Forbidden Ballad - Rock My World (6 page)

I realize that we’re heading for a building and not a bar or restaurant.

I stop in my tracks. “Where are we going?” My voice sounds a little too hard.

“I didn’t want to go somewhere public, it’s hard for me. I live here, so I thought we could just grab a drink at my place.”

“You want me to go to your apartment?” I ask stupidly.

Leo smiles. “Well, I don’t bite. I promise you’ll be perfectly safe,” he purrs. I can’t help but get a shiver from the slightly dangerous tone of his voice.

“Just one drink,” I say firmly, still unsure if this is a good idea.

I follow Leo inside, and we’re whisked upstairs to one of the penthouses, of course. Being a world famous rock star certainly has its perks.

The doors of the elevator open directly into the penthouse, and at first all I see are crisp white lines and twinkling city lights. Once I adjust to the luxury of Leo’s home, I notice that he has amazing views of downtown Manhattan. From what I can see of the open floor plan, everything is done in whites and gray shades, and I instantly start to relax.

“Have a seat,” Leo says motioning me towards a plush white couch in the living room. I sit down and watch as Leo walks over to a bar at the adjacent wall.

“I’ve got everything. What would you like?”

“A glass of wine if you have it. “

“White or red?”

“White, please.”

He opens a small door on the lower part of the bar, and I see it’s a stocked wine fridge. He pulls out a bottle of Pinot Grigio and pours two glasses. He hands me a glass and sits next to me.

“Your place is amazing.”

“Thanks. I worked hard for this.”

“I’m sure you did. Your parents must be proud.”

Leo nearly chokes on his wine. His eyes are hard and he gives me a sad, bitter smile. “You would think.”

“Your parents aren’t proud of you?” I can’t help but ask. Leo Nash was one of the biggest music stars and had obviously done extremely well for himself.

“I didn’t follow our family career path,” he says bitterly.

I don’t want to press him further because I can see he doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Well, they’re crazy,” I say softly.

He takes a sip of wine and turns towards me, giving me his full on Leo Nash hot-as-hell gaze.

“Are your parents proud of you?”

I sigh and bite my lip. I think about the last phone call I had with my parents.

“They
were
proud of me,” I answer honestly.

“They aren’t any more?”

“I’m not sure. They were very disappointed when I left Nashville and quit Sideroad. They couldn’t understand why I would give that up.”

“Why did you give it up?”

“It doesn’t make for a good story. Trust me.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind hearing it.”

I don’t think I’m ready to talk about this with anyone, least of all Leo Nash.

I shake my head, somewhat embarrassed, and change the subject.

“So, how did I end up singing backup for you?”

Leo chuckles; a deep, throaty sound.

“Touché. That doesn’t make for a good story, either,” he says darkly.

The energy between us feels strange now and I take a sip of wine.

It suddenly hits me that I’m sitting in Leo Nash’s sleek penthouse apartment and I’m not sure what I’m doing here. Leo has been perfectly fine to me, but there’s an undercurrent of danger about him. In fact, he’s probably more dangerous than I ever suspected because he’s made me feel so at ease.

I’ve left my fiancé, and my entire life behind in Nashville. I’ve walked away from a great career, and come to New York City of all places, where I’m suddenly singing backup for a wildly popular rock band.

What the hell am I doing?

I abruptly put my glass down and jump up.

“I’m sorry. I’m not sure what I’m doing here. I should go.”

“Wait! Don’t go! What happened?”

Leo’s gorgeous face is twisted in confusion, but I don’t recognize myself. I’m dressed in clothes that aren’t me, singing music that isn’t me, and sitting with a known womanizer.

“This was a mistake. I don’t know what I’m doing. My whole life is turned upside down.”

I hurry towards the elevator doors and jam the button to go down. But Leo is right behind me, and before the doors can even open, Leo has spun me around to face him.

I want to shout for him not to touch me, but I can’t because he’s pressing me up against the wall and his lips crush against me. I half-heartedly try to push him away, but he feels so different than Walker, and I throw caution to the wind and melt into his body.

I press my lips hard against him, and kiss him back and I hear Leo groan in surprise pleasure. His hands travel down my back and he squeezes my ass to pull me closer to him.

The kiss is wild and reckless, and I can’t get enough of Leo as I part my lips and our tongues mash against one another. I run my hands along Leo’s biceps, something my subconscious has wanted to do all day. Leo smells delicious and he tastes like the Pinot Grigio. My heart pounds wildly in my chest, and I can feel elicit heat building between my legs. I’m so intoxicated with Leo that I’m not sure if I can stop myself.

Leo presses his hips hard against me, and I can feel his bulging erection. I moan with my desire and then open my eyes to look at him. I catch a glance of our reflections in the mirror and I’m jolted back into reality.

Leo is grinding against me, and I have my body wrapped so snugly around him that we look like one. My hair is wild and disheveled; I look nothing like myself.

“I can’t do this!” I gasp, breaking away.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asks in a throaty voice. “Let me take you upstairs.”

My stomach turns.

“No. I can’t. I shouldn’t have come here. Things got out of control. I’m sorry.”

“Hey!” Leo grabs my hand, and I focus hard to ignore the wild desire of my raging hormones. My body desperately wants to win out over my head.

“I’m sorry, Leo. Please!”

I wrench myself free, and press the elevator button again. Mercifully, the doors open and I jump inside. I watch the doors close as Leo’s surprised face stares at me in shock.

“Shit, shit, shit!” I exclaim, raking my fingers through my mussed up hair. “What am I doing?” I wail to myself.

Great. Now I’m talking to myself. This can only get better.

I hurry out at the lobby and all but run all the way back to Quinn’s. I realize that Leo only lives five blocks away, which is not a good thing.

I burst into the apartment, and Quinn jumps up from her spot on the couch.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I don’t know! I’m losing my mind! I just kissed Leo Nash!”

“You what?” she screeches.

I sink onto the couch and bury my head in my hands. “Quinn, I don’t know what I’m doing in New York. Everything is all wrong. I’m not myself. I’m not acting right. I’m dressing different, and singing rock music, and now I’m kissing the lead singer of Cobalt.”

I can tell Quinn wants to say something comforting, but instead she stops and closes her mouth. She opens it again. “How was it?” she asks quietly.

“It was amazing!” I cry, burying my head in my hands. I suddenly can’t sit still and I jump up and start pacing across Quinn’s tiny living room.

“Who am I? Everything’s changing too fast!  How could I have let myself get caught up with Leo?”

“Well, it was just a kiss,” Quinn says carefully.

“Right, just a kiss. Which I was more than willing to continue all the way to his bedroom until I got a glimpse of us in his hallway mirror!”

“Carly, who wouldn’t get caught up in that? Leo Nash is one of the sexiest men on this planet. And you’re not a slut from just an innocent little kiss. How many women do you think could have turned him down?”

“Not making me feel any better! So, I’m just another whore of Leo’s?”

“No! That’s now that I meant at all! I just meant that any normal woman could get caught up in a moment like that. Don’t beat yourself up! Just put it behind you and move on.” She gives me an impish grin. “And hey, it makes a great story.”

I laugh. A little. Maybe I was overreacting.

“You’re right. I think I’m just going to bed and forget that it ever happened.”

“Good idea. And just for the record, you look smokin’ hot in your new clothes. They suit you way better than your old ones.”

I give her a small smile and head back to the guest room.

Leo

I stare stupidly at the elevator even after Carly has gone.

What the hell just happened?

Things are going great one second, and she’s wrapped all over me, and the next second she’s running.

“Fuck!” I yell, slamming my fist against the wall.

I don’t know what it is about Carly, but something about her makes me drawn to her. And I sure as hell don’t have any business getting involved with another backup singer. I’m losing my fucking mind.

Ever since Maddox and Kyle talked last night about her leaving Nashville, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. And then, like a vision, she appeared on the streets today while I was heading to my therapist.

She’s mysterious, and hot as hell.

And way too good for me. I should stop now while I’m ahead.

I stalk back into the living room and down the rest of my wine. I’m more of a hard liquor person, but I didn’t mind drinking the wine with Carly.

I grab my empty glass and Carly’s nearly full glass, and head back into the kitchen where I dump them in the sink.

I feel like a caged animal, and I pace around until I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin. I can’t remember any woman having this kind of effect on me, and I’m pissed off that Carly’s making me feel this way, and even angrier that she left so suddenly.

Not thinking, I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial the number I’ve sworn I wouldn’t call.

Skyler answers on the first ring.

“What the hell?” she growls into the phone. “It’s late and you shouldn’t be calling me.”

“I want to know why you’re doing this to me,” I spit, “That baby could be anyone’s.”

I hear her sharp intake of breath. “Fuck you, Leo! You think that you’re some kind of god because you’re the lead singer of Cobalt? I wasn’t one of your groupie whores! I know this baby is yours because you were the only asshole I was sleeping with!”

“And what? What if it is? What do you want?”

“What do you mean what do I want? I want support, damn it! It’s not like I went and got knocked up by myself!”

“Get rid of it,” I snarl. “I’m not interested in taking care of a kid. My career comes first.”

There’s a long silence on the other end. “You’re a pig,” she whispers. “Don’t worry, Leo, I wouldn’t want you in the baby’s life anyway. You’re far from father material. But don’t doubt for a second that I’m not going to ask for financial support.”

I gnash my teeth together angrily. “So, I guess that means that you’re not getting rid of it?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing yet!” she yells into the phone.

“So, you just want money? Is that it?”

“You have more than enough to help support your own child! This conversation is over!”

Blood pounds in my ears. “It’s not over!”

“I’ll let this call slide, Leo, but if you call me again, I’m taking it to my lawyer. Get the fucking paternity test next week.”

And then she hangs up.

“Bitch!” I yell into the phone, even though she’s gone. I’m disgusted with Skyler and I’m disgusted with myself. I kick the wall hard and storm upstairs to my bedroom.

I pull out my guitar and begin writing. I’m not sure how long I work on music, but at some point, I start to nod off, and I lay my guitar on the ground before switching out the light and falling asleep.

~~~

I’m still on edge the next morning, and the feeling lasts all day. Part of me wants to see Carly at rehearsal, but she’s wounded my pride so I decide to keep my distance.

Which turns out to be easy because Carly completely avoids me.

I stew even more because Carly is avoiding me and because I’m still angry from my fight with Skyler.

“What’s with you?” Jacie asks on our break.

I shrug and busy myself with my phone, but she doesn’t buy it.

“Hey, Leo. I’m talking to you,” she insists and this time I look at her.

“It’s been a bad twenty-fours hours, alright? Some shit went down with Carly and then I got into a fight with Skyler.”

I’m not sure which surprises Jacie more.

“What the hell were you doing with Carly?” she asks and there is an edge to her tone.

“First of all, she’s not gay, so back the fuck off,” I snap. Jacie’s face twists into hurt and I instantly feel like shit.