Page 54 of Bonding the Band

“I didn’t think you were serious about waking me up like that.”

“You’ll learn very quickly not to give me permission for things you don’t actually want me to do.”

I laughed, my body still twitching from the aftershocks of my orgasm. “Noted.”

“We have all day on the road. You going to spend it in your nest?”

“Probably.”

“Can I hang out here, too, when I’m not driving?”

His cheeks and chin still glistened from my wake-up call, and my whole body pulsed with desire. “I’d be okay with that, but we need toactuallyrest.”

“So little trust.”

I rolled my eyes and snuggled back into my pillows. I spent almost all of that day tucked away, reading, emerging to acquire food and use the bathroom. The others greeted me warmly but mostly left me to my own devices whenever I retreated. Arlo was the only one brave enough to follow, and I made a mental note that, if I wanted to spend time with the rest of them, I’d probably have to be the one to reach out. There was plenty of time for that, and I wasn’t in a huge rush. Arlo was about all I could handle for now.

Especially when he woke me from a nap the same way he had that morning.

He grinned up at me from between my thighs. “We’re here, by the way.”

“In Minneapolis?”

“Yep. You should probably get dressed sooner rather than later because I don’t imagine Gary is going to be pleased with us. Don’t want him barging in here and seeing you looking freshly fucked.”

I flushed head to toe, my skin warming. “Also noted. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Arlo kissed me again before crawling off the nest. “Don’t take too long, or I’ll start to miss you.”

I chucked a pillow at him and immediately dug through my suitcase to find something appropriate to wear for the day. What did one wear to accommodate a manager on a rampage?

Chapter 22

Hendrix

“Well, that can’t be good.”

Gary stomped up to the RV as we pulled into the lot, looking about a half second away from a full-on conniption. His muffled screaming came through the windows, and when Arlo hit the button to open the door, he marched right on and slapped us both upside the head. “What the fuck is wrong with all of you? Fucking empty tour bus showing up and not a single fucking one of you answering your phones?”

“We had to pick something up,” said Arlo, who had shrunk in his seat away from Gary.

Our manager growled, shoving a hand through his thinning hair. “Don’t be a fucking idiot, Arlo. There isnothingon this goddamn planet that could have been important enough for you to pull this shit.”

A soft squeak sounded from the loft, and Gary turned wide eyes toward Meadow, where she was peeking down.

“Who the fuck is that? Is that why you were late?”

“She’s our—” Arlo began.

“New assistant!” I burst out.

Everyone stared at me in varying states of shock and confusion. I wasn’t sure why I said it, instead of just beinghonest, but some alarm bell in my head kept ringing, and I didn’t want Gary to know who Meadow was to us right now.

Beckett, bless him, didn’t ask questions and simply pushed on with my charade. “Arlo wanted an upgraded tour bus, and you know how impulsive he is. We decided to pick up the new assistant we hired on the way here.”

“You four are going to put me into an early fucking grave,” Gary snapped. “Any new hires should be going through me. New purchases too. Jesus, I thought we were over bullshit like this, but apparently you’re all still fucking children who can’t be trusted with anything.”

I wilted under the barrage. Gary’s approval had always been something I strove for, and I hated making him think poorly of us. He wouldn’t think any better of us if he found out that Meadow was pregnant with my baby and had my bond mark on her throat. Thinking we were ridiculously impulsive with a purchase and a new hire was easier to take than the truth of the situation.

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