Holding her like this, I felt like everything was right with the world.

  Rubbing my hand up and down her back, I touched my lips to the top of her head. “Give me the word, and I’ll find the motherfucker and finish what the others didn’t,” I vowed.

  She snorted. “No thanks. I like you too much to ask you to commit murder. If you’re in prison, I can’t hang out with you.”

  “Sure you can. You can visit me every Saturday.”

  She lifted her head, a smile teasing at her luscious lips. Pink had filled her cheeks, replacing the ghostly white they had been when I’d first walked in. “I would much rather you came here every Thursday than have to find inventive ways to sneak you in a shank each week.”

  “Ah, sweet girl, you would bring me weapons? I knew you cared.” Winking, I hugged her again then stepped back. “Now, move your beautiful ass before they riot out there.”

  But she still had a death grip on my shirt. “Come with me?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Always,” I whispered so only she could hear me.

  Her eyes darkened, her fingers flexing in my shirt. As I watched, I saw a few of her walls begin to crack. Fuck yeah, it took long enough, but she was finally starting to let me in again.

  “Ro, let’s go,” Aubree called, she and the other two already at the door waiting for Roanna.

  I untangled her fingers from my shirt and brought her hand to my lips. “I’m right behind you,” I promised.

  10

  Roanna

  For the first time since realizing my talent for music, I walked onstage not so I could become another person and leave behind my nightmares for a short time. I walked out there for Sin. I sang and performed for him and only him.

  Up there, I could show him everything I didn’t want him to see when I was back to being the lost girl who was scared of the big, bad boogeyman. There was nothing scary about Sin—with the exception of how terrified I was of how I felt for him.

  He stayed to the side of the stage, right beside our security that kept the crowd at bay. And like a moth to a flame, I kept gravitating back there to be closer to him.

  All evening, I’d been lost in my own head, anxious and scared after the way Todd the bartender had asked me to suck his dick, then offered me twenty bucks when I ignored him. I should have punched him in the face or kicked him in the balls or broken his ribs like my soul sisters did in my defense. Instead, all I did was retreat into myself, becoming the lost and scared girl Sicko Stan turned me into.

  I was still lost, still agonizing over having to go and perform like nothing happened, when Sin showed up. The instant his hand touched me, my fear and anxiety began to retreat, and I could finally draw a big enough breath without feeling as if I was going to vomit.

  When the last song ended, my throat felt like I’d swallowed liquid fire. The lights went down, and I left the stage.

  Sin was waiting for me there and took my hand as soon as I reached him. I linked my fingers through his, walking beside him back to the green room. A cooler full of ice and bottles of water was already waiting on the table between the two couches for us, along with a pot of hot water and everything I needed to make a mug of the tea that soothed my throat.

  “Holy shit, that was a good show,” London laughed as she and Genesis plopped down on the couch across from Sin and me.

  “Yeah, we definitely don’t need to replace Peyton when we can perform like that with just the four of us,” Genesis said with a smirk. “Crazy bitch did us a favor when she pissed Harris off and we had a good enough reason to get rid of her.”

  “I still miss that apartment her pops paid for, though,” Aubree grumbled as she twirled a drumstick around her fingers, propping her feet up on the table and burrowing her ass more comfortably in the chair.

  “Yeah, I miss the shower we had. It was perfect. But the place we live in now is decent,” Genesis told her.

  “When we hit it big like the TK fuckers, we’ll buy a house big enough to suit us all,” London promised. “Then we can throw parties every night, and Genesis can slut it up all she wants in her own room because we won’t have to share anymore.”

  I fixed my tea, shaking my head mutely at the three of them. After Peyton nearly cost us our contract with Harris, we kicked her ass out of the band, and she kicked us to the curb. We found a small two-bedroom apartment we could afford without having to get second jobs. I didn’t mind sharing or the lack of space as long as Peyton was gone from our lives. She nearly fucked us over with her obsession with Harris and trying to make him jealous, forcing him back from his vacation with Lucy Thornton the previous summer.

  We hadn’t seen her since, especially after Emmie Armstrong blacklisted her, and no other bands would even consider her playing bass for them.

  Now Harris was engaged to the beautiful Lucy and planning their wedding, and we were doing better than ever. With Peyton out of our lives, Natalie Cutter was starting the paperwork to become our manager since Annabelle Brockman had given her assent.

  “I’m starving,” Genesis complained. “Let’s go eat. I don’t want to hang around here tonight.”

  “We ate like two hours ago,” London complained. “And you ordered half the menu because Harris was footing the bill. You’re turning into a cow, Gen.”

  “You’re just jealous I can eat all I want and not have to puke it back up or work myself to death in the gym like you do,” Genesis snipped back.

  Sensing a fight about to erupt between them, I lifted my hands at them to stop.

  “Ladies,” Sin’s deep voice growled. “Chill the fuck out.”

  “I don’t want to go eat,” London whined.

  “So, don’t. You can drink while we eat,” Sin told her with a roll of his eyes. “Stop being a whining bitch, London.”

  I sat back with my mug of tea, hiding my grin as I lifted it to my lips.

  “Why do we let you hang with us again?” she groused.

  “I don’t hang out with you. I hang out with Ro. Don’t give a shit if you’re around or not.” He pulled out his phone. “Where do you want to eat, sweet girl?”

  I leaned into his shoulder, looking at his phone’s screen. He brought up a few restaurants within walking distance, and I pointed to the one I liked the best.

  “Don’t you ever eat meat?” he asked, but he already knew the answer. In the year and a half he’d known me, I hadn’t eaten it once in front of him. It wasn’t like I was a hardcore vegan. I still ate dairy and even eggs at times, but I hadn’t eaten meat since I was eleven.

  I shrugged, sipping my tea, letting the heat and honey soothe my throat.

  “You’re addicted to those damn veggie burgers,” he said with a smirk, draping his arm along the back of the couch, his fingers stroking over my shoulder. “What’s it gonna take to get you to eat a real burger, sweet girl?”

  I shivered as he leaned in closer, but I lifted a brow at him in challenge. Make this interesting, I dared him with my eyes.

  “I smell a bet about to go down,” Aubree said, sitting forward excitedly, rubbing her hands together like an evil villain. “Ro, you up for that?”

  Not taking my eyes off Sin, I nodded.

  “Make him work for it!” Genesis insisted. “It has to be something he can’t win at easily, like bench-pressing all of us at once or some shit. We’ve seen him at the gym enough to know he could pick us all up with one arm if he really wanted to.”

  “Something he will hate too,” London chimed in. “Like, he has to give up sex and booze for an entire month, and then she will eat a steak or whatever.”

  “I can give up both easily,” Sin told her, his gaze still trapped with mine. “But I’m down for whatever challenge Roanna wants to throw my way.”

  I downed the rest of my tea in one gulp without flinching at the heat, then grinned up at him. “You really want to see me eat meat?” He nodded, his head dipping closer. “What will you give me in return?”

  “Sweet girl, I’d give you the fucking moon if you said you wanted it,” he said in a low growl near my ear. “Tell me what you want, and it’s yours. You don’t even have to eat the fucking meat.”

  Pleasure shot up and down my spine, causing goose bumps to pop up along the way. Biting my lip, I tilted my head back until our eyes met again. “I want you to sing with me.”

  Surprise flashed over his face before he masked it. “Say what now?”

  I laughed and repeated myself. “I want you to sing with me. Next week, one song. You do it, and I’ll eat one bite of steak or chicken. Your choice.”

  His brows pulled together as he contemplated me. “Is that what you really want?”

  “Yes. Are you scared? Is the big, bad, chart-topping rock star scared to sing with me?” I teased.

  “I can get Jace to sing with you,” he offered. “He’s got a better voice.”

  I shook my head. “Nope. No deal. I want you and only you.”

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “All right, fine.”

  “Well, shit,” London grumbled. “I thought you were going to make him do something ridiculous, Ro. Like make him get ten guys’ numbers within a single night.”

  I snorted. “Getting anyone’s number would be too easy for him. All he has to do is bat those lashes, and men and women alike trip over themselves to give him whatever he asks for.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m still waiting to get what I want the most,” he muttered so low I barely heard him.

  I touched his arm. “What is it that you want the most?”

  His eyes darkened as he looked down at me, and I didn’t need him to give me a verbal answer. It was all there in his eyes.

  Me.

  He wanted me the most.

  11

  Roanna

  I wasn’t kidding about wanting to sing with Sin. I loved his voice, could pick it out of any of the others when they were singing backup. It reminded me a lot of Andy Biersack, and I knew we would sound amazing together.

  He seemed reluctant about it, however, but I wasn’t going to let him back out of our deal. I wanted this more than anything, ever, and he’d already promised he would. No way was I letting him back out.

  Determined to make him keep his promise, I showed up at his apartment the next evening, the song I picked for us already in hand.

  After Tainted Knights got their huge-ass contract, one Rolling Stone claimed was the biggest contract they had seen since Demon’s Wings had been signed twenty-plus years before, Sin moved. I knew that because he had a huge party once he was settled in and invited my soul sisters and me.

  I hadn’t been back since then, but if I wanted to ensure he followed through, I was willing to go the extra step of stopping in unannounced and forcing him to rehearse the song with me.

  Pounding on his apartment door, I waited for him to answer, trying to hide just how nervous I was to be alone with him in his apartment for however long it took to convince him this song was perfect for us and get him to go through it a few times with me.

  That was all this was, I told myself as I wiped my damp palms on my jeans. I wanted him to sing with me. It had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to be alone with him. Nothing whatsoever.

  A minute passed before the door opened, and a bleary-eyed Sin stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of black pajama bottoms and a tight white T-shirt. “What?” he grumbled, not even looking up.

  “You know it’s like three in the afternoon, right?”

  His lids lifted at the sound of my voice, and I saw surprised pleasure in their depths. “Considering I didn’t fall asleep until like nine this morning, no, I had no idea what time it was, sweet girl.”

  He stepped back, and I walked in. “What kept you up so late?” I asked casually as I moved into the living room and dropped down onto the couch like I did this all the time and was completely comfortable with it.

  Sin shut the door and followed me, crossing his arms over his thick chest. “This beautiful Blonde was on my mind and made it impossible for me to sleep. All I could think about was how much I wished she hadn’t sent me home, or how much I wanted to taste her lips, or how fucking bad I wished she would show up at my door.” He stopped in front of me and bent until his face was only inches from mine. “And look here, dreams do come true.”

  My heart was pounding ferociously in my chest, and all I could see were Sin’s eyes. There was a hunger in them that made something tighten low in my tummy, and I had to press my thighs together tightly to ease the pain.

  His breath brushed over my cheek, and I nearly whimpered. “What are you doing here, Ro?”

  I swallowed roughly. “I… Uh… I brought the song so we could rehearse it.”

  He sighed heavily and straightened, putting some much-needed distance between us. “You really want me to sing with you?”

  “You have a great voice, Sin. I know we will sound perfect together.”

  Scrubbing his hands over his face, he groaned. “All right, fine. Since you want it so much, I’ll do it. Let me grab a quick shower first, though. And some coffee. Then we can work on it.”

  Happy, I settled back against the couch cushions more comfortably. “Take your time. I have nowhere else to be.”

  “Make yourself at home,” he tossed over his shoulder as he headed for his bedroom. “I won’t be long.”

  Once he was gone, I decided to make him some coffee so I would have something to do. The kitchen was on the small side, but it had everything a single guy needed. Fridge, which I found was stocked full of beer and not much else. There was also a microwave, coffeemaker, and stove.

  Other than the coffeemaker, everything else looked unused. I doubted he ate at home much, and for some reason, I was glad. The thought of Sin eating alone every day made my heart hurt.

  After putting the coffee on, I looked for the sugar. He had a small box of sugar packets which I made use of for my own coffee, and then I pulled out the creamer. I’d seen him drink coffee enough times to know how he took his, and once the coffee finished brewing, I made us each a cup.

  Carrying them into the living room, I sat waiting for him to rejoin me. The living room was spotless of dust and disarray, so I figured he had someone clean the place for him regularly. There was a huge flat screen television mounted on the wall, but when I looked at the universal remote for the thing, I decided not to turn it on. I was technologically challenged and knew I would only screw something up embarrassingly that he would have to fix later.

  A few minutes later, he came out of his bedroom. His hair was still damp from the shower, but he was dressed in jeans and a faded Metallica T-shirt. Barefoot, he crossed to the couch and lifted his mug of coffee with a thankful groan. “Fuck, this is good coffee.”

  Suddenly nervous again, I unfolded the music I’d brought with me. “You’re not allowed to say no to this song. When I first heard your voice, I got this idea in my head, and it has been eating away at me ever since.”

  Glancing at the sheet music, he bit off a curse. “You want to do a cover of Lita Ford and Ozzy?”

  “Shut up. I love this song. Lzzy Hale and David Draiman did a cover of this song too. It was pretty kick-ass, in my opinion. And when we sing it next Thursday night, the crowd is going to lose their shit.”

  “I think I want to renegotiate the terms of this deal of ours,” he announced, grasping my wrist.

  “You’re not backing out,” I told him with a glare. “You said I could have anything I wanted, and this is what I want.”

  He tugged, pulling me toward him, and I went without protest. “I’m not backing out. But I’m thinking you eating a single piece of meat isn’t nearly enough reward for this particular song.”

  I gulped, my eyes suddenly glued to his lips, and I was unable to lift them. “Wh-What kind of reward?” I whispered.

  His head lowered until his nose skimmed over my cheek. “A kiss,” he breathed.

  It was a wonder the room didn’t suddenly fill with fog the way my body immediately went both hot and cold. Kiss Sin. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about doing just that a hundred times since meeting him. Sometimes, before the nightmares invaded my sleep, I would dream of him pressing me up against the wall in the green room and devouring my mouth.

  It was bliss in the most innocent form of my imagination, because even though Sicko Stan took away every other innocence I had, he’d never once kissed me. I had no experience in that department other than seeing other people do it.

  But I wasn’t sure I could actually kiss Sin in reality. What if I didn’t do it right and he laughed?

  While I was struggling internally, Sin touched his lips to the corner of my mouth. That gentle contact was as powerful as if he’d electrocuted me. My heart skipped a beat and need burned through me, only to settle low in my gut, making my panties damp. I gasped in surprise.

  Taking advantage of my slightly open mouth, he skimmed the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip, giving me just a tease of his taste, creamy sweet coffee with a hint of something much more addictive than caffeine. One of his hands cupped my jaw, his thumb brushing over the corner of my mouth, silently urging me to open wider for him.

  Too lost in his taste, in the simple yet enticing feel of his lips and tongue tempting me to kiss him back, I let him have whatever he wanted. When his tongue brushed over my own, I moaned in surprised pleasure.

  I forgot to feel embarrassed, forgot about being scared, and enjoyed every second of his kiss.

  The hand cupping my jaw moved into my hair, his fingers knotting the strands at the root and tilting my head back so he could deepen his invasion.

  It wasn’t until I felt his other hand skimming up my side, his fingers brushing over my breasts, that I jerked back, my heart pounding. Sin lifted his head, and I watched in fascination as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, as if savoring the taste of me. His eyes were bright with a hunger that startled me, but he smiled and touched his lips to my forehead before pulling away.

  “You taste so fucking good, sweet girl,” he groaned.