My cheeks burn as I drive into Atlanta with the hottest guy on earth inside the shittiest car on the planet. It was so humiliating when he noticed the dent in the ceiling. This car is old, rickety, and has seen nearly two hundred thousand miles. It’s probably going to die on me at any second. I somehow hoped he wouldn’t notice how ugly and worn down it was, but he did. Now I’m wondering if maybe I should have called a cab, or if he’s embarrassed to be seen inside this car with me.

The story of how the dent came about actually has nothing to do with sex. It was a make out session gone horribly wrong the night of my senior prom. The guy ended up getting violent when I refused to have sex with him. It was one of the worst nights of my life…

But Jace doesn’t need to know about that. This is just a fling. There’s no reason I should be telling him all my deepest, darkest secrets.

Once we’re in Atlanta, I pull into a parking garage near the World of Coca-Cola museum and the Georgia Aquarium. Jace and I both make quick work of getting out of the car. I cringe as I move around the car to face him, dreading his look of embarrassment at being seen in public with me. Then I’m surprised when he meets me behind the trunk of the car, scoops his hand around the back of my neck, and pulls me into a hungry kiss.

His warm mouth molds to mine, and I release a sigh through my nose. My arms move on their own to wrap around his waist. The hardness of his core and back muscles make me anxious to reach inside and drag my fingertips over each individual tendon, but this isn’t the time or place for that. I manage to keep my composure until Jace detaches his lips from mine and looks down into my eyes, intense. His lips ghost my cheekbone and nose before landing on my forehead.

He’s dangerous to my heart, to my very soul, but I’m not running away. Instead, I seem to have lost all composure and landed straight into his arms. What does that say about me?

“Ready to go exploring, love?” Jace looks down at me again and grins like a boy on his first date with a crush.

“Definitely.” My voice is soft and hoarse. I hate and love the power he has over me.

He kisses me one more time and then reaches down to hold my hand. I can’t help but notice how perfect his hand feels wrapped inside mine. His fingertips are calloused and rough, and his hand is firm, serving to remind me of the incredible mountain of man I’m walking beside. He towers above me, and I’ve never really thought of myself as short. I have to crane my neck to look up at him from this angle.

My eyes wander down to his feet as we head to the elevator that takes us down to the ground floor. They’re truly gigantic. I’ve already felt a hint of the monster inside his jeans, and now I’m sweating from more than just the heat. I never imagined myself with someone as huge as him. What if he can’t fit inside me? What if he tears me apart from the inside out?

Rattling my head, I shake my worrisome thoughts away. Now is not the time to fall apart. I deserve happiness for once in my life. Looking for excuses to run away is not the answer. I can’t live in fear.

* * *

Jace and I huddle into the corner booth on the same side, facing away from people. The privacy affords us the chance to really look at each other for the first time since morning. We’ve had such a busy day in Atlanta. Sightseeing, making out, venue scouting, and more making out—in dark alleys, in the middle of a museum, in the cab—everywhere. I feel like I’ve got a permanent imprint of his lips in mine now, which hopefully will help me cope when he’s had his fun with me and is no longer mine. In the dim lighting, his eyes are shadowed by his dark brows, which brings my attention upward to his hair.

So rich, so soft…

“You can touch it,” he mumbles, a smile growing on his lips.

I let my fingers sink into its dark thickness, and a spell overcomes me. The sweet, musky scent of his cologne and the smirk warping his lips intoxicate me, sending my heart into a frenzy in my chest. He sees his effect on me and leans down, taking my lips in a soft, brief kiss before the waitress comes to take our order.

The waitress is a bit on the short side, but her hair is in a long ponytail and her body is very athletic. She startles when she recognizes Jace in the booth next to me.

“Holy…” Her breath comes out in a raspy rush. She clears her throat. “Uh, what can I get you two to drink today?”

“You got Bourbon?” Jace asks.

“Yes, Mr. Hawthorne.”

“I’ll take a maple-bourbon smash, please.” Jace buries his nose in the food menu, ignoring the silly grin on her face.

“I’ll have a strawberry daiquiri, please.”

“All right, I’ll have those right out for you.” The waitress turns around and I hear her squeal a little under her breath as she heads to the bar with our order.

I turn back to Jace, who’s still looking at the appetizers. The sight of his statuesque profile causes another flutter in my stomach. I can’t seem to calm myself around him. All I can think about is getting him naked inside a locked hotel room and finding out what sex with a rock star is like.

Something tells me it’s wild, unrestrained, and addictive.

After we order our food, Jace and I have our first chance to really talk. He gives me a summary of his happy childhood in Britain. He has wonderful parents who were able to provide everything he ever wanted and more. Having three siblings sounds fun, like having your own playgroup around you all the time. His extended family was an integral part of his growing up years as well. Everything about his life sounds perfect up until a horrible tragedy he experienced a few years ago.

“I was driving my brother home from a night out at the cinema, and a drunk driver slammed into the passenger side.” Pain flickers in his eyes. It makes my heart clench in my chest. All I want to do is take the hurt away. “He was rushed to the hospital and put in the ICU. For a while, we thought he was going to make it, but he had a tear in his heart the doctors didn’t catch, and eventually he bled out…” Jace’s Adam’s apple pulls up and down. The hardness in his face makes me think he might be fighting back tears.

I rub his exposed forearm, trying not to think of how rock-solid and smooth it is. “I’m so sorry, Jace. That must have been awful.”

He nods. “Soon after that, my music career took off. I owe it all to a song I wrote about him. I’m not sure if you know it or not—”

“‘Sorry I Survived.’ I love that song. It made me cry the first time I heard it,” I tell him honestly.

“Anyway, that’s my story.” He forces a smile. “What’s yours?”

I fidget with my fingers on the table. The honesty with which he just laid out his life story makes me feel like I owe him some honesty of my own. My past, my scars…he needs to know what he’s getting into with someone like me.

“My childhood was nowhere near as happy as yours. My father was always miserable because all he ever wanted to do was follow his dreams. He’d get so angry, yelling at us, and he even got so drunk one time that he took a swing at my mother…” My stomach turns into a rock, and I push my food away. Talking about this is the one thing that can kill my ravenous appetite. “He missed, and he apologized over and over, but it was too late to repair the relationship. After that, she told him to just leave and find his happiness, so he did. We never saw or heard from him again.”

Jace moves his arm so he can clasp my hand. “That’s awful, Kyri. I’m sorry.” Guilt hangs heavily in his eyes, though I’m not sure why. Maybe he regrets making me talk about my childhood.

“We’re fine now. Happy, even. It’s just been hard. As you can see, we don’t have much, and it’s a struggle sometimes just to put food on the table, but we get by. I’m really proud of myself and my mom for making it this far. We’ve been each other’s rock. A couple of strong women battling against the world.” A wobbly smile creeps onto my face, and I brush my hair back.

“And how old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“How old were you when he left?”

“Eleven.”

Jace’s eyes widen. “So you’ve been helping your mother take care of the family since you were a little girl?”

“Not in a monetary way…not at first, that is. When I was fourteen I got my first job babysitting, and then when I was sixteen I started working at Planet Slushie in the mall. I only just recently got the job at The Blarney Stone.”

Which has already helped us a ton. My tips have been huge ever since I started working there. I don’t think I’ll ever work in fast food again after this.

“But I had to be the strong one for my mom at first. When Dad left, she fell apart. All she could do when she got home from work was fall into the sofa and cry. I learned to cook just so Elyza—my little sister—and I wouldn’t starve.”

The muscles in Jace’s jaw work as he stares at my face. He grunts, shaking his head. “No eleven-year-old girl should have to go through that.”

I shrug. “Well, that’s reality for you. It’s not always picture perfect.”

The corner of his lips ticks upward. “Very true.”