There's twenty thousand people in this arena, but I only have my eye on one. I’ve never seen her before, but I know I’ll be seeing her again every day for the rest of my life.

That much I’m sure of.

She's beautiful. Fucking stunning. Her long auburn hair that flows down her back is giving me goosebumps. My heart hurts as I picture sliding my hand into it and feeling the silky strands tighten around my fist as I take her from behind, claiming her as my own.

It’s hot in the packed crowd of the concert and she’s got a little bead of sweat dripping down her temple. My dick hardens to the point of pain when I imagine myself licking it off her.

I bet she tastes like candy. God, I desperately want to find out.

Her lips are pure perfection. Lush. Plump. Curled up into a smile as she watches the band playing beside me.

My heated eyes are locked on her, watching her every move. Every movement of her brown eyes, every wiggle of her adorable nose, every dip of her head that exposes the smooth curve of her neck—they all have my pulse racing dangerously fast.

Every time someone steps in front of her and blocks my view, a low growl rumbles out of my throat like I’m some kind of feral animal.

Fuck.

I can already feel myself staring to lose control.

I’ve never wanted anything so badly. I’ve never seen anything like her. I didn’t know that girls like her existed, and now that I know—I’m dying inside to be next to her. To touch her. To smell her. To have her see me.

She looks so tiny and frail in the ocean of sweaty bodies around her, and I’m afraid she’ll drown. I wasn’t afraid of anything until I saw her, now I’m terrified of so much. Of living without her. Of something happening to her. Of someone stealing her from me.

She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s mine.

I don’t know much, but that much I’m certain of.

She smiles wide as she watches the band playing beside me. I feel like my world is being flipped upside down. I’m being paid to stand on the stage and protect the band, but all I want to do is jump down and protect her. Her body is too perfect to be soiled in this crowd. I don’t want anyone touching her but me.

Even a nudge or a bump, an accidental touch of her hand—it’s too much for me to accept. No one is allowed to touch her again.

Heat flushes through my body, and my knuckles start burning before I realize that I’m squeezing my hands into fists so tight that it hurts. There’s too many men around her. It’s making me crazy.

And she’s too young to be here. Too innocent to be corrupted by the assholes in this shitty band.

They finish their song with a loud cheer from the crowd, but I can barely hear any of it over the loud thumping of my heart that’s echoing in my ears.

I don’t even know her name, but I know the image of her is going to keep me up for months, maybe even years. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I let her go. I can’t let her slip away.

The band starts up another song, and I try to control my fierce breathing as I watch her. There could be an army of assassins in front of me, preparing to murder the band that I get paid to protect, and I wouldn’t even notice. I wouldn’t even care. Her safety is all I care about. It’s my only concern from now on.

She raises her hands in the air and cheers, and I swallow hard, nearly passing out when I see her perky little breasts bounce up and down. She looks so sweet and innocent—like the girl next door. If you live next door to the most stunning girl in the world.

Beside me, the lead singer of the band Joey, lifts his guitar over his head and smashes it onto the stage, making the crowd go nuts as it explodes into splinters. It makes my girl smile. My nostrils flare and the hair stiffens on the back of my neck. I have a sudden urge to take the strings of his guitar and strangle him with it in front of twenty thousand horrified people.

I don’t want her looking at anyone like that but me. From now on.

My breath catches in my throat as she moves her little body to the music, singing the song that the band is playing. I don’t like the way she’s singing along with Joey—the little druggie fuck. My teeth are grinding as I watch her. My heart is pounding so hard that I’m sure the crowd can hear it over the song.

It’s the last song before the encore. This is not my type of music, but I’ve stood on this stage for enough shows to know that. I’m one of the bodyguards for the band, traveling around with them for their world tour. But all of that might change tonight. I’m not leaving this city without her.

The song ends abruptly and all of the lights in the arena turn off.

“No!” I shout, but my desperate cry is drowned out by the cheering of the crowd. My stomach hardens as I look around in panic. I can’t see her anymore. The crowd is plunged into darkness, and my angel who I’ve sworn to protect is out of my sight with a horde of people around her.

My throat closes up as horror sinks into my bones. What if someone grabs her and takes her away from me? What if the lights come back on and she’s gone?

I would die.

The band runs off the stage behind me to down a couple of shots and to snort a few lines of coke before they have to return for the encore.

I turn around like an angry gorilla and grab the first body I can reach, yanking him off his feet. “Turn the fucking lights back on!” I scream into his face.

I can’t see his expression in the darkness, but I’m guessing he looks like he’s about to piss his pants. “What the fuck, Jax?!?” he shouts, trying to wiggle out of my grasp. “It’s me! Andrew!”

His frantic feet lift off the ground as I pull his ear to my mouth. “Get them to turn the fucking lights back on, or you’ll be playing the drums with broken hands,” I growl before tossing him across the dark stage.

I turn back to the last spot where I saw her, praying to all the Gods that humans have ever known that she’s still going to be there when the lights come back on.

Every second is torture.

It’s taking too long. Andrew is probably in the back shitting his pants. I shouldn’t have relied on a damn junkie to help me keep my girl safe.

“Fuck it,” I hiss through gritted teeth before leaping down from the stage. I jump over the fence into the crowd, knocking over a few guys as I land.

I hear people cursing as I barrel past them, cutting through the crowd like a machete slicing through the jungle. Beers go flying and girls scream as I push people out of the way, desperately trying to get to the spot where my elusive angel was standing.

I pull out my flashlight and turn it on, pointing it in people’s surprised faces as dread and panic hit me like a freezing cold shower.

“What the fuck, man?” a guy yells when I flash the bright light in his eyes. I just grab his arm and yank him behind me as I push forward, continuing the frantic search. I don’t have time for anyone but her.

Adrenaline surges through my veins when I arrive at the spot, and she’s not there. “Fuck!” I hiss through a clenched jaw as I spin around, swinging the flashlight over surprised faces.

Where is she?

I feel like I’m going to throw up. I finally found a piece of heaven, and the devil took her away from me.

Or maybe I’m more like the devil, and I don’t deserve an angel like her.

Fuck that.

Even if that’s true. I don’t care. I’m getting her.

I will possess her. I will own her.

Because that’s what devils do.

A few spotlights hanging over the stage finally turn on and I look around in a panic, trying to catch a glimpse of the soft auburn hair that had me mesmerized for an hour. I’m a foot taller than the crowd so looking around is easy, but finding her isn’t.

She’s gone.

There’s a pounding in my temples as my body begins to shake.

“Are you okay, man?” someone beside me asks, looking freaked out as he watches me.

The band struts back on stage and the crowd lets out a thunderous cheer.

The sound is deafening, but I’m still sure that everyone in the arena can hear me as I whip my head back and scream at the top of my lungs:

“Where are you?!?”