I grabbed the mic, making a point to plaster a pleased expression on my face. “This next one is an original. It’s called ‘Green Roses.’”
COLE
We got through signing stuff for about five people when we heard the cover band come back on.
“How you all doing? Ready for some more music?” a female voice asked over the microphone.
I cringed at the muted response, fully aware that people were whispering and looking at us instead of the band onstage. Whoever was at the mic seemed to share my thoughts, because seconds later, an aggressive guitar riff forced me to hand the pen back to the girl in front of me.
“Sorry, we want to watch the show. Come find us after?” I said to the handful of folks still around us, and to my relief, they began to disperse. Silas gave me a grateful look and turned to face the stage.
“I said, are ya’ll ready for more?”
I didn’t know who I was expecting to see onstage, but it sure as hell wasn’t her. My breath caught at the sight of the stunning brunette grinning tightly at the audience. I took in the bouncy curls that fell into her face, the lithe shape of her legs under the skin-tight jeans, the sensual curve of her red lips…
Holy shit.
The crowd cheered with more enthusiasm, and I joined it, albeit a bit late.
“That’s what I like to hear. We’re Through Azure Skies and this is ‘New Fang.’”
The song began, and she proceeded to completely dominate the stage. Time blurred and lost shape as I watched her move across the stage with confident ease. Her voice, while pleasant and well developed, wasn’t particularly attention grabbing, but her playing was a whole other story.
She was changing the chords, adding certain embellishments to them that the original lacked, and making the song her own. Despite playing rhythm, she was the more interesting guitarist onstage by a long shot.
I couldn’t look away. I could hear the drummer pounding out a solid rhythm, and the other guitarist jumped into a decent solo, but my gaze was fixed on her, held captive by the gravitational force that seemed to extend from her into the crowd.
When she began the next song, she looked directly at us, her expression tense. I wondered if she was irritated with us for showing up here and drawing attention away from her band. If she was, I’d be willing to do anything to get her forgiveness. I’d fall on my knees and kiss her feet if that would bring a smile to her face. Her eyes met mine, and then she quickly turned away.
Silas had moved to stand by my side and nudged me. “Dude.”
“I know.”
The wheels in my head were turning, and I’d bet anything that Silas was thinking the exact same thing.
She could be the answer to one of the two problems that had been swirling above us like vultures over the past weeks. I glanced to my left and saw that Ezra, and even Abel, were watching her intently. Hope, a foreign feeling, swelled inside my chest.
Ezra caught my eye and shuffled closer. “She’s good.”
I nodded and smiled at him. Behind Ezra, Abel was watching her play, his expression unreadable. I wished I knew what was going through his head.
Despite being occupied with serious thoughts, my dick twitched when she took off her leather jacket and revealed tightly toned arms. I rubbed at my chin, my hands clammy from the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Should I be embarrassed about being this affected by a woman who was more than twenty feet away? I sensed that I wasn’t the only one when I noted a slight blush on Silas’s cheeks.
She told the audience her name.
Adeline.
Silas and I cheered as loud as we could, Ezra joining us a second later. I whistled to get her attention. My effort was rewarded with an unimpressed look.
Ouch.
Ezra elbowed me with a smirk, and I returned the gesture with a huge grin. He was getting into the show and seemed more alive than I’d seen him in weeks. We headbanged and danced to the music, cheering when the band played some of our favorites.
Silas nearly choked on his beer when a few songs later, she started to play the intro to ‘The Thing About You.’
One of her favorites growing up, huh?
“We need to talk to her after the show,” he stated, and I didn’t think anyone would disagree with him at this point, not even Abel. She nailed the solo as if she’d been playing this song for years, and my arms pimpled with gooseflesh. It was always exciting to see a masterful take on our music, and she was utter perfection.
