Chapter 12
Hunter
I should probably feel like an ass for turning down Mal’s invite, but I’d decided I wasn’t going to get close.
The writing was on the wall.
This wasn’t working out.
Pretty sure they were going to give me the boot before my month was officially up, so what was the point?
And I really didn’t want to be introduced to the Tin Gods as the Licks’ shitty drummer who couldn’t hack it.
I almost didn’t come tonight, but I couldn’t resist the lure of live music and the gorgeous brunette currently across the table from me.
“Well, this is awkward.”
I laughed at her droll tone. “Really?” I tilted my head as I stared at her over my flute. “I think it’s pretty damn perfect.”
She flushed and looked away again.
Like she doubted my words.
Like she doubted her worth.
“What’s that about?” I asked.
Her eyes darted back at me, and she blinked in confusion. “Huh?”
“You look like you don’t believe me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be nice. We can just sit here and enjoy our dinner and the ambiance without any of the bullshit.”
“But it wasn’t bullshit.”
She snorted in disbelief. “Sure.”
“What the hell? Are you saying I’m lying?”
“It’s… What do you call it? A white lie? Sugar coating? Whatever. I’m just saying, you don’t have to flirt with me to be nice. We can just talk like two regular people without the ridiculous pretense.”
I tipped my head as I leaned forward. “And if I want to flirt with you? I happen to think you’re fucking gorgeous.
It’s what I was thinking when I saw you standing there all sparkling and luminous.
Hell, I thought it when I first saw you back at Beau’s party.
I thought you were his wife because no way any man worth a damn wouldn’t lock down a beauty like you. ”
Iz’s eyes widened more with every word I said. When I finished, she opened and closed her mouth. Finaly she shook her head slightly. “I…don’t know what to say.”
I sat back in my chair, satisfied I’d gotten my point across. “You can say whatever you like as long as it’s not something derogatory about you, your looks, or what I think about them.”
“I…uh, okay.”
“Good.” I lifted a rib and tore into it like I hadn’t eaten in months.
Like a caveman.
Something about Iz brought that quality out in me. Like I wanted to tackle her and bay at the moon.
Actually, that last part didn’t sound like a bad idea. Iz had this alabaster skin that begged to be worshipped out in a moonlit field.
She stared down at her plate like she wasn’t really seeing it. Like I’d just rocked her whole world, but not in the way I really wanted to.
Fuck it.
I was a dead man walking, right? The writing was on the wall. The band wasn’t working out, it was only a matter of time before they booted me.
Why shouldn’t I live it up?
Do the thing I wanted.
Make bad decisions.
It wasn’t like I was guaranteed a tomorrow with them. The opposite, actually.
“You gotta eat, princess. I have plans for me and you later. You’re going to need the fuel.”
She pressed her lips together like she was biting back words then dutifully picked up a piece of fried chicken.
I grunted in satisfaction and dug into my brisket.
“Why princess?” she finally asked after a long, silent minute or two.
“Are you serious? I mean look at you. You are every inch a rock princess with the kick ass dress and the shit kicking boots. All you’re missing is maybe a streak of color in your hair or a tattoo.”
“Who says I don’t have a tattoo?” She raised her eyebrows at me before digging into her meal.
I snickered. Now that was more like it. She was coming out of her shell. “Can’t wait to see it.”
She coughed then bent over, coughing louder like she was fighting for her life.
“You okay there, princess?” I sat forward on my chair, wanting to help but unable to reach her.
She sat up red faced and waved a hand. “Just went down the wrong pipe.”
“Now I’m really curious about where the tattoo is.
I’m thinking somewhere naughty…somewhere I can’t see right now.
” My eyes danced over her naked arms before running over her luscious cleavage.
No tats there either. I’d scoped out her legs earlier, and they were also ink free.
“Maybe a naughty little rib tattoo? Lower back?”
Her whole face was beet red. “You’re getting warmer.”
Now it was my eyes that widened. “Thighs?”
She didn’t say a word as she took a long, slow drink of her champagne.
Fuck, that was sexy.
She gave a smug little smirk and I almost swallowed my tongue.
Fuck yeah.
“Hey guys.”
Ryker’s greeting smashed the intimacy of the moment.
Sighing, I sat back in my seat and raised a hand in his direction. He’d stopped on the other side of the wooden wall that only came up to chest height on him.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, kid.”
I shrugged. “Just enjoying some dinner with this gorgeous lady here.”
Ryker pivoted and smiled at Iz. “Hey, kiddo. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah. So far.” She smiled tremulously at Ryker.
Something about his presence clearly made her self-conscious. Her shoulders inched toward her ears, and her mouth tightened.
But Ryker just smiled back at her. “Good, good. I was going to steal the kid and introduce him to a few people, but I don’t want to leave you here all alone.”
“Why not?” she muttered under her breath. “Beau does it all the time.”
But Ryker clearly heard her, given his wince. “Right. Next time. Uh, have you seen Leif or Mal around?”
“Mal is backstage with his wife, and I haven’t seen Leif.” My lips moved in a sneer on their own accord. “Fortunately.”
Ryker sighed. “Yeah, we need to get with him and figure out what’s crawled up his ass.”
I just shook my head. But I didn’t say anything. I just took another drink.
“All right then. Enjoy the concert, and I guess I’ll see you two on Monday.” He gave us another smile then tapped the top of the wall before he walked away.
Christ, I was so fucked.
Iz turned to me and gave me that self-conscious smile of hers.
Something elemental unfurled inside me. Like a predator spotting his prey.
Or a wolf spotting his mate.
“Did you know that less than five percent of animals mate for life?” The words fell out of my mouth without a thought.
And judging by the confused look on Iz’s face, it was as weird of a left turn as I feared.
But I just shrugged. “I saw a documentary once. Off the top of my head, bald eagles, seahorses, swans, and wolves mate for life.”
“Penguins too.”
I grinned at her, impressed. And maybe happy she was rolling with my weird conversation.
She shrugged. “What? I saw a documentary once.” Her tone was light but the teasing intent was clear. “Plus every year there’s usually a pair at a zoo that makes the news for one reason or another.”
“Like the gay penguins that tried to hatch a rock.”
Iz grinned. “Almost makes you believe in love, huh?”
“That’s not the only thing.” I smirked back at her.
She ducked her head as her skin flushed red.
Watching Iz’s reaction filled me with an anticipation I hadn’t felt in so long. Christ, I could spend my whole life playing this game.
Then I shook my head. What the fuck was that thought?
“Should we shuffle the layout so you’ll be able to see the show?” Iz asked, her cheeks still red with her blush.
I’d been sitting with my back to the stage, so that sounded like a good idea to me. And it was sweet as hell that she was thinking of me and my comfort.
We folded up the chairs and moved the small end tables to the back of the box in a buffet kinda layout. Then we shuffled the chairs around the small box so Iz and I sat up front with the other two chairs positioned behind us.
There still wasn’t any sign of Mal or his wife when the orchestra took the stage.
As I slipped into my chair, my arm wrapped around Iz’s shoulders next to me. Like it was habit. Like we’d done this a million times before.
“Do you have earplugs?” Iz asked as she reached for her small bag on the ground in front of her.
I nodded as I pulled a pair out of my front pocket. There wasn’t much I valued more than my hearing. I slipped them into my ears then helped Iz hold her long, silky hair out of the way as she inserted her earplugs.
My fingers itched to run through her hair. I could easily picture myself holding it in one hand while I grasped her heart-shaped ass in the other.
Shit, now I had a semi in the middle of the Hollywood Bowl.
So far only the orchestra was onstage. Discordant notes and scraps of songs played. We were so close to the stage, I could feel the notes vibrating through the ground.
Iz tossed me an excited little grin, and I tightened my arm around her shoulders. Christ, did she have to be so cute?
Then the Tin Gods took the stage.
The crowd roared as the opening beat of ‘Nowhere to Hide’ came from the timpani player at the back of the orchestra. Nothing I could do on my drums could simulate the depth and heft of the timpani drum. But Christ, did I want to try.
Soon the rest of the percussion section and the Tin Gods’ own drummer, Noah Hawker, joined in.
I’d heard this song a million times. I could play it myself blindfolded.
But I’d never heard it like this.
The string instruments gave it a hypnotic quality.
The high notes from the flute soared and played around Chase Robinson’s dark and gritty tenor voice.
Brass instruments flirted in contrast with the strings.
And Xander Lang and Jesse Mala on the guitars battled as they took over the lead from the flutist.
It was mesmerizing.
And I wanted to be on stage playing with them so fucking bad.
I wasn’t saying I’d be better than Noah freaking Hawker—just that I wanted to do that. I wanted to be the one feeling the orchestra swelling around me. I wanted to be the one playing my song that I’d sweated over perfecting at the damn Hollywood Bowl. It felt like the epitome of a kickass career.
And was exactly the reason I hadn’t gone backstage earlier to meet the Gods.
I wasn’t there.
And I had a sinking feeling I was never going to be there.
I rubbed my free hand against my sternum. I felt that pang viscerally.
Suddenly, Iz’s shoulders heaved under my arm.
Turning to her, I saw tears trekking unabashedly down her cheeks.
I wanted to ask, but given our proximity to the stage, she couldn’t hear anything I’d say.
So I nudged her chin toward me, and the pain in her eyes took my breath away. So much angst and torment.
Her mom.
This song must’ve had some kind of significance to them. Christ.
I hated that she was hurting. This should’ve been a fun, light-hearted night out with friends. But then again, she wasn’t with friends. She wasn’t even with her dad, that son of a bitch. He’d left her again just when she needed him.
Iz flinched at whatever she saw in my eyes and jerked her chin out of my grasp.
Shit. I didn’t want her thinking I was mad at her.
Quickly closing the distance between us, I did the only thing I could think of.
I kissed her.
My lips barely touched hers, and she pulled away.
I followed unconsciously before stopping. And when I opened my eyes, she stared back at me in confusion, even shook her head like she couldn’t believe I did that.
Oh believe it, princess.
I smirked at her, and then kissed her again.
This time she let me. And after a beat, she kissed me back.
I groaned against her lips and did the thing that’d been driving me nuts. I threaded my fingers through her luscious hair and pulled her even closer.
She gave a little gasp that became a moan and kissed me harder.
Her curvy body pressed against mine, and it was my turn to moan.
But we were in public. And no matter how much I really, really wanted to take this further, I couldn’t.
Or maybe…
Fuck. No. Iz deserved better than some shady public corner.
Humming in the back of my throat, I finally pulled away. She swayed toward me like I was the fucking pied piper she’d been commanded to follow. And that thought only made my dick harder.
I deserved a fucking medal for stopping. Because it would be so easy to hike her dress up and pull her into my lap. No one had to know.
And Christ, I was tempted.
But too many people had disappointed her lately. I couldn’t be one more. She deserved so much more than the hand she’d been dealt.
I bent down and pressed one quick peck against her luscious lips then wrapped my arm around her shoulders again and turned back to the stage.
I felt her shoulders heave with a huge sigh. A beat later, her head nestled against me.
I was still grinning when Mal and Saylor came back to the box halfway through the third song.
Mal’s stare was hot and hard. Iz didn’t seem to notice as her body wiggled in time with ‘Corruption.’
I raised my eyebrows in a silent challenge.
He rubbed a hand against his jaw as he stepped past us and took a seat in the back of the box. Saylor didn’t have to say anything. Her wide eyes spoke volumes. Mal pulled her in his wake.
Fuck it.
I didn’t have anything to lose at this point.