"Ma'am." Dane nods at me, then turns his attention back to Alice.
Nothing like a bucket of cold water straight to the kisser to bring me back down to reality.
Did he just “ma'am” me?
"I sent her itinerary to Rafi at SBS. We need someone to get her from place to place." Alice and Dane are talking about me as if I'm not standing right here.
I glare at Dane's profile. This man went down on me in an elevator, and he has the nerve to show up months later acting like it's all business? I mean, I know I technically hired him, so itisbusiness, but still.
"Am I to stay out of sight?" Dane asks Alice.
"Yes," I respond icily.
“No,” Alice says at the same time.
She turns to me and sighs. "We would like—" Alice holds up a hand when I start to interject. "Fine,Iwould like you to be visible. I want it to look like Silver needs crowd control and protection." She turns to me. "We already have a few pics from Fox Falls with Hulk, so it will seem like you have a full-time bodyguard when he also shows up in shots from this concert."
Dane frowns. "Hulk?"
Alice doesn't respond, and he doesn't bother to ask me for clarification.
I cross my arms, furious about this entire debacle. Dane's eyes land on my cleavage before quickly darting back to Alice's face.
Well, well, well. Somebody deserves an Emmy for this little performance. He hasn't forgotten shit.
"Will do," he tells Alice before turning to me. "Are you ready to leave, Ms. Langford?"
I stare at him, wanting to tell him offandkiss him—in that order. "I need to get my bag."
I storm off toward the dressing rooms. While I'm certainly not a headliner at this concert, they did give me my own room, which feels like a luxury. I slam the door open and pull up my guitar case, using my knee to hoist it onto the makeup table.
"Do you need any help?"
As mad as I am at him, Dane's deep voice hits me directly between my thighs, sending a tingle of pleasure throughout my body. My skin heats as I think about all the positions I've imagined us in over these past few months—one being a private dressing room just like this. I've also fantasized about him having his way with me on the tour bus, in the backseat of a car, on stage in the middle of a concert, and pretty much every location I've been in for the last eight weeks.
"Do I look like I need help?" I snipe.
I throw items into my bag that I don't even need to take back to the hotel just so I have something to do with my angry energy—although I'm starting to suspect it’s less angry energy and more pure horny lust.
"No, ma'am."
"Excuse me?" I whirl around, my hands on my hips. My fury boils over when I find him standing in the doorway looking amused by my tantrum. Or as amused as Dane allows himself to get on the job, which means his eyes crinkle slightly at the corners. "Since when do you not call me by my first name?"
Dane shrugs. "I can call you whatever you’d like. You’re my client."
I glare at him. "Really? Do you kiss all your clients, or did Alice pay extra in Fox Falls?"
His lips tighten to a thin line as he steps into the dressing room and shuts the door behind him.
"You're the one who kissed and ran,Silver," Dane hisses.
I swallow hard, both loving and hating the way he says my name.
"What was I supposed to do,Dane?" I throw my hands up and stomp my foot in fury.
"You could have talked to me." Dane lowers his voice to a rasp. "I've never so much as hugged a client in my life. Hell, I've never had a kiss like that with anyone ever. Then I go back to the hotel and find a brush-off note?"
I shake my head, knowing I should have talked to him face-to-face, but I couldn't handle the heartbreak of that conversation.
