Kiss the Stars (Falling Stars #1)(81)

It was Leif. It was Leif.

My falling star.

And I knew right then I would chase him down to eternity.





Twenty-Seven





Leif





I let loose on the drums as the last song of the encore came to an end.

The song upbeat and fast.

Every person in the place was on their feet. Shouts riding through the hazy, stagnant air of the dank theater as they yelled and whistled and clapped.

Emily held the last note of the song. The miniscule girl a powerhouse.

People losing their damned minds over the performance.

It felt good.

Fuck, it felt good, being up there in the one place where I found joy.

The one bit of me that remained.

My eyes traveled, finding her in the mix of the rowdy bodies, the girl gazing back at me.

In awe.

Anxiety tightened my chest, all mixed up with the lust and greed that I felt at seeing her standing there watching me like I could be more than I was.

Our eyes tangled.

And I felt the spark.

The spark of something new and terrifying. Something that shouldn’t be there.

But it was pushing up. Sprouting and taking root.

A new kind of joy.

I’d do best to pluck it out before it had the chance to grow.

But instead I was standing from behind my drum set, lifting the sticks in the air while the lights flashed at a raging beat and fans stamped their feet and screamed their approval.

Begging for one more song.

Emily glided over to the edge of the stage, and she reached down to graze her fingertips across the hands that were stretched her direction, begging to get closer.

Smiling, Richard tossed his pick out into the crowd.

Mayhem ensued, a sudden barrage of movement as arms flailed and bodies tumbled as they fought to be the one to catch that tiny treasure.

But it was Rhys ripping off his sweaty shirt the way he did after each show that had every damned girl in the place losing control. Putty in his hands.

All except for my girl.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

The chant of the claim echoed in my mind, and I attempted to beat it back. Contain the assault that blistered through me when I watched the gorgeous girl stand firm in the middle of the pandemonium.

Sable eyes on me. The long locks of her black hair curled in soft waves, bigger than she normally wore it, make up done up thicker. Her lashes full and her lips fuller.

Girl looking like she’d just hit the runway or stepped off a stage herself.

Sexy as fuck.

Striking.

Gorgeous to the extreme.

“Thank you for coming out to see us tonight, Savannah!” Emily shouted into the mic, lifting her hand and waving. “We love you.”

Another round of screams and shouts and stomps of feet.

“Stay awesome, Savannah,” Richard issued into his mic before he pulled the strap of his guitar over his head and set it onto the stand, waving as he strode off the stage.

Rhys twirled his soaking shirt over his head and sent it sailing into the crowd, his tattooed chest and abs gleaming with sweat and causing the entire population of Savannah to drop to their knees.

Every single one of my bandmates commanded the stage.

Their talent overwhelming. But this business didn’t merely require talent. It took charisma. Connecting with souls from on the stage like they were standing right there with you.

A rumble of ferocity burned deep inside.

I wanted it for them. Wanted it badly.

Problem was, I wasn’t sure if I could remain. If I could stay and be a part of it without destroying their chance before they got started.

Everything was becoming blurred.

Distorted.

Everything except for the girl who was waiting at the foot of the stage.

All around her, people laughed and chugged beers and lingered for the coveted chance of getting an invite backstage, but she just stood there, watching me with those eyes that were doing crazy things to me.

I edged that way.

Severity crashed.

A lightning bolt that struck in the middle of us.

Shivers of it racing far and wide.

A crackle in the air.

A smirk ticked up at the corner of her sweet, sweet mouth that was painted in that lust-inducing red when she saw me moving her direction.

About fifty other chicks noticed, too, like they thought I was coming for them.

Not a chance.

I had one destination.

One mind.

I was moving for her when some fucker decided to take note of her, too. Not that you could miss the prettiest girl in the place.

Fact of it didn’t give him a free pass.

Not when he moved in, whispering in her ear, country boy all dimples and charm and Georgia grins.

My heart hammered. Ribs squeezing tight.

Shit.

This was getting bad.

Goals out of sight.

Mia gave him a polite smile and a slight shake of her head, trying to dodge the advances she didn’t want.

Asshole couldn’t take a hint.

He took her by the arm like he had the right to touch on the beauty that was driving me out of my mind.

Without giving it a thought, I slid off the front of the stage. The crowd pulsed around me.

A living ring of bodies that pressed and contended to get closer.

I shoved through them. Needing to get to her. To squelch the derangement that was clouding my mind.