Sample Chapter
Without warning, Danielle snatched the beer out of fan-guy’s hand and dumped it over his head.
Ben froze for half a second as the guy let out a banshee scream, stumbling back and swiping at his dripping hair.
And then he caught Danielle’s hand—still wet and cold from the beer—and they pushed through the crowd, ignoring the shouts behind them, ducking phones and flailing arms.
Outside the club, he ran, his pulse thundering in his ears and her hand tight in his. He didn’t know where he was going—just away. Away from fans, from cameras, from the noise. But as they turned down one block, then another, his instincts kicked in.
Apartment building. Door that locks.
“There!” he said, spotting what he was looking for. He tugged Danielle up the steps. She stumbled, and he slowed, catching the door before it latched. He yanked it open just wide enough to pull her through, then shut it behind them with a solid, satisfying click.
Silence.
He pressed his back to the cool wall, trying to catch his breath. Across from him, she did the same, her chest rising and falling fast.
Footsteps echoed on the stairs—whoever had entered before them—but no one came from behind.
They’d lost the mob.
The foyer was dim, lined with old mailboxes and the faint smell of dust and floor polish. It was nothing fancy, but it might as well have been a sanctuary.
And then he laughed.
Danielle giggled too, and soon they were both laughing like kids who’d pulled off a daring prank and gotten away with it.
“I can’t believe you dumped that guy’s beer on his head,” he managed, his stomach cramping from how hard he was laughing.
“Oh my God, did you see his face?” she gasped.
“I did,” he said. “And it was priceless.”
Still grinning, he reached for her. He didn’t think about it. Didn’t plan it. His hands just cupped her face and he kissed her.
Soft. Quick. But real.
The moment his lips touched hers, something inside him paused—like the world had gone still. Her skin was warm beneath his palms. Her lips didn’t move, didn’t pull away. Just… stunned.
He backed off a breath, but not all the way. Close enough to feel the catch of her breath against his mouth. Close enough to give her time to pull back if she wanted to.
She didn’t.
So he kissed her again.
Slower this time. Deeper. She tasted like adrenaline and cola and something sweeter underneath, something that cut straight through him.
When she melted into him, he wrapped his arms around her, feeling the strength of her shoulders under his hands, the softness of her mouth against his. His tongue brushed her lip, coaxing her to open for him.
And when she did, when her tongue touched his—
She jerked back like she’d been burned.
“Oh my God!” she blurted. “We did not—We just—”
She slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with shock.
He watched her, still half-dazed, his hands dropping to his sides. “I believe the word you’re looking for is kissed,” he said.
Her hand stayed clamped to her lips like she was trying to hold the moment in.
“I work for you,” she said, the words spilling out in one long breath. “Kissing is…”
“Inappropriate?” he offered, letting the edge of a grin pull at his mouth.
“Yes!”
“It was just a kiss.”
“That was not—” She cut herself off.
Ben knew that look. That what if this meant more than it should? panic. He’d seen it before—but never quite like this.
Because she wasn’t like the others.
And this kiss wasn’t like the others either.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” he said. “Or change anything.”
But even as he said it, he felt the shift. She was looking at him like she’d already changed. Like he had.
And that scared the hell out of him.
