He grinned mischievously and leaned in. “I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
A pleasant warmth blanketed me as I hummed happily and rested against his arm as the award ceremony got under way.
Sitting so close to him, feeling his heat surround me, I was able to push everyone else away and pretend it was just us, that we were a normal couple on a date to the movies or something. It was a nice trick that worked wonders until he and the rest of the guys had to leave me to get ready for their performance.
Fortunately, Ian took Garrett’s seat, providing me with company that I knew and liked. When they finally took the stage, I was so in awe of what was happening that I didn’t have time to consider anyone else. Watching Garrett beat the hell out of his kit was a thing of wonder. I finally got why Civil Corruption was so popular. The music flowed like water, and the guys played together effortlessly. The melody was harder than what I normally preferred, the lyrics full of anger and need, but the way Declan crooned into the mic, his voice like velvet and sex, I couldn’t help but love it. They weren’t just performing for the crowd—they were owning us. And I loved every second of it.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off Garrett. His face while he pounded at the drums was so full of passion. I’d only seen that look on him when we were making love. Knowing he craved me the same way he craved his music drove my body wild. Corrineand Gina weren’t wrong; the man was a god up on that stage, and I got off on every single second of watching it. I was so absorbed I didn’t even care about feeling out of place in my surroundings.
“Come on,” Ian shouted over the raucous cheers once the guys finished.
“What? Where are we going?”
He stood and reached for my hand. “Garrett wants you backstage. He told me to take you back there once they finished.”
I would have run if I hadn’t had to depend on Ian to lead the way. My need for Garrett after watching him in his element had grown exponentially.
The backstage area was a crush of bodies. People with clipboards barked into their headsets. Men and women in gowns and tuxes milled about, waiting to take the stage, but I only cared about one man.
Ian guided me down a hallway and stopped at a door that was partially open, pushing it the rest of the way and ushering me inside.
“You guys weregreat!” I shouted excitedly as soon as Ian closed out the din of voices from outside the room. “Oh my God! I loved it!”
Declan, Killian, and Mason all laughed as Garrett grabbed my hips and backed me toward the couch against the wall. He sat and pulled me down to straddle his thighs, making my dress ride up my legs slightly.
“Looks like we popped your girl’s cherry,” Mace teased. “Think we can get her off that Top 40 bullshit now?”
I vaguely heard Killian answer, “What I think is that we need to get the fuck outta this room before we see parts of our boy we don’t want to see.”
There was more laughter followed by the sound of the dooropening and closing, and a few seconds later Garrett and I were all alone.
“You were magnificent,” I whispered, keeping my gaze locked on his.
“Glad you liked it, baby,” he chuckled.
I watched my fingers as I trailed them through his hair and down his neck. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead. I ran my palms across his shoulders and down his arms and noticed a slight tremble in his limbs. I lifted my eyes to his, his pupils taking up most of the grassy green. “You’re shaking.”
His fingers clenched my hips, pulling me harder against him. I could feel his cock thickening behind his fly. “Adrenaline,” he answered gruffly. “I’m always pumped after a performance.”
My smile felt positively wicked as I wriggled off Garrett’s lap and rested on my knees between his spread thighs. “Hmm,” I hummed, suddenly starving for a taste. I toyed with the button of his jeans and gazed up at him through my lashes. “I bet I can think of a way to burn some of that off.”
His chest rose and fell rapidly as he leaned back, stretching his arms along the back of the couch. Those dimples popped out right before he said, “Let’s see what you got.”
I’d never been happier to oblige in my life.
TWENTY-THREE
After Civil Corruption’s performance,and the encore I had with Garrett in the dressing room after, I thought the night was looking up. And it had been. Until the guys took the stage later in the evening to accept their award for favorite rock album. Tiffany Monroe had been one of the presenters, and she took that as her opportunity to give Garrett a wildly inappropriate kiss when he made it to the podium.
He laughed and tried to disengage while playing it up for the cameras like any performer would, but my blood boiled in my veins. The first thing I was doing when I got home was building a bonfire and burning every single Tiffany Monroe album I owned.
He apologized the minute he got back to his seat, saying it was nothing more than a publicity stunt, but I just couldn’t seem to let it go. I smiled when appropriate and tried my best to fake it, but it was pointless. My mood was ruined.
After the award ceremony, we all climbed into the limo waiting to take us to the after party. All I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and sleep. Instead, I pasted on a brave face, prepared to force myself to enjoy the night ahead of me.
If the ceremony itself had been intimidating, the after party was a whole new world. There was a table cordoned off for the band, and the minute we sat down a swarm descended. Women in all different states of undress crowded around the guys, each vying for attention. Some I recognized as famous, some I didn’t. Luckily Tiffany Monroe wasn’t among the horde. The wall behind our section was made completely of glass that gave a view out to the pool area, just as crowded with people as the inside.
“You want something to drink?” Garrett called into my ear over the music.
