Without acknowledging the tattoo, I pull away to take center stage and grab the mic. Staring straight ahead, I’m confronted by the Viking, who’s moved to stand next to Eden. He’s got a hard glare for Brayden, but when his gaze moves to me, it’s unreadable.
I drop my eyes to the floor, concentrating.
Another pair of legs joins his and Eden’s. It’s Roche. I hate that she has legs for miles. And Rapunzel hair that looks great even when she does nothing to it.
The music starts, and I let it build inside me. By the time I open my mouth, I’m committed. My eyes rise and lock with Erik’s.
The bottle freezes against his lips, and for a second, neither of us breathes. When I let the lyrics out, everything else stops. Heads turn. I have them all in my palm.
I don’t hold anything back. If I’m hoarse tomorrow, so be it.
The words spill out like blood… hot, thumping, full of life and death. I leave it all on the floor, swaying and mouthing the words when Bray raps his part to the side of my face.
After, the applause is generous and loud. The Viking’s beer has been forgotten, and he claps, too.
“Thanks.” I glance around for a moment, licking my lips. “Gel Train, everyone. Don’t forget to empty those pockets for GT and The Hideaway staff.”
“One more,” Bray says, grabbing me around the waist when I try to walk away.
I shake my head, but he holds on. The way he does.
From under my lashes, I see the Viking’s cream sweater. He steps forward.
“One more. One more,” Bray says faster and louder, his grip tightening until my breath catches.
The big left hand of Erik Sorensen reaches out.
“Hey, man, back off,” Bray says, suddenly aware of the Viking’s hulking presence at the stage’s edge.
“No.” Sorensen’s left hand catches mine.
For a moment, I’m worried he’ll pull me off the stage while Bray is still clasping my waist, and I’ll be jerked in different directions. Erik doesn’t pull though; he just holds on.
“Let go,” he says to Bray.
“She’s gonna do one more. My girl actually loves—”
“No,” Erik says with finality. “Last chance.”
A shiver runs through me at the ice-cold intensity in his glacial blue eyes. Bray tries to say something, but then an anvil of a fist hits him in the stomach. He drops like a stone, his arm falling away from me.
In an instant, Erik’s left hand lets go of my arm and curls around my waist to pluck me off the stage and set me on the floor beside him.
The Viking looks down at me, scowling. “What the fuck are you doing in college?”
“What?”
It takes a moment for his words to register as a compliment. Erik implying I should sing full-time in bigger venues hits me like an orgasm. It feels that good.
I’m distracted as his hand closes around my wrist and tugs me with him.
“Get your stuff.” He tosses money on the table and grabs his tablet as I collect my tote. He never lets go of me as he continues to the door.
“Bye, Arya. Have a good night, Erik,” Eden calls with amused satisfaction.
Everyone’s watching. I should stop following him. But I don’t want to.
When we’re standing next to the truck, he tosses his tablet on the passenger seat and then grabs me and pulls me forward. I’m pressed against his hard body as he kisses me. A throaty growl rumbles in his chest, like he’s part beast, and the vibration that hums through me is as good as any sensation ever was. Power radiates off him like heat, and he tastes like a predator.
