The music stopped.
Unexpected silence descended.
And before the audience could react, the screen flashed again, this time with colorful starbursts, and Vivi’s voice sounded just as the lights went on above the stage. She stepped out to a loud cheer, wearing a sparkling red and black sequined bodysuit with cleavage-revealing cutouts on her chest, a black belt around her waist, and matching knee-high boots. Her makeup was heavier than he’d ever seen it, eyes surrounded by thick black liner and lashes, her lips a siren red.
At the sight of her, his heart nearly stopped and his cock hardened in his pants. A combination of need and pride centered in his chest. And then the patrons in the club erupted, joining with her cover songs. But he knew she had her own music to share, and that would blow the crowd away even more.
She’d engaged Landon from the second she stepped on stage, captivated him with her incredible voice, and her body movements had him imagining doing all sorts of dirty, sexy things both to her and with her. Hell, half the guys in this club were probably envisioning the same thing even if they’d walked in with dates.
Landon shifted in his seat, not so discreetly adjusting his dick because he was fucking uncomfortable. But he couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed her performance. He glanced at his partners and noticed their women wrapped around them but huge smiles on their faces. No doubt they were counting the money they’d bring in when word of mouth took hold about tonight.
From his seat by the bar, Jason raised his bottle of Pellegrino and grinned. Tanner caught the gesture and did the same, Landon joining them. Club TEN29 was back and they had Vivi to thank.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch, her songs and acts all perfection. Her varied costume changes drove him insane. Bodysuits that showed off her legs, ones with skintight shorts attached, sparkles, sequins, fishnet stockings, thigh-high boots, high heels, ballet slippers, all designed to make a man drool. To make him drool.
And the pull toward her wasn’t just sexual. There was a vulnerability buried inside her that allowed her music to shine and her sensuality to burn. He felt those things deep inside him, and as she sat down at the piano, slowing down her final set, the sound of the keys playing called to him.
Unable to stop himself, he made his way toward the stage, where she played the instrument he loved. As if she sensed his presence, she looked up, her gaze locked with his, and the rest of the room dissolved around them. He made his way to the bench and settled in beside her. Their shoulders rubbed against each other, the warmth of her body penetrating through his jacket, and the vocals she projected reverberated inside him. Even if it was just his imagination, she helped piece together the jagged parts inside him.
Without words, he watched as her fingers traveled the keyboard, taking the song down an octave, leaving room for him to play along with her. His mouth grew dry and he began to sweat, the thought of playing in public fucking frightening. Music always reminded him of Levi.
But that could be a good thing, he thought, his fingers touching the keys. He loved his twin. Missed him, yes, but reminders could be cathartic. So he began to play for just the second time in a decade, while her beautiful voice resonated around him.
She laid her head on his shoulder as she sang the slow, moving song about love and loss. And then she lifted her head, turned, and met his gaze, her smile as brilliant as the applause was deafening. She rose to take a bow and, he knew, step back on the stage for her closing number.
He sat alone on the bench, stunned by the emotions flowing through him, as if something inside him had been set free by that performance. He owed the flow of emotion and the ultimate acceptance of that part of him he’d lost with Levi’s death to Vivi.
He desired her. He needed her. His body yearned to feel her beneath him. The rest, the hard parts, the fact that they had an upward climb toward any kind of relationship, he’d have to deal with later. He was willing to fight through the hurdles of his friends and family to get to know her completely.
He didn’t know what the future held, but he couldn’t hold her brother’s sins against her.
* * *
Elation soared through Vivi at the close of her first event at the club. The excitement of a job well done was as much a reason for her heightened emotions as the fact that Landon had sat with her at the piano. Surely he wouldn’t have done it if he still held a grudge. She’d sensed his initial reluctance to play, but he’d joined her and together they’d made magic. She knew he sensed it, too.