RIPPED: A Rockstar Romance (Wreckage Book 2) Read online

  Then she started laughing.

  I knelt up to see that she'd pushed herself halfway out of the van. She was now dangling head first, nearly upside down. "Help?" she begged.

  I laughed. "That's what you get for trying to get away from me," I told her. But I gently lifted her back up and into my arms.

  Her head lolled heavily against my chest and she lay there, just breathing for a long, lovely moment. I could smell her everywhere, taste her on my tongue. She was everything in this moment and for a second I wondered if I had died, and what bookkeeping error St. Peter had made that got me into my personal heaven.

  August inhaled. "I'm dead," she whispered.

  "You are?"

  She snuggled closer. "Yep. You killed me."

  I chuckled. "Nice way to go."

  She sighed dreamily. "The best."

  That sigh was going to figure prominently in my fantasies from now on. I could guarantee that.

  "When you were..." she trailed off and gestured between her legs. "All I could see were the stars." She pushed up and looked me in the eye. "I saw a falling star too."

  "That's incredible, love." I kissed her, burying my face in her hair.

  Her fingers brushed idly up my arm, raising goosebumps in their wake. "I felt like I was falling with it," she said in a small voice.

  There was something naked in the way she said it. Even more naked that her pale, freckled body. I pulled her closer. "I know love," I told her. "I feel like I'm falling too.

  She looked at me, stricken, her face pale and ghostly in the moonlight. "What are we going to do?"

  I knew what she was asking and I didn't have the answer, so I sidestepped it. "Right now, we're going to go back to your cabin and I'm going to fuck you in a bed for once," I promised her. "It's about time, don't you think?"

  She blinked. A shadow passed across her face, so quick I must have imagined it because it was gone in an instant. She shook her head. "Fine. But I'm driving."

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  August

  Jules threw back his head. "Yes," I hissed, grabbing him around the hips and sinking my fingers into sculpted flesh of his ass as he groaned. I loved the way his whole body shuddered as he came, the way his cock twitched inside of me had me falling apart all over again even though I'd already come three times this morning already.

  He felt me coming and even though he was already spent, he kept moving, pressing his thumb to my clit to get me there. I twisted my head and screamed into the pillow with my eyes shut tight. I heard him growl his approval, and then that awful cold feeling as he pulled away.

  But I was never cold for long. The second he had the condom tied off and in the trash, he was right there, pressed up alongside of me. "Good morning, love," he chuckled.

  "That was a nice way to wake up," I mumbled with my eyes still closed.

  "I got hungry," he said, kissing my shoulder in rapid succession. I knew he was kissing each of my freckles in turn. He'd told me it was a personal goal of his to kiss them all. "And you were right there, delicious and ready to eat."

  "You're so vulgar," I sighed.

  "And you love it."

  I opened my eyes, ready to rolled over and show him exactly what I thought of his vulgarity.

  Instead my eyes lighted on the clock beside my bed.

  "Shit!" I screamed, leaping from the bed. "Is that really the time?" I lunged for my phone and my heart sank when I saw two messages from Jimmy Catanese in my notifications even before I saw that it was after eleven. "Oh my god, we're so late." I flew over to the balcony, still naked, to see Niall and Hudson milling confusedly around the van. "Oh my god, Jules! Get up!"

  There was no time for a shower. I sloshed water on my face and deodorant under my arms. The smell of sex hung heavy around me, but there was nothing I could do about that. "Get your pants on!" I shouted to Jules. "Your underwear is under my bed!"

  "So that's where you hid it," he chuckled.

  "Jules!"

  "What love?" He yanked up his jeans. Dirt from our "date" night still clung to them all these days later because he'd barely been out of my bed long enough to get a new pair from his cabin. "Look," he reassured me. "I'm ready."

  "Then let's go!" I yelled, grabbing the keys to the van.

  Niall and Hudson turned to see me exiting my cabin...followed by Jules. I saw them glance at each other, and my ears heated up. So far, none of the guys had said anything, so I was still able to tell myself they hadn't noticed their manager now spent every night in bed with the drummer.

  There was no way I could pretend that any more.

  My phone buzzed in my hand as we walked up to the van. "The fuck are you?" Jimmy bellowed so loudly he may as well have just shouted it across the valley. "Fine, I don't give a fuck if you're late. We can just sit here with our thumbs up our asses and get paid either way."

  I pressed my lips together. My whole body was blushing. "I'm sorry, Jimmy. I'm working on it."

  "Working on it," he scoffed. "Right, I believe that. Some manager. Too busy with your drummer boy to actually manage."

  "Excuse me?" I spat, blood at the boiling point.

  "Nothing babe," he backpedaled. "No offense." But there was still a knowing note in his voice.

  I gritted my teeth and glared at Jules. "I'll fix it," I told Jimmy. "We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

  "Why are you trying to murder me with your eyes?" Jules wondered.

  "Where's Ewan? Why isn't he here?"

  "Beats me love, isn't knowing that your job?"

  "It is!" I exploded, slamming my hand on the side of the van in frustration. "Boyd!' I shouted, standing in the middle of the lawn and bellowing so loudly that Jimmy probably heard me in return.

  The door to Ewan's cabin squeaked open and I nearly sagged with relief. He emerged, rumpled and sleepy looking, and sheepishly jogged over to where we were all standing.

  "You're late!" I told him.

  "Ah, sorry about that, mates," Ewan said, running his fingers through his hair to comb it. "Honestly didn't think you two would be up yet."

  My heart slammed against my ribcage, and then started racing.

  Ewan glanced meaningfully at Jules, who grinned.

  "Start time is start time," I said, heading around to the driver's seat. "That hasn't changed."

  "Is she this bossy in bed?" Ewan asked Jules.

  Jules glanced at me warily. "You're an arsehole," he informed Ewan, who just chuckled and looked down at his phone as I bounced us wildly down the driveway and onto the highway.

  Paranoia was seeping into the edges of my thoughts. "Who are you texting?" I demanded, glaring at him in the rear view mirror.

  "C," he said, thumbs flying.

  "What is she saying?" I needed to know.

  Ewan sighed and slid his phone back into his pocket. "You really want to know?"

  "Is it work related?"

  "Really love?" Jules interjected softly.

  I caught a glimpse of my eyes in the rear view mirror as I glared at him. I looked wild, like a frightened horse ready to bolt. Deliberately, I squeezed the steering wheel and then loosened my grip, letting out a breath.

  Jules was watching me with concern. "Hey love?" he asked, reaching across the gap and resting his hand on my thigh.

  I jerked away. "Not now," I hissed, glancing in the rear view to see if the rest of the band had noticed.

  He snatched his hand away and I caught a quick flash of hurt in his dark eyes before he lapsed into stony silence.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Jules

  "Hey! Take five!" August called over the PA. "Band meeting!"

  I pulled off my headphones and narrowed my eyes at her. I was starting to learn that August didn't just run hot and cold. She went from volcanic to Arctic. And just as quickly back to volcanic again.

  And right now she was practically erupting with excitement. "Hurry up, you lazy Brits!" she called, clapping her hands. "And even lazier American!" she teased Huds
on.

  "Hey now," Hudson protested. But he followed her anyway. We all did.

  Out in the lounge, she waited until we were all gathered around in a semi-circle. "What's this about, then?" Niall asked.

  "I've got news," August said, pressing her hands together.

  "Well?" I said. I hate being kept in suspense.

  "She's telling us we've been good boys and we can cut out of school early," Ewan deadpanned.

  "The label called and they said the rough cuts were fine and they have no notes," Hudson said, sounding wistful.

  "No, keep guessing," she beamed.

  "I don't know... You ordered a pizza for dinner." Hudson guessed. "Wait, is the news is that you actually found decent pizza around here in the first place?" Hudson in particular had been suffering from the lack of New York City quality pizzerias in the mountains.

  August shook her head, setting her curls to dancing. Her eyes were gleaming with such pride. I fucking loved that proud tilt of her chin so much I forgave her for pulling away from me before.It hardly mattered when she was smiling like that. Nothing mattered except that smile.

  "Okay, listen to this," she said, clapping her hands together to quiet our speculation. She paused, letting the suspense drag out a moment longer before she burst out. "You guys are going to have a song in the soundtrack for the new 'Agent Zero' movie!"

  "Holy shit, say that again?" Hudson said, looking like he might faint.

  "That's what I was doing all night the other night," she said, glancing at me by way of explanation. "And all those conference calls out here while you were recording. They listened to a rough track of 'World in Flames,' and they want to use it over the end credits."

  "Holy..." Hudson trailed off, looking completely starstruck. "I fucking love the 'Agent Zero' movies, you know that right?" he told August.

  "Of course I knew that," she said, giving him a smile.

  My heart did this funny little stutter step, and I felt my fists clenched. But I forcibly relaxed them. She wasn't flirting with him. He wasn't flirting with her.

  They both knew she was mine.

  "Well," Ewan said, musing, rubbing his jaw. "That's pretty fucking huge. Good work August."

  "Nice work, darling," Niall said stiffly. It was pretty clear he had no idea what Agent Zero was.

  "Thanks," she said beaming with pride.

  "No, seriously!" Hudson said, rushing up and grabbing her around the waist. She squealed as he spun her in circles until they were both dizzy. "You are the most amazing girl in the entire fucking world!" Hudson crowed.

  "Oy!" I cried. "Let go of my woman!" I pulled a mock angry face. "Nobody touches her but me."

  Hudson laughed and set her down. "Yes, sorry, you got it man," he apologized. "I'm just... Holy shit! Agent Zero!" He sort of staggered backward.

  And that's when I saw August glaring at me.

  Shit.

  "We're fucking celebrating, right now!" Hudson shouted. "Let's go to the pub... fuck it. I'm buying!"

  The guys broke off, rushing to the van, and I made to follow them, but she stopped me with a rough tug on my arm. "Don't do that," she hissed vehemently.

  I looked down at her, seeing the way her fingernails were sinking into my forearm. "Do what?" I asked.

  She squeezed a little tighter. "Don't act like a caveman."

  I laughed and gently brushed her hand away, rubbing the imprints her fingernails had dug into my skin. "Jesus love, it was a joke. They're my mates. They know you're mine now."

  She shook her head. "I'm not yours," she said fiercely.

  I held up my hands. "Okay, poor choice of words, that."

  "Yeah, I'd say so. I was your manager first." She looked back where the guys were climbing into the van. "In fact, I'm still your manager first, even though we are..." She trailed off, and I waited for her to say the words. Together? A couple? In love?

  But she seemed to have no word for it. "Fucking?" I supplied bitterly. "Is that all this is to you, love?"

  She glanced back at where the guys were waiting. "This isn't the time to discuss this," she hissed. "Not here."

  "Then where?" I laughed. "The bar? The bar bathroom? There's never really the right time and place for you, is there love?"

  She narrowed her eyes. Stepping towards me, she put her finger to my lips. "Shush," she hissed. "Weren't you the one that told me we don't work well when we talk?"

  I pressed my lips together and drew back from her touch. "Yeah," I said. "But I seem to remember following up with 'we only say things we end up regretting.'"

  Her lips twitched. "I think that might still be true," she said. "So come on. Have a beer with me tonight. We don't have that much more time together."

  I stepped back. A flash of shock passed across her face as she seemed to realize what she said. "I didn't mean..." she started to say.

  "Sure you did," I told her, looking her dead in the eye. "What were you going to do, break up with me the day after tomorrow? Like a couple of teenagers at the end of summer camp?"

  "Jules, you know after the this you guys are going to start touring."

  "So fucking come with me on tour, yeah? Why the fuck wouldn't my manager be with me as I'm touring?"

  "My life is already completely wrapped up in this band. You're seriously asking me to give up what little I have outside of it to come with you on tour?" She looked wild-eyed, shaking her head. "Have you not been listening to me this whole time? I have a life! I have a family that needs me, a brother who's in trouble but I don't know what is wrong with him because I'm spending all my time with you!"

  Stung, I stepped back from her and shoved my hands in my pockets. I looked down, away from her blazing cinnamon eyes. "Do you think I don't have a life outside this band, love? Difference between you and me though, is that I'm ready to make you a part of it."

  I saw her throat tighten as she swallowed. "Jules... I'm sorry."

  "No," I said tightly. "Glad we had this talk. Sorry I'm going to miss out on the fun tonight. But I think it's best I don't mix work and pleasure, you know?"

  Her proud chin wobbled slightly. That was the only thing she gave me, the only indication that she'd felt the sting of her own words thrown back at her, but I held on to it as tightly as I could as I walked back into the studio.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  August

  When I pulled the van out, I'd checked in the rear view mirror one more time. But he wasn't chasing after me.

  He'd slept at the studio that night. And he slept in his own bed that night. And the night after that.

  The morning the limo coach pulled up to take the band back to Manhattan, I waved it away and climbed into the Civic I'd rented with my own money and set off to the MTA station across the river in Poughkeepsie.

  Pulling away from the cabins felt like closing the book on some magical fantasy tale. I was now re-entering the real world. I had a band meeting with the label scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8am sharp, and then I was in meetings for the rest of the day with promoters and anxious label reps wanting to know if they were going to get a return on their investment. I'd packed my schedule as full as I could possibly get it to keep me from having one second to dwell on how deeply I'd screwed everything up but I had the whole train ride back to remind me.

  My suitcase slammed down, echoing off the tiles of the lobby floor. I sighed, staring up the stairs and mentally preparing myself for the six floor climb.

  Somewhere in the streets outside the door, the limo bus was dropping Jules off at his apartment in Soho. Which I had never even seen. I knew nothing about his life outside the cabins.

  But that didn't bother me. I was just his manager again. Nothing more.

  No problem.

  I grabbed my suitcase, and lifted it, wincing as it bashed me in the ankle, like always. Then I began the slow trudge up the stairs.

  About me, a door creaked open. "Is that you, Red?" a familiar voice floated down from above.

  I looked up the central
shaft. 5D was peering down at me from the landing five stories up like nothing had changed at all. Maybe it hadn't. "You need some help with case?" he called down.

  I opened my mouth, ready to tell him 'no, I had it.' Then, out of nowhere, Jules' voice floated through my head. It's okay to let someone else take over for once, love.

  I sighed. "Yes, that would be great!" I called up to him.

  5D grinned like I had just told him he'd won an Oscar. He thundered down the stairs, as I hauled my case up to the landing.

  "How was upstate?" he asked, hefting my case up like it weighed nothing at all.

  A little sigh escaped my mouth before I could catch it, and he chuckled. "That's good, huh?" he teased.

  I blinked. "Honestly? I have no idea how it went. There are no words." I fell silent as I followed him up the stairs.

  "What about this?" he asked once we'd reached my floor. "You try to find the words as I buy you a drink tonight. A welcome home present."

  I stared at him. Another nice guy. "Sure," I said unenthusiastically. "That sounds fine."

  He nodded. "I have to work late tonight. Is it okay if I swing by and change, then pick you up? 9 o'clock okay"

  "9 o'clock is fine," I said. "I have a ton of work to get done anyway."

  But when I walked into my musty smelling apartment, still a little dirty from my subletter, it wasn't work that was on my mind. I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling for a minute, banishing the memory of Jules' dark eyes above me and the way he made me say his name as I came.

  And then rolled over and fell asleep.

  I woke with a start to a gentle knocking on my door. 5D's was calling from out in the hallway, "Red? You in there?"

  I rolled over and looked at the bedside clock. "Shit!" I called out.

  I heard him chuckle. "Did I wake you?"

  "No, sorry! Sorry!" My cell phone went off in my bed, lighting up with Tate's caller ID. "Oh my god, finally!" I breathed. "Hang on, one sec!" I called out to 5D. Then I answered my phone, laughing with relief. "Hey Buddy!" I sang out. "I've been worried about you! Where the heck have you been?"