Free The Complete Groupie Trilogy by Ginger Voight Page B

me, how he kissed me. I remembered the look in his eyes as he whispered that he had dreamed about us being together. I remembered the contours of his body, which showed undeniable, rock-solid proof he found me desirable. Until I threw him out he was ready to ignore the call of said goddess to be with me.
    It still didn’t make sense, not in my fevered little brain. He’d made me feel more needed and more desired than I’d ever felt before in my life. He made me feel pretty, and feminine, and sexy. So how could he go from her to me or me back to her?
    It was the unsolvable riddle that drove me midtown to meet them at a hip new fusion restaurant everyone that was anyone went to be seen. I convinced myself I had to know the truth so I could put it all behind me when I returned to the “real world.” It was either that or I must have taken up masochism sometime in the past few days.
    I got there early because I didn’t trust my legs to carry me if I saw them cuddle together in one of the back booths. I gathered my questions, none of which that addressed my real curiosity, and patiently waited. The waiter brought me a wine list but I decided there had been enough alcohol for one trip. I asked for water.
    The minute they rounded the corner, led to the table by the buxom hostess in a snug fitting black dress, I immediately steeled my spine and tried to wipe all emotion from my face.
    I didn’t stand up to greet them; I just reached out a hand to welcome Lourdes. I barely spared Vanni a glance as he bent toward me and gave m e a friendly peck on the cheek.
    I hated him for that.
    “It’s good to see you again,” Lourdes purred, deliberately omitting my name. My guess was she didn’t remember it.
    “Likewise,” I said with a sweet phony smile that mirrored hers. I briefly stole a look at Vanni, whose dark eyes seemed to speak volumes in a language I was not familiar. I didn’t speak Cheating Dirt Bag, nor did I wish to learn.
    The waiter came to our table and took our order. Lourdes predictably ordered a small vegetable dish, whereas Vanni got a more robust meal that included beef. Evidently he hadn’t subscribed the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle of some of his band mates. This Philly boy no doubt still ordered cheesesteak that nearly came out of the bottom of a greasy bag. As a lover of food myself that made me feel slightly more compatible, and a little more superior.
    Since someone else was footing the tab I wasn’t going to waste free food on a sala d. I ordered the seafood.
    Both Vanni and Lourdes canoodled on one side of the booth, his arm draped casually around her like a second coat. They sipped their wine and I cleared my throat. There was no point dragging things out, I jumped in with both feet.
    “So how did you two meet?” I asked, more to her than to him.
    She gave him a sexy smile. “You tell her, honey.”
    My gut tightened as I looked over at him expectantly.
    “It was one of Jasper’s parties, of course,” he said with an unreadable expression on his face. “I was the musical talent.”
    “I was just eye candy,” she murmured with a coy grin.
    He glanced down at her. “I saw her in the front row and thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I knew I had to meet her, so I stalked her backstage after the gig was over.”
    Stalked , I thought to myself. Such an appropriate word. Like a wild cat on the Serengeti. I hoped the disgust didn’t show on my face.
    She wound her fingers in his. “He took me home that night in a hansom cab. He sang to me as we rode through the streets of New York. When the cab stopped he sweetly asked for permission to kiss me, and of course I couldn’t say no.”
    “Of course,” I eked out through clenched teeth. If either of them caught the catch in my voice, neither one indicated as much.
    “I called Jasper the next day and asked for her number. At first he didn’t want to give it to me, convinced I was up to absolutely no good, but then I admitted