Ashlyn’s POV:
Leaning against the door jam watching Brantley while sipping my coffee, I watched the man I love sleeping. Laying on his back with the sheet pooled low on his hips, I took in the sight before me. His bare chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm, his hair a total mess, a soft snore escaping his parted lips, that V that made me weak in the knees every time I saw it. All of it together was pure delight. As I gazed at the man, thoughts of last night flashed through my mind in vivid technicolor. True to his word, he had let tie him to the bed, even though it was only long enough to give him what he referred to as a Grade-a blowjob. I felt my face blush and dampness pool in my lower region remembering the sound of cracking wood as he had pulled against the restraints that were secured to hooks in the headboard as he came. Changing a glance at said headboard, I smiled  mischievously when I noticed that the hooks were just barely holding onto the splintered wood. 

The buzzing of my phone from the bedside table pulled me from my wicked thoughts. It was barely 8 in the morning. Who the hell could be calling me this early? That's when I noticed that Brantley’s ringing as well. If both of our phones were ringing off the hook this early in the morning, it had to be something major. Striding over to the table, I grabbed my phone and saw that it was my Eric, boss.

“Hey boss.” I said into the phone as I walked out into the hallway so that I didn't wake Brantley.

“Ash, where are you?” he asks, his tone insistent and rushed.

“At Brantley’s in Georgia. Why?” I asked, my gut telling me that something was wrong.

“Where is he?” asked Eric. 

“Sleeping.” I said. “Eric, what's wrong?”

“You need to wake him. Both of you are needed in Nashville, like yesterday. Someone leaked some very personal footage of the two of you and news outlets are running with it. I’m actually surprised you haven't seen it yet.”  explained Eric.

“What are you talking about? What was leaked? When was it leaked?” I asked, my brain running a hundred miles and hour. Neither Brantley or I have messed with our phones since early yesterday because we wanted to disconnect from the world for a few minutes. 

“Ashlyn,” sighed Eric “someone leaked a sex tape of you two.”

“What!” I yelled. “I have never in my life made a sex tape. It's got to be doctored.” I said. This was bad. Real bad.

“I’m sorry but I’ve seen the tape, Ash. It’s you. The tattoo on your back can clearly be seen.” said Eric apologetically. “No one else at the firm has seen it though I’m sure Brantley’s people have by now. I know y'all just got off the road, but it's important that y'all get to Nashville and get this thing sorted out. I don't have to tell you what this type of thing could do to either of your careers.” 

“I know.” I replied. He was right. This was one of those situations that could ruin my reputation as a PR rep, making it where no one wanted to work with me. As for Brantley, it really could go either way. Women all over the world would pay good money to see him in such an intimate way even if it was with a woman that wasn't them, and would actually love him more for it. I didn't know when this tape was supposed made but if people saw that Brantley liked to get a little rough while having sex, that could ruin him. If I learned anything after the whole Morgan Wallen debacle, it was that the media and the fans thought of themselves as judge and jury. The minute they saw that Brantley liked to give me a necklace with his big hands, they would automatically assume he was into abusing women. And considering he had songs about what he thought about men who beat women, the fans and media would no doubt label him as a hypocrite. 

“Call me when you're on the way. I’ll try to keep this as quiet as I can but like I said TMZ is already dropping articles about it. It's only a matter of time before video footage is leaked to the press.”

“I will,” I said, feeling numb.

“See you soon Ash. Don't worry, we’ll find out who is behind this.” said Eric, but I was so far inside my head that his words did not register. I just ended the call without so much as a goodbye. 

Standing at the top of the stairs, I knew what I needed to do. I needed to wake Brantley and tell him everything but I was dreading it. I knew he was going to livid, and if I was being honest with myself, Angry Brantley scared me. Not in the way Angery Blake did because I knew Brantley would never hurt me. No, Angry Brantley scared me because of what he would do to whomever leaked his video. There was no doubt in my mind that Brantley would kill whomever filmed it, much less leaked it.

Taking a deep breath, I walked back to his room. As I neared the door, I could hear the water in the shower running telling me he was awake. But did he already know? Or had he just woken up, jumped in the shower, and never checked his phone? Since we had wanted to disconnect from the world, that last part was a real possibility. I could stand at this door all day wondering how the best way to tell him was going to be but it was going to be pointless. Best thing to do was just go in there and tell him. Like ripping a bandaid off right?

Walking towards the bathroom, I felt like I was walking the Green Mile. Knowing I needed something to distract him from the anger I knew he would be feeling, I made quick work of shucking his t-shirt that I had slipped on earlier. Nervously, I walked into the bathroom. My eyes flew to him standing back to me in the open tile shower. As if he sensed I was there, he turned his head looking at me over his shoulder. Before I even realized I was moving I stepped into the shower and slipped in front of him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I rested my head on his chest and let the tears I had been holding back begin to fall. What was I going to do if he decided that this was too much for us?

“Baby, what's wrong?” said Brantley, his tone anxious. 

“Eric called. We’re needed in Nashville as soon as possible.” I said between sobs.

“Why?” he asked. “What is so important that we have to get to Nashville.”

“B, someone leaked a sex tape of you and me.” I said. Timidly, I lifted my head and locked eyes with him. In his eyes, I saw pure unadulterated rage simmering in his green irises. I felt his body tense up, wound tighter than guitar strings that had been over tightened. He was literally vibrating with the need to inflict harm on someone. All of that should have scared me shitless but what scared me the most was his silence. I needed him to lash out, to flip his shit. The silence was killing me. “Say something baby.”

“My thoughts are borderline premeditated at the moment.” Brantley growled, his voice lower than I had ever heard it before. “I going to rip the son of a bitch that did this limb from limb with my bare fuckin’ hands. No one, and I mean abso-fucking-lutely no one sees what belongs to me.”

“You can't, B. That would be prison time and I can't stand the thought of having to visit you with bars separating us.” I said, the tears I had managed to slow coming back in full force. 

“And Eric is positive it’s you?” he asked, his barely contained anger evident in his tone. He was like a ticking time bomb. It was a matter of time before he exploded. 

“He said he watched enough of the tape to see it was me. Said the tattoo on my back is clearly visible.” I said, once again looking up at Brantley timidly. 

“We're gonna fix this baby.” growled Brantley. “And when I find out who did this, I swear to god, they are going to wish they had never heard of me or you. Hell, they're going to wish they had never even heard of country music when I’m done with the lawsuits that I will throw at their asses. That is after I give them the ass whippin’ they fuckin’ deserve.”

“Just don't do anything that can cost me you.” I said, resting my head back on his chest. His big arms went around me, holding me tightly. 

“Not gonna lose me baby. I promise you that. It's gonna take a whole hell of a lot more to get rid of me than a perverted peeping tom with a video camera, looking for a fuckin’ payday.” said Brantley as he placed his hands on my cheeks and tilted my head back so that he could look into my eyes. He didn't know how much I needed to hear him say that at the moment. “Lets get showered and head out. We both have some calls to make.”

Happy Thanksgiving all! Hope yall's day was filled with all the turkey and sides that yalls little hearts could have ever wanted! As always, I'm thankful for each and every one of all that take the time to read these chapters. Yall will never know how much it means to me when I see that yall are loving my stories.
And a HUGE shoutout to MissyDoe2017 for reminding me that I am my own worst critic!