Groupie/Rock Star Bundle Read Free Page B

I was powerless to stop the
seduction the minute he opened his mouth and pure velvet poured
forth. When he sang a 70s hit about making love, I understood why
women used to throw their underwear onstage during a Tom Jones
concert.
    Giovanni was pure sex.
    Ever masterful in this art he sang that verse
to every girl in the front row, standing over each of them with his
thumb hooked to his belt loop, drawing attention to the promise of
the bulge in his pants. When it came my turn and my eyes finally
met his for the first time, my knees nearly buckled. Those brown
eyes engulfed me with an intimacy so strong it was as if we were
the only two people in the room even after he went on to sing to
the next girl.
    Iris nudged me with a knowing smile. Now I
understood. This was the seductive power that was going to make
Giovanni Carnevale and Dreaming in Blue stars.
    They finished their set with an ode to girls
with substantial backsides, which I found both ironic and
promising. He sang the song with particular gusto, though he did
not make eye contact with the girl with the fattest bottom on the
front row. I know because I was waiting for it.
    Truth be told I was waiting to be ensnared into
that captive embrace from the very second I was released from it.
But I was starting to suspect he was either avoiding me or had
overlooked me altogether amidst the crowd of screaming
girls.
    Instead they finished with flourish and he
bowed to all of us adoring female fans in the front row. He blew a
kiss to Iris and then spared me a wink as he trotted offstage. The
headliners had yet to perform but Iris was propelling Alana and I
back through the throng that was crushing to get a better
spot.
    My ears were still ringing as we stepped
backstage. “Well?” Iris asked with a big smile.
    “What?” I joked.
    She just laughed and shook her head. “Come
on.”
    The backstage area was just as noisy as the
other parts of the club, and just as crowded. But Iris navigated
the environment with ease and wound us through the maze right to
the band in back. Alana went immediately to Iain, but Iris had
other plans for me. She herded me straight toward
Giovanni.
    “Vanni!” she called to him, who
seemed to loom even larger in the middle of the crowded room. He
turned to see who was speaking, and his face lit up when he
realized it was Iris. He swept her up into a huge bear
hug.
    “What did you think?” he asked, as though he
really valued her opinion.
    “It was great. I don’t even think the
headliners will finish before Jasper comes straight to find
you.”
    “Thanks,” he said sincerely with a kiss on her
cheek. She turned to me, which turned his gaze on me
again.
    This time it wasn’t as a performer, it was just
as another person – a man meeting a woman. It made the experience
strangely more intimate than when he was crooning a little too
sincerely how he wanted to make love to me (and every other girl in
the front row.) Now that he was just a person again the warmth of
his smile easily met his eyes. “This is Andy Foster, the writer I
was telling you about.”
    He smiled even brighter. “Andy, from
Tennessee,” he said as he took my outstretched hand in both of his.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
    “Geez, Iris, what have you been telling these
people?” I joked nervously. I didn’t know what to do with the
butterflies in my stomach as he held onto my hand. Though well past
the adolescent “crush” years, I felt flustered and inept as I stood
there with this man whose amazing naked chest was at eye
level.
    “All good but obviously not nearly enough,” he
assured as he pulled me into a side hug. He kept me there as he
talked business with Iris. “You think he liked it?”
    I glanced at Iris for the response. From the
moment that Vanni hit the stage I had forgotten all about Jasper
and would never have thought to look. But she would
have.
    “All aces, baby,” she said with a smile. She
grabbed my arm and pulled me away. “Come