Page 2 of Flawless

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m a little shaken too.”

I was surprised to hear him admit that. I didn’t think guys like him got worked up, like the rest of us. “You are?”

“Of course, she’s my sister.” He brought the bottle to his lips and took a long swig before he said, “It’s my job to protect her and I couldn’t. I hate that.”

“But if it weren’t for you and Austin⁠—”

“Austin was the one who insisted they share locations on their phones. If not for that, we wouldn’t have found her as quickly as we did.” He set the bottle down and braced his hands on the island, hanging his head. “I hate to think what could have happened if we⁠—”

“Hey,” I said, covering his hand with mine. “It’s okay, Cam. You got there in time. She’s fine and that bastard is behind bars where he belongs.”

He studied me a long time before he said, “Nights like this, I hate being alone.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, knowing exactly what he meant. Nights that were emotionally charged, causing me to re-live all my worst nightmares, made me want to go anywhere there were people, just so I wouldn’t have to be alone.

“Me too.” We shared a smile before I said, “But we’re not alone now.”

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “I’m trying to be a good guy here, Rylee. But you’re not making it easy. Do you realize how hot you look right now?”

I wasn’t wearing any makeup and my hair was a tousled mess, but I’d been told I looked my best when I’d come undone. Normally I wore winged liner, bright red lips, corsets to enhance my curves, and stilettos that made men salivate. It was kind of my signature stage look. A little bad-girl-country to set me apart, according to my stylist, Marissa, whose husband Luc just happened to own my record label.

“You’re not making it easy either,” I admitted, deciding to match his honesty with a little of my own. “You have ‘Rylee’s Type’ stamped all over you.” I made a rectangle with my hands and held it up to frame him, making him smile.

That smile would be the end of me.

He propped his elbows on the counter and reached for my hand, looking into my eyes. “It wouldn’t be hard to get lost in each other tonight. I have to head back home in a few days, once I make sure that my sister’s alright. And you probably have to hit the road again too. But we could…” He eyed my cleavage. “Have some fun in the meantime.”

My body screamed yes, but my heart warned no.

I wasn’t kidding when I told him he ticked all my boxes, and that would make it hard to let him go. I didn’t get attached. Ever. I’d had boyfriends, but when they got too serious, I cut them loose. I wanted to believe it could be the same with Cam, but something told me he could be hell on my heart.

“No to sex.” I hoped he couldn’t tell how much it cost me to turn him down. I hadn’t been with anyone in almost a year, and the loneliness was starting to wear on me. “Yes to whatever else you might have in mind. Like talking, watching TV, cuddling…” My voice broke on the last word and he was around the island and wrapping his arms around me before I could pretend to be fine.

It felt like forever since I’d had strong arms wrapped around me and I wanted to close my eyes and pretend he was mine. Just for tonight.

He cradled my face in his hands and tipped my head back. “God, you’re gorgeous. You know that, right? You can’t flirt with guys, like you did with me tonight. It’s not safe. Because trust me, any other man would take you up on it before you had a chance to think twice.”

Part of me wished I hadn’t had the chance to think twice, because I had a feeling a night with him would be an experience I wouldn’t forget. One of those rare good memories I could store in the bank whenever the bad came back to haunt me.

“I don’t do that,” I assured him. “Proposition guys. Sure, I flirt, I have fun. But I don’t invite someone I just met to come home with me. I’m not stupid.”

His hands slipped to my bare thighs. They were large and rough. And it made me ache to feel them all over my body.

“Then why me? Why tonight?”

I covered his hands with mine and settled on the truth. “Tonight was supposed to be the last night of this tour. It was bittersweet. I love being on the road, and wasn’t looking forward to being home alone again. But I thought it wouldn’t be so bad if I had someone like you to spend the night with.”

“Why?” he asked, studying me.

“Why do I love being on the road?”

He nodded, inching his way a little deeper under my skin.

Guys usually didn’t care enough to ask how I felt about touring, or whether I was running away from demons on the road. “It’s fun and exciting. I feed off the energy of the crowd. There’s always somewhere to go, something to do, someone to talk to.” I shrugged. “That’s kind of my jam. I hate being alone.”

“Why?”

Wow, this guy wasn’t going to give up until he uncovered all my secrets. I didn’t know if it was his job that made him so curious about people, or just his nature, but either way, it was unnerving. But instead of telling him to mind his own business, I wanted to share my story, or at least parts of it, so he could get to know me better.