“I’m fine!” I squeaked before she could ask anything. “I just need some air. I won’t go far.”
Drunk, yes, but I wasn’t a total moron. I was well aware that Rhett—or Jace—had assigned security guards for myprotection,so I was fully prepared for Grace to follow me and that was fine. Hell, it was good. The last thing I needed while drunk, confused, and horny was to be snatched by a Ricci family goon.
With that in mind, I headed back to the concert venue, hoping to find a quiet corner somewhere to wallow in my humiliation.
Thankfuckwe would be in New York tomorrow. Then I would never need to see Grayson again.
Shit. Then I would never seeRhettagain… or Jace.Shit, shit, fuck, shit. Why did that thought hurt like a knife through the chest? The pain of it was so palpable that I gasped and staggered, but a pair of strong hands caught me before I hit the concrete.
“What the—” My protest cut off with a gasp as I realized those werenotGrace’s hands.
Grayson set me back on my feet, then quickly manhandled me around the corner, out of sight of our security. A flash of panic tripped through my chest, making me hiccup. But then Grayson backed me up against the wall and planted his hands on either side of my head, caging me in.
Unable to avoid his intense gray gaze, I sucked in a deep breath and flattened myself against the wall. “W-what are you doing?” My voice was all breathy and sexual. Crap.
“You didn’t let me finish,” he growled. “You’redrunk.”
Anger flared hot within me, chasing away my nervous energy at our proximity. “I’maware,” I snapped back, narrowing my eyes. “Can I go now?”
Grayson gave a frustrated shake of his head. “You’redrunk,so I don’t want to take advantage if it’s something you’ll regret in the morning. I don’t want you waking up tomorrow in Rhett’s arms, feeling guilty for kissing me.”
As if I would.
Okay, sure, I’d probably feel all kinds of guilty,butwe would be reaching New York soon. After that… well, could I really be blamed for taking my opportunities while I had them? Rhett and I weren’t dating, no matter how intense the thing between us was.
“But I think you misunderstood my chivalry as rejection, so let me clear this up for you.” One second he was leaning over me all intimidating and sexy and growly, the next he was kissing me.
Shock held me frozen for a hot second, and my brain exploded into a puff of feathers. Then I melted against him, returning his kiss like we were long lost lovers. He kissed more aggressively than Rhett, more dominantly and all consuming. He stole the air clear out of my lungs as he devoured my mouth but didn’t once put his hands on me.
All too quickly, he broke away, and I gasped for breath as my fuzzy eyes tried to focus.
“W-what?” I mumbled again, thoroughly confused.
Grayson’s mouth twitched into a micro-smile, and he leaned in to kiss me again, a quicker one, like he was savoring the taste of my lips. “Now you can honestly sayIkissedyou. No guilt required.”
He pushed off the wall, and it suddenly felt like an entire canyon had opened between us. I instantly wanted to grab him and pull him close, but a shrill scream cut through the night air.
Fear shot through me, and Liz’s dead face flashed into my mind. She’d never screamed, but that kind of blood-curdling shriek couldn’t be anything good.Could it?Based on the way Grace and the other security guards came racing around the corner and the protective way Grayson positioned himself in front of me? No, I would guess not.
“Grayson, what’s going on?” I demanded when it became clear that he was shielding me.
“I don’t know,” he snapped back, tension tightening all his muscles up in a way thatreallyshouldn’t be as sexy as I was finding it… given the circumstances.
I had way too many emotions going on, and the wine was starting to make me queasy. So I wasn’t feeling real patient for caveman bullshit. “Well, let’s find out. What is in that direction?” I pointed the way Grace and the other guards had just taken off. The direction the scream had come from.
Grayson swiveled his head to glare at me. “The meet and greet area,” he grudgingly told me.
Blind fear coursed through me, and I ducked out from behind his broad frame. I had no fucking clue what I thought I was doing or where I was even going. All I knew was that I couldn’t stand there when something was happening at the meet and greet. People I lov—cared about were there, and I would not wait to see if any of them were hurt… or worse.
Grayson reached for me as I started to sprint. His long limbs managed to scrape across my shirt, but the one advantage I had in life was my speed. I had a lot of experience escaping from situations that were less than safe. Grayson clearly hadn’t expected that, and he just missed keeping hold of me.
“Billie,” he barked, and I heard the warning in this voice. Something told me I was going to have a few stern words coming my way later, but for this minute, I was in panic and flight mode. Heavy footsteps sounded behind me, and I was thankful when a few minutes later Grayson and some of the security caught up to me. Extra grateful when he didn’t attempt to slow me down again.
It was almost as if he knew I needed to see for myself, and he had decided to tag along and keep me safe. Well, not just me, his best friends were also at the meet and greet.
Okay, yeah, he’d have no doubt been going whether I’d taken off or not.
Not everything was about me.
