“Nothing. I want you to stand here holding me and do nothing.” Lucy fluttered her naturally long lashes at me, making my body respond in a way the blonde would never be able to produce. “She wants attention, Harris. Don’t feed her addiction.”
Lowering my head, I skimmed my lips over hers—not giving a shit if Marcus saw and told his employer or not—before turning her back around so she was facing the stage. “Done,” I breathed in her ear as I tightened my arms around her slim waist. Feeling her shiver again put my pain on a whole new level and I grinned as I buried my face in her hair, swaying with her from side to side as Tainted Knights rocked my club.
Beside me, Kin bumped my shoulder just hard enough to grab my attention. When I turned my head, she was grinning at me. With a wink she turned her attention back to the stage and I watched her for a moment. The way her eyes stay glued to Jace and the mixture o
f emotions that crossed her face screamed at me that she wasn’t over my friend any more than he was over her.
Grimacing, I glanced up at the band. Jace was working the stage like he always did, but every few seconds his gaze went straight to Kin. As if he were making sure she was still there or maybe making sure no one was bothering her. He didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to the redhead.
One song ended and they went straight into another without pausing. This song was faster, harder. Everyone around us pushed closer to the stage and I locked my arms around my girl while Marcus stepped closer to Lucy and Kin, keeping everyone at least a foot away from them.
After that I lost focus on everything but Lucy and the sound of the music. The new song ended and they continued to play through yet another fast-paced song. Lucy was throwing up horns, banging her head as much as possible with me still holding her, and screaming along with everyone else.
The moment was paradise for me.
I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t notice the chick climbing up on the stage until it was too late. Georgia had to have done some kind of acrobatic shit to get up there. Now she was right in front of Jace who stopped singing when she grabbed his shirt and jerked him against her. His eyes got huge when she jerked him down and kissed him.
I let go of Lucy just as my security staff that was in charge of keeping people from going backstage or charging the stage rushed forward. Jace was stiff as a statue, his hands thrown up in an ‘I surrender’ kind of pose while Georgia continued to rape his mouth. One of my security guys grabbed hold of the blonde and pulled her away from the rocker.
Around me the crowd was going crazy, some cheering the chick while others booed her for interrupting the show. I was about to have a madhouse on my hands if things didn’t get dealt with soon. Deciding I was going to have to go up there and settle everyone down, Jace surprised me when he scrubbed his hand over his mouth and called after the guard carting Georgia away, “Yo, bitch, the eighties called. The porn stars want their wardrobe back.” The club became one huge roar of laughter and I couldn’t help but join in.
My laughter didn’t last long, though. Even from where I was standing, I saw Georgia’s face turn beat red seconds before she started screaming at him. I couldn’t make out half of what she was saying, but it couldn’t have been anything that I hadn’t heard before.
Lucy turned to face me, her face falling even before she opened her mouth, and all the fun I’d been having evaporated because I knew what she was going to say. She was going to go home. “Marcus brought her and Kin. I’m going to have to go. As pissed as she looked, if she gets out there and starts running her mouth you could have trouble.”
Jaw clenched, I shrugged. “I’m not worried about any trouble she thinks she can throw my way. She’s the one who assaulted Jace. I can have her arrested if he wants to press charges.”
Kin burst out laughing beside us. “Ah, damn. I would love to see that. But Lucy’s right. If I don’t get her home after this, Jillian is going to make my life even more unbearable than it already is.”
“I don’t want you to go, Lu.” I felt like a petulant little boy about to have my favorite thing in the world taken from me. We still had at least another hour before she needed to head home. I’d had sixty more minutes of holding my girl in my arms tonight. Now that stupid bitch was ruining my night.
Brown eyes were full of the same disappointment I knew was shining in my own. “I’m sorry. If I could change it I would.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face and turned around to take in the packed club. If I took Lucy home myself, then who knew what the fuck could happen in my absence. My assistant manager had dealt well with everything the week before, but I’d told her not to let in our usual number of fans. Plus, she wasn’t even working tonight. I couldn’t leave, couldn’t take my girl home and kiss her goodnight on her doorstep.
Fucking hell.
Her arms wrapped around my waist, soothing me in a way that nothing else could have just then. I turned in her arms and brushed my lips over the top of her curly head. “I wish you didn’t have to go, but I understand.”
Lifting her head, she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, as if she was determining whether to say something. Was she thinking about telling me she loved me again? She hadn’t said it since the night before at the hospital and I was dying to hear those three little words again. Seeing her indecision only made me want to say fuck First Bass and take her home myself.
After a few seconds, she shook her head, smiled up at me and then stood on tiptoes to brush her soft lips over my cheek. “Goodnight, Harris.”
My heart clenched hard. Those weren’t the words I’d wanted to hear. Tightening my arms around her, I held on for a moment longer, silently begging her to tell me she loved me. The words never came and finally she pulled away. “I’ll call you,” I told her as she took another step back.
Lucy nodded and lifted the hand that wasn’t injured to wave as she and Kin walked ahead of Marcus. Thrusting my hands into my jeans pockets, I watched them go. The pain in my pants was gone now, leaving with the girl who owned me. Fuck, I didn’t think it would be this hard to have her leave me. It was only for the night, I knew that. It felt like eternity before I would get to see her again the next evening.
Jace jumped down from the stage, making the crowd around us unhappy. They wanted the show to continue, but obviously Jace didn’t give two shits what they wanted. He flipped two people off before he turned his wild eyes on me. “Where the hell is Kin going?”
“That chick who kissed you is her stepsister. She came with Kin and since Lucy is her ride, they had to go.”
“Motherfucker,” Jace bit out. “I finally got Kin to agree to talk to me after the show. That stupid cunt ruined everything.”
“Agreed.” The crowd was starting to get rowdy again. “Go do your job, man. I’ve got work to do.”
There had to be something in my office that needed my attention. The show out here no longer held any appeal.
In my office, I dropped down into the chair behind my desk and leaned my head back, glaring up at the ceiling. Why hadn’t she told me that she loved me again? Did she regret telling me the night before?