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“I thought I was pretty loose,” I say, remembering what Nick said about me looking like I was having a good time onstage. “At least for me, anyway.”
“Not normally a loose girl?” Seth winks as he adds a blast of tonic water from the soda gun and a cherry to each drink and then sets one in front of me.
“Um…no,” I say, not certain whether he means “loose” in a performance way or loose in a way I have no interest in discussing with this man.
Or anyone else for that matter.
“Drink up, gorgeous.” Seth clinks his glass against mine, scooting it closer to my hand. “We’ll get you loose and ready to rock.”
Forcing a smile, I reach for the glass, skin crawling with the suspicion that I’m making a mistake.
A potentially dangerous mistake…
Chapter 10
Melody
Aria’s words about not drinking anything I haven’t seen prepared by a bartender echo in my head.
Seth isn’t a bartender, but I did watch him prepare the drink.
I have no idea how much hard liquor is in the thing, but…
I lift the glass to my nose and sniff. It smells harmless—like vanilla and cherries—but the first sip leaves no doubt it’s strong, too strong for me to feel comfortable drinking the entire thing before my audition.
“Like it?” Seth moves back around the bar to resume his too-close-for-comfort position next to my stool. “It’s my own recipe.” He eases my hair over my shoulder with a familiarity that makes me shiver. “I call it The Cherry Cheesecake.”
“Yeah, it’s good.” I lean back and push the drink away. No way in hell am I drinking more of that. “But I think I’d better wait until after my audition to finish it. I’m a lightweight when it comes to hard liquor.”
“Just have a little then. Enough to get you relaxed.” His hand is suddenly back on my leg, higher on my thigh this time, in territory that leaves no doubt this is not a “just friends” kind of touch.
I shift on my stool, brushing Seth’s hand away in the process.
I’m out of here. Now.
“I should go,” I say. “I’ll come back later when everyone else is here.”
“Come on, don’t go,” Seth says, his hand wrapping around my waist, stopping me before I can slide to the ground. “You haven’t convinced me you’re our girl yet, Blondie.”
“I thought you said you wanted me to get the job,” I ask, my thoughts and my pulse racing as I debate whether it would be overreacting to kick Seth in the shin and make a run for the door.
If I’m misjudging the situation, I’ll feel like a fool, but if I’m not…
“I do want you to get the job.” He steps closer, his other hand coming to my waist, gripping me with enough force that my rushing pulse becomes an adrenaline-fueled pounding in my ears. “Now I just need you to show me that you want to get the job, beautiful. You understand?”
His face moves closer to mine.
I shove at his chest, and say, “Stop,” in a firm voice, but he doesn’t stop.
His fingers only bite into the flesh above my hips with more force as he tugs me off the stool. Before I can cry out for help, I’m pressed against the bar, Seth’s breath hot on my neck as he grinds his hips against mine.
I feel his erection against my thigh, and bile rises in my throat.
“Stop it! Let me go!” I shout the words as loud as I can this time and punch a fist into Seth’s thick shoulders, but he absorbs the blow without flinching.
He’s built like a hunk of rock, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I hit the gym. Our similar heights don’t mean we’re on anything close to an equal playing field. I’m weak, he’s strong, and if I don’t find a way to escape, he’s going to do what he wants to me, with or without my permission.
“Stop! Help! Someone help me, please!” I scream as loud as I can until Seth’s palm slams down over my mouth, muffling the sound as he growls into my ear, “There’s nobody here, baby.”
He presses forward, pinning me so tight against the bar that it’s hard to pull in a breath. “And nobody’s coming,” he adds. “It’s just you and me. But we’ll have a good time. You’ll see. Just relax, and let’s have some fun.”
I struggle against him, kicking and trying to scream again, but the sound is stifled by his hand.
His other hand is busy pulling up my dress.
For a second, I flash back to my kiss with Nick, and how good it felt to be pressed against him. How his touch ignited delicious little fires across my skin.
Seth’s touch is only scary.
Terrifying. Horrible.
I squeeze my eyes shut and shove Seth away with every last bit of strength in my shaking arms, screaming into his hot, sweaty hand, but I can already feel my muscles beginning to weaken and my skirt is nearly up around my waist. A cold certainly spreads through me, making my stomach pitch: Seth is going to be my first. Seth instead of Nick. Pain instead of pleasure.
