My heart nearly stops, and an involuntary squeak escapes my lips.“It’s me, Love.” Zains velvety voice rumbles through the room.“Sweet baby Jesus Zain, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”“I thought you heard me knock.”“Um no, and what are you doing here?”“Thought I would stop by.”“No, I mean in my bathroom?”“Well, I came in here for this.”The shower door opens and Zain’s arm snakes around my waste and pulls me to him as his lips crash down on mine. I can’t help the small gasp that escapes me, and Zain takes advantage of that moment and slips his tongue between my lips. My arms wrap around his neck as I give into the moment. The near heart failure forgotten. Zain deepens the kiss and an almost growl rumbles in his chest vibrating throughout my body. The tingles start and butterflies start fluttering in my stomach. We brea

“Hey Ash, want a drink?” I look up to see Sam’s smiley face and I give her a nod. “You’re going to love the band playing tonight!” Sam said with a grin “Oh yea, where are they from?” “I found them in San Antonio and reached out. I was thrilled when they said they would make the trip to play.” Sam had worked her ass of to keep the local music scene alive. There would be two local bands playing with the out of town band. It helped get the crowds in if people they new were also playing. People were already starting to show even though it was early. “Looks like all that promoting worked. I am so proud of you Sam!” “Thanks girl. I am excited. If this is just the beginning of the night, my feet are going to be killing me by the end! Hey, so where is Zain? You to are pretty much inseparable these days.” “He will be here I am sure. You know he never misses a show. You know Sam, I don’t know how I would have made it through all of this

“What the hell, Z. What are you doing here?” “Don’t what the hell me Ash. What the hell yourself. I was worried about you. You didn’t answer my calls.” “I didn’t get a call from you.” “Check your phone. I finally got ahold of Sam and she told me you passed out but were feeling better and heading home. Why didn’t you call me to come get you?” “You were busy, and I got myself home just fine.” I brushed past him and unlocked the door. Zan followed me in so closely I could feel the heat from his body on my back. I am going to need another drink for this. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of rum and a shot glass. “What has gotten into you tonight, Ash?” “Nothing. I am fine.” “I guess you will tell me when you are ready.” “Why are you here Zain. I thought you were parting with Hannah.” “I was worried. You sounded off.” “We were texting how did I sound off.” “You just did. You were shor

My eyes popped open to darkness. I was in my bed alone, but I could hear breathing. I felt around my bed to confirm that no one was there. I shouldn’t be able to hear breathing. It wasn’t coming from me. I threw the covers off me and jumped out of bed. I crept down the hallway and could see light from the tv flickering in the living room. Strange, I know I didn’t leave it on. I paused and took in a calming breath before continuing. Something was wrong. My mind was screaming at me that this was familiar. To turn around and run. I continued forward. On the couch laid Ryan. I flipped on the light and ran to him. His skin a sickly grey. His body fighting for oxygen. I ran to him and knelt beside him. I rubbed my fist on his chest and called his name. “Ryan, please baby wake up. Talk to me. RYAN!!! I shook him as tears spilled down my face. “Please, please wake up. Please don’t leave me.”“Ashton! It’s okay, I am here.”

I spent the last week doing the research Zain had asked me to. There are things I can never unsee and are absolute no’s for me. I am still concerned about a few things. I don’t know how submissive I can be. If I know anything about myself it is that I am defiant as hell. In theory, giving control over to someone I trust sounds like heaven right now. Will I be able to though? I worked hard to get from under the thumb of people who claimed to have my best interest at heart. They used the word protective instead of controlling. It took a very long time to break that. To understand what was really going on and rebuild myself from their emotional abuse. I also know that Zain would never do those things to me. Yes, I would be giving him power over me, but it would be my choice. I set the boundaries and I could also walk away. This was not to feed his ego, but to help me. That would be the difference. This would be about me and not about him.“Are you free to have