Romance: Gibson's Legacy ( New Adult Contemporary Erotic Romance) (Last Score Book 1) (42 page)

I wondered why he was still being considerate toward me. What had happened had been my choice as well as his. “Yeah, I’m fine thanks, you?” Gibson smirked and shook his head.

“Damn, Chloe
my
dick is tender. That’s a first.” I blushed pink and he stood up and bent over to place his hand on the back of my head, kissing me softly then straightened his stance again.

“I’m going to have to head to the festival, Chloe. Stay here and take your time. Jerry is going to bring you when you are ready. I’ve punched his number in your cell phone, it’s on the night stand.”

Without another word, Gibson walked through the door and a few moments later I heard the suite door latch click shut. Twenty minutes after that, I had dried my hair and pulled on some jeans and a figure hugging red top. It was dressy but not over the top. Stepping into my black Jimmy Choo Stilettos, I was as ready as I’d ever be to face the public with Gibson.

While I stood quietly in the elevator, I had a chance to reflect on something that Gibson had said that made me scared and excited about what I was doing. I had taken a chance when I left Kace, and that chance in some weird way had led me to Gibson. And now I was taking another to be with him.

We’d talked just before I went into the bath and decided we’d announce we were indeed a couple. Then he said something that my mind wouldn’t compute the consequences of.

“Chloe, you are my last score… my fucking symphony.” Gibson smiled warmly and kissed my nose when he saw my puzzled face. “You don’t get that? A symphony is usually made up of four different elements that come together to make this amazing music, Chloe. A masterpiece. You bring warmth to my heart, fierce feelings to protect you, you make me horny and affectionate beyond reason and those four things bring light to my soul and make me happier than I’ve ever felt before.”

Recalling his words brought a smile to my lips. When I stepped out of the elevator, Jerry was waiting and gave me a tight smile back as he strode toward me. It was then I became aware that the foyer was full of women and a tall, leggy, red headed girl wearing a t-shirt with Gibson’s face on it was running toward me.

“Whore.” She spat. Reaching out, her hand barely skimmed my hair as she tried to grab it. Looking stunned for a second. I could hardly move as Jerry spun her away with one hand and ushered me at speed towards the door.

Half running and half being dragged, my heart was beating wildly in my chest, pulsating in my neck and I was shocked at what had just happened. The reality of the situation I was in hit me and I was scared that someone who never even knew me wanted to hurt me that badly.

Flashes of Kace coming at me flitted through my mind and as Jerry secured me and started to drive I fought back tears and wondered again, what the hell I was doing there at all. Jerry was talking rapidly to me but I wasn’t taking anything in. It was all just noise, because the sound of blood swishing in my ears and my panicked state were preventing me from processing anything else that was going on.

Jerry stopped the car and came into the back seat. “Jeez, Chloe, you need to toughen up, girl. That’s going to be a regular feature if you hang around the main man. Crazy chicks are hard core in this industry and if he’s boning you they won’t like it that much. You just gotta suck it up and deal, hon. It’s the way of the world.”

Staring back at him, I was thinking it might be the way of Gibson’s world, but it hasn’t been mine. If being that close to danger was a regular event then it was doubtful that I could stay in that environment. I was just beginning to find myself again, and there was no way I wanted to be placed in a situation that meant I was going to be subjected to more violence by anyone.

Still shaking by the time we arrived at the festival, I was petrified to get out of the car. Jerry was telling me how it was going to go and then suddenly the door was open and there were four burly security guys; two either side of me, arms outstretched, ushering me into the backstage area. There were a lot of people milling around, even although this was the artists entrance we’d driven into.

Jerry caught up with me, explaining that Gibson also had fans who were celebrities so they weren’t taking any chances with me. That comment made me even more worried about being associated with Gibson Barclay.

Once inside, Jerry told me we could relax and began to walk me towards a series of doors with various well known bands, and solo artists’ names on the doors. M3rCy was right at the end and Jerry explained it was so that no one disturbed them when they were resting before the gig.

Pushing the door open, the first person I saw was Tori, who threw me a look that could have killed then put her head down shaking it like she was disappointed. Placing her palms on the dressing table she pushed herself to stand and walked past me.

“Go home, little girl— you’re going to be eaten alive.” It was said in almost a whisper, but the tone of her voice told me in no uncertain terms it was a threat.

Gibson had begun to stand when I went in and was smiling when he saw me, his lips stretching to form a grin until the altercation with Tori. “What the fuck did she just say to you?”

Gibson’s face was dark and I was not about to upset the applecart when he was about to go on stage. “Welcome to the madhouse honey,” I replied.

Gibson’s face relaxed and he strode over and pulled me into a hug. “Damn, girl, you look good enough to eat.” Smirking, he bent his head, placing his lips close to my ears. “Oh, but I did that already, right? I’ll just have to work up an appetite on stage so that I can fit those seconds in I guess.” Leaning back, he grinned roguishly and came back in for a hungry kiss.

Normally I’d have been embarrassed, but the way that Tori had behaved made me want to show her that she was toying with the wrong girl. Just because I hadn’t said much didn’t mean I wasn’t capable of taking care of myself, so I kissed Gibson back, allowing my hands to snake up his t-shirt and run across his belly and back.

Gibson pushed back and stared at me with hungry eyes, cloudy with lust and he’d shivered more than once when I’d stroked my hands over him. He had certainly been getting aroused and his hands slipped to cup my ass and pull me against him.

“Fuck, Chloe. I can’t do this now. You’ve gone and made me hard in these skinny jeans.  You need to keep those magic hands of yours in your pockets pre-gigs, darlin’.” The beaming smile on his face made his eyes twinkle and my heart fluttered in my chest at the way he was looking at me.

Someone coughed at the side of us and Gibson turned his head. My eyes followed his and we saw Lennox smirking and shaking his head. “Hmm…definitely a first. Get your horny ass over with the rest of us and put her down. You can play with her later.”

Gibson punched Lennox on the shoulder. “No one plays with Chloe. Not even me, and fuckers, y’all are gonna give her respect, y’all hear me?” Simon made a snorting noise and Mick and Lennox started laughing. Mick came over and put his arm around me. Gibson scowled and he put his hands up and backed away from me.

“Jeez, Gib, I was only going to welcome her into the fold, dude.” Mick turned to face me, “Seriously Chloe, it’s great to have someone to keep this dumb fuck in his place. Anyone that can control his dick is an asset to us all, right guys?”

Gibson’s jaw twitched and he threw a fuck-you look at Mick and his smile dropped like Gibson had slapped him. “Joking aside, glad to have you with us, Chloe. I’m sure Tori will be happy for the female company.” Glancing at Tori, she gave me a sarcastic smile and then went back to reading her Kindle.

Initially, I hated standing there being judged by all of them, wondering what they thought about me and maybe taking bets about how long I’d last. After a few minutes though, they were chatting easily and asking my opinion about stuff and I really felt accepted by them. Well… all but their female band member.

Rapid knocking and the ten minute call came from a muffled voice outside the door. Everyone in the room immediately got on their feet and I suddenly realized how conditioned these guys were. It may have been the same routine they did week in week out, but they were all extremely disciplined and professional as soon as it came time for them to go to work.

Staring out from the side of the stage was a surreal experience. Watching the thousands of heads, the nearest with faces so clear, watching their expressions, and when I looked further back the heads were just dots to the point I couldn’t even ascertain the hair coloring.

Monotonous low murmurs of noise from the sea of heads echoed in the stadium until they killed the lights and then there was an instant silence. I was in awe at how the flick of a switch could control that many people.

Once that initial act had sunk in, the anticipation of the crowd to the band coming on stage had begun to grip them and there was a low buzz of conversation.  I stood waiting with them and for the inevitable roar of appreciation from them when Gibson and the rest of M3rCy were visible on stage.

I was extremely excited at being given the privilege of seeing M3rCy perform at such close quarters and like the crowd, I was buzzing as well, especially since I knew Gibson intimately by then. I was still getting my head around that thought when the bass boomed out of the amp next to me, and I almost jumped out of my skin with fright.

Stunned, then shocked to the core by the sudden noise and the pace their performance moved at, it took me a couple of minutes to focus at what was going down on stage. Gibson was Gibson at his best, flirting with all the women, but he never touched anyone, not like in the old days when he was being dragged off of female fans at Beltz.

That performer had been a boy. The version I was looking at in front of me right then was very much a man. A man who could do and have whatever he wanted. Girl after girl threw numbers on stage and Gibson played into that by picking them up and putting them in his pockets.

Tori came off stage during a song where there were no keyboards and stood beside me. Folding her arms she said, “I give you a week.” Inclining her head at Gibson she said, “Baby girl, he’s way too hard for you to handle. Trust me. That right there is a
lot
of man. He can play rough.”

I had already made my mind up about her. Anything she said I was going to suck it up even if I didn’t like it. Turning to look at her, she was giving me a smirk, and I could see that she looked smug.

Tori had a trump card; I’d seen that look before and there was no way I was giving that girl the satisfaction of seeing me running scared. “And you’d be the one to know that how?”

Snickering she said, “Well, he almost cut me in two when he made me come. And he’s rough. So…” Eyeing me up and down, she took a towel down from her shoulder and dried sweat from her arm then placed it back there again with a smug smirk on her face.

Her words demolished me and as I looked up at Gibson I almost faltered in my resolve, but he was doing an acoustic set of “Inches from Paradise” sitting at my side of the stage with a single set of blue spotlights shining on him.

I stopped thinking and started listening, mesmerized. When he finished the song, it was as if he sensed I needed him and turned, smiling over at me. However, when he saw Tori speaking to me, his face became dark and he began to stride across the stage in my direction. As soon as I saw his reaction, I was sure she had been telling me the truth.

Overwhelming emotions of jealousy, loss and hopelessness threatened to cripple me and I stood there for a moment, my eyes flicking between Gibson and Tori, then out to the crowd that were predominately women at the front.  I then wondered how I was supposed go forward with everything I knew about him? All that temptation day after day, staring him in the face.

Before Gibson could get to me Tori stated, “Day one, Chloe. That’s when he made me come. He’s a one and done kind of guy. You want to try to tame that dick? Good luck girl, but if I were you I’d get that shiny little luggage bag of yours and get out of Dodge, because he’ll break your heart and you don’t look like the kind of girl that can deal with the shit that’s gonna be slung in your direction.”

Swallowing hard, I knew that if Tori hadn’t delivered her last few sentences in the way she had, in all probability I’d have made the decision to cut and run, but when I saw the look on Gibson’s face, I knew that someone had to place their trust in him.

Against all the odds of us meeting again, against everything my head was telling me, I was still standing right there in front of him. Someone had to place their trust in him sometime, and he’d asked that it be me.

Smiling at Gibson, I blew him a kiss and his concerned, furrowed brow seemed to disappear with the impact of it. A wide smile spread and he winked sexily at me, making my panties instantly wet.

Confident for the moment I was making the right choice, I turned back to Tori stating, “Yeah, maybe that’s the difference between you and me. There’s a huge difference between five years and five minutes, honey. Maybe if you hadn’t been so blatant and easy, you’d have had more success.”

I gave her an intentional smug smirk and looked her up and down. “Then again…maybe not. By the way, I’m not the pushover you think I am. And, for your information, I fight dirty. So bring it on Tori, because Gibson wants me and you just made my mind up for me. So…I guess I’m definitely staying and unless you stop having designs honey, my guess is your card is marked.”

Shaking inside, I was impressed at how confident I sounded when I delivered my warning. My epic performance with Tori, the first class bitch, was almost as good as the one Gibson had just finished on stage. I felt that whatever was going on was between me and Gibson and what came out of it may be something and nothing, but for that moment I’d made up my mind to be with him.

Gibson came off stage and scooped me up in his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist as his hands slid under my ass in support like a well-practiced routine. Backing me up against the wall, his sweaty face was inches from mine.

As we walked away from the stage, the lights came on and the crowd began to leave. “Love Runs Out” by One Republic played on the tannoy and Gibson hummed the tune for a moment
,
then turned and looked at me again.