Page 202 of Stolen Voices

I yearn for you, I yearn for you, I yearn for you

(Don’t ever let me go)

I burn for you, I burn for you, I burn for you

I yearn for you

Take me in your arms, you can pull me closer to your heart

I burn for you

Your sacred touch, your undying love, you got me in your web

Don’t let me go

I yearn for you, I yearn for you, I yearn for you

(Don’t ever let me go)

I burn for you, I burn for you, I burn for you

The song ends, and I place the microphone in the stand before taking a bow. A stagehand delivers my mom’s guitar to me, and I slip the strap over my shoulder.

“Thank you all so much for coming tonight. It has been my honor to perform for you. But before we go, I have a new song I want to try out.” I strum the guitar with my pick. “Anyone interested in hearing it?”

Holding a hand to my ear, I listen to the crowd cheer.

I glance over at Eli, who looks at me in surprise. I grin at him and flick my necklace again. It’s been hard keeping this from him, especially since we hardly spend any time away from each other these days, but the last few nights, I haven’t been able to sleep and this is why. The music needed to get out of my head.

I bring my mouth to the microphone, my lips grazing the cool metal. “I wrote this song to let the man in my life know how much I love him. Eli, this one’s for you.”

Elijiah Miller is my hero and my biggest fan. Seriously. He’s is the best boyfriend, and I plan on writing a thousand more songs to let him know just how much he means to me. How much I love him.

Our life isn’t all peachy. There are nights when I have difficulty sleeping. I wake up terrified from dreams of falling, the car accident, and even the shooting, where the bullets in the gun are real and Silla wins. Eli always wakes up with me and helps me work through my dreams, holding me until my terror passes.

I don’t know what I’d do without him, and I doubt I ever will.

He has changed his entire life to be with me every night. I never asked him to do any of that, but he refused to listen. While he was recovering, he and Hudson took a step back and hired more help at Blaze. Eli didn’t want to return to work and keep the same hours he did before. He said he was finished being married to his job and looked forward to being married to something else. My deepest hope is that something is me.

I get giddy thinking about him proposing. Hence, the song. My answer still stands. It’s a giant yes.

Singing the last notes, I look over to find Eli’s eyes filled with every emotion: love, shock, pride, lust.

As quickly as I can, I thank the crowd again, and my band and dancers. I rip out my headphones and my wireless microphone, and hand them to my lead guitarist before rushing off stage and leaping into Eli’s waiting arms.

He catches me with ease as I wrap myself around him, peppering his face with kisses. “Nice catch, handsome.”

Eli leans back, boring his eyes into mine. “I’ll always catch you, princess.”

“And I’ll only fall for you.”

Eli grins as I thread my fingers in his hair and tug his face to mine.

Our lips meld together in a steamy kiss. Waves of electricity roll through me as his lips caress mine. The hair on my arms stands on end, and my nipples harden as he deepens the kiss. Heat gathers between my legs as he seductively sucks on and tangles my tongue with his. I roll my hips as his grip on my ass increases. His cock grows hard between us as I rub my pussy against him.

Eli pulls back, breaking our kiss. “Calliope,” he warns, trying to tone down the lust licking around us like a live wire.

But my name on his lips douses the flames between my thighs with gasoline. “Elijiah,” I purr, looking into his hooded blue-green eyes. “Take me to my dressing room.”