Kiss the Stars (Falling Stars #1)(83)

I knew the brutal truth of that.

I just needed to get her alone. Hold her and touch her and get lost in the perfect torture of her body.

I hauled ass for one of the side doors that led backstage, taking the one that led opposite of where I knew the rest of the band would have landed themselves.

There for the fans who’d purchased VIP tickets.

Interviews and all that bullshit required when you were trying to establish your celebrity.

Tonight, there was only one person that mattered to me. One person who I wanted to win over.

My spirit thrashed at the thought, but I just let it feed me, the frenzy that had taken over as I climbed the steps to the side door. The bouncer gave me a quick nod as he opened it and let us through, and Mia’s excited laughter was racing down the hall ahead of us like it’d already discovered our destination as I dragged her through the darkened corridors in the deepest recesses of the building.

Tossing open doors, looking for a proper place.

Lights and motherfucking privacy.

I banged open a door to a storage room. “Not enough room for what I plan on doing to you,” I grumbled, and she was laughing more as I continued our search.

A coat room.

Production equipment room.

Cleaning supply room.

I tossed open the next door. It knocked against the interior wall, revealing a deserted dressing room.

Hell fuckin’ yes.

There was a long dressing table, three chairs in front of it, the mirror framed in lights. Racks with abandoned costumes lined the walls, wigs hanging from hooks, makeup and hair shit all over the place.

I yanked her inside and kicked the door shut.

“Leif.” My name coasted from her tongue, all mixed up with a throaty roll of laughter. In two seconds, I had her pinned against the wall, hands riding down the soft curve of her hips and tucking her against my dick.

She moaned and giggled, opening to the demand of my kiss.

A groan warbled low in my throat. “You taste like a celebration, baby.”

Sex and confetti and champagne.

Fingertips dug into my shoulders. “You taste like poison and possibility.”

I was hypnotized.

Lustdrunk.

Lovestruck.

Didn’t fuckin’ know.

I just hoisted her up and exhaled in relief when she wrapped those legs around my waist.

Kissing her wild, I carried her across the dressing room. She yelped in surprise when I lifted her high, setting her onto her feet on the dressing table. Girl wore these sky-high boots and fitted jeans and a jacket that was leaving far too many things to the imagination.

To keep her balance, her hands shot up to grab the rail that supported a row of lights that hung from the rafters while I held onto her hips, staring up at her as she looked down at me.

Girl in a spotlight.

Right where she belonged.

Her cheeks high and carved, eyes sharp, rimmed in the darkest black. Lids dusted in some shimmery shit that made her look every bit the angel that I knew she was.

Lips plush and painted red.

A decadent bow that the devil wanted to rip to shreds.

“What are you doing?” she whispered as I let her go and eased myself back onto a chair in front of her.

“Wanna watch you.”

Uninhibited.

Not the secret, covert glances I’d been stealing for the last month.

For tonight, I wanted her to be mine.

No question.

No reservations.

A nervous, sexy giggle slipped from her mouth, her hips swaying a bit as she held onto the railing above. “And what is it you want to see?”

“You . . . wanna see you dance for me. Shine for me. Strip for me.” Last came out a needy command.

A shiver rolled through her, head to toe.

“I . . . I’m not . . .”

“Best thing I’ve ever seen, Mia West. Every time I look at you, you steal the breath right outta me. Captured me the second I saw you. You have any idea? Any idea what the fuck you’ve done to me?”

She heaved out a whimper. Sable eyes flashed her own desire. Her own confusion and hopes and the things she shouldn’t be seeing when she looked at me.

Seemed we were the same.

Hunting down what was only going to hurt us.

Threads of music seeped through the walls, floors vibrating with the heavy bass that rumbled and shook as the club came to life for the afterparty that followed every show.

One of the things that made this place so popular.

But it was Mia West who was going to make me never forget it.

She warred, then bit down on her bottom lip.

Her gaze tangled with mine.

Searching to see if she could trust me.

She shouldn’t.

But I wanted her to.

Fuck, I wanted her to.

Inhaling a steadying breath, she released her hands from the railing.

“You owned me the second I saw you sitting in that chair in the attic, Leif Godwin. I hadn’t even seen your face, and you had me.”

She rolled her shoulders gently as she murmured it. A motion that undulated through her entire being, her hips beginning to sway to the beat that pulsated through the floor.

God damn.

My stomach fisted. Knots of greed. A tumble of lust.

Cock raging at the tight fabric of my jeans.

Tried to play it cool, but Mia unraveled every seam.

Slowly, she peeled off the leather jacket, letting it slip down her delicate arms, exposing all that snowy flesh that shimmered and glistened beneath the harsh dressing lights, girl moving in the slowest dance the whole time.