“I think this is why we love you. You’re the fucking best, Pen.” Kenton rushed her and hugged Pen to his tall frame.
“Ah, you’re going to make me cry. I’m just doing my job.” She patted Kenton on the back.
“Yeah, that may be so, but you’re going above and beyond because you care. If we had Cristiano as our manager, he’d have us on the road wishing we had someone to suck our dicks.”
Pen pushed away and laughed. “Okay, that’s more than I need to know. Why don’t you guys find someplace you want to go while I work on hotel accommodations?”
Leaning down, I made sure no one could hear me as I said. “Make sure our rooms are right next to each other. Better yet, get ones that are connected because I’m planning to be inside of you for the rest of the night.”
Pen bit her bottom lip as she nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Make sure that you do.”
I sat down, discreetly adjusting myself in my pants. I couldn’t wait to celebrate inside my sweet Pen.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
pen
Being at a club while I watched countless women throw themselves at my… man? Boyfriend? Lover? Boy Toy? I had no idea what to call Walker except the best sex of my life and someone I was falling deeper and deeper for with each passing day.
The problem was exactly what was happening at that very moment. Walker couldn’t push every woman away that came onto him, nor could he be with me each second when the guys were around. Still, it was unreal how no one could feel the laser beams shooting out of my eyes at the women who could touch him when I couldn’t.
I wanted to eviscerate every single one of them, but instead, I had to pretend I didn’t wish death to seventy percent of the people in the club. It was a very good thing I didn’t have to pretend to be having a good time because my acting skills were not on that level. No, I was doing my job, and that was to make sure the guys didn’t get into any fights or do anything towards anyone that could be considered sexual harassment. Because unfortunately, there were too many people out there who were looking for a quick buck, and nothing was easier than hitting on a guy who was rising to success, getting him to touch you, only to say it wasn’t consensual, and then suing him.
Kenton sidled in next to me and threw his arm around my shoulders. “Why so glum, Pen?”
“I’m not glum.” I tilted my head at an uncomfortable angle to be able to look at his face. He was so damn tall. “How tall are you?”
A goofy smile took over as he looked down at me. “I can’t believe it took you this long to ask. Normally it’s the first thing anyone asks me.”
“What can I say? I’m not a normal kind of girl,” I laughed.
“No, you’re not. You’re heads above the rest of them.” He leaned against the wall making it, so he wasn’t towering over me. “I’m six ten.”
“I was going to guess seven feet. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as tall as you. Are your parents tall?”
He barked out a laugh, but I didn’t see what was so funny. “It’s a running joke that my mom slept with the mailman because my dad is barely five ten, and my mom is five-foot-two.”
My mouth fell open. “Is—"
“No, truth to it,” Kenton stopped me from what I was about to ask. “There are some tall family members a couple of generations back on both sides, and I guess I got it from them,” he shrugged as if it was no big deal. Surely, it wasn’t fun for your mom to be the brunt of the joke that she cheated on his dad.
“Now, what’s eating you? We’re all being good except for drinking too much.”
“Drinking can lead to behavior that can get you in trouble,” I reminded him. “But nothing’s wrong. I just have a lot of things on my mind now that you’re going worldwide.”
“I keep pinching myself, thinking it’s a dream, but each time, it hurts like hell.” He pinched his arm and grimaced.
“It’s real, and you all deserve it. I’m so proud of all of you. You each pour your heart and soul out each night, and it shows. Fans love your music. I don’t think it will be long until you’re a household name. I bet one of your songs will be in a commercial in a year.”
“Are you serious?” Kenton swayed on his feet, his face in shock and wonder.
“I don’t joke about business, and I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t believe it,” I promised him.
“Fucking hell,” he said, barely more than a whisper. Gripping my arm, he turned to face me. “If you’re okay, I’m going to get out there and celebrate how awesome my life is.”
“I’m more than okay, Kenton. Thank you for checking in on me.” I patted his hand that was still on my arm. “Go have fun.”
I’d barely gotten the words out before he was getting lost in the crowd. At least, he’d gotten my mind off of Walker. The reprieve was nice, no matter how short it might have been.
Pulling out my phone, I checked my email again to see if Cristiano had sent anything about the new tour. Never before had I been so happy to have some work to do. Opening up the email, I was shocked to see how many countries Crimson Heat would be playing in. The tour was going to last for four months, and he hadn’t scheduled much of a break for them between opening for Tragic Phenomenon and the new one. I growled in frustration. There was a lot of work I needed to do and not a lot of time.
With no time like the present, I started making plans, booking hotel rooms, plane tickets, buses, vans, and a thousand other things being on an international tour entailed. Even as I worked on my phone, I kept my eye on Walker, or should I say the women around him.
My back stiffened as a busty redhead ran her red-tipped fingernails up Walker’s chest and wrapped her other hand around his neck, trying to pull him down to her.
My vision turned red. I was surprised by how hard I was clutching my phone and the fact that I didn’t break it. Standing abruptly from the stool I was perched on, I walked to the front door, and the second I was outside, I took in a breath like I’d been holding it since I saw that woman touching Walker.
I moved by the crowd and down the sidewalk until I was far enough away, I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying. Resting the back of my head against the cool brick surface, I closed my eyes and tried to wipe away the images I’d just seen.
“Hey.” Strong and familiar arms pulled me into a hard chest that smelled of the breeze coming off the sea and smoke. I could have done without the latter as I buried my head between Walker’s pecs and sighed. “What are you doing out here?”
I trailed my hands down his back and rested my hands in the pockets of his dark jeans for only a moment before I pulled away and put some distance between us when I remembered there was an entire line of people who could see us only a handful of feet away.
Walker looked down at me with heavily furrowed brows. “What’s going on?”
I tipped my head toward the crowd and raised an eyebrow. Need I say more? What the hell was he thinking?
“I came outside to get some air. What are you doing out here?” I was sure the guys were wondering why he was not inside getting felt up.