Romance: Gibson's Legacy ( New Adult Contemporary Erotic Romance) (Last Score Book 1) (21 page)

Sharp pangs of excitement gave me that wired feeling, with small shocks jolting different parts of my body, with each moment that passed from the moment we’d landed LAX. The anticipation of what was going to happen, making me feel like a teenager waiting for her date to go to the prom all over again.

Knowing there was no way he’d remember me gave me a smug feeling like I had the upper hand. It was the one advantage I had over someone with his status. Hard to believe that it was actually happening, and that five years after I last saw him I was going to face him again. I kept checking the letter containing all the details of what was going to happen that weekend. And, I kept having second thoughts about the whole deal.

Not that I expected that much from the band itself, but there was the fact we had a whole day with them, and there was the added stress of not really knowing Gavin and Eddie that well. My one worry about Gibson was Ruby, and I had made my mind up to disclose my reservations about her constant need to match make around me.

Waiting for the concert to start, I considered that there was so much that everyone didn’t know about me and my whole situation. Ruby hadn’t known about the incident with the towels, Gavin and Steve hadn’t known about my fantasy about Gibson, and Eddie hadn’t known the whole story about Kace and my abusive past. Obviously, the guys in M3rCy had no idea about anything other than that I had won a competition.

When we took our seats later at the concert my breathing was shallow and I fought the anxiety I was feeling about when his performance was over. There was something about the psyched anticipation of waiting with a massive crowd that created a special atmosphere. Echoing catcalls and bellows of distant laughter sounded alongside the strange feeling of expectation, all adding to the occasion.

We were seated right at the side of the stage on the first row. Close up and personal with Gibson and his band again and I felt a little freaked out to be so close to someone who had the kind of effect on me he had. And who had intimidated me the last time I saw him singing.

Suddenly the lights fell in the venue, plunging us into semi-darkness a sudden hush descended on the vast space. Twenty thousand people all in one place and it may just have been possible to hear a pin drop for a second. The Emcee’s official sounding voice broke through the hush with a commanding tone which echoed through the building.

“Fresh from their world tour, The Staples Center proudly presents for your entertainment, M3rCy!” Bass guitar and drums began to play and the loud rumble of their instantly recognizable beat vibrated across the floor and rose up through my body. Goose bumps rippled like a wave across my skin.

A crush formed in front of the stage as people jostled to get nearer to the band. Sitting back in my seat, I scanned the actions on the stage. Gibson was much less overt in his behavior, and even less provocative in his manner. Way different from the guy I remembered at Beltz Bar.

Maturity had made Gibson even more stunning to look at. Mesmerizing actually. Same beautiful even features, plump, really kissable lips, strong jawline, and the one thing that always struck me…his amazingly flawless, satiny, golden tanned skin.

Incredibly fit, toned and strong, his energy seemed boundless. Gibson oozed charm and charisma and there was a defiance about him that made his bad-boy image a magnet for people. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t watch the rest of the band. They were just grey in comparison to him.

Gibson was bounding around in his full Technicolor glory, while his band made noise behind him. That’s how it looked to me anyway. Trying to focus on Mick Stanley, I briefly took in a clever riff that he did, before my eyes were again trained on Gibson. What was it about him that made the guy so irresistible?

His reputation alone should have made me hate him. He was everything that I usually despised in men. Arrogant, completely comfortable in his own skin, but with an attitude that said he took no prisoners, and from what I knew about him, he danced to his own tune and everyone else did as well.

Watching him do his thing had a pretty powerful effect on me. It was easy to see how everyone fell madly in love with him. Enticing his way into women’s hearts all over the world was like shelling peas to a guy like him. I’d never known anyone with the power he appeared to have over men and women alike. Suddenly, I realized my panties were drenched just watching him do his job.

Glancing around at the audience it was fifty/fifty, male and female, although I didn’t see any guys throwing their boxer briefs at the stage the way I was seeing the thongs land on there. Feelings rose up in me that were akin to suffocating, as I fought the desire and want inside me, and I allowed myself to wonder what it would be like to have that one perfect night of sex with a guy like Gibson. No…not a guy like him…with him.

Realizing I had drifted off and was playing with my hair, when Gavin leaned in, “Want to help me get some more drinks?” Watching Gibson had made me thirsty and the last thing I wanted was to drag my eyes away, but I agreed because the air in the room was so thick with the hormones flying around the arena. He had everyone turned on at some level from the whole experience.

When the concert finished, a security guy with a mic taped to his head with invisible tape and a blue- tooth earphone on came and ushered us through a small, heavy metal door at the side of the stage.

Striding purposefully in front of us, the security guy took us down a maze of corridors and into the bowels of the stadium somewhere under the stage, leading us to the place where we were meeting the band. I was surprised at the opulence and tasteful decoration of the room.

Soft lilac colored walls with one deep purple feature wall, housing a massive screen that was still tuned in to the stage, was an unexpected sight. The large room was comfortable and obviously stacked for the pleasure of the particular band that was playing. The one thing that was definitely out of place was the fresh flower arrangement.

Five massive black leather sofas dominated the room. Smoked glass end tables held full of bowls of nibbles and ice buckets with champagne and different branded beers on a few of the others.

I wrinkled my nose knowingly when I remembered my dad’s lecture on the perils of eating from table snacks. “Never eat anything in a nibbles bowl they are full of other people’s germs, think of where their hands could have been.” He ruined me for peanut bowls the world over with that single comment.

“Make yourselves comfortable, M3rCy will be with you shortly. Did you all have fun at the concert? Looking expectantly at us, I wasn’t sure why he would even ask that question. We weren’t going to be at a world famous band’s gig and not enjoy it, were we?

Glancing over at Ruby, I nearly peed in my panties when she mouthed, OH. MY. GOD. Gibson Barclay, Chloe.” Her jaw in silent shock at me, making my stomach lurch. Nerves gripped me and suddenly I was feeling nauseous and antsy. Gibson Barclay had given me a few of the most heart stopping moments of my life and he wasn’t even aware I existed.

Panic started to take over as the irrational side of me began to toy with my thoughts. Would he shake my hand? Try to kiss my cheek? Tease me with his taunts like I had seen him doing to other girls in the past?

Ten more questions ran through my mind in that few minutes, as I sat wringing my sweaty hands in my lap and playing with the emerald ring on my middle finger, which my parents had given me on my eighteenth birthday.

Those feelings turned from nerves to panic to dread. I had about forty eight hours in this guy’s company to go yet. Butterflies in my stomach turned into crippling wasps that were crawling up and stinging my vocal chords, rendering me speechless, so I sat quietly anticipating the reaction of the guys who were forced to spend time with prize winners.

It was almost ten in the evening and I was suddenly starving. I hadn’t eaten since the plane because we were promised dinner, and the combination of hunger and nerves were making my insides sound like an old boiler gurgling. Either that or my anxieties had turned me into a ‘fridge monster’ wanting to eat to fill the void of anxious, empty feelings I was having.

When I heard footsteps, my instinct was to examine my hands. I figuring if I did that, then I wouldn’t have to look at the man who had consumed my thoughts for the past week, since I heard I would be facing him again.

Foolish to say, but I swear the air in the room became thick and I could hardly breathe. By a weird sixth sense, I knew he was there with me long before anyone spoke. Weirdly enough, the band’s PA Charlotte… something or other, began to introduce us, and when I looked up it was straight into those amazing grey eyes of his.

If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have said there was a look like he was either shocked or recognized me. I figured that it was shock and that he’d forgotten to do something. Either that or he was thinking how the hell had I got landed with this lot for a weekend?

Introductions were done by Charlotte, and then the other band members started to converse with us. Gibson stood quietly weighing us up, and his focus on me made me feel really uncomfortable. Offering myself some reassurance, I kept telling myself he was just interested in me because I was the winner.

Lennox M3rCy’s drummer, was a good guy. Sweet and gentle in his manner, he made me relax for the first time since I arrived at the center. Large frame, but not fat, he was a powerful build, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, and some amazing ink on his arms.

A few years older than Gibson, Lennox was a very handsome guy, with a warm smile and a gentle voice that was not at all fitting for the mad image of a drummer in a rock band. Aware that Gibson was completely still and staring straight at me, I became self- conscious, wondering if he was sizing me up as possible post- gig fuck for the night and thinking he was going to be disappointed if he thought that of me.

Lennox seemed to notice and drew Gibson into the conversation, and Gibson was his usual arrogant self. “Jeez, Len can’t a guy stare at a beautiful woman in peace?” Initially, I tried to stare him out but, it didn’t work because I lost my nerve and was about to look away, but he began to introduce himself to the group.

Gavin looked uncomfortable when Gibson mistook him for my boyfriend, and I was silently kicking myself that I hadn’t asked Gavin to pretend to be that for the duration of the trip, but I never expected the amount of scrutiny that Gibson was putting me under.

Almost as soon as he established what Gavin was, Gibson began to make his move on me, all charming and charismatic, giving me that roguish smile that would have melted the panties off of the most frigid of women. He tried to seduce me, and suck me in with his warm attention and flirtatious words, until I was almost hypnotized.

Unexpectedly, he placed his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug, which freaked me out by his action. It was the first time a man had done that since Kace, and he was Gibson Barclay.

My body stiffened and I felt myself to hold my breath. When his arms held me tightly, the comfort I felt from his hug seemed so genuine, I just felt my body involuntarily sag into his warm chest. Gibson’s arms responded to me, by molding around me even more and pulling me tighter into his chest.

Briefly, he inhaled deeply and his chest expanded, pressing harder against mine. The deep draw of his breath was incredibly sensual, focusing me so much that when he exhaled I was almost completely entranced.

His warm, slow, steady breath fanned across the curve of my neck, sending shivers down my spine, and made goose-bumps erupt on my skin, making my vagina clench tightly with need. Just as I was becoming overwhelmed with the sensation of his embrace, he stepped away again.

Feelings of loss washed over me like a tidal wave and I choked a little, because I wondered if that was my moment with Gibson and wanted it again, because if it was, I was sure all of my senses hadn’t had time to tune in to what we did in that few seconds. Fighting conflicting emotions and trying to decide what that all meant was halted abruptly when he reached out and took my hand in his.

He gave me that beautiful roguish smile, and I had never seen him look more attractive. “Hi, honey, congratulations on winning the competition. This is as nerve-racking for me as it is for you. I’ve never done this before either.”

Smiling my first genuine smile, I was relieved at his honesty. It was a pretty weird situation to find myself in, and I was glad that we had that in common at the very least. In response to my smile, he squeezed my hand and his own smile grew even wider. “Let’s just try and have a good time together, no pressure okay?”

Still smiling, I tried to meet his gaze with confidence but there was something in the way he looked at me that was too intimate, so I quickly dropped my head down and looked at the floor.

Feelings I knew I would have to fight if he came near me were rising fast, and there was no way I could allow myself to fall into the web he spun so well. I’d been unlucky to see that happen so many times in the past, and knew what it meant to him.

Seconds after I looked away, his index finger crooked under my jaw line and he teased my face up to meet his, bending slightly at the knees to look me in the eye. “Don’t look at the floor. You have the most incredible eyes, I’d like to see them if that’s okay.”

Embarrassed by that level of attention I looked away, and almost frantically searched out Ruby to come to my rescue, but she was too involved with Mick Stanley to focus on me.

Luckily, Simon the bass player came over and took the heat out of the moment by chatting about the concert and how we were finding LA, and Gibson seemed to take his leave and disappeared out the door altogether.

Relaxing the instant he was out of sight, I welcomed the pleasant conversation of the easy going bass player. Simon was a great looking guy, wiry build, fantastic tattoos, toned, tanned, muzzy hair, and a fabulous smile; M3rCy were a great looking band.

Simon’s laugh was infectious and he was really funny as well. There is just something about a guy who could make a girl laugh that had always been really appealing to me.