Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights Book 1)

by Terri Anne Browning

  “If he looks weird to you, that’s because he always looks naked without his drumsticks,” Kassa told her with in a teasing tone.

  “How the fuck do you know what he looks like naked, Kas?” Gray demanded, shooting me a killing glare.

  I just smirked at him. I’d known the guy since junior high. He might have been bigger than me, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I knew how to fight dirty if he wanted to throw a punch at me.

  “Relax. I’ve never seen him with less than a shirt on,” Kassa assured him with a roll of her eyes. “It’s a figure of speech, geesh.”

  Santana took a step closer to me, pulling my eyes back to her, and she smiled up at me. “So, you’re a drummer. Huh, I kind of pegged you for a bass kind of guy.” Her dark eyes danced with amusement. “But I like that better.”

  My dick flexed, cutting into the zipper of my jeans through my boxer briefs.

  She saw my reaction shining out of my eyes. There was no way she couldn’t when I wasn’t trying to hide it. Then pink filled her cheeks again.

  She quickly looked away, her face going blank, and I realized she was forcing herself into professional mode. I didn’t call her out on it. I didn’t want to embarrass her by pointing out that she had been just as affected as I was. I could wait.

  The shoot lasted all morning. Group pictures were sent up to Emmie, and once Santana got the okay, she started pulling us out to do the individual ones. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Even when I tried, I couldn’t do it for more than a few seconds at a time. The way she moved when she walked, when she was lost in taking picture after picture, even the way she kept pushing her long hair over her shoulder—it all entranced me.

  Each step she took, each wave of her hands as she spoke was graceful in a way that distracted me. I couldn’t get enough of the sight of her. I wanted to memorize everything about her so I could replay it over and over again in my head.

  Travis Braxton arrived during the middle of the group shots, but Santana acted like she didn’t even see him. I had no idea why she pretended like he was a ghost floating around the studio. And every time Travis looked her way, I saw his face tense.

  Jealousy started to eat at me, and as the morning dragged on, I wanted to confront him about what was up between him and my girl …

  My girl?

  Fuck.

  I hadn’t even said two words to Santana so far, yet there I was, thinking of her as mine already. I was out of my mind, but I didn’t give a shit. There was something there between us. There was a draw, a chemistry already brewing, and I wanted to explore it.

  “You thinking about punching Travis in the face?”

  I turned my head away from the man in question to look at Kin. She was wearing one of her typical smirks that was sexy as fuck, but I wasn’t sure she realized it. Jace was rarely away from her side when the rest of the band was near her, but he was in the middle of his solo shoot right then. However, I did feel his eyes on me, as if he was mentally yelling at me to keep my eyes off his girl. The guy was a head case where Kin was concerned. We all liked and respected her, just as we did Kassa. There was no way in hell any of us would try to touch her. Not even Sin was that stupid.

  “Thinking about it,” I answered her. “What do you think the deal is between him and Santana?”

  She turned her head, looking at Travis who was keeping quiet and messing with his phone in the corner, as far away from Santana as possible. Kin watched him for a few moments, then looked over at Santana before shrugging. “My guess? He tried to come in and take over a shoot, and she put him in his place. I don’t feel anything sexual coming off the dude.” She moved slightly closer to me and lowered her voice as that smirk returned. “But I can’t say the same about you and the hottie photographer, which is interesting enough. What I really want to know is why you, Kale Conway, the guy who has a joke to crack about anything and everything, hasn’t said more than a handful of words since you laid eyes on her.” She lifted her hand and pressed her fingers to my forehead. “Are you sick?”

  “Uh-oh,” Kassa’s sweet voice murmured as she joined us. “Is Kale coming down with something?”

  I pushed Kin’s hand away. “I’m fine.”

  “The last time you were this quiet, you had strep throat and couldn’t talk for three days,” Kassa reminded me.

  “Those three days where the most peaceful days of my life,” Kin teased before turning serious. “But I don’t like seeing you all moody. That’s what Sin is for, not you.”

  “What are you three doing now?” Cash asked, handing me a bottle of water as he joined us.

  “Kale is sick,” Kassa told him, taking her turn to feel my forehead. “No fever, but you do have a glazed look in your eyes. Hmm …” She glanced over her shoulder, and I knew she was looking at Santana. “Maybe you aren’t sick, after all.” Turning those bright blue eyes on me once again, she stepped closer, just as Kin had. “You got it bad for the photog? She’s hot.”

  “Agreed,” Cash said half under his breath as he took a swallow from his water bottle.

  I tensed when I saw his eyes go toward her. “Don’t you even fucking think about it, dickhead.”

  Cash snapped his head around. “What’d I do?”

  “Nothing yet, and you better keep it that way.” I straightened to my full height, which was only an inch taller than Cash, but the look in my eyes had his brows lifting toward the ceiling. “She’s mine.”

  “Dude, you haven’t even talked to her; how the hell can she be yours?” Cash shook his head. “You’re seriously losing your mind.”

  I took another step toward him, balling my fists at my sides as I fought the urge to knock his ass out. “She’s mine,” I said with a coldness that had rarely left my throat.

  “Is there a problem over here?”

  All four of our heads popped around at the sound of the new voice.

  Travis had his hands in his suit pockets, his eyes narrowed on us in a way that told me he would snitch to Emmie if I punched my bandmate in the face. I got dressing professionally for work and all, but I had seen very few people dressed up like Travis in Emmie’s offices. She liked for people to be casual around her, not dressed like they were going to a damn wedding on their lunch break.

  Kassa took hold of my left hand, forcing my fist to relax as she pulled me a few steps away from Cash. “Nope, nothing wrong here, Travis.” She gave him a sweet smile that had his eyes dilating in a way that spoke volumes to us all.

  That look in his eyes could get him killed. Jace was overprotective of his baby sister, but it wasn’t him Travis needed to worry about. Gray was a damn hothead where Kassa was concerned, and he would act first and ask questions after the guy’s body had already been buried. The way I felt about the fucker right then, I would even help Gray dig the grave.

  Travis was apparently smarter than he looked, because he quickly masked his reaction to her and turned his eyes back to me and Cash. “Whatever is up with you two, figure it out before we leave on tour. I won’t put up with fighting any more than Emmie would.”

  Cash, always the diffuser of any tension, gave him a grin that promised everything was just peachy. What the fuck ever. I still forced a smile to my face.

  “We’re cool, man,” Cash assured Travis. “No worries here, dude. Kale is just having his period this week.”

  My hands clenched into fists again, but a sharp poke in the ribs from Kin had me nodding at the guy in the suit.

  Kassa patted me on the shoulder when I remained quiet and took a step closer to Travis. “Tell me more about the tour, Trav. What should I pack?”

  “You’re coming?”

  When she nodded, the guy had trouble reining in his reaction.

  The look in his eyes returned, and I could just imagine how crazy the upcoming tour was going to be when Gray figured out that our road manager had the hots for Kassa. At least she was able to get Travis to forget about what was going on with Cash and me.

  The two walked away, their heads t
ogether as Travis told her what to expect.

  “Part of me wants to fist bump her for defusing the situation, while another part of me wants to grab her and lock her in my spare bedroom while you guys are gone.” Kin grimaced as she watched her boyfriend’s little sister smile coyly up at the guy in front of her. “I’m not sure anyone is going to have peace on this tour.”

  “Almost done,” Santana called out, bringing my focus back to her.

  Her hair was tangled from having tossed it over her shoulder so much throughout the morning. However, though she had been working nonstop for the past few hours, she didn’t look tired. She was in her element here, and I loved watching her work.

  Jace stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his body. He wasn’t used to being so still for so long. As our front-man, he was normally running around the stage, hyping people up as he rocked the crowd.

  As he walked toward us, his eyes went straight to Kin. A blind man could have seen the reaction he had to just her presence. His blue eyes seemed to catch fire, and as they skimmed over Kin’s body, she seemed to come alive.

  Kassa giggling had us all turning to see what was going on. She was standing dangerously close to Travis as he whispered something into her ear.

  Jace took a step toward the couple, but Gray appeared as if out of thin air. He and Sin had disappeared after their individual shoots, but I knew he hadn’t gone too far with Kassa still hanging around.

  “I’m starving, Kas,” he practically growled as he grasped her arm in a gentle but firm grip and tugged her toward him. His eyes remained on Travis, though, and they were so cold the temperature in the room felt like it had dropped several degrees. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

  Annoyance showed clearly on Kassa’s beautiful face, but she didn’t argue as Gray dragged her toward the door.

  Kin sighed heavily, and Jace held out his hand for her to take.

  “I could eat, I guess,” she muttered. She shot me a quick glance. “See you later, Kale.”

  “Later,” I said with a nod.

  Cash stayed beside me for a few more seconds, keeping his mouth closed until the door shut behind the others. Thrusting his hands into his jeans pockets, he turned to face me.

  “Look, I’m sorry, man. I won’t step on your toes again where Santana is concerned.”

  My brows lifted. “Nice of you.”

  He grinned at my dry tone. “I forgot how fast it happened between Kin and Jace, so I didn’t take you being into her seriously. But seeing the way he seems to be wrecked without her for even a few minutes reminded me that it could happen in the blink of an eye.”

  He didn’t have to explain what “it” was. I knew what he meant, but I didn’t want to admit to myself that what I was feeling for Santana was what Jace and Kin shared. So, I just stood there, muttered a “later, man” when he said he was going with the others, and then watched the door close behind him.

  Across the room, Santana was messing with her camera, while at the opposite side of the room, Travis was on his phone again. I still had to do my individual shoot, so I had stayed back, hoping the others would leave so I could be alone with her. Because of Kassa I had gotten exactly what I wanted, with the exception of the uptight suit texting away on his phone.

  Figuring it was better than nothing, I crossed the room. With each step I took, my body tightened more and more. The closer I got to her, the more I ached until it took every ounce of self-control I had not to reach for her and kiss the breath out of her.

  Fuck.

  I had to put on the brakes. I had just met this girl, yet all I could think about was devouring her. This was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I’d had one-night stands—the fuck ’em and leave ’em girls that had meant nothing—but none of those experiences could compare to the heat that was blazing through my veins right then. I didn’t want just one night.

  I wanted all of her nights.

  FOUR

  Santana

  I felt him coming without having to lift my head to watch him. With each step he took toward me, the air seemed to crackle with a tension that was making every fine hair on my body stand at attention. I was practically humming with anticipation of what would happen once he reached me.

  He hadn’t said a single word to me all morning, though I had heard his voice as he spoke to his friends. I liked the sound of it. Not deep, not dark, but not weak, either. Just … masculine and perfect. I liked the sound of his laugh, too. Even as I’d tried to concentrate on the individual shoots, I had found myself picking out his laugh, and within minutes, I could depict if it was a real laugh or a forced one.

  Kale was only a few feet away now as I slowly turned to face him. But as I did, my gaze landed on the man across the room and my jaw automatically tightened.

  Travis Braxton.

  I wasn’t a fan, no matter how much Emmie praised him. I didn’t know what it was about the guy, but he rubbed me the wrong way, and not in a sexual way, either. There was zero attraction between the two of us.

  Zero.

  He was good-looking in a preppy, stuck-up suit kind of way. His hair was always styled meticulously and, between that and his facial hair, I was pretty sure he went to the salon at least once a week. I just couldn’t get into a guy who looked like he took longer to get ready in the morning than I did.

  No, it had more to do with him wanting to walk into the middle of my shoots and try to take over. The last shoot I had done with one of his clients, he’d tried to throw his weight around and called out orders to the guys. Even Emmie didn’t pull that kind of shit when she was present for one of the shoots. It was distracting and, if I was honest, kind of insulting. She just told me what she was looking for, and I could normally give her exactly what she wanted. That day, though, Travis had thought he knew what Emmie wanted and had ended up messing the whole thing up, making the session take twice as long since he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

  He had quickly learned his lesson when I finally finished and sent the prints up to Emmie to look over. That was when I had lit into him. He’d lost most of his superior attitude and had left with his tail tucked between his legs when I had told him he was a fucking idiot and to leave the photography to the professionals. Emmie had called me later, laughing so hard she was in tears. Apparently, no one had ever stood up to her number one guy … ever.

  “Want me to kick his ass for you?”

  My eyes snapped up to find Kale standing only a few inches away now.

  My heart kick-started in my chest, making me slightly lightheaded for a second. I sucked in a steadying breath, only to inhale his scent, making my panties dampen in reaction. It was a subtle kind of scent, not aftershave or even cologne. Maybe his body wash? Whatever it was, it smelled fresh and clean with just a little citrus tossed in.

  I liked it.

  “Wh-What?” I stupidly stuttered as I just stood there, staring at him.

  A smug grin teased at his lips, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to me and was enjoying it. It made the ring in the middle of his bottom lip stand out more, and I had the crazy urge to suck on it.

  “The suit. I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.”

  I shook my head to both clear it and answer him. “No, that’s okay, but thanks, anyway.”

  He shrugged. “No problem.” He glanced over at Travis, and I saw a muscle twitch in his jaw, like he was gritting his teeth. “He your ex?”

  That had me laughing.

  “No way. I can’t stand the guy, and I think the feeling is mutual.”

  Kale seemed to relax at my answer, and I had to quickly remind myself that I had to stay professional. Whatever was happening with me where this guy was concerned was dangerous, and I didn’t need some rocker boy fucking up the life I had finally made for myself.

  Clearing my throat, I waved a hand toward the green screen. “Well, you’re the last one. We can knock this out really fast, and then you can go get something to eat. Unless Travis has something for you to do, th
en I think you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.”

  Kale just stood there, watching me so closely I started to squirm. After a long moment, he finally nodded and followed me over to the green screen.

  He was quiet for the next twenty or so minutes while I got one shot after another. Every few minutes, I checked my work, and damn, they looked good. Every one of them was usable. The intensity on his face. The set of his mouth.

  The way he looked at the camera, as if he was looking right into my soul …

  I swallowed hard and quickly finished up. I needed to get away from the guy as fast as possible. He was messing with my head … and other more impulsive regions of my body.

  Lowering my camera without looking at the last shot I had just taken—I knew it was going to be perfect, anyway—I gave Kale a tight smile. “Well, that’s it. Thanks for being so cooperative. Some of your bandmates weren’t nearly as accommodating as you were.”

  “Have lunch with me.”

  I had started to turn away, to go back to the table where all my equipment was waiting on me so I could get the hell out of there, but his command stopped me.

  No “please.” No “are you free?” Just a straight forth “have lunch with me.”

  Any other time, I might have laughed and just walked away. Or told the guy to go fuck himself.

  I didn’t do either.

  I just stopped and looked up at him.

  At first glance, he looked confident, smug even. After only a few seconds, though, I saw that he was actually nervous. His eyes were slightly dilated, his hands stuffed into his pockets, and his shoulders were tense. It was cute.

  Even as I was mentally calling myself every possible kind of idiot there was, I found myself nodding.

  “Okay.”

  I stopped when I heard my voice. It was low and husky; not so much weak, but full of all the things that I wanted to keep to myself.

  When his eyes crinkled at the corners, need flaring in those hazel depths, I bit down hard on the inside of my bottom lip and quickly turned away to put my camera and equipment away.