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She hesitates, something flickering in her expression before she shoves her guitar into the case. “Something like that.”

I frown. She’s too damn good to be busking for spare change. “Laney… why are you out here?”

Her gaze snaps to mine, defensive. “Why does it matter?”

“Because you’ve got a voice that should be selling out venues, not playing to a bunch of distracted park-goers who don’t know how lucky they are.”

She huffs a laugh, shaking her head. “Not everyone gets a golden ticket, cowboy.”

I want to argue. Want to tell her she deserves more than this, that she has something real, something rare. But I can see the walls coming up, the way she’s already half-turned to leave.

So instead, I just say, “Maybe not. But I’d sure as hell like to hear you sing again.”

She blinks, caught off guard, before giving me a small smile. “We’ll see.”

I step closer a desperate need to stop her from leaving enveloping me. “Laney, wait.”

She regards me, her full lips drawing my gaze as I imagine them wrapped around my length, her pretty eyes leaking tears down her cheeks as she takes my cock in her throat.

Fuck.

“What?”

“What happened after the tattoo incident? Did dick noggin come after you?”

Her smile is small, but it makes me want to fall to my knees and worship her. It lit the evening with magic. I never chasedwomen, in fact, I’d spent so long keeping my distance from anything real, that this feeling of having to chase some kind of reaction from her is heady.

“Dick noggin?”

I smirk, shoving my hands into my pockets instead of reaching for her and hauling her against me like I want. I need to taste her, to feel her submit to me, to drink in everything about her, but I knew that if I did she would run. She’s fragile under all her tough bravado and I want to protect her as much as I want to fuck her until she can’t remember anything but my name.

“It seems like a good name for him.”

“It is. And no, he didn’t come after me.”

Her words say one thing but I can tell she’s holding something back from me. I want to root out her secrets and know she trusts me to keep her safe. That in itself is ridiculous because we barely know each other and yet, I feel like I know her, like my soul recognizes her in some way. I decide not to push that particular subject. “Can I get your number?”

Laney cocks her head and behind her I catch sight of my driver pulling up to the entrance to the park on the other side.

“Why?”

Her response stuns me for a second before I begin to laugh and shake my head. This woman is something else and I love it.

“Because I want to call you or text you and get to know you.” I rub my thumb along my bottom lip as I contemplate her. “You know, I don’t usually have to work so hard for a number.”

Laney shrugs. “Hardship is good for the soul.”

I step closer, crowding her slightly and see the pulse in her neck flutter wildly. Interesting, she might act unaffected by me but her body says something else. “I didn’t say it was a hardship, spitfire.”

My voice has dropped and her eyes dilate in response, her breath catching. “Give me your phone.” I hold out my hand forher phone. I’m not sure she’ll give it to me but I really fucking hope she takes the chance.

I watch the battle play out on her expressive face before she dips her head and hands it over. “Good girl.”

Her sharply indrawn breath makes my cock harden and I have to concentrate as I key in my number and then call myself, before handing it back. I watch as she tucks it away and then picks up her guitar case.

“You need a ride?”

Laney shakes her head. “Nah, my friend is meeting me.”