Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“Really?” He leaned forward, molding my curves to his frame. There was another act before Hush Note went on, which meant we had a little over an hour.
“Don’t you think?” I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair, turning slightly so my mouth brushed his jawline. Six days of mental foreplay had me ready to back him against the wall, regardless of who might see us. Six days of hidden looks, barely there touches, and secret smiles. He hadn’t so much as given me a proper kiss, and I was starving for it—for him.
“He’s dragging the tempo,” he agreed. “But what I really think is that you’re trying to kill me in this dress.” He swept his hand from my waist to my thigh, ruffling the light, flirty material.
“I thought you hated the dresses,” I teased.
“I hate my inability to concentrate when you’re in a dress.” He nipped my earlobe.
The curtains moved to our left, and Nixon stepped to my side, putting a friendly but professional distance between us.
Quinn and Jonas appeared.
“Here you are!” Jonas grinned and clapped Nixon on the back. “Checking out the competition?”
“They’re not competition,” Quinn noted, her attention focused on the drummer, then slipping to the bass guitarist. “The bass is lagging.”
“Told you!” I swatted Nixon’s chest. Not that it mattered, since they were already managed, though still unsigned by any label.
“I didn’t disagree!” Nixon smiled down at me, and my heart stuttered.
This was going to be bad. Maybe not now, but eventually. There was no way something that felt this wild ended with anything but heartbreak. I knew it. I just didn’t care.
“I want your opinion on something. You got a second?” Jonas asked Nixon.
“Yeah.” Nixon turned toward me, blocking me from sight. “I’ll see you in my dressing room? I have to change my shirt.”
“I’ll be the one in the dress.”
His smile hit an all-time high for sex appeal.
Yeah, you’re screwed.
He winked, then turned and walked back through a set of curtains with Jonas. I shook my head to clear it from the sight of those new leather pants and focused on the band.
“You have a good ear,” Quinn said, coming up next to me, her sticks protruding from her back pocket.
“Thanks.” It was a huge compliment coming from Quinn, who was pretty much as brutally honest as they came. “They’re already managed, but poorly. It’s a shame.”
“You’re smart too.” She watched me carefully, and I had the feeling she saw way more than I wanted her to.
“Thank you?” My gaze drifted sideways.
“Too smart to get yourself tangled up in Nixon.” Her tone softened.
My gaze jerked to hers, and I felt the blood drain from my face.
“Shit,” she muttered. “I really wanted to be wrong.”
“I’m not…tangled.” I knew exactly what I was getting into.
She sighed. “Look, I love Nixon like a brother. You know that. But you should cut your losses and run. He’s not stable.” Her words were at odds with the kindness of her tone.
“I’m the stable one.” I fidgeted with the pass that hung around my neck. “I’m not blind. My eyes are wide open to everything he is. And besides, we’re not…” I stumbled. “We haven’t…” If my tongue would have cooperated, that would have helped.
“You haven’t slept with him?” Her eyes narrowed.
“No. Not that it’s any of your business.” I turned to face the band but felt the weight of her stare.
“Good.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If it were anyone else, Zoe, I wouldn’t care. But I’ve watched Nixon go through women like a river for the better part of a decade. He doesn’t alter course. Doesn’t give concessions. And when he hits the self-destruct button, he takes out everyone in his path. Jonas and I just know when to head for the high ground.”
“He doesn’t scare me.” I shrugged, my stomach flipping at the fib.
“He should.” She tilted her head. “You really haven’t slept together?”
“No.”
“Huh.” Her expression shifted into confusion for a second. “That’s not like him.”
“I know.”
My cell phone buzzed, and I looked down to see a message from Ben. “I have to go.”
Quinn nodded, then touched my elbow as I turned to leave. “Zoe, I need you to know that I think you’d be incredibly good for him. I’m not trying to protect him by warning you off, I’m worried for you.”
“I know.” I forced a smile and headed for Nixon’s dressing room. Quinn was protective of Jonas and Nixon, everyone knew it, but in this instance, she really was looking out for me.
I waved to the roadies I recognized as I walked down the hallway. Thank God this was just a two-show stint, and I only had Nixon to worry about. I’d never been a tour manager. I couldn’t even imagine handling a whole tour the way Ethan did, but that was exactly what I’d be doing for whichever band I took on first. I’d come into Hush Note when they were already big enough to have Ethan on the road and Ben in the office. It would take me a few years to bring one act, let alone several, up to a level even close to that.