Page 6 of Wild Stars

“What was that about?”she asks, her violet contacts sparkling under the chandelier.

“None of your fucking business.Are you ready?Or do I have to arrange a carriage for you, too?”I snap.

Hailee rolls her eyes.“I could call it an early night.Get a jump on rehearsals tomorrow.This place is totes boring anyway.”

I nod in approval.Smart woman.

“Stop talking like a damn teenager.You’re thirty-five,” I chastise her, but she only shakes her head.

“You’re thirty-nine, Matty.Not eighty.Loosen up a little,” she retorts, slipping her arm into the curve of mine.

I scowl at her, but she takes it in stride.

“I am too old for this fucking shit,” I say as I gesture around the room.Felix and Duncan McKay—Sullivan Reign’s replacement drummer for the tour—look to be locked in deep conversation while Jinger and Geo are dancing so close I’m half certain they’re glued together, while various other c-list acts of Casualty Records continue to throw back drinks and act like fools.Grinding on girls, spilling their drinks.All while, the big wigs count their stacks and smoke their dumb cigars.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

* * *

Once my feethit the black marble floor of home, I don’t bother with much more than getting ready for bed.

Hailee breaks away for her wing—the left wing of the house—without so much as a Good Night, which I’m sure some would find rude as hell, but I find more than refreshing.

I know I could technically live on my own, in my own mansion.But after my break up, I didn’twantto be alone.I’d just spent years with Edward, living together, and the very thought of waking up in a house by myself gave me anxiety.It still does.

Thankfully, Hailee and I bought this place when we were just rising stars like Dare and Richie, and she has been occupying the left wing ever since.Plus, the woman knows me better than anyone, so it’s a seamless, easy arrangement.

Together, but separate.

I head for my bathroom, if only so I can wash the stink of Dare’s bad decisions off my skin, off my brain.The hot water always helps center me when I feel out of sorts.It’s not exactly a hot spring in the middle of Iceland during the auroras, but it’ll do.

I run my hands through my hair, letting the scent of bergamot and white sage mixed with eucalyptus fill my lungs.I close my eyes for a moment, the heat infiltrating my senses.

When I finally get out of my shower, I can see the text notification from Richie that they’ve made it home.I breathe a sigh of relief as I towel dry my hair and slip into a pair of silky, tight briefs, and make my way to my bed.

In all the years I’d been with Edward, I never brought him in here.

To be honest, I’ve never broughtanyoneinto my inner sanctum.

I always said it was because I didn’t want any residual energies lingering in my space.I like having my privacy, and I like having things that are just for me.Edward never understood that, even after I moved into his posh home in the valley.

But tonight, as I look at the oversized California King that is nested in the middle of a room full of windows—there is a skylight ceiling and the entire room is made up of floor to ceiling windows—I can’t help but feel a sting of sadness.

The stars shine bright, like they always do, as I lie down in the plush blankets, staring up at the sky, but I don’t feel less alone like I usually do.

Just once I wish I could sharethis...with someone else.

My chest tightens as I swallow down my sudden emotional thoughts.I shake my head as I get comfortable with the array of pillows and soft bedding, trying not to focus on the chill that comes from sleeping alone.

“You just need a good night’s sleep, that’s all,” I tell myself.

The silence around me is heavy as I curl into my blankets and pillow, alone, closing my eyes.

I let the darkness pull me under.

CHAPTER3

Dare

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