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I roll my eyes and do my best to ignore it. “Josephine will help you pin down the style you want, but I don’t want you trying to fit what you think you should be. This is about showing Lily the artist, but the artist needs to reflect the person.” I wait for her to argue, lifting a brow in anticipation of push-back, but she stays quiet. “What? No argument?”
Her shoulders lift. “Why would I argue? I don’t want to be someone else.”
My lips twitch as I rake my eyes over her. The short black leather skirt paired with a hot pink, off-the-shoulder sweater and thigh-high boots—she knows how I feel about those boots—is a combination of sweet and dangerous, riddled with sex appeal. On any given day, her eclectic but always fashionable style changes. Predictable is not a word to describe Aliana Martin. Even though I know her well enough to know her every thought, she always surprises me.
“You have a strong social media presence, which you know. The marketing and PR team will work with you to utilize it to build hype.”
“I don’t need help to build hype.” She rolled her eyes and huffed. “I’ve been around the block as a model and influencer to know how social media works.”
The twitch gets stronger. I knew I wouldn’t get two agreeable comments in a row. “You’ll work with them, Lily. No arguments.” If looks could kill… “I already have musicians lined up for recording, so that’s taken care of.”
“Excuse me?” Now, her eye twitches. By the time this meeting is done, we will both need some benzos and a drink. “It’s my music. Shouldn’t I get the say-so in who plays it?”
“Do you want your brother and the guys to do it?” Her open mouth snaps shut, and the color drains from her face. “That’s what I thought.” I shake my head, a little exasperated by her lack of confidence in her music. Yes, Angel is better, but he has also been playing since he was a kid. She only just begun a little over a year ago. And that’s why she is here. Why I’m here, even if I fought it at the beginning. To polish her rough, raw, but highly emotional songs into diamonds. “For the record, Angel will hear eventually. He’s already annoyed you won’t let him listen.”
She bites her cheeks as her lashes flutter. “I’m aware. I just… I’ve got to get out of my head over it.”
“He’ll be proud of you, Lily,” I reassure her best, but I know it won’t help. She proves it when she makes a doubtful noise in the back of her throat. “Aside from marketing and PR, though, the first thing we need to do is finish the songs.”
The muscles in her legs and arms tighten, and the tendons in her neck strain as her entire body reacts to the statement. “What’s wrong with the songs? And what do you mean we?”
“I mean we, as in you and me. And the songs are great, but you have two that are a total of five lines and three without a chorus.”
She begins to squirm. And this is the part I was dreading. For all her ferocity, this girl struggles to believe in her sound. It was evident in the tracks. The pure emotion emanating from each song and her natural talent drew Maddox and Ryder in despite her voice’s shaky, uncontrolled tone and lack of confidence. I hope knowing they want to record them gave her a boost, but they told me she accused them of using this to manipulate us, so I know it won’t be that simple. Nothing with her ever is.
“The Beatles had songs without a chorus. Her mouth twists to the side. And Robert Pattinson had that short song in Twilight.” She knows her argument is weak. How she won’t look up and how her finger fidgets with the chair arm gives her away.
“Robert Pattison got the song in there because he was part of the movie because it doesn’t sound finished either. And there are a lot of songs with empty choruses, but it’s because it works. Yours don’t. You know I’m right, Lily. They’re not finished, but I’m going to help you finish them.”
“You don’t play, remember?” Her voice is still low, but she’s set the challenge, even if she doesn’t realize it.
I push away from the desk, place my hands on either side of the chair, and drop my face to hers. “And you remember, for you I do.” I inhale her sweet floral scent of lilies and jasmine. Exactly what you’d expect from her. “Fuck, I miss you, baby. Giselle misses you, too.”
She turns her head, bringing our mouths millimeters from each other. I must have an iron will because, goddamn, every ounce of my being wants to taste her. Her long lashes dance over her cheeks as her warm breath fans my face. “You kept her?”
“Of course, I kept the furball.” A light chuckle escapes me as my forehead drops to hers. “You love her.”
She doesn’t even realize when she inches closer to me. One small move and our lips will meet. “I-I should come get her.” Her breath is warm and inviting as it brushes my lips, but her words…
“No,” I tell her as I lean back a fraction.
The spell breaks, at least for her, and those dark eyes lose the haze of lust. The fiery hatred returns with vengeance, making me smirk. “You can’t tell me no. She’s mine.”
“Except I just did. She has been with me for months. We’ve bonded.” It’s not a lie. The little urchin has developed a fascination with me. Probably because I’m the only human in the apartment. I’m sure she’d be glad to have Lily back, but I’m not telling her that. “So no, you’re not taking her.”
“She’s my cat, asshole. And I know I left other things there, too. You can’t stop me from getting them.”
“Wanna bet? I’ve already told building security not to let you up.”
Her jaw drops, brows hit her hairline, and eyes get wide as dinner plates as disbelief and shock distort her features. After a breath, she regains some of her composure. “Are you kidding? You are the one who sat outside my dad’s house for days like a creepy stalker, and you told your building security I can’t come up.”
“Yep. For the record, I didn’t just sit outside your dad’s house. We shared a few beers, too. We’re great friends now.” Also not a lie, but Michael probably won’t appreciate me throwing him under the bus. “But you’re not allowed up. I’m trying to do the right thing, but I won’t be responsible for my actions when you step back into our space. You won’t leave there again unless you say what we both know is true. You’re mine. Until then, the panties and the pussy stay.”
Lily
“Is everything okay, Miss Martin?” the driver asks when I roll the window down in the car.
My lips form a tight smile as I nod, then tip my head toward the open window, seeking the icy blast that blows as we make our way down the expressway. My entire body is wound tight and feels like an inferno burning from the inside out.
