His expression became very sensual. “I like setting loose your inner desires.”
She pointed a finger at him. “That’s a two-way street.”
His expression tightened, becoming guarded again.
“Not even.” She reached out and stabbed him in the chest with her finger. “Don’t think for one second I am going to surf this insanity current alone. Your ass is coming along.”
Syon’s lips twitched. But his expression stayed hard. “Being around me means you’re going to end up in the tabloids.”
“I’m not griping about that.”
“Yes, you are.” He started to pull his gloves on. “You’re used to having control. You won’t have it completely with me.”
“No shit.”
She hadn’t meant to let that slip out. Something flashed in his eyes that set off a tingle of warning in her.
“I don’t like part of it either,” he said, “but not enough to live in a cage. I pay Cid and a couple of good lawyers a lot to deal with the worst of it.”
“Cid must be good, or you would have been in jail over that fight. Even with Conan vouching for you. The cops could have slapped you both with disturbing the peace violations.”
“I’m not sorry. He was asking for it.” Syon offered her a looked that said “bring it.”
She ended up laughing at him. “That’s part of Conan’s charm.”
“Mine too.”
He was dead serious. She eyed him for a long moment. “Maybe.”
Something flickered in his eyes. It set her on edge, because she got the feeling he was planning something. He leaned in, flattening his hands on the seat of the bike on either side of her hips. Her heart reacted instantly, beating faster.
“I want to take you somewhere I can fuck you.”
Her lips went dry.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you want me to do that, Kate?”
She rolled her lips in, a surge of lust igniting her insides. “How do you do that?”
One of his eyebrows rose. “Turn you on?”
She nodded, fixated on him, on his mouth, and the fact that she desperately wanted to kiss him again.
“It’s only fair, since you make me crazy.” He pressed forward, connecting with her mouth. He teased her lower lip with two slow licks before pulling away.
“You’ve only known me a week.”
He pressed another kiss against her mouth, this one harder, more demanding.
“And you took your clothes off first.”
She stiffened, but he kissed her again and kept kissing her until she stopped trying to wiggle away.
“It keeps me sane”—he was kissing his way across her cheek and onto her throat—“knowing I’m not alone. I’d be on my knees if you refused me.”
She scoffed at him. “You wouldn’t have to go far for solace.”
He lifted his head and locked gazes with her. “Don’t sell me short. I’m more than the tabloid persona. I want to be liked for more than Toxsin.”
“I know. Sorry, that was hitting below the belt.”
His eyes were lit with need. “I like that game too, but we need the right venue for it.”
He offered her a hand and pulled her off the bike when she took it. He swung his leg over the Harley and waited for her to mount behind him. He was more complex than she’d ever expected, more real. Guilt chewed on her because she’d judged him before getting to know him.
But she was glad to have been proven wrong.
When they were riding, he was in control completely. Maybe it was one of those things she shouldn’t dwell on too much, but at the same time, she got the feeling that he enjoyed being in command of her. They wove through the streets, making their way to the hotel near the center of town.
The horde of fans was there, wearing Toxsin T-shirts and plenty of leather. A few hopefuls were playing guitar on the sidewalk, trying their best to be noticed. Not to be outdone, the paparazzi were there too, their cameras ready.
Syon drove up the main driveway, ignoring the entrance to the parking garage. The crowd roared with approval. He lifted his helmet off. A group of Cid’s polo-shirt crew started pushing the fans back from the walkway to the entrance doors. Fans screamed louder as they good a good look at Syon.
Cell phones were lifted up, a hundred little flashes going off like fireflies. Syon offered Kate a hand as one of the crew members took their helmets. She put her hand in his, conscious of the people watching. He pulled her along toward the doors but stopped halfway from the curb to the revolving entrance.
Syon pulled her against him and kissed her.
It was a hard kiss of ownership. A declaration of intent. He pressed her lips apart, capturing her squeal as he turned her in a small backward circle to hide the fact that she was recoiling.
The crowd went crazy.
“Great ass!”
“Sexy redhead!”
“Give her some tongue!”
Syon didn’t disappoint his fans. He kissed her thoroughly. She wanted to resist, wanted to hold on to some small part of her dignity, but all that went through her mind was the fact that she hadn’t found another picture of him kissing anyone.
It was an admission. A very public one, but a very personal one too.
“Lucky!”
“Bitch!”
Syon finally lifted his head from hers, sending her a very satisfied smirk before he turned her around and pushed through the huge rotating door that led to the hotel lobby. One of Cid’s guys was there with a key card, but when Kate extended her hand for one, Syon shook his head.
“You’re bunking with me,” Syon said as he turned and headed toward the elevators.
Two girls standing there moaned with disappointment. One spoke up anyway. “Can we join the party?”
“Sorry.” Syon pulled Kate into an elevator. “It’s private.”
The girl pulled her top down, giving him a view of her tits before the door slid shut.
“It’s very private,” Syon informed her.
The penthouse suite was set up for him. Syon pulled her through the outer sitting room to the master bedroom, which was massive. His guitar was sitting in the corner, the spot had a bird’s-eye view of the city. It was a full three-room suite, candles lit to welcome them. Her suitcase was in the corner, her clothing hung up in the closet.
“Why did you kiss me like that?”
Syon was stripping off his gloves, pulling each fingertip free before removing the protective gear.
“To prove a point.”
She recognized this side of his persona. But she’d only seen it before when he was conducting business.
Cold, hard, completely dominating business.
Her belly did a little flip, and she shifted, feeling very much on edge.
Syon tossed the second glove aside.
“That you’re mine. I don’t want there to be any question.”
Satisfaction glittered in his eyes, but it was the hunger drawing his lips tight that made her nipples bead.
“Says who?”
It just slipped out, but she wasn’t sorry. She propped one hand on her hip and faced off with him. “I’m not yours because you stage some stunt for the paparazzi.”
His lips curved. “You’re mine because I make you wet.”
She shifted, far too aware of how correct he was. “B.O.B. could help me with that.”
His grin broadened. “I like your ginger mode.”
She rolled her eyes, but it was a mistake to look away from him. Syon scooped her up and carried her to the bed. It rocked as he followed her down, kissing her breathless once again. He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, sparking a firestorm of need in her pussy. She’d never been so bluntly aware of how much she wanted to have intercourse. With Syon, she was in heat. He held her down, smoothing his hands along her arms and pulling them up above her head.
She grasped the rails of the headboard, the iron cold from the air-conditioning.
The candlelight was perfect, granting them some sort of permission to just dive into the waves of sensory overload.