Read Wild For You (Always a Bridesmaid 3) Online

Authors: Jessie Evans

Tags: #Contemporary Romance, #bad boy romance, #steamy romance, #sexy romance, #new adult romance, #sweet romance, #Jessie Evans, #small town romance

Wild For You (Always a Bridesmaid 3) (7 page)

BOOK: Wild For You (Always a Bridesmaid 3)
3.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

As if summoned by her thoughts, her cell phone chimed, announcing a text from Brian:

Feeding the ducks and thinking of you. We miss you on the farm. Hope we can get together for ice cream soon. I think we should talk…don’t you?

Melody hit the keypad to reply, but paused with a sigh.

She didn’t know what to say. She’d told Brian she wasn’t ready to hang out as friends half a dozen times, hoping he would read between the lines and understand that when she said she wasn’t
ready
to hang out, it meant she didn’t
want
to hang out.

The thought of going for ice cream with Brian turned her stomach. He was a nice guy, a really nice guy in many ways, but his favorite topic was always Brian. That had been fine when they were younger and Melody was as smitten with Brian as Brian was with himself, but as time went by, she had longed for a boyfriend who was interested in
her.

She wanted a boyfriend who was supportive of her hopes and dreams, and she definitely needed a boyfriend who wanted children someday. When Brian had confessed he found Felicity, Melody’s baby niece, “kind of gross” Melody had ended her and Brian’s relationship then and there.

No one called Felicity gross. She was the most adorable baby in the entire world.

Deep down Melody knew Brian had been talking about babies in general, not Felicity in particular, but remembering the vaguely nauseous look on Brian’s face when Melody asked him to hold Felicity while she fetched the diaper bag always helped her feel less guilty about failing to respond to his texts.

“Later,” she mumbled, turning her phone off and slipping it into her purse.

She was going to have to reply to Brian sooner or later since he seemed determined to keep texting until he got a response, but she didn’t want to think about how to let her ex down easy thirty minutes before her audition.

With one final look in the mirror and a deep breath, Melody headed for the door.

***

Fifteen minutes later, she was stepping into
The Horse and Rider
…a very dark and quiet
Horse and Rider.
The bar was empty and so silent that it was a little creepy. The single row of red lights burning around the edge of the stage added to the creep factor, bathing the dance floor in a hellish light that reminded Melody of a horror movie.

She paused near the door, fishing her phone out to check the time and her text from Seth to make sure he had said eight o’clock.

He had, and it was only ten minutes until eight. Where the heck was everybody?

“Hello?” she called out, her voice sounding high and thin in the cavernous space. She shivered at how small she sounded. “Is anyone here?”

“Hey! Come on in!” came Seth’s muffled voice from behind the stage curtains. “I’m looking for the lights.”

Melody’s chest loosened with relief. “All right! Sorry I’m early!”

“No worries. Just take a seat at the bar and I’ll be out in a second.”

Melody crossed to the bar, her eyes adjusting to the darkness enough that she found a shiny black stool without a problem. She set her purse on the bar and perched on the stool, nervously crossing and uncrossing her legs. She felt all jittery inside, and there were goose bumps rising on her arms even though it wasn’t much cooler in the bar than it had been Friday night.

Something felt…weird, but she told herself it was just audition anxiety and forced a smile as the white stage lights flared on and Seth emerged from behind the curtains.

“Hey,” he said, grinning as he jumped off the edge of the stage, landing with a smooth bend of his muscled legs.

Seth wasn’t much taller than she was—maybe five-eight to Melody’s five-seven—but he was thick all over. Thick, muscled arms from drumming, a thick barrel chest that reminded Melody of Nana’s pug, Ruby, and bulky legs that strained the seams of his jeans. He had a shaved head and bright blue eyes and Melody knew most girls would consider him handsome in a Rock-N-Roll meets Ex-Marine kind of way, but for some reason she didn’t feel anything remotely like attraction when she met his eyes.

She just felt anxious, and as shy as on her first day of high school.

“You look great,” Seth said, leaning in to kiss her cheek, flustering her even further. “I love this dress.”

“Thanks,” Melody said, cheeks hot and pulse thready with nerves. Seth was standing too close, so close her nose started to sting from the powerful scent of his cologne.

“So where’s everyone else?” she asked.

Seth smiled, making the skin around his eyes crinkle. “They’ll be here in an hour. I had you come early so I could give you a few tips on your audition before the others get here.”

“Yeah?” Melody returned his smile, but her jaw felt tight. She fought the urge to slide off her stool and put some distance between them. “Is that fair?”

Seth shrugged and dropped a hand to her knee. “Who cares about fair?” His fingers pressed gently into her thigh. “I want you to get the job, end of story. You want a drink before we start?”

He released her leg and started around the bar, and Melody’s muscles trembled with relief.

“No, thank you,” she said, her voice breathier than she would have liked. “I don’t like to drink before I sing. I don’t feel as in control.”

“Sometimes being a little out of control is a good thing,” Seth said, pulling down two glasses and getting busy with the well liquor, pouring with an expertise that said he was at home behind the bar. Melody wondered if he bartended in addition to playing in
Ghost
.

“You were great on Friday,” he continued. “But you could stand to loosen up a little.”

“I thought I was pretty loose,” Melody said, remembering what Nick had said about her having too good of a time onstage. “At least for me, anyway.”

“Not normally a loose girl?” Seth asked with a grin. He added a shot of soda and a cherry to each drink and set one in front of her.

“Um…no,” Melody said, unsure whether he meant “loose” in a way that had nothing to do with being comfortable onstage.

“Drink up, gorgeous.” Seth grabbed his glass and clinked it against hers. “We’ll get you loose and ready to be fabulous.”

Forcing a smile, Melody reached for the glass, fighting off the creeping suspicion that she’d made a terrible mistake.

Chapter Six

Aria’s words about not drinking anything she hadn’t seen prepared by a bartender echoed in Melody’s head.

Seth wasn’t a bartender, but she
had
seen him prepare the drink. She had no idea how much hard liquor was in the thing, but…

She lifted the glass to her nose and sniffed. It smelled harmless—like vanilla and cherries—but the first sip left no doubt the drink was strong, too strong for her to feel comfortable drinking the entire thing before her audition.

“You like it?” Seth moved back around the bar and resumed his too-close-for-comfort position next to her stool. “It’s my own recipe,” he said, easing her hair over her shoulder with a familiarity that made her shiver. “I call it cherry cheesecake.”

“It’s great,” Melody said, leaning back as Seth leaned in close enough for her to smell the liquor on his breath. “But I think I’d better wait until after my audition. I’m kind of a lightweight when it comes to hard liquor.”

“Just have a little then. Enough to get you relaxed.” His hand was suddenly back on her leg, higher on her thigh this time, in territory that left no doubt this was
not
a “just friends” kind of touch.

Melody put her drink down and shifted on her stool, brushing Seth’s hand away in the process.

“I think I should go,” she said. “And come back later when everyone is here.”

“Don’t go,” Seth said, hand coming to her waist, stopping her when she tried to slide to the ground. “You haven’t convinced me you’re our girl, yet.”

“I thought you said you wanted me to get the job,” Melody asked, brows knitting as she debated whether it would be overreacting to kick Seth in the groin and make a run for the door.

If she was misjudging the situation, she’d feel like a fool, but if she wasn’t…

“I do want you to get the job,” Seth said, stepping closer, his other hand coming to her waist, gripping her with enough force that her fluttery pulse became an adrenaline fueled pounding in her ears. “Now I just need you to show me that
you
want to get the job, beautiful. You understand?”

His face moved closer to hers and Melody shoved at his chest.

“Stop,” she said in a firm voice, but he didn’t stop, his fingers only bit into the flesh above her hips with more force as he tugged her off the stool.

Before she could cry out, Melody was pressed against the bar, Seth’s breath hot at her neck as he ground his hips against hers. She felt his erection against her thigh and bile rose in her mouth.

“Stop!” She screamed the word this time and punched a fist into Seth’s thick shoulders, but he acted like he didn’t even feel it.

He was built like a hunk of rock, and Melody couldn’t remember the last time she’d hit the gym. Their similar heights weren’t going to make a difference. She was weak, and he was strong, and if she didn’t find a way to escape, he was going to do what he wanted, with or without her permission.

“Stop! Help me! Someone help!” Melody screamed as loud as she could, until Seth’s thick palm came down on her lips, muffling the sound as he spoke in her ear—

“There’s nobody here, baby,” he said, pressing forward, pinning her so tight against the bar that it was hard to draw her next breath. “And nobody’s coming. It’s just you and me tonight.”

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and Melody whimpered, an instinctive plea for mercy that made Seth’s hot breath rush over her ear.

“You are so sexy, you know that?” he asked. “And we can have a good time if you’ll just relax. Just relax, sweetheart, and let me show you a good time.”

Melody struggled and kicked and tried to scream again, but the sound was stifled by Seth’s hand. His other hand was busy pulling up her dress.

For a brief second, Melody flashed on her first kiss with Nick and how it had felt to have
his
hand bunching up her skirt—scary, but exhilarating and sexy and wonderful, all at the same time.

Seth’s touch was only scary. Terrifying. Horrible.

Melody squeezed her eyes shut and pushed Seth away with every last bit of strength in her shaking arms, screaming into his hot, sweaty hand, but she could already feel her muscles beginning to weaken and her skirt was nearly up around her waist. A cold certainly spread through her, making her shiver: Seth was going to be her first. Seth was going to take the virginity that had scared Nick away and now she would never know that beautiful first time he’d wished for her.

Something deep inside her, something primal and full of rage that Melody hadn’t realized existed within her until this moment, roared at the thought. It bared its claws and howled, giving her the strength to squirm free of Seth’s grip just enough to bring her knee up between his legs.
Hard.

“Shit,” he grunted, his hand slipping from her mouth as he gripped his crotch.

“Help! Help me!” Melody screamed in a raw voice as she went for Seth’s eyes with her nails. He caught her wrists before she could do any damage, but Melody was already bringing her leg up between his thighs again when the bar’s front door opened and a familiar voice called her name.

“Melody?”

“Nick, I’m here, in here!” Melody screamed, her words ending in a sob as she twisted free of Seth, snatched her purse from the top of the bar with one shaking hand, and ran for the door.

For a second, she was certain Seth was following her, but then she realized the thudding sound she heard was just her pulse pounding in her ears.

She reached the front of the bar as Nick was stepping inside and the door sliding slowly closed behind him. With a panicked sound, Melody grabbed Nick’s arm and pulled him backwards, toward the sliver of lamplight and the promise of safety on the street outside.

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked. “Melody—”

“Let’s get out of here, please just-get-out-of-here,” Melody said, her words running together as she hit the door and pushed.

Nick followed without another word, staying close behind her as she tumbled out onto the sidewalk. With a quick glance up and down the street, she ran for the opposite side of Main, bound for the door of the tattoo shop, where she planned to lock her and Nick inside where they would both be safe.

Seth wasn’t following them, and even if he did Nick was probably capable of taking care of the other man—Seth was more muscled, but Nick was taller and looked like he could handle himself in a fight—but Melody wasn’t thinking rationally. She was thinking with her survival brain, and her survival brain wanted a locked door or three between her and Seth as soon as possible.

They reached the shop and Melody grasped desperately at the door, a whimper rising in her throat when it didn’t move in response to her tugging.

“Just a second,” Nick said in a gentle voice, his hand resting on her shoulder as he dug his keys from his pocket.

Immediately, comfort flowed from his hand into her clenched muscles. The effect of his touch was so dramatically different from Seth’s that it was almost dizzying. When he pulled away to fit the shop key into the door, Melody felt the loss of his warmth like a punch in the gut.

If someone had told her ten seconds ago that she would be dying to be held in a man’s arms—
any
man’s arms—she would have told them they were crazy. But as soon as Nick closed the door behind them and flipped the lock, Melody launched herself at him, twining her arms around his neck, burying her face in his white button-down shirt, the one that still smelled of food and spilled wine and other hazards of cater-waitering. It was a comforting smell, safe and familiar and almost as wonderful as the feel of Nick pulling her close.

“What’s wrong, Mel?” he asked, stroking her hair with a gentle hand. “What happened in there? I heard you scream, but when I opened the door it was so dark I couldn’t see anything.”

BOOK: Wild For You (Always a Bridesmaid 3)
3.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Wild One by Taylor, Theodora
Unwritten by M.C. Decker
Ghost for Sale by Sandra Cox
Krysalis: Krysalis by John Tranhaile