She nods solemnly. “You must bind her to your aura soon. Before the others sense the shift.”
“Theothers?” I squeak.
She blows me a kiss from the door. “Oh, darling. You’ll see.”
And she’s gone.
The band stares after her like she’s an apparition.
Zane?
Zane just pulls me into his chest, phone abandoned, the world shut out.
“We’re in this together,” he rasps into my hair. “And I’m never letting you go.”
Zane
Ruby collapses against me, boneless and warm, her breath soft against my throat. She’s worn out, and rightfully so. I rode her delicious pussy for hours, and she took every second of me like she was made for it.
She falls asleep fast.
I don’t.
I lie there with her draped half over me, listening to her quiet hum-snore, and my mind doesn’t slow or soften or quiet the way it does when she’s awake, when she’s looking into my eyes and chasing my demons away.
The band hasn’t shut the hell up for hours about how I’ve finally found my muse.
Bishop kept saying, “She’s it, man. The spark. The magic. She’s our holy fucking grail.”
Jude kept grinning like he’d won a bet.
King asked what took me so long.
They’re right.
All of them.
But they don’t understand the full story.
They don’t see that Ruby isn’t ready for the tidal wave that is my life. Or notice that she flinches when fans get too loud.
They were too busy celebrating and didn’t see how she looked pale when her face hit number one on the trending list. They’ve lived this life for so long and are completely oblivious to the fact that she has no idea what living in my orbit actually means.
Those aremyproblems to deal with.
I’ve already tightened security. Unobtrusive and discreet with carefully vetted men who blend into walls and shadows. Because no one gets close to her without me knowing.
But sure, it’s a fucking privilege to protect my woman but…security won’t be enough.
Not for someone like me and most definitely not for someone like Ruby.
Eventually she’ll rebel, call fuck it to the spin cycle of bullshit that comes with fame. And, Jesus…ifshe leaves…fuck, if she ever tries to run from me again…
My chest tightens until it hurts. Until I can’t breathe.
No. She won’t…can’tleave. Not if I move fast. Bind her to me in all the ways she doesn’t see coming.
I pick up my phone and open the cycle-tracking app I built for her. My pulse spikes, hard when I read the data..
