Page 11 of Midnight Dissonance

“Fuck yeah, it is! It’s awesome. While we’re setting up for the show, we should ask Robbie and Nate for their two cents. We get a consensus and vote on it. I’m sure they’ll be down too. I can call the studio Monday and get our demo. Then we get that application submitted this week. If the concert venue organizers like our demo, what then?” Because she knew it couldn’t be as easy as submitting an application and getting accepted.

“Then they call us in to audition. If we do well, they’ll pick us as a local opening band.”

“They’ll like it. I can feel it.” Their band would get a spot. They’d worked too hard and were amazing. The crowd always went wild when they were on stage.

“Me too,” Cliff replied as he pulled into the parking lot of the Jukebox.

The seedy club with its garish neon lights was in Commerce City, which was rough during the day. At night, it was much worse. The building across the street was all boarded up. A block away, the businesses had bars over the windows. There were muggings and shootings in the area daily. And while she didn’t care for the area, the venue was always packed. And they had a following. There was nothing quite like being on stage with the energy of the crowd engaging with your music. It pumped her up, added fuel to the flames, and made her perform even harder.

Cliff pulled his van next to the back entrance. There was always more of a chance back here in the alley for something to go wrong. But at least she was here with Cliff to help act as a deterrent. They started unloading their equipment, carting in Cliff’s drums, her guitar and amplifier, the microphones, and all the rest of their supplies.

And while they carried it all in, she thought about the surprise visit by the last person she expected to find on her doorstep.

Josh, with his sexy smirks and dark glares, was at her house. She’d been dumbfounded when she opened the door and found him on the front stoop. How had she never known that he worked with her sister?

Although the house didn’t belong to her. Her sister owned it. But Lisa was being kind enough to rent her a room. It wasn’t ideal, and they didn’t see eye to eye on most issues. But on the bright side, she wasn’t living with her parents.

Josh Ryan.

Her body zapped to life as she recalled his sexy swagger and the way he filled out a suit. The man was too sexy for his own good. It was no wonder submissives dropped their panties for him without blinking. All he had to do was smile with that rakish charm of his, and they went poof.

He was older, probably in his late thirties given the slight dusting of gray at his temples amid the inky hair he kept trimmed short. Although there was a hint of a curl at the ends that she bet would be sexy as hell if he grew it longer. And she thought the gray made him look distinguished.

The Dom was potently male, even in his suits. The testosterone pumped off him, and there was an aura about him that he could switch from gentleman to a brawler in seconds.

Josh was tall, with a regal presence. Beneath his expensive suits were broad shoulders and an athletic build that she wished she could have seen without his clothes on. His eyes were so dark a brown they appeared black, with hot smoldering flames liable to incinerate the unwary. Add in his chiseled jawline dusted with an inky shadow beard, then toss in his Irish lilt, and it surprised her that she didn’t combust simply from being near him.

And when he went all dominant…

She doubted she would ever forget his dark scowl. Nor the way he’d gripped her arm and dragged her over to the couch. The sheer scope of the strength in him had shot a jolt of arousal through her that made her legs weak. It was the only reason she hadn’t put up a fight.

Well, that and the moment he touched her, the shockwave of an exploding star enveloped her entire body. His touch was so potent she’d come close to moaning.

It was one of the reasons she’d refused him. A Dom like that, who set off sparks with a simple innocuous touch, was far too dangerous to tangle with.

But she’d wanted him last weekend more than she had wanted another man in a long damn time. And her reaction was a problem. Because she’d never felt such carnal chemistry with anyone. It was the type that would make her lose herself in him.

And she would never get involved with a player again. She had done that once and had earned the damn T-shirt.

Only a self-destructive moron would return for second helpings. And while her family might think she was one step away from total ruin, she was smarter than they gave her credit for and wouldn’t destroy her life over a man ever again.

But it made her uncomfortable that he knew where she lived. Not that he would do anything about it, but it unsettled her all the same. Because he knew more about her than most at the club. And she preferred to remain tight-lipped about her living situation—and life in general. Because she didn’t want the censure. She didn’t need anyone’s advice on how she could better her situation.

She lived her life on her terms and no one else’s.

Robbie and Nate had arrived before them. As a group, they worked on getting the stage set up for their gig. And she did her best to avoid Travis, her ex and the owner of the Jukebox. They dated for about six months when she first moved back two years ago. The two-timing, narcissistic jerkwad acted all big and bad, but he was nothing more than a total slimeball. They’d broken things off almost eighteen months ago. But he acted like she would come running back to him any day now and couldn’t survive without him.

But she would never touch him again. Not even if her life depended upon it.

Once the stage was set up, she ventured toward the bar to grab a hot tea with lemon to take back to the dressing room.

On her way up to the bar, Travis trapped her in the hall. Dammit.

His blond hair was shaved in a military buzz cut. He bragged he had served in the army. But she’d never seen his dog tags or anything that led her to believe it wasn’t just another one of his lies. Every part of his outfit, from his jeans to his tee and leather jacket to his demeanor, projected the appearance he was a tough guy.

But she knew when the chips were down, he would run.

“Hey babe, been a while.” Travis cornered her against the wall with a lewd grin. He checked her out with a nod. “Looking fine tonight. Once your band is done playing, we should have a drink.”

---