Devil's Despair Box Set: Books 1-3 (47 page)

Seduce Me 01:52 a.m.
Oh, God.

01:52 a.m.
That’s what she said.

Seduce Me 01:53 a.m.
I’m texting for a reason and not THAT ONE. I wanted to be sure we were good.

01:53 a.m.
Together? Very.

Seduce Me 01:54
Hayden!!

01:54 a.m.
LOL Yes, we’re good. Now go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Seduce Me 01:54 a.m.
Good night, Hayden.

01:54 a.m.
Good night, Lacey.

“You’re smiling.” I lift my head to see Jenna standing in my kitchen doorway wearing my Devil’s Despair tee shirt and boxers. Even though we’re friends, I still wish she wasn’t here. I should’ve stayed at Trav’s with Lacey, finishing what we started.

“Yeah, something funny,” I answer, lifting my body off the counter and putting my whiskey glass on it.

“You don’t smile like that if it’s just something funny. Who is she?”

Who is she?
The simple answer. “Travis’s little sister, Lacey.”

“Who is she to you?” she inquires carefully, “You can tell me.”

“Why aren’t you in bed?” I change the subject, not wanting to discuss Lacey and our night together with anyone. Especially not Jenna.

“Wanted to double-check on you. You’re not acting like Hayden,” she states with uncertainty.

Moving from the kitchen to living room, I get comfortable on my bed for the night. Jenna follows me and sits herself on the couch next to me. ”How does Hayden act?”

“Well, I’ve never seen you look at your phone and text with a smirk. I’ve certainly never heard you talk about another woman with a smile, either.”

“She’s fun.”

“Fun,” she repeats, moving the hair behind her ear to get a better angle to study me.

“I’m fun.”

“You are.”

“I’m sensing there’s more. Explain.”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“But you like this Lacey.”

“I do.”

“You two . . . had sex, didn’t you?”

“Do you really want to talk about this?”

She laughs, out loud and animatedly. “Yes. Hayden, I’m not oblivious to your charm, remember? I don’t want anything more from you than what we have. I just would like to know if what we have is going to be ending soon.”

Before I can pull back the words, I say, “It is.”

Her face drops, her smile fades, and replacing it is a look of sentiment. Her head tilts to the side and her voice is soft and genuine. “Hayden’s been caught.”

“Caught?”

“Hayden’s been captured,” she accuses with a light grin.

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Getting up from the couch, she offers me the pillow I put on the floor and when I reach to grab it from her, she holds it tighter. “There are worse things than finding someone you think you could start to care about.”

“Even for a man like me?”

“Yes, Hayden. Even a man like you deserves to find what he’s never had.”

“I guess.” I shrug, hating that the person I’ve done no more than fuck in the last few months is using this to make a point.

“I’ll consider myself dumped,” she says light-heartedly as she heads back to my room.

“I’ll consider myself an ass for dumping you.”

“Good,” she replies loudly, closing the door behind her.

Fuck. I just let my whore-fucking-equal walk away. I’m losing my fucking mind. I’ve got to be.

CHAPTER TEN

Lacey

TRAVIS WASN’T HOME when I finally made it out of bed this morning, but he left a note telling me Ace took him to work so I would have the Jeep today to get some errands done. My car is shit and until he has time to fix it, he doesn’t want me driving around a city I’m not familiar with.

My first thought of the day:
I’m sore.
I’ve never felt my body’s aches and pains in the good way I do now.

My second thought:
Never in my adult life have I contemplated taking part in a one-night stand.
I’ve come to think of Hayden as a friend and after he left last night, I felt as though I had burned that bridge.

Doughnuts, dairy, and desperation were on the agenda for tonight until I see my cell phone ringing on the nightstand beside my bed.

“Hi, Shelby.”

“Hey, honey. We need you tonight. Trav’s group is playing at eight and Sheridan’s taking second set. Can you make it?”

My voice breaks with anxiety; if I work when they’re playing, I have to face him soon. “Tonight?”

“Yeah. I know, I know, you’re scheduled to be off, but Mel and I really need you.”

My plans of binge-eating myself into oblivion fade with my answer. “Sure. I don’t have any plans.”

“Great! Thank you, doll. I owe you.”

“See ya later then.”

A few hours later, I’m alone and eating at the dining room table when I check the time: four-thirty. Hayden hasn’t called or sent a text message. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to expect any contact after last night. Either way, I’m okay with it, but it would be nice to hear his voice again.

Addison has one-night stands all the time; I never once thought to ask her the standard etiquette that takes place afterwards. If she were talking to me, I could call her but she’s not returning any of my messages yet.

“I’m working tonight,” I tell Travis as he walks in the door from work, looking already exhausted even before he has to be at The Ward.

“What? You said you were off.”

“Well, I’m not. Shelby called,” I snap. Travis didn’t do anything wrong, but my frustration with my confusion has me on edge.

His eyebrows rise in humor. “Bad day?”

“Nope. Period’s coming.” It’s not, but any man will slowly walk out of a room backwards at the mention of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Especially if that someone is your
brother.

“Well, okay then. I’m gonna shower.”

I snap again, not hesitating to make him the mark for my anger, even knowing it’s wrong. “Good, you need it. You stink.”

“Wow. That was vicious,” he states, clearly annoyed as he watches me get up from the table where I’ve stewed for the last hour. “How long does Aunt Flo hang around?”

“Weeks!” I shout, heading into my bedroom and slamming the door.

Christ, this sucks.

Walking into The Ward in uniform with the crowd level at max decibels is always a challenge. I’m not on the clock but people are shouting their orders, barking complaints, and some ass-grabbing ensues. I’m definitely not in the mood.

“Holy fucking crazy, good to see you, Lace!” Shelby shouts from behind the bar.

I give her the same dull stare I gave Travis earlier, only this one is laced with ammo ready to explode at any minute. I spent my day sulking; no need to change my rhythm now. Hayden didn’t do anything wrong by not calling today, but still, I’m pissed.

“Bad day?” she asks while pouring three shots of tequila for a male customer who stands in front of her staring at her cleavage in her tight shirt. I grab one, toss it back, and then slam the glass; my way of asking for a refill. She refuses, as she should, and grabs a clean glass after taking the dirty one away. “I guess so,” she says, answering her own question, “Trav’s looking for you. He looked nervous when he asked when you’d be in.”

“I bet,” I admit, rehashing his shocked face in the midst of my afternoon attitude.

“He said to tell you he’d be around when you felt like talking. Sounded suspicious, but I’ll leave you two to discuss it later.”

“Thanks,” I return, wrapping the apron around my waist.

Tonight after Trav left, I went at my own pace while getting ready. I straightened my hair, took extra time with makeup, rubbed down with lotion, and overall appreciated the distraction while pampering myself. I deserved it after what my morning started out to be.

All because of a man.

“The girls are already here. Rae was looking for you and before I forget, Hayden’s looking for you, too. You’re a popular girl tonight.” She winks, having no idea why I’m a topic of anyone’s conversation.

“She’s always a popular girl.” I feel the breath on my neck and inwardly cringe with exhaustion and disgust. Dan Michaels playing tonight wasn’t something I wanted to taint my already pouty mood.

Shit.

Turning around to face him, I put my hand on his chest and push him away slightly. “Go away, Dan.”

“You owe me a drink.”

“I owe you nothing.”

Dismissing my rejection in its entirety, he demands, “Tonight then.”

Dismissing his ridiculous assumption, I return, “Won’t happen, and I’m not in the mood to explain what that means.”

With the refusal on the table, Dan pushes himself against me and I hear Shelby call for Mel over the radio music blaring through the speakers. “This wasn’t a negotiation. It’s a drink, little Lacey.”

Hearing Dan coining me a nickname makes me nauseous. I reject the invite again, adding insult to injury. “I don’t date men.”

It’s a lie and he sees through it.

He starts to lean his face toward my neck, leering down with a smile of a jackal when suddenly he’s violently pulled back. I don’t see who has a hand on him until the crowd moves and Dan falls to the floor after a swift punch to the face. I’ve been around bars enough to know that panicking does nothing to help the situation, so I let it play out.

“Touch her again, you’ll never set foot in this place again.” Trey, the added bouncer who was just hired, sneers down at Dan as he grabs his now bloody nose.

“Fuck, you asshole. We were talking.”

Trey spits on the floor beside him, disregarding his excuse. “Don’t talk to her again.”

Dan gets up and chest-bumps Trey just as Mel makes his way out. “Last warning, Michaels. Keep your hands off the women or you won’t be asked to come back.”

“This is
bullshit!
” he shouts, walking away and making his way to his crowded table.

Calming down and looking up, I see Travis coming toward me in a rush. “Are you okay?” he asks me, wiping away the tear I didn’t feel falling down my face.

“Yeah, he’s an ass.”

“He is.”

Looking beyond Trav’s shoulder, I see Hayden and Ace making their way over to us. Ace is fuming and Hayden looks lost and confused in the commotion.

“They all are,” I say in reference to men in general. “I’ve got to get to work.”

“Lacey,” Trav says, aiming to get my attention.

“I’m fine, Travis. Let me work. Go set up. I’ll talk to you later.”

When Travis turns around, I watch as he pushes on Ace’s chest as Ace tries to make his way to me. Hayden stands alone behind them, watching me with care, but doesn’t make another move toward me. He missed what had happened; his confusion is evident.

When Devil’s Despair finally takes stage, fifteen minutes late thanks to Dan, the women all make their way up front and center on the stage, leaving the men who brought them to linger around the bar talking amongst themselves. The drinks are flowing and the tips are paying off. Generally having two bands play in one night doesn’t happen, but Mel and Ace both agreed for the need to start mixing things up.

“You’re new?” a gentle voice says beside me as I wait for Shelby to finish making the round of drinks I just ordered.

He’s handsome in a boyish way, nothing I would find to stand out in a crowd. His eyes are green, and his hair is a soft blond. He has an easy and relaxing smile that screams ‘friend zone.’ I find myself summing him up. He seems harmless.

“I am. I’ve been here a couple of weeks.”

“I’m Ryan.” He stretches his hand toward me to shake it.

Yes, he’s sweet. “Lacey.”

He lets my hand go and continues the standard greeting. “Nice to meet you, Lacey.”

Curiously, I ask, “Is your girlfriend enjoying the music?”

He smiles again, looking into the crowd of drunk and crazy women, and replies, “Yeah. She’s a big fan of their singer. Poor girl gets to go home with me, though. I suppose I’m a great disappointment in comparison.”

“Hayden Flynn,” I say with a dramatic sigh, causing him to blush under the lights of the bar. “Well, if it helps, Brad Pitt himself is a disappointment in comparison.” He laughs out loud; his sweet smile is just as endearing as the rest of him. “No, really. Look at him.” I point with dramatic gesture. “I can honestly say even Adam Levine wants to be Hayden Flynn.”

“Maybe.” He nods, taking a drink of his beer. “You know him?”

“Adam Levine? No.”

“No, Hayden.”

“Well. I’m Travis’s sister. I just moved here. So, yes, I know Hayden. They’re shadows of each other.”

He gets up from his stool after finding his woman again in the crowd, “Well, Lacey, Travis’s sister, the girl who knows Hayden, it was nice meeting you. Take care.”

“You, too.”

* * *

Hayden

I’ve never witnessed the crowd in such a state of frenzy. I’ll admit the women tonight are here to see both Sheridan, the British dick, and myself. When Ace mentioned setting up both bands to play at the same venue, I was nervous. Generally, the Despair crowd is relaxed and settled. Tonight, coupled with Dragon’s Mansion fans, the crowd’s noise level is off the charts. Mel hired a few temporary bouncers to assist, but I’m still unsure.

Usually our first song up on stage is a laid-back and easy one for me. Tonight, even though the song choice is set up to relax my vocal chords, I feel anything but relaxed.

Lacey is working the section in front of the stage and she’s done everything she can to avoid looking up at me. She’s carrying on with the women and laughing at their overly dramatic party ways. I watch as she floats her way back to the bar for more drinks to deliver, stopping to say hi to the regular customers and smile softly to those she doesn’t know.

Midway through set, after our fourth song, I make my way to Ace who stands side stage with his usual clipboard in hand and pen in ear. “Watch the girls. I can’t see Rae’s table anymore and Marlee’s not standing where she should be.”

“You’re stressing?” he asks, smiling. “That’s new.”

Not wanting to debate my change in mood, I tell him with a stern tone, “Just watch, okay?”

“Yeah, got it. Do you think there’s ever a chance I wouldn’t?”

He’s right. I should’ve known he’d have one eye on Rae for certain. When I follow his line of sight, I see Raegan sitting alone at her table, not drinking. “She still hung over?”