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When the door opened, Co
Phillip and his sidekick, Barry, smoothed their suits and looked questioningly at Co
They motioned him toward a slightly less congested area and the two men accepted a drink from a gangly boy who couldn’t be more than a teenager. When they offered Co
He peered around the room, which, after more consideration, was much larger than he’d first thought. It was just crowded. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried not to look as bored and as uncomfortable as he felt.
A few seconds later, the door burst open and Lyric stumbled in, a wide grin on her face. Two men he could only assume were her bodyguards flanked her. He arched one eyebrow as the bodyguards proceeded to get very up close and personal as they staggered in Co
As one hand closed around her breast, she swatted playfully, then smiled up at the bodyguard with a “not now, later” look.
Another man stepped in front of Lyric, halting her progress toward the record execs. She frowned and her eyes narrowed but just as quickly her expression became neutral as she stared up at the guy.
“You looked and sounded like shit out there, Lyric. What the hell is your problem?”
Co
“You need to use this time off to get your act together,” the guy continued. “Get a massage. Get laid. Whatever it takes, but don’t show up in Houston sounding like a screechy has-been.”
Whoa. This was starting to get entertaining.
“Who’s the guy?” Co
“Her manager, Paul.”
Co
“He always talk to her like that?”
Phillip gave a short nod. “Yeah. Look, you’re going to have to deal with him. There’s nothing I can do about that. But you work for me. Not that little prick. Remember that.”
The men went silent as Lyric finally pushed by her manager and then she came up short when she laid eyes on Co
When he finally lifted his gaze to meet hers, he saw crystal blue eyes staring back at him with the same disinterest he knew had to be reflected in his gaze. She adopted a bored look as her two minions continued pawing at her.
His gaze moved purposefully to her hair. Jet-black strands shot in different directions and a neon pink streak of color ran from the top of her scalp down the side of her head on the left side.
“Nice hair,” he said.
Amusement glimmered for a moment in her eyes before she looked pointedly at Phillip and Barry.
Phillip stepped forward, a broad, indulgent smile on his face, and why should he be anything else when this chick was likely making him millions?
“Lyric, I’d like you to meet Co
She flashed a challenging stare and didn’t extend her hand, but then, neither did he.
Finally she broke and looked over at Phillip. “You know my feelings on this. Why is he here?”
Co
Barry frowned and stepped forward. “Now, Lyric, we’ve discussed this. Malone and Sons comes highly recommended. You don’t have nearly enough security, and after the last few months, you of all people should see that you need more.”
She reached up to shove one of the bodyguards, who was nuzzling at her neck. Instead of being rebuffed, he settled back, a lazy smile on his face that suggested he’d be satisfied later.
If these were the morons charged with her safety, it was no wonder her record label was screaming for more. Their only concern seemed to be how quickly they could get into her pants.
Her gaze found his again, and her eyes narrowed. He looked calmly back at her, refusing to be the one who backed down. He didn’t much care if she could read his disgust. It was doubtful he could hide it anyway. No one was that good an actor.
His skin started prickling in peculiar awareness. The back of his neck itched something fierce, but he wouldn’t give an inch in this silent tug-of-war.
“I don’t like you,” she finally said.
To his utter horror, he went hard.
He smiled then. A lazy, “I don’t give a fuck” grin. It was either that or groan at his growing discomfort, and he’d eat nails before allowing her to know how affected he was by her. “The feeling, Ms. Jones, is entirely mutual.”
She frowned, then slipped an arm around one of the giants at her side, who immediately leaned down to kiss her cheek. The other huddled in close on her other side and she slanted a sly grin up at him.
She may as well have worn a sign that said “I’m fucking both of them” for all the discretion she exercised.
“I’d invite you to join us, Mr. Malone, but somehow you seem too uptight.”
He chuckled and prayed she couldn’t see his erection, because . . . damn. “I’m afraid I’m a bit choosier than you are when it comes to my bed partners.”
Color tinged her cheeks and then she turned away, both guards immediately surrounding her as she walked to the door.
Phillip cleared his throat next to Co
“Lyric is, uhm, shall we say a little difficult?” Phillip began.
Co
He was already goddamn insane because from the moment she said she didn’t like him, his cock had roared to life and said, Come get me.
The very last thing he wanted was a bratty pop star around him twenty-four/seven, one who gave him a hard-on every time she argued with him.
He’d be nothing but a walking erection.
Lyric walked into her suite and fended off Trent when he went for her top. Surprise flashed in his eyes when she instead headed for the minibar to pour herself a glass of water.
R.J. sidled over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Something wrong, Lyric?”
She shrugged him off, unable to explain why she could suddenly not bear for either of them to touch her.
“Just not in the mood,” she said darkly.
Trent chuckled. “But, sugar, you’re always in the mood.”
“Not tonight,” she said sharply. “I just want to be . . . alone. Okay?”
The two men looked at each other in shock, then stared back at her as if she’d lost her mind. And maybe she had. Alone? What was she thinking? She didn’t do alone. Ever. The only thing worse than being alone was being one-on-one with someone. She didn’t like either option and surrounded herself with people even in sleep.