He slept like the dead most the time. He also had a serious problem with throwing covers all over the place, making his bed like a war zone. His golden abs were on full display as he lay with his arms behind his head. His muscles bulged in his arms. Seriously, I had no idea where he’d gotten that body. He really didn’t work out. And I refused to count the other day. Total fluke.

“Dem,” I whispered.

He groaned.

“Dem…” I tried again, this time touching his shoulder.

His eyes flared open. He grabbed me by the arms, and let out a little yelp. “Holy shit, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” His voice was deep and hoarse from sleep. I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of my lips. He was seriously beautiful. Golden-blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a permanent tan — he was the epitome of the Malibu surfer come to life, either that or a Ken doll.

“Yes.” I whispered as I crawled over him and lay next to his warm body. “That’s the plan. Kill you before you can say yes on our wedding day.”

“Lyss…” He groaned and then glanced back at the clock. “…you do realize it’s not morning?”

“It’s morning,” I argued.

“It’s early. Roosters aren’t even awake. Believe me, I know these things, on account I keep track of all birds near our beach house.”

I rolled my eyes. He and his bird phobia.

“Dem.” I laid my head on his chest.

He started playing with my hair, his breathing even, his heartbeat strong. “Yeah?”

“What if…” I licked my lips. I just needed to say it and stop being such a chicken. “What if I suck at sex?” The words came out in rush. My face heated to five thousand degrees, and I had the sudden urge to dive under the covers and stay there for the next day or maybe an eternity.

Demetri was silent for a few minutes then burst out laughing.

Hurt, I tried to pull away, but he gripped my wrists and then pounced on top of me, his body hovering over mine. “You’re kidding, right? That was you being funny?”

A tear slid down my cheek. I couldn’t find my voice, so I shook my head and tried to look away.

“Aw, baby.” He grasped my chin firmly and brushed a kiss across my tear-stained lips. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m s-s-sorry.” I hiccupped. “I just, I don’t want to be horrible! What if I’m horrible, and you hate me and don’t love me anymore and—”

His kiss was hard, possessive. His tongue slid into my mouth then retracted, adding pressure against my lower lip. “Don’t you for one second...” He growled and kissed me again. “…entertain thoughts like that.”

Demetri’s soft lips rested against mine.

I shuddered. “But, but you’re Demetri Daniels!” Okay, I was ready to start full on wailing. Stupid, stupid, stupid Alyssa!

“God save me, I love it when my woman busts out my full name like that.” Demetri said in a husky voice. “You have no idea what that does to me. Actually, if I took off all my clothes and stood in front of you — naked as the day I was born — you’d have an idea.”

I laughed against his chest.

“I didn’t want to have to do this.” Demetri sighed and gently pushed me away. “But you’ve left me no choice.”

Panicked, I watched as his eyes fluttered closed, his ridiculously long eyelashes fanning against his tan skin.

“Punch me.”

“What?” I gasped. “Are you insane?”

He opened on eye. “Have I ever told you how happy it makes me that whenever I do something that sounds crazy, you don’t assume I’m drunk?”

“It was my next accusation. You just didn’t give me time.” I crossed my arms and smirked. “I’m not punching you.”

“Hey, you may like it.” Demetri closed his eyes again. “Now, come on, punch me hard.”

“No.” I laughed, the tears drying on my face. “Are you just trying to distract me from being panicked and terrified?”

“No.” Demetri sighed and opened his eyes, focusing in on my face. “My plan was to show you that I’m human. I still bleed, badass lead singer of AD2 or not. I’m just a guy, who really, desperately loves a girl.”

I looked down at my hands. “I know.”

He tilted my chin up toward him. “Do you? Do you really know? Because if we’re really going to start making confessions, here’s mine.”

The room fell silent except for the soft waves crashing against the beach. Demetri usually left his window open but not enough for any birds to come barreling in. I shivered as his arms wrapped around me.

“You terrify me.” He sighed into my hair. “Everything about you scares me. Forget being scared about sex. I’m petrified that one day you’ll wake up and realize I’m not worth it. I keep waiting to wake up from this dream, but that’s the thing, Lyss. You are my dream. You aren’t going to suck at sex. Mainly and honestly, I’ll be too damn nervous to even remember most of it, let alone judge your performance. Besides, what if I suck? What if I’m not gentle enough with you? Because, here’s confession number two, I have the worst self-control… ever.”

I pulled back and blinked in confusion. “But… all these months you’ve seen so good.”

His grin was shameless. “Right.”