ElodieJax Turner, lead guitarist of Dionysus Rising: the biggest rock band in the world, loved me. I had heard the words, seen his lips form them, but it still didn’t quite compute in my head. Not even the ring he slipped into my palm seemed real. Even when I could see it nestling there — a thick, hammered band of silver. I couldn’t help myself, I kept staring down at it. If I’d had a hand free, I would have pinched myself.Jax fidgeted, moving from foot to foot awkwardly. “I know it's not…” Wildly, he looked over my shoulder to Dion, who still for some reason had his arms wrapped around my waist. “It's not much, and not you. I can get you something else.” He lunged forward, his hands reaching out to pluck the jewellery out of my hand. Closing my hand around it, I growled out a warning to him. “No.”Behind me, Dion laughed, his chest vibrating against my back.Jax arched one eyebrow. “No?” I could see the confusion on his face. He didn’t need to ask the question I could see formin
Dion The place was grimy. Bare brick walls had been painted black, no doubt to hide the filth and God knows what else had splattered up them over the years. It was as far removed from the lavish stadium tour we had finished six months ago as anything could get. And I loved it. Here I was in my element because it was in places like this that I could relax and truly be me. I didn’t have to put on any airs and graces. I didn’t have to be polite to every single adoring fan who demanded my time and attention. In bars like the Wooden Spoon, I could simply be Dion Granger. Fucked up rockstar extraordinaire. And I had fucked up a lot in the last six months. I was still messing up almost daily. Not that anyone said anything. Not since my manager had called me into his office and called me a fucking liability after not one, but two gigs pulled out of using me. My band mates had other, much less polite words for me, and I couldn’t blame them for a single one. I’d found my way to sober, with t
Lola It was nice being home alone. Not because I didn’t like Elodie, my roommate, because I did. She had given me somewhere to crash when everything had gone tits up with work and I’d found myself out on my ear, and for that I would be eternally grateful. Not to mention she was a cool woman, educated and fun to be around. We had become fast friends. And I loved living here. It was a damn sight better than living with Louis, my big brother. He would have happily taken me in, but the thought of staying at his, even as gorgeous as his home was, had filled me with dread. My brother was a player. He’d always been a player and joining Dionysus Rising had made him worse. I didn’t much fancy bumping into his endless stream of women. Plus, there was, of course, the little matter of his bandmates. Dionysus Rising. The thought of bumping into them, particularly a certain lead singer, was enough to make shivers run up my spine and goosebumps erupt over my arms. Even the memory of the way his
Dion “You look like a goddess, Isla.” In front of me, Tate bent down to kiss Isla’s pale cheek. She lifted her face to him with a tired sigh. Only this time, it was because she was actually tired and not because she was being a bitch. It was always hard to tell with Isla, though. The girl was an ice queen, if ice queens had sultry tans and dark flowing hair – which, according to the popular animated movie, they didn’t. But then sometimes even the big names got it wrong. Although if they had based their frosty heroine on Isla, the movie would have been very, very different. “I look and feel like shit.” A smile settled on her face. But it was forced. The kind of smile she gave to fans who were bothering her: a little indulgent but ultimately bored. Was that all we were to her now? Hangers on that she put up with but didn’t quite like? “Well, you don’t look it.” Tate stepped back, as if to make room for me to kiss her cheek, but I didn’t move. I studied her. She didn’t look like shit
Lola Dion had a son. A healthy baby boy. I shouldn’t have felt betrayed, but I did anyway. I knew it was a selfish thing to feel, but I was all for owning my feelings these days. As long as I could own them with a healthy gulp of red wine, of course. Subconsciously, I tipped the glass to my lips, and no more than a dribble hit my tongue. In utter shock, I had forgotten that I’d spilled the contents all over myself. I sobbed out loud. The grip I had on the glass slipped and it bounced off the carpet, sending blood red droplets spraying out. “Shit, shit, I’m sorry.” Scrambling down onto my knees, I rubbed at them. But that only made it worse. I raised wide, tear–filled eyes at my roommate. “I didn’t mean to. I’ll pay for it to be cleaned and...” “It’s wine, Lola. After my brother lived here, I doubt it's even close to the worst thing on this floor.” She lifted me under the armpits, the kind expression never leaving her face. “You want to talk about it?” Her golden flecked eyes search
Dion There was a glass of water by the bed which wasn’t mine. The sheets smelt fresh and there were tiny little daisies on the bedspread. I didn’t own anything like that. It was clearly a woman’s bed. With a groan, I rolled over to my side, my needy hands grabbing for the water. I’d felt rough more times than I wanted to admit, but it had been years since I had felt this bad. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, which actually felt like something had crawled inside and died. Gulping down the water, which was probably room temperature but felt like the clearest of spring waters against my furry tongue, I tried to remember what had happened last night. And came back blank. I remembered everything that had gone on with Isla, and I could recall stumbling into the first bar I had come across after leaving the hospital, and then... Nothing. Although I was pretty sure Jax and Tate had been with me for at least part of the night. Glancing around with the almost empty glass in my h
Lola “Lola.” Dion had the kind of velvety voice that made a woman’s panties wet, and I was no exception. Even as hungover as he was, he still oozed the kind of sex appeal that never quite made it to his pictures. He was all dark good looks and unbridled animalistic sexuality. Just the way he said my name in that breathy voice made something heat up inside of me. Turning around so I could do something, anything but look into his too beautiful face, I busied myself making the coffee. I didn’t bother asking him how he took it; I didn’t trust myself to speak just yet. But it occurred to me that I should probably have known how he took his coffee before thinking about marrying him. Without meaning to, I giggled. “Want to let me in on the joke?” Dion’s breath moved the hair at the back of my neck, and I shivered before I could help myself. “Lola?” “Stop saying my name like that, Dion.” Clanging the spoon against the edge of the cup, I felt him grimace behind me, so I did it again, loud
Dion Jax and Elodie left, and the moment they did, Lola started ignoring me and then continued to ignore me for the rest of the day. Hell, she didn’t just ignore me; she went out of her way not to be in the same room as me and it was driving me insane. Fair enough, we weren’t friends. I hadn’t known her before the night I had taken her to my bed, but that wasn’t from lack of trying on my part. I had wanted to get to know her, desperately. I’d asked her to marry me and even now when I knew how stupid that had been, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. Not really. What I had thought on the night of the Summit Awards still stood. Lola was good, and I needed that kind of goodness in my life. No, needed wasn’t the right word. It didn’t quite cover it. “Lola?” I said her name softly as I rapped on her closed bedroom door. She had been locked in there all day, only surfacing periodically to head to the kitchen before her door would close again with a dull click. Not waiting for her to an
Louis“Did you just call me a silly ass?”“Is that what you got from that?” Celia muttered. Her hands were still on my chest as she shook her head. Her cheeks flamed as she took a step back. My arms went around her instantly, pulling her back to me. “Yep.” I tightened my grip. “Not sure I heard the other part properly. Because I was pretty sure you said-”“I love you.”Something happened in my chest. It was something I had never felt before. Warmth spread through me and for a moment it was as if my heart seemed to stop beating. For a split second, I thought I might have just had some sort of heart attack, and then it gave one loud thudding beat.“You love me?” I wanted to check that I had heard her right. Celia didn’t say anything at first. But the pink that tinted her cheeks deepened to a blazing red. She turned her face away from me. I didn’t want her to do that. I never wanted her to look away from me. “That’s what I said.” Her face was growing redder and redder. It made me smi
CeliaAfter wiping my sweaty palms down my thighs, I raised my hand to knock. The door opened before my knuckles could make contact.“Hey, I saw you on the camera.” Erik's smile was as charming as I had ever seen it. He looked tanned and happy. “Come on in.” He opened the door wide. Stepping through, I glanced around. I’d been to his city pad so many times, fetching and carrying things for him, that it should have felt as familiar to me as my own home.Except it didn’t, not this time. This time it felt different. “Drink?” He carried on grinning at me. “I have white cooling. That's your favourite, isn't it?” He led the way through the spacious open-plan living room. And sure enough, a bottle of wine was cooling on the table by the window. He went over to it with hesitation, pouring me a glass before I could say a word.“Thanks.” My eyes swept across the view of the city below us and then fell on the table set for two. “But shouldn't you have waited until…?” I motioned to the table.
Louis“Dance with me, Louis.”Blearily, I lifted my eyes to meet Elodie’s. She was holding out her hand like she expected me to take it. I’d already danced with my sister out of duty, but I didn't want to dance with anyone else. Least of all Elodie who always had the uncanny ability to tell you exactly what you were thinking and feeling, even if you were avoiding it.Shaking my head, I went back to brooding. It was a new thing for me. Usually, I left the brooding to Jax or Dion. “Come on, Louis.” Reaching down, she wrapped her small hand around mine and pulled me to my feet. I swayed for a second. “It's a wedding, after all. Your sister's wedding. We should all be having fun.” She led me forward onto the dance floor. There were already some people dancing, but the space was relatively empty. It wouldn't be for long, though. Not with the way people were drinking. “I am having fun,” I grumbled.Laughing, she placed her hand on my shoulders. I let her lead. I didn't want to dance. Not
Celia“Are you even going to look at that?”With my fingers still buried in the fur of the cat on my lap, I lifted my eyes to Mia, who was curled up on the chair opposite me. “Celia?” she prompted when I didn't answer.“No. It’s probably Erik again.” I didn't need to check my phone to know it would be him. He had been blowing up my phone all day. Of course. Today was Lola and Dion's wedding. Things would have gone wrong, some emergency or something Erik had forgotten. Things that I wouldn't have overlooked. “You seriously mean to go through with this, don’t you? Quit your job?”I nodded.“Girl, you're crazy. The band is your life. Working with them is your dream and you're just going to throw it away?” Mia shook her head. Reaching across to grab my wine glass, I grimaced as the cat dug its claws in at the sudden movement. “Looks that way.”“What are you going to do for money?”“Absolutely no idea.” Shrugging, I poured myself another glass of wine. “Do you think maybe you should ha
Louis“You and Celia?”Whirling around, I came face to face with my sister. There was no hello. Not even a howdy. Just her shocked face as she stomped towards me. Running my hand through my hair, I looked down at my own bare feet. “Hello to you as well, little sister,” I mumbled.“Hi.” She hugged me quickly before holding me out at arm's length. “Now answer the question.”“What question?” I knew exactly what question, but I didn't want to answer it. Ever since I had woken up yesterday and Erik had told me she had gone, I had given up thinking about the band's blonde assistant. What good would it do?She was gone. It wasn’t like I could go after her. Not when my sister was about to get married. I needed to be here. With family. Not chasing after a girl who shared my bed but was in love with someone else. What we had: the fun, the sex, had been real. But that's all it had been: fun, sex. And that was all over now.“You and Celia?”I shrugged. She shrieked, drawing a quizzical look f
CeliaIt didn't feel fake anymore. It felt real.Real and new and exciting. And it had absolutely nothing to do with sex. Louis didn't act like this around women he’d had sex with. He was a ‘love them and leave them’ kind of guy, but he wasn't that way around me. Not that I thought for a second that he was in love with me, and I was pretty sure I wasn't falling in love with him. We were just having fun. Maybe this was exactly what I needed. Proof that other men out there found me attractive. Proof that I didn't need Erik. Except…part of me still wanted Erik. A small dwindling part, but it was there, buried deep. Which was all kinds of wrong, seeing as I was sharing my bed with someone else. And not just any someone else, either. Louis Michaelson was a panty-wetting god and somehow he had chosen me to spend time with.It was hard to wrap my head around.But it was true. The last few days had been a glorious mix of lingering looks and wild, passionate sex. The kind of holiday romanc
LouisGiving the sleeping form of Celia one last lingering look, I slipped out of the room and headed towards the beach. It wasn’t even dawn, but I needed to clear my head. What had happened between us last night had been incredible. Better than I had ever expected, but the intimacy… I ground my teeth together. The intimacy hadn't been what I was expecting. Not the sex itself, but what came afterwards. Holding Celia, talking to her until the small hours. That had all been new.New and scary as hell.And I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I liked her.For the first time in my man-whore life, I liked a woman, probably more than I should do. I sure as hell liked her more than she liked me, and I didn't even know when it had first happened. It had kind of just snuck up on me. Maybe because Celia had always been there. Hovering in the background. A familiar smiling face. A beautiful smiling face who was in love with someone else. I had known that when I had taken her to bed, so wh
CeliaWhy was I doing this? This was a terrible idea.A truly awful one.But I knew the answer. The reason I was doing this, taking this step with someone I worked with, was taking his shirt off and kneeling between my legs.Louis was the reason I was crossing the line. Not because of the hard washboard abs covered in tattoos that met my gaze, but because of who he was. There was a connection there. One that I wanted to explore a little. God, I was confused.I liked Louis. I really did, and I couldn’t deny the sexual chemistry between us. But-“Eyes open and on me, Celia.”My eyes snapped open. I hadn’t even realised I had closed them. Staring at him, I felt my mouth fall open. He stood there naked and, even though it wasn’t the first time I had seen him without clothes on, it felt like I was truly seeing him for the first time. Letting my eyes wander down his body, my lips parted further. He was exquisite. And not just because of the art that adorned him, either. There was a beaut
Louis“Celia?” I knew I had heard her right because it wasn't like her words could be construed as anything else. Not many things sounded like ‘I want you to take me to bed’. But I wanted to make sure. “Did you seriously just ask me that?” In answer, she curled herself into my chest. “You heard what I said, Louis. I know you did. I can see it in your eyes. Do I really need to repeat myself?”I wrapped my arms around her, holding her even closer. “Yeah, you kind of do.”Tilting her head up, her eyes sparkled with the moon shining over her. It would have been a romantic moment if she hadn't been asking me to fuck her. “I want you to take me to bed.” She said each word slowly, like I was an idiot and that's exactly what I felt like.A damn idiot. Because I didn't know what was happening. What had changed in Celia's world so much that she was now into me for real?“Celia…” My lips pursed as I blew out a breath.“Or here. I've not done it on the beach before. ““Damn it, Celia.” Stepping