Sweet Possession

But tonight? Yeah, she could do alone. Co

She shook her head but couldn’t get his sneer out of her mind. He made her uncomfortable. As if he could see right past her shields, all her secrets and all her fears. It was as if he’d seen her naked and vulnerable and hadn’t been at all impressed. But then, why should he be?

“Lyric, are you all right?” R.J. interrupted. She could hear the worry in his voice, but at the moment she didn’t care and didn’t have the mental energy necessary to reassure him.

She waved dismissively at them and turned away. It was a clear signal for them to leave, and they’d be fools to ignore it. They might be intimate with her, but sex was all they offered. They weren’t her friends. Weren’t her confidants. She didn’t have those.

When she heard the door open and close, she turned back to survey the empty suite. Cold panic clawed at her throat and she took several long, steadying breaths. Sweat that had nothing to do with her exhaustive performance beaded on her forehead, and she could feel nausea well in her throat.

She gazed around, absorbing the loneliness that surrounded her like fog. It seeped into her skin. Wrapped around her bones until she was paralyzed by its grip.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Gripped her arms with her fingers and then rubbed up and down to assuage the coldness that emanated from the inside out.

Co

They wanted someone to rein her in, and that cold bastard would probably delight in doing just that. Over her dead body.

She grabbed on to the anger, harnessed it like someone desperate to ride the wind. The alternative was fear.

A knock sounded at her door and she flew to open it, relief rocketing through her system. She yanked it open to see Phillip and Barry standing there in their smarmy executive clothing, but in that moment, she was so relieved to see them, she didn’t care.

“Lyric, are we disturbing you?” Phillip asked.

She shook her head and opened the door wider. “Come in. Can I get you a drink?”

They walked inside and looked around, surprised, she knew, to find her alone. Phillip shrugged out of his expensive coat and tossed it over the back of the couch. “We need to talk, Lyric.”

She bristled at his tone and do

Barry, who didn’t do confrontation very well, looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but here. Which was fine because she wasn’t too crazy about here either.

“You need Co

“I don’t need anybody,” she said icily.

“You need him,” Phillip said firmly. “I’ve let things go on as long as I’m going to. You’re in breach of contract and I’ve let it go. Until now. Co

Her mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he said grimly. “I’m not giving you a choice, Lyric. You’ll do this or you’ll be out on your ass, and trust me, even as big as you are, I don’t see another record label lining up to pick you up with all the shit you’ve pulled.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t threaten me, Phillip.”

His expression softened just a bit, but determination still glinted in his eyes. “Things can’t go on as they are, Lyric. You’ve been lucky, but sooner or later, your luck is going to run out. We need Co

She set her jaw until her teeth ached. She opened her mouth to argue but he shut her down with one swift shake of his head.

“Don’t speak. You’ll fly out after the show this weekend. That’ll give him and you a few days to cool off.”

He snapped his fingers at Barry and the two of them walked out of her room, closing the door with a sharp bang. She sank onto the couch like a deflated balloon.

She ran agitated fingers through her hair, pulling on the ends in repetition. Co

He was smug and too damn good-looking. Her brow wrinkled in irritation. Good-looking? Yeah, he was. It might get her goat to admit it, but he was exactly the sort of man she was attracted to. Tall. Strong and silent. And blond. Muddy blond with different tones and shades, like he spent a lot of time out in the sun. He wasn’t pretty blond, but rugged, yummy blond. She had a weakness for blonds. She didn’t normally go for the good guy, military-type cut, but on him it looked good. It looked damn good. Just added to his badass appearance.

He had those piercing green eyes that saw way too much. He cut through the layers at supersonic speed. Maybe he was some goddamn superhero. She laughed. Maybe he was supposed to be her goddamn superhero.

Yeah, she could have taken him back to her room if not for the fact they loathed each other on sight. She couldn’t even say she’d had an instant reaction to him. Her dislike had been in self-defense. More of an “I hate him because he hates me” response.

And now Phillip wanted her to fly to Houston and grovel? Jesus. She didn’t grovel. Ever. The mere thought nearly choked her.

Why did she need Co

She leaned farther back on the couch and propped her feet on the coffee table. She shouldn’t have sent Trent and R.J. away. They could be having hot, sweaty sex right now and she could slip into oblivion. Instead she was mad as hell because if she wanted to stay employed, she was going to have to go play nice with some good old boy without a sense of humor.

For a moment she was tempted to call Trent and R.J. back. They’d be more than happy to climb into bed with her, and then she wouldn’t feel so terribly alone. But try as she might, she couldn’t make the disapproving look on Co

CHAPTER 3

Co

Then, when he’d landed, he had six voice mails, three of them from Pop and another three from Micah, who’d delighted in giving him hell about his meeting with the pop diva. Asshole.

“Hey, you’re back,” Faith called from her office as he passed.

His frown eased into a smile, and he backed up to Faith’s doorway. “Yeah, I’m back. Finally. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“Heard it didn’t go too well,” she said, her green eyes bright with sympathy.