Page 28 of Grip Me Tight
“This is my world and everything in it is my business.”
“Really? Is this how you’re going to play it? That somehow me asking a simple question is a problem for the tour?”
“When you’re asking about Ajax it is.”
“Why? What problem could that possibly pose considering I’m your new social media manager? Shouldn’t I wonder where your bass player is when he’s clearly not at rehearsal and apparently had some sort of altercation last night? Shouldn’t I be raising it with your PR in case damage control is needed?”
“Oh, it’s just business, is it? That’s why you asked?”
He’s so close to me now, I can feel the heat of his body, smell the spicy scent of him mixed with the ginger of the tea. “Yep, that’s the only reason I am here. Just business.”
He stares down at me and I force myself not to blink. “Stay away from Ajax.”
“I’m going to do whatever I need to for this job, Tanner.” I take a step back.
“Your mother asked me to watch over you.”
“While I’m not surprised, it’s not necessary. I don’t need a babysitter.” I narrow my eyes. “You haven’t been around for years; I don’t need you to start pretending you care now.”
His lips flatten into thin line. “I’m not pretending.”
I gape at him. He is just too much. “Oh, come on, Tanner. Let me give you a refresher – I had an embarrassing crush on you.” I quickly glance around and lower my voice. “I was a teenager. I kissed you, which I’m sorry for, asked you to take my virginity, and you refused. Then the next morning you were gone. You’ve done a great job avoiding me for the last several years, despite being my brother’s best friend and my parents adore you, and you show up for the Fourth of July where you happened to find me at loose ends. We hook up and then you barely speak to me the next day. I get it, hook-ups happen all the time, but I’m a big girl and I’m not a star-fucker, so if you think I have my sights set on getting some notches with the other guys, first, you’re wrong and second, you’re gross.”
I take a deep breath, stepping forward to poke my finger into the solid wall of muscle making up his chest. “I want this job, but I didn’t take it to get closer to you or anyone else. Your manager, who is brilliant, according to Dad, thought ofme.” I jab my finger once for emphasis. “Me, because while I might not be huge yet, I’m good at what I do, and I don’t need you, or Noah, or anyone else, looking after me.”
His hand darts out and grabs my wrist. “Get one thing straight. You are not just a hook-up to me.”
Behind him, the speakers come to life and I hear the soft swish of Slade’s brushes against the drums. A series of plaintive guitar notes join the sound and then a voice comes in, low at first, but someone jacks up the voice track and the sexy roughness of Tanner’s voice fills the stadium.
You can’t seeme in the darkness.
Across this distant shore.
Waiting, longing, hoping for something more.
I can feel you, breathe you
Into my pain
Bound to you, wrapped in silver chain
When will you find me again.
I’ve listenedto these words before, sitting in a dark theatre with my eyes closed, while the credits roll and Tanner’s voice soars over the crash of the instruments, like the musical version of a storm over the ocean. But here, in the arena with him holding my wrist, the words are painfully intense. His thumb circles the inside of my wrist, making me shiver and his eyes darken. I feel his words, his voice, wrapping around me like a blanket, no, like the chains he’s singing about, their weight both a torment and a comfort.
I feel like I’m falling, breathless, unable to catch myself on the way down.
“Tanner, can we get you back on stage for the mic checks?”
Startled by the loud voice cutting through the music, I look over Tanner’s shoulder to see the guys on stage staring down at us, one of the sound techs holding a mic headset up to his face. I pull my hand back, but Tanner doesn’t let go, holding up his other hand in a ‘one-minute’ gesture. I shift to meet his gaze.
“Let go.”
“Just remember, you started this.”
“What?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought I knew him, arrogance and all, but seeing him here, in his element, it’s dialed up to maximum power. He really is like a king, dominating, commanding, expecting submission from everyone around him. While Blaine and Slade are goofing around on stage and Noah is quietly moving through the steps of the rehearsal, flirting with everything that moves, Tanner seems apart from them, not aloof exactly, but very much in control.
I can’t deny how intrigued I am by the subtle differences in him between the guy I think I know and the rock star he is.
