I tilted my head in confusion. I’d never treated her like she didn’t matter. Not intentionally, at any rate. Seeing that I wasn’t connecting the dots, Anna stepped closer to me. She put her arms around my neck again, and I laced mine around her waist. “I know you don’t like to show your emotions, it makes you uncomfortable and stuff…and I get that.” She shook her head. “It’s hard for me too, and I’m not the kind of girl who needs flowers and sonnets anyway…but the last few weeks, when you’ve opened up and reached out to me…in the letter, in your phone calls…it’s meant the world to me, and I suddenly realized that was what went wrong for me.” Smiling, she rested a hand on my cheek. “I think that was what was missing between us. I never felt like you needed me. Yes, you liked having me around, and you definitely liked having sex with me…but you never really needed me, and that made me really…lonely.” She frowned and removed her hand from my cheek.

I grabbed it and held on tight. “That’s not true. I do need you…you’re all I need. All I’ve ever needed. I was…lost without you.”

Anna smiled, and I felt the warmth from it inside the deepest parts of me. She was all I needed. “I finally feel like that’s true,” she told me.

She leaned in for a soft kiss that electrified me, and at the same time, moved me. I felt dazed when we pulled apart. “You’re my best friend,” I told her. “You’re the only one who gets me, and loves me anyway. And I will do anything to keep you. Anything,” I repeated, holding her gaze.

Anna closed her eyes, absorbing my words, then a devilish smile spread on her face. “There is one thing you can do for me,” she said. Opening her eyes, she shyly asked, “Show me the stage?”

I blinked in surprise. By her expression, I thought she’d request something else.

Her smile turned playful, so I grabbed her hand and started leading her away. She giggled, like we were on an adventure. It reminded me of all the fun times we’d had in our relationship. Before Anna, I’d never met a girl as fun-loving as me. She really was up for anything. I loved that about her.

When I found the door to the stage, I fully expected it to be locked, but it wasn’t. Thankful that I didn’t have to try my hand at picking a lock, I checked to make sure the coast was clear, then hurried Anna inside. She let out a low whistle as she walked past the rows of empty seats. “It’s bigger than I thought it would be.” When she got to the stage, she hopped up and looked around with awe on her face.

The room was dark, with only the emergency lights gently illuminating it. I hopped up to join her on the stage, then headed to the back to turn on some lights. I found one that I thought was a spotlight. Luckily, it was, and a circle of light formed around Anna. She laughed at being in the limelight, and I shook my head at her amusement. As I stepped out on the main part of the stage with her, I took a look around. It wasn’t nearly as big as the places I was used to playing with the D-Bags, but it was pretty decently sized. “Yeah, it’s all right.”

“So this is where you’re going to show the world how magnificent you really are for the next six weeks?”

I looked over my shoulder at her. “Yeah. It’s my new home away from home.” I returned my gaze to the rows and rows of empty chairs. “Where my future will be decided…”

“Well then, I say we spread a little good luck upon it.”

Not knowing what she meant, I turned to face her. She grabbed the edge of her tank top and lifted it over her head. Once it was free from her, she kicked off her shoes, unbuttoned her shorts, and slid the rest of her clothes down her legs. Holy crap. Seeing her perfection laid bare before me was almost more than I could handle. Were we ready to jump right into this? Was I capable of turning her down? No. I was as incapable of rejecting her as I was unworthy of her devotion. But for some reason I had it, and I was never letting it go again.

Completely naked under the lone spotlight highlighting the stage, she crooked a finger at me. “Come here.”

My breath sped with every step I took toward her. Did she know having sex on a stage was my number one fantasy? Yes, she probably did, and that’s why she was doing this. I was the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire world to be able to claim her as mine. What a fucking fool I’d been, and how blessed I was to be given another chance. I didn’t deserve her, but I’d make it my life’s mission to be a better man. And with her firmly by my side, maybe one day I would be.

When I got close enough to her, I cupped one of her incredible breasts in my hand. The familiar weight made my cock come to life. “You are so gorgeous,” I told her, stroking my thumb around her nipple.

She bit her lip as a moan of delight left her. “I have missed you…so much, Griffin. Make love to me, right here, where everyone will be watching you on Monday…”

Bending down, I sucked her nipple into my mouth. She held my head in place as she gasped. My hands slid down her waist to her hips, then my finger ducked between her legs. She was so fucking wet. She cried out as she arched against me, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. It had been too long. I needed to know how she tasted…

Sinking to my knees, I replaced my fingers with my mouth. Anna moaned my name, and her fingers cinched in my hair, telling me I’d better not fucking move. It drove me wild. And goddamn…she tasted so good.

I lay back on the ground, making her frown at me, but then I motioned for her to join me. She lowered herself so I could taste her again. I watched her body being highlighted by the spotlight on her, watched her fingers massage her breasts, rub her nipples. It was too much for me, it was too much for her.