Chapter 2 Rise of a God 2

Lola

Rubbing the balls of my feet, I stifled a moan as the pressure from my skyscraper heels lessened and blood flowed back into my cramped toes. On the bench next to me, the dainty glass holding my second cocktail of the night lay untouched.

I wasn’t a big drinker, not next to my big brother anyway, and I knew I needed to pace myself if I didn't want to embarrass Louis. And that was something I really didn’t want to do. Not when he had always been so good to me.

It was the last thing I wanted to do.

“What the fuck is your problem, Dion?”

I ducked my head, even though I knew I was hidden behind a high bush, and held my breath as Isla’s voice reached me. She sounded mad. But not as angry as Dion when his scathing voice sounded next.

“What do you mean, what’s my problem, Isla? You’re my problem.”

Their voices were getting louder, and I froze. If they turned the corner, then they would see me. They would think that I was eavesdropping. It was clearly a personal moment between them. One they didn’t want anyone else to hear, which was no doubt why they had left the main party in search of solitude, just like I had. I slunk down even more on the bench and reached for my discarded shoe, ready to pop it on and make a hasty retreat if they got any closer.

“I never asked for this, Dion. All I wanted was for us to be happy.” There were tears in Isla’s voice. 

I held my breath. I’d heard the rumours that were rife on the internet. Horrible stories that Dion had cheated on Isla. That she had quit the band so she could mend her broken heart. I’d not paid them much attention until seeing them together. There had been an icy coldness between them from the start. Whether they had broken up or not didn’t matter, they were definitely going through something bad.

Something I shouldn’t have been listening to.

“All I have ever wanted is for you to love me like I do you.”

Their voices had come to a stop right on the opposite side of the bush I was hiding behind, giving me no way out without being seen.

“Love you? Jesus, Isla.” Dion sighed loudly. “Don’t turn this around on me. You fucked up. You went and got cosy with another man, and yet you’re coming out as the damn victim. Just like always.”

I gasped before I could help myself and smashed my hand over my mouth. Isla had cheated on Dion. That was news that would cause waves in the industry. More than waves, it would be a media disaster for Dionysus Rising. No wonder Dion was taking the hit. Everyone expected him to be the asshole in the relationship. He was the renowned playboy lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the world, after all.

It made me consider him with new respect. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as my brother had warned me he was.

“I may have cheated, but you checked out of the relationship long before that.” Isla’s voice was rising. Soon everyone else would be able to hear them as well. “Did you ever want to be with me, or was it just because it was good for the band?”

Silence.

It stretched on for so long that I was sure they had walked away to carry on their fight somewhere else.

“You’re an asshole, Dion Granger.” The sound of her heels was loud as she walked away. Counting to three, I was half up off my seat when Dion rounded the corner. There was no surprise on his face at finding me there, but he looked pissed.

His dark grey eyes bored down into mine, and his gaze wasn’t particularly friendly. 

“You gonna go to the papers with what you just heard?”

It took me a few seconds for his question to compute, and then I shook my head. “No, no, of course not. I didn’t mean to listen. I didn’t even hear anything, not really.” My words came out in a rush, and I stumbled over each and every one of them.

“Relax, kid.” Without warning, Dion, lead singer of Dionysus Rising and sex god, flopped down onto the bench next to me. Reaching across my body, his tattooed hand curled around my cocktail glass. He pulled it towards him and his arm brushed against my breast. I sucked in a startled breath as my nipples pebbled up against the bodice of my dress.

His eyes searched my face, and a small smile curved up the corners of his mouth. “Can I have this?” He lifted the glass to his lips.

Mutely, I nodded.

Suddenly, I felt unsure if he was talking about the drink…or me.

“What is it?” He took a sip, but his eyes remained glued to my face. He didn’t look anywhere else, and I felt my cheeks blush like he was checking me out. Not for the first time since I had landed in Vegas, I felt totally out of place. It’s not as if I were the kind of girl that rockstars looked at with lust in their eyes. I was pretty, sure, but not beautiful. Not like Isla.

“I think it’s called Blind Luck, or something like that. I just took whatever they were offering.”

“Are you feeling lucky tonight, Lola?” Dion whispered. And suddenly, I was acutely aware that his leg was pressed against mine, and that we were relatively alone. 

Alone in the dark with Dion Granger. No one back home would ever believe that really happened. I didn’t even believe it was really happening. More than likely, it was just my wishful thinking. Dion dated women like Isla. Supermodel, sex kitten types.

“I can taste your lip gloss on the glass. Peaches, right?” He took another sip before offering me the glass. I shook my head. I didn’t have the words to reply to that, so I stayed silent.

“It’s kind of addictive. Sweet like you.” His grey eyes, framed by dark curling lashes, fell from my eyes to my lips. “You are sweet, aren’t you? Or is it just your lip gloss?”

“I’m…uh…” I cleared my throat roughly. “I’m not as sweet as everyone thinks I am.”

“No?” Cocking his head to the side, Dion dropped it slightly, his lips hovering over mine in the darkness. “I think you are.”

“Nope, I’m not.”

“Prove it.” All he needed to do was drop his mouth an inch and our lips would be together. But he didn’t move. He didn’t press that sinfully pouty mouth to mine. I wanted him to. I wanted to kiss him so badly that I couldn’t breathe.

No one would ever believe me, but that didn’t matter to me. Kissing Dion secretly would be the best thing that had ever happened to me. And probably the worst thing to happen to any hopes of my brother becoming the band's full-time drummer.

Throwing caution to the wind, I surged forward, smashing my mouth against Dion’s roughly. And in my haste, I totally forgot about the lip ring he was sporting.

“Ow.” Pulling away slightly, he pressed his fingers to his lips. “Easy there, love.”

Shame and embarrassment fill me. Had I really just tried to kiss a rockstar and inadvertently hurt him? What kind of imbecile did that? That’s what I got for trying to be like Louis, the wild one, the one who had always been the cool one of our family.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Scrambling for my forgotten shoe, I couldn’t look at him. All I wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow me down. “I didn’t mean… I shouldn’t have...”

“No harm done, Lola, relax.” Smooth, strong fingers closed around my chin, pulling my face up to his.

“I mean, if Louis finds out I did that-” I break off. Jesus, if my brother found out, then World War Three would start. He’d blame Dion, and his position in the band would be jeopardised. And all because of me.

“You didn’t do anything. We haven’t done anything…yet.”

My eyes widened at his words. “Yet?”

“Yeah, yet.” There was no hesitation in Dion’s voice. “I think we should try again, don’t you?”

Not letting me say anything, Dion’s lips slid over mine, the tip of his tongue gliding against my bottom lip. Pulling away slightly, he leant his head against mine. “Just like I thought, peaches.” When his lips covered mine again, his kiss deepened. His tongue demanded entrance to my mouth, and I gave into him with a sigh. My hands seemed to reach around to curl into his dark hair without my consent.

“Fuck.” He lifted me off the bench and onto his lap. One hand kept my face raised to his, and the other ran up the long black satin of my skirt, lifting it above my knees so his hands could delve underneath it.

I knew I should stop him, but honestly, I didn’t want to.

“You’re so fucking sweet. I could drown in you. You’re the kind of girl men write songs about,” he mumbled into my mouth, nipping at my bottom lip. “You want to be my muse, baby?”

A loud cough sounded and together we turned our heads towards the direction it had come from.

“Shit.” Dion didn’t move me from his lap, but his grip on me loosened as his arms fell to his sides. “Fucking awesome.”

“What?” I glanced between Dion and the man walking away with a shake of his head. “Who is he?”

“Gavin Winslow. He owns Naughty Records. He’s an asshole, so I should really go and explain to him what he just saw before he tells everyone.”

I stood stiffly. “Yeah.” I don’t know why his words hurt, but they did. It wasn’t that surprising that he didn't want it getting out that we had kissed. After all, he had a reputation to maintain. And he was meant to be with Isla. But I couldn’t help feeling like I was being played.

“Hey.” He pulled me back into his chest. “This isn’t over, Peaches, not by a long shot. I am so not done with you.”