Page 21 of Guarded Hearts
For the next few hours, despite my best efforts, my gaze kept being drawn to Alyssa. She taught a few of Mia’s fans dance moves from the tour, and she flirted with the bartender.
Every once in a while, she wobbled from the dance floor to the bathroom. Whenever I caught myself staring at her, I re-centered by finding Mia in the crowd and scanning for devices.
No one was allowed their phone in the room. Anyone found with a phone or recording device received a lifetime ban from any future Mia Malone events. For most, that was a deterrent, but there were a few over the last year who risked the consequence. A professional photographercircled to capture the moment, and every fan received a link to the photos after the event.
A glint of something metallic coming out of a pocket caught my attention, and I narrowed my focus. What was it? A lighter? Someone stumbled in front of me, and without thinking, I grabbed their elbow, steadying them. So many drunk people at these events.
When I glanced down, prepared to give them theare you drunk enough yet?look I’d perfected, I found myself locking eyes with Alyssa.
“I think you’re avoiding me.” Her tone was wounded, like my behavior was a personal attack. “I thought we were becoming friends.”
We had been spending a lot of time together, so maybe we were. Didn’t feel like friendship, not yet. Would it ever? I grimaced and gestured toward Mia, only realizing then that I still cradled Alyssa’s elbow in my hand. “I’m working.”
“Everyone is working.” She threw out her hands. “Would it kill you to say ‘hello’ to me?” Her words carried a slight slur, as though she was on the verge of being too drunk.
“Hello,” I said, keeping my expression neutral.
She stared up at me, and the room narrowed, the noise and chaos around us falling away. I could stare into her brown eyes for hours and never want to look anywhere else. In her depths, anger, frustration, and hurt warred. Then another emotion emerged, one I suspected was reflected in my own gaze.Lust. Like every other time I’d caught a glimpse of her tonight, I longed to cart her off, show her what she did to me.
“I’ve never been with a good man before,” she said.
When she wobbled on her heels, I steadied her with a hand on her waist, my fingers brushing against her bare hip. The close contact, the softness of her skin under my hand was making it hard to think clearly,to keep in check. “I’m not sure I’m a good man.” The places my mind was going right now were far from clean or decent.
A partial smile appeared on her face, a mix of amusement and regret. “You are. Trust me. I’ve dated all the assholes. You are not one. I still can’t believe you turned me down in the practice room.” She slumped her shoulders. “You turned me down.”
The pitiful slant of her shoulders stirred my protectiveness. I’d never intended to hurt her. I lowered my head so my lips were close to her ear. Her hair smelled like warm vanilla, and I wanted to nuzzle her neck.
She latched onto my shirt, swaying toward me. The words I’d intended to say lodged in my throat, stuck for a moment, as though resisting escape. “You scare me.” My voice was rough with the confession.
A laugh bubbled out of her, and she stared up at me. “I scare you? But you’re…I mean…you could crack me in half with your bare hands.”
I shook my head. She was too drunk for this conversation, and I wasn’t sure I could explain it better than that. The emotions she stirred were too unpredictable, too feral, more than anyone would ever need to feel for another person. How did someone fall into that intensity and ever pull themselves back out? Mia had been right—an addiction, an obsession—nothing healthy or sane.
“Never mind,” I muttered, scanning for Mia in the crowd, avoiding contact with Alyssa’s glassy gaze.
“No.” Her hand was against the side of my face, enticing me to look again. “Talk to me.”
“You’re drunk.”
“And you’re too sober. What’s your point?”
I clenched my jaw but didn’t answer. Right now, I was at work, and I wouldn’t get into a drunken fight. Even with my anger rising, I was stillturned on, tuned into her, much more than I wanted to be. Her flowery perfume wafted toward me every time she swayed, and the scent made me hard, or harder, because I’d been semi-hard from the minute I’d walked into the room and we’d locked gazes.
“You’re so frustrating.” She stepped to the side and almost toppled over.
The last thing I wanted was to touch her again, but my instinct to protect ran deep. I held onto her elbow while she stabilized herself, and then she yanked off her heels, using me for balance. Once they were off, she was a good three or four inches shorter, and I gazed down, taking in her athletic, petite frame. She really was the prettiest woman I’d ever seen with her long hair, her big eyes, and the steel rod of determination that ran through her.Stubborn.
“Let go of me.” She tugged her elbow out of my grasp, even though she’d been using me for balance. She stepped away and almost fell. I tried to steady her again, but she held up her hand. “No. I can take a hint. You don’t want anything to do with me. Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Fine.”
She stormed away, and I suppressed a grin. She walked like a dog chasing a scent, weaving this way and that.Stubborn. At the bar, she ran her hand along the surface until the bartender noticed her and served her another drink. Not exactly what she needed. She gave the guy the widest smile and then leaned over the bar again, her breasts a plate for him to feast on. My jaw clenched. Weren’t there rules about overserving people?
“Pasha?”
I turned, a frown on my face, and there was Jazz, her gaze roaming between Alyssa at the bar and me. Jazz opened her mouth and then snapped it closed as though she’d thought better of whatever she’d intended tosay. “Mia asked me to get you. One of the groupies is puking in the bathroom. Puke-Woman and her friend need a ride back to their hotel.”
“Thanks,” I said to her, seeking Mia in the crowd, and then I headed in her direction. A distraction from Alyssa was just what I needed.
When I returned from dropping off the two women at their hotel, Alyssa was outside the side entrance. The bartender she’d been flirting with was smoking a cigarette beside her. In the parked car, I debated my options.
