Dane slowly stands and walks toward the bed.
I roll onto my back and pat the mattress. "Worried I'm going to bite?" I tease when he doesn't move.
A smile ghosts his lips, but it might just be the shadows playing tricks on me. He kicks off his shoes and climbs onto the bed, lying beside me. We both stare at the ceiling.
"You know, I never wanted this," I say softly, wanting to tell him something important, to explain why I ran all those weeks ago.
"You never wanted what?" He doesn't look at me, but his arm brushes mine, and his fingers flutter against my hand as we lie side by side.
I slide my hand into his, fully expecting him to pull away, but he cups his massive paw around my fingers, and my entire body calms.
"You never wanted what?" he asks again softly.
"To need you." I cringe, realizing how that sounds.
Dane removes any chance for clarification as he releases my hand. Damn it.
"Yeah, you've made that clear." His voice is strained, and I can hear the hurt in it.
"Not you personally." I swallow, worried that if I say this next part out loud, the career I've been building for the last decade will go up in smoke.
But screw superstition. I want him to know.
"I didn't want the fame."
Dane shifts his body toward me, and I glance at him, meeting his eyes. "I wanted to share my music with the world. I didn't realize it would be like this."
I turn toward him in bed, stopping myself from touching him. Dane's gaze bounces between my eyes and mouth. I lick my lips, needing to continue but desperately wanting to kiss this man.
"Sometimes I think I should have become a first-grade teacher like I planned before everything took off. Maybe I'd have a few babies by now and a husband who thinks the world revolves around me. I don't know."
Dane pauses so long that I decide he isn't going to respond, but then his deep voice fills the short space between us. "There's nothing that says you can't have that, Silver."
I shake my head, turning onto my back. I'm terrified to reveal what I'm thinking, but it's like the floodgates have opened, and it all comes spilling out in a rush. "I'm terrified to drag anybodyelse into the spotlight with me. I don't like having to worry about what the internet is going to think about everything I do—to hear how I'm selling out, or rising too fast, or my music isn't what it used to be when they've barely heard it yet."
I bite my lip, trying to hold back tears. "I want to keep the people I love out of the mess, because I know this isn't a real life for anybody."
I hear a growl, but I don't expect Dane to move so fast, which explains why I freeze in place as he slides on top of me. He pins me to the bed with his massive body, a move that should make me panic or want to flee. Instead, I wrap my legs around him like we've done this a thousand times.
"What gives you the right to make that decision for the people who love you?" Dane's face is a hair's breadth away from mine, his massive bulge pressed against my core in the perfect spot. "Some people are going to love you so much, they would follow you to the ends of the Earth if you asked them."
My heart soars, realizing what he's saying faster than my brain can process the information. My senses are in information overload. I couldn't move my hips if I wanted to, and the fact that he's large enough to manhandle my curvy ass has my panties soaked. Can he feel that? Oh my god. My chest heaves, and my heart races. I love the delicious weight of him on top of me.
I open my mouth to respond, and he slams his mouth onto mine. It's exactly like the first time—lightning and fireworks—the whole shebang. His tongue presses against the seam of my lips, demanding I let him inside, and I open willingly, desperate to taste him. His tongue slides over mine, slow and sensual, like he's mimicking what he'd like to do to the rest of my body. I whimper as a rush of desire reveals exactly how I feel about this turn of events.
"Tell me to stop." Dane pulls back suddenly, gazing deeply into my eyes. I stare at him in desperate confusion. "Once I have you, I’ll never let you go again, Silver. If you don't want more than sex, tell me to stop."
"Don't you dare," I pant, hearing everything he's saying.
"Silver—"
"I hear you, Dane. I do not want to stop." I lift my head to capture his mouth with mine.
We kiss like we need each other to live. His tongue glides along mine, and it's like he's using it a hell of a lot lower. My core throbs with need for this man, and I moan into his mouth as I squeeze my thighs tighter around his waist to relieve the building tension.
Dane's hand kneads my breast through my shirt, plucking my nipple as it hardens to a stiff peak. He breaks our kiss, dipping his head to suck my nipple into his mouth straight through the material of my t-shirt. I moan loudly as he laves at it, rolling my hips to get friction where I need it most. He comes off my nipple and turns his attention to the other one.
I slide my hands over his strong back, pulling at his shirt to feel his skin. He reaches behind his neck, tugging it off in a one-handed move I've only read about in books. Then my hands are on the waistband of his slacks as I try to pull them open by sheer force.
