And it was a fucking epic moment.

* * *

“You’re a goddess, Kate.”

The ache in her neck was suddenly worth it. Her fingers were swollen, and she had pricked several of them, but Syon was standing in front of the mirror in new pants. He turned and looked at his backside as Ramsey came out of the back bedroom.

“A fucking leather goddess!” Syon added.

“I would have bet on the sausage hound doing a better fit, but you smoked his ass,” Ramsey said as he joined Syon. “Must be all her personal knowledge of your person.”

“Which I don’t have of you,” Kate said.

“Not my fault.” Ramsey sent her wink.

There was a rap on the door, and Cid strode in. He swept them both up and down quickly. “About time those got done.”

Kate bristled. The road manager missed it because he had eyes only for Syon and Ramsey.

“Got a reporter down the hall who wants an interview.”

Syon nodded and started toward the door, but Cid put out a hand to stop him.

“Let’s talk about image.”

Ramsey turned to eye the road manager.

“No steady girlfriends. It cost me a fortune to get those pictures of you kissing her pulled.”

“Wait…you paid to have them pulled?” Kate asked.

Cid didn’t even glance her way. But Syon did. Kate turned away, feeling like a knife was buried in her chest.

Google it? What the fuck was that worth if Cid was going around paying the paparazzi off?

“Let’s give the fans the dream life. It doesn’t include playing house. Okay? Great.”

Cid carried on as though she wasn’t in the room and pulled open the door. There was a frenzy of people out in the hallway. The air of excitement was tangible as concert time drew closer. Crew members and entourage folk were waiting to fawn over Syon and Ramsey. They had their tablets out and security headphones on. A makeup artist even had a mobile box hanging off her hip from a cross-body shoulder strap. She eyed Syon and reached into her box to pull out a blending square.

“Go blow her skirt up,” Cid added as the crowd seemed to pull Syon and Ramsey into it. He followed them out, never giving her a second look.

Kate busied herself with putting away her tools.

But she was pissed.

Liar.

Well, there was no way she was going to admit she was hurt.

Nope.

It still stung. She rolled up her tape measure and put it away, sweeping up some ends of thread from the surface of her worktable. Two more hides were set out, ones she’d decided would suit Drake and Taz well. But they didn’t call to her. She fiddled with her box of tools instead, trying to ignore what was chewing on her.

It was show night. The top floor of the hotel was teeming with an excitement that was tangible. The brigade of polo-shirt-wearing crew was in high gear as they set about making sure the next performance of Toxsin was spot-on.

She’d done her part, and it seemed that no one had any interest in her doing anything else. The hallways quieted down as more and more people left for the arena.

She twisted off the cap of a single-serve whiskey bottle from the minibar and realized she had never felt quite so lonely.

Or like Syon was so completely out of her reach.

She snorted at herself and tossed the contents of the bottle down the drain. New rule time, she decided. Rule number six. No pity parties. She nodded with satisfaction.

Now all she had to do was figure out how to stop breaking her own rules when it came to Syon.

* * *

“Brilliant again, mates!” Cid rolled into the backstage performers’ room, framed by two of his female employees. “All the chicks are tweeting about you. Ticket sales are popping as we speak.”

He extended his hand, and one of the girls laid his tablet into it. “Cid has more magic in store for the evening. First up is a club with an ice bar. I bet the manager you guys could raise the temperature.”

“I’m out,” Syon said, wiping away his makeup.

“We’ve been over this ground.”

Syon turned away from the dressing-room mirror. “No, we haven’t, but we will, just as soon as I straighten things out with Kate.”

“What are you talking about?”

Syon brushed by Cid. His passion was riding high. Not that it was unusual, but tonight he needed to take it to Kate. He was being drawn to her and didn’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thought about it. He wasn’t going to think too deeply on the subject.

Just act.

* * *

“You missed the show.”

Syon didn’t knock, but it was his suite too. His shirt was open, giving her a glimpse of his six-pack.

“You’re not working this time.”

Kate jumped, dropping her phone. Her cheeks heated as Syon picked it up and spied the game of Angry Birds she’d been using to distract herself.

“Not sure how it’s your business.”

He was still wearing the pants she’d made him, and she couldn’t help but admire them. But that set off another little jolt of pain. She’d put her heart into those pants, and he was…well…a dick.

“We’ve already established that Cid is an asshole, Kate. Don’t let him get between us.”

She propped her hand on her hip. “Your words are the ones coming between us. You told me to google you to see if you’ve been kissing other girls, but what is that worth if Cid is just buying off the paparazzi?”

“Not everyone has a price.”

Kate scoffed at him, feeling hollow. “You knew I wouldn’t find any pictures when I went looking, so what you used to establish trust with me is bull.”

“I knew you wouldn’t, because I haven’t kissed anyone else, baby.”

“Don’t call me baby,” she said. “You don’t get to call me that.”

A hard glint entered his eyes. “Yes I do.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not when your road manager is buying up pictures you challenge me to find. I thought you were being sincere.”

“You know what I am.”

He was moving closer, cornering her. She wanted to stand her ground, but her belly was twisting, making her tremble, and she moved away from him.

“What do you mean by that?” She tried to hold on to her pride. That potent sexuality of his was hitting her with gale-force winds. But she hated herself for being affected now. Hated herself for not having more self-worth.

“You have to decide to trust me.” He was almost in arm’s reach, his jaw tight as he held her gaze. “I told you I haven’t kissed another woman in two years. Either my word is good enough, or the problem we have has nothing to do with Cid. It’s a trust issue. You told me Conan was jerking my chain.”

She shuddered. The look in his eyes cut straight through her. “Yeah. I did.”

He captured her wrist, closing his fingers around it and pulling her against him. “Are you asking me to blow off appearances because you don’t trust me?”

“No.” She hated the way it made her feel just to hear him say that.

He tilted his head to the side and fitted his mouth against hers. For a moment, he thrust every thought out of her mind, licking and kissing her until she opened her mouth, desperate for a deeper connection. His scent was filling her senses, his chest hard beneath her fingertips, and all she wanted was to sink down into the vortex of sensation he created.

“Not yet.”

He’d pulled away, holding her back when she would have followed him.

He spun her loose and pointed her toward the closet. “Get dressed.”

“For what?”

“I’ve got to work, and you have a point to make.” He nodded. “Something hot. To defend your turf.”

Understanding dawned on her. “You must have pissed Cid off by coming back here.”

“Happy?” There was a trace of bitterness in his tone that grated.

She shook her head. “I’m happy you’re here, not that you left before dealing with business.”

He didn’t believe her. He crossed his arms over his chest, retreating behind a hard expression.

She wasn’t taking it.