Her eyes widen and she draws in a breath. It seems like an involuntary breath, as though the starvation inside of her is guiding her movements, the same way mine is.
“I want it,” she murmurs. “I want everything.”
I sense a but coming, so I quickly cut in. I don’t want to put my woman in the position of having to constantly explain herself.
“So do I,” I tell her. “But there’s no way we’re skipping this date.”
“Are you sure you won’t tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope.” I grin. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
“Meanie,” she jokes, but her smile never leaves her enticing lips.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Billie
I walk around the empty theater, looking at the stage, at the spotlight shining down on a microphone. The place is empty apart from us, my hand in Aaron’s as we walk down the aisle.
The aisle.
It makes me think of a day I hope, I wish, I pray comes – a day that might never arrive if dad doesn’t give us his blessing. It makes me think of my man in a darker suit then the one he wore on our last date.
I look up at him, into his clean-shaven face, his defined jaw, his iron-peppered hair. He always looks so powerful and in control.
“Are we going to watch a show?” I ask.
He smirks in that way of his, lust and affection all mixed together. “We’re going to be the show. At least, I am. And then, afterward, if you want to sing… but there’s no pressure.”
My stomach swirls as he leads me to the front row, spinning me and pulling me into his arms. I could spend the rest of my life melting into kisses with Aaron and never grow tired of the way his lips feel, the firmness of his body, his pecs pushing against me.
I grab onto his shoulders with more confidence then before.
When we kiss now I know he’s not expecting anything else, and I find I can let myself go, not having to think about what comes next.
Ending the kiss, he softly lowers me into a chair.
Turning, he walks over to the stage. Instead of taking the steps at the side, he deftly leaps up, moving with impressive agility for a man of his massive size.
He walks to the side of the stage, out of view, and even now my betraying mind floods with the cruelest scenarios.
I see Aaron returning with Clay, the bully from high school, both of them laughing at me, Aaron grinning with a glint in his eyes as he tells me he could never truly want me.
I push it all away.
That’s the old Billie, the one who never thought Aaron would find me attractive, let alone want to be with me for the rest of his life.
Soft music starts to fill the theater, guitar strings strumming all around me, with a subtle piano behind it.
Aaron returns to the stage, standing in the spotlight, raising his hand slowly to the microphone.
I wish I could go back in time and tell the girl I used to be with the posters on her walls where life would lead her. I wish I could tell her that, one day, she was going to experience a personal show from Aaron freaking Blaze.
He stares down at me as he frees the mic from the stand. “I wrote this song last night.”
His rough voice resounds through the room, all around me, feeling like it’s infusing me with him.
“So go easy, eh?”
He smirks, and I let out a delighted giggle, excitement bubbling through me.
The music gets louder and Aaron starts to sing, using the husky voice he adopts for his slower songs. I clasp my hands together, sweat coating my skin, my heartbeat drumming in my chest and all through my body.
“I never thought I’d meet her,” he sings, his eyes never leaving me. “I never thought it could be true. I never thought she existed. Until I met you…”
Tears rise in my eyes. I feel like I’m inside a star, the light spreading, getting closer and closer to an explosion.
“A chance look off the stage, a moment too perfect to be real. And you broke me out of my cage, with a kiss that made a broken man feel.”
His singing voice gets even huskier, breathier as the music increases in volume. I can’t take my eyes off him, the way his muscles flex and his chest expands with each note.
“My Billie, sweet Billie, the only woman I’ll ever need. My Billie, sweet Billie, only with you I can be free. Oh, Billie, sweet Billie…”
A sob moves up my throat, trying to choke me, as I bring my hands to my face to paw at the tears.
The music drops, the guitars overriding the piano, the drums kicking in as he starts to move up and down the stage.