Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights 1)

A smile lifted at the corners of his mouth, but I could tell he was still too pissed to give me a full-on grin. “I kind of like you, too, doll.”

“Mushy time’s over,” Gray complained from the bed as he got to his feet. “Let’s get this shit moved so we can get out of here. That Sage chick is batshit crazy, and I’m scared it’s going to rub off on the rest of us.”

“Agreed,” Kale muttered. Giving me a quick kiss, he stepped back. “Where do we start first?”

SEVENTEEN

Kale

Two weeks ago, I had been looking forward to this day. The first day of tour. Traveling around the country and sharing our music with the fans we’d acquired over the months since our first single came out and topped the charts.

Now …

Now I just wanted it to still be Saturday a little longer so I could have just a few more hours with Santana.

After moving her out of her old apartment Friday morning, we had spent the rest of the day at the beach, just soaking up the sun and each other as time had quickly slipped through my fingers.

I had a few dozen selfies to help me get through the coming weeks, but none of them would replace the real thing. Not one single photo would replace the feeling of having my little doll look up at me with that sunshine bright smile that was just for me. Or the way she always touched me, little brushes of her fingertips over my skin that worked like a match on dry timber and set my entire body on fire for her. Or the taste of her candy sweet lips as she teased me with a kiss that always drove me insane.

We had spent the last two nights at my apartment, and I’d given her a key in case she ever wanted to just be alone and unwind. Or if she missed me and wanted to sleep with my covers tucked around her.

She had given me one of her pillowcases that smelled so much like her cherry blossom scent to take with me. It was pink wi

th flowers all over it, so I knew the guys were going to give me hell over it, but I didn’t give a shit. It would help me sleep without her.

Santana had made me breakfast that morning, and then we had gone straight back to bed until I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. She wanted to come with me to see me off, and I was just glad I didn’t have to ask her.

Two buses were already idling in front of Emmie’s office building, along with a tractor trailer that would carry all our equipment. The roadies I had yet to meet were waiting on the sidewalk with Emmie and Travis. Jace and Gray had already arrived, along with Kassa. Kin was waiting with them, a lost look on her face as she kept her arms wrapped around Jace’s waist. Emmie rubbed her back a few times as she spoke to Travis, who nodded.

As we got out of the car, I handed my keys over to Santana.

Her eyes got huge when she saw what I was doing. “No,” she whispered, backing away from me. “I can’t. You can’t. That’s just too much, Kale.”

I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in close, kissing the breath out of her. While I had her close, I stuffed the keys into her jeans pocket. “Take it. Use it. Don’t use it. I don’t care. It will make me feel better knowing that you have something to get you to and from shoots.”

“Kale, I’ve done it this long without a car. I’ll be fine.” When I just stood there, holding her, looking down at her with a plea in my eyes, she blew out a long sigh. “Okay, I’ll take good care of your car. Happy?”

Something hard and painful tightened around my heart. “No, doll. I’m leaving you. I’m not going to be happy again until I’m back here with you.”

Her brown eyes filled with tears. “Kale …”

Lowering my head, I brushed my lips over her forehead. “Nine weeks. Don’t forget about me during that time.”

Saying good-bye had never been so hard. Not even when I’d lost my mom. When she had died, it was something we’d known was coming, and I had prepared myself. Mostly. As prepared as anyone could be, I guessed.

Now, even though I knew I was coming back to her in just a few months, it physically hurt to breathe.

She slipped her soft hands under my shirt and touched my back as she wrapped her arms around my waist. Then she pressed her face against my chest, right in the spot that had become hers over the last few days. My heart gave a painful kick.

“Forgetting you isn’t possible,” she murmured. Turning her head to the side, she looked up at me through her eyelashes. “I just hope you don’t forget about me.”

“Impossible.”

This girl was a part of my soul now. I couldn’t forget a single thing about her. The urge to tell her what I felt for her was choking me, but I held it back, fearing I would freak her out. We had only known each other for less than a full week. Common sense told me that it was too soon to be feeling this much, this hard, that fast.

Common sense had nothing to do with what I felt for her, though.

“Thanks for joining us.”