“I’m perfect.”
I raised a brow in wordless curiosity.
She chuckled, and her arms around my torso gave me a brief squeeze. “I hated seeing that pig, Dirk, again. But”—her eyes dropped to my chest, and her cheeks flamed though her smile was coy—”watching you get all territorial over me was incredibly sexy.”
“Is that so?” I purred as my hands dropped to palm her ass. With a minute amount of pressure, I pressed her body against mine. My erection was pressed into her stomach, and she shifted restlessly. I wanted to shove her up against the wall and bury myself deep inside her, but I had a show in ten minutes. If she’d still been upset or scared, I wouldn’t have considered leaving her. But she appeared to be just fine, and I didn’t want to disappoint the audience. And although I probably had enough time for a quick fuck, I knew it would never be enough.
I groaned and brushed my lips over hers for a hasty kiss. “I have to go.” I grabbed the bag she’d dropped on the floor and took her hand, heading out of the room. “I have the perfect spot for you to watch—” Another tug had me stopping once again and turning to look at her with concern. Instead of finding her in distress, she was beaming at me with a beautiful smile.
“Your sexy caveman tactics aside, there’s another reason I’m happy.”
I closed the distance between us and gazed down into her twinkling emerald eyes. The audience could wait. “Tell me,” I encouraged with a matching smile.
“I heard what you said to Dirk. Turning him down for that job, not just because he’s a horrible person, but because you want to stay here and settle down. You told him this is where you belong.”
I nodded slowly, not sure why she seemed surprised. “I told you that before, sweetheart.”
“You did, but I couldn't help wondering if you’d still feel that way if a golden opportunity presented itself. You’d really choose me over fame and fortune?”
Maybe I should have felt hurt that she hadn’t trusted me. However, my heart softened, and I gently cupped her face. She was asking in all honesty because she didn’t recognize her own value. I promised myself that I would spend the rest of my life convincing her that she was worth it. That I would do anything, give up anything, be anyone, if that was what it took to keep her by my side. “Of course. It didn’t even cross my mind to accept his offer, sweetheart. The one thing I know without a doubt is that I belong wherever you are.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and she sniffed, but her blinding smile told me that I didn’t need to worry over her tears. That didn’t mean I liked to see her cry, though. “Don’t cry, Anna,” I begged as I used my thumbs to wipe away the moisture leaking from her green orbs.
“Happy tears,” she assured me with a laugh.
I frowned. “You’re still crying, and I don’t like it.”
She laughed and gave me a quick hug, then patted my ass and winked at me. “Get going, Mr. Storm. You’ve got a show to do, and then you need to take me home and spend the night making love to me.”
I snapped my feet together and gave her a quick salute. “Yes, ma’am!” I grabbed her hand and dragged her with me to the door that opened into my private box with a perfect view of the stage, muttering, “Let’s get this over with.” She laughed again, and the musical sound soothed my soul, filling it with joy.
After the final encore, the curtain fell, and I eagerly accepted the towel a stagehand had trotted out to give me. The last couple of tricks took a lot of strength and balance; it was one of the reasons I kept myself in such good shape.
I saw Anna waiting for me in the wings with a giant smile, and it lit me up from the inside. Before I reached her, the production manager jogged over and handed me a cell phone. “Knox,” she explained when I gave her a questioning look. I took the phone and winked at Anna as I held up a finger to let her know I’d just be a minute.
“Knox,” I greeted.
“Get to the security office,” he demanded. “Don’t bring Anna.”
I scoffed, “How exactly do you expect me to keep her from coming with?”
Knox let out a long, overly dramatic sigh. “Do I have to do everything for you people? Griffith Thorne’s show just ended. They haven’t met yet, so I’ll send my sister to take Anna backstage.”
My expression twisted into a scowl. I didn’t like the idea of Anna hanging out with the “ruggedly handsome”—or so I was told—rockstar. It didn’t matter that he was happily married.
“Just get your ass down here, Storm,” he growled. “You’ll thank me later.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
He hung up, and I stared at the phone with an irritated frown.
“Is everything alright?” Anna’s sweet voice drifted to my ears as she approached, making me smile.
I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “Absolutely, sweetheart. I just have to run over and see Knox, then we can get out of here.”
“Why?”
I scrambled to come up with an answer that would satisfy her so she wouldn’t insist on accompanying me, without sending her off to meet Griffith. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to come up with something fast enough before Belle, Thorne’s wife, came strolling down the hall.
“Anna!” she called with a grin. “I want you to meet my husband. I’m sure you’ll be working on PR for him soon enough.”
Anna looked at me uncertainly, clearly torn between wanting to meet the famous singer and sticking with me so we could leave as soon as possible. “Well, I have pla—”
“Go, sweetheart,” I encouraged her with a short kiss. “I’ll see Knox and meet you at the arena.”
She shrugged and grinned. “Okay!” Belle reached us and slipped her arm through Anna’s.
“Fabulous! Do you need to grab anything before we go?”
I waved Anna off when she glanced toward my dressing room. “I have it. I’ll see you soon.”
She blew me a kiss before letting Belle guide her away, both of them whispering to each other before they burst into laughter. I shook my head, smiling at how fucking adorable she was.
Five minutes later, I was changed and had both Anna’s and my stuff packed into one duffel. I slung it over my shoulder, locked my dressing room, and hurried to the security office.
Knox was sitting behind his desk with his feet up and his hands behind his head, staring at one of the monitors on the wall. He usually turned off the security feeds when someone entered his office, so I was surprised to see him leave it on. His head turned in my direction, but he just lifted his chin toward the screen and didn’t say anything.
I walked closer to observe whatever it was that he’d called me here to see. The feed showed one of the small rooms they used as cells, where they put people to dry out, interrogate, or wait for the police. A man was hunched over in a chair, his arms crossed, though one hand absently rubbed his jaw. When he lifted his head, and I saw the pout that no real man would ever have on his face, I grinned.
“Is that Dirk?” I asked with a smirk.
“Yup,” Knox confirmed.
I faced him and lifted my brows. “While I appreciate the entertainment of seeing his ass in a cell, this was why you had me come down here and send my woman off to spend time with a man other women drool over?”