Bad for You

  Green was laughing as he climbed in after me and sat down in the middle. Legend was sitting up front in the passenger seat, and Matty was driving. Legend glanced back. “What’d I miss?” he asked as Green continued to be entirely too amused.

  “Nothing,” I snarled.

  Legend’s eyebrows went up, and he nodded before turning back around. “Got that,” he mumbled.

  “You always make him this testy?” Matty called back, looking at Blythe through the rearview mirror.

  Blythe tensed up beside me, and I was ready to get out and smash all their faces in. Leaning back, I slid my arm around the back of the seat and pulled her closer to me. “Ignore them. They get like this before we perform,” I told her.

  She relaxed into me. “Do they not like for you to bring women?” she asked.

  Unfortunately, she asked just loud enough for Green to hear her. He let out another laugh and turned to look back at her. “He takes ’em home, Blythe. He don’t bring ’em with him. You’re a first.”

  Her head snapped back up to look at me. I didn’t meet her curious gaze. I knew what she wanted to know, and I had no idea what the answer was. This morning I had been ready to put her at a distance when I left her apartment. I had been mentally preparing myself to keep the friend thing going, and nothing more. Then Green said the one word that sent my monster inside into a frenzy—Linc. I didn’t like the idea of anyone else spending time with Blythe. No one else needed her laugh like I did. No one else knew how to make her laugh, and no one else made sure she had everything she needed for her sweet tea. That was all me.

  The word mine kept rearing its head too, and I kept pushing that away. No one was mine. I didn’t claim women. Not my thing. If I was going to claim anyone, it would be Blythe, but then the idea of hurting her was too much.

  One argument with Jess, and I had gone off and fucked two girls backstage. Jess hadn’t given a shit. She’d been fine. She was tough, and she had her own walls. I couldn’t penetrate them. But Blythe, hell. What if I did something like that to her? What if I snapped and hurt her that way? I couldn’t think about it. Hurting her would destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to pull out of that.

  But then the name Linc taunted me. I couldn’t lose her to him, either. I couldn’t share her. She was . . . Fuck! That stupid word again. She wasn’t mine. She was her own person. She was her own beautiful perfect person. She didn’t belong to anyone.

  “Krit?” Her soft voice broke into my internal, battle and I gazed down at her.

  “Yeah, love?” I asked, wanting to kiss the frown off her lips. I didn’t like making her frown.

  “Where will I sit while you sing? I won’t know anyone there, will I?”

  I pulled her tighter against me. “You’ll stay backstage. You ca