Viper (Fallen Angel #2)(34)

“What? Imelda wants honesty, right?” Viper looked at her for confirmation, and when she nodded, he shrugged. “Might as well tell it like it is.”

“Maybe not that much honesty, V, yeah?” Killian said, and then he turned back to Imelda. “Once we began rehearsals, we quickly realized how talented Halo is. He plays every instrument, he writes his own music, he’s a phenomenal singer, an all-around showman. It didn’t seem right to have him try to fill someone else’s shoes when he should be standing out on his own.”

Damn. Nice workaround, Kill.

“So it had nothing to do with you guys getting booed offstage at the Savannah charity concert?”

Viper cursed, but Killian winked at Imelda. “Maybe that too,” he said.

Imelda smiled at him and jotted something down, and then she was looking my way. I braced myself as she said, “Halo. You just got quite the endorsement from your fellow bandmate. At only twenty-three, how does it feel to be playing alongside legends in the rock world?”

“Surreal,” I said, running a hand over my hair. “I grew up listening to these guys—”

Groans sounded from around the table, a balled-up napkin was thrown my way, and Slade mumbled, “We’re not that damn old.”

“Obviously that’s their sore spot,” I said, grinning at Imelda. “But to answer your question, it feels like…” Shit. Everything I wanted to say sounded so corny in my head, but…fuck it. It was true. “It feels like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

“Aww,” Jagger said, leaning over to throw his arm around my neck. “I mean, you hear that and then you look at this face. How will anyone resist him?”

I laughed and shoved him away. “Fuck off.”

“I think many of our readers will agree with Jagger,” Imelda said, rolling the end of her pen over her chin. “It’s unbelievable what’s happened since the release of your first song, ‘Invitation.’ How did your rehearsal video find its way onto the Warden’s Instagram feed?”

“Your guess is as good as ours,” Killian said. It didn’t escape my notice that he didn’t elaborate on that and throw our manager’s name into the mix…probably because Brian was a dick who didn’t deserve the shout-out.

“Well, however it happened, it’s been a massive introduction to your new sound. Can you talk a little bit about the change in direction and what we can expect from the new album?”

Content to sit this one out, I grabbed the energy drink I’d snagged from the catering table and popped the tab as Killian launched into a long-winded answer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Viper’s arm inch closer to mine and inwardly smirked. Couldn’t keep himself away, could he? All of his protesting about not dating and not being a relationship guy, and his actions told me the complete opposite. Here we were in an interview, and I knew he had to be sitting there forcing himself not to touch me.

And that was fucking hot.





Twenty-Two





Viper





IMELDA WAINWRIGHT WAS a seasoned music journalist who’d been around the scene about the same amount of time as we had. She’d been interviewing us for years, and when Brian had told Killian she was the one the magazine would be sending our way today, I’d known we were going to walk away from this spread golden.

Always the professional, Imelda was known for bringing the readers of the magazine exactly what they were after through edgy and interesting articles, coupled with provocative photos that would burn up the pages.

I knew that was what was worrying the angel this morning. I’d known even before we all filed out here to start with the sit-down portion of the day, and it was going to be a task to be anywhere around Halo and not look at him or touch him in a way that would scream the two of us are fucking. But I’d managed to keep my hands to myself as we sat out here by the pool…so far.

“Fallen Angel now seems to be a name that’s rolling off everyone’s tongue when you ask them what they’re listening to. It’s like we’ve been listening to you guys for years instead of a couple of months. Can you tell me how the name came about? What made you guys settle on Fallen Angel?”

Logically, I’d known this question would come up. Just as I’d known I would never forget the first time those words had left my tongue—the same tongue that had still tasted of Halo after I’d swallowed him down my throat in his apartment—but when Killian inclined his head in my direction, and Imelda turned her attention to me, I had a difficult time not jamming the heel of my palm against my twitching dick.

“Oh, was this your idea, Viper?” she asked, tapping the end of her pen against her lips, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Halo shift in his seat beside me.

Don’t look at him. Don’t fuckin’ look at him or your semi is gonna turn into a full-blown hard-on. Keep your eyes on Imelda.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I mean, it was kind of a no-brainer. Our new frontman’s name is Halo and, well, look at him.”

When Imelda did just that, I allowed my eyes to shift to the gorgeous fucker beside me. Halo was chuckling and shaking his head, and when he ran his fingers back through his hair, Imelda nodded.

“As you know, I’m not exactly known for writing sweet lyrics,” I continued, and when Halo turned his head in my direction, his lips curled in a wicked smirk. “And that hasn’t changed. While the band is going in a completely different music direction, and there are some songs that are more mellow, the lyrics will still be sexy. And trust me, once you see him on a stage singing them, you’re gonna see his halo fall right off his head.”