Chords_ Hunter - Brynn Paulin Page 0,1

Clapping and singing along, I felt my mood soften as I enjoyed their performance.

That high stayed until, amidst fanfare, pyrotechnics, and pulsing lights, Hunter took to the stage. They emerged through the smoke while the screams of fans almost drowned out the guitar’s wail.

Cymbals crashed as Shay Hunter attacked his drum kit with abandon, his sticks a blur of motion. His brother, Farris, chorded on the keys to his left. The screams got louder when their brother Baynar bounded to center stage, taking the spotlight while his cousins, Duran and Dray, took their places to either side of him, Duran on bass and his brother Dray, directly in front of me. Of course. His fingers swept over his guitar strings in an impressive riff that heralded their opening.

The rock gods had arrived.

Baynar let out a yell, and my arms crossed, my stare pinned on his cousin. His asshole cousin.

Yeah, I should forget it and enjoy the concert, ignoring Dray and focusing on the rest of them, but the slighted fangirl inside me just couldn’t let it go. I’d had pictures of him on my wall for years, then later on, I’d transferred that homage to my devices. It had always been Dray. Not Hunter. But Dray. I couldn’t forgive him from being a dick.

That didn’t stop me from noticing, and covertly appreciating, the way his muscles bulged in the thighs of his jeans, or the way they strained the sleeves and chest of his Led Zeppelin T-shirt. Tattoos covered the exposed skin of his arms, and one of his ears had multiple piercings. Though I couldn’t clearly see it through the haze and the distance between us, I knew a small ring marked one of his brows, too. I’d seen it earlier, but the whole thing had played out so quickly, I’d barely had time to register anything.

Now, I absorbed it all. He looked rugged and edgy, but I’d seen photos of him in dress pants, a vest, and a button-down shirt, cuffs rolled to display his ink. Mouthwatering. There was no other word for him. Okay, no, there were lots of words. Like hot, gorgeous, breathtaking…

And I didn’t want to acknowledge it. Why’d he have to go be a dick? Sure, he was probably busy before concerts—and what the hell had he been doing on the concourse anyway? That didn’t seem smart. He was lucky I’d been the only one to realize it was him. He could have been mobbed.

My scowl deepened as I recalled his behavior. When I got home, I was deleting Hunter’s music from my devices and donating all the band tees I’d collected over the years. I could use the drawer space.

Okay, yes, I could be dramatic, but when someone treated me poorly, I didn’t just roll over and take it. And what were the chances Dray Hunter would ever make it right or even acknowledge he’d been an entitled, big-headed jerk? None. Nada. Would never happen.

Disappointed, I stared at him, brows pinched. It wasn’t until the third song that Dray glanced down at me. Then his ice-blue gaze moved on. My expression must have registered because suddenly, he did a double-take back to me. His eyes widened momentarily before he resumed his slightly smirky bad-boy face, holding eye contact with me while he fired off the song’s mid-melody riff.

An hour before, I might have swooned. Right then, I didn’t give an inch. To hammer in how unimpressed I was, I raised an eyebrow then huffed a very visible sigh and looked away from him. Centerstage, his cousin, Baynar, belted out the power ballad’s lyrics, and while he’d never been my favorite—that had always been Dray—he was super talented and had a vocal range that gave the band some clout. Other groups would kill to have someone who could sing anything the way Baynar could.

Okay, maybe, I wouldn’t get rid of all my music. I’d just throw mental darts at Dray…often.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him stare for a moment before he strutted toward the lead singer—damn, wireless technology that let him freely roam the stage. As soon as he entered my line of vision, however, I shifted to look at something else.

I bit back my smile when I realized he cared that I was unimpressed. And now, the game was afoot

Chapter Two

~ Dray ~

What was up with this woman?

Okay, I knew. I’d been a grade-A ass to her. That hadn’t stopped me from noticing the dangerous curves on that rocking body