Page 6 of Blind Attraction

“You see her?” Blake asked, stopping beside him in the middle of the lobby.

Mitch cringed. He felt like an obsessive fan waiting for one special glimpse. “Nah. Maybe she’s at the bar.”

He played it cool even though his throat tightened. The blonde and her friend were nowhere in sight. All he could do is hope Tim found her.

Turning on his heel, they made their way to the shared suite upstairs. Mitch hightailed it to the shower to scrub the sweat from his body. He didn’t give himself a chance to descend from the adrenaline high. Once his heart rate settled, the half-hard part of his anatomy would perk up and want to play. And he had no intention of performing alone tonight.

His shower lasted minutes. Enough time to wash and get out. He yanked on his boxers, pulled up cream cargo pants, and buttoned up a navy blue collared shirt. As he walked from the bathroom, he towel dried his hair, secretly hoping Tim might be in the suite with the woman.

He needed to find out her damn name.

“I gather from your disappointed expression, I’m not the only person you expected to see sitting here?” Blake asked from the sofa, his laptop resting on his thighs. The bass guitarist didn’t go anywhere without it.

“Yeah. I thought Tim might’ve brought her up here. Maybe he couldn’t find her. Or she wasn’t interested.” He shrugged through the disappointment.

“Well I guess it’s me and you tonight, buddy.”

Blake lifted the laptop from his thighs and stood. “Let me get some decent clothes on, and I’ll go downstairs with you. No harm in checking.” He closed the device and placed it on the coffee table. “Unless we get molested by an over enthusiastic bunch of groupies.”

Mitch gave a halfhearted snort. The thought of mindless sex with a giddy fan girl turned his stomach. His mind was already set on a particular conquest. He just didn’t want Blake to know how eager he was. “Sounds like a good fall back plan to me.”

Alana’s legs shook as she paced the cement walkway in front of the hotel.

“It’s only one drink, Al.” Kate stood on the edge of the grass, staring at her while she went back and forth, back and forth. “If you don’t go in there and see him, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

True. Tonight had already been the most exhilarating night of her existence. The opportunity to meet with one of the most world famous guitarists would never come around again, especially if she continued to live in seclusion on her mother’s property.

“But what if...” There were too many “what if’s” coursing through her mind. What if he expected more than a drink? What if he didn’t take no for an answer? What if the whole band was there and they wanted to share her around like a bottle of soda at a kid’s birthday party?

She’d lost count at how many pieces of teeny, tiny panties had been thrown on stage during the performance. At one point Alana worried the entire crowd would be naked by the end of the show. And none of the band members paid them any attention. Being gifted with used female underwear must be a common occurrence.

“What ifwhat?” Kate tapped her foot. “I’ll be there with you. It’s not like he can make you do anything you don’t want to do. Your mother’s brainwashed you into thinking men are douche bags. And for the most part, she’s right, but you can’t go through life hiding behind her bad experiences.”

Alana growled in frustration and clenched her fists. Kate was right. She needed to toughen up. Her friend wasn’t bullying her, she was trying to beat away the uncertainty and insecurities Alana’s mother had crammed into her since birth. Christ. She already knew how to kick an attacker’s ass. Her mace was firmly in her jeans pocket next to her cell phone, and they would be in a highly populated hotel in the middle of the city. What could go wrong?

“Fine.” She breathed out a sigh. “Let’s do this.”

“About time,” Kate mumbled and turned to walk toward the hotel entrance.

Alana was going to do this. She would walk into the lobby, search for a celebrity who appeared far more stunning than any other man she’d seen in real life and try like hell to not vomit on his shoes. “What if he doesn’t want to see me?”

“Oh, for the love of god.” Kate turned and placed her hands on her hips. “Are you fucking serious?”

“He told me earlier the security guard would come get me, and he never showed. Maybe he changed his mind.”

Kate breathed out a calming breath. “Mitchell Davies is a rock legend.” She raised her eyebrows. “He is sex on a stick. He makes my ovaries sigh. And you’ve stood here bitching like a fifth grader for the last twenty minutes. All this anxiety over a man any sensible woman would be inside dry humping right now.” Kate gave her a forced smile. “You’re going to go in there. You’re going to blow his mind, and you won’t be coming back out unless I say so.”

At least she kept the blowing part above the belt.

Alana gave a slow nod. “Ohh kay.”

They walked side-by-side into the glamorous lobby, around the closed coffee shop, and passed the small groups of fans yet to leave the hotel. There was no sign of Mitchell or any of the other band members. With each passing moment, she grew more eager to find him, if only to see his flirty smile one last time—and his eyes, he had the sweetest eyes.

After fifteen minutes of searching, Alana sighed and came to a stop meters from the entrance doors. “He’s gone and so has the security guard from earlier.” She gave one last visual sweep of the room before focusing back on Kate. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

Kate glanced at her watch and shrugged. “Yeah. It’s already one. Let’s go home so I can get a few hours sleep before I have to get up for work.”

Alana hadn’t taken more than two steps toward the exit when the hairs on the back of her neck lifted.

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