to the empty sofa across from the one Loren occupied. How had I gone from being ignored to locked inside our hotel suite?
My angry gaze traveled from Rich, who’d taken a couple of steps away, to Loren and finally Houston.
“What is this really about?” I was certain my new status in life hadn’t reached me being unable to walk the streets in an overcrowded city without being recognized. Most people only knew who I was if one of Bound was standing next to me. I wasn’t buying Houston’s reason for keeping me here. Besides, he had no say in what I did off stage.
“What makes you think that we have an agenda?” Loren asked.
When I responded, I kept my gaze on Houston, knowing it would piss Loren off. “Tell me a time when you didn’t have one.”
“Touché.”
Unable to resist him any longer, I looked into Loren’s eyes. I missed staring within those endless depths. “Screw you.”
They all reacted one after another to my aggression.
“Someone’s cranky.”
“Could it be that she’s hard up?”
“Whatever shall we do about that?”
I so wasn’t interested in this game.
Rich didn’t move to sit me back down when I stood, but I was ready for him if he tried. “Nothing,” I said, answering Houston’s question. “It’s being covered.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Loren snapped.
“Figure it out.”
I didn’t consider that I’d have to walk by him to get to my room and through Rich to get to the front door. The moment I tried to pass him, Loren pulled me down onto his lap, and he wasted no time locking his arms at my waist to keep me there. I could feel my limbs wanting to relax. My body missed being close to his. Knowing better, I kept my spine ramrod straight.
“Tell us who he is so you can watch us beat the shit out him.”
“Why would you do that?”
As Loren spoke, his hand caressed my lower belly, drawing heat there and filling my mouth with sweet syrup. I was beginning to despise the taste of cherries. “Because we’re spoiled, possessive, jealous…and we only like to share with each other.”
Loren caught me off guard. The only part of me that moved was my heart pounding inside my chest. “What are you saying?”
“We’d like to propose an experiment.”
“An experiment?” I echoed when I couldn’t think of what else to say.
“We’ve been kind of losing our shit without you,” Rich admitted.
“I’ve been right here.” And from my viewpoint, it looked like they’d been just fine.
“It felt like you were on another planet.”
I didn’t expect the admission to come from Houston. When my gaze shot to him, he wore an uncomfortable look as if the lead singer of a fucking rock band wasn’t used to baring his soul. I guess it was easier in front of a stadium of faceless strangers.
I was floored.
But I wouldn’t fall for it.
No one else had ever made me feel so alone. Not even my parents after they’d thrown me to the wolves.
There was a chance they’d gotten bored ignoring me and were just toying with me for their amusement. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Chuckling, I pried Loren’s arms from around me, and he reluctantly let me go. “I’m not doing this,” I said after I was standing on my feet. “I’m not playing this game.”
“You haven’t even heard what we have to say,” Rich accused me. He sounded disappointed and angry, but I didn’t care. I’d given into them too many times.
I recalled how I’d found them when I finally left my room. I realized now that they had been waiting for me. For this. Whatever this was.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I nodded even as my stomach twisted, and the air began to fill with the scent of roses. It’s been a long time since I felt sorrow this deep.
“I’m okay with that.”
“Braxton,” Loren called after me when I started for the stairs.
I’d stay put for now, but I had no interest in hearing what they had to say. They don’t get to ignore me and discard me until they’re ready to play again.
Yes, I asked for it, but they had no problem giving in.
It was all too easy for them to shut me out. They hadn’t even tried. They just taunted me as usual until even that grew boring.
The thick tension in the suite weighed my feet down, but eventually, I made it to my room.
The last thing I saw before I shut myself inside was Rich’s bowed