He always gave me that same creepy look, like he wanted to eat me or some shit. Thank god he never approached me.
He was asking me to play with him down in the arts district. He was an expert at finding a spot, playing it, avoiding the beat cops. I'd gone down a couple of times with him and the group. In fact, that was how he found me. I was staying in Chicago with some friends from high school, playing music on a street corner, when he came upon me.
I got to know him and eventually I moved into the damn co-op. My friends were all in college, they'd been too busy to hang, and I knew couch surfing could only last for so long.
"What pieces do you want to do?" I asked. I could use a cut of the money. Might be enough to get me a bus ticket to the next city over. Moose said he had friends in Indianapolis.
Why in the hell are you thinking about bailing? He'll find you. They'll always find you. I waved the thought away as I listened to Moose ramble off a bunch of pieces he thought the tourists would love. College kids were coming in this time of year, setting up their housing and getting started with classes, so they would make good targets. Not to mention all the people who visited the windy city.
It was so different from Baltimore. Sometimes, I missed the smell of the Bay, the humidity of the ocean that hung over us, and the feel of a city that had so much grit it was coming out of my ears. But Chicago was beautiful, and it had its fair share of grit.
It was a good second home.
"Let's do a rehearsal of the music and then get in there."
I'd written a few original songs for the compilation tape he was doing. It was meant to be my audition album. The kind of thing I could use in order to get gig after gig. At first, when he offered me the chance, I thought he was full of shit. But I had to hand it to Moose, he really seemed like the kind of guy who could get shit done. He had his own little studio, a group of people who were as dedicated to music as we were, and he hadn't lied to me about giving me practice time and studio time.
I ran through the first song one time with him and then hopped into the studio. It was a little room he'd prepped himself with material to soundproof it.
As soon as I stepped into that room, I felt like myself. I opened my case and got my violin out, my fingers touching the soft, silky wood of it. I knew as soon as I started playing I would lose myself. Lose all the drama of last night and all the memories of him touching my body.
I could just be in the moment. I didn't have to think. Didn't have to figure anything out.
This was why I was here. Why I stayed in Chicago.
"All right, start whenever you are ready." Moose sat back and watched me through the glass.
As soon as I started, I felt the pull of the strings, the vibrations of the music right into my jaw, and I was lost.
Completely and entirely lost to my music. The feel of my fingers on the strings, the lack of frets there making it so much smoother than guitars or mandolins. It was my personal heaven.
Until I looked up and saw Janson storming towards me.
Chapter Four
Janson
"No, you can't come-" I pushed my way past a tiny little fuckwad and into the studio.
"What the hell?" Kathryn was less than happy to see me.
"You know, that's a fucking question I'd love to ask you," I said as I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards me. I wanted to get her out of the damn place, but I wanted to touch her even more.
"Get off her, dude." I turned to see that little asswipe coming at me. Well, this would be fun and easy.
I clotheslined his ass and watched him fall to the ground. "Shut the fuck up. Moose, I presume?" I asked as he looked up at me.
"The fuck?" Moose asked as he moaned on the ground. At least two other people were coming towards us, but they started to back away.
"Janson, you can't just come in here." Kathryn had stopped struggling. "Boys, I have this, go on."
The men who were crowding around us turned around and backed out. I had to give her that, she was handling it well.
"You know damn well I can do whatever the fuck I want. Did you think that I was just going to walk away and let you stay? You know why I'm here, it has everything to do with orders. I told you I could do this the hard way, and if that's what you want, that's what I'm willing to do." I was fucking furious with her. I wanted her in my bed, naked and writhing, not running from me back to these stupid punks.
"I'm not going."
"You realize if you don't, I'll have to tie your ass up, right? Or worse, Greyson will call someone else to do the job. You won't like that."
"Will you let me grab my violin?" she asked.
I eyed her skeptically. "Depends, will you take off running the moment I let you go?" Kathryn shook her head.
"Fine, go on, get it."
She turned and walked over Moose, who was still on the ground, grabbed her case and instrument, stowing it and turning it towards me. "I'm sorry, Moose." She said as she stepped over him again.
He was still clutching his face.
She swallowed. "I don't have much of a choice do I?" she asked.
"None of us do," I answered as I looked her over. It was so regrettable that we didn't have more time, but Greyson wanted her back home as soon as possible.
Kat looked white as a sheet and I knew then that she was avoiding something. Or someone.
"Let's go, we have a long drive ahead of us." As angry as I was, I couldn't help but admire the way she looked in those clothes.
"We're driving?" She'd stopped resisting and started walking.
"Did you think I was going to take you through an airport?" I asked. She was smarter than that. "Get your ass in the car." I omitted the word I wanted to put in front of ass-sexy-and waited for her to slide in, then followed. It would be a comfortable ride, at the very least. One overnight stay and a private limo that would ensure there was enough space between us.
I still wanted her, though. My cock ached just thinking about her writhing under me. But I had to clear my head and figure out how I could make everything work. I had to.
***
I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached Glenburnie then passed through it. We had a place all set up for her, one of the private safe houses only Greyson knew about. The kind meant to keep him safe if there was an attempt on his life from any family member. Even his own father.
No one would look for Kat there.
"Where are we?" she asked as she looked out the window. She was tired. Last night was hard, for both of us. We'd shared a hotel room but I made sure to stay away from her. I'd positioned myself in the chair across the room.
Neither of us talked about the night before.
"Home. That's all you need to know," I said as the driver pulled up to the little set of row homes in Cherryhill. It was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Ann Arundel County, but to us, it was perfectly safe.
Everyone knew who we were and what we were. They wouldn't dare approach us.
"As long as you stay inside the house, you'll be fine." I got out first and held the door open. She got up and started walking, but not before she made it clear how she was feeling.
She glared at me. Fuck, just to have her eyes on me was enough to make me hard. I liked it when she was passionate. Even if that meant she was pissed as hell.
I watched her walk away from me towards the door of the row house, her ass swaying back and forth as she stomped towards the door.
She always was stubborn and hotheaded.
"This is where I'll be staying?" she asked. She almost looked disgusted.
"Better than that place you were at in Chicago. A fucking co-op? If your brother finds out the kind of places you were, he'll be so pissed."
"That's not the only thing he'll be pissed about," she said as her eyes flashed. She was trying to trip me up and I knew it.
I opened the door and did a quick survey of the small townhome. No one else was there. Good.
I wasn't going to have it. "I didn't hear you complaining the other night when you were begging me for more," I said as I grabbed her and pulled her into me. She wasn't going to manipulate me, that wasn't my game.
She was so close to me, her breath short and ragged, coming out in spurts as she looked up at me. I knew exactly what I was doing. I bent my head down and kissed her, the pent up irritation with her coming out in the way my lips melded with hers. I wasn't gentle, fuck, I barely knew how to be. So I took it all out on her, forcing her into me as we both kissed and bit and scraped our teeth against each other's lips. I slid my hands up under her shirt and grabbed her breasts, running my thumbs along her nipples. I could tell by the way she sucked in her breath that it was exactly what she wanted.