Halo (Fallen Angel, #1)(16)

Halo pulled the door open and slid his guitar in the back seat, and after he climbed inside, I reached out to shut the door. The wind chose that moment to howl up the street, and as it caught around my legs, it ruffled that golden hair of Halo’s around the stunning face he’d angled my way.

Christ, he was beautiful. His eyes, that hair, and his generous lips as they curved into a half smile.

“Thanks for dinner. Today was fucking amazing.”

The comment was innocent enough, but my cock didn’t take it that way. My cock was imagining what it would be like to climb in that cab with him and end this the way I really wanted to.

I licked my lips, and when Halo’s eyes automatically dropped down to them, I gripped the car door a little harder. The conversation from earlier came back in full force, and before I shut the door, I said, “Hey, Angel?”

“Yeah?”

“Now you can’t say you’ve never looked at another man’s mouth and wondered. See you tomorrow.” And before Halo could say another word, I shut the door and the cab drove away.





Eleven





Halo





“YOU LOOK NERVOUS.”

I raised my eyes to Viper’s, who sat across from me in the back of the limo that was taking us from the private jet MGA had chartered for us to the venue. It was a week after I’d officially been named a member of TBD, and though rehearsals had gone well, tonight would be the true test.

Nervous? No shit. Excited? Hell yes.

“You’ve got this,” Killian said, bumping his shoulder against mine. “They’re gonna love you.”

“They’d be insane not to,” Jagger added. As he straightened his cuff links, he winked my way. “Just don’t fuck it up.”

I snorted out a laugh. Easier said than done, right? But if things had gone as well as they had the last week, I didn’t have anything to worry about…other than performing my first show with the biggest rock band in the world. No biggie.

As we neared the arena, I could already see the masses of people standing around the entrance, and when they caught sight of the limo as we passed by, the screaming started.

“Oh shit.” I leaned forward, my gaze on the fans waving after us until the limo rounded the back of the arena and passed through a security gate.

Okay, maybe now I was nervous.

I didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. We were rushed through sound check, through introductions with the radio station that was hosting the charity event, and then to our joint dressing room. I had to admit I was relieved we were all in the same room, because the last thing I needed was to get too into my own head and freak out. It was also a weight off that there would be no meet-and-greets with fans tonight, something MGA had been insistent on until they saw how the show went, which I took to mean this was still a tryout in their eyes. But I’d show them they’d made the right choice. There hadn’t been much time to prepare, but I was as ready as I was ever gonna be.

As the others joked and crowded around the catering table, I took my time getting ready. There was no way I could eat now, not with the way my stomach flipped every five seconds as I listened to the crowd file in, their excitement filtering into the room.

I ran through my warm-up as I put on a pair of black jeans and a matching T-shirt, and then I wound my leather bracelet around my wrist. I didn’t want to overdo my outfit for tonight, didn’t want my first outing to look like I was trying too hard. I’d already have enough attention my way, and I’d rather they focus on the music.

A shot glass of white liquor appeared in front of me, and as I glanced up at the mirror, I saw Viper behind me. Ever since the night we’d gone to dinner, I’d made sure to keep my eyes on his whenever he was around—and not on his lips.

“Thought you might need this,” he said, and I took the glass and sniffed it.

“Is this…?”

When Viper held up a bottle of Baijui in his other hand, I chuckled. Even after downing half the bottle at Li’s, I’d woken up without any kind of hangover, which made it the perfect choice for a preshow drink.

The rest of the guys gathered around, shot glasses in hand, though theirs were varying shades depending on their poison.

Killian held his shot up in my direction. “Tonight’s the first night of a new chapter for TBD, one that’s gonna be bigger and better than ever. I know I speak for all of us when I say we’re fired up as fuck to have you, man, so let’s go out there and show everyone how it’s done.”

Choruses of “hell yeah” rang out, and we threw back our shots just as the crowd began to chant.

God, here we go. We were doing this. I was doing this. I took up the rear as the guys filed out of the room, heading up to the wings, where we were outfitted with in-ear monitors.

As I cracked my neck from side to side and stretched out my limbs, trying to get rid of the nervous energy, Viper came to stand beside me. His hair was still damp from his shower and brushed back off his face, though once he started playing, it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“You good?” he asked.

I blew out a breath. “I think so.”

“That’s not the right answer.”

“Then fuck yes I’m good.”

Viper’s mouth quirked up, and he nodded. “That’s better.” As the lights went out and the crowd began to scream, he said, “Good luck out there,” and then went onto the stage with the rest of the band to take up their spots.