"N iall is..." she whispered, her eyes darting to the front of the tent .

In that moment, I had no idea what she was saying, but I liked her voice as she said it. "Mhmm," I murmured, inhaling her scent one more time .

"Hudson," she hissed .

"What?" I blinked at her, feeling like I was waking from some dream. It had to be a dream, spinning in a slow circle with Tallula in my arms. I'd definitely dreamed this before, although with decidedly less clothing involved .

She went up on her toes again, bringing her lips to my ear as the song ended. "Niall's watching," she whispered .

I glanced down at her, feeling how she had stiffened in alarm. But there was something different, something less panicked and more secret about the way she was warning me. Her eyes darted across my face, like she was trying to say something without words .

Then she stepped back .

Cool air rushed in to replace the heat of her body and I instinctively reached for her, to pull her close again. But she looked down, and then up, that significance in her eyes again. "Thank you for the dance," she said, her prim words not matching the light in her eyes .

"My pleasure," I said automatically, the good old Southern boy in me remembering his manners. They were about the only thing keeping me from diving between her legs right now .

Her eyes darted again, and she turned and headed away from her table. I watched as she sashayed out of the tent, in the direction of the trailers set up for guests so they didn't have to trek all the way back up to the house to use the bathroom. The soft light of torches sunk into the ground lit the way .

I nodded. The further away from me she got, the better chance I had of not exploding right in the middle of the dance floor in front of all her relatives .

Then she slowed. Just at the edge of the tent, she glanced back and caught my eyes .

Even in the candlelight, I could see that hers were shining bright green. She blinked once and bit her lip .

Fuck.

She bit her lip .

The effect was like a bomb detonating in my brain, exploding all rational thought. That lip bite, with the memory of her silken skin still tingling against my fingertips, was the last fucking straw .

I went after her .

If Niall was watching right then, he would have seen me following after his little sister like a goddamned bull in heat. If he was watching, he would have seen me weaving through the tables, tracing her every step as we disappeared into the shadows beyond the torch path .

I knew he wasn't watching though, because if he had been, he would have taken one look at the expression on my face, and knocked over his table to come punch me the fuck out .

But I didn't give a shit, Tallula's name was echoing in my brain like a song playing on a loop. "Tallula, Tallula," over and over again. In the back of my mind, the last vestiges of rational thought tried to make themselves heard over the din, reminding me that I was about to throw away everything I'd worked for, all those nights of flop-sweat and rejection for nothing. In the back of my head, a tiny little voice, half-strangled by desire was trying to remind me that I'd had the luckiest fucking break in the history of rock and roll, stepping in to fill the giant shoes of Killian Ness and somehow succeeding at it. Was I really going to give that all up for what? One night with Tallula Penrose ?

She was there in the shadows and my mind was made up .

"Hudson," she started to say when I reached her .

But I was already kissing her .

Her lips were just as soft as I hoped they'd be and the way she sighed into the kiss had me wild in an instant. My Lulu was like a flower, like those yellow winking secrets at the altar. But instead of a tight bud, she was open, blooming and gasping, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me close so I could devour her mouth more easily .

I twined my finger in her silky hair, that smooth ribbon that flowed like water, skimming her shoulders. My hands sought downward, and she let me sink my fingers into the lush expanse of her ass .

Then the breeze lifted the tent flap, sending it cracking back down .

She hopped away from me like she'd been scalded. The moon reflected in her wild eyes, and the rasp of my stubble had reddened her lips. "Fuck," she hissed .

"It's okay," I soothed. I was talking out of my ass. There was nothing okay about this, but I truly believed I could make it okay if she'd just kiss me like that again. "Hey ."

"Fuck, we can't. You know we can't ."

"Why not?" I knew my reasons, but I wanted to hear hers .

"Niall will kick you out of the band ."

I paused. Something slippery was happening inside of my chest, wrapping fingers around my racing heart and squeezing tight .

She wasn't worried about herself .

She was worried about me .

So. Fuck it. I kissed her again .

"Lu," I breathed against her neck. She half groaned, but she didn't pull away, giving me that sweep of her shoulder I'd been obsessing about since I saw her walking down the aisle this morning. I could feel her pulse racing under my lips, so fast. Like the frantic fluttering of a trapped bird. "Lu," I whispered again, brushing up her neck to her ear. "Do you want me to stop ?"

"No." Her voice was strangled. "Yes. I don't ."

"It's okay. I can stop ."

"You won't ."

"I'm a big boy, Lulu." My words clanged a little in the air between us, reminding me of just how young she was. How tender. "I can handle myself ."

"Nothing bothers you," she sort of half-laughed. "Nothing rattles you ."

"You've got me plenty rattled," I reminded her .

She laughed a little more. The music floated out of the tent, the murmur of voices distant, half a world away. And in the shadows, it was only the two of us. I pulled her into my arms, a more chaste hug, friends. Comfort. I felt like I needed some myself .

The sound of one of my favorite songs pooled around me. The Black Keys, 'Your Touch.' I wondered if Niall was looking for me now, wanting to make sure I knew he'd remembered me. And here I was in the dark, entwined with his sister .

I hummed along for a moment, swaying with Tallula in my arms, in one place. By degrees, she eased into me, her breasts pressing to my chest. Her chin tilted up. "I need ," I sang, "your touch . "

She kissed me .

I'd been the one to kiss her before. Now she was kissing me. Full on, all the pent up wanting I'd been feeling, was there in her kiss .

Fuck my rock and roll career, Tallula Penrose was kissing me and it was worth whatever was about to happen next .