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Floating down with noisy gasps for air, he dropped his head on her shoulder and savored the sweet aroma of her skin.

She squeezed his fingers and pressed her lips to his ear. “Huntress.”

He felt her message deep inside him. She’d gained what she sought without abusing her safe word. His happiness demanded he kiss her. So he did, thoroughly.

Conrad knelt behind him and unlaced the rope. “We’re scheduled for another hour. I can show you some things to take on the road.”

“Thanks, yeah, let’s do it.” Jay didn’t try to mute his post-coital grin. “But don’t expect me to remember your name in the morning.”

Charlee’s laugh burst through him, split open his heart, and filled it with light.

88

Charlee huddled against Jay in the crowded corridor of Conrad’s apartment building. Eight or nine bodyguards cocooned them, blocking her ability to see the front door and the street beyond. She caught Nathan’s vigilant gaze where he stood beside her and offered him a smile.

He returned it. “The buses have been making laps around the city for the last hour, waiting for you to emerge. They’ll be here any second.”

Her cheeks heated. She’d been so wrapped up in Jay, so eager to watch him take charge in the dungeon, she hadn’t considered the dozens of people waiting for them.

Jay raised her chin with a knuckle. “Don’t worry about them. They have a fucktillion ways to entertain themselves. Rockstars, remember?”

“What about your schedule?”

“What schedule? We don’t have a tour manager anymore.”

Ugh. Thank fuck for that. She wasn’t sure what her expression held, but his blazed with his smile. “Faye will manage all that. For now, we have the next couple days off.”

Behind him, Tony dropped her hand from her ear and hovered it above his arm. The morning after the tattoo, he’d given her leave to touch him, but she still practiced caution. When he nodded, she gripped his elbow and stepped into his side. “Buses just rolled up. Perimeter’s clear. Ready?”

He patted his left shoulder with his right hand, his visual cue.

“Principals are Oscar Mike,” Tony said into the mic on her headset.

With a collective heave, the entire hallway filed through the door and spread into formations over the front lawn. Suit-clad shoulders crowded Charlee’s view, but the rumble of the buses and Jay’s arm around her waist guided her.

Yellowed grass and brick sidewalks blurred beneath her Doc Martens, the humid air abuzz with the distant chatter of onlookers.

“Jay! Jay Mayard! Over here. I want an autograph.” The voices carried from the street. From behind the buses maybe?

The entourage and motorcade must have drawn the crowd, but how had they glimpsed Jay buried in the fold of the security team? Or was Roy behind this?

Her boots hit the curb and she followed Nathan onto the bus. Colson smiled from the driver’s seat. “Welcome back, Miss Grosky.”

“Thanks, Colson.” Her heart calmed to a normal pace as she left Nathan at the front and turned into the aisle.

The guys reclined on the couches in various positions and states of undress. The black hair of a woman’s head bobbed between Rio’s legs. Another woman ate at his mouth. Beside him, two blondes sandwiched Laz in a naked, writhing tango.

On the opposite couch, Wil tossed a pair of briefs over his naked lap and tipped back a beer in a long draw. “Hey, Charlee. Did Jay grovel enough?”

She smiled. “No groveling needed.”

The bathroom door opened, and a brunette swayed out, nude and smiling. Her gaze shifted from Charlee to beyond Charlee’s shoulder, and her smile widened. “Oh. My. God. It’s Jay Mount-Me Mayard!” She bounced up and down, as did her tits.

Charlee shook her head, lips curving up, and moved down the aisle toward the galley. Jay pressed against her back, arms hooked around her belly, breath hot on her neck.

Poor guy was probably terrified one of the girls might touch him, and not for the reasons he’d once had. He didn’t need to worry. The fact that he’d tracked her down and accepted her sexuality in the dungeon was a comfort no one had ever shown her. His commitment and loyalty had restored her trust in him.

She twisted her neck and kissed his pinched lips. “Fucktillion ways to entertain themselves? I’m just now getting the meaning of that.” Wasn’t the first time groupies came aboard the bus, but the orgies were usually contained to the hotel rooms. She kissed him again until his lips relaxed and parted. “See anyone you know?” She didn’t want the answer to that, but the question tumbled out unbidden.