Her head snapped back up to look at me. I didn’t meet her curious gaze. I knew what she wanted to know, and I had no idea what the answer was. This morning I had been ready to put her at a distance when I left her apartment. I had been mentally preparing myself to keep the friend thing going, and nothing more. Then Green said the one word that sent my monster inside into a frenzy—Linc. I didn’t like the idea of anyone else spending time with Blythe. No one else needed her laugh like I did. No one else knew how to make her laugh, and no one else made sure she had everything she needed for her sweet tea. That was all me.

The word mine kept rearing its head too, and I kept pushing that away. No one was mine. I didn’t claim women. Not my thing. If I was going to claim anyone, it would be Blythe, but then the idea of hurting her was too much.

One argument with Jess, and I had gone off and fucked two girls backstage. Jess hadn’t given a shit. She’d been fine. She was tough, and she had her own walls. I couldn’t penetrate them. But Blythe, hell. What if I did something like that to her? What if I snapped and hurt her that way? I couldn’t think about it. Hurting her would destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to pull out of that.

But then the name Linc taunted me. I couldn’t lose her to him, either. I couldn’t share her. She was . . . Fuck! That stupid word again. She wasn’t mine. She was her own person. She was her own beautiful perfect person. She didn’t belong to anyone.

“Krit?” Her soft voice broke into my internal, battle and I gazed down at her.

“Yeah, love?” I asked, wanting to kiss the frown off her lips. I didn’t like making her frown.

“Where will I sit while you sing? I won’t know anyone there, will I?”

I pulled her tighter against me. “You’ll stay backstage. You can watch from there, and when I take my breaks, we can hang out together.”

She let out a sigh of relief. Had she actually thought I was going to send her out into that crowd alone? Probably. The girl didn’t have a clue.

“I’m excited about hearing you again. This time without the interruption of having to talk to my date,” she said.

I was pretty damn excited about that, too. I wouldn’t have to pretend I didn’t care that some other man was near her. Making her smile. Buying her drinks. “Good. I’m gonna sing that song I’ve been working on. I got it right one night last week. I know the way it ends now.” I knew because I admitted to myself who the song was about. Who I was singing it to. Once I admitted that the song was for Blythe, I was able to finish it. My screwed-up issues all came pouring out, and the song was pretty badass. I was happy with it.

“Can’t wait to hear it,” she said, snuggling closer to me.

If she kept that up, I was going to forget we weren’t alone.

Blythe shifted and crossed her legs. My eyes were instantly drawn to the movement. The short little sundress rode up, leaving all the soft silky skin of her thighs bare for me to see. I wasn’t able to stop my hand before it decided to move on its own accord.

I ran a finger up her leg from her knee to the top of her leg. It was like cool silk. “You cold?” I asked, unable to look away from my hand on her thigh.

“No,” she said softly.

“You feel cold,” I told her, and opened my hand to cover her thigh. I moved it back down to her knee and back up to the top, where I paused and left it. Then moved down to her knee again. It was an attempt to heat her skin, but in reality I just wanted to touch her.

I felt her tremble, and my need kicked in. Leaning down, I whispered in her ear. “Open ’em for me.”

She lifted her gaze to meet mine, and I watched her take shallow breaths as she uncrossed her legs. She didn’t open them at first. I held my breath as I waited to see if she’d do it. I wanted to grab her knees and push them open, but I knew she had to make this decision.

When her legs began to ease open, my head went a little foggy and all I understood was need. I needed her. Laying my hand on her thigh, I slowly eased it up, letting my fingers trail the inside of her legs. Each tremble that went through her thighs sent my blood pressure up another notch. She was as fucking excited about me touching her as I was about her letting me.

The damp satin that met my fingertips woke the caveman in me who wanted to beat on his chest and roar. She was wet and so incredibly hot. Leaning down more, I pressed my mouth as close to her ear as I could and whispered, “You’re wet. Do you get this wet for me all the time?”

She closed her eyes and nodded. I kissed her cheek and slipped a finger inside the lacey edge of her panties.

“Oh, God,” she choked out, way too loud for the horny and nosey fuckers in the car with me. I moved in front of her so they couldn’t see her face, and shot them all warning glares. They didn’t see her. No one got to see her like this. I shouldn’t have touched her in the car.

“Shhh,” I said as I pressed a kiss to her mouth to muffle her sounds, and then moved my hand away from the hot wetness that had teased me. I wanted that. I wanted that so fucking bad, my body felt like it was on fire. This time I was the one trembling when she moaned her disapproval. I moved my mouth over hers and slipped my tongue inside the sunshine I craved. How the hell I’d thought I could taste this and go back to not being able to had been crazy. My addictive personality was full-blown out of control with this woman. She kept her legs open, and the temptation to slide my hand back up there was too much. I took her knee and closed her legs as I kissed her.

A small whimper escaped her as I held her legs together. She was so willing to let me touch her, and that was only escalating this thing I had for her. She had no idea what she had walked into with me. Lifting the finger I had touched her with, I inhaled her arousal and my cock throbbed in my jeans. I was past being surprised at her having no flaws. She even smelled incredible. I broke the kiss and sucked my finger before her essence was gone. Just a taste.

I lifted my eyes to see her staring at me with her mouth gently open in surprise. I pulled my finger free and smiled at her. “You’d have to taste like nirvana too, wouldn’t you, love?”

Her cheeks turned a bright red, and she ducked her head.

“Dude, you’re gonna have us all so fucking worked up when we get there, we’re gonna have to find someone to get the edge off before we warm up. Could you tone it down?” Matty called back.

Shit.

“Ignore them. They can’t see shit. I’m blocking their view,” I assured her when her cheeks blazed brighter.

“Don’t have to see her, man. Those whimpers . . .” Green said, trailing off.

Fuck!

I had gotten so lost in it that I hadn’t realized she was making loud enough noises for them to hear her. I didn’t want them to hear her noises. I didn’t want anyone to hear her noises. Those were my motherfucking noises. Mine. Pulling her into my lap, I pressed her head against my chest as I glared at all of them.

I hated them all. Every fucking one of them. That wasn’t theirs to hear. They didn’t get to hear her. She was making those noises for me. Me. Stupid nosey assholes.

“Krit.” Blythe’s sweet voice broke through the red haze that had started to blind me.

“Yeah, love?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, laying her hand on my chest, almost as if she expected me to move it off me.

“What are you sorry for?” I asked, racking my brain for something she should be apologizing for.

She glanced toward the rest of the guys then back at me. “I didn’t mean to make any noises,” she said quietly.

Damn. Fucking sweet. I was bad for her. I wasn’t what she deserved, but I’d be damned if I let anyone take her away from me now. No one had ever needed me. And no one had ever defended me. Blythe had managed to be both. Someone who needed me to take care of her, someone who was as alone as I felt and who would defend me even when I didn’t deserve it.

I ran the back of my hand over her cheek. “Don’t apologize for that ever again. It was my fault. I lost it for a minute there. I should have been more careful.”

She pressed her lips together, but the smile trying to break free was curling up the corners of her mouth.

I leaned down to press my mouth to her ear and asked, “Is that a naughty thought that has that grin tugging on your lips?”

She nodded, and I reminded myself why sliding my hand up her thighs was a bad idea.

“We’re here! Thank fuck! I gotta get away from these two,” Green said as he opened the door and jumped down out of the car.

Legend laughed and got out, but Matty looked back at me. “You need me to leave the car going for a little bit? We can get set up first.”

I started to say no, when Blythe shivered in my arms. I changed my mind. “Yeah, lock us in,” I told him.

He shot me a thumbs-up and got out.

“Is that what you wanted, love?” I asked her as I slid my hand between her thighs.

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to my mouth. When I opened mine so I could taste her, she pulled my tongue into her mouth and began to suck on it. Fuck me, that was hot. My hand was on the wet crotch of her panties again, cupping her instantly. She was even more damp than she had been earlier.

A moan escaped her as I pressed my palm against her heat. “That feel good?” I asked.

“Yes, please.” She panted as she moved herself over my hand and started kissing my mouth again, greedily this time. She was obviously fascinated with my tongue ring. This was the first time she had spent any time exploring it.

I let her play a little before I slipped two fingers under her panties. The moment I made contact, she threw her head back and bucked against my hand. Never had I had a woman come apart on me from something so simple. Watching Blythe’s innocent expression flare up with desire was something I’d never get enough of. No one had touched her like this. No one had seen her the way I had.

As terrified as I was about hurting her, I was beginning to think I might need to worry about me. Blythe had managed to wrap me up so tightly that I couldn’t imagine life without her now. I needed her to live.

“Please,” she begged, panting as her heavily lidded eyes gazed up at me.

I slid a finger inside her tight entrance, and she gasped and stilled in my arms. I moved my hand and pressed exactly where I knew she’d feel it most. Her eyes flew open wide, and she grabbed my arm and tugged on it weakly. Then she cried my name.

“Easy,” I whispered against her temple as I pressed a kiss there. “I’ve got you. Just let it come, sweetheart.”

Blythe wrapped her hand around my forearm and squeezed. I took that as my cue to continue. With more tenderness than I’d every shown anyone in my life, I began to slide my finger in and out of the tight greedy hole squeezing me with a promise of how fucking mind-blowing it would be when I was buried inside her.

I didn’t have much time. One of the guys would be banging on the damn door any minute. I wanted to see this. I was craving it just as much as her body was. Using the pad of my thumb, I brushed her swollen clit and felt it throb under my touch.

Blythe trembled and whimpered at the contact. My body was screaming at me to take her. Rip her panties off and bury myself inside the tight heat that I knew would change my world. But my head knew I had to be careful. She was fragile, and I needed to cherish her. I would make myself worthy of this.

I began making circles with my thumb as her point of pleasure pulsed with each touch.

“Krit, I’m gonna . . . I need to . . . please.” Blythe was gasping for breath and holding onto me as if her life depended on it. “Make me come.”

Another thing I’d realized. If Blythe asked me for anything, I’d give it to her. With one final pump of my finger, I pinched her clit and watched as Blythe bucked wildly and cried out my name.

I was obsessed with Blythe Denton.

Chapter Fifteen

BLYTHE

I wrapped my arms around my knees as I sat on a bench to the right of the stage behind the wall. I had a perfect view of Krit. I could see Matty, too, but Green was too far over, and Legend was behind Green. They were amazing.

It was their fourth song of the night, and so far I had seen a bra and two pairs of panties thrown at Krit’s feet. There were also several notes and pieces of paper up on the edge of the stage. I wasn’t sure what that was about. Maybe there were something like fan letters.