“Absolutely. I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.”
I laugh as we step out into the hallway and I tuck the hotel key into my clutch. “Why not?”
“Because this place is going to be crawling with men and you are a goddamn goddess. All these bastards need to know that you’re mine.”
“I like the sound of that,” I whisper. It’s the first time he’s ever laid down a claim like that and I love the way it feels knowing that I belong to him. And there’s not a single part of it that’s demeaning or rude. I belong to him in the way he feels like home and the way he makes me feel like the only girl in the entire world.
We step into the elevator and he stands next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close until I can feel his warmth seeping into me.
“You know what I like?” he asks and I glance back at him.
“No. What?”
As the elevator doors close, he turns me to face him and slowly backs me up until my back presses against the wall of the car. His hand cups my face and he leans in, hovering his lips over mine and stealing the air from my lungs as our eyes meet.
“I love that you’re all in now.”
I smile. “I love that you made me feel safe enough to take that chance with you.”
“Do you remember what I told you the night we went over to Iris’s for dinner?” he asks and I think back to that night.
“That I’m in control?”
He nods. “That’s right, baby. I’m not holding back anymore but I want you to always remember that, okay? You’re the boss and if you’re uncomfortable with anything, you just say the word and it stops.”
“I trust you, Lucas,” I whisper, gripping his wrist as he brushes his thumb over my face. He smiles.
“You have no idea how much I love hearing that.”
Before I can say anything else, my phone buzzes and I scrunch up my nose. “Hold on one second.”
“Time to work, huh?” he asks with a laugh as he pulls away and positions me back at his side. I nod, digging my phone out of my bag.
“I guess so.”
Willa:
T-Minus thirty minutes, boss lady.
Where are you?
“Everything okay?” Lucas asks, peeking over my shoulder as I read Willa’s text and I nod.
“Yeah. My assistant is down there now getting things set up and I need to look things over one last time before guests start showing up.”
He grabs my hand and laces his fingers with mine as the elevator doors slide open. “You just do what you need to do, babe, and I’ll follow along.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit and get a drink?” I ask as we approach the ballroom. “I think the bar is probably already open.”
“Nope. Told you, I’m not letting any of these fuckers near you.”
“Lucas,” I whisper with a laugh. “No one is going to be looking at me.”
His brow arches and he pulls me closer. “Are you kidding me? It’s a shame I didn’t bring my gun.”
“What?”
“Shit,” he hisses with a wince. “Yeah, we’ll talk about that later, okay?”
I open my mouth to protest as I spot Ronald and Willa crossing the ballroom to talk to me and I sigh.
“Yeah, we will talk about it later.”
“Miss Dawson, you look stunning,” Ronald says as he reaches us and I swear I hear Lucas growl behind me and I barely resist the urge to glare at him.
“Thank you, Ronald. How are things going down here?”
He nods and I glance over at Willa as she smirks at me and winks.
“Very well. We have just one little problem…”
“What?”
Willa steps forward and places her hand on my arm. “The band isn’t here yet but I’ve called them and they promised me that they’ll be here in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?” I hiss. “We’re going to have guests showing up in fifteen.”
“It’s not ideal,” she answers, speaking in a calm tone that I think is supposed to tame my nerves but it doesn’t work. This gala is one of the biggest events I’ve ever thrown and I still managed to pull it together with a shortened time table and after getting into a car accident so if the band tanks this thing, I’m going to ruin them.
“Get one or two of our regular bands on the phone and see if anyone’s available as a back-up,” I instruct Willa and she nods before running off to make phone calls. I turn back to Ronald and suck in a breath.
“Please tell me there are no more problems.”
He shakes his head. “No, ma’am. Everything else has been running smoothly.”
“Thank you, Ronald.” Turning back to Lucas, I sigh and he pulls me into his arms.
“Anything I can do to help?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Quinn!” someone yells and I glance over toward the stage where Willa is pointing to the band as they unload their equipment.
“Thank fuck,” I whisper before squaring my shoulders and marching across the room as I drag Lucas along with me.
“Shit,” he mutters but I ignore him as I stop in front of the stage. Nick, the lead singer, turns to me and his eyes follow a leisurely path down my body that makes me feel all kinds of icky before he grins at me.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
Lucas steps up next to me. “Fucking watch it.”
“Let me ask you boys something… you are aware that you signed a contract, yes?”
“Yeah, and?” Nick asks, arching a defiant brow and I wish I could put him on my banned list a second time.
“And in that contract, it stated that you were to be here an hour early and yet here you are, setting up fifteen minutes before guests are set to arrive.”
“Then why the fuck are you standing here, bugging us?”
My jaw tightens and I swear I can feel my eye twitching. “Oh, I’ll be out of your way in a second. I just thought I should let y’all know why you’ll only be getting half your fee tonight.”
“What?” Nick bellows, jumping down off the stage and Lucas is in front of me in an instant, putting himself between Nick and me as he charges toward me. “You can’t do that, you little slut.”
Lucas shoves him back and he stumbles before righting himself.
“Actually, I can. It was in the contract you signed and your conduct is completely unprofessional.”
“Jackson. Rhett,” the drummer says, stepping forward and the other two guys set their instruments down. “Get Nick out of here for a second.”
They lead Nick out of the ballroom as the drummer approaches me. “Hello. I’m Dorian and I just want to apologize for Nick. I would say that he’s not normally like this but I would be lying.”
“Well, thank you for that, at least, and I hope you don’t mind me saying that I think you guys are very talented but your lead singer is holding you back.”
He nods, glancing over his shoulder. “I have to agree with you.”
“Can you get set up in five minutes?” I ask, glancing at the time on my phone and he sighs.
“We’ll give it our best shot.”