Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
________
EVA
They were good.
I’d heard their music before, and now I was about to listen to their entire catalogue exclusively. But first I had to, you know, meet them.
“Jasmine,” I whispered, knowing she was close and still unwilling to look away from the four of them. They commanded the stage, and the lead singer took more than one chance to turn toward the back of the stage and look at me.
He winked.
He fucking winked.
My knees were wobbly. I needed to see that wink much, much closer.
“Yeah?” Jasmine stepped up to my shoulder.
“I know I have to be here for the nomination, but whatever’s about to happen can’t happen here. Do they have a dressing room?”
The performers often had rooms backstage for their gear while the rest of us had more public suites for food and other things as we slipped in and out.
“Door number two,” she said quietly. I heard the smile in her voice.
“Why do you sound like you’re a kid on Christmas morning about to open their presents?”
She laughed. “Because it’s about fucking time, Eva. You need someone. You’re lonely even when you pretend you’re not. Especially this last year after—” A sigh. “Do what you need to do. I’ll knock when you need to come out.”
“Thank you.”
I turned and went, pushing into the room before anyone could question me. They would be back any second, and I was too nervous—too desperate—to sit down.
Fuck, Jasmine had my phone so I couldn’t text anyone. This was happening. This was actually happening.
You heard the stories about getting blindsided. When people weren’t ready or when they least expected it. They were right.
The door opened, and suddenly the only thing I could hear was my own heart pounding in my ears. The bass player was the first one through the door. His guitar was already off his body, and he dropped it on the couch without even looking.
Three steps separated us. Two steps were all the time I had to take a breath before he yanked me close and dropped his lips to mine.
Lightning flashed behind my eyes. A moan left me at the same time as a groan left him. His hand slid into my hair, gripping it so he could kiss me deeper. I drowned in apples and cinnamon. He tasted like a pie and all I wanted to do was fucking eat.
We broke apart, heaving breath. He smiled and dropped his forehead against mine. “I should have asked your name first.”
“No,” I said. “You shouldn’t have. And it’s Eva.”
“Eva.” My name sounded incredible on his lips. “I’m Tyler.”
My cheeks hurt from how hard I smiled. “Hi.”
A hand landed on his shoulder and pulled Tyler back, revealing the rest of the pack. “Eva,” the next man said. “I’m Jack.”
The lead singer. He was tall and wiry, with ink peeking out from his collar and all down his arms. I was distracted by the hand on Tyler’s shoulder. It was a beautiful hand. I wanted to see what he could do with it.
His scent came into focus as he stepped closer. Orange. A deep citrus and contrasting spices. Basil? Why did that smell so fucking good?
“Can I kiss you?”
I nodded. “I want to do a hell of a lot more than kiss you, but I’m not sure the dressing room is the best place for that.”
The smirk on his lips was devastating. “We’ll get there.” The utter confidence of those words had the air around us filling with heat.
One hand slipped behind my neck, thumb tilting my jaw upward so he could kiss me, soft and slow. Arousal dropped through me so strongly the whole room filled with perfume. “Fucking hell,” he murmured against my lips.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m so far from sorry.”
A hand slipped around my wrist and tugged me away. The drummer. He smelled like maple syrup. Deep and sweet and like he could fill every craving I ever had.
Blond with muscles on muscles on muscles. I could stare at the arms that were currently wrapping around me. Sharp green eyes and a crooked smile before he kissed me. Kissed me and then kissed my forehead. The corner of my lips. My nose. “I’m Dylan.”
My cheeks flushed with heat. “Hey.”
“Nice to meet you,” he whispered, his hands sliding down my spine. “Sorry if we’re overwhelming.”
“You definitely are,” I said, laughing, “but I don’t care.”
“Good.” Arms slid around me from behind, a chin finding my shoulder. Bourbon and mint. “My name’s Liam.” His mouth found my neck in a gentle kiss that turned not-so-gentle when he spun me to him. I caught a glimpse of brown hair and eyes so dark I could disappear inside them before he kissed me.
Every cell in my body tingled with attention and energy. There was no questioning or worry. This felt perfect. It felt right.
“I have absolutely no idea what to do,” I said. “This is the last thing I expected.”
“Right there with you,” Liam said. “But we’ll figure it out. We’re not walking away unless you tell us to.”
Instant revulsion swelled in my stomach at the thought. Walking away was out of the question. Just standing here fully clothed was a struggle.
Liam kissed me again, and I melted into it. Everything was effortless. It couldn’t possibly be this easy, right? It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t even know their last names, and now we were wrapped up in each other with no plans to stop.
Where the hell did we go from here?
“After this award, I don’t have to stay,” I whispered. “What then?”
Tyler stepped up behind me, hands on my hips. “We just moved into a new place downtown. It’s still mostly in boxes, but there’s more than enough room. It doesn’t matter. I’ll happily wherever you are.”
He spun me away from Liam as if we were dancing. “I have security. Would it be okay if—”
“Yes,” Jack said. “Yes to whatever you need.”
I swallowed. “There are many things I need.”
Dylan looked at me like he was trying to figure something out. “The award… holy shit, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” I said with a laugh.
The rest of them looked at Dylan, and he shrugged. “Eva May Williams.”
“In the flesh.”
Jack was suddenly next to us, trading places with Tyler. He laughed softly. “We do know who you are. It probably sounds ridiculous, but we don’t have much time for movies.”
“I don’t have much time to listen to music.” I followed my instincts and turned my head to lay it on his chest. “But I feel like that’s about to change.”
Jack began to purr, the sound rich and warm beneath my ear. It was like a dose of pure relaxation. Give me all of it. Right the fuck now.
A knock on the door. Jasmine cracked it. “They’re about to introduce the nominees,” she said.
I forced myself to stand up straight and glanced in the dressing room mirror. The lip line I’d carefully drawn in the car was gone, and my hair looked exactly like they’d all had their hands in it.
Quickly, I used my thumb to fix the smudges of my lipstick and combed my hair into something that looked presentable. I probably wasn’t going to win anyway.
“Do I look okay?”
“Considering none of us can take our eyes off you…” Tyler said.
I flushed as another wave of perfume spilled forward.
But I had to go. Just a few more minutes.
“This is Jasmine. My manager and a bunch of other things. She’s basically my second brain and knows more about my own life than I do.
She’ll help us figure everything out,” I said, giving her a pleading look as I passed.
She was already holding back laughter as she nodded.
On stage, the video clips were playing with everyone nominated for Favorite Lead Actress. It was fun to be on the list, and half an hour ago I would have said that I wanted to win desperately. Now I wanted whatever would get me out of here the fastest.
“And the winner is…” It felt like the world held its breath. “Eva May Williams.”
I stood frozen for a few seconds before it sank in. I wasn’t out there to make the walk up to the stage. The cameras would be looking for me. And everything I’d had in mind to say was long gone.
But my feet somehow moved. There was a smile on my face. I waved to the crowd and took the trophy from the attendant. But words wouldn’t come.
Glancing back at the edge of the stage, they were all standing right there.
“I’m so sorry. I appear to have lost my words. Thank you. This means a lot to me. I had a whole speech planned in case this happened, and I’ve forgotten absolutely all of it.” The crowd laughed with me. “And that’s because I just got the best news of my life, even though I can’t tell you yet.”
My smile was so wide it hurt. “Between that and this?” I lifted the trophy. “Best night ever. Thank you very much.”
They had more time allotted for the speech, but I didn’t want it. I didn’t even wait for the music to play before turning and heading for them in a straight line.
Dylan’s arm came around me, guiding me away from the edge of the stage. Neil was already here. Jasmine must have called him. “Hey, Neil.”
He had a knowing smile on his face. “Change of plans?”
“Will it fuck with you guys too much?”
“Nah.” He shrugged. “Protecting you in a single place is just as easy as at home.” Then he glanced at the Alphas standing around me. “As long as we can secure the place first.”
“Whatever you need.” That was Tyler.
“I’ll bring Wes.” Neil looked at me. “We’ll have two people with you at all times.”
“Not at all times.”
Neil rolled his eyes, and he’d been my security long enough that he could get away with it. “No, we won’t be standing in the room while you’re… doing everything.”
Laughter rippled through our small group, and Jack stepped up beside me. “Give us a few minutes to pack our instruments. The crew here will take care of everything else.”
“Okay.”
He pulled me in and pressed a hard kiss to my forehead. The softest of whines came from me. I knew the second we were truly alone, things were going to explode. Fuck. Yes.
“Phone.” Jasmine held it out to me. “I think it’s permanently vibrating now.”
The screen of my phone was filled with notifications trying to figure out what the hell I’d been talking about on stage. There was even a text from my mother, but I ignored it. Everyone but my friends and sister could wait.
Esme
Hello?? What news? You’re hiding shit from me now?
Petra
I know for a fact your lipstick didn’t look like that the first time you were on stage. What did you do???
Sloane
How dare you leave us hanging like this
I put all of them in a group chat. They didn’t know Esme very well, so we usually didn’t do this. But that was all right.
Eva
I know we don’t usually do this, but I don’t have much time. The short version is that I’m going home with Mindless Delirium and you probably won’t hear from me for a few days.
The long version is that I scent matched with them seconds before I needed to present that award.
Full-on scent-sympathy. Yes, I am freaking out.
In a good way. No, I don’t really know what we’re doing, but we’re figuring it out.
Security will be with me, so don’t worry there.
But I might be MIA for a couple of days.
Dots started floating at the bottom of the screen immediately.
Sloane
Oh my god. I’ve heard it’s amazing. Jealous!
Petra
Holy shit. CONGRATULATIONS!
Esme
That’s incredible. I’m so happy for you.
Guilt spun in my chest.
Esme was happy for me. She would be. My sister didn’t have an unkind bone in her body.
But being who I was made life difficult for her. I tried to do what I could to make it better, but there wasn’t anything I could do about the people who sought her out purely because they wanted someone like me.
Her happiness for me would be mixed with her own longing and grief. I wanted a pack… no, I had a pack now. Holy shit.
Esme wanted a pack more than she wanted to breathe. So it would hurt her, even if she didn’t want it to.
I flipped to our private conversation.
Eva
I’m so sorry.
Esme
Why?
Eva
I just… I am.
Esme
Don’t apologize for finding what we all want. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I really am happy for you. Please don’t think about me.
Eva
You’re my twin. Thinking about you kind of comes with the territory. And I know.
Esme
Yeah.
I’ll be okay.
Eva
You sure?
Esme
Promise.
Please have fun. And when you come up for air, you can tell me everything.
Eva
Sharp, tingling mint tickled my nose, followed by the dark richness of bourbon. Liam stood in front of me. “Ready.”
I looked over at Jasmine. “We good?”
“You were planning on taking a break anyway, remember? We’re good.”
Liam took my hand and wove our fingers together, following Neil and letting the other guys fall in around us. This was happening.
This was actually happening.
“Car is almost here,” Neil said.
“Thanks.”
Deep in my gut, there was a sparkle of pain. The first hint of something more.
Oh, no.
I’d stopped taking my suppressants yesterday. And in the chaos of everything, I’d forgotten my real plans for the next few days.
I was going into heat.
Fuck.