Liz let out a sigh. “I suppose we can make a stop off to the hospital on the way home. Get the good drugs.”
Trevor shook his head, leading the way up the steps. “Come on, guys. Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty
Kieran stood on stage at the club, basking in the crowd that accumulated during the night. “Everyone enjoying themselves?” he called out into the microphone as they prepared to launch into their last song.
Screams and hollers resounded through the room in response, and he basked in their energy. Between his healing session with Liz beforehand and playing a show, his wounds had begun to heal. Scratches closed over, cuts and deep gouges scabbed, and the severe exhaustion disappeared.
Liz sat at the bar along the back wall, crossing her legs as she perched on the barstool with an elegant casualness like she hadn’t spent an afternoon fighting his nightmare of an ex. Her one leg had gotten wrapped up on their hospital trip, but she didn’t complain in the slightest despite the nasty burn she’d gotten.
Pride burned in his chest as their eyes met, and she shared a small smile with him. She wasn’t showy, loud, or boisterous—she left that to him, but the woman proved her worth a thousand times over. She’d fought for him with a ferocity he’d never forget.
“I’m dedicating this song to a very special lady in the audience,” Kieran said, a grin on his face as he pointed in her direction. Some groans sounded from the chicks, but a few other folks clapped in response. Trevor shook his head, and Jett fought and failed to hide a smile, while Renn gave a drill on the drums in enthusiastic response. “Our booking manager, Liz O’Brien is the reason we’re here tonight. But more importantly, this woman is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, and the love of my life.”
His voice boomed out over the audience, but his eyes weren’t on them, just her. Liz scowled at him, arms crossed over her chest, but he caught the flush in her cheeks all the way from where he stood on stage. The scowl dropped, and she shook her head as a smile bloomed on those perfect lips. Kieran’s heart swelled close to bursting while he nodded to Trevor who began strumming at his guitar. He tapped to the beat of the music, clutching the microphone and sinking into the song.
The melody surrounded him, sinking into his bones, part of this beautiful thing he’d created with his family—not the ones who wrote him off or the ones who abandoned him. No, these guys who fought by his side and this woman who’d captured his heart, they’d become his real family. Unlike the Courts who spent so much time on bloodlines, Kieran would happily shed his. In leaving the past behind, he’d become someone he could be proud of.
He’d learned to be a leader, a fighter, and learned the worth of opening his heart. Those lessons were the ones he’d take to the grave.
Kieran finished the song with one final note that resounded through the room, echoing back to greet him as the other instruments died down with the ending. Roars and applause exploded through the room from the crowd, at least from those who weren’t making out on the floor.
“Thank you,” Kieran called out into the microphone. “We are Discord’s Desire!”
The spotlights dimmed while the screams and hollers continued, making his bones buzz. Liz would be so pissed with him for pointing her out, but he didn’t give a damn. He felt so amazing right now he wanted to share his joy with the world. Once the sounds died down and the other peripheral lights had dimmed, he switched his microphone off and dragged it away from center stage. The glow of fainter red lights around the corners of the room switched on, turning the place back into a regular club vibe.
The second he stepped off stage, Liz waited for him, arms crossed and brows raised. “Really, rockstar? Like I need more death threats from your fangirls,” she said, fixing him with a wan look.
He placed the mic stand down, coming to greet her with a kiss. She melted into it as his tongue began exploring her mouth, and he tasted her sweetness. Her lips caressed his as they sank into a rhythm, shutting the world out around him.
An elbow checked his side. Well, almost shutting it out.
“Come on, asshole. You’re not getting out of packing up because you got a girlfriend,” Trevor said, a smile on his face as he walked by with one of the amps.
Kieran ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair, unable to hide his smile. “Suppose we better pick this up later?”
“Hold on there a minute. You’re not going anywhere until you explain why the hell you were dropping ‘love of my life’s’ on stage.” Liz cocked her hip to the side, placing her hand on it.
Kieran shrugged. “Because I felt like it?” That earned him a swat to the head. He grabbed her hands, drawing her attention to front and center. His heart sped a couple of notches, but he didn’t shirk from his feelings. “And because, Elizabeth O’Brien, I love you.”
She smirked as she tried to restrain her smile, even though those hazel eyes of hers shone in response. The woman would never be the gushiest person on the planet, but he’d come to treasure those small gestures, his counterbalance in every way. “Well, I love you too,” she murmured, almost too quiet to hear.
“What was that?” He leaned in, his hand to his ear.
“Shove off, jerk. You know what I said.” She grinned in full now, smacking him in the shoulder. “Let’s go help the guys pack before Jett comes back to yell at us.”
He beamed, watching as she jogged over to the others to help them with another one of the amps. When Liz O’Brien first entered their entourage, he’d been fine with it because they needed organization, and she’d provided that a thousandfold. However, he’d fallen for the woman hidden behind the cool mask she showed the world, the one that cracked piece by piece the longer she’d been with them.
And she’d shaped him as well, shown him a future he’d never believed could belong to him. She tempered his rage with her patience and was unafraid to lend the unparalleled strength and steel core that defined her. Liz had become the eye of the storm amidst his hurricane.
Despite the torture Lars put him through and Jessa’s attempts to break him, Kieran had become stronger than ever. Because he’d found the place he belonged, people he loved, and a joy so incandescent it could never be extinguished.
The End
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Captivating Melody Page 26