Page 33 of Jealous God
“She’s not married to anyone.”
“So, who the fuck is this…?”
He cut me off. “You need to ask her, Jax. If she wants you to know about her past, she will tell you. Now can we get on?”
NINETEEN
Jax
The show went without a hitch. I didn’t miss my cues this time, and that was partly because I knew Elodie was waiting in the wings for us, or more specifically me. I hadn’t even realised how much I missed her presence at shows when she wasn’t there. Not until recently. So, before I had gone on stage, I had added a little extra to our pre show kissing ritual. Everyone else got my lips on them, sure, but only Elodie got my tongue in her mouth.
She was my woman, after all.
It was a strange thing, how quickly I had fallen into thinking of her as mine. It wasn’t exactly something we had discussed, and it sure as hell wasn’t normal for me. We had spent a grand total of one night in each other’s arms. A night of unbridled passion, sure, but not enough for me to think of this whole thing as a relationship. Yet that was exactly what I was doing. I had no idea how long it would last. I was known for getting bored quickly after all, but for the time being I was more than happy to see how things played out between us.
This whole thing with The Savage Sons was worrying, but not enough for me to actually stop things with her. Erik was right about that. She would tell me in her own time. As long as she wasn’t married or, heaven forbid,sleepingwith one of them, I didn’t much care what she had got up to previously. After all, we all had a past. I couldn’t throw stones when mine were so colourful.
“Hey baby.” Ignoring Erik and the others that were waiting backstage for us, I reached for her, using her hips to pull her into me. “Missed me?”
She didn’t pull away; her arms came up around my neck as she tilted her face up to meet my lips. I laid one on her in front of everyone, ignoring the cat calling and jeering that erupted from the band. They might tease us, but I knew they were happy for us at the same time. They all liked Elodie, maybe even more than they liked me. They sure as hell would be pissed at me if I broke her heart. It was a sobering thought. But I pushed it away. I didn’t have to worry about breaking Elodie’s heart because we both understood what this was. We were adults who realised that this kind of instant attraction and lust usually fizzled out.
“You played so well today. Best I’ve ever heard.”
I beamed down at her, but the happiness was short-lived as Dion cleared his throat loudly behind us. Elodie whirled in my arms, her cheeks flaming red as she stammered. “I mean, you all played well, it was..”
He plucked her out of my arms, spinning her around to bear hug her. “We know what you mean, Eli.” He tucked her under his arm, giving me a smirk that I wanted to wipe off his face instantly. I would have to get used to it though. Now they all knew I had a thing for her, they would all flirt with her and rub my face in it. If I were a jealous man, it might have bothered me, but the truth was I had done a lot worse to all of them in the past.
“So, what happens now?” Elodie’s head came to rest on Dion’s shoulder. It was a friendly action, no sexual tension that I could see, but a spark of jealousy erupted in me, anyway. Maybe I was the jealous type after all.
“Party or club?”
“Neither.” Erik handed me a bottle of water, and I took it thankfully. I had been so preoccupied with laying my lips on Elodie that I had barely felt how parched I was.
“Road trip.” Tate fist bumped the air, his muscles bunching and his long hair falling into his face.
“Road trip?” Elodie raised an eyebrow in my direction, and I grinned at her.
“Yeah, road trip to Miami. It’s the best part of the whole damn tour!” Tate was as excited as a puppy. A very large, overgrown one. But I had to agree with him. We all loved the few days on the road from New York to Miami. Not because it was exciting, mostly because it wasn’t.
“That’s...” Elodie’s brow furrowed as she tried to figure out just how far it was. “A long way. A very long way,” she finally managed.
“Two days with a couple of short stops,” Erik said smoothly. As always, he was the voice of reason. The voice that brought us back down to earth. But I knew him well enough to know he was just as excited as the rest of us. “But we will have a decent stop since we don’t need to be in the city for five days and there’s—”
Curling my hand around Elodie’s hand, I pulled her back to my chest. That was more than long enough for her to be in Dion’s instead of mine. “Surfing. You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but Erik likes to surf.”
Elodie’s look of surprise made everyone laugh. “You surf?” She didn’t even try to keep the shock out of her voice.
Erik bristled. “Yeah, well, not so much anymore.”
“Erik was full on surfer dude when we met him. I don’t think he even owned anything but board shorts and—”
“Shut up, Dion, otherwise I’ll start telling stories about you and, unlike you, I have photos to prove it.”
“So, why Miami? Why do you end all your tours there? Do you just like it or…?”
I tightened my arm around her shoulders. “Oh, there’s a story there alright. But I’ll let Erik tell you about it.”
The smallest of smiles played across Elodie’s features. “Oh, that sounds juicy.”
