The sound of Matt's laughter made her smile, and with all the flair she could muster, she ran her hands along the keys from one end of the piano to the other before standing and saying, "Good night, North Carolina!"

Matt jumped up and gave her a hearty round of applause even as he continued to laugh. "Holy crap, Viv. That was freaking awesome! Brilliant! Inspired!"

She took her bow, walked over to the coffee table, picked up her wineglass, and finished the little bit that was left in it. "Geez, I don't know how you do that for almost two hours at a shot. I'm exhausted!" She fell back dramatically onto the sofa, sighed, and felt more than heard Matt move closer.

"Imagine doing that with a hundred hot lights shining on you," he said softly, gently combing her hair away from her face.

It felt nice. Soothing. And Vivienne knew if she opened her eyes and looked at him, she'd be completely lost. Why she was still fighting this attraction, she had no idea. It was a lost cause. Every time Matt smiled at her, her heart beat faster. Every time he touched her, her body seemed to go up in flames. It was no longer a matter of if she was going to sleep with Matt but when.

Funny how that all just came to her right then and there.

"I couldn't do it," she forced herself to say, remembering he had sort of asked a question. "My makeup would melt, my hair would frizz-too much stress."

Beside her, he chuckled softly, his hands still caressing her cheek. "And you'd still look beautiful."

"Maybe from a distance," she said, doing her best to keep her eyes closed and not give in to the urge to look at him. Not yet.

"From any distance," he said, his voice going lower, gruffer, and it almost made Vivienne shiver. "And every man in the room wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of you."

It was on the tip of her tongue to protest, but she liked this game-the pretending. The compliments. All of it. "I don't know," she said quietly. "A guy in a pair of ripped jeans who takes off his shirt because he's all sweaty is hot."

He chuckled again, and this time Vivienne could feel his breath on her skin. "Same could be said about a woman whipping off her top. I don't think you'd hear any complaints. Especially if the woman was you and I was in the audience."

"Oh," she said, her voice now almost a whisper. "I couldn't possibly whip off my shirt for a complete audience."

"How about an audience of one?"

A slow smile played at her lips and she gave up the fight. Her eyes fluttered open and she found Matt to be impossibly close-so close she could see the flecks of gold in his green eyes, could almost count his incredibly long lashes. Vivienne swallowed hard.

This was it.

There was no going back.

And she really didn't want to.

Slowly, her hand reached up and touched the stubble on Matt's jaw. She watched as his eyes closed briefly at her caress. Her name came out as a whispered plea.

There were no more questions and she didn't feel nervous. All she felt was anticipation.

"Matt..."

His eyes opened again and focused on her. Vivienne's hand raked up into his hair as she carefully guided his head down to hers-not that he had far to go.

Breaths mingled, and she moistened her lips right before she felt him stop moving. Confusion threatened to overwhelm her and she looked at him questioningly.

"Be sure, Vivienne," he said. "No one's coming through that door to take you away from me this time, and I don't think I'll survive it if you walk away from me again."

She knew exactly how he felt because there was no way she'd be able to walk away from him again.

"I'm very sure," she said, her voice a little bolder than it had been a minute ago. "Matt?"

"Hmm?"

"Kiss me."

He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. "Sweetheart, I thought you'd never ask."

Chapter 6.

Matt thought he was ready.

Had been telling himself just that all damn day.

But the reality of it? It didn't even come close.

Their first kiss two years ago had been fairly wild. Their second kiss had been equally frantic-mainly because it was laced with anger. At least on his end. But this kiss? Hell, Matt couldn't remember a kiss ever being like this.

He didn't pounce; he didn't plunder. It started out soft-almost chaste. And then? Wow. It was as if he and Vivienne were of one mind as they slowly sank into it. They each moved a little closer, and Matt wrapped her in his embrace, and both her hands now cupped his face. Her skin was so soft, and he knew the stubble on his chin was rough against it, but she didn't seem to mind.

Every time he had let himself imagine this moment-the time when Vivienne would be in his arms and want to be there-he had thought he'd instantly scoop her up into his arms and carry her to bed before she had the chance to change her mind. He imagined it being fast and wild, and it was totally in keeping with the way he tended to enjoy things. But as Vivienne's soft lips moved against his, as her tongue gently swiped across his bottom lip, he knew he would stay right there for as long as possible because it felt that good.

He couldn't help but smile as Vivienne shifted and moved over so she could straddle his lap.

All thoughts of scooping her up and going anywhere vanished. He was pretty content to do whatever it was she wanted right here.

With his hands stroking up and down her back, Vivienne pressed closer to him, the feel of her luscious curves slowly making him insane. He wanted to feel her skin. He wanted to lay her down so he could touch her everywhere.

She let out a sexy little moan when his hands came around to cup her breasts, and the only thing Matt could think of was making her make that sound again.

His lips left hers to travel along her cheek and jaw. Vivienne's head fell back with a breathy sigh as he nipped and licked the slender column of her throat. She tasted so sweet-everywhere his mouth traveled was like a little taste of heaven, and he wanted more.

More skin.

More sounds.

More everything.

Vivienne seemed to be on the same page because she was moving again, doing her best to lie down on the sofa with Matt on top of her. It didn't take long to accomplish, and once she was stretched out underneath him, he groaned at the rightness.

Slowly, he lifted his head, staring down at her beautiful face that was flushed, her eyes slightly glazed, and smiled. "You feel really good here, Viv," he murmured.

Her arms came up around him, and she gave him a sexy grin. "You feel really good yourself."

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I'd like to take this to the bedroom-stretch you out on my bed and keep you there all night." He bent down and gave her another lengthy kiss before lifting his head again. "What do you say?"

"Only all night?"

Damn. His smile broadened. "For starters."

It was on the tip of his tongue to say he wanted to keep her there much, much longer, possibly forever, but it scared the shit out of him. He stood up, held out his hand to her, and then led her out of the room and down the hall. When she stepped into his bedroom, he shut the door and watched, mesmerized, as Vivienne crawled onto the bed and then turned to face him.

Yeah, forever scared the shit out of him but he was definitely warming up to the idea.

It was still dark when Vivienne woke up. Matt was completely wrapped around her, and it felt glorious. She hated to wake him, but she was thirsty and really needed something to drink. Carefully, she tried to maneuver out of his arms and wasn't surprised when they tightened around her.

He was restless, moving around a little as his head tossed to the side and murmuring incoherently. Was he having a nightmare? she wondered. Should she wake him?

Softly, she whispered his name.

Matt held her impossibly closer. "Don't go," he murmured.

"I just want to get something to drink," she said softly, turning to look at him. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she reached out to cup his cheek. "I won't be gone long."

"I'm coming with you," he said sleepily right before yawning loudly, seemingly anxious to get out of the bed.

She chuckled. "I think I can make it to the kitchen safely. Stay here where it's warm and cozy and wonderful."

"It won't be any of those things if you're not here with me."

Well, that was pretty damn sweet, she thought. Beside her, he rolled over and she felt him getting up from the bed.

"I'm just going to turn on this light and-"

"No! Don't!" she cried, but it was too late. The brightness was momentarily blinding and she covered her eyes. "Damn."

"Yeah. I know."

When she looked up, he was pulling on the jeans he had discarded earlier, and then he bent down and grabbed his T-shirt and handed it to her. "Thank you."

Matt walked around the bed and reached for her hand and together they went to the kitchen. He handed her a bottle of water and then grabbed one for himself, each drinking deeply before saying anything. In the dim light of the kitchen, his mind raced. This was a fairly new experience for him. For starters, he'd never spent an entire night with a woman and never invited one into his home.

Technically this was Aaron's home, but for the time being, it was his.

Studying Vivienne's face, he saw uncertainty there and he had to wonder if she was thinking about leaving. Putting his glass down, he walked to her, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her until they were both breathless. When he lifted his head, he met her gaze and said, "Stay."

She gave him a small, sexy grin. "I wasn't planning on leaving."

Relief flooded him, a reaction he was beginning to see as a pattern where Vivienne was concerned.

In previous relationships-and he used that term loosely-he had been the one in control, the confident one. But he was finding that now, with Vivienne, she ultimately was the one calling the shots. Matt wouldn't push her; he wouldn't rush her. He'd let her set the pace for where they went from here.

For the first time in a long time, he felt a little insecure, a little vulnerable. For all of his celebrity, right there, in that moment, he was just a man. He already knew that Vivienne wasn't with him because of who he was onstage; it was because of the person he was standing before her. And he had to wonder if that was enough. If he was enough.

"You're looking pretty fierce," Vivienne said softly, reaching up to smooth the creases on his forehead. "You okay?"

"I was just thinking about how amazing you are."

"Matt..."

"And I can't believe someone like you would want to be with someone like me," he said, his voice like gravel.

She took a small step back. "Why would you say something like that?"

Hell. Why had he gone and said something like that?

Without answering, he took her by the hand and led her back to the bedroom. She protested slightly at first, but Matt simply guided her until they were lying back on the bed.

What he was going to say could possibly lead to Vivienne getting dressed and going home, but in his heart, Matt felt like there were things that needed to be said, needed to be addressed, so they could move forward. He didn't want there to be any secrets between them and part of him needed to know that she knew exactly what she was dealing with where he was concerned.

He kept their hands linked together as he began to talk. "I wish we weren't here in your brother's house. I thought about that earlier. I thought maybe it would have been better if we had gone across the yard to your place."

"Why?"

"In my mind, I kept thinking how I wanted this to be perfect-our first time." He gave a small shrug. "It sounds a little ridiculous, I know, but..." He looked up and met her steady gaze. "I never brought a woman home with me. Ever. But you? I wanted to bring you home."

She smiled. "And where is home?"

"Hell if I know," he muttered. "I sold my place in LA and was renting the condo in Manhattan." He rolled onto his back and let out a sigh of frustration. "I guess I was looking for something I can't have. How screwed up is that?"

Without saying a word, she lay down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Matt pulled her close, kissed the top of her head. "I haven't thought about having a home in a while. I mean, I've had houses, and they were places I stopped and hung out while on a break from touring. Then I look at what Aaron's done here and what you did with the guesthouse, and I want that. I've spent a lot of time in this house in the last two weeks, and I see the pictures, the personal touches he has in every room, and then I think about my place in LA. There was nothing of mine there. Seventeen rooms, and someone else decorated it and told me what I'd want to look at while I was there. God, what was I thinking?"

"You had other things on your mind," she said simply. "Not everyone takes to the concept of making a house a home right out of the gate. You never saw where Aaron was living before he built this place."

He chuckled. "No, I didn't."

"It was awful. He purchased a condo in Wilmington, right near downtown. It had a very industrial vibe, and he loved the exposed HVAC and the concrete floors. And I have to admit, when I first saw the place, before he moved in, I thought it had potential."

"So what happened?"

"He pretty much treated it more like a garage than a home. His furniture was all mismatched; he kept his bike in the entryway and had his treadmill in the middle of the living room." She groaned. "It was your typical bachelor pad, and it used to make me crazy to go there. I wanted to move things around and organize it, but Aaron wouldn't let me."

"That sounds about right. The places I've owned were always organized and done beautifully, but they felt very cold and sterile. No personality. I want that."

"Then you should do it." She placed a light kiss on his chest.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin."