Chapter 4 #7
“She always has,” Kylee said with a smile. Then, quieter, “Unlike me.”
Rio glanced at her as they walked. “Is that what last night was about?”
She exhaled, keeping her eyes on the path ahead. “I’m married, Rio.”
“So?” His tone was soft but sharp, challenging. “You think that scares me off?”
Kylee stopped in her tracks, turning toward him. “It should.”
He moved closer, slow and deliberate, but didn’t touch her. “You think I haven’t met women in marriages before? I’m Rio Riot, sweetheart. I don’t wait for green lights, I blow through them.”
She tried to hold onto her composure, but her breath hitched. “That’s reckless.”
“That’s real,” he said. “Live your life now. Ask for forgiveness later.”
Kylee shook her head, half in disbelief, and half in awe. “That’s not how normal people think.”
“I’m not normal,” Rio said with a slow smile, his voice almost a whisper. “And neither are you. Not anymore.”
Her heart hammered in her chest. A part of her wanted to keep walking, keep pretending, and keep control. But another part, a louder, wilder part leaned in toward the heat of him.
“You don’t even know me,” she said.
He grinned. “Maybe not yet. But I know that fire in your eyes. I know what it means when a woman like you gets a taste of freedom.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He was too close. Too intoxicating.
And still… she turned away.
“Let’s keep walking,” she murmured, more to herself than him. Rio didn’t argue. He just followed, the space between them crackling with everything left unsaid.
They continued down the winding path, Rio a step behind her, hands tucked into his back pockets like he wasn’t in any rush.
Kylee could feel the weight of his gaze without even looking at him.
It pressed into the bare skin at the nape of her neck, crawled down her spine, made her hyperaware of every sway in her hips.
“So,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “Is this where you pretend I don’t exist for the rest of the day, or...?”
She smirked, glancing at him over her shoulder. “That depends. Are you going to keep being so full of yourself?”
He held up both hands. “Guilty as charged. But I also happen to be charming. Devastatingly, according to America's Hottest Rock star magazine.”
Kylee laughed despite herself. “You’re impossible.”
“No,” he said, stepping beside her again, his shoulder brushing hers. “I’m just not used to being told no. Especially not by women who come to my shows.
Her cheeks flushed. “oooh okay .”
Kylee tried to suppress her grin, but failed. “You’re dangerous.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It is. I’ve got a husband, three kids, and a house in Idaho.”
Rio leaned in a little, voice low. “And yet here you are, walking through a garden with me in New Orleans, blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush.”
Kylee’s breath caught again. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
He tilted his head, eyes scanning her face. “Too late.”
They walked a few more steps in silence, tension twisting deliciously in the air between them.
“Is this how you get every girl?” Kylee asked, almost teasing.
“No,” he said easily. “Just the ones who pretend they don’t want me.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “God, you’re arrogant.”
He grinned wide. “And yet, here you are. Still walking with me.”
Kylee stopped again, this time with a knowing smile. “Just because I’m walking with you doesn’t mean I’m falling for you.”
Rio leaned in one last time, close enough that his lips hovered near her ear. “That’s the thing, Kylee. I don’t want you to fall. I want you to jump.”
She inhaled sharply as he stepped away, hands back in his pockets, striding ahead without looking back. Kylee stood frozen for a beat, heart pounding, and her pulse singing in her throat. This man was a wildfire and part of her was already smoldering.
Just as Kylee was starting to catch her breath and reign in the flush creeping up her neck, she heard Kelly's laughter, bright and slightly breathless echoing from a nearby archway draped in ivy.
Rio slowed his stride, glancing toward the sound. “Guess we’re not the only ones enjoying the scenery.”
Around the bend, Mason had Kelly backed against the stone wall, his hand resting just above her hip, his head tilted in closer than appropriate for the public. Kelly was grinning like she’d won the lottery.
“Get a room,” Kylee called out with a smirk, folding her arms as she stepped toward them.
Kelly turned, completely unapologetic. “We’re working on it.”
Mason looked over and gave Rio a nod of solidarity. “Yo.”
Rio chuckled. “Didn’t think you’d last more than ten minutes before making a move.”
“Eight, actually,” Mason said without shame, his fingers still tracing lazy circles on Kelly’s waist.
Kylee raised a brow at her sister. “So… this is happening?”
Kelly shrugged, all faux innocence. “What can I say? He’s got rhythm.”
Mason winked at her. “Drummer perks.”
Rio leaned closer to Kylee again, stage whispering, “She gets a drummer. You get a lead singer. Feels balanced to me.”
Kylee nudged him with her elbow, laughing. “In your dreams.”
“Every single night,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.
Kelly peeled herself off the wall and took Kylee’s arm.
“So what did I miss? Anything steamy on your walk?”
Kylee gave her a warning look. “Don’t start.”
Rio grinned behind them. “I tried.”
Mason burst out laughing. “Dude, she’s making you work for it.”
Rio sighed dramatically. “It’s almost inspiring.”
Kelly looped her arm tighter through Kylee’s. “Come on, let’s find somewhere to sit before Mason decides to start a drum solo with my pussy.”
Kylee groaned. “Gross.”
“Jealous,” Kelly sang.
Rio fell in step beside Kylee again, and this time he didn’t say anything but the heat in his glance said enough. Kylee wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to ignore the fire flickering just beneath her skin.
They left the gardens behind and stepped into the busy French Quarter, weaving through the narrow streets until they arrived at a tucked-away courtyard café, shaded by old oaks and string lights that hadn’t been turned off since the night before.
A server recognized Rio immediately and ushered them to a private table in the corner, mostly hidden behind overflowing potted palms and hanging ferns.
Mason pulled out a chair for Kelly, who practically melted into it with a grin, while Rio waited silently for Kylee to sit before taking the spot beside her.
The moment she lowered herself onto the cushion, Rio’s knee brushed against hers beneath the table. He didn’t move it. Neither did she.
Kelly and Mason were already deep into flirtatious banter, trading inside jokes like they’d known each other for years.
Kylee was only half listening. Her body was buzzing not from caffeine or wine, but from the heat of Rio’s presence beside her.
Every time he leaned in to speak, his shoulder grazed hers.
His voice, low and gravelly, melted into her skin like smoke.
“You good?” he asked, softly, so only she could hear.
She turned her head just slightly, her lips dangerously close to his. “Yeah. Just… taking it all in.”
Rio smiled, slow and wolfish. “You look like a woman trying real hard not to give in.”
Kylee took a sip of her drink to avoid answering, the ice clinking loudly in the silence between them. “I’m not trying anything,” she said, setting her glass down, not meeting his eyes.
“Exactly,” he replied. “That’s what’s driving me crazy.”
Under the table, his fingers brushed lightly over her knee a subtle touch, barely there, but enough to make her thighs clench. She shifted in her seat, pretending to adjust her dress, but his hand lingered just an inch from her skin. Teasing. Waiting.
Mason leaned back in his chair, laughing at something Kelly had said, then pointed toward the open-air bar at the far end of the courtyard. “They’ve got a back lounge through there. Couches, shade, and strong cocktails.”
Kelly stood up immediately. “Say no more.”
As the four of them made their way toward it, Kylee lagged a step behind. Rio stayed with her.
“You keep walking like that, you’re gunna kill me,” he murmured just behind her ear.
Kylee looked up at him, her voice a mix of amusement and warning. “Careful. I might start to believe you.”
Rio stopped in his tracks and grabbed her gently by the hand, pulling her out of view behind a column near the lounge entrance. “Believe it,” he said, eyes locked on hers.
She tilted her head, keeping a sliver of distance between them. “Why are you being like this with me?”
Rio didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze held hers a second longer, like he was deciding how much to say. Then, quietly, he replied, “Because I know what he did.”
Kylee’s breath caught. “How do you know?”
He gave a faint shrug, mouth twitching. “Mason told me.”
“Mason?” she asked, brows knitting.
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Kelly told him that’s actually how you ended up backstage. He said you were going through hell, and I thought what the hell, why not give a little light to a bad week?”
Kylee blinked. Her chest tightened in a way that surprised her. She hadn’t expected that answer… or that kind of thoughtfulness. She swallowed hard.
“So this was… charity?” she asked, trying to sound playful, but her voice was thinner than she meant it to be.
Rio shook his head, his fingers brushing the back of her hand again. “No. It started out fun. But then I saw you. Like really saw you” That heat in his eyes came rushing back, crawling under her skin like a slow fire.
“I’m married,” she said again, her voice breathless now, barely audible.
“I know you keep saying that,” Rio said, leaning just close enough that their lips almost grazed. “And I also know he broke you in a way you didn’t deserve.”
She didn’t speak. She couldn’t.
“Live your life now,” he said, his voice deep and quiet. “Ask for forgiveness later.”