’d probably lose Nikki was a small price to pay for finally seeing her happy again after all this time. He grabbed the phone and got his secretary to put a call through to the hotel where he knew the band was staying. They put him through to Sav’s room just a minute later and Sav answered the phone.

“Three strikes and you’re out of circulation, mate!” Ross chucked.

“Yeah, well, thanks Ross!” Sav laughed.

“You’d best take care of this one!” Ross said seriously. “She’s not like those other girls you took away from me!”

“Don’t worry, Ross, I will,” Sav answered softly as he turned to look at Nikki. He took her hand and kissed it as he said quietly to Ross, “There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted to do more.”