S I X T E E N

As the guys take the stage, Jace hollers into the mic to excite the crowd and as he does, flames shoot from the front of the stage, almost twenty feet in the air. The crowd goes crazy, their cheers deafening even from the side stage. I watch and feel my own pulse quicken, excitement coursing through me.

Zach starts crashing on his drum set as Tyler strums a few cords on his bass. Finally, Beau begins to play his guitar and Jace's voice rises above it all. The first song is heavy and aggressive, with a chorus that begs the crowd to shout along. I nod my head to the music and even sing along, at least to the words I can understand.

MisFits transitions into their next song seamlessly, a radio hit that sends the girls crazy on the ground. They push to the front of the fence, slamming each other's bodies into the metal posts, reaching their hands up to the boys as far as they can. I grimace as Jace catches a hot pink bra and waves it in the air like some kind of trophy.

The song changes again and my eyes find Beau, so intensely focused on his music. As his fingers work the guitar strings, he bangs his head in time to the music, his long hair whipping back and forth and sticking to his face. Sweat covers his skin, the ink gleaming underneath the blinding stage lights. Something stirs deep inside me as I watch him, and I find myself glancing at the female fans practically devouring him with their eyes.

"What do you think?" Val shouts next to me and I jump, uncertain when she joined me in the first place.

"They're great," I admit while dancing to another song.

Val nods, "They put on a good show, as long as everyone behaves." My eyes follow hers and land on Beau, and as I continue watching him, I can't bring myself to imagine him messing one of their shows up. Not with how intense he looks now, never missing a single note. Somehow, he still looks so... in his element up there. Would he really be so stupid as to mess this up?

Val and I continue to cheer on the guys, and I find myself relaxing with her, laughing and throwing my head back to belt out MisFits lyrics. Part way through their set, Beau pauses for a split second, peels his dark t-shirt from his body and flings it into the crowd. The women shriek and fight for the shirt while Beau picks right back up in the song, his larger back and chest tattoos on full display.

Val giggles beside me, "Earth to Emma?" I reluctantly tear my eyes from Beau's chiseled torso and to my friend. "I said, they've got a few more songs left and then we get into the backstage pass holder party..."

In my mind, I hear the faint rumblings of Val explaining the rest of the evening to me, but I can't focus on what the words mean. Instead, my attention is fully on Beau - the muscles in his arms flexing while he plays, his ripped jeans that hang low on his hips, the quick rising and falling of his chest as he puts all his energy into the show. "Ladies and gentleman, Beau Lewis!" Jace shouts into the mic and the spotlight finds Beau. The guys tone down their instruments as Beau rips through his guitar solo, a fast paced and intense piece that leaves him breathless as Jace introduces Zach on the drums and then Tyler on bass.

By the time the set wraps up, I'm nearly high on adrenaline. The show was insane, full of fire tricks and impressive showmanship. The guys walk off the stage and I'm somehow pushed to the back of the crowd of people all needing to speak to them. Spotting Beau's damp, spiky head above the crowd pushes me forward as I shove through the bodies and find my way to him.

Once our eyes lock, I feel the adrenaline coursing through me as my heartbeat becomes the only thing I can hear over all of the voices. I rush the remainder of the distance to him and fling my arms around his neck. His mouth meets mine hungrily, his tongue pushing through my lips as mine does the same. His fingers grip my waist tightly as I lock my fingers in his hair, needing to be closer to him in every way.

"Ahem," Val clears her throat beside us and after a second, we pull away, both breathless. Beau's green eyes are dark and wild, but they never leave my face, even as Val directs us to the dressing room where they'll meet more fans.

As we walk down to the dressing room, Beau flings his arm around my neck, a bottle of whiskey in his hand now, and keeps my body close to his. "You guys were really something," I peek up at him through my false lashes.

He peers down at me, a cocky smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah? What was your favorite part?"

I meet his gaze and answer truthfully. "You."

His mischievous grin grows but before he can speak, Security lets us know that the backstage pass holders are arriving now. "What do we do now?" I ask and Beau shrugs, pulling me to a leather couch beside him. A young assistant hands him another dark t-shirt and scurries away without a word.

"The fans come back and chill with us for a little, like a party. Then later, when they all leave, we actually party." He winks. As the fans arrive, Zach pulls Beau away from me to meet a group of fans all dressed in leather and ripped denim. I take in the scene around me, the girls too nervous to approach the band, the die hard rock and roll fans with Mohawks and crazy piercings. Even some of the mothers escorting their daughters admire the boys with a little something extra in their eye. The others look incredibly uncomfortable and rush their daughters to get the damn autographs and leave.

Most fans simply ask the guys for pictures and to sign something, and the guys oblige, chatting with them and eating the snacks that have been provided.

I notice Tyler keeping a careful watch over Jace, who's now on his fourth beer of the night and getting a little less stable on his feet. I lean against the back wall, happy with my relative invisibility at the moment, when I spot Beau by the cooler, a beer in his hand and a young woman with dyed black hair at his side.

A nasty feeling grows in my stomach as I watch his eyes trail over her body, clad in tight leather pants and a MisFits band shirt, cut just so to accentuate her cleavage and tiny waist. She flips her jet black hair, revealing a face with dark liner and pouty red lips. She laughs at something he says, an exaggerated laugh that makes my stomach turn. Beau leans down so she can whisper something to him, and suddenly my feet are stomping forward, bringing me right into their conversation.

Wordlessly, I wrap my arms around Beau's waist, my eyes meeting the other woman's as I feel Beau's arm sling around my shoulder. I tilt my head up and plant a kiss on his neck, waiting for the woman to finish her sentence.

Beau responds with a comment about their next album but she's more interested in me, now. "I'm sorry, are you with one of the other bands?" As she talks, I notice the silver shine of a tongue ring.

"No, I'm here with Beau. Just supporting my man," I keep my voice as friendly as possible, Fiona's voice nagging me about good press in the back of my mind.

The girls dark eyes look me up and down before she offers another smile that looks more like a scowl. "I'm Cherry, I play guitar. Beau was giving me a few tips," her smirk and the way she leans into Beau tell me she was hoping for more than that and she doesn't care that I know it.

"That was so nice of you, Beau, helping out a fan." I gaze at him before shooting a quick smile at Cherry. Her expression turns sour and after a minute or so, she excuses herself to go find Jace before it's time to leave.

Once she's gone, I feel myself relax a little bit. Beau snickers beside me and I feel my face get hot. "What?"

He shrugs, a bemused expression on his face. "Didn't think you were the jealous type," he reaches behind me to grab the bottle of whiskey from earlier off the table.

"I'm not." I roll my eyes.

"Tell that to Cherry,"

"Cherry," I begin, "Would love nothing more than to find a supply closet somewhere, drag you into it, and have her way with you." I take a sip of his whiskey when he offers.

"So you're jealous," Beau repeats, thick brows knitted together.

"I just don't need all my hard work going down the drain because you can't keep it in your pants," I snap, my irritation getting the best of me.

Beau doesn't let my attitude faze him. "Oh, so this is just about the contract? Good, for a second there, I was worried you'd be mad that I signed her boobs," I snap my head back to glare at him, only to find his devious smile mocking me. "Got ya," he winks.

I shove him away, too confused to think of something clever to say. Because the truth is, I shouldn't be this bothered. Annoyed that his flirting makes my job harder? Yes. But... jealous? I shake my head, trying to push the emotion away.

Because jealousy makes things personal, and Beau's one rule in the contract makes sure our relationship stays anything but.

***

"Are you going to flirt with every girl here?" I groan as Beau watches a petite blonde walk away. The club was rented out for the bands in the charity show and numerous other famous people have joined the afterparty, giving him plenty of gorgeous options to choose from. Beau's determination to piss me off hasn't dwindled from after the concert, and unfortunately, neither has the envy every time he gives a new girl that look of his.

"Only until you admit you're jealous," Beau throws back a shot and grabs the attention of our curvy waitress. "A couple more, please" Beau's eyes shine with such intensity that I nearly spit.

"Give it a rest," I shake my head once our waitress is out of ear shot. "I'm not jealous, just bored. I'm going back to the hotel, or maybe, I'll just dance. I'm sure Jace would join me," I smirk, watching Jace at the other end of the dance floor, women all around him.

I stand like I'm going to make a move for it, and Beau grabs my wrist, keeping me in place. "I'll stop," when I don't sit immediately, he adds, "I swear."

"Fine," I take my seat beside him again and take out my phone to check the time. A text from Gemma pops up on the screen, probably her response about the modeling gig, and Beau chuckles.

"Tell her I'm thinking of her,"

"Seriously?" I snap and grab my bag, giving him no time to stop me as I rush across the club to the far wall where the exit is. I've just had enough of his antics for tonight.

Beau follows, his long legs easily keeping up with mine. "It was just a joke, relax, Emma." He grabs my hand, "I didn't think it would actually make you jealous."

I spin around, "I'm not jealous!" I shout but the music is too loud for anyone to hear us. "I'm just tired of working hard to help you, when you don't do anything to help yourself!"

Beau continues getting closer to me and I back up each step until my back is pressed against the wall. He puts his hand on the wall by my head, and leans in so close that his breath brushes my face as he speaks "Are you sure about that?" I try to escape, but his hand finds my waist and he shoves me back against the wall, his eyes on my mouth. My heart beats faster and my breathing becomes shaky. "Because I think you are, why else would it bother you so mu-"

Exasperated, I give in. "Please, Beau? I don't want to talk about this so, please, just shut up."

Beau tilts his head, surprised at first, before a wicked gleam appears in his eyes. "Make me."

Before I can think, I knot my fingers in his hair and pull his head to me, crushing my mouth to his. His hand trails down my face and rests at the base of my neck, holding me in place. We break apart only to catch our breath, our foreheads pressed against each other's.

Surprising both of us, Beau barely breathes, "Want to get out of here?"

Even more surprisingly, I nod shyly, butterflies swarming in my stomach as he takes my hand and pulls me out of the club and to our SUV.