scoped the crowd for Zoe. A good fifty people milled about. Screams split the air as a couple of girls spotted him and his mates. Seconds later, a horde of scantily clad female bodies surrounded him, begging for autographs and pictures. He scanned the room again. Lots of groupies with red auras. No Zoe.
Shit.
Someone thrust a Sharpie into his hand. A pair of meagerly covered tits stared up at him, waiting to be signed. He put on his ‘I love my job’ smile. Careful not to touch with anything but the ink, he left his name on the girl’s chest. Another flash of cleavage appeared under his nose. Swallowing a sigh, he signed her too and cast about a third time for his muse. The girls chattered around him like buzzing bees, but he heard none of what they said. Just nodded when they looked at him expectantly. Smiled. Laughed a few times.
Where the hell was Zoe?
Beside him, Mike ate up the attention. He posed with groupies for pictures and dragged Gavin by the arm deeper into the fray. More smiles for the camera, more pretending he wanted to meet every fan, more dodging propositions for sex with excuses of having to be up early in the morning. Mike glanced at him and frowned but didn’t say anything.
The more the girls engulfed him, the more he wanted his muse to rescue him from this shit.
Gavin’s Dreamsense searched for Zoe’s song through the clicking camera shutters and bright flashes. He got a ping back and shifted his gaze to the far left corner of the room. Leaning his head to the side and standing on tiptoes, he picked through the throng until he found her.
Zoe stood alone, folded into the shadows, arms wrapped around her middle, watching the goings-on with wide eyes. Shit. The scene back here probably freaked her the fuck out. Hell, he was used to it, and it freaked him the fuck out.
He needed to move this meet-and-greet along before she bolted. He caught her gaze. She sent him a tight smile. Yep, she was going to run.
Josh, the band’s manager walked by, and Gavin tapped his shoulder. “The woman in the corner—Zoe—she’s wearing a black tee shirt and jeans, blond hair. Don’t let her leave without me.”
Josh turned to where he pointed and nodded.
While Gavin signed CDs and more chests, Josh wound his way to Zoe, a drink in hand, and offered it to her. She shook her head, he said something, and her shoulders dropped a bit. She accepted the drink with a smile. Good.
After ten more minutes of answering questions, Gavin was half-blind from the camera flashes. When he looked to Zoe once again, his blood pressure took a nosedive.
His ex-girlfriend, Scarlet, the Fyre Elemental who had led the Dreaming attacks on thousands of Wyldlings last week, headed straight for his muse. The one person he desperately needed to protect Zoe from had landed on her front doorstep. And the deadly heat Scarlet packed always led to catastrophe.
This was going to be a long night.
Chapter Ten
The scene backstage was straight out of a rockumentary. The place crawled with half-naked women, alcohol flowed like water, and excitement permeated the stuffy air like static cling. Zoe raised the drink Josh had given her and downed it in three gulps.
Gavin seemed pretty occupied at the moment. The women hanging off both of his arms showed no sign of retreat. Jealousy sparked, but she reined it back in. Of course the girls were all over him. Who wouldn’t be? And with so many beautiful and willing choices, he probably went through groupies like dirty socks.
Time to go. She’d catch up with Gavin later.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contact list, looking for the number of the taxi company she’d pre-programmed before leaving Hervey Bay. A flare of heat swept through her scalp and sizzled down to her toes. She wiped her brow.
“I thought I told you to stay away from him.”
She flinched at the familiar, threatening purr. The redhead.
Though they were the same height, the woman’s imposing presence
Shit.
Someone thrust a Sharpie into his hand. A pair of meagerly covered tits stared up at him, waiting to be signed. He put on his ‘I love my job’ smile. Careful not to touch with anything but the ink, he left his name on the girl’s chest. Another flash of cleavage appeared under his nose. Swallowing a sigh, he signed her too and cast about a third time for his muse. The girls chattered around him like buzzing bees, but he heard none of what they said. Just nodded when they looked at him expectantly. Smiled. Laughed a few times.
Where the hell was Zoe?
Beside him, Mike ate up the attention. He posed with groupies for pictures and dragged Gavin by the arm deeper into the fray. More smiles for the camera, more pretending he wanted to meet every fan, more dodging propositions for sex with excuses of having to be up early in the morning. Mike glanced at him and frowned but didn’t say anything.
The more the girls engulfed him, the more he wanted his muse to rescue him from this shit.
Gavin’s Dreamsense searched for Zoe’s song through the clicking camera shutters and bright flashes. He got a ping back and shifted his gaze to the far left corner of the room. Leaning his head to the side and standing on tiptoes, he picked through the throng until he found her.
Zoe stood alone, folded into the shadows, arms wrapped around her middle, watching the goings-on with wide eyes. Shit. The scene back here probably freaked her the fuck out. Hell, he was used to it, and it freaked him the fuck out.
He needed to move this meet-and-greet along before she bolted. He caught her gaze. She sent him a tight smile. Yep, she was going to run.
Josh, the band’s manager walked by, and Gavin tapped his shoulder. “The woman in the corner—Zoe—she’s wearing a black tee shirt and jeans, blond hair. Don’t let her leave without me.”
Josh turned to where he pointed and nodded.
While Gavin signed CDs and more chests, Josh wound his way to Zoe, a drink in hand, and offered it to her. She shook her head, he said something, and her shoulders dropped a bit. She accepted the drink with a smile. Good.
After ten more minutes of answering questions, Gavin was half-blind from the camera flashes. When he looked to Zoe once again, his blood pressure took a nosedive.
His ex-girlfriend, Scarlet, the Fyre Elemental who had led the Dreaming attacks on thousands of Wyldlings last week, headed straight for his muse. The one person he desperately needed to protect Zoe from had landed on her front doorstep. And the deadly heat Scarlet packed always led to catastrophe.
This was going to be a long night.
Chapter Ten
The scene backstage was straight out of a rockumentary. The place crawled with half-naked women, alcohol flowed like water, and excitement permeated the stuffy air like static cling. Zoe raised the drink Josh had given her and downed it in three gulps.
Gavin seemed pretty occupied at the moment. The women hanging off both of his arms showed no sign of retreat. Jealousy sparked, but she reined it back in. Of course the girls were all over him. Who wouldn’t be? And with so many beautiful and willing choices, he probably went through groupies like dirty socks.
Time to go. She’d catch up with Gavin later.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contact list, looking for the number of the taxi company she’d pre-programmed before leaving Hervey Bay. A flare of heat swept through her scalp and sizzled down to her toes. She wiped her brow.
“I thought I told you to stay away from him.”
She flinched at the familiar, threatening purr. The redhead.
Though they were the same height, the woman’s imposing presence
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