by Eden Summers
Her mouth fell open. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
“Literally,” he added.
“Oh, my G—”
He tugged her into his arms, pulling laughter from her in one movement. She knew he’d never rat on her. He was too kind. Too loyal. But he was certainly no longer a gentleman behind closed doors.
“Tell me.” He smiled down at her, not relenting on his tight grip until she calmed and relaxed against him.
“It was nothing.”
“Then spit it out.”
She sighed. “I was only thinking that someone else will get the blame for the marks I left on your body. Photos will end up online and name Felicity or Hannah as the culprit. And even if I was held responsible, it would be evidence to ruin my career. So, either way, those marks aren’t something I can laugh about.”
There. The truth in black and white. Also the reality she hadn’t wanted to face after such a fantastic night. She’d anticipated this moment of painful simplicity. The one which sucked the happiness out like a vacuum and replaced it with guilt and paranoia.
“I’ll cover them.”
She sighed and wiggled from his arms. This would be their routine from now on. At least until she found the much needed leverage to take to her boss. They’d have to hide, to sneak, to lie. Every moment would be tainted and juvenile.
“Stop worrying. We’ll work it out.” He glanced at his watch. “Damn it. I’ve gotta go. I’m supposed to be ready for that school motivational talk in half an hour.”
Her gaze dropped to the bedside clock—midday. Wow. He was the cure to her insomnia. “I won’t get a chance to see you before tonight’s show.”
“You can’t fit me in?” He reached down to pick up his shirt off the floor, the betraying material moving over his head to cover a large expanse of gorgeousness. “Not even five minutes?”
“Five minutes would turn into ten, then twenty, and so on.” He was addictive and definitely not a case where a five-minute fix would appease. “I’ll try to see you before you get on the bus.”
“I guess that will have to do.” He strode to her, one hand gliding around her cheek to cup the back of her head. “Until then.” He pressed his lips to hers, once, twice, the connection fading before she had a chance to deepen it. “Be good.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan: Where are you?
Leah: Shit. Sorry.
Ryan: Where. Are. You?
Leah: Sidney may have led me astray. It was only supposed to be one drink at the airport bar but her flight was delayed…and more drinks were necessary. I caught the end of the concert but when I went to put my bag on the crew bus I must’ve got distracted.
Ryan: Distracted with what?
Leah: Sleep. I think I passed out. I don’t remember crawling into my bunk.
Leah: Hell, I have no idea how I ended up in an old Korn shirt that isn’t even mine.
Ryan: Are you joking?
Ryan: Leah?
Leah: It was Drew. Perverted little ass.
Ryan: You better be joking. Otherwise you’ll have to explain to everyone why I had to beat the life from him.
Leah: Ryan Bennett is a lover not a fighter.
Ryan: Please tell me you’re joking.
Leah: I’m joking.
Ryan: Are you lying?
Leah: Don’t worry, he didn’t see much. Nothing that he’ll brag about anyway. He values his manhood too much.
Ryan: He’s dead.
Leah: Why don’t any of you have mechanic skills?
Ryan: I guess you heard about the bus breakdown.
Leah: Who do you think has to organize someone to fix it? I bet the sun will be up before I can find a mechanic. Get some sleep. You might be stuck in the middle of nowhere for a while.
Ryan: I’m not going to have time to see you before the show, am I? We’re still an hour from Chicago.
Leah: No. You’ll be lucky if you’re not late And Scott tells me you already have plans with Felicity after the concert.
Ryan: Want me to cancel? You know I’d prefer to spend the night with you.
Leah: Go out. Have fun. I’ll see you in the morning.
Ryan: Slip a spare room card under my door. I’ll come back to you once I’m finished with Flick.
Leah: Spoken like a true player.
Ryan: Don’t go there. You know I’d go public with how I feel about you if I thought it wouldn’t affect your job.
Leah: I know. We’ll make time for each other tomorrow. Promise.
Ryan: I expect your room card under my door. I’ll see you later tonight.
Ryan: Why didn’t you leave a room card?
Ryan: Leah? I’m back at the hotel. Are you still awake?
Ryan: I’m leaving the lobby in half an hour to have breakfast at a place called Bites and Beverages. It’s around the corner. Meet me there. I mean it, Leah. I can’t go much longer without seeing you.
Leah rolled over and groaned at the unwanted necessity to get up. She’d fallen asleep while working on her laptop again. She was still in yesterday’s clothes, the hem of her suit skirt around her waist, her blouse crushed and plastered tight against her boobs.
She patted a hand around the bed, coming up with her phone. The notification light flashed and she unlocked her screen, blinking against the bright light to read Ryan’s messages.
Two days had passed without seeing him. Two torturous days where she would’ve given anything for him to find a way to her side. Instead, he’d given his spare hours to another woman. Her Google notifications a stark reminder of exactly how much time he was spending with Felicity.
But she still wanted to see him.
Be with him.
She threw back the covers, found some clean clothes, and took a quick shower. In thirty-five minutes she was dressed, make-up immaculate, hair done, and striding through the lobby like a woman on a mission.
“Can you please point me in the right direction for Bites and Beverages?” she asked the concierge.
He followed her to the door, held it open, and pointed to the left. “You won’t miss it. I’m sure there’ll be a crowd out the front.”
She’d thought he’d been referring to the popularity of the food. She’d been wrong. As soon as she reached the corner, she found the mob of hungry paparazzi creating a barrier around Ryan, Felicity, and Hannah. The trio were snuggled close, the women framing Ryan as they all smiled for the cameras, lapping up the attention.
She continued forward, her feet carrying her to the edge of the crowd before she could contemplate the need to leave. It was stupid of her to think Ryan’s invitation meant a quiet breakfast set for two. Instead, she’d been dragged into a publicity stunt, shoving what she couldn’t have right in her face.
“Kiss her,” a man shouted, raising his camera. “Give us something to put on the front page.”
Her chest restricted as Ryan and Felicity chuckled. Hannah didn’t hold their enthusiasm, but she stood tall, her smile waning. More calls erupted. A chant formed. “Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.”
Panic seeped into Ryan’s eyes, the same way Leah could feel it seep into hers. Felicity turned into him and blinked up at the man destined to place his mouth over hers.
Oh, no. Oh, no.
Leah dropped her head, unable to witness the carnage. Shit. She’d gone over this in her mind. Over and over. The kiss was inevitable. A forgone conclusion. The dedicated fans would take the relationship on face value. The highly intuitive would never believe. But those in the middle, the ones sitting on the fence, would need this push to send them into fanatic territory.
“Leah?”
Her chest restricted at his guttural call. She licked the dryness from her lips, pasted on a grin, and lifted her gaze to witness relief wash over him. He told her a myriad of messages in that look. She could see his pain, his guilt, and he hadn’t even kissed the other woman yet.
“Have breakfast with us.” His arm remained around Felicity, their bodies close.
&nbs
p; The crowd parted, the vultures turning to capture her indecision with the snap, snap, snap of their cameras.
“No.” She smiled, the expression awkward. “I only came to get a coffee to go.”
“Don’t be such a suit.” This came from Hannah, her sure stride gliding forward. “Stay and have breakfast with us.” She stopped at Leah’s side and leaned in close. “We can get through this together.”
Leah chuckled, pretending the whispered words in her ear were a sordid secret instead of mimicked heartache. “OK. But only for a few minutes.”
The paparazzi repositioned their cameras, the click, click, click moving back to the happy couple. Questions were shouted as the four of them made their way inside, the non-stop flash following them to the counter manned by a wide-eyed waitress.
“Let the girls organize the seats.” Ryan murmured over her shoulder. “I need to speak to you.”
She frowned at the hand he placed on her arm and the assumptions it would bring from the people gawking at them. “Can’t it wait?”
“No.” He led her forward, his attention straying to the waitress. “We’ve got band issues we need to discuss. Do you have anywhere private we could talk?”
The young blonde looked between them, her words taking seconds to come out. “There’s the bathrooms… Or the storage room, but staff will be coming in and out. Otherwise, there’s only the covered parking lot out back. It’s not entirely private but it’s fenced in and you can’t access it from the front of the building.”
“Can you show us where it is?”
“No problem.” The woman walked out from behind the counter, rubbing her hands on the apron tied around her waist.
“Are you sure this isn’t something that can wait?” Leah slid her arm from his grip, well aware that even the kitchen staff were watching them.
“All I want is five minutes.”
And all she wanted was to maintain a charade that was now harder to manage after witnessing his lips so close to another woman.
“Please,” he added.
The fight left her shoulders and she sighed with defeat. Denying him was impossible, even when her career was in the firing line. She walked by him, following the waitress through a swinging staff-only entry into an empty hall.
“It’s through here.” The woman unlocked the deadbolt to the back door, exposing a carport filled with shaded vehicles. “You’ll have to knock to get back in.”
Leah nodded as she passed, descending the two steps to the asphalt.
“Thank you.” Ryan followed behind, his voice still capable of sending a shiver along her spine. “We won’t be long.”
The door closed behind them, the clunk of the lock settling back into place.
“What’s this about?”
He took the stairs in a lazy stride, his demeanor changing with each blink of her eyes. His anxiety faded, calculation taking its place.
“Ryan?”
His focus was on her lips, his teeth sinking into his own. “What, gorgeous?”
The compliment inspired goosebumps. It inspired a whole lot of unconscious bodily reactions. Focus. “Why are we alone in a parking lot?”
“For this.” His hands found her cheeks, his mouth stole her breath.
She could’ve laughed with the predictability, but she didn’t. Instead, she drowned in the taste of him, her lips brushing softly over his in a dance of affection. She didn’t resist. Couldn’t fight the instantaneous burn. She plastered herself against him, grasping what she’d gone without for days.
Like always, the world faded. Sense eluded her and nothing else mattered except for the anticipation of another press of his mouth against hers.
“I missed you,” he murmured between kisses. “I didn’t think you were going to come this morning.”
“Is that why you started making a move on Felicity?” She winced as soon as the words hit her ears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s justified.” He stepped back, making her hollow. “I was hoping to get this bullshit with Felicity over and done with so it would stop eating me from the inside out.”
“Don’t explain. I could see how awful it was for you.”
He turned from her, his hands in his hair, his head bowed. “It’s even worse now that I know you were there. I feel like my asshole status has surpassed Mason’s.”
She chuckled, hoping to ease the tension. “That could never happen.”
“Really?” He faced her, pinning her with his guilt. “Because I don’t think he would ever sign up for the crap I’m putting you through.”
“Hold up.” She raised a hand. “I wasn’t a blip on your radar when you signed up to help Blake out. And that’s exactly what this is—you helping Blake…and the rest of the guys so there’s no additional tour dates. This has nothing to do with me.”
He looked up from under light lashes, his brow raised in disbelief. “You think you weren’t a blip? Jesus, Leah, you’ve always been on my radar. If you only knew for how long, maybe you wouldn’t consider me the great guy everyone keeps referring to. This has been going on well before my divorce was in play.”
“You need to forget about me for a while and focus on why you’re—”
“There’s no way I could forget. Hell, I’d do anything just to get away from the jealousy, but it’s impossible to ignore how I feel for you. Not until the end of the tour.” He stepped forward. “Not for a week.” He dragged her back into his arms. “Not even a day.”
She stared up at him. “Why are you jealous? Is this about Drew? Seriously, you don’t need to worry about him. Apparently, during my intoxicated binge, he decided he didn’t want to go through my bag, so he shoved one of his shirts into my hands and pushed me into the bus bathroom to get changed. I dressed myse—”
“I’m not talking about Drew.” His features scrunched. “Although, I’m damn relieved to hear it.”
“Then why?” She placed her hands on his chest. “What’s going on?”
He hit her with a sad smile, his gaze lowering, no longer meeting hers. His touch encased her wrist and he lifted her right hand between them.
“This.”
He spread her fingers apart and she followed his focus to the tattoo exposed on the inside of her middle finger—three tiny black birds with outstretched wings.
“Do you think I’m not jealous of this?” His anguish hit her as their eyes met. “Do you think I haven’t heard the stories about you and that guy in Vegas?” He dropped his hold and ran a weary hand over his beard. “He’s all over your body, Leah. He’s pierced you. Marked your skin. How can I not be jealous as hell over that?”
She closed her gaping mouth and swallowed. “I didn’t think you—”
“Realized? Oh, I fucking realized. I heard the stories the weekend of Mitch’s bachelor party. And when you took off after I kissed you, I knew you went to him. I could feel it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Then you came back with his ink under your skin. The permanent reminder haunts me every damn time I look at you. And it’s all because of my mistakes.”
“No.” She shook her head. “They’re my mistakes. I was the one who couldn’t handle the situation professionally. I failed. I could’ve stopped you from kissing me.”
“Maybe.” He gave a harsh chuckle. “But there was no way you were leaving that room without me making a fool of myself. That kiss was the only thing distracting me from opening my big mouth and telling you how I felt. Either way, I know you would’ve ended up running.”
“I’m sorry.” There was nothing left to say. Logan was a great guy, but he meant nothing to her. He’d been her catharsis during life’s darkest days. He’d been the needed distraction. And she’d made sure the heavily inked tattooist knew their connection was only physical.
“Don’t be fucking sorry. We’ve both made enough apologies.” He got in her face, his growl throaty. “All I want is for you to realize I will never hurt you. I can promise you that.”
He warmed her, from the
inside out. With his words. With his touch. With the hint of vulnerability in his tone that convinced her wholeheartedly of his sincerity. “I believe you.”
“Good.” His grin returned. “Because this wasn’t what I came out here for.” He cupped the back of her head, his forehead pressed to hers. “I missed you like hell.”
She shuddered and closed her eyes. There was a reason why they shouldn’t be doing this. But moving away wasn’t an option her body or mind was willing to take. She wrapped her free hand around his neck and entwined their fingers with the other.
She’d thought she’d known this man, had believed all his secrets were hers. In reality, she didn’t know the half of it. All those things she’d loved were far bigger, exponentially deeper. The reasons she’d fallen for him were now tenfold, and he’d already been irresistible.
“We should get back inside.” She nuzzled into him, her nose brushing his as she closed her eyes. He smelled so good. Clean. Masculine. She sucked the scent deep into her lungs and released a tiny whimper with the need to exhale. “After one more kiss,” she whispered, tilting her mouth over his.
