Page 54 of Tracing Holland

Casey shoots me an amused look.“Wow.This is a whole new level of Callie-fire.Good luck, man.”

“Ok, ok!I get it!I’m sorry!”I cry, holding up my hands in surrender.

She continues to glare at me, even as she wraps her arms around me in another hug.“This is what I wanted that night, Luke.I needed a hug, not to watch someone I love and care about self-destruct.Losing you was so much more painful than the silly rumors.”

I sigh.“I know.I’m sorry.I’m getting that now.”

“Do you?”

I grin and lean back.“Actually, I think I do.”

We’re not rollingout to our next stop until the morning, so the consensus is to let off steam at a local club after the show.Even Jesse and the Limelight guys are in, so as much as I dread the thought of an evening with Holland in the seductive atmosphere of a club under the watchful eye of her babysitter Wes, I accept that this is one social obligation I can’t avoid.

Still reeling from our afternoon in the dressing room, I had made the mistake of stalking her performance from backstage later that night.Huge error, since now I can’t get her out of my head.I watch her in the car to the club, as she moves a few paces ahead on her way to the door, study her arm intertwined with Callie’s.She’s gorgeous, as always, but it’s how she’s able to plow right through my epic bullshit and completely stir the dormant core underneath that’s got me glued to her every move.It doesn’t help that her own eyes keep wandering toward me, plunging deep into my soul before tracing every line of my body through my clothing.We both know what we want.We both know we’re not going to be able to have it right now.

We laugh and joke with the others, settling on opposite sides of the table when the hostess shows us to a private area.But that electricity is always there, sparking, waiting for the moment when the hidden glance creeps from a safe conversation with the others to the burning longing for each other just out of reach.My head is a mess, my body fully charged, and when she finally grabs my hand to dance, I’m sure she’s lost her mind.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”I warn as she drags me toward the dance floor.

“It’s a terrible idea, but I don’t care.I have to touch you and figured this was better than tackling you at the table,” she tosses back, sending my hot blood on a rampage.

She turns without warning and throws her arms around my neck, pulling me into her.I immediately feel the tension release and build at the same time, tearing apart anything left of my will.My hands move over her as well, her smooth back, her perfect ass, and when she sucks in her breath to absorb my touch, I don’t know how to stop myself from kissing her.I need her.I need us.

She meets my lips with a hunger that ravishes both of us, and for a brief moment there is no club.No dance floor, no music, no dizzying mix of tightly pressed bodies.There’s nothing, no one, just Holland and Luke, together, filling each other with something we can’t explain and can’t get enough of.But we’re not alone.We have a huge audience, and part of who we are means we don’t get to make our own choices.We both understand that all too well when she quickly pulls back and rests her head against my cheek instead.

She doesn’t have to explain further as I hold her against me.We’re both thinking the same thing.Hoping no one saw our stolen kiss, forced to finish the heated encounter in our heads as our firm bodies melt into each other, all under the pretense of moving to music we can’t even hear.

But we’re not as strong as we’d hoped, and soon it’s her hands making the exploration, her secret sin.I close my eyes, trying to hold myself together, even as she works to unravel me.Her fingers slip under my shirt, spreading a searing heat up my chest, around my waist, then clinging to the edge of my jeans and eliminating any protective gap between us.My pulse is pounding, my breath short as she tortures me, but there’s no way I can bring myself to stop her.I don’t want mercy.I want her hands on me as much as she seems determined to take every inch she can get.It’s all hers, whatever she wants, whatever she can get away with in this dangerous moment.

Her eyes rise to meet mine, pleading with me, trapped in the same impossible crisis that I am.In this place designed for crowds, we need to be alone.We need…I stop cold.

Holland follows my gaze, and I feel her deflate as she instinctively puts some distance between us.Wes’ glare speaks volumes, and we don’t need an explanation about how much he saw.Holland gives me an apologetic look, and I can’t help but sigh as she fights through the crowd in his direction.I watch them argue for a bit before she takes his arm and they disappear from my line of sight.

I’m not sure how long I stand there staring after them, a solitary stone pillar stationed in the midst of the undulating waves of the dance floor.It’s not that I can’t move.I want to, desperately.I just have no idea where to go from here.

I’m notsurprised when Wes corners me in the restroom the first chance he gets, only that he managed to wait this long.I have to assume he’s been watching me all night, and my blood chills at the thought of him stalking me, waiting for this moment to unleash whatever punishment he has planned.I’m not afraid of him, only afraid of what this petty confrontation is going to do to the rickety frame of the new life I’ve just started building.There are a few witnesses in the room, but they seem to have no interest in involving themselves in our drama.I don’t blame them.

“I thought I told you to stay away from her, you piece-of-shit!”he hisses, and I manage to stir my glare enough to match his.

“And I thought I told you she was a big girl and could make her own decisions,” I spit back, moving to the sink as though washing my hands is infinitely more important than anything he has to say.I know I’m making a mistake by stoking the fire, but I’ve never done well with people trying to push me around.I’m the only bully allowed to string myself up.

“I’m talking to you!”he cries, shoving me away from the sink, and I turn on him with the same fire.

“Are you fucking serious?We’re going to do this?Fight over a girl in a bathroom?You’re kidding, right?”I bark at him.

By now, we’re alone and I’m not surprised.We’re acting like raging assholes.I want nothing to do with this; I can’t even imagine how little a random bystander wants to participate.

“Wes, you need to back off, ok?Seriously, just back the fuck off because I’m telling you, this is not going to end well for you.The only reason this has gone on as long as it has is because I have a huge amount of respect for Holland and her band.You’re her band, but take this one step further and I don’t give a shit about the blowback!”

“I’m not going to let you hurt her.I warned you.She’s special and I’m not going to let you use her and throw her away like another one of your groupie sluts!”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me!Get out of my face or this is going to end with us both in the hospital!”

His eyes narrow and his words come out with so much venom I can barely even hear his next phrase.

“Laurel Karns,” he spits, inches from my face.

I stare at him in shock.It’s the last thing I’d expected to hear at that moment and throws me so off guard, I’m afraid he can tell he’s just gained the upper hand.

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