Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights 1)

Travis was apparently smarter than he looked, because he quickly masked his reaction to her and turned his eyes back to me and Cash. “Whatever is up with you two, figure it out before we leave on tour. I won’t put up with fighting any more than Emmie would.”

Cash, always the diffuser of any tension, gave him a grin that promised everything was just peachy. What the fuck ever. I still forced a smile to my face.

“We’re cool, man,” Cash assured Travis. “No worries here, dude. Kale is just having his period this week.”

My hands clenched into fists again, but a sharp poke in the ribs from Kin had me nodding at the guy in the suit.

Kassa patted me on the shoulder when I remained quiet and took a step closer to Travis. “Tell me more about the tour, Trav. What should I pack?”

“You’re coming?”

When she nodded, the guy had trouble reining in his reaction.

The look in his eyes returned, and I could just imagine how crazy the upcoming tour was going to be when Gray figured out that our road manager had the hots for Kassa. At least she was able to get Travis to forget about what was going on with Cash and me.

The two walked away, their heads t

ogether as Travis told her what to expect.

“Part of me wants to fist bump her for defusing the situation, while another part of me wants to grab her and lock her in my spare bedroom while you guys are gone.” Kin grimaced as she watched her boyfriend’s little sister smile coyly up at the guy in front of her. “I’m not sure anyone is going to have peace on this tour.”

“Almost done,” Santana called out, bringing my focus back to her.

Her hair was tangled from having tossed it over her shoulder so much throughout the morning. However, though she had been working nonstop for the past few hours, she didn’t look tired. She was in her element here, and I loved watching her work.

Jace stretched, trying to get the kinks out of his body. He wasn’t used to being so still for so long. As our front-man, he was normally running around the stage, hyping people up as he rocked the crowd.

As he walked toward us, his eyes went straight to Kin. A blind man could have seen the reaction he had to just her presence. His blue eyes seemed to catch fire, and as they skimmed over Kin’s body, she seemed to come alive.

Kassa giggling had us all turning to see what was going on. She was standing dangerously close to Travis as he whispered something into her ear.

Jace took a step toward the couple, but Gray appeared as if out of thin air. He and Sin had disappeared after their individual shoots, but I knew he hadn’t gone too far with Kassa still hanging around.

“I’m starving, Kas,” he practically growled as he grasped her arm in a gentle but firm grip and tugged her toward him. His eyes remained on Travis, though, and they were so cold the temperature in the room felt like it had dropped several degrees. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

Annoyance showed clearly on Kassa’s beautiful face, but she didn’t argue as Gray dragged her toward the door.

Kin sighed heavily, and Jace held out his hand for her to take.

“I could eat, I guess,” she muttered. She shot me a quick glance. “See you later, Kale.”

“Later,” I said with a nod.

Cash stayed beside me for a few more seconds, keeping his mouth closed until the door shut behind the others. Thrusting his hands into his jeans pockets, he turned to face me.

“Look, I’m sorry, man. I won’t step on your toes again where Santana is concerned.”

My brows lifted. “Nice of you.”

He grinned at my dry tone. “I forgot how fast it happened between Kin and Jace, so I didn’t take you being into her seriously. But seeing the way he seems to be wrecked without her for even a few minutes reminded me that it could happen in the blink of an eye.”

He didn’t have to explain what “it” was. I knew what he meant, but I didn’t want to admit to myself that what I was feeling for Santana was what Jace and Kin shared. So, I just stood there, muttered a “later, man” when he said he was going with the others, and then watched the door close behind him.

Across the room, Santana was messing with her camera, while at the opposite side of the room, Travis was on his phone again. I still had to do my individual shoot, so I had stayed back, hoping the others would leave so I could be alone with her. Because of Kassa I had gotten exactly what I wanted, with the exception of the uptight suit texting away on his phone.

Figuring it was better than nothing, I crossed the room. With each step I took, my body tightened more and more. The closer I got to her, the more I ached until it took every ounce of self-control I had not to reach for her and kiss the breath out of her.

Fuck.