Read Hearts Aflame Collection IV: 4-Book Bundle Online
Authors: Melissa F. Hart
Hearts Aflame Collection IV: 4-Book Bundle
Copyright © 2014 by Melissa F. Hart.
All rights reserved
worldwide.
No
part of this book may be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form
or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written consent of
the author/publisher.
This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
events is purely coincidental
Table
of Contents
Sin knows music. She lives it, eats it,
breathes
it. And now she’s going to report it. All she needs
is to land the interview of a lifetime with rock’s sex god, Tate McQueen.
Tate has other plans for Sin. He wants her in his
room and naked.
And Sin knows it.
What she doesn’t know is that Tate is willing to
offer her something far better than a byline in
Rolling Stone.
CHAPTER ONE
Thrumming bass
reverberated up through the alcohol-stained concrete beneath Sin’s feet. It would
take a lot more than a little slosh and sticky to ruin tonight for her. She
gyrated and pumped her hips to the beat, swaying with the crowd, alone in a sea
of bodies while she waited for
Genna
to come back
with more beer. Sin had counted every day of the two long months for tonight’s
concert, and she was already panting with the aching need to see rocker bad boy
Tate McQueen take the stage. Oh, he did things that made her achy and
throbbing.
“I saw him!”
Genna
squealed in Sin’s ear and sloshed beer over the rims
of their plastic cups. Sin took a deep drink, hoping to quench the thirst
building low in her belly, but she knew no one but Tate would be able to slake
it. She fingered the edge of her backstage pass. They’d agreed to stay out
front until after the first couple songs, then they’d head back to beat the
rush of groupies. All Sin wanted was an up-close brush with that hard lean body
of his.
The cover band
finished their song and the lead singer bent the microphone close to his lips.
“Are you ready for the one, the only, Tate McQueen?”
The already
frenzied crowd swelled and surged, pressing Sin into
Genna
.
They giggled and screamed with the other groupies, pumping their fists into the
air. Tonight was going to be the best night ever. Tomorrow morning might be a
different story when her alarm went off, but that was a long six hours away.
Sin drained her cup and crumpled it beneath her spiked heel. She ran her
fingers up the sides of her tight leggings and over her plump thighs.
Genna
glanced over and bumped her hip against Sin’s. She
answered back and sent
Genna
a few feet sideways with
a flick of her wide curves. Sometimes being a big girl had its advantages. A
wide grin made the apples of her cheeks burn.
All the times had
their advantages.
These hips had
earned them their backstage passes, and she wasn’t about to stop using them
now.
Genna
lifted her arms and twirled in the
tight space, pumping against a
drunk
girl to her left
and a stoned guy to her right. Sin laughed and danced with the crowd, moving as
one big body of motion.
The main lights
dimmed and stage lights came up, sending the decibel level of the arena to an
ear-splitting degree. Sin didn’t hear any of it over her own voice. It was
almost
time
. Her nipples throbbed and puckered beneath
the thin black tank and the lace edge of her bra was like a hacksaw slicing
against her overripe aching skin. Tonight would be a dream come true if she
could get within ten feet of him.
She searched the
darkness and moaned inwardly,
Oh, to see
those blue eyes up close . . .
His drummer ran
on stage and settled onto his stool, drumsticks ticking a sensual rhythm that
matched the pounding of Sin’s heart. Both the bass player and lead guitarist
rose from the smoke swirling in the lights behind the amps. Sin’s chest
tightened as her eyes flicked back and forth rapidly in search of him.
Genna
gripped her upper arm. “Do you see
him? Do you?”
Sin rose up on
her toes and strained forward, supported by the thousands of bodies surrounding
her. Even ten feet away from the stage, she felt like the Grand Canyon
separated her from Tate’s space.
Then a spotlight
illuminated the darkness on stage left, and her breath gushed out of her. He
was more beautiful than she remembered. His chiseled jaw, dusted with a short
beard tensed, and his square lips pressed against the microphone as the crowd
drowned out his first lyrics. Tousled dark hair concealed his piercing blue
eyes, and he brushed it off his forehead and looked straight at her.
Straight.
At.
Her.
She swooned.
Literally swooned and the entire arena spun as if she stood on the axis of the
world’s largest top. He sang the song while he stared at her, his smoldering
gaze stripping every secret away. For the first time since hearing his music,
she was immobilized and couldn’t move a muscle to the music. One cheek lifted
in an all-knowing smile. He got this in every town, every night. Sin was just
one more pretty face in a sea of pretty faces.
And she didn’t
care one bit.
Tomorrow night
he’d be singing this song to some other groupie a thousand miles away. But
right now, tonight, he was hers.
And she wasn’t
going to miss a minute of it.
Her voice finally
unfroze, and she screamed his name at the top of her lungs, then sang the rest
of the song with him, returning his stare with every raw bit of lust she felt
for him.
He finished the
song and gave a short nod to her. Not the girl beside her, or the one behind
her. Sin refused to think that he’d been looking anywhere but straight into her
soul.
“Well, hello,
Cleveland.”
The crowd screamed
and Sin went deaf in her left ear. Tate paced back and forth within an inch of
the stage lip. Hands grabbed at his pants and shoes. Sin’s fingers twitched,
but she and
Genna
had made a conscious decision to
stay toward the back of the standing room only so they could slip out early and
go backstage. There would be plenty of time for touching.
TWO
Once again, Sin’s
size proved to be her best asset as she pulled
Genna
along through the twiggy groupies lined up along the hallway. A few had passes
like hers, but most of them were just hoping to get a glance of Tate, clogging
the line. Sin wasn’t about to wait in a stupid line and chance missing out.
“Excuse us.
Emergency.
Coming
through.”
Genna
gripped her arm like a tiny tugboat
pulled along behind a yacht. Over the perfumed, mini-skirt clad bodies she
spotted her friend who’d given them the passes. Sin waved and caught his
attention, and a surge of power ripped through her guts as his stern face
softened, traveled down her body, then back up. Sin put a little extra swing in
her stride as they approached, knocking another Twiggy aside.
He extended his
hand and she settled hers against his palm and smiled up at him.
“You made it.”
Sin lifted her
badge.
“Thanks to you.”
He stepped aside
and signaled for them to enter the massive glass doors behind him. The line
stood at attention and pushed forward, but he quickly shut the door behind them
and resumed his stone-faced guard.
Inside, Sin and
Genna
gasped with surprise. Tables and tables of food and
drink filled half the small space and cozy loveseats filled the other half.
Genna
pressed against Sin’s side.
“Oh my.”
Sin grinned and
stepped to a table of éclairs and pastries. “Indeed.” Every possible delicacy
sat piled on one of the tables. Desserts on one, seafood, sushi, silver
platters of who-knows-what filled others. She inhaled the delectable scents and
popped an éclair. Cream burst on her tongue, and the light crust melted against
her teeth. She savored the flavors and swallowed, then licked the crumbs from
her fingers.
Soft music piped
through the speakers overhead, and
Genna
stepped
timidly away toward the bar. “They have everything.”
“Can I pour you
ladies a drink?”
Sin spun around
as a man pushed through swinging doors in the far corner of the room.
Perfectly sculpted from his round shoulders that flowed in harsh
lines into his biceps, straining against his white tuxedo shirt, to his lean
hips that barely held up his black, creased pants.
A crisp black tie
settled against the tanned skin of his neck, and Sin had a quick image of him
wearing only that while he pumped and ground those hips on a stage to blaring
music. He carried a tray of martini glasses and changed course to walk right
between the girls. His gaze raked Sin’s body and did the same to
Genna
, smiling invitingly at both of them. Sin winked and
followed him to the bar, enjoying the view of his tight, round ass.
Genna
ordered apple martinis for both of
them and flirted up the waiter while Sin surveyed the room’s seating. With the
collections of seats placed like they were, she wondered how many people were
going to be allowed in. Too many, and the couches would become obsolete—unless
you wanted to stare at
pantiless
crotches all night,
and she really didn’t. She’d come for one reason tonight, and she meant to get
what she wanted.
Aside from the
main door where they’d entered, and the service door where the bartender—and
probably most of the food—had come through, there was still one more door on
the far side of the couches, at the furthest point from both the main doors and
the bar. Once the room packed with people, it would go highly unnoticed, but
Sin had a tingle about it. And she never ignored that tingle. No matter what
happened tonight, she was not leaving a three-foot radius of this door. She
hitched her purse higher on her arm and settled on the arm of the couch.
Genna
brought her drink over and they
clinked
glasses.
“To tonight,”
Genna
said with a smile.
“To
girl power.”
Sin winked
and took a sip, then lifted her glass to the bartender. By her calculations,
they only had a few more songs before the band made their way backstage, which
meant the line should be filtering in right about—
The glass doors
swept open and a perfectly matched set of triplets strode into the room. Sin
kept her face passive, smiling slightly in greeting. Their red minis matched
their glossed lips and six-inch heels, and the dripping dark fabric over their
perky breasts hinted at more barely concealed perfection.
The bartender’s
shoulders
straightened,
and he leaned forward, ready.
The girls ordered wine, and he
chatted
them up.
Genna
leaned close. “What’s the plan?”
“Same
as always.
I guarantee
I’ll stay the biggest one in the room, and this seat is in the direct line of
the doors when he comes in. No way
he can
miss me.”
Genna
grinned and bounced up and down on
the edge of the couch. “What a great night!”
More girls
filtered in, and it was instantly obvious who’d never been backstage before,
and who the expert groupies were. Those girls moved with a confidence and a
certainty that they’d end up with one of the band members tonight. A few even
thought they’d bag the ultimate prize of Tate.
Sin chuckled to
herself and licked the sugar off her martini glass.
Not a chance, girls. Not a chance.
A flurry of
activity erupted at the door. Sin and
Genna
exchanged
glances and
Genna
took Sin’s glass. They’d been
burned on holding drinks before, and Sin wasn’t about to leave this party
because of an errantly placed elbow to her martini. She resituated herself on
the arm of the couch, hips balanced, back arched, shoulders tall. Then she
tipped her head down and studied her pinkie finger, keeping an eye on the feet
moving through the doorway.
The moment Tate’s
shoes passed over the threshold, Sin slowly lifted her gaze, drawing it up his
entire body. He paused and met her stare, eyes widening and nostrils flaring.
Gotcha.
Sin smiled and
turned to
Genna
, starting a silent countdown in her
head and outwardly picking up their conversation where she left off,
purposefully ignoring Tate’s entire existence. She clamped her fingers tightly
together to keep them from trembling, even though her insides were complete
Jell-O. Sin ducked her head closer to
Genna
, giving
Tate a great cleavage shot. “Laugh like I said something hysterical.” Sin straightened
and
Genna
laughed loudly, tossing her head back.
And three.
Strong fingers
encircled her upper arm, brushing lightly against the inside of her breast. Sin
counted a full ‘one-one-thousand’ before swiveling her gaze to Tate’s.
Full lips pulled
into a smile, and Sin inhaled his scent, salty from the exertion of playing and
full-bodied male on the hunt. His eyes searched hers, and Sin fought the urge
to let him mesmerize her with his sea-blue eyes—blue like the froth on a stormy
sea. His lashes, damp with sweat, spiked out in random directions, making him
look all the more sex-rumpled.
He swished his
thumb across the back of her arm, sending a wave of warmth spreading across her
body and tightening her nipples. “What are you drinking tonight?”
Sin’s gaze
trailed down his face, over his chest, and lingered below his belt, then
drifted back up. “Surprise me.”
Even to her own
ears, her voice sounded husky and full of promises of sex. He inhaled sharply,
and his grin widened. Apparently, it sounded that way to him too. “Be right
back.” He released her arm and settled his fingers at the top of
Genna’s
spine.
“And for you?”
Genna
lifted the two martini glasses,
draining one.
“Another martini?”
He chuckled and
shifted toward the bar, his gaze sliding slowly across Sin’s lap and up her
body as he turned. She ignored the attention again and invented a new
conversation with
Genna
.
Like fish in a barrel.
