Page 14 of Like An Animal

“Stop being a fucking brat!” I explode, getting more and more pissed off the closer she gets to the door.

She snaps around and glares as she yells, “Go fuck yourself! I’m done with your shit. I’m done with you. I don’t care what you do, but it won’t have anything to do with me, jackass.”

I swear, she’s the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met. Seriously, what is her problem? Is this all just because I wouldn’t bend to her will?

I grab her arm and spin her around to face me. I don’t know if I want to strangle her or get to the bottom of why she’s losing her shit, but strangling her is probably the top contender.

“Let go of me,” she demands, but instead of heeding to her demands, I pull her into me and steal a kiss to satiate the bloodlust bubbling up inside me.

She pushes against my chest to get me off of her, but I don’t concede.

This woman will never escape me, no matter how hard she tries.

She can fight me and demand to be released and it will never do anything to loosen my hold.

Even if I have to drag her down with me.

My claws have been lodged deep for so long they don’t know what to do if they aren’t in her flesh.

Slowly, she gives in and kisses me back.

I don’t care who sees me claim what belongs to me, not a single fucking person.

She might be scared that people will judge her for wanting me, but I’m not.

I never have been. Plus, no one here knows who is behind the red, white, and black face painting except for her, Massimo, Xavi, and Missy but hopefully that bitch left when she realized her presence wasn’t wanted.

I pull out of the kiss as she looks up at me, dazed and her eyes full of lust. I desperately want to fulfill the fantasies in her eyes, but responsibilities come first.

“We will talk about this later, but you’re not going anywhere. You can stand in the front with Boris.”

That’s the closest to a compromise she’s going to get. Boris is one of Xavi’s guards who I know will keep everyone else away from her if I ask him to.

A small smile cracks across her face as I grab her wrist and drag her back toward the stage.

I swear, one of these days she’s going to give me a stroke.

The show was rather uneventful and no one has said shit to me about the show I put on with Bronwyn earlier. It’s as if neither Xavi and Massimo didn’t see it at all. I have no idea where Missy went, but I’m glad she’s gone. Good fucking riddance.

Massimo, Xavi, and I went backstage and got back in our regular clothes and cleaned off our face painting before heading out back.

We wait and wait because Bronwyn is too damn busy talking to a few of the female fans.

I have no clue what she is talking to them about, but she does this after every show.

She always claims she’s networking or some shit.

I don’t know, but every once in a while she claims she got a new gig for us.

The girl acts like she’s our manager sometimes, which is something we don’t have.

We don’t really need one, but this kind of thing makes her feel important so I let her do it.

“Are you ready?” I ask as I sit on the curb, messing around with my guitar.

She stops in front of me. “Yea. I just need to grab my stuff. I left it backstage. Give me three minutes.” She smirks before she goes around the side to go back in through the front door.

Massimo and Xavi stand by silently as I play a random rift that I’ve been working on.

“Hey. I’m looking for Jeremy.”

I lift my head to see the same idiot who I caught staring at Bron throughout most of the performance. My eyes narrow at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Apologies for my friend, but he doesn’t like talking. How can we help you?” Xavi asks as he sits down next to me, pressing his elbows against his knees.

The stranger’s eyes widen as he points at Xavi. “You’re Jeremy?”

“Nah. The silent one is,” Massimo adds.

At this point, I’m used to them filling in the blanks for idiots who try to talk to me but I have no interest in holding a conversation with.

“Sorry. Pretty much everyone I asked said you were the person to talk to.” He extends his hand to me and I stare at it as if it’s diseased.

It’s bad enough that this fucker was staring at my woman while I was too busy performing to do anything about it, but now he has the balls to approach me for the smallest scraps.

He slowly pulls his hands away and stands there awkwardly.

What the hell is he even doing at an event like this?

He looks like a finance broker with his suit and slicked back hair.

“My name is Lance Barrett. I’m an associate at Byrne Records. I’ve been told that the girl that went inside is your sister, right?” he asks, pointing around the side of the building. My eyes narrow even more and my grip tightens on my guitar.

“Actually, she’s his step-sister, but what business is that of yours?” Massimo mutters.

“The few people I asked said she’s the only person with direct contact with the band. My boss is interested in signing them, but she seems to be the only way to get a hold of them.”

Xavi’s eyes widen from that and my tight grip loosens a bit.

Okay so maybe I do overreact a bit where Bronwyn is concerned.

“Seriously?” Xavi nearly screams with excitement.

He needs to stop being an idiot. Getting signed with a label is more trouble than it’s worth. Plus, we didn’t do this to get rich or make a career out of it. It’s something that we enjoy to fill the time. This won’t be the rest of our lives.

We all have our places in the grand scheme of things and it’s not being legendary rockstars. Being a musician won’t avenge my parents, punish Kathy or David, or protect Bron. All it will do is provide financial comfort.

Nothing more.

“They have a very unique sound. Can you just let her know I’d like to speak to her for a moment before she leaves?” he asks, looking at me as if he already forgot that Massimo told him that I don’t like talking to just anyone. I save my voice for those worth the wasted breath, which he isn’t.

“Sure,” Xavi answers when I don’t.

Mr. Business Casual starts to walk away, but then turns and comes back before looking at Xavi with what one might consider a charming smile on his face. “Oh, and would you mind putting in a good word for me?”

My eyebrow twitches because I know that fucking look. My fingers dig into my guitar again.

“That girl is something else.” The prick laughs and both Massimo and Xavi sigh with irritation as I stand up.

I let out a loud groan before muttering, “I’m going to need a new guitar.”

The prick looks at me, surprised that I actually spoke, before I lift my guitar and I swing it into the side of his stupid face. I use all my strength as my guitar splinters and the neck breaks apart from the body.

He crashes against the ground and I climb on top of him, pressing the neck against his throat as the fucker fights.

He claws at my arms, but what more did he expect?

What did he think was going to happen when he asked Xavi to put in a good word for him with my woman?

Of course I was going to kill the fucker.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Jer!” Xavi exclaims.

Then, Massimo follows him up with “You can’t kill the dumbshit!”

I don’t give a shit. Everyone else has left. This venue doesn’t have any external cameras. Trust me. I checked beforehand. The only ones who will know are us. The fucker will be dead before Bronwyn gets back out here.

“Get off of him, Jer,” Massimo groans before he grabs my arm and yanks me back as the dumbass gags on his tongue, desperately trying to pull in some much needed oxygen.

“Let me go!” I demand before landing a foot in Mr. Business’s face. I listen to his teeth and nose crack from the kick as the man cries out in pain.

“He got the message, psycho. For the love of god, why don’t you just make Bron wear a bag?

You’d be less likely to kill half the world.

Seriously, the town will be deserted if you kill everyone who thinks she’s pretty.

That’s what you get for latching onto a girl that even Xavi thinks is a smoke show. ”

“Don’t target his rage at me, man! Seriously, Jer, just fuck her so we can all move on from this bullshit.”

I turn on my heels and pull myself from Massimo’s hold.

“Whatever.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m with Xavi on this.”

“Hey! What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, dude. You’re like the Tiernan McGowen of our group.”

“Like I get all the good pussy?”

“No. It means you’re an idiot who does even stupider shit.”

“Fuck you, man! I have an IQ of 149.”

“Fine, then you’re the smartest dumb person I’ve ever met.”

“I’m a certified genius, asswipe.”

I tune them out as I walk around the side of the venue. They can figure their own shit out and deal with the dipstick. They weren’t going to let me do more damage to him anyway.

He got the message.

Stay the fuck away from my woman.

I round the building and reach the door as Bronwyn steps out, holding her wallet and phone, completely oblivious to what just happened.

Her eyes widen when she sees me, probably catching onto my deteriorating mood. “Hey. What’s the matter?” she asks, concern on her face.

“Let’s get out of here,” I demand, no room for argument present. I need to take my rage out on her body and I know she won’t deny me.

She never does. Not anymore at least.