Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darker interior from the sunset outside. Before I could focus, I heard a shout and was forcibly held back from continuing inside by a man taller than me and about twice as wide in the shoulders—or at least he appeared that way in the darkened corridor.
“State your name.”
I blinked. “T-Tully Bowman. I’m here to see Devon McKay. He’s friends with—”
“Dev,” the security guard barked, keeping his eyes on me. “What did I tell you about keeping me in the loop? For fuck’s sake, where’s Lou?”
Dev hurried out of a narrow doorway, muttering his apologies. “I told you he was coming about ten times, Ryan, but I didn’t think he’d get here until after eight.” He met my eyes and grinned widely. “You’re early.”
The man let me go, and I lunged into Dev’s arms, embarrassingly shaken up by the confrontation with the security guy.
Sandalwood mixed with hay surrounded me as Dev hugged me with his whole self. I melted against him and inhaled a ragged breath.
“Fuck,” Dev breathed against my ear. “I needed you.”
For an instant, I thought he meant he’d needed me for something specific, that there’d been a situation like lack of childcare or a legal issue. But then I realized he’d meant it the way I would have meant it if I’d dared to say it out loud.
“I’m here,” I murmured.
The words for now remained unspoken but very much present.
He turned his face to kiss me, and my heart thundered as his mouth possessed mine and his hands came up to cradle my face. I ran my hands up and down his back, over his ass, and into his thick hair, reacquainting myself with the feel of him.
An annoyed throat-clearing interrupted us. The large bodyguard narrowed his eyes at us. “Believe it or not, this is a place of business.”
“Ryan, Jesus.” A man poked his head out of the doorway Dev had come from. I recognized the swing of his sun-streaked brown hair as he leaned out and waved us toward him. “Come in. I don’t have much time, and I’m dying to thank you in person for saving Lellie.”
The bodyguard made a disgruntled sound in his voice. “You’re supposed to be resting, Zane.”
I glanced at Dev, worried we were intruding. Dev shook his head. “Zane’s just in the middle of an exhausting tour, and his medical advisor wasn’t happy about adding in this show at the last minute.”
“It was hardly the last minute,” Zane said before grinning at me. “Ignore Ryan. It’s his job to keep me safe, and for some reason, he thinks that includes protecting me from heat stroke and exhaustion. Which is ridiculous since I’m fine.”
He angled this last part toward the bodyguard and made sure his voice was loud enough to carry.
Dev took my hand in his and held it tightly as we moved down the narrow corridor to the small dressing room. Thankfully, there was a small love seat for us to sit on and remain out of Zane’s way after exchanging pleasantries.
He was a lovely man, more beautiful in person than he appeared in the media. I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn he was personable, but I was. He definitely wasn’t stuck-up or too important, and he was surprisingly not surrounded by tons of people fussing over his hair and wardrobe. He wore jeans with a faded red T-shirt with a scripted Majestic Rocks on it over an outline of Three Daughters.
He must have caught me looking around in surprise because he laughed. “This is much quieter than normal. Rowe and Bash haven’t arrived yet, Landry wandered off to find Silas and Way, and the security team is feeling a little squirrelly, so they’re keeping me isolated from everyone else.”
Ryan’s voice came from outside the open dressing room door. “Protected,” he corrected in a mutter. “Isolated, my ass.”
“Fine,” Zane snapped. “Protected. From people and, you know… fun.”
“Or danger,” Ryan muttered in a lower voice. “Puh-tay-toe, puh-tah-toe.”
Zane rolled his eyes and turned back to me. “Anyway, ignore him. There’s some stuff going on that has his hackles up, but I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Fine,” Ryan muttered again. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
I glanced at Dev, who just shook his head as if to say, “Don’t ask.”
As soon as Zane took a seat on the stool in front of the mirrored table, an older man came bustling in to begin applying makeup. He was noticeably silent and behaved like he was more of a set piece than a team member.
“I met Lellie earlier today when we arrived,” Zane said. “She’s adorable. I told my manager to block out some time over the holidays to come play Santa. Dev can’t be trusted to do it right.”
He winked, which sent the makeup guy into a round of soft curses.