Page 44 of Undeniable Temptation

Ryan froze at her admission, then did a visual sweep of the stadium to make sure nobody else overheard. Yep. All clear. When he turned back, his friends were all staring at her in disbelief.

“Donotlook at me like that.” She pointed a finger at them in turn, finishing with Mason. “This is your fault.”

The lead singer shrugged. “I take no responsibility for your unprofessional actions.”

She growled, the sound inappropriately sexy.

“I’m… shocked. I thought we were all joking.” Mitch’s eyes were wide. “After all these years…”

“Keep it down.” Ryan made sure there was a warning in his tone. “This isn’t something we want shared outside this group.”

“This isn’t something I wanted to share with anyone,” Leah grated.

Mitch reached for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before he let it fall. “It’s cool. We won’t tell anyone.”

“Congrats, guys.” Blake gave a friendly punch to Leah’s shoulder. “Took you two long enough.”

“Don’t worry about anyone else.” Sean backtracked to the stage. “We’ll keep this quiet.”

“Our little secret.” Mason waggled his brows.

Then they were left alone, the world returning to normal as quickly as the carnage had erupted. But the damage had taken its toll. Leah was trembling, her invincible tenacity taking one too many hits.

“Don’t panic.”

Wide eyes met his. “What have I done?”

“They were going to find out sooner or later.”

“If this gets out—”

“It won’t.” He pulled her into his arms and hated how she stiffened. “I’ve hugged you before. In public. This isn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

She nodded into his neck, her arms still limp at her sides. “I should go.”

He clung a little tighter. “Can I see you tonight?”

“You’re not going out with Felicity?” She leaned back, wounding him with her optimism.

“Only to make an appearance. I won’t be long.”

“We’ll see.” She moved from his arms. “Message me when you’re done.”

She walked away from him, her chin lifting with every step as she headed toward one of the exits. He shouldn’t leave her alone. Shouldn’t, but he also couldn’t shadow her every second of the day. Facing her anxieties was one of their hurdles. All he could do was hope she didn’t talk herself into hiding from him again.

“Hey, Leah,” Mason’s voice carried over the microphone again, taunting. “You can thank me later.”

Shit.Ryan also had to hope Mason put a cork in it, stat.

She turned, a pretty smile on her face as she raised her middle finger to the sky. “Fuck you, Ron Jeremy.”

Chapter Twelve

Ryan pulledhis hotel door shut and ran down the hall. His lesbian fake girlfriends were in his bed, probably up in each other’s ovaries by now, and he couldn’t get away fast enough.

Leah hadn’t returned his last message and it was late. Early, actually. The quick drink at a nearby bar had turned into a two-hour chat session with Felicity and Hannah’s newly amassed fans. They hadn’t been able to get away. Four beers later, he put his foot down and said he was leaving with or without them.

Now he was rushing toward Leah’s room, praying she wasn’t asleep as he sent one last message and then held his ear to the door to listen for movement.

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