“There are no better looking women than you. Though I admit most of my girlfriends have been younger. Okay, al of them have been younger. I didn’t know what I was missing.”

She slid her hand into the back of his pants again.

“What are you doing?” he asked, pul ing her off his shoulder and setting her back to her feet.

“Convincing you to let me down.” She grinned up at him mischievously. “It worked.”

He shook his head at her. “You never do what I expect you to do.”

“Then maybe that’s the attraction.”

“Is it real y so hard for you to believe that I’ve fal en for you for no reason whatsoever?”

“There has to be a reason.”

“It’s more like there is no reason for me not to fal for you. You’re everything I want.”

“I don’t think I’m cut out to be a rock star’s girlfriend.” It made her heart ache to say it, but it had been weighing on her mind a lot lately. The more she talked to Brian’s groupies, the more jealous she became. She knew he had no real interest in them, but they were so available and she knew she wasn’t there for him emotional y. What if he decided she wasn’t fun anymore? That he needed more than she could give him? Would he toss her aside? And why did that thought bother her so much anyway? It wasn’t as if they were serious.

He touched her cheek gently. “Then don’t be a rock star’s girlfriend. Be Brian Sinclair’s girlfriend.”

“They’re one and the same. Your life is so interesting and mine is so ordinary. Boring. I’m an over-educated farm girl from the Midwest.”

“And I’m a col ege dropout from the West Coast.”

“You went to col ege?”

“For one semester.”

“What did you study?”

“Girls, mostly.”

She poked him in the ribs. “Why did you drop out? You could have graduated Summa Cum Laude.”

“Sinners signed a record deal.”

“Wow, that young? Did your father help you get it? He must have mil ions of connections in the business.”

Brian laughed. “Here’s the thing about my dad. He never once encouraged my music career. We cut our first album with a smal independent label and went on tour in a piece of shit van for eight months. I’ve never been hungrier in my life. It didn’t help that Jon kept stealing our cash to feed his drug habit. When I final y swal owed my pride and asked my dad if he could offer some support, do you know what he said?”

“What?”

“If you real y want to fol ow this dream, you need to suffer for it so it means something to you if you manage to reach the top. He wouldn’t even buy me new guitar strings. Ever try to play a solo missing your second string? Uh, yeah… Not good.”

“Did you hate him for that?”

“Nah, I thought I did, but now I realize he was right. If you don’t have to work for something, you just don’t appreciate it as much.”

Myrna nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I can understand that. That’s why I went for my PhD. My parents didn’t support me when I went to col ege. They thought I should get married and have kids. Stay home and raise them like a clone of my mother. So when I was in col ege, I worked my ass off at odd jobs while most of the traditional students had their tuition and bil s paid by their parents. Going it on my own real y did make me appreciate it more. I worked harder to get good grades, too. I wanted to prove I could do it.”

He hugged her. “See we do have more in common than great sex.”

“Fabulous sex.”

“Amazing sex.”

“Yeah, let’s have some of that right now.”

He squeezed her butt. “Not until after the show.”

“You know I love a chal enge, right?” She closed the gap between them, her hand cupping his half-hard c**k through his pants.

“I’m very determined to get what I want.”

“Something else we have in common.” He removed her hand from his crotch. “Wil you watch the show tonight instead of interviewing the groupies?”

“Wil you make it worth my while?”

“Do you have to ask?”

“Brian, I’m incredibly turned on right now.”

He groaned. “You don’t plan to make this easy on me, do you?”

“Do you have to ask?”

He stared at her for a moment, worrying his lips with his tongue. He looked ready to pounce on her and she was more than ready to be pounced on.

“Farmer’s daughter, huh? I know nothing about farming,” he said. “What’s that like?”

She sighed in exasperation. “You real y are going to make me wait until tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

She turned and started walking back the way they’d come. They must have walked at least a mile down the beach. “Farming is boring,” she cal ed over her shoulder. “That’s al you need to know.”

He jogged to catch up with her. “You’re not going to get out of this that easily. Tel me something about yourself.”

A rumble of thunder reverberated above. Myrna looked up at the black clouds. “I think we should make a run for it.”

“It’s too late. We’l never outrun it.”

The first fat rain drops splattered across Myrna’s upturned face. “We’re going to get soaked.”

She dashed toward the car at a ful run. When she reached the car, she tugged the door handle. Locked. Brian had the keys. She turned to find him sedately walking up the beach.

“Hurry!” The clouds opened wide and drenched her within seconds. “Brian, hurry!”

She could see him grinning to himself as the rain plastered his hair to his head and his shirt to the contours of his chest. He didn’t pick up his pace though. She stood there, shivering, waiting for him to open the car. When he final y reached her, he drew her chil ed body against his, his strong hands splaying over her back.

“Open the door.” She reached behind her to grab the door handle.

“No.” His fingers sank into the wet strands of her hair, tilting her head back. He stared into her eyes until she released the door handle and slid her hands up his bel y and chest. He lowered his head and kissed her, his fingers easing her dress’s zipper down. He brushed the straps of her sundress from her shoulders, exposing her br**sts to the elements. Goose bumps rose to the surface of her skin and her ni**les ached as they beaded in the chil y air. Rivulets of rain trickled over her shoulders, between her br**sts, down her bel y. Brian lowered his head and col ected water from her skin with his warm tongue. His mouth burned over her flesh. Myrna groaned and reached for his fly. If she unleashed The Beast, she knew he would end her torment and possess her body with his. Hopeful y right there on the cold, slick hood of her car. Before she could release the button of his jeans, he grabbed her wrists in a steely grip and pinned her arms to her sides.