Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Sooooo….” The disk jockey drew out the word, then paused for dramatic effect, clearly hoping to keep listeners in suspense over what she was going to ask Drew next.
But he knew exactly what was coming. The same question he’d been asked a million times during the past few years.
“Are you seeing anyone? Are millions of hearts around the world going to break if you tell us you’ve finally found that one special girl?”
The previous night, Drew had told Ashley that he wanted the whole world to know she was his.
And this morning, after making love with her again and wishing he could just keep holding her instead of getting ready to do this interview, he wanted that more than ever.
But she’d asked him to keep their new relationship private, at least for a little while, and he needed to respect that.
Still, he hated lying. Hated it even more when Ashley was watching and listening to the interview only a glass wall away.
He caught her eye through the glass and hoped she could read his private message: You’re mine, Ash.
I’m yours. And the second you give me the thumbs-up, I’m going to let the whole world know.
Finally, he told the DJ, “This tour has been crazy busy. There’s no way I could go on a date with anyone right now.”
That, at least, was true. This tour was the most jam-packed he’d ever done—and he and Ash weren’t actually dating. One day really soon, however, he wanted to be able to take her out to dinner or a movie like a normal couple.
But he was trying to see things from her point of view.
She likely wasn’t only worried about what her father would think, but also about the inevitable complications that came with dating a guy like him.
Like the fact that her picture would be everywhere and people would want to know more about her…
and then whatever they could find out would likely end up on the Internet, too.
The thing was, he’d met enough people like Smith Sullivan and his fiancée, Valentina Landon, and like Nicola Sullivan and her husband, Marcus, to see that relationships in the spotlight of fame weren’t impossible as long as your partner was strong.
Drew had seen Ashley’s strength from that very first night they’d met. She clearly hadn’t felt like she fit in, but she hadn’t let that stop her. Being scared was perfectly normal. But transcending those fears was extraordinary.
Just as extraordinary as the way she made him feel.
Because after all these months of wondering just what the hell he was doing, Ashley had helped him understand again why he wrote and played music.
In the wake of his mother’s death, he’d been making the mistake of using his music to shove his feelings, his emotions, down.
Only, instead of working, it had made him feel more blocked by the day.
Finally, he understood that when he faced the pain and the fear—and when he allowed the joy to flow back in every second he was with Ashley—that was when the music started playing in his head.
Playing so fast and clear that even now he was trying to memorize the melodies and lyrics rushing through him.
“In that case, Drew,” the DJ said, “tell us what kind of girl you’re looking for. What qualities will the perfect girl need to steal your heart?”
Again, Drew couldn’t stop his gaze from moving to where Ashley was sitting behind the glass wall.
He was pretty sure she was blushing, even though she’d lowered her head to look at the tablet on her lap.
James was sitting next to her grinning like a fool.
He and Drew hadn’t talked about Ashley—even if his bodyguard had asked, he’d never kiss and tell—but his friend had clearly figured out that everything had worked out all right last night after Drew had left the party to look for her.
“My perfect woman is smart. Fun. Caring. Insightful. And so beautiful that every time I look at her I’m stunned by her all over again.”
“Wow.” The DJ fanned herself. “Do you think you’ll ever be able to find a woman like that?”
He grinned and finally told the truth to the whole damned world the way he’d wanted to all along. “Yes. The answer is definitely yes.”
At nine that evening, Ashley’s phone buzzed. Just seeing Drew’s name on her screen was enough to make her heart race, even before she read the message.
Can you come by my dressing room before the show starts?
James was standing beside her in the wings backstage.
The opener had come off ten minutes ago, and the crowd was getting antsy waiting for Drew to appear.
She was antsy, too, mostly because she hadn’t seen him since earlier that day when he’d been doing the radio interviews downtown.
He’d been deep in writing and recording mode the rest of the day, and she’d been just as busy working on her own brainstorming about the indie label.
That is, when she wasn’t daydreaming and getting all hot and bothered about the incredible things they had done together in, and out, of his bed.
She hadn’t thought of herself as a creative person before, but ever since they’d made love, the world looked entirely different. Brighter. Exploding with color—and endless possibility.
Before joining Drew’s tour, she’d been desperately worried about what would happen if she applied to Stanford Business School again and didn’t get in. But now?
She smiled, thinking about all she’d accomplished today.
Not just putting together a business plan for starting a record label.
But a record label that was artist owned and operated.
One that changed all the rules the music business had ever played by.
Ashley couldn’t wait to show her fleshed-out plans to Drew.
She already knew his feedback would be hugely helpful and important in working out the kinks.
But as she went to say a quick hello to Drew in his dressing room before he went on stage, the way her body was heating up more and more with every step had nothing whatsoever to do with the business plans on her computer.
And everything to do with needing to kiss him again more than she needed to take her next breath.
The security guard stationed outside Drew’s dressing room knew her on sight and smiled. “Go on in. He’s expecting you.”
This world of backstage bodyguards that had once seemed so foreign to her was now practically normal. When she’d joined Drew’s tour, she’d had no idea just how far and wide her education would go—on all fronts, both business and personal.
She’d barely opened the dressing room door when she was yanked inside. Her breath went as Drew simultaneously pulled her into his arms and locked the door behind her. His mouth crashed into hers a beat later, his kiss ravenous. Desperate.
Perfect.
His hands roving greedily over her body aroused her just as much as his lips did. God, she loved stroking her tongue across his. Loved, too, the rough, raw, seriously yummy sound of his groan as she kissed him back just as greedily.
“There were too many hours without you today, Ash.” His hands gripped her hips tightly, holding her flush against him as if he didn’t want any space there at all. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She wanted to kiss him again, but first she needed to know, “How was your recording session?”
“Really good. But it would have been better if you were there. Everything is better when you’re there.”
The next thing she knew, he was lifting her up, then placing her on the table in front of the mirror.
He was so much bigger than she was, and so strong, that he was able to pick her up as if she weighed nothing at all.
He slid off her jean jacket so that he could run hot kisses over every inch of the bare skin of her shoulders and arms that he’d just revealed.
She only had two dresses—the simple white one she’d been wearing when she fell into the pool and the fancier pink one Valentina had given her.
When he began to run his hands slowly up from her bare calves, she was really glad she’d decided to wear the white dress tonight.
There truly was nothing as good as Drew’s hands on her skin. Only his mouth could trump it.
“You taste so good,” he murmured against her lips as he slid his hands up to her thighs. “I need to taste more of you. Now.”
There was nothing she wanted more than for Drew to do just that. But the good girl still hovering inside of her couldn’t help but remind him, “You’re on in five minutes.”
“I know,” he said as he knelt on the ground in front of her and slipped his fingers beneath the sides of her panties, “but I won’t be able to make it through my show tonight if I don’t get to at least taste you now.”
She helped him lift her hips so that he could draw the fabric down her legs and off over her feet. Yes, the clock was ticking, but so was her body—a sensual bomb that was on the verge of detonation. Just as soon as Drew—
Oh God.
His mouth.
His tongue.
His hands.
Her head fell back against the mirror behind her as she tried to remember that there were people outside the dressing room who would hear her if she moaned too loudly.
But as Drew’s tongue and fingers played over her sex like the maestro that he was, it was nearly impossible to keep her pleasure to herself.
“Gorgeous.” He whispered the word against her overheated skin. “Mine.”
That final word—along with the perfect flick of his tongue—was all it took for her to start breaking apart. She threaded her hands into his hair and, through her lashes, stared in wonder at the beautiful man kneeling between her legs.
“Yours,” she gasped as he drew her orgasm out with both his mouth and fingers.
After the last blissful aftershock had finally rumbled through her, Drew looked up at her with eyes so dark with heat and full of intense desire that she lost her breath all over again.
She searched her pleasure-drenched brain for something to say that would let him know just how good he made her feel.
But just then, a loud knock sounded on the door. “It’s James. They’re ready for you out there, Drew.”
Drew didn’t rush to head to the stage. Instead, he threaded his hands into her hair and kissed her again. His kiss was still hungry, but alongside desire was so much emotion it overwhelmed her. Or maybe it was tasting herself on his lips, his tongue, that pushed her into overload territory.
All she knew was that, for a moment, she felt as though she were drowning. She simply didn’t have enough experience with things like this to know what to think or how to feel about everything that was happening. Especially not when it was all happening so darn fast.
Drew helped her down from the table and gently smoothed her skirt over her bare skin.
When she walked out of the dressing room, would people be able to guess what had happened just from looking at her?
Or would she still look like the good girl she’d been up until approximately twenty-four hours ago?
“Do you have any idea how happy you make me, Ash?”
Louder knocks sounded. “Drew,” James called, “you’ve got sixty seconds to get your ass out there before the audience starts to lose it.”
He gave her one last kiss, and the last thing she saw was his huge grin before he headed out the door to go and be a rock star.
Without his arms around her, her legs felt wobbly.
The truth was, her insides did, too. Not because Drew had made her feel anything other than special and precious…
but exactly for that reason. He seemed to care about her so much on all fronts—not only when they were making love, but when they were talking about business or family, too.
And she’d never felt this good, or this happy, before.
But she remembered hearing her mother saying to her father once how happy she was. That happiness had quickly spun toward hatred because her parents were so different.
Standing in the dressing room, Ashley knew she should be heeding those memories.
She shouldn’t be forgetting the hard-learned lessons of her childhood and giving herself so wholly, so completely to someone so very different from herself.
But letting down her guard for a couple of days—or weeks—wouldn’t destroy her, would it?
Their connection was intense and wonderful, and of course she hoped they’d remain friends even after the tour was over.
And at least she wasn’t foolish enough to think that what was between them now would last forever.
With a now that was this utterly, blissfully, mind-blowingly incredible, couldn’t she let herself enjoy every second of it without letting her worries and concerns get the best of her? Especially since it had been only twenty-four hours since making love with Drew for the first time.
She heard the screams of the crowd amp up and knew he must have just taken the stage.
Not wanting to miss a second of his show, she looked for her underwear so that she could put it back on and head out of the room.
But she couldn’t find them anywhere. Had Drew taken her panties with him when he left to go play his show?
Between knowing she was bare beneath her skirt as she headed toward the stage with the security guard silently accompanying her—and wondering if Drew actually was on stage with her panties in his pocket—her arousal immediately ramped back up.
Throughout the show, one that was so spellbinding she felt as if she were watching him perform for the very first time, Drew’s gaze kept returning to her again and again, just the way it had during his interviews that morning.
She blushed even more tonight than she had then.
Blushed and fantasized about all the ways she wanted to give Drew pleasure, just as he’d given her so much pleasure again and again.
She’d known she was pretty darn innocent before she and Drew had made love, but every time they’d come together had only proven it more. Every delicious moment in Drew’s arms was an epiphany.
“He’s on fire tonight, isn’t he?” James asked in the space between songs.
His question broke through her naughty thoughts, and her cheeks flamed at the way she was standing backstage mentally stripping off Drew’s clothes. Just because she knew every other woman in the audience was doing the same thing didn’t make her any less cool-headed about it.
“He really is.” Drew’s show tonight was truly spectacular, as if he had unearthed a new and even bigger well of creativity on stage in the same way that he seemed to have found his writing mojo.
“Like I said before, you’re good for him, Ashley. He hasn’t been happy in a long time. Not until you showed up.”
Ashley wasn’t egotistical—or delusional—enough to think that Drew’s huge breakthrough had come about entirely because of her. But she was beyond happy that she might have played at least a small part in helping him feel better about everything. “He deserves to be happy.”
“So do you,” James said as the next song started up.