Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(94)

The response from the crowd was thunderous. I was so stunned, I couldn’t move.

So much for Sienna respecting Kellan’s wishes.

Even though I was sure Sienna had mainly kissed him in front of the audience for the photo op, I had the overwhelming sensation that she was also declaring her personal interest in Kellan. Her dramatic affirmation hit me like a wrecking ball in the gut. Well, of course she wanted him. Who wouldn’t? But he was my husband, and she couldn’t have him.

Knowing I was probably about to get myself kicked off of the tour, I stormed to the rear entrance to the stage where the performers would just now be stepping down. I felt my hands balling into fists and wondered if I was about to clock a superstar. I wanted to. She’d gone too far.

As I worked my way to the back, Kellan was stomping down the stairs and shoving people out of his way. His face matched my fiery mood. Evan was a step behind him, calling his name. Sienna was on the top of the stairs, her hands on her hips. “You’re overreacting, love,” she called after him.

Lips tight, Kellan closed his eyes. I paused and watched him. That was usually the face he made when he was about to rip someone’s head off. Turning back to Sienna, he pointed up at her. “I told you, not on the lips!”

A sweet smile on her face, Sienna breezed down the stairs past Evan; he tensed as he noticed Kellan’s expression. Sienna stopped at Kellan’s side and put a hand on his rigid arm. “I got carried away by the heat of the moment. Won’t happen again.” She shrugged, her long, sleek ponytail bouncing around her shoulders.

Seeing right though her, I stepped forward. “Hell right, it won’t happen again!” Maybe it was the liquid courage in my belly, but I suddenly wanted to give this woman a smackdown. Yeah, definitely the booze talking. “He doesn’t belong to you!”

Someone grabbed my shoulders as I lurched forward. I thought it was Kellan at first, but looking behind me, I saw one of Sienna’s ever-present bodyguards holding me back—Thing 2, I think. Face serene, Sienna stepped in front of me. “He’s a person, love, so he doesn’t belong to anyone.”

She gave everyone watching a cool glance, like all of this drama was beneath her. When her eyes returned to mine, there was fire in the dark depths. “And in case you didn’t notice, he didn’t exactly pull away from me.” Her challenging eyes swung to Kellan; his jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything. Satisfied, Sienna stalked off, and Thing 2 let me go.

I huffed as I straightened myself. She had a point. I locked eyes with Kellan. The people around us resumed what they were doing now that the mini-fight was over. Evan patted my shoulder as he walked away with the other D-Bags. Matt tore Griffin away. Thankfully, or maybe unthankfully, no one from the media had witnessed the “lovers’” spat. I didn’t know what to think of my husband at the moment. Part of me understood—he was a performer, he was on stage, he wouldn’t have made a huge spectacle in front of so many people. The rest of me had Sienna’s words wrapped tight around it like a vice. He hadn’t pulled away. Had he kissed her back?

Not able to stomach looking at him anymore, I turned on my heel and stumbled away. He was behind me a second later. “I’m drunk, Kiera. It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to—”

Spinning around, I lifted my finger to his face. “I know!”

I turned back around, and he continued following me. “Then why are you mad?”

Sighing, I turned around again. It made me a little dizzy. “Because I’m drunk too!”

When I attempted to spin around again, Kellan grabbed my arm. “Would you stop walking away from me, please?” Irritated, I gazed at him as best I could. “Are you mad at me?” he pointedly asked.

My feelings still swirling, I countered with, “I don’t know. Did you kiss her back?”

Kellan’s mouth dropped open, and I saw the struggle in his eyes. He could lie as seamlessly as he could sing. I’d seen him do it. It was one of the many issues that had held back our relationship for so long. It’s hard to trust someone who was so comfortable being duplicitous. But I had absolutely no room to talk on the matter, so I tried really hard to never use that fact against him. We were both capable of horrible things. Which is why honesty was so important to us now.

Mouth in a firm line, he told me, “Just for a micro-second.” As my eyes misted, he started rambling. “I’m drunk, she caught me off guard. It was instinct. I moved my lips once, just a tiny fraction of an inch, but I didn’t do it again. I pushed her away when I realized what was happening, but the lights had already blacked out by that point.” He tossed his hands up. “Griffin’s gotten more action out of me, but I have to say yes to be honest with you.”

I wanted to be angry at him, I really did, but I understood him too well, and I was actually sort of proud of him for telling me a painful truth when a white lie would have been so much easier. Sniffling, because it did hurt a little bit, I slung my arms around his neck and pulled him tight.

“It’s okay,” I murmured in his ear, “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at her.”

His body relaxed against mine. “So am I.”





Chapter 17


Proof





I had no idea how long I’d been on the road at this point, but I was getting used to the constant traveling. Sleeping had been difficult at first; the motion of the bus kept waking me up, especially when it turned or slowed down. But now I barely noticed it. The bus could probably slam to a stop, dumping me to the floor, and I wouldn’t wake up. Well, okay, that might wake me up.