Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
She winced. At least their grandmother had fostered Axel’s music abilities. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He waved a hand as if blowing it off. “I had Mom and my siblings. It all worked out.”
Somehow she doubted that. Parental disapproval left lingering internal scars, and she touched his hand, meaning to comfort him.
“Don’t worry about me. I made out fine in the end, right?” he asked lightly.
She frowned at his too easy answer. “Dash the rock star made out fine. How about Dash the man?”
A hint of vulnerability showed in his expression, something she sensed he didn’t often reveal and something else they had in common. “Thanks to the band, I got out of the house more often than not. I had a goal and I worked toward it.”
“And you accomplished everything you dreamed of. Whether or not your father was proud doesn’t matter.” She rose, intending to clean up their coffee, which had grown cold.
Unable to help herself, she leaned over and touched her forehead to his. “Your mom, your brothers, and your sisters are proud.” She swallowed hard before admitting, “I’m proud.”
His hands grasped her hips and he rose to his feet. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
Their gazes met and held. With his help, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Holding her against him, he walked them to the bedroom, laid her down on the mattress, and before she knew it, he’d sheathed himself and thrust deep. Once he was inside her, she could only focus on him, and again he wiped away her insecurities and made promises with his body she prayed he could keep.
* * *
Later that day, Dash had the band’s on-call car service send someone to pick them up in the city. On the trip home, Cassidy dozed, her head falling against his shoulder, and he eased her into a more comfortable position, one arm wrapped around her.
During the silent trip, he marveled at her strength and ability to make it through the red carpet and the party afterward. Forgetting how she looked, which had him hard all night, she’d impressed him with her ability to charm anyone they’d met. He’d introduced her as more than arm candy, and his friends, from musicians to actors, were warm, accepting, and definitely approving. He’d been proud to have her by his side.
Waking up with his arms around her had been a first. Usually he fucked and got the hell out of there, doing his best to make a statement about what the often nameless woman meant to him. With Cassidy, he’d been relaxed, happy, and fuck if he hadn’t wanted to slide into her without a condom. Only his recent scare and common sense had him reaching for protection before gliding into her wet heat.
It was the most intimate he’d ever been with a female, and with Cass, he’d wanted to repeat that kind of closeness again and again. Did it scare him? Hell yes. It wasn’t like it was easy to go from playboy to wanting a relationship without shocking moments along the way. But he was in it and not pulling back. He just hoped when she found out about his past, she didn’t view him differently, especially given how her parents had died.
When the driver reached her house, Dash walked her to the door, leaving her with a kiss he hoped she’d remember, before heading to his place.
As always, when he pulled up to his beach house, he said a prayer of gratitude for the life he had. Too many people in his industry and life in general ended up on drugs, usually mixed with alcohol, and it often didn’t end well.
Dash was lucky his wake-up call had come early and that he’d heeded it. Substance abuse was a part of the lifestyle but not for Dash, and the guys knew drugs were taboo in his house. He’d throw them out of the band if they brought that shit into his home.
Talking to Cassidy about his family was easy. Revealing the most painful part of his life was not. He intended to get to a place with her where he could share that pain. If he’d wanted to tell her earlier, her revelation about the driver on drugs who’d killed her parents had given him pause.
At some point before or after they did the meet and greet at the rehab center, he’d have to open up to her. Besides his family, nobody else knew about that time in his life. He understood what a big deal it was that he wanted Cassidy to know and forgive him the way he was still working on forgiving himself.
He walked into the house, and the first thing he noticed was the quiet. Unusual when he lived with three other guys. He headed to the sliding glass doors that led to the pool, but no one was there, so he walked into the kitchen and found Axel sitting with a half-finished bottle of beer.