The Price of Fame by Hazel Gower Page A

for tonight, please?”
    Markus stared at her and must have seen the fear in her eyes because he sighed, nodded, and pulled her as close to him as possible.
    She told herself she would worry tomorrow. Slowly, she relaxed into him and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter 9
    Markus debated whether to wake her as he had kept her up late and knew she hadn’t slept well after their conversation about protection. He hoped she knew how happy he would be if she was expecting. He paced the room, worried. Maybe Kylie shouldn’t have flown as far as she did yesterday. He was used to the long flights and late nights, but Kylie wasn’t, and if she was…
    He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had no idea if they were even true until Kylie confirmed them. Having been up for hours, he now reluctantly went back into the room to wake his sleeping beauty because he had no choice.
    He had just over an hour to tell Kylie he was going to perform their song at the awards ceremony, that he had arranged for special designer dresses to be delivered, and that he had paid for everything, including the makeup and hair artists who were coming. She wouldn’t be happy, as she wasn’t one for attention.
    Leaning over her, he kissed her cheek, whispering, “ Omorphoula , it’s time to wake up. You’ve slept most of the day away.”
    She let out a groan and pushed him away. “Go away. You kept me awake most of the night.”
    He lifted her up in his arms when she stretched, and she let out a squeal as he walked with her to the bathroom. “It’s shower time. Time to get ready.” He held her with one arm as he turned the taps on with the other. Not caring about the shorts he had on, he got under the warm spray. “As much as I’d like you to stay naked and in our bed, I made a commitment to go to the ceremony, and they were nice enough to move people around so you could come.”
    Wrapping her arms around his neck, she mumbled, “Fine. Put me down. I’ll get ready.”
    He gently slid her down his body. She grinned up at him as she felt the evidence of his arousal. He lathered his hands with her shower gel and washed her body.
    “You are a machine.” She rubbed herself against him as she trailed her fingers down his chest. “How long does this awards ceremony go for?”
    Closing his eyes, he prayed for patience as she slipped her hand into his shorts and started stroking him. He stopped cleaning her and took a deep breath before moaning, “ Omorphoula , stop. I have people coming soon, and if you start this, they’ll hear things you might not want them to.”
    She paused in her exploring and glared up at him, the water splashing over her face and cleaning the shower gel off. “Who is coming?”
    Turning off the shower, he got out and wrapped a towel around himself and held out a towel for Kylie. She grabbed it and flung it around her while she marched past him into their room.
    “I’ve had someone drop off my suit, and some dresses should arrive for you soon to save you searching for something to wear. I also have a makeup artist and hair stylist coming to give you an extra hand.”
    She didn’t say anything as she dressed in a yellow summer dress, and then turned, staring at him. Finally, she nodded.
    “Thanks, I will use them as long as I get a choice, and if I don’t like something, I can say no.”
    Letting out a breath, he nodded back and hoped this was the only drama of the night.
    * * * *
    Standing back stage, he agonized about not being smart enough to cancel. He didn’t know how long Kylie would last at this rate. She’d come out of their room hours later, after the stylist and hairdresser had finished, looking stunning. She walked to him in a long, flowing sky-blue dress that plunged in the back. It emphasized all her curves, and he’d been tempted to just stay home, but when his manager showed up to shoo them along, he guided her to the limo.
    Their arrival together caused a media frenzy as the press bombarded them