Insider (Exodus End #1) (19 page)

He wanted to say she should, wanted to say that he’d never hurt her, but he, more than anyone, was aware of his track record with women.

“That’s something you’ll have to decide on your own.”

She gnawed on her lip and nodded. “I do trust you with my body,” she said. “That’s a start, isn’t it?”

“A perfect start.” For something he hoped never had to end.

Not sure why his train of thought was making his heart thud harder than it did when he dove out of perfectly good airplanes, Logan lifted Toni from her perch on the loading dock and set her on her feet. Perhaps being alone with this woman wasn’t the best idea. She made him say things and feel things that he just wasn’t ready to face.

“I better get back to the meet and greet,” he said. “Do you want to go back with me?”

She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly.

“I think I’ll go hide out in Reagan’s dressing room for a little while, if that’s okay,” she said after a moment.

Logan shrugged. “It’s not my dressing room; you’ll have to ask her.” He tilted his head toward her, deciding she looked a little pale. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I think I’m bewildered,” she said, and huffed out a laugh. “But I’m pretty sure it’s from being alone with you.”

“I’d apologize, but I’m not the least bit sorry that I have that effect on you.”

She laughed and grabbed his T-shirt in both hands, tugging him close. “If you really want to make my head spin, you should try kissing me.”

“That sounds dangerous,” he said, folding her in his embrace and pulling her body against his. He wasn’t satisfied until she moved her arms around to his back and there wasn’t an inch of space between them. Even then, he wished they were skin on skin.

“I’m sure this much dizziness
is
dangerous,” she said as she relaxed against him, her full breasts pressing into his chest. “But I’m willing to hazard the vertigo.”

“I do love a risk taker,” he murmured.

He claimed her mouth in a heated kiss, doing his best to make the earth move topsy-turvy beneath her feet. His world hadn’t been steady since the moment she’d try to rip his arm off by enthusiastically shaking his hand. But he’d always liked a little mayhem in his world.

Twelve

Logan liked her.

Lost in thought, Toni stumbled against a wall on her way to seek sanctuary in Reagan’s dressing room. Toni wanted to have faith in Logan’s words, but something inside her just couldn’t believe that gorgeous, rich, famous, and charming specimen of a man would want anything permanent to do with an unworldly, unexciting, and chubby specimen of a woman. She understood that he must have a thing for virgins and that for some reason he’d latched on to the idea that being the first to conquer her pussy meant he could stick his flag in it and claim it as his, but his feeling of conquest would wear off eventually. She was sure of it. She was terrified of letting herself feel too much for him. She had to work with these guys for four weeks, and if Logan ripped her heart out, would she be able to continue to immerse herself in his world?

This was why she never should have gotten involved with him in the first place. She could try to excuse her behavior by claiming it was her inexperience that had made her fall into the sack with him so quickly, but that was a lie. She knew exactly what she’d been doing. It had been a not-so-momentary lapse of judgment that on a personal level she embraced. On a professional level, however, she wanted to kick herself in the ass.

She should be following the band around right now, interviewing fans, getting inside the backstage scene, but she was utterly overwhelmed by the chaos. She was a solitary creature by nature; she hadn’t a clue how the band members and crew dealt with this insanity day after day. Night after night. Dare had somehow mastered being alone in a crowd, but the rest of the band were constantly on. It was exhausting to watch, much less being caught up in the whirlwind. Maybe hanging around with Reagan in her dressing room for a few minutes before the show started would allow Toni to collect her thoughts.

Toni wondered why Reagan had been conspicuously absent for the entire meet and greet. The guitarist didn’t seem the reclusive type. Maybe because she was a temporary band member, she didn’t feel part of the group. She hadn’t ridden on the bus with the guys the night before and had only been with them when required by obligation. Was it because she wasn’t welcome? Or because she didn’t want to be with them? Toni’s journalistic senses were tingling. Something seemed off about the newest member of the band.

Steve stepped out into the corridor and nearly careened into her. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her, and she smiled up at him in gratitude.

“Where’s your Siamese twin?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Logan. The man who’s been bodily attached to you since you boarded his bus.”

The two of them weren’t that bad, were they? “I think he’s at the meet and greet.” Toni glanced behind her. She couldn’t see the area where everyone had congregated, but the din of conversation and laughter traveled the length of the corridor.

“Without you?”

She turned back toward him and lifted her eyebrows. “Is that a problem?”

Steve shook his head. “Nope. Just surprised he trusts Dare not to scoop you up when he’s not paying attention. Catch you later.”

Dare?
Before she could ask what he meant, Steve and his long legs had already traversed half the hallway. He even managed to twirl a drumstick in one hand while walking.

Shrugging to herself, Toni bypassed the dressing room that Steve had just exited and paused outside Reagan’s door. She knocked and waited.

“Occupied!” Reagan called from within the confines of the room.

“Very occupied,” a deeper voice said. Toni was pretty sure the voice wasn’t Trey’s. Was Reagan’s sexy bodyguard inside with her? Toni leaned closer to the door, listening, trying to let the sounds of the milling crowd down the hall fade into the background.

Someone touched her back, and she jerked away from the door, her face flushed with embarrassment. She’d been caught snooping.

She turned slowly, one eye closed as she forced her gaze up a pair of long legs encased in leather, up a stark white T-shirt and a strong neck to a familiar handsome face surrounding a pair of striking emerald-green eyes. Dare. Did he know his brother’s woman was cheating with another man? And how had Steve known Dare would show up when she was alone? She wondered if she should be worried or intrigued.

“Oh, hey, Dare,” she gushed. She pushed her glasses up her nose with the back of her wrist. “I was just hoping to interview Reagan for the book, but I think she’s busy.”

He grinned crookedly. “She’s always busy with Trey.”

Trey.
Yeah, we’ll go with that. Reagan is busy with Trey
. And maybe it
was
Trey in the room with Reagan. He had been with her the last time Toni had seen her, but she definitely didn’t remember his voice sounding so baritone.

“You don’t like crowds either, do you?” Dare asked. His green eyes softened when he smiled. “Now that Steve’s out of the dressing room, I think it’s empty. Would you like to get away for a few moments?”

He stepped over to the band’s dressing room and opened the door. “Anyone in here?”

“I’m almost dressed,” a woman said from inside.

“Why don’t you like crowds?” Toni asked Dare as they waited for the woman to put on her shoes and leave.

“Don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I just like my interactions with others to be more intimate.”

Even with the swollen nose, he was still easily the best- looking man she’d ever stood in a hallway with. Which reminded her . . . “I’m really sorry that Logan hit you on account of me. I guess I shouldn’t have hugged you like that.”

He grinned. “He’s being a complete ass. Guess you bring that out in him. But I’ll get him straightened out for you.”

“What’s that mean?”

Green-eyed gaze boring into hers, he licked the corner of his mouth, and she felt suddenly light-headed and dizzy. Holy father of hot men.

“Nothing,” he said. “How about that interview? I seem to be currently unoccupied.”

“Now?” she blurted. She didn’t have the mental capacity of a gnat at the moment, and her list of questions was on the bus, so she wouldn’t even be able to fake her intelligence.

“If you’d rather wait . . .” He waved a hand. “I just thought we could both get away from the crowd for a moment and get to know each other better.”

She really should be working. And she supposed getting to know Dare Mills
was
working. She loved this job. “I guess I can ask a few warm-up questions.”

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Good.”

Why was he looking at her like that? As though he was touching every inch of her body in his thoughts. And why did she have the sudden urge to peel her panties off? She wasn’t sure if being alone with him was the best idea. He wouldn’t try anything, would he? And if he did, would she have the backbone to turn him down? Surely she wasn’t that despicable. She liked Logan way too much to mess up their growing relationship by fooling around with Dare.

As if Dare could possibly be interested in
her
. Right.

Yet she couldn’t help but dwell on what Steve had said right before he’d walked away.

The gorgeous woman who’d been Steve’s pre-show entertainment passed through the door that Dare was holding open with one masculine hand. She paused and wrapped both arms around Dare’s midsection, giving him a tight hug. He half-heartedly hugged her back with his free arm.

“I don’t suppose you’re interested in sloppy seconds,” she said, just loud enough for Toni to hear.

“Not at all,” he said.

“Is Logan around?” she asked.

Toni stiffened.

“I think he’s hanging in the commons.”

“I love it when you guys come to town,” the black-haired beauty said. “I will get into your pants one day, Dare Mills.”

“Not tonight. I have company.” He lifted an eyebrow in Toni’s direction.

Toni’s heart produced a thud so hard, she jumped. What did he mean by that?

The woman slipped her arms from Dare’s waist and turned to give Toni the twice over. She obviously didn’t think much of her competition. “Hmm,” she said. “Interesting choice.”

She sauntered off, probably in search of Logan, whom she apparently believed was fair game. Toni wasn’t sure if she had the right to be jealous. She and Logan had openly admitted to
liking
each other, but neither of them had committed to anything. One thing was for sure: if he messed around with another woman, Toni wouldn’t be sharing his bed again. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared after the woman. Logan wouldn’t sleep with her, would he? Toni honestly couldn’t say she knew for a certainty.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Dare said and held his free hand out to the open door to beckon her inside. “You’re much more interesting than she is.”

Dare entered the room behind her and while she was glancing around for the best place to conduct their interview, she heard the unmistakable click of Dare locking the door behind them.

Thirteen

Logan decided that Toni had been interviewing Reagan for far too long. He didn’t want to get in the way of her work, but he couldn’t help but want to be with her. There was something about her that made him notice her. And when she was missing? He couldn’t seem to notice anything else. He stretched to his tiptoes and scanned the room, looking over the tops of heads for one very specific one. How could she not be done with her interview? What the hell could possibly be so interesting about Reagan?

Logan went still when his gaze landed on their sassy little guitarist. Reagan was standing against the wall chatting very animatedly with Steve and the same woman who’d tried to talk Logan into joining her in the dressing room not ten minutes ago. When he’d refused, the brunette decided to hang out with Steve. Logan really didn’t want to have to interact with the pushy woman again, but if Reagan was back from the interview, then Toni should be as well.