She’s so beautiful when she’s asleep.

I’d almost forgotten what it was like — to hold her in my arms, completely unguarded, totally at peace. I can’t stop touching her. Can’t stop running my hands over her bare body, reassuring myself she’s really here in my bed. Her skin against mine, smoother than silk. Her head on my chest, resting over my heart. Her long hair splayed across the sheets in a dark curtain.

The last thing I want to do is wake her. Hell, I’d sell my soul if it meant staying in this bed a few more minutes. But the sun outside is rising, and the minutes until our bus departs are dwindling rapidly.

“Felicity,” I murmur.

She doesn’t stir.

I trace a fingertip along the indentation of her spine and smile when she arches in response, coming awake with a low purr of pleasure.

“Good morning, baby.”

“What time is it,” she rumbles without opening her eyes.

“Time to get up.”

Scowling, she releases an adorable growl, even as she cuddles closer to my chest. I grin as I tilt my head down to press a kiss against her furrowed forehead.

“The bus is going to leave without us.”

“Don’t care.” Her arms tighten. “Not moving.”

“You haven’t even packed your stuff. We have to hit your room before we leave. Unless, of course, you plan on walk-of-shaming it through the lobby in your stage costume.”

She growls again.

“Baby.” I laugh. “You really want to walk all the way to Indianapolis? Because you know Carly won’t hesitate to leave without us, and I doubt those sexy little sandals you’re always wearing will last the trip.”

Her eyes sliver open. “You think my sandals are sexy?”

“Felicity, every damn thing about you is sexy.”

Her smile is bright as the sunshine spilling through the hotel room windows. “I’ve missed this,” she says, her eyes soft and warm. “Waking up with you.”

Fuck, she’s killing me.

When I speak, my tone is gruff. “Me too.”

Eyes glittering gold, she slides up my body, swinging one leg across my hips so she’s straddling me. My cock, which has been in a state of perpetual hardness since the second I woke up and found her in my arms, throbs violently as she wriggles against me, her breasts brushing against my chest, her lush lips planting kisses on the tattoo across my heart.

A low groan rattles from the back of my throat.

“Felicity…” My breaths are labored as her mouth begins to migrate south — kissing a trail across my pecs, down stomach, past my hipbones…

Fuck.

My abs flex as I sit up abruptly, grabbing her by the waist and tossing her backwards. She lands with a squeak, which quickly turns to a gasp as I come down on top of her, caging her in with my elbows planted on the bed beside her head, pinning her wrists to keep her still.

She’s breathing hard, her eyes glazed with lust as she stares up at me.

“Don’t give me that look, Felicity.” My control is hanging by a thread. “If we start this, we’re definitely going to miss the bus.”

She arches beneath me, bringing her bare skin back into contact with mine. I grit my teeth, feeling my restraint slip a fraction.

The bus wouldn’t really leave without us…

“Ryder.” Felicity licks her lips. “The thing is, we’re going to be on that bus for the foreseeable future. And on a bus…” She blinks innocently and my control slips another notch. “There are simply certain activities we won’t be able to do…”

I’m inside her before she finishes her sentence.

We’re an hour late.

Carly glares at us, but otherwise refrains from commenting as we step onboard. Felicity’s happy grin is all the proof she needs that our tardiness was due to a worthy cause.

“Have the lovebirds finally shown their faces?” Lincoln calls, walking out of the galley kitchen with a mug of coffee. His eyes drop to our intertwined hands and he grins. “Guess that’s a yes.”

We don’t bother responding. I load our overnight bags into an empty cubby as Felicity hangs her sparkly dress in a dry-cleaning bag inside the closet by the bathroom. Her eyes meet mine with pure heat as we walk into the lounge area where Aiden is reading. Claiming an empty couch, she leans back against my chest and closes her eyes as the bus engines rumble to life beneath us.

“Tired?” I murmur, planting a kiss on the side of her head.

“Mmmm.”

“Long night, huh?” Linc waggles his brows as he flops down on the couch across from us.

I shoot him a glare, but the girl in my arms merely giggles.

“Um, Felicity?” Carly’s tone is unusually rattled as she walks in, snagging the cushion beside Lincoln. Her eyes are glued to the tablet screen in her hands. “You might want to see this.”

Felicity pushes off my chest moves to her best friend’s side, worry on her features. “What is it?”

Carly’s eyes dart to me. “Actually, Ryder… this concerns you, too. You might want to look as well.”

A lance of unease shoots through me as I join the small huddle around Carly’s tablet, placing my hands on Felicity’s shoulders and rubbing soothing circles. I wince as Carly pulls up the screen to reveal a flashy TNZ article. The headline is bad enough; the video is far worse.

“Oh my god.” Felicity’s murmur is strained. “Oh my god.”

“Fuck,” I curse, watching as a grainy, black and white surveillance tape begins to play: Felicity’s legs around my waist, her hands in my hair, our mouths fused together as I carry her out of the elevator.

I’m filled with incalculable rage, hands fisting at my sides.

“How did they get this?” Felicity sounds pissed and pained in equal measure.

“I assume someone at the hotel saw it and sold the footage for a hefty sum.” Carly grimaces. “It’s shitty, but…”

“What do we do? Do we call the police?” Felicity looks at me, worry in her eyes. “Ryder?”

I nod. “We do. And if the police can’t track down who sold this, I’ll hire a PI to get to the bottom of it. One way or another, the fucker who did this will be held accountable.”

“Not to be the odd man out, here,” Linc interjects. “But why are you so pissed? It’s not like it’s a sex tape.”

Surprisingly, it’s Aiden who cuts in, closing his book with a bang. “Because, Lincoln, it was private. It was theirs. And now, everyone in the world has seen something that was supposed to belong only to them.” His eyes flash darkly. “Some secrets are worth keeping. Not because you’re embarrassed of them. Because they’re yours to keep.”

We’re all totally silent, staring at him with varying degrees of curiosity. Felicity looks intrigued. Linc looks flat-out confused. Carly looks like she’s about to keel over.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Aiden seems to realize he’s just brought the conversation to a crashing halt, because he scowls and pins me with a severe look. “Isn’t that right, Ryder?”

“Uh.” I clear my throat. “Yeah. Right, of course.”

Carly’s cheeks are bright red and her grip is tight on her tablet. “I’m not sure how best to proceed, here. I already have a call in to Francesca, but she’s on a plane back to LA at the moment. I’ll keep you posted, once I hear from her.” She tucks a stand of blonde hair behind her ear. “We definitely need to speak to your security detail about stepping things up when it comes to vetting any hotel staff you come in contact with… and also dealing with the paparazzi. I have a feeling this video, plus your very public reconciliation on stage last night, is going to stir up a media storm the likes of which the Kardashians have only ever dreamed.”

“It’s that bad?” Felicity asks, horrified.

Carly chews her lip. “Y’all have Wildwood trending worldwide on Twitter.”

I curse again, squeezing Felicity’s shoulders in an attempt to soothe her. I know how much she hates the spotlight; the last thing she needs is a bigger one shining down on her.

“If it’s any consolation at all…” Linc shrugs and sips his coffee. “The video is pretty damn hot. Seriously… well done, you two. If this whole music thing doesn’t work out, you should seriously contemplate a fall-back career in soft-core porn.”

Exhausted from the news of the elevator video as well as our sleepless night, Felicity and I retreat into my bunk for a quick nap before we arrive in Indiana. It’s a tight squeeze, but we manage to fit with my body curling around hers from behind in a spooning position. She tugs the light-blocking curtain closed behind us as she snuggles back against my chest.

“Cozy.”

“This reminds me of that tiny bed you had, above The Nightingale,” I murmur in her ear, stroking my nose against the sensitive lobe.

“We made some good memories in that bed.”

“That we did.”

She sighs. “I’m still angry about the video.”

“I know, baby.”

“Tell me something to distract me.”

“I thought you wanted to nap.”

“I did. I do.” She laughs lightly as she laces our hands together over her stomach. “But now that I’m lying here with you, I’m not tired.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m crazy? I’m not the one who stood onstage in front of seventy-thousand people last night and sang an impromptu love song for his ex-girlfriend.”

I chuckle lowly. “I have my moments.”

“You certainly do, Mr. Woods.”

There’s a moment of silence in the darkness, both of us enjoying the rekindled familiarity of simply holding each other, after so long denied that basic pleasure. Eventually, Felicity starts to hum under her breath. It takes me a few beats to recognize the fragmented melody as one of my own.

She’s humming Move the Stars.

“Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, but love is blind,” I sing lowly in her ear. “I’d go back honey, but I can’t change time.”

She trails off, squeezing my fingers tight. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for writing it for me.”

“I’m glad you like it, baby.”

She pauses. “I like it even more, now that I know the whole story.”

I go still. My heart starts thudding. “What?”

“Last night, while you were talking with your mom… Lincoln told me.”

“Told you what, exactly?”

“About your arrest. The Viper Room. The fact that it’s his fault you were even there, that night. That the drugs they found were in his jacket, not yours.” Her voice is empty. Unreadable. I wish I could see her face, so I’d have a better gauge of her thoughts, right now.

“He shouldn’t have told you,” I mutter.

“No — you should have, Ryder.” There’s a heavy pause. “Why didn’t you?”

My teeth clench.

“Tell me,” she pleads. “I’m not upset. I just need to know.”

I press a kiss to her shoulder blade. “I didn’t want you to hate Lincoln for his part in that night.”

“You’d rather I hated you?” She scoffs quietly. “That’s totally insane.”

Inhaling deeply, I force out the words. “I figured… you already hated me, baby. What was telling you going to do, besides alienate you from someone you’d grown so close to? Or hurt you even more?” I shake my head. “I couldn’t do that to you.”

She sucks in a sharp breath and when she speaks, I can tell she’s fighting back tears. “You know, I never hated you, Ryder. Not really. I just…”

My whole body goes tense, waiting for the rest.

“You were right, what you said back in Vegas — it seemed somehow safer to hold on to my anger than to let you back in. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. Or to you. And… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. For pushing you away. For keeping you at arm’s length. For acting like what we have is anything less than what it is.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Felicity. We both made mistakes. Big ones. I’m just happy we found our way back to each other, in spite of them.”

She sniffs again, definitely crying now. “I need you to know that I do trust you. Whatever our future holds, whatever we decide after this tour comes to an end… I know I’ll be safe, so long as I have you. I know… I’ll be home.” Her voice gets thick. “You’re my home, Ryder.”

I press my forehead against her neck and pull her closer, burying my stinging eyes against her skin and ignoring the way my voice catches when I finally gather the strength to respond.

“No more secrets?”

She pauses for a long time — so long, I start to worry something’s wrong.

“Felicity?”

“No more secrets,” she agrees in a small voice.

Satisfied, I tighten my hold and drift off to sleep, knowing whatever comes next, I can handle it. With Felicity in my arms again…

Everything is finally right in my world.