Because I was feeling so weak, I could only talk to Shane through texts or I would have told him everything.

Now, with Drake and Lana back in each other’s arms after nearly a week of separation, I was sure that I wasn’t the only one planning on using a dark corner. Grinning at Dallas, I pushed her toward the stairs. “Let’s go find our own guys.”

“You go,” Dallas frowned down at the first floor. Axton and the rest of the members of OtherWorld were laughing and ribbing each other as they chugged down the apple cider, which was the hardest thing on the menu for tonight out of respect for Drake.

I left my friend to her heavy thoughts. Dallas had it bad if she was still with Axton despite all her doubts. I knew she had a lot on her plate at the moment and hoped that she was able to work things out with her relationship so she could deal with all the other things she needed to deal with.

I passed Layla and Jesse at the bottom of the stairs, but they didn’t see me. Layla had her legs wrapped around the big man’s waist while he had her pushed up against the wall. Grinning, I continued on my way.

As I reached the bar it was to find that Shane had disappeared on me. Frowning, I hopped up onto one of the barstools and asked for a ginger ale from the bartender. Maybe Shane was mad at me.

“Well hello, kitten.”

Glancing up, I found Wroth Niall and Zander Brockman standing right beside of me. My mouth dropped open a little when I realized that it had been Wroth that had spoken. Wroth was known as kind of a woman hater. Not that it stopped hordes of females trying to grab his attention. The guitarist not only played like a freaking dream, but he was perhaps the hottest male in the rock world—or so all the tabloids said. I wasn’t so sure because Shane had me captivated.

“Hi, guys,” I greeted a little hesitantly.

“You have got to be Stevenson’s girl,” Zander said with a grin. “Now I see why he’s been in such a tizzy all day.”

I blinked. “Thanks… I think.”

“It’s kind of crazy to think of that fucker with a steady girl...” Wroth shook his head “...but obviously he has good taste.”

My cheeks warmed with a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. I still wasn’t used to compliments from hot guys. “I like to think he does.”

I sat there talking to both of the guitarists for a long while. I found they were both kind of charming underneath all of that rocker toughness. Wroth was an ex-Marine, which fascinated me, and I wondered if I could get him to give me an interview for Rock America . I liked both rockers a lot and even found myself laughing with them.

When Shane still hadn’t appeared, I felt a little deflated and excused myself to the ladies’ room.

The bathrooms were at the back of the club, down a hidden corridor. As soon as I turned the corner to the ladies’ room, a strong hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me against a hard chest. Startled, I nearly screamed until the familiar, tantalizing smell of Shane’s aftershave hit my senses and I melted against him.

I dropped my purse and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. “I thought you were mad at me and you left,” I nearly sobbed.

“So now we’ve both learned our lesson, huh?” he teased before his mouth devoured my own.

I kissed him back, trying to make up for the days we shouldn’t have been apart. I was so glad I had worn the little black skirt that Dallas had suggested I borrow from her. Shane wasted no time in pushing it up my hips as he backed me against the opposite wall.

Maybe I should have been worried about someone finding us like this. But I didn’t. Shane had brought out the wild side in me. During the last few months, we had made more than a handful of visits to Sensual House, and one of their rooms gave you the experience of having public sex with the one way mirror that took up nearly one whole wall.

Oddly enough, that had been my favorite room to experiment in. It was so naughty watching people walk by the one way mirror while Shane took me against the wall, or on the bed, or any other place in that room. But there had been that safety net of no one being able to see us. I couldn’t believe how hard I had come when Shane had taken me against the wall for the first time while I watched a couple stop in front of the wall of the mirror I was looking out of. While the man turned to kiss his girlfriend, I had been filled with a rush that had nearly brought me to my knees as I came around Shane.

A moan escaped me when his fingers slipped under the hem of my panties to find me wet for him. Two fingers thrust into me, and I clenched around them with need.

“I don’t think I can be gentle,” he growled against my ear, making me shiver in anticipation.

“I don’t want gentle. I want it rough. Hard.”

“Thank fuck!” Two seconds, that was all he needed to free himself and thrust into me. 

Chapter 20

Harper

It was Christmas Eve.

Not exactly what I would call an ideal time to get married, but it was what Lana and Drake had wanted, so who was I to judge. I stood in the back of the church in my bridesmaid’s dress with Emmie, Layla, and Dallas. We were just relaxing, talking about nothing of any consequence while we waited for the wedding to start.

I was surprised at how calm Lana was. When I had been a bridesmaid for Cecil’s niece a few years ago, she had been anything but calm. She had been borderline bridezilla, screaming at everyone for no apparent reason, sweating off her makeup and having to reapply it several times. But Lana was just sitting on the little sofa with her sister beside her, laughing along with everyone else when Emmie made some mouthy comment.

I was curious as to how Drake was taking the small wait before the wedding started. While everyone else was talking, not paying attention to me, I stepped out of our little room and quietly went down the hall to where Shane and his brother were. Before I lifted my hand to knock, I heard Drake.

He wasn’t as calm as Lana by a long shot. “What if she decides that she doesn’t want to marry me after all? I mean who could blame her? I’m no good for her. She deserves better.”

“Of course she does. She deserves a fucking lot better,” Jesse said in a hard, cool tone. “But she wants you , Drake. Lana loves you, dickhead.”

“But…”

Not wanting to hear Drake tearing himself to pieces a moment more, I opened the door without knocking. Drake was pacing, his hands raking through his shaggy hair like a man tormented. Nik and Jesse stood by the window revealing December in New York and the two inches of snow already on the ground. Shane was sitting on the little leather sofa across the room, watching his brother with troubled eyes.