Bad Blood (Rock Goddess Reverse Harem Book 5)

by Romy Lockhart

  I call Amy and hope to hell I’m not going to regret this.

  She picks up in a few seconds. “Eden, what can I do for you?”

  “You can tell me what band Xander Kraus is playing in these days.”

  “Xander Kraus?” she sounds curious. “Where do I know that name from?”

  “He’s a drummer. Used to play for Hunter, for a while before he moved on.”

  “Oh, right. The one who barely spoke.”

  I can hear her typing. She’s probably googling it, which I might be able to do if I hadn’t cut myself off from the world and gotten an old fashioned brick of a phone.

  “Why do you need to know?”

  Ugh. I can’t tell her why. I knew calling her was a mistake. Quick, brain, think up something clever. “I made a bet with Sky over who he’s playing for now and I don’t have any other way of finding out.”

  “He’s playing in Arianna Frost’s band, alongside Chase Williams and Jake Van Diem.”

  What are the chances? Seriously. I shake my head. Replacing my fourth is going to be like walking into a Viper’s pit. I’m going to have to speak to Cupid. There are other potentials, these are just the closest. I’ll leave the country to find them if I have to.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “So who won?”

  Won? Oh, right. The ‘bet’. “I guess Skyler did. Thanks.”

  I hang up before she can ask me how my interviews have been going. She won’t care much considering the tour’s already a sell-out. The only thing that would bother her now would be if I backed out.

  The trip back to the hotel seems quick and honestly, I’m exhausted. Mentally and emotionally drained. I don’t care that no-one’s back yet. I just wipe off my make-up and crash out on the bed.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Logan

  I don’t get what Eli’s up to acting as if we’re friends, but when Sky’s boyfriend arrives with beer and Chinese food and tells us he’s taking Sky out for the night, I have a decision to make. Stay and try to work out what this guy is up to, or leave and forget about it.

  One thing forces me to stay. He says he came here to speak to me about Eden. So far all he’s asked about is Asher. He’s trying to figure me out. To decide... something.

  “You asked me why I killed Asher. Why did you decide to kill me?”

  He puts his beer down and leans back on the sofa. “You were a threat to Eden. If you were unstable enough to kill Asher, I couldn’t trust that you wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “You think that justifies it?”

  He shrugs. “We all have a line, Logan. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone who’s a serious threat to the life of someone I love. If that makes me a psycho, so be it.”

  “I’ve killed for Eden,” I tell him. “She came close to having her throat slit one night on tour. I shot the guy with the knife, point blank, in the head.”

  “So you get where I coming from.”

  Maybe I do. I pick up a can of beer and settle into the armchair. “I didn’t have a knife to Eden’s throat.”

  “No, you shot Asher, point blank, in the head, and buried him in his basement. How do you think Eden felt about that?”

  “Didn’t think about it.” I shrug, taking a hefty gulp of beer.

  “She loves him.”

  “I’m well aware of that. Considering she chose him over me the first time I shot him.”

  He frowns, as if he’s trying to think.

  “Maybe you don’t know that part. I died when Eden became a Goddess. Heart attack from shock. She brought me back.” That’s the good part. The next? Not so much. “Diana used my hatred of Asher to manipulate me. She had me shoot him dead. Eden tried to stop it, but she didn’t know Diana was still in my head. She ordered me to do it. Then Eden found out she could only save one mortal from death. She hadn’t known, so she chose to take back what she did for me and save Asher. She loved him more. Diana brought me back, to keep using me.”

  I finish the beer and wish I could hate Diana for what she did. I wish I could hate Eden for her choice too. For a while I did, but I know now that was anger that was amplified by Diana. She was always inside my head. Always pushing. She wanted me to hate Eden as much as she did.

  “I didn’t know that,” Eli says quietly. “But I know Eden loves you. Whatever happened, she still feels strongly about you.”

  “That’s why you’re here,” I say, realising it suddenly and not really believing it. Eden wants me? How could she? I don’t understand. Then I watch the grim line of his mouth and I know. It’s her men that don’t want me anywhere near her. After everything, can I blame them? I wouldn’t blame her.

  “I didn’t take it well when she told me what she wanted,” I confess, picking up another beer. “I couldn’t understand. I’d watched her with Hunter for years, desperate for her to see the light and dump his sorry ass. Then she does, and she runs from me. I tried to give her time, but I didn’t want to give her too much. I was obsessed with not letting some other selfish prick get his hands on her. I let it get to me. I got angry when she told me she needed to be with more than one guy. I thought she was telling me she wanted to sleep around. I didn’t realise then, but I was the selfish prick she should have stayed away from.”

  “How do you feel about it now?”

  Loaded question. All the sexy dreams and daydreams pour back in. I don’t know if they’re just some kind of side effect to becoming Eden’s fourth. “I don’t really know how I feel.”

  I just want Eden back so damn badly it hurts.

  “Then I guess we’re back to square one.” He doesn’t sound too happy about that.

  “I guess.” I keep drinking. Maybe I’ll have an epiphany if I get drunk. Probably forget it when I’m sober, but at least I’ll have had one. I glance at him. “How do you deal with her being with Nick and Asher?”

  “I knew they were with her before me. I like them. I don’t have a problem with it.”

  “What if she had more?” I’m thinking of that damned radio DJ. Of Eden putting his number into her purse while I watched.

  “She seems happy with things the way they are. She’s meant to have four lovers though. We all know that and we accept it.”

  “Just not if it’s me.”

  The silence swallows me whole. If Eden truly wants me, even after everything. If she can still love me after all of that, isn’t it worth trying to make amends with these guys? Isn’t it worth crawling over glass, going through hell and back? If that’s all that’s stopping her from inviting me in, don’t I have to at least try?

  “I get why Asher hates me,” I start, knowing it wouldn’t be so hard to apologise to him. We’ve already spoken a handful of times since I killed him. “But what’s Nick’s problem?”

  “Nick has never liked you,” Eli tells me, shrugging. “The whole thing with Asher didn’t help.”

  I think back to my interactions with the sleazy night club owner. We butted heads over Eden a handful of times. He thought I was being uptight, and I thought he was being lax. I didn’t trust her with him. He could put her in danger without even realising it.

  “Personality clash,” I say, knowing that would be the hardest conversation.

  If the three of them accept me, then what? I tell Eden I can deal with her set up now, that I want to be inside her while they watch? I groan at the thought of that. I don’t know if I’m okay with sharing her. I won’t know until she’s mine. Until I see her with them. Laughing and being held, watching them kiss her.

  Eli blows out a breath. “Balls in your court, but you’re going to have to be fast if you want to make things right.”

  I raise an eyebrow at him. “There’s a time limit?”

  “She’s seeking out other potentials, to see if there’s someone else who hasn’t tried to kill one of us.”

  She’s going to choose someone else over me again. All because of my fucked up actions that I’ve never tried to apologise for. I’ll lose her, and this time it’ll be fo
r good. The thought sets my blood on fire. If this is my last chance, I need to jump in with both feet.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Nick

  The club is running pretty well so I don’t spend too much time checking over the books. I head up to my apartment and leaf through the stacked up mail before I look out my barely used laptop for Eli. I couldn’t tell Eden, but the calls he made related to Logan. He was going to find him to talk to him.

  My guts twisted at the thought of that. He wouldn’t say why, just that he needed to speak to him.

  I don’t even know what he needs the laptop for. He probably just asked for it to put my mind on something else. Then he asked to have the night alone with Eden, reminding me that he’d have to head back to Haleton in a couple of days. His vacation would be over.

  I didn’t need to leave Eden’s side at all if I didn’t want to. Such is the pleasure of being a billionaire.

  My phone rings when I’m pushing the laptop into a shoulder bag.

  I put the bag down and pick the cell out of my pocket. “Asher?”

  “You didn’t tell me Eden told the world she has four men.” His voice has an accusatory tone to it that would usually be enough to put me in a teasing mood. Today, my mood is sour enough to let it slide.

  “Yeah, well, it was a slip of the tongue. She was nervous.”

  “She loves Logan.”

  Can’t really argue with that so I don’t try to. “She loves wine and strawberries too, but that doesn’t mean she’d die if she couldn’t have them anymore.”

  “What happened? You sound weird.”

  I sigh. “Eli wants to talk to Logan and he won’t tell me why.”

  “Eli wants to talk to him,” he mutters, as if he’s thinking about it while he talks.

  “Eden told us she spoke to her guide. He gave her names. Other potentials. If she can get one of them to accept our whole thing then Logan’s off the hook.”

  “Who are the potentials?”

  “Arianna Frost is the front runner in my opinion,” I tell him, “but there’s also this guy named Xander. I don’t know, he was the drummer in Hunter’s old band I think.”

  “That’s it? Two names?” He sounds like he’s freaking out.

  “There’s this whole other thing with Arianna so she’ll probably pick Xander. It’s under control, Asher. Relax.”

  “I need to go.” He hangs up and I know he’s looking up Xander’s details to find out more. I probably should have told him the guy isn’t an asshole. He’s a step up from Logan, that’s for sure.

  Anyone would be better. So why do I get the feeling Eli has other ideas?

  Chapter Forty

  Asher

  I start to calm down as soon as I take in Nick’s news about Eden’s other potentials. She’ll find someone else and that’ll be that. I search for background info on Xander and come up with a bare-bones biography. He’s a year younger than Eden and I. I’m not sure I like that he’s in a band, but that’s only because he could potentially spend a lot more time with Eden than me.

  Doesn’t matter. Has to be better than Logan. Even if Eden loves the guy.

  “Shit,” I whisper, hitting play on the remote.

  Eden’s interview starts back up and I cross my arms to avoid the urge to keep skipping back to the part where she announces she has four lovers to the world. My guts twist up every time I watch that part. No amount of careful scrutiny is going to reveal what’s in her heart. There’s nothing in her expression to give me the answers I desperately need. I’m going to have to fly out to L.A.

  Tomorrow’s my day off. I can probably convince Ronnie and a couple of the part-timers to cover my shifts over the next few days. It’s late, and I hesitate to make the call. Even if Ronnie was being used by Catherine when she came onto me before, I don’t like the thought of making late night phone calls that could be taken the wrong way.

  I’ll do it in the morning. There is one call I can make tonight. I book my ticket on a flight at ten a.m.

  Then I make another call, this time to Eli. I need to know what his take is on this. I know how Nick feels about it. I’m not so sure about our Sheriff. He holds his cards more closely to his chest.

  The line rings for a bit and I wonder if he might be with Eden. If he is, there’s no chance of my call being answered. I wouldn’t stray too far from Eden’s side if I was in her company either.

  I’m about to hang up when he answers. “Asher?”

  “Hey, Elias. Are you with Eden right now?”

  “Not exactly,” he tells me, sounding a little I don’t know, sloppy?

  “Are you drunk?”

  “Not exactly,” he says again, this time confirming it.

  “Where are you?”

  “I don’t think I should answer that,” he says, and I hear laughter in the background.

  I straighten. I know that laugh. “You’re with Logan?”

  What the hell?

  He blows out a breath. “Listen, I would have called but...”

  “But what?”

  “We should talk when I’m more sober and you’re more drunk.”

  Okay, he’s loaded. “Why aren’t you with Eden?”

  He’s quiet for a second, then hisses, “Shit. You’re right. I’m heading back to the hotel right now.”

  He hangs up. What in the hell’s going on? I call Eden’s number before I can think twice about it. Nick wasn’t with her when I called him. Eli isn’t with her. So who is?

  Her number rings out. I text Eli, telling him to let me know when he’s back with her. I need to know she’s safe. Security can only do so much. If a Dark Forces deity is around, they could be used against her. None of the three of us can. I guess the same goes for Logan now too. I get up and pace around. There’s no way for me to get there. I just have to wait. I can only hope it doesn’t kill me.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Eden

  I wake up as a light trail of kisses work their way up my leg. It’s a softer touch than I’m used to, and I wonder what’s put Eli in a gentle mood. The room is bathed in a warm glow from the lamps on the bedside tables and dresser. I’m wearing the lacy underwear I passed out in earlier, and when I look down I find his rough fingers brushing over the skin of my thigh. His gaze is intense as he leans in close.

  When his lips land on mine, I can tell he’s been drinking. My Goddess light spills into him as I pull him closer. A flurry of thoughts run through my head and shock makes me break the embrace.

  He’s forgiven Logan. He sought him out and spoke to him. He knows Diana is behind most of what happened and he was willing to put his own feelings to the side to listen, to try to understand, to have Logan open up to him.

  “Eli,” I say, lost for words. That he would do all of that for me, for my happiness, just stuns the hell out of me. It doesn’t matter that there are other obstacles right now. His actions are making me feel like there’s nothing else that matters.

  “I don’t think you should pick another potential.” He sounds certain.

  I move to make space for him to lay down beside me. He takes the hint and pulls me in close the second he’s on the bed. His hand strokes my hair back from my face as he gazes at me.

  “Eden, I know Lawson pushed you both. You weren’t ready to jump yet, and he made you do it. That’s the only fucked up part of this. I know in my heart it would have happened eventually on its own, and I’m okay with that.”

  “Oh, Eli,” I breathe out, feeling warmth spread through my body. I fell asleep emotionally shattered and without an ounce of desire in my body, but he’s waking me back up inside with his words.

  It can’t have been easy for him to go talk to Logan, but he did it anyway, for me. I pull on the hem of his T-shirt and move in closer for a kiss. He takes charge instantly, rolling on top of me. I push my hands under his shirt and run my fingers over the muscles of his back as he presses me to the mattress, claiming my mouth hungrily.

  Holy hell. Drunk Eli kisses a litt
le softer, a little less frantically than sober Eli. Makes it fun to discover there’s another side to him.

  “I love you, Eden,” he whispers between kisses as we make out like love-starved teenagers.

  I can feel his erection through his jeans as he slowly starts to rock against me. I’m wired and desperate for him to just take me, but he seems to be in a different kind of mood. I wind my legs around his waist and he rocks a little harder against me. Oh hell. I know I’m wet from kissing him for so damn long, but I had no idea my clit was so swollen. It feels so good I’m close to coming within a few rough strokes.

  “Eli, I’m close,” I whisper as our lips part.

  He smiles at me and continues to rock. I throw my head back and his hands rub over my breasts. He groans as his engorged cock presses against my drenched panties, the denim of his jeans scraping against my pussy. “Come for me, Eden.”

  And I do. I gasp as I feel the first wave of my release wash over my body. I shudder and tremble under him as his lips crush against mine. I run my hands through his hair as he kisses me deeply, and then stops moving.

  I gaze at him questioningly as he moves back again, and gets to his feet. I watch him strip, still shivering with pleasure.

  He grips his cock by the base and gazes down at me. “I would do anything for you, Eden. I knew that the first moment I saw you.”

  “You looked pissed the first moment you saw me,” I remind him, as I unhook my bra and drop it to the side of the bed.

  He smiles. “It was a complicated first moment.”

  “What are you saying?” I raise my hips to remove my panties.

  He stares as I drop them. “I can’t remember...”

  “Come over here and let your body do the talking.” I spread my legs and he moves, but I’m taken by surprise as he grabs my ankles and pulls me to the edge of the bed.

  He gets down on his knees and puts his mouth on me. If I thought his slow, lingering kisses were hot, feeling them between my legs is enough to melt my body to the mattress. I stroke through his hair as he works his tongue along the seam of my lips, before it gently slicks over my clit.