Page 29 of Fractured Dreams

The crowd went wild again, as the two guitars seemed to almost spar with each other for a few seconds, until with practiced ease, the chords melded together into the signature riff of the song, just before Connor launched into the first verse.

But Eden only had eyes for Tex. He owned the stage; six foot four inches of tattooed rock god perfection. She’d seen him perform before of course, but not for a few years, and not through the eyes of someone whose body had been underneath his less than twenty-four hours ago. Anger and regret surged through Eden as she watched. Anger at herself, for ruining the relationship they’d had by throwing herself at him, and regret that just one night would be all she’d ever have.

As the first song reached its explosive conclusion, the two bands immediately launched into one of Fractured’s biggest hits, the audience responding again with screams of excitement. Eden dragged her eyes away from Tex, looking out at the crowd, seeing the glittering-eyed, lust-filled faces of the fans as they watched the men onstage. Her heart sank even further. There was the reality of the situation right in front of her. How many of the women there that night would happily give Tex whatever he wanted if he so much as gave them a second look? And who was Eden to him but his friend’s little sister, someone who wasn’t even mature enough to have a one-night stand and not want more. She’d been fooling herself when she’d secretly hoped he might feel something for her other than just vague affection and temporary lust. She had nothing he needed. Nothing he couldn’t get from a million other women. She hadn’t even been enough for Mason; why did she ever think she’d be enough for a man like Tex?

Trying to swallow past the lump in her throat, Eden glanced over at Lexie. She was busy taking photos of the men onstage, but now and then she dropped her camera from her face and just watched her fiancé, her smile radiant. Connor seemed unable—or unwilling—to keep his eyes off her either, his gaze constantly drifting back to where they stood.

With a pang in her chest, Eden finally brought her gaze back to Tex. He had his head down, concentrating as his fingers moved rapidly up and down the frets of his guitar, but after a minute he raised his head and looked out at the crowd, a sexy, sinful smile on his gorgeous face that probably had most of the women in the room ready to drop their panties.

Blinking back tears, wishing she’d never agreed to go tonight, Eden waited for the performance to finish. The joint set wrapped up with another EoD song, which ended with Tex and the other guitarist pushing their instruments to their upper limits, finishing with one long writhing riff that had the fans on their feet and screaming the house down.

The cheers and catcalls continued for long minutes after the feedback faded. With more backslapping between the men and salutes to the crowd, Tex and Connor left the stage. Eden would have been happy to leave then too, but she and Lexie stayed for the last few EoD songs. When the show was finally over, Drew appeared at her shoulder and ushered them back out of the pit, leading them to a large room already filling with people.

Tex and Connor’s performance might have been a surprise to the audience, but the label had dropped the word to enough music reporters, influencers, and other industry insiders to fill the room. Once the VIP fans that had scored backstage passes came in, the room was packed.

A ripple of excitement spread through the room as Connor and Tex came in with the four members of EoD after they’d all showered and changed. Connor made a beeline for Lexie, but Tex stopped to chat to several people as he worked his way through the crowd. After Connor had given Lexie an enthusiastic kiss, he also left to work the room.

Eden’s heart beat a painful tattoo against her ribcage as she watched Tex charming everyone with his deadly good looks and devilish smile. Beautiful women flocked to him, laughing and flirting, and he laughed and smiled at them all in return, signing his autograph and having his photo taken with them pressing themselves tightly against his side.

But when a gorgeous brunette who looked like she could be a Victoria’s Secret model rushed up and threw her arms around him, Eden’s gut gave a vicious twist. And when the woman laced her arm through his and he tipped his head down toward her, she lost her breath in a surge of jealousy, wondering if the two of them had slept together before. As familiarly as she was touching him, Eden was sure they must have. The jealousy continued to burn its way through her as she wondered if he’d sleep with her again—maybe even tonight. After all, she knew firsthand how healthy his sexual appetite was, and since she’d put herself firmly on the no-touch list this morning, why wouldn’t he satisfy himself with a woman who looked like that.

Eden’s pulse was racing as she watched them. What the hell had she been thinking? How had she ever thought she could sleep with Tex and have it not mean anything? She’d done exactly what Noah had been concerned about and let her hurt at Mason’s betrayal convince her she could be someone she wasn’t. And look what had happened.

She wanted to turn away, but like a masochist, her eyes were constantly drawn back to the man whose bed she’d spent the night before in—and the beautiful woman currently plastered against him. It was only when the brunette put her hand on his chest, fingers gently stroking, that Tex finally cut his eyes in Eden’s direction. She was surprised he even knew where she was in the room since he hadn’t looked her way once.

As their eyes met, Eden fought to keep her composure, not wanting him to know how upset she was—not after all her protestations of being able to handle the situation. She must have been convincing, because Tex looked away again, back down at the dark-haired beauty, who was gazing at him as if she wanted to strip him naked right there in the middle of the crowded room.

But when the woman’s hand started sliding south, edging down over the hard, corrugated muscles Eden now knew so intimately, she gave up the fight. She’d done her best to be strong, to see her decisions through, right or wrong, but there was only so much she could take. Tears burned her eyes again as she turned and left, making her way quickly out the back to where she hoped the car was still waiting.

Luckily for her it was.

She knocked on the driver’s window and asked him to drive her home, but he insisted on calling Drew first to make sure it was okay to do so. When he handed the phone to Eden, she lied and told Drew she wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t able to wait for Tex to finish. Thankfully, Drew gave the driver the go-ahead, because the tears she’d been holding back came a few moments later. But by then she was in the back of the car with no one to see her, and she let them flow.

Chapter 17

Tex stiffened as Vanessa—or maybe it was Veronica—pressed herself closer to him; one of her breasts pushing up against his arm so tightly he could feel the imprint of her hardened nipple on his bicep. A model who’d worked on one of their music videos a couple of years ago, she’d made no secret of wanting to screw him then—or now, apparently.

Back then he’d considered taking her up on her offer—until he’d seen just how much of a bitch she was to the girls working on her hair and makeup. After that, he’d ignored her blatant advances. And if he hadn’t been interested back then, he was even less so now. Not with the memory of Eden wrapped around him so clear in his mind. Even if she had decided she didn’t want anything more than that from him.

He looked down at Vanessa, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to be civil, after all, who knew when they might have to work with her again. But inside, he felt like his skin was crawling from her predatory expression and barracuda smile.

The whole night had been shit. Not the music or the crowd, but his enjoyment of it. Instead of absorbing energy from the audience and letting it fill him with exhilaration, he’d been completely distracted. It had started from the minute he’d seen Eden descending the stairs in that shimmery blue dress—almost the same shade as her eyes—that clung to every curve and made his throat go dry. Even though he hadn’t looked directly at her during the concert, he’d been aware of her presence, and it had fucked with his concentration. Hopefully not enough for anyone else to notice, although Connor had shot a glance or two his way, but enough that he felt like he had back during their first year of touring. As if he had to think about where his fingers needed to go instead of it being as effortless as breathing.

As soon as he’d walked into the room after the show, he’d seen her in his peripheral vision, and as he’d worked his way through the crowd, her presence had beat against his awareness like a moth against a lit window. She stood there, long blonde hair tumbling over one shoulder, eyes big, and seemingly with her gaze on him. As though she were willing him to look at her—to want her—even if she didn’t want him. And he did, dammit. He fucking did.

While he’d moved around the room, shaking hands, signing his autograph, talking to various social media personalities and VIP guests, laughing and smiling as if he didn’t have a care in the world, he’d had to force himself not to gravitate toward her. Had to make sure he didn’t glance her way, because he knew if he did, he might end up doing just what she didn’t want—give everyone a show that would let them know exactly what they’d done together. Instead, he did what he’d always done, poured on the southern charm with everyone. Gave them the laid-back Tex they expected, not the one filled with boiling frustration at wanting what he couldn’t have.

The one time he did look directly at Eden, after Vanessa had latched her claws into him, she’d looked completely unconcerned, as if she weren’t even a little bit jealous, although she hadn’t looked away from his gaze either. And was that what he was doing by indulging Vanessa? Is that what he’d been reduced to, trying to make Eden jealous? Wanting her to regret her decision? If he was, he called it quits when Vanessa’s hand on his chest started migrating southward. He grabbed it and moved it away. “Sorry, honey, that’s off-limits.”

She pouted but moved her hand back to his arm. It still wasn’t far enough away. He didn’t want her touching him at all. There was only one woman’s hands he wanted on him right now, and he’d reached his limit of being touched by anyone that wasn’t her.

Sudden grim determination tightened Tex’s muscles. He’d allowed himself to be thrown by Eden’s words that morning—after all, he wasn't exactly used to women rejecting him—and he’d walked away without saying his piece. She might have said she only wanted one night—hell, she might have even convinced herself it was true—but now that he’d had enough space and time to think about it, he didn’t fucking believe her. Not with the way she’d clung to him last night, the way she’d gasped, and whimpered and shivered underneath him, the way she’d come undone again and again. There was nothing about last night that had screamed of being just a release of tension, and he wasn’t about to let it go at that. Because he wasn’t done with Eden, not by a long shot, and it was time he let her know that.

Tex extricated himself from Vanessa—actually he thought maybe itwasVeronica—and searched the room for Eden. She wasn’t standing near Lexie, who was currently whispering in Connor’s ear while shooting angry glances his way. If she hadn’t figured out what was going on before, he had a feeling she had now. He made his way over to them. “Where’s Eden?” He didn’t bother tempering the edge to his voice.

Lexie’s expression was unreadable. “She left.”

“You let her go on her own?” His tone sharpened.

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