“Ice water.” He brought it to his lips. “The drummer isn’t allowed to have alcohol on show nights. If I lose the beat, everything comes crashing to a halt.”
He downed another long swallow while Thea watched his throat work. Just imagine if she were really his girlfriend. She could lean in close, press her nose against that hot skin, and inhale hard. She could brush her lips just under his jaw and enjoy the delicious scrape of stubble. The temptation this man’s body offered was out of control, and she wished like hell she could give in and experience it all for herself.
That last thought had her pulling back and giving her head a sharp shake. God, she was no better than those other women who wanted him only for his body. Shame on her for forgetting he was so much more than a sexual thrill ride—and one she’d agreed she wouldn’t be climbing on board.
“You okay, killer?”
Her eyes snapped to his face. “Y-yeah. Yes.” She raised her glass in a salute. “Just wondering if you take requests.”
“Depends on the request.” He smiled lazily at her, and everything below her waist gave an answering pulse at the invitation in his voice.
He wasnotmaking it easy to keep her thoughts pure.
“One Direction!” She blurted the first band name that popped into her head, then just rolled with it. “Let me live out my boy band fantasies through a bunch of grown-ass men.”
He winced comically. “Dave’s gonna veto thathard, but I’ll do my best.”
She laughed, and the temporary weirdness passed, leaving her able to chat with him like a normal person for the next ten minutes before Dave cruised by their table and shouted, “Adonis! Let’s go!”
Aiden rolled his eyes at the nickname but dutifully drained his glass. Before he stood, he took her breath away by wrapping his hand around her neck and pulling her close for a quick kiss. Nothing showy. Just enough pressure to leave her pink and flustered. “Thanks for keeping me company.” He murmured the words against her lips, then broke away and bounded up onto the stage as Mabel and Jake slipped back into their seats.
“You two are killing me with the lovey-dovey.” Mabel slid a glance at her boyfriend. “We’ve got competition in the hottest-couple department, babe.”
“No contest,” Jake growled, and Thea turned toward the stage so they could suck face without an audience. Aiden had just finished conferring with Dave, and as he spun around to take his place at his drums, he shot her a quick set of finger guns that would’ve been dorky from any other guy but on him came off as unbearably sexy. Seriously, how did hedothat?
“Friends!” Dave shouted into the mic, his round glasses reflecting the bright lights on the stage as he glanced around at the crowd. “Thanks again for coming out to our farewell-for-now show! We’re kicking off this next set with a special request from our drummer’s main squeeze.”
All eyes in the room turned to Aiden, who pointed his sticks right at her with a wink, then launched into the opening riff of 1D’s “What Makes You Beautiful” with a delicious quirk of his lips. Thea screamed in surprised delight and shimmied in her chair with a dopey grin on her face as the band threw itself into the performance.
The second half of the show flew by, and before she knew it, the band was performing its final encore. The raucous audience cheers gave way to a more general buzz as people either hit the bar or headed for the exits, ready to call it a night. Mabel and Jake said a swift goodbye, leaving Thea to make her way to the back of the stage, where Aiden was starting to pack up his equipment.
But a painfully pretty woman in a painfully tiny dress beat her there, gliding up to Aiden with a smile “Hey there, handsome. Got plans after this?”
Thea froze as fear wormed its way into her stomach. This was a test, and she was suddenly terrified he wouldn’t pass. She started to edge away so she wouldn’t have to watch whatever was about to go down, but he just smiled politely.
“I’m waiting for my girlfriend actually.” His head swiveled around the room, and his eyes softened when they landed on her. “Oh, there you are, babe.”
He held out his hand, and she lurched forward to take it, shame flooding her for doubting him.
“You were so great tonight!” she said, acutely aware that the rebuffed woman was looking at her with a distinct “Her?Really?” expression on her face. Thea’s first instinct was to shrink into herself at the incredulous stare, but Aiden was smiling down at her as if she were the only person in the room, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his sweat-damp hair. “Ready to get out of here?”
“Absolutely,” he murmured, bending his head to give her a quick, hard kiss.
When she finally pulled back, the “her?” woman was gone.
She giggled. Being the focus of his attention left her feeling buzzed in a way that a gin and tonic couldn’t touch. “I know you picked me because I’m convenient, but this is turning out to be really fun,” she whispered.
“Convenient?” He released her with a frown.
“Well yeah. I was conveniently nearby when you hatched this plan, and now here we are.” She spoke quietly even though the noise of the bar patrons basically ensured that their conversation was private.
He dropped his hands to her shoulders and looked at her with zero mirth on his face. “Hey. Don’t sell yourself short, okay?”
“O-okay.” The intensity in his eyes left her shaky, so she murmured her agreement rather than prolong the conversation.
Once the strange moment passed, it was all business as she helped him pack up the rest of his kit and carry it to his truck. By the time he’d slammed his tailgate shut on all his equipment, the parking lot had emptied quite a bit, although it was nothing like that cold, dark night when this had all started.
“Back at the scene of the crime, huh?” She looked around them with a nervous little laugh.
