She reached up and stroked my scruff with her fingers. “You can’t put me in a bubble, Killian. Just like you couldn’t with Emmitt.” My jaw clenched and I released her wrists, backing off.
“Emmitt has nothing to do with this.” But it did. I hadn’t protected him and the need to protect Savvy was overwhelming.
She placed her palm over my heart. “He’ll always have something to do with it, and that’s a good thing, Killian. I just don’t know if you realize how much he is part of everything you do.”
“I don’t fight anymore.”
“But you do, Killian. You’re fighting yourself. Your father. The demons in that bag. You’re constantly fighting who you are by trying to control everything else. I’m not going anywhere, but I can’t move in with you. Not right now.”
“I hate you in that place,” I said, moving back into her and caressing her cheek with the back of my finger.
She rested her hands on my waist. “I know. But it’s not forever, and I received a reply from a dance studio.”
It was like a load of cement dropped from my shoulders. “Fuck, that’s good news.”
She smiled. “I hope so. I like your club and the money is great, but the hours suck, and it’s exhausting.”
I weaved my fingers in her hair and pulled her into me as I kissed her again, my other hand grabbed her thigh to hitch it on my hip. She was wearing a black cotton dress and it easily lifted as I slid my hand along her inner thigh to her panties.
She gasped against my mouth when I touched her. “Killian.”
I groaned, pressing her hard into the wall as I deepened the kiss, my finger sliding through her wetness before I shoved it up inside her. She tilted her head back, arching her neck. I kissed along her chin, then down the curve of her neck.
“Fuck you, Matt,” some guy yelled.
“Christ,” I muttered, breaking away from Savvy and lowering her leg to the floor. I blocked her body with my own as she readjusted her dress then turned toward the booted feet coming in our direction.
“You signed a contract. You can’t walk out,” Matt shouted at the other end of the hall.
“Watch me,” the guy replied.
“You leave, you’ll never play in this city again.”
It was obvious this was the lead singer, Matt mentioned. He was tall, lean, looked about seventeen or eighteen and had tattoos inked down his right arm. He wore a white T-shirt, ripped jeans, and motorcycle boots. He also had what looked like motorcycle gloves in his hand. His unruly dark hair went with his wild daunting eyes that were currently focused on me.
“Problem, asshole?” he said.
I stiffened, and Savvy’s hands resting on my back curled into my dress shirt. “Yeah, you walking out on Matt is a shit move. Don’t want to play tonight, but looks like I am.” Because I’d never leave Matt in a lurch, none of the guys would. I’d have to put a call into Crisis and Ream, and after eight hours of recording, I was betting neither wanted to drive to Avalanche and do a gig. But they would.
He came to an abrupt halt a few feet away. I saw the realization hit his eyes when he recognized me, but it only seemed to piss him off more. “I have shit that’s come up.”
“More important than your career?” I asked. Because like Savvy knew firsthand, word spread in the industry fast and another bar wouldn’t touch him if he walked out like this.
His eyes narrowed. “Yeah. My sister dyin’ in the fuckin’ hospital.”
Savvy gasped.
Matt had caught up and overheard him. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it’s none of your business. It’s no one’s business, but mine.” He strode down the hall, slammed his palm into the swinging doors and was gone.
“Fuck,” Matt muttered. “He didn’t say anything. All he said was he had to go.”
“Who is he?” Savvy asked.
“Gavin Chase,” Matt replied, then headed back the way he came. “I have to announce to the bar he’s not playing tonight.”
“Let me talk to his band,” I said. Matt stopped and looked over his shoulder. “If they know any of our songs, Logan and I can play with them.” I was okay on the guitar and could play in a pinch, but the singing wasn’t my thing.
“Fuck. Thanks, Kite.” Matt jogged down the hall and disappeared into one of the rooms.
I turned, placing my hands on Savvy’s waist and squeezing. “You okay to stick around for a while. Hang with the girls?”
She nodded, but her eyes were tearing and one slipped down her cheek.
“What the fuck?” I wiped it away with the pad of my thumb.
She half smiled. “I like you.”
“And you’re crying because of that?”
“A lot,” she added. “Okay, more than a lot.”