When he thought he’d greeted everyone interested, including some attractive women who slipped him their phone numbers, he headed backstage to find Sam. “Wanna grab a bite before heading to the train station?”
Sam shook his head. “I need to pick up a few things I promised my wife and kids.” He arched a brow at Mark. “I couldn’t get them until now.”
Mark shrugged. “It’s been a crazy few days.”
Sam chuckled. “I’m looking forward tonottraveling for a while.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ll meet you at the train station. Don’t be late.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “I’m rarely late.”
“Unless you drink too much or are having too good a time.”
Mark shot him a dirty look, though it wasn’t serious. “I’m never late for anything important.”
Sam laughed and shook his head. “I’ll give you that. See you in a bit.”
Three
Emily driftedin and out of an uneasy sleep, anticipating Geoffrey’s next move. Every time he set the glass beer bottle—that horrible beer—down on the metal table, she jumped, wondering if it was time. Time to truly “show him” that she wanted what he was offering.
The first part ripped the scabs off her heart and mind, leaving her mentally and emotionally raw and vulnerable. The next part left her physically hurting and vulnerable.
Maybe the first part was the bad part.
Oh, when would he start?
She stared at a jagged crack in the white paint of the wall in front of her and clutched the blanket around her. It wasn’t cold in the apartment, summer still lingered in the air, but the blanket gave her a sense of security. A sense of protection.
It wouldn’t last, though. Geoffrey would rip it away soon.
And she would let him.
Because that’s what it took to succeed in his world.
Her eyes fluttered closed. Geoffrey’s phone vibrated and he stood and left the apartment.
Emily relaxed. Maybe there was an emergency at the Café and he’d have to leave.
Unlikely.
She counted backward from one hundred in her head and drifted to sleep again.
The mattress dipped and she jumped. A hand ran over her shoulder and she tried not to shudder. “You are an incredible young lady.” Geoffrey still spoke in the false Argentinian accent. The sour scent of beer on his breath made her swallow back vomit.
She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath. Could she do this? She blew out a long breath as Geoffrey nuzzled her neck.
“I’ve never tasted someone as untouched as you,” he whispered, his words slurring. He slid his hand around her side and cupped her breast.
“Geoffrey I—” He pinched her nipple hard and she cried out, tears filling her eyes. She knew her lines. She just had to get them out of her mouth. It would be over soon. “Rafael... Please leave me alone.”
“I can’t.” He caressed her breast harder and she winced. “I have spent the past hour trying to forget about touching you, tasting you, but I can’t.” He pulled down her chemise and rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “Dios mio, you have the perfect tits.”
She moaned, trying to forget what was to come. Trying to enjoy the touch as she had the first time with Rafael. She hadn’t known any better.
“Why are you trembling?” he whispered.
“I don’t know.” She’d trembled back then, but this trembling was for different reasons. Then, she’d been in the middle of a four-year crush on her charismatic, much-older violin teacher. To have an older man interested in her—a silly teenager—had been the highlight of her year.
Now, she trembled because she knew what was coming.