by Alyson Hale
The door creaks open, and I saunter down the stairs, pissed at Jace for taking off after a woman when we’ve got a tour to prepare for. Time is ticking, and there’s some new material I’ve been bouncing off him in our free time. He hasn’t given me any clear answers because he’s been busy mooning over his new girlfriend. It’s sickening. I haven’t ever liked him that much, but at least I respected him before. Now that he’s a sniveling, whipped fucktoy, he’s gone soft, and I hope it’s not the end of our little group.
They climb out of the truck as I approach them. Rick follows closely behind me. Too closely. Almost as if he’s using me as a shield.
Jace’s eyes are bright gold with anger, almost otherworldly. “You son of a bitch…”
I step aside, relieved when his gaze remains fixated on Rick. Jace takes Rick’s shirt in his fists, and the smaller man cowers in front of him, whimpering like a scolded puppy.
“I almost lost her for good because of you.” Jace shakes Rick’s stocky body, and Rick’s tremor increases. “You are not welcome around here anymore. You’re fired. I don’t ever want to see your name on one of our contracts again.”
“Whoa, whoa, Jace!” Connor comes up beside them and holds up a hand between them, trying to break up the fight. “Let’s not be rash. Why should we fire Rick because of a personal dispute?”
Tendons pop out on Jace’s neck. “Because if we don’t get rid of him, I’m gonna kill him.”
Connor pushes Jace backward and separates the two. He grunts as he tries to hold Jace still.
“Bloody hell, man. Get a grip on yourself.”
“I’d rather get a grip on his neck,” Jace growls deep in his throat.
“Jace…” Kyri wraps her small white hands around Jace’s arm, and his demeanor instantly shifts from offensive to protective. “Baby, don’t hurt him for my sake. Maybe we should explain to the others what really happened.”
“Why bother?” I spit, rage boiling up in my gut. I’m done shoving my opinions down to keep the peace. “Whatever Jace Hawthorne wants, he gets. He always has the final say. In fact, Rick was never really our manager because he was nothing but a puppet for Mr. Rock God here. I don’t see how anything’s going to change.”
Pain flickers across Rick’s features. “I’ll go,” he says. “I’ve caused enough trouble here. It was a pleasure working with you boys. I’ll get the papers drawn up and leave you with all the information you need.”
“No, damn it Rick, don’t—”
“I have to,” Rick interrupts me. “It’s for the best if I just resign. I wish you all the best.”
“You can’t be fucking serious,” I mumble under my breath.
Rick just shakes his head solemnly. He turns and walks away. Connor waits until Rick’s out of earshot, then whispers to all of us.
“Well, now what? We’re starting a tour without a manager?”
Kyri’s lower lip trembles. “I’m so sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to cause problems for you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Jace assures her, smiling into her eyes and pulling her into a brief kiss. “I’m sure we’ll easily find someone who wants to manage the band for us. We are the Filthy Bangers, after all.”
“So now in addition to having music to write and sets to organize, we also have to select a new manager. Good going, Jace,” I spit at him.
Jace, barely an inch taller than me, stands in front of me and tries to make me back down, but I’m rock-solid. I know I could handle this fucker if he dared to lay a finger on me. “The band means everything to me. You know that. But I cannot and will not go on tour without my girlfriend, and I won’t make her uncomfortable on tour by bringing that piece of scum with us. That man abandoned this beautiful woman and then tried to use me as a manipulation device for his own personal gain. He voided his contract by involving me in this. I will act as manager until we find someone suited for the job.”
“You can’t handle that responsibility,” I shout in reply. I’m done dealing with Jace’s bullshit. I’m not going to sit around and suffer through it anymore. My inner alpha has been screaming at me, clawing his way toward the surface, and he won’t be denied anymore. Damien Turner doesn’t answer to anyone. I make my own destiny. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and become Jace Hawthorne’s whipping boy. “And you know what else? This isn’t your band. We went into this as equals, and I’ll be damned if you get more say in choosing a manager than I do, even if it is just temporary.”
Jace swallows and takes a step back. The muscles in his face work as he lets my words process. “Fine. We’ll all have an equal say in choosing a new manager. Let’s put this to a vote. Who thinks I should be our interim manager?”
Connor raises his hand. Then my traitorous brother does the same. I glare daggers at him, and Eddie shrinks under my gaze but doesn’t lower his hand.
“And who thinks crackhead here should be in charge?”
They both lower their hands. The reference to my favorite poison gets my anger going even more. I use blow to take the edge off and get my adrenaline pumping for performance, but I’m not an addict. Do I overdo it? Sometimes, yes, but I have it under control. Jace is only using this to turn them against me, and it isn’t fair.
“Sorry, Demon. You’ve been outvoted. Now stand down,” Jace warns, leveling his gaze with mine.
My teeth grind, and I hear myself snorting. “Fuck you all. I’m out of here.”
Eddie’s voice barely reaches me above the noise in my head as I turn away. “Wait, Damien—”
I cut him off with both my middle fingers in the air and keep on walking toward the trailer. As soon as I’m inside, I slam the door shut and lock it. Then I head to my bedroom to pick up my belongings. Luckily there aren’t many, since I like to keep things light on the road. I throw everything into a suitcase and carefully pack up my guitars.
As soon as I’m ready to go, I pick up the keys to the truck Rick rented me off the counter and leave the trailer. No one bothers me as I throw the suitcase in the bed of the truck and secure my guitars in the passenger seat with a seatbelt, then lay a blanket over them. If I stop somewhere, I don’t want anyone knowing this precious cargo is with me. My guitars are worth millions of dollars apiece.
The tires squeal as I blast out of the park toward the highway. I don’t give a fuck where I end up as long as it’s far away from here.
Chapter 13
Alex
I lean my head on the bar, hoping no one can see the rogue tear that just escaped from my hold. Batting it away, I repeat my mantra as a whisper into the high-decibel clamor of the karaoke bar.
“Letting go, moving on. Face your fears and you’ve won.”
It’s hard facing your fears when nothing good ever seems to come out of it. I got rejection after rejection in my email today. No one wants to hire me or accept me into school. I’m so close to falling down the “stripper hole,” as I call it. Multiple friends of mine from high school have resorted to stripping to pay the bills because they were too reckless in high school or didn’t make good grades. After all, if you’ve got it, you might as well make money off of it. Or at least that’s Viola’s philosophy.
Just this afternoon, she texted me bragging about how she made five thousand dollars last week. Five. Grand. In one week. It’s tempting, but not only do I not trust Viola, I don’t trust the men in those clubs. Stripping is a last resort, and I’m not quite on my last leg yet. I’ve got to keep trying, even if it feels like everyone’s moving on in their lives but me.
I’m already a little tipsy, but I order another shot and let it burn down my throat. It’s not like staying sober is going to protect me anyway. The world is full of monsters that want to destroy me. Maybe I should just let them get it over with.
A dark, low voice sends warmth tingling down my spine. I know it instantly, even though I’ve only heard it once before.
“Alexandrea.”
Damien. I turn around on my stool and look straight into his crystalline
eyes.
“H-hi.”
“What are you doing here alone?” He takes a seat next to me.
I chuckle, gesturing to my shot glass. “Just trying to take the edge off. You?”
“Same,” he groans, waving down the bartender. “Scotch and soda, please.” The bartender nods and gets started on his order.
I take a look at his rumpled hair. “Rough day?”
“A bit. Our band is without a manager.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“Yeah. Jace straight-up fired our manager. Now he’s taking shit over. I had to get out of there. I need some space to breathe.”
“I can imagine,” I say softly. I want to listen to Damien’s problems, but I’m a little distracted by the way his muscles are rippling underneath his skin-tight white shirt. It’s mesmerizing. Here he is, in the flesh, the one person I’ve been dreaming about for weeks. All I can think about is hopping on his rock-hard cock and letting him take me to pleasure town.
“So,” Damien starts as a Scotch and soda is placed in his waiting hand, “you didn’t give me a way to reach you. I guess fate wanted me to find you again.”
There’s an unmistakable drive of lust in his eye.
“Fate, or your dick?” I tease him.
“Now how did you know that’s what I call my dick?”
He grins, making me giggle. The dark cloud that hung over me just moments before has vanished, leaving a cloud of chemistry so thick it should be choking everyone in this bar. I lay my hand on his leg, letting my fingers inch up toward “Fate,” then I’m rudely interrupted by a group of squealing fangirls.
Two blondes, a brunette, and an Asian girl squeeze in between me and Damien. They’re tall, lean, and contoured to hell. Holding up their smartphones, they wave at him desperately.
“Hi Damien!” The brunette’s voice sounds like a nail on a chalkboard to me. “Can we get a selfie with you? We brought a selfie stick!”
I have to cover my mouth to keep from retching all over them. God, so nauseating. How does he put up with this?
Damien’s winning smile spreads over his face. “Sure thing, loves.” To his credit, he doesn’t seem interested in their bodies. He just loves the attention he gets being a rock star. He leans in to the group as they attach one girl’s phone to a selfie stick and go through not one, not two, but ten attempts to get the photo right. Rolling my eyes, I finally give up on the eleventh attempt, ducking my head into the frame and ruining the picture.
“I’ll see you around, Damien.” Forcing a smile, I turn around to leave, shoving the selfie stick above the brunette’s head on my way. I could take on three girls at once if forced, but four is too much even for a badass like me. I know when I’m outnumbered, and Alexandrea Ward doesn’t beg.
“No, wait!” I hear a clatter as Damien jumps up from his seat. The harpies yell at him in protest, but he ignores them, and I feel his hands grip my shoulders as he turns me around. “You don’t have to leave. Have another drink with me.”
I clear my throat. “I think you’ve got plenty of company as it is.”
“None I want.” He tips up my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. They’re drilling into me. Somehow, I’ve captured all of his attention. “Please, just one more drink, and then if you don’t want to see me again, I’ll leave you alone.”
A smile warms my face. I inwardly admit to myself how impossible it is that I wouldn’t want to see him again. He holds out his hand, and I accept it, letting him lead me back to the bar.
On our way, we get stopped again, and I growl in my throat, ready to drop-kick a bitch. Then my eyes pop open wide at the sight of her.
“Viola?”
“Wha…Alex?” Viola’s big mouth opens wide with a smile. “My God, it feels like ages!” I’m pulled into a suffocating hug against my will.
“You just saw me a few weeks ago,” I grunt in a strained voice, pushing away from her. If she thinks I’ve forgiven her for what she did, she’s got another thing coming. Spiking my alcohol with drugs after I said I didn’t want to use that night was unforgivable. She apologized, but was all too willing to accept my forgiveness and try to get me to use again. I’ve got one eye on my back at all times with this bitch.
“Well, it feels like ages. After all, you still have yet to visit me at the club.” She glances up at Damien with mischief twinkling in her fake violet eyes. I know she wears contacts, even though she insists they’re all natural. “You never told me you were dating a rock star!”
“Oh, we’re not dating, just hanging out,” I’m quick to clarify.
“Actually, she’s the only one I’m seeing,” Damien says firmly, with meaning, slipping an arm around my waist. My heart skips a beat, and I scold it inwardly. I can’t go falling for a rock star. He’s just doing the noble thing to give me the one-up on Viola.
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Viola croons in an overly-syrupy voice. She only uses that voice when she feels sorry for a girl who’s “throwing her life away” by being monogamous. She holds out her hand to Damien, and he shakes it politely. “Viola Henderson. No need to introduce yourself, I know who you are, and I also know the owner of this bar. He said he’d love it if you could sing a number for us.”
“Well if you know who I am, you’d realize I’m a guitarist, not a singer,” Damien protests.
“You sang backup, didn’t you? I’m sure playing the guitar isn’t all you can do.” Viola gives him a knowing look. “Are you saying you’re not the most talented member of the Filthy Bangers?”
I hear a growl vibrate out of Damien’s chest. He glares at the mic at the front of the bar. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
I maneuver myself in front of him and hold him back with my hands on his arms. “Damien, don’t let her get to you. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“I need to,” he tells me. I see the need to prove himself written all over his face. It’s a very familiar emotion. Nodding, I step out of his way and let him approach the mic.
Damien takes the mic off its stand, and the dull roar in the bar escalates to cheering. Smiling, he waves at his fans. I can’t help but smile as I watch him. He’s so comfortable in the spotlight…so comfortable with himself. I wish I could believe in myself as much as he does. His confidence rubs off on everyone he meets.
“Thank you everyone! Tonight, I’ll be singing You Shook Me All Night Long.”
They cue up the song, and I’m not prepared for how Damien’s voice rocks the bar from the ceiling to the hardwood floor. He was just bluffing when he said he wasn’t a singer. His voice is electric, commanding. Deep and desirous. And he’s looking right at me while he sings every word.
Normally I’m not the type of girl to blush, but everyone in the bar keeps glancing at me, knowing exactly what’s going on here, and I can’t help it. No guy has ever done something like this just to win me over. I might have to reward him for this later.
Either that, or put the whooping on him real good for embarrassing me.
Chapter 14
Damien
We stumble into the hotel room wrapped up in each other’s arms, mouths and tongues. I have all three of my guitars strapped to my back and a suitcase in my hand, but I don’t even care. I had to take her lips out in the hallway, and now that I’ve tasted them again, I can’t seem to let go.
“Why do you have all your stuff?” Alexandrea asks on a breath. I dump it on the floor and close the chain lock on the door before responding.
“I’m staying away from my mates for a while,” I explain. Our lips crash together again, and the next time I come up for air, I explain further, “So I don’t kill one or all of them.”
“Ah,” Alex giggles as my lips come down on hers for another ravenous kiss. I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to do this again, but as luck would have it, I’m in another hotel room with the sexiest woman on earth, about to taste that sweet, nectary cunt of hers all over again.
Wasting no time, I scoop her up and lay
her on the bed. Then I unzip the side of her dress and yank it off, not bothering with formalities or asking permission. Alexandrea sits up some and pulls my jeans down as I yank my shirt up and over my head. The air is charged with passion as we look at each other’s naked bodies, no toys or restrictions in the way. Just each other, and somehow it’s enough.
“I want you now.” She claws at my abs, hunching over until her generous tits almost reach her belly button. It’s so erotic how curvy she is. I can’t get enough of looking at her, but now it’s time to touch.
Leaning over her, I make contact with her lips again, then kiss my way down her supple, smooth neck and over her chest. Reaching one of her nipples, I circle it with my mouth and press my tongue to the bud, groaning deeply at the taste of it. I suck and release it with a smack, then lick and suck the other one.
“Oh fuck, Damien!” She wraps her legs around my hips and grinds against my cock, almost making me lose control. The primal beast in me wants to mark her as mine right this instant, but first I must taste her other set of lips.
I kiss down her belly and spread her legs as far apart as they’ll go, taking a good sniff of what’s mine before claiming her with my lips. So sweet, so inviting. I move her labia aside, pulling her apart and making her tremble in my grasp.
“Easy, princess,” I croon, teasing her clit with the tip of my tongue. “We’ve got all night.”
Stiffening my tongue, I thrust it into her open cave and move my thumb up to press lightly on her clit. She whimpers underneath me. Taking my time, I stroke up one soft, fleshy wall and then the other with my tongue, exploring every last centimeter of her. Her juices are flowing right into my mouth, and they’re only making me thirstier for her.
Picking up the pace, I rub circles around her clit as I lap her up, enjoying every taste. Alexandrea grabs onto my hair for dear life. I grip her left hip with my right hand to steady her, still teasing her with my thumb as I take her up to heaven.
