Page 26 of Her Dark Angel

As anticipated, the cameras pan to us and Nash instantly leans to the side to rest his large hand on my thigh. I try to contain the surprise from seeping into my features as I smile for the camera and laugh when the host makes a joke about being shocked that Nash Beck managed to snag a woman like me. My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest, but the moment the camera pans away and all eyes are drawn back to the presenters for the next award, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Nash doesn’t move his hand.

I look down at my thigh where his hand is splayed out across the material of my dress, the bite of cold silver from his rings cooling my flushed skin. His knuckles are healing from recently being busted open, and I find myself tracing the thick veins racing across his hand and up his arm with my eyes, wondering if they cover the rest of his toned body. I’m not one to admire a man’s hands but goddamn these things are lethal. I just know that they would be able to choke me?—

“Little devil.” My head snaps up at the sound of Nash’s voice. His mismatched eyes are on me and a hint of a smile ghosts his lips. “You okay?”

I swallow the built up saliva in my mouth and nod wordlessly. Turning my attention back to the stage, I try to focus on anything but the heat radiating off Nash’s hand, but it’s almost impossible.

Goddamn, what the hell is he doing? The cameras aren’t on us, so he doesn’t need to touch me. My fingers itch to punch him in the face like I promised, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Why? I’m not sure. So, I let his hand lay there for the rest of the show.

When the cameras stop rolling, Axel heaves a sigh and leans back in his seat. “Thank fuck that’s over.”

Nash removes his hand from my thigh and I finally feel like I can breathe again. Although, for a brief second, I miss the feel of his warm skin caressing mine, and the way zaps of electricity would shoot across my skin whenever he moved or squeezed me.

“I thought it was never going to end,” Luca huffs from beside me. He turns to Nash. “What should we do tonight?”

Nash lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “Whatever you want. I might call it a night, though.”

Hudson frowns. “Why? Because you have to be a good boy for the tabloids?”

“No,” Nash growls, annoyance clear in his voice. “Because I want to be alone.”

Hudson claps a hand on Nash’s shoulder. “Okay. That’s fine. We’ll be at Limelight if you need us.”

The three of them stand and turn to me. Luca is the first to speak. “It was nice meeting you, Kin. Good luck dealing with this asshole.”

Nash rolls his eyes. “Ha-ha, very funny. Now fuck off.”

I smile at him, ignoring Nash’s harsh response. “It was nice to meet you all.” And I mean it. They are a lot funnier than I thought they would be. I found myself laughing along to their sly comments about the show and listening to the banter between them.

The three of them wave goodbye and merge with the crowd of celebrities leaving the room, leaving Nash and me alone at the table. My leg bounces as silence settles over us. It’s not tense like it was in the car, which I’m grateful for. It feels more… calm this time.

“Are you okay?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“I’m fine,” Nash answers quickly, not meeting my eye. He’s looking at the empty glass of champagne again, and I realize that it wasn’t topped up once during the entire show.

I saw how he chugged that nasty liquor before we got out of the car, so if I had to guess, I would say that he’s itching for a drink right now.

“You can go out if you want,” I say quickly. I don’t want this contract to be the reason why he can’t still be himself and live the rockstar lifestyle he wants, but maybe toned down a little. Yes, we may have rules in place, but it’s to help both of us, not restrict us.

Nash scoffs and lifts his eyes to meet mine. “I don’t remember asking for your permission, little devil.”

My mouth falls open. What the fuck? How does his mood switch so damn quickly? One minute he’s kissing me to stop a panic attack and now he’s giving me attitude. I’m going to have severe whiplash after these six months are up.

“I didn’t…” I pinch the bridge of my nose to contain the anger bubbling in my chest, reminding myself that we’re still in public and need to pretend that we like each other even though he’s making it difficult to do so. “You know what I mean, Nash. If you want to go out, then go, but don’t hook up with anyone if you do. You know the rules.”

Nash rolls his eyes and leans back in the seat, spreading his long legs. “As much as I would love to go to Limelight to have a drink and maybe get into some trouble, I would rather go home.”

“Why?”

He slides his tongue over the black lip ring. “Because I want to write lyrics in peace without the constant bantering from those noisy dickheads.”

I settle back in the seat and nod. “Okay. That’s fine. Do you write lyrics often by yourself?”

“Sometimes. I prefer to write alone when I can.”

I look around the room to see most of the tables are empty besides a few stragglers lingering. Whether it’s for another reason or to watch us, I’m not sure.

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