Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(40)

Kellan chuckled, and we languidly kissed as we cuddled, both of us now covered in stray petals. As Kellan picked off a few near my breast he murmured, “Give me a minute, and I can probably change your mind about that.”

I was laughing at his answer when the door to the bedroom suddenly banged open.

I screamed and grabbed for anything that could shield my body. Kellan helped, moving over me so that all anyone would really see was him, which he didn’t seem worried about. Horrified, I helplessly watched as my worst nightmare played out before my eyes. Griffin sauntered into the room. His expression was giddy as he beamed at Kellan. Maybe I was misinterpreting it, but I didn’t think his happiness was from catching us post-coital. In fact, he didn’t seem to even notice that I was there.

Now I was positive I would never forget this moment.

Glaring at the person intruding on our very private moment, Kellan yelled, “What the f*ck, Griffin?”

Bouncing on his feet, Griffin ignored him. “Kellan, you’re not gonna believe who’s here!” His shirt and hair were covered in white, curdled goo; he smelled awful, overpowering the perfect rose aroma that had filled my love nest until just a few seconds ago.

Irritated, Kellan tossed a thick purple pillow at him. “I don’t care! Get the f*ck out!”

Griffin took a step back as the pillow dinged him in the face. I felt red-hot, but Griffin still hadn’t noticed me yet. “Dude, you’re gonna care when you see her. Get the f*ck out of bed, lazy-ass!” It was only then that Griffin seemed to notice that Kellan had company. His smile growing, Griffin drawled, “Hey, Kiera . . . it’s good to see you.”

He meant that in the most provocative way possible. I was sure that Kellan would’ve stormed over and decked Griffin if he hadn’t been busy using his body to cover the bulk of mine from Griffin’s sight. Realizing he was sort of stuck, Kellan yelled, “Matt! Get your cousin out of my f*cking bedroom before I toss him off the f*cking balcony!”

It took a moment, but eventually Matt and Evan stormed into the room to remove their bassist who clearly had a death wish. I groaned and covered my face. Damn it! Now this really was my worst nightmare. Matt and Evan were courteous enough to not look at us directly, but still, it was mortifying. As Anna peeked her head into the room, giggling, Matt and Evan dragged a protesting Griffin out. “Dude, they can bone later! He needs to see who’s here!” Griffin returned his attention to us. “She’s asking for you, dude. You!”

Matt smacked him on the back of the head. “Remember what we said about giving Kellan some space when Kiera got here . . . because of that thing he was going to give her?” When Griffin seemed oblivious, Matt hit him again. “Fucking moron,” he muttered, pulling him out of the room. “Sorry, Kell!” he yelled as he shut our door.

Mortified, I clutched at Kellan. “Oh my God! That did not just happen, did it?”

Kellan sighed and rubbed my back. “Unfortunately . . . it did. Sorry, I forgot to lock the door.” He chuckled. “I was a little preoccupied.”

I pulled back to glare at him. None of this was very funny. Remembering Griffin’s words—because how would I ever forget them—I asked, “Do you know what he was talking about? Who’s here to see you?”

Kellan shook his head. “No idea.” He turned his head to the door, where we could hear Griffin and Matt arguing about Griffin’s complete and total lack of common decency. “I suppose I should go see, though.”





Chapter 8


An Offer





Thanks to the layer of rose petals we were both wearing, it took Kellan and me a few minutes to redress. Kellan laughed to himself as he pried a few petals loose from my hair—hair that I’m sure was a snarled, tangled mess that screamed to the world that I’d just had an afternoon delight—or late-morning delight, to be more accurate. Oh well, things could be worse. The entire band could have walked in on us completely naked and exposed. Oh yeah, that’s right—they did.

I was frowning as I stood up and stared back at the rumpled bed. Kellan followed my gaze as he slipped on his shoes. Slowly standing beside me, he smiled, inhaled a deep breath, then kissed my forehead. “Stay here. I’m gonna go kill Griffin.”

I instantly grinned and followed him as he stormed out the door. If Kellan was about to cause Griffin bodily harm, there was no way was I going to miss it. Griffin was on the other side of the living room, as far from our door as his cousin could get him. He was partially undressed, using his T-shirt to scrub sour milk out of his chin-length hair. Matt and Evan were telling him something, and Anna was tapping her foot. I was sure she wanted to berate him for giving her a boy but hadn’t had a chance to tell him yet with the other annoyances that had cropped up. How one person got in so much trouble so fast was beyond me.

Griffin looked up when he spotted Kellan storming his way. A wide smile stretched his thin lips. “Dude—”

Griffin didn’t get to say anything else. Kellan walked right up to him, placed both palms on his chest, and shoved him to the floor. He hit his ass hard, and the smile finally fell off of his face. “What the f*ck, Kell?”

Lips in a hard line, Kellan stared down at Griffin. I’d seen Kellan ticked off before, at other people and even at me, but I’d never seen him direct that anger toward his band. Well, except for the one time that he’d gotten irritated enough at Griffin harassing me that he’d snapped at him to knock it off. This seemed different, though. He seemed . . . done, like Griffin had finally crossed the line with him.