I hang my head. My heart tears at his words. I know he loves me, I can feel it in his words, but our timing is off. “Noel…”

He cups my face and forces me to look at him. “I hate this. The thought of losing you again—it tears me up. Tonight, when I walked in on Striker touching you, things went through my mind, and I nearly lost my fucking head. You’re my heart, Lane. You’re my everything.”

A tear slips down my cheek. To know how much we hurt each other kills me. A sob escapes my lips. “I’m sorry, Noel. I never meant to hurt you.”

His thumbs wipe the tears from my face. “I know, baby. It’s not your fault. It’s me who has to learn to let go. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I don’t mean to hurt you.”

He sighs and takes a stand of my hair between his fingers. “You can’t worry about that. Losing you will hurt no matter what. Just promise me one thing.”

I gaze into his eyes. “Anything.”

“Promise that you don’t hate me. I can’t live with myself if you do.”

I nod. “Yes. I promise.”

Noel’s lips crush down on me. I close my eyes and don’t bother to fight what I know is our last kiss because he’s not mine. Even though it’s wrong, the sheer need to be with him, to please him in every way, vibrates through every cell in my body.

His hand knots into my hair, and I wrap my arms around his neck. My fingertips rub the skin on the back of Noel’s neck. It’s so warm and inviting under my touch. My heart pounds and suddenly I’m hot all over.

“I love you, Lane,” Noel says against my lips. “Forever.”

My breath leaves my chest and I feel a little dizzy.

He breaks our kiss and heat sears along my jaw as his lips work their way down my neck. I fist his shirt tight in my hands as I whimper. His large hand grips my thigh and hitches it around his hip as he slides his hand under my skirt. My legs open wider as his fingers trace the elastic edge of my panties. Once the fabric’s aside, he teases my swollen folds with the tip of his finger.

I grab his hair and yank his mouth back to mine. Every inch of me aroused by his touch and I tear at his clothes. I want his skin on mine. I need to feel him.

Noel slides both hands up my side and peels my dress off. It lands in a heap by our feet as he directs his attention at exposing my breasts. One of his hands massages my breast while he bends down and wraps his lips around the other. I throw my head back and moan. It’s amazing how he knows just what I like.

He yanks my panties down and then removes his own shirt and pants like he doesn’t want to give me time to change my mind about this.

Our mouths meet, and he kisses me fiercely. With one swift move he has me down on the bed.

The mattress creaks with our weight, and Noel’s eyes roam down my body. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I crush my lips to his, and the tip of him circles my moist flesh, each time hitting my clit and nearly making me lose my mind. I grind against him and he grins at my excitement. A trail of fire remains in the wake of his lips as they work their way down my shoulder. He works his hips in a slow steady motion, allowing the head of his cock to slide against my folds. Heat builds up in my core and after we connect once more, I explode.

Every inch of me clenches at the pure release of ecstasy.

Noel kisses me, and I moan into his mouth. His finds mine and circles it as he plunges himself inside me with one quick thrust. Fingernails on both of my hands rake down his back as he fills and stretches me in the most delightful ways.

“I love being inside you. It’s my most favorite place on earth,” he breaths against my lips.

I close my eyes and try to block out the thought that this will never happen again. That this is the last time I will feel this connection with Noel. I bite my lip as I pull my hips up to meet each thrust, allowing him to get deeper inside me.

Pretty soon, I feel the fire tugging at the pit of my belly again, and I know it won’t be long until I come for the second time.

“God, Lane, I need you to let go with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

His words shove me over the edge, and I lose all control, at the same moment he grunts as he comes hard and fast inside me.

After he pulls himself out of me, he rolls over on his side and stares into my eyes. “I love you.”

A tear streams down my face. “I love you, too. Forever.”

We lay there in each other’s arms, neither of us wanting to be the one to end the moment, but I know it can’t last. I pull away from him, and he sits up.

He kisses the top of my head and then grabs a towel before heading to the shower. Once I hear the water turn on, I jump out of bed and quickly throw my clothes back on.

The suitcase I was packing got knocked on the floor when we were caught up in the moment. I bend down and stuff the clothes back in it, before I zip it up and make my way off the bus.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The door on the bus slams shut, and I freeze. Damn. I was hoping to sneak out of here without being seen. I readjust the messy bun on the top of my head and attempt to smile as the footsteps boom up the steps. A gasp escapes me as my eyes land on the woman I saw on the internet, Sophie, with Noel’s bodyguard, Mike. I fall back against the door, and the smile drops off my face. What the hell is she doing here? My eyes flit to my ragged appearance.

Shit.

Sophie is even more beautiful than her pictures. Her long, blonde hair sits in a high pony-tail, and her skin is flawless, nearly like porcelain. The baby bump she’s sporting isn’t very big, and really not that noticeable, unless you’re looking for it, like me.