The band peeled off towards
some steps and most of the roadies went with them, leaving Gabriel, Noelle and one last technician walking towards the darkness beneath the stage. Under here the sound from above was deafening. Gabriel stopped at a predefined spot, stepping up onto a raised dais. He stripped off his sweater and handed it to her. “Take care of this for me kitten.” He caught her chin and bent down to kiss her, fiercely devouring her mouth until she was breathless. “Follow Janelle. She’ll take you to somewhere you can watch.”
“Have fun.” She smiled as he laid one last kiss on her. “See you after.”
“You’ll be doing a lot more than seeing.” There was such dark promise in his throaty growl that she felt giddy, although she didn’t know if it was from fear or anticipation. The woman swept her away and, as they hurried to the side of the stage, she turned back to look at him one last time. His head was bowed as he waited alone in the gloaming twilight to face his fans. He looked so achingly lonely in the spears of light coming through the cracks overhead, and so fiercely beautiful, that she thought her heart might tear in two.
After some twists and turns in service corridors and a headlong rush up a set of stairs, Noelle and the technician arrived in the wings, out of sight of the crowd but close enough to almost touch Jax, who was standing only
a few feet away. He flashed her a grin, winking as the lights went out and they started playing.
Noelle had heard their music on the radio
, but it did it no justice. Live, it was a thing of raw power and sensuality. It vibrated through every fibre of her being, flooding her soul until there was no room for anything other than sound. A spotlight picked out each member of the band in sequence, until they were all alight, and then Gabriel rose out of the floor of the stage and the stadium went crazy. She wanted to go crazy with them, riding the wave of emotion that was rolling around the air like thunder. That was
her
man. Let all these others worship him. He was
hers
. And boy did he cut a figure worthy of worship...that beautiful muscular chest, tapering down to a narrow waist and buttocks that filled out the leather trousers in a way that made her teeth ache. She could see the inky flash of his tattoos under the harsh lights as his shoulders rippled. He was beautiful.
When he sang it was with aching sensuality, both raw and smooth in equal measure. He breathed the music. He
lived
the music. Time seemed to speed by as she watched him prowling up and down the stage, pouring out the darkest and most tormented parts of his soul in words and melodies that bruised and soothed, that sliced and then kissed better. Her body reacted to the music, flooding with desire as the mouth behind the music drew out her most wicked thoughts.
At
the end of the first set, he nodded to Jax and the lead guitarist nodded back, something unspoken passing between them.
“We’re going to share a new song with you tonight.” Gabriel said into the mic and the crowd roared its approval. “This one’s for you kitten.” He turned and looked right at her, piercing her with
those hazel eyes, blazing with molten gold. Stunned, her jaw dropped and he gave her a nod. “It’s called ‘I Drown No More’.”
Her heart seemed to roar in her ears as she listened to the opening bars of the music. This was for her? Why hadn’t he warned her? What was he going to sing? She was so shocked
, she missed the first verse, but the refrain staggered her with the anguish in his voice.
My soul was nothing but an ink stain of consequence.
You made me Canute, the foolish man,
Trying to turn back the rolling tide of your dark.
And I drowned.
I drowned.
But I drown no more.
F
or she walks with me on the razor’s edge
Where love has blurred the difference between right and wrong.
She is the last bastion against the rolling dark,
The prophet to your blooded sea.
I am no longer your boy king.
I am
the gatekeeper, I AM the gate
And, as long as she holds
the keys to my soul,
I will drown no more.
I will drown no more.
Noelle didn’t realise she was crying until someone handed her a tissue. The crowd was hushed with rapt attention, realising they were listening to something very special. It was as though he’d ripped the demons from his body and shattered them into the glittering shards that poured through his vocal chords.
When the song ended
, there was a moment of stunned silence and then the place erupted. Noelle didn’t hear any of it. Every part of her was focused on the man standing centre stage as he grinned. “Excuse me while I go fuck my woman.” He pushed the microphone over and then he was coming towards her, pouring from step to step with feline grace. Noelle didn’t hear the laughter or the roar of approval from the crowd. She didn’t hear the band whooping, or the technician next to her softly swearing in surprise. Her world was closed to everything except the man stalking towards her across the stage.
Without words, he scooped her up into his arms and swept her down the stairs with the force of a tornado, kicking at doors until he found one that opened into a dark, enclosed space with no-one around. The door had barely slammed shut behind them when she found herself braced against the wall, her skirt around her waist.
“This is going to be hard.” He warned, before sliding into her with one sharp thrust. She was wet and ready, but the size of him...it took her to that knife edge where pleasure met pain and she cried out into the muffling blackness. He didn’t let her recover, thrusting hard and fast until the intensity of it threatened to break her. “Come for me.” He commanded and she shivered all over, spiralling upwards out of the depths of sensation.
“I can’t.” Her voice cracked
as flesh smacked against flesh.
“Come for me kitten.” He purred, his voice darkening and deepening as a hand curved around beneath her to play over her clit.
“Gabriel!” She gasped.
“That’s
right kitten. Scream my name.” He licked the top of her spine as he pounded into her, driving her wild with his teasing fingers, and then his teeth fixed to the curve where her neck met her collarbone and he bit down.
“Gabriel!” She exploded beneath him, shuddering until her legs couldn’t hold her up. He let her drop to her knees and pushed her forward as he finished off, driving into her like a piston.
She barely held herself on trembling limbs until he finally released his seed and pulled her up against him.
For a long moment they just breathed heavily in the darkness, trying to recover
themselves. Then reality crashed in and she started shaking.
“I can’t believe thirty thousand people know what we just did.” She sounded dazed and he burst out laughing, that chocolatey voice of his warming the darkness around them.
“It’ll be millions by morning kitten.” His fingers lightly brushed her neck. “I’m pretty sure I marked you.” He didn’t tell her that the concert was being televised and millions already knew.
“Oh my god...” She shook her head,
running her hand over the throbbing ache in her shoulder now that he’d drawn attention to it. “You bit me.”
“You weren’t coming fast enough.” He still sounded amused and she sighed.
“No-one will see it under my coat.” She said, more to herself than to him, and he growled softly.
“You’ll wear my mark with pride kitten. No coat.”
“It’s New Years Eve.” She protested. “I’ll be frozen if I go out without it.”
“No coat.” He repeated firmly, running his lips along her other shoulder. “Try it and I’ll give you a matching one on the other side.”
She slumped in defeat. “I’m not a possession Gabriel.” She said sourly. “You can’t just put your mark on me like a piece of clothing with a nametag.”
“You’re mine.” He disagreed.
“Every inch of you. You’re mine.” She wanted to argue, but didn’t see the point. He was right. He took her silence for what it was and gave her one last squeeze. “Do you think you can stand up?” He asked and she nodded.
“Yeah.”
She winced as he pulled out of her, and grabbed the tissue out of her corset where she’d tucked it for safe keeping. She reached to clean herself up and he caught her wrist.
“Leave it.”
“But-...”
“Leave it.” She could sense his amusement fading away as the beast
came back and she knew she would never win the fight.
“Fine.”
She released her grip and he took the tissue from her hand so she couldn’t clean herself up later.
“You’re mine kitten.” He kissed the nape of her neck and then rose to his feet.
“And don’t I know it...” she muttered as he reached down and easily lifted her upright. She knew why he wanted her to leave it. He wanted her to think of him every time she moved. He’d marked her where everyone could see and then marked her again where she couldn’t forget it. This was his night and he was going to own every part of it. She didn’t have to ask to know that they would end the night in the play room; it wasn’t worth the waste of breath to confirm it.
“We should get back.” He held her skirt as she straightened her underwear
, and then smoothed it down over her hips. “I have to drink before the interval is over. It’s hot under the lights.”
“I don’t know if I can go out.” She hesitated at the door, heat rising up her neck and flushing her cheeks with mortification. “Everyone knows.”
“And they’re all jealous.” She could sense him grinning in the darkness. “All the guys are wishing they were me, and all the girls are wishing they were you. Chin up kitten. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I’m a school teacher.” She covered her face, the leather of the mask warm against her fingertips. “I can’t do stuff like this.”
“I think right now the fact that I’m a rock star over rules the fact that you’re a school teacher.” He said drily. “Love conquers all boundaries kitten. Besides, no-one knows who you are. No-one knows who I am. Tonight you can be anyone, do anything. Set yourself free.”
“How free can I be while I’m on your leash?” She managed a chuckle. “Fine, I can do this.” She took a deep, steadying breath, told herself she was the Queen of the Night and pulled open the door.
“Fuck.” Gabriel breathed as the light hit her, instantly going hard again as the livid mark of his teeth on her neck became apparent. “Nothing.” He said, too quickly, when she turned and gave him a curious look. “Turn left. I need water.”
Knowing he wouldn’t answer, even if she pushed, Noelle sighed and turned left, promising herself she’d find a mirror as soon as possible. Whatever he’d seen had made him instantly rise to the edge again. She didn’t have to look at his pants to know it. She could read the rest of his body language well enough to know that if she didn’t move they weren’t going to
be leaving the small dark room, and he had the second half of the concert still to perform.
No-one dared say anything when they returned to the dressing room, but she saw the eyes on her neck and the mark there. Gabriel caught her hand as it rose to cover it
, self-consciously, and kissed the palm. “No hiding kitten.” He murmured and she sighed, letting him lace his fingers with hers as he drew them in search of liquid. Steeling herself, she knew she had two choices. She brazened it out and earned some respect, or let them think of her as a submissive pet for their ringleader. She’d be damned if anyone thought of her as a pet, so she lifted her chin and strode at his side to the fridge, where a techie was handing out bottles of mineral water. Gabriel snagged two, unscrewed one and handed it to Noelle.
“Thanks.” Smiling, she swallowed most of the bottle, not realising how thirsty she was until the first cool liquid touched her parched throat.
“Whoa there.” Gabriel stroked her throat. “You’ll give yourself a brain freeze.”
“I needed it.”
Realising his lips were dusty, she studied her hands where he had kissed her palm, blinked and looked down, before bursting out laughing. “You might want to think about dusting yourself off before you head back on stage.” She sniggered.
Gabriel
followed her gaze and his lips twitched into a smile. “Nah.” He shrugged and struck every female in the room momentarily speechless. “A little dust on the knees never hurt anyone.”
“As you wish.
You should wipe your face though, and I am going to clean my hands. This isn’t being marked, this is plain unhygienic.” She turned to look for a bathroom and he caught her arm.
“Do I need to come in there with you, or will you obey me?” He asked quietly.
“You can’t come into the ladies room.” She stared at him.
“Do you think anyone would try and stop me?” He asked, just as calmly.
“Be serious Gabriel. What would you do if I needed to pee and cleaned myself up while I was at it? You can hardly stand in the cubicle and count the sheets of paper I use.”
“Would you lie to me if I asked you to tell me the truth?”