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I pulled my gaze away from where the boa constrictor was stretching itself out along the side of the tank to see Viper’s devilish grin.
“Come on,” he said, his hand brushing against mine before he led us past the tank to where the members of The Nothing were being interviewed by a reporter I recognized from Entertainment Daily. When they saw Viper, the reporter was promptly ignored, the band getting up to greet him with slaps on the back, fist bumps, and curses. I stayed back a little, trying not to be starstruck, but hell, I’d been listening to these guys for over a decade. And they just so happened to be friends with Viper. Would this ever be anything but surreal?
“Guys,” Viper said, moving to the side and gesturing my way. “This is Halo, our new frontman.”
“No fuckin’ way,” Dex, the lead singer, said, shaking my hand, and then he stepped back to give me a once-over. “Jesus, you couldn’t get someone who wouldn’t make me look like an aged pig beside him, could you?”
Viper laughed. “Fuck no.”
“I saw you on Late Night,” Chris, the drummer and songwriter of the group, said, coming over to greet me with a handshake as well. “Epic song, man.”
I blinked at him, a thank you on my lips, but unable to come out, because fuckin’ Chris from The Nothing just said my song was good, and I could die now.
“I saw it, too. Several times,” the bassist, Jonny, said, his eyes dropping down my body, checking me out with no subtlety whatsoever. He took in a drag of his joint, holding it in for a moment, and then blew the smoke out. “That pretty mouth of yours really knows how to sing.”
“Uh, thanks,” I said, thrown a little off guard by his blatant perusal. Unlike the reaction I had when Viper ran his eyes over me, I found myself uneasy under this guy’s gaze.
“If you want to stick around after the show, my cock would love to see just how talented it is.”
Beside me, Viper tensed and went to take a step toward Jonny, but I put a hand on Viper’s arm, halting him from coming to my defense.
“Jonny, isn’t it?” I said. “I was a big fan of yours…in middle school.”
“Oh shit,” Chris said, snorting out a laugh and slapping Jonny on the back as laughter broke out around us.
“It’s like that, huh?” Jonny said, his eyes narrowed on me so hard they were practically slits. “Good luck filling Trent’s shoes, kid.” He put the joint back between his lips and walked out, leaving an awkward silence in his wake—especially when we realized the reporter had caught every bit of that exchange.
“Sorry about that,” Dex said, rolling his eyes. “He’s been such a cheerful bastard since he’s been out of rehab, what can I say?” To the reporter, he said, “Don’t write that down.”
The reporter looked up as if caught, and then scratched out the last few lines on the page.
“He’s always been a fuckin’ dick,” Viper said, and Dex shrugged.
“We’ve fired him more times than I can count, but he always worms his way back in.” Dex leaned around me to say to the reporter, “Don’t include that shit either.”
We grabbed drinks and hung out with the remaining members, bar Jonny, until they had to head onstage. Again, the word “surreal” popped into my head, because even as normal as they were, cutting up and recalling inside jokes with Viper, they were still the larger-than-life guys I’d grown up listening to, and no matter how many times I pinched myself, it still wasn’t sinking in that I was a part of it all.
Before we headed out to watch the show from the wings—a first for me—Chris said, “You guys free after the show? The hotel’s shutting down the top floor for us. Free booze, lots of willing bodies—and don’t worry, Jonny’ll have other distractions.”
“Um…” I glanced at Viper, who shook his head.
“We’ve got other plans,” he said, and when Viper’s eyes met mine and I saw the primal look in them, suddenly, the last thing I wanted to do was stick around after the show. That look was full-on sex, and had both my cock and pulse throbbing. Because whatever Viper had in mind, it was clear he wanted to do it without others around…and fuck, I wanted that too.
“If you change your mind, just give them the password ‘boa’ at the door. Good to meet you, Halo, and good luck.” Dex and Chris both said their goodbyes, and as we followed them out to the wings, Viper’s fingers slid beneath the loop of my jeans, pulling me back into him.
“I told you, Angel,” he said in a low whisper. “Tonight, you’re all mine.”
Forty-Four
Viper
THE HEAVY BEAT blasting from the megawatt speakers of The Nothing’s impressive stage was making the floor in the wings vibrate as they belted out one hit song after another, causing their fans to lose their fucking minds.
