Braxton and Rich took off for the group before I could stop them. If she wanted to learn the hard way, who was I to object? I’d never be bored, that was for goddamn sure. She was perfect smiles and bright eyes as she greeted the group eager to meet her, while Rich hovered like her goddamn lady-in-waiting.
Resigned to whatever this night turned into, I headed for the opposite side of the room. There, from my perch on the sofa, I clocked every move Braxton made.
Five minutes passed, ten, and then fifteen.
I’d just managed to relax when Loren showed his face.
Leaning forward, the knot in my belly returned as I watched the public relations nightmare make a beeline for her. I wouldn’t put it past him to purposely say or do something that would piss Braxton off and make everyone uncomfortable.
If I were forced to make another public apology because of him, I was breaking every bone in his body.
He was barely in the room before Braxton noticed him. She tensed with each step he took toward them. I could tell even from here that she was holding her breath. He’d completely stolen her attention. When he reached the group, Loren waited until the last second before it was awkward to hold out his hand. The guy closest to him shook it vigorously, and Braxton visibly relaxed.
Knowing the group would eventually make their way over to me, I waved over one of the roadies waiting nearby and had him lay out some free merchandise on the table in front of me. They might have been here to meet Braxton, but there was no way that I’d get away with brooding alone in the corner. Not as Bound’s front man.
I loved meeting the people who connected with our music. Just not so much when I wanted to choke Braxton while fucking the shit out of her. It was all I could think about. We were playing with fire, but they pretended it didn’t burn.
Ten minutes later, I was shaking hands and signing T-shirts. Another half-hour and I was waving them out the door. I turned to Braxton the moment we were alone.
Well, mostly.
“Good job,” I told her once I had her attention. I wanted to say more, perhaps something less condescending, but my lips wouldn’t move.
The blank look she gave me told me she wasn’t flattered. “I didn’t do it to impress you.”
My smirk I failed to catch made her eyes light up like a Christmas tree—if that tree were on fire. “Nonetheless.”
Sighing, she turned to walk off. “Get fucked, Houston. I’m busy.”
I studied the curve of her ass as she stormed for the door.
She was heading back to the buses, and I swallowed the urge to follow her. I wondered if she could read my thoughts or simply felt me watching her, and that was why she peeked over her shoulder at the last minute.
The cold look she gave me before disappearing through the door had the opposite effect she intended.
I had two choices at this point.
Get a grip or get a groupie.
I followed Braxton to the open door, leaning my shoulder on the jamb as she spoke to one of the roadies. He pointed her in the direction of the buses, and she took off, unaware of the chaos around her as the crew tore down and prepared to load our equipment in the cargo trucks.
Meanwhile, there was another crew with a replica setting up in Dallas for Monday night’s show. The label had greedily packed our schedule to squeeze every penny they could, knowing it would be the last they would make out of us. Negotiations were already in the works to buy back every one of our masters, even if it bankrupted us.
The moment I was sure Braxton was gone, I found Rich, who was talking shop with one of our stage techs. The roadie, seeing the look on my face, scrammed mid-sentence. Rich looked confused until he noticed me.
“You really need to work on your people skills,” he preached for the thousandth time.
As usual, I ignored him.
People rarely saw a good person when you were too nice. All they saw was a mark.
“Did something happen between you and Braxton?” I got right to the point.
Rich’s silence said it all, but I still wanted to hear him say it. “Do you really want to do this right now? Right here?”
“Yes or no, Rich?” He shrugged before looking off and keeping his mouth closed. The last time Rich was this stubborn he’d lit a match to his life and was still trying to clean up the mess. Braxton’s defiance was spreading through my camp like an incurable disease. She needed to be stopped. “Have it your way.”
I started for the tunnel that Braxton had just disappeared through.
“Wait. Where are you going?” Rich called out. When I didn’t stop or turn back, he rushed after me until he reached my side.
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll make Braxton.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“As a fucking heart attack.”
“Fine! All right!” he yelled, making me stop in my tracks halfway through the tunnel. “We fooled around, but we didn’t have sex, so just leave her alone. You’ve done enough.”
Had I?
I thought I’d made myself clear, but every move I made, the three of them found a way to outmaneuver me.
I moved Braxton to another bus, and they followed her.
I fucked her, knowing Loren was too proud and Rich too cautious, and Braxton somehow convinced them to act outside of their nature. I know because she’d done the same to me.
Fucking her hadn’t been planned.
Wanting more was the most shocking surprise of all.
When I reached the end of the tunnel and burst through the security door, I found an even bigger problem on my hands. Braxton’s bus was being towed away as she stood on the side with everything she owned at her feet.
Again.
“What the hell happened?” Rich wondered out loud. I didn’t respond, knowing it was rhetorical since I’d been with him. He repeated his question to Braxton the moment we reached her side.
“Bus broke down. Something about the radiator. They’re towing it to the nearest shop to see if they can get it running again by morning.”
Xavier spotted us and quickly made his way over. I already knew what he’d say before he even spoke. “So here’s the deal, Braxton’s bunking with you again until we get the rig fixed,” he announced in a way that brooked no argument. “And before you ask, I’ve already checked. There are no extra bunks anywhere else. The crew is doubled up as it is.”
Xavier, Braxton, and Rich all paused, waiting for my reaction. I silently weighed the pros and cons before deciding the damage had already been done. I needed time to rethink my strategy.
“Let me know when the bus is back in commission.”
Taking Braxton’s elbow, I pulled her toward our bus. The silver lining was that now I might get a good night of sleep. The moment Braxton occupied a room, the air changed, making the people inside feel lighter on their feet. Sometimes she had me thinking I could fly. It was hard to forget that, even when she was gone.
Even after you pushed her away.
I didn’t worry about her bags, knowing one of the roadies would grab and store them on our bus, but Rich didn’t seem to want to take any chances. He was just as eager as me to get Braxton settled back in with us.
“You do know both of my feet work, right? I’m capable of putting one foot in front of the other,” she sassed.
She never. Fucking. Let up.
Neither did I.
I smiled down at her right before I let her go, only to haul her over my shoulder. Her surprised yelp and cry of outrage had every head in the vicinity turning our way. They watched her being carried back to our cave where she belonged. I even caught some of the house staff recording on the sly. Our roadies already knew not to pull that shit. Xavier was already on it, though, handing out threats of injunctions like it was Christmas.
Once we boarded our bus, I set Braxton on her feet, and she looked around like she was seeing it all for the first time.
“Welcome home,” Rich said sappily.
I rolled my eyes while Braxton’s back was still turned.
Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at him in a way that implied they shared a secret between them.
Jealousy was an ugly thing, and mine was about to rear its head. I didn’t like them having a thing.
“Thanks.” She looked around again. “Where’s Loren?”
He’d disappeared again after the meet-and-greet. I knew he couldn’t have gone far since we weren’t sticking around. The drive from Denver to Dallas was too long, and after his latest stunt, I wasn’t taking any chances.
“He’s around.”
Whenever Loren wasn’t getting his way, the social butterfly tucked his wings and cocooned himself in hate. His absence was his way of punishing the world for not appreciating him enough.
The crestfallen look on Braxton’s face told me it was working flawlessly. For once, she didn’t try to hide it, meeting both of our gazes before disappearing inside the bedroom. The sound of the lock sliding into place echoed through me.
I turned to Rich.
He was watching the closed door at the end of the hall like he was debating whether to go after her or not. Feeling my stare, he turned to me.
“Find him.”
