Free Fiery Temptation by Marisa Chenery Page B

woman around long enough for us to even learn her name.”
    Trae’s surprised look turned into a furrowing of his brows. “Is this what I think it means? Is this Neve to you what Arwen is to Gannon?”
    “It looks that way,” Jalen said with a grin.
    Malik and Keiran’s faces were almost comical to see, as they shot him an even more shocked look. Trae just nodded to himself, as if he’d had something he thought of proved correct. Trae being the more thoughtful member of the band, that didn’t surprise Jalen one bit. His friend probably figured Gannon wouldn’t be the only one to find his mate.
    Unable to take his friends’ stares any longer, Jalen shook his head. “Enough already. Gannon and Arwen are already here.”
    As Jalen went to walk past Trae, his band mate stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Before we meet her, you’re going to tell her about you and us being Alte, right?”
    “Yes, but not now and not when you’re all here. I’m going to do it later tonight when we’re alone.”
    “Good. If you are going through what Gannon did, we know what the final outcome will be. It’s best to get it all out in the open before that happens.”
    “Don’t worry, Trae, those are my thoughts exactly.”
    * * *
    After Jalen had left to answer the door, Neve looked at Gannon and Arwen, not really knowing what to say to start a conversation. Her gaze coming to rest on Gannon had her inner fan girl wanting to squeal and jump up and down. Of course, she wouldn’t do any such thing. She wouldn’t embarrass Jalen in that way, nor have Gannon think she was a brainless idiot. Neve figured the band had to deal with that type of fan more times than they could count. They didn’t need that in the privacy of their own home.
    Arwen cleared her throat. “So, Neve. This is the first we’ve heard about you. You and Jalen must have recently met.”
    Thankful for the conversation starter, Neve nodded. “We actually only met yesterday. At the early man site at the Mojave Desert to be exact.”
    Arwen and Gannon exchanged a meaningful glance that Neve couldn’t even begin to understand.
    “Well, you two must have hit it off, since Jalen brought you home to meet all of us,” Gannon said.
    Neve’s brow furrowed. “The way you said that, you make it sound like a big deal.”
    He chuckled. “It is, believe me. Jalen doesn’t normally, how should I put this, include his lady friends in our circle.”
    “So in other words, you mean he goes after the groupies who won’t expect more than a roll in the hay.”
    Arewn laughed. “That pretty much describes it. He’s not a lothario or anything, but according to the guys, Jalen doesn’t do serious relationships.”
    “Then I guess that means Jalen asking me to move in would be a huge step for him?” Neve asked.
    “Monumental,” Gannon said. “What did you tell him?”
    “Nothing right now. It’s a big step. One I’m not sure I should be jumping into quickly.”
    “If it helps, Jalen is serious about you if he already wants to take it to the next level. Plus, that’s the way it was with Arwen and me. We fell in love fast and hard.”
    Arwen nodded. “Instead of asking me to move in with him, Gannon wanted me to come with him to the last performance of Soar’s tour.”
    “And that’s where he sang to you on stage,” Neve said with a smile.
    “Yes.” Arwen looked lovingly at Gannon before she turned back to Neve. “He surprised the hell out of me. I hadn’t expected it at all. I’m sure he broke a lot of hearts that day.”
    They were all laughing when Jalen returned with the rest of the band. Neve once again found herself starstruck as she looked at each one. Their faces were as familiar to her as Jalen’s had been. At Trae, her gaze looked way up. Soar’s drummer was the tallest, at six-foot-six. All the guys were over six feet, but Trae’s height made him stand out. His gray-blue eyes were friendly as he returned her gaze.
    Jalen crossed over to where