“You’re a guest now. You’re my guest,” I informed her. I held out a hand for her to take. “Come with me. We can go somewhere quiet, and you can tell me all about yourself.”

She started shaking her head. “Oh, no. That’s not . . . I just need to leave. I’m tired.”

I couldn’t do anything but stare at her. I didn’t know how to handle this. She was turning me down. Me. No one told me no. Ever. Was this a game? Was that sweetness just an act? Did she get what she wanted by playing hard-to-get and whetting a man’s appetite with that fuckable body in clothes that only hinted at what was underneath? Because if it was, it was brilliant. I wanted her. Now. This act was working.

I smirked and took one more step toward her. If she backed up, she’d be pressing against my guard. So I had her. It was me or him. Lowering my head, I brushed my lips over her ear and inhaled. Fuck me, fuck me, she smelled like honey.

“Want you naked and underneath me. This is working, Princess. Now it’s time to give in.”

Her body went taut, and she stopped breathing. I waited for her to inhale again while I ran my nose up her neck and saturated myself with how fucking amazing she smelled.

“No. I don’t do this,” she said, sounding breathless. “I just want to leave.”

Lifting my head, I looked her in the eyes and saw the fear this time. It was real. She was scared of me. Why was she fucking scared of me? The innocence in her eyes was real. It screamed that she was to be looked at but not touched.

“Please,” she begged softly. “Please let me go.”

I loved for women to beg me. Granted, I loved to hear them beg for my dick. Or beg me to fuck them harder. But this . . . it gripped my chest. Fuck me, I was gonna let her go. Because she’d said please. And she’d motherfucking meant it.

I looked up at the guard at the door. He was one of many who traveled with us. “Make sure she gets home safely,” I said, and the guard gave me a small nod.

Then I looked back at the untouchable beauty in front of me. She was right. She didn’t belong here. She shouldn’t be part of this. I didn’t say good-bye, because I wasn’t calling her Princess again. I called girls I fucked Princess.

Before I could change my mind, I turned and walked back toward the crowd. There were plenty of brunettes in here I could use tonight. But that angel face would be what I saw when I closed my eyes.

Emily

Sonya hadn’t come back to the hotel. I had stayed up waiting all night, trying to calm down and give her the time to wake up and do the walk of shame. I took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and ate two of the granola bars we kept in our luggage for breakfast to save money. We were definitely on a budget. Following a band around was not cheap.

I paced the small room and watched the door, willing the doorknob to turn. But by noon, with no sign of Sonya, I knew I had to pay for another night’s stay and then go find her. Which meant more money spent, because she had the keys and the car; I had come back to the hotel in a limo last night.

Because of Kiro Manning. My heart sped up at the memory of his deep, sexy drawl as he tried to get me to stay last night. His eyes had been even more breathtaking up close. Every fantasy I’d had about him had flashed before my eyes as he touched my hip and then my face.

His lips had brushed my ear, and every cell in my body had caught fire. It had taken all of my strength and good sense to walk out the door. Holding on to the image of him groping several topless women and then the blonde who had been between his legs helped keep me from melting under his gaze.

No. I would not think about that man. He was not for me. He just liked women. I had been leaving, and Trac had been calling for me to come back. That was the only reason he noticed me. I had been easily overlooked until then.

I had to find Sonya. That was my only concern. Then I was going home to South Carolina, with or without her. Maybe after last night, she’d gotten her taste of those men and was ready to leave.

I had started for the door when the phone rang. It was probably the front desk telling me I had to get my crap out; it was checkout time. I walked over and picked it up, ready to explain the situation.

“Hello—”

“Emily,” Sonya said through a yawn. “I need you to pack up our shit and get a cab and come here.”

What? Come where? “Where are you? You have the car—why can’t you come here?”

“Because,” she said as she lowered her voice. “I’m in the penthouse at the Grand. With the entire band. All of them.”

I sat down on the bed and let her words register. She was in a penthouse with all of them? Did that mean she’d . . .

“Trac came back to me last night, and I ended up going to their hotel. Then Dean Freaking Finlay fucked me on the bar, and Dash and I messed around on the sofa and passed out. When I woke up, Kiro was sitting in the chair across from me, looking like the most fucking gorgeous creation on earth. He asked my name and where I was from. Then he asked me to stay with them today. They don’t leave until tomorrow. So get your shit, and get over here.”

She was going to sleep with all of them? Oh, God. I didn’t want to be there when she screwed with Kiro. He was in my fantasy world. After last night, I didn’t want to ruin that.

“Uh . . . I’ll just book another night here. They asked you to stay, not me. So I’ll stay here. You . . . just . . . you are using protection, aren’t you?”

Sonya let out a frustrated groan. I didn’t see why she had to get so frustrated. I was just worried about her being safe. “I need my luggage,” she snapped.

Crap. OK. “I can bring that to you if you don’t want to come get it. But I wish you’d—”

“Just bring it. I need it. You can go back to the hotel and stay there. I don’t care. But I won’t let you ruin this for me. This is why I came on this trip! I need this.” She was still whispering.

Sonya had three pieces of luggage. Hauling that by myself wasn’t going to be easy. Normally, I carried mine and one of hers, and she carried the other two. They were bulky, and one didn’t roll at all.

But she had been through an awful time the last two months, and if this made her happy, then I’d do it. “OK. Fine. I’ll bring it to you. But could you at least meet me in the lobby? This stuff is hard to handle all by myself.”

She sighed. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there in thirty minutes.” She hung up.

I looked at the phone in my hand and wondered what I had done to annoy her. I said I’d bring it to her. Although what she was doing was degrading. I hadn’t pointed that out.

Once I had all her luggage packed up and managed to get it downstairs, I spent ten more minutes trying to get a cab. I had twenty dollars left. I would need to get more money from Sonya to cover the fare back, but I hoped this was enough to get me to the Grand.

Watching the meter the entire ride, I breathed a sigh of relief when the total came to fifteen dollars and ten cents. I gave the driver my twenty, and when he gave me the change, I tipped him two dollars.

As I stepped out, I noticed the hotel was very different from ours. Someone was unloading the bags immediately, and the guy smiled at me as he rolled the luggage toward the doors. I was relieved I didn’t have to struggle to get all three bags inside.