In the cab on the way back to the trailers, I rest my head in my palm, trying my best to make sense of what happened. Kyri’s behavior tonight utterly confused me. One minute she was eating up my attention, falling full force into our kiss, and the next she jerked away from me as if she never wanted to see me again. Which is it? Does she fancy me or does she despise me? Perhaps my gigantic erection did scare her off. My cock really is misbehaving tonight. I’m planning on beating him into submission the instant I’m in private, but I’m going to have to dig up some pictures of my new obsession to fill my vision before I do that.

Whether she knows it or not, Kyri Calloway now belongs to me forever. My entire life, I always scoffed at “love at first sight.” It seemed ridiculous to me. I didn’t even think humans were capable of monogamy. Now she’s changed everything. I’m not going to let her get away no matter how far she runs.

After I’ve paid the cabbie, I dart out of the cab, making a beeline for my trailer. As soon as I’m inside, I lock the door and pull the blinds closed so no one can accidentally stumble upon me.

I strip down to my boxers and settle into bed with my laptop. Once I’ve gone to Facebook in a browser, I search the name “Kyri Calloway” and only one result comes up, which makes my chest swell. I knew my girl was unique. She’s the only one out there with her name.

And fuck, is she beautiful in her profile picture.

I click on her name and scan through her photos, feeling painfully hard and in need of release. After a while with no provocative photos coming up, I go to her albums, feeling like a stalker but knowing she’ll forgive me once we’re married and she knows she’s mine.

This time, when “married” enters my mind, I don’t even think it’s odd. It’s a given.

Finally, I come across a Halloween picture from a couple years back where she’s dressed in a chef’s coat, hat, and little else. The coat barely covers her breasts, exposing plenty of the perfect cleavage that makes me crazy for her. Pulling my cock out of my boxers, I stroke vigorously, feeling a burn of tension as all the blood in my body rushes into it. The greedy bastard of a member swells, and need swirls in all my lower regions. Anticipation ripples through me, and my lower abdomen clenches. Sweat beads on the back of my neck.

I have to muffle my groans with my hand when my seed spills out of me, coating the length of my shaft. It’s the most I’ve ever cum—thick and white, the kind of sperm that would make triplets if I spilled it into her. The thought of filling her with my child intensifies the pleasure, and a carnal groan escapes me. Kyri Calloway will be the one to carry my child. She’ll be tethered to me forever. I’ll never let her out of my grasp.

My chest heaves with labored breath as I come down from my peak. If coming to her picture feels this good, I can only imagine what it will be like when I get her into my bed.

After I’ve cleaned up and put the laptop away, I settle under my covers—alone again, but knowing I won’t be for much longer. I let sleep take over after I come up with a plan for tomorrow morning.

* * *

“Is this the right place?” The cabbie glances over his shoulder at me with a ragged eyebrow raised in question. We just stopped in front of a decades-old single story home with a carport. Tall maple trees shade the house and neatly-kept rose bushes line the front walkway. It was dark last night when I escorted Kyri to her car, but I would recognize that trunk anywhere. It’s parked behind the car in the carport, which looks about the same age and quality.

“Yes, this is the place. Thank you.” I hand him a small wad of cash and step out of the cab. The sun is barely creeping over the horizon. I would have slept longer, but I woke up with a raging hard-on and an irresistible desire to hold my girl again. This time, I knew I wouldn’t be satisfied with pleasing myself to her picture. I want to feel her pressed against me and figure out what beautiful fragrance she puts on her hair to make it smell like a field of tulips. I need her presence like I would need water in the desert.

Trudging up the cracked cement driveway, I run my fingers through my hair, wishing I’d had the presence of mind to take a shower before I called a cab. I’m a bit rough around the edges this morning, but I’m hoping she won’t mind. If she’s the person I think she is, she’ll try to push me away at first, but then she’ll give in to me and grant me everything I crave. She shouldn’t be afraid of me. I would never do anything to hurt her. I’d hurt anyone who dared to hurt her though, without question.

My heart thunders in my chest as I step up to the front door and ring the doorbell. After a minute, the door opens, and an older version of Kyri with much shorter hair appears behind it in a bathrobe.

“Can I help you?” She squints at me, and then takes her glasses off the top of her head and slips them on. Her eyes widen with recognition. “Wh-wha…Jace…Hawthorne?”

“Hello, Ms. Calloway. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry for barging in on you at such an early hour unannounced—”

“How did you find our address?” Ms. Calloway’s eyebrows pull down to shadow the same eyes I love on her daughter. “Why are you here?”

“Last night, I spoke with your daughter but she drove away in a rush. I didn’t get to finish talking to her. I’d very much like to speak with her if she’s awake.”

“She’s not.” Her expression remains hard and studious, as if she’s examining me. “Even if she were awake, what makes you think she’d want to talk to you today if she didn’t yesterday?”

“I think she was scared off by who I am, but she doesn’t know me…not yet. If you’ll let me, I’d like to get to know her and show her I’m not going anywhere.”

Her arms continue to block the doorway, and her gaze narrows on me. “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here and expecting me to let you in.”

Inwardly, I think she has a lot of nerve rejecting me. Then I realize that would sound egotistical if I said it out loud. “I don’t expect anything, but I’d much appreciate the chance. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, you’ll never hear from me again.”

Ms. Calloway grunts and mutters something under her breath. Then she nods and steps aside to grant me passage.

“Have you eaten yet?” she asks as she walks away from me toward the back of the house.

“No, as a matter of fact, I haven’t.”

“Well, come on into the kitchen with me. We’ll get acquainted while I make you breakfast.”

“Thank you very much, madam.”

I follow her through a dated living room and into an even more dated kitchen. I’m not a judgmental person when it comes to material possessions, but seeing how little the Calloways have physically pains me. The door of their ice box looks like it’s about to fall off its hinges. The faux tile on the floor is stained from years of wear and tear. All around, I can see cabinet doors that are crooked as if someone unskilled in woodwork tried to fix a broken hinge themselves. It’s obvious they’ve been fending for themselves for years without a man in the house. If they’ll let me, I want to help with these things while I’m here. I’ve had more than a little experience in the home maintenance arena. Thanks to my father, I never have to call a repairman at home or on the road for anything.

“Sorry about the mess.” Ms. Calloway shoves her glasses up on the bridge of her nose as she scurries around me to fetch some pots and pans. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors, least of all…well, someone like you. You can take a seat at the table or wherever you like.”

I accept her offer to take a seat at the table. “Don’t apologize, Ms. Calloway. I should be the one apologizing for ambushing you like this.”

“Well…you did ambush me, but at least you’re polite about it.” She flashes me a strained smile as she prepares the food. “Now tell me, what did you mean by ‘not going anywhere’?”

While she makes us a lovely breakfast of omelets and country ham, I tell her a load of horseshit about how we’re scouting out venues for an American tour. She seems surprised that I would start here, but I explain Atlanta is one of the biggest cities in the South and a lot of our fans are here, which is the absolute truth.

“Well, you’ve explained why you’re staying in the states. Now can you explain how you came to meet my daughter?”

I pull my collar away from my neck, needing some cool air to blow down my shirt. The tension in this room combined with the heat from the stove is making it unbearable. “She was my waitress at The Blarney Stone. We talked a bit, and I stayed to make sure she got into her car safely.”

Ms. Calloway raises an eyebrow at me over her shoulder. “And you’re sure there’s no other motive?”

I smirk. These women are equal in intelligence. There’s a chance I may be in slightly over my head.

“Well, if I’m being straightforward, Kyri is beautiful, intelligent, and full of spunk. She stands out to me more than any woman I’ve met while on tour. And now I can clearly see where she got it all from.”

Ms. Calloway fights a smile, intensifying the stern look in her eyes. “Well, thank you, son. Listen, you seem nice enough, but you need to know Kyri has had her heart broken more than once before. The men in her life have not been very trustworthy so far. I can’t have my daughter falling for a man who’s going to hurt her.”

“Then I guess you shouldn’t let her fall for any other man.”

A look passes between us, and I watch as Ms. Calloway’s apprehension about me wars against the charm I’ve worked so skillfully on her. This isn’t my first time meeting a girl’s parents. I’ve learned how to suck up to the mother and get on her good side. She bites back a smile as she turns back to the stove, then slides one perfectly cooked omelet onto a plate and starts on another.

As we wait for Kyri to come into the kitchen, we converse and learn more about each other. I find out her name is Ruth, and Kyri’s favorite candy as a child was Baby Ruth because it had her mother’s name on it. She asks me about the touring lifestyle, and I tell her everything that won’t make her afraid to let her daughter near me. After all, there’s no need for her to know how many different types of drugs we’ve tried or how many times my mates convinced me to do something moronic in a public place because we were drunk or high. Instead, I talk about the excitement of walking onto the stage and hearing the fans chant my name. That’s one of the many things that keeps me going on the road when everything else inside me wants to quit.

Once the enticing smell of Ms. Calloway’s breakfast filters through the house, I hear the click and creak of a door opening. My stomach does a flip. I feel like a schoolboy with a crush waiting for Kyri to walk into the room. The sound of her voice ringing out from the hallway is the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.

“Omelets, huh? What’s the occasion, Mom?”

When she walks into the kitchen, I can’t take my eyes off of her. She’s in nothing but a silken, thin-strapped night dress which barely covers her underwear line. My knee shakes with anticipation, and I hide it under the table. Comically, she doesn’t even notice I’m sitting here in her morning haze.

“Oh, nothing…just a beautiful Sunday morning and a visitor.” Ms. Calloway grins and nods her head in my direction.

Kyri rubs her milky eyelids and turns her head. As soon as she opens her eyes and sees me, she freezes as if she’s lost all ability to move or function.

“Jace…” My name escapes as a breath. If we were alone, my desire for her would have overcome me right at that very second. “What-what…uh…” She rattles her head. “H-how did you find us?”

“It wasn’t hard. There’s only one Kyri Calloway on Facebook. By the way, did you know your address is public for anyone in the world to see? You should take it off of there now that I’ve found you. I don’t want any other men finding you here. They’re not all gentlemanly enough to ring at your door.”

Her skin all the way from her chest up to her cheeks blushes a beautiful rosy pink. “Dear God, that’s frightening. I mean…not that you’re here, but what you just said…”

“I understood.” I grin and wink at her from my place at the kitchen table, causing her pink to deepen into deep scarlet. Victory swells my chest. I brought that blush out of her, and I’m going to keep doing it every day from this moment forward.

Taking a step back, Kyri fidgets with the hem of her dress, trying to cover herself. “I’m gonna go change. Be right back.”

She whirls back around and races toward the back of the house. I feel a twinge of disappointment at losing the sight of her in that night dress, but since her mother is here, it would be highly inappropriate for me to tell her how much it pleases me. I’ll just have to buy her a truckload of nighties like that once she’s officially mine.