Damn, do I need a shower.

I’m peeling off my sweat-soaked shirt even as I let myself into my hotel room, and I drop it on the carpet as the door swings shut behind me. My shorts are about to follow when a knock sounds at my door.

I turn, yank it open, and find my client on the other side.

“Are you okay?” I ask, suddenly on edge. “I thought you were doing a phone interview in your room with some radio station.”

Her fingers fiddle with the hem of her cream-colored shirt. “I did. I was.”

“That was fast.” The door pressed into the wall as I lean against it. “I’ve only just finished my run.”

Fiddling turned into tugging as Autumn runs her eyes down my naked torso. They’re cloudy by the time they find my face again. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About—”

“Us,” she says quickly. She throws back her shoulders and steps into my room, forcing me back against the door.

Her roses scent wafts by me as she brushes past me. Maybe it’s tension in her shoulders or the determined set of her mouth or the shadow of unsaid words drifting across her eyes that sets off my alarm bells, but I know something’s big is about to go down.

My guess is confirmed the moment she opens her beautiful mouth. “I want you to stay in Nashville after the tour. I want you to stay on as my head of security.”

The only sound that follows this statement is the door shutting behind me. For the first time in maybe forever, I don’t know how to react.

When a few seconds turns into ten, Autumn shakes her head. “I knew it would go like this,” she says, her shoulders slumping.

“Go like what?” I ask, finding my voice. I can see the pain working through her body, and I know I'm causing it by staying silent.

“The ‘what are we?’ talk that all new couples dread. If we’re even are a couple,” she adds quietly.

“Whoa, what? I thought you said all that stuff about just being friends was a lie.”

“It is.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That…that you’re not sticking around after this tour! It kills me to think that you want to leave.”

I scowl. “I never said that.”

“But you haven’t exactly wanted to talk about it either,” she fires back. “Admit it: you’ve been avoiding this conversation since Nashville.”

I run a hand through my hair. “Yeah, okay. But only because of Jensen. It was hell watching you be with him. I wasn’t about to sign up for more of that shit.”

“But I’m not with him anymore. I’m asking you to stay on permanently.” She locks eyes with me. “Unless I’m just a job to you.”

My fists clench at my sides. “Fuck no! How can you even say that? Of course I want to stay with you, Autumn, but, hell, you just told the world that we were just friends.”

“It was all for PR. I want to be with you, but—” her voice falters “—I’m sure you want to be with me.”

“You want a show of commitment? I turned down a job because I knew I couldn’t leave you. Not again.”

Autumn sways slightly before catching herself on the bed. “You had a job offer?”

“A plush one, too. But I wanted you, so I passed it up.” I run a shaky hand over my chin, rubbing the rough stubble. “Though now I feel your dirty secret.”

Her chest heaves under my words. I meet her eyes, expecting to see tears. But instead, I only see a challenge. “Is that what you’re afraid of?”

I shrug and glance away with a shrug. “I never said I was afraid.”

Her face is calm and composed as she studies me. “Are you worried I’m ashamed of us?”

“I don’t know,” I say with growing heat.

Autumn doesn’t back down though. She takes a deep breath and asks one more question. “Do you think I’m going to walk away like before?”

My flinch betrays me.

Autumn reaches out a hand as I try to turn away. “I’m not going anywhere, Bry. Everything I’ve done, every wrong turn and dead end, somehow led me back to you. I’ve made mistakes, but that’s me. One hundred percent. And I’m gonna make more, but never about us.”

“What are you doing?” I ask as she reaches into her jeans to draws out her phone.

“Righting a wrong,” she answers, her fingers flying over the screen. She taps the screen once and looks up. A broad, open smile begins to tug back her beautiful lips.

“What did you do?” I ask, stepping toward her.

The grin widens. “All will be clear in about—” she glances at her phone “—ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight…”

My confusion mounts the closer she gets to one. I’m about to ask again when her phone starts ringing.

“Hey, Zoe,” Autumn answers calmly. “Yup, I saw it because I posted it.”

I can hear Zoe screaming on the other end. Autumn grimaces as she yanks the phone away from her ear. She taps the screen once, and suddenly Zoe’s shrill tones burst out of the speakerphone.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe it! I mean, I knew you and Bryce were a thing, like duh, but I’m so glad you’ve made it public…”

Autumn shakes her head when I try to speak.

Not happening, pal, she mouths at me.

“…and the timing?” Zoe gushes on. “Solid PR gold. Holy shit, I have so much to do. I have to draft a press release and—Autumn? Tell Bryce he’s in for a PR day tomorrow.”

Her eyes flick to mine. “Sure.”

“Thanks. And another thing—”

Autumn hangs up before Zoe gains any more momentum. We stare at each other for a long moment in the silence that follows.

“I’m confused,” I begin slowly. “It sounds like you—

“Announced that we’re officially dating on Twitter.” Autumn sets her phone on the desk before turning back to me. “And Instagram and Facebook.”

I stare at her like she’s lost her mind. “But…why? Won’t this look bad? What about Sunny Records?”

She steps toward me and lays her palm over my heart. “I don’t care anymore. I know what I want, and it’s not money or fame or a record deal. It’s you.”

She stops to draw a shaky breath. When she speaks again, her words are raw and uncertain. “Do you want me?”

One heartbeat bleeds into two, then more as her words sink in.

“Do I want you?” A growl builds in my chest as I rake my eyes over the woman shaking in front of me. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.”

I pull her face to mine and plant a shower of kisses on her upturned face. She throws her arms around my waist and leans into me. My calves hit the edge of the bed when I step back and I fall, taking her with me.

Both of us laugh our heads off as we tumble onto the bed, the heat of the moment making us giddy and carefree. But when I roll her on top of me, her full breasts bouncing on my bare chest, my chuckles fade away. Her dark eyes find mine and widen with need, and that beautiful smile fades as we crash together.

“Goddamn do I want you,” I say, threading my hand through her thick hair and bringing her face down to mine. I kiss her pouty lips, branding her with my taste and my feel. My tongue runs over her bottom lip first, then top, before I thrust it into her sweet mouth. She meets my assault with an eager one of her own, sweeping her tongue out to tangle with mine.

I grasp her hair, clenching as I tug it downward to expose her neck. I leave her lips to nip and suck at her waiting skin, my bites getting more forceful as she moans under my touch. She meets my bruising kisses with nails digging into my muscled back, and then a nip of her teeth on my bottom lip.

I draw back with a gasp. Her eyes dance with lust and fire as she locks them on me. “I can’t wait, Bry.”

I wrap my arms around her and roll her under me. “Neither can I.”

Her body writhes against me as I take her mouth again. A muffled whimper leaves her lips as my hands sweep down her chest to the hem of her shirt. In between kisses, I manage to get her top over her head and onto the floor—where it will stay.

My thick ridge surges against my briefs as I cup her breasts with my palms. She moans against my mouth as my thumbs begin to rub circles over her lace-covered nipples. Between gasps, her hands dart to my briefs and tug, sending them over my hips and down my thighs. I kick them down to my ankles before reaching for her jeans. My fingers fumble with the button while her hands run over my rippling pectorals. We’re frenzied to get to each other, leaving behind the slow undressing of yesterday for a frantic race to strip each other bare.

When her jeans follow my briefs onto the floor, the only things between me and having all of her is a pair of matching lingerie.

“You’re beautiful,” I say with a hushed reverence.

Autumn’s gaze grows heavy under my roaming eyes. “So are you.”

Her bra springs away from her breasts as I unfasten the clasp behind her back. I tear off the lace panties blocking my urgent fingers, and then grab her hips and flip her over. I love the view of her under me, spread for me to take.

“Hands and knees,” I order, running a few fingers over her folds, now swollen with arousal. I reach for my nightstand while she plants her hands on the sheets and draws herself up on all fours. As I slide on the condom, she twists her head and locks eyes with me.

“I’m ready.”

I moan at the raw passion building in her eyes. The light in the room brightens as the moon drifts out from behind the clouds. Her strong, angular face is softened by her bow-shaped lips as they quiver with anticipation. With her dark hair spilling over her shoulders and her hips thrust against me, I’ve never seen anyone so tempting.

I enter into her with one powerful thrust, filling her with my full length. She cries out but doesn’t tear her eyes away from mine. “I love everything about you, Autumn.” I pull out and ram her again. “Everything.”

Autumn groans and wiggles her hips against me. Another deep thrust sends a flutter of ecstasy across her beautiful face. I pull back and flex my hips, giving her only the tip in quick strokes.

“You’re everything.” I savor the view of myself disappearing into her wet folds. “Everything I’ve ever wanted and more.”

Her head snaps back as she twists the sheets around her fingers. After a few more teasing strokes of my length, she shoves her hips back to me. “Harder,” she begs, taking me deeper. The low moan that leaves her lips sends the urgency of before crashing over me.

With a low, guttural growl, I roll my hips against her. Tremors rock her thighs as I ride her high, letting my tip graze the sensitive spot deep inside her. I’m worried I’m hurting her, but her sounds are pure pleasure, and when her whimpers rise to gasps, I quicken my rhythm to a frenzied pace. The intensity of the moment almost sends me hurtling over the edge, but I won’t let go until she does.

A sharp cry leaves her lips as I give her all of me in long, hard strokes. She turns her head, and I relish the raw emotions passing across her face, savoring the fact that I’m giving her what she desperately needs.

My fingers dig into her fleshy hips as I lift her higher, shifting my angle inside her. I feel the change in her body as the pitch of her cries rises. Her fingers stretch out and her eyes close. Her neck snaps back and her muscles tense. She’s there, at the peak, so I keep my rhythm and bury myself in her until she unravels under me. A few more strokes and I let go, too. I throb with that last surge before the end, and we come almost together, mine right after hers.

Bodies still intertwined, I lean down and cover her moaning lips with my own. I wonder what will happen to us when we return to our lives in Nashville. Will we be together like this, or with our passion fade away as life gets in the way?

I pull her closer and gaze at the angel between my arms. So kind and strong. So sexy and passionate. Right now, I don’t care about hypotheticals. Having this woman nestled in my arms is enough.

She gives me one last tired smile and then shuts her eyes. When her breathing has slowed and lengthened, I know it’s time.

Her skin is smooth under my lips as I trace a line of kisses across her chin and up her jawline. My stubble grazes her cheek as I press my lips close to her ear. I breathe in, filling my lungs with her rosy scent, and speak the words that have been burning inside me for longer than I can remember.

“I love you, Autumn Hartman.”