Page 18 of Wicked Delivery

He got it going! I can’t believe it!

He walked back into the kitchen from the entryway.

“You got it to work! Thank you, Kain,” I said.

When I turned around to look at him, I saw he was dripping wet from his hair and chest, and I realized he hadn’t even had his jacket to go outside in the storm.

“Kain! You should have gotten dressed! Let me go get you a towel,” I scolded him.

I brushed past him to go grab a towel as he stripped his soaked shirt off his chest. He chuckled, and I smacked his hand away as he tried to wrap it around my waist.

“Oh no, you don’t! You will not use my favorite shirt to dry off.”

“Aww, come on, Lexi. Let me make you wet again.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away, going to the linen closet at the end of the hallway. I selected two large towels for him, and just as I was closing the door, my ears perked up at a sound I hadn’t heard in a long time.

Is that the sound of my amp being plugged in?

A moment later, I received my answer as someone played an electric guitar. The music was out of tune for a few plucks, and then I heard the most beautiful and haunting song. I made my way slowly down the hall and rounded the corner of the kitchen.My mouth dropped open from the view in the living room. Kain stood there, in between the couch and the TV, playing my priceless, dark purple Gibson Custom Les Paul guitar. The room was dim, still only lit by candles. It was like he was a skeleton god, coming to life on his own personal stage in the underworld. Serenading the lost souls looking for respite with the melody he played.

My breath hitched, and my heart thudded.

Oh no. I think I’m falling for you.

Chapter 14

Kain

I can’t believe shenot only has a working amp, but also a guitar this fucking rare.

And it wasn’t even really out of tune. Someone had played this before. My fingers slid up and down the neck as I stroked the strings with the pick. The sound was fucking insane. I went into one of my original songs after getting it in tune. Even if she came back out, pissed at me, I wouldn’t miss this chance to play an actual Gibson Custom Les Paul. Plus, purple looked good on me.

My fingers played away, hitting the chords that slowly built up to the crescendo of the song. Typically, the guitar wasn’t the loudest instrument at this point in this song, but I had to improvise. And I kept it up until I hit the guitar solo and got completely lost in the music. I turned in the room, my eyes closed as I stole the show at the concert in my mind, hearing the roar of thousands of screaming fans as my band dominated the stage.

One day, we will hit it big, and when we do, a guitar like this won’t be just a dream anymore. It’ll be my fucking reality.

I threw my head back as I played the outro, finally hitting the last few eerie notes until they faded into silence.

I stood there, just soaking in the moment, when an excited clap started.

“Oh my God! That was… stunning.”

I opened my eyes and looked over toward the dining room, where Lexi stood, her mouth gaped slightly as she looked at me.

I smirked and unplugged the amp. I pulled the strap over my shoulder and set the guitar back on its stand.

“Hope you don’t mind that I helped myself.”

Even if you did, it was worth it, and I would do it again and again.

She shook her head. “If it were my son? Yeah, I would have smacked the heck out of him, but you obviously know how to play. Anyone who knows how to play wouldn’t treat that guitar poorly because they’d know its value. Besides, it was nice hearing it played. Goodness knows I haven’t picked it up in a while.”

Now, that piqued my interest even more.

I walked over to her and took the towel she offered me. I let my hand stroke hers as I pulled it back, and she looked into my eyes as the contact faded.

“You play?” I asked.