No one else seemed to notice that the festival had come to a halt. I didn’t doubt that every breath held out there was for Bound. No doubt, I’d be booed off stage simply for not being their idols.
Crazed Nuts—what a name choice—stood with their mouths agape and eyes wide as they realized who stood ten feet away from them. Once their shock cleared, they inched closer, eager for a chance to mingle with legends. The amateur band didn’t make it two steps before more security appeared from thin air and carted them toward the stairs, stage right. It was only then that it occurred to me—no one had bothered to shoo me away. It’s not as if the world knew that I was Bound’s newest addition, so why—
My lips formed a curse since there was only one other explanation.
Everyone thought I was their goddamn groupie.
My gaze returned to Bound. The matching feral grins the trio wore told me they’d read my mind and came to the same conclusion.
“Fuck you,” I blurted unapologetically.
“You might as well,” Loren retorted with a shrug and a snort. “Everyone already thinks you are. Congratulations, groupie. Now you’re a part of the band.”
My lids lowered until my eyes formed slits. “I’m going to offer you the same advice you gave me two weeks ago. Get out of my sight and get lost.”
Jericho spoke first, and Loren followed up.
“No can do.”
“We came to enjoy the show.”
Fuck.
My stomach twisted, wringing free my tumultuous emotions. Bound watching me perform was even more nerve-wracking than twenty thousand pairs of eyes. I didn’t stand a chance. Not when the alternative was them.
A light bulb went off before I could finish losing my shit.
“I’ve got a better idea,” I announced with a confidence I didn’t feel. “Why don’t you go in my place? They’re all expecting you anyway, o’ great ones.”
I mocked them with a curtsy.
When I tried to push past the wall they’d formed with their bodies, Houston caught my wrist. The warmth of his skin and the strength behind his grip was not something I’d been prepared to face. He could easily break me in two with half the effort. Our height difference, even in my heels, was daunting enough. Loren matched his height, with Jericho standing a couple of inches shorter. All three dwarfed me, but that didn’t give them permission to make me feel small.
“All that lip and you have the nerve to run and hide?” Houston spat.
“No pun intended,” Loren added through a fake cough. I blinked in surprise before catching myself. Yes, I had full lips, but I didn’t think they’d noticed. Why would I, considering how they treated me.
“I’m walking away from a situation that doesn’t interest me,” I corrected Houston. “If you’ll excuse me.” I tried to free my hand, but he tightened his hold. “Let go of me.”
“Or what?”
I’d never forgive myself if I let Houston know he was getting to me, so I steeled my spine and dug in my feet. “Do you really want your adoring fans seeing you get kicked in the balls? It’s not a pretty sight on anyone.”
“Do you really think you’d make it through them if you tried?”
No.
Dammit, he was right. I wouldn’t.
Some of the women looked ready to kill me just for allowing Houston to touch me. Some looked willing to lay on train tracks if he told them to. Only a few seemed envious but not entirely threatening.
“You go, girl!” someone shouted, proving my theory. More shouting followed, each more alarming than the last.
“Jericho, I love you!”
“Can I please suck your dick, Houston?”
“I’m having your baby, Loren. Call me!”
My gaze darted to Loren, who didn’t even blink. I guess having babies pinned on him wasn’t anything new. I snorted, surprised I could find anything about this situation humorous.
Ignoring the shouting, Houston held me tighter. “Get your ass on stage and play for me.”
“So that’s why you’re here? To assert your dominance and put me in my place?”
His lips curled as he leaned forward and something akin to a growl sent a shiver down my spine. “Don’t test me, Fawn. I’m much better at inserting my dominance.” He finally let me go, blatantly confident in the knowledge that I wasn’t going anywhere. I was too busy picturing him making good on his threat.
He didn’t seem to notice as his gaze moved over my shoulder toward the curtain dividing a crowd of thousands and us before finding mine again. “You’re out of time. Stop stalling and show us what you’re made of.”
“You aren’t ready for what I’m made of, Houston.” Liking the sound of his name on my lips a little too much, I let my attention wander to his cronies, standing closely behind him. “None of you are.”
Jericho yawned, his gaze staying blank. Loren blew a large, blue bubble of the gum he was chewing in response. Houston’s only reaction was to stare down at me in silent contemplation. There was reluctant curiosity there—the insatiable need to test those waters and submerge himself within my depths.