Bad for You (Sea Breeze #7)(43)

I glanced back at my closet and looked at the jeans hanging there. It was still eighty degrees most nights. The idea of being in a packed club in this heat wearing jeans seemed miserable. But maybe they would be sexier.

A knock on the door told me my time was up.

“Where you at?” Krit’s voice filled the apartment. “And why isn’t this door locked?”

Smiling, I stepped out of the bedroom. “I like the riffraff who finds their way in here.”

Krit turned to look at me with a grin that froze on his face. He let his eyes trail down my body slowly and back up again. Then he let out a low whistle. “Damn, love. You make innocent and sweet sexy as f**king hell.”

I let out the breath I was holding. I passed inspection. He wasn’t embarrassed. “Oh, good. I wasn’t sure what to wear to this,” I admitted.

He walked toward me, and the tight black jeans he was wearing with black combat boots made my mouth water. “Truth is, little dancer, you could wear a granny gown and turn heads.” He reached for my waist and pulled me close to him. “You ready to do this?”

If he meant kiss, then, yes, I was very ready.

He kissed the tip of my nose and stepped back, a playful grin on his face. “Let’s go. The guys are waiting on us downstairs, and Matty, like the dickhead he is, will start blaring the horn in a minute.”

I grabbed my purse and followed him to the door. He stepped back and let me go first, then he held out his hand for my keys. I gave them to him and watched as he locked the door up tight and then handed the keys back to me. “Time to party,” he said with a sexy wink.

KRIT

Green was standing outside the black Escalade that we had bought from Matty’s dad. It was our traveling vehicle. It was roomy enough and had the power needed to pull our trailer with the instruments.

“Whose car is that?” Blythe asked when she saw Green standing there, arms crossed and looking annoyed.

“The band’s. It’s what we travel in,” I explained.

“Nice,” she said, smiling.

“Glad y’all could join us,” Green drawled when we got to the door.

“Shut up,” I snarled, and held Blythe’s hand as she climbed inside. They had left the back for us. Normally, I rode up front, but being tucked in the back with Blythe and everyone else in the front sounded pretty damn good.

The short little dress she was wearing rode up as she bent over to climb in the back, and the blue satin of her panties peeked out. I heard Green’s sharp intake of breath and shoved him back so he couldn’t see her ass. Then I climbed in behind her to make sure no one else saw her either.

Green was laughing as he climbed in after me and sat down in the middle. Legend was sitting up front in the passenger seat, and Matty was driving. Legend glanced back. “What’d I miss?” he asked as Green continued to be entirely too amused.

“Nothing,” I snarled.

Legend’s eyebrows went up, and he nodded before turning back around. “Got that,” he mumbled.

“You always make him this testy?” Matty called back, looking at Blythe through the rearview mirror.

Blythe tensed up beside me, and I was ready to get out and smash all their faces in. Leaning back, I slid my arm around the back of the seat and pulled her closer to me. “Ignore them. They get like this before we perform,” I told her.

She relaxed into me. “Do they not like for you to bring women?” she asked.

Unfortunately, she asked just loud enough for Green to hear her. He let out another laugh and turned to look back at her. “He takes ’em home, Blythe. He don’t bring ’em with him. You’re a first.”

Her head snapped back up to look at me. I didn’t meet her curious gaze. I knew what she wanted to know, and I had no idea what the answer was. This morning I had been ready to put her at a distance when I left her apartment. I had been mentally preparing myself to keep the friend thing going, and nothing more. Then Green said the one word that sent my monster inside into a frenzy—Linc. I didn’t like the idea of anyone else spending time with Blythe. No one else needed her laugh like I did. No one else knew how to make her laugh, and no one else made sure she had everything she needed for her sweet tea. That was all me.

The word mine kept rearing its head too, and I kept pushing that away. No one was mine. I didn’t claim women. Not my thing. If I was going to claim anyone, it would be Blythe, but then the idea of hurting her was too much.

One argument with Jess, and I had gone off and f**ked two girls backstage. Jess hadn’t given a shit. She’d been fine. She was tough, and she had her own walls. I couldn’t penetrate them. But Blythe, hell. What if I did something like that to her? What if I snapped and hurt her that way? I couldn’t think about it. Hurting her would destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to pull out of that.

But then the name Linc taunted me. I couldn’t lose her to him, either. I couldn’t share her. She was . . . Fuck! That stupid word again. She wasn’t mine. She was her own person. She was her own beautiful perfect person. She didn’t belong to anyone.

“Krit?” Her soft voice broke into my internal, battle and I gazed down at her.

“Yeah, love?” I asked, wanting to kiss the frown off her lips. I didn’t like making her frown.

“Where will I sit while you sing? I won’t know anyone there, will I?”