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Myeyesflutteredopen,but I was scared to breathe. An arm laid heavy over my hip. I took stock. I was still fully clothed, except for my tights. The body pressed against my back didn't feel like the man I remembered tearing them from me. This person was toned. Solid. Safe. The tattooed arm across me seemed protective and not threatening at all. Suddenly distracted by the pain in my face, I touched my eye and gasped at how swollen it was and how much it hurt. The arm covering me tightened.
“You’re safe now.”
I peered over to discover that I recognized the man spooning up against me.Shit, it’s Tanner Hastings. In bed, next to me.
“You okay, Emmy?” he asked, peeling himself from around me, sitting up. “Sorry. I only meant to lay down for a second. I can’t believe I fell asleep. I never sleep.”
“How do you know my name?” I asked as I shuffled up, trying to put some space between us, my heart racing and my head throbbing.
He shifted to the foot of the bed and I appreciated that he noticed my fear. “Addison told me. She said you’re here to write our book. I’m so sorry about what happened to you last night. Look, I have to ask, what exactly did happen?”
I shook my head, humiliated that he saw me like that. “Nothing. It was nothing.”
“Those bruises aren’t nothing, Emmy. Tell me, so I can make sure he gets the punishment he deserves.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I shouldn’t have been out there. I shouldn’t have gone out there on my own.”
“Bollocks. You had a band pass. You could have gone anywhere you wanted. You had more right to be there than him. Did he…?”
I ran my fingers across my swollen eye. “I said no. He didn’t listen. He hurt me.”
“Did he touch you?” The anger in his tone was clear to hear, as was how he clenched his fists as he spoke.
“He hit me. He told me what he wanted to do to me. I don’t know what I do to make people want to hurt me like that.”
Tanner stood and paced, running his hand through this hair, letting me get a glimpse of his jade eyes. His jaw twitched as he reached for a bottle of water, opening it and pouring it into two tumblers.
“Has something like this happened before, Emmy?”
He handed me a glass, and I took a sip, grateful for the distraction.
“Emmy?” His tone made it clear that I couldn’t avoid answering this question.
“Once.”
“Fuck. Men are dicks. While you’re here, no one will hurt you. You have my word. I’m giving you a bodyguard. Matt, come in here.”
A huge, muscular man with a shaved head, stepped into the room as if he’d been waiting outside all night.
“Matt, meet Emmy. You will watch her. Your team will watch her 24/7.”
“Of course, Tanner. Nice to meet you, Miss Winters.”
“Why do you have a guard outside the door? What did you think I’d do to you?”
“Not here for me, Emmy. I didn’t want you to worry I’d taken advantage of you, so he stayed outside the open bedroom door all night. He was here to keep you safe. He’s here to keep you safe for your entire stay. I know you’re meant to be here for the next six months and you might not want that anymore, but if you stay, he stays with you. He’s the best we have, Emmy, and now his sole responsibility is to keep you safe.”
I nodded gratefully, not sure how to respond to someone giving me a bodyguard. I took a moment to take in the infamous Tanner Hastings, lead singer of the Cosmic Gods. A god was the only way to describe him. I knew I’d seen him on stage, but up close, he was something else. Smudged eyeliner. Wavy hair had that post-sleep tussled look. His long fringe hung seductively over one eye, which he casually pushed back every few minutes, showing off his piercing jade green eyes, which were so unusual I wondered if they were contacts. His lips curled into a smile as he noticed me staring at him. He looked like the rock god he was and I couldn’t quite believe he was sitting next to me in bed, where he’d stayed all night to keep me safe. Weird sensations swirled through my body in ways I wasn’t used to.
“So, what exactly does a ghostwriter do, Emmy?” he asked as Matt stepped back out of the room.
My name on his lips sounded like a magic spell, or a wish being offered out into the universe.
“I unpick other people’s stories and tell them on their behalf.”
“Sounds like the way I write songs. I take other people’s stories and turn them into music.”
“Do people want you to do that?”
