Page 25 of Beast

Piper giggled and threw her arms around the guy, giving him a great big hug.“See?All nasty looks, but no action.Thanks for everything, Mark.The concert went off perfectly, and I’m sure I have you to thank for all the behind-the-scenes work.”

The manager was probably old enough to be her father, but his face turned an interesting shade of red.“Thanks.A lot of people don’t realize how much we do back here.”

A blur of motion on the far side caught my attention and I tensed, my hand going for the gun hidden under my cut.When I realized it was just one of the roadies wrapping up cords, I relaxed and let my hand fall back down to my side.

“I do, and I appreciate it.”Piper looked over at me, her brow drawn down in a frown.“We should probably get back to the motel and get a few hours’ sleep before we hit the road.”

I straightened up, more than ready to call it for the night.

Mark gave me another nervous look and headed over to talk to the roadie.

* * *

The band had already packed their equipment into the tour bus and headed back to the motel by the time we got outside.We climbed onto my bike and zipped back there in record time.Piper was used to riding by now, and I didn’t have to worry about scaring her if I felt like going full throttle.I think she secretly enjoyed the thrill, although she always scolded me afterward for acting like a teenage idiot.Her term, not mine.

She didn’t say much when we got there, heading straight for the shower and shedding her clothes carelessly on the floor.The vibe she gave off told me she was pissed, but I had no idea why.

Women.You might as well try to figure out why the chicken crossed the road.

I took off my cut and set it and my gun down on the side table.I’d silenced my phone earlier, leaving it on vibrate so it didn’t ring while Piper was on stage.I left the ring tone off and set it beside the gun.My boots came off next, followed by my shirt.Clad in just my pants, I picked up the remote and turned on the television.

“That’s too loud.”Piper reappeared wrapped in a towel, her wet feet leaving damp footprints on the tiled floor.

I raised one eyebrow.“You want to tell me what’s wrong, or are we going to play twenty questions?”

“I’m fine,” she snapped.

“Fuck,” I groaned.“I know what that means.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“A woman says she’s fine, it means I screwed up real bad.”

She looked at me, her face set in a mutinous frown.“No.Yes.I don’t know.”The towel slipped just a bit, hinting at the fullness of those delectable breasts it covered.She stalked across the bed, pivoting to glare at me.“I don’t get you.You say you don’t want any kind of relationship.Just sex.Then you grab me mid show for a quickie and you know the entire band knew it.Like you were a caveman staking a claim and making sure everyone understood.Then, just for good measure, you glare at some poor guy who is probably older than my father just because he talked to me.Talked!What the hell do you plan to do if a guy actually touches me?”

“Beat the shit out of him.”

“What?”She blinked.“Why?That’s ridiculous.You are the most irritating, difficult man I have ever had the misfortune to meet.”

She didn’t get it.“Yeah, I said all those things.Said I didn’t want a relationship.I’ve got kids, and that can get way too complicated.But you and me?We’re easy.We get each other.So I’m not letting you dump me for a guy with more money, or fewer tattoos, or no kids to complicate things.You and me?We belong together.And yeah, if some asshole thinks he can take what’s mine?Ain’t happening, so it’s best if everyone understands that from the fucking start.”

“I belong to you?”

Trust her to fixate on that.“We belong to each other.Together.You have to admit you enjoyed our little quickie in the closet, and you liked that everyone knew I was so far gone I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.”

A reluctant smile curved the corner of her mouth.“Yeah.It was kind of awesome.”

I scowled.“Then why are you so fucking mad?”

“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at myself.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I don’t do relationships.Drake was my first, and look how badly that turned out.I fuck, and I smile, and I say goodbye.Simple.No strings attached.”

“But now there’s strings.”I was starting to understand.“And you don’t know how to deal with that.”

She sighed.“Yeah.I never wanted to belong to someone.Your words, not mine.But now I do, and I see you protecting me and doing shit to make me feel good like that quickie in the closet.I don’t know how to deal with it.I don’t know if I want to deal with it.”

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