Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
The other four, including Derek, still have their eyes closed. I close my eyes and continue.
Thank you for finding us a talented drummer. Help my attitude about him. And please watch over Dragon, and help me see this as an opportunity for him rather than a loss for the band. Help me regain my trust in him, and help him to be worthy of my trust. Thank you for this opportunity, for Emerald Phoenix, for Rory and the band, and also for Brianna. It may not be forever, but it seems to be what we both need for now.
I open my eyes, and that last thought—of Brianna—disappears.
Only the concert matters now.
We end with our one, two, three…Dragonlock!
We take the stage. The lights stream onto us. Percussion, and then guitar, and then Cage on his keys.
Rory and I sing.
And we fucking rock.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Brianna
The change in our seating that Brock mentioned turns out to be in the third row instead of the first row that we were expecting. Emerald Phoenix had a rash of VIPs who they didn’t know would attend until the last minute. Turned out okay, though, as Willie from our tour showed up and was seated next to Maddie. He had a backstage pass, and he and Maddie were chatting up a storm last I saw.
“Who is that?” Jesse asks me.
“That’s Willie. Maddie and I met him when we toured the castle. We had lunch together.”
“I don’t like the way he’s looking at her. Or at you.”
I wrinkle my brow. “Seriously? He hasn’t given me a look. Besides, I made it clear to him that I had a boyfriend.”
“I don’t want him looking at Maddie like that either.”
“He’s harmless,” I say. “He’s here because he’s a huge Emerald Phoenix fan. He was wearing an EP T-shirt during our tour.”
Jesse’s eyes don’t stray from him and Maddie, though, until I tug on his arm.
“Let’s get out of here.”
That softens him, and Jesse and I leave from the concert together.
Maddie knows about us. And Zane Michaels is staying far away from her tonight.
Jesse makes his obligatory nods to fans and to the members of Emerald Phoenix, and then he and I leave quietly. Brock and Rory have promised to see that Maddie gets safely back to the hotel—without Willie.
Jesse says nothing. Simply leads me to his room, opens it with this key card, and then pulls me inside. In a flash I’m against the wall, my hands above my head, secured by his wrists. His mouth comes down on mine, and he plunders me with a kiss.
His body is hot, and his hair is slicked back with sweat. From his performance? No. His performance was over before Emerald Phoenix’s began.
No. He’s hot for me.
I melt into his kiss, my body becoming jelly. If my wrists weren’t secured by his strong hands at the wall, I would float into a puddle on the floor.
We kiss for… I don’t know how long…
All I know is the ecstasy becomes nirvana, and I’m under the complete thrall of Jesse Pike.
I know I’m in for a fast fuck. It’s what he does after concerts. It’s what he needs.
Which makes what he did for me when he took my virginity that much more special.
When he finally rips his mouth from mine, I gasp in a much-needed breath of air.
“Damn, Brianna…” His voice is a low snarl. He’s still holding me up, my arms above my head. “I need to fuck you. I need to be inside you. I need my cock inside your tight pussy. It’s not going to be sweet, Brianna. It’s not going to be nice or gentle. It’s going to be an animal fuck. I’m going to rut inside you, Brianna.”
“I…” But I have no words.
If he fears his words will turn me off, he’s wrong.
I like when he’s an animal. When he’s a wolf. When he’s a fucking dragon, breathing fire.
Dragon may be the band’s namesake, but Jesse is the real dragon. That mythical creature with the strength and fortitude of an ancient beast representing power, protection…and sometimes chaos and destruction.
That is Jesse Pike. A man with a goal. A man who’s worked hard all his life to become the musician he knows he can be.
All that strength and perseverance, all that integrity and fortitude.
With a little chaos on the side. An amazing combination.
I may have been attracted to him because of his gorgeous looks, but that’s not what made me fall in love with him.
I fell in love with a man who was determined to make it. Whose fierce determination overruled everything else in his life. And who—whether the audience is one person or a whole fucking stadium full—always gives each performance everything he’s got.
And this fuck he’s about to give me? It’s just another type of performance. And I know he’ll give me everything he’s got.