Page 4 of Stoker's Serenity

The way she was looking at him with murder in her light brown eyes said he wasn’t going to be her boyfriend after tonight, though.

Hell, I hoped not, but as pretty as Linny was, in that tall, blonde, willowy modelesque way, my gaze was drawn back to Serenity, who was pulling her small purse out from underneath the passenger seat of the Prius. Her heart-shaped ass was displayed nicely where she bent over through the open back door of the cage and I’d be lying if I said she hadn’t piqued my interest in the slightest.

“Look,” I said, stopping Linny and Tyler’s low-key quarreling. “My set is long done, and I’m about ready to head outta here myself. I would be happy to take Serenity home if you guys are all cool with it. I mean, it’s really up to her.”

All eyes turned to Serenity as she stood frozen in the open doorway of the car, just far enough inside the reach of the pool of floodlight we were standing in for us to make out the surprised expression on her face. She looked at me, and I stared kind of calmly back at her, silently willing her to take me up on my offer. I wanted to get a shot at getting her number.

I figured that I could give her the ride home, score her digits, and be on my way home to Ft. Royal. Nice and tidy. Plus, I didn’t think she would want a front-row seat to the ugly fight brewing between her friend and her fuckboi. Clearly there wasn’t anything else there, the more I watched the two of them. I mean, I don’t know what the fuck else any female would see in this guy other than the looks, and possibly his taste in music.

“Sounds good to me,” Tyler said and Linny backhanded him against his shoulder, the slap of her fingers against his studded leather jacket snappy. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and waited for Serenity to make up her mind. She was looking at Tyler and Linny and her eyes abruptly flicked to mine, where she grabbed hold of the offer like I was throwing her a lifeline.

“You’re sure you wouldn’t mind?” she asked.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t have offered if I did,” I said, smiling.

“You guys, I feel like I’ve already ruined your evening, you go on back inside. I’ll catch a ride from Stoker and I’ll text you as soon as I get home,” she told Linny. “I promise,” she added hastily when her friend looked like she was going to protest.

The look on Linny’s face said that Tyler was a dead man. I didn’t even feel sorry for him.

“Look, it’s like a half-hour from here to your place.” Linny held up her phone and the flash went off in my face. I blinked and she said to me, “I’m giving you forty-five minutes. If she doesn’t text me the minute she gets to her door, I’m taking this picture straight to the cops.”

“Easy.” I waved her down. “Nothing’s going to happen to your friend. I mean, if it does, it will literally be over my dead body. Don’t forget who was there for her inside,” I said and tried to be nice about the stinging remark.

“Fine,” Linny grated and Serenity came up and hugged her.

“Got my keys, got my wallet, and got my phone. I promise, I’ll text you as soon as I get there.”

“God, this feels so stupid,” Linny whispered, and I pretended like I didn’t hear it.

“It’ll be fine,” Serenity whispered back. “I have a good feeling about it.”

I tried not to smile and give myself away that I’d heard anything.

“Cool, thanks, man, I’m going back inside,” Tyler said and Linny scowled but went with him. Dude was about to have a shitty rest of his concert experience.

“So, uh, where’s your car?” Serenity asked me when they’d gone.

I laughed and said, “Bike’s over here.”

3

Serenity…

I eyed him with a bit of trepidation that was quickly giving way to excitement. I’d never been on a motorcycle but I’d always wanted to go for a ride. I never thought I’d ever get the chance.

“You’re not joking, are you?” I asked.

“No. My bass can go in the van with the rest of the equipment, I can get it from the captain’s place tomorrow. Just got to let him know about it.”

“Alright.” I gave a nod and slung my purse across my chest where it was secure.

“Come on, that’s him over there with his Ol’ Lady, Hope.” He jerked his head to a small knot of people in the same jackets and vests with the big octopus patches on the back. I followed along to the side and just behind him as he went up to the people and said, “Hey, Cap. You mind grabbing my bass from the van and keeping it at your place tonight? I’m going to break off from you here and run Serenity home, if that’s cool?”

The man he spoke to eyed me with a sparkle of mischief in his brown eyes and an easy grin on his face. A tall, lithe woman with hair as dark a brunette as my own and eyes an even darker shade of brown let her gaze rove over me tranquilly from where she leaned into his side.

“You okay?” she asked.

I shifted slightly on my feet and replied honestly, “Not really. I just really want to go home.”

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