Tainted Heartbreak (Tainted Knights 3)

“It will only get worse as the night goes on. By the time Demon’s Wings takes the stage tonight, it will be pure mayhem.” He chugged the water then tossed the bottle in the recycling bin nearby.

I glanced down at our still-linked hands. He hadn’t released me once, not even to pay for the drinks. Now, with his other hand free, he tugged me closer. “Are you hungry?”

I shook my head. “We went to one of the BBQ trucks earlier. I got one of those sundae things with baked beans and coleslaw.”

“Fuck, that sounds good. I’m starving. Mind if I grab something really quick? Then we can find some trouble to get into.”

“Mind if you eat? Yeah, I totally mind. How dare you?” I snorted. “I don’t mind. Eat. I’d rather you not drop at my feet from low blood sugar. You look heavy, and I don’t have much faith in my ability to drag your ass around.”

That smirk seemed to be a constant part of his face. It was kind of cute and more than a little sexy. Squeezing my fingers gently, he lifted his other hand to push a few strands of hair behind my ear. “Are you always this adorable, Dreamer?”

Pleasure coursed through my veins, and I felt my face fill with pink. “Yup.” I nodded, pretending like I wasn’t crushing hard. “You’ll just have to get used to it, buddy.”

Something flashed in his eyes, making my heart rate escalate, but he lowered his lashes before I could decipher what it was. He opened his mouth to say something, but I chickened out and pulled him toward the fenced-off area where all the food trucks were. Once we got in the long line for the BBQ sundaes, he stood behind me, his fingers still intertwined with mine, his free hand at my waist.

My shirt had ridden up, and his callused thumb rubbed little circles on my exposed skin, making me squirm. I felt his breath on the back of my neck, causing me to shiver every few seconds. He pressed his nose into the side of my head, inhaling deeply, and I had to squeeze my thighs together to ease some of the insanely hot ache between my legs.

His fingers on my hip tightened, pulling me back against him, and it was impossible not to feel how affected he was. His erection pulsed against my hip, and it took every ounce of willpower I had to hold back the whimper that strained to be set free.

The line moved, and it was our turn to order. I cleared my throat, begging it to work properly, and asked Cash what he wanted to eat. He ordered the same sundae I’d had earlier, but before he could pay, I passed the woman a twenty.

“That’s not how this works,” he grumbled at me as the attendant put his food on the counter and I was passed my change.

Pushing the cash into my pocket, I grinned up at him. “Actually, that’s exactly how this works. You’re hungry, I’m feeding you. Just like when I was thirsty and you took care of me.”

“So, it’s like a partnership? We take care of each other?”

I patted him on the chest, but quickly dropped my hand when the urge to stroke my fingers over the hard edges and grooves became too tempting. “Exactly.”

He chewed that over as he took a bite of his BBQ sundae. Swallowing, he nodded. “I can live with that.” He lowered his head until his nose nearly touched my own. “But only if I get to take care of you more.”

My breath hitched at his nearness, then again at his words. I wasn’t about to allow myself to think he meant it. Whatever this was between us, I couldn’t see it lasting past the end of the night. He would be gone come morning at the latest, and even though the thought was making my heart ache already, I would happily take what I could get with him.

Refusing to let him see my inner thoughts, I grinned up at him. “I can’t agree to that. Accept that it’s fifty-fifty and go with it.”

He bit into his pickle spear then put it to my lips. I took a small bite, licking a little of the BBQ sauce off that had smeared across my bottom lip. “Fine. We agree on fifty-fifty.” Stuffing the last of the pickle into his mouth, he finished his sundae in three more bites then tossed the empty cup in the trash.

I offered him my water bottle, and he chugged the rest of the contents down before trashing it too. I readjusted my cup under my arm, catching his attention. “Let’s get you a bag for that so you’re not carrying it around.”

“I’m good like this.”

“What if you drop it? There are cups just like it littering the whole place. You confident enough to know which one yours is if you drop it?” Well, fuck, he had me there. Smirking because he knew he was right, he draped his arm over my shoulders and guided me to the vendors across from

the food trucks.

There was everything from T-shirts to vapes on display in the row of vendor tents. He found me a drawstring black bag that had the festival’s logo on it, and I put my cup inside along with my cap before putting my arms through the straps. The sun was beginning to set, but it was still humid as hell. Sweat beaded on both our brows, and we stopped for more drinks.

While he grabbed us beers, I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted. I had one from each of my roommates. Riley’s told me she was headed back to the tour buses to hang out with the Bombshells. Lindsey’s told me she was bored without us there. She was supposed to go on a date last night with the guy she had been seeing recently. She was into this new guy but hadn’t introduced us to him yet. Since we were out of town, she was going to invite him back to our place, but he had blown her off, saying he had work early this morning.

I shot her back a quick reply. I met a guy.

Details!

I glanced at Cash, who was paying for our beers. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell her, but it didn’t feel right dishing to her what I was feeling yet. This was too new and kind of raw for me. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tell Riley, and I told her everything. Can’t right now. Talk later. See you Sunday night.

Laughing, I put my phone in my back pocket and lifted my head just as Cash stepped up beside me, offering me an ice-cold bottle of beer. I rolled the bottle over my forehead then pressed it to my neck, moaning at the coolness against my overheated skin. Cash made a half-groaning, half-choked sound in his throat. Lifting my gaze to meet his, I saw a hunger burning out of his dark brown eyes, and that ache between my legs made my clit throb.

Dropping my eyes, I took a long pull of my beer.