Page 10 of Severance

I open my mouth to ask Jess for her car keys, but the words die on my lips because the prince in the leather jacket distracts me from the task at hand. He steps out from the crowd and positions himself next to his friend, facing me. His dazzling blue eyes search mine.

My body’s frozen, but I can still feel the heat radiating from him. It’s a different kind of warmth. A little dangerous, a little intimidating, and a little addicting. And it ignites a strange flutter-like sensation in my belly, similar to the one I felt during the show.Is this how pheromones work?

Up close, he’s even more beautiful. He has an elegant face with a strong jaw and a cleft in his chin, high cheekbones, and wide-set eyes—all that, touched with a hint of softness. His skin’s the color of milk and honey and I wonder if he’s real. What if I’m dreaming. What if when I wake up, he’s gone.

My heart beats faster when he tosses a smile at me—wide, all-consuming, and with dimples—pretty much knocking me off my feet.

For a second there, I actually forget I’m a sweaty ice pop.

“Hey,” he says, ignoring the noise around us. His voice is a blend of rough and tender, and it washes over me like a warm, playful wave, flirty and tempting. Erasing all my surroundings.

“Hey.” I return the greeting, not sure if he can hear me when my tongue stiffens. He doesn’t need to, though. Because he looks at me as if he can read my mind, and I wonder if that’s why he’s smiling.

“Did you enjoy the show?” he asks without paying attention to Jess or Luke.

“Yes.” I nod. “Did you?” My eyes drink in every detail of him slowly and hungrily. He’s the kind of guy you’d see on Pinterest when you type “gothic fashion.” He wears rings and a chain necklace and his boots have metal studs. I can tell he’s put a lot of thought into his outfit.

“I did… I heard my buddy hooked you up with some tickets to see our show?” He gives Luke a pat on the back.

“Looks like it.” I breathe out, thrusting my hands into the tiny pockets of my jacket. The cloud of condensation coming from my mouth floats lazily in the air between us. “So…” I drawl, letting the words sit on my tongue for a moment. “You’re in a band.”

“Yep.” A head tilt. “And you like rock music.”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on, DK?” Luke finally tears his eyes off Jess’s boobs to acknowledge his friend’s presence. “You got two extra tickets for the ladies?”

Watching them interact is fascinating. There’s a lot of gesturing and almost no words, like it’s some secret sign language only known among musicians.

“Sure.” The blue-eyed prince returns his gaze to me. “You’re coming, right?”

My heart screams and dances like a cheerleader. “Yes.” I break eye contact and look at Jess. She’s grinning at me from ear to ear.

“Cool. I’m Dakota. This fool right here”—he throws his arm over Luke’s shoulder and draws him closer—“is our drummer.”

“What’s the name of your band again?” Jess asks.

“Midnight Rust,” Luke responds, standing upright, tall and proud.

“How come I’ve never heard of you?”

“That’s fixable, honeybun.” He chuckles.

I cringe at the cheesy endearment.

Dakota smiles again and his gaze returns to me. “I didn’t get your name.”

“Alana,” I mutter, drawing my right hand from my pocket to push away a strand of hair the wind has whipped across my face.

“Do you have a phone”—he pauses—“Alana?”

My name coming out of his mouth doesn’t even sound like it belongs to me. He’s turned it into something entirely different. Something sensual.

“Yes, I have a phone,” I say, dumbstruck.

“I’ll text you the show info in a few days when we sort everything out.”

“Okay. Sure.”

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