Page 18 of Heartbeat Girl
“And how—” Steve stopped talking when the stage workers returned, letting us know when we’d be starting and helping with our gear.
When Steve glared, I shook my head and said, “Can you find our PA? We need to let her know we’re allowing some fans backstage tonight.”
He hooted while my stomach turned to acid. How the fuck was I going to feed without letting Jayne see me with another woman? Then again, for her own sanity, it was probably better if she did. Jayne wanted to keep her distance, but I wanted to tear her walls down and get closer to herthumpingheart.
But there was a major problem with that. Her heart still beat and mine was undead. Jayne feared what she sensed within us—darkness.
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“Are you sure we can’t grab a hotel tonight?” Jayne flipped through the pages of her notebook I’d given her and glanced at her phone. “If we leave at five in the morning—”
“Jayne…” I started. A backstage worker offered me a rag and water. I took both and patted the slight perspiration clinging to my neck and face. “We have to check-in at these places hours before our gig. You’ll get your hotel room on Friday.” She pursed her lips, and I added, “One day down. Four more to go.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms, sulking slightly as she turned away from me.
I smiled, finding her behavior cute.
“Rupert will catch up with us next week.”
I hummed as I processed the name. “Rupert was Ruth’s old bodyguard, right?”
Jayne smiled immediately, catching me off guard with the happiness brightening her face. It was like having a light beam jab me straight in the heart. Fucking awesome. “Yeah. Rupert has a wife and kids. He’s had trouble finding work since Ruth…” Jayne’s voice trailed off. “He’ll have a job all summer by touring with you guys, so it works out for everyone.”
“Mm-hmm,” I voiced.
“What?” She stiffened.
“Jayne, Jayne, Jayne,” Steve called out between laughing.
She tensed as he wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her close. My teeth clenched as my body stiffened with the urge to rip off Steve’s arms.
“How awesome were we?” he asked Jayne, nudging her slightly. “Epic, huh? I knew you’d say that.”
“I said nothing.” Jayne peeled his arm off her.
“You don’t have to stick around.” Pete, smiling, strode up beside Jayne. “We can handle ourselves just fine if you want to hop on over to the Machine of Death.”
Jayne rubbed her temples. “Exactly what I was thinkinguntilyou guys mentioned bringing fans backstage. You’re no longer a small name anymore. Do I need to remind you all how easily one tiny mistake can land you all in hot water?”
Pete scratched his chin. “What does that have to do with letting people come backstage?”
Jayne tossed her hands up and huffed. “There are procedures. You should have sold backstage passesmonthsbefore we reached this point. If I let this happen, it’s likely to be a madhouse. Jesus, how have you guys managed this long without Black Hearts intervening? I don’t see how you have so much freedom.”
“What can we say?” Steve grinned. “We can be verypersuasive.”
“Relax,” I said. “We don’t normally let people backstage. It’s why we never thought to sell passes.”
Jayne’s heated gaze and heaving chest—which I couldn’t stop looking at—let me know I shouldn’t have said a thing.
“Relax?Relax? No! Here’s what’s going to happen. No one is stepping backstage.” If Jayne were a dragon, she would have blown steam out of her nose.
Steve’s wide-eyed stare landed on me, as if to say, ‘We’re fucked.’
My fangs threatened to erupt from the idea of not feeding after our performance. The sweltering heat of the entire stadium made the pressure worse. The sweat clinging to my skin was hard to produce, and the effects bothered my stomach. I was ravenous and Jayne always,alwayssmelled delectable, like a strawberry dipped in chocolate. It didn’t help that I was hyper-aware of her. I was so focused on her, especially how her throat constricted as she swallowed. My eyes dipped to the tiny bead of perspiration sliding down the top of her cleavage. Her loose blouse clinging to her damp skin was inviting. And her dark eyes were droopy. Was my heartbeat girl tired?
Steve coughed. The second I looked at him, his brows raised and lips flattened like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. When his gaze kept darting to Jayne, who was quiet and watching him with an adorably crinkled nose, Iknew.
Oh, fuck.