Ash settled the bill with the limo driver, continuing his cash-only trend, while Skye completed paperwork for the car rental. They’d made the decision not to approach the hotel in the limo and had the driver take them to a car rental agency. Ash had wanted something sporty, but she’d argued that they’d need something capable of handling the harsh conditions of the wintry roads.

When she reached for the keys, Ash snagged them out of her hand.

“Hey, I was going to drive,” she said with a pout.

“Nope, you’ve been drinking. Besides, you’re on a Secret Squirrel mission.”

“Secret Squirrel what?”

“Your mission!” He forced the words out on a harsh exhale, a note of irritation threading through his voice. “Rescuing my baby?”

She stretched on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I’d never forget your guitar.”

Damn, but he looked sexy as fuck, being protective of his treasured guitar. He hadn’t yet shown that degree of possessiveness over her, but she could imagine the fire in his eyes once he finally captured a girl and made her his.

Unashamed to show his building desire, he rocked his hips against her body, pulling her flush against him. “God, you know how to drive a man crazy.”

Ash had kept his word, regarding the no-sex clause. She’d cracked a barrier between them, blurring the lines when she’d given him that blow job. Now, every time he looked at her, a rising hunger would simmer in his gaze. And she loved his passion, raw and primal. Ash didn’t frighten her like Spencer had.

Ash pulled her thoughts back to him with the firm pressure of his touch. His long fingers splayed against her back, kneading the muscles. He pressed against her, deepening their kiss, sweeping his tongue against the seam of her lips until she opened for him. Then, he delved inside, insistent and demanding but never taking more than she was willing to give.

She drowned in the taste of him. The man pursued his kiss with a vengeance, exploring the recesses of her mouth and claiming another piece of her soul. A moan escaped him as he ground his hips to show the full potency of his masculinity. Then, he growled, a sound growing deep within his throat, rumbling between them with determination and deepening desire. He kissed her and then moved his lips to trace the angle of her jaw until he settled on the hollow of her throat where he bit and sucked her into mindless oblivion.

Kissing and being kissed by Ash was not only sensual and decadent; he also made it fun. Everything he did had a hint of playfulness attached to it, and she reveled in how he lived such an unburdened life.

She felt brave, standing outside the car, and freed the button of his jeans to slip her thumb inside and tease the crown of his cock, flicking and stroking where she knew he was most sensitive. His cock twitched, coming alive under her touch.

“Ah, fuck, babe.”

While he was mindless with his desire, she swiped the keys out of his hand. “My turn to drive.”

His lust-hazed eyes blinked slowly. Before she knew what was happening, he spun her around and swatted her ass. When she yelped, he yanked the keys away and held them up, out of her reach.

“No drinking and driving.” He kissed her and then opened the passenger door. “Climb inside.”

She didn’t have a choice, not with the way he buckled her into the car. With a wink and another stolen kiss, he walked to the driver’s side, whistling the tune to “Insanity.”

With a press of the ignition switch, the SUV roared to life. He eased them out of the parking lot and merged into the bustling afternoon traffic.

Feeling mischievous, she lowered the zipper of his jeans and freed his cock, stroking him from crown to root. “Ready for round two?”

Oral sex didn’t activate her trigger the way regular sex did. Not that she couldn’t handle traditional sex. She’d manage just fine as long as she focused on anything other than the sensations being pulled from her body and avoided the crest of an orgasm.

There was something different in giving pleasure to Ash. A genuine desire to please him wrapped around her heart and spread everywhere at once.

Ash gripped her hand and pulled it away. “I’ll crash!”

“I’m pretty certain, you can handle yourself.”

“We’re making a pit stop.” He shook his finger. “I need to buy condoms, and you need to sit up, face forward, and keep your hands to yourself. I’m not getting in a wreck because your fingers were wrapped around my dick.”

She couldn’t help the laughter spilling from her lips. “You’re not carrying condoms? And, here I thought, men carried a stash at all times.”

“Just the one.” His expression darkened for half a beat before disappearing. “Back in my Jeep, I have a stash, but I left all that behind.” His tone made her wonder if he was referring to something other than the condoms.

She tucked her hands under her legs and stared straight ahead. Ash couldn’t have been clearer. They were going to have sex. Would things be different this time? She didn’t think that was possible, but then again, with Ash…

Ash tapped the GPS to map out their route. “You okay?”

Startled, she glanced at him. “Yeah, why?”

“Got a weird vibe for a second.”

Damn, he was perceptive. It wasn’t fun to discuss her inadequacies. Better to hide them and hope for the best.

Ash pulled into a convenience store. Once inside, he made a beeline for the condoms while she picked out a scarf and a pair of tinted sunglasses. He paid, refusing to abide by her rule of splitting their purchases.

The Secret Squirrel mission consisted of disguising her face by wrapping her newly acquired scarf around her head. His plan was elegant in its simplicity and lacked any super Secret Squirrel activities. She was going to walk right up the front stairs of the hotel and out the back, carrying his baby.

How many Angel Fire fans lived in Niagara? Maybe Ash thought a little more of his fame than he should.

Three blocks from the hotel, Ash found a parking spot. He gave her a kiss before sending her on her mission. A block from the hotel, the low murmurs of voices filled the air. She stopped, gawking, at what looked like nearly a hundred eager Angel Fire fans crowded around the entrance. Several hotel employees lined the lower steps, holding the throng back.

Because of the freezing temperatures, everyone was bundled against the cold. She wasn’t the only one hidden behind a hood, hat, or scarf.

She worked her way to the front of the crowd, dodging elbows and earning herself murderous stares, only to be confronted by the row of security guards.

“Sorry, ma’am.” A large man wearing a hotel uniform held out his hand to stop her approach. “You need to stay behind the line.”

The hotel had placed barricades along the front of the stairs. At the cordoned off area, Skye blinked—stunned not only by how many fans had gathered, but also at their expressions. Girls scanned the entrance as well as the road, a look of adoration filling their faces. Most held cell phones, ready to snap a shot of their favorite rock star. The boys and men in the crowd shifted with an amped up excitement. The crowd surged, creating a near frenzy, as people searched for the man they called Blaze.

Whispers of conversation floated to her while she struggled to find her hotel room key.

“Did you know Angel Fire was in Niagara?”

“I thought they were playing in DC?”

“No, just him.” A girl to Skye’s left tugged on her friend’s jacket. “Blaze!”

A voice from behind belted out the latest gossip, “I heard he went to the courthouse.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Did he get arrested again?”

“I hope he’s not drinking.”

“Or back on drugs.”

“But what does that have to do with him being here?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“No. What?”

The guard stepped in front of Skye, putting up his hands to warn her back into the crowd. “Listen, lady, no card, no entry.”

Now, where was that damn room key? After some digging, she found it hiding at the bottom of her bag. She held it up to the guard barring her path. “See? I’m a guest. I’m trying to get to my room.”

The man blew out his breath. It coalesced in the chill air of the late afternoon, forming a white mist. He examined her key card with a careful eye.

She tried to tune out the crowd and focus on the guard. He was giving her key card more than a casual inspection, and she didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t get inside.

“I’m telling you, I’m a guest!”

Another snippet of conversation drifted to her ears.

A group of teenage boys stood to her left. One punched his friend in the arm. “Can you believe he eloped?”

Those words had her shifting all her focus from the guard to the cluster of teens.

“Blaze got hitched?”

“That’s what the post said. He married some chick no one’s heard of.”

“No way!”

Her heart skipped a beat. That wasn’t the truth, but it made total sense how the rumor had taken root.

“Don’t know why. Can you imagine what it must be like? To have chicks throw themselves at you?”

His friend grinned. “Yeah, I’d fuck all day long.”

The hotel guard returned her key card. “Looks good.”

He gestured her to the steps, and she stumbled, reeling with what she’d heard.

Her heart thumped all the way up the elevator to the penthouse suite. She texted Ash to tell him she’d made it, and then she packed the few belongings they had into their plastic shopping bags.

With her backpack full and Ash’s guitar case in hand, her Secret Squirrel mission was complete. Now, she would have to make it out of the hotel without someone spotting her carrying a distinctive guitar case.

The plan was for her to leave through a side exit, but the crowd would spot her in a second. She called down to the front desk and explained her dilemma. A few minutes later, a hotel employee guided her to one of the loading docks.

She gripped the guitar case and hurried down the street, a sinking sensation settling in her stomach as the teens’ conversations ran through her head. The problem with rumors was that they had a life of their own, spreading roots and taking hold where they shouldn’t.

Other than the guitar being unwieldy, she made the three blocks to the waiting SUV without incident. No one noticed her or Ash’s guitar, but she couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder to make certain no one had followed.

When Ash saw her approach, he hopped out of the car and popped the hatch in the back.

“You’ll never believe what I heard.” She handed over his baby.

Ash took the case and kissed it. “It’s good to see you.”

Hands on her hips, Skye fixed him with a steely gaze. “You’d better not be talking to the guitar.”

He didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish as he gently placed his guitar in the back of the car. “Sorry, but my baby and I have been together for a very long time. Once you’ve been with me for fourteen years, we’ll talk.” He grabbed her backpack and set it next to the guitar. Only then did he give her a hug. “Thanks for rescuing her.”

She drew him into a kiss but broke it off before it became too heated. They couldn’t risk anyone spotting Blaze kissing a girl with a wedding rumor floating around.

“Hey, come back. I wasn’t finished with that mouth.” He leaned in for a deeper kiss.

She danced away, laughing at his playfulness. “Nope, I don’t want to encourage you. Besides, we need to leave before someone figures out that Blaze is behind those god-awful sunglasses.”

“Please don’t call me that,” he said.

“Why not?”

“It’s my stage name.” He rubbed at the stubble of his jaw. “My fans call me Blaze, and you’re not a fan.” His brows furrowed. “The other girls…”

Yes, she could complete that sentence. The other girls, the ones who took until he had nothing left to give, would scream his stage name. She loved that she had grown to know the man behind the name first. She liked Ash very much.

Once again, he fired up the car. Soon, they were back on the interstate and headed to Roanoke where he’d left his Jeep. He dialed in a hard-rock station, and they shared a comfortable silence, both blissfully satiated for different reasons.

A few hours later, they stopped for dinner, pulling into a fast-food burger joint. As she passed Ash his triple cheeseburger, he turned the channel to soft jazz.

“Ugh,” she complained. “What happened to rock?”

“We’ve been blasting rock for the past three hours. I want something a bit more soothing. Lean back, and let it flow. Let it paint a picture in your mind.”

She tried. The music swirled around her while she closed her eyes, waiting for a picture to unfold.

Ash poked her in the arm. “Hey, I asked you a question,” he said.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. What?”

“You said I’d never believe what they were saying. What did you mean?”

She shifted in her seat, stretching out the kinks in her muscles. He’d switched back to a rock station, and the heavy beat settled into her bones.

“It was stupid really. They were saying that you came to Niagara to elope.”

Ash’s hand twitched, and he pulled it away, firmly settling it on the steering wheel at the two o’clock position.

“Don’t worry. It’s just as stupid as the one who said you were arrested for drugs.”

“Ah, shit.” He grabbed her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissed her knuckles, and held them there. The heat of his breath pulsed against her skin. “Do you remember the forms we signed?”

“I signed where Marge told me to.” She’d been pretty drunk, and she didn’t remember much more than that.

“So did I.” He tilted his head against the seat. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Ash…” She extricated her fingers from his death grip. Her stomach knotted with dread. “Please tell me you read those forms.”

“I’m horrible with stuff like that. That’s why I have a manager and a team of lawyers. They handle all that crap for me. I just sign on the dotted line. It didn’t even occur to me to read it.”

She sat back because she needed to hear the truth. “Did we…are we…” But she couldn’t bring herself to say married.

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Ash’s sexy-as-shit voice cracked.

He was many things, but she’d never seen him unsure.

“What do you mean, maybe?” Skye’s voice hitched. “There’s no maybe in getting married.”

He ran his fingers through his dark hair.

Forest was going to have a cow.

“We have to fix this,” she said.

Skye’s stomach churned with unsettled emotions. She lowered the window, letting the freezing air swirl into the car, stealing their heat but clearing her head. “This is the worst mistake ever.”

Ash turned to her. “It’s not like it would be the end of the world, Skye.”

Whether they meshed or not didn’t matter.

“We can’t be married,” she stated with conviction. “Besides, your fans might think we eloped, but when they find out it was all a big mistake, they’ll be relieved. You and I can go back to our regular lives.”

Why wasn’t he freaked out? Did nothing rattle this man?

He amped up the music. “I don’t care what the fans think. It’s my fucking life. Roll up the window. It’s cold outside.” He jabbed at the temperature control, flooding the car with heat.

Tension filled the car with an oppressive weight.

She pulled out her cell phone and checked for messages from Forest. Desperate to reach out to the one source of stability in her life, she let her fingers fly over the keys.

She needed her anchor.

I messed up, Beanpole.

She brought Forest up to speed on the situation.

What’s up, my summer Skye? Fair winds and following seas here.

He sent a naked picture of himself and another man taking a selfie off the bow of a yacht. Forest smiled as the man beside him kissed his cheek and cupped his balls. She rolled her eyes. Evidently no-porno shots meant something different to him than it did to her.

The man beside Forest looked to be a decade older than her brother. Blond and tan, he was well muscled and fit for his age. Thankfully, he wore a pair of Bermuda shorts although the erection he sported tented the fabric.

Naked and tanned, Forest seemed content. His grin was infectious, and she couldn’t help but smile, seeing him happy. If only she shared that joy instead of this gut-wrenching fear…

Not that she wasn’t happy or even content.

Ash made her feel alive, and she’d never felt so comfortable with a man. His fame hadn’t changed his heart, and he didn’t act like a pompous rock-star. They laughed easily and shared silences with grace—except for their current muteness, following the news of an unintended union.

They had a rhythm. It was insane, much like the song he’d written. But they did make sense.

His touch electrified her like no man she’d ever known, and as crazy as it sounded, he’d found the shattered pieces of her soul and put them back together. She couldn’t describe it any other way, other than to say she’d been waiting for him her entire life.

It wouldn’t be the worst mistake to be married, except they hadn’t had a chance to really get to know each other. Marriage wasn’t something she thought she’d ever rush into, especially as a mistake made by signing the wrong form.

The problem was, Ash had her acting out of character, and that, more than anything, made her doubts grow. Not to mention, how would she ever fit into his rock-star life?

She texted Forest back.

Check your inbox, Bean.

Her fingers tapped with impatience while Ash stared down the night road. His lips had tightened into a thin line. An Angel Fire song burst over the airwaves, one of her favorites, but he changed the station after the first few notes played.

“Hey, I like that song.” She reached to turn the channel back.

He gave a shake of his head and restrained her hand. “I don’t like listening to myself sing.”

She jerked her hand away. “That’s crazy. You have an amazing voice.” She changed the station back as his voice belted out the haunting lyrics of “String Me Up.”

Lips twisting with distaste, he turned the volume down, using the controls on the steering column.

“Why did you do that?”

“Don’t you think we should talk about something other than my singing?”

“Not until we know for sure what happened.”

“And you think being married is the worst thing imaginable? You really think this is a fling, that we’re going to go back to our separate lives after this?”

The hurt in his voice swirled around her chest and then knifed deep in her heart. She turned to him, stunned. Surely, he saw this for the colossal mistake it was.

He cranked up the music, making further conversation impossible. Before she could defuse their conversation, her phone buzzed with Forest’s response.

Married? WTF! U certain?

She typed her response.

No.

And then she waited, staring at Ash’s shadowed profile, as they drove down the dark highway.

Finally, Forest texted back.

How can U not know?

I was drunk.

We need to talk.

Can’t. He’s with me.

WTF?

Forest’s confusion rang in the brevity of his text.

Did you read my email?

She’d explained all about Ben and Edna and Marge with the papers, where one might or might not have been a marriage certificate. She should have read what she was signing. Ash should have read what he was signing. Ben and Edna should have noticed the mistake. This was a disaster.

What do you want me to do?

Forest was stuck in the middle of an ocean. There was nothing he could do, not that he’d let that stop him.

Nothing.

She’d have to sort things out in the morning, call and find out what had happened.

This is serious.

I know.

We’ll see about an annulment. Don’t do anything stupid.

Ash’s scowl deepened, his fingers drumming in time to the beat of a Metallica song blaring out of the speakers, while his eyes focused intently forward.

Was this their first fight?

Her words had hurt him. What she didn’t understand was why he wasn’t as freaked out as she was. He had a lot to lose from an unwanted marriage.

Eyes closed, she blew out a breath. She reached out and touched his arm, shocked when he flinched. “I’m sorry.”

For the first time, he ignored her soft words.

She turned the music down. “Ash, I said I was sorry.” Her words bounced around the inside of the vehicle, sounding overly loud and overly empty.

His jaw clamped down, and his fingers gripped harder on the steering wheel. He signaled a lane change and moved the car into the passing lane, guiding them past a string of eighteen-wheelers, while keeping his silence.

She skimmed his bicep with a flutter of her fingers, a featherlight touch, but he gave no reaction.

He merged back into the right lane, and the lights from the semitruck behind them illuminated the interior of their car.

“I’m tired of driving,” he announced. “There’s an exit ten miles ahead. We can get a couple of rooms there.”

A couple of rooms? What happened to sharing a bed? What happened to having sex?

They’d known each other barely three days, yet she could already read his tells. Seeing his lips pressed into a thin line told her everything about the direction of his thoughts.

This mess needed to be fixed, and she only knew one way to do that. She edged over in her seat and stretched to cup his groin.

He jumped, and the car swerved. “What the fuck?”

She stroked his cock and then squeezed him with her hand. He hardened under her touch.

“Fuck. You want to get in a wreck?”

“I’m apologizing.”

“With your hand on my dick?” He tugged on her wrist, but she refused to move. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“You might want to keep both hands on the wheel,” she said, unbuckling and stretching over the armrest.

Within moments, she liberated his swollen cock from the confines of his jeans. He groaned as she kissed the tip. The car swerved as she wrapped her lips around him, licking at the drop of pre-cum forming on his slit.

He tugged on her hair. “Apology accepted. Now, sit the fuck up before I wreck. As much as I like what you’re doing—”

She silenced him with a lick from root to crown. He gasped and jerked his hips.

“Why two rooms?”

The car swerved as she seated him deep in her mouth.

“Stop that.” The pressure on her head no longer pulled but pushed down as his hips thrust up.

She swirled her tongue around the tip of his cock, stopping to lick the underside where he was most sensitive. She cupped his balls and gave a gentle squeeze, pulling and tugging, almost to the point of pain.

“That’s it,” he said with a growl. The car jerked to the right, and he pressed on the brakes.

The uneven pavement of the shoulder made the car shudder as he slowed down from freeway speeds. Then, the car bounced as it transitioned from pavement to a rougher surface. Dirt or turf? With her head buried in his lap, she couldn’t see.

Skye wasn’t sure what Ash was up to, only that the suspension jostled her around. She bumped her head on the steering wheel as the car canted in every direction.

Were they crashing? She didn’t think so because Ash was steering like he knew what he was doing.

“If you want to fuck, we’re going to fuck, but we’re doing it my way.”