Page 131 of Before Now

With a sigh, I look back at her. “The second I walk in there, I’ll have tits rubbing on me and need to guard my dick while dodging chicks on their knees.”

A slight pink stains her cheeks, a jealous glint in her emerald eyes. “Is that any different than the rest of the tour?”

“Remi,” I say, but she hits me with a, “Foster.”

I smirk as she blinks, like she’s forcing the next words out.

“Do I love the idea of you being in a room with gorgeous naked women getting railed? No. But it’s part of the gig. Plus, I’ve watched women throwing themselves at you this whole time, and I have yet to snap.” Her smile’s fake as hell. “So, we should be good.”

A loud as fuck moan comes through the wall behind me as she finishes. Remi glances down, lips pursed, and I shake my head. My fingers hook under her chin and lift to bring her face up again.

“Are you done?” Once she nods, I hang my head closer to her. “I haven’t touched anyone since you’ve been on tour, Remi. I haven’t even looked since I heard your name again. The reason it’s different going in there now is I won’t risk you thinking otherwise for a second. I don’t want anything to do with what’s on the other side of the door, and I won’t even let the possibility worry you. A little change in my post-show ritual is nothing.”

“I wouldn’t care if you went in, though,” she almost whispers. Her eyes bounce between mine until I press our foreheads together.

“Of course you wouldn’t, my beautiful little liar.”

She shoves at my chest with little behind it. But she doesn’t deny the lie either.

I spot Colt sauntering toward us from down the hall. “You mind if we bail and go back to the bus?”

He nods, not even thinking about it. “I’ll grab your shit.” Then he throws a glance at Remi, reaching for the door. “Close your eyes and ears, lioness.”

She rolls her eyes instead, but they drop at the sounds released when he walks inside. I’m smiling down at her as the door shuts again, her cheeks fully red.

“Tell me again how you want me in there,” I tease, hauling her even closer.

Colton’s in and out in under a minute, and we head for the exit. He lets security outside know the plan but then stops at the door. “They need a second,” he says, listening in his earpiece. “The fans are being too fucking much tonight, apparently.”

I shrug Remi’s camera bag onto my shoulder, waiting for the go-ahead. And when Colton hooks his head for us to follow and opens the door, he wasn’t exaggerating.

We’re met with an onslaught of screams and flashes, but something else hangs in the air. A recklessness to the crowd.

Remi and I haven’t discussed anusoutside of there being one, but knowing she shies away from attention because of what happened to her and Roman, I doubt she’d love how much she gets with me in public. So I give her a quick smile and slip out first after Colton. Another member of security falls in behind me, and I glance over my shoulder, checking one follows with her.

I stop for normal autographs and pictures, but it all feels off. The walkway’s narrower than usual—the barricades closer together. Claustrophobic as fuck. Especially with people grabbing and able to reach from both sides.

It all turns to a buzz at some point. Flash,Adams, scream, hands grazing me. One latches onto my shirt and jerks hard enough I have to step while signing a shirt. Colt knocks them off and then shakes his head, nixing the autographs.

“Let’s just get to the bus,” he shouts, guiding me forward with a hand on my shoulder.

I check back on Remi again. She usually walks out separate from us, ignored by everyone. Right now, though, she has her head down while the flashes go off. One look tells me she’s fighting her anxiety with all the cameras, and it fucking kills me. I shouldn’t have brought her with me at all.

Colton follows my line of sight, and I practically hear his eye roll over everything else. He tows Remi ahead, so he’s covering both of us. The guy who was with her moves behind us.

Then a chant starts.

No, two chants.

One’s for me, but the other…

“Shit,” Colton shouts, and I realize it about the same time.

The second is a countdown from three already to one. Our heads whip around as a group of fans surges forward into the barricade. The metal scrapes over concrete, moving inward with the force and nearly tipping.

Fuck.

I pull Remi to me, tucking her against my side to save Colt from splitting his attention. A breath later, she’s yanked away by someone catching her arm over the fence. Colt’s right there to body block as I haul her back and tighten my hold, not chancing anyone fucking touching her again.

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