“Nice wheels,” she teases, pointing to the van. “Cas Wilder, I need to know—what’s your favorite safety feature?”
“Cas Wilder doesn’t do safety.” I laugh, right before I scoop her over my shoulder and jog off to the van. “I’m kidnapping you, by the way. You’re going to be stuck with me for the rest of the day.”
Vivienne laughs and squeals. “Cas Wilder, you better put me down right now. I don’t need to be kidnapped. I’ll go willingly.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear,” I growl, setting her down so I can press her against the passenger-side door.
When I lift my hand to bring her face to meet mine, I find her already waiting. Lips parted, with desire burning in her eyes. I kiss her once, lightly—our lips barely brush together before I pull away—leaving her dazed.
She reaches for the door, but I push her hand away. “I’ll always open the door for you, my passenger princess.”
Vivienne rolls her eyes, allowing me to open the door for her, then climbs inside. I stroll around the van, waving at Roxy. She’son the front porch watching us. She points to her eyes, then at me. I nod, and she drags her finger across her throat, then hangs it to the side with her tongue out. That’s comforting—I think I’m terrified of her in a good way. At least I know when Vivienne is with her, she’s safe.
BananaBees isn’t far from her place. There’s a mall and movie theater ten minutes away, which both makes our drive short and keeps us on time for the reservations. Not that I’m actually worried about reservations. I’m more worried about being spotted or disturbed by people who recognize me.
“How has your trip been, honestly?” she asks, tracing her finger over my arm muscles.
“It’s not a big deal,” I answer, avoiding the question.
“Why did you come?” She pulls her hand back, uncomfortably.
I reach for her hand, parting her fingers with mine. She doesn’t resist, but she’s still not looking at me. It’s so hard to get past her walls of protection. If a glimpse of vulnerability is what it’ll take, then I suppose I can give her something real. “I came back to see you.”
There she is, like a magnet drawn back to me. I suppose it’s hard for her to understand why someone like me might take an interest in someone like her, but I’ve been fucking obsessed since the moment we met.
We’re at a stoplight. I pull her hand over, bringing it to my lips then turn my signature smolder on—the one the cameras love. “Don’t doubt my intentions, little muse. They’re nothing but sincere.”
She smiles. “We’ll see.”
“I guess we will, darling. I love a challenge.”
She bites her bottom lip, trying to turn away before I see. Fuck! This is exactly why I’m so damn obsessed with her.
I pull into a parking spot and shut the car off. “Don’t even think about it.”
She laughs. “Am I allowed to unbuckle myself, or are you in charge of that too?”
“If I’m in charge of that, we might miss dinner—and end up on the evening news.” I raise my eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Cas, stop it. I don’t want to be on the news.”
“Why not?”
“We’d both be in trouble. You’re supposed to be on tour. I have my first convention next week—“
I stop her. “Where is your convention?”
“Why?”
“So I can try to make it.” I mean every word.
I don’t give her a chance to say no. I get out and walk around the car to open the door. When I offer her my hand for help out, she says, “Cas, that’s sweet, but it’s really not like that. You’d get recognized, and it would cause chaos they haven’t planned for.”
I shrug. I don’t care if I get recognized. I’d be there supporting her, but I understand what she means. I won’t push it and make things uncomfortable. “I can’t make any promises for future events, but I’ll give you the out this time.”
She laughs. “You better promise. Roxy might try and fight you if you mess with our girl trips.”
“Oh really?” I flex my arm muscles and smirk.
