The bus jerked as it switched lanes. Lucky alternated between trying to work on new songs and looking out the window. Jude's footsteps thudded towards her.

"Talk to me," Jude said.

Lucky kept her head buried in her new notebook, hoping he'd go away. She knew it wasn't very mature, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him to leave her alone, so operation 'I Can't Hear You' began. It seemed to be working too because he kept walking away. Granted, he always came back.

"This is ridiculous, Olivia. You have to talk to me. I know you need my help with the songs."

He walked away again. She knew he'd be back. Each time he left, he came back sooner. Wishing he'd leave her alone, she returned her focus to her notebook. She really needed to write, but her mind was as blank as the page.

Since she met Jude, all her songs had been about him. She only had two days to come up with new songs and she knew she needed his help, but there was no way she was going to let him see those lyrics, let alone share them with the world. She had to write something new.

She heard his boots thudding back down the aisle and wrote "Boomerang Man" at the top of the page. It figured the first somewhat creative thing she thought of would be because of him anyway.

This time he didn't say anything. He stood beside her seat, looking sexy as always, but this time his burning gaze penetrated her. Jude didn't need to say anything to get her attention.

"Fine, what?" she asked.

"Ignore what happened between us if you want, but we do need to work together. I think I know part of your problem."

"You're a big part of my problem," she said, hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt.

He pulled out his folded notebook from his back pocket.

"Read this," he said. "Especially what's dated during the tour. Maybe it'll help you feel better about what you've written. I know you have a lot of stuff. You're wasting time trying to write new lyrics. I mean really, ‘Boomerang Man?’"

He tapped the words she wrote earlier on her notebook, dropped his notebook in her lap, and walked back to his seat. She held his notebook, waiting to see if he would come back. When he didn't, she flipped through it looking at the mess of lyrics and poetry, some first drafts, others edited. She couldn't bring herself to read anything though, it was too personal.

Looking around her seat to the back of the bus, she expected to see him, but he was out of her view. She grabbed her bag and his notebook and brought it back to him.

"I can't read this," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because these are your songs. Your babies. These are personal," she said as she handed his notebook back to him.

"And that's exactly why you should read them."

Jude's eyes were locked on hers. She knew by reading his lyrics she would get to know more about him than anyone else. His soul was on those pages. Offering his words to her was his way of talking to her when she didn't want to hear it.

She wanted to read his lyrics more than anything, but it didn't seem fair to her. Sitting beside him, she opened her bag and looked at her old notebook for a moment while she thought. Pulling out her old notebook that had stapled pages held together by a rubber band, she handed it to him.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said.

"I've played that game before," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, I've heard about that, from a friend of a friend."

They spent the next couple of hours reading each other's lyrics. Lucky blushed when she read some of the lyrics about her and caught Jude looking at her several times as he read hers.

"Tell me how you write songs," he asked.

"What do you mean? Like my process?"

"Yeah. You have these lyrics. Do you know what each song sounds like?"

"Sometimes. Most of the time it's just the words though. They just come to me. I sleep with a notepad nearby because some of my best stuff comes when I'm half asleep."

"The muse is funny when she strikes."

"Other times I get a melody in my head and I build on that. Most of the songs on my album were like that."

"Then let’s choose some deeper songs. Show them you've got a lot of depth and emotion. Do you have any favorites?"

"I really can't choose a favorite. I do like some of the word play in "At Your Feet." What do you think?"

"Yeah, that's a good one. I also like "Tainted" and "Wounded Love." I noticed you wrote that yesterday."

Lucky groaned. Until he mentioned "Wounded Love," she had forgotten about his whole marriage situation. She folded her arms over her chest and thought about returning to her seat, but she needed to get the songs done.

"Fine. Explain to me how you forgot to mention you were married," she said angrily.

"The entire Donna thing was a mistake. We separated six months after getting married. I kept trying to make it work, but she wasn't interested. Ends up she was only after my money."

"That's how you ended up in the contract with Richard?"

"Richard and I go way back. He discovered me when he was putting Silverlight together. He warned me about his niece, but I didn't listen. Luckily, Cade pushed me to get a prenup." Jude shook his head sheepishly.

"Do you love her?"

"No, but at the time I thought I did," he said as he looked down. "I never thought she was the one. I just wanted to settle down and plant some roots somewhere. I think I was still getting over someone else."

"Who?" Lucky asked.

"It's not important. Five years ago it was, but I'm a different person now and she…well, things would've never worked out anyway."

Lucky took in everything he said. Part of her wanted to not believe him, but deep down she knew he was telling the truth. It was in the past and didn't matter anymore. She could accept that and move on. She had more important things to do now anyway, like write some new songs.

* * *

After two days of rehearsals in LA, Lucky added the three new songs to the set list. With Kat gone, the band meshed better than before and they hoped to do an extended jam between two of the new songs.

Dressed in a crimson maxi dress, her hair in loose waves, Lucky stood by the stage curtain looking out at the open space with people making their way to their seats. Through her shoes, she felt the tap of Jude's boots hitting against the floorboards as he walked towards her.

"You okay? You look a bit pale," Jude said.

"Look at the size of this place. Look at all those people out there."

"Yup, all here to see you."

"Talk about pressure. What if I mess up?"

"You'll be fine. It's no different than playing to a smaller crowd."

"It's completely different," Lucky said. "Look how many people are here already. We don't even go on for another hour. What if they don't like how I sound? Or I mess up? Everyone will realize I'm just a fraud."

"Listen to me, Olivia Saldano," he said as he spun Lucky around to face him, keeping his hands on her upper arms and locking his eyes to hers. "You have a gift. You're talented and beautiful, you're not a fraud. You're the real deal and you can do this. Just get out of your head."

"You're right. I can do this. This is what I always wanted, always dreamed about."

"And you're not alone out there. You know I'll be out there with you. Just turn around and I'll be right there keeping an eye on you."

Richard told her how well everything was going once the photo went viral, but she found it hard to believe. After all, it was just a stupid photo of her first kiss. She still felt her stomach drop whenever she thought about it being out there, and she knew it was responsible for her pre-show jitters.

"You're right. I can do this," Lucky repeated to herself. Knowing he would be there made her feel better, stronger.

The roar of the crowd surprised her when they came on stage, but she immediately looked over at Jude and settled down. Once they started playing, Lucky felt herself go into another world. The place she went to whenever she played. Nothing else mattered except the music.

Feeling good once they hit the new songs, she signaled to the band to break it down and do an impromptu jam. The rising swell of her guitar was met by Jude's steady rhythm. Playing off each other, she kept her eyes on his, forgetting they were surrounded by thousands of strangers.

He slowed down the beat and she interlaced notes between his playing. Showing off, he played a complicated rhythm she was sure he heard from her heart's pounding. The music soared with increasing intensity until she caught Dylan's eye. When he nodded, letting her know everything sounded great, she suddenly realized where they were.

Lucky transitioned back into the song, playing the last few bars. Jude controlled the change effortlessly as they brought the song to climax with the echo of their instruments. The crowd exploded, leaving her breathless with surprise and a longing for Jude she had never felt for anyone before.

After the show, feeling like she had shared something so personal in front of so many people, Lucky beelined to the dressing room. She needed some time alone. Taking deep breaths to collect herself, she sat down as she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called out, figuring it was Jordan.

Putting her head in her hands, she tried to focus on anything else and calm herself down, but her heart still pounded wildly.

"I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed or not," Lucky said. "I just totally got into playing with Jude and forgot about the crowd, everyone else. It just felt so good, so intimate. It’s hard to explain. Sometimes I wish you were a musician too so you'd understand better."

"I more than understand," Jude said. "I feel the same way."

Surprised, she straightened when she heard his husky voice and turned to see Jude quickly crossing the room towards her. As she stood up, he met her. Their lips collided. In one swift movement, he picked her up and cleared the top of the vanity. His lips never left hers.

Between being so close to him on the bus and their connection on the stage, Lucky thought she would never get closer to Jude than that. It was a tease. She had dreamed about him for so long that just having him near felt like foreplay. If he hadn't shown up in her dressing room, she was afraid she might jump him on stage.

Spreading her legs as she sat on the vanity, she pulled him close, feeling his hard manhood through his pants against her panties. He pressed her against the cold glass of the mirror. She was so excited she could barely breathe.

Feeling her heart beating throughout her entire body, she gave herself into it. She pulled off his shirt then slid her hands over his sculpted chest and over his tattoos as if she could feel them. His skin was slightly damp with sweat from the show and without thinking, she sucked on his shoulder, wanting to taste the saltiness of his skin.

Moving his hands over her thighs, he pushed her dress up further as his lips sought hers again hungrily. She grasped his back firmly, surprised at how hard he felt under her hands. Feeling his strong hands move under her soft legs, her core throbbed knowing he was so close to her.

The cold of the mirror against her back contrasted with the heat of his body in front of her and drove her crazy. It was the one thing that kept her grounded in reality. As their tongues explored each other's mouths, she moved her hands between their bodies and found the waist of his jeans.

After she fumbled with the button of his pants, he undid them for her. She had never done anything like this before, but she wasn't thinking about that. She wanted Jude so badly, nothing else mattered.

Looking at his body, her eyes moved down to where the trail of hair under his belly button disappeared into his open jeans. Pushing his pants open more, she grazed his hipbones and thought about biting them.

He pushed his jeans down and stepped out of them as she stared at his large erection, her cheeks flushing. He stepped closer to her and moved his hands up her thighs to her hips. Wrapping his fingers around the thin band of her polka dot bikini panty, he began sliding them down her hips. She lifted her bottom from the vanity as he took them off her.

She felt the cool air against her wetness and her breaths grew more shallow. He slowly slipped his body between her legs again, his intense gaze never leaving hers. Kissing her again, he pressed her against the mirror so his body crushed hers.

She wrapped her legs around him and could feel him against her throbbing entrance. As his mouth left hers, she bit his lip, not wanting him to go. His lips moved along her jawline to her ear.

"I've wanted you for so long," he whispered.

She couldn't believe it! Jude Morrison, the man of her dreams, the one she wrote every song for never thinking she'd even meet him, wanted her!

His fingers traveled up her inner thigh and her breath caught with anticipation as they moved closer to where her legs met. Letting her body guide her, she spread her legs a little more.

He slid his fingers over her clit, and she moaned. She felt her body immediately react, coming to life. He slowly rubbed and she closed her eyes, lost in the intense feeling.

As he rubbed, she clutched his back more as she felt all her senses heighten. Her body tingled all over. The throbbing at her core grew more insistent.

With his other hand, he slid the straps of her dress down, exposing her breasts. From the chill air and the excitement, her nipples were hard, almost aching. He slid her bottom closer to the edge of the vanity, then continued rubbing her as he bent his head down and slowly moved his tongue over her nipples.

She gasped, feeling his warm mouth on her breasts. Her head spun and she felt completely out of control but loved every second of it. She didn't know how much more she could take.

His fingers left her and she felt the thick head of his erection pressed against her entrance. Spreading her legs more, she couldn't wait to feel him inside. His mouth left her breasts and he looked deep into her eyes.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," he said.

She nodded, unable to speak. Her breath caught as she finally forgot she was with Jude Morrison--rock god--and only thought of him as the man she kept falling in love with. Real love. Not the kind of love she had when his poster hung on her wall.

His hand moved up to cradle her back as he slowly entered her. She cried a little at the pressure which felt so good, and he stopped.

"More," she gasped, unable to say anything else.

As he rocked his hips, letting her get used to him before slowly inching farther inside her, he moved the fingers that were rubbing her to her hip. He pressed her close to him, his other hand still on her back.

Moaning, she felt him completely inside her, his body so close she could feel his heat. He slid his thumb over her clit and began rubbing a little faster than before.

Her entire body responded to him. She felt herself begin to shake as pressure mounted inside of her. The tingling spread throughout her body. Rubbing her faster, his cock moving within her, her breath caught in her throat. She didn't know what was going on, she felt everything heightening even more. She clutched and grabbed at him, holding him tight.

"Just let go, Olivia," he whispered in her ear.

Focused on his husky voice in her ear, she felt herself relax then the pressure set free like a dam bursting. She gasped as every inch of her body seemed to come to life at the same time.

Feeling her core tighten around him, his hand at her back, he clutched her even tighter against him. He growled and she felt him throbbing within her, meeting her tightening muscles as he came inside of her, his breath ragged.

He kissed her neck, her cheeks, her forehead, before moving back to her lips as he cradled her face in his hands. She smiled at him as he picked her up off the vanity and sat down, holding her in his lap as they caught their breaths.

"Shit!" he said. "I can't believe how stupid I am."

"What's wrong?"

"I was so caught up in the moment. I wanted you for so long and after that jam on stage, I just couldn't hold back anymore."

"And that was wrong?"

"I forgot to wear a condom."

She didn't know what to say. It wasn't something she thought of either.

"Let's get back to the hotel. You're staying with me tonight," he said.

His crooked smile still made her heart leap. She was afraid that if they did it, that feeling would go away. It was then that she realized she loved him. Not because he was Jude Morrison, but because he made her feel things she never felt before.