Chapter 36

Juno

As the band packed up their instruments and finished up for the day, I sat on the nearest chair and waited for whatever was going to follow. I was exhausted. Happy but completely exhausted.

It felt good. Although I hadn't done much besides give my opinions on differences in riffs and melodies, I felt as if I was being given a window into a creative process so different from writing a story that I was honored and more than a little grateful.

On top of that, Jack had been a darling to me all day. I felt as if everything was perfect. A part of me wanted to take some kind of snapshot of it all, but I was aware any recording of what we were doing wouldn't capture how wonderful it truly was.

After Greg and the sudden outward physical abuse, I felt like my life was over. I'd dedicated years of my life to the home and life we'd made together. At first, I'd thought it had gone violent and toxic so quickly. I still didn't quite understand how I'd got from there to here.

If I looked back on when I'd last been happy, however, it had been several years earlier, with plenty of little red flags since. I'd had momentary bursts of excitement now and then, but nothing that came close to the contentment and satisfaction I felt right now, at the end of the day, with the Vampirates and their friends.

It was still strange to be included in all this, and I couldn't quite believe the string of events that had led me to meet Jack and then have him find out about the book I'd written.

"Come on, sweetheart," Jack said. "We're going to get some food and chill out this evening. We're making good progress, and I think we should all probably head to bed early tonight."

"Is that a promise?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet and grinning.

He smirked in response, clearly understanding what I was asking. A few seconds later, he wrapped his arms around me to give me a hug and leaned near my ear.

"You can bet it's a promise. I want to find out what it's like to be your dominant."

My eyes widened at his response, and my core flushed with heat and anticipation at what that might mean. I really liked the idea. More than I'd expected to. It had been a long time since I'd been in a dom-sub relationship, but Jack and his desire for one made me shudder with anticipation. Could it be exactly what I needed?

Before I could say anything else, Kai and Alma came our way.

"Come on, you two love birds. The rest of the band is already heading out. Apparently, we've drawn a bit of a crowd. Someone saw one of us coming in and then phoned to see if the studio was free. The receptionist didn't think to stay tight-lipped about who was here."

I blinked as Jack swore and sighed. With no idea what to expect, it made me nervous, but Jack let go of me only a moment later. Did he not want to be seen with me? He'd held my hand a few times in public, and people had been suspicious after I'd been at the same hotel as him, but no one had caught a picture of anything definite or made a clear connection.

Of course, my agent would be over the moon if they did. I was pretty sure he thought all publicity was good publicity. Yet another reason I'd kept Greg's abuse to myself.

Following on with the others, I let Kai lead the last of us out of the recording area and down the stairs to the front door. It was clear people were outside, some very loud women chanting the names of the band members and occasionally the band name. Suddenly tense and uneasy, I tried my best to keep up with Eve as she walked near the back of the group, Jack no longer at my side.

Jack and Kai's bodyguards stood on both sides of the door as Alma stepped to one side and let the band members through.

The bodyguards formed up around them, working as a group to get the band through the screaming and heaving crowds to the cars while we watched from inside, and before my eyes, Jack's car drove off, leaving me with Alma, Eve and a session drummer they'd pulled in to help with the recording.

"You look scared half to death," Alma said, slipping her arm through mine. "Don't worry. They'll disperse a bit now that the boys have gone. They're not anywhere near as interested in us. We'll give it a few minutes and head to the second car."

"Do you think we'll have to wait long?" Eve asked. "I'm starving, and they already look like they're slipping back a bit."

Not answering yet, Alma looked through the gap in the door and pursed her lips.

"They're getting less dense, but you know some of them can get a bit out of line if we go too soon, and there's not enough room to cut through."

"Out of line?" I asked, having not expected any of this and feeling more and more sick as we waited.

"Yeah, it varies. We're in a better part of New York, so it's not as bad as it can be, but sometimes we have to wait for the bodyguards to return for us. The fans want the boys, and we're in the way. I don't get as much stick as I used to now that Kai and I have been together so long, but Eve and you are newer. They take a while to adjust to that."

I frowned even more. That sounded worse.

"I don't care about them. They're all talk, and they aren't the ones with the boys. We are," Eve replied. "It's just jealousy."

Alma shrugged, and Eve moved up beside her to look herself.

"Come on, let's go. It's not as bad at all."

Without another word or any warning, the two women swept into the crowd. Immediately, there were more shouts, and I felt my body tense up and my heart race. I couldn't move at first, watching the mob of mostly female fans react to the presence of Alma and Eve, and then some of them spotted me.

Alma looked back, already several feet between us and people closing the gap she'd created. The shouts brought the groups pressing back closer, and some of them mistook the fuss to be about more famous people and not just their partners.

"Come on, Juno," Alma called, reaching back for me although she kept moving forward.

It was the call I needed to get my feet moving. I locked my gaze on her as she followed Eve through the crowds, pretty much having to push through the crush.

I could feel my mind panicking, aware my breathing was already erratic and my body tense.

Just focus on Alma, I tried to tell myself, but a shout to one side almost made me flinch, and Alma continued to get farther ahead as I met the resistance of the mass of bodies.

It was almost painful, and I wobbled as someone pushed from one side.

"Who is this one with?" someone yelled near my ear. At the same time, they jabbed toward me, and I flinched. Continuing to push forward, I managed to keep my feet, but I was starting to get a tingling feeling in my temples, not enough oxygen getting into my body.

I could barely breathe, and for a moment, I didn't move, swaying with the crowds. I couldn't see Alma at all, and I couldn't hear the road or any of the cars above the yelling and laughing near me.

Still, I knew I couldn't stay where I was, so I pushed forward.

"Is she with Jack?" someone else yelled.

"Nah, look at her. She's far too ugly for Jack. He's got standards."

"I dunno. She looks like that stan from the British talk show."

I almost froze, my vision blurring. They'd recognized me. Was that good or bad?

Taking one last step, I finally spotted Alma, the confident woman coming back for me and grabbing my hand.

Through the gap she'd created, she pulled me toward the car, and I practically fell into it.

"Paper bag. She's hyperventilating," Alma said as my vision started to darken.