Page 121 of Sweet Temptation

It still left me shaken.

Ronan was texting on his phone, and I managed to collect my thoughts enough to remember Sledge. I texted him to make sure he was okay. He’d have to stay behind and tear down my equipment. It was easier for me; I could just evacuate when shit went sideways.

He texted me back with his customary easygoing attitude.

Sledge: All in a day’s work, Sum. Keep safe.

I texted him back a simple XO, because I loved that man. I seriously didn’t know what I’d ever do without him. I made a mental note that the next time I spoke with Brody, I was ordering him, on the spot, to hire Sledge onto the Players’ road crew, full-time.

I’d simply refuse to tour without him. I owed him that much, after all these years.

Then Ronan picked up a call. He muttered a few responses. I couldn’t tell who it was or what it was about, but it didn’t sound like a happy chat. It sounded like business, and not good news.

When he hung up, he seemed tense and jagged around the edges.

Actually, he seemed pissed. I watched his jaw work as he stared out the window.

He said nothing to me.

And instead of opening my mouth, I kept it shut.

I’d been biting my tongue with him for the last two days, unsure of how to proceed with a man I was attracted to—okay, deeply attracted to—who wouldn’t go there with me. Under any other circumstances, I might’ve tried to push his buttons. Crank up the heat. Ramp up the sexual tension…

Dare him not to do me.

But Ronan wasn’t just any guy. He was my bodyguard. And he was… different. I cared what he thought about me.

Too much, maybe.

That much was already clear to me. I didn’t actually want to piss him off, or disrespect him when it came to something he seemed to take so damn seriously.

Yup. Elle had called it. I liked him.

I tried to stop staring at him. Because if he was staring at me, I was pretty sure I’d feel the heat of his eyes boring into me. Maybe he could feel me staring, too.

But every time I gazed out the window into the dark, the city lights blurring by, I replayed the whole crazy scene in my head…

Chairs flying. People screaming. The crowd surging.

Andre grabbing me and pulling me to safety.

The lights coming on.

And I wondered, where was Ronan when it happened? Had he been worried about me?

Yes. Of course he was worried.

I was terrified.

It happened so fast, I could barely register how I was feeling at the time. I’d gone kind of numb. But I was definitely scared.

And when I got scared, all I wanted was Ronan.

“You alright?” he asked me, breaking the silence.

I looked over, and that penetrating look of his hit me, deep inside.

I could still feel the way he’d touched me when he’d steered me out of the club. His fingers entwining with mine. His other hand on my back, my waist. Brushing my arms as he laid his jacket over my shoulders. He’d lifted my hair off my neck afterwards, laying it over the coat so it wouldn’t pull.

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