Between Flaming Stars (Offspring Legends Book 1)
Between Flaming Stars
Hayley Faiman
Hayley Faiman Books, LLC
Contents
Also by Hayley Faiman
Stay Connected
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Hayley Faiman
Between Flaming Stars
Copyright © 2021 by Hayley Faiman
All rights reserved.
Editor: My Brother’s Editor. Ellie McLove. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net
Proofreading: My Brothers Editor. Rosa Sharon. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Visit my website at: http://hayleyfaiman.com
Created with Vellum
Also by Hayley Faiman
Men of Baseball Series—
Pitching for Amalie
Catching Maggie
Forced Play for Libby
Sweet Spot for Victoria
Russian Bratva Series —
Owned by the Badman
Seducing the Badman
Dancing for the Badman
Living for the Badman
Tempting the Badman
Protected by the Badman
Forever my Badman
Betrothed to the Badman
Chosen by the Badman
Bought by the Badman
Collared by the Badman
Notorious Devils MC —
Rough & Rowdy
Rough & Raw
Rough & Rugged
Rough & Ruthless
Rough & Ready
Rough & Rich
Rough & Real
Cash Bar Series —
Laced with Fear
Chased with Strength
Flamed with Courage
Blended with Pain
Twisted with Chaos
Mixed with trouble
SAVAGE BEAST MC —
UnScrew Me
UnBreak Me
UnChain Me
UnLeash Me
UnTouch Me
UnHinge Me
UnWreck Me
UnCage Me
Unfit Hero Series —
CONVICT
HERO
FRAUD
KILLER
COWBOY
Zanetti Famiglia Series —
Becoming the Boss
Becoming his Mistress
Becoming his Possession
Becoming the Street Boss
Becoming the Hitman
Becoming his Wife
Becoming her Salvation
Prophecy Sisters Series —
Bride of the Traitor
Bride of the Sea
Bride of the Frontier
Bride of the Emperor
Astor Family Series —
Hypocritically Yours
Egotistically Yours
Matrimonially Yours
Occasionally Yours
Nasty Bastards MC —
Ruin My Life
Tame My Life
Start My Life
Dance into My Life
Shake Up My Life
Repair My Life
Sweeten My Life
Russian Torpedo—
Stolen by the Sinner
Bound to the Sinner
Caught by the Sinner
F*cked by the Sinner
Stripped by the Sinner
Rejecting the Sinner
Loved by the Sinner
Offspring Legends—
Between Flaming Stars
Esquire Black Duet Series –
DISCOVERY
APPEAL
Forbidden Love Series —
Personal Foul
Kinetic Energy
Standalone Titles
Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale
Stay Connected
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To me, a song is new every time I sing it.
Meat Loaf
Prologue
MEMPHIS
I watch her for a moment, unable to take my eyes from her. She’s gorgeous. Probably the prettiest woman I’ve ever met. A singer like me. A star like me. Together we’re the perfect couple. The tabloids say so, our friends and family agree.
We’re perfect.
Although I’m high as fuck, so maybe perfect is a little over the top?
Eliana looks over her shoulder at me. Her long blonde hair and bright-blue eyes finding mine, then her lips curve up into a smile.
Then I decide it’s not over the top. She’s fucking perfect.
“I look amazing, don’t I?” she asks. She does.
She’s wearing a skintight dress that’s cut extremely low, showing off the middle of her chest, all the way down to her stomach. The side is also cut in to give everyone a view of her side boob.
It’s good side boob too.
She looks stunning.
The dress is custom made for her, the jewelry loaned out from a new designer, and her shoes are from some designer that is new on the scene. Put it all together and it’s something from another goddamn planet.
“You do,” I offer with a grin.
She looks me up and down but doesn’t say anything about how I look in my new leather jacket or custom jeans and shirt. I also had my hair dyed and styled specifically for this event. She doesn’t say shit, but it doesn’t matter, not really. She’s the important one. I take another shot of liquor, following it with another pill.
Holding out my hand, I walk over to her. She slips her palm in mine and I squeeze. “The car is downstairs waiting, right? I don’t want to walk all the way downstairs and the car not be ready.”
“It’s there,” I murmur, assuring her.
“Your parents?” she asks through gritted teeth.
“They’re sitting with us at the dinner afterward.”
I watch as she wrinkles
her nose and I press my lips together. I don’t know why she doesn’t like my parents, they’re awesome people.
They’ve been my rock, always.
They’ll always have my back and I know that I can always depend on them. My dad understands everything that I’ve gone through in my career and always has a listening ear for me, and great fucking advice.
“Well, the girls are riding with us, and after dinner, I promised we’d go to the after-party with them. So we’ll have to eat fast.”
“Eliana,” I say on a sigh.
She leans forward, baring her teeth as she stares into my eyes. Her blue eyes go ice fucking cold and she narrows them on me. There is a moment where we just stare at one another in silence. I suck in a breath and shake my head.
Lifting my hand, I wrap my fingers around the back of her neck, careful not to mess up her hair and rest my forehead against hers.
“Okay, baby. We’ll do your plan.”
She shifts backward, her eyes losing their coldness in an instant, her lips curving up into a grin. “Thanks,” she quips. “You’re going to have so much fun. I just know it.”
Translation, she’s getting what she wants so she won’t be a bitch. She’ll have fun, and I’ll follow behind her, just the way she likes it.
We leave, the limousine waiting outside just like she wanted. Once we’re inside, I take her hand in mine, holding it, but she doesn’t allow me to do that for long. She wriggles her fingers out of my grasp, leaning forward to talk to her girls. She’s animated, happy, and I can’t help but stare at her in awe. She’s never like this with me, and she’s fucking pretty when she’s this way, I hate that I don’t get to see it often.
It doesn’t take the limo long to arrive at our destination. The awards show is in full swing when we roll up to the red carpet. I’m supposed to walk with the rest of Between Flaming Stars, but once again, Eliana made sure we didn’t ride together as a group. I feel bad that we hardly ever walk into these things together anymore.
When the limousine door opens, I unfold, holding up my hand, waving, and smiling for the cameras. Then I hold my palm out for her to take. She does, a huge smile plastered on her face. It’s a bigger smile than I’ve ever seen pointed at me, and I wonder what it would be like to have all of that beauty aimed right at me. I doubt I’ll ever know.
Holding her hand, I walk down the red carpet with her. She doesn’t even look in my direction as the reporters and paparazzi call out our names. There are a couple reporters that I want to talk to from some smaller blogs and podcasts, but I can’t seem to get over there without completely ditching her, which I wouldn’t do.
When we get close to the people I want to talk to, she starts to walk past them. Smiling, I tug her hand slightly and she looks up at me for the first time since we sat down in the limo at our house.
“I want to talk to a couple of these bloggers and podcasters,” I say, keeping my voice low.
She continues to smile big and bright, talking between her teeth. “No, they aren’t anybody.”
We walk into the venue and I feel almost defeated. As soon as the first tray of champagne passes me, I grab three glasses and down them, one right after the other. I feel like a piece of shit.
The rest of the awards ceremony, I drink and take a few more pills that I brought with me. I don’t remember what I won, what the band won, or what I said in my acceptance speech. I don’t remember dinner with my family.
I remember absolutely nothing, and the next morning I wake up naked, alone in bed, my entire body pulsing with a raging hangover.
Instead of getting up and finding food, I reach for a pill bottle that’s in my nightstand drawer and I take a couple more. Then, I pass back out. I wake up later and do the same, and the cycle is repeated over and over until I finally feel nothing.
LINDEN
Between Flaming Stars.
The words are right there on the tickets in my hands and yet, I can’t believe them. I can’t believe it’s real. Lifting my eyes, I look up to my father who is sitting on the edge of the sofa watching me, his leg bouncing with anticipation for my reaction.
I open my mouth, close it, then open it again, and finally, I let out a bloodcurdling scream that only my thirteen-year-old self could. On shaky legs, I stand to my feet before I start to jump up and down at least a dozen times.
I can hear my dad laughing in the background and my sister groaning next to me, while my mom just watches me with a big smile on her face. But nobody understands my deep love for the band Between Flaming Stars or my obsession with the lead singer, the Memphis Dixon.
“That ticket includes backstage passes for you and two friends. It also includes the meet and greet before the show and the after-party, until it is too wild,” my dad announces.
My screaming becomes louder, so much so that I’m afraid the windows could break. My dad still laughs, a huge smile on his face. Eventually, I have to take a breath, so I stop screaming and attempt to calm my racing heart, inhaling and exhaling over and over.
“The concert is tomorrow night,” my dad announces.
I don’t break out into screaming again, this time, I break out into freak-out mode. “I don’t have anything to wear,” I cry.
It’s my mom’s turn to laugh. She walks over to the last box in the pile of presents and picks it up, then hands it to me.
“Open this, Len.”
I do, tearing open the paper, ripping it to shreds before I slowly open the box. Then I gasp and suck in a breath at the sight of the awesome little black dress and low chunky high heels. I can’t believe it’s real. It’s the outfit of my dreams.
“Every girl needs a little black dress, and I wanted to be the one to buy your first,” my mom says with a soft smile on her lips.
Grinning, I look at the dress again. It’s soft satin or silk fabric with two-inch shoulder straps and a high cut neckline. It’s an A-line skirt and since I’m tall, even though it looks long, it won’t even go to my knees.
It’s perfect in every single way.
This present is perfect in every single way.
My life is perfect and maybe, just maybe, Memphis Dixon will see me and fall in love with me at first sight. I mean, he’s twenty-three and I’m thirteen, but a girl can dream, right?
Walking through the special back entrance, I put my VIP backstage pass around my neck, holding hands with my two best friends as we walk right into the building. My parents guide us toward the backstage area, the room where the meet and greet is supposed to happen.
I’m wearing my black dress, my heels, my hair and makeup are on point and I feel like I’m walking on a cloud. There is a short line to get into the room, but I don’t mind. I’d stand in line for a week if it meant I got to meet Memphis in the flesh.
One by one, we’re shown inside. My mouth goes dry at the sight of the band standing against the wall, greeting everyone and taking pictures. Looking over to my mom and dad, I make sure that one of them has their phone in hand. They both do. Pressing my lips together, it’s my turn.
There he is.
OMG.
He’s gorgeous.
I notice a few more tattoos than the last paparazzi picture I’d seen him in, but they only make him look sexier. We walk up to the band and all the members shake our hands and talk to us, but I can’t focus on any of them.
Only Memphis Dixon matters to me.
Once it’s time to go over to Memphis, I try not to fall over. My belly flutters and I give him a big smile. Before he even says a word to me, he wraps his arms around me in a big hug and I close my eyes, smelling him. He smells so damn good. Better than anything else I’ve ever smelled in my entire life.
I’m going to remember this moment until the day that I die. It will go down in history as the best moment of my entire life.
“Hey, so glad you could come,” he whispers against my ear.
I almost die right there on the spot. I could and I would have lived my life to the fullest. This is the peak, I
already know it.
Chapter One
TEN YEARS LATER
MEMPHIS
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I let out a groan at the sight in front of me. There’s no denying that I look better than I did six months ago, but I still look strung the fuck out. I’m still too thin for my tall frame, but my dad is kind of built the same way, so maybe it’s not so much drugs and booze, but genetics.
Lifting my hand, I run my palm down my face and let out a sigh.
“You ready?” Zane asks.
Turning my head, I look back at him and give him a bullshit fake smile. He shakes his head, then wraps his fingers around my shoulder, giving me a shake. “Take it slow, man. If this tour is too much, we cancel. No harm, no foul.”
“Can’t do that, won’t do that to the fans.”
“You’re a workaholic,” he says on a chuckle before giving me a grin.
He’s the same fucking way.