Chapter 123 - Change of Plans

Cate stepped quickly over to the nightstand and snatched up her Blackberry, answering it before it could kick over to voicemail. “Hello?”

“Hi, Cate? It’s Shelby. From Public Affairs?” Her heavy Southern drawl practically oozed through the phone. “Sorry ta call you so early, but I wanted ta catch you before ya came in.”

“It’s fine. I’m just getting ready to come in now,” Cate responded with a little smile. Hell, I’m usually in the office WAY earlier than this, she thought.

“We-yell, I just wanted ta let you know there’s been a slight change of plans for the taping this morning. There was a scheduling muck-up, so we’re goin’-ta be filming at another range.”

Cate shrugged. No big deal. “Okay. Where do I need to be, and when?” She was careful not to say “we,” not wanting to give Shelby the impression that she was with Jon, or would see him before the morning’s schedule began.

“We’ll be out at Range Twenty-One. You know, the outdoor range, over by the Bomb and Arson Branch?”

Cate fought back a chuckle. “Yeah, I know it.” she replied. Intimately, in fact.

“I’ve already got Sammy over there with the crew, settin’ up. I really wanted ta use one of the new ranges, but that’s the only one not in use this mornin’.” Shelby sounded put-out at not being able to show off the Center’s top facilities.

“It’ll work fine, Shelby,” Cate assured her. They all look pretty much the same behind the firing line. Just the lanes are different.” She glanced at the clock. “What time are we starting?”

“We-yell…” Shelby hesitated. “I’d like to get it goin’ as soon as we can, but Mister Bon Jovi isn’t suppose-ta be here ‘til nine. I was just goin’-ta walk him over to the range, but now that I need ta drive him way out-ta the boonies, it’s probably goin’-ta be more like nine-thirty.”

Cate heard Shelby cover the receiver of the phone and speak to someone, her voice muffled. Then she was back. “Cate, I don’t have Mister Bon Jovi’s mobile number, do you? I’d like ta call him and see if he can come in early.”

Cate grinned as she looked at Jon’s Blackberry, resting on the nightstand next to where hers had lay just a minute ago. “I do have his number, Shelby, but I’m not sure he’d like me to give it out. You know, privacy.” She tried not to laugh. “But I can call him, if you like.”

Cate stepped over to the bathroom door, looking through it to see Jon flossing his teeth. “I’m not sure he’ll be able to come in early, though. He may be at the gym or something.” She wandered through the wide doorway and stopped where she had stood earlier as she watched Jon shave.

“We-yell…” Shelby’s disappointment carried through in her voice. “I guess, if you could call him for me.”

“Of course,” Cate answered graciously. “I’ll be happy to do it. Do you still want him to meet you at your office?” She sucked her lower lip in between her teeth and bit down, trying hard not to laugh as Jon gave her a quizzical look, realizing she was talking about him. He wrinkled his nose at her when he saw her wicked grin.

“Yes, please.” Cate could hear Shelby smiling over the phone. “I just want a couple minutes with that fine man all ta myself before I have ta share him with y’all.”

Cate’s laughter escaped with a little snort at that. “Ummm… excuse me. Sorry, Shelby,” she said, trying to cover her giggle with a cough. Jon raised an eyebrow at her antic as he continued to floss. “Yeah, I can totally understand that,” she added, her eyes sliding appreciatively over Jon’s chest and abs as he turned to face her. Oh, Shelby… if you ONLY knew….

“Well, let me give him a call and see if I can catch him.” Cate tried to wrap up the conversation. “I’ll let you know if he can come in earlier. If you don’t hear from me, it means either I didn’t get him or he will be there as scheduled, okay?”

Jon cocked his head inquisitively as he listened to Cate’s end of the exchange. He unwound the floss from his fingers and tossed it into the bowl of the sink, then took a step toward Cate, smirking naughtily. “Hmmmm….” he mused.

“Okay, Cate. Thanks. See ya later,” Shelby replied as Cate took a step back, raising her finger to her lips to silently shush Jon. He followed her retreat.

“Bye Shelby. Gotta run,” Cate said hastily, then pushed the button to close the call. She lowered her hand to her side and gave Jon a stern look. “You’re trying to get me in trouble, aren’t you?” she scolded gently. “If Shelby heard a man talking in the background, when I’m supposed to be at my house, it would be all over the Center before lunch.”

“So?” Jon asked nonchalantly. “What was that all about? She wants me to come in early?” He stepped close to Cate, placing his hands on her waist.

“Yeah. She called to tell me the shoot’s been moved to a different range. The night-fire range,” Cate looked up at Jon with a little smirk. “Fitting, huh?”

Jon chuckled huskily. “A return to the scene of the crime. How appropriate,” he agreed, his mouth drifting toward hers. “So, why do I have to be there early?” His voice was softer, huskier with his question.

“Ummm… you don’t. I think she just wants to try to stick as close to the original schedule as she can. But now she’s going to have to drive you ten minutes to the range instead of just walk down the street.” Cate answered, just before his lips found hers.

Jon kissed Cate provocatively, smiling as he heard a little groan escape her throat. He slipped his lips from hers, toward her ear. “Call her back and tell her I’ll be late,” he ordered huskily.

“Jon, we can’t… I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Cate tried to protest as Jon nimbly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped his hands inside, one to her hip and the other to her breast.

“Sure we can. There’s no interview until I show up. I’m the Rock Star. It’s my prerogative to be late,” he purred silkily, sliding his hand from her hip down to cup her ass. “And it’s none of her business what – or who -- I’ve been doing to make me late.”

He brushed a calloused thumb across the point of her nipple, making her shudder. Jon chuckled and stepped backwards, pulling Cate with him. With his hands on her hips, he turned her until her back was to the mirror, then backed her against the vanity.

“But Jon, I’ll be late too.” Cate countered breathily.

“She won’t know that. You can go straight to the range. I’ll stall her at the office.” Jon argued smugly as he reached down to grasp the backs of her thighs, then lifted her up to sit on the edge of the marble topped-vanity. “Dial the phone, Cate,” he ordered in a whiskey growl as he stepped up between her legs, the soft velour of the towel around his waist brushing against her sensitive thighs.

Cate gulped and raised her hand, pushing the “redial” button. “Stop it!” she warned Jon weakly as his hands slid up her thighs. She heard Shelby’s voice after just one ring. “Umm.. Shelby? It’s Cate.” She tried to sound normal, rather than like a woman who was almost naked in a palatial bathroom with an equally-almost-naked Rock Star between her thighs.

“Did you get him?” Shelby asked.

I’m about to… “Yes. I was able to reach Jo… Mister Bongiovi,” Cate replied. Jon grinned at her and lowered his lips to the curve of her shoulder, pushing aside the soft fabric of his shirt so he could suck at her dewy skin.

“Is he able to come in early?” Shelby queried.

“Umm.. no. In fact…” Cate closed her eyes and tipped her head back as Jon’s lips traveled along her clavicle to the base of her throat. She tried hard to keep her breathing even, though her heart was racing. “He asked me to call you back and tell you he’d be late.”

“LATE? Why? Did he say HOW late?” Shelby exclaimed with surprise. “I’m on a schedule here, Cate! This is gonna throw everything off!”

“He didn’t say, Shelby,” Cate swallowed hard as Jon’s lips slipped further down her chest. He raised his hands to span her ribcage under her breasts, squeezing gently and holding her still as he nudged aside the two halves of his shirt, uncovering first one hard, rosy nipple, then the other. “He just said he had something to… to do…”

Cate paused to take a breath, trying not to groan or whimper as Jon slowly drew his tongue up the side of her breast. “He’ll come as soon as he can,” she blurted out. She blushed when she realized her statement could be taken in a whole other context, given the situation. Jon noticed and chuckled against her skin.

“But when…” Shelby protested before Cate cut her off.

“I’ll see you at the range,” Cate announced. She punched the disconnect button on her Blackberry, double-checked to be sure the connection was closed, then groaned. “My God, Jon… what are you trying to do to me?” she breathed huskily, sucking in a sharp breath as his mouth closed over her nipple.

“Oh, I think you have a pretty good idea,” Jon answered teasingly, rolling his tongue around the hard peak. “If you don’t, I’m doing something wrong.”

“Uh… no, you’re doing it right,” Cate gasped as he sucked hard on her breast. “Oh, God…” She arched against his mouth, bracing her hands behind her on the marble countertop. Her Blackberry slipped from her fingers.

“Mmmm…” Jon hummed as his mouth moved to her other nipple, pulling gently at it with his teeth before closing his lips over the point. He suckled at her breast for a moment, then chuckled. “You know, we wouldn’t be late if you had just let me do what I wanted to in the shower earlier…”

“Or if I hadn’t watched you shave…” Cate responded hoarsely.

Jon chuckled again and pulled his mouth away from her breast, leaning forward to capture her lips. He kissed her hungrily as he slid his hands down her abdomen to her pelvis. He pulled back and looked down at her white cotton panties. A naughty smile curled his lips as he slipped the fingers of both hands under the elastic waist. “Mercy…” he growled. “Those are sexy.”

Cate blushed slightly. “Well, they’re comfortable,” she protested.

“They look so… innocent,” Jon continued, his voice gravelly. He inhaled as he pushed the waistband slowly downward, revealing the faded tattoo on her hip. “But you’re definitely not innocent.”

“Not anymore,” Cate teased huskily. “Since you came along and corrupted me.”

Jon chuckled naughtily. “Bad, Bad Rock Star…” he purred. He gave Cate another smirk as he slowly sank to his knees in front of her while he tugged gently on the white cotton under his fingers.

Cate sucked in a breath and rocked slightly from hip to hip, enabling him to slip the panties over her buttocks and down her legs. Jon dropped the panties to the floor, then gently grasped Cate’s ankles. He raised her legs to rest them on his shoulders as he moved forward, dropping his mouth to the sensitive, tanned skin inside her right thigh.

Jon’s hands went again to her hips, gripping them and suddenly pulling her forward so that her ass slid to the very edge of the countertop. Cate gasped in surprise at the sudden movement, her knees automatically bending to hook over Jon’s shoulders while her arms flexed to support the weight of her upper body.

Jon smiled wickedly at her reaction. He had her right where he wanted her.