‘There's a million different reasons why I love youAnd I'm sure that I could find a million moreThere's not a single thing that I would change about you,You're picture-perfect just the way you areSo show me every mark and every scar…’ When Everly heard Lennon’s wonderful voice through the door, she almost fainted with relief. She couldn’t answer with the gag in her mouth, so just like when Daisy had come, she kicked her legs against the wall of the shed to let him know she’d heard him. Everly heard Lennon and Daisy talking but couldn’t understand them. Focusing on breathing, she forced herself to calm down. They would get her out of here as soon as they could… Before she peed herself or got bitten by a spider. NO! She would not think about spiders again. The wispy crawling she’d felt across her legs a few times had not been spiders. From what she could tell by the dimming light through the one dust-covered window, Everly thought sh
‘And for so many years, I knew it would be you here with me, Take you for my wife, the center of my lifeAnd I will never ever fadeFrom this choice I've made…’ Married! She was finally Lennon’s wife! Everly opened her eyes and curled around Lennon’s long, lean body, her head pillowed by his chest. She was wrung out and exhausted, but incredibly happy. Their first night as husband and wife has been absolutely magical.“Married…” she whispered and smiled. Their wedding ceremony had been amazing. Everly sighed recalling how free and happy she felt on her wedding day, how glorious it was hearing Lennon saying ‘I Do’ while losing herself in his loving gaze. She could still recall her state of mind following the months of her brief kidnapping. Happy weeks… Terrifying weeks… They’d had to deal with the paparazzi way too much when the story of Everly’s kidnapping broke. Fortunately, Erik’s trial had been swift and decisive, so the clamor in the pres
‘There's just no rhyme or reasonOnly the sense of completionAnd in your eyesI see the missing pieces I'm searching forI think I've found my way homeI know that it might soundMore than a little crazy but I believeI loved you before I met you…’ The door to Lennon’s dressing room opened and a crew member stuck his head in.“Fifteen-minute warning, Lenno.” Lennon nodded.“Thanks, man.” He looked down at Everly, letting his eyes linger over her. He’d never get tired of just looking at her. She’d been hard at work on edits for her newest book while he went through his vocal warm-ups. This was his first performance since they’d gotten back from their honeymoon. While scrolling through some files, Everly swept her hair off the back of her neck with one hand. Holding it up, she looked so damned sultry, so feminine, Lennon held his breath and his heart almost stopped. Everly looked up as if feeling his eyes on her.“You do know what you do to me, r
‘Come with me… I want the whole world to know that you’re mine. That you are my one and only,’ he said while playing with her long blonde hair. ‘Sweetheart, come with me outside…’ Lennon added. He stood up and extended his hand. She felt like royalty as he helped her to her feet. Just being next to him made her dizzy with pleasure, but when he proceeded to put his arm around her waist, it was almost too much. ‘I can’t. You’re Lennon Stark, the rock star. Everybody wants to be near you, and I can’t deal with that. I don’t like the limelight,’ she whispered. ‘I’m not ready to go outside, to meet people… I might never be ready…’‘Alright, I understand…’ he replied and kept holding her hand. ‘We’ll stay here, in your bedroom… For as long as you want.’ ‘Who are you really? The rock star everybody sees or the simple man sitting in front of me?’‘Is this a dream, Lennon? Or are we really here… together?’ she asked softly.‘What does it matter, sweetheart? We’re here… Tog
‘Your voice, it echoes through the darknessAnd telling me you're so alone,Your heart's trapped in this empty apartmentYeah, you're in deeper than I know…’ Listening to those words, hearing his exquisite voice while writing, while daydreaming, in the shower or at the table, while eating, in her bed, before closing her eyes, was always the highlight of her days and nights. At first, Everly told herself it was completely fine to have a crush on a rock star. Who hadn’t? Teenagers, young or old women all over the world were like her, gushing over some actor, singer, football or basketball player… Even over an entire boy band… Everybody, at least once in their life, got starry-eyed over hot musicians with dynamic personalities singing incredible, soul-bending songs, or gorgeous actors giving life to powerful characters… usually romantic characters. So, there was absolutely no reason to feel like an idiot for obsessing over Lennon Stark, one of the
‘How I wish you could see the potential, The potential of you and me. It’s like a book elegantly bound But in a language that you can’t read just yet…’ “Hi, guys! It’s a beautiful morning in San Diego and I’m here with the latest updates on ‘Black & White’ trilogy! I must say your feedback up to this point, is absolutely fantastic and I’m looking forward to making lots of progress on the edits for the third book, ‘Crimson Love’. I know a lot of you are anxious for info, so I hope to have an official release date for you as well as a cover reveal by the same time next week. I hope more of you will jump on board and take this romantic trip with all of you, already loyal fans, and with yours truly.” Everly grinned and fist-pumped. “Also, I’ve started an all-new series that I’m really excited about. No details yet though… But I’ll give you the title and let you imagine… It’s called ‘Leather & Lace’. For the rest, you’ll just have to wait to find out what it is. Well, that
‘I met you in the dark,You lit me upYou made me feel as thoughI was enough…’ As the final chord echoed away in the packed arena, the crowd roared with applause. Lennon’s pulse drummed a hundred miles an hour and his chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath. Even now, after all this time, there was no better feeling than the high of a show. But he was also relieved. This stop in Chicago was the last one before they went home, to Boston. After weeks on the road, touring like crazy, Lennon needed a break. He waved to the crowd and left the stage. Shane and Jared, his cousins and bandmates, followed him. They hugged and high-fived the crew backstage as they wound through equipment. They still had a session of meet & greet to attend, but it was almost over.“Lenno, dude…! Tonight, you sang your guts out on that scene! You were pure dynamite, man! TNT!” Jared exclaimed, draping an arm across Lennon’s shoulder.“Yeah…” Lennon said, his vocal cords aching
‘Now here’s the sun, come to dry the rainwarm my shoulders and relieve my painyou’re the one thing that I’m missing herewith you beside me I no longer fear.I need to be bold,need to jump in the cold water,need to grow older with a girl like you.’ She was trying to be calm as the clock ticked steadily closer to 1 p.m. when Everly needed to get on the chat with Lennon Stark, the man of her dreams for the past few months. He’d sent his number she’d checked the conversion between time zones twice. She thought she was doing a decent job of not letting it make her nervous until her personal assistant, Daisy, came for her usual hours in the afternoon. Everly had hired Daisy initially to help her with emails and all day-to-day business of her writing career, but over time she had taken on a greater role by helping Everly in her personal life as well. No one understood Everly’s anxiety better than Daisy. Daisy crossed her arms and stared at Everly.