Revelry (Taint #1) (45 page)

“Your replacement,” Tim sneers into the phone, and hangs up before Levi can utter another word. To hear him, so desolate, so lost and so hurt, and to know we caused that—that I caused that? It destroys that last little vestige of my strength.

The sobs break free from my chest and they don’t stop. Eventually, Tim carries me into his bedroom. He places me on the bed he used to share with his ex and lies down behind me, pulling my body tightly against his. It’s not a sexual thing—it never could be anything sexual between us. It was nice to have someone champion for me. It was nice, but it makes no difference. My heart is still just as broken as it was the second I’d heard him come inside another woman, because with one thoughtless phone call he cheapened everything we shared during those weeks on tour.

I
glare at my phone and slide it back into my pocket when I see that there’s no text back from Ali. I’d been drunk last night after the show, and I’d gotten it into my head that I should drunk dial, only with texting, because she’d always responded well to those in the past. Drunk Cooper had thought that this was a fucking brilliant idea. Only when I’d pulled out my phone and brought up her number, I had stared at the blank text screen for too long, and wound up typing
I miss your wild pussy
, referring to all the times we’d talked about her vagina needing a leash. At the time of my drunk text decision-making, I’d thought it conveyed the fact that I missed her while also saying I missed her vagina. In the harsh light of day, I sounded like a fucking arsehole. It was a fact that was no less true—I did miss her wild pussy, but I missed so much more than that.

I sit in the venue’s green room, drinking an Italian beer that I can’t pronounce while the guys chat to a bunch of VIP groupies. Levi’s been AWOL since the second we came off-stage, disappearing with a bottle of liquor and a hot brunette. A blonde with a pixie-cut sits down on the couch beside me, braving the frosty reception I’ve given any woman who came within a foot of me tonight. I know, I sound like a spoiled douche, and if Ali were here right now she’d likely kick my arse and tell me to go treat my fans with the respect they deserve, but I’m burnt out. Weariness has wormed its way through my bones. It eats at the core of me and there is nothing left.

“
Ciao
.”

“Hey,” I say, tilting my bottle of beer towards her.

“That was a great show.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you want to go somewhere? You want to er … get away from here?”

I turn my head and take her in. She’s cute, and her cheeks blush bright pink as she waits for my answer, which of course reminds me of Ali.

“Yeah, I really do wanna get away from here,” I murmur, thinking about going home, seeing Ali. Even if it’s only for an hour—even if I spend the next month regretting it, because it just makes the wound that much deeper. Hell, I’d settle for five minutes alone with her.

“Great,” she says, her eyes dart away from me, glancing down at her small hands curled in her lap. “I know a place we can go that’s quiet. No one will recognise you, and if they do they won’t pester.”

Shit
. “Uh, what’s your name?”

“Sophie.”

“Sophie, right,” I say, and then I sigh because, well, what the fuck else do you do in this situation? “Listen, I didn’t mean—”

“I knew it,” she interrupts, and a sweet smile spreads across her face. “You are in love with the redhead, with Ali. My friends didn’t want to believe it, but I knew. So where is she?”

“Home.” I sigh. “She’s home.”

“But you are here.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Don’t you miss her?”

“So much I feel like I’m barely breathing.”

Levi chooses that moment to re-emerge, with a woman on each arm and a bottle of Sambuca in his hand. He stumbles over to the couch opposite me and falls into the plush cushions, spilling liquor from the open bottle all over his arm. The blonde to his left laughs like a hyena, and the brunette to his right doesn’t waste any time in licking up the mess. Her tongue flicks all the way to his neck, though her eyes are fixed on me.

Her hand slides over his cock, and she smiles in mock surprise. “
Bestione
.”

“That’s right, baby, it’s a motherfucking beast. You think you can handle it?” Levi says. She mutters something in Italian, but it’s cut short by Levi unzipping his jeans and releasing his cock, which he then shoves in her mouth. She takes it willingly. Of course she does. I glance at Sophie, who watches on with a disgusted expression on her face.

“Take it somewhere else, Quinn,” I hiss, watching the faces of the people in the room around us.

“Ah fuck,” he says fisting her hair, forcing her head to bob faster and her to choke on it. The blonde beside him licks along his neck and he lazily tweaks her nipple beneath her shirt. “What’s the matter, Ryan? You don’t wanna double time this one?”

“Get up,” I say, launching myself across the coffee table and kicking his shin.

“Ow. Fuck you.”

“I can fuck you both, if you like?” the brunette purrs, latching onto my arm. “I always say two rock stars is better than one.”

“Get out.” I shrug her off, and turn back to Levi who is zipping up his pants.

Zed cups his hands around his mouth and booms, “Ladies, it was awesome getting to know you all, but I’m afraid our time is up. If you could all head through the open doors there, next to Mr Cohen, we’d be much obliged. Don’t let him pinch your arse on the way out though.”

Alarmed murmurs travel through the group of around twenty women as they gather their purses and move hurriedly towards Zed and Ash. Ash opens the door and they file out like good little lemmings. Levi’s women make no effort to move.

“Does she mean that fucking little to you?” I lunge, straddling Levi and wrapping my hands around his throat. The women beside him squeal, gather their things and vanish along with the rest of the groupies. Levi’s hands claw at my own.

“No.” he gasps. “She means … that much to me.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I loosen my hold to allow him to speak.

He coughs and rubs at his throat. “It means I love her enough to make her happy, by removing myself from the equation.” I let go of him altogether, standing up. I rake my hands through my hair and turn furious eyes on him.

“Why would you do that?”

He shrugs. “She loves you.”

“She loves us both.” I scrub my hands over my face, and stare up at the ceiling. “Or at least, she did.”

“Maybe, but she loves you more,” he says, and drops his red-rimmed gaze to his hand, picking at his callouses with his thumb. “That’s why I called her.”

“What do you mean you called her?”

“In France,” he says, rubbing his hands over his eyes. He sniffs. “I fucked someone else and I phoned her while doing it.”

“Jesus Christ, Levi.” I ball my hands into fists, taking several deep breaths so I won’t lash out again. Though I want to. I want to beat his fucking face in for doing that to her.

“It hurt.” He lets out a shuddering gasp of air, his voice thick with emotion. “Hurt so god damn bad. Still does. I’m fucking miserable, but that’s why I did it.”

“Yeah, well now we can all be miserable together.” I shake my head. “Or apart, as the case may be.”

“You don’t have to be miserable. Neither of you do.” He snatches the overturned bottle from the coffee table and takes another long swig of liquor. “I’m giving you both an out. You get the girl, guilt-free, and I get to go back to fucking my brains out with as many women as possible.” He pushes up from the couch and sways a little on the spot, shoving the bottle of booze at my chest. “So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bury my dick in some hot Italian pussy.”

I shake my head as he leaves, bursting with gratitude and cursing him all the same. Just because Levi has given us an out doesn’t mean shit.

I still betrayed her.

She still left, so his blessing means fuck all.