Page 21 of Heartbeat Girl
“What way?” He arched a brow, finally looking at my face.
“What don’t you want me to see inside?” I blew out a long breath before pushing his chest and trying to get past.
His voice drifted toward my ear. “Why are you so curious?”
I froze, wishing I hadn’t looked into his eyes. We were inches apart since he was blocking my way. I sucked in a breath, tried narrowing my gaze to appear in control. But the echo of my heartbeat thundered in my ears. I was pretty sure my chest bounced with how hard it thumped. His beautiful blues drifted down to my mouth, and my stomach fluttered with something close to fire and brimstone. It wasn’t fear. It scared me, though, because it kept appearing whenever Liam was near.
Pushing away from him, I smoothed my palm down my stomach as if that would cool the heat consuming me from the inside. I eyed his swollen lips and whatever craziness that swept over my body disintegrated. That mouth was just on another woman. I suspected the three of them shared her since they were all together. Bile rose in my throat, and my eyes burned. I couldn’t stomach looking at him.
What’s wrong with me?
“Jayne?” Liam reached out, but I stepped away. He was smart to drop his hand. “Pete wanted to unwind, remember? He’s finished now. We’re about to head to the bus. Come on, I’ll walk you—”
We both stiffened when a feminine moan came from inside the room. If there were more than one female, I should have heard a lot more murmuring and maybe some giggling.So they were sharing.
I jerked again when Liam tried to lead me away from the room. And even though it stung my chest, I couldn’t resist staring at his lips again. “You too, Liam,” I croaked.
He frowned. “Me too, what?”
“You’re relaxed now too, right?” I wiped my fingers over my mouth, so he got the point. Pete wasn’t the only one that got lucky. Liam had to be doing a lot of making out before I arrived to get his lips so puffy.
His eyes popped wide as he touched his mouth.
“They’re swollen,” I added.
His gaze softened then. And for whatever reason, his shoulders slackened, and he dropped his arm. Something about him looking so relieved bothered me more, so I shrugged as my cheeks warmed. “You guys don’t have to hide your lifestyle from me. I need to understand a little, at least, in case something pops up and I have to handle it.”
Not really. I thought I might blur the lines a bit too much with Liam and the band, but I couldn’t stop the impulse. Ruth had secrets. The Oppressors had secrets. They all seemed to keep each other’s secrets. I was the one who knew nothing, and it felt like a knife twisting in my heart. I would find out if they knew anything about where Ruth was. And I had all summer to find out any and everything about them. Even my fear of them couldn’t stop me anymore because I’d already crossed that bridge and put myself right with them. It wasn’t the panic that worried me anymore. Just Liam and how he made me react.
I pointed to the closed door, hearing the rustling and murmurs between Steve and Pete, but not enough to make anything out. I tried to listen for the woman, but didn’t hear another feminine peep. “So you share women. I can deal with that. From now on there will be rules and you’ll abide by them.”
If his jaws had been dresser drawers, they’d be hanging off their hinges. “You think…” He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Jayne…”
The way he uttered my name. It sounded so heartfelt and gave me shivers. Why?
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” I interjected. “I’m not judging either. But please, for my sake, your assistant, and the sake of your band, let me make these situations a safe place.”
He gawked as if I’d grown two heads. With clenched jaws, he grabbed my arm and pulled me along effortlessly. “Come on. You’re going to make me feel fucking awkward because of this entire scenario you’ve created that’s all wrong.” His voice deepened.
I tried to pull away, but he didn’t let me.
“Why are you angry with me?”
Chill bumps broke out on my arms as that heady dose of fear slid down my neck. I wondered if I liked it. Why else would I put myself in those situations?
“This isn’t what I was expecting.” He didn’t glance at me as he dragged me from the room.
I frowned. “What isn’t?”
“This,” he pointed at me, then stopped abruptly. Placing his hands over his mouth, he closed his eyes and sighed before bringing them to my arms, slowly sliding his fingers up until they gripped my shoulders. “Stop smelling so damn afraid all the time, Jayne. I wouldneverhurt you. I fucking swear on the skin that I’m in.”
Blinking rapidly, I wanted to run from his touch and hide from his inspection. But I didn’t. I hadn’t realized how obvious I was. Unable to bear his heavy gaze, I looked at his chest. Then, slowly, as if he tried to catch a wild rabbit, his hold on my shoulder loosened, but didn’t disappear. Instead, his thumb rubbed circles across my skin. Light at first, increasing in his pressure as my shoulders slouched. Pinpricks broke out on my flesh. I leaned forward, almost into him.It feels… better than nice.Something so gentle shouldn’t cause an electric rush down my body. But it did. A strong current flowed through me, enticing me.
Yeah, I supposed a part of me believed him. I never worried about my life around him because fear wasn’t the only thing Liam gave me. I was simply better at concealing that odd attraction to him. Lifting my gaze, I met his once more and that rippling energy seemed to explode. My heart quickened. Oh, no. I got it bad.And that’s what’s so terrifying.When my eyes drifted to his lips, that magnetic force between us snapped.Ah. My entire body numbed when I remembered those lips were on someone else.
Just like that, everything’s cold, dark, and the urge to run was stronger than ever.Don’t fall, Jayne.Those azure eyes might look sincere, but a person could hurt you more than physically. I worked for Liam. Nothing more.
Coughing, I broke away from Liam, dispelling the last connection—his touch. Even so, the ghost of that small caress lingered…