But you could be my top, my sin, my skin."
Kylee’s breath hitched. Her thighs clenched involuntarily. The memory of Rio pulling her into his lap in the pool, the tension over dinner, the smoldering glances, the way he walked in on her in the shower all of it flashed like wildfire.
No one in the arena knew the weight behind those words but Kylee did. Every lyric was a veiled kiss, a finger down her spine, a dare whispered against her neck. Standing alone in that glass-walled suite, she was completely undone.
The concert ended in a roar of applause, screams echoing through the stadium like thunder. But Kylee didn’t hear any of it. She stood frozen in the suite, her fingers gripping the railing, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest. He sang that to her.He basically undressed her in front of twenty thousand people with words.
Before she could even process what to do next, the door behind her creaked open. Heavy boots stepped inside. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. She could feel him before he even spoke.
“Hey,” Rio’s voice was low, raspy from performing yet still impossibly soft when he said, “Did you like the song?”
Kylee turned, slowly. Her mouth opened but no words came out. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
He moved closer, sweat still slick on his neck and jawline, hair wild from the stage, tattoos gleaming under the soft suite light.
“I meant every word,” he said. “Every single fucking one.”
Kylee swallowed hard. “Rio…” Her voice was weak, too breathless to sound real.
He didn’t touch her yet but his eyes devoured her. “The way you looked standing up here… knowing you were watching me, knowing it was you I was singing to…” He exhaled like it physically pained him. “I almost lost it on stage.”
Her mouth was dry. Her fingers trembled slightly against the glass. “You called me Mrs. Riot earlier…”
He stepped closer, close enough for her to breathe in his cologne, his skin, his raw adrenaline. “And? You didn’t like the sound of it?”
She blinked, forcing herself not to let her knees give out. “I didn’t say that.”
His lips curled. “Then say it.”
“What?”
“Say it. SayMrs. Riot.”
She laughed under her breath, shaking her head but it wasn’t a denial. It was because she could barely believe this was her life right now. “Rio…”
He finally moved. His fingers touched her jawline, tracing lightly under her chin, lifting her face to his. His voice dropped even lower.
“I want you. I’m not playing anymore. You know how I feel. But I’m not going to be your secret forever.”
Kylee’s stomach flipped. She should’ve pulled away. She should’ve said something responsible. But all she could do was stare at him, his lips, his eyes, and the raw honesty bleeding from him.
“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.
She didn’t. She didn’t say a word. She just stood there her body pulsing, her thoughts a tornado and then she leaned in. Her lips brushed his.Soft. Hesitant. Testing.
Rio’s breath caught, and for a split second, everything around them went completely still. No music. No crowd. Just that first taste.
But then he grabbed her. Not roughly but with an urgency that said he’d been dying for this moment. His hands cradled her face, his thumbs sliding along her cheekbones as his mouth met hers fully this time. Deep. Demanding. Honest.
Kylee didn’t pull away. She melted into him months of tension, guilt, longing, pain, all exploding between them. Her fingers tangled in his shirt, gripping tight like she was afraid she’d wake up. He groaned softly against her mouth, pulling her closer, one hand sliding around her waist, anchoring her to him.
His lips moved down to her neck, grazing that one spot he already knew made her shiver. “God, you taste like everything I’ve ever wanted,” he murmured against her skin.
She whispered his name “Rio…” like it was a confession, an apology, a plea all in one.
He rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathless, eyes locked. “You don’t know what you just started, Kylee.”
Her lips were swollen, cheeks flushed. “Maybe I do.”
