Page 41 of Jealous God
I shook his hand off. What was it with everyone prying into my personal business? Sure, it was strange for them, I got that, but what happened between me and Elodie was...between me and Elodie.
“It’s none of anyone’s business, least of all yours. We are…” I froze. What were we? That was the question, wasn’t it? And it didn’t matter how many times I tried to figure out the answer, I still came up confused.
“Look, you're right, it's none of my business, but if you are going to continue this with her, then you need to be aware of certain…complications.” His voice dropped lower. For a second, I thought he was listening to the strumming of guitars that was coming from the beach. One was smooth, the other a little more hesitant. It made me smile. They were already jamming. Was Elodie playing as well? Was that what I could hear? If it was, she was pretty good. Not Dionysus Rising good, but damn good for a novice. But then, the girl had magical hands. I knew that firsthand.
I grinned into the darkness.
“Jax, there are some things Eli asked me not to mention to any of you. I agreed because it didn’t seem important, but if you're into her, which you clearly are, then you need to know.”
That got my attention. “What kind of things?”
“Savage Son shaped things and—”
A voice went up. Clear, a little shaky from nerves, but it floored me. It was smoky, husky and sexy as sin. A woman singing a Hozier song. I turned towards the beach and my feet were already moving when Erik shouted at me.
“Jax, this is important.”
I waved him away. I already knew she had some sort of history with the Sons, but none of that was important. All that was important was that I got down to that beach so I could see Elodie sing one of my favourite songs.
TWENTY-FOUR
Elodie
Ihated singing. Not because I couldn’t, because I had been told I was pretty good. It was the pressure of performing I disliked. So, when Tate had pushed me to sing the only song I knew all the words to, I had been reluctant to do it. It started off a little croaky, which wasn’t surprising, seeing as I hadn’t done more than sing in the shower for years, but I soon got into it. Even if I hated it, it was easy to lose myself in the music. Especially when Tate started playing alongside me. That made me more at ease. Having such a talented musician strum the guitar on his lap whilst I closed my eyes and tried not to butcher the song was nothing like being dragged out in front of the club by my father to sing for his drunk cronies.
It was nerve-wracking, sure, but I didn’t feel judged. Which was strange considering who I was singing to. Closing my eyes, I let the music take over me.
A new guitar joined Tate’s, the playing less choppy. This was smooth, effortless, and totally beautiful.
Jax.
My eyes flew open, and the words faltered on my lips.
“Don’t stop,” he murmured, his voice barely audible above the guitars. There was a look I’d never seen on his face before. It could have been mistaken for love if I didn’t know any better. There sure was a lot of feeling shining out of his eyes. My mouth went dry. The words died altogether. How could I lose myself in the melody when he was looking at me like that? Forcing myself to flash him a smile, I folded my hands in my lap. I expected him to stop playing, to stop staring at me like he had never seen me before, but his fingers kept flying over the strings and his eyes never left my face.
“Don’t stop singing,” he said again.
Heat flew to my cheeks. I didn’t know why, but hearing him want to hear me sing made me want to disappear. I needed the ground to swallow me up. With the others, it was different. Sure, they were all rockstars, talented musicians in their own right, but with them it was just friends jamming. With Jax in the mix, it felt different. The pressure hit me again. The same kind of pressure that my father had always made me feel when he had paraded me and demanded I perform like a trained monkey.
I hated it.
I hated singing.
“That’s all I know,” I lied easily.
Jax continued to stare at me, and I could tell straight away that he didn’t believe a word I was saying. He was going to push it as well. I could already tell. And I readied myself for it.
“Have you ever thought about singing for a living?” Erik asked out of nowhere, and I turned my face to him in shock. Out of all the people I had expected to push it, I hadn’t been expecting it to be him. “With the right manager, you could go far. That voice.” He shook his head in awe. “I’m not saying me,” he added with a rueful grin in my direction.
Dion threw back his head and laughed, the sound filling the night air. “He’s so saying that, Eli. but I’d be happy to collaborate with you. You have that kind of smoky sultriness that—”
I didn’t let him finish. “I don’t sing.” My voice was matter of fact, and I was hoping it would be the end of it. Wishful thinking on my part for sure.
“You most definitely can sing.” Erik leant forward.
It wasn’t an aggressive movement. I doubted there was an aggressive bone in Erik’s body, but I shied away from him, anyway, instinctively leaning into Jax. His hands stilled instantly. Dropping the guitar into his lap, he pulled me into his side.
“Now isn’t the place to talk business, not at Elodie’s non-party birthday celebration.” His words were joking, but his tone wasn’t. There was a no bullshit air about it.
