She groaned, feeling her privacy being shredded. What made it worse was the logical nature of Syon’s demands.
Shit.
“Can I win this argument?” she asked at last.
He shrugged and sat up. “Only if you want me to not worry about you.”
“Ouch.” She rolled over. “Kill the guilt trip. I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”
He kissed her bare shoulder. “Thank you.”
It was a whisper, but she heard how important it was to him. She turned her head and found him watching her. For a moment, it felt like they were connected, in that soul-deep way only he was able to touch her. It scared her, but at the same time, she craved it. Wanted to just sink down and roll around in it until it coated her.
“You should tell Yoon to lose the suit on show night.”
Surprise flashed across Syon’s face before he laughed. “Bet that was interesting to see.”
There was a squeal of a guitar from outside the patio door. The hotel faced a private pool area again.
“I promised the guys a look at what I’ve been writing.”
Syon stood up and pulled on some jeans. He walked through the suite and opened the sliding door. The evening air came in as he greeted his bandmates. Kate pulled on a dress so she could move closer. The four members of Toxsin had their laptops out and were reading the music. They were every bit as raw playing for no one but themselves, pushing the music out of their souls and sending a ripple of awareness across her skin.
It was who they were. She was fascinated by it. Even if she was slightly intimidated too.
Tomorrow, it would be on to a new city. It was almost like they were too much to contain in one city for very long. She fell asleep listening to them.
* * *
“Sushi!”
Taz landed on the ground outside the music coach when they pulled into Memphis, and cupped his hands around his mouth.
“You promised, Kate!”
“I’m pretty sure we’re having sushi tonight,” Kate said to Yoon.
He flashed her a grin and reached up to button the top button of his dress shirt. Undoing that button was as far as he’d gone in “loosening up” his wardrobe.
Syon caught her up against him. “Are you making dates with my band bro?”
“Taz has needs,” she explained.
Syon growled and nuzzled at her neck. “So do I.”
“Hey, Mr. Lead Singer”—Taz was suddenly there, pulling Syon away from her—“you have an interview. You know, the one that only wants the Marquis? Give me my sushi date. You’re busy.” He captured Kate’s wrist and started pulling her toward a waiting SUV. “Bye-bye, Mr. Lead Singer.”
Syon flipped him a double bird, one on each hand. But Cid was closing in on him. The road manager had his customary happy-go-lucky smile on his face. A makeup girl was there, with her box slung over her shoulder. Another polo-shirted team member had several pairs of Syon’s pants and leather vests on hangers. Syon gave in and walked toward another waiting SUV as the semitruck backed into the loading dock to begin prepping for the next concert.
Taz was fired up. He said a couple of things to Yoon in Korean as their driver took them through the business area of town. They ended up in Korea town, their SUV pulling up in front of a large restaurant.
There was only a single story to the place, but it was humming. There were tables with large burners set into them so you could cook your own Korean BBQ, with huge vents overhead to pull off the steam and smoke. But there was also a counter with sushi chefs behind it. Taz called out a greeting to them as they entered. Kate did her best impression of a bow before a pretty waitress guided them through the mass of people to one of the back tables.
Taz launched into a list of what he wanted.
And it was long. The waitress laughed at him before he finished, but she wrote it all down and bowed before leaving with a little wink for him. She was back within moments with the first tray sent over from the chefs.
“Syon hates it when he does solo interviews.”
“Really?” Kate looked up from her plate. “Then why does he do them?”
Taz was chewing and had to finish before answering. “You know, Cid is new to us. He’s got what he calls ‘fresh ideas.’ We’re all trying to give his marketing a chance. But it’s not good to split us up. Makes for friction. That could lead to trouble. I’m glad we went to the pub the other night. We need to be more than just party animals. I’m a serious musician.”
“Cid seems to steamroll right over that point. I’ve mentioned it to Syon. The fans love you guys for more than your image.”
Yoon nodded.
“You guys are tight,” Kate said. “It’s pretty awesome to see.”
Taz stopped before putting something in his mouth. It was clutched between his chopsticks. “You think so?”
“I do.”
“See, that’s why you and Syon work. You get it.” Taz looked at his plate and selected another piece of sushi. “So many chicks don’t understand. They get jealous. Don’t realize the…” He was searching for the right word.
“They don’t realize that being in a relationship means accepting each other for who they are,” she said. “Not trying to gain personal self-worth through getting you guys to split off from one another.”
Taz’s eyes widened. “Exactly. But that’s a lot easier said than done for most people.”
That was a solid truth. It was a balancing act, and it meant being flexible enough to deal with things like Ramsey walking through their bedroom from time to time.
It was all a part of Syon, and she’d be a liar if she said she wasn’t fascinated by him. That meant all of him.
An hour later, Kate stared at Taz and Yoon in awe. “Where are you two putting it?”
They laughed at her and tried to feed her. She blew her cheeks out and shook her head. The restaurant was fuller now than it had been when they’d arrived, with parties of people waiting outside for a table to open up. Waiters were carrying food around while waitresses brought out the beverages and condiments. The tables were so close, anytime someone got up, the chairs bumped together. English was the odd language. Most everyone around them was chattering away in some Asian tongue. The table behind them finished, and within moments, it had been cleaned and reset.
Taz raised his hand to call the waiter over but suddenly stiffened. His good nature evaporated in a flash. Kate turned to see a woman standing in the walkway. She’d been on her way to sit at the table behind them. Her face was white, her mouth open in a little expression of astonishment.
They were both frozen, staring at each other. Someone behind the woman suddenly noticed. An older woman came up beside the young one, grabbing her shoulders and hissing at her in Korean.
Kate didn’t have to understand the language to know when someone was cussing, or at the least being insulting.
Taz’s expression tightened. But he watched the girl, waiting to see what she was going to do. The older woman was chattering away and even pointed at Kate.
The younger girl suddenly broke out of her trance, turning her back on Taz.
“Time to go,” Taz said.
Taz pulled his wallet from the inside of his leather jacket pocket. He carelessly dropped three crisp one-hundred-dollar bills on the table and got up.
He was ten feet away before he turned, his face a tightly controlled mask of fury. He went up to the owner and passed the man several more hundred dollar bills. The owner looked back at the table where the girl was sitting with her family. She was looking at the tabletop as everyone seemed to be taking digs at her. She looked up, feeling Taz watching her. It seemed to be what he was waiting for. He raised his hand toward her, offering his open palm to her in a gesture that was overly gallant. He jerked his head toward the door when she only stared at his hand like she was really contemplating the offer.
She looked like she really wanted to take his hand. Taz hadn’t moved; if anything, he looked like he was leaning toward her.