Jealous God 2

Elodie

Jax Turner had just seen my tit. Sure, I had scooped the wayward appendage back in as quickly as it had popped out, but I knew he had seen. I had plainly seen the flash of interest in his eyes. There was surprise as well, which made no sense. Surely, he had been told to expect me?

“You’re not Dion,” I mumbled. Sleep was taking too long to leave me, and it was making me dumb. “They told me this was Dion’s bus.”

His eye roll was epic. Clearly something he had perfected over the years.

“Up ya get, Goldilocks,” he said again, and this time my hand went to my hair, tugging the tangled curls into what I hoped was some kind of order. Without a mirror, I was facing a losing battle, but I had to try, because this was not how I wanted my first meeting with my new employers to be. “Dion isn’t here, and even if he was, he wouldn’t thank you for sneaking in and taking your clothes off.” The corner of Jax's mouth twitched. “Well, maybe in the past he would have, but not tonight. Maybe try one of the other buses. He isn’t here, and I am too tired.” He gave a shrug. 

It took me maybe ten whole seconds for his words to make sense. 

He thought I was some random girl that had snuck onto their bus in the hopes of being bedded by the infamous Dion Granger. And he didn’t even seem that surprised by it. Almost like this was an everyday occurrence, and maybe it was. 

What the hell did I know about being a rockstar?

Maybe they found people asleep in their beds all the damn time. 

“I’m not...” Swinging my legs out of the bed, I glared at him. I knew what it looked like, fair enough, but surely I didn’t give off that kind of impression? Or maybe I did. Again, what the hell did I know about the women who threw themselves at Dionysus Rising? “It's not what it looks like.”

“Sure, it’s not, Goldilocks.” 

There he went again with that stupid nickname when my hair was about as far from golden as it could get. I scowled. “Stop calling me that, my name is…”

He shrugged. “I don’t much care what your name is, Goldilocks.” He stressed the last word, his eyes daring me to argue back. 

And I wanted to. But I also needed to remember that he was, in essence, one of my new bosses. “You won’t get any action in here tonight. Try with the crew. You blow one of them well enough, I’m sure they will let you backstage or something tomorrow.”

My hand flew back before I could stop myself, but he caught my wrist easily enough. His fingers were tight but not cruel as he yanked me off the bunk and onto my feet. And standing, I was at a disadvantage. Jax towered over my shorter frame. 

“How dare you!”

His eyes blazed, the dark eyebrows knitting together as he surveyed me, but he didn’t let go of my wrist. He just held it there, half above my head. Cocking his head to the side, Jax’s next words were a barely heard whisper. “How dare I? You’re the one who broke in here, and you’re the one who went to assault me. Love, you’re lucky I didn’t put you on your ass.” 

He dropped my arm like it was a rock. “If you didn’t have such pretty tits, then I might have.” His eyes dropped to my chest and my arms moved up to cover my body before I could help myself. 

“Get out before I forget I’m a gentleman.” Like he was bored with the conversation, he turned his back. And that just made me splutter even more. 

A gentleman? Jax Turner was many things, and none of them were even close to a gentleman. I should know. I had been around men like him my entire life.

“Fuck you.” Everyone always said that my smart mouth would get me into trouble one day, and I was willing to put money on that day being today. Two simple words and I had probably lost my job, and I needed this job. Not because it was what I wanted to be doing with my life. I wanted to help people who needed it, who wanted it, and not some loser who probably had more white powder up his nose than brain cells in his head. But money was tight. And it was only a few weeks. 

Or so I had been told. I was starting to doubt everything I had been told about this assignment, to be honest. 

“Oh, sweetie, isn’t that why you are here?” Jax chuckled, his wide shoulders under the black tee moving with the force of it. “But not tonight.” Again he took my arm, guiding me towards the door of the bus.

“I’m going, asshole, but can’t I at least get dressed?” Wildly, I looked around for my jeans and shirt. 

“Here.” He gathered them up, bundling them into my arms and giving me the smallest push out the door. “Night, night, Goldilocks. Don’t let me see you on my bus again.”

The night air was warm, but I shivered. Who the hell did that? What kind of man would toss a woman out in her underwear without even letting her get dressed? What kind of asshole? 

Thrusting my bare feet into my jeans, I heaved them up over my hips.

Oh yeah, I knew what kind of asshole.

One called Jax Turner.

***

Sleeping in my car was hell, but it was better than the alternative of knocking on tour bus doors until I found the man who had actually employed me. Erik was in for an earful when I finally got to see him. Of course, the current crick in my neck wasn’t technically his fault. I hadn’t thought about asking for him when I had tuned up last night. I was there to help Dion, so he was the one I had asked for. 

I should have known better.

In the future, I would know better. If, of course, I still had a job. And I bloody hoped that I did because I had paid for the flights out of my own pocket on the promise that Erik would reimburse me when I got there. And he would reimburse me, otherwise my brother would have something to say about it. Not that I went back to my brother with my problems all that often. There was a reason I had left the club life behind me as soon as I had a chance. 

Although chance was maybe the wrong term. Death had given me my freedom, not chance. The death of someone I loved. Someone I idolised. His mistakes, his whole lifestyle, had put me on the path I was on today. It had put my other brother on one as well, and for a time I hoped that he would get away. But he was back in now. Deeper than ever. It was a scary thought. And one that I didn’t dare dwell on. 

I refused to dwell on the fact I could lose another brother the same way I had the first. 

Pushing the thoughts away, I glanced at my reflection in the small mirror in my hand and groaned. Sleeping in my car, even for a few hours, wasn’t exactly good for beauty sleep. But at least my skin was blemish free. I was lucky it was still slightly tanned with a scattering of freckles across my nose that made me look mildly healthy. They were faint now, but I knew from experience that a few hours in the sun would see them bloom. I looked acceptable, and that would have to do when my main suitcase was still in the asshole’s tour bus. Hell would freeze over before I went and asked for it back. 

Digging in my hand luggage, I pulled out the essentials. Comb, mascara and lipstick. That was a real start. The comb alone would make a massive improvement to my overall appearance. Clothes might be a problem though. Especially as I wanted to make a good impression and keep my job after almost hitting one of the band. Delving my hand down deeper, my fingers brushed something hard and pointy. 

Heels.

I had forgotten in all the drama that I had changed at the airport before my flight. My office attire was still in there. Yanking it out, I brought it to my nose. And came away offended. 

Gross.

But it would have to do. 

Shimmying out of my jeans, I pulled the tight pencil skirt over my bare legs. The blouse would not do. It was wrinkled beyond repair. And I refused to go into my first meeting with a new employer looking like I was wearing yesterday’s clothes, even though that’s what I was doing. 

At a loss, I stared out of the passenger window and straight into Erik’s blue eyes. There were coffee cups in his hands and a smile on his face.

“Do I even want to know?” He asked as I opened the door to speak to him. There was no hello, no time for pleasantries in Erik’s busy day, or so I had been told. 

I shook my head. “Probably best if you don’t.” Eyeing the coffee hungrily, my stomach rumbled. 

The noise was loud enough to cause Erik’s lips to twitch. “There’s more coming, don’t worry, but this lot is for Dion.” For a second, he looked guilty. “Come and join us when you are ready.” He pointed to the bus behind the one I had been kicked out of last night. 

Wasn’t that just my luck? I had been so close. So, fucking, close.

“I’ll be five minutes.” I grinned my most winning smile. 

Whatever had happened last night would be relegated to the past. It had to be. I was a professional, after all.