Only…I don't hit the ground.
Kingston catches me, hauling me up into his arms to press his lips to my ear. "You're fucking beautiful when you're happy,baby," he rasps. "You belong on this stage." He nips my skin. "But I don't. I'll wait backstage where I belong."
I stare at him wide-eyed and then nod.
What the hell else am I supposed to do?
This man—this beautiful, wild, perfect man—just blew my whole world apart. Publicly.
Chapter Six
Kingston
"We need to talk."
I turn to see a shorter replica of Evie standing beside a set of speakers with her hands on her hips and a deadly scowl on her face.
"Uh, Everly, right?" I vaguely remember her from the game the other night. She's also in a lot of Evie's photos, alongside the rest of their siblings.
"That's right. I'm Evie's older sister."
"I'm Kingston. It's nice to meet you." I hold out a hand for her, but she just looks at it. Well, damn. I drop it back to my side. "What can I do for you, Everly?"
"My sister likes you, and she doesn't like anyone," she says. "If this is some game to you or you're using her to boost your own brand, I will end you. I don't mean your career, I mean you. You'll vanish without a trace, never to be seen again. We'll hold memorials and weep and wail, and the whole time, I'll be smiling inside, because I know exactly where your stupid body is hidden."
Well, she's fucking terrifying. She's also worried as hell, I see it written all over her face.
"You know, I've made a few of these speeches, too," I murmur. "Every goddamn time one of my sisters gets with someone, I make one of them. Gotta say…yours is more terrifying than mine ever were."
"Yeah? And why is that?" She cocks her head to the side.
"Because I might break a few jaws and put the fear of God into anyone who crosses my sisters, but I think you might actually follow through and murder me if I hurt yours," I mutter.
"Oh, I will," she says sweetly. "So you need to leave right now if you think you're just going to use her to make a break for yourself or whatever it is you're after."
"Marriage."
She blinks at me.
"I'm not settling for anything less than her heart, Everly," I say, giving it to her straight. Maybe she'll think I've lost my goddamn mind. Hell, maybe I have. But there is only one woman on the planet who could get me to do the shit I just did on that stage. And it's the woman currently still on it, making the whole crowd fall in love with her.
I'm wild about her. Wild enough to slide face-first across the ice. Wild enough to invade her DMs. Wild enough to make my publicist find me a ticket. And wild enough to get up there and sing and dance, just to prove to her that there's nothing I won't do for her, up to and including public humiliation.
Everly stares at me for a long moment, and then her face breaks out in a grin. "Well, then," she says, patting me on the chest. "I have something else to say."
I wait, a little fucking leery of what she's going to threaten now.
"Evie doesn't trust easily," she says. "She's spent her whole life being pursued by assholes who wanted to be closer to our dad. And then she started singing, and assholes who wanted to be tied to a rising star came out of the woodwork. So it took a lot of courage for her to do what she just did in front of all those people." Everly hits me with a hard look. "She's giving you a chance she never gives anyone. Do not fuck it up, Kingston."
"Don't plan on it," I rasp.
"Good. Then you have my blessing." She beams at me. "Good luck."
"Tha—"
I don't even get a chance to finish before she's gone, shouting at a stagehand, who jumps, looking startled. I just chuckle, shaking my head, and turn back to the stage to watch my girl.
My girl.Goddamn, that sounds good.