by Frank, Ella
“Honestly?” Viper said, and when I nodded, he shrugged. “I have no fuckin’ idea.” A burst of laughter escaped me, and he chuckled. “I’m serious. I pinch myself every fucking night when I roll over and see you sleepin’ beside me.”
Viper leaned in and ghosted his lips over the top of mine, and when he went to move away, I reached up to hold his face close. “I’m a grumpy, temperamental bastard on my best day. And you? You’re like a burst of starlight across my dark, jaded soul.”
“Viper…”
“Angel.” Viper stroked a hand over the back of my head, and when he reached my neck, he urged me closer to him. “We have an insane few months ahead with the tour, and then the international leg will start.”
I nodded, knowing that this moment would likely be the most peace we would have for the better part of the year. “I know. There’s so much going on that I can hardly believe it’s my life sometimes. But just thinking about what’s ahead, all the amazing places I’ll get to see with you? It’s exciting.”
“Mhmm. I’ll get to wake up with you in seven different countries—”
“Not that you’re counting.” I grinned against his lips.
“You bet your ass I’m counting. I plan to have you in every damn time zone we land in, Angel. So make sure you get your shuteye on the way, or I’ll be an extra-grumpy motherfucker.”
A shiver racked my body at the thought of tearing up the sheets with Viper in Paris, Rome…London. How was this my life? I felt as though I’d stepped outside myself and fallen into someone else’s world. The world of a lucky bastard who had everything—and more.
“Noted,” I said. “Get sleep, so I can give Viper what he needs to remain civil.”
Viper chuckled and nipped at my lower lip, and when he sat back in the lounger, I followed, and he again wrapped me in his arms.
“You already give me what I need just by being here,” Viper said, and I looked him in the eye. He traced his index finger along my cheekbone and whispered, “You’ve given me something that I didn’t even realize I was looking for.”
When my eyes narrowed slightly, Viper’s lips curved into that half smile, half smirk I loved.
“You’ve given me a home, Angel. A place that I want to go to more than any other place in the world. Because even though I can’t wait to travel and see all of these amazing countries with you, you are my amazing place.”
My heart all but skidded to a stop, but then Viper kick-started it back to life by making it nearly pound right out of my chest.
“I love you, Angel. So fucking much it should probably scare me, but for some reason, it doesn’t. And I don’t care where we are—on a plane, on a bus, in Barcelona, or in New York. I want to see your face before I fall asleep and I want it to be the first thing I see when I wake up.”
Viper’s words swept me up with their strength and power, and still he wasn’t done. I could see it in that fierce gaze of his, and I bit into my lip to keep my chin from quivering, because damn it, my eyes were watering all over again.
“That first time you left my bed, I lost my damn mind because I wasn’t nearly done with you. And every minute I spend with you confirms that that reaction was the right one to have, because I’m never going to be done with you. You’re it for me. My sanctuary. My home. And I want to be that for you. I want my bed to be our bed. My home to be yours.”
“I…” I tried to speak, but my brain was still trying to sift through and comprehend everything Viper had just said to me. Did he just ask me to…
Viper fingered one of my curls and grinned. “What? The idea of moving in with me that horrifying, huh? Left you speechless?”
There it was again. I hadn’t imagined it. Viper had just asked me to move in with him.
“I… Yes, I’m speechless. I’m— Are you being serious? You really want me to move in with you?”
Viper gave a wicked-hot smile that made my heart and cock pound, as he speared his fingers through my hair and brought my face in close to his. He pressed a hard, quick kiss to my lips. “More than my next breath.”
I sighed as Viper stole another kiss, then another, and I reached for him. I curled my fingers around his robe as I began nodding, even as he held me flush against him. But when he finally let me go enough to speak, the word yes was tumbling from my lips before I could stop it.
It was there, in the middle of the night in the City of Angels, that I fell headlong into a forever I never dreamed of. Because even with this romantic heart of mine, nothing could’ve prepared me for the rush and thrill of loving Viper—the man who’d given me my wings, and the freedom to soar for the sky.
Epilogue
KILLIAN
One Month Earlier…
I TOOK IN a deep drag of my cigarette, and when I exhaled, the smoke formed a cloud that passed over the Atlanta skyline. Tequila buzzed in my veins, courtesy of Halo’s sister, Imogen, thrusting shots in my direction all night, quieting the voice in my head that told me what I was thinking was a bad idea.
Instead, I tried to focus on tonight’s success and being on top of the world. We’d just killed our first show on the Corruption tour, and if that was any indication of how the rest of the dates would go, we’d be flying high for months.
So yeah, I was feeling fucking good. But I could be feeling better…
My eyes drifted in the direction of Fallen Angel’s new manager. Levi Walker: an enigma wrapped up in a handsome package, one I’d tried not to notice, but lately, I had been failing miserably. It didn’t help that I’d noticed him watching me too when he thought I wasn’t looking. Charming, self-confident to the point of cocky (which, in this business, you had to be), and so strikingly good-looking that it was no wonder Levi seemed to get whatever he wanted. That was exactly the reason I’d wanted him to take us on as our manager, because he was a guy you didn’t say no to, which meant he’d be able to fling open doors for us.
And maybe a small part of why I’d been adamant about him replacing Brian had to do with the way he made my dick hard. Viper and I seemed to have that much in common when it came to new guys.
Levi looked up, his dark eyes meeting mine as I lounged against the wall, taking another inhale of nicotine. Damn, he looked delicious tonight. His blond hair swept across his forehead in the breeze, and he’d pushed up the sleeves of his turquoise button-down shirt, showing off his tanned arms. I’d never thought I had a type until the day I met Levi Walker. One look at him—combined with all that self-confidence—and I knew where this was headed.
He held my gaze until I exhaled, and when the smoke escaped my lips, Levi’s eyes dropped down to my mouth.
Fuuuck.
My cock throbbed behind my jeans, the way he was watching my mouth making me rock hard in two seconds flat. When his gaze traveled down over my body, I groaned.
God, what the fuck was he waiting for? A sign? My permission? I was pretty sure my entire body was telling him exactly what I wanted, and from the way he wet his lips, I took that as a sign that we were on the same page.
But when Levi’s eyes met mine again, there was something unreadable there, and then he looked away, focusing back on the crowd of people around him.
Godfuckingdammit. I was beginning to think I’d have to spell this shit out for him. But it’d have to be later, because Viper and Halo were headed in my direction.
I bent one of my legs to rest on the back of the wall, hoping to hide my erection, as they came to a stop in front of me.
“Hey,” Viper said, his hand encompassing Halo’s.
Ah, the lovebirds of Fallen Angel. If I didn’t like them so much, and if Halo hadn’t simmered Viper to a low boil, I’d probably gag at all the heart-eyes shit. But I couldn’t do that, and I found it impossible to resent either of them, not when Viper was happier than I’d ever seen him. And Halo had been good for him and for the band.
But right now, they both looked like they’d rather be anywhere but here, celebrating on the roof of the hotel with about a hundred
others.
As I looked between the two of them, I smirked. “Lemme guess. You’re leaving.”
“Aww, whoever said you’re just a pretty face?” Viper said.
I brought the cigarette to my lips for another drag and then blew the smoke over my shoulder. “If I’m honest, I’m surprised you both lasted this long. I figured you would’ve split hours ago.”
Viper wrapped an arm around Halo’s shoulders and said, “If it’d been up to me—”
Halo whacked a palm on his chest. “I was being sociable.”
“I was being frustrated,” he said.
I laughed, but my eyes caught on Levi for the umpteenth time tonight. He’d moved to the opposite side of the party, chatting it up with a crowd surrounding him and hanging on his every word. I didn’t like the way one guy in particular was eyeing Levi like he had plans for them later, but I couldn’t think on that for long, because Viper looked in Levi’s direction and said, “Something you seem to be familiar with these days.”
“Huh?” I reluctantly tore my eyes away from Levi back to where Viper gave me one hell of a smug look.
“Being frustrated. You seem…preoccupied,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not preoccupied.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” he said. He seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much at my expense. “You can’t keep your eyes off our new manager. Not to mention, you didn’t invite anyone here tonight. That’s very unlike you. Thinking about starting some intra-band relations yourself, huh?”
Figured Viper would be the one to pick up on that. I stubbed out my cigarette and tossed it in one of the ashtrays. “The thought might’ve crossed my mind.”
“Uh huh. I fucking knew it.”
I shrugged, not bothering to disagree as I looked back in Levi’s direction, and this time, I saw Halo and Viper follow my gaze.
As if he could feel my eyes on him—hell, all our eyes on him—Levi slowly turned in our direction, and when he saw us staring, he narrowed his eyes, as if wondering what mischief we were up to now.
“Act fucking normal,” I said under my breath. “I don’t want you two to scare him off before I go over there.”
Halo, obviously feeling the alcohol tonight, started to laugh, and then he said, “Oh my God. You and Levi?”
Not that I wanted anyone to know my business, but if the alcohol had gotten to Halo, it’d gotten to me as well, because I was feeling pretty damn good right now—and more than a little ready for some action.
I shot Halo a wink. “If I’m lucky. Now you two get the hell out of here.”
Viper had an amused look on his face as he said, “Do I need to tell you not to fuck up a good thing here?”
“I mean, you can,” I said, shoving off the wall and looking between Viper and Halo, who had zero room to talk. “But you’ll get the same answer you gave me.” When Viper arched a brow, I shrugged. “It’s none of your damn business.”
Viper lifted his hands and backed away as Halo shot me a wide grin and said, “Good luck.” Then they were gone, and thank fuck for that. With those two around, I knew Levi would keep one eye on them for any trouble, but with them out of the picture, maybe he’d finally make a move. Or be receptive to mine.
I made my way through the crowd, my eyes zeroing in on Levi. He didn’t see me coming; his back was to me, and he was leaning in to the guy who looked too interested, laughing at something he was saying.
An irrational flare of jealousy went through me at the move, and as I approached, I stepped between them, cutting off their connection. The smile I gave Levi then was full of a confidence I didn’t normally feel to quite this extent—thank you, tequila—and the puzzled look he gave me indicated as much.
“Mind if I steal you away?” I said, and then over my shoulder to what’s-his-name, I added, “Band business.”
When Levi quickly excused himself, I practically patted myself on the back. Step one, complete.
“Is something wrong?” Levi asked, keeping pace with me as I walked to the far end of the party, where a cluster of private cabanas lined the pool. The area was off-limits to guests at this late hour, but when we approached, one of the security guys lowered the rope without a word. “I saw Viper and Halo talking to you. Did something happen?”
I didn’t respond as I chose one of the cabanas facing away from the party for ultimate privacy and made myself comfortable on the large, round sunbed.
“Killian? What’s going on?” Levi’s forehead creased as he stared down at me, the moonlight lighting him up from behind as if he were standing in a spotlight. I may have been drunk, but I wasn’t blind—he was sexy as hell.
I patted the cushion beside me. “Come here and I’ll tell you.”
Levi eyed me warily but sat. We’d never been anything more than completely professional to each other, so he had no reason not to trust I would do anything inappropriate now, despite the looks we’d given each other. Even so, I noticed the stiff way he sat, his back straight, his eyes focusing straight ahead.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” he said.
His words came out with an air of cautiousness, so instead of diving right in, I’d ease him into it. Yeah, good plan… “Tonight went well, don’t you think?”
Levi’s eyebrows rose slightly, like he wasn’t expecting me to say that and didn’t believe that was where I’d been heading. Again, he thought carefully about his words before saying, “You guys played a great first show.”
“Thank you.” I lay down on my side, propping my head up on my elbow and tracing the patterns on the cushion with my finger. I was aware that the move had my shirt rising enough that he could see how low my jeans sat on my hips, and I watched his eyes roam over my uncovered skin before he swallowed and quickly looked away.
Ahh. So he wasn’t completely oblivious to me, was he?
“Did you watch?” I said. Let him think I meant the show when I really meant me.
Levi kept his gaze straight ahead. “That’s my job, Killian. You guys pay me to watch over you.”
I pushed off my elbow to a sitting position and scooted closer to him. “But do you enjoy it? Watching?”
“If I wasn’t a fan of the band, I wouldn’t have taken this job.”
His jaw was set, his whole body tense, like he was holding himself back, and it was that struggle I could sense in him that made me smile. “If you like watching us so much, then why won’t you look at me?”
When his breathing grew faster and he still didn’t say anything, I took a chance. I laid my hand on his thigh, over the material of his crisp white pants. His eyes shot to mine immediately, and this close I could see the gold flecks in them.
“What are you doing?” he said, his voice coming out in shards of steel, but when he didn’t push my hand away, I inched it higher up his thigh and leaned in closer. I could practically taste the citrus on his breath from whatever he’d been drinking tonight.
“I’ve seen the way you look at me. And I know you’ve caught me watching you…”
“Like I said. It’s my job.” Levi’s words said one thing, but his body language said another, and when I moved in closer and angled my head slightly, his eyes dropped to my mouth, and that was all it took for my self-control to snap.
My lips were on his in half a heartbeat, but when he froze, I had a moment of panic. Had I gone too far? Had I completely read his signals wrong?
Not wanting to move away and fuck my chance, but not willing to push him further if he didn’t want this, I kept my lips lightly grazing his and lifted my free hand to curve along the side of his neck. My touch made Levi shiver, and his eyes squeezed shut as he let out a shaky exhale.
Give in, I thought. Give in to me…
I don’t think I breathed as I waited to see what he’d do, if he’d meet me halfway. But when he let out a curse, I had my answer.
With a hunger I thought only I’d been feeling, Levi reached for me, his mouth finally parting under mine, allowing me
the access I craved. His lips were warm pillows that fit perfectly against mine, and as I dipped my tongue inside his mouth to roam alongside his, I moaned.
Levi’s hands clenched in the material of my shirt as he hauled me over the top of him, and my eyes slammed shut as he sucked on my greedy tongue. Sweet Jesus. He tasted even better than I thought he would, and when I slid my fingers into his hair to hold his head still, a throaty growl left the man sucking on me like his favorite candy, and I deepened the kiss.
I moved my hand farther up his leg to cup the growing erection I could feel between his thighs, and he groaned into my mouth and arched his hips into my hand—
Levi jerked away suddenly, ripping his mouth free from mine and clamping his hand down on my wrist, shoving it off him. He was breathing hard, his lips swollen and used, his dark eyes conflicted.
“No,” he said, gasping for air. “We can’t.”
“Yes, we can.” My cock pounded in time with my heartbeat, and I reached for him again, only to feel him slip out from beneath me. He moved off the bed and got to his feet, a string of curses leaving his mouth.
My head was still spinning from the intensity of his kiss, and I couldn’t understand how he’d managed to stop it. “What’s the problem?”
Even with his back toward me, I could see the way he had to adjust himself before turning to face me.
“Forget this ever happened,” he said.
“You expect me to forget a kiss like that? Can you?”
Levi schooled his face into an inscrutable expression, the conflicted look I saw earlier gone. “Yes.”
“Why? And don’t spout off some bullshit about not wanting this, because clearly you do.” I gave a pointed look at his tented pants, and Levi’s gaze hardened, his arms crossing his chest.
“Look, Killian. You’re hot. I’m not fucking blind, okay? And yeah, this”—he pointed between us—“would be scorching, because I know exactly what I’d do to a guy like you.”