Jealous God 6

Jax

I had no idea whether Elodie got back in time to watch us play. I didn’t see her before or after the gig. In fact, I didn’t see her at all until we had reached the after party. As always, the club was heaving, and it took several attempts before the crowd parted enough for our security guys to lead us through and up to the VIP section. 

That’s when I saw her. Not that I recognised her at first.

All I saw was Erik talking to a curvy brunette in a black dress. 

“Who is that with Erik?” I asked no one in particular, because even from the back the woman he was talking to was interesting. Even as I watched, Erik’s hand came down to rest on the small of her back, leading her further into the darkened room. Heads turned as they passed. All of them male. And all of them were interested in whoever it was that Erik was leading back towards the bar.

Next to me, Louis shot me a look that told me he thought I was the dumbest piece of shit on the planet, but he didn’t say anything as we followed after them. 

“Hey.” Taking the lead, Louis sidled up next to them, bending down to press his lips to the woman’s cheek like he knew her and they were friendly. Hell, everyone was acting like she was an old friend. And I had no idea who she was. 

“Hey Louis, you were great tonight.”

I did a double take as Elodie’s voice washed over me. 

“You as well, Jax. You all really killed it tonight.”

Speechless, I let my mouth hang open. It was Elodie. The voice was the same, the face that she lifted up to me was as well. Although she was wearing more makeup than I had thought possible. Even the black dress, that from the back I had assumed was a simple black number, was a shock. Mostly because it seemed to be made of more transparent panels that showed ample amounts of naked skin than anything else. 

I whistled through my teeth before I could help myself. My eyes darted to the fleshy globes that had been hoisted up to spill over against the gauzy material. I couldn’t help myself. 

“Put your tongue back in your head, you animal.” Dion’s friendly shoulder bump brought me back to reality with a bump, and I snapped my teeth together. He was right of course. I had been staring at her like a panting dog. 

It wasn’t even that she looked like a totally different person. She was Elodie, but darker, sexier. Somehow, she looked more dangerous. 

“New dress?” Again, I let my eyes wander over her. Never in a million years did I think she had something like that stuffed in her case. 

“Yeah, I took a little shopping trip today once I realised I had absolutely nothing that was appropriate for hanging around with rock gods. I wouldn’t want to come across as stuck up.” She winked, and I did a double take. It was probably a coincidence, but it didn’t feel like it. It felt like she had overheard my conversation last night. The one I’d had with Dion. I threw him a glance, but he was too busy talking to the others. They were all busy, chatting and laughing, and not one of them was paying us any attention. 

“Yeah, well, that’s def...” I scrambled for the right words, because I sure as hell couldn’t say the words that had popped into my head. That she looked stunning, that I wanted to peel that skin tight material from her body and lick every inch of her tanned skin. “Well, a dress to remember,” I finished off lamely. Not that I was lying about that. It was a dress every guy in the place would remember, myself included. “Any rockstar would be lucky to have you on his arm.”

Too late, I realised what I had said. She froze, and then a flashy smile flickered across her face. “Good to know. If I am ever interested in being the arm candy of a rockstar, I’ll wear it.” She smiled again, but instead of looking at me, she let her eyes travel the room. I followed her gaze to where it fell, or more specifically, to who it fell on.

“You have a thing for bikers, huh?”

Elodie did a double take and then shook her head with a small smile. “God, no.”

I didn’t believe her; I had seen firsthand the look that passed between them across the room. “Doesn’t look like it, Goldilocks. The look you’re giving him is so heated I’m surprised you’re not climbing him like a tree.” My voice was ragged, angrier than I meant for it to be. I didn’t know why it bothered me watching her smile at him, but it did. “The big bike between your thighs get you going today?” I stepped into her space, my fingers brushing against her hip. She didn’t pull away. Instead, her chin tilted up until she was looking me straight in the eye. 

“I do like powerful things between my thighs,” she whispered, and at first, I thought I had misheard. Swallowing hard, I re-evaluated everything I thought I knew about her. This Elodie differed totally from the one I had met only a couple of days before. 

God, was it only that long? It felt like she had been with us so much longer already. Was it possible that my first impressions were wrong about her?

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, that's right, but I don’t date bikers.” Slowly, she stepped back, so my fingers slid off her hip and fell back to my side. “Or rockstars.”

“And who do you allow between your thighs, Elodie?”

“Men.” She didn’t blink as she stared up at me. “Men with their shit together. Powerful men and not boys playing at being them.” She turned on her skyscraper heels and dismissed me with a flick of her golden flecked eyes. Her hand settled on my band manager's elbow. “Hi Erik.”

***

“For someone who doesn’t like her, you sure seem to be eye fucking her tonight.” Dion flopped down next to me, dropping the closed bottle of water onto the table next to us. 

My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline. Dion Granger drinking water? Where was the beer, the line of shots and the endless women?

“You’re not drinking?” I answered his question with one of my own. Or maybe his wasn’t a question at all. Maybe it was more a statement of fact. I hadn’t been able to take my eyes from Elodie all night, not since she had got in the not-so-subtle dig that Erik was more her type than I would ever be. And it had been a dig. She may as well have told me to fuck off and be done with it. 

It was kind of cute that she thought I was interested in her, anyway. 

Except I sort of was interested, more so than I wanted to admit. And watching her dancing, her body undulating seductively for hours, just went to prove that fact. 

“Not tonight.”

“Because Elodie says you can’t?” My voice was bitter, and I didn’t know why. Elodie was there to do a job and get Dion back on the straight and narrow. So I had no idea why him not drinking was making me so mad. She was obviously good at her job. I should be happy, and yet watching her dancing around with Tate and Louis, her lithe body trapped between both of theirs, was making me twitchy and irritable. And I was taking it out on Dion. Partly because he was there but mostly because Elodie being there seemed to be changing everything, especially the dynamics I was used to. Of course, I wanted Dion to get help. I wanted him better and back to the man I loved like a brother, but I also wanted my wingman. More so tonight than any other, because Elodie was doing a number on my head. 

“No, because she’s made me realise that I don’t have to, that I have a choice.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Like you have a choice right now.”

“Yeah, well, I’m choosing to drink.” I downed the tequila in my glass to prove my point. “Sorry.” Too late, I realised how much of a knob I was being. Here he was trying to get sober, and I was necking shots like they were water. Dion shook his head, waving away my apology. 

“Not talking about the drinking, Jax. I’m saying you have a choice when it comes to her.” His chin jutted towards the dance floor below us where Elodie was now dancing with someone else. Someone I didn’t know. Some punk in a suit. 

Some punk who was exactly her type, supposedly.

“You could go down and ask her to dance. It’s pretty clear you want to.”

Did I want to dance with her? I wanted to do something with her, that much was clear, but dance?

“She seems happy enough dancing with...” I waved my hand absently in front of me, “the dick in the suit.”

Throwing back his head, Dion laughed. “You’re gonna fight this every step of the way, aren’t you?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, brother.” My eyes not straying from Elodie, I motioned with my hand. Instantly, one of the bikers who ran security was at my side. My whispered request was met with stony silence, but he moved away and through the crowd anyway, leaving me with Dion, who was laughing like this was the funniest thing he had witnessed in his life. 

I ignored him.

“I can’t believe you did that.” Shaking his head, Dion joined me in leaning forward, both of us watching Elodie’s reaction as the burly biker slid into her space, literally putting his body between hers and the man who was getting far too close for comfort. There was some motioning of hands, mostly hers.

And then she looked straight up at us. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and even from across the dance floor, I could see how pissed off she looked.

“Uh oh.” Dion climbed to his feet. “She does not look happy with you.”

“What do you mean with me? Hey, where are you going?”

In answer, he shot me the finger with a laugh. “Oh, I’m not staying, Jax, you can deal with that particular tornado all by yourself.”