I nearly dropped my glass. About us? No. No. No. I couldn’t talk to him about us. There was no us other than friendship. He’d said. He’d agreed, damn it. “Okay,” I found myself whispering, however. “I’ll wait.”
He brushed one more kiss over my cheek, skimmed his hand down my arm, which instantly produced gooseflesh, and then ran up on stage. Ah, damn. I wasn’t going to give in. I couldn’t give in. I had too much on my plate. Too much swirling around in my head making me lose my sanity a little more with each passing day.
I needed a friend. Not a boyfriend who had a history of breaking my heart.
There wasn’t much left of my heart to break this time around, but I wasn’t about to risk it again.
A soft, warm hand touched my arm and I was so surprised I nearly spilled my drink all over myself. Lifting my head, I found Lucy standing just a few inches away. Marcus was now her shadow, I realized, while Georgia looked like a little girl who was about to start chasing any hot guy who looked rich enough. It kind of reminded me of a little girl chasing butterflies in a field, only the little girl was dressed like a hooker and chasing possible celebrities instead of pretty butterflies.
Lucy’s brows were lifted as she took in my glowering expression. “Well, I see you couldn’t ditch step-bitch number one. How the hell did that happen?”
I shrugged and hid my still aching arm behind my back so she wouldn’t question the marks on my wrist. “It was a do or die kind of threat, Lu. Do it, or spend an indefinite amount of time trapped in Scott’s house—which is a punishment worse than death if you ask me.”
“Right,” Lucy said with a nod. On stage the band was doing a last sound check and Lucy turned to watch them. “Let’s go. I promised Harris we would be up front.”
I didn’t argue as I put my drink on the bar top and followed after her. Unfortunately, Georgia was hot on our heels as we reached the front of the crowd. With Marcus clearing the way we didn’t have any problems getting up close, but I wished he would have at least lost Georgia somewhere in the middle.
She bumped her shoulder into mine to force me to look at her. “Who’s the hot blond guy? I saw you talking to him.”
I didn’t dare look up on stage to see what Jace was doing. If Georgia saw the way that I couldn’t help but look at him she would know just what Jace meant to me and I wasn’t about to give her that kind of ammunition. “He’s a friend,” I finally told her. “His name’s Jace and we’re friends.”
Chapter 13
Jace
It took me for fucking ever to get my head on the job at hand rather than the smell of Kin’s hair. It hadn’t been a bad scent—in fact it had been delicious, but it wasn’t the one that told me exactly whose hair I was smelling. Her hair’s usual scent always had my body instantly going rock hard because it recognized the scent as simply Kin, just as my nerve endings always recognized her touch being her, without me having to open my eyes to confirm it.
While I helped Kale and Cash do the sound check, I couldn’t help but glance Kin’s way. The first time I’d looked for her she’d still been by the bar talking to Lucy, but now they were front and center. Harris wasn’t with them, but I wasn’t worried because Marcus was standing right there with them, keeping at least a foot between the two girls and the rest of the fans.
I knew how I wanted to start the show tonight. It was going to be a little different, but we hadn’t done a cover song in a few weeks. One of the things I loved so much about Kin was that music and, more specifically, the lyrics to the songs always spoke to her. It was the easiest way to communicate with her.
It had been how I’d first told her I loved her.
So while Cash finished doing what he had to do, I told Kale what was going to happen, and then once Grayson and Sin took the stage I told them too. When I told Cash, he lifted a brow at me, but he was grinning as he nodded his understanding.
Suddenly I felt nervous as hell, something that I hadn’t felt before a show since my very first one at the age of seventeen. Wiping my damp palms on my jeans, I turned to the crowd and took the microphone. The roar of the crowd instantly quietened when I lifted a hand and grinned at everyone.
“Fuck, guys, it’s good to see you all here tonight,” I greeted them. Most of them were our new fan following, but there were always newcomers who had been lucky enough to get in. Thursday nights were great for First Bass’s bank account, but Harris had to be extra careful not to overfill the place or be faced with fines from the fire marshal if he showed up. “Are you ready to rock with us tonight?”
The crowd went wild, but even over the roar I could still hear the “Hell, yeah,” that came from the front row.
I glanced down at Kin and Lucy, both of them grinning and throwing up horns for us. I caught Kin’s gaze and gave her a wicked wink. Her grin turned a little sultry and I knew she was biting into the inside of her bottom lip. Damn, I wanted to kiss her so fucking back.
Shaking the need to taste her lips away, I forced my gaze to the crowd behind her. “We’re gonna start tonight off a little slower. This song is a favorite of someone special and I thought we would spoil her a little tonight.”
Behind me the band started the first chords to the song and I had to wipe my free hand on my jeans again because it was soaked in sweat, but right on cue I sang the first line.
From the first chord that Gray had hit with his guitar, I’d seen the way Kin had reacted. She knew without the words I was singing—singing just for her—that it was “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. It was one of her favorite songs, not just from the band, but of all time. She told me one night when we’d been parked on some back road in my car, fogging up the windows as she kissed me until I was mad with need for her. The song had come on the satellite radio and she’d paused with her hands on my bare chest and started to sing along as she’d let me make love to her.
With that first chorus I saw the way her chin tried to tremble as that same memory flashed in her baby blues, and I wanted to jump down off the stage and wrap her in my arms as I finished the rest of the song, but just as quickly she clenched her jaw and slowly lowered her gaze to her clasped hands in front of her.
She had to know what I was saying with each lyric I sang, had to understand the truth behind it all. I would give up my last breath just to touch her one more time. For her to see me—the real me that she had fallen for just as quickly as I’d fallen for her—and know that when I was with her it was the closest to heaven I could ever hope to be.
My throat tight with emotion, I continued the song, my eyes trapped on her as I silently begged her to look up again. “And you can’t fight the tears that ain’t comin’.” I started the fourth chorus and her head snapped up. The glaze of tears I saw there, that I knew she wouldn’t let fall, sliced into my chest like a fiery sword.
Behind me, the guys were getting into the song. Kale was in the moment with the drums, and Gray was hitting each chord on his Fender like his hands had been made specifically to play that song right in that moment. Sin and Cash were both keeping up, their eyes half closed as they let the music become a part of their souls as they did with every song we performed. But I saw none of that because I was so caught up in Kin’s gaze. So destroyed by how much pain seemed to flood out of her and into me.
I welcomed it. I’d take every ounce of her pain away if I could, if she would just give me the chance. I’d take it all away and replace it with the love I’d never stopped feeling for her. Give her something more, something better.
I’d give her every part of me, including my soul, and this time…
This time I wasn’t going to walk away without her.
The song was coming to a close now, and I covered my heart with my hand as I dropped to my knees so we were on a closer eye level. “And I just want you to know who I am.”
The song ended and the entire club was suddenly so quiet I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. My gaze was still locked on Kin’s and she seemed just as spellbound as I was. There was
a long pause, as if the crowd was just as much in a trance as I was. Then the smallest, sweetest smile lifted Kin’s lips and it was like the trance was broken for me and the hundreds of other people inside First Bass as they started clapping and screaming.
I touched my fingers to my lips and offered her my hand. She hesitated all of a full two seconds before stepping forward and touching her fingers to mine. My heart soaring with a million new possibilities, I was suddenly stoked to finish up that night’s show. The sooner we were done, the sooner I could get Kin alone and we could talk.
I rushed through the first half of the show, barely pausing between songs when I would have normally made it last as long as possible. The crowd always ate it up when I played the ‘cocky bastard rock star.’ The guys didn’t seem to mind, not that I would have cared if they’d had an issue with it.
At one point I saw Harris join the girls, and wrap his arms around Lucy. I’d chanced a glance at Kin then, saw how set her jaw was and nearly stopped mid-song to ask her why she was so upset. I lifted a brow at Harris between the next song and he shrugged, letting me know Kin was fine. With Marcus standing so close to the two girls, I knew they were safe, but I wanted to find out what was going through Kin’s mind right then.
Two songs later, as the pace started getting edgier, the night came to a dead halt when some chick dressed like a reject from an eighties porno jumped on stage and tried to rape my mouth. I went instantly still, lifting my hands away from her to show Kin that I had no part in what was going on.
The chick’s lips didn’t taste bad, but she was too overeager and sloppy. My dick didn’t even twitch when she tried to climb me like a tree just as security rushed the stage and pulled her off me. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I finally got a good look at the mental case who had jumped me.
Ridiculous hair. Indecent outfit. Enough makeup to make Kassa want to hide behind me or Gray because she could have passed for a clown—or worse, a damn mime. My sister had a real fear of clowns and mimes, to the point that she froze up and went nearly catatonic until she was in her safe place. If she had seen that chick right then she might have been running for the nearest exit, screaming her head off.
The crowd didn’t take the interruption very lightly. While some idiots cheered the chick on, the majority of the club was booing and a few even threw their beer bottles at the stage—at the girl.
Shaking my head, I scrubbed my hands over my mouth again, trying to get her taste off my lips and hoping to lighten the mood so that the crowd didn’t go into full-on riot mode. “Yo, bitch, the eighties called. The porn stars want their wardrobe back.”
The booing was cut off as everyone started laughing, including my bandmates.
The chick who had assaulted me, however, didn’t find it nearly as funny, as her hands were jerked behind her and someone put cable ties around her wrists. Her face went blood red even through her multi-layers of thick makeup. I saw her mouth moving and figured she was cursing me with every bad word she knew, but I couldn’t hear any of it over the roaring laughter.
But while my attention had been on what was happening on stage, I had missed what was taking place up front and center. The next time I looked at Kin, figuring she thought the whole thing was just as funny as everyone else, it was to find her frowning as she talked to Lucy and Harris. Lucy said something that made Harris’s face fall, then hugged him.
Before I could get off the stage to reach them, Marcus was pushing the girls in the direction security had just taken the freak who had kissed me. What the fuck?
I jumped down off the stage right in front of Harris. Around me the crowd started booing again, wanting me to finish the show. When two guys with beers in their hands took a step toward me, I flipped them both the bird and turned to face my friend. “Where the hell is Kin going?” She’d said we could talk, damn it. I’d finally felt like I was getting somewhere with her.
Harris grimaced. “That chick who just kissed you?” I nodded. “That’s Kin’s stepsister. She came with Kin and since Lucy is her ride, they had to go.”
I raked my fingers through my hair, wishing I’d done some kind of damage to the bitch who had just ruined my night in more ways than one. “Motherfucker. I finally got Kin to agree to talk to me after this show. That stupid cunt ruined everything.”
Harris blew out a frustrated breath. “Agreed.” He glanced around at the crowd that was starting to get rowdy. “Fuck this shit. Go do your job, man. I’ve got work to do.”
I wanted to say to hell with the show, to hell with everything and just follow after Kin, but I had a job to do and I couldn’t leave Harris with a club full of pissed off fans. Biting off a vicious curse, I climbed back up on the stage and glared at my bandmates.
Cash walked over to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Fucking cunt is Kin’s stepsister. The bitch is in trouble so now Kin has to take her home.”
Gray’s eyes widened. “That was Kin’s sister? What kind of shit is she having to put up with at home, man? That chick looked like she just escaped from some asylum.”
“You going after her?” Sin asked as he adjusted his guitar strap on his shoulder.
I glanced over my shoulder at the crowd and cursed again. “Can’t, man. Wish I could, but I fucking can’t.”
“Well, let’s get this shit taken care of and then you can figure out what’s going on with Kin.” Gray surprised me by squeezing my shoulder. “Hope you can help her, man. Kin’s a cool chick. She doesn’t deserve that…”—he made a face— “whatever that was.”
“Not even I would have touched that,” Sin muttered with his cocky-as-hell grin. “Better get yourself tested for herpes before you kiss Kin again.”
I laughed, then just as quickly frowned. Fuck. I probably should. There was no way in hell I was going to give something like that to Kin.
Kin
Lucy wanted to go in with me when Marcus pulled up in front of my father’s house, but I told her no. I didn’t want her to witness the hell storm that was most likely to follow. So I gave her a hug, told her goodnight, and followed Marcus as he marched Georgia up to the front door.
Her hands were still bound behind her with cable ties and I couldn’t help smirking at the sight she made. I’d have to group message Angie and Caleb about this later. The twins would laugh their heads off when I told them about what had happened.
Marcus rang the doorbell rather than letting me use my key. When Scott answered the door instead of Jillian, I was surprised. I thought he was still on location in Canada with his stupid movie. Then again, what did I know? No one told me anything about my father’s schedule.
Scott looked from the guard to me dispassionately, but when his eyes landed on his oldest stepdaughter, they widened in disbelief. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, his eyes now full of rage as they landed accusingly on me. “Georgia, what…”
“Scott?” I heard Jillian call out and seconds later she was standing in the doorway beside him. When she saw Georgia with her hands tied behind her back, her face turned purple with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. “What the fuck did you do?” she demanded, but her eyes were suddenly on me. Accusing me. Demanding answers from me.
I hadn’t done anything. I’d been standing around listening to a great show that Tainted Knights had been putting on, trying not to fantasize about how the conversation Jace wanted to have later would go. I’d stayed where I was supposed to stay, rocking with everyone else to some killer music and having a great time with my best friend.
Georgia was the one who had caused trouble. The one who would have been hauled off to jail for basically assaulting Jace and then resisting when the security guys had tried to pull her off stage. Georgia was the one who had made a spectacle of herself outside while cameras had flashed from all directions. Just as Jillian had wanted, her daughter was most likely going to end up on TMZ, but not for the reasons she’d hoped. Nope, she was going to be the next day’s laughing stock.
Whi
ch meant so was Jillian.
I wanted to rub my hands together in glee. Those two bitches were only getting what they had asked for and then some. Karma was such a delightful bitch, and I wanted to shake her hand right then. Until Marcus was told his presence was no longer needed, and Scott wrapped his arm around Georgia’s shoulders as he guided her inside the house. Jillian stepped out onto the porch, grabbed the same wrist she’d bruised earlier and jerked me inside. The door hadn’t even slammed shut before she was twisting me around to face her.
“What happened?” she seethed at me.
I shrugged, refusing to rub at my sore wrist. It would just give the step-monster pleasure to see that she had hurt me physically. “We were listening to the band play and then Georgia took it upon herself to rush the stage and molest the lead singer of Tainted Knights. Security dragged her off him.”
“Why didn’t you help your stepsister?” she demanded, practically shaking with anger now. “Do you know what people are going to say when they see me tomorrow? The neighbors had to have seen her in cuffs and that is nothing to what the papers will be saying if they saw her restrained.”
I lifted my brows. “I’m pretty sure that with the twenty or so cameramen outside the club, she’s going to be all over entertainment news tomorrow.” I smiled sweetly at her. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Not like this!” she screeched at me. “Why didn’t you use your influence to get her out of trouble?”
“My influence? Who do you think I am?” I demanded. “The fucking governor? I have no pull.”
“Bullshit. All you had to do was bat your eyes at Harris Cutter and he would have let Georgia go without any of this embarrassment.” Her nose flared as she took a step closer to me. I stiffened, squared my shoulders and stared her down. Did she think she could intimidate me? Really? “You’re grounded for the next week at least. You will not leave this house unless you are with the family. I won’t have you going around with that Thornton girl who could have easily gotten Georgia out of trouble just as easily as you could have.”