Ember: Next Gen (Snakes Henchmen MC Book 12)

by Alivia Grayson

  I nod my head. “I know she does, Eagle. I know you love your sister, and you want her safe and loved. I can promise you that with me, Ember will have that.”

  Eagle groan’s, and I can see that he’s struggling to let go of the protective brother vibe. “Just make sure she’s happy, and I won’t have to break your neck.”

  Though what Eagle said came across incredibly threatening, I chuckle. “Understood.”

  Eagle smirks, and I know we’ve both come to an understanding, and formed a friendship here tonight.

  * * *

  Tonight has been a lot of fun. My family and friends love Ember, but then everyone does. Ember and I danced in each other’s arms, and she laughed at my attempt at street dance. Dancing has never been my forte. I’m a rockstar, so I don’t need to dance. Thank God.

  I left Ember dancing with her mother, mine, and a few others while I went to the bathroom. The night is almost over, and I still haven’t plucked up the courage to ask Ember the big Q.

  What the hell are you waiting for, Marco?

  I don’t know. I know that if I’m going to do this, I need to do it now.

  I wash my hands and then make my way back to the bar. I look around the room and note that everyone is enjoying themselves. I spot Ember, laughing with my sister, and I smile.

  I take a deep breath while taking the mic from the DJ. She knows what’s about to happen; her smile tells me so.

  Philippa, the DJ, cuts the music, and all eyes turn in our direction. “Sorry to spoil everyone’s fun, but there’s something I’d like to say.” Everyone is watching, and my heart is beating out of my chest.

  I stand on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans, and nerves don’t come into it. I’m standing in a room with no more than sixty people, all family, and friends, and nerves are taking over.

  My eyes lock with Colin’s for a second. He smiles and nods slightly. When I called him the other night and told him that I wanted to ask Ember to marry me, he was shocked. I explained to him just what Ember means to me, and Colin told me to go for it, meaning it was my turn to be shocked.

  When I called Saint and Bob, neither one of them seemed surprised. Bob told me that he had a feeling I’d want to marry Ember soon rather than later. Saint said he was a little concerned that things might not last between us. I understood his concerns, and I hope I reassured him enough to know that I don’t plan on messing things up with Ember. We have all three bandmates support, and each one is happy for us.

  “Ember?” I search the room until I see my girl, looking right at me, curiously. I smile. “Can you come over here, please?” I hold my hand out to Ember.

  She makes her way over to me with narrow eyes. “What’s going on?” She asks while slipping her hand in mine.

  “I’m afraid I brought you here under false pretenses. Ember swallows hard. I stroke my knuckles down her soft cheek. “This isn’t Kimmy’s birthday party.”

  “Is isn’t?”

  I shake my head. “I asked Rhea and Kimmy to pretend. I didn’t want you to guess why you were really here.” I bring Ember’s hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. “I asked everyone here because I have something to ask you,”

  Ember’s eyes glisten with unshed tears, and I have to swallow back my own emotions. I think deep down; Ember knows what’s happening here. I just hope she doesn’t feel too deceived.

  “It’s no secret that you’re my best friend, Ember,” I chuckle. “Hell, you’re everyone’s best friend. But our friendship is very special, wouldn’t you say?” Ember giggles and nods her head. “From the moment I met you, you brought me to life. You showed me what real love is all about.”

  Ember’s eyes haven’t left my face yet, and the love she feels for me is radiating from her to me.

  “I honestly don’t remember me before you, and that’s because I was nobody until you came into my life, Ember. I want everyone here to know just how much I love you, baby,”

  I take a deep breath while getting to one knee in front of Ember. Her left hand is still in mine, and her right hand is now against her mouth. Ember looks around the room, then back at me, and her face says it all. She’s both surprised and shocked by what’s happening.

  “I love you, Ember Marshall. You are everything to me, and I mean it when I say that I am nothing without you. You’re my world, my soulmate, and I have to know,” I slip my hand into the inside of my jacket pocket and retrieve the ring box I placed there earlier. I open it to reveal the small diamond on a silver band, and Ember audibly gasps.

  It’s not the most expensive ring in the world. However, I remember Hannah and Ember having a conversation a few weeks ago. They were talking about the day Colin proposed to Hannah and how she loved the engagement ring he bought for her. That’s when Ember described her dream engagement ring and how she didn’t want flashy. When the time came for the man she loves to propose to her, then she wanted simple. It took me no time to find the perfect ring for Ember, and that’s what I’m holding out to her right now.

  “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” Ember nods. “Yes!” She yells, and I’ve slipped the ring on her finger and pressed my lips to her before her answer has even registered. “I love you,” Ember kisses me again before looking at her ring.

  “Do you like it, baby?”

  Ember smiles at me, and it’s infectious. “It’s perfect, Marco. You know me so well, and I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too, beautiful.” I manage to kiss her once before she’s pulled away from me.

  There are so many congratulations thrown around, that I’m losing count. But it feels incredible that Ember said yes, and I can’t wait to tell the world that Ember Marshall will soon be my wife. I’m not waiting years to get Ember down the aisle, weeks if I have my way.

  Colin, Bob, and Saint bring a beer over and congratulate me. It feels good that my friends are okay with this. Not that it would have mattered to me a jot if they weren’t, nothing would have stopped me asking Ember to marry me. However, having their support means a lot to me, and to Ember.

  “I need a word with you,”

  I’m not happy to see Matt, he wasn’t invited tonight, so what the hell is he doing here?

  Matt wasn’t invited because I knew it would have made Ember uncomfortable. If Ember and I don’t have to be around Matt, we won’t be. The motherfucker is always taking digs at Ember, and he can’t even deny it because we’ve all witnessed it. However, no matter what any of us says, he hasn’t stopped bullying Ember.

  It can’t continue, and we all know it. Bob even mentioned firing the prick. Not one of us would miss him, and Colin said that Matt wouldn’t be missed. It’s not like he does much other than whine anyway.

  After I yelled at Hannah the day Tank turned up after one of our shows, she and Ember have been unbelievably close. None of us still know what her problem was with Ember, but Hannah apologized, and Ember accepted. All was forgiven, and they moved on. Hannah, however, is the one who came to us and told us just how bad Matt could be toward Ember. Now, Colin, Bob, Saint, and I have to decide when to tell Matt he’s no longer needed.

  “What do you want? Who the hell even invited you?”

  Matt shrugs his shoulders. “Saint told me you’d be here. As no one else would answer their phones, I called him. I came because you’re an ignorant fuck, Marco.” I grit my teeth to ward off the need to smack him in the mouth. “I received a call from Sid Fallington,”

  I shake my head because I have no clue whom Matt is talking about.

  Matt rolls his eyes. “He’s a world-renowned director in advertising. Sid saw Ember in your music video and want her to star in a perfume slash cologne advertisement. He needs Ember at the stupid early tomorrow morning.”

  “Whoa,” I hold my hand up to stop Matt talking. “Don’t you think you should pitch the idea to Ember? You haven’t given her much time to think about this. Plus, we leave tomorrow evening, there’s no time for her to do a damned advert.”

>   “She’ll be done before you leave. I’ll leave you to tell Ember. I have a plane to catch,” I grit my teeth again. Lucky for him that he’s going ahead to London, or I’d kill him on the plane and make it look like a nasty accident. “Oh, and there’s no way for Ember to say no, Caren, and I already signed a contract to say Ember would do it, and it’s airtight.”

  “What? You can’t do that!” Nowhere in our contracts does it state that Matt has the right to sign us on to anything!

  “I already did,” Matt smirks.

  “And I’ll contest it!”

  “You can try,” He chuckles. “But it won’t get you anywhere.”

  “What’s going on?” I’m too angry to answer Ember right away. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against my side.

  “I was just explaining to Marco that you’ve been signed on to star in an advertisement for the cologne Rift. The contract is signed, and there’s no way out unless you want to pay hundreds of thousands in compensation. Be there at 6: AM, I’ll text you the details.”

  “Are you insane?” Ember takes a step forward, anger radiating off of her. “You can’t make decisions like this for me; you need my permission!”

  “I think you’ll find that I don’t. I can and have signed you up for this. Don’t be late, and don’t fuck it up. Making the band look bad is not good for business, Ember.” With that, Matt walks away, leaving me fuming.

  Ember turns to loos at me, shock written all over her face. I cup her cheek. “Baby, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. To hell with what Matt said, he had no right to spring this on you.”

  Ember sighs while wrapping her arms around my neck. “I don’t want to think about it right now, Marco. He hasn’t given me a choice but to do the damn advert. As long as you’re there with me, I’ll be fine. But for right now, can we forget about it? You just asked me to marry you, and I want to celebrate!”

  I laugh against Ember’s mouth when she kisses me. She’ll regret not thinking about this come morning. But if my fiancée wants to celebrate, then celebrate we shall, all night long in every way imaginable.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Ember

  “Marco, I don’t know if I feel comfortable dressed like this.”

  Marco stares at me, open-mouthed. I look down at myself and groan. They have me dressed in a sexy roman garb of white and gold. The sleeves are short and crisscrossed at the shoulder. There’s a split on the left side, right up to the top of my thigh. My body has been oiled and bronzed. My hair has been styled like that of a wealthy roman lady, and my makeup also. I’m even wearing accessories and shoes that make me look as though I were an ancient millionaire.

  Regardless of Caren and Lisa telling me how beautiful they think I look, I just don’t feel right. I feel like I’m showing too much of my body, I’m not even wearing a bra! Not that I need to worry about showing too much boob, it’s not like I have a handful. As Caren pointed out, they’re pert, and I’m lucky they don’t droop like Lisa’s. Okay, that made me chuckle.

  Why did I agree to do this stupid perfume slash cologne advertisement?

  Oh, yeah, I was forced into it by Matt. That son of a bitch had no right to sign me up for something like this without talking to me first!

  I’m going to have to pretend to be attracted to some muscle-bound male model. I have to let him kiss my neck while touching his chest and pretend that I love him.

  I know it’s acting, and none of it is real, but somehow, it feels like I’ll be cheating on Marco.

  How am I meant to sell this when I feel like I’m going to throw up?

  “Baby, you look incredible.” I smile, sightly at Marco. “Ember,” Marco takes my hand in his own. “Tell me what’s wrong? I thought you wanted to do the advertisement?”

  I swallow hard. I don’t know how to tell Marco that I don’t know if I can do this. I wanted to do this, and Marco encouraged me to go for it. Regardless, I have to say something. “Marco, I don’t know if I can do this. It doesn’t feel right without you.” That’s what’s really wrong with me; I want Marco to be the man waiting for me on that fake mountain.

  Marco smiles, cups my cheek, and kisses my forehead. “I’m sorry that I can’t do this with you, but you’ll be just fine, Ember. You can do this, and you’ll be brilliant.”

  I thought Marco’s words of encouragement would do this trick. However, I’m not doing well at all. I was okay with the market scene. The studio is mocked up to look like ancient Rome, and I walked through the throngs of extras in search of my Roman God.

  The next scene where the studio is transformed into a make-believe mountain is where I find my man. Only it’s not my man; it’s the male model, whom I can’t seem to connect with because he’s not Marco.

  The model, Trevor, waits for me, and I follow the scent of Rift, the new male cologne entices me. Trevor senses me behind him and breathes in the scent of Rift for her, the perfume I’m wearing. He shoots me a smoldering, sexy smirk over his shoulder before turning to look at me. I make my way over to him, and I slide my hand along his chest. We lean into each other ready for the kiss, not a porno kiss, but a kiss that’s meant to tantalize the viewer.

  I pull away from Trevor before our lips touch. How am I meant to kiss this man when I feel sick just thinking about it?

  No one mentioned kissing when I agreed to this. No, they waited until I’d signed on to tell me.

  “This isn’t working!” The director yells for the umpteenth time.

  I want to do this right, but Trevor and I have no chemistry whatsoever. It’s not hard to see that the man doesn’t like me at all.

  I sigh and bite the inside of my cheek. I feel so stupid, I wanted to do this advert, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be, nor how long it would take to get the damn thing done.

  “Where’s the girl I saw in the music video?”

  I shrug my shoulders because I don’t know what to tell the director. He bangs on at me about why he chose me for this advertisement and how I need to reach inside of myself and find the girl in the music video, the girl who sold her story and hooked him instantly. I had Marco in the music video, that’s why I could sell it so well.

  “Ember?” I turn to look at Caren as she taps my arms. “What’s going on? You look like you’d rather be anywhere else than here. You did great during the market scene.”

  “I’m just not feeling it,”

  “You’re not feeling it, or you’re not feeling Trevor?”

  I sigh. “Am I that transparent?”

  “Only a lot,” Caren chuckles. She holds a finger up to me, asking me without words not to move.

  Careen leans into the director and whispers something in his ear. Sid, the director, looks at me, then back to Caren, smirks, and nods his head. “Sort it,” He tells Caren, who then rushes off without a word. “Ember, take five. You,” Sid points at Trevor. “Come with me.”

  I look around the room for Marco, but I don’t see him anywhere. I can’t say as I blame him for taking a break, it’s not like I’d want to see him kissing another woman, even acting.

  I wonder if Sid is going to fire me? It would serve me right if he did.

  You’re useless, Ember. You’re supposed to be a professional, so why don’t you start acting like one?

  Perhaps if I did that, the day would be over quicker.

  “Ember, get back to your mark, and for the love of God, get it right this time!”

  I nod at Sid. No matter how I feel, I have to do what I’m being paid for. I don’t fancy being sued by the advertising company. It wouldn’t look good for the band.

  I stand on my mark and take a deep breath. I put myself in the right headspace and tell myself it’s just acting. Marco will be proud of me; I know he will.

  The wardrobe girl rushes over and fiddle with my dress for a moment before rushing over to Trevor. They have him in the tiniest tunic wrap I’ve ever seen. It barely covers his ass, and I know the front of it is tied and hanging down just
enough to cover his private parts. I hope he’s wearing underwear under that thing.

  Why do you care, Ember?

  I don’t.

  The wardrobe girl moves away from my leading man, and I take one more deep breath. Trevor is standing with his back toward me, as the script requires. The viewer’s image is to showcase the man’s oiled chest as he runs his hand through his wet hair, having washed it in an ancient pool.

  I swallow hard because the action of his hand running through his hair tells me this is no longer Trevor. I’d recognize that movement anywhere.

  My heart is beating wildly as I follow instructions and make my way toward him. I reach out my hand and claps his shoulder. His head turns in my direction, a sexy smirk on his face, and I can’t help biting my lower lip. I’ve never been so turned on as Marco turns to face me. This must have been what Caren was whispering to Sid. She knows me better than I ever imagined. I’ll have to thank her later.

  I slide my hands along Marco’s oil muscles, and I mentally remind myself to stick to the script. However, as we look into each other’s eyes, I can’t help a small smile slipping across my lips.

  Marco smirks while leaning into me. Our lips meet, and electricity shocks my body. I’m trying not to slide my fingers into his hair and press my body against his. I know Marco is dying to grab my ass and pull me into him.

  “And cut!” Sid yells, breaking the spell I was finding myself under. “That’s precisely the look I want, Ember! Fantastic! Back to your markers!”

  I squeeze Marco’s hands and smile excitedly. “I love you,” I mouth before jogging back to my mark. I hear Marco chucking behind me and telling me that he loves me too.

  Marco and I spend the next four hours going over every scene again and again. Anything that Trevor filmed had to be reshot using Marco. When Sid is finally satisfied, he calls, “That’s a rap!”

  “I can’t believe you did this,” I can’t stop smiling at Marco.

  He strokes his knuckles down my cheek. “I’d do anything for you.” He leans in and kisses me while looking around the room.