place-name. ‘Malmö, where is that?’
‘Sweden.’
‘You’re not English?’
He dropped her suitcase in order to release a bellyful of laughter. ‘You needn’t sound so surprised. Not everyone in the world is.’
‘I know, but you don’t have an accent.’
He leaned closer, so his breath stirred the wisps of hair around her face, making them tickle her cheek. ‘Does it make you feel better if I talk like this?’ She could hear it then, the soft inflection on certain words. It sent a tingle down her spine. Damn, he sounded sexy. She could imagine that purr driving a woman wild in bed.
Dani turned away from him, mortified by the heat that a few incongruous words whispered in her ear had generated. She wasn’t a free agent any more to be thinking random wicked thoughts about handsome strange men. She belonged to the sexiest man on the planet. Besides, Xane could do incredible stuff with his voice. He commanded the attention of stadiums full of people. His whispers invoked wild emotions. They could turn hearts inside out and even the tiniest of his growls dampened her and a million other women’s knickers.
She was moist now, merely thinking about him, which just proved that two weeks apart had been too long. They’d been surviving on nightly phone calls and sexting, which didn’t compensate for genuinely being together.
She hadn’t wanted them to be apart, but she’d had to face her mum and put a few things, like her degree, on hold. Taking charge of her life meant cutting a few tethers. On the plus side, she wasn’t beholden to anyone any longer.
‘Aren’t we heading to the dressing rooms?’ she asked, when Luthor turned the opposite way to the one she’d expected.
‘No. The sound booth.’
‘How come?’ Perplexed, she continued to jog along behind, her eye on the way his shorts were clinging to his hips, in danger of sliding down because of the weight of stuff in his pockets.
‘Because Ulf said so, and I do as he says. He’s the guy who hired me. Best damn sound and light engineer in the business.’
She’d never heard of him.
‘He also just happens to be my uncle.’ Luthor held open a door for her to pass through, and they began to climb, up towards the top of the building. ‘My guess is that he wants you out of the way until the soundcheck is done, so that Xane isn’t distracted.’
‘I wouldn’t distract him.’
‘Course not.’ Luthor made an appraising sweep of her body. ‘I bet Xane maintains complete focus when you’re present, just not on the music.’ His gaze lingered on her cleavage.
Dani covered her mouth and coughed, astonished by how blatantly he’d assessed her. Guys didn’t normally hit on her. This was a new thing that had only started happening since Xane took an interest. She guessed they all thought she must have something special hiding beneath her ordinary appearance to have ensnared a man with such a huge sexual appetite, or maybe they thought stealing her away would prove they were shit-hot too.
No man had a chance against Xane.
In retaliation, she shot a glance at Luthor. He had gloriously good arms, and legs that were tanned by the sun and covered with fine golden hairs. Crazy good looks too, if you liked guys who were all light and golden. She guessed she preferred them dark and brooding.
Luthor was fit, but he wasn’t a patch on her man.
‘Where’ve you been?’ grumbled an older man, his long hair and beard threaded with silver, as they entered a glass-fronted room overlooking the stage. They were perched high up in the auditorium, almost on a level with the lighting rig. ‘You walked off with my duct tape. Gimme.’ He snatched the roll of tape that Luthor mined from his pocket and began tearing off strips and fixing assorted cables to the floor. After a moment or two, he turned his webbed face upon her. ‘So you’re the one he ran off with, are you?’
‘Be nice,’ Luthor counselled. ‘She is.’
‘Really? Didn’t think Xane did nice. He normally lands the absolute bitches.’ He thoughtfully rubbed one nicotine-stained finger across his lips before stepping closer, which meant he had to bend his head to look at her, for he was tall, even taller than Luthor, and stocky too, with tattoos that covered his bare arms like sleeves. ‘Are you sure this is the right girl?’
‘I am, yes.’ Dani politely stuck out a hand for him to shake.
Ulf clapped his hand against hers but didn’t shake it. ‘Take a seat. I’ll let you at him once I’m done with him.’
A swivel chair materialised behind her, courtesy of Luthor. Dani gingerly lowered herself into it. She’d got it into her head that the only people she’d have to face in order to join the tour were the members of Black Halo. Somehow she’d overlooked the fact that there was a team of people involved in managing them and delivering their sound to the masses. ‘What are you doing to him?’ Nothing too terrible, she hoped. He’d sounded pretty low when they’d spoken last night. Leastways, he had at the start of their conversation. Not so much by the end, after he’d made her burn with excitement.
‘Hopefully dragging his sorry arse through this set.’ Ulf put on a pair of headphones and turned a nearby microphone towards him. ‘Are you fuckers ready yet?’
She couldn’t hear the response, but Ulf scowled. ‘Nope, we’re apparently having a pissing contest.’ He settled back in his chair with his arms and ankles crossed. ‘This could take a while.’ He checked his watch. ‘You might have to call your lot,’ he said to Luthor after a minute or so of waiting.
His understudy, who had been securing leads to the floor so no one would trip over them, looked up eagerly.
‘You’re shite, but at least you might manage a song or two for the punters. I’m not sure Black Halo are going to have their act together in time.’ Ulf said the last part into the mic.
‘Are they arguing?’ Dani leaned forward in her seat, concerned. If she rose and pressed her face to the glass at the front of the booth, would she be able to see down into the auditorium?
‘Not as such. Mr Geist hasn’t joined us yet. They’ve sent Rock Giant to coax him out from whatever hole he’s wedged himself into.’
‘Ulf!’ Luthor shook his head and nodded towards Dani. ‘Girlfriend, remember.’
‘I didn’t mean that sort of hole. I’m not the one with a filthy mind.’ Clearly bored, Ulf flicked a few switches and checked a few things before settling back into his original pose.
‘So, you’re in a band?’ Dani asked Luthor, disliking the silence that’d crept over them. She felt out of place already, which made her jittery enough, without the added insinuation that Xane was late for the soundcheck because he was making some groupie happy. ‘Is it one of the support acts?’
‘That’s a good un.’ Ulf belched a peal of laughter. He slapped the sound deck, unintentionally knocking several of the sliders, which he then had to reset. ‘What I said earlier was a joke. Perish the thought of his lot walking on stage. It’d be like Eurovision, only a zillion times more excruciating and minus any of the charm.’
