Page 8

“Your concert is fantastic!” I say, smiling.

He nods. “We feed off the energy of the crowd. Their excitement is contagious.”

“I can tell. Hey, I have a question for you.”

He moves a little closer to me, and I can’t tell if it’s to hear me better or if he wants to be more in my space. Either way, I don’t mind. I glance at Stella, who grins at me.

“Are you going to ask it, or just stare at me all night?” Nolan smirks, and I can see the playfulness in his blood-red eyes, his inner light shining through.

“Why don’t you have an Omega mate?”

He pauses, and something passes through his eyes. He swallows, and it seems he’s collecting his thoughts. “I have my reasons. I can’t get into it now.”

I understand. He doesn’t have to tell me his innermost thoughts. “No worries. Sorry if it was too personal. It’s just that Stella was telling me about Alphas and Omegas, and I was curious. You could have literally any woman you want.”

Does he even do relationships? Would he want a relationship with a human?

He smiles at me and inches closer; his hand brushes my cheek as he tucks a loose lock of my long bangs behind my ear. I shiver. There he goes with his charismatic pull again. Does he even know what he does to a girl?

“That might be true, but maybe I just haven’t met the woman I want for a mate yet.” His serious expression only makes me more curious. “Do you have someone special in your life, Ava?”

I laugh at his question, and he raises a brow. “I’m sorry, but that’s funny. No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well, that’s lucky for you. Your Alpha would change that quickly if you did. Alphas rarely share their Omegas. They tend to be possessive.”

“You make Alphas sound like animals.”

“Alphas can be very aggressive over something that they want.” His hand drops from my cheek, and I miss his warm touch.

“Are Omegas the same?”

“What, possessive? Sometimes. If their Alpha is threatened, or someone they deem a threat to their relationship creeps in, they can be quite vicious.” He grins, flashing his fangs, and I can’t help but wonder if they cut his partner when he kisses her.

“I don’t think I could ever be vicious. It’s not my style. I’m also not sure I’m ready to become a vampire. Not yet, anyway.”

Nolan places his hands on the wall on either side of me and leans in, invading my space. “Why not? Being a vampire is fantastic.”

“But you’ve never seen the sun. Aren’t you curious about what the world looks like while you sleep?” It’s well known that vampires get severe sun poisoning and can die in excruciating pain from sunlight.

He shakes his head. “No, I can’t say I’m curious. The night has its beauty, and why should I wonder what the world is like when I sleep? I prefer my dreams over a little warmth on my skin, and the night has a special energy that the day could never have. Do you worry you’ll miss it?”

“I think so. Being human is all I’ve known.”

“Well, being a vampire is all I’ve ever known. I would miss the night if I had to give it up, too, but there’s so much you’ll gain as a vampire.”

“I’m not sure I’ll really understand until I become one.”

Looking into his eyes, I can see the happiness there. “Your Alpha will help you with the transition. You won’t go through the experience alone, and if your Alpha is a good man, you’ll want for nothing.”

“You make it sound so nice. Being cared for that way.”

His face inches closer, his lips hovering over mine. I can feel his warm breath against my skin, and I can’t help but close my eyes. Nolan Szasz is about to kiss me. Thousands of women beyond this stage would give anything to take this moment from me and have it for themselves.

He exhales on my skin, and as our lips almost touch, Torin comes up and tells Nolan it’s time to go back on stage. With the interruption, the moment evaporates. All the anticipation I was feeling dissipates in the blink of an eye.

Nolan pulls away and grabs my hand, squeezing it.

“Sorry, Ava, the show must go on. Come up with more questions for me. We can go over them tonight on my tour bus. You’ll share my bus with me as we head to the next show.

There’s plenty of room for the both of us.

There isn’t room for you on the other bus with the band.

” He winks at me and walks onto the stage.

As Rex walks by, he smiles and gives me a fist bump.

I feel so let down. Nolan was about to kiss me, and I know it would have been the type of kiss I’ve always wanted. I can’t imagine he does things by halves. No, Nolan would have given me the best kiss of my life.

One thing I know for sure is that Nolan Szasz could easily trample my fragile heart. I almost shared a kiss with the most famous man in the world, and now I’m sharing a bus with him for the foreseeable future. What am I doing? I should have stayed in San Diego. I see that now.

He offered to answer more questions tonight, but my mind is blank, and I can’t think of anything to ask, except, Can you please give me the kiss that was so cruelly stolen from me? What do I want to know now, other than how his lips would feel on mine?

I try to focus on the music of the encore to feel more grounded and less in my head, but it’s not working. Getting caught up with a vampire rock star could be hazardous to my health and maybe even my sanity.

Nolan said that there were other perks to being a vampire, and I can’t help but feel curious about that.

Eternity is a long time—talk about a commitment.

That’s scary in and of itself, when half of all human marriages end in divorce.

Maybe that’s why Nolan doesn’t have an Omega.

Or perhaps he just likes the variety of women offered to him, like a buffet.

Living in an enormous home full of friends and acquaintances would be nice.

It would certainly be different from being the only child of older parents.

I’ve always felt a bit alone. I’m curious what the famous palace of House Stryker is actually like.

To have a palace transported around the world is no joke. Or maybe Rex was just messing with me.

I guess I should ask how many Alphas there really are and whether they’re all searching for their Omega mates.

I don’t know what I want in a mate. Although I’m sure I want love, and maybe a family in the future, now the focus of my desire needs to shift to a vampire instead of a human.

Until now, I thought I’d get married in my thirties, but by the sound of things, it’ll be much sooner than I thought.

Maybe I should ask Marcello and his mate these questions since Nolan doesn’t have a mate and can’t share that specific experience with me.

The tour moves to Las Vegas tonight, and all I can think about is this new, confusing world I find myself in.

What is Lord Stryker like? Does he have an Omega mate?

He must. He’s the leader and has a residence full of Omegas.

I wonder if the sanctuary is like speed dating for vampires. Do they have dating profiles?

Ava Keats snores in her sleep, lives on a steady diet of donuts, loves Death by Dawn’s live shows, and at twenty-one, has had one horrible sexual experience in the back seat of a smelly car at an old defunct drive-in movie theater.

I should probably work on that a bit. It’s not selling me as eternal life partner material. Maybe I need new hobbies. Photographing donuts for Instagram might not be the selling point I’m looking for. Maybe long walks on the beach or bowling. Do vampires like to bowl?

Nolan would have a much better dating profile than me. Rock star who fills stadiums and travels the world.

I look through the Death by Dawn feed, preparing to add pictures of the performance and an introduction post about myself.

I grimace. Some rather vicious comments about Nolan in particular were added to several posts about twenty minutes ago. This could be an issue. Other fans are coming to Nolan’s defense, but the comments have also gotten a handful of likes.

I quickly delete them and block the account. I may need to do more damage control, but for now, the band doesn’t need to know about one disgruntled fan.