The kiss with Kade this afternoon only heightened my reaction to him while he performed. There was this little sexy move he did in the middle of the show where he looked right at me, and I had a total fangirl moment. I wished I could rush the stage, take the boy down, and drag him back to a dressing room. But my draining day had taken its toll.

I can hardly keep my eyes open during the elevator ride to my floor. The gaudy thin carpet beneath my feet looks like a pillow top mattress, and I'm considering sleeping on it. Reaching in my back pocket, I dig out my key card, and I can't focus as I insert it into the slot to open the door.

A hand moves over mine and pulls the card out of my fingers. "You look like you're about to collapse," Kade says.

"I'm so tired. I have no clue how you jump up and down on stage night after night and then hang out until ungodly times in the morning," I say with a yawn.

He slides the card into the slot and turns the handle. "So, I guess a movie is out?"

"Rain check?" I ask.

He nods. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

I kiss his cheek. "Thank you for everything today."

"Anytime, Ari." He winks and walks away.

I step into the dark room, sliding my hand along the wall to find the light switch. The floor lamp at the far side of the room turns on, and I blink against the light several times; I swear they are playing tricks on me.

"A.J.," Asher says, from the edge of my bed. He leans forward, dangling a bottle of whiskey between his knees. His blue eyes focus on me, and his golden hair stands out in every which direction.

I freeze and ask, "Asher, what are you doing here?"

He stands and paces back and forth. The silence between us is deafening until he says, "I came to see my girlfriend who for the past two weeks has avoided every single one of my fucking calls!"

I stumble back a few steps. Never have I been afraid of him, but never have I seen him so completely wasted. This is nothing like the drunken phone calls, and it's freaking me out. Without a word, I turn to the door.

"Oh, no no no, baby. You're not going anywhere." He grasps my upper arm, pulling me back into the middle of the room. Alcohol permeates from him as he runs his hand over my hair and studies my face. I stifle the urge to gag.

"What did he tell you?" Asher asks as if he's talking to a child.

"Nothing." I shake my head and flinch away from his touch.

He runs one hand over his face and takes a drink from the bottle in his other. His eyes are glassy and rimmed in red, and he clenches his jaw. "Don't lie to me, A.J. What the fuck did he tell you?" he screams in my face.

"Nothing! He didn't need to tell me anything." I hate that I'm terrified of him; I want to feel powerful and in control. My desire to rule over him pushes me over the edge, and I snap. "It was all right there the whole time, Asher. Your stupid, naïve girlfriend finally came to her senses. Why stay with me? Why? I mean, I wouldn't sleep with you, so you screwed around with everyone else."

He throws his hands in the air, and the brown liquid in the bottle splashes onto the floor. "What the hell did you want me to do? Every time I saw you, I practically begged you. I'm on the road for months at a time, and they're all so willing and ready, unlike you."

I flinch; his words sting like a slap in the face.

"I'm Asher Prescott, every goddamn girl wants to fuck me, but not my own girlfriend. But that doesn't appear to be a problem anymore, is it?" He takes steps forward, and I back up, bumping into the wall.

With one last swig, he tosses the whiskey bottle to the ground and closes the gap separating us. "I heard him. I heard Slone out in the hall. You know where to find him, Ari. Are you fucking him?"

I push at his chest, trying to move him away from me. "No, Asher."

"Bullshit!"

Like the flip of a switch, his face takes on a frightening calm. "It's all right if you did. I know how it is on the road. It's lonely, and sometimes you just can't control yourself, but you can make it up to me, baby." He drops his mouth to my neck, leaving wet sloppy kisses on my skin. I try to move away, but he has me trapped.

"You can make it better," he says, sliding his hand up my shirt and wedging his knee between my legs.

I push him as hard as I can, and when that doesn't work, I thrust my knee up to the juncture in between his legs. Asher slumps over with his hands over his groin, and I rush for the door, but as I throw it open, he grabs me by the back of my shirt.

"Help!" I scream as loud as I can before his hand clasps over my mouth.

Asher pulls me back, and the door begins to close. If it latches shut, no one will be able to get in. I kick off one of my shoes and push it in front of the doorjamb. One moment I'm waiting to see if it works, and the next, Asher shoves me to the bed, knocking the wind out of me. He sits on top of me and pins my hands above my head with one of his.

"Please, help me," I scream, struggling to get free.

With his free hand, Asher backhands me across the face, and the coppery taste of blood floods my mouth.

"Why? Why are you being like this? What does Slone have that I don't?" His words almost sound loving, and it reminds me of all the times he consoled me when I broke down over my mom's death. Everything between us has been a lie from the beginning.

"My trust, Kade has my trust," I sob, closing my eyes and willing my brain to disconnect from my body. Whatever happens from to me here on out, I don't want to be present.