Page 2 of Reckless
Red lips screaming my named changed to the memory of pink lips smiling at me, a lilting laugh that made my heart race faster even as I tried to drag my focus back to the blonde. In my mind’s eye, Kelly ran her fingers down my chest like she had back then, making sweat pop out all over my body. My cock swelled. We’d been lightning and fireworks before becoming storm clouds brewing into a hurricane that swept us out to sea.
My eyes closed, and I concentrated on the moan of the bass guitar, the boom of the drum, the whine of the six string as all three blended together in a song that broke my heart all over again. I tried to detach from the words, tried to tell myself they were meaningless, but the memory of her face blocked out the stage, the crowd, the noise.
She clapped wildly after I played it for her from the track on my phone as we sat in my car. She’d heard it when I wrote it for her, but not recorded.
“Oh, Gage, I love it! It’s amazing.” Her compliment made my heart soar like a reckless dove, her words better than a big hit. “I love you, Gage.” She flung her arms around my neck. “You’re going to be famous one day, a rock star playing massive gigs.”
I laughed. “When I do, I will always sing this song first. Because it’s my song for you, and you’re the most important thing in my life.” She blushed as I tucked a dark lock behind her ear. “By then, you’ll be my wife.”
I was so certain, so cocky in the knowledge that us being together forever would just happen. I never could’ve envisioned a time when I would hate every word of that song.
My heart twisted, and I belted out the lyrics as if the words leaving my lungs would take the pain with them.
“And you’ll be my husband,” she declared, rocking back and forth with each word for emphasis.
I placed my hand possessively on the small of her back and grinned. “Are you sure you won’t be jealous of all the adoring fans? My band is bound to have groupies galore.”
“I know that, but I don’t care because I’m your biggest fan.” She’d made my dick swell every time she’d said it.
“You’ll always be mine,” I growled, ready to haul her over the console.
I’d loved that she belonged to me. That I belonged to her. It was everything to me, a guy who had never really belonged anywhere. I had absolutely zero intention of ever loving anyone else. And I hadn’t. Couldn’t.
“Sing it to me,” she demanded, brushing her lips lightly against mine to persuade me.
The silk of her warm lips pulled me in, and I pressed mine over hers harder, letting the now familiar zing rush through my blood.
“I want you to sing it to me while I take my clothes off for you.”
My lower regions throbbed as I reached for my guitar. “Well, I’m not going to say no to that, now am I?”
That was the past.
Now, I had my pick from any woman in the audience, every night.Anynight. Which was better,much betterthan having one woman. I could even have two, hell, three at the same time if I wanted.
My eyes wandered to the blonde chick, now rubbing her ample tits on the stage’s edge like it was the man of her dreams. Two or three women just like her together…didn’t seem as exciting as it should’ve.
Groupies were part and parcel of the rock star lifestyle. It didn’t matter where we were in the world, women threw themselves at me—sometimes naked in advance. Ben and Andy and Bryan got attention too, even though Bryan had been in a long-term relationship since before the band got together. But as the front man and lead singer, it was always going to be me.
Sometimes, I dove headfirst into that. Other times not so much. But none of my experiences had been quite like Kelly Cavendish.
She was always in the back of my brain. I supposed she was “the one who got away,” the woman with whom I would never know how it could’ve been.
The second I thought I was doing fine, the damn song reached down in my chest and gripped my heart, twisted. Tonight, I was heading out with our resident wild child, Ben, to have a good time at the club. If things had been different, Kelly would be waiting for me instead. We could’ve been together, making it work like Bryan and his missus.
The last notes of the song finally died away, replaced by renewed fervor from the audience. I didn’t let my eyes drink in the room again until it was completely done, and I could better give the fake grin as a reward for the cheering.
Thank God that part was done. Now I could get back to enjoying myself.
I was living the dream, after all. Gaged was everything I’d ever wanted and more.
“Are you all enjoying yourself, New York?” I shot Andy a grateful look as he took over, screams answering his query. He knew better than the others why that song was such a challenge for me. “Do you want some more?”
Screams burst through my eardrums, drowning out my thoughts. Then Ben banged out a rhythm with his drumsticks and started us off again. A faster song this time, a chance to get sweaty and wild.
We played for hours, taking every screamed request until the four of us were ready to drop. It was one reason we were so loved by fans. We worked our asses off for them and didn’t give it up until they were happy.
After the encore, Ben laughed and gave me a sweaty high-five. “That was badass, bitches! We killed it tonight.” He scooped a bottle of beer out of a cooler and took a long drink. “So, you ready to head out, party, locate some ladies?”
