knowing that anything she could have said would likely only have made things worse. Alexander must have noticed her despair. He walked closer to her and stopped right before her, towering over her with his hard body. Some of the sternness left his gaze, and Jade noticed that he too had gold flecks in his eyes, just like his brother.
“Come on, Jade. It’s okay. Whatever it was, I’m sure we can work something out.”
She noticed how he avoided any mention of the Death Wings, though he must have noticed the shirt one of the intruders had been wearing.
That’s nice of him, she thought. Giving me the benefit of the doubt. I wish I didn’t have to disappoint him.
Somewhere deep within her, she felt a sob rising, and despite her best effort, she couldn’t swallow it down. It came up like a buoy being held under water, spilling over and exploding out in one heart wrenching sound. Just as quickly, Alexander’s arms were around her, pulling her up on her feet and against him, burying her head in his broad chest and mussing his hand into her hair.
“Shh. It’s alright,” he cooed, and she almost believed him. A few more dry heaves wrestled their way out of her, though any following cries succumbed to the feeling of Alexander’s arms tight around her. Every bit of her that was in contact with him felt warm, an intense heat spreading deep within her and relaxing her, sending her despair running, an all-encompassing calm taking its place.
She knew that feeling. She’d felt something like that during their first concert together, like a smooth vibe that took over and made everything better. Only, it was so much better now that she was pushed against him, vaguely aware of his hard lines and firm body.
“We’ll fix it,” Apollo said simply with complete conviction in his voice, even without knowing what she’d dragged herself and them into. Jade pulled away reluctantly, and Alexander let her go, seemingly with mirrored difficulty. Mulling over her words in her head, she was caught by how ridiculous they sounded. How could she look at these men and just assume they were dragons? Worse yet, why had she pulled them down with her, creating an enemy out of their rivals without them having any say in it. Guilt lingered somewhere in the periphery of her mind, but it was kept at bay by the soft, happy glow that still shone within her from Alexander’s touch.
“I used to be a bassist for Death Wing,” she started, catching the look the brothers shared amongst one another. There was understanding there, and something dark and secret she couldn’t make out. “And I left them a few weeks ago, to try and audition for you guys. I guess they must not appreciate me being a turncoat,” Jade explained, the story sounding lame even to her. Almost on cue, Apollo scoffed and grinned mildly, as if reading her mind.
“Sure. Cameron and Colt Blackscale would send countless cronies piling into one of our after parties just to express how pissed off they are at losing a bassist. You’re good, definitely, but I don’t think they’d risk a criminal charge just to make a statement.”
“You sure?” Alexander asked with a smirk, sharing another look with his twin that made Jade wonder just how little they actually needed to use words.
“Pretty sure,” Apollo confirmed with a chuckle. “So, spill it, green-eyes. Tell us the story.”
Jade licked her lips, trying to wish away the mounting worry she felt underneath the safety that Alexander had instilled in her. She noticed both of them watching her as her tongue darted out and across her lips.
“Okay. So, um, this is going to sound a bit ridiculous, but bear with me,” she started, painfully aware of how close Alexander still was and how inviting his forearms looked. What she wouldn’t give to have them around her waist, pulling her to him, his hands going over her ass and squeezing it hard while Apollo dipped her head back and kissed her deeply on the mouth…
Snap out of