Page 9 of Craved By You
His words came more as a warning. “Choose your words carefully.”
“Y-yes.” I was able to squeak out. “Why me though? You could have anyone.”
“I don’t want just anyone. You didn’t know who I was without the mask on, most people recognize me instantly.” Colt glanced down at his phone and then back to me. “We can continue this later. For now, the show must go on.” The wink came again as he sauntered past, his arm playfully grazed against mine, leaving me breathless.
I don’t know what it was about him, but something drew me in, while another part of me was hesitant to allow myself to get too close.
Chapter 6
Colt
The concert went as well as it could. Those who attended had an amazing time; you could tell by the way they kept cheering “Encore!” We entertained them for two additional songs but I couldn’t wait to get offstage. Astrid had consumed my thoughts and I craved time with her. I desperately wanted to get to know her outside of what I had discovered on her phone and from following her around.
So far, I had identified that she is single - good thing, otherwise I’d have my work cut out for me - and her life revolved around work and home. Haileigh was about all she had. Her parents had passed, but even when they were alive, she avoided them like the plague. Astrid also loved her plants, crystals, and enjoyed trying to beat her own high score playing Tetris.
As I approached her I could see the stars twinkling in her eyes. ????“You guys were great.” I couldn’t wait to see what lingered in her gaze once I had my way with her. Testing my luck, I placed my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. “Hey,what are you doing?” Astrid acted put off, but she didn’t pull away from me. I could sense the hesitation building in her brain.
“You want to meet the band, yes?” I tilted my head and gestured in the direction of the guys I spent the majority of my time with, all of them standing together just staring at us. “I need them to understand that you are off limits.” I released her and took her by the hand instead, in case that made her feel more comfortable. “Otherwise they will be all over you like a hyena on a wildebeest.” We walked over to them and I couldn’t help but notice her hands getting sweaty in my grasp. “Guys, this is Astrid. Sunshine, meet the guys.”
“Hi.” She waved at them casually. “You guys did amazing.”
“You just gonna put up with him calling you sunshine?” Jax, our bassist, started to poke fun but I gave him the death stare and he put himself back into his place.
“She is the sunshine on my cloudy days,” I blurted out, letting a glimpse of my feelings get the best of me. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Astrid staring at me. She was probably questioning how I could feel that way when we had really only met face to face for the first time, today.
Ryder, our drummer, took notice of Haileigh. “What about little miss cutie back there?”
“Oh, Hailstorm?” I figured she would have followed us, so I waved Haileigh over. “She’s married, so don’t even think about it.” I heard an annoyed groan come from behind me followed by Chris mutteringdammitunder his breath. Haileigh definitely ticked all of his boxes for the perfect woman. If she ever became single, there’s no doubt that he would swoop in before anyone else got a chance… though Ryder would probably be faster.
You could tell she was still reeling from the adrenaline caused by the concert, and probably had a bit of alcohol in her system. “Great show!” She called out eagerly.
“Glad you could come out.” Chris smiled at her. “Both of you. It’s not often we have anyone to greet us when we get off stage.”
Astrid glanced up at me with a confused look on her face and I knew that she had already pegged me as the guy who would have women lined up waiting for me once a concert ended. Normally, I only had people waiting for me after a gig if I was planning on ending their lives soon after.
It was easy. Much like I did with her, I would insert myself into their path, tell them who I was, and then provide them a backstage pass. I’d ask them to be quiet about it because I didn’t want a bunch of people starting to harass me on the internet for passes. They would show up alone.Idiots. Then after the show, we would go out, get drunk… Well, they would. Then I could usually coax them back to the warehouse where we practice, offering to give them a tour of the studio. Then after several hours of torture and harvesting, I would find myself preparing them before taking them home and shoving the parts that I deemed acceptable into the deep freeze. The following day, I would sneak the rest of the parts that I didn’t use to my uncle’s farm and give the pigs their own special treat.
They were as happy to see me as I was them.
“What are you ladies going to do with the rest of your night?” I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
Haileigh spoke up first. “I have to get home to my hubby, but Astrid is free.” She smiled and I could feel the daggers Astrid was mentally chucking at her without even seeing her face.????“What do you say, sunshine?” I could tell she was searching for anexcuse as to why she couldn’t spend more time with me and was struggling to come up with a reason.
Astrid finally responded. “It’s getting late. I should get home, too.”
“I understand.”No, I didn’t.There was a feeling building up inside me when she refused to spend extra time with me.No one ever tells me no.
Astrid quickly offered up an alternative option. “We could meet up for coffee tomorrow?” She looked innocent but I knew there was a different side to her that only I would get to discover. I loved that about her. A smile crept at the corner of my mouth, already thinking about tomorrow. This was the reason she was my sunshine: easily making things better when they were starting to look dark. If I ever killed for sport, she probably would have just saved someone’s life.
My voice was gravelly. “I’ll be counting down the minutes.”
“Sweet!” Astrid shrieked with excitement. “Then, I am going to walk to my car with Haileigh.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek unexpectedly. “Thank you for tonight.” She beamed before the two scurried off, giggling. I caught her glancing back in my direction a couple of times before they turned the corner.
Once she was no longer in view, my attention drifted back to my bandmates. They were all staring in disbelief.
Chris started to laugh. “Bro, you didn’t seal the deal?”
“Shut up, Master Bates. Who’s going home with you tonight?” I shut him down before he could get too many jabs in.
