Chapter Twenty-Five
CHASE
Lying on my sofa, I can’t tell if the warmth in my body is from the open flames flickering, the amazing sex we just had, or the knowledge that Lyric is mine again.
She’s on top of me, her head on my chest, her hair fanned out over my shoulder as I stroke her blonde waves, loving every second of feeling her naked body on mine.
It doesn’t get any better than this.
Her finger gently runs circles over my chest as we lie together in comfortable silence. I’ve never felt more at home in my home.
I guess my home is wherever Lyric is.
Her head slowly shifts up, her warm eyes boring into mine as I continue to run my fingers up and down her bare arm, and she exhales. “We both messed up. But if we can get through this, we can get through anything.”
My lips turn up in a smile. “Lyri, I don’t want to be apart from you. I had a realization earlier, and it gave me an idea, one I’d really like to run by you.”
Her eyes narrow on me as she pulls her lips into a tight, thin line. “Mm-hmm.”
“Wherever you are… that’s home for me. I can’t do this life without you. Being apart only made that clearer. And if we’re laying it all out, then there’s something else I need to come clean about.”
She shifts against my chest, her gaze sliding down to mine. “Another secret?”
I let out a slow breath, my jaw ticking with anxiety.
“Sort of. When we weren’t talking, I couldn’t handle the silence.
Couldn’t handle not being near you. So yeah…
during the day sometimes, I’d sneak into your backyard, toss a ball for Petey, and feed Polly through the window.
” Her expression stays unreadable, but I keep going, because she deserves the whole truth.
“And other times at night… I’d sit out front, under your bedroom window, waiting until you finally went to sleep.
To make sure you were okay. That you weren’t falling apart, it was the only thing that kept me sane. ”
She sinks back down on my chest, but her eyes lock on me. The corner of her mouth twitches slightly into a smile.
Not what I was expecting.
“I know,” she simply states.
I jerk back in complete shock. “Wait! What?”
She leans down, pressing a light kiss on my lips, then pulls back.
“I saw traces of apple in Polly’s cage, and I knew he wasn’t getting it from me.
It all started clicking into place… the footprints outside in the garden, the noises outside my window, the sexy-as-sin dogsitter Mrs. McIntosh kept talking to me about.
Plus, today, Polly kept repeating, ‘love her.’ ” I let out a small laugh.
“I knew, Hallmark. I just didn’t want you to know that I knew.
It made it easier knowing you were still with me in some small way. ”
I move my hands to her bare ass and grip tighter, pulling her closer to me. She lets out a small moan. “You saucy little minx. Were you playing me?”
“You were stalking me! It’s a felony to stalk people, you know?”
“You trying to send me back to prison, Starlight?”
She leans in, pressing her lips to mine softly. “Hmm… maybe. I have a thing for orange jumpsuits.”
I groan, rocking my hips into hers. “Don’t even joke about that. We’re moving off-topic.”
She kisses me again. “And what topic is that?”
I chuckle. “That I don’t want to be without you. Here’s the deal…”
She pulls back, her eyes focusing in on me, taking on a more serious expression. “We’re making a deal?”
“We touched on this before, but this time, it’s happening.
No more waiting. Either you, Polly, and Petey are moving into my place, or I’m moving into yours.
And honestly, I’ve got zero problem with that, because your house already feels more like home than mine ever did.
The point is, I need to be with you, Lyri. With you and our boys.”
Her eyes shimmer as she bites her bottom lip, the emotion behind her question catching in her voice. “Our boys?”
I reach out and brush her hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger. “Yeah. Polly, Petey, you, and me. That’s a family. Our family. And we should be under one roof, where we belong.”
She suddenly shifts, slipping off my lap and settling beside me. The air thickens. I move with purpose, careful not to crowd her but not pulling away either. I’ve just gotten her back, I’m not about to mess this up by rushing her, but I won’t pretend I don’t want it.
Because I do.
Badly.
When she takes my hand, my chest loosens just enough. A single tear slides down her cheek, and I lean in, wiping it away. But the tension’s already curling in my gut, making me want to hurl.
She turns to face me, serious now. “Chase, I moved out of Beverly Park to get away from the music lifestyle. Or maybe I should say… that lifestyle.”
My blood runs cold. The thought of losing Lyric again slams into me with the force of a hurricane. We’ve barely had a minute to breathe, to start putting the pieces back together, and now this?
“But if I’m going to be with a music producer, then I’m going to be surrounded by it, right?” she says, shrugging like it’s no big deal.
My pulse kicks up at her words. She’s not just accepting my life, she’s choosing it.
“So, I may as well have all the offerings that life has to bring without having to do any of the work.”
I close the space between us, my voice low. “You’re moving in here?”
Her gaze drifts across the sunken living room before she dips her head in that soft, damn-near-shy way that always wrecks me. “Yes. Me and our brood of pets.”
Ours. Hell, I like the way that sounds more than I expected.
I tug her close, wrapping her up in a hold that says she’s mine now, no questions asked. Pressing a kiss to her temple, I murmur, “You’ve just made me the happiest bastard on the planet.”
She gives me that teasing look, the one that makes my cock twitch like it’s already prepping for round two.
“Polly’s gonna be thrilled he gets his apple from inside now instead of through the window. Honestly, Chase, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. You keep pretending you’re not some Hallmark-movie type, but you’re proving yourself wrong at every turn.”
I smirk, cocky but honest. “Didn’t want Polly going without. And truth is, I missed that foul-mouthed little asshole.”
She leans in, her bare skin pressing to mine, one breast sliding slow and deliberate across my chest like she knows exactly what it’s doing to me. My cock stirs, twitching beneath her, already needing more.
“The fact you fought so hard for us…” she whispers. “It means everything.”
“I love you, Lyri. I’d burn the world down if it meant putting you back in my arms.”
She kisses me soft and slow, and fuck if I don’t want to pull her right back into my lap and finish what we started. But just as quickly, she pulls away, wide-eyed. “Shit, I punched Dax in the eye. I need to apologize to him.”
I let out a low laugh, shaking my head. “You’re seriously thinking about Dax while you’re naked with me?”
She rolls her eyes. “Not like that. I feel bad.”
“Don’t. He’ll be thrilled when I tell him we’re good. He was in on my elaborate plan to win you back. Hell, he’ll probably throw a damn parade.”
She softens, then grows serious again. “I want to thank him, and I want to meet your parents. Properly. I know they matter to you. I want to know the people in your life, and no more secrets, no more walls. Even if they try to pitch me on signing with Ego Star.”
I grunt, already bristling at the thought. “They can try, but you don’t have to worry about that. You’re not signing with them. Not now. Not ever. I’ve got you, and I’m not letting anyone, including my own father fuck that up.”
“Oh, believe me, I know. I’m quite happy being the florist girlfriend of an EVP. That will do me just fine.”
I entwine our fingers, examining her left hand, and a thought crosses my mind.
She laughs at the blank expression on my face. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, just looking at the size of your minuscule fingers.” I thread our fingers together again, then kiss the back of her hand. “Your hands are so tiny compared to mine.”
“You love what my tiny hands can do to you, Mr. Covington.”
I roll her onto her back, forcing a humor-filled squeal from her lips. “Hell, yeah, I do.”
The Next Evening
Lyric’s practically glowing as we drive to her parents’ place for dinner.
It’s been three long years since she’s seen them together, and tonight, she finally gets to sit across from the two people who shaped her world.
I feel the nerves humming beneath her excitement, the kind that only comes from reuniting with the type of love that never really leaves you.
She can’t even remember the last time her whole family was in one room.
Between her brother and sister, who were off touring, and everyone’s lives pulling them in different directions, the timing never works out.
But today, she’s like a kid on Christmas morning, bouncing in her seat, practically buzzing with anticipation just to hug her mom again.
“Calm down, Starlight, you’re going to wet yourself,” I tell her as I pull up to the tall gates with a gold treble clef in the center. There’s no mistaking the fact that rock royalty lives here.
She bounces in the seat again. “I think I just might! Chase, I’m so excited. I haven’t seen them together for so long. And they’re here. For me!”
It’s about time they paid attention to their eldest. Her life could have been so different. She could have had her name in lights, and she could have been a superstar, just like they all are. But she’s not, because of the life they made her live and the people she met.
I get it.
I know why Lyric doesn’t want this life, and I will stand by her.
I do mourn for the world and the loss of her talent, though.
Her experience showed her how easily the bad in this world can drown out the good.
As I said, I get it. It’s her choice. I support her in it.
It’s just sad that only I will experience her gift.