by Emily Snow
Gage’s eyes broadened. “Eliza,” he whispered. “Smith.”
“Oh. Nice to meet you, Eliza,” the girl said. “I’m Penelope Binds, Gage’s girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? If it were possible for the DJ to feel my emotions, the music would have scratched to a stop in the background.
“Nice to meet you,” I murmured, reaching a hand out to her. I couldn’t be immature. I didn’t even know why I expected Gage to be single. He was hot; of course there was going to be someone glued to his hip.
“Gage, I wanna dance,” Penelope whined, poking out her bottom lip. I rolled my eyes and turned around. It was worse than I thought.
“Let’s go, then. Oh, and Ellie,” Gage called. I turned slowly, my eyebrows elevated. “Have fun tonight.” He winked, taking Penelope’s hand in his. My eyes followed them as they pushed out the glass door and disappeared within the crowd. A few girls squealed at the sight of Gage, but security guards stepped in the way, making sure they didn’t get too close to him.
I sighed deeply because that just made my night even worse. Staring down at the shot of vodka in my hand, I finally decided to down it and grab another. I didn’t drink, but I wanted to have fun. I wanted to forget about what I’d just seen. My mom always told me drinking gets rid of the problems, but she was part of the reason I never wanted to touch alcohol in my life. Ben would offer wine, but I never took it. This was the night to be different, though. I had to find out if what my mom always said was true, even though she was a terrible influence.
I looked at the door and in came Roy Sykes. He’d changed into a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the stretch of ink on his masculine arms and hands. His shaggy hair hung in his dark-brown eyes, and his jeans were black as well. His arms were just as pale as mine and covered with ink, but it fit Roy. He was really hot… just weird as hell.
As he spotted me, he came to a screeching halt, gripping the door handle a little too firmly, his knuckles turning pale. His eyes stretched and then he took a step back. He took a few more steps back and I stared at him, completely lost. What was he so afraid of? Was he still upset about earlier?
Roy finally turned around and dashed away. The door shut behind him, but I could still see him making a beeline through the bodies.
“Maybe you should go out on the dance floor,” Deed said. His smile seemed kind of eerie, but I blamed it on the dim lighting above him. “It would make your night. Trust me.”
“And how do you know this?” I asked, giving him a small smile.
He chuckled. “Because dancing frees the soul, girl. It sets you loose. Makes you do things you never thought you could do.” He placed his hand against the small of the girl’s back and whispered something into her ear. She poked her bottom lip out but nodded, standing from his lap. As she walked by, she grimaced at me. She then opened the door and sauntered out and Deed came up to me. “Would you like me to dance with you?”
“No—Deed, that’s sweet of you, but I’ve never danced before and—”
“Eliza, is it?” he asked, cutting me off midsentence as he reached for another shot glass.
I nodded, pulling my bottom lip in to bite on it. He handed me the glass and I took it. He then grabbed a glass for himself.
“Ben sent you out here to have fun. Dancing is fun. I’ll dance with you. It’ll be like no one else is watching. I’ve got moves! Ask the boys who the best dancer is.” He did a three-sixty spin, the liquid within his shot glass still inside, and I bit on a smile as he held out his hands. “The groove isn’t just in my hands. It’s everywhere.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t hide my smile any longer. I glanced over my shoulder at the people dancing wildly. The lights had dimmed, making it hard to see anything. “Okay.” I nodded. I chucked back my drink and he did the same. “Let’s go for it,” I said as we discarded our glasses.
With another eerie grin (What’s up with this lighting?), Deed grabbed my hand and led the way. The music had grown ten times louder as we stepped out. A few large men in black T-shirts looked at Deed and he nodded at them before stepping toward the dance floor.
His grip was still tight around my hand as he pushed through the crowd. The music wasn’t too fast, just a medium pace. The dub-step bass was thundering against the soles of my heels and soon I became lightheaded. I felt good—like an Eliza I’d never been before.
Deed finally stopped and faced me. He released my hand but turned me around to get my hips between his. It surprised me and I wanted to pull away, but I didn’t. Warm fingers touched my waist and soon we began to rock. I was stunned I was actually going through with it. Deed had game—I could give him that—because he brought me out on the dance floor with no problem and had me dancing against him. This was new.
“Just go with the music, Eliza,” he whispered in my ear. For some reason I shivered, but I didn’t stop dancing against him. My movements were slow and seductive. I never thought I had it in me, but it felt nice.
Thrilling.
I shut my eyes and Deed’s hands moved from my waist to my stomach. He was inching closer and closer to my breasts. It was unusual to have anyone this close. I never allowed anyone to get this close to my private areas… but I wasn’t stopping Deed. His hands against me felt good. His body glued to my backside was only enticing me to bury my hips deeper against his groin, causing him to growl pleasantly.
“Deed, what the fuck?” an aggravated voice called over the music. My eyelids fluttered open, knowing exactly whom the bedroom voice belonged to. My gaze drifted up to Gage who was looking at us, his hazel eyes harder than normal. “Having fun?” he asked me, his head tilted.
“Yeah, I am, actually,” I said.
Deed pulled away, chuckling as he stepped to my side and slung an arm tightly across my shoulders. I winced from his aggressiveness and he eased up a tad. “Ellie and I are just having some fun, Gage. Don’t be a cock-blocker.”
Gage sighed. “Don’t call her Ellie, Deed. You didn’t come up with that.”
“But you were right,” Deed said, smirking. “It fits her more.”
Gage’s jaw locked, but as he met my lost gaze, it slacked. “I think I’ll be stealing her away from you now.”
For a moment, Deed’s expression was sour. His eyes locked with Gage’s and I thought I caught rage, but then he pulled away from me and clapped Gage’s shoulder loudly—a little too forcefully—and slipped through the crowd. I narrowed my eyes at the two, finding the whole encounter a bit off. Was Deed upset about Gage’s interference?
Gage watched him walk off and then looked at me, moving in closer and grabbing my hand. As he spun me around, I swear I saw a smile spread across his lips. My back was facing his chest, his fingers curling around mine as he held me at my middle.
“You’re a true lightweight,” he murmured in my ear. I bit my bottom lip as he rocked his groin against me. His fingers pulled away from mine to move down my waist before hooking around my middle again. “Benny told me to watch over you tonight. I wasn’t supposed to tell you I’m your undercover babysitter, but Deed… He isn’t the kind of person you wanna get involved with. He carries more weight than you could probably handle.”
“Oh.” It was all I could manage. I was drowning in Gage’s touch.
“I think I’d be better at dancing against you tonight anyway,” Gage whispered in my ear. My skin pricked, the hair on my back rising. I could feel his erection caving into my back. His teeth grazed my earlobe and I shuddered, delighted.
“Why are you flirting and dancing with me when you have Penelope?” I panted.
He remained quiet, but he didn’t stop working his hips. His fingers inched up and I sighed, allowing the back of my head to fall against his shoulder. He was getting closer to my breasts, just like Deed, but with Gage I could actually feel it. The heat of his fingers was so intense through my dress that I could have melted into a puddle. Instead of touching my breasts, though, he skipped over them to pull my hair away from my
shoulders, his lips hovering over my neck, his warm breath tickling the skin. I caught goose bumps from his sweet, seductive actions. Damn it, he was too good.
He was getting harder and harder below, caving into my back, my hips. Was I really doing this to his body? He was getting turned on by me. I could tell by the way he was grunting and trying to keep his composure. He was trying his hardest not to touch me in my delicate places.
“Penelope’s gone,” he finally murmured.
“So you come to me when she can’t see you.” That caused my eyes to open and I spun around to face him. Gage was baffled but still smiling.
“I’m only taking care of you, Ellie,” he said, a smirk curling at his lips.
“I’m twenty-one. I don’t need a babysitter, Gage.”
“In here you do.” He looked around and I looked with him. I noticed then a few men licking their lips and staring straight at my ass. Fucking hounds. My glare twisted into disgust as I pushed past Gage. I wasn’t about to be an easy fix for anyone.
I wanted to call Ben and tell him to get me a driver so I could leave. Drinking was obviously a mistake. If the buses weren’t so far away, I would have walked to them. Unfortunately, I was stuck at this dumbass club with alcohol in my system. I wasn’t feeling myself and it was good and bad. Good because I finally got to dance and feel sort of free, but bad because it made me go through with things I wouldn’t do if I were sober.
I grabbed the handle of the door and went for one of the couches. As I dropped onto the cushion, Gage came strolling in. With each step he took, my heart banged against my chest. His liquid-hazel eyes never left mine.
He sighed, slouching down beside me. “I must have upset you.”
“I’m fine.” I inched away from him. He was too close.
“I thought you didn’t do the party and club thing?” I looked at him and his eyebrow had elevated.
“I don’t.”
“But you were dancing against Deed like a pro. That’s saying a little something.”
“Trust me, that’s new to me. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”
“It can happen,” Gage said, sliding in closer. “Just not with Deed—or anyone like him.”
“So you’re telling me what to do now?”
“No.”
I stilled as he slid in even closer. I couldn’t understand Gage. He was flirting with me, dancing with me, but he had a girlfriend. A hot girlfriend. “Well, then I can dance with whomever I like.”
“Did you enjoy dancing with me, Ellie?” he murmured. He touched my thigh and it was like a zap to my emotions—snapping me out of my stubbornness. Being next to him was making my stomach coil and my legs lock with pleasure. My nipples were tightening beneath my silky bra, causing less space for my breasts to breathe. Goodness, how is he doing this to me?
“The question is did you enjoy it?” I challenged.
He chuckled, pulling his hand away to rest his arm on top of the couch. He was still close; his chest was almost touching my side-boob. Yeah… pretty close.
“I know you felt that. I enjoyed it more than you think.”
I burst into a laugh. “Why?”
“Did I not mention before that I find you hot? Sexy? Getting a dance from you was one of the many things I wanted from my ‘what I’d like from Ellie’ list.”
“You have a list? What are the others?” I tempted. After I asked, I wasn’t so sure I wanted the answer, but it was the alcohol speaking. The blabbering mouth belonged to the Eliza who had vodka coursing through her veins.
“I’m sure if I were to mention the others, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. In fact, a bed and handcuffs would most likely be involved.”
“Handcuffs?” I laughed and he shook his head.
“You find that humorous?”
“Very.”
“Don’t tempt me, Ellie. All I need is your word and those handcuffs will be put to use one day.” He reached a hand up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. His other hand came down to run across my thigh. “All I need is for you to say yes, and I swear you won’t forget how good I made you feel.”
His fingers slipped between my legs. I tensed, the feeling unusual, but I didn’t push him away like I should have. He was extremely close to my womanhood—closer than anyone else had ever been, yet I didn’t feel bothered by it.
As I bit my bottom lip, Gage leaned forward and his hot breath trickled across my shoulders. I kept my gaze down, and he brought his free hand up to tilt my chin. We stared into one another’s eyes, and right then I wanted to jump on top of him and have him carry me to a damn bedroom, with handcuffs, for all I cared.
“The only thing is…” he whispered against my lips. They were close. Extremely close. What would it be like to place my lips against his? Would it live up to my expectations? I was sure it would. I’d imagined those lips against mine for a long time. “…I’m not sure if a virgin would be able to handle me.”
I finally blinked and he pulled his hand away. The moisture had built up within my panties and I didn’t even realize it. I was getting turned on for and by Gage. “How do you know I’m a virgin?” I asked quickly, putting all hormones aside.
“It’s obvious. You don’t drink. You’ve never danced on a dance floor before tonight. Signs of a virgin right there.”
“I could just be an undercover freak. I could’ve been lying just to get you stick around.”
He bellowed with laughter and I couldn’t help but laugh myself. I couldn’t believe I said that. “You’re funny, Ellie. Adorable. It’s part of the reason I shouldn’t mess around with you too much.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why shouldn’t you?”
He tilted his head, his lips sealed. The glass door opened and in came Montana and Roy. Roy stared at me longer than expected and then frowned. “Gage, you’re missing it. Chicks are revealing tits and shit out there, man!” Montana yelled, reaching for a glass of Jack Daniels. Roy grabbed a glass of water, which I found kind of odd. Montana downed his drink and as he slammed down his glass, his face pinched a little. “Good shit.” He sighed. “Come on, Gage. I need a wingman. Roy’s acting all bummed out and shit.”
Gage looked from Montana, who was making his way toward the door, to me again. “You’ll be okay in here, right?”
I wanted to shake my head. I didn’t want him to leave me alone with Roy, but just as Roy came to mind, he placed his glass down and stepped past Montana to get out of the VIP room. “Uh, yeah,” I said quickly. I couldn’t stop someone like Gage from doing what he normally did. I couldn’t even understand why he was asking if I was going to be okay. It’s not like he cared. “I think I’m just going to call Ben and tell him to call a ride for me or something. I’m kinda tired.”
Standing, Gage nodded and walked backward toward the door. “Great idea.”
“Come on, Gage! The ladies are getting antsy!”
With a wink at me, Gage turned around quickly and dashed out the door. I didn’t blink until he was completely out of sight. Sighing, I stood and took my phone out of my bra, dialed Ben’s number, and told him I was ready to go.
My ride arrived ten minutes later.
As I stepped out of the VIP room to get to the exit, I saw Montana and Gage on the middle of the dance floor with two girls who had to be drunk out of their minds dancing all up on them. The girl dancing with Gage turned around and, out of nowhere, kissed him a little too fiercely. I frowned as he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her in closer. I was certain he didn’t even know the girl, but he was kissing her back? What about Penelope? Was he really that disrespectful? I expected it from someone like Montana since he was single and had a careless demeanor about everything, but Gage? I guess I should have known.
The girl pulled away, giggling, and he laughed as he turned her around to start dancing with her again, smacking her ass a few times before bending her over to see more of her backside than anything else. Gage looked up and caught my eye as I tried to get through the crowd. I c
ouldn’t figure out why the hell I couldn’t look away. My feet were moving, but my eyes were glued on him. His gaze softened as he watched me for a few moments until finally he winked and I scowled at him, rushing for the door.
I was truly disgusted by what I saw, but I shouldn’t have expected anything less from someone like him—someone who made girls feel like they had no value. I was more than certain that in the morning he would dismiss the girl he was dancing with and make her feel like shit. If I thought whatever was brewing between us in the VIP room was real, I had to slap myself, because it was just him running his game and trying to win me over. He was aiming to score my panties and I admit he was fairly close. Had Montana and Roy not come into the room, I would have most likely given in, virgin or not.
I couldn’t have been more relieved we were interrupted.
WORDS
Ben said we were supposed to be hitting the road in a few minutes the next morning, but those minutes transitioned to an hour. During that time, I decided to get some sketching in. The sketching was different that day. It wasn’t the normal flower nearby or even a perfect drawing of my hand. It was a face… Gage’s face. I wasn’t sure why I drew him. Maybe it was because he haunted my dreams the night before. He kept popping up and I wanted so badly to wake up just to get rid of the thoughts of him.
After what I’d seen last night, I knew I had to stay away from Gage. It was going to be kind of hard to do since I was on the same tour as him and had to go backstage, but I could avoid it for a while. I didn’t have to attend every single show.
A knock came from my door and soon Ben stepped in. There was never a day he wasn’t dressed to impress—tan khakis and a button-up green shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows for a more casual look. His platinum hair was still parted in the middle but was wavier than the norm.
“Glad you’re up, button bottom,” he sighed. There’s been a minor problem with one of the buses.”
“What happened?”
“Well… it’s the FireNine tour bus. Something’s wrong with the engine—it’s why we’re running late,” he said, checking his watch. “The boys will have to stay on our bus until Saturday afternoon, when the new FireNine bus arrives in Florida.”