It was amazing the things you could bring yourself to do when you felt insecure, when you were out to protect your heart. You could deny it what it wants most, just for the sake of saving your pride or dodging another bullet.

And then the lights went low, and our song began.The song I’d been working on since I’d arrived on the island. The one that morphed into something else entirely, something I never intended it to be. But music is like that. Much like life. It tells the story, it takes the lead.You’re just along for the ride.

Emma has it wrong. You don’t ditch your men, you kill them.”“I won’t kill you.” She stepped in front of me and took my hand, watching me take the last drag of my cigarette. “I like you too much.

It wouldn’t be long until I made my declaration. I didn’t just need my position to be clear, I needed to blind Whitney with blazing fireballs of glory. Real hardcore knock-em-down shit.

I hoped Tia was different. Easier to manage for people like me, who didn’t naturally jive with the little tykes. I’d only met her for a few seconds, so I had no idea what I was in for, here. All I knew was this wasn’t my element, and her father had just compared me to a pregnant woman.Wasn’t there something wrong with this picture?

My heart and my cock seemed to like the idea, and Whitney made me a slave to both, so my wits were outnumbered.

She was falling apart beneath my hands, and I was falling apart beneath her. My power was her power, and together, we sent each other soaring.

I smiled and rolled onto my side, bringing my arms around her. She wiggled against me, letting me spoon her, and I swept some sweaty hair away from her neck to kiss beneath her ear. “How do you like your new tattoo?”“I love it. It makes me want to be a bird.”“You already are a bird.”“I don’t get to fly.”“You fly all the time. Haven’t you noticed?

She pursed her lips and nodded, swiveling around to continue her survey of my modest living space. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest as she strolled around. Letting out a long, deep breath, she dropped her hands to her sides when she reached my DVD collection. “Downton Abbey?”I jolted forward, clearing my throat. “Yeah, it’s uh…it’s a good show.