Her soft footsteps circled the island until she was in front of me, and I wrapped myself around her until she was lifted off the floor. I inhaled her and reveled in the scent of sun-brewed tea and the sharp sweetness of lilacs. Just the one breath made my mouth water.

“What’s this for?” She asked.

I allowed her feet to touch the ground. “I just realized something, and it made a lot of things click into place.”

“About me?” Her voice shook a little.

“Yeah,” I said gently. “About you.”

She swallowed. “Do I want to know?”

Letting her stand, I tugged her back so I could see her face and tilted her chin up. “We’ve told you a lot of things, but I don’t think we’ve said this, and I think it’s something you need to hear. You don’t have to be alone anymore, baby. Okay? You never have to be alone.”

Her eyes went glassy, and she blinked away the reactionary tears. “You’re right. I did need to hear that.”

“You’re going to have a great day, and after it’s over, come home to us and have a great night.”

“Okay.”

Ben and Avery came down the stairs, and Ben called us. “Ready to face the music?”

I kissed Esme, taking the time to taste her lips. Just the one small taste had to last me the whole day. “I’m ready.”

Luke looked at her. “Call Wes.”

“I will.”

She followed us into the entry, and the others kissed her too before she fell back. Pictures were fine, but giving them easy pictures was silly. Esme stayed out of sight as we opened the door, and just like I’d thought, they converged from every direction.

The flashes were blinding and the questions overlapping so quickly I couldn’t make all of them out. What I did hear made me clench my fists, and I forced myself into the car before I made an ass of myself for punching a photographer in the face.

“Now I know why she wears sunglasses,” Avery said.

I tried to unclench my jaw. “I’m going to need some. Did you hear the asshole ask how good it felt to knot her?”

“Yes,” Luke said darkly. “But it’s going to be like this until they lose interest.”

They would. Eventually. When they saw Esme was actually fucking happy. They preyed on weakness, exploiting the cracks in her armor. I planned on making that armor stronger.

They were at the studio too. It was actually a bigger crowd. We parked behind the building. “Should we go in the back?” Rylan asked.

“No.” Ben stretched. “If we give them some of what they’re after, they might fade out after a while. But if we sneak in the back, they’ll be waiting and trying to photograph us through the windows all day.”