"Yeah, a bit."

"Good." I hesitated for a moment. "Do you mind if we go inside and find somewhere private to talk?"

"What? Why?" He looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"I need to ask you something, and I don't want it to be outside on a fire escape."

"There's an artist's lounge that none of us have been using. It's too small for the four of us."

Jayce led me through the hallways, avoiding the staff and crew rushing around as always. I wondered how they always managed to be so busy. Surely there couldn't be that much work, especially after the concert was over. Maybe they wanted to look like they were busy so no one noticed they were actually slacking off.

"Here it is."

Jayce was right. The room was very small. Just a loveseat and a vanity stand with a stool and mirror.

"What was it you wanted to ask?"

I took in a deep breath. "Were you lying to me before?"

"No!" He looked offended, then confused. "Lying about what?"

"You said we can't be together because of your fans."

He looked even more confused. "Yes. Why?"

"That's not the real reason, is it? You hate all that media attention. You hate that the public has this twisted image of you. And you think I'll hate the spotlight, too. Is that why you think we shouldn't be together?"

Jayce stayed silent.

"You think I won't be able to handle dating someone famous?" I pressed on. "That I wouldn't be able to handle being in the public eye, that I can't handle what the media will say about me?"

"Come on, Ailey. I already know you can't." Jayce frowned, looking frustrated. "You never post personal details about yourself online. You never show your face. You use a pseudonym for god's sake. Your name is Aimee Lee, not Ailey, but you don't want your followers to know that. You'd rather stay anonymous. Private. That's exactly the opposite of what you'll get if people find out I'm dating you. They'll pry and pry and you'll never get a moment of peace. You'll get sick of it, sick of all the attention."

"You think I'd dump you because of that? You think I'll get tired of it all and leave?"

Jayce didn't say anything, just narrowed his eyes and looked away. My heart clenched. How much had fame messed him up? Would he even take a chance with me?

"If that's what you think, fine." I pulled out my phone and tapped rapidly, stabbing at the keys with both thumbs. Then I shoved my phone into Jayce's face. He leaned back in surprise before I could smack him in the nose.

"What are you showing me?"

"Read it."

He scanned across the screen, from left to right, eyes widening with every word. I knew exactly what he was reading.

Hey, guys! This is Ailey. I've got a special announcement to make. I know a lot of you have been wondering who I really am. As of today, I'm no longer going to be writing anonymously. I've decided to make myself public.

I had posted a picture of myself smiling at the camera, a selfie taken months ago.

My real name is Aimee Lee. I'm twenty-one and I go to a small private college, taking business and marketing. I hope to one day do this kind of thing for a living. I look forward to getting to know all of you as my real self.

Jayce looked up from my phone, staring at me in wonder. I gave him my own small smirk, pleased that I'd be able to shock him.

"Tell me again I'm not willing to handle the spotlight."

Chapter Eighteen.

Jayce reached out and tangled his fingers in my hair, pulling me toward him and giving me a blistering kiss. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed myself up against him. When we finally ran out of breath, I pulled away, but he clutched me close to his body. I ran my hands down his chest and stared into his eyes, trying to put everything I was feeling into that one look.

Jayce pulled me against him with a hand on my hip, his grip so tight I thought it might bruise. He tangled his fingers in my hair and tilted my head up.

"So fucking tempting."

He crushed his mouth to mine, prying open my lips with his tongue. I moaned and stood on my toes to meet him halfway. The hot slide of his tongue against mine caused a flood of heat to flare up between my legs, and I was instantly aroused. Jayce pulled away abruptly and narrowed his eyes at me.

"How the fuck am I supposed to resist you?"

"Don't," I breathed. "Keep going."

He groaned and clutched me closer. He lowered his mouth to my collarbone and placed a soft kiss there before darting his tongue to taste the skin. My muscles went limp and I moaned, letting my head fall back. He nipped at my neck lightly with his teeth and slid a hot stripe up with his tongue. I let out a sharp gasp as the hint of pain turned into exquisite pleasure.

"There you are every day, with those goddamn tight skirts, showing off every curve of that sweet ass." Jayce groaned and cupped the swell at my lower back, molding my body to his.

"And here I'd thought my knee-length skirts were as conservative and unarousing as I could get."

Jayce sucked an earlobe into his mouth and let out a deep moan in my ear.

"Baby, there's nothing about you that's unarousing."

He maneuvered us around until he was sitting on the leather loveseat with me straddling his hips, the same position as that first time in the stairwell. I could feel the hardness in his pants. The thought of what lay hidden beneath those layers of clothes made my mouth water.

Jayce unbuttoned my blouse and pushed it off my shoulders with expert fingers, then unhooked my bra and threw it to the floor, baring me to his hungry gaze. He leaned down and took one of my nipples in his mouth, flicking it around with his tongue, tugging at it with his teeth. He played with me until he had me panting and moaning, then moved on to the other and gave it the same attention.

I gazed down at the top of his head, almost unbelieving. I'd thought that one secret kiss with Jayce would be it, and even that was more than I'd imagined would ever happen between us.

"You've got such beautiful tits, baby."

It should have sounded lewd, but hearing those words fall from Jayce's lips only turned me on more.

He took my nipples between thumb and forefinger, rolling and tweaking until they were peaked and red. He placed a final kiss on each of them before moving back to my mouth, capturing my lips. I opened my mouth and let him control the pace.

Jayce placed his hands on the outside of each of my thighs, leaving an imprint of blazing heat. He slowly slid his way up until the tips of his fingers reached the edge of my panties. I let out a sharp breath as his thumbs slipped underneath the band and stroked, finding the grooves in my hips left by the elastic. He slipped my panties down as far as they could go with my knees spread open, far enough that I was stripped down and bare to his gaze.

Jayce pressed a thumb against my clit and my body jerked at the spike of pleasure. I pushed my hips against his hands. I wanted more. I wanted it harder, faster.

Instead, he pulled away. I let out a small whine that turned into a gasp when he ran that same thumb up and down my slit.

"I love how wet you are for me already."

He teased me, circling my entrance but not going any further. He stroked and caressed until I was squirming, until I was panting. I groaned and tried to push against him, but he held me back with a hand on my hip.

"None of that, baby. We're going to take it nice and slow."

I whined in the back of my throat and gripped his arms, flexing my fingers into the hard muscle. He chuckled and bent forward to kiss my neck. He slowly brushed the valley between my slit, pressing down, dipping in but not quite penetrating me. His thumb rubbed and circled my clit the entire time.

I was panting and aching and slippery wet for him when he pulled back. I let out a disappointed moan.

"You're so hot for it, aren't you?"

"Yes," I breathed.

"You want more?"

"Yes!"

"Tell me what you want."

"I want your hands. I want to feel you touching me."

"Where? Where do you want it?"

"Inside me. I need to feel you inside me."

He pushed a finger into me with no warning. I gasped and bucked my hips, almost falling off his lap. He wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me seated. I fell forward and pressed my forehead into the crook of his shoulder and inhaled a shaky breath.

He slid the finger out slowly, then pushed back in again, this time adding a second. He continued sliding his fingers in and out, wringing moans from me. I could feel myself pulsing and squeezing around him, could feel the rasp of his fingers against my inner walls. I was squirming and gulping sobbing breaths, so close, too close, but not able to get there.

"You need something, baby?"

"I-I need to-" I stuttered the words, barely able to speak.

"What do you need?"

"I-I need to come."

"Are you close?"

I nodded my head vigorously. His eyes narrowed, glittering darkly.

"Beg me."

"W-what?"

"Beg me to let you come."

My mouth gaped open, but I recovered quickly.

"Please, please make me come."

"Not good enough."

"Please! I need it. I need you. I need you to make me come. Please!"

He shushed me by seizing my mouth and thrusting his tongue inside, silencing my pleas. He sped up, fucking me with his fingers faster and faster, too much and not enough at the same time.

"Hold on, baby."

I squeezed his hips with my thighs and threw my arms around his neck. He removed his hand from my waist and returned to playing with my clit, pressing and rolling and massaging it, giving it to me just like I'd begged him until- My vision exploded with stars, my orgasm flooding through me, stealing my breath. My nerves sang up and down my body, concentrating between my legs as I throbbed around his fingers.

The pleasure abated, and I slumped down against him, too weak to keep myself upright. He withdrew his fingers and caught me before I fell over, clutching me to his chest.

I lay there panting hard to catch my breath. We were silent for long moments before he spoke.

"Are you sure?" he whispered.

"I've never been more sure of anything."

Chapter Nineteen.

Jayce and I were trying to be cool in public even though all we wanted to do was put our hands all over each other. I thought we'd managed to do a fairly good job of it until Kell suggested another night of drinking.

"And don't wear that same red dress," he told me. "Find something hotter."

"I'm sorry my clothes don't meet your requirements on the hotness meter."

Gabriella, the make-up girl I'd become friends with, took pity on me and loaned me something she called a bodycon dress. I took it to mean body conforming, because damn, did it hug my every curve in just the right places.

It took some courage to leave my hotel room, and I had to run to catch the taxi before the guys left without me.

I thought Jayce's eyes were going to pop out of his head when I climbed in, the hem of my dress riding up my thighs much higher than I was comfortable with. He coughed and turned his head before he could be caught.

Kell had no such problem, staring at me with his tongue practically hanging out.