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"Want to meet her?" He waggles his eyebrows, "She inspires me most when she's naked and spread over my lap, so I can spank her until she's wet, right before I turn her over and make sweet love to her."

Heat blooms between my thighs. "What if she wants to be fucked instead?" I squeeze my legs together.

His grin widens. "That can be arranged too." He leans down and kisses me again, hard, then turns and leads me down the hill. "To think, I have Arpad to thank for you showing up at my door," he mutters.

"Wait, what?" I gasp, and turn to him, "What's Arpad got to do with anything?"

"Asshole called up your agency and asked for you to take on the assignment as my nanny."

"What?" I gape, "So it was him—?"

"Yep," he nods. "In a way, I am grateful to him. If he hadn't sprung that on me, we wouldn't be here today."

"He's a good friend." I reach up and he dips his chin, closing the height-gap between us enough that I can touch his face. This casual gesture of affection, this ability to touch him anytime I want... Wow, it's something I'll never take for granted. "He knew you were hurting, that you needed a reason to come out of the dark place you were in. He saw the opportunity and took it."

"Hmm. Perhaps you are right." He rolls his shoulders.

"I am," I say with a smug smile. "Thanks to him, your video went viral; with your song already making it to the top of the charts in the country."

Yep, the notoriety of the supposed annulment, within hours of being married, followed by his from-the-heart song and declaration of love, had broken the internet.

"I am not complaining, though that's not why I did it," he replies. "And the song was all you. You inspired me, Flower.

My heart feels like it's going to burst. As closed off as he'd been earlier, he doesn't hold back now. He cuts out his heart and offers it to me every opportunity he gets. My hard-ass, sensitive artist of a rockstar. There are so many layers to him that not even a lifetime will be enough to get to know him. He'll always manage to surprise me at every turn, and God, I can't wait to experience this beautiful life of ours together.

Stupid tears fill my eyes and I blink them away,

"The song..." I glance up at the view of his hard jaw. "It was more than beautiful... it was—

"It was probably the first completely honest piece I ever wrote." He pauses, turns to me. "Was it cathartic? Yes. Could I have done it without you? No. Every time I saw you come apart under me, Flower... It healed something inside of me. The honesty of your response to me, the way you looked at me, how you held on to me and allowed me a glimpse of your soul as you shattered... It loosened the walls I had built between me and myself..." He laughs, "Am I making sense?"

"Yes," I whisper, "more than you know." I flatten my palm against his chest, "It's the same for me. When I am with you, I feel free. I feel supported enough to be able to explore my own creativity."

"We're good for each other." His grin widens.

"Told you so." I chuckle.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side, babe."

"As long as you don't forget to bring your mean side to bed."

He slaps my arse and I jump. "Hey, what was that for?" I protest.

"Enough dallying, woman. Let's get going. We need to make an appearance at Sinclair's place before I can drag you back home and ravish you."

"Do we?" I pout, "Couldn't we give it a miss?"

"We'll put in a quick appearance." He pulls me into his side. “I promised the guys I'd be there. Besides, I need to pay back Arpad for what he did to me, and I promise, you’ll want a front seat for what's going to happen next."

Epilogue 2

Karina

Why the hell had I accepted the invitation to this New Year's Eve party? Technically it's past the New Year, but the Seven, minus Baron, had spent New Year's Eve first at the hospital in solidarity with Damian; and later, trying to console the rock star, who'd shut himself off, before emerging with the track that had changed everything. So, today is the official party, to stand in for the New Year's bash.

I ring the doorbell of the townhouse on Primrose Hill. This isn't my scene, at all. So what if the Seven are my best—read: only—clients right now in London. It is because their business is too important to lose, that I had moved half-way across the world from LA. It is thanks to their security concerns for themselves and their growing circle of friends and family that I am making enough money to be able to grow my business. So yeah, that is my answer. That's why, when Sinclair Sterling, business man extraordinaire, who, together with the Seven, owns one of the biggest financial services companies in this country, had asked me to attend this event, I couldn't refuse.

I blow out a breath, then straighten when the door is flung open.