Arousal trembled through her limbs, cranking her hips, and curling her fingers. “Moved it to my messenger bag.” She peppered kisses on his wet lips, the sculpted contour of his jaw, and the arch of his fevered cheek. She lingered over his eyelid, brushing her lips along the delicate skin. He was so soft there, so unlike the rest of him. “I want to touch you so badly.”
A low groan escaped from deep within him. He dropped his head back and stared at her with his mouth hanging open. “I want that, Charlee. More than anything.” He shoved his hands through her hair and gathered it off her face. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are grinding on me and looking at me like that?”
Only a man would define grinding as beautiful. Holding his eyes, she rotated her hips once, twice—
He gripped her thighs and the sinews in his neck bulged against the skin. “Christ. Okay, stop. I’m about to embarrass myself.”
“I’d like to see that.” She smiled, and the blissful feeling panicked her. How could she let herself want someone so unobtainable? He was a celebrity and she was on the run. He had some kind of fucked up tactile defensiveness and drug issues, and she didn’t have the background or expertise to deal with it. Yet, all the shitty circumstances faded away as he leaned in and took her mouth.
A vibration buzzed in her pocket. Creases bracketed his scowl as she slid off his lap and tugged out her phone. “It’s Nathan.” She gave him a shaky smile and hit Answer. “Hey.”
“Everything okay? Tony said you haven’t left the car yet.”
Jay slipped his fingers into the neck of her shirt and caressed the outline of her collarbone. A chill raced up her spine and she sighed. “Are we in a hurry?”
“I’m packing our shit. I assumed you’d be helping.”
What? They were there to grab her tattoo supplies only. “You’re packing?”
“Yeah, Charlee. I’m packing. We’re going, if not to L.A., then somewhere. I just got the call. Photos of you and Laz have started popping up faster than my guys can delete them.”
The folly of the previous night flashed through her mind, suffocating her with replays of the restaurant, the cameras, and their overnight at the hotel. Roy controlled Craigs all over the country. She knew without a doubt he had thugs in New York. The photos linked her to The Burn, and if Roy knew where the band stayed, Jay would not only be targeted…”We could’ve been followed from the hotel.”
“We watched for tails, didn’t see any. But, yeah, we could’ve been followed. I’d prefer you stay in the car. I just wanted to check on you.”
She didn’t want him in the apartment alone. Not with their whereabouts broadcasted all over the Internet. Damn. Double damn. That restaurant was only a few blocks away. She should’ve been up there with him, watching his back. “I’m on my way up.”
She hung up on him, pocketed the phone, and faced the deep dark night of Jay’s eyes. It was so fucking painful, having to distance herself from people she cared about to keep them safe. A familiar loneliness spread out around her, cold and harrowing. Pushing Jay away would propel her further into that cavernous pit. Her hatred for Roy tunneled through her like poison, seething in her gut, tightening muscles, and burning her eyes.
She met Jay by chance the first time. Destiny brought them together a second time. If one were to believe in such a thing, perhaps they would find each other again. She needed him alive for that to happen, and the best way to ensure that was to stay the hell away from him. She had to believe it wasn’t too late. If she separated herself from the band immediately, Roy would leave them alone.
Goddammit, this was going to hurt. “I’m heading up to meet Nathan.” A red hot burn seized her throat. “Alone.” She grabbed her messenger bag, slipped his sunglasses inside it, and opened the door.
He reached for her, crawling after her. “Wait. I’m coming—”
“You are going back to the hotel, back to L.A.” She stepped away from the door and put as much toughness as she could gather into her glare. “That’s my decision.” All the yearning of their moments together swelled inside of her, weakening her knees, making her stumble.
“Bullshit.” Spit sprayed from his shout. He shoved his hand over and between the seats, searching for the glasses. “Something happened. Who followed us?” He punched the seat. “Tony!”
Tony jogged from around the car and stuck her head in the door. “Yes, Mr. Mayard?”
“What the fuck is going on?” His yell rolled across the lot.
Backing away, Charlee strapped the bag across her chest and reached under the flap where she’d moved her Bodyguard 380. She secured her fingers around the grip and trigger guard. Colson watched her from his post by the car, but didn’t follow.
A car motored by. Two young men exited a pizza shop across the street and walked the opposite direction. Rows of trees shaded the lot and furnished a living wall. They also provided an abundance of hiding spots.
“Colson,” Jay shouted. “Stay with her.”