Chapter Six
Evie mentally prepared herself as she entered the theater through the backstage door. Every time she walked through this door was another day closer to opening night. She couldn’t help but feel that zing of excitement she always got when entering the theater. That feeling, however, quickly dissipated when she walked by the dressing rooms.
“I just can’t tell you how safe I feel now that you’re here,” Janelle cooed up at Connor. As they entered the petite pop star’s dressing room, Evie couldn’t help but watch them. Janelle looked ridiculous, wearing a tight crop top, skinny jeans, and platform heels that brought her up to Connor’s shoulders. Though her outfit of yoga pants, sports bra and loose top were comfortable and appropriate for rehearsals, Evie suddenly felt underdressed and inadequate.
Connor’s head turned in her direction, and Evie forced herself to look away. She ignored the hairs rising on the back of her neck as she felt Connor’s gaze on her and walked to the stage where the rest of the cast was already assembled. Steven was already there and starting the rehearsal with blocking for the second scene.
As she heard the slamming of Janelle’s dressing room door, a tightness gripped her chest. Connor was assigned to keep Janelle safe and, although Evie didn’t want the pop star hurt, she just wished …
She let out a frustrated sound. What did she want? Connor coming over last night to check on her was nice … in a weird and awkward way.
“Evie, did you hear what I said?” Steven asked, his voice irritated. “Move to the left!”
“Right, sorry!”
The rest of the rehearsal progressed. It didn’t escape her that there was no sign of their star and her bodyguard. She tried not to think about what they could be doing, all alone in Janelle’s dressing room.
When they finally broke for lunch, Evie jogged over to the corner of the stage where she kept her towel and water bottle.
“Looks like hard work, all that dancing and singing.”
Evie turned around as she was taking a drink and wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Oh, Mr. Ja—I mean, Aiden. I didn’t realize you were here.” He was dressed casually today, in a sports jacket, white button-down shirt, and dark pants.
“Sebastian asked that I handle this personally.”
“Oh right.” They made the announcement yesterday that, after the incident, they were tightening security around the theater and Atlantis had hired Creed Security.
“I didn’t know you were an actress,” he commented, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he gave her a genuine smile. “You really are talented.”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“Does this mean you’ll be leaving Lone Wolf Security?”
“Oh no,” she chuckled. “I’m afraid one show won’t be enough to keep the bills paid. Killian understands and lets me work around the rehearsal schedule here.”
“Oh.”
“Hmmm?” Did he sound disappointed? “Were you hoping I’d quit?”
“Oh no, not if you don’t want to,” he quickly explained. “It’s just that …” he trailed off, then leaned forward to tuck a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. His fingers came in contact with her cheek, and she froze. “I was hoping to ask you out to dinner some night. But it probably wouldn’t be appropriate, seeing as you’re technically my employee.”
Evie’s breath caught in her throat. Aiden James was asking her out? They were flirting a bit at the wedding, but she just thought he was being nice. “I … uh …”
A ringing sound interrupted them, and Aiden fished his phone from his pocket. “Sorry,” he said. “I gotta take this. I’ll talk to you later, Evie.” He gave her a nod and then walked away as he spoke into the phone.
Saved by the bell. Her shoulders relaxed as relief swept through her. She bit her lip. Would it be terrible, though, if she went out with Aiden? True, they worked for the same company, but she was in a different office—sort of—and he wasn’t her direct boss.
As she contemplated her choices for lunch and walked toward the stage door exit, she realized she left her purse in the dressing room. She pivoted and turned to the direction of the backstage area. Most of the cast and crew had left for lunch, so it was quiet. As she opened the door to the dressing room, she felt a large, looming presence behind her.
She turned her head. “What—Connor?” She staggered inside as he stepped forward. Her heart slammed into her chest when she met his glowing eyes in the darkened room. The air felt thick, and her knees buckled.
Large, warm hands gripped her arm, and she was spun around, her back bumping against the wooden door.
“What did he want?” he growled.
“What? Who?”
“Aiden James,” he said through clenched teeth. “What did he want?”
“What are you—Connor, what’s gotten into you?”
“He was touching you, I saw it.” His curt voice lashed at her.
She felt her temper rise in response. “So? What do you care?” Her words were met with furious silence, and her nostrils flared. “He was asking me out. On a date. And I—”
His lips covered hers hungrily, the warmth of them surprising her. His hands slid to her neck and buried themselves in her hair, before angling her head upward so he could kiss her even deeper. She opened up, letting his tongue slip into her mouth, shocking herself with her eager response to his kiss.
She moaned against his lips and moved her hands to his chest, feeling the hard muscles underneath the tight black shirt. His muscles tensed in response to her touch but relaxed as she inched higher to wrap her arms around his shoulders.
He pressed up against her, his lips never leaving hers. One hand moved down, brushing against the curves of her breast to the dip in her waist and lower still to the curve of her ass. His palm cupped one buttock and then moved to the back of her thigh to hook her leg around his waist. She gasped as his erection was suddenly cradled between her thighs and, for a moment, she thought of Jack’s words last night and wondered how good her health insurance was.
It was was too much, and she pressed her hips up to rock against him, trying to find the right angle.
Connor dragged his lips away, leaving her mouth burning with fire. He trailed kisses down her jaw to her neck, his tongue licking the sensitive skin.
“Connor …” She arched her back, pushing up against him. He ground his hips into her, The sensation made her shudder, and desire pooled between her legs. His other hand crept up her waist, under her shirt, and lifted the band of her sports bra to cup her breast.
Her mind whirled as white-hot heat began to build in her core. The ridge of his cock was pressed up right against her clit, and the sensation was mind numbing. She moved her hips faster, increasing the pressure. So close … almost …
A sudden high-pitched scream from outside made them pull apart. Connor let go of her leg and took a step back, his breathing ragged.
“Connor!” The cries were muffled through the door, but it was obviously Janelle.
They looked at each other, and Connor let out a curse. “I have to go.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I need to get through the door.”
“Right.” She quickly stepped aside and then gestured to the door, a move that made her feel like an idiot afterwards.
As Connor reached for the door handle, he looked at her. “I didn’t—”
“Just go,” she said in a flat voice. “Go do your job.”
He let out an angry huff and nodded, then left her alone in the empty dressing room.
“Holy shit.” Evie stared at the door. For moment, she wasn’t sure what happened a split second ago really did happen and she felt like someone had dumped an entire bucket of ice water over her. But then, looking at her disheveled state—hair tugged out of her ponytail, bra over her boobs, and the definite damp state of her panties—she knew it really did happen. Connor kissed her and more. If they hadn’t been interrupted, who knows how far it would have gone.
The hubbub outside the dressing room snapped her out of her thoughts. She straightened her clothes and yanked open the door. As she walked toward Janelle’s dressing room, there were more and more people gathering in the hallway, whispering and pointing.
Aiden James strode out of the dressing room, a large, long white box in hand. His face was drawn into a serious expression. He didn’t say anything to Evie as they passed each other, only giving her a curt nod. The box he was holding didn’t have a top so she couldn’t help but glance inside. She stifled a gasp when she saw dead roses and the bloodied head of a rat inside.
This was serious. Who was trying to hurt Janelle? The production company obviously thought it was enough of a threat to hire Creed. If word got around, then it could shut down the show.
Evie paused and looked inside Janelle’s dressing room. She felt ice spread through her stomach at what she saw. Connor’s back was to her, but the arms wound around his waist were definitely Janelle’s, as were the incontrollable sobs coming from behind him.
She paused but then pushed the feeling of jealousy deep down inside her. What happened between them was a fluke. Plus, she swore to herself a long time ago she would never get involved with a Lycan. And, besides, someone really was after Janelle. Although she hated how the other woman’s body was pressed up against Connor, she really didn’t wish any harm to Janelle. Swallowing all her emotions, she walked away, her fists clenched at her sides.
***
Aside from double checking all the exits and entrances, tracking down and grilling the messenger, and reviewing the security tapes, there was not much else they could do, according to Aiden. He gave Evie the rundown of what had happened when she sought him out. Apparently, someone had snuck into the theater and left the package inside Janelle’s dressing room. Not all of the security cameras at the theater were activated yet, and whoever came in had carefully avoided the ones that were working.
Annie, Jane, and Steven gathered the cast and crew to give them a pep talk. The show must go on, after all, and they continued rehearsals as usual. Of course, their star was too distraught to go on and had to be chauffeured back to her hotel suite to recover, as she was so traumatized from her ordeal.
After they wrapped for the day, Evie grabbed her stuff from the dressing room and waved goodbye to her cast mates. As she jogged toward the backstage exit, she stopped when she heard Connor’s voice in one of the offices. The door was ajar, and she couldn’t help but peek inside. He was avoiding her, she knew it. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since that kiss in the dressing room.
“You know I hardly ever ask you for a favor, Quinn,” he said into his phone. “But I got stuff to do.” He paused and his massive shoulders relaxed “Thank you. I’ll come by the office and pick up Jolene.”
Jolene? For a second, Evie thought he was going out with some girl, but she remembered that’s what he called his truck.
“None of your business,” Connor continued. “Yeah yeah, I owe you one. But don’t tell anyone about this, ya hear?”
Evie scrambled away from the door and pivoted back to the exit. Really, she should ignore what she overheard. But she couldn’t stop the curiosity from prickling at her. It was a niggling feeling that wouldn’t go away. As she walked farther away from the theater, her heart began to pound and her gut started telling her something was wrong.
About two blocks away, as she stood on the corner of 44th and 7th Avenue, she stopped and fished her phone from her purse. Scrolling through her contacts, she dialed her former roommate’s number. “Hello Selena? Yeah, it’s me. I have a favor to ask …”