“Maybe not, but wearing that hoodie that way isn’t safe, especially not when you’re walking around with your head down.”
“Dude, I’m not going to slam into anything; I can see just fine.”
“Really,” he said, then his hand shot out so fast I couldn’t track it, and when I tried to turn my head to see what he was doing, all I saw was cloth and a glimmer of the tattoo on his arm before everything went completely dark.
The fucker had tugged the hood down so much I was blinded by the material, trapped in it really, as he’d gripped the material covering my shoulder, pinning the hood to it with a hold so solid that batting at his hand did nothing to free me.
“My point exactly,” Steel said as he finally let go. “Now get back where you're supposed to be and find whoever the fuck is supposed to be glued to your side tonight.”
“I was hoping that would be you.”
“You’re not my principal; now I’m not going to tell you again to get moving,” he snapped. “And just so you know, …"
“Yeah, yeah, you will be reporting this to Sully, just like the whole bar incident that wasn’t an incident until you made it one,” I said, feeling a bit shredded by his refusal to flirt back, even a little. “What time do you get off?”
“Late enough that the only thing I’ll be in the mood for is sleep,” Steel snapped. “Now get your ass in gear.”
“Fine, I’m going! You didn’t have to be a dick about it,” I snarled as I turned to walk away.
“Neither did you. I told you the rules from the jump. I should have known you’d never be able to follow them. This, whatever it is, between us. I don’t think it’s going to work. I have a job to do, and so do you, so this might need to be the end of things.”
Flinching, eyes stinging, I stormed away with my hands shoved in the pocket of my hoodie rather than spitting poisonous words at him the way I wanted to do. What held me back was that I truly, genuinely had caught feelings for him. Worse than that, perhaps, was that I didn’t think my words would wound him at all. He clearly didn’t care that he’d just stomped all over my feelings and made me feel like shit for wanting to spend the evening with him instead of going to that damned afterparty.
And I couldn’t go now, because I’d pretty much let slip to Johnny what my plans for the night would be, or at least, what I’d hoped they would be, only to have that blow up in my face spectacularly.
And he’d know.
He always knew.
I had a shit poker face, and he was too damned perceptive, so it looked like I was headed back to the hotel alone. Since I was already going to be reported to Sully for not sticking to my bodyguard’s side, I decided to just toss the whole night in the fuck-it bucket and slip out the rear door where our roadies were busy loading gear back into the semi. Sucking on my vape, I marched my ass over to the black SUV Sully leaned against as he shrewdly kept watch over the activity going on. His eyes narrowed when he spotted me stalking towards him alone. I was close enough to hear him bark Cyril’s name into the walkie he yanked from his belt, followed by an ass chewing I knew I’d receive my fair share of as soon as he was done ordering Cyril out to the parking lot.
“I’m not going to the afterparty,” I declared as soon as he was done on the walkie. “Can Cyril just drive me back to the hotel, where I swear I’ll stay until whenever the hell we have to be at the meet and greet tomorrow."
“Like you swore the last time that you wouldn’t go wandering off somewhere?” He snapped. “Na, you deal with me tonight. Get in.”
I doubted that was all he’d have to say before we got back there, so I hopped in the back, buckled my seatbelt, and watched through the windshield as he gave Cyril his new assignment. It wasn’t a good feeling to know I’d just fucked up someone else’s night along with my own, but maybe, just maybe, I could salvage some shred of it and channel the crushing defeat I felt into something positive.
Like a song.
Chapter 8
(Steel)
Still seething, even after hours of escorting Jagger around the afterparty and keeping watch on the drive back to ensure we weren’t being followed to the hotel, I was grateful to be relieved of my duties for the night so I could take a long, hot shower. That the confrontation I’d had with Rebel ran through my head in an endless loop the entire time I was beneath the spray didn’t improve my mood any. The nerve of that little shit. Maybe my job was just a job to him, but there were principles wrapped up in it that he couldn’t begin to comprehend. Honor and attention to duty might seem like they were just words to be tossed about in a song to some people, but they were my life. I’d sworn an oath to protect my principal, even if it meant losing my life in the process. For Rebel to think that I’d cast that aside for one single second just because he’d come strutting down the hall showed that he was far too immature for the kind of relationship I longed for.
That he constantly fucked around and got whoever the hell was guarding him in trouble further cemented my resolve.
It was done.
Over with.
I probably shouldn’t have gone there in the first place. I’d told myself I’d be keeping him occupied and out of trouble, but the truth was a smidge more complicated than that. There had beentimes, in the wee hours of the nights we’d spent together, when we’d lain sprawled across the bed, talking about the places we’d seen, though for very different reasons. And maybe, just maybe, I was guilty of a bit of vanity. Having a guy who had beautiful, available people hanging on him all the time choose me had flattered my ego while igniting a libido I’d thought was buried, twisted, and a tad bit broken.
Too good to last.
I’d known it from day one but taken the plunge anyway.
Shame on me. I’d goddamn well known better.