Epilogue

DIANA

A crowd of thousands cheered uproariously as a dense fog rolled across the stage and hellish red lights flared to life. Their screams were so loud I felt them vibrating through my bones and thundering through the ground.

That elated, frantic energy coursed through my blood and zipped through my soul as if I’d stuck my finger in a light socket. Red light gleamed on the metallic black mask gracing my face, highlighting the horns curving up from the temples and over the tresses of my long black wig.

When the audience noticed me sweeping across the stage in my shredded black dress and platform boots, another wave of excitement rolled through the gathered crowd.

Tingling sensations raced up and down my spine when an imposing, shrouded figure emerged from the heightening fog at center stage. I waved my arms, pulling through the air, performing as if I were summoning a ghoul from the void.

Levi Stark exploded from the red-tinted haze, emitting deep vocals mimicking the snarls and growls of a demon. The lights spun wildly before centering him in a blazing cone, illuminating his tall, broad figure and skeletal face.

The spectators’ screams intensified, shaking the dome of the stadium.

“Good afternoon, Amsterdam, and welcome to hell!” Levi shouted, tossing his fist triumphantly into the air.

He was so damn hot I had to fight my hormones not to tackle him right there on the stage in front of thousands.

Even after three years together, Levi and his entrances never ceased to amaze me. That man shook me to my core through every song, every tour, every performance, and each heated night spent tangled in the sheets.

My heart thrummed, beating faster with growing excitement. The charged pressure in the air intensified with the combined anticipation of thousands rolling through me.

Without fail, every time I stepped onstage, memories of shows from a lifetime ago drifted through my mind. They were bittersweet for so long, and now I savored each show and tour that made me who I was before I lost everything.

Those days were part of who I was before, and those memories morphed into the stepping-stones of who I became.

Levi took over the show, belting off the first lines of the song.

~“You bite your lip when I feel your heat,~

~“You let me worship you at my broken altar,~

~“and in that moment, I’m complete.”~

He stepped back from the microphone, enthusiastically shredding his guitar.

Time slowed as we locked eyes, and he shot me a wink that accompanied his raunchy, devilish smile. I swayed forward and grabbed the mic stand.

~“Don’t wait your turn, just make me burn,~

~“You lick my thighs, and I close my eyes,~

~“It makes me weep when you take me deep.”~

The drumbeat reverberated through the air, and electric tension skittered over my skin. My nipples pebbled and goosebumps flared across my limbs.

The hair on the back of my neck rose and heat flushed my cheeks. Levi leaned back in, meeting my eyes through the mask, and our breaths mingled over the microphone.

We sang together now, an erotic harmony of words we created after a long night of lovemaking. I thought he was a madman the night we met, but Levi was so much more than that.

He was caring, kind, and gentle. From the start, he recognized my anxieties and traumas and took care to ease my fears when they were presented.

He loved me despite my past and despite my pain. We found a path I could walk alongside him through his love and the opportunities that he thrust upon me.

In that light, I openly loved him in return and knew that our shared spark would never fade. Even when I’d told Levi that anyone could wear the mask and sing with him after our first tour, he wouldn’t listen.

“You’re the only one I want to sing with, Diana. You’re my naughty little songbird. It can only be you,” Levi replied.

~Now the world knows my name again.~

The year after our first tour, we went public with our partnership and relationship. The world went wild when the mysterious masked female singing with Levi Stark came into the light.

But with him by my side, I had the strength to face the cameras and tabloids once again. I wore the mask during performances still because it became part of my new onstage persona.

And Levi said it turned him on. Our actions in the backstage dressing room on every tour proved those words to be true.

At the end of the show, perspiration coated my brow under the mask, and a delicious ache formed in my muscles. My lungs burned and the inside of my throat was utterly raw, but I floated on top of the world.

He crossed the stage in a few quick steps, striding through the wispy fog on long legs.

“Thank you, Amsterdam. You’ve been a wonderful audience. We’ve enjoyed singing for you tonight, and we appreciate every one of you who made it out to spend the night with us!”

It wasn’t the stage lights or the cheers that filled me with satisfaction. No, that feeling came from the adoring love and tenderness in Levi’s eyes when he stared at me.

Levi’s warm, leather-bound fingers covered mine, lifting our joined hands high into the air.

“And give it up for the Naughty Songbird, Diana Stark!”

The host of fans screamed and flashed their lights. A genuine smile spread over my lips at the palpable devotion in the air, visible under the mask.

Without a doubt, I believed my dad watched me from some other world, hopefully with pride that I kept his love and mine alive.

The passion for music that my dad instilled in me would never die, and we both had Levi to thank for reigniting that flame.

Music was part of our family and always would be. Levi’s younger sister enrolled in music school, and his dad started giving guitar lessons to local kids.

And as we bowed and blew kisses at the crowd, my hand smoothed over the slight swell of my stomach where the next generation grew.

A mix of musical talents from rock idol Devan Johnson, pop star Diana Winslow, and rock star Levi Stark, who was sure to take the music industry by storm someday.

One day my song would end, but the legacy of our love would live on through the sweet music and doting family that Levi and I made together.

End of Book