Musician's Monsoon Read Online Free Page B

in the movies. Maybe it would incapacitate him, or knock him out, or—
    “Ow!” he cried. “What the—?” He let go of her wrist. He put his hand to his neck and turned slowly toward her. His glower was icy, but also mixed with bafflement.
    She swallowed hard. Or, maybe the whole karate-chop thing would just piss him off. Something in her head told her to run, so she turned to do just that, but he was faster. He grasped her around the wrist again, and she shrieked as he yanked her up close to his body. She crashed into his unyielding chest and all the air left her, not from force, but from the shock of the smoldering desire that flared to life within her body.
    “Gimme a break!” he exclaimed. He still had a tight hold on her arm.
    She stole a tentative glance up into his eyes of green fire.
    He let out an annoyed sigh and shook his head. “You just kung-fooed me in the neck!”
    She wrinkled her brow, unsure of what to say or how to react.
    “I am not abducting you,” he persisted. “I wanted to take you back to my hotel because that’s where my instruments are. My band already left right after the show. They took off in the bus. I told them, as well as all of my security, to leave me the hell alone because I wanted to be by myself for once. I wanted to walk so I could try and get a certain woman out of my head who distracted me to a fault during the show.”
    Sophie’s cheeks burned once again.
    “By random chance, that same woman tried to blind me in the parking lot and, for some reason, her fiery temper and amazing blue eyes make me hear chords.” His voice softened, and he sighed, taking her chin in his free hand. “I’m not taking you to an abandoned warehouse to murder you. I got excited for a second because I haven’t been able to hear any music for months now. Forgive me for having a creative moment.” His fingers left her chin and spanned across the column of her throat.
    Sophie closed her eyes as the warmth of his palm settled over the pulse in her neck. She had to fight not to tremble.
     “Your heart is racing,” he continued, his voice sultry and sinful even in its sincerity. “I’m sorry I startled you. You just…you don’t understand.” He closed his eyes and let out a long, slow breath. He fixed his gaze on her again and smiled softly. “You’re absolutely right. I need to explain myself.” Zane traced the outline of her mouth and along her jawline, as if studying the texture of her skin. “I have been all over the world. I’ve met tons of fans and numerous gorgeous women. None of them radiated the same gentle, warm light that I saw coming from you during the show. It caught my attention from the stage because it seemed so genuine. You weren’t doing everything in your power to get noticed like your freaky cousin. You were just standing there, enjoying my music, the music that comes straight from the depths of my soul. It made me feel different. Not like a rock star.”
    She frowned thoughtfully. “But you are a rock star.”
    He shook his head. “No, I’m a musician . There’s a difference, but I think the two blended into one for a while, and I forgot where the musician ended and the celebrity began. It numbed me, made me apathetic, and I couldn’t create anymore. It’s been horrible….”
    “I love your music,” she blurted. “It’s…I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t only hear it, but I feel it, too… It feels like magic. Like euphoria.” She felt stupid for her words, but she thought maybe he needed to hear them. He’d just revealed something incredibly personal. The least she could do was give him some reassurance. “I love your music above all others. It sounds the way I feel inside.”
    His grin rivaled the Arizona lightning. “That is the best thing you could have said to me.”
    He closed his eyes with a blissful expression and began to hum a soft melody. It was barely discernable, and she leaned closer out of sheer curiosity. “What is