Page 63 of Snared

“Because we are, idiot,” Charlie said before lowering her voice. “Don’t out us, Bash. This is painful enough already.”

“Don’t worry, no one heard me,” he said, then looked at me. “Your dad leave? What did he say to you while we were on stage?”

“Nothing, just being his usual dick self. And I haven’t been looking for him, so I have no idea if he left. Here’s hoping,” I said.

“I can’t believe that’s your father,” Charlie said.

“Yeah, I try to forget all the fucking time,” I muttered, not wanting to give another minute of discussion to him. He wasn’t worth it.

A few hours later, the crowd started to thin, and I thankfully hadn’t seen my father again. I was currently sitting on a love seat with Charlie pressed next to me. My arm stretched out behind her, and my fingers toyed with the hair at her nape.

For appearances. Obviously.

She shifted in her seat as she listened to another story from Cameron or Jax. I was losing track at this point. All I could focus on was the feel of her soft skin against my fingers and the press of her thigh against mine.

Her fingers brushed over my knee as she turned her body slightly toward me, almost as if she was doing it without thought, her gaze still firmly on her bandmates.

I’d stopped looking at the arched brows of Tristan and Bash hours ago. I was playing with fire and about to get burned if I wasn’t careful, but I didn’t want to be careful with Charlie. Not that she felt the same way at all.

I polished off another drink. I wasn’t drunk by any means, maybe a bit of a buzz. Nothing like Vegas.

Bits and pieces had come back, but I’d never brought it up with Charlie. We’d both been a bit of a mess, what with my father’s texts, the chance meeting with her ex, and me punching the guy. There’d probably been some of my anger toward my father behind that punch, but it was done. I honestly couldn’t say which one of us suggested getting married, but I knew we’d both agreed to it. A slim part of me wished someone had captured it on video, but a larger part of me didn’t want to see what a mess we were.

Her fingers tightened on my knee, bringing me back to the present.

“What?” I asked.

“You ready to get out of here?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” I said, standing up before she could say anything else.

“The newlyweds are bailing,” Jax said. “Probably because they’re shacking up at Josh’s while we’re stuck in a crap hotel.”

“Whatever. That’s a fantastic hotel and you know it,” I said, refusing to think about truly shacking up because that was exactly what I wanted to do.

“Oh, leave them alone. They can’t even take a proper honeymoon because the tour won’t be over for weeks,” Cameron said, tipping his half-empty glass toward us. “Congrats again, you guys. Couldn’t be happier. Well, as long as Charlie’s happy.”

“Um, yep. Very happy,” she stumbled out.

Cameron smirked. “Glad you guys could all come out tonight. Truly. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Jax gets to the hotel okay and with no broken bones.”

“Hey, I don’t need to be watched,” Jax said.

“So you don’t want to grab drinks with those twins over there?” Cameron asked.

“Twins, you say,” Jax said, tapping his finger to his chin.

“And gross. All of you behave and we’ll see you tomorrow,” Charlie said with a grin. She knocked back the rest of her drink and laced her fingers with mine. “Let’s go.”

It was the first time that she’d initiated the contact during the night.

Not that it meant anything. She was a good actress.

We slid into the back of the town car, and I took the seat next to her, my fingers trailing over the back of her hand. She truly had the softest skin. I wanted to feel every inch of it pressed against mine.

Once again, I willed my cock to calm down.

“Why are you staring at me?” she asked.

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