Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (5 page)

Devil Himself

“YOU SOUND AMAZING, Leo. Every time
I think you can’t get better, you prove me wrong.” Ashley loved her brother’s
responses when she complimented his progress. He knew that she would tell him
if he sounded like shit—she never shied away from the truth—so her compliments
meant a lot to him.

“Of course I sound great, little sis. Hello? I’m Leo Kynde!
The voice of
Storm Front
.” With a smirk and a wink he quickly added,
“Don’t tell Ryan I said that, he’ll kick my ass.”

Ashley giggled watching Leo as he got up from behind his
drum kit, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in the garage and
drained it in one long gulp. The women were going to swoon over him during the
tour. He’d been hitting the gym for daily workouts with Ryan all through the
summer and his nights had been spent practicing at the local bars with the
guys.

Storm Front
was going to be the next big thing—she
could feel it in her bones. Wiping his face with his faded Eagles,
Hell
Freezes Over
t-shirt, Ashley saw a white gauze bandage covered in plastic
wrap on the side of Leo’s torso.

“Leo!” She gasped. “What the heck is that?” While Ashley
found tattoos extremely sexy on Ryan, she couldn’t imagine her brother ever
marring his beautiful skin with permanent ink.

“It’s just a tattoo, Ash, it’s no big deal. You don’t seem
to have a problem with Ryan’s ink.” Leo wagged his eyebrows and quickly moved
out of the way to avoid a lunging Ashley.

“Holy crap, Leo! Mom and Dad are going to freak out. Did you
show them?” Leo quickly tugged down his shirt.

“Wait, I can’t see it. Take off the wrap. I want to see what
you decided was so important that you thought it should stay forever marked on
your body.” Ashley crossed her arms over her chest, trying to display an
agitation that she just didn’t feel.

Tattoos were sexy as hell, but the truth was she was more
upset that Leo hadn’t told her he was going to do it. Finding out after the
fact wasn’t the same. It felt like he was slipping away from her and that
thought pricked her deeper than she cared to let on.

“First of all, Ash, I didn’t need to ask or tell Mom and Dad
because I’m eighteen. But, I
did
tell them and they were cool with it.
They gave me the whole, ‘Go to a safe place and make sure they use clean
needles,’ talk
.
Second of all,” Ashley could see the tension forming in
Leo’s shoulders, “I didn’t want you to try to talk me out of it.”

“Leo.” Ashley tried to interrupt him but he held his hand up
to stop her from speaking.

“Sweet little sister. I love you more than anyone in the
world, you know that, right?” Ashley nodded silently. “But when you think
you’re right about something you refuse to see it from anyone else’s
perspective. Yes, you are insanely smart and as much as I hate to admit it,
you’re usually right about most things. But you never allow yourself to just
follow your heart, Ashley.” Leo exhaled loudly, as he ran his fingers through
his coiffed hair. “And sometimes that’s the only thing that needs to be
trusted. Sometimes, all of the black and white points to one answer, but your
heart points to something else. Those are the times when you need to follow
your heart. I really wanted this, Ash, and I didn’t want logic to stop me from
getting it.”

She was momentarily stunned. “Wow, Leo. That was the most
profound thing I’ve ever heard you say. And I think I understand why you did
what you did.”

“If you understand then why do you have that look on your
face?” Leo ran his hands over Ashley’s shoulders the way he had a thousand
times before.

“The truth?” She questioned, looking straight into Leo’s
eyes. The same hazel eyes she saw when she looked in the mirror each day.

“Always the truth, little sister. Nothing between us but the
truth.”

Trying to hold back the tears that threatened to escape her
eyes, Ashley pulled in a deep breath. “I’m scared that I’m going to lose you,
Leo. You went and got a tattoo without even telling me. You’ve never, ever done
something so…so HUGE without including me. Next week, you, Ryan and the guys
are leaving on your tour for three and half months and I’m scared that this is
the last I will ever see of my brother. The real you.” The warmth of the tears
caressed her cheeks as she felt her body being tugged into the familiar embrace
of her brother’s body.

“Ashley, you will
neve
r lose me. I will always be
here for you. I love you with my whole heart. It doesn’t matter how rich and
famous I become and believe me, I will become rich and famous,” he chuckled.
“You will always be my baby sister and my best friend. When I get too big for
my own britches—or in my case, my old concert t-shirts—I’m gonna need you to rein
me in. You got it?”

Feeling soothed and loved, Ashley wrapped her arms around
Leo’s broad torso and squeezed. “I got it, big brother. I got it.” Wiping away
the remaining tears, she said, “So, do I get to see this heart inspired
permanent piece of art, or what?”

Leo lifted his shirt and carefully stripped off the bandage.
Catching sight of the ink Ashley understood why Leo needed to follow his heart.
He was right. It had led him in the right direction. Scripted beautifully down
his ribcage, it read:

The
Darker the Storm,

The
Deeper the Pain,

The
Brighter the Light At the End.

Always
Reach for the Light.

The sound of applause was almost deafening as
Storm Front
finished their last song on the stage at
Riley’s Beach Bar and Grille
.
This was where the band had played their first gig and this was where they were
playing their final show before leaving for three and a half months. Ryan’s
ears buzzed from the noise and his blood thrummed through his veins. The band’s
performance was incredible tonight. Zane was on fire with the keyboards, Jayson
made the bass his bitch, and Leo melded into his drums as he always did when he
played. The way he could sing with the angels and keep a beat with the drums
was like nothing Ryan had ever heard before.

He tried and failed to hold back the smile that took over
his face as he looked at his band mates. He knew they sounded awesome and he
couldn’t wait to perform in all of the amazing places they were headed. Sure,
the venues would be small and
Storm Front
would be the opening act for
the opening act, but they had to start somewhere. They felt like rock stars
already.

He looked out into the restaurant and quickly found Ashley.
She was sitting at a table with her parents. Ryan thought back to earlier in
the week when the Kynde doctors informed them that they had taken time off work
to see the show. While Ryan’s dad never missed a performance, Leo and Ashley’s
parents almost never made one.

This was a huge event. Ryan was happy for Leo that they’d
made the effort and saw such a great show. Ashley looked so prim and proper in
her pink tank top and white denim skirt. Her hair was pulled back in a white
headband and her lips shined with pale pink lip gloss. She looked heaven-sent.
Ryan felt like the devil himself—his dick stiffening in his jeans as he took in
her angelic appearance. He knew under all of that sweetness was his sexy vixen
and he couldn’t wait to kiss and touch her later that night. He felt his skin
prickle as he realized that she had once again caught him staring at her and
would likely notice the desire rolling off his skin in waves.

Her parents had left the table to talk to the band’s
manager, so she sat there alone. Her eyes glittered with lust as Ryan watched
her small pink tongue gently glide across her lower lip. With a growl, he
hopped down from the stage and weaved quickly through the tables. Lifting her
in his arms he spun her around, nuzzling her neck and discretely licking the
sensitive place between her neck and her shoulder blade.

“Mmm, Ryan. That gives me chills every time,” she purred.
“Do you have any idea how sexy you look up on that stage without a shirt on?
Singing our songs, playing your guitar, seducing the audience with your eyes?”
Ryan felt himself harden further at her sultry words.

“Princess, the things you say to me make it almost
impossible for me to keep my promises and wait until your birthday.” He groaned
when she pressed her body even closer to his.

“Then let’s not wait,” she murmured, stroking his jaw with a
whisper soft touch. “I want you now. Tonight. Let’s go back to your house and
you can show me how much you want me.” The pleading in her voice was almost
Ryan’s undoing, but the need to do right by her kept his resolve strong.

“Baby, I want you more than music, more than air, more than
anything. And we will go back to my house and I will show you how much I want
you, but, I really want to wait until we get back from our tour to make love to
you. When we finally have sex, I want to claim more than your body. I want your
soul, Ashley. And I can’t take that and then leave you two days later.”

His words set her skin on fire and her mind ablaze. How was
it possible to love someone more than she already loved the man standing mere
inches from her? Wrapping her arms around his still sweaty naked torso, Ashley
pulled Ryan in for a mind-melting kiss. All of her senses were engaged in that
moment. She loved how he smelled of sweat and the faded woodsy fragrance of his
cologne. His milk chocolate brown hair was soft and damp as she ran her fingers
through the short messy locks. His broad, naked chest pressed up against her
breasts as her hands moved from his hair down his muscled back and nestled into
the back pockets of his low-rise jeans.

Pulling in a sharp breath, Ryan dropped his lips from Ashley’s
and moved them to her cheek and then her ear. “Baby, we need to stop before I
embarrass myself in front of your parents, and everyone else. Let’s go say
goodnight and we can head back to my place.” With a breathy groan, Ashley
nodded and linked her fingers through Ryan’s, following him through the crowd
to find her family.

“I think your new tattoo is really sexy, Ry,” Ashley said
just loud enough for him to hear her over the crowd. Her fingers lightly danced
across the top of his back as she traced the heavy black lettering that read
Storm
Front
.

Ryan turned, and pulled her close. “I’m sorry we didn’t
invite you to come with us, Princess. Leo told me you were upset.” The
chagrined look on Ryan’s face spoke volumes. “All of my major decisions from
now on will be discussed with you. Okay?”

That simple statement sparked a thousand thoughts through
Ashley’s mind.
Did he really mean that? Was this really happening? Could we
be forever?

The pause in her step with what must have been a deer in
headlights look, had Ryan pulling Ashley close to him once again. “Ash, when I
told you I loved you, I meant it. My decisions are
our
decisions. I
promise, I won’t leave you out again.” He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and
weaved through the throng of people until they found the Kynde’s and bid their
goodnights. The next forty-eight hours were going to be busy and Ashley wanted
to spend as much time with Ryan as she could before they had to say good-bye.