Page 4 of Jealous God
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.
* * *
Sleepingin 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.
