If anything, he looked better than ever. He had a wildness to him, something primal and strong. Every single female in the room would be going a bit moist in the panties watching him play, that was for sure. Their faces softened and their bodies heated. I hated his good looks. I hated the way that my body heated when I looked at him.
He sang the slow ballad with a sorrow that would rack a softer woman’s heart. His voice contained lies. He wasn’t a man who knew regret, that’s for sure. Maybe a little bit of a tantrum over not getting his own way but nothing deeper. I could’ve screamed out and told the room that. This man is a fraud. He manipulates people to achieve his own ends.
I dug my nails into my palms to stop myself. An outburst like that would achieve nothing. It’d just make me look like a loon.
After the song finished, the band started up again. Alex gestured to the sound desk. The music became louder. More than a few people in the room watched me and, it seemed, Alex wanted that attention for himself. Let him have it.
The bass pounded through the room, making the floor vibrate and sending shivers through me. Everything about him became charged with a power that made him hard to resist. I checked myself. I wasn’t here for a romantic interlude. Ice cold, that’s what I was. I couldn’t afford to let one lustful thought into my head.
What I’d felt for him had been a childish crush. Nothing more. Childhood was well behind me now. All of that had been stomped out by this man. I’d never forgive and I’d never forget what he’d done to my family.
Not once did Alex look at me, not in that song or the next. But he was more than aware of me, that I knew. His gaze would sweep the room and stop just short of where I was standing. Purposefully.
He might not want to acknowledge me but I’d make damn sure he did.
Dee
I waited for him at the side of stage. I’d nutted out the place and positioned myself so he’d not be able to avoid me. I waited and waited. He took longer to pack up his gear than you’d have thought humanly possible. That made me laugh. I’d put the wind up him. If he wasn’t worried, he’d have swept off stage, leaving someone else to pack up everything but his precious guitars. That’s the kind of guy he was. Instead, he was winding up cords and unplugging pedals.
But it bugged me too. I’d fired myself up for this confrontation. The rush of red-hot anger and need to be icy-cold fought within me. I’d rather punch him, knock him down, kick him with my boots but that was no long-term plan. He’d bruise a little then recover. I’d had other schemes: breaking his hand so he could no longer play guitar, shooting him in the stomach. But they were just anger-fuelled fantasies.
I wanted this to be a slow, lingering revenge. The kind that cut the ground out from under him.
He’d gone to the bar for a drink and some guy chatted to him, a kid with long, stringy hair. It’s not like Alex’d leave his guitars on stage for long, though. He’d want them packed away somewhere safe.
I wanted to do something to teach him that money couldn’t protect him. That some actions had consequences. I wanted to wipe that entitlement from his life.
I waited.
He couldn’t avoid me forever.
Some jerk glanced in my direction. The slightest sign of encouragement and he’d have wandered over, asking if I wanted a drink and trying to make conversation. I gave him a killer stare, enough to chill him to the marrow. The last thing I needed was someone chatting me up so that I missed my opportunity.
I leaned against the wall just by the door, and surveyed the room. It wasn’t the ritziest place I’d been in, that’s for sure, but the sound system was obviously top notch. It was a musician’s club, you could tell. Everything had been designed for the purest sound. That didn’t happen by accident. Either Alex made it like that or he’d seen it and wanted it for himself.
Now the busty blond who’d been working on the door hung off him. He had no liking for her but he didn’t discourage her either. He wouldn’t. He’d play any woman who showed interest. They were good for business. He gave them just enough to keep them sticking around without pushing any further. She laughed too loudly and thrust her breasts at him. He took a half-step back, not enough that she’d notice but enough to put some space between them. Smooth.