Free Beats of Life (Perception Book 5) by Shandi Boyes Page A

jump from the loud bang that ricochets through the room.
     
    I take in several deep breaths as Marcus moves across the room. When he notices the small gathering of tears in my eyes, he kneels down in front of me. His green eyes flick between mine, but no words escape his lips. What could he possibly say in a situation like this? I’m sure he knows what I did to Slater and I’m sure it looks like I’m a gold digging whore who decides to turn back up once he became famous, but that isn’t the case. I fell in love with Slater before he was famous and I left him just as his fame started to rise. If I only wanted him for his money, wouldn’t I have stayed back then?
     
    “I’ll take care of this,” Marcus informs quietly, removing the piece of paper out of my hand. “Why don’t you go and have an early night. I’ll let Emily know that you’re at the hotel if she needs you,” he continues kindly. I gently nod my head, accepting his offer, an early night sounds like a godsend.
     
    ****
     
    After tossing and turning in my hotel room bed for the past two hours, I decide to give up on my endeavour of an early night. Once I am dressed back into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I head down to the hotel lobby in search of a warm beverage that may assist in my quest for sleep. Since it is nearly midnight the hotel lobby is deserted and only a handful of staff are milling around. I’m not surprised, only disheartened, to discover that the café located inside the hotel is closed.
     
    “There is a twenty-four-hour coffee shop around the corner,” advises a male voice behind me. When I turn around, I spot the guy that had waved and winked at me earlier today with another guy with long brown hair. They are both holding Styrofoam coffee cups in their hands and they are both drenching wet from their shoulders up.
     
    “I’m not that desperate for a hot chocolate,” I reply, when I notice that it is pouring rain outside.
     
    The blonde lifts his cup to his mouth and takes a sip of his beverage, a shallow moan escaping his lips. “Are you sure, they’re good?” he informs, his tongue darting out to lick a small section of milk foam that was left on the top of his lip. When he notices my gaze staring at his lips, he smiles seductively, causing me to swallow a small lump that has suddenly formed in my throat.
     
    “I’m sure,” I reply inaudibly. Up close this guy is a little hotter than I had first noticed. His blue eyes have little flickers of black through them and they are a lighter blue near the cornea. His eyes are entrancing and you could easily become trapped by their allure.
     
    “How do you know Slater?” the other guy questions, instantly breaking the hypnotic trance the blonde’s eyes had started to instil on me.
     
    Snapping back to reality, I reply, “He is an old friend,” before I commence heading back to the elevators, noticing that they both follow closely behind me.
     
    “Hmm interesting,” he replies, hitting the button at the elevator. His eyebrows pull together closely and his mouth forms into a small frown.
     
    Upon entering the elevator, I hit the button for the tenth floor. “What floor?” I question, since they have both followed me inside but neither has pushed a button. The brunette guy smiles largely, before the blonde leans in front of me and hits the button for the twenty second floor, allowing me the opportunity to smell his pine tree scent.
     
    “He certainly isn’t acting like an old friend,” the brown haired guy continues with a small smirk on his face. The blonde’s eyes roam appreciatively over my body, causing a small tingling sensation to gradually build between my legs.
     
    “Don’t be stupid Mark, they were more than friends,” states the blonde confidently, his blue eyes burning into mine. “That’s why he warned everyone to stay away from her,” he continues, forcing me to return his intense gaze as my heart rate rapidly increases.
     
    “He doesn’t