Angel (Fallen Angel, #3)(30)

Halo





WHEN WE LEFT the restaurant and got back into the car, Viper put a blindfold over my eyes.

“It’s that secret?” I said, as the world went black.

Viper rested his hand on my leg, and I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Just a surprise, Angel. You can’t see, can you?”

“No, so you better not let me trip and fall. A broken leg would be pretty damn inconvenient for the tour.”

“I’ve got you.” His words were a whisper in my ear, and then his lips, soft and warm, brushed across the side of my neck. I tilted my head to the side to give him better access, and even though I wore a blindfold, I closed my eyes and focused on his touch.

The wine we’d had at dinner buzzed through my veins, and a sense of contentment like I’d never felt before meeting Viper came over me. He made me feel alive, always providing a dangerous thrill while at the same time giving me a safe haven to come back to.

“We’re here,” he said, then kissed my lips before checking that my blindfold was secure. “Keep this on until I take it off.”

“So mysterious.” I knew he could see the wide grin on my face as he helped me out of the car and kept his hand in mine. As he led me forward, I tried to place where we were. Obviously still in the city, judging by the short ride from the restaurant, as well as the familiar sounds of traffic moving around us. The salty and sweet smell of roasted nuts filled the air—not that that helped me pinpoint where we were, since those carts were all over the city.

I could feel the difference in the air and the way the sounds of the street became muffled as we must’ve stepped inside a building. Viper kept close to me, keeping our bodies touching as he led me through what felt like a maze.

“Are we at your apartment?” I said.

“Why would you think I’d blindfold you for that?”

“Because you’re a kinky bastard who likes to be in control.”

Viper chuckled. “Well, you’re not wrong about that.” A few moments later, he stopped. “Take two steps up here.”

I carefully did as he said, and then we were moving again, my mind whirling with where he could possibly be taking me. I didn’t hear any other voices, and wherever we were felt still and quiet, undisturbed except for our footsteps.

“Well, we’re not at a concert,” I joked.

“No, we’re not. Not yet.” Viper drew me to a stop, and then I felt him move in front of me. He took my other hand in his and squeezed gently, and for some reason, a team of butterflies unleashed in my stomach.

“Are we here?” I asked.

“We are.” There was a long pause as Viper’s thumbs brushed across my knuckles, and I got the feeling he was…nervous? What did he have to be nervous about?

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to give you for a long time. Even before we started talking about the tour, I could see you so perfectly, all lit up, everyone’s eyes on you and unable to look away. I wanted this to be something that would show you off to the world. This is the first time thousands of our fans will see you, our angel…my angel.”

As his words trailed off, Viper reached around to untie the blindfold, and as the darkness drifted away, his face came into view. I was right before—he did look slightly nervous, but excitement flickered in his dark eyes. Behind him, I could see a pair of familiar sound and lighting boards, and beyond that, the vast room of the warehouse we’d spent every day the last couple of months rehearsing in. Before I could ask Viper what we were doing there, he inclined his head to the right, and I followed his gaze—and froze.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t blink. I didn’t even breathe as I stared in wonder at the stage. Elevated on a special platform sat a grand piano, but it was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

The piano’s body was a glittering white that seemed to sparkle on every inch of its surface the spotlight hit, even down to its curved legs. But the most impressive part, the part that caught your eye and wouldn’t let go, was the enormous wings the color of freshly fallen snow that seemed to rise from the ground. They stood tall, maybe fifteen feet on each side, framing the piano. From where I stood, it looked like whoever sat there was flying, the feathers sparkling in the light against a dark background that could’ve been the night sky.

“That’s…” I choked on the words as the piano blurred. “For me?”

“It’s all yours, Angel.” Viper’s voice was low as he watched my reaction. “Do you like it?”

“Oh my God.” I ran my hands over my face to hide the way I wiped the wetness from my eyes and then looked between the piano and Viper, back and forth, because I couldn’t believe what he’d done. It just wasn’t sinking in.

I needed to be closer.

I grabbed Viper’s hand and half ran toward the stage, and the closer we got, the more the wings loomed large in front of us. Jesus, they were magnificent, the most beautiful things I’d ever seen in my life.

When I stopped in front of the stage, Viper nudged me toward it. “Go on. I want to see how you look up there with your angel wings.”

My angel wings… That was why he’d done it. Because this was how he saw me—his angel—and as I turned to face him, I could see the love he had for me written all over his face. In his eyes, in his brilliant smile. There was no hiding it, all that love manifesting into a gift he’d painstakingly created just for me.