Chapter 18

"Hey. What about us?" Cobra asked.

"You know the score," Gary told him. "She succeeds, you succeed. And that could mean another album and more studio money for you guys." He paused. "And Cobra? Behave yourself."

"Man." He laughed. "That's no fun."

"It would be less fun to get kicked off of this gig."

"Yeah?" The bass player's features were arranged in a sneer. "I'm the best fucking bassist you can buy, man. I'm not going' anywhere."

""Just behave. You ready, Jas?"

Jasmine grabbed her little cosmetic bag and did a quick repair job, fluffing her hair and checking her outfit. She slapped her Stetson back on and turned to Gary.

"Okay?"

"We think you look gorgeous," Tony Baez, her lead guitar player called out. "Forget about him."

There was another knock on the door.

"That'll be your cue," Gary said. "Let's move it, people."

Jasmine tried to still the flock of butterflies swarming in her stomach. It's just another song, she told herself. She was glad she knew a lot of the Sweet Dixie songs. Last night they'd had her sing their latest hit. Maybe they'd do the same tonight. She hoped she didn't throw up or pass out or forget the words.

Come on, come on. You can do this.

Sweet Dixie's road manager motioned them to the wings just at the edge of the stage.

"Wait right here," he told them. "Rodeo's gonna announce you when it's time."

Holy shit! Rodeo Jermaine was Sweet Dixie's lead singer. Holy shit again!

She stood there doing her best to calm herself, glad when Gary came up to stand beside her.

"It'll be fine, Jas. My money's always on you."

The applause had just died down and Rodeo was beckoning her from the stage. His road manager gave her a nudge.

"We've got a surprise for you tonight, everyone. You loved Miss Jasmine Grey so much earlier, we decided to bring her back again. Last night she sang with us on one of ours. Tonight we're doing one of yours." He waved at her again. "Come on out, sweetheart and help us do you proud on Sweet Man of Mine."

Jasmine started to shake. She looked at Gary. "They're singing one of my songs?"

"Uh huh. Little surprise for you. They loved having you on the dates with them" He nudged her. "Now go on. Show 'em your stuff."

Jasmine could not have told you what happened after that. She remembered going onstage, getting a hug from Rodeo, seeing the entire band clapping for her. Rolling into an incredible version of Sweet Man of Mine. Doing encores with the band. The afterparty where she hoped she answered questions with some intelligence.

Finally it was over, everyone had been politely ushered out of the arena, and they headed back to the hotel. She couldn't believe how excited her own musicians were for her.

"We told you," Tony said. "What's good for you is good for us. We're with you for the long haul, Miss Jasmine Grey."

Gary agreed with him. "Carson's gonna be sorry he wasn't here, but he'll sure know how to capitalize on this. There may be another tour coming up right quick."

At the hotel everyone headed for the bar, still high on the excitement. Jasmine was wiped and knew she should get to bed, but she was still so high on the excitement of the night's success."

"Don't let me stay too long," she told Hondo, the one who was really the band's leader.

"We'll take good care of you," he assured her. "Gary will make sure of that." He looked over at the road manager. "Right, Ace?"

Gary gave them a thumbs up. "You bet. We all just want to celebrate tonight. It had a lot of magic."

"It did, didn't it?" She smiled up at him. "Okay, drinks are on me."

She just had to make sure she sat as far away from Cobra as possible, but she needn't have worried. Hondo and Gary made sure she was sandwiched between them and across the table from Cobra.

It was fun celebrating their success. She knew she owed much of it to the band and especially to Hondo. As the de facto leader he kept everyone in line, ran rehearsal like a field general and took care of getting them where they had to go when they had to be there.

"Okay, really, guys, I'm not much of a drinker anyway. And we've got a long haul back to Austin tomorrow."

They moaned and groaned a little but each gave her a hug. Except Cobra who she avoided like the plague. Back in her room she threw herself on the bed and just lay there for a long moment, letting the feeling of pure excitement roll through her. Tonight had been incredible. She could hardly wait to hear what Carson had to say. Sweet Dixie had actually learned one of her songs. One of her songs!

Holy crap!

Finally, as the energy drained from her body, she exchanged her clothes for her sleep pants and tank top and slid into bed. She was sure she'd never fall asleep but she was out almost before her head touched the pillow.

As if from a great distance she heard a knocking on her door. No, not a knocking. A banging. What on earth? It took her a minute to realize it wasn't part of her dream. She had no idea what time it was except it was still dark in the room. With a tremendous effort she dragged herself up from sleep and staggered to the door.

"What the hell's going on?" she asked as she opened it. "You'll wake everyone in the hotel."

She squinted to see who was there. As soon as she realized it was Cobra she tried to slam the door shut, but he blocked it.

"I came for our private celebration." His words were slurred and the odor of alcohol surrounded him like a thick cloud.

"Go away, Cobra. I told you to stop this."

Again she tried to close the door but he was too quick for her, shoving it all the way open so it slammed back against the wall. He barreled his way into the room and pushed her back to the bed. It took a minute for her sleep-fogged mind to catch up with what was happening. When she did she was already flat on her back, Cobra's sweaty body pressing her into the mattress. His hands held her face immobile as he pressed his wet mouth to hers. When he tried to force her lips apart with his tongue she pressed them together, turning her head away from the stink of the liquor he'd been drinking.

"No, Cobra," she managed to gasp. "Get off me. Get out of here."

"Not tonight, Miss High and Mighty. You've played games with me long enough. I know you really want me the way I want you. Well, no one's here to stop us now so let's get it on."

He grabbed the edge of her tank top and yanked it down, ripping it then squeezed her breast so hard the pain made her gasp. He laughed and did it again. When he reached down between them and thrust his hand between her thighs, she found an unexpected spurt of strength.

"Get off me," she said again, shoving at his shoulders. "Now, Cobra. Damn it."

But he laughed. The harder she fought, the more his hands roamed over her. His mouth was on hers again, his tongue thrusting inside. Jasmine bit down hard on it, forcing him to lift his head.