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14
CANNON
Girls and sex were a complicated combination. In my experience, the majority of the female population expected a relationship the instant you put your dick in them. Making them understand that you only wanted a little fun with no strings was nearly impossible without a bunch of tears. I’d learned at a young age to make sure the person I was hooking up with knew it was a one-time thing or else I walked away fast.
Piper and I hadn’t had the talk before we’d hooked up that morning about what this thing between us meant. She wasn’t suddenly all clingy—although I wished she would be. There were no tears. No demands that I spend every spare minute of my day glued to her side—even if I wished she would.
The moment the bus stopped at our next venue, she started avoiding me.
For the first time in my life, I wanted more than just a little fun. I wanted it all. With her. She was mine, and I was completely hers. There was no going back.
But with how she became busy the instant she spotted me, no matter where we were, I knew I had a hell of a lot more work to accomplish before she was on the same page. Getting the brush-off wasn’t fun, and I had a fleeting flash of guilt for all the times I’d done it to a girl in the past.
Thankfully, I had work to do to keep me distracted all afternoon, or I was sure I would have driven myself batshit crazy. But the moment I stepped on to the stage with her that evening, she couldn’t avoid me any longer. Her hair was done in a Viking braid ponytail, but she was wearing a similar outfit to the one she’d worn the night before. Instead of the sheer white skirt and top, this time, it was black, with a white bra and high-waisted panty set.
My eyes were hungry for the sight of her, but as soon as I saw what she was wearing, my entire body turned hard as stone. All she had to do was smirk at me and she had me eating out of the palm of her hand. But then the crowd noticed what she was wearing, and the men started making appreciative noises. The wolf whistles and shouts at how hot she looked had jealousy boiling in my veins.
“How many of these outfits do you have?” I gritted out as she started the final sound check on her violin.
“I have one in every color,” she said dismissively, keeping her focus on what she was doing and not even sparing me a glance. “Enough for at least one show every stop of the tour.”
“Fucking perfect,” I groaned. “And if I asked you not to wear them?”
She lowered the violin and frowned up at me. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
“Nothing,” I muttered.
“Something.” She crossed her arms over her chest, causing her tits to push up and nearly spill out of the bra. “Or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”
The hooting of the assholes near the security fence made me snap. “Your ass looks huge. Especially with those high-waisted panties. Just figured you wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself.”
I regretted the lie as soon as it left my mouth, especially when hurt flickered in her dark eyes. A flashback of every time I’d caused that same reaction came back to haunt me, and I opened my mouth to apologize, but she didn’t give me the chance.
“I knew you hadn’t changed,” she said with a humorless laugh. “Don’t worry, Baby Cage. You don’t have to look at my huge ass after tonight. I’ll call my brother and—”
“Pipes.” I caught her wrist, pulling her closer so I could press my lips to her ear. “I didn’t mean it. Your ass looks fucking amazing. That’s the problem. All these assholes are looking. I can’t stand it.”
My confession of being jealous did nothing to cool her anger. “Just do your job, and don’t worry about my ass. What I wear is none of your concern.”
“Piper—”
“Stop,” she hissed, jerking back enough to shoot a hate-filled glare up at me. “Or tomorrow, I’ll come out on this stage naked.”
The glitter in her eyes dared me to challenge the threat. I knew she would do it if I pushed. Frustrated, I grabbed the back of my neck with both hands and squeezed hard so I wouldn’t reach for her again. “I’m sorry.”
“Apology not accepted.” She turned her back on me. “I need to do this so we can get this show over with.”
“Fuck!” I whisper-shouted to myself as I walked away.
“Problems?” a guy with a deep voice asked when I got backstage.
I jerked my head up to find the new head of security standing in the shadows. Dressed in black slacks and a T-shirt that stretched tight across his chest and arms and simply read “Security” across the front and back, Jarrett Dawson blended into the darkness as if it was a part of him.
When Shaw had given me a little more information on the guy earlier, telling me that he was an old friend of Barrick’s, I’d assumed he would be about the same age as Mia’s husband. From what little I’d put together from Trinity’s meltdown earlier that morning, I’d surmised she’d had something going on with the guy at one point in the past, which had only doubled my assumption that he was going to be in his early thirties at the oldest.
Which was why when the fortysomething guy had been pointed out to me upon his arrival, I’d been caught off guard. I knew Trinity didn’t have daddy issues. She and Devlin were even closer than my own sister and father were. She’d had a few boyfriends in high school but never anything serious. Mostly, she’d just kept busy with work, wanting nothing more than to follow in her mom’s footsteps and one day take over the company.
Never in a million years would I have suspected that Trinity was into older guys, but there was no hiding the fact that Jarrett was closer to her mom’s age than her own. Although it probably shouldn’t have been such a surprise. Trin’s mom, Natalie, obviously was into older guys as well. There was a big age gap between Trinity’s parents. But the age difference between Trinity and the security expert was even bigger than the Cutters’.
Eyeing the man, I shrugged and answered honestly. “My only problem is my own stupidity.”
“That seems to be a sickness that is contagious,” he muttered.
“Yeah, and unfortunately, there isn’t a cure. Even worse, a flare-up can happen at any time and fuck up your whole world.”
A grim laugh left the man, and he offered me his hand. “That’s the truest thing I’ve heard all day. Jarrett Dawson.”
“Cannon Cage,” I introduced myself, shaking his hand. “I take it you’re a victim of the stupidity disease?”
“I was infected without realizing it and didn’t know until it was too late.”
“There should be a vaccine we get before we hit puberty that prevents this shit.” Over Jarrett’s shoulder, I saw Trinity. But the moment she spotted him, she got that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look in her eyes. Remembering how upset she’d been earlier, I distracted the security expert, giving her a moment to gather herself and decide if she wanted to stay and give him hell or run and hide.
Before my eyes, I watched her spine turn to steel as she straightened to her full height. She might look like her dad, but she’d gotten her eye color and height from her mom, which put her right at my shoulder. Yet the way she threw back her shoulders and lifted her head made her look infinitely taller and damn near as intimidating as Emmie. Witnessing it firsthand put a smirk on my face, and I mentally cheered her on with a wink as she walked toward us.
“You should be onstage,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Sorry, babe.” I noted how Jarrett stiffened, and to add fuel to the fire, I snaked my arm around Trinity’s waist. “I just wanted to see you before I got to work.”
She tensed, and her eyes filled with surprise and a hell of a lot of suspicion. I kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear, “He’s watching you like a hawk. Play along and make him regret whatever he did to hurt you.”
Trinity melted against me for all of two seconds before she pushed away, turning back into the badass that shadowing her mom and Emmie over the years had groomed her to be. “I don’t have time for fun and games. Get out there before you put us behind.”
I kissed her cheek again. “Yes, ma’am.” Shooting a look at Jarrett, I grinned at him. “You’ll watch out for my girl here, won’t you, Dawson?”
His jaw turned to stone, and I didn’t wait around for an answer. Grin still in place, I walked around to the other side of the stage to find Piper was ready and waiting. Seeing her, I felt my grin fade as the memory of what a dumbass I’d been flashed through my head.
She was standing with Hymn, talking animatedly about something, and then she motioned to Charlie, and he winked at her before nodding. She spotted me, and the enthusiasm on her beautiful face darkened with dislike, but I begged her with my eyes to forgive me. In response, she turned her back on me.
Groaning, I accepted my guitar from the roadie and took my place. I’d fucked up badly earlier, but I couldn’t give up. She had no reason to trust me, but somehow I’d prove to her that she could.
Not just with her body, but with her heart too.
