Lane giggled, and I kissed her lips.

“I heard that! Just so you know, I don’t get any complaints when it comes to how I lay the pipe,” Trip retorted.

Riff nudged his boot into Trip’s back. “It doesn’t count when you pay them.”

“Jesus! For the last time I didn’t know she was a fucking hooker until afterwards. I should’ve never told you guys.”

Tyke snorted next to him. “We would’ve wondered where the love of your life ran off to eventually. You had to either tell us, or go broke in order to keep her around.”

I laughed, grabbed Lane’s hand and led her off Big Bertha. Those guys were complete idiots, but I loved them. With my mom and dad out of the picture, they were the only real family I’d known for the past four years. We shared a bond that even I couldn’t really describe. A brotherhood was the closest thing I could come up with.

The minute Lane and I stepped onto the concrete, I threaded my fingers through hers. I gazed down at her and smiled. She wrapped her free hand around my forearm and leaned into me as we walked toward Kyle, the new bodyguard I hired to replace Mike.

Kyle seemed cool enough. He was a built dude, maybe even a little bigger than Mike, and he had this vibe about him, like he was ready at any moment to rip someone’s head off if the situation called for it. The female fans seemed to dig him, too. They all tried to touch his shoulder-length, brown hair, but he didn’t let their attention affect him too much. In the short time I’d known Kyle, one of the very first things I learned about him was the fact he was in a serious relationship with a girl named Emily—a girl who meant a lot to him. Immediately, I respected him.

Kyle opened the door to the Escalade and took Lane’s bag from me. “You guys ready to get off that bus for a while?”

Lane sighed next to me. “Yes. I can’t wait to see Noel’s house.”

Kyle crunched his brow as he opened the back of the SUV and shoved the suitcase inside. “You’ve never been there before? I thought you guys have been together since high school?”

I opened the door for Lane.

“We were together all through high school, but then took a bit of a break. Technically, we just got back together,” Lane told him without a stutter before she hopped into the vehicle.

Her delicate phrasing of our time apart was sweet. It was as if my past didn’t bother her, and that shocked me. She was so forgiving and understanding. Even though we weren’t together when I was fucking around with all those other women, I still felt guilty, like I wronged her by doing that in some way. She really was too good for me. I prayed to God that she never asked me how many women I slept with since her, because I really didn’t know.

I dabbled in a little in drugs over the years until Riff forced my ass into rehab a few months back. My life during that time period was a complete fucking mess. Half of it I don’t remember, which is why it was so easy for Sophie to pin shit on me. I got clean just in time for Lane to walk back into my life. If I would’ve been strung out when we met back up, she would’ve never given me another shot.

I slid in next to Lane and rested my left hand on the bare skin of her thigh. I loved it when she wore jean shorts like this. The tips of my fingers drifted onto her inner leg, and I quickly moved it as I felt my dick jerk in my pants. An hour ride with a boner would not be fun. I would be tearing her clothes off the minute we were alone if it stayed that way. I threaded my fingers through hers and thought about getting to my place and showing her the dock. I was excited for her to see it.

I knew it was selfish and even demanding on my part, but I hoped once she saw it, she’d want to stay with me. That she would forget about her original plan to move to Texas with her mom and look for another marketing job. I needed her with me. I didn’t realize how much I needed her until I had her back and then lost her again.

Kyle hopped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. I rattled off my address as he tapped it into the GPS before he put the motor into drive.

Butterflies thrashed around in my stomach. It was only a matter of time now until I had Lane all to myself, and I could start phase one of my plan to make her mine forever.

“You going home for the week, Kyle?” Lane asked a few minutes into our trip.

Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I have a flight scheduled in the morning. I miss my Emily like crazy. I can’t wait to get home and surprise her for a couple days. Being on the road away from her is harder than I thought.”

I sighed. I knew after this week I was going to be feeling the exact same way. I gave Lane’s hand a little squeeze and she turned her face towards me. She bit her lip as I regarded the look in her eyes. The same thing was on her mind. I could tell because her eyes always gave her thoughts away. I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear with my free hand. The tips of my fingers lingered on her face.

Lane leaned in and kissed my lips before she whispered, “I love you.”

I tipped my head and placed my forehead against hers. “Forever.”

We made small talk with Kyle the rest of the way to my place. About thirty minutes into the drive, Lane and Kyle both kept commenting about how dark it was in the middle of the Kentucky woods. I admit it could be pretty unnerving until you grew accustomed to being in the country. The band’s agent hated that we lived out here. It was away from everything, including commonly used amenities. The best we could get was satellite internet and cable. And cell service, forget it, which was one of the major reasons I loved living out here. I could really get away from everything.