Page 56 of Thirsty Bodyguard Summer

He lifted his hand but kept it between us.

“I’m not asking you to promise me forever after two days,” he said. “I’m asking you not to decide for me that I’ll disappear.”

“What are you asking for?”

“A real conversation after the concert. No earpieces, no stalker, no show starting in three hours. Then I want a chance to come back and prove I meant it.”

“You don’t know what your schedule looks like.”

“I know it doesn’t control every day of my life unless I let it.”

“And distance?”

“We talk about it. We make plans. We see whether I can show up when there isn’t a crisis making the decision for me.”

I met his eyes.

“I’m afraid I’ll be the weekend that made you feel alive again,” I said. “Then you’ll go back to your real life, and I’ll become the woman you remember whenever someone gives you a security briefing.”

Shane’s hand lowered.

His face lost every trace of humor.

“Cassi, this is my real life.”

He stepped nearer.

“I want the stage tonight,” he said. “I want the music after it. I want you too. I’m not asking you to fit into the way I used to live. I’m asking you to let me find out what happens when I make room.”

My eyes burned.

I blinked before the feeling could become anything more dramatic than Florida humidity in an air-conditioned room.

“You still have to perform tonight,” I said.

“I know.”

“You still have a likely stalker somewhere outside this room.”

“I know that too.”

“And I’m going back on duty when the break ends.”

“I’m counting on it.”

His mouth curved slightly.

“Do you want me now?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

Shane slid one hand into my hair and kissed me.

He didn’t wait for me to close the final inch. His mouth covered mine with a confidence that stole the breath I’d meant to take.