Determined to make him keep his promise, I showed up at his apartment the next evening, the song I picked for us already in hand.
After Tainted Knights got their huge-ass contract, one Rolling Stone claimed was the biggest contract they had seen since Demon’s Wings had been signed twenty-plus years before, Sin moved. I knew that because he had a huge party once he was settled in and invited my soul sisters and me.
I hadn’t been back since then, but if I wanted to ensure he followed through, I was willing to go the extra step of stopping in unannounced and forcing him to rehearse the song with me.
Pounding on his apartment door, I waited for him to answer, trying to hide just how nervous I was to be alone with him in his apartment for however long it took to convince him this song was perfect for us and get him to go through it a few times with me.
That was all this was, I told myself as I wiped my damp palms on my jeans. I wanted him to sing with me. It had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to be alone with him. Nothing whatsoever.
A minute passed before the door opened, and a bleary-eyed Sin stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of black pajama bottoms and a tight white T-shirt. “What?” he grumbled, not even looking up.
“You know it’s like three in the afternoon, right?”
His lids lifted at the sound of my voice, and I saw surprised pleasure in their depths. “Considering I didn’t fall asleep until like nine this morning, no, I had no idea what time it was, sweet girl.”
He stepped back, and I walked in. “What kept you up so late?” I asked casually as I moved into the living room and dropped down onto the couch like I did this all the time and was completely comfortable with it.
Sin shut the door and followed me, crossing his arms over his thick chest. “This beautiful Blonde was on my mind and made it impossible for me to sleep. All I could think about was how much I wished she hadn’t sent me home, or how much I wanted to taste her lips, or how fucking bad I wished she would show up at my door.” He stopped in front of me and bent until his face was only inches from mine. “And look here, dreams do come true.”
My heart was pounding ferociously in my chest, and all I could see were Sin’s eyes. There was a hunger in them that made something tighten low in my tummy, and I had to press my thighs together tightly to ease the pain.
His breath brushed over my cheek, and I nearly whimpered. “What are you doing here, Ro?”
I swallowed roughly. “I… Uh… I brought the song so we could rehearse it.”
He sighed heavily and straightened, putting some much-needed distance between us. “You really want me to sing with you?”
“You have a great voice, Sin. I know we will sound perfect together.”
Scrubbing his hands over his face, he groaned. “All right, fine. Since you want it so much, I’ll do it. Let me grab a quick shower first, though. And some coffee. Then we can work on it.”
Happy, I settled back against the couch cushions more comfortably. “Take your time. I have nowhere else to be.”
“Make yourself at home,” he tossed over his shoulder as he headed for his bedroom. “I won’t be long.”
Once he was gone, I decided to make him some coffee so I would have something to do. The kitchen was on the small side, but it had everything a single guy needed. Fridge, which I found was stocked full of beer and not much else. There was also a microwave, coffeemaker, and stove.
Other than the coffeemaker, everything else looked unused. I doubted he ate at home much, and for some reason, I was glad. The thought of Sin eating alone every day made my heart hurt.
After putting the coffee on, I looked for the sugar. He had a small box of sugar packets which I made use of for my own coffee, and then I pulled out the creamer. I’d seen him drink coffee enough times to know how he took his, and once the coffee finished brewing, I made us each a cup.
Carrying them into the living room, I sat waiting for him to rejoin me. The living room was spotless of dust and disarray, so I figured he had someone clean the place for him regularly. There was a huge flat screen television mounted on the wall, but when I looked at the universal remote for the thing, I decided not to turn it on. I was technologically challenged and knew I would only screw something up embarrassingly that he would have to fix later.
A few minutes later, he came out of his bedroom. His hair was still damp from the shower, but he was dressed in jeans and a faded Metallica T-shirt. Barefoot, he crossed to the couch and lifted his mug of coffee with a thankful groan. “Fuck, this is good coffee.”
Suddenly nervous again, I unfolded the music I’d brought with me. “You’re not allowed to say no to this song. When I first heard your voice, I got this idea in my head, and it has been eating away at me ever since.”
Glancing at the sheet music, he bit off a curse. “You want to do a cover of Lita Ford and Ozzy?”
“Shut up. I love this song. Lzzy Hale and David Draiman did a cover of this song too. It was pretty kick-ass, in my opinion. And when we sing it next Thursday night, the crowd is going to lose their shit.”
“I think I want to renegotiate the terms of this deal of ours,” he announced, grasping my wrist.
“You’re not backing out,” I told him with a glare. “You said I could have anything I wanted, and this is what I want.”
He tugged, pulling me toward him, and I went without protest. “I’m not backing out. But I’m thinking you eating a single piece of meat isn’t nearly enough reward for this particular song.”
I gulped, my eyes suddenly glued to his lips, and I was unable to lift them. “Wh-What kind of reward?” I whispered.