Rock Steady by Dawn Ryder Read Free Book Online Page B

the room started nodding with the beat as they finished up their duties. Jewel ended up leaning against the wall, enjoying the private glimpse of Toxsin. Without a doubt, it was a privilege.
    At least she saw it that way.
    Ramsey opened his eyes, catching her gaze. Her breath stopped, time freezing, and she felt suspended between moments, waiting for the next note, unable to move forward until the music carried her. It was incredibly intimate—that thing she’d seen a glimpse of in his eyes on full display now. Her gaze lowered to his lips, and her own tingled.
    God, she wanted him to kiss her. And just for a moment, his lips curved, making it clear he wanted to do exactly that.
    In the next instant, his eyes slid shut and he looked like he was pushing the music straight out of his soul.
    He was letting loose completely. Something most people didn’t have the guts to do. At least, not in front of others, and he was going to do it in front of thousands of fans.
    He rocked.
    It was that simple.
    She felt it seeping into her, washing away her better judgment and leaving her nothing but a pile of receptors, just waiting for him to stimulate her.
    Rock star.
    He was definitely that and something more, something that hit her as polished and trained. It was a heady combination, because she could have ignored someone who had just gotten lucky and was pushing out decent music with a show to tantalize the teenagers. Now, an artist who had earned everything he had? That was intoxicating on an epic level. She watched the way his fingers moved on the strings; the skill was unmistakable. He was watching a flat screen, looking at the notes the computer program picked up to make sure he was hitting them right.
    That was skill and dedication. As well as respect for his art.
    Hell, she was totally impressed now. The car was great, the strawberries a treat, but seeing him and his bandmates focused and determined to excel, well, that sent a whole different sensation through her.
    Respect.
    * * *
    She had a seat.
    Not that Jewel stayed in it.
    The moment the members of Toxsin took the stage, the fans near the long catwalk surged to their feet and crowded the edge of the stage. The temperature felt like it was going up from the frenzy the crowd was working itself into.
    Ramsey seemed to know exactly how to push their buttons too. He took the stage. He didn’t walk onto it. He fucking stormed it and claimed it as his domain. There was no just watching him. The audience was captivated, held in a grip that was nearly hypnotic. Ramsey and his bandmates were putting out such high levels of energy, everyone in the arena was moved to screaming.
    Jewel was no exception.
    Nor did she want to be.
    She surged to her feet and smiled at the pulsing in her blood. It warmed her like alcohol and was just as devastating to her wits. Thinking was completely out of the question as Toxsin finished one song and rolled into another one that punched up the level of frenzy surrounding them. The fans were like desperate disciples who reached out for their idols. The reason was clear. The members of Toxsin embodied what everyone fought for.
    They were truly free.
    What they were was on display, along with all of their inner demons. The music was an outpouring of all the emotions everybody tried to ignore as they went about being respectable, civilized people. The cravings they had and were too self-conscious to admit having.
    Tonight, they all roared as Toxsin gave them permission to embrace those feelings, the seedy and the oh-so-often labeled immoral sexual passion. Jewel screamed with the rest of them, feeling freer than she ever had. She got it, really got it. Inside her was a person who wanted to be accepted for what she was. It wasn’t always decent, and it certainly didn’t fit into anything that might be termed “civilized,” which was why she and everyone around her kept that part of their souls bottled up. The day-to-day grind made them all contain their