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Lane grasps my chin gently between his fingers and raises my head so I’m looking at him. His eyes are sparkling as he looks at me even though there’s still a little bit of sleep haze there. He kisses my forehead and murmurs against my skin, “Good morning, my sweet Calliope.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling tears welling up and not wanting them to fall. I can’t let them because it’ll show all my cards and my vulnerabilities. I want to be strong for him. I need to be strong for him. Nothing is going to change how much this hurts, but I don’t need to make it more difficult.
I make a noncommittal humming sound because what the hell else am I supposed to do or say? I feel the edges of myself, sharp and jagged. The hollow feeling I’ve been trying to ignore, the one which has grown each day knowing the end was coming, grows again. I almost gasp at the feeling, but I push it aside.
Stay strong. You are a strong woman, and you can do this.
“Calli,” there’s a warning in Lane’s voice, but it makes me squeeze my eyes tighter. If I look at him, I’m going to cry. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
I shake my head as much as I can considering he’s still holding my chin. “I can’t,” I croak out, my voice thick with emotion.
“You can,” he implores me. Even though I know it’s a bad idea, my eyes pop open. There’s so much understanding in the depths of Lane’s eyes that the floodgates open and I’m sobbing before I can take my next breath. His large, calloused hands rub up and down my back. I savor the feel of it against my skin, knowing this is the last time. “Oh, my sweet girl, you have to know I’m not going to let you go.”
I rear back and stare up at him, my voice a confused whisper, “What?”
He leans into me and kisses the tip of my nose and then my lips softly. “I’ve wanted to tell you for days, but I wasn’t sure how and I didn’t want to move too fast. Now I know I need to figure it the fuck out because I will not tolerate watching your heart break when I’m the cause of it.”
“I don’t understand,” my voice is a wavering note with a hint of hope.
“Calliope, you’re mine.” His eyes flash with possession which makes my pussy clench, and my nipples harden. “I knew it the moment I saw you and I shouldn’t have allowed even a moment of doubt.”
“This was just a fling,” my tongue can barely form the words and they sound like a lie, but I force them out just the same.
“No,” he barks, and I blink up at him, unsure and feeling like I’m standing at the edge of something while not knowing how far the fall is. Will he be there to catch me? “This was never a fling, 007. I was scared to tell you exactly how I felt and scare you away.”
I lick my suddenly dry lips, but it does nothing for my throat which might as well be a desert. Will he really make all my dreams come true? Because now all my dreams involve this man in my life forever. I blurt, “How do you feel?”
Before my next breath, Lane rolls us, pinning me to the mattress beneath him. My limbs wrap around him and hold him close. The weight of him, the way it makes me feel grounded and home, is perfect. I don’t ever want to be anywhere else.
I’ve known it for days, but I’ve been scared too. He’s fucking famous and I’m no one. I didn’t want to consider it, but it wouldn’t surprise me to know he has a trail of flings in his wake. I shudder with the thought because it turns my stomach as jealousy tries to rear its head. I push it back because his past has nothing to do with me. I need to be present right here, not in some fabled past I don’t know anything about.
“I talked to Kat last night. Remember,” he looks at me with so much hope in his eyes, “I told you about her? She does PR for WPF Records?”
I nod slowly, my words unsure, “I remember.”
“She told me I’m going to stay here one more week before going back to Denver. Then we’ll figure out what’s next. I’m sure it’ll involve some sort of apology or a statement or something.” He rolls his eyes, and I can’t help but laugh because I know he is not even a little bit sorry for what he did. If I was him, I wouldn’t be either. “Then I’m going back into the studio probably.”
“Okay?” I shake my head and close my eyes, trying to ignore the slice of pain at the thought of him doing it all alone. Not like I could be much help in the studio or anything, but I still want to be there for him. I want him to come home to me at the end of the day. I want to fall asleep in his arms every night.
“I want you to come with me.” My eyes snap open with his words and I’m staring into his brown eyes, the ones I always seem to get lost in. They sparkle with adoration and love causing my breath to hitch. “I need you to come with me,” He whispers. “I don’t want to do this without you. I’m not letting you go, Calli.”
“You want me to go with you? To Denver?” Is that my voice? The one tinged with hysteria? “Am I dreaming?”
Lane chuckles and then grinds the ridge of his shaft down against me, making me arch my back as pleasure floods me. “Does it feel like you’re dreaming?”
I shake my head, my voice wobbling, “No, it doesn’t.”
He grins at me, a lopsided thing which makes me want to beg him to fill me with his cock and his cum. I barely stop myself. “Maybe I’m still half asleep. I think I’m going to need you to spell this out for me. I’m supposed to leave today?”
“No,” his eyes flare and his voice is a booming command, “you aren’t leaving me. Never,” he snarls, and I find my fingers digging into the hair at the back of his head.
“I’m not leaving you?” It comes out more like a question than a statement. I mutter, “I don’t know why my brain is having issues with this, but I’m not processing very well.”
“I’m going to make this very easy for you, Calliope Stewart. There is nothing to process.” I find myself nodding slowly, soaking up every word. “You aren’t leaving. You are going to go and get your stuff from the lodge and we’re going to say goodbye to your family. I’ll be holding you at my side as we wave at them as they leave. You are staying here for the next week and then we will go to Denver together. Once we figure out the plan in Denver, we will find a time to go and get the rest of your stuff from your parent’s house so you can move into my place in Denver.”
I gasp and my eyes fill with tears for an entirely different reason. This is exactly what I wanted. It’s even more than I would let myself hope for. I thought, maybe, we could try the long-distance thing. He doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want to be away from me, and I feel the same way.
My voice breaks, “Why?”
