He meant that in the most provocative way possible. I was sure that Kellan would’ve stormed over and decked Griffin if he hadn’t been busy using his body to cover the bulk of mine from Griffin’s sight. Realizing he was sort of stuck, Kellan yelled, “Matt! Get your cousin out of my fucking bedroom before I toss him off the fucking balcony!”
It took a moment, but eventually Matt and Evan stormed into the room to remove their bassist who clearly had a death wish. I groaned and covered my face. Damn it! Now this really was my worst nightmare. Matt and Evan were courteous enough to not look at us directly, but still, it was mortifying. As Anna peeked her head into the room, giggling, Matt and Evan dragged a protesting Griffin out. “Dude, they can bone later! He needs to see who’s here!” Griffin returned his attention to us. “She’s asking for you, dude. You!”
Matt smacked him on the back of the head. “Remember what we said about giving Kellan some space when Kiera got here . . . because of that thing he was going to give her?” When Griffin seemed oblivious, Matt hit him again. “Fucking moron,” he muttered, pulling him out of the room. “Sorry, Kell!” he yelled as he shut our door.
Mortified, I clutched at Kellan. “Oh my God! That did not just happen, did it?”
Kellan sighed and rubbed my back. “Unfortunately . . . it did. Sorry, I forgot to lock the door.” He chuckled. “I was a little preoccupied.”
I pulled back to glare at him. None of this was very funny. Remembering Griffin’s words—because how would I ever forget them—I asked, “Do you know what he was talking about? Who’s here to see you?”
Kellan shook his head. “No idea.” He turned his head to the door, where we could hear Griffin and Matt arguing about Griffin’s complete and total lack of common decency. “I suppose I should go see, though.”
Chapter 8
An Offer
Thanks to the layer of rose petals we were both wearing, it took Kellan and me a few minutes to redress. Kellan laughed to himself as he pried a few petals loose from my hair—hair that I’m sure was a snarled, tangled mess that screamed to the world that I’d just had an afternoon delight—or late-morning delight, to be more accurate. Oh well, things could be worse. The entire band could have walked in on us completely naked and exposed. Oh yeah, that’s right—they did.
I was frowning as I stood up and stared back at the rumpled bed. Kellan followed my gaze as he slipped on his shoes. Slowly standing beside me, he smiled, inhaled a deep breath, then kissed my forehead. “Stay here. I’m gonna go kill Griffin.”
I instantly grinned and followed him as he stormed out the door. If Kellan was about to cause Griffin bodily harm, there was no way was I going to miss it. Griffin was on the other side of the living room, as far from our door as his cousin could get him. He was partially undressed, using his T-shirt to scrub sour milk out of his chin-length hair. Matt and Evan were telling him something, and Anna was tapping her foot. I was sure she wanted to berate him for giving her a boy but hadn’t had a chance to tell him yet with the other annoyances that had cropped up. How one person got in so much trouble so fast was beyond me.
Griffin looked up when he spotted Kellan storming his way. A wide smile stretched his thin lips. “Dude—”
Griffin didn’t get to say anything else. Kellan walked right up to him, placed both palms on his chest, and shoved him to the floor. He hit his ass hard, and the smile finally fell off of his face. “What the fuck, Kell?”
Lips in a hard line, Kellan stared down at Griffin. I’d seen Kellan ticked off before, at other people and even at me, but I’d never seen him direct that anger toward his band. Well, except for the one time that he’d gotten irritated enough at Griffin harassing me that he’d snapped at him to knock it off. This seemed different, though. He seemed . . . done, like Griffin had finally crossed the line with him.
When he didn’t answer, Griffin rolled his eyes. “Relax, besides your ass, I didn’t see anything.”
Kellan pointed to the hallway that led downstairs. His voice low and cold, he told Griffin, “Grab your shit, and get out.”
Matt and Evan stared at Kellan, shocked. Even Anna was speechless. Griffin snorted and stood up. “Oh, come on, Kell.” He pointed back to our bedroom. “It’s not like I knew she was here.”
As I heard my sister mutter, “Did you think we flew in separately?” Griffin sniffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Griffin had a handful of tattoos across his body, but for some reason, I could not stop staring at one of a busty girl in a sailor suit straddling a sword. I guess it hit a little close to home at the moment. That, and I couldn’t quite look Griffin in the face yet.
“Besides, you can’t kick me out of the band, dude.”
Kellan stepped toe to toe with Griffin, and the others tensed. Matt and Evan exchanged a brief glance, and I could almost hear the conversation in their eyes: Okay, on three, you take Kellan, and I’ll take Griffin.
“Why the hell would I keep you?” Kellan seethed, his eyes hard.