“Whose car is that?” Blythe asked when she saw Green standing there, arms crossed and looking annoyed.
“The band’s. It’s what we travel in,” I explained.
“Nice,” she said, smiling.
“Glad y’all could join us,” Green drawled when we got to the door.
“Shut up,” I snarled, and held Blythe’s hand as she climbed inside. They had left the back for us. Normally, I rode up front, but being tucked in the back with Blythe and everyone else in the front sounded pretty damn good.
The short little dress she was wearing rode up as she bent over to climb in the back, and the blue satin of her panties peeked out. I heard Green’s sharp intake of breath and shoved him back so he couldn’t see her ass. Then I climbed in behind her to make sure no one else saw her either.
Green was laughing as he climbed in after me and sat down in the middle. Legend was sitting up front in the passenger seat, and Matty was driving. Legend glanced back. “What’d I miss?” he asked as Green continued to be entirely too amused.
“Nothing,” I snarled.
Legend’s eyebrows went up, and he nodded before turning back around. “Got that,” he mumbled.
“You always make him this testy?” Matty called back, looking at Blythe through the rearview mirror.
Blythe tensed up beside me, and I was ready to get out and smash all their faces in. Leaning back, I slid my arm around the back of the seat and pulled her closer to me. “Ignore them. They get like this before we perform,” I told her.
She relaxed into me. “Do they not like for you to bring women?” she asked.
Unfortunately, she asked just loud enough for Green to hear her. He let out another laugh and turned to look back at her. “He takes ’em home, Blythe. He don’t bring ’em with him. You’re a first.”
Her head snapped back up to look at me. I didn’t meet her curious gaze. I knew what she wanted to know, and I had no idea what the answer was. This morning I had been ready to put her at a distance when I left her apartment. I had been mentally preparing myself to keep the friend thing going, and nothing more. Then Green said the one word that sent my monster inside into a frenzy—Linc. I didn’t like the idea of anyone else spending time with Blythe. No one else needed her laugh like I did. No one else knew how to make her laugh, and no one else made sure she had everything she needed for her sweet tea. That was all me.
The word mine kept rearing its head too, and I kept pushing that away. No one was mine. I didn’t claim women. Not my thing. If I was going to claim anyone, it would be Blythe, but then the idea of hurting her was too much.
One argument with Jess, and I had gone off and f**ked two girls backstage. Jess hadn’t given a shit. She’d been fine. She was tough, and she had her own walls. I couldn’t penetrate them. But Blythe, hell. What if I did something like that to her? What if I snapped and hurt her that way? I couldn’t think about it. Hurting her would destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to pull out of that.
But then the name Linc taunted me. I couldn’t lose her to him, either. I couldn’t share her. She was . . . Fuck! That stupid word again. She wasn’t mine. She was her own person. She was her own beautiful perfect person. She didn’t belong to anyone.
“Krit?” Her soft voice broke into my internal, battle and I gazed down at her.
“Yeah, love?” I asked, wanting to kiss the frown off her lips. I didn’t like making her frown.
“Where will I sit while you sing? I won’t know anyone there, will I?”
I pulled her tighter against me. “You’ll stay backstage. You can watch from there, and when I take my breaks, we can hang out together.”
She let out a sigh of relief. Had she actually thought I was going to send her out into that crowd alone? Probably. The girl didn’t have a clue.
“I’m excited about hearing you again. This time without the interruption of having to talk to my date,” she said.
I was pretty damn excited about that, too. I wouldn’t have to pretend I didn’t care that some other man was near her. Making her smile. Buying her drinks. “Good. I’m gonna sing that song I’ve been working on. I got it right one night last week. I know the way it ends now.” I knew because I admitted to myself who the song was about. Who I was singing it to. Once I admitted that the song was for Blythe, I was able to finish it. My screwed-up issues all came pouring out, and the song was pretty badass. I was happy with it.
“Can’t wait to hear it,” she said, snuggling closer to me.
If she kept that up, I was going to forget we weren’t alone.
Blythe shifted and crossed her legs. My eyes were instantly drawn to the movement. The short little sundress rode up, leaving all the soft silky skin of her thighs bare for me to see. I wasn’t able to stop my hand before it decided to move on its own accord.
I ran a finger up her leg from her knee to the top of her leg. It was like cool silk. “You cold?” I asked, unable to look away from my hand on her thigh.
“No,” she said softly.
“You feel cold,” I told her, and opened my hand to cover her thigh. I moved it back down to her knee and back up to the top, where I paused and left it. Then moved down to her knee again. It was an attempt to heat her skin, but in reality I just wanted to touch her.