“I can get us into Nick’s place,” Eli tells me. “There’s a way into his apartment through the nightclub. We could hole up there for a while.”
I nod, trying to relax into my seat. “Good idea.”
Alcohol seems like a good idea. Nick’s bound to have some. If not, there’s a whole nightclub of booze I can escape into. I’m overdressed for that kind of venue but it’s better than being underdressed. Worst case scenario, I can buy a bottle of something and take it upstairs.
“It’s pretty close to the hotel.” He moves forward and tells the driver where to take us, before coming back to sit next to me as the car begins to move. “I told him to head back to the hotel once we’ve been dropped off, but I guess you’ll need to tell him something different before he leaves.”
I nod, frowning as I realise I’ve never used Eden’s power like this before. Maybe that’s affecting my mood. No. Wait. Eden’s a Goddess of Love. She’s not a dark forces deity. This feels nothing like love. That can’t have anything to do with it.
“We need to come up with a plan for Raven or whatever her real name is, when she makes her comeback,” Eli murmurs, almost as if he’s talking to himself.
“Eden will turn her mortal,” I tell him, shrugging when he glances my way. “There’s not much we can do. She’s the Goddess. It’s on her shoulders.”
He stares at me for a few seconds. “Are you feeling okay?”
No. The honest answer, and one I don’t feel like giving out. I nod. “I’m fine. Why?”
“You sounded kind of like Nick for a second, only with less enthusiasm.”
“I guess I’m kind of tired.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m not really in the mood to converse. Forget drinking when we get to Nick’s. Sleeping sounds like a better idea to me now.
“It’s been a long day.”
“It really has.” And it’s not over yet. The voice inside my head that makes that ominous claim is entirely mine, even if I do feel a little detached from it. Blame my sudden pessimism. It feels like the truth. This miserable day isn’t over, not by a long shot.
Chapter Six
Logan
This day has really been something else. I feel like I’m walking around inside a dream, and it’s one that could quickly spiral into a nightmare if I’m not careful. Watching Nick make Eden moan had been a little torturous. I loved the look of intense pleasure on her face, the way her body arched when she started to come, pushing her breasts up and fully out of the water. But I didn’t love the way Nick grinned as he bent in to kiss her neck. It was fucking with my mind watching him pleasure her.
Mine. The word roared through me like some primal instinct. I had to restrain myself from pulling her toward me. She didn’t just belong to me, but I was going to have a hard time getting my brain to accept that.
The initial thrill that had run through me while Eden was pressed between us in the other room was gone. I just felt irritable that I had to share her with a guy I barely tolerated before we were lovers.
When she asked him to leave, I was glad, but I knew by the worry in her clear blue eyes that she’d sensed my agitation. I reassured her as much as I could, but honestly, I wasn’t sure I believed my words even if she did.
Right now, everything felt too strange. There was so much to get used to, and some of it was going to be wrenching.
I helped her up and out of the tub, as the water continued to drain. She shivered as I wrapped a towel around her shoulders.
“Do you want me to book another room so you can have a bed to yourself?” I ask. The kind of task I was used to from the old days. We were going to slip back into those ways soon enough.
She takes a second to think about it before shaking her head. “It’s fine. I’m not as sleepy as I was a few minutes ago. I could use something to eat though. How about you?”
I nod. Food seems like a good idea. We go into the living room and dress. Eden calls room service and picks our meals without asking. It makes me smile.
“Two spaghetti and meatballs, and a burger, because a man needs his meat,” she says as she comes to me, her smile crashing suddenly. “Nick!”
She goes into the bedroom and I listen to her murmuring as she converses with one of her other guys. I start to wonder if this is how it’ll always be. Never truly alone together. I don’t like that thought. I’m pretty sure it would drive me crazy.
She comes back through, picks up the phone again and adds to the order. It takes a handful of seconds, but it’s enough to make me wonder how I’m going to cope with this whole deal.
“So...” she says as she moves toward me.
“So, did you hire me back yet?” I ask with a wry grin.
She blinks at me. “Hire you back?”
“From Sky. For the tour.”
“Oh! Shit. I should really do that, shouldn’t I?”
She looks around before her eyes light up and she bends quickly to pick up her phone from where it must have fallen out of a pocket.
“On it!” she says with a smile as she sits down.
I take a seat next to her and she settles in against me as she fires off a text message to her best friend in the rock world. Sky calls her straight back, and she picks up, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, I’m serious.”
“I freaking knew it,” I hear Skyler say as I lean in a little closer.
“It literally just happened,” Eden sounds amused at her friend’s vehemence.
“Why do you think I hired him in the first place?”
“I guess I should have known.”
They talk a little before Eden calls the company I work for to officially confirm I’m hers. I keep my arm around her, warming her up as she leans into me. I can’t count the number of times she’s sat with me like this, letting me hold her. The only difference is now our closeness is more than casual, more than friendship. It’s going to be like this while she tours, in all of the quiet moments when we’re not working. I can’t wait.
She hangs up with a sigh and puts her phone down. “Done. You’re all mine again, Logan.”
I always was. Almost, a dark voice whispers in the back of my thoughts. I shrug it off. I don’t want to think about anything other than the heaven I’m in right now. The past can rot into ashes as far as I’m concerned.
Eden switches on the TV after a few quiet minutes. She turns the sound down at the same moment that her security bring our room service order inside. They leave the cart and we get up.
Nick steps out of the bedroom, breaking the intimate spell that I hadn’t realised we had relaxed so deeply into. He doesn’t look nearly as pleased as he did earlier. “I heard dinner was here.”
“Is she awake yet?” Eden asks as they both head over to the cart.
He shakes his head. “She’s been mumbling in her sleep a little, but she hasn’t woken up.”
“You think we should take her to a hospital?” Eden sounds worried.
Nick sighs and scrapes a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. She’s safer here, I think.”
“I can call a doctor to come check on her,” Eden offers. “I should have thought of it sooner but everything was a little crazy around here.”
“That might be a good idea,” Nick says, nodding. “Just to make sure she’s okay.”
She makes the call quickly while Nick picks a sandwich platter off the cart. I know she’s going to pay an exorbitant fee to get the girl checked out, and she’ll have to make the doctor forget he saw her, considering the circumstances she got here under. That doesn’t matter. It’s not what my thoughts stick on.
Eden had a doctor in Rapture, a man who was a possibility for her fourth. All I can think about now is my hazy, blood-spattered memory of slitting the throat of that man I never knew. A man who could have been standing here right now, in my place. I took him away from this world and it doesn’t matter that an evil bitch made me do it. It’s my fault he isn’t around anymore. I’m the one who killed him.
/> Guilt fills me as Nick disappears back into the bedroom. When Eden brings our food over to the coffee table, I don’t know how I’m going to force anything down. I don’t deserve to be sitting here with her, eating as if nothing is wrong.
“Logan, are you okay?” Her concern only makes the guilt harden.
I shake my head. I can’t ignore everything that happened in Rapture forever, much as I might want to. It’s going to hurt, but running away wasn’t the answer. I know that now.
“What is it?” Her hand covers mine and I see the glow of her light flushing over my skin.
“There’s a couple weeks before the tour starts.” I know her schedule, because I knew Skyler’s.
She nods and when she speaks her voice is soft. “There is.”
“I have to go back.” The moment I hear the words leave my mouth, I want to scream. Going back there will be hell. I thought I’d escaped it, but I’ve been kidding myself. I can’t pretend nothing happened.
“To Rapture,” she says, her eyes glistening with tears.
“There’s a funeral no-one else is going to plan.”
“Oh, Logan.” She squeezes my hand. “Of course. I’ll make plans for our flight back.”
“You should eat,” I tell her, fighting back the swell of emotion that rages through me at the memory of everything I lost in Eden’s home town.
“You should too,” she reminds me, quietly. “We don’t need to talk about this tonight, but we can if you want to.”
I shake my head. “Let’s just eat. We can talk when we get back there.”
The food has no taste, just texture. I force in more than I really feel like eating. I don’t want Eden to worry. None of what I’m feeling right now affects anything about what’s happening between us. It’s just something we need to do.
Eden eats the same way she usually does, taking several mouthfuls while making light moaning noises, and then putting her plate down. She goes back for a few more bites when it’s starting to go cold. Then she declares she’s full to the brim.
She lays her head on my shoulder and I feel it when she slips from consciousness into sleep. I carry her into the bedroom and Nick moves off of the bed, pulling back the covers for me to lay her down.
“Surprised that didn’t happen sooner,” he murmurs, as I stroke her hair out of her face.
As much as I’d like to be alone right now, I know it’s not going to be an option. Nick isn’t staying in here while Eden sleeps if I’m not. He seems to realise the same thing, following me out into the lounge and heading straight for the mini-bar.
“Give them a chance to stock that thing up again, would you?”
He snorts as he brings out a small bottle of red. “Well, we are out of beer already so you might have a point. It’s not going to stop me though.”
“Fair enough,” I tell him, sitting back down and looking at the wasted food.
I should put the plates on the cart and put it out into the hall to be taken away. I don’t move from my seat. I couldn’t feel any less motivated right now. My gaze locks with Nick’s as he uncaps his wine. The haunted look in his eyes mirrors my own.
“It’s been a long day,” he murmurs.
“Too long,” I agree.
I don’t know how long we sit there, talking very little and barely watching shitty action movies. He lies down on his couch after downing the last few bottles of wine from the mini-bar. Passes out stone-cold and starts to snore. I get up to check on Eden and find her still sound asleep, much like Nick’s friend. I consider Eden’s safety being alone in the room with a girl we know nothing about.
Considering how frail the girl is, I doubt there’s anything to worry about. Still. I don’t like to take chances with Eden’s safety. So I settle into the armchair in the corner of the room, getting comfortable, but not too comfortable, to wait for daylight.
When thoughts of Rapture and its ghosts cross my mind, I push them away. It’s not time for that. It will be, soon, but not now. I can’t let myself get distracted. Not here, not now. I have a job to do, a purpose, and I’m not going to let Eden push me away from that purpose ever again. I’m hers, and nothing can change that.
Chapter Seven
Eden
Asher’s gentle voice breaks through darkness and I blink awake to see him lying in front of me, his glasses a little off centre because of how his head is pressed into the pillow. It’s light in the room, but I still feel like I could sleep for about a week. I clear my throat.
“Oh no, Asher. I forgot to call you to come back!”
He smiles. “It’s okay. Logan called us this morning. He said you were sleeping. Are you okay, Eden?”
“I’m really tired for some reason, but I’m fine.” It feels like a lie, but I don’t want to dwell on it. Logan’s my fourth now and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that never changes.
“Did you have anything to eat last night?”
I nod. We’d ordered food and I’d managed to hold off on passing out until after it arrived. “I managed to eat before sleeping this time.”
“Okay,” he says. “Eli’s out getting breakfast and he’ll be back soon. We should eat, and then we need to talk about a plan.”
“A plan?”
“For the Goddess who tried to take Logan before he could become your fourth.”
I’m suddenly wide awake. “Shit. You’re right.”
The Goddess didn’t die! She was still out there somewhere, looking like who knew what.
“Don’t worry, we’ll work this out,” Asher tells me, the tingling warmth of his fingers on my arm sending light through me to calm my rising panic. “You’re at full strength now, Eden. It shouldn’t be easy for her to strike out at you again.”
I try to calm my racing heart. He’s right, even if I don’t feel very strong right at this moment. I remember the way it felt to turn Catherine mortal. I’m powerful. I can deal with the woman who tried to take Logan away from me. She won’t get the chance to escape again.
I sit up and Asher follows suit. I realise the bed is empty and glance around the room. “Wait. Where’s Elise?"
“She was feeling better this morning,” he tells me with a wry smile. “Nick took her to her sister’s place since she was kind of confused about where she was.”
“Did she remember what happened to her?”
He shakes his head. “I checked. She didn’t seem to remember much of anything. She’s been addicted to drugs for a long time. She wasn’t exactly clear-headed. Nick told me he’ll need to make sure she checks into rehab before he leaves her so he might be gone for a while.”
“Okay.” I follow him into the main room of the suite where Logan has a laptop open on the coffee table. He seems to be scowling at something on the screen. I stifle a yawn as I sit down opposite him.
“What’s this plan I’ve been hearing about?”
Logan glances up. He leans back in his seat. “Your first tour date has been moved up to tomorrow night at a venue in town.”
I gasp. “What?”
He nods. “You should check your phone. It’s been blowing up since last night.”
I can’t believe it, until I grab my phone off of the charger and discover Amy’s been going crazy trying to reach me. Her first message just tells me I’m doing the gig – Typical Amy. I’m in town anyway so it shouldn’t be a big deal. Is she crazy? Why am I even asking? Of course she is.
I call her back as Asher goes behind Logan and takes a look at the screen of the open laptop. His eyes pop and I frown as Amy picks up her phone.
“Eden Rose, where the hell have you been?”
“Where have I been? What have you done? I can’t do a gig tomorrow night! This isn’t what we agreed on.”
“If you review your contract for the tour, you’ll see that additional venues are a part of it.”
“There’s no notice for this!”
“It’s an easy one, Eden. You only need to check the set up an hour before the gig starts. Everything�
�s already in place. The band are ready to play, and they’ve learned your new song. It’ll be an easy set, an hour at most. Play a bunch of old stuff and the new single that’s about to drop, and you’re done.”
There she goes, minimising what she’s done. I’d say I don’t believe her, but I do. It’s so damn typical of her. I should have expected something like this. “Do we even have a support act? What’s the start time?”
“There’s no support act, and the start time is eight.”
I blow out a breath. I know the place she’s booked. It’s not small, but it’s not huge either. It would be a nice way to ease into the tour, if only it hadn’t been so damned soon. “What does Skyler think of this?”
“They didn’t ask for The Hellcats. They wanted you.”
My stomach churns. “The venue asked for me to play?”
“You’re hot property right now, Eden. They paid treble the usual fee. Ticket sales don’t matter for this one.”
Dread starts to flood over me. Why am I such hot property, exactly? “What happened to make them want me that badly?”
She sighs. “Eden, I know you’ve been avoiding the media, and maybe that’s for the best right now.”
My stomach churns as her words sink in. Something must have happened. I don’t think I even want to know what. I seriously need to get out of this. “What if I don’t want to play this venue?”
Amy’s quiet for several seconds, which only serves to make me more nervous.
“You risk losing the contract for the tour entirely.” She sighs again. “Listen, Eden, you stirred up trouble with that confession about your private life. Right now it’s giving you a popularity boost, but if you start to flake out on appearances you’re going to lose fans and everyone’s going to start buying into the negative rumours. Best thing you can do is get out there and show everyone you’re not going anywhere.”
She’s trying to manipulate me, but there’s a kernel of truth in her words. It stings like a mother-fucker, but I’m going to have to take her advice.
“Fine. But I’m wearing whatever the hell I want to.”
Heartbreaker Page 3
