KRIT

She let me take care of her. I had carried her into the bathroom and stood her in the shower under the warm spray of water and cleaned her tender skin. She’d held onto me, and a soft smile had touched her lips the whole time. She didn’t argue that she was fine. She didn’t laugh or push me away. She let me.

I had never had anyone to take care of. I had tried once before, and Jess hadn’t wanted me to take care of her. She’d pushed me away and let me know I wasn’t who she wanted or needed. It had hurt and only been yet another slap in the face. Women wanted to fuck me. They didn’t want anything more.

But Blythe, my Blythe, she let me take care of her. She seemed to glow under my attention. This was what I had been waiting for. I had thought Jess had been my answer. But she’d had a taste of this with someone else, and she knew I wasn’t it for her. I felt like sending her a fucking thank-you card. What if Jason Stone hadn’t come along and stolen her heart? Would I have missed this because of Jess? Would Blythe have never come into my life? The idea of not having her rocked me.

Once I had her clean, I wrapped her in a towel and carried her back to the bed. A small red bloodstain was on the sheets, and again the possessive monster inside me threw back his head and roared his pleasure. I stood there holding her and letting the proof I was the only man to be inside her wash over me.

Blythe turned her head, and I felt her stiffen in my arms. “Oh, I can clean that up,” she said, starting to wiggle.

I pulled her tighter to my chest. “No. I’m going to dry you off and hold you some more. I like seeing that blood. I did that,” The pleasure in my voice made Blythe smile.

“Okay,” she replied. “But you have to sing tonight. What time is it?”

Shit. I’d forgotten about that again. Glancing at the clock, I had thirty minutes before I needed to be at Live Bay.

“You’re going,” she said with a determined look on her face.

I wasn’t going to argue with her. She would be upset if I missed a show again for her, and Green would be royally pissed. “Then you’re going with me. I’ll go get dressed, and you get your sexy ass ready,” I told her as I sat her down on the edge of the bed.

She nodded, then she bit her lip and glanced back at the blood.

“Keep looking at those sheets, baby, and we won’t leave this apartment,” I warned her. My need to hold her and touch her and make sure she knew just how much I cherished her was killing me.

She jerked her head back around and her eyes went big. “Sorry. Go! I will get ready.”

Chuckling, I bent down and kissed her head before heading for the door.

“Oh my god! Oh, Krit! I am so sorry!”

I stopped and turned back around. Blythe was covering her face, and it was etched with horror. I hated seeing her upset. Two strides, and I was back in her face, pulling her hands away. “Love, what’s wrong”?

“Why didn’t you tell me,” she moaned pitifully.

“Tell you what?” I asked as my gaze quickly ran over her, looking for something that could have upset her.

“Your back,” she said, looking up at me. “I scratched it up. I didn’t mean to. I really didn’t. I can wash it for you and get some salve.” She started to get up, but I grabbed her legs and pushed her back down.

The fact that I had scratches on my back that Blythe had put there made me insanely happy. “I’m marked,” I told her, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth that was currently frowning. “By you. I love being marked by you. It’s sexy and it’s hot, and you gave them to me while giving me a pleasure that I didn’t know existed. So, don’t apologize for my scratches. I fucking love them.”

I kissed her tenderly on the mouth and stood up before I pushed her back onto the bed and forgot I had a gig that night.

* * *

Keeping my focus on the crowd was tough. I kept looking back to see if Blythe was there. Green and I were going to end up in a real fight this time if I didn’t stop, but my need to have her near me was fucking with my head.

Trisha’s familiar blond head moved through the crowd and toward the stage door. Shit. She knew what my problem was, and she was going to take my distraction away. Turning to look back at Blythe, I debated leaving the song and going to keep Trisha from taking her, when a smile lit up her face. She liked my sister.

Trisha was talking to her, and Blythe’s pleased look kept me from going over there and demanding she stay near me. She would be fine with my sister. I would then have my attention focused on the crowd, especially the crowd where Blythe would be sitting. Blythe glanced over at me, and I nodded once to let her know it was fine.

She beamed a bright smile that squeezed my heart, then walked off with Trisha. We ended the song and Green walked over to me. “Thank fuck for small miracles,” he muttered before taking a swig of his water. “And your back looks like the possessive monster must have just hit a new level of insane. If those claw marks are what I think they are.”

I didn’t even look at him. I kept my gaze locked on Blythe walking through the crowd with Trisha. She was taking her back to the table where Rock and Dewayne were. Thursday nights were date night for Rock and Trisha. Most of the time they came here, and Preston and Amanda kept the kids. The only other times Trisha and Rock were able to come were when the kids stayed the night with friends.

Blythe took a stool beside some brunette I didn’t recognize, a girl who was leaning over to Dewayne a lot. He didn’t do dates, so she was probably another woman trying to reel in the ever-elusive Dewayne Falco. But then, not everyone knew his story. If they did, they’d not even waste their time.

Chapter Nineteen

BLYTHE

“I was kinda hoping you’d leave her back there. Watching Green lose his shit and punch Krit in the middle of a performance woulda made tonight a helluva lot more enjoyable,” the guy who Trisha had introduced as Dewayne said. He also shot me a wink before taking a drink of his beer.

Rock laughed, and Trisha shot him a warning glare. The massive muscular man she was married to immediately stopped laughing and leaned over to press a quick kiss to her lips.

“Married, kids, and he’s still pussy-whipped,” Dewayne said

Rock tensed up, and his eyes zoned in on Dewayne. “Don’t talk about my woman’s pussy,” he warned.

The girl who Trisha hadn’t introduced but appeared to be flirting with Dewayne giggled beside me.

“I’m sorry, but could we not say that word since it is mine y’all are talking about. Jeez, I bring Blythe out here to rescue her from Krit’s obsessive staring, and she has to listen to this crap.”

“You were backstage with Krit?” the brunette beside me asked with a touch of disbelief in her tone.

I turned to her, and the wide-eyed shock on her face was enough to remind me how out of my league I was with Krit. When I was alone with him and he was telling me all those sweet things about being addicted to me, I had hope. But when someone who looked like the kind of girl Krit normally spent time with was around, I wasn’t so sure of my future with Krit. “Yes,” I said, hoping it didn’t sound like a question.

“Krit never takes girls backstage while he sings. I mean, he did with Jess, but she was different,” the girl said.

“You’re looking at Krit’s newest addiction,” Dewayne said to the girl, then winked at me. “Got a load of those claw marks on his back. I’m impressed. You don’t look like the type.”

“Dewayne! Shut up! For tonight, please stop talking,” Trisha said, glaring at Dewayne then looking at me with an apologetic frown. “Sorry about him.”

“You thirsty, Blythe?” Rock asked me from across the table. “I’m gonna go get Trisha a refill if you want something.”

I hadn’t brought my purse because we had been running late and I’d hurried out the door. “No, thank you,” I replied, and smiled at him, not wanting to be rude. It was nice of him to offer.

Rock headed off to the bar, and Trisha grinned over at me. “He’s watching you like a hawk. I don’t know what he thinks I’m gonna do with you.”

Turning around, I looked up at Krit, and sure enough, his eyes were zeroed in on this table. He winked at me, and that giddy feeling was back. When I had first seen him performing shirtless, I had been mesmerized. Now that I knew how those muscles felt under my hands and how his arms flexed as he moved in and out of me, seeing him up there like that, I got flushed all over The sweat shining on him made me want to go up there and feel his damp skin.

“You keep eye-fucking him, and things should get interesting,” Dewayne drawled.

I spun and jerked my gaze off him, embarrassed at being caught, and turned back around.

“Stop teasing her,” Trisha scolded him, which only made me blush harder. I studied the table and wished I had stayed backstage. Spending time with Trisha had sounded fun, but being under a microscope was uncomfortable.

The girl sitting next to me starting pawing at Dewayne and whispering in his ear. Thankful for that distraction, I looked back up at Trisha. She was watching the stage. “Go ahead and watch him. Ignore Dewayne. He just likes harassing people. Krit wants you watching him. He thrives off it,” she said.

I didn’t need any other encouragement. I turned back around to watch him, and just like before, I found his eyes on me. Then a pair of panties hit his chest and fell to the ground at his feet. I tried hard to ignore the jealous fire that started burning in my chest. Krit’s eyes dropped down when someone called his name loud enough to get his attention, and a bra was slung at him. He caught it then held it up before letting it fall to his feet.