Page 64 of Her Dark Angel

Nash runs his hand through his soaked curls and smiles out at the crowd during a guitar solo by Hudson. When the solo ends, Nash points at the crowd, which only makes them scream louder.

“Now I want to hear every single one of you fucking singing along, okay?”

At his command, the music slows to a rock ballad. It doesn’t take long for the fans to sing along to the lyrics. It’s almost deafening how loud they are. I can hardly hear Nash over their voices, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He simply smiles through the song and pours his heart out into each word.

I wish I could’ve invited Travis to attend. We used to spend a lot of our free time during filming listening to rock music on his cassette tape, dreaming of a day when we would be old enough to attend one. Gazing out over this crowd… I just know Travis would’ve loved this.

If I could go back in time and tell twelve-year-old me where our life would be at now, she would be shocked speechless.

Images of Travis’ sweet smile flash in my mind, reminding me of the excitement etched across his face the night of our first adult party. His eyes were so full of life, and mine reflected the same.

Be a good girl, Kinnie. I won’t hurt you.

My heart thumps harshly in my chest at the memories, and suddenly, I’m struggling to breathe as my chest tightens and my head spins.

But before the demons can sink their claws into me, Nash’s voice breaks through the darkness and wraps around me like a warm blanket, shielding me.

With my heart in my throat, I draw my attention to Nash as he works the stage while belting out the lyrics to one of Dark Angel’s most popular songs, ‘A Good Time’.

And just like that, the demons are cast to the back of my mind, allowing me to focus on the performance without feeling like I’m going to slip into the darkness again.

A shiver races down my spine. The longer I stand here and watch this man perform, the harder it is to remind myself that this is a publicity stunt. Nothing more.

“Holy fuck, that was insane,” Nash exclaims the moment he steps off the stage. He runs a hand through his damp hair before his mismatched eyes meet mine. “Enjoy the show, little devil?”

Luca, Axel, and Hudson rush off the stage, talking among themselves. I wait for them to rack their instruments and head to the green room before I answer Nash.

“You were amazing up there.” There is no other way for me to describe the raw sex appeal Nash gives off when he’s on stage performing his heart out. His voice alone gave me butterflies and I don’t even want to mention what else he has done to me the past two hours he’s been performing. “I’m sure you’ve heard this many times in your career, but you were born to be on that stage performing to thousands of people.”

Nash runs his tongue over his lip ring. “The compliment sounds better coming from your lips.”

I roll my eyes playfully. “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. Anyway, I better head out.”

Before I can even turn my body to leave, Nash has his hand wrapped around the back of my neck, pulling me close until our lips crash together. I’m helpless to fight against him because the truth is, kissing this man lights my body on fire in a way no man has been able to do before. The way our lips move together in sync with precision is enough to blow my mind. All I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and hold on for dear life.

As the kiss intensifies, Nash’s hands slip to the back of my thighs to hoist me off the ground. My legs instinctually wrap around his waist, clinging to him. A groan rumbles deep in his chest, eliciting one of my own because goddamn that was unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Animalist, even.

I don’t know how long we’ve been standing in the darkness of the wing making out like we’re goddamn teenagers, but I don’t care. All I’m focused on is the way Nash’s tongue explores my mouth, expertly moving against mine in a steady rhythm, or the firm grip he has on my ass to hold me against his hard body.

My fingers are lost in the inky mass of curls framing his face, using them as support to stay upright. The cold metal of Nash’s lip ring moving in tandem against my lips is driving me wild. I have never kissed a man with a lip ring, let alone more tattoos than I could count, and it’s now my new favorite addition to a man. The bite of the metal adds to the fire licking at my core, sending my mind into overdrive thinking about how it would feel against other parts of my body.

I’m fucking soaked already—not just from his wet clothes—and all we’re doing is kissing.

What the hell is Nash Beck doing to me?

Nash pulls away long enough to look into my eyes. The intensity of them sends a shiver down my spine. “What are you doing to me, little devil?”

I stare back at him, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. How could I possibly begin to answer that question? I don’t know what I’m doing to him when I’m just as confused as he is by this situation.

“Nash, I?—”

“What the hell is going on here?”

My eyes widen at the sound of Hudson’s accusatory voice behind us. Panic quickly spreads across my body and I fight to get out of Nash’s grip. He slowly lowers me to my feet, but I’m unable to look Hudson in the eye. My fiery cheeks would be enough of an indication to him of my level of embarrassment right now.

Nash clears his throat and presses a hand firmly against my back so I have no choice but to lay my cheek against his chest. “Nothing, man. What’s up?”

“Well, we’re waiting for you before we start our debrief and get the alcohol flowing.”

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