Chapter 25: On Our Own

Arms wrapping around my body and legs tangling with mine woke me up. The bus was still, silent, but I had no idea if we'd reached our new destination, or if we were still in Jersey. Smiling, I stretched as best as I could, then cuddled into the chest behind me.

"What time is it?"

"Late," he murmured. "They're still tearing down the show. We'll leave sometime tomorrow. I missed you last night. I couldn't sleep without you next to me."

I turned around to face him. Due to the confined space, it took some effort. I bumped my elbow against the wall and almost kneed Kellan in the groin again. He was prepared for it this time though and nimbly backed away just in the nick of time. When we were facing each other, we melded back together.

Kellan cupped my cheek. "Hey."

Pulling him tight, I smiled against his lips. "Hey."

Kellan's lips danced against mine, his tongue lightly probing. Hoping we were the only ones on the bus, I clutched at his shirt, wanting it off. Leaning over me, Kellan helped me out and pulled it over his head with one hand. I shoved it in the corner and ran my hands up his bare back as he settled over me. "Hey," I said again, my smile brighter than before.

"Always so eager to undress me," he whispered, his lips traveling to my neck.

I suppressed a giggle as I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of his body over me, around me. I loved getting lost in him. As his fingers traveled under my shirt and across my ribs, he breathed in my ear, "Any troubles leaving the hospital?"

Hyperaware of his h*ps above mine, separated from me by multiple layers of clothing, I sucked in a ragged breath. God, I really hoped no one else was awake. "Aside from some fans telling me that they wished I'd never been born? No. No problems at all."

The tips of his fingers paused at the base of my breast. "What?"

He pulled back to look at me, concern in his eyes. I shook my head and tried to scoot down so that his hand would move up. Didn't work. "It was fine. I'm fine."

Kellan slid off to my side, his hand retreating. Knowing our moment was over, I sat up on my elbow. "They threatened you?" he asked, an edge to his voice.

I shook my head. "No . . . they just expressed their dislike. Nobody touched-" Remembering being shoved a couple of times, I changed my sentence to, "Nobody hurt me."

Kellan sat up as much as he could. It wasn't very much. He leaned over on his elbow as he rested on his hip. Even though it was dark, I could tell that he was deep in thought.

"Kellan, nobody hurt me."

He peeked up at me, his lips in a hard line. He was pissed. "This time. Nobody hurt you this time." Looking away, he muttered, "This is such bullshit. You're my wife." He looked back at me. "Tory had us doing this meet-and-greet/concert for a high school that won some contest to have us there. It took all goddamn day. I was so freaking busy that the only person I had time to talk to was you. I hate that this has festered for so long. My silence isn't helping anything."

He looked angry and frustrated that he couldn't stand up for me yet, that all of this was snowballing so fast and he just didn't have time to react. Kissing him, I pulled him back down on top of me. "It's only been two days, and it's not your fault."

Kellan didn't answer me, just tentatively kissed me back. I could tell he was still stewing over the problem, a problem that I knew would still be there in the morning. Being together was what was important, and I wanted to enjoy the current moment with him. Threading my fingers through his hair, I pulled him into me. He let out a soft groan and kissed me back with a lot more intensity.

When his h*ps were in line with mine again, grinding into me at a delicious tempo, I let out my own exhale of ecstasy. Damn, I didn't care if we weren't the only ones there anymore. The guys all had iPods, anyway. I needed Kellan, and he needed me too. His hand slipped down the back of my lounge pants, under my panties. I arched my back as much as I could in our confined space, silently begging him to touch me. In my ear, Kellan growled, "I want you."

That did me in. While the ache building in me pulsed to life, my hands slipped down to Kellan's zipper. Wanting to snuggle with me, Kellan hadn't gotten ready for bed yet. I was more than happy to help him finish undressing.

Groaning as I unfastened his jeans, Kellan husked out, "But I want you . . . safe."

I paused and looked at his face. His eyes were blazing with desire, his lips were parted, and his breath was fast. I knew he wanted me, but I also knew he was still concerned about me. "Kellan, don't worry-"

He cut me off. "I heard you talking to Denny about fleeing back home. You were joking, but . . . maybe that's a good idea. Maybe you should head home until I have a chance to set this straight."

I couldn't believe he was actually suggesting that. "No, I want to be with you. Home is wherever you are."

Kellan slid to my side again. "I want to be with you too, but I can't stand the way people talk about you. It makes me want to kick every single one of their asses. And I don't want you around me if it's dangerous for you." I started to object, but Kellan cut me off again. "I saw that girl slap you, Kiera, so don't tell me it's not dangerous."

I closed my mouth and changed what I'd been about to say. Voice calm, I told him, "You said we needed to carve out time for each other, otherwise none of this mattered. You remember telling me that?"

Kellan sighed. "I know, but that was before things got so messed up." He ran a finger across my cheek. "And who is to say that anything will change when I do make another statement. They're so curious about my life, they might still hound you. They might still hate you, call you names. I can't handle that. I can't do my job if I'm constantly worrying about you. I just want you safe, even if that means we have to be apart."

He looked really guilty at playing the job card, but I knew he was frustrated with the situation and was being totally honest with me, and I respected him for that honesty. My answer to him was just as forthright. "And I just want to be with you. I can handle being mobbed. I can handle being photographed. I can handle being ridiculed. And I can even handle being slapped . . . on occasion." I grabbed both of his cheeks. "What I can't handle is people forcing us to behave in a certain way. People forcing us to be apart. We're not playing their game anymore, remember? We've fought too hard to be together. It's us against the world, Kellan, and they don't dictate our relationship. We do."

A slow smile curved Kellan's lips. "This attitude you've got right now is very attractive."

I laced my arms around his neck and brought his lips down to mine. "Then stop trying to send me away, and make love to me."

Eagerly returning my kiss, he finally helped me take his jeans off.

When I woke up sometime later, I was nak*d. I felt around for my clothes, but couldn't find them anywhere. That was alarming, since there weren't a whole lot of places for clothes to hide in our small cubby. Opening my eyes, I looked around for my pajamas. It was lighter, so I could clearly see everything around me, and I still didn't see them anywhere. Sitting up on my elbows, I noted that the bus was moving.

Kellan was asleep beside me; if I'd woken up before him, then he really hadn't slept well the night before when I was away. His clothes were nowhere to be seen either. What the hell? I clearly remembered shoving our clothes in the corners, because I didn't want them falling in the aisle again.

I nudged Kellan in the ribs. He made a noise that sounded like, "What?" but he didn't open his eyes.

"Kellan? Are our clothes on the floor?"

Maybe we'd been so caught up in the moment last night that they'd fallen out despite my precautions. Kellan cracked an eye open, then yawned. "What clothes?"

I laughed at him. "The clothes neither one of us are wearing."

Kellan smiled and rolled over to put his head on my chest. "Those are my favorite kinds of clothes."

His hands started traveling up my body, and I closed my eyes. Mmmm, his hands felt nice. Feeling playful, Kellan grabbed the blanket with his teeth and exposed my chest. Before I could stop him, his mouth was sucking on my breast. God, what was I missing? Forcing his head away so I could think clearly, I glared at him. "Could you take a peek and see if they're on the floor?"

Kellan's eyes were locked on my chest. "You sure you want me to do that?"

Giggling, I pushed his shoulder away. "Yes, please find them."

Kellan peeked his head out of the curtain, then instantly returned. He was frowning. "There's nothing out there."

I sat up, looked at all four corners, and even under the sheet. There were no clothes. "Where's our stuff then?"

"I don't-" Kellan stopped talking, then sighed. "I'm gonna kill that f**ker, new dad or not."

My eyes went wide as I tucked the blanket under my armpits, completely covering my chest. "Griffin stole our clothes?"

Kellan cocked an eyebrow in answer. I wanted to be mortified that Griffin had peeked in on me while I was sleeping, and I really hoped I'd been fully covered by the blanket, but Griffin being a jackass was so wonderfully normal that I ended up bursting out laughing. Normal was good. Normal was great. I almost wanted to kiss Griffin. Almost.

The look Kellan gave me made it clear that he thought I'd officially lost my mind. Maybe I had, but Griffin's mischief was so much better than a complete stranger telling me I was worthless garbage.

Giggling, I pushed Kellan's butt with my knees. "Go get some new clothes for us."

Kellan groaned as he stuck his legs out of the curtain. "You want me to go out there nak*d?"

I held the blanket tighter around me. I may think Griffin's joke was funny, but I did not want to sit here with no clothes on with only a thin fluttery curtain as cover. "Do you care if you're nak*d, Kellan?"

Kellan gave me a crooked grin. "Not really." He leaned over to kiss me, then hopped out of the cubby. "Back soon."

Covering my face, I laughed into my hands. God, I hoped he managed to get into our bags without too many people seeing him. He was gone longer than I thought he would be. If it were me, I'd be running. Curious, I peeked my head out of the curtain. I couldn't see anybody, but I heard them. Some of the guys were still snoring, and some of them were in the lounging section. I could hear Gibson crying too. Our things were in the other direction, in a closet near the bathroom. Just as I was wondering where Kellan was, he reappeared from the curtain separating the cubbies from the back of the bus. He was fully dressed, laughing to himself. I wondered why until Anna stepped out of the curtain a second later. Oh God, had she seen him nak*d?

Anna smirked as she walked by him. Leaning down when she passed me, she scuffed up my hair and murmured, "Your husband's got a nice package." She looked back at him, winked, then returned her focus to me. "Lucky girl."

My face filled with heat. Yep, she'd finally seen Kellan in all his glory. Awesome.

After Anna left, Kellan squatted in front of me, clothes in hand. "Here you go." He laughed. Where I would be mortified at being caught in my birthday suit, Kellan was just amused.

When we walked out to the lounge, Griffin was watching Anna discretely breastfeed Gibson. A few days ago, I would have expected him to have a scandalous gleam in his eye while watching an act like that, but he wasn't looking at Anna in a devious way. In fact, he wasn't looking at Anna at all. His eyes were locked onto Gibson, and a small, peaceful smile was on his face as he watched her eat.

Kellan interrupted his moment by smacking him on the back of the head.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Griffin scowled.

Kellan pointed back to the cubbies. "That's for nabbing our clothes."

Griffin laughed and turned back to Anna, who was giggling uncontrollably now. "Oh yeah, that was awesome." He held his hand out to Anna and she gave him a high five. Turning back to Kellan, who was studiously ignoring my semi-exposed sister, Griffin added, "Gibson wouldn't go back to sleep so I paced the bus with her. We couldn't resist when we saw your jeans poking out of the curtain."