21. Lilah
LILAH
You’re the song I don’t want to end.
—Lilah’s Secret Thoughts
“ H ey, Scottie.” I answer the call and toss my phone to the counter. “You’re on speaker, and my sister’s here with me,” I tell her and go back to the chicken I just pulled from the grill. Not gonna lie. I’m pretty proud of myself. This might be the closest I’ve ever come to cooking. Hopefully, it’s not raw.
“Hi, Scottie.” Dillan waves as if she’s in the room and keeps scrolling through the contract she’s reading.
“Okay well, let’s get right into it then. I fired Tasha, reminded her of her NDA and had her severance sent to her. I wish I could say I was surprised, but very little surprises me anymore. Better people than her have been caught selling secrets. I just hate that they were yours. I guess it goes to show you everyone has a price.” Scottie tsks like she’s admonishing a child, and I want to scream.
“You’re sure she was the leak?” I ask again, even though I know the answer. She’d been feeding information to the Kroydon Kronicles and anyone else who wanted to pay for a story. Just the thought of it makes me physically ill.
“We’re sure or we wouldn’t have terminated her contract. Now listen, Iris needs to know if we’re replacing Noah, and I need to know if we’re looking for a new assistant.”
Dillan looks up from the contract with wide eyes, suddenly very interested in the conversation. She knows the answer to one question but knows better than to ask about the other.
“Dillan is my new assistant. And before you say anything about working with family, she’s already looking over her contract, and the decision is final. As for Noah...” I look away from Dillan and back down at the chicken. “I’m still not ready to make that call.”
“Lilah—”
“I know, Scottie. But I’m not. And you can’t tell me that if we need a fill-in at the last minute, we don’t have ten guys in our arsenal completely capable,” I snap, unwilling to discuss this. Not yet.
“I didn’t say that, but I think you need to talk to Noah and make a decision. It’s been weeks. If you wanted to forgive him, you would have already done it.”
I grab the phone and walk through the kitchen door, fuming. “Don’t you think I know I need to make a decision? This is my brother, not just my bassist, And I’ll figure it out on my fucking time. I swear to God, I’d cut every last one of you completely out of my career if I could. So maybe think about that before you try to force me into a decision I’m not ready to make. You and Iris did the same damn thing Noah did, it just didn’t hurt as badly because let’s face it, to you and the label, I’m a dollar sign. But to Noah...” I trail off and spin around when the sliding glass door beeps as it opens behind me and Killian pops his head out.
“You okay, princess?” His voice wraps around me like a warm, weighted blanket, calming me.
I nod and press a kiss to his lips. “Yeah. I’ll be in, in a second.”
“K.” He wraps an arm around my waist and drops a kiss on my head, and I wait until he’s back inside before holding the phone back up.
“If you want answers, you need to give me answers. I want to know every single safety protocol that’s being put in place for the remainder of the tour. Tell Iris if she wants me on that plane, she’s got work to do first.” I disconnect the call and look around the snowy backyard. It’s beautiful and peaceful and everything I wanted when we planned this house, and I don’t want to leave it. For the first time since I jumped headfirst into this career, it’s more than just being tired. It’s more than a lack of excitement over the wear and tear a tour causes.
I don’t want to leave here.
I don’t want to leave home.
And I don’t want to leave Killian.
Ugh . . .
Back inside the kitchen, Maddox, Rome, and Killian stand around the counter, shoveling grilled chicken and brown rice into their mouths like it’s their job to eat bland food, and in some way, I guess it is. The three huge men make this room feel small, and when I move in next to my sister, I can tell she’s thinking the same thing.
“Everything okay?” I whisper, and Dillan smiles.
“Just thinking I’d like to be the cream between that Beneventi sandwich.”
“Oh my God,” I cackle, and every eye in the room turns my way.
Killian pulls me to his side, and Maddox groans. “You guys plan on coming out to the family any time soon or are you gonna just keep doing a shitty job of hiding it?”
“The Kingston Foundation event is this weekend. Pretty sure the whole family is going to be there,” Killian tells him as his fingers dig into my hip, and filthy thoughts flit through my head.
“Yup. Mine too, since half of them work for the Kings,” I add. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the whole world heard about us at my birthday party. I think we were the intro for TMZ the next day.”
“Yeah.” Dillan pops a tomato in her mouth and looks between the brothers. “Well, maybe just try not dry humping each other on the dance floor this time. Grandpa is going to be there.”
“Dry humping?” Rome laughs. “Oh?—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” I warn and pick up the knife from the counter. “And stay away from my sister.”
Both brothers laugh this time as Killian holds my hand steady. “Uhh... maybe put the knife down, princess.”
I shrug and put it back down. “I was just teasing.”
“You’re fucking nuts, Tinker Bell,” Rome exclaims with a gigantic smile. “I’m here for it. You’ve been hiding a kinky vibe. If you ever get bored of that oaf, call me.”
“Get the fuck out,” Killian jokes, and Rome gives him the finger.
“Make me.”
“Ohh... this sounds like fun,” Dillan sighs, and I wonder exactly when my life went off the rails.
“ C ome on... I’ve been dying to go in the hot tub while it’s snowing. Don’t be a baby,” I taunt Killian later that night, once we’re alone. “And besides, it’ll be good for your sore muscles.”
His pupils are big and dark and taking over half his eyes as he stares at me in the red bikini I put on in hopes I’d get just this reaction. “Princess... it’s cold out there.”
“It is.” I trail my finger down his bare chest, then drag my tongue along the same path. “But the hot tub will be hot, and I’ll be even hotter.”
I step back and turn away slowly, so he can get the full effect of the French cut, ruffled bottoms and the way they cup my ass, then dart out the door, knowing he’s following.
“Fuck, woman.” He watches me climb into the hot tub, then follows me in. “You’re lucky I love you.”
I sink under the bubbles and untie my bikini top, then fling it at his face and stay submerged so he can’t see the goods. “I am very lucky you love me.”
“Get that fine ass over here.” Yum... I love when his voice does that growly thing.
“Uh-uh...” He reaches for me, and I think about backing away—but really, why the hell would I? “Killian...” I giggle and wrap my legs around his waist while I make sure to keep mostly submerged under water.
“Love that sound, Lilah.”
I kiss the base of his neck, and his cock jumps under my ass. “Your name?”
“No, baby. Your laugh.”
“Aww... you say the sweetest things.” I lick up his neck and around his ear until he’s squirming. “How was training today?”
In a move so smooth I don’t even realize what he’s doing until it’s done, he unties both strings of my bikini bottoms and digs his fingers into my ass. “It was fine. How did everything go with Dillan? Did she take the job?”
He bobs up and down with me clinging to him so my boobs keep popping out of the water, covered in goosebumps. Apparently, men are simple creatures who are easy to please, at least according to mine. Feed him, fuck him, and show him my boobs. Not necessarily in that order.
“She did take the job. Scottie fired Tasha. And I basically threatened to fire Scottie, Iris, and Zoe. I think I need a sabbatical. I need to make a decision about Noah. I need to meet with Zoe soon to discuss PR strategy for the rest of the tour, and I’m sure I’m going to be lectured about this.” I dig my fingers into Killian’s hair and scrape my nails down his scalp until he’s putty in my hands.
“Lectured about what?” He takes my hands away and kisses my wrists. “What did you do wrong?”
“Zoe has always been adamant that I not be overtly public with my dating life, and I kinda blew that to hell at my birthday party. Not to mention we’ve got the Kingston Foundation thing this weekend and then your fight coming up. She’s not going to be happy.” Killian traces my bottom lip with his calloused thumb, and I wonder if I could come just from that when I feel every second of the touch deep in my core.
“First of all, I’m not your dating life, Lilah. I’m yours, and I’m not going anywhere. So she’s going to need to get over it. Second, if you want to get a new team, get a new team. You’re the only Lilah Ryan. They need you. Not the other way around. Everyone except Noah. Him you’re going to have to talk to at some point.”
“I’m naked in your arms at night, in the snow, with my pussy rubbing against your cock, and you want to talk about my brother?” I tease and tug at his bathing suit.
“Nope,” he answers as his mouth crashes against mine.