The Rock Star Next Door #1 (2 page)

He was about to touch her hair when the door swung open. The hot photographer sauntered in. “Thought I might get you alone.” She spotted Jewel on the sofa and halted. “Oh!” she said. Then, “I can be quiet.” She set her camera on a chair and perched on the arm.

“Can I do something for you?” He wanted her out of here, and fast.

“You got something to drink maybe?”

He waved at the table. “I’m sure there’s something over there.”

The girl looked over at it, then back at him. “Okay.”

Hell, he could tell she wanted something from him. She wouldn’t have dressed like this and found some way to get back here. Fake press pass, maybe.

And yep, now she was coming this way. He glanced at Jewel, who looked like she was stirring. He ought to wake her up and maybe then the bimbo would take off. He reached over to shake her shoulders, but the photographer caught his hand. “Sure you don’t want to wait just a minute?”

He was about to say, “Quite sure,” but her lips had already closed on his. She bent over him, her hands on either side of his neck.

Rage was momentarily stunned. When he didn’t move away, she got bolder, pulling him up to standing and running her hands along his back.

The only other times this had happened was right after his deal went public, and girls started showing up at clubs. He’d appreciated the attention then, and there was something to be said for sharpening your skills on random women, but today, he had Jewel, and the ache he was feeling had nothing to do with this dolled up chick in front of him.

She reached behind her neck and untied the halter, letting it fall to her waist. Her breasts were high and round, with hard, dark nipples. Perfect specimens, actually, and he couldn’t help but admire them for a moment since they were right there in front.

The girl took his hands and cupped his palms against them. “All for you,” she said and kicked off her shoes.

Shit, she meant business. Jewel was right there. He had to get this girl out of here. He pulled his hands away, but the girl dropped to her knees instantly and plucked at the zipper to his pants. “What do we have here?”

He already knew he was rock hard and had been since, hell, since he’d walked in the room. The girl wasted no time trying to pull his cock right out. Maybe the rumors were true. He wasn’t sure what to do.

Jewel rolled over, rubbing her hands across her face. Shit. He tried to pull away, but the girl had a vise grip on his dick. Jewel sat up and stared wide eyed at the girl’s hands on him.

“Welcome to super stardom,” Jewel said and scooted away, dodging them and hurrying for the door.

“Fuck, Jewel, wait!” He pushed on the girl and thankfully this time she let him go.

Jewel fumbled with the handle but apparently the girl had locked it, and this gave him the few seconds he needed to catch up to her, his dick still flailing in open air. He grabbed her shoulders. “Wait!”

“Is this what you brought me here for? To see your newfound sexual prowess?” She shook her head. “I can wait outside.”

“No, no. It just — happened. Shit.”

Jewel let go of the door handle, glanced at his jumping cock, and burst out laughing. “Jesus, this is screwed up.”

He almost collapsed with relief. “I know. That’s why I asked for you.”

“Well first,” she said, pointing at his crotch. “Put that away.” She turned back to the room. “Then, let
her
go service Crash or Metal.”

The girl had stood up and was tying her halter.

Rage fought to get tucked back in the tight leather. Thankfully, he was deflating fast and could stuff it all in. This was a nightmare. He had to get more street smart about the girls. He was going to end up with every STD ever invented, or worse, paying for random kids. People seemed to think you were rich right off, but the reality was that he had very little access to much money. Some, yeah, sure, but not loads. It was all tied up in contracts and payouts and overhead. THIS was the shit he wanted to talk to Jewel about, how much they depended on Arnie, and his fears.

The girl picked up her camera and strode between them. “See you again, Rage,” she said. “I’ll be in LA.”

He stepped back to let her out. Whatever method she used to get in, he’d make sure it didn’t happen again. If everything went the way he wanted, Jewel would be with him on the front end of this tour.

He turned back to her. She looked sleepy and bemused. “I”m so glad you’re here,” he said.

She leaned against the door. “Kinda strange, getting such an urgent call from you.”

“But you came.”

She nodded slowly. “We grew up together. I’m sorry about your mom.”

His chest tightened a little. Mom had died just a year ago, before everything happened. She’d never see him be a star, that all that time she tolerated him screwing around in their garage actually came to something.

He didn’t know what to say now. It was all mixed up in this moment. His past. His present. And this girl. The one he’d always wanted.

She was right in front of him.

He couldn’t blow it.

Now THAT had been something to wake up to. Jewel sat back down on the sofa and tried not to laugh as she thought of Rage’s flopping parts. He was really in over his head. He might be a budding rock star, but she could see the scared kid he used to be. Despite the leather and the styled up hair, he was still James, that neighbor boy she was always stumbling over growing up.

Another flood of heat shot between her legs. Voyeurism. She’d never been that up close and personal to other people doing stuff. The girl had noticed when Jewel woke up, but seemed to revel in showing off and grabbing at Rage anyway. Curiosity had kept Jewel watching for a minute. Then something had cracked inside, so she’d interrupted them by dashing out.

Rage turned from the table where he’d picked up a couple beers. Her heart caught a little at how crazy hot he looked now. She tried to picture him as a little kid, but with him standing like that, all rock star grittiness, it was hard to conjure the old image.

She tore her gaze away and realized that unlike when they were kids, when she’d enjoyed sitting near him and listening to his troubles, right now she was going to have to force herself to focus. Her random hot feelings didn’t make any sense. He was the same kid she’d known all her life. Three years away couldn’t change that.

He seemed nervous now. “Beer okay?”

Not a bad idea. “Sure.”

“Any preferences?”

“Nope.”

He pried the caps off and handed one over.

She clinked her against his. “To getting away with illegal drinking.”

He laughed. “Yeah, perks of being a musician.” He took a long slug, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. His smooth boy’s neck was gone, just like the slender arms and knobby knees. Everything was dark, sinewy, and
adult
. It was as though he wasn’t the same person.

Jewel felt heat flood through her yet again and wondered what the hell was going on with her. She took a long pull from the bottle, watching Rage over the rim. She needed to be thinking of him as this neighbor kid in trouble, not all these other ridiculous things. Clearly he’d brought her here for advice.

He seemed nervous and threaded his fingers through his puff of perfect hair. She remembered that gesture, one she’d seen him do a thousand times over the years when he was anxious or in trouble.

“So,” she said. “I never quite knew why you wanted me here so bad.”

His dark eyes searched her with a longing that knocked her sideways. Something was wrong. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

He cleared his throat. “Everything seems out of control. The tour. The agent. The execs. And hell, it seems like everyone expects me to be this thing.”

“Thing?”

“This image of rock and roll.” He rolled the bottle between his palms. “Sometimes I feel like I’m barely holding it together.”

“What about your dad?”

“I have to whitewash everything I tell him.”

“I feel like I missed everything.” Jewel began peeling the label off her beer.

“You haven’t been back.” He shifted his gaze from his bottle, those hazel eyes turning to her beneath lashes as long and black as they had been when he was little.

Jewel drank from the bottle, a long pull that gave her time to cool off before her answer. He was heart-breakingly gorgeous now, nothing like the awkward boy she left behind. “I can’t afford it. Tickets are a grand, and I don’t have extra money lying around.”

“I do.”

He stared at her with a longing she hadn’t seen from any man she’d dated, not even the current boy, Ethan, back in London. Her heart beat faster, traitorous. His lips were full — how had she never noticed them before? And stupidly, ridiculously, she thought of him kissing her. Jesus. She knew him before he was potty trained. Where was this coming from?

She was mixing things up, somehow. London was so lonely, her smattering of friends more like acquaintances. Even Ethan was polite, studious, friendly. Not passionate. And he didn’t look like Rage. Her old neighbor inspired foolish behavior, no doubt.

“I was hoping...” He trailed off, and now Jewel leaned forward. What did a rock star hope for? And what did it have to do with her?

She held her breath waiting. It was bound to be something ordinary. He was hoping she’d review his contract. Or go over an interview.

He set the bottle on a side table, taking in a big breath. “I was hoping you would stay a while. I want you to go on this tour with me.”

Jewel sat up straight. “Why? What do you need me for?”

He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I don’t know. I just know I need you around. I get so lost. Crash and Metal are already using...”

“Drugs?” Jewel gripped her bottle. “Are you?”

“No! I mean, yes, I tried it, but I don’t know. It didn’t seem worth it. It was such a damn cliché.”

She tried to control her breathing. He seemed way in over his head. Drugs. Random chicks in his pants. “That girl, today? Did you know her?”

“No. She just came in.”

“Is that happening a lot?”

“No. But some.”

“Are you protecting yourself.”

“Yes! I mean, mostly.”

“James!” She imagined him with a string of girls and the pit of her stomach got heavy and hot.

“Can we not talk about that?” He reached across the sofa and took her hand. “I’m just so glad you’re here. I feel better when you’re here.”

Her fingers burned where he touched them. “But I’ve been gone.”

“One thousand, one hundred, and forty-five days.”

Shit. He knew how many days. A warmth spread through her. “I’m done with the classwork,” she whispered.

“I know. That’s why I delayed the tour.”

“You delayed a concert tour for me?” This was crazy. “We haven’t even talked since I visited at what — Christmas?”

“Not then. I missed your visit, off in Portland. And you didn’t come home this summer after you graduated. I asked Matt about it.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye now, but stared at their joined hands.

“I had a chance at a job.” Her voice was scratchy, her throat hot. “In London. I’ve been waiting to hear about whether I got it.”

“Can you stay here a while?” He glanced up finally, and his expression was so much like when he wanted something as a kid that her heart hurt.

“I had planned to be here for a week.”

He nodded. “It’s a start.”

“I’m not sure where I’m staying here. We’re six hours from home.”

His thumb rubbed along the back of her hand. “I have a room for you.”

Her breath caught. “With you?”

“You have your own room.”

Disappointment coursed through her, but she rebelled against it. Of course she should have her own room. “Okay. Thank you.”

“It is next to mine.”

Her heart hammered. “Good.”

He stared at their hands again. “We could go there.”

Her hand shook, but she reached out anyway to grasp his forearm, thick and muscled. “Let’s do that.”

The smile that crossed his face lit up the whole room. He was so genuinely happy to see her. Nobody had ever been so completely thrilled to be with her as him.

Rage was grateful the tour was just getting started and he didn’t have fans or photographers stalking him everywhere he went. The car dropped them off at the side entrance to the hotel, and he and Jewel got in without incident, like two ordinary people coming in from a night out.

The hotel was grand, but nothing crazy. He wasn’t paying for it, at least not directly. The money for these things was one of the concerns he had. How did he even know what they could afford?

Jewel brushed against him and all his worries vanished. She was here. He kept telling himself that he wanted her for her international business degree. For her knowhow. Her level-headedness. Her willingness to ask questions.

But he knew better. He hadn’t gotten over her leaving. He had always known he couldn’t have her, not when she was three years older. But now, hopefully, that age thing didn’t make a difference. Sometimes he thought half of what drove him all the years he built the band and found gigs and stayed up all night writing songs was making sure he was interesting enough, cool enough, that she wouldn’t see him as a kid anymore.

He knew he had changed a lot while she was gone, but Jewel looked different too. Her brown hair was about the same, long and flowing, and those perfect eyebrows still showcased those amazing eyes. But her figure was more defined, with sharper edges. Her legs were lean in the rhinestone jeans, winking at him in the hall lights as she walked. Her bra didn’t hold her in tight, but let her swing a little beneath the “London” on her shirt.

Rage gripped the key cards tighter. He knew he was thinking all these things about her when he’d instructed the agent to book her a flight. He also knew he shouldn’t have been. It was all so mixed up. She had always been nice to him. Maybe he was wrong, and he had no chance. But he had to try.

He stopped at the door to her room. This was crazy. Jewel would always think of him as the snot-nosed boy she’d been forced to endure, her brother’s obnoxious friend.