Finally, she nodded. “I can feel it, Drew. Everything. I feel everything.”
Relief washed over him with such swift strength that he nearly had her mouth crushed beneath his before he realized she still hadn’t given him the all-clear. And he’d never forgive himself if he took something from her that she wasn’t ready to give, no matter how much pleasure he knew he could give her.
He could feel the unsteady beat of her heart crashing against his as he brushed the hair back from her forehead, looked into her eyes, and said again, “All I want is to love you. But what matters more than anything is what you want, Ash.”
Thank God she wasn’t shaking anymore as she met his gaze and whispered, “I want to love you, too.”
Chapter Twenty
Ashley’s heart had been pounding so hard when Drew burst onto the bus that she’d barely been able to hear him say her name through the rush of blood in her ears. And then when he’d tried to get her to stop ripping off the dress, it had only pounded harder. Louder. So hard and loud that she’d felt as though her head were going to explode.
He’d kissed her before that could happen, before she could get any more wound up, before her insides could twist into any more knots. And though her heartbeat was still racing, it wasn’t because she was upset. It wasn’t because she was nervous either.
Amazingly, now that she’d made the decision to be with Drew, nearly all of her fears about her first time disappeared.
The two kisses they’d shared had been full of so many sexy promises that she couldn’t wait one more second to be with him. Because if someone from his crew or the label knocked on their door tonight needing Drew, as had happened so many times before, her head really would explode. The past week had been nothing but one tempting moment after another.
“Give me your phone,” he said.
She pulled her phone out of her bag, and he put it next to his on the kitchen counter. “I don’t want any interruptions either,” she said with a smile she couldn’t contain. As he reached for her hand, she asked, “Does James know where you are?”
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “He does.”
“With me?”
He looked into her eyes. “With you.”
Of course they couldn’t keep this from James. Not when his job was to know exactly where Drew was at all times while on tour. “Your whole life is so open, so public.” Her words were halting, and though she didn’t want them to come out the wrong way, she still needed Drew to hear them. “Do you think we can keep this private?”
“I want to tell the whole damned world that you’re mine, Ash.” He paused for a moment. “But I’ll do anything you want. Anything you need me to do.”
She wouldn’t let herself think about the future right now, wouldn’t let herself get twisted up in worries. Not tonight. So she lifted her mouth to his and told him exactly what she needed. “Kiss me again.”
His lips curved up into a sexy smile even as he lowered them to cover hers. Just minutes ago, his kiss had been rough, and oh so raw. Now his kiss was barely more than a whisper of breath and heat.
A low moan sounded from her throat at the stunningly sweet kiss. She’d never known there were so many ways to kiss or to be kissed.
The next thing she knew, he was saying, “Hold on to me, Ash,” and then he was lifting her up as if she weighed nothing, with one arm under her knees and the other around her rib cage.
“Drew!” His name bubbled out along with her surprised laughter. “What are you doing?”
His eyes were so dark and full of heat that she nearly lost her breath when he looked down at her and said, “Taking you to my bed.” With nothing but those five words, even though he was simply holding her in his arms, she nearly came apart right then and there. “Is that where you want to be?”
“Yes.” Instinctively, she knew why he was asking her again—because he didn’t want her to regret one single moment with him. But Ashley needed him to know that no matter what happened after tonight, she would never regret it. Never. “It’s the only place I want to be tonight. And you’re the only person I want to be with.”
He lowered his mouth to hers as he walked toward the back of the bus and laid her down on his bed. Somehow, somewhere, she must have done something really right to get to be here tonight with the most incredible man on the planet.
He traced one of her eyebrows and then the other with the tip of one callused finger. “What are you thinking, Ash?”
She didn’t want to hide anything from him, so she told him, “How lucky I am.”
“I’m the lucky one.” He crawled over her on the bed, then took her hands in his and lifted them so that he was holding them on either side of her head. “So damned lucky I can hardly believe it.”