Page 8 of I Married Kayog
“A white dove is the human symbol of peace,” Tala reminded me.
“But I’m not a dove,” I argued feebly, embarrassed by that pathetic response.
Mares gave me an unimpressed look. “No, but you are a white bird. He’s warning you.”
“About what, though? We’ve never even talked,” I challenged.
“But he noticed you,” Tala countered. “I bet he wants you but thinks that somehow he is bad for you.”
“Why? Because he’s crazy?” I asked in a slightly derisive tone, echoing the lyrics. “Whatever happened to him being Mr. Perfect?” I added teasingly to lighten the mood.
Instead of snorting or giving methe look, Mares frowned and took on a serious expression.
“I think he might be neurodivergent,” he replied pensively.
It was my turn to frown. “Being neurodivergent doesn’t make someone crazy,” I argued sternly. “Plenty of people like that have very normal lives and relationships.”
“Iknow,” Mares said in a reasonable tone. “Buthemay not think so. After all, he systematically avoids people and has been single for as long as any of us have known him. Someone this handsome, charismatic, smart, and popular wouldn’t be single unless it was by choice. But I somehow doubt he does so happily.”
Too soon—or was it not soon enough?—the song ended to crashing applause. He smiled, bowed to the crowd, then briefly made eye contact with me again. That seemed to confirm that it had indeed been about me.
That utterly confused me. Did he genuinely like me but did not want to have a relationship? Was it his way of saying he wouldn’t mind playing naughty with me but not to expect any form of commitment? Or were we all seeing something that wasn’t there?
The concert went on for another forty minutes. The way his body moved as he traipsed around the stage, alternating between ballads and more up-tempo pieces royally messed with my head. Based on Tala’s prior statements, Kayog was a top tier athlete. And his body certainly seemed to confirm it. He had a way of swaying his hips that had his muscular abs just screaming at us to reach out and touch him. The play of light and shadows on his chest emphasized each of the scrumptious curves and bulges.
At one point, he put the mic back on its stand and stared me straight in the eyes. His right hand tightly gripping the upper part of the stand felt almost as if it was gripping my throat in a possessive and controlling fashion. The fingers of his right hand glided down the length of the stand, and I could almost feel them running down my spine in a gentle caress. A fire lit in the pit of my stomach, and I started throbbing in places I shouldn’t.
Once again, when he looked away as he went into the chorus, belting out the words with an intensity that had the crowd going wild, I felt almost abandoned. However, through the electric emotions sparkling all around me, a more potent one drew my attention. It took a second for my gaze to zero in on Colin. He was intently studying Kayog, his face unreadable.
As soon as the show ended, Colin headed backstage almost at the same time as the musicians did. One of the bouncers tried to stop him, but he whipped out his Enforcer badge. Although surprised, the bouncer bowed his head and let him through.
What in the world could he possibly want with Kayog?
Is he trying to recruit him? But for what?
Chapter 3
Kayog
As we made our way into the dressing room, I couldn’t help but smile at the excitement of my companions. They were almost talking over each other, commenting about the incredible response we received from the crowd. In the two years I spent performing with them, the popularity of the band had steadily grown. While our performances were usually well-received, tonight undeniably went to another level.
“Dude, you totally killed it!” Devin exclaimed, slapping the back of my shoulder with a huge grin plastered on his face.
I gave him a smug smile. “Of course, I did.”
He chuckled and shook his head at me.
“That dove song was freaking chef’s kiss!” Benedict said as we entered our changing room.
“Hell yeah, it was!” Devin replied while putting his guitar back on its stand. “To think I was giving you a hard time about squeezing it in at the last minute like that.”
“I told you it was worth it,” I said in an amused tone, counting the minutes before I could make a discreet exit.
“You sure did, and I agreed the minute you sang it for us,” Adam said with a wink.
He grabbed that dreadful beverage called beer that humans enjoyed so much, passed a bottle to Carter, who gladly accepted it, then let himself drop in one of the two couches in the spacious room.
“So where did that come from? That hot Temern chick inspired it, right?” Devin asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive fashion. “I can’t blame you. I’d fluff her feathers, too.”
