Tainted Bastard (Tainted Knights 4)

ing and I was falling deep into his eyes, the music possessed both our souls.

Rehearsals the last few days told me we would be dynamite together like this. The actual experience was life-changing. His voice blended with mine when the verse called for it, almost as if we were made to harmonize together.

Sin put just as much emotion into the song as I did, maybe more. If something happened and there was no more Tainted Knights, he could easily go solo.

As the last verse hit, I lifted my hand. He pressed his palm to mine. His was at least twice as big as my own, his fingers swallowing mine up when he interlocked them together. My heart was racing, my soul singing just as loud as my voice had been, and I knew in that moment I was lost.

I love him.

I didn’t know how or when or even why, specifically.

All I did know was that he was it. The one everyone waited a lifetime to meet, just to relinquish their heart, their soul, their entire fucking being to.

The lights went down the second the last chord was played, just as I’d discussed with the tech team upstairs. It was the perfect way to end this show, give the crowd this song with Sin as a surprise, and then let them decide if it was as magical for them as it was for me.

Standing there on that dark stage, my heart racing, my body trembling, I waited for them to make their decision.

Less than a second later, the entire club erupted. The screams, the applause, the pure energy coming from the whole place shook the building on its foundation.

Sin jerked me against him, his lips brushing over mine in one of those soft, soul-searing kisses. It was over before it even began, and then we were following the others off the darkened stage, back to the green room while the crowd was still going crazy over that last performance.

Outside the door, he pressed his lips to my ear. “Hurry, sweet girl. I need you.”

A shiver slid down my spine, and hunger clenched in my core. Biting my lip, I rushed to change while he stayed outside.

“Ro, you leaving?” Genesis asked as she pulled her shirt over her head.

“Y-Yeah,” I told her, breathless as I exchanged my sweat-dampened shirt for a clean one and my jeans for the yoga pants I wore earlier.

“Call us if you need us,” Aubree advised, blowing me a kiss as I put my feet in a pair of flip-flops, grabbed my gym bag, and started for the door.

Sin was pacing in front of the green room door, his fingers working through his hair as he waited, making the two guards anxious just watching him. I walked up behind him, wrapping my arms around his middle and pressing my face into his back. He shuddered, his breath leaving him in a pained groan.

I kissed his shoulder through his T-shirt before stepping back. He took my hand, and I practically had to sprint to keep up with his long strides out to his car.

He opened the passenger door for me, taking my gym bag off my shoulder as I sat down. Seconds later, he was behind the wheel, and I felt like I was going to combust from the heat in his eyes when he leaned in to kiss me again.

“Come home with me,” he pleaded. “I won’t do anything you don’t want. Just let me hold you. Kiss you.” His lips touched my neck. “Let me lick your pretty pussy, Ro.”

“O-Okay,” I stuttered out, more from the excitement of knowing the pleasure he was going to give me than apprehension.

After my past, I should have been terrified of anything sexual. But there was a big difference in what Sin made me feel compared to Sicko Stan.

Sin made me feel wanted, achy, greedy for more.

Most of all, he made me feel like he would give up his own life to protect me.

Sicko Stan made me feel scared—of everything. He gave me pain, and I knew he would have taken my life to save his own.

It helped that they looked so different, too. Sicko Stan was a short, middle-aged man the last time I saw him, with a receding hairline, a potbelly, and teeth so bad I could smell his breath from three feet away.

Sin was physical perfection. Over six feet tall, thick muscles, hard abs. His short, dark hair felt like silk when I ran my fingers through it. His brown eyes reminded me of Dr. Pepper when he looked at me like he was ready to devour me.

Like he was doing now.

I blinked. We were in the garage of his apartment building. I had no idea how long we’d been there, but it couldn’t have been long because Sin was just sitting there, his eyes tracing my face like he was trying to memorize every feature.

“You’ve been awfully quiet over there, sweet girl,” he murmured as he leaned in close, his upper body stretching across the console. His breath smelled sweet, enticing me to open my mouth and let him taste me.