She let out a quiet sigh and snuggled back into him, her body flush with his, and he went hot all over.
Down boy, he silently ordered his cock. All he needed was for her to wake up to his erection pressing against her back.
At that image, he groaned quietly. Jesus, but this girl was going to be the end of him! His self-control would be totally out the window by now if he didn’t feel so duty-bound to do right by her. That sense of duty made up so much of who he was and how he viewed himself, he knew he would never let her down by pushing anything on her. But damn, it was getting more and more difficult.
She let out another sweet, little sigh and turned onto her back. Those cherry-pink lips were only a few inches away. He wanted to kiss her. Needed to. But he wouldn’t do it. He wasn’t about to screw things up with her, especially her trust, even if every nerve in his entire body was lit up like the Fourth of July.
Yeah, the Fourth of July was almost here, and once they got through that show, what was next? She had a break scheduled before her next tour, but right now there was no one to set that up for her. He’d have to help her look into a new management team when they left the Ranch. She was going to have to recreate her whole career, and he’d be there to get her through it, no matter what. He intended to screen the hell out of any prospects. Kyra was never going to have to deal with another damn Richard again. He would see to that no matter what he had to do.
He laid there with her for a good hour before she stretched, and he realized she was awake.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he said. “How was your nap?”
“It was perfect!” Kyra said, her voice still a little rough and groggy. “What about you?”
“I didn’t sleep, just laid here.”
“How come?”
He wasn’t about to tell her he’d been fighting an erection and thoughts about punching out her cheating ex, so he said, “Had a lot on my mind.”
“Like what?”
“Like your show. Are you excited about it?”
“Mm-hmm. I am excited, but also nervous.”
“Why nervous? You’ve played to much bigger audiences before. This will only be a few hundred people.”
“I know. But once they see me on stage, everyone will know I’m the girl with blue hair, and then I won’t be able to do Little stuff here anymore because they’ll all know it’s me and I’m really sad about that,” she said, a sob building in her throat.
“Ky. Come on, Ky. It’ll be okay.”
“But when will I ever get to really be myself again? There’s nowhere else like this! And I have new friends here and Rock, I’ll miss them so much. I’ll miss the Ranch. I’ll miss Starling and Jett and all the other horses. But mostly I’ll miss getting to be me.”
His heart went out to her. He knew her life as a country star meant there was a lot of pressure on her, and this probably wasn’t helping, especially after being faced with losing the man who was supposed to be her manager and Daddy. He really did want to punch the guy, but right now he had to be there for Kyra.
He stroked her hair. “I get it. I do. But maybe you can come back and visit sometime? I’m pretty sure Derek wouldn’t mind.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. And if you want me to set it up, I will.”
“You would, Rock?” she asked, wiping at her eyes. “Would you come back to the Ranch with me?”
“Of course. You think I’m letting you out of my sight? Derek runs a tight ship here, but I won’t ever feel like you’re completely safe without me.”
A big smile lit up her face. “Me, neither.”
His heart twisted. He couldn’t imagine being away from her for any reason, bodyguard or not.
“So, what do you want to do? Mexican food for dinner again?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can stay here and have room service? I’m still kinda sleepy.”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
“In that case, I’m ordering dessert!”