Page 14 of Revel
Princess swallows, adjusting the locks of her hair behind her ear. “Why are you so goddamn mean to me?”
Laughter pushes through my lips, and I exhale a puff of smoke through my nose. “Because I think you could probably suck dick better than you sing.” I know I’m rude, arrogant, and there’s nothing you can say that I haven’t heard before.
“You’re disgusting.”
Though I know I shouldn’t have said those things to her, I don’t take them back. Looking around, I can’t understand why so many people need to be on stage with her. Was this a circus? “What’s with all the dancers? You puttin’ on a Broadway musical or some shit?”
Her wild mane of red curls are shockingly vibrant against her green dress and thick black eyelashes. She looks like a goddamn Christmas ornament. “Why does it matter to you?” Unable to offer me any more of an explanation, she shrugs. “It’s a show.”
A soft stroke trails down across my neck as Hensley breathes into my ear causing my stomach to roil in disgust. “It’s show business. It’s all about the show, isn’t it, babe?”
Her voice bleeds through me, seeping into my bones and poisoning my soul like a dead weight I can’t shake. She’s like a burn deep in your skin you can’t get rid of, always there to remind you of how you let your guard down. My jaw clenches. You know, when I told her I never wanted to see her fucking face again, apparently she didn’t listen. Stepping away from her grasp, I growl, “Don’t touch me,” as I scowl, contempt oozing from me.
Stepping closer to invade Red’s space, I lean in. Seeing her teeth sink into her lower lip makes my cock jolt to life, and I whisper, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Red. You don’t need ashowif you have something to say,” before moving around her in passing.
As you can guess, when I look over my shoulder at her, my presence affecting her, nervousness seems to bleed from her, and she stutters and shifts her stance. The look on her face is somewhere between anger and horror, and here I am casually smiling. Her eyes narrow, her nostrils flare, hell, she’s gonna bite her goddamn lip off. Maybe she hasn’t spent a lot of time having conversations with alcoholic rock stars who have emotional inconsistencies.
The moment I create distance, heavy footsteps thud behind me. “What’s with you and princess?” Hardin asks, catching up with me.
I might have mentioned this in passing but, I’m not one to talk about my feelings, or anything really. Fuck that bullshit. And yeah, I’ve known Hardin a while and if by chance I was going to talk to anyone, it’d be him or Cruz, but I’m not, so I deflect. “What are you talking about?”
Scratching the back of his head, he nods to Red, all eyes on the shiny new toy amongst us. “You’re looking at her like you’re gonna fuck the innocence out of her.”
Christ, watch her. She’s fidgeting and looks as if she’s going to throw up all over her dancers. She’s completely out of place, and untouchable. She’s half goddess, half hell.
Turning toward him, I smile, masking my anger with a veneer of boredom. “Let me make this simple. She’sofflimits.”
He snorts, rolling his eyes. “To everyone exceptyou.”
“Especiallyme.”
Taylan Ash is the last person I need to get involved with.
Intent on heading to the dressing room, hoping that bottle of vodka I requested is there, Hensley follows me. “Wait up!”
I don’t.
“Revel. Wait. Up!”
I whirl to face her outside the dressing room. “Why?” I snap, unleashing another scowl her way.
“What’s your problem?”
“My problem?” As much as I want to hide my insecurities under a mask of indifference from her, she knows me better than anyone, and I can’t hide anything.
“Yes.” She stands before me, looking me in the eye this time. She’s stage ready, I suppose, caked in thick makeup with thick lashes plastered to her eyes. “Yourproblem. I’m trying to be nice to you.”
Shoving my hands in my pockets—because if I don’t, I might strangle her—I lay my head back against the wall behind me and look down at her. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you trying to be nice to me?”
Her eyes dart to the wall behind me. “Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because you fucked another man and got pregnant.”
“You act like you were faithful the entire time we were together.”
