The band launched into the opening strains of Blondie’s “One Way or Another,” and she lost herself to the music and the emotion and the crowd. They pulled out some of her old favorites—“Dragula,” “Stray Cat Strut,” “Polyester Bride.” Oh, she was aware that she wasn’t the best singer in the world, but she loved letting her mind fill with the throb of Dave’s guitar, the pulse of Aiden’s drums, the strum of Skip’s bass. The stage lights were hot on her face, and she forced herself not to wonder if Jake was even watching or if he’d slipped away with Thea.
Before she knew it, her set was wrapping up. She finished their slowed-down version of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own,” and after the cheers died down and she caught her breath, she addressed the crowd.
“Okay, guys, before I go, Dave and I worked up a little song that we hope you enjoy. Aiden, Skip, you guys wanna take five?”
She and Dave settled themselves on the two stools positioned downstage, her with a microphone and him with an acoustic guitar, and Dave picked out the opening strains of Billy Joel’s “And So It Goes.” When they’d run through the song last week, she hadn’t realized what a gut punch the lyrics were.
Tonight though, she felt every word she sang, and almost against her will, she looked for Jake in the crowd. She dredged up every bit of longing, every bit of regret, every bit of wistful hope that refused to budge from her heart, and she sang it all to him, Dave a solid presence by her side.The lights were bright enough that she couldn’t make out Jake’s expression from the back of the room, but she could see his silhouette, and she could sense the extreme stillness that enveloped him as she stood on that stage and offered him her heart, even though she might be too late.
The song ended on a sad, sustained note that drifted into a few seconds of silence before a shrill whistle opened the floodgates for the cheers and applause that followed. Mabel stood and turned her back to the crowd to shift her stool over, using the action as an excuse to dash away the tears trembling along her eyelashes. Dave shot her a concerned glance, but she gave a minuscule shake of her head.
When she turned back around, her big public smile was in place, and she waved her thanks. “Okay, last song of the night for me, and I’m going out on an upbeat note. Aiden and Skip, you’re back on. Let’s do some Kelly Clarkson, okay?”
Mabel’s set did, indeed, finish strong, and she smiled and laughed and blew kisses at the end of it. But she didn’t walk over to Aiden for their traditional spin-and-dip following her set, and when she hopped off the stage, she knew she wasn’t up for any chitchat with fans. Ignoring Ana’s excited jazz hands, she muttered, “Bathroom” and took off. In the hallway, instead of turning toward the ladies’ room, she headed in the opposite direction and ducked into the first open door she saw. The manager’s office was illuminated by the meager light from the floor lamp in the corner, and she leaned forward and braced her hands on the front of the desk, letting her head drop and sucking in a shaky breath. The noise of the crowd snaked down the hallway, the chatter ramping up since the band was taking a break.
“Why are you with that fucking underwear model and not me?”
She jumped at the sound of Jake’s voice and spun to face him. The easygoing guy she knew was gone. In his place was six feet, three inches of aggressive, worked-up male. This was a new Jake for her, one who was closer to losing control than she’d ever seen him. His expression was dark, his hands clenched at his sides.
Fine. She could get mad too. She narrowed her eyes and injected as much ice into her voice as she could. “God, I’ve tried to say this to everybody who’ll listen: Aiden and I are just friends.” Jake’s jaw tensed, but she wasn’t done. “And I’m sorry, but did I not see you and Thea mauling each other at reception on Tuesday? You must love getting women up on desks,Jakey.Am I right?”
Jealousy seeped from her pores; he could probably smell it on her.
“What?” He advanced on her, eyes blazing. “I’m not seeing Thea. I’m not seeinganybody. And do you know why?”
She shook her head, unable to find a single word in response.
“Because the only person I think about is you. Every morning, you. Every night, you.”
His gaze was so intense she considered diving over the desk just to put more space between her and the heated expression in his brown eyes.
“I’ve tried to stay away,” she whispered, both thrilled and horrified that they were apparently having this conversation here, in the manager’s office at a bar where basically all her coworkers were drinking and mingling twenty feet away. “Tried so hard. But it’s not working. I want…”
She stopped speaking when he put his hands around her waist and lifted her to sit on the desk behind her. Then he turned, took three short steps to the door, and shut and locked it. The noise from the crowd became muffled, and she could hear his slow, steady breathing as he took one deliberate step forward, then another and another, stopping when his thighs brushed her knees.
“Was that song for me?”
She closed her eyes. “No.” The word was barely audible, and he leaned down as if to scoop it from her mouth.
“Liar,” he murmured, his lips against hers. And then he wrapped her loose hair around his fist, using it to pull her head back so she met his eyes. “You feel the way I do. You started to say so at the station on Tuesday: you’re tired of fighting it. And so am I.”
He bypassed her lips and moved his mouth along the line of her neck, alternating kisses and soft bites. Then the bites turned more forceful, and he nipped sharply at the side of her neck, sucking on the skin there until she trembled.
“I think if you didn’t feel the same way, you’d be telling me to stop right now,” he said against her skin, his voice raspy. “Am I right?”
She shuddered at the feel of his breath on her neck. His big hand landed on her solar plexus, and he pushed her gently back until she was flat on the desk. She stared at the ceiling and tried to steady her breathing, and then there were his hands, shoving up her skirt. Her boots came up almost to her knees, and the cool air against the newly exposed flesh above them made her shiver.
“If you want me to stop, you need to tell me, Mabel.” His voice was thick as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “Tell me right now.”
“Don’t stop.Please,”she whispered, looking down her body to where his dark head bent in front of her. With a growl and a tug, Jake pulled her toward him and ripped away the fragile lace of her underwear, then nudged her legs apart. She held her breath, anticipation mounting as she waited for the press of his mouth. But he surprised her by kissing a line down her inner thigh, almost to the top of her boot, sucking on her skin there before moving to her other leg and kissing his way back up in a pattern of licks and bites that quickened her breath. His blunt fingers slid underneath her knees to spread her open farther, and she squirmed as he took his time familiarizing himself with the softness of her stomach below her belly button and the crease where her leg met her hip.
“Jake, I…” She whimpered and shifted restlessly, pleasure and frustration mingling as his soft laughter brushed her skin.
“Is this what you need?” He ran a finger up and down her hot, slick flesh, and then she forgot to breathe as he finally,finallylowered his mouth to her and caressed her with long, flat strokes of his tongue, his hands curling possessively around her hips. Her back arched off the desk as he laved and sucked, pulling away only to growl, “Tell me you love the way I make you feel.”
“Love it. Yes,” she gasped, eyes fluttering open to catch the look of pure male satisfaction on his face. “God, I love it.”
She moved against him, reaching down to slide one hand into his thick hair, savoring the feel of it against her fingers, the hot wetness of his tongue making the pleasure build and build until her breath sawed in and out of her chest and every muscle was tense and on edge. Release danced just out of reach, and she writhed against his mouth until he eased one finger inside her, then another, and blew a gentle stream of air over her hot skin before sucking her clit into his mouth. And with that she shattered, throwing her head back with a hoarse cry. Wave after hot, liquid wave crushed through her, and she rode out his steady pressure until her body was limp and satiated. Then he stood and leaned over her prone body, kissing her with salty lips.
