Kiro's Emily (2 page)

Hell, no, she wasn’t leaving. I had been having a hard time picking one tonight to take back to the hotel, but I’d hit the
goddamn jackpot. I bet she smelled sweet, too. Her pussy wouldn’t be overused. I bet it was tight.

“You leaving without saying hello?” I asked, flashing her the smile that got me into panties even before I was a rock star.

She sucked in another breath, and her face was so damn expressive. I could see surprise, then shock, then confusion, all swirl in her pretty eyes. I wondered how those eyes would look when I made her come. I was fucking finding out.

When it was apparent that she wasn’t going to speak, I took another step toward her and ran a finger down her cheek, just to see if that skin was as soft as it looked. Fuck me, it was. Then she shivered.

“You got a name, Princess?” I asked, surprising myself. I didn’t ever ask names. I just called them all Princess. It was easier.

“I’m just . . . I need . . . I was leaving. I gotta go,” she stammered, pointing over her shoulder toward the door my man still guarded.

Had Trac scared her? Stupid fucker better not have hurt her. She was like one of those beautiful dolls you weren’t supposed to touch because they might break.

“But you can’t leave yet. We haven’t met,” I said, slipping a hand to rest on her hip, skimming past her tiny waist and flaring hips. That ass would be one I would need to shoot my load all over.

“I’m just here with my cousin. Not . . . I mean . . . I’m not actually a guest. I got in because of her. She’s all set now, so I’m leaving.”

Sweet. Jesus Christ, she was so damn sweet. How could a woman look like this and be this sweet? This shit didn’t hap
pen.

“You’re a guest now. You’re my guest,” I informed her. I held out a hand for her to take. “Come with me. We can go somewhere quiet, and you can tell me all about yourself.”

She started shaking her head. “Oh, no. That’s not . . . I just need to leave. I’m tired.”

I couldn’t do anything but stare at her. I didn’t know how to handle this. She was turning me down. Me. No one told me no. Ever. Was this a game? Was that sweetness just an act? Did she get what she wanted by playing hard-to-get and whetting a man’s appetite with that fuckable body in clothes that only hinted at what was underneath? Because if it was, it was brilliant. I wanted her. Now. This act was working.

I smirked and took one more step toward her. If she backed up, she’d be pressing against my guard. So I had her. It was me or him. Lowering my head, I brushed my lips over her ear and inhaled. Fuck me, fuck me, she smelled like honey.

“Want you naked and underneath me. This is working, Princess. Now it’s time to give in.”

Her body went taut, and she stopped breathing. I waited for her to inhale again while I ran my nose up her neck and saturated myself with how fucking amazing she smelled.

“No. I don’t do this,” she said, sounding breathless. “I just want to leave.”

Lifting my head, I looked her in the eyes and saw the fear this time. It was real. She was scared of me. Why was she fucking scared of me? The innocence in her eyes was real. It screamed that she was to be looked at but not touched.

“Please,” she begged softly. “Please let me go.”

I loved for women to beg me. Granted, I loved to hear
them beg for my dick. Or beg me to fuck them harder. But this . . . it gripped my chest. Fuck me, I was gonna let her go. Because she’d said please. And she’d motherfucking meant it.

I looked up at the guard at the door. He was one of many who traveled with us. “Make sure she gets home safely,” I said, and the guard gave me a small nod.

Then I looked back at the untouchable beauty in front of me. She was right. She didn’t belong here. She shouldn’t be part of this. I didn’t say good-bye, because I wasn’t calling her Princess again. I called girls I fucked Princess.

Before I could change my mind, I turned and walked back toward the crowd. There were plenty of brunettes in here I could use tonight. But that angel face would be what I saw when I closed my eyes.

Emily

S
onya hadn’t come back to the hotel. I had stayed up waiting all night, trying to calm down and give her the time to wake up and do the walk of shame. I took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and ate two of the granola bars we kept in our luggage for breakfast to save money. We were definitely on a budget. Following a band around was not cheap.

I paced the small room and watched the door, willing the doorknob to turn. But by noon, with no sign of Sonya, I knew I had to pay for another night’s stay and then go find her. Which meant more money spent, because she had the keys and the car; I had come back to the hotel in a limo last night.

Because of Kiro Manning. My heart sped up at the memory of his deep, sexy drawl as he tried to get me to stay last night. His eyes had been even more breathtaking up close. Every fantasy I’d had about him had flashed before my eyes as he touched my hip and then my face.

His lips had brushed my ear, and every cell in my body had caught fire. It had taken all of my strength and good sense to walk out the door. Holding on to the image of him grop
ing several topless women and then the blonde who had been between his legs helped keep me from melting under his gaze.

No. I would not think about that man. He was not for me. He just liked women. I had been leaving, and Trac had been calling for me to come back. That was the only reason he noticed me. I had been easily overlooked until then.

I had to find Sonya. That was my only concern. Then I was going home to South Carolina, with or without her. Maybe after last night, she’d gotten her taste of those men and was ready to leave.

I had started for the door when the phone rang. It was probably the front desk telling me I had to get my crap out; it was checkout time. I walked over and picked it up, ready to explain the situation.

“Hello—”

“Emily,” Sonya said through a yawn. “I need you to pack up our shit and get a cab and come here.”

What? Come where? “Where are you? You have the car—why can’t you come here?”

“Because,” she said as she lowered her voice. “I’m in the penthouse at the Grand. With the entire band. All of them.”

I sat down on the bed and let her words register. She was in a penthouse with all of them? Did that mean she’d . . .

“Trac came back to me last night, and I ended up going to their hotel. Then Dean Freaking Finlay fucked me on the bar, and Dash and I messed around on the sofa and passed out. When I woke up, Kiro was sitting in the chair across from me, looking like the most fucking gorgeous creation on earth. He asked my name and where I was from. Then he asked me to stay with them today. They don’t leave until tomorrow. So get
your shit, and get over here.”

She was going to sleep with all of them? Oh, God. I didn’t want to be there when she screwed with Kiro. He was in my fantasy world. After last night, I didn’t want to ruin that.

“Uh . . . I’ll just book another night here. They asked you to stay, not me. So I’ll stay here. You . . . just . . . you are using protection, aren’t you?”

Sonya let out a frustrated groan. I didn’t see why she had to get so frustrated. I was just worried about her being safe. “I need my luggage,” she snapped.

Crap. OK. “I can bring that to you if you don’t want to come get it. But I wish you’d—”

“Just bring it. I need it. You can go back to the hotel and stay there. I don’t care. But I won’t let you ruin this for me. This is why I came on this trip! I need this.” She was still whispering.

Sonya had three pieces of luggage. Hauling that by myself wasn’t going to be easy. Normally, I carried mine and one of hers, and she carried the other two. They were bulky, and one didn’t roll at all.

But she had been through an awful time the last two months, and if this made her happy, then I’d do it. “OK. Fine. I’ll bring it to you. But could you at least meet me in the lobby? This stuff is hard to handle all by myself.”

She sighed. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there in thirty minutes.” She hung up.

I looked at the phone in my hand and wondered what I had done to annoy her. I said I’d bring it to her. Although what she was doing was degrading. I hadn’t pointed that out.

Once I had all her luggage packed up and managed to get it downstairs, I spent ten more minutes trying to get a cab. I had twenty dollars left. I would need to get more money from Sonya to cover the fare back, but I hoped this was enough to get me to the Grand.

Watching the meter the entire ride, I breathed a sigh of relief when the total came to fifteen dollars and ten cents. I gave the driver my twenty, and when he gave me the change, I tipped him two dollars.

As I stepped out, I noticed the hotel was very different from ours. Someone was unloading the bags immediately, and the guy smiled at me as he rolled the luggage toward the doors. I was relieved I didn’t have to struggle to get all three bags inside.

“Checking in?” the guy asked me.

I almost laughed. This place was so out of my league. I shook my head. “No. But I’m bringing that luggage to my cousin. She’s staying the night with a guest . . . or guests here. They’re in the penthouse.” I looked around. “She was supposed to meet me down here.”

The surprise in his eyes was obvious. He must know who was in the penthouse. “I can’t allow you up there. It takes a special key to get to that floor. Is there a way you can call your cousin?”

I checked the lobby again for any sign of Sonya. She wasn’t there. I didn’t want to think about what had gotten her sidetracked. “I, uh, could you maybe call up there and ask them about what I need to do with the luggage? I don’t mind leav
ing it, but I want to make sure she knows it’s here and she can come get it.”

The guy’s gaze had drifted lower over my body but snapped back up to look at my face when I spoke. “Yes, of course. Wait right here,” he said. I nodded, standing beside the luggage as he went to the concierge desk.

If Sonya wanted her luggage so bad, she at least could have been waiting for me. Then the fact that I was out of cash sank in. Crap. I had to get money from her, or I would be stuck here. I looked over at the bellhop and wondered if he’d mind asking my cousin to come down. Before I could decide how to handle the situation, the guy was hanging up the phone and coming toward me.

He looked amused as he walked up to take the luggage cart. “I’ve been instructed to bring you and the luggage up,” he informed me, then waved his hand for me to walk in front of him. “Private elevator for the penthouse floor is this way.”

Why was I supposed to go up? I needed money, but I didn’t want to see Kiro again. Would he remember me from last night? Would Trac? No, probably not. They would be sober now, and I wouldn’t be someone who stood out last night. There had been so many. And they’d more than likely slept with several girls after I left.

I didn’t argue. I went to the elevator. If Sonya needed me to come up, I would. I was surprised she wanted me to. She had sounded so disgusted with me on the phone.

The bellhop swiped a card, and the elevator opened. I stepped inside, and he followed me. The massive size of the elevator surprised me. It was also very elegant and didn’t feel like an elevator at all.

“What part of the South are you from?” the bellhop asked.

“South Carolina,” I replied.

“I like the accent,” he said, smiling.

“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say to that. He didn’t sound like someone from Chicago. But I didn’t want to ask where he was from in case he
was
from here.

The elevator opened onto a small landing with two large double doors in front of us. That was it. The whole top floor of this hotel was the penthouse. Wow. He let me lead the way, but I didn’t walk up to the door. He was staring at me, so I glanced over at him. He was waiting for me. To do what? Knock?

Oh, heck no. “Uh, they don’t know me. I probably shouldn’t be the one to knock.” The idea of a shirtless Kiro Manning opening the door was terrifying.

The guy cleared his throat. “Mr. Manning answered the phone, and he seemed to know who you were. He described you perfectly.”

What? That couldn’t be right. How did he know who I was? Even if he remembered from last night, he didn’t know Sonya was my cousin. Trac knew we were together, but he was so high he wouldn’t have remembered enough to tell Kiro.

“You still want me to ring?” the bellhop asked when I didn’t move.

“Please,” I said.

He smiled and nodded, then stepped up and rang the doorbell. No need to knock—of course, this place had a doorbell.

One of the large doors swung open, and I held my breath, hoping to see Sonya standing there. Instead, it was Dean. I sighed in relief. I knew he wouldn’t recognize me.

“I was asked to bring up the luggage and the lady from
downstairs,” the bellhop said.

Dean nodded, and his eyes locked on me. One side of his mouth curved up in a half smile, and he shook his head and muttered “Shit” before stepping back to let the bellhop in with the luggage.

“You first,” the bellhop said.

“I’m sure they don’t want me in there. I just need to see Sonya for a moment. Then I’ll be gone,” I explained quickly.