The Devil's Tattoo (19 page)

Out on stage, Chris was helping Frank set up the drum kit and Dee
was fiddling with the leads that ran into his effects pedals. When his eye
caught mine, I steeled myself for one of his trademark witty comments.

As I plugged the lead into my guitar Dee asked, "You guys
good?"

"Yeah," I said, thankful that he was serious for once.

"So, are you like together now?"

I shrugged.

"Sure looked like it."

"I guess."

He knelt down and began tuning his Gibson, his E string all out of
whack. "Did you tell him what you told me?"

"The short version."

He eyed me with suspicion. "How short?"

"Bare minimum."

"Zoe, things like this have a tendency to rear their ugly
heads when you least expect it. Keeping secrets isn't a good thing."

"That's all I can manage for now," I scowled. "The
rest will come later."

His eyes searched mine for a moment,
then
he sighed and went back to tuning his E string. "As long as you're
okay."

"We'll see how it goes."

Will and I were at the start of a long road. We hardly knew that
much about each other outside of music other than we were attracted to each
other with a fire I never thought was possible outside of a romance novel. The
fact that he wanted to stick around after the shit I'd pulled warmed my heart
and rekindled my hope. The hope that said I could fall in love again.

"So, is he a good kisser?" Dee asked wiggling his
eyebrows.

"
Dee
!"

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR

ZOE

When the lights went down and The Devil's Tattoo went on stage, it
was a new Zoe the audience was getting that night. And Zoe mark two was amped
up and raw. I hadn't told the whole truth to Will, I was far from ready, but
I'd let him in more than anyone. Other than Dee, my
saviour
,
he was the only one. He said he wouldn't hurt me and that was the one thing I
wanted to hold on to.
That, and his heart.

Even when it came time for
Walls
 and the words
that described the painful memory of my past, I didn't flinch. I could feel
Will's eyes on me the entire
time,
I didn't have to
look side of stage to know he was there. All of our songs were about love and
sex and I found myself singing them all for him.

We were in the middle of country Victoria, the crowd was smaller
than the Capital cities had been, but it was jam packed and close. A sweaty
furnace of people pressed up against the side of the stage, singing along to
our songs, taking pictures on their phones, cheering. The fact that people knew
our stuff and loved it was a feeling beyond anything I could have ever hoped
for, but having Will there made it euphoric.

I didn't want this feeling to end.

Bombard
was the song
Will had set his video to and all I could think of was the fact that he had
been watching me. It sounded creepy, but he'd done it to please me. I didn't
realise
at the time, but sitting with him that day had
melted something inside me. It was the beginning of the end.

As I stood on top of the bass drum, the sound of my guitar
reverbing off into nothing, our eyes locked. I stared down at him, hair
plastered to my sweaty face, and if I hadn't been standing in such an awkward
position, on stage no less, I would have thrown myself at him there and
then. It was a miracle, when I jumped down, that I landed steadily on both
feet.

Dee pulled me to the front of the stage and people held out their
hands and I shook as many as I could grab hold of. This was why we'd started
the band. Not for the adoration, but for the knowledge that the things that we
wrote spoke to someone.

When The Stabs went on stage, I stood in the wings as I'd done so
many times in the last few weeks, but this time felt like the first. I'd been
so determined to fight my attraction to
Will,
I'd
never really paid attention to him.
The others, yes, but
never to their infuriatingly sexy bass player.
 I leant against the
wall and my eyes never left him. I didn't care one iota what I looked like
anymore. Dee stood with me, but he may as well have been invisible for all the
attention I paid him. We were all riding high.

As each song went by, I took in everything. The way Will's fingers
slid over the strings of his bass, the way he leant his mouth against the
microphone, the way his hair fell into his eyes. Occasionally, he'd look up and
see me watching him and a lopsided grin would invade his features. This time it
was unguarded and full of the things he wanted to do to me.

The stage was like a second home to him and I understood
completely. It was the same for me. He said that the real Zoe was the woman who
stood front and
centre
and gave her all to the music.
I was more determined than ever to make that a reality off stage as well.

It was like someone had flipped a switch inside me and now that
the
flood gate
was open, there was nothing stopping me
falling head first into this consuming passion I felt for Will Strickland. What
made me reel was that he had said he felt it too. But, he didn't need to tell
me,
it was in everything he did.

When their set finally finished, he
walked straight off stage and crashed into me, his lips on mine, his tongue
teasing.
A whimper escaped me and he pulled
away, cupping my face.

"You drive a man to distraction,
Zo
,"
he said. "Looking at me like that."

"You're welcome."

"I'll see you in a minute," he said, brushing a thumb
over my bottom lip and he disappeared with his bass into the band room.

"If you're done sucking face," Dee declared beside me,
"can we go get a drink or ten?"

I'd forgotten he was there, and I don't even think he'd registered
with Will either. With a giddy smile, I threaded my arm through his and we made
our way into the crowd. When we found the others near the bar, Frank, Simone
and Chris welcomed us with knowing smiles.

"And Zoe Granger's back in the game with a
bang
,"
Frank chortled, pulling me into a bear hug.

"She won't be in it for long if you don't stop suffocating
her," I cried, my voice muffled against his chest.

"Seriously,
Zo
," he whispered
in my ear. "Glad you're
feelin
' better."

"I'm sorry guys," I said with a grimace. I had to take
some blame for what happened. After all, it was my reaction that had
snowballed.

"You've
nothin
' to be sorry
for," Chris said.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry," I said firmly. "I let it affect
the band and a gig suffered for it. I promise I won't let it happen
again."

"You know how annoying it's been watching you two pine over
each other?" Dee said, puckering his lips at me, instantly lightening the
mood.

That earned him a sharp slap on the arm and loud laughter and
cat calls
from the guys. A grin spread across my face and
the sense of euphoria that had been building inside, ever since Will and
confronted me in the band room, surfaced. It was such an alien feeling, at
first it felt wrong, but the look Dee gave me when he saw the smile on my face
made me
realise
it couldn't get any more right than
it was right now.

Arms wrapped around my waist from behind and I caught sight of a
black panther
tattoo.

"Hey," Will murmured into my ear as warmth spread
through my body.

Looking up at him, I said, "Hey."

His lips brushed against my forehead. "This is nice."

"What?" I asked, knowing exactly what he was referring
to, but I wanted to hear him say it.

"Touching you."

A shiver ran down my spine and I felt his lips curve into a smile
against my skin. "Likewise."

"
Ahh
," he sighed. "This
is bad."

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to kiss you and touch you…" I felt his hand
run between us, over my ass and lightly press between my legs,
"there."

"Fuck," I hissed as I felt myself clench. "I'm
thinking that was payback."

"See it how you want,
Zo
."

I remembered how he'd called me
Zo
, that
night on the balcony of the pub in the middle of nowhere, how uncomfortable it
made me feel. Now, he could call me whatever the hell he wanted, as long as he
kept doing that.

"You were… there are no words to describe how you were on
stage tonight."

I turned around, so we were face to face, so I could see into his
eyes. "You make me feel alive, Will Strickland." There was no truer
statement I could have made right then.

"If I make you feel alive, then you set me on fire." He
pressed his lips against mine, hands firmly on my waist.

"You know, there are other people around," Dee said, the
amusement plain in his voice. "Stop rubbing it in."

I spun around with a laugh and thumped him playfully on the
shoulder. Louie and Pete brought over a round of drinks and we tried to spend
the rest of the night
socialising
, but it was
difficult not to disappear back to the hotel. Will threaded his fingers through
mine and hardly let go all night.

Simone, I noticed, was talking and laughing with Chris and he was
standing close to her, leaning in every time she said something. I caught his
eye and he smiled slyly at me. I
rose
my eyebrows in
question and he nodded. Good for them. It looked like everything was beginning
to work out.

It was three am by the time Will and I wandered back to the hotel,
his arm around my waist. Everyone else had broken off one by one and bailed
until we were the last. We'd made a resolve to take things slowly, despite the
deep sexual attraction. Still, we hovered outside of
mine and
Dee's hotel room, reluctant to part
.

"Tonight has
gotta
be one of the best nights ever," he said quietly.

"It's definitely top ten," I joked.

"Top ten?" he feigned offence. "What else is better
than that?"

"Um," I pretended to think. "Music. Being on stage.
Christmas holidays."

"Christmas holidays are better than me?"

"I said top ten, I didn't specify the order," I laughed.

He planted a kiss on the corner of my mouth, silencing me.
"You're my number one."

Unlocking the door, I peered inside, but the room was dark. I
could just make out Dee's sleeping form and the pile of clothes he'd flung all
over the floor.

"Dee's already asleep," I whispered.

"I was hoping we could boot him out," Will
murmured
, hooking his fingers through the belt loops on my
jeans.

"We can room tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

He pressed me into the
door frame
and
kissed me, slow and deep, making my insides twist with desire. My hands fisted
into his shirt as his crept underneath mine.

The one thing I suddenly hated with a vengeance about being on
tour was the lack of privacy.

"Good night," he sighed against my swollen mouth.

"Good night."

"I saw you dry humping against the doorframe last
night," Dee whispered into my ear, making me choke on the bottle of water
I was trying to drown my Will hangover with. We stood beside the bus, getting
ready to jump on for the next leg of the tour. We only had three shows to do
before we got back to Melbourne for the final two.

"You were awake?" I spluttered, wiping my mouth with the
back of my hand.

"
You
woke me up."

"Dee!"

"Don't worry,
Zo
," he elbowed
me with a sly grin. "I already arranged a room swap with Pete."

"Uh, thanks?"

He threw an arm around my shoulder and laughed. "You need to
get some."

To his surprise I said, "Yeah. I'm so bloody horny."

"Bloody hell, Zoe!
Too much information.
My ears, they burn!"

"You started it."

"You continued it."

"They're at it again,"
Simone
laughed as she passed us.

Before she went any further, I ran forward and pulled her to the
side. "So?"

"So what?" she asked with a small blush.

"Simone?" My good mood was infectious as her face split
into a grin.

"He kissed me."

"When?"

"Last night," she sighed.

"Good," I said, firmly. "I'm glad."

"I think you inspired him, you know after everything."

I grimaced. "Well, at least it all worked out, huh?"

"I'm happy for you too, Zoe. I know I don't know the full
story, but you deserve it after everything."

"Thanks."

She gave me a small wave as she moved off towards the car where
Dean was arranging the remaining boxes of our
merch
.

"You're beautiful, Zoe Granger," Will whispered into my
ear.

The fact that he'd remembered his promise from the night before
sent shivers down my spine. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me towards the bus. As
I climbed into a spot towards the back, he dumped his jacket on the seat across
the aisle and slid into the seat next to mine. "I can't sit next to you,
Zoe."