Rockin' the Heart (Hot Wired) (27 page)

The video ended with
him on his knees, his hands crossed over his chest and the words “forgive me” in bold lettering filling up the screen.

“I think that’s my cue to
piss off.” Keys kissed the top of her head and murmured, “Told you,” before making a hasty retreat.

“
I want the fucking world to know how I feel about you.” His fingers sliced through his hair, and he caught the back of his neck with his palm. “I understand the paparazzi acting like bastards, but the fans….” He shook his head. “They mystify me.”

“They’re simple really. If I have you, then they don’t have a chance of snagging you.”

“Brat, you stole my heart long ago. They
never
had a chance.”

Heath lowered his arm as Sam curled her
arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. Bending his knees, he engulfed her in his hold and stood with her clasped tight against his body. His hand dive-bombed her hair and angled her head so he could dominate the embrace. Thrusting his tongue between her lips, he shifted so she was trapped between the wall and his chest.

Tucked tight against him, he asked against her lips
, between kisses, “Am I forgiven?”

“Mmhm…let me show you how much.”

The subtle buzz of v
ibrations woke Heath. Big Al purred from the foot of the bed. Snuggled face-first in his arms, Sam remained asleep, her soft breaths puffing against his chest. This was how he wanted to wake every morning for the rest of his existence, rousing to the touch and scent of the love of his life.

Caressing
her hip, he worshiped her silky skin. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled. Her scent was an exotic mix of woman and lust. Love marinated in his heart like musical notes, matching chords together to craft the perfect melody, the sweetest ballad that spawned a tumult of emotions from his soul.

He
wanted to give her all she desired and was determined to protect her from everything. Including her overprotective sibling. No one controlled Jase. Not even their pushy agent who bullied almost everyone into doing what she wanted.

Remaining by
his side, Sam would be forced to endure paparazzi abuse. An evil that went with the biz of fame, and another facet of life he couldn’t regulate.

The vibration picked up once more
, and his phone trembled on the bedside table.

Stretching carefully so
as not to disturb Sam, he nabbed the mobile and swiped his finger across the screen to connect the call. “Yeah.”

“Jase is in
Sam’s room,” Tex said in hushed tones.

“So?”

“You’re in there with her.”

Oh…shit
!

I
f her brother saw them in their current state of undress that’d usher in calamity for all involved. Especially after he promised not to have sex with her. Wouldn’t matter that she’d said she loved him, he knew Jase well enough to know he needed time to acclimate to their relationship. At this stage he wasn’t sure any of them possessed enough time for Jase to adapt to their romance.

The door to
the bedroom opened and the early afternoon sun silhouetted his friend.

“Busted
.” Heath disconnected the call and prepared for the explosion. “Before you go ape-shit, let’s move it out of the room and let her sleep.”

Jase
’s attention missile locked on Sam. Words weren’t necessary when the murder in his eyes shouted everything. White-knuckled fists clarified anything Heath might’ve missed, and Jase’s jaw clenched, hardening.

“Out.
There,” he said through gritted teeth and spun around. The door slammed behind him.

Heath cringed
as Sam bolted into a seated position. Sleepy-eyed, she blinked her confusion as the sheet slipped to her waist. Any other time, he’d find the view of those pierced nipples provocative. Well… they were still stimulating, but he couldn’t act upon that detail. Whatever influenced her to get those piercings, he was damn glad.

With a groan he ran his
palm down his face. She pulled the sheet up to cover herself, which he found amusing.

“Jase saw us.”

She whipped around, the fabric of the bedding rustling with her movement. Eyes widening a fraction, she expelled a slow, slow breath.

“We knew this day would eventually come.”

He’d expected panic. Her practicality pleased him. “Yeah.” He stole a kiss and pulled the sheet from her grasp, exposing her fantastic breasts. “Do you know how much I adore these piercings?”

Fingers shifted through his hair. “After the third orgasm thanks to your tongue and this mouth”
—she ran her thumb over his bottom lip—“not to mention all the ‘fuck, and I love this sexy shit’, I think I kinda got the hint you like them
verrrry
much.”

He Eskimo kissed her, ingesting her pheromones into his lungs.
After an all-night marathon of epic sex, he wanted her again right this moment. At what point did the sex become mundane? He prayed never. “Didn’t want to miss a chance to make sure you knew.”

A sultry grin curved her lips. “Maybe
you can get your dick pierced for me to play with.”

He shuddered at the very idea of someone stabbing a needle
through his junk. “No.”

She giggled.

“Wicked woman.” Jesus fucking Christ, her teasing tempted him to drag her under him and bury himself inside her. But not with Jase in the outer room. He’d most likely interrupt before they got too far anyway. “If you hear things crashing, don’t worry, and for the love of God don’t investigate.”

“Not funny.”

Nothing humorous about his expectation of Jase’s reaction, but he respected his friend’s feelings too. How could he not when they’d been buddies for over a decade?

He could feel her watching him as he climbed out of bed and pulled on his jeans.
Time to face a pissed off brother and explain why he shouldn’t be upset. He had a feeling preachers saved atheists easier than his coming confrontation would be.

Jase crammed his hands in his jean pockets and stared out the window. Sam and Fang. His sister and
his supposed to be best friend were banging one another. It nauseated him. The jackal would use his sibling and discard her once he tired of her. That was his M.O. Long term relationships weren’t his department, weren’t even on his goddamn newsfeed. To his knowledge, Fang had never had a girlfriend unless fuck-buddies were counted or his fourteen-year-old high school sweetheart he stood up at the Homecoming dance. That would be his sister’s conclusion, alone and heartbroken once Fang cut her loose.

Anger tightened his chest.

His gut churned at the visual he’d just viewed. Curled around one another naked, leaving no doubt as to what had transpired between them. Some things couldn’t be unseen. At this crossroad, he totally understood where Sam was coming from on that one.

E
qual parts baffled and disgusted by Fang’s temptation for his sister, he tried to understand how he could yield to his base needs and exploit a woman he should be protecting. Men often told him Sam was hot, so he understood Fang found her attractive, but… there was always a but with any argument he made for or against their relationship.

He didn’t give a damn what Fang
claimed, they’d raised her together. That should’ve created a brother-sister type bond between them.

Jase removed a hand from his pocket and rubbed
it down his face. The wavy strands of his long hair flitted around his cheeks and he swiped them back, jailing the locks at his nape.

They fucked
.

He was o
bligated to defend his baby sister, that was his role as brother and more so when she didn’t know what was best for her. Fang wasn’t a positive detail in her life. Unreasonable or not, he didn’t care what Fang proclaimed—didn’t give two fucks if Fang loved her like a woman—no excuse was good enough to fuck his sister.

That crossed a line. Best friends respected boundaries. They did not become intimate with their best
buddy’s relatives.

He loved them both.
They were his only family. Was Fang right when he called him selfish and accused him of wanting to keep them neatly compartmentalized? Surely not. Their happiness was important to him. But he’d bet his career with Hot Wired this was a new phase Fang was going through. In a month or six, he’d snap out of it and dump Sam.

That’s when the awkwardness began. Adding sex to the doomed romance would increase their discomfort around one another
. That effected Jase! If it made him selfish that he didn’t wish to endure that, then fuck yeah, he was a selfish prick.

Standing here staring out at the city landscape he had never wanted to tear into his best friend as much as he did at this moment. Fang violated his sister. That action
called for an uppercut to his chin.

“Jase, man, I don’t know what to say.”

He released his hair and lowered his arm. As he pivoted, the cool strands curtained his face. He stared at the one person he’d put total trust in for over a decade. Fang’s wariness hinted he anticipated Jase would go ballistic.

Screaming would solve nothing. Ultimatums even less.
To his dismay they’d live their lives however they wished, consequences be damned. Any outsider could see they’d squander their happy, peaceful existence with a falsity they’d realize too late. He wished the results wouldn’t affect
him
so much.

I
’ll be there for Sam when her heart is broken
.

And he’d try very hard not to say he told her so.
Or break Fang’s legs.

“Nothing you can say that’ll appease me.” The fucking truth. Nothing except ‘we’re over’ would satisfy him
, and Jase knew that wasn’t forthcoming. At least not yet.

“Don’t be mad.” Wrapped in a hotel complimentary robe, Sam exited the bedroom.

“I’m not mad.”
I
am
furious at Fang for taking advantage of you.
Using girls for pleasure was his standard operating practice. It was the entire band’s fucked-up signature. It was what rock stars did, they banged hot chicks for their entertainment, but it never lasted.

“You are.” She folded her arms over her midsection. “I see it in your eyes, big brother.”

Her eyes clouded over, becoming saddened. They read each other well.

“I’m disappointed, not mad.” Mostly the truth. He’d thought she out of all women
wouldn’t be susceptible to Fang’s charm. Rockers were whores. That was reality. Until now, Sam hadn’t succumbed to temptation. The chick on stage last night had been an attempt to remind her the type of man Fang was. Not that he was any different, but then he wasn’t trying to destroy the pureness of Sam either.

“I love him, Jase.”

Yeah, all the women ‘loved’ him. Most of them for his money. Those that weren’t in it for the fame or cash loved him for the way he fucked. Plain and simple. They lived shallow lives. Someone always wanted something from them. Genuine love wasn’t free. Not ever.

But…

Sam sure as shit didn’t give a fuck about the fame. Getting involved with Fang guaranteed she found more infamy than she wanted. Money wasn’t an issue either. Evident by the email he’d received from his attorney this morning, which was what had him seeking her out in the first place.

“I got an email from my
lawyer stating you requested your trust fund be turned back over to me free and clear. That you didn’t want ‘blood money’”—he finger quoted the words—“or some bullshit like that. What the fuck is up?”

She angled her head so that her chin notched a tad higher. A clear indication whatever she would say he wouldn’t like
, and she wouldn’t budge from her stance. Pain in the ass woman gave him a fucking headache!

“You told me the other day that you controlled the finances
, and I’d do what you want.” Jase winced. They’d just delivered the bad news that their romance was for real, and he’d been very angry at the time, said things he didn’t mean. “You’re welcome to control the finances, but not me.”

“
I was angry. I have no wish to governor you.” He glanced at Fang. At some point while he conversed with Sam, his friend poured a cup of coffee and currently leaned against a table and sipped the brew.

“You can’t deny a piece of you wants to.” She shrugged, causing the robe to gap
e a fraction until she tugged the folds back together. “I can’t even blame you sometimes. I create mayhem without thinking how my actions affect you or the band.”