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But her anger was stronger. The Bryan she thought she knew would haveneverstooped so low as to rub her nose in whatever he and Stella had going on now.
Rather than succumb to the hurt, she’d shut her eyes to block out the sight of them and kept on dancing. She’d let that stranger pull her to him. It beat feeling her anger and pain.
When his hands had suddenly dropped away and the cool air at her back told her he’d gone, her eyes had blinked open.
Zac.
Coming right for her.
Even now, the memory of the look on his face as he’d stalked toward her had heat flaring low in her belly.
She didn’t think anyone had ever looked at her like that before. The intensity in his gaze had sent a bolt of need sizzling through her. Desire curled hot and heavy in her stomach, triggering the sudden desire to know what it would be like to have his body against her body, his hands on her skin, his mouth pressed to hers.
She’d stood there, forgetting everything and everyone around her, forgetting Bryan.
She’d waited for him.
And that kiss.
Her fingers were halfway to her lips before she realized what she was doing. She lowered her hand, resisting the urge to touch the swollen, tender flesh. To close her eyes and remember the way he tasted, how he felt, the hard press of him against her stomach.
Cassie let out a soft, shuddery breath. She needed to stop these thoughts in their tracks. She’d heard what Zac said to Bryan after:It’s about time you learned what it felt like.
He’d been teaching Bryan a lesson. That was all. He’d punished Bryan for doing something hurtful to her. Because apparently, Zac was protective like that. So why wasn’t she happy about it?
Why had pain stabbed through her when she realized he’d only done it to mess with Bryan?
“Zac, man, you are full of surprises.” Noah’s voice, brimming with mirth, finally broke the silence.
The blond drummer grinned over at Zac, whose own expression was coolly unreadable as he looked back at him. For a second, Zac’s eyes flicked to hers, caught, held. Without conscious volition, her body responded: nipples tightening, lips parting as she inhaled shakily, cheeks heating.
Zac didn’t react, turning his attention back to Noah. “The guy’s an asshole. He deserved a taste of his own medicine.” Then he went straight back to looking out the window.
If Noah was disappointed he couldn’t rile up Zac, he didn’t show it. He just grinned over at the others sitting opposite them.
Summer gripped Cassie’s hand and squeezed it. When she met her gaze, the pretty strawberry-blonde gave her a reassuring smile. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t want to make a big deal about what had happened. Because it wasn’t. It wasn’t a big deal. It was just a thing that had happened.
With her boss.
The man she was living with.
The one who awakened all kinds of inappropriate thoughts.
She forced a smile to her face and nodded jerkily.
Summer squeezed her hand again. When she let go, Cassie laced her suddenly cold fingers together. She slid her eyes back toward Zac. The sharp angle of his jaw as he looked out the window made her feel as if she’d done something wrong. Even though she hadn’t.
Although she was surrounded by people, she suddenly felt alone again.
* * *
Cassie was acutely conscious of Zac’s entrance into the living room the next morning. There was a subtle shift in the air pressure, a prickle of awareness at her nape alerting her to his presence. She raised her head at the same moment his eyes landed on her.
Cassie’s breath caught. She wasn’t sure how to react. She wanted things to go back to normal but wasn’t sure how to make it happen. Last night, she’d thought Zac might take her aside after they got back to the bus. He owed her an explanation, after all. But he hadn’t spoken a word to her. He disappeared into his bunk, and she hadn’t seen him again until now.
Zac looked at Tex and Eden, who were sitting next to each other at the table drinking coffee. Obviously reading his expression, they both stood up and took their coffee cups back into the bunk area. Eden threw Cassie a reassuring smile over her shoulder.
