“From you? Yeah.”
Shaking my head, I went back to listening to Halo. Back to watching him, too. “You’re all delusional.”
“And you are all about the angel,” Jagger said. “Admit it.”
Choosing to ignore him, I kept my eyes forward.
“Come on, guys,” Killian said, and I thought, Finally, the voice of reason. I should’ve known better. “Give it a rest. If V isn’t ready to admit that he wants to go on long walks on the beach at sunset with Halo, who are we to push him?”
Slade snorted, as Jagger laughed, and I glared at Killian over my shoulder. He was grinning at me like a fucking idiot.
“I hate you.”
Killian shoved me in the shoulder. “No, you don’t. But come on. You like him…a lot. Just admit it.”
“Why do you fuckers even care?”
Jagger’s mouth fell open. “Umm, because you have never—in all the years the band has been together—dated, repeated, or sat moon-eyed over anyone. This is…it’s…”
“Unprecedented.” Slade shot a look at me.
“Do you even know what that means?” I asked.
Killian pushed his leg against mine. “Don’t try and change the subject.”
“Fine, you bunch of nosy fuckers.” I shook my head and turned back to where Halo was singing. “I like him,” then I added, “A lot,” because I knew they wouldn’t quit until they got some kind of confession. But that was all they were going to get, because I didn’t even know what the fuck I was thinking or feeling yet.
“Now can you all please shut the fuck up so we can listen to him?” I said. “I don’t think I heard any of that over all your damn yammering.”
“Neither did I,” Jared said without looking back at us, and I gave a pointed look to the three who were smiling smugly at me, and thought, yet again, that they were a bunch of gossipy fuckers before I turned back to hear Jared say, “Halo, can you take it from the top again, please?”
Sixteen
Halo
“HALO, WE SAVED you a seat,” Jagger said a couple of hours later, when we’d taken a break for a late lunch. We still had a few hours’ worth of work to do on “Hard,” but it was coming together and would be done by the end of the day—well, apart from Viper’s four a.m. session.
Speaking of Viper…
With a plate in hand and sitting on the end of the couch, Jagger reached over and patted Viper’s knee, where he sat in the recliner beside him. “Right here good for you, man?” he said to me, shooting a wink my way while Viper swatted Jagger’s hand away.
“If you don’t fuck off with that shit…” Viper said.
Jagger laughed and moved down the couch, giving his spot up to me. I set my drink on the coffee table and sat down, and as soon as I did, Viper reached over and swiped my pickle.
“Hey,” I protested, but Viper grinned before he pushed the pickle slowly between his lips, a move that looked almost indecent as he stared at me.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Killian said, just as Jagger yelled, “Don’t nobody wanna see that.”
“Well, considering V was voted hottest guitarist alive in Rolling Stone, I think a lot of people wanna see it,” Slade said, then casually scooped leftover potato salad into his mouth.
Jagger shot him a look. “Dude.”
“What?”
Jagger stared at him for a long moment and then shook his head. As Slade shrugged and went back to eating, I lifted my sandwich and stabbed the second pickle I’d grabbed with my fork. Bringing it to my lips, I bit off the tip, as Viper’s lips curled.
Once I swallowed, I lowered my voice so only Viper could hear and said, “You’re not the only one who likes a thick prick in his mouth.”
His eyebrows shot up, and he coughed around the bite he’d been chewing. “Damn, Angel,” he said, then grabbed my drink off the table and took a long swallow. “The shit that’s comin’ outta your mouth today…”
“Better than what’s been going in it?” I asked, but this time Jagger heard it, and he jumped to his feet.
“Nah, nah, man. I don’t wanna hear none of that,” he said, moving across the room to sit, but there wasn’t another open spot, so he sat on the arm of Killian’s chair. “Tell them to take it to another room, Kill.”
“Can’t do that. We’ve gotta talk album names.” Killian wiped his mouth with his napkin and then set his empty plate on the table beside him.
“Why don’t we self-title it? There, done,” Jagger said.
“We could, but don’t you wanna come out with a bang?”
Jagger grinned. “I think Halo does.”
When raucous laughter broke out, I could only shake my head. Yeah, the guys had been teasing nonstop since finding out about Viper and me, but I found that I didn’t mind, because the alternative would’ve been much worse. Besides, it was kinda fun running Jagger off by freaking him out. Having the guys not give two shits one way or another had taken a weight off, and the result was me feeling more relaxed, more a part of the band than I ever had before. It helped that we were coming together so well musically, and our new producers, Jared in particular, had been great about giving us the space to work our songs ourselves while making sure we were still headed in the right direction.
“What about TBD?” Slade said. A few seconds later, he ducked, the pillow Killian had thrown at him barely missing his head. “Yo, it was a joke!”
“Speaking of TBD, what about Destruction? Like tearing down the past?” I said.
Killian nodded slowly. “Not bad. But do we want to focus on the past or make a statement about our future?”
Good point. As the others rattled off a few suggestions, I wolfed down my lunch. I hadn’t realized I was so hungry, but performing always took a lot out of me, and trying to nail perfect vocals for hours was the hardest part.
Viper leaned in toward me, and I assumed he’d grab something off my plate, but instead he lowered his voice and said, “Now that’s one way I’d like to see you eat my cock. Like you’re fuckin’ starving.”
I dropped the sandwich, and Viper chuckled, taking the rest of my pickle from my plate as he sat back.
“Did you have something to add, V?” Killian said.
With his gaze still on me, Viper tilted his head to the side, those wheels turning, and when his mouth slowly curved… Well, shit. I knew that look.
“I think I do, actually,” Viper said, tearing his eyes away to look at Killian. “We’re Fallen Angel, and it just so happens we’ve got a fallen angel right here in this room.”
Good God, here we go. Another contribution based on our sex life. Great.
“When Halo came to us, he was so…innocent, wouldn’t you say?” Viper smirked at me. “But I think you’ll agree after hearing some of the things that’ve come out of his mouth today, that he’s been a bit corrupted by his association with us.”
“With you,” Jagger said with a snort.
Viper gave him a wolfish smile, like he was proud of his contribution to my demoralization.
“So what’s the suggestion, then?” Killian said.
“Corruption,” Viper said. “That’s the album’s name, because that’s what fallen angels do. They corrupt others to fall. To join them in their sinful, wicked ways.” He focused that wolf stare on me, and I felt the full weight of his words. Viper had been, and still was, the ultimate temptation, one I’d given myself over to after warring over “which way I’d fall,” as Viper had said.
Guess that answer was pretty clear now.
“Corruption,” Killian said, stroking his jaw. “I fucking love it.” Then he turned to the others. “What do you guys think?”
“Sounds cool,” Slade said.
Jagger stood up and crossed the room, holding his fist out to Viper. When Viper returned the bump, Jagger said, “Damn, man. First the band name and now the album title? You on fire.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Viper look at me again, and as my eyes met his, I saw the flames that li
t that dark gaze. The heat in them warmed me from head to toe and sent my pulse racing.
“Nah,” Viper said, still watching me. “Just been inspired.”
The world faded away, the others disappearing until there was only me and Viper and his words. I’d inspired him. Hell, I was the inspiration behind the band name, and all because he had been as tempted by me as I had been by him. I leaned toward him, licking my lips, my eyes dropping to his mouth, and as I drew closer—
“That was the cheesiest fucking thing I’ve ever heard you say.” Killian was shaking his head in mock disgust. “You two gonna make out right here? Maybe go get a room.”
“Yeah, I’m with Kill. Get a damn room,” Jagger said.
Realizing how close I was to Viper, I jerked away, but Viper was as quick as his namesake and grabbed my wrist.
“You know what? That’s a great fuckin’ idea,” he said, rising to his feet, pulling me up with him. He took the plate out of my hand and set it on the coffee table before towing me alongside him out of the room. “Later, assholes.”
“We have to be back in the studio in twenty minutes, V,” Killian called out.
“Noted.” Viper stopped in the doorway and stuck his head back in the room. “And let Jared know I’ll be ready for my vocals when I get back.”
Seventeen
Halo
KICKING OFF THE pool wall, I cut through the water like a knife before rising to the surface, where I took in a quick breath and began to swim. It was a warm morning in Miami already, and as usual, I started the day off swimming a few laps, trying to get my blood flowing for a long day in the studio. We’d been working on tracks for over a month now, and I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before the album was finished and we were sent back to New York. And as much as I loved New York, I’d definitely enjoyed the slower pace of Florida, as well as the stunning scenery—and this pool.
“Hey, Angel. I got somethin’ for ya.”
I lifted my head, and when I saw Viper walking toward the pool, freshly showered and in nothing but a pair of shorts, it was enough to stop me.
I wiped the water from my eyes, and when I saw him slapping an envelope against his palm, I swam over to the side of the pool, crossing my arms up over the lip.
“What’s that?” I said, as Viper crouched down to my level. His hair was still wet, and I had the brief urge to tug him forward into the pool, but curiosity over what he held in his hand won out.
Viper reached behind him to grab the towel I’d laid out, and once I’d lifted myself up out of the pool, I dried myself off and then Viper handed me the envelope.
“What’s this?” I said, flipping it over, but the back was as blank as the front. I peeled it open to see a check, and I raised an eyebrow at Viper. “A check? That’s nice, but I would’ve done you for free.”
It was rare that I shocked him; he always seemed to have the upper hand, but when Viper’s lips parted in surprise, I had to laugh.
“And I would’ve paid more,” he said, as I took out the check to see MGA’s address fixed to the upper left side. “This is your first official payment for Fallen Angel.”
I blinked at the number on the check. There were more zeros than I’d made in the five years I’d been playing dive bars and scraping by. “How? I mean, I wasn’t expecting anything yet. The album won’t be out for a while.”
“Angel, you wrote the most streamed song of the year so far. Trust me, you deserve every penny of what’s on there and more. And there will be a lot more when we start touring.”
My hands shook as I stared down at what one song had done. I couldn’t have imagined this a few months ago, and even now, it was hard to believe. “This is unreal,” I said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank that head of yours.”
I grinned. “Which one?” Before he could answer, I leaned over and kissed him. He moaned, bringing his hand up to hold the back of my head and deepening the kiss. Less than an hour had passed since I’d left his bed, but already I was hungry for him again.
With a groan, Viper pulled away. “Too fuckin’ tempting, you know that?”
“You might’ve mentioned it a time or two.”
“Because it’s true,” he said, and then nodded at the pool. “You done here?”
“Unless you wanna join me. Although if you do that, we’ll be late to the studio.”
“Mmm, about that…” Viper grabbed my chin and brought me forward to suck my lower lip into his mouth, but before he let things go further, he said, “Jared’s out sick today.”
“Which means…?”
Viper snatched the check out of my hand and grinned. “We’re gonna go celebrate.”
“Seriously?”
“A check this big means you’ve gotta spend it.”
I thought about my run-down apartment back home and frowned. “I should probably save it.”
“There’s more than enough here to do both. You deserve something you’ve had your eye on. You work harder than the rest of us assholes, so don’t give me any of this ‘I’m saving it’ bullshit. We’re goin’ out.”
Viper got to his feet, and I squinted up at him, bringing my hand up to block the sun. “Just you and me?”
“Well, I’m not inviting any of those fuckers. Are you?”
I grinned and stood up, toweling off. “Sounds like a date.” When Viper didn’t respond, just held my check out to me once I was done drying off, I thought about calling him out on it. We’d gone out a few times here and there, usually with the others, but occasionally on our own, and never once had he acknowledged it was anything more than “hanging out.” I knew better, though. Viper may not want to admit it, but you didn’t spend week after week with someone and not call it dating. But hey, if he wanted to live in denial, who was I to stop him?
“I guess we’ll have to behave ourselves,” I said, reaching for his hand. He didn’t resist my touch—he never did—and I tugged him toward me, moving my free hand around to grab hold of his ass. “So none of this while we’re in public, huh?”
Viper slid his fingers under the waistband of my shorts. “No.”
“Or this?” I tilted my head up and pressed my lips against his.
“Nope,” Viper murmured against my mouth. “It’s just easier this way…”
With his hips flush against mine, I could feel his erection stirring behind his shorts, and I moved the hand I had on his ass to his growing cock. “I don’t know. It feels pretty hard to me.”
Viper groaned and brought his hands up to my face to take my lips in a vicious kiss before he jerked away and took a couple of steps back. “Fuckin’ behave,” he said, though his body was saying anything but. I found it ironic that the tables had turned and now it was Viper showing restraint, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was right. With the new album on the horizon, the last thing we needed to do was take our casual whatever public.
His eyes trailed down my body, taking in every soaked inch, and then he backed away, rubbing his face. “Get dressed or we won’t be going anywhere.”
“That a threat or a promise?” I called out after him, but the only reaction I got from him as he walked away was his middle finger.
“HOW DID YOU know?” I circled the Manson MB-1 guitar slowly, my eyes roaming over the instrument and my hands itching to play.
“How’d I know you’d fuckin’ orgasm over this baby? Please, Angel. It’s like you think I don’t know you at all.” Viper smirked at my hesitation to come closer. “You can touch it. Play it. Lick it.”
I stepped closer, my fingers running down the length of the body, and then with careful hands, I lifted the guitar out of its stand. The weight felt good in my arms, the long, lean body a gorgeous glossy red glitter. I looked around us, waiting for someone to run over and tell me to put it down, but when no one seemed to be paying attention, I quietly strummed.
“You can’t pussyfoot with a guitar like that,” Viper said, crossing his arms. “Play it like you fuckin’
mean it.”
I snorted, but the man had a point. Closing my eyes, I let loose, playing with no direction whatsoever, but relishing the unique sound of the guitar. This one came with a Korg Kaoss Pad too, which would make any noise my heart desired. I’d been dying to get my hands on this bad boy for years now, and it played even better than I’d dreamed.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Viper said, and whether he was talking about the guitar or me, I didn’t know, but I selfishly hoped it was the latter.
“Nice, isn’t it?” came an unfamiliar male voice, and as I stopped playing, my eyes shot open. A man with a nametag that proclaimed him Paul, the store manager, watched me with a polite smile, but when he got a good look at my face, his mouth parted. “Are you…?” Then he looked at Viper, and even with a hat pulled low and sunglasses covering his face, a fan would recognize him in a heartbeat.
Paul stumbled back a bit, his hand coming up to cover his mouth, but then he seemed to shake himself, clearly trying to rein in his surprise. He swallowed, and when he spoke again, it was professional, though he was still obviously taken aback. When he held his hand out to Viper, I noticed the way it shook, and it made me think back to the first day I’d met the intimidating force that was Viper. Hell, I’d been shaking too.
“I’m Paul, the store manager here, and can I just say I’m honored you stopped by. I’m a huge fan.” He shook Viper’s hand, and then he turned to me, his arm outstretched. “And…Halo, isn’t it? The new song is fucking killer—I mean, uh, just killer, sorry—”
“You can say fuckin’ killer,” Viper said. “He likes it.”
Paul’s face reddened, and then he managed a smile. I looked down to where he was still shaking my hand, and when he followed my gaze, he pulled free.
“Oh, sorry about that,” he said, still looking between us as if we’d disappear at any moment. “Is there something I can help you with? Would you like more information about the MB-1?”
It was the first time I’d been recognized while Viper and I had ventured out, though he’d been stopped many times before. It felt a little strange for someone I’d never met to know who I was, but I guessed that was something I needed to get used to, huh?
VIPER (Fallen Angel Book 2) Page 8
