No one had ever promised to always be there for her. Not her friends at school. And certainly not any of the guys she'd gone on dates with. Not even her parents, who had spent so much of their time at odds with each other.
Only Drew.
She looked into his eyes, wanting to ask how he could make her such a big promise. But when she saw the same vow in his gaze--and she felt it in his touch, as if heightening her pleasure would only serve to heighten his, too--any questions she might have asked were lost in the wonder of being with such an amazing man.
One who never just took what he wanted, but who gave. And gave. And gave.
Between one heartbeat and the next, another climax crashed over her, so strong that if Drew hadn't been holding her so tightly, she might have slid right off his lap onto the floor.
And then he was lifting her into his arms and carrying her into his bedroom. He sat with his back against the headboard and then brought her over him so that her legs were straddling his hips. Perhaps she should have been sated by now, but she was absolutely desperate to take him inside her body. Not just his fingers this time, not just his tongue. Every beautifully hard inch of him.
With shaky fingers, she reached down to undo the button and zipper on his jeans, but thankfully he was already working himself out of them and reaching for one of the condoms from the side table. He slid the protection into place, and then his hands were on her hips again, and he was lifting her up over him.
"I know we should be taking it slow, Ash. Last night was your first time, and I know you're not used to--"
She cut off the rest of his words by sinking down fast and hard onto him, taking all of him in one long, hot, perfect slide. Her breath whooshed from her lungs as he filled every last part of her, but she didn't wait to get it back before wrapping her arms around him and holding on tight as she rode him like the bad girl she'd never been until today.
"Can you hear it, Ash?" His words felt hot and damp against her earlobe as he groaned at the pleasure she was giving him. Giving them both. He bit down on the sensitive flesh, and she shuddered against him. "Can you hear the music playing?"
"Yes." Every moment she was with him was a symphony of pleasure. An opera of emotion. The perfect pop song that cut right to the heart of everything she was feeling. "Always."
The word always had barely fallen from her lips when Drew spun them around so that she was lying beneath him on the bed and his deliciously heavy weight was pressing her down into the mattress.
"Now, Ash." He gritted out the words as sweat dripped down from his chest to hers. "I need you to come again for me now. I can't hold back much longer."
"I don't want you to hold back, Drew. I'm desperate to feel you come inside of me."
His eyes dilated nearly to black right before he threw back his head and thrust into her so hard that she could barely hang on. He felt impossibly big inside of her as he took her again and again and again, and she loved every single second of it. Especially when every thrust brought her closer, took her higher, until the perfect moment when he gripped her hips and erased any distance that had remained between them, his climax setting off hers in a sequence of fireworks inside her body. The brightest, most brilliant and beautiful fireworks she'd ever experienced.
All because of Drew.
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 fiancee, 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.
&
nbsp; "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.