Page 53 of Ravaged For You

I like the possessiveness in his voice. Like I belong to him.

You’re losing your mind, Maddie. Over a freaking rockstar.

“Excuse me if your girl finds me more charming than you, Axel,” Drake jests.

My fake boyfriend laughs. “Now, that is a joke, Drake. You want a drink, Maddie?”

“Just a glass of white wine, please,” I squeak.

“Get the girl a glass of champagne,” Drake says. “We’re celebrating her tonight for helping save Ravaged’s ass for agreeing to be with this asshole.”

I blush.

“Well, you are paying me a pretty handsome sum, guys.”

“Yeah, for putting up with Axel,” Bishop replies. “We all know how arrogant that guy can be. You couldn’t get me to be his fake girlfriend for a billion dollars.”

“You don’t have the balls to be my fake girlfriend,” Axel says.

“Maddie does,” Drake adds.

Axel summons a waiter over and orders for us. Soon enough, a bottle of rich champagne arrives with glasses for all members of the band, including me.

I can’t help but laugh when Caspian takes a glass. It looks so tiny in his massive hand. Like a toy. He shrugs at me with an amused chuckle.

“Must take a lot for you to get drunk,” I remark.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Bishop pours for all of us and then bids us to raise the glasses in a toast. “I didn’t believe it when Lucas told me what was going on with Axel and Maddie here, and I have to say I didn’t believe that Axel would let a girl date him, even if it was fake. But I’m glad it was Maddie. Hopefully she’ll find more ways to spill tea down him.”

I find myself blushing again as the band all cheers to me. I certainly didn’t expect this kind of hospitality from the boys. They’re known for everything other than being kind to women.

They all want to talk to me about me, including even Caspian. I fend off questions from them about my life. My background story is average compared to these hard-working boys who made it big. I am embarrassed.

All the while, Axel sits next to me. Silent. His leg rubs up against mine. Does he feel that, or is it just me overthinking things? Does he want to touch me?

Does he know what his touch does to my body?

Eventually, the boys move on to different topics. They chat about their upcoming album and the songs they’ve written for it. The conversation is too technical and too musical for my understanding. Axel understands this, and so talks to me privately.

“Tell me about your band mates then,” I ask him.

“Okay, well, Drake is the founder,” Axel whispers into my ear. “He likes to think he’s the boss just because he ran the auditions for the band back in high school, but without us he’s nothing. He loves to be in front of a crowd. He’s the unstoppable force the rest of the band is trying to keep up with. For all our fighting, I have to admit that Drake’s got that relentless and infectious energy for life and music. I’ll follow him anywhere. He’s all about the music, so much so that he’s got one rule he lives by, and that’s not to get into any relationship with a girl longer than one night…”

“So, like you?”

Axel shakes his head. “Oh, worse than me. He’s just more sneaky about it. He hates the very idea of monogamy.”

“Poor girls who fall for that trap,” I remark.

“He’s the most emotional of the group. The most… tempestuous. He’s the mysterious and dreamy one all the girls fall for, but they don’t get very far. He established rules when we started as a band that anyone who uses hard drugs or gets into a relationship more important than the band will be fired.”

Drake perks up. Somehow, he overhears our conversation.

“That’s true,” he shoots back. Axel rolls his eyes. “The rockstar life is about living free from any responsibilities. We musicians should remain pure. No girlfriends. No distractions. That’s how you make musical history.”

“What about me?” I ask him. “I’m distracting Axel.”