They let us go a minute later, and Rhett hurried me back to the elevator while Tom and Florence stayed behind. I assumed Tom wasmanagingthe crisis and Florence was just hanging around because they were joined at the hip.
“My room is on the eleventh floor,” I corrected Rhett when he stabbed the button for the penthouse. He just arched a brow at me anddidn’tpress eleven. “Rhett…” I protested weakly.
“Billie…” he replied, giving me a pointed look.
I frowned. “Don’t call me that,” I told him softly. “I like that you call me Thorn. It makes me feel like a new person and not such aproblemfor your band.”
“You’re not a problem, Thorn. I’m starting to think maybe you’re the solution.” A weird look crossed his face, and I wrinkled my nose as I tried to decipher what in the hell he meant by that. Before I could ask, he cupped my face in his hand and brushed his lips over mine.
Thank fuck I took a moment to wash the vomit out of my mouth already!
Shock made me freeze. He seemed to sense it and started to pull away again, but that was all I needed to snap out of my surprise. Not letting him retreat, I leaned in and kissed him back. Fucking sparks flew, his kiss was that electric, as I wound my arms around his neck and pressed closer. Rhett made the sexiest little groan as I parted my lips, kissing him deeper and letting our tongues tangle. Deep down, I knew I was only screwing myself over. Now that I knew how it felt to kiss Rhett Silver, how could I possibly leave?
The elevator ding made us both flinch. I’d totally forgotten where we were, and apparently, he had too. Except we weren’t on the penthouse level, we were a few floors lower, and Grayson stepped in with a dark expression on his face and a sweat towel draped around his neck.
He’ddefinitelyjust seen us kissing. Shit.
Rhett didn’t try to move away, looping his arm around my waist and holding me close when I tried to put space between us.
“You spoken to the cops yet?” Rhett asked, casual asfuck.
Grayson just grunted a sound that I had no clue whether was a yes or no. Depending on how long I’d been passed out, I guess he could have seen them before he went to the gym.
Rhett seemed to decipher it, though, and gave a sigh. “Fair enough. Seems like Tom already worked his slick magic anyway. They didn’t seem too worried about talking to you again.”
“Good,” Grayson rumbled. His dark eyes caught on mine in the mirrored door’s reflection. For a tense moment he just held my gaze, then his attention moved back to Rhett. “Jace will murder you if he finds out about this.”
Shit. He was so right. Guilt flooded through me, even though Jace and I wereancienthistory.
“Bullshit,” Rhett replied, though. “He already thinks we slept together last night, and I’m still breathing.”
Grayson’s brow lifted, and I couldn’t seem to stop staring at him in the mirror. “But you didn’t,” he murmured. “And Jace knows it, deep down. You gotta have a serious talk with him ifthisis a thing now.”
BythisI assume he meant me and Rhett. Together. Was that what I wanted? To be with Rhett, even if it hurt my childhood sweetheart? But even as I asked myself those questions, Jace’s hate-filled eyes entered my head. His cutting comments about me being a whore and the way he sneered at me like I was less than dog shit.
A cold anger settled in my stomach, and I realized the answer waseasy. Yes. Yes, I wanted to pursue this thing with Rhett. I wanted more of those sinful, butterfly-inducing kisses. I wanted to know what his hands felt like on my skin and what it’d feel like to wrap my legs around his slim hips while he—
Short answer. Yes. And if Jace had a problem with it, he could kiss my ass. I was done with feeling like a doormat. He wanted to treat me like the villain in his story? I might as well get a pay-off in the form of Rhett Silver’s kisses… and more.
“It’s been eight years,” I said aloud, answering Grayson, despite the fact that he’d been speaking to Rhett. “Jace needs to get the fuck over it. We all got hurt that day, not just him. It’s about time he pulled his head out of his ass and stopped playing the victim. Bellerose wouldn’t exist if not for my choices.”
Grayson’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but his only response was a short nod. Whatever the fuckthatmeant. I guessed I was about to find out, though, because we’d reached the penthouse level.
Rhett kept his arm around me as Grayson unlocked the door and held it open for us to enter. But I separated myself from Rhett once we were inside, hanging back a moment to look up at the big drummer.
“Um, I needed to say thank you, Grayson,” I said awkwardly, biting the edge of my lip. “You seriously saved me back at the concert venue. I really appreciate it.”
His impassive face stared down at me for a long moment. Then he gave a small sigh and brushed his thumb over my lower lip, which I was biting again. “Don’t do that,” he rumbled. “You’re not an insecure girl; don’t pretend to be one.”
That was it. Then he walked away like he hadn’t killed a man trying to assault me just an hour ago, or that we hadn’t just shared the strangest, electrically charged moment. I swallowed hard, forcing my feet to move, but my lip still tingled from Grayson’s touch. Weird.
He was wrong about me, though. I’d never feltmoreinsecure as I did standing there in the Viper Hotel penthouse with Jace and Rhett both staring at me.
fourteen
BILLIE
“What the fuck was that?” Jace demanded, the scowl on his face pure venom. “You fucking Gray now too? Color meshocked.” The sarcasm was so heavy it crashed down on my shoulders like a lead weight. How was his anger still so fresh?
