“I’ll be buying your drinks tonight,” a hard voice said from behind me. I let out a sigh but didn’t turn around. I put my hand on Mohawk’s arm.
“I want my drinks from you though,” I simpered.
“God damn it, Vivian! Don’t start this shit already! You just got here!” Cole yelled over the dull roar of the crowd.
Mohawk looked from me to Cole and held his hands up. “I’m not lookin’ to get in the middle of a domestic,” he stated, backing away.
I turned around and gave Cole the look of death, hoping it would put him ten feet under.
“Were you planning to f**k that guy?” he asked, nodding his head in the direction of retreating Mohawk. He was angry. His eyes flashed in the dull light.
I leaned my elbows on the bar and pushed my chest out. Cole’s gaze slid from my face to the part of my body he could never resist. And so did several other men around us. I shook my hair out behind me and gave him a bored look.
“No, I didn’t plan on f**king him.” I affected a yawn as though I were already tired of the conversation. I made eyes at the preppy guy stood on the other side of Cole. I licked my lips slowly and almost laughed at his eager expression.
Cole looked over his shoulder at preppy and snarled. “Get the hell out of here. She’s off limits, dude!” Poor preppy scurried off so fast it was as though his butt were on fire.
I stood up straight and took a menacing step toward the object of my unbridled lust. “Holy double standards, Cole! Where’s the little blonde?” I asked looking pointedly around the teeming group of people.
Cole scrunched up his face in confusion. “Who?”
I laughed humorlessly. “The bitch that was showing you her boob job when I came in,” I spat out.
Cole frowned, as though trying to figure out what I was talking about. And then he started laughing. The urge to kick him between the legs was overwhelming.
Then the ass**le pinched the tip of my nose and rustled my hair like a damn dog. “Is Vivvie jealous?” he cooed and this time I lost it.
I picked up the closest beer bottle and dumped the contents on his shoes.
Cole leapt backwards, howling in outrage. “What the f**k, Vivian?” he screamed. The noise in the bar became noticeably quieter.
I pressed myself up against Cole, my face an inch from his. My heart was thumping wildly, my blood was buzzing with fury.
“I am sick of your bullshit, Cole. You better walk the line tonight or you’ll be sorry. Do I make myself clear? I didn’t come all this way to be humiliated by you. If you want me here, then act like it,” I hissed.
Cole’s eyes snapped and sizzled, his chest heaving up and down. He was flushed and just as furious as I was.
Then he grabbed the back of my head, his fingers curling into my hair and smashed his mouth down on mine.
The kiss was bruising and forceful. This wasn’t about romance. This was about domination. I bit down on his bottom lip and could taste his blood.
He pulled away, his lips swollen and bleeding. “I’m happy you’re here. Is that what you want me to say? Is that what you want to hear?” He grabbed my upper arms and pushed me back against the wall, his pelvis thrusting against mine.
“Does that make you happy?” he demanded.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from him. He was gorgeous. And he made me feel completely and totally alive. I craved this manic insanity that I only seemed to experience when I was with him.
Why couldn’t I be content with nice and normal? Why did I crawl over broken glass for this madness?
Why did I allow Cole to degrade me and humiliate me over and over again? Why did I scream at him and make a scene just so I could get this reaction from him?
What the hell was wrong with me?
What the hell was wrong with us?
I was so turned on I could barely stand. I wanted him to take me then and there. I didn’t give a crap about the people openly gawking at us. I thrived on it.
I wanted the hard press of his body against mine. I wanted the chaos.
“Yes! It makes me happy,” I bit out, giving him that tiny victory.
“Good,” he said, leaning in and kissing me tenderly on the nose. His thumbs caressed the side of my face. A remarkably gentle act from such a volatile man.
“Stand in front. I want to see you when I sing,” Cole murmured, leaning in to kiss me on the mouth. And this one wasn’t hateful or angry. It was soft and almost loving. And it shook me to my core.
Then he was gone and I stood there, my back against the wall, trying to catch my breath, not sure what the hell had just happened.
Maysie stood off to the side, her arms crossed, shaking her head. I straightened my spine and walked back to the bar, ordering myself a Lemon Drop and tossed it back. Then I ordered another. And another.
If I were going to make it through the night I’d need help. And my good friend, vodka, would do the trick.
“You always put on a good show, I’ll give you that,” Gracie said dryly, sitting beside me at the bar, watching the people around us. It was hard to ignore the increasing number of girls who were coming into the venue. All decked out in their best metal slut gear. Most of them hoping a flash of skin would get them a night with one of the guys on stage.
I watched as a group of girls tried to make conversation with Garrett and Jordan. Both were polite but obviously uninterested. Maysie was in a corner talking to some people I recognized as the roadie crew. She didn’t seem remotely bothered by the women chatting up her fiancé. And I knew Riley wouldn’t care if she were here either.
Because they didn’t have anything to worry about. Jordan and Garrett were loyal to the women they loved.
The girls finally got the hint and turned their attentions from Garrett and Jordan to Mitch and Cole. When Mitch was too absorbed in tuning his bass to give them what they were looking for, their entire focus honed in on the man I had come to see.
The man who would never truly been mine.
And he smiled and flirted and laughed when they rubbed his arm. He gave them exactly what they wanted. He teased and seduced with only a look and a grin. The girls ate it up. And he loved it. I could see it from here.
My chest started to ache and an unfamiliar thickness squeezed my throat.
“Come on Viv, they’re about to start,” Gracie said, tugging on my arm. I was being uncharacteristically maudlin. I felt like hanging in the back and sulking. But instead I tossed my hair around my shoulders and straightened my shirt to hang low over my br**sts. I ran my finger around the edge of my lips, getting rid of any smudges.