Page 26 of The Masks We Wear (Satan’s Angels #1)

Harvey

Unbelievable. My actions are unbelievable.

Finger fucking a client on a piano bench after kissing her senselessly?

Unbelievable and highly unprofessional. I have never crossed that line with a client, nor have I ever been tempted to and then Brody Drake walks in.

She feels like my own personal temptation sent from the Devil.

If this ever got out, my reputation in my industry would be destroyed, everything I’ve ever worked my ass off for, ruined.

My contract could be terminated before our three months are over if Selene finds out about this.

My business would never recover from a hit like this to its reputation, which is why I have to ensure it never happens again no matter how bad I want it to.

I enjoyed my lapse in judgment a little too much with Brody and I knew immediately after that it was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.

I have to put distance between us if I want to keep my job and ensure my reputation is intact.

That night, walking away from her felt like it was the single hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

I didn’t sleep the rest of the night. My mind kept going back to her.

Her writhing beneath me, the sounds she makes when she comes, the little gasps she sucks in when her back arches from her pleasure, and her coming undone because of me .

I didn’t want to stop there, but I knew I had to.

When presented with the choice between Brody and my business, my business will win every time.

Besides, Brody and I are not suitable for each other.

She’s a walking tsunami and I’m a steady sea.

At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself every time she enters the room, looking as tempting as ever.

When she walks into the room, she glows and when she leaves, the room feels darker.

I tried my best to ignore her and put distance between us and then she had to get herself into trouble at the studio, brawling with Aria and Ivory.

I’ll admit, Brody did get a few good punches or scratches on the other girls, but Aria is a force to be reckoned with.

The girl is a wild animal and I felt my chest cave in on itself when she put her hands on Brody.

One thing I know for certain is that Brody can handle herself.

She’s proved it on multiple occasions with her “I don’t give a fuck” attitude.

Another thing I know for certain, I can not stand the sight of her injured.

It makes my skin crawl. Seeing her face scratched up set off a primal part of me I didn’t know I had and knowing two women were to blame set me off even more considering there was nothing I could do to defend her.

It isn’t my job to defend her, but I can’t help but want to.

That’s why I felt obligated to patch her up when we got home.

I couldn’t harm anyone in her defense, so I had to settle for patching her up.

The image of her face like that in my head, set me off and I couldn’t sit still.

I wasn’t expecting for her to confront me about my distance that night, though.

She looked hurt and offended and I wished more than anything that I could’ve done something to stop her from looking that way and feeling that way but what could I have done?

I can’t be honest with her for fear of losing my job and hurting my business, and I want to lose myself in a fit of rage after lying to her about regretting what we did.

In the week that’s passed, I’ve tried to push the memories and thoughts of her from my mind with great effort and poor results. I’ve continued to put distance between us and she seems to be doing the same which irritates me. I know it’s hypocritical of me, but I can’t bring myself to care.

I have loosened up on my coldness towards her only slightly and that is due to the fact that she’s been obscenely anxious lately.

We’re on a plane flying to Nevada, my home state, with the whole band and crew, Selene included.

Aria, Ivory, and Brody sit together on the couch while the rest of us take up the seats on the sides of the plane.

In the days before we left, Brody was anxious.

She wasn’t sleeping and I know this because I heard faint piano melodies coming from the basement at odd hours of the night and she was barely eating, just picking at her food and never finishing anything.

I never asked her if she was okay, not wanting to get too personal with her after how that ended last time, but I’ve wanted to.

My concern for her grows as I watch her every minute, fidgeting with something or just looking uncomfortable and on edge.

Her friends are surprisingly sober, something I didn’t know was possible, and they either notice and don’t acknowledge Brody’s discomfort or they just don’t notice or don’t care.

The first show is tonight in Vegas and after that, the girls have three days off to work in a studio Selene rented for them.

That seems to be the order of events for the entire tour.

“Brody,” Selene interrupts my inner conflict by calling the cause of my issues. Brody looks up at Selene and Selene continues. “Did you invite your parents to the show?”

Brody shakes her head and looks down at her hands in her lap. “Nope.”

Selene frowns, “What about Andrew?” I know who Andrew is. That’s Brody’s brother that she’s close with.

She shakes her head, “He has a work thing.”

Selene frowns. “What about your cousins?”

Brody’s brows crease and she seems to grow irritated. “They have school, and my uncle hates our music. Besides, I already gave my VIP tickets away.”

“To who?” Selene raises a brow. I find my curiosity piqued as well.

Brody glances at me and quickly looks away. “Someone you don’t know.”

Aria interrupts, “I gave my VIP tickets to my mom and her girlfriend.”

“My brother is coming with my mom,” Ivory huffs out and I can tell she isn’t very excited.

Selene crosses her arms over her chest, “My family is coming.”

Brody’s eyes widen and a grin forms on her face. “They are?” She basically leans out of her seat in anticipation.

Selene nods. Why would the mention of Selene’s family excite Brody so much? Is she close with Selene’s family? “They’re coming here and then flying to visit Nan on the way home.”

“Nan?” Brody grins. “Why didn’t they bring her?”

Selene scoffs, “Because she’s the most annoying person on the planet and she skimped out on my birthday gift this year,” she complains about who I’m assuming is her grandmother.

Brody laughs, “Typical Nan. Gotta love her.”

Aria chuckles, “Do you guys remember when Nan came to the last concert?”

The girls all start hysterically laughing and Selene groans. “How could I ever forget?”

“She started a fight with a twenty-year-old and then called Selene from the floor to tell her we were too loud and to lower the volume mid-concert,” Brody recalls, a huge, carefree smile on her face.

Aria takes a sip of her water and laughs, “Gotta love that woman.”

“She’s insane. A shame she won’t be here,” Ivory shakes her head.

“A shame indeed,” Brody agrees as her calm state slowly fades and she goes back to worrying.

––––––––

AFTER THE FLIGHT TO Vegas, we settled into our hotel rooms, mine across the hall from Brody’s, and made our way to the concert venue. Brody, Ivory, and Aria were swept up quickly by makeup artists and hair stylists and they’ve been gone for hours getting all done up for their performance.

An hour before the show starts, Brody reappears looking ethereal.

I can’t take my eyes off her. Her hair is adorned with chains and star charms woven into a few braids and the rest is curled loosely.

The black strands in her hair mix into the blond curls and she has dark eye makeup on both of her deep blue eyes.

She wears a wine-red bra top that resembles a bikini top with matching lace up pants that reveal plenty of her tanned skin.

Her outfit reveals parts of her I haven’t yet seen and I note a tattoo of the tragedy comedy masks on the back of her left shoulder blade.

She has another tattoo on her ribs, right below her breasts on the right side of her body but I can’t make out the words from where I’m sitting on the leather couch in her dressing room, but I have a burning desire to get close enough to decipher them.

Brody’s eyes land on me and she strides over to me and plops down on the couch about a foot away from me. “Can you say something rude like you normally would so I can focus on what a dick you are instead of worrying?” She asks, turning her head to face me.

I smirk, unable to help it. “Like what?”

She waves her hands at me, “Anything, you’re good at being a dick so act natural.”

I shake my head and snort a quiet laugh, “Why are you worrying?”

Her smile falls and she cocks her head at me like I’m stupid. “Have you seen the headlines about me? The articles? Because I’m sure all the fans out there have and they’ll be looking at me even closer than they were before.”

I frown, “Don’t worry about other people. Do what you do best, get out there, perform, and then be done with it. At least until the next show.”

She takes a deep breath and doesn’t respond. Selene pops her head in the door and looks at Brody, a warm smile on her face, “Brody, your guests are here.”

Brody tenses up, her eyes widening with the news. She leaps out of her seat and rushes towards the door. She looks at me over her shoulder, “Be right back.” A small smile forms on her lips as she rushes out of the room.

Brody

I FOLLOW SELENE DOWN the hallway, passing event staff as we go. One staff member hands me my sticks as I walk and I tuck them into my back pocket. Selene looks at me over her shoulder, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I nod, “Yes.”

Selene grins like the Cheshire cat. “It’s a very nice thing to do. I’m proud of you.”

I give her a small smile. “Thanks.”