Love Song (Rocked by Love #2) (10 page)

"No. That's not
fair. I'm the man in your life, not Owen. And I wanted to be there. With you.
For you. I don't want you to shut me out of things. Owen and I are going to run
into each other, that can't be helped."

"But you can't come
to blows anymore either."

"I know."

"You could've been
seriously hurt."

"I know," he
said again. "But the worst part is I hurt you. I let you down. I fucked up
and I'm sorry."

"Apology
accepted." Her eyes softened enough for him to see forgiveness shining
through the shield, but the stiff way she held her body signaled things weren't
entirely smoothed over.

Shifting his stance, he
waited for more. "But?"

A sigh escaped her lips.
She raked her hand through her hair and sank onto the arm of the couch. Her
fingers plucked at the edge of a throw pillow. "But I'm still upset, okay?
The fight is all anyone is talking about. You and Owen and your ridiculous
feud, not the designs. That tells me one of two things. Either they're ignoring
the clothes completely because a brawl between two rock stars is far more
interesting. Or, now that Rob is no longer in the picture, my supporters no
longer care to stick around. Both scenarios suck. My phone's ringing, but instead
of buyers, it's reporters hoping for a good sound bite."

He'd do anything to
change what happened, to replace her wounded expression with a smile of love.
"I'm sorry my fight is overshadowing your show. Before the fight, the
attendees were talking about how much they loved the designs, so I'm sure
orders will be coming in soon. And Rob's backing may have gotten the ball
rolling a few years ago, but you created your success."

"We'll see."

"What about the
partnership with the domestic violence program? Did you talk to the program
director last night?"

The corners of her mouth
turned down again. "She called with her decision this morning. The fight
was a big factor in her reason for turning me down. You were the other."

"Me?"

"In the last few
months, you've been in a few bar fights that have made the news. Obviously,
violence is a problem for them. They don't condone it, and you're attached to
too much of it. She said she couldn't let the partnership go through when I'm
attached to someone with such strong tendencies toward violence. They're going
with another designer."

"Shit. Sunshine, I'm
so sorry." He dropped to his knees in front of her and grasped her hands
in his.

She shrugged, but her
face crumpled and the muscles in her throat worked. "It's... okay, I
guess." Her teeth bit into her lip and her breath came in shallow rises.
When the first tear tracked down her cheek, he hauled her into his arms.

Wanting to kick his own
ass for being the cause of her tears, he sat on the couch, holding her, rubbing
her back while her tears soaked into his shirt. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I
know how much that meant to you."

Shoulders shaking, she
hiccuped and gasped out breaths. Finally, she raised her head and swiped her
hands over her cheeks. "I didn't mean to break down. I'm sorry."

"Don't ever
apologize for showing me how you feel. I hate that I ruined this for you."

"It's all right. I
know you didn't mean to." She offered him a watery smile.

He truly didn't deserve
her. How could she forgive him for fucking up so badly? "I posted an
apology right before I came over here. Irisa sent it out as a press release.
I'd like you to take a look at it."

She moved to sit on the
cushion beside him and opened her laptop on the coffee table. Luke rubbed at
the discomfort in his gut. His apology was posted on his personal pages, the
band's pages, and the band's website.

I apologize for my
actions during the incident at Audrey Pierce's fashion show. I created a
distraction and removed the focus from this incredibly talented designer and
her new collection. If you're a rocker, or want to dress like one, I encourage
you to check out her clothes and jewelry.

"Thank you. I
appreciate it. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did." He
took a chance and laid his hand on her knee.

"Your hand is
swollen." Soft fingertips brushed the red skin. She lifted his hand to her
lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

He still felt bad about
stealing her spotlight, and really bad for ruining her opportunity with the
domestic violence program, but the knot in his stomach disappeared, the
tightness in his shoulders eased, and the worry gripping his heart melted away.
"My chin hurts too."

The corners of her mouth
turned up in a smile. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his chin.
"Your beard hides most of the redness there. When you left yesterday, I
knew you were in pain. I wanted to punch Owen myself for hurting you."

"I'd pay to see
that."

Her laugh touched off his
own. Things were better. The guilt lingered, but he would do whatever he could
to make it up to her. Maybe they could go to dinner or he could give her a
massage or something as a start. "Want to get out of here for a bit?"

"Sure." She
reached for the laptop, then pointed at the next picture on his page. "Oh
hey, it's us."

He leaned in. Jett had
posted the group picture, taken backstage after the show's taping. At center,
Luke stood with his arms wrapped around Audrey. They were laughing along with
the rest of the band and Irisa and Jayne as they all crowded together to fit in
the shot. "That's a great picture."

"It received lot of
comments." She stiffened and he glanced at the feed.

01_Fury_Fan: Who is the
woman Luke is hugging?

The-Fury-Rules: Her name
is Audrey. He said on the show that they are dating, and he kissed her in front
of everyone there.

01_Fury_Fan: Noooooooo!
He's mine!!!!

Luke_Is_My_Hero: I just
looked her up. She's a NYC fashion designer for rock bands. She was a big fat
nobody before dating rock god Rob Hawke.

The-Fury-Rules: Everyone
knows when Rob Hawke backs something, it becomes a success. And she was so much
younger than him, fourteen years. I bet I can figure out the attraction for
both of them there... She used Rob to break into the music world.

The-Fury-4-Ever: Sounds
like she slept her way to fame. Typical. What a skank.

Luke_Is_My_Hero: It looks
like they broke up a few months ago. Maybe she used Rob up and needed fresh
meat? The Fury have a huge and younger fan base. Poor Luke is going to get
hurt.

01_Fury_Fan: She's using
Luke to promote her brand. I can't stand girls like that. Luke is so perfect.
He deserves so much better.

And it continued, on and
on, comment after comment, fans weighing in on "the Audrey
situation".

Luke blinked at the
screen. The torrent of harsh comments continued to roll in.

What. The. Hell.

***

Mouth
gaping open, Audrey stared at the comment feed. More and more messages appeared
as people chimed in. Luke's fans were fiercely loyal and fiercely protective of
him. Vicious comments had never happened when she'd been with Rob. At least,
she'd never been aware of them. But this tidal wave of speculation and judgment
was overwhelming. "They're wrong about everything other than the fact that
I dated Rob."

"I know it,
Sunshine. I know it." Luke's hand caressed her back in tight circles. His
other hand curled to a fist on his thigh.

New comments popped up.

Mikala_Mason: I don't see
why she's so great. She's not even pretty. And look at those thighs. He could
do so much better.

Recognition dawned, even
as her cheeks flushed and she contemplated her thighs. They'd always been her
trouble spot. "She's the one who faked her audition demo so she could meet
you, right?"

Luke turned the computer
screen away. "Right. But don't listen to her. You're gorgeous. Every part
of you. And I love your thighs."

His words were a balm but
Audrey couldn't help pulling the screen back. The comment feed was like a car
wreck—too tempting not to look.

Fury_Fan_4ever: Typical
slut. He should dump that opportunistic leech—fast.

01_Fury_Fan: Seriously.
Using first Rob, and now Luke to further her career. Luke should open his eyes.

Mikala_Mason: Poor Luke
is clueless about her. He needs a real woman who can take care of him. Someone
needs to help him wake up and realize what kind of person this fame-whore
really is.

Fury_Fan_4ever: Or maybe
someone else needs to come in and push her out of the picture...

Mikala_Mason: I would
love to see that! This girl needs to go. She ruined my chance with him, so I
HATE her!!!

The words cut deep.
Audrey rubbed her hand over her chest. "Oh my goodness."

"That's enough of
that." Luke closed the computer and put it out of reach. Aside from the
clenching of his jaw and fists, he seemed calm. She'd expected a tirade.

"Why aren't you more
upset about this?"

"Inside, I'm
boiling. But in the past, I've made things worse by responding in the heat of
the moment. I'm not sure the best way to handle it—whether to blow up and
attack back, or calmly call them out on it, or ignore it. My first choice would
be blowing up, so that's probably the wrong one. I'll talk to Irisa and see
what she thinks. I really hate the idea of ignoring it."

"Attacks about my
designs are one thing; I'm used to critics. But personal ones? Calling me a
slut? Suggesting I'm using you? Taking shots at my character when they've never
even met me?" She shook her head.

He pulled her into his
arms. "I'm sorry, Sunshine. It burns me up to see people saying things
about you, but when they're my fans... that makes it so much worse."

Too upset to remain
still, she shimmed out of his hold. The flowers lay on the table like drops of
sunbeams. "I should take care of these." Moving quickly, she brought
them into the kitchen and set about trimming stems and arranging the blooms in
her vase.

"Audrey."
Luke's hands closed over her shoulders.

"I think these will
look nice in the bedroom, don't you? That way, they'll be the first thing I see
when I wake up."

"I'd rather be the
first thing you see." He turned her to face him and cupped her chin in his
hand. "This thing with the fans will blow over."

She swallowed hard and
nodded. "Of course it will."

"Come on. It's a
nice day. Let's go for a walk. How about the High Line? The guys are still in
town. It'll be good to get the whole group together."

She forced a smile
because he seemed to need to see it. "I'd like that."

"Good." He
picked up the vase and led her by the hand into her bedroom area. After
shifting aside a stack of paperback novels, he set the vase on the small table
by the window. "If you wake up facing the window, you'll see the flowers.
If you wake up facing the door, you'll see me. That's a good compromise."

"What happens if I
wake up facing the ceiling?"

"You could always
install a mirror up there. I'd like that."

A real smile overtook her
fake one. "No."

He shrugged. "No
problem. I have a good imagination. Anyway, you'll need sunglasses and some
type of hat for today. We're going incognito."

"No trench
coat?"

A half-smile quirked at
his lips. "We'll save that one for later."

"Give me a minute to
change. It's too hot outside for pants." She peered into her closet,
dismissing several options. After the remark about her thighs, wearing shorts
wasn't too appealing.

Luke joined her and
pulled down a floppy red straw beach hat from the top shelf. "Wear this
one."

"Sure." It
would disguise most of her face.

Strong hands clasped her
waist. "Let me help you." He pulled her tank top over her torso and
gently lifted it over her head. When she lowered her arms, he kissed her lips,
then moved down to place kisses on each shoulder. Then the hollow of her throat,
and he continued kissing his way to the valley between her breasts. He rested
his forehead there for a moment, breathing deep while his arms banded around
her.

Audrey threaded her
fingers in his hair and held him close. He kissed her like he cherished her.
Drenched in gratitude and caring and wanting and needing, she tightened her
hold.

He knelt before her,
kissed a trail to her waistband, and then hooked his thumbs into the clingy
fabric. Working the pants down her hips, then down her thighs, he kissed every
exposed inch along the way. They pooled at her ankles and he helped her step
free, then he glided his hands along her body as he stood. "No question
about it, your thighs are perfect."

Heat flushed into her
cheeks and pleasure flushed into her soul. "I'm glad you think so."