“No shit?” I couldn’t pin a reason on why I frowned when it was immense relief I felt. Perhaps it was because I knew Jericho couldn’t have come to this decision easily. “What made you change your mind?”
Rich was forlorn as he stared at the floor for a while before he finally answered. “It’s starting to feel like I’m in a hole too deep to climb, and I can’t help but hope that I’m wrong. Even if there’s a crumb possibility that Braxton will forgive me, I have to hold on to it with both hands, you know?”
I did know.
Because chances were Rich wouldn’t be the only one getting dumped when Braxton found out about his wife.
“We’ll figure out the rest,” I promised him.
Staring at him a little longer, I blew out a breath when that pitiful look in his eyes became even more palpable. I had an inkling of what had held him up from going around Emily and getting his marriage dissolved.
Silently, I waited for the anger and betrayal that never came.
I couldn’t bring myself to feel those things because I also knew Rich was giving up the only thing he ever wanted but never got. He might have grown into a man and was beloved by millions now, but to me, Jericho was never far from that sad, lonely kid who’d been denied a single, true attachment. Loren and I had been his first and only until even that had been ripped away by distrust, resentment, and greed.
This time around it was Jericho walking away from that chance for the one his heart decided he needed more. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Braxton was worth it, but it wasn’t my sacrifice. It was Jericho’s.
“Thank you,” I heard myself say to him.
Rich finally looked up from the floor, his gaze shocked by my fervent tone and the sincerity in those two words that made his lips tilt at the corner and his silver eyes kindle. “Fuck off, Houston,” he spat, making me laugh too. “We crossed swords once. Don’t make shit weird.”The North American leg of the Bound & Bellicose tour had officially ended. It was mid-afternoon over a week later when my gaze traveled over to the bassist in the partially fogged mirror of his bathroom.
We’d just finished up in his shower, which I actually hadn’t minded Loren holding me hostage inside since it was the size of a small closet with black stone walls, a tiled floor to match, and water that rained from the ceiling like a gentle waterfall.
The bamboo bench built into the shower’s alcove was pretty sturdy too.
Shifting my feet guiltily, I told myself not to get hung up on how I’d ended up in his bed last night. I wasn’t sure I could explain since nothing had changed. I was very much scared shitless of his determination to move too fast.
I knew the conversation wasn’t over.
It was right there in his eyes that it wasn’t far from his mind.
Noticing me watching him, Loren slowed the circular motions his long fingers made as he worked the chemical exfoliant into his skin. It was his third cleanse since he started on his face after the almost painful-to-watch scrupulous flossing, brushing, and rinsing of his teeth.
“What’s up?” he asked when I continued to gape.
“Nothing.” I tried and failed to hide my smile as I brushed the tangles from my hair. Unlike Loren, I’d already finished with my face and teeth. “It’s just that watching you is like using a white towel after a long shower. It’s a truly humbling experience.”
I felt like I was still dirty even though we’d stayed in the shower until the water turned cold and my skin pruned.
I watched Loren’s pearl-white teeth sink into his bottom lip as the heat in his gaze turned up a thousand notches. My poor vagina emphatically protested his thoughts since she was still bearing the brunt of Loren’s attention last night, again in the shower, and Houston’s visit before the sun was fully up this morning.
Rich was back to being distant again, and I cursed myself for not keeping my word and getting to the bottom of it. I’d been too busy hiding to uncover their secrets.
Now I questioned if I cared anymore.
I wondered if I had the fortitude to chase someone who seemed so unsure about me.
The answer was no. I didn’t.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Loren said with all the confidence of a man used to getting what he wanted. “When we’re old and gray, and I’m struggling to get it up, rest assured there won’t be a part of you my tongue hasn’t touched.” Leaning over from his spot at the double vanity, he placed a sensual kiss on my neck that tasted like cherries and made my knees weak, even as he lewdly groped my ass. It wasn’t until he pulled away enough to meet my gaze that I caught his drift. “Not one.”