Everything: A Singed Wings Novel Read Online Free Page A

“Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, and like always, the audience shouted their approval, jumping to their feet and dancing around. Thirty seconds in, Ashlynn joined in with the drums, and I was officially alive.
    My heart beat in rhythm with the song, pumping the melody through my veins, until the music consumed me. Became me. On stage, I was a living, breathing arrangement of sounds, working in harmony to produce something exquisite. A high like no other.
    I sang every damn word to her. And when I changed the lyrics in the second verse on the fly from “eyes of the bluest skies” to “eyes of the darkest nights,” she blushed again, but this time seductively rolling her bottom lip between her teeth. Fucking hell, she’s trying to drive me crazy.
    Closing my eyes during the final guitar solo, I had to break the spell or risk embarrassing myself with a raging hard-on in front of all those people. Maybe I wasn’t quite ready to fuck her with my music… at least not with an audience.
    Somehow, I managed to finish the song without incident and transitioned into the next, then Ashlynn and I found our groove and played the best we ever had. Hands down. The energy from the crowd was off-the-charts, and I fucking loved watching my little temptress enjoying herself as she smiled and sang along to the ones she knew — especially when she got up to dance with her girlfriend during our cover of Elvis’s “Mystery Train.”
    After we finished the set and packed up our instruments, I didn’t wait around for Ashlynn, or my parents, or any of the other people who wanted to congratulate us on our performance. There was only one person I cared to talk to… and I planned on doing a helluva lot more than talking when I found her. My pulse raced as I searched for her; the anticipation of what would happen when I found her made my stomach roll with nerves.
    Naturally, she wasn’t in the seat she’d been in all night; that would’ve been too easy. But I smiled confidently when I saw her girlfriend and the schmuck who’d been next to her still were. Wherever she was, she was alone. Hopefully waiting for me.
    Retracing my steps back over to the area between the pub and the patio where I’d approached her earlier, my shoulders slumped with disappointment when I discovered the grassy patch empty, but just as I went to turn around and head the other way, movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention. A shimmer of blue silk flashed by, disappearing behind the building. Immediately, I pivoted and took off after her, my adrenaline soaring higher with each step I took.
    Between the combination of my long strides and knowing the property like the back of my hand, she didn’t have a chance to hide from me. Less than thirty seconds after I spotted her, I caught her from behind, hiding by the back entrance of the bar.
    “Gotcha, beautiful,” I whispered, grabbing her hips and lifting her up in the air like she weighed nothing. Because she didn’t.
    Her startled shriek soon morphed into a howl of laughter as I lowered her feet back to the ground, turning her to face me in the process.
    “Oh, my God, you scared the shit out of me.” Shaking her head, she playfully slapped my chest. “How did you sneak up on me like that? I thought I was well-hidden, Everett .”
    “I basically grew up at this bar. My family owns the place, so my sister and I spent a million afternoons chasing each other around out here. You never had a chance.” I grinned wide as I reached out and hooked my fingers through her belt loops then tugged her closer to me. “But you wanted to be found, didn’t you?”
    “Now why would someone want to be found? Isn’t the purpose of hiding, to not be found?”
    “No. The purpose of hide and seek is to be sought after. So, tell me, gorgeous, did you want me to find you? Did you play this little game in hopes I would come looking for you?”
    Peering up at me through long, black lashes, she smirked.