by Elin Peer
“Is it helping?” Solomon asked, his eyes making my skin burn. My vanity stirred as I remembered him smiling at Salma so I kept my current stretch a little longer, knowing that my cleavage would be visible from his position.
Not so invisible now, am I?
“It helps a little.” I turned around on my knees with my chest to the floor and my hands stretched out in front of me. It was no coincidence that I made sure to position myself with Solo directly behind me. He had always had a thing for my behind. Now he could see what he’d lost and blame himself for it.
A quick glimpse in the mirror confirmed that Solo’s eyes were fixed on the back part of me. His forehead glinted with perspiration and he was rubbing his hands on his knees as if his palms were sweaty.
“I need a massage,” I repeated and still with my behind in the air, I craned my neck. “Solo.”
He swallowed hard and gave a grunt to signal he’d heard me.
“Would you mind massaging my thigh? You’re strong, I’ll bet you could ease the pain.”
At first he looked stunned, then his eyebrows lowered and anger washed in like a dark cloud forewarning of a thunderstorm. “I can’t believe you’d be that cruel.”
I turned around to sit on the floor. “How is that cruel?”
Solomon got up from the floor. “It’s a fucking trap is what it is. The minute I touch you, I’m dead. You’re trying to set me up.” He took a step closer, his voice shaky. “You knew that you couldn’t prove that I touched you the last time we were in here. The cameras would have proven I never laid a hand on you. That’s why you lured me back in here and now you’re trying to get me to come over and touch you in an inappropriate way. You’re fucking trying to get me killed.”
I got up from the floor too and stood in front of him. “Solo, that’s not true. I would never do that.”
When I took a step forward he moved back and hissed, “Don’t you come closer.”
“Solo.” I hated the guarded expression on his face; it was like I was an animal with claws that might attack him at any point.
“I’m not trying to get you killed.”
His eyes were narrowed and he looked ready to run if I so much as leaned forward.
“This is ridiculous. We’re trapped on this tour together and we should be able to be adults about it. How about we make a truce?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. You’re up to something.”
“No, I’m not, Solo. I was just asking for your help massaging my leg.” It had been a stupid idea and I was mad at myself for suggesting it. It felt especially humiliating with the way he rejected me by spewing angry accusations at me.
“Well, that’s not fucking happening. How stupid do you think I am?” His nostrils were flaring and there was distrust in his eyes.
His harsh words reignited my own anger and my petty need for revenge. “Fine.” I walked towards the door. “If you don’t want to help me, I’ll find someone who does.” Opening the door, I leaned out and called to the three policemen guarding the entrance to the hotel. “I need some help, please.”
They all looked up and one of them came over.
“Hi, what’s your name again?” I asked the man, who was in his early forties with long brown hair and a beard that was showing a few gray whiskers.
“I’m Cameron.”
“Hey, Cameron, I’m having a problem with a sore muscle in my thigh and I need someone to massage it.”
I was standing in the doorway with Solomon behind me inside the gym and Cameron right in front of me in the hallway.
“Maybe the hotel could make an appointment for massage later,” Cameron suggested.
“Or maybe you could help me. Are you good at giving massages?”
Cameron blinked a few times, his eyes going down to my thighs and a smile growing on his lips. “Are you asking me to touch you?”
“Yes.”
He looked back to his colleagues with a wide smile. “The dancer needs me to give her a massage.”
“You can’t touch her,” one of them warned him.
“He can if I allow it,” I called back. “You’re the witnesses. I give my permission for Cameron to massage my right thigh.”
They gaped at me and then looked at him like he’d just won a new drone.
“Willow.” Solomon moved in from behind me.
I ignored him.
“Willow, look at me.”
I turned. “What?”
“You’re not serious.”
“I am. Cameron will help me, won’t you, Cameron?”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
Solomon’s foot was tapping, his hands were on his hips, and his jaws were pressed firmly together. “And you think Tristan will be okay with another man touching you?”
Oh, shoot, I’d forgotten that Solomon still believed that Tristan and I were together. I improvised. “Don’t forget that Tristan for the most part grew up in the Motherlands like me. We’re not possessive by nature like you are.”
Solomon took another step closer. “I’m not letting anyone touch you.”
Our eyes clashed and I lifted my chin. “You don’t have a say.”
Solomon’s jaw was set in a stubborn expression and pointing at Cameron, he threatened, “Don’t fucking touch her. I’m calling her fiancé.”
Wrinkling my nose up, I spoke in an offended tone. “Don’t you dare. I make my own decisions.”
Solomon was already touching his wristband and I closed my eyes when a few seconds later, I heard Tristan’s drowsy voice answering the call.
“Tristan, it’s me, Solo.”
“Solo, how did you get my number?” he asked.
“It’s the same number you had when we were seventeen.”
He yawned. “Why are you calling me at five in the morning?”
“I’m with Willow.”
“You’re what?” Tristan’s voice grew high-pitched. “Are you two back together?”
“No.” Solomon frowned. “I know she’s with you now.”
“That’s right. Ehhm, so don’t get any ideas.”
My shoulders relaxed a little and I sent a thought of gratitude to Tristan for covering for me.
“Willow is hurt. It’s just something in her thigh that’s giving her grief, but she’s asking me to help her by massaging her.”
“Hey, she was asking me,” Cameron sputtered from outside the door but he was ignored by Solomon.
“Tristan, would you be okay with me touching Willow?”
“Fuck no! You keep your hands to yourself.”
Solomon gave me a “told you so” look and scratched his neck. “When will you be here?”
“Ehh, I’m not sure. I’ve got a deadline but Willow and I are trying to figure it out.”
It was a complete lie since I hadn’t talked to him since I left the reunion.
Solo looked straight past me to Cameron. “I’ll make sure no one touches her in the meantime.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Do you want to talk to Willow? She can hear you.”
“Oh, okay. Hey gorgeous.”
I played along. “Hey… babe. I’ll call you later, okay?” Geez, that sounded so fake.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong with your leg?”
“Oh, you know it’s that stabbing pain I was telling you about.” I only said it to make Solomon think Tristan and I spoke all the time.
“Right. Do you want me to come and massage it for you?”
The way a vein on Solomon’s neck popped out and he looked down fed my ugly vindictive side. “Would you? I really miss you a lot.”
Tristan cleared his throat. “I miss you too. All the time. Just send me the address, all right?”
“Will do.”
Solomon disconnected the call and walked past me, stopping right in front of Cameron. There was a low growl in the back of Solomon’s throat when he squared his shoulders. Cameron, who looked rough with large tattoos up his neck, took a
small step back, gave me a last look, and then returned to his post by the entrance.
“So what am I supposed to do with this pain?” I asked Solomon with annoyance.
“Don’t you have some painkillers?”
“No.”
“Then use ice, a warm bath, or massage it yourself.”
I inhaled deeply, not happy with his controlling things. “As always, you’re being a domineering pest.”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure Tristan will make the pain go away once he gets here.” Solomon’s voice was gruff and I noticed there was a tic by his left eye.
Feeling pissed at him, I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, Tristan has nice strong hands.”
Solomon stared at me, his neck growing redder by the second.
“What?” I asked and threw my hands in the air with an attitude worthy of a Northlander.
“Nothing!” He waved a hand at the lift. “Can we go back up now?”
With a pout, I moved in that direction. “I guess we might as well.”
It was five thirty when we returned to the fifth floor. Solomon walked behind me and when I stopped by my door, he stopped too, still keeping his distance.
“What if I got hurt?” I asked.
Solomon exhaled noisily as if preparing for another round of my nonsense.
“I mean what if I had twisted an ankle at the gym. Would you have helped me to my feet? Carried me to my room?”
“You didn’t!”
“No, I know.” I tilted my head. “I just don’t see how you can do your job if you’re unwilling to touch me in case I get hurt.”
“You won’t get hurt with me around.”
“Oh, but you said that I wasn’t your responsibility, remember? You’re only here for Salma.”
Solomon looked down and rubbed his forehead. “Willow, what is this? What do you want from me?”
I want you to see me, a voice screamed from my insides but I didn’t say that.
“I want you to respect that I make my own decisions. If I say Cameron can touch me, you don’t get to call Tristan and overrule me.”
“It was Tristan who overruled you. Not me.”
“Who called Tristan? Huh? As if I’m unable to think for myself.”
Solomon had been so controlled, but my last comment was like a trigger to him and he hissed, “Maybe you can’t think for yourself. Maybe you were fucking brainwashed in that place of reflection that they took you to.”
I jerked back, surprised by the intensity in his voice and the pain in his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you think you would have risked your life for me if what we had together was so bad? Do you really think I would ever try to hurt you intentionally?”
“I never said you did it intentionally.”
His comeback came fast and harsh. “They fucking turned you against me. You swore no one would ever come between us, but you lied.”
“Oh, don’t you turn this on me. You’re the one who is out of your mind,” I hissed low at him, stabbing my finger through the air and taking a step closer. “You’re the one who convinced a fifteen-year-old girl to run away with you. It was reckless and irresponsible, and you’d better admit that.”
“I don’t need to admit shit. I already apologized. You on the other hand have been fucking brainwashed and you don’t even know it.” Solomon had fire in his eyes and he stood his ground when my poking finger stabbed his chest.
“That’s ridiculous. I’m a grown-up who has had plenty of time to reflect on what happened. I have every right to be furious with you.” My head was leaning back and I looked into his eyes as my tongue whipped him. And then something changed. Solo’s eyes widened and he sucked in a breath.
“What?” It took me a second to realize that the hand with my stabbing finger was now resting on his chest, but the moment I did, I jerked it back. “You know I’m kinesthetic. Touch is natural to me. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
I should move back.
He should move back.
And yet neither of us moved a muscle. We just stood opposite each other, his chest rising and falling fast, my head spinning.
“To you.”
“Excuse me?” I blinked my eyes – unsure what he was referring to.
“Touch doesn’t mean anything to you.”
“I’ve touched you a million times. It was just a hand on your chest.” I wanted my words to sound assertive and nonchalant, but I had to look away or he would see the conflicting emotions in my eyes.
“You should go inside your room now.”
Why does his tone sound almost like a warning?
Looking down, I saw his hands formed into fists and his body rigid and tense.
“You can’t wait to get rid of me, can you?”
He didn’t answer but moved past me to the suite he shared with the others. “Go inside, Willow.”
“Stop ordering me around,” I answered, but by then he’d already closed the door behind him, making me feel like a big idiot.
CHAPTER 15
Tristan and Hunter
Solomon
The confrontation was inevitable.
The moment Tristan found out I was part of the security team, he told Hunter and by evening, the two of them showed up demanding that I be removed.
“I’m not letting my sister be part of this tour if he’s here,” Hunter threatened Ben, who called in Leo.
We had moved to the city of Whiteriver and were currently behind the stage that had been built for this event. No theater in town was big enough to host the amount of men interested in going. The solution had been to create an outdoor venue with the audience sitting on a sloping hill, while the stage was crafted below it.
“We have more than a thousand people waiting for the show to begin. Can’t we deal with this later?” Ben asked in a diplomatic tone of voice.
Hunter looked over Ben’s shoulder to Willow. She was standing some distance apart from us with Salma, who seemed scared of the raised voices. “You don’t understand. Solo already kidnapped my sister once. I’m not fucking letting him near her again.”
Ben’s eyes expanded and he raised both hands to his chest, turning to me. “Is that true?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course not.”
“Liar.” Hunter flew at me, shoving me back with two hands to my chest. It released an explosion of testosterone in my brain and I pushed back hard enough to make Hunter fall.
“Whoa, whoa,” Leo stepped in front of me and Zasquash pulled Hunter back up.
“Your sister is under my protection.” Zasquash placed a palm on Hunter’s chest, using his body as a wall to stop Hunter from getting to me. “Look at me. That’s right. My name is Zasquash and I’m here to protect Willow, Salma, and the others. You have my word that Solo won’t mess with Willow.”
“You don’t know him!” Hunter hissed.
“Actually, I do. We’re both on the Doom Squad; I’m his partner.”
Hunter twisted his face.
“That’s right. Not my choice either, but hey, we make it work.”
I frowned. What the hell – Zas and I were best friends and now he was taking Hunter’s side.
Ben raised his voice a little and for a Motlander he looked very upset. “Gentlemen, I’ll have to ask you to lower your voices. You’re scaring our performers and they have to go on stage in a few minutes. This is unacceptable.”
We all looked over to Salma, who stood with her face on Willow’s shoulder. Willow was sending me dirty looks, but I wasn’t the one causing the trouble and she bloody well knew it.
“I’ll calm her down,” Tristan said and walked over to the women. I had no doubt he could do it. Tristan had always been charming and fun, with a natural gift of making people relax around him. With me it was the opposite and that was the fucking curse. My job was to fight for women in the Northlands and make them feel secure, but the one woman I wanted to protect most of all didn’t feel safe with me. She wanted Tristan. My heart was still hammer
ing from Hunter’s attack, but I jerked away from Leo, who was still watching me.
Zasquash had managed to calm Hunter down a little. “How about we go over to watch the show from the other side? You’ll be able to see it from a side angle. Your sister is phenomenal, but I’ll bet you already know that.”
Hunter licked his chapped lips and relaxed his stance a little. “Yeah, okay.”
As on the night before, the choir were the first to enter the scene. They had kept far away from the backstage drama and had big smiles plastered on their faces. Members of the orchestra hung around on the other side of the stage from where I stood. Some of them moved to the side when Zasquash and Hunter joined them to see the show from that side wing.
“Hello.” One of the females gave a nervous smile to Hunter and quickly looked down. It softened him a bit and he returned her greeting. Zasquash made some kind of joke that I had no way of hearing from my position on the other side of backstage, but I could tell that the pretty musician smiled.
Ben had gone to help Tristan calm down Salma Rose.
“So you kidnapped Willow, huh?” Leo gave me a sharp look.
“Don’t be stupid. I wouldn’t be alive if I had kidnapped her.”
“Hunter seems to think that you did.”
“We ran away together. Willow wanted it as much as me.”
“Look, just answer me this: can you do your job or are you too distracted?”
I snorted, offended. “Have I ever not done my job?”
“No. But this situation is different and you know it.”
“I’m following orders, that’s all.”
Leo gave me a long scrutinizing glance. “Tell me I have nothing to worry about.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” I fixed my eyes on the choir on the stage. “Tristan is here now. He’ll take care of Willow. I’m going to focus on Salma.”
“What’s the deal with Willow and Tristan anyway? Are they married?”
“Not yet.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I don’t know.”
Leo crossed his arms. “What kind of man doesn’t seal the deal right away?”