Bedded Bliss (Found in Oblivion #1) - Cari Quinn Page 0,83

plenty for right now. Can’t a girl go au naturel? Jeez. Hey Randy,” she called as the guy whipped out his phone and started walking away. “Take Eves the big mouth with you, why don’t you?”

Randy glanced back with a distracted smile. “Sorry. Can’t bring any newbs behind the board. Sounds like we have a situation anyway.”

“Why, you afraid I’ll trip on a cord or something?” Tristan elbowed Hunter. “I say we go swing from the lighting rig and get him to loosen his shorts.”

“You mean crap his shorts?” Harper asked drily. “He’s all about safety on a set.”

Juliet let out an earsplitting whistle.

“Hey people, y’all ready to go on stage or what? Let’s freaking go already.”

Michael linked fingers with Jazz. “Guess it’s time, Mrs. Duffy.”

“Wow, no rude nicknames. So odd backstage before a show.” Jazz grinned up at him and waved at her departing friends as they disappeared back under the curtain to head back into the audience. “I think I like you.”

“I like you too.” He lowered his voice to a mock whisper. “Can we keep you and send back Molly?”

“I heard that,” Molly said from behind him as they all walked onstage.

He laughed as the crowd started to hoot and holler. He’d come to the club tonight in absolutely the worst mood, not in the least bit ready to perform, but he was in his element now. It didn’t matter if the stage was a big one like House of Blues or a relatively small one like the Rhino. Once he strapped on his guitar and his band filtered out around him, taking their spots, his mind clicked into place.

Nothing mattered except the show. The music. Everything else would fall in line or it wouldn’t, but right now, he was ready to rock.

“Well, hello LA,” Molly purred into the mic with Ryan at her side. She wasn’t about to give up greeting the crowd twice, whether or not he was hurt. “How y’all feeling tonight?”

She got the requisite applause and catcalls, and Ryan pumped his good fist. “So did you guys notice we have someone you all might be just a little bit familiar with back there on the kit? Mrs. Jasmine Duffy, also known as Jazz, the kickass drummer from a small time band you might’ve heard of once or twice named Oblivion.” He grinned as the clapping morphed into a dull roar. “Give it up for Jazz!”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s enough of that. Don’t swell up my big sister’s head.” But Molly smiled over her shoulder at Jazz to let her know she was kidding.

Partially.

Molly introduced the rest of the band and then mentioned how Ryan was going to be off the drums for a while, but he was still going to be part of the show. Proving it, she let him have the spotlight to start off “In Your Arms,” with the blues harp. It was risky, using their latest greatest single to kick the show into gear instead of using that one as a carrot to pull the crowd through the set. Lila’s trick of bringing the House of Blues mix to radio so soon had worked wonderfully, and they were getting more press than they had in a while.

Of course a good portion of that had to do with Michael’s marital status and the fact that he was only a week removed from the picture some intrepid reporter had gotten of Tabitha Tremaine sneaking out of his apartment. But whatever. Lila liked to say all press sold singles, so he’d deal.

What he didn’t like dealing with was knowing Chloe was at her house alone with her baby and probably swarmed with the suckers. But what could he do? He’d asked her repeatedly to move in with him and she said no. Their marriage wasn’t real.

His dick inside of her sweet pussy last night had been real as fuck, but yeah. Fine. Whatever she thought was best.

He poured his frustration into his fingers racing over the strings. At his side, Elle was playing like the demon in his head was riding her back too. This club had meaning for her brother, so maybe it had meaning for her as well.

Juliet and Molly got into some kind of dance, one of them moving toward the other as the other retreated. Even through the movements, Juliet never stopped playing the bass. She might as well have been on cruise control as Molly sang about wanting to be in her lover’s arms. Behind them, Jazz was slamming