"I don't like it," he said with a frown, "but I'm trying to respect your wishes, Ash. Although, when my family comes out to meet me in New Orleans tomorrow for my birthday--"
"We can't tell them." The words flew from her mouth before she could pull them back.
His frown deepened. "Because it will get back to your father?"
"Partly. But also because they love you and they'll think I'm just some scheming groupie who planned this whole research project to get into your pants."
His frown fell away as he laughed. "There's no way they would think that."
"Even if they wouldn't..."
She suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe right. When she was in the moment with Drew, when she was in his arms, when she was listening to him play his music, everything was so exciting, so exhilarating. But then, whenever she tried to come back down to earth, she couldn't stop the spinning, and it felt like everything was spiraling out of control.
Not just because her physical need for him was so overpowering, but because her emotional need for him was becoming just as strong, if not stronger. Even after he'd just made love to her, she wanted to be with him just to see him smile, just to hear him laugh, just to see him look at her again as though she was the most important person in the world to him.
"Ash." She felt his hands on her cheeks as he cupped her jaw, and she focused her panicked gaze on him. "I didn't mean to push you too fast. It's just that I already know what I want--you--and I'm not used to waiting. But I'll wait. As long as it takes, okay?"
Even though his words were meant to soothe, she could still hear the impatience behind them. Impatience for her to own up to being with him, not only in dark rooms in a concert hall or a tour bus, but with their families...and millions of strangers. All of whom would surely wonder the same things: Why her? And how long can it possibly last?
The knocking came again, louder this time, along with James's voice. "We really need to get to the meet and greet, Drew."
She made herself smile at him. "I can't wait to meet your family tomorrow, and to celebrate your birthday with you." He'd given her the best week of her life. No matter what, she would make sure that he had the best birthday ever. Which meant freaking out like this was not an option. She pressed her lips to his, then said, "Go make your fans' dreams come true. I'll be just a step behind you, okay?"
She opened the door before he could answer and gave James her biggest smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to steal Drew away from his fans. If they're mad, it's my fault, not his."
"No one's mad," James said.
But she didn't chance a look at Drew's face, in case it turned out that he was indeed mad at her for not happily claiming the place he wanted her take at his side--as his girlfriend.
Chapter Twenty-Five
New Orleans, Louisiana
The next morning, Ashley tried to slide carefully from beneath Drew's arm without waking him, but she'd barely moved when his arm tightened around her.
"Don't go." His voice was heavy with sleep, but intense nonetheless. As if he truly never wanted to let her go.
"I just want to get your birthday present."
With his eyes still closed, he smiled, but didn't loosen his hold on her. "I already have the best birthday present in the world. You, here with me in bed."
It would have been so easy just to snuggle back into him, but she knew how quickly Drew's world moved, especially while on tour. If she didn't give him his present now, who knew when she would get another private moment? Especially because she wasn't sure he would want to share it with anyone else. Actually, both of his birthday gifts--the one she wanted to give him now and the one she would give him tonight when they came back to the bus after his show--were private.
She pressed a kiss to his incredibly sexy mouth, loving the way his morning stubble scratched her cheeks before she pulled away. "I'll be right back. I promise." She slid off the bed and out of reach before he could stop her.
All week she'd been hoping that the gift she'd had made for Drew would be delivered in time, and thankfully, Max had taken receipt of it yesterday afternoon. He'd texted her right away to let her know that it had arrived at the venue's business office and he'd put it in her bunk. She didn't have any wrapping paper with her, but at least it was still in the box, so Drew would have the pleasure of opening that.
Taking the small package out of her suitcase, her heart started thudding hard in her chest. She so hoped Drew would like it and that her gift would make him happy. She'd taken a risk by making it for him, but it was one she'd been compelled to take.
He was sitting up with the sheets loosely pooled around his waist when she returned to the bedroom. Even though she'd seen him naked more than once, the sight of his six-pack abs, muscular chest and arms, and smiling face was enough to make her stumble as she came through the door.
"I feel the same way, Ash. Every time I look at you." His grin shifted from slightly wicked to very wicked as he added, "Especially when you're walking around the bus without any clothes on."
She felt her skin flush all over, but even though she wasn't used to being naked in front of anyone else, the way Drew looked at her when she wasn't wearing any clothes made that little bit of lingering shyness more than worth it.
She moved to the side of the bed and held out the gift. "Happy birthday."
He took the present, but instead of opening the box right away, he put it down beside him and pulled her onto his lap to capture her mouth with his. He was grinning when he let her up for air, resting his hands gently, but possessively, on the curves of her hips. "Have I mentioned yet today how happy you make me?"
"I'm pretty sure that's what you just did," she said, her smile so big it almost hurt her cheeks. Not only was she flushed, but he'd just melted her insides, too. "You make me happy too, Drew. And I really hope you like your present."
"I know I will. Because it came from you."
She wiggled back enough for him to pick up the gift. She laughed when he shook it, just like a little kid trying to guess what might be inside. In the same way that he liked to build up their anticipation when they were making love, he took his time undoing the tape on the small box. She always shredded packages as she tore them apart to get to what was inside. It was exactly the way she felt with Drew--utterly desperate to have him. And powerless to control her urges.
Finally, he reached into the box and pulled out a tiny handmade wood, steel, and porcelain guitar hanging from a silver chain.
"It's my first guitar." His words sounded choked, as if he could barely get them out. "The one my mom gave me." He looked up from the necklace. "How did you know what it looked like?"
"After you told me about it, I scoured the Internet until I found a picture of it." She was unsure from his expression whether she'd done well...or horribly. "I just thought it was so lovely that your mother bought you your first guitar and that you ended up being so inspired by--"
His arms came around her, hugging her so tightly against him that the oxygen she needed to finish her sentence whooshed out of her lungs.
"Ash." She could feel how hard his heart was pounding against her own chest. "This is the best birthday gift anyone has ever given me."
She smiled and hugged him back as relief hit her. But at the same time, tears threatened to come, too. Her parents meant just as much to her, and she couldn't imagine losing them. And yet, when was the last time she'd seen her mother? At least a year ago, on her mother's last trip out to California.
Drew's phone buzzed from the corner with James's ring tone, and she knew their private time for the morning was up.
"I'm really glad you like it," she said when he finally loosened his hold on her.
"I love it."
For a moment, he looked as though he was going to say something more, and her heart nearly stopped beating at the thought that he might be about to say he loved her, too. Nothing in her life had ever moved as fast as her relationship with Drew. It had all been amazing so far, bu
t in the light of a new day, all those worries she'd made herself stuff down last night wanted to come popping back up like the Whac-A-Mole arcade game.
In the end, though, all he said was, "That's my half-hour warning bell from James. How about we see if we can both squeeze into my shower before he comes pounding on the door?"
Silently bopping her worries over the head with a mallet so that, at the very least, they would go away for the rest of Drew's birthday, she smiled at her amazing rock-star lover. He was the only man who had ever made her entire body heat up like this, with nothing but a few naughty words.
"Is your shower bigger than the one I've been using?"
He already had her in his arms, had grabbed a condom from the bedside table, and was carrying her toward the shower. "A little bigger, but not by much." He grinned down at her. "We're going to have to get real creative in there."
Creative. Oh my, just the thought of getting creative with Drew was enough to nearly send her over the edge.
"I have a minor in math," she told him when he put her down to reach into the shower to turn on the tap. "I was particularly good with space-filling models. I could always make things fit that no one else could."
"Jesus, Ash." He dragged her under the water. "Show me." His hands roved in dangerous and wonderful ways over her naked, wet skin. "Show me how we fit together better than any two people ever have."
The water was hot, but she still shivered at the passion beneath his words. All she wanted was to be close to him--there was nothing as good as that moment when he pushed inside her--but the shower wasn't big enough for her to wrap her hands and legs around him the way she wanted to.
The kisses he was running down over her neck and shoulders and then the swell of her breasts didn't help her brain work any faster. For several long moments, all she was capable of was soaking up the dual sensations of his mouth and hands on her.
He slid one hand down over her stomach and between her legs, then groaned as he slipped and slid over her aroused skin. The sound was low and raw and breathtakingly sexy in the small space.
"How long have you been this ready for me?"
Her response came before she could even think to edit it. "I always am."
He crushed his mouth to hers, and his unleashed desire matched hers perfectly. Even if she'd wanted to hold something back, there was no way that she could. Not today. Not when his mouth tasted like heaven, and his hard, rippling muscles against her naked skin were as close to nirvana as anyone could possibly get.
Well, almost as close. Because she knew that having all of him would be even better...
She tore her mouth from his as inspiration hit. "I've figured it out." She was too lost to desire to second-guess herself. Besides, while she didn't have anywhere near the sexual experience that he did, she had always been a fast learner.
As she began to turn around, the warm water--and the unfettered need coursing through her veins--made her movements slower than they would otherwise have been. Finally, when she was facing the shower wall, she placed her hands palm-down against the wall next to her head and looked over her shoulder at Drew.
"Like this. Take me like this."
He didn't move right away, simply stared at her with eyes so dark and intense that she shivered again even as hot water sprayed over her. Finally, he ripped open the condom wrapper and slid it on.
"I always want to be gentle with you," he said as he slowly ran his large hands from her shoulders, over her back, then placed them at her hips. She felt his fingertips grip down on her wet, naked skin as he shifted her hips up slightly so that her back arched and she could feel his hard length pressing between her legs. "I swear I'll try harder not to lose control this time."
"I love it when you lose control." She rolled her hips so that he was poised at her entrance. "Take me. Please, I need you so badly."
"I need you, too."
Between the span of one heartbeat and the next, he drove into her. So hard, and so deep, that she cried out. Not in pain, but with perfect, ecstatic pleasure. Her nails were scraping down the tiled wall in an effort to hold on to something, and her cheek was pressed against the tile as she whispered, "More."
Her name became a rhythmic chant from his lips--AshAshAshAsh--as he gripped her hips even tighter and thrust into her again and again with absolutely no control.
There was nothing gentle about the way he took her, but she wouldn't have wanted there to be. Not when every moment, and every experience, was so precious. All her life, she'd remember these amazing moments with him on tour. Moments when nothing mattered but each other--not their pasts, not their futures. Only how happy they made each other right now.
As her climax began to slowly shudder through her, Drew slid his hands from her hips to play with her breasts. A split second later, she was shattering so completely, so helplessly, that her hands began to slide down the tile wall. With one arm around her waist to hold her up and his hand splayed out over her pelvis, he thrust once, twice, three more times...and then he buried his face in the exposed crook of her neck and groaned her name one last time.
When the water began to turn a little bit colder, she felt a bar of soap slide over her skin, but she was too loose from their incredible lovemaking to do anything but let him wash her skin and hair clean. After everything they'd already done, it was surprisingly intimate. And oh so lovely to be taken care of like this.
A short while later, he turned off the tap and reached for a warm, fluffy towel. And as he wrapped it around her, he stared into her eyes and said, "It's already the best birthday ever. But best doesn't even come close anymore."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Drew was aware of the necklace beneath his T-shirt all day long...and all day long he'd wanted to grab Ashley in front of his crew and kiss her breathless. He was beyond touched that she'd had it made for him, a perfect little replica of the guitar his mother had given him.
Yet again, he thought about how much his mom would have loved Ashley. Just as much as he knew his siblings and his father were going to love her.
As if he'd conjured them into being, when he stepped out of his last interview for the day, his youngest sister, Maddie, came running toward him.
"Drew!"
He opened his arms and caught her. "What did you do with my baby sister?" Maddie was one of his favorite people on the planet, but he wasn't sure he liked the short length of her skirt or the makeup she was wearing.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to look like a nun tonight compared to the rest of your fans."
He wasn't sure about that, but scowling at her when he hadn't seen her for way too long was out of the question. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Mads. You excited about starting college soon?"
She nodded, but the light he'd hoped to see in her eyes wasn't completely there. "I've been emailing with my new roommate, and she seems really nice."
"That's great," he said in a gentle voice, "but you could have applied to one of the cooking schools you really wanted to go to. You don't have to go to Stanford, you know."
She shook her head. "Dad would have freaked if I'd gone to the Cordon Bleu, even if I could have gotten in. He likes knowing I'm going to be safe and sound at Stanford, just down the road from our house, with his fellow professors watching over me."
"I'll talk to him," Drew promised her. "I'll make him understand."
But her frown only deepened as their father walked in. "It's okay, Drew," she said in a low voice. "It's only four years. I'm sure I'll have fun at Stanford like the rest of you did, and then he won't have to be any more stressed-out than he already is."
While Drew was growing up, their father had been easygoing about things that other parents freaked out about, like grades or staying out late. Even when their mom got sick, he'd still held it together pretty well. But then at the end, he'd lost it on all fronts. Work. Sleep. Fun. None of those things happened anymore for Michael Morrison. All of them tried to pick up the slack as much as they could, but the tru
th was that you couldn't make a person laugh if they didn't feel like it. You couldn't order a person to fall asleep if all they did was have nightmares whenever they closed their eyes. And there was no point in their dad staring blankly at a computer screen all day either.
Drew wished he could help his father--they all did--and it killed him that he hadn't figured out how to do that yet.
"Happy birthday, son."
As his father hugged him close, Drew was upset to feel his ribs protruding slightly. His father was a great cook, and so was Maddie, who was still living in the house with him. But his appetite clearly hadn't yet returned.
"Thanks for coming all the way to New Orleans, Dad. It means a lot to me that you travel to wherever I am on my birthday." Except for last year, when their mom hadn't been well enough to fly or drive long distance.
"We don't see you nearly enough. It looks like the road is agreeing with you on this tour, Drew. I'm glad to see it."
It's Ashley. She's the reason everything is better.
"Everyone else should be here shortly," his father continued. "We've all been looking forward to tonight."
Drew couldn't wait to see the rest of his siblings. But this time, his happiness came from more than simply knowing he was going to spend time with his family. He really wanted all of them to meet Ashley, too. And though he wasn't yet able to tell them what she meant to him, he wouldn't be surprised if they all saw it as clear as day, even without him saying, She's my girlfriend.
"There's someone I really want you guys to meet." He craned his neck to see where Ashley was and found her chatting with one of the radio station staff members. She obviously intended to give him time to greet his family alone. Unlike pretty much everyone else in his world, she never wanted to invade his space. Didn't she know she was the number one person he wanted by his side? He told his sister and father, "I'll be right back."
When he moved beside Ashley, it was nearly impossible not to put his arm around her or even take her hand. Just hours ago, they'd been as close as two people could be. Now, it felt unnatural not to be able to touch her. To kiss her.