Free Night After Night by Janelle Denison Page B

overwhelmed and desperately needed some breathing space. Simon, having been in her employment for the past four years, was exceptionally good at his job and knew exactly what to do to appease the last of the crowd while giving Jessica enough time to slip away unnoticed.
    Confident Simon was watching where she went and would catch up to her as soon as she put some distance between herself and the avid fans, she crossed the promenade of shops and strolled casually past the Onyx’s nightclub, Taboo.
    The double doors were open a few inches, and she could hear one of her songs from her recent album playing inside. The lyrics to “Don’t Turn Me Away” drifted out to where she was standing. Intrigued that someone was listening to one of her songs in the middle of the afternoon and before the club even officially opened for business, and seeing this as the perfect escape for a few minutes, she glanced back at Simon to let him know where she was disappearing to, then stepped into the nightclub.
    She’d expected a darkened interior, but the main lights in the lounge area were on. The place was virtually empty, except for a few people doing what looked like cleanup and preparations for Friday night’s crowd. A couple of the workers cast her a curious look, but to her surprise, none approached her.
    Enjoying the moment of anonymity, she stood off to the side in the shadows, humming along to her own lyrics. No matter how many times she heard one of her songs on the radio or anywhere else, it was always an amazing, surreal experience, and this was no different. She never took her success for granted and knew she was so lucky to make a living writing and singing what was in her heart and soul. More than a career, it was therapy for her, a way to deal with the pain of the past and the heartbreak she still lived with on a daily basis.
    Every lyric she penned, every verse she sang, told a story. She’d written “Don’t Turn Me Away” a few years ago, but even now the message behind the words still rang true and had the ability to form a huge, emotional lump in her throat.
    Let me inside where it’s warm and safe,
In your arms, your loving embrace.
I know I was wrong, but the feelings are still so strong.
Don’t tell me no. Don’t turn me away.
     
    “Excuse me, miss, but the club isn’t open right now.”
    Startled by the deep, male voice coming from behind her, she spun around to apologize for intruding. “I’m so sorry. I heard the music playing and I just wanted…”
    Her words trailed off and her heart slammed hard in her chest as she stared into a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. Dark, sensual eyes that invaded her dreams late at night and left her aching for his touch. Tender, trusting eyes she’d betrayed. The sweetest, most caring eyes she never, ever, believed she’d see again in person.
    Noah Young. Her high school sweetheart. The only man she’d ever given her heart to, whom she had never forgotten. Never would. He was the one who got away or, rather, the one she’d run far and fast from rather than face the humiliation and shame of telling him the truth of what had happened to her.
    Oh, God. The last time she’d seen him he’d been a tall, lanky, gorgeous eighteen-year-old who’d made her feel special and loved when her own mother had never missed an opportunity to tell Jessica how much she despised her daughter. Nine years later and he’d grown into a devastatingly sexy man who seemed larger than life, definitely more mature, and far more dangerous to her feminine senses, if the searing heat of awareness washing over her was any indication.
    He looked good. Better than good. His facial features were more refined, his brown hair a little longer than he’d worn it as the captain of the high school basketball team. His shoulders were wider now, his chest broader beneath the collared shirt he wore, and his dark jeans outlined strong thighs and long, lean legs.
    She forced her gaze back up to his,