Rhett gave me one last kiss on the lips. A brief brush, but it was enough to heat my already fired-up blood. When he released me into Grayson’s hold, the massive drummer steadied me on my feet but then proceeded not to touch me for the rest of the walk to the tour bus. The band had their own private area, and at this concert, there wasn’t even a crowd surrounding the gated zone for their tour buses. The silence and fresh air were welcome, and it cleared my head a touch.
Only a touch, though, because I was feeling the energy racing between Grayson and me. It might have been an awkward energy, based on the fact that he’d seen a lot of my O face this morning or maybe it was the fact that he was fucking sex on legs and had probably saved my life.
If Jace could know my inner thoughts, calling me a whore would be the least of his insults, but in this moment, I couldn’t find a single fuck to give. Angelo might kill me next week, so today… I was living for whatever came my way.
“Where are your thoughts?”
My head jerked toward Grayson, and no shit, he looked surprised too that he’d just asked a question. “My thoughts?” I parroted back like a fool because my head was suddenly spinning again.
Grayson straightened and faced forward again, the bus only a few meters away now as security trailed us. “You’re quiet a lot. Most chicks I know talk my ear off. You don’t do that.”
“Not even when my life was golden did I chatter a lot,” I replied softly, “except when I was exceptionally nervous.”
Come to think of it, I should be exceptionally nervous with this enigmatic and beautiful man— talented, rich, and famous. Despite his words from before about no one wanting him at the meet and greet, we all knew the truth: women lost their minds around him. It was Grayson who kept them away with his scary persona.
Tonight, though, he was calm, and that inspired the same in me.
I felt like I could just exist with him, no stress, no expectations.
Possibly, he still hated me based on Jace and the one-sided story he’d heard for years, but if he did, he was able to keep that to himself.
“I finished the book you gave me,” I said as he opened the door to the bus. He looked like he was about to enter first and case the place, but the security stepped up then, and Grayson appeared to reluctantly let them do their jobs.
“What did you think?” he asked, his focus on me now reminding me of the last time those gray eyes had been locked on my face. The heated-wine blood inside of me swirled again, quite violently, and I reached out and casually placed a hand on the side of the bus.
“I loved it,” I said, forcing my voice to sound calm. “The romance captured me from the first moment Jetta shot Roman in the leg before he managed to carry her away. Something about the enemies-to-lovers trope just does it for me.”
Grayson looked like he was about to reply, the smallest twitch to his lips as he opened his mouth, but we were interrupted by security before he could say anything. “Bus is all clear,” Grace, the blond female on the security guard roster, said with a no-nonsense voice. “We scanned for listening devices and explosive residue. Nothing to report.”
Grayson nodded. “Great, thank you. I’ll ask you to wait outside now until the next shift arrives.”
She wasn’t surprised by this, returning his nod with one of her own, and then the dozen or so security exited, meeting up with the few who’d been scanning under the bus as well. Grayson held a hand out to indicate I should go on ahead of him, and once we were inside the bus, door closed and locked behind us, I was starting to feel my nerves raise their heads. I hadn’t been alone with Grayson like this before, when we knew we couldn’t be interrupted for at least an hour or so.
This was probably going to be a really fucking bad idea with wine still churning in my system.
Really fucking bad.
twenty-four
GRAYSON
Despite her calm expression, her nerves were clear in the way she crossed her arms tightly across her body and the tense way she held her hands. Small cues, but it was enough that the change from outside was glaringly obvious to me.
It wasn’t in my nature to try and ease her discomfort, but for some fucking reason I found myself wanting to. “Would you like to shower or change into something more comfortable?”
Her eyes went super wide, and I wanted to kick my own stupid ass. I’d meant that purely platonically—she was involved with my best friend. But my words could be taken suggestively, and by any other woman I’d brought onto this bus, they would have been.
“I’m just going to order some food,” I added flatly, hating the awkwardness more than I hated chatter. I wasn’t equipped to deal with this shit.
Thankfully, Billie just went with it. “That would be great,” she replied softly. “I always need a few minutes to decompress after… all the songs.” She swallowed roughly, and I fought the urge to reach out and smooth those rough edges she exposed at times.
Not that she needed me to since she managed to tuck her vulnerabilities away with ease once more. “See you in a few minutes,” she told me as she straightened and strode down the hall, the curve of her hips swaying slightly as I followed her path until she disappeared from sight.
It was fucked up that I was as captivated by Billie as Rhett. Not that we hadn’t shared chicks before in the band, but it had been years. Rhett wasn’t into the casual thing these days, and I wasonlyinto casual. There was a lot broken in my soul, and no chick deserved to be immersed in that shit. Best to just let them think I didn’t give a damn.
Fuck, who was I kidding. Most of the time I didn’t.
After sorting out the food—the order had already been placed since we were always starving after a show—I settled back into the booth, having to spread my legs to try and fit their length into this small space. Trying to relax, I worked really fucking hard at ignoring the sound of the shower.
