Page 63 of Tease Me


Font Size:  

I found myself saying, "I'd like that."

4

Axel

"Whoa." I looked Hayley up and down appreciatively. I was used to seeing her in jeans and a Rock Dragons T-shirt, or office clothes, always with her hair up. The little black dress, heels and hair tumbling past her shoulders was different. I liked it. A lot. She was gorgeous. How had I not noticed before?

She stopped short of closing her apartment door, glanced down at herself and said, "Is it too much?"

She looked up and took in what I was wearing. Pants with no holes or tears, and a dark blue button down shirt. I left just enough buttons undone to show a hint of the tattoos on my chest. The short sleeves revealed the ones on my arms. Of course, I didn't have them done only to hide them away.

"No, you look just right," I said. "Gorgeous, if you don't mind me saying so."

She grimaced slightly. "I don't know about that, but thank you. You look very handsome yourself." She hadn't looked away from me. She seemed to like what she saw.

I was staring at her too. I'd always thought she was cute, but like this… She was smoking hot.

Not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, I tore my eyes away and offered her my arm.

"I found a nice little place down on the corner. I thought we could try there if you haven't already?" I asked.

"I haven't but I've been meaning to," she said.

She took my arm and I tried not to breathe in the intoxicating scent of her. She always smelled nice, like citrus and some other kind of fruit, but tonight that was mixed with something floral. Whatever it was, it went straight to my groin.

Down boy, I told myself. This was just two friends going out to dinner, and me trying to make amends for the mess we made. I couldn't even say we made it by accident. We all said we supported my sister and her choice of fiancé, but none of us one hundred percent meant it. If she had married Grayson, I would have accepted it, but we all would have done what we could to prevent that from happening. I secretly wondered if Jude rode his bike that day with the intention of carrying her off with or without her permission.

I usually wouldn't condone kidnapping, but in those circumstances, I might make an exception. Only because I trusted Jude with my sister. He would never in a million years do anything to hurt her.

And if he did, I would hurt him.

"It's a nice night," I said as we stepped out the front of her building and onto the sidewalk. "I'm looking forward to getting back to the tour, but it's nice to have a night away from the guys once in a while."

"It's lucky you get along so well," she said. "I've worked with a couple of bands who could barely stand to look at each other, much less look out for each other the way you guys do."

"I like to think that extends past the band," I said. "The whole team is pretty awesome." The crew came and went and was reassigned depending on who was touring at any given time, but we had some who stuck with us, like Hayley and Roman. People we trusted as much as we trusted each other. True, we all had a vested interest in each other's careers, but it helped that we liked each other.

Most of the time.

"That's true," she said. "But you guys make it pretty easy. Usually." She gave me a wry smile.

"I get the feeling we're not going to be allowed to forget it for a while when we don't." I tried to ignore the way my pulse raced when she smiled. She made me feel like the look was just for me and no one else. Even if we were in a room of thousand people, I suspected I’d feel the same. I hadn't noticed it before, but all of her smiles were like that. She had a way of focusing on the person she was talking to and always seeming interested. That was another thing that made her good at her job, but her interest seemed genuine. Like she enjoyed the company of other people. Or maybe just me.

"You guys might run wild if you're allowed to," she teased lightly.

"I'd deny that, but it's true," I said with a laugh. "Especially Strike. Who knows what he'd get up to if we didn't keep him in check."

"He certainly is outrageous at times," she agreed. "He's a natural performer. Lucky for all of us he can sing too."

"Don't tell him that, it will go to his head," I said.

She laughed, but said, "I have a sneaking suspicion he already knows. Something about fame, fortune and platinum records."

"Oh man," I groaned. When she looked at me in concern I said, "I thought it was my bass playing that people liked so much."

She put a hand on my arm and said, "That's a big part of it. If it wasn't for you, the band would sound very messy."

"And Jett," I said modestly. We both worked together to keep the rest of the guys in line. Or at least, in time and in tune.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like