“I know what you mean. While we were dating, Dev was so great to me when we were on the road. But when the tour ended, we went back to our real lives and it wasn’t the same. There are such heightened emotions on tour. Big highs and low lows. That’s why Tay and Jase are at odds. In love on the blacktop, but they can’t find common ground away from it.”

Rather than apply that same logic to her relationship with Devin, she said, “So what’s it like for you and Steve?”

“There’s some friction when we first start out on tour. Too much togetherness and all that. We settle in and we’re fine. But Devin is always restless. He’s a great singer, a fantastic songwriter and a generous boss.”

“But?” Liberty prompted.

Odette smiled sadly. “But nothing. I chatter too much. A trait Devin didn’t like because he needed his alone time. I imagine you can give him that.”

Liberty nodded.

“Good. He needs someone like you. You’ve been good for him. He’s been a lot happier lately.”

So have I.

Odette fluffed up her hair. “Now that it only took us an hour and a half to become presentable, let’s hit it. Show starts in thirty.”

Liberty held her hand to her stomach. Thirty minutes.

After the second encore, Devin brought the band up for a final bow. “Thank you, Midland!”

Liberty hung back in the shadows.

It was night-and-day difference, standing beside the stage and being on it when thousands of people were roaring approval. Like the difference between watching  p**n  and having sex.

And speaking of sex . . . The high she experienced during the concert consumed her entire body. She had a desperate need for physical contact, for male heat on her, in her, for rough hands touching her everywhere and a hungry mouth on her skin.

Now Liberty better understood why Devin needed that intense one-on-one connection with her after sharing himself with so many people in the arena.

When she realized the band was exiting the stage, she fell in line behind them. She kept her gaze firmly on Devin’s hatted head to the point she stumbled into Gage.

He whirled around. “Whoa. Steady there.”

“Sorry. I’m not used to heels.”

“You look great. You sounded great too, Liberty. Thanks for saving the day.”

“No problem.” Then she was vaguely aware of Leon thanking her, as well as Jase before he bailed to check on Tay. Odette hugged her, babbling about a champagne celebration, but Liberty heard little over the throb of need pounding in her lips, her ni**les and between her legs. She was annoyed by the two security guards blocking her view of Devin, and she silently willed them to move away.

Somewhere in her head she knew that was wrong, but all she wanted was for the hangers-on to vanish so she and Devin could be alone. Naked.

Then the sea of people parted, providing a path directly to him.

Their eyes met. He didn’t flash that million-dollar smile. His sexual heat hit her like a blast furnace and she nearly stumbled again—even though she was standing still. Without breaking his intense eye-fuck, he spoke to the security guys. Then he crooked his finger.

It wasn’t her sense of decorum that kept her from running to him, but the reality that she couldn’t run in ankle-breakers. By the time she reached him, her entire body trembled.

Devin took her hand and brought her knuckles to his lips for a soft, almost innocent kiss that sent a spike of desire straight to her core. He murmured, “Let’s go.” He threaded his fingers through hers and towed her through the throng of people, letting the security guard clear the way.

When they reached the door to the ready room, the security guard who’d been following her flanked his partner.

Devin said, “No one gets in the room. No one. I don’t care if there’s a f**king zombie apocalypse. We are not to be disturbed, understand?”

“Yes, Mr. McClain.”

He opened the door and hauled her inside, straight to the piano bench. Then he walked back to the door and locked it. He removed his hat and set it on the catchall table. Next he unbuckled his belt and tugged the black leather free from the belt loops. He briefly gave her his back, grabbing something out of his duffel bag and shoving it in his front pocket.

Please let it be a condom.

As he walked toward her, rendering her mindless with that I’m-gonna-fuck-you-hard stare, he shrugged off his shirt, letting it float to the floor behind him.

Liberty’s pulse skipped a beat or two hundred when Devin stood in front of her.

He curled his hands around her face, positioning her head where he liked, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. Side to side until her tongue reached out to lick her lip and dampness made the continuous glide easier.

Kiss me; touch me; f**k me.

But he just stared at her. His face, his posture, his eyes didn’t encourage her to speak.

Then he bent down and kissed her, tipping her head back to ravish her mouth.

Pleasure, need and lust swirled in her head and zinged through her body. Devin wedged his knee between her legs, keeping the piano bench in place as he arched her back as far as she could go. Liberty slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his jeans and held on. A moan rumbled from her chest when her knuckles brushed the taut, bare skin of his abdomen.

As the kiss grew hotter and wetter, so did she.

Devin’s hands slid down to grip her biceps. He broke the kiss and jerked her to her feet. With his breath teasing her ear, he stripped off the leather jacket and tossed it aside. He kicked the piano bench aside and moved her backward.