Chapter 34
Knuckles rapped against the door, and my eyes shot open. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in here, seeking refuge away from the impending doom.
“Cosi?” A soft voice shot through the wood. An unexpected voice, and I wiped the tears against the back of my forearm.
Standing upright, I fumbled for the knob in the dark and hesitantly cracked it open. The moment the lock was disengaged, Nova pushed harder, and her face appeared in the blinding light. Ava’s sweet gaze popped up over her shoulder as both of them shoved their way into the bathroom.
“What are you doing in there alone?” Nova spoke again, latching her fingers around my wrist and dragging me out of the bathroom.
I sniffed. “It’s a long story.”
“Yeah, well. Asher noticed your ex or whatever, plus the look that your so-called best friend was giving you,” Nova grumbled and hooked my hand in her elbow. “Anyway, he told the guys, they relayed it to us, and when you disappeared from the room, we followed.”
Ava jumped to my other side and slid her arm into mine.
“And we are here to drag you back. To hell with Danny and Sydney. You’ve got your man in there and real friends.
” She grinned, and I glanced between the two girls.
Nova smugly smirked while Ava giddily grinned.
Two very different personalities, two very selfless girls.
All the worry swept away. Okay, so Danny might expose us, and Sydney was going to be pissed at me. But these two girls were right. Asher was waiting. Fun and excitement were waiting. My release from the prison I’d been sentenced to for fifteen years was waiting in another room.
In a blurry rush, I was whisked back to the meet and greet. Chaos echoed through the room as I waded into the crowd, blending in like normal. Elysia eventually found me and snaked up to my side, standing beside Nova and Ava.
The three girls grinned from ear to ear while I rocked onto my tip toes, trying to get a good look of that very handsome man that I was craving.
A polite smile lifted on his lips as he chatted with someone I recognized.
Benson.
I raised a brow as Dane shoved through the crowd and hooked an arm around Benson’s shoulders. They grinned and took a selfie with Asher and the band. Then, a pair of eyes flicked to mine, seeing me above the sea of people that swayed in such a small room.
“MISS DUVAL!” Dane shouted, pointing at me. Benson followed his gesture as nearly every gaze swung to me. It was as if a spotlight snapped on, silencing everyone except for me. The entire world dimmed, only illuminating the small space around me.
Until a second one joined, crashing on. Asher cocked a hip and grinned.
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he watched me, a sly, hungry look upon his face.
I studied him for a moment, tracing the tattoos that started at his fingers and snaked up his skin, disappearing briefly beneath his cut-off before continuing up his neck.
Damn, he was absolutely gorgeous.
And he knew exactly what was running through my head as the grin widened.
“COME HERE! We can get pictures together!” Benson shouted, snapping me out of my ill-timed desire. Gentle hands urged me forward, and I managed to snag one last backward glance at those three girls before I was dragged up with the band.
The meet and greet turned into something of excitement as picture after picture was taken. With most of my second-hour class plus a few other students, my phone was filled to the brim with snapshots including them and the band.
It was exciting, and I forgot entirely about Sydney or Danny. Or any of my worries as Asher casually threw an arm around my neck and pulled me toward him, posing for another picture with my students.
They gushed about how awesome it was to see me there and as the meet and greet came to a close, I realized that Danny didn’t do a thing. Sydney didn’t either. The entire nausea-filled anticipation had been for nothing.
Everything was fine. Eerily calm, which flicked a suspicion button in my head, but it hummed so quietly I managed to shove it aside.
And tonight, instead of going to an afterparty or home with Sydney and the girls, I snuck out back quietly with Ava, Nova, and Elysia.
We waited for the stadium to eventually clear before being driven back to the little home the band was leasing—yes, even Elysia. Her eyes continually flickered to Kieron, shooting him bashful and flirtatious glances that he lapped up the entire ride.
Asher kept his arm hooked around my shoulders as we all walked into the home, exhausted, sneaking past the paparazzi that wasn’t quite as thick today. Most of the cameras and reporters were off at some sort of afterparty, hoping to catch a glimpse of the guys.
But the band was here, quietly slipping into our blissful solace, where for a moment, everything was normal. Everything was at peace.
Kieron plopped down on the couch after kicking off his shoes and pulled Elysia with him. She straddled his lap, whispering quietly to him as his eyes filled with rose-colored hearts. I paused, tugging Asher to a stop for a moment, and smiled.
His eyes like autumn leaves flickered to mine, and he chuckled, placing a quick kiss against my forehead. “Well, your friend looks very comfortable with Kieron,” he muttered, and I giggled, glancing Asher’s way.
His eyes darkened, the exhaustion wiped away within a moment’s glance. I studied him, my heart pounding in my chest. There was something different, though, about this. A shift in the tension between us, just as desperate as every other time but something heavier, deeper.
And I found myself in his bed once again.
No protesting.
No fighting.
Whatever he wanted and craved, I wanted it too. I took as much as I gave, and he gave as much as he took. We stayed up past the sun rising, enjoying his body and his skin against mine.
Shaking.
Drooling.
Whimpering.
Moans of pleasure escaping his lips, deep and guttural, feral passion that hit deep within my stomach.
And by the time we finished, exhaustion forcing us to no longer be able to carry on, I fell asleep on his naked frame, soaked in a painful pleasure that had me throbbing between the legs.
I waited backstage with Nova, Eva, and Elysia as the guys disappeared to finish getting ready for the concert. My chest rose and fell in delicious patience, knowing that the man who would eventually rise on stage was mine. That he wanted nothing but me.
Elysia giggled, brushing some hair behind her shoulder. “I can’t believe it,” she muttered, bumping against my bare shoulder.
“Believe what?” I asked and adjusted the plum, off-the-shoulder, crop top I was wearing.
It showed just a hint of skin before the waistline of my black leather pants started.
An outfit that Asher picked out himself, still girly enough for me on the top, but a little more fitting for the crowds than I usually wore.
His idea was to help me blend in so hopefully Danny and my ex-friends wouldn’t notice me with the girls.
The door we were standing beside swung open, and out the four of them came. Kieron’s eyes lit up as he let his gaze rake over Elysia. Cute and sexy all at once in her mini skirt, and she twirled before he scooped her up.
Asher came my way and found my lips without hesitation, the rings on his fingers brushed against my skin. Cold metal trailed across my collarbone as he played with that chain that held the jewelry he gave me.
“Ready, Princess?” he asked against my mouth.
I nipped at his lips. “For two straight hours of ogling my boyfriend? Absolutely,” I gushed, and he grinned, running a hand through his hair before kissing me again.
He pressed his body tighter against mine, his fingers against my lower back dug in tighter, and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. My stomach roared with fire, dripping already from one basic movement.
But I wasn’t the only one filled with an unquenchable desire. He pressed his hips tighter against mine, his hardened length rubbing between my legs. I quivered, moaning lightly.
“Asher, there’s others here,” I cautioned as he grew even more excited.
“Well, fuck,” he grumbled and then pulled away.
“And those pants do nothing to hide things.” I lifted a brow at his attempt to adjust himself beneath his signature black cargo joggers. They held tight to his calves so you could see his black socks and gave him the illusion of rather thick thighs.
Though I knew what was actually thick was between those thighs.
“All for you.” He winked.
“Let’s go horndog!” Kieron shouted, and Asher and I whipped around. His three bandmates were already walking down the hallway, headed toward the back entrance to the stage.
Asher shook his head, gave me a really quick kiss on the lips once more, and jogged after the rest of the guys. Elysia sighed loudly behind me as Nova and Ava approached my sides. “He’s absolutely whipped by you,” Nova stated, crossing her arms, and Ava giggled.
“Haven’t ever seen Asher this way. He’s not just whipped, he’s obsessed,” she added, and I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth.
And I wasn’t willing to admit it out loud, but I was too.
This time, as the Dark Banshee and his band rocked out on stage, I let loose. Let myself scream like a lovestruck teenager for the man who stood above me looking fucking hot.
He winked subtly and then danced away, saying the words that he’d written for me. The song that was for his princess bounced through the stadium as a thick hand wrapped around my wrist.
My mind swirled with drunken passion as those random fingers jerked me back.
Fear snapped through me as a hand slammed over my mouth and an arm wrapped around my neck. As the pressure from the bicep and forearm tightened, my friends were shoved away unintentionally by the swaying crowd.
There was no sound or scream that I could let out to alert their attention.
Not a thing could be done as the world around me spun. The hand slipped away from my mouth as the choke increased around my carotid arteries.
I bumped up against a large, steel frame, and then the world turned black.