Shooting off a group text twenty minutes after we all got back to the hotel, I barely gave the guys a chance to settle in before demanding an impromptu meeting.

Me: Band meeting. My room. Now.

Mace’s response came in a second later.

Mace: Fuck you. I’m beat. I just wanna crash.

Me: You can crash after. Get your ass over here.

Pacing the living area of my hotel suite, I waited for those good-for-nothing bastards to start showing up.

Garrett: Piss off. Gwen just agreed to marry me. We’re celebrating. Shove your meeting up your ass.

Well that was fantastic news. I was thrilled to my bones for those two, but they’d have forever to celebrate. What I needed had to happen now.

Me: Congrats, brother, but pump the brakes on the celebration. This is important. I wouldn’t interrupt otherwise.

I knew that would get them and, sure enough, five minutes later there was a furious pounding on my hotel door.

“This better be good, you cockblockin’ son of a bitch,” Garrett grunted as he dragged a deliriously happy Gwen into the room behind him.

Killian and Mace waltzed in a few seconds later.

“Spit out what’s so damn important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow so I can take my ass to bed,” Mason grumbled. Obviously a day of drinking his sorrows away was beginning to take a physical toll.

“So, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I think it’s time to hire a new manager. Chris was a piece of shit, and I’m glad we fired his ass, but we need to replace him.”

Killian’s eyes went to the ceiling as he groaned like a damn baby. “Are you serious right now? This is really what was so damn important?”

“Yeah, because I think I’ve found the perfect one.” All eyes came to me, each brimming with curiosity and skepticism.

“Who?” Mace asked hesitantly.

“Think about it,” I replied. “Who’s the person who basically started this for us? Who’s the one person who had only our best interests in mind?”

“No. No way,” Garrett snapped. “Don’t even think about it, Deck. Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”

“Who’s he talking about? What am I missing?” Gwen asked, looking to each of us in complete confusion.

“Leave her the hell alone, brother,” Garrett continued.

“Tell me she’s not the best option,” I pushed.

“I’m not saying she isn’t the best option. She busted her ass for us. But that was before you fucked it all to hell.”

“Wait, just hold on,” Killian cut in. “Let’s just think about this for a second. I mean, she’s the one who lined up all those gigs for us when we first started out, right? And she’s friends with that Camden Knight dude, so she’s obviously got connections. And we trust her. This might actually be a good idea.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Mace laughed sarcastically. “He approaches her with this, and she’ll string him up by the goddamn short hairs” he added, pointing in my direction.

I nodded, knowing damn good and well he was right. “That’s why I suggest we do it as a group. With Gwen here for a bit of female support.”

“Whoa.” Gwen held her hands up, palms out. “You’re talking about Tatum? Like your ex-girlfriend Tatum? The one who looked like she wanted to cut your balls off and feed them to you?”

“That would be the one,” Garrett mumbled, looking like he wanted to do the exact same thing.

“And how exactly am I supposed to offer any kind of support?”

“Don’t you women like solidarity in numbers or some shit like that?” I asked her. “Come on, guys. You know I’m right about this. And you can’t tell me you don’t want her back with us.”

The three men in the room went quiet, looking down at their feet in contemplation, and I knew I had them. Tate was important to each and every one of them. She was like their sister, for Christ’s sake. I wasn’t the only one who lost her.

“So how do you suggest we do this?” Garrett finally asked minutes later, and I almost pumped my fist in triumph.

“You mean how do we get her to agree to this fucked idea?” Mason scoffed. “Offer her more money than she’ll know what the hell to do with, maybe?”

“We’ll talk her around,” I answered confidently. I was pretty sure I was getting ahead of myself, but I didn’t give a shit. I was going to find a way to make this happen. “Tomorrow morning, nine. Be prepared to grovel if that’s what it takes.”

“Where are you goin’?” Killian called after me as I started for the door.

Looking over my shoulder, my hand on the doorknob, I replied, “Well someone’s gotta tell her we’re having a band meeting in the morning, don’t they?”

Then I walked out without so much as a backward glance.

* * *

I remembered the trellis being a lot sturdier when I used to climb it back in high school. I wasn’t sure if it was because the wood had worn with age, or because I had about forty more pounds of muscle on my body than I did back then, but either way, I held my breath as I climbed toward Tate’s window, praying the goddamn thing didn’t crack and leave me with a broken neck on the ground.

Making it to the top, I pulled in a relieved breath and tested the window, shocked as hell when I found it unlocked. It had been a long shot, coming to her parents’ house. I wasn’t even sure she’d be there, but as the light from the moon poured into the dark bedroom, the first glimpse I got was of her fiery hair draped across the pillows. My heart clenched at the sight of it, but that wasn’t the only thing I noticed.

Used to be Tatum slept freely, her long limbs stretching out and taking as much space as possible. When we slept together, she always stayed curled around me, but if she was alone, the whole bed was hers and she utilized every inch.

That wasn’t the case now.

Now, most of her queen-size bed was empty. Tatum was asleep on her side, her knees tucked tightly against her chest with her hands wedged beneath her face in a prayer position. At the sight of her sleeping in a protective little ball, the tightness moved from my chest to my stomach. I wasn’t sure what made her change her sleeping habits, but there was no doubt that it was somehow my fault.

I couldn’t stand seeing her like that. Even in sleep she looked vulnerable. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to take back the mistakes I’d made in the past and be the one she clung to at night.

Unable to resist the pull of her—the same goddamn pull I’d felt since I first saw her when we were seven—I moved as quietly as possible across the room. I had no right to do what I was about to do, but I couldn’t stop myself. She didn’t look comfortable, and every fiber of my being was screaming out to make it better.

Kicking off my shoes once I reached the side of the bed, I slowly lifted the covers and climbed in beside her. The smell of vanilla and citrus invaded my lungs, and I could’ve sworn I’d been pulled back in time. It was the same scent she’d worn for as long as I could remember. In the past, when it had been my right, I used to bury my face in her hair every chance I got and pull that fragrance into my lungs.

I got close enough to feel the heat from her body radiate against mine. It was as intense as a physical touch. I fisted my hands against the overwhelming desire to reach out for her, but then she moved in her sleep, rolling to her other side and shifting until her face was nuzzled into my chest and her legs tangled with mine.

It took everything in me not to cry out my thanks that, despite her hatred for me, Tatum’s subconscious still craved me as much as I craved her. She had always been my favorite drug, and now that I had her pressed against me once more, I was certain there was no chance of curing my addiction. And I didn’t even fucking want to.

Twining my arms around her, I pulled her even closer. The feel of her curves nestled against me made my cock stir to life. Tatum Valentine always had the best goddamn body of any woman I’d ever seen. All lush and curvy, she was built like every man’s dream woman. With ass and tits to spare, a tiny waist you could easily grab hold of to lift her up, long legs that were made to wrap around my waist as I drove my cock into the tightest, hottest pussy on the planet—everything about her was pure, unadulterated perfection.

The muscles in my jaw ticked from how tightly I was grinding my teeth together. This had been a huge mistake. The urge to slide my palm beneath the back of that flimsy T-shirt just so I could feel her skin was almost too much to bear.

Breathing deeply, I concentrated on giving her comfort, not taking anything for myself like the selfish bastard she thought I was. Eventually my body calmed down, and I was able to relax.

With her unique scent in my nose, and her warm body beneath my hands, I felt like I was whole once again. I had no business being there. I should've left. I should’ve given her what she’d asked for and stayed away, but seeing her again earlier that day was like finding the missing piece of my heart that had prevented it from healing properly all these years.

Several minutes later, she hummed and twisted to her other side. “Mmm,” she mumbled sleepily. “I don’t care how uncomfortable that twin in the guest room is, Cam. You can’t sleep in here. Go away.”

The muscles in my body strained for a split second before I reached out and pulled her back flush to my chest. Then I spoke. “You know, baby, I might’ve gotten jealous that you mistook me for another man if you hadn’t been telling him to get out of your bed.”