Читать книгу Come Together - Madelynne Ellis, Madelynne Ellis - Страница 11

Xane was definitely up. Dani couldn’t divert her gaze from his loins and the evidence of that fact, all the way from his dressing-room door to the green room. Surely he couldn’t walk on stage like that? He’d get done for obscenity or something.

‘Are you really going to walk out there hard?’ She reached across and gave his cock a little squeeze.

Xane repressed a groan, but a flash of excitement shot from the centres of his eyes. ‘It won’t be the first time.’

‘Someone else got you this excited?’

He fell quiet and got a strange faraway look in his eyes. Damn, she ought to have realised. Only one person made his vision cloud like that. Dani moved her hand and squeezed his fingers instead. She didn’t want him choked up on memories. Nor did she want the reminder of his fluid sexuality. She thought she probably ought to say or do something, but they had reached the backstage area and all of a sudden there were too many people around for them to discuss anything so private.

Her worries about Xane quickly passed as they were thrown in the whirl of activity. Dani realised it was the first time she’d seen the whole band together in one place. Her inner fan-girl took over, so she was sporting a stupid grin she couldn’t dislodge. Spook and Ash were chatting to a couple of the road crew. Elspeth Shriik was sipping water through a straw while glaring with undisguised hatred at Iain Willows, who wasn’t at all what Dani had expected.

In her mind’s eye she’d dressed him in tight black leathers, with one of those strange bolero-type jackets that covered the arms and fastened above the abs but left the whole chest on display. She’d envisaged him being kind of hot, but borderline sleazy too. Only he wasn’t that. He wasn’t really very Black Halo-ish either. He looked more pop than rock with his razor-cut hair and his thick beetling eyebrows, as if he’d come straight from entertaining the tweenage crowd. No wonder Xane had his doubts. Luthor would definitely have been a more obvious fit. She wondered if he’d returned to the sound booth to help Ulf or if he’d actually walked out.

One of the crew fitted Xane with an earpiece, while another supplied him with a banana. ‘Pre-gig ritual,’ he explained, in response to her curious stare. ‘It’s hard work out there. This stops me coming off stage completely bushed.’

‘You’d better eat a few of them, then,’ she advised, snatching a second banana from the same crew member, and peeling it ready for Xane to eat. ‘I’m going to want you wide awake, not sleepy.’

‘I don’t think that’ll be a problem.’ Still, he took her offering, and devoured it in four bites.

‘Don’t any of the others partake?’

‘They’ve quirks of their own.’ He drew her attention to them in turn. ‘Spook mutters some ancient Swedish ode, and he doesn’t need bananas. He practically lives on guarana and goji berries. Elspeth,’ he said without looking at his former lover, ‘spritzes herself with exactly five squirts of Midnight Poison, but not until the very last second. Rock Giant burns a few new holes in the ozone layer making sure those spikes of his stay in place.’

‘And Ash?’

‘He’ll have spent the last hour sucking aniseed balls, so he tastes like he’s been necking Pernod.’

She didn’t enquire how he knew what Ash tasted like, already knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. However, the damage was already done, and her overactive imagination had produced a crystal-clear image of Xane and Ash kissing. It was hard enough dealing with the fact that Xane had been in love with Steve Matlock, let alone speculating on what relationships he’d had and what things he’d done with the rest of the band. It wouldn’t surprise her to learn that he’d slept with every goddamned one of them. She didn’t need confirmation of that fact, though. It might not surprise her, but it did make her hideously queasy.

‘Ash also likes to line up his post-show entertainment.’ He nodded his head towards a huddle of girls waiting in the corner. To Dani’s astonishment, her best friend Ginny was among them.

‘What – how are you here? Why are you here?’

‘Same as you. I’m scoring myself a red-hot rock star.’ She winked at Xane, who turned away. ‘I got myself a legit pass this time.’ It read, ‘Property of Ash Gore’.

‘We’ll speak in a bit,’ Dani said, before scuttling off to catch up with Xane, whose attention had turned to the new guy. She hoped Ginny knew what she was doing, and wasn’t going to get herself hurt. Ash wasn’t like Xane. He didn’t get emotionally invested.

‘I hope you’re not drinking too much of that shit.’

Dani jumped in response to Xane’s growl. It wasn’t directed at her but at Iain Willows, who was busy necking a very large and lethal-looking cocktail.

Showing impressive guts, Iain locked gazes with Xane. ‘Is there a problem with me having a drink?’

‘No. No problem.’ Ash darted between them, his palms raised towards Xane. ‘It’s just one drink, Xane. It’s not a problem.’

‘If he’s playing for us, I want him sober.’

‘He’s not going to get wasted on one drink. It’s not like he’s downed a dozen pints.’

‘It’s OK, Ash.’ Iain pushed Ash to one side so he could address Xane directly. ‘I get this is difficult for you. Steve was a fantastic drummer, I know I’m going to have a hell of a time trying to replace him, but –’

‘You’ll never replace him.’ Xane turned his back and stalked away.

Dani lingered a moment, staggered by Xane’s bluntness.

‘He’s still in shock,’ she muttered by way of an explanation. ‘He doesn’t find it easy to talk about Steve.’

Ash nodded in agreement with her. He clapped Iain on the back. ‘Give him time. It’s only been a few weeks.’

‘Maybe you’re not ready to be on tour.’

‘But we are. It’ll be fine. It’s only the first night. Once we’re through this, things will settle down.’

Dani hoped Ash was right, but at the moment she wasn’t even sure how Xane was going to manage to sing. ‘How do you and Ash know one another?’ she asked Iain.

‘We were in a band together once. Sorry, who are you?’

‘She’s Xane’s girlfriend,’ Ash said.

‘Oh, right! It was back in college. Do you ever see any of those guys any more?’

‘No.’

‘Remember Tom? I wonder if he still has a games controller welded to his hand.’

‘Probably. Shouldn’t you catch up with Xane?’ Ash nudged her in the direction of her lover. Dani caught up with Xane as he was slipping his yellow contact lenses in. He blinked to make sure they were sitting right. It shocked her just how much they altered his visage. Gone were the shadows and pain she knew he had locked up inside, replaced by a vision of ghoulish decadence.

‘What?’ he asked, curling his lip in response to her stare.

‘Are you all right?’

‘Yeah.’

‘It’s just you were –’ She didn’t want to say rude, even though that’s exactly what he’d been. ‘It’s not his fault. He’s helping you out, Xane.’

‘Yeah, ’cause stepping in to drum for Black Halo is a real hardship. He’s not helping us. He’s helping himself.’

‘Must you be quite so cynical?’

‘Yes, actually.’ He sneered, in a way that probably shouldn’t have wet her panties but did.

‘Xane.’

‘What?’

She stretched on tiptoes to steal a kiss.

‘Um,’ he responded, not pushing her away.

‘Are you always this tense right before you go on?’

‘Sometimes. Not always. It’s odd going out there without him. We’ve always done this together, and now I have to introduce him.’ He inclined his head towards Iain without looking at him. ‘Like I want to go out and say, this is our farewell to Steve and, by the way, here’s his substitute.’

‘Then don’t introduce him. Just play.’

He smiled. ‘And you think I’m rude.’ He shook his head, but kept on grinning. ‘Come here. I need another one of these.’ He demanded another kiss, and another, like he hoped to find strength inside her. Rock Giant walked past and made a loud puking noise. Xane responded by sticking a finger up at him. He didn’t release her, though, not until Ash tapped him on the shoulder.

‘Time’s up, mate. You need to put the nice lady down now.’ He grasped hold of Xane’s upper arm and used the hold to turn him away from Dani and towards the stage. ‘We just need to borrow him for a bit. I swear I’ll bring him back.’

‘Stay right there,’ Xane insisted. ‘The moment I get off …’

‘You’ll what? Get her off?’ Ash interrupted. He gave her a cheeky grin. ‘We’re having a live sex show as an encore. You never said that. If I’d known, I’d have put it on the advertising.’

Xane slapped him round the head, but Dani was grateful to him for lightening the mood.

‘Save it for later, boys.’ Spook glided past them, his guitar already in his hands. ‘You can do all the manly wrestling you like post-show.’

‘I’d rather wrestle with his special friend.’ Ash grabbed Dani’s hand and twirled her round.

Xane dragged him off her. ‘Get your own special friend.’

Ash pouted. ‘But Xane, all my friends are special.’ He waved at the girls waiting patiently in the corner. ‘Since you’re bringing Dani, can I bring them along?’

Xane shoved him up onto the stage.

‘Good luck,’ Dani called after them. She went and joined Ash’s fan club, who had a prime spot at the front of the stage. She was still surprised by Ginny’s presence among them. ‘Why are you here?’ she asked again.

‘To save you the best spot in the house.’ She dragged Dani to the front, right up against the barrier. ‘And Ash is hot. I fancied another helping. You can’t blame me for wanting a little of what you have with Xane.’

‘I don’t, but … Ginny, he’s not like Xane. He’s –’

‘Thank God. You can keep mister tall, dark and brooding. I’ll have mister –’

‘– slightly less tall and brooding,’ Dani suggested.

Ginny conceded the point with a grin. ‘Yeah, I guess.’ She linked their arms. ‘This is going to be epic. Are you ready to scream yourself hoarse?’

Dani nodded, because the band had exploded into sound and there was no way Ginny would possibly hear her reply. She had to wonder at her friend’s behaviour, though. Since when was standing in the crowd or singing herself hoarse Ginny’s idea of fun? The last time they’d come to see Black Halo, Ginny hadn’t been remotely interested in seeing them play, only on scoring herself a good time. Evidently the night she’d spent with Ash, Spook and Rock Giant had changed her mind about that. She was now yelling like she was their number-one fan.