Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (15 page)

****

Later that night, Leila climbed onto the stage at the fair
organized for cowboys in the rodeo and sang her heart out. She was wearing a
sheath leopard skin gown that accentuated her curves and clung to her so
tightly it seemed she had been poured into it. She also had a very large sunhat
perched atop her head that added to her air of mystery and made her feel even
sexier than ever.

Her voice was a lilting soprano as she crooned, tantalizing
everyone and drawing them in. She sang about unrequited love and loss of
innocence and betrayal in such haunting tunes that by the time she was
finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Her gaze met Jason’s once across
the crowded room, but she simply looked through him as though he didn’t exist.

She bowed low, accepting the praises and whistles from the
gathered crowd, painfully aware that in a corner of the room, Jason sat,
silently watching her. His eyes roved languorously over every inch of her body
with such bold intensity it was almost as though he had touched her physically.

Leila felt a flush work up her cheeks as she pretended not
to notice that her breasts had beaded into hard little points of desire beneath
the thin lace of her bra.

So that was what she meant when she said she was going to
‘perform’ to make up for broken furniture
, Jason realized as he watched her
drink in the adulation of the excited crowd. She was a country singer, and a
damned good one!

His heart thudded loudly in his chest as he watched her
accepting praises from several patrons at the bar. She was the most beautiful
woman he had ever met, he decided trying to ignore a surprising stab of
jealousy as he watched her grin at a gap-toothed octogenarian. Heck, the man
was old enough to be her great-grandfather and here he was, wanting to knock
the old man’s teeth out for smiling at Leila.

He had fallen for her, he realized. It didn’t even make
sense since he hadn’t gotten to know a lot about her, but he felt strongly
attached to her. Before he was even aware of moving, he was standing in her
path.

He saw her green eyes narrow with a flash of intense hatred
and he knew genuine sorrow.

“You sing very well,” he said. “You have an amazing voice.”

Leila didn’t say anything, just regarded him in wary
silence.
What more does this jackass want from me?
she wondered.

“I’m sorry,” he got out before she could escape him. “I’m a
monster. I feel sick about this situation, and I haven’t eaten in days. I’m so
sorry I hurt you, Leila.”

Cold anger darkened her eyes and he realized he was digging
his hole deeper.

“Leila—” he began.

Without a word, she yanked her arm from his grasp and melted
into the crowd.

Jason bowed his head in defeat, but this time, he didn’t try
to stop her. He let her go.

The fair had opened up into a party of sorts with dancing
and drinking going on. Rock and rolled strummed from the speakers as different
cowboys shuffled with their partners on the dance floor.

Jason sipped his beer, sitting in a corner of the room as
his eyes scanned the crowd for signs of Leila’s leopard skin dress.

He heard a throaty laughter and looked in that direction;
Leila was being twirled about by one brawny cowboy with his hat pulled low over
his forehead as he dimpled down at her.
They look so perfect together
,
he thought feeling something suspiciously like jealousy eat away at his
insides.

He watched as Leila’s laughter turned into girly giggles as
the wonder-cowboy bent her backwards over his strong arm. Impatience strummed
along Jason’s veins and in a flash, he was beside the laughing couple. His
heart constricted in his chest as he watched Leila’s happy smile dry on her
face as she caught sight of him.

“Mind if I cut in?” he said gruffly, his eyes daring the
other man to challenge him.

“As a matter of fact I do!” Leila spat.

Jason grinned at her. “I was talking to the man darlin’.
Jesse?” he asked.

Jesse Catalona grinned and quickly released Leila into
Jason’s arms.

“That’s not even remotely funny,” she growled.

“Tell me about it. How did you manage to keep your toes
intact? Catalona is notorious for having two left feet!”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, her eyes flashing fire
at him as she stiffened in his arms. “I like Jesse!”

“As do half the gay men in Texas! He’s gay,” Jason lied
baldly.

He watched the confused expressions play across Leila’s
features and he hid a grin. Jesse, who also happened to be a good friend of
his, would skin him alive if this got back to him. Jesse was straight, and
unless Jason missed his guess, was as interested in Leila as he was.

“You have an amazing voice,” he told her softly.

“Thanks,” she muttered, ducking her head as she hid a blush.
Her eyes sparkled at him, lively and vibrant.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed.

His head descended slowly and his mouth melded with hers.
Passion sparked immediately and with a groan that was part-triumph,
part-longing; Jason deepened the kiss. His tongue stroked hers, sending shivers
of excitement down her spine, and without thinking, Leila arched into him, her
breasts shoving against the hard wall of his chest.

Jason’s hands tightened around Leila’s waist and the feel of
his wide palm caressing her ass drew her back to Earth with a thud. She jerked
out of his arms and glared at him as she furiously rubbed the back of her hand
across her lips.

“Stay the hell away from me,” she spat, her eyes glittering
angrily at him.

She spun around, and for the second time that night, melted
into the crowd.

****

Leila whistled to herself as she strolled towards her new
hotel after the rodeo activities two days later. Jason had performed so badly
again that some people had actually accused him of deliberately throwing the
match. She had learned so much about the cowboys just sitting in the stands and
her ears were still ringing with tales of his sexual conquests, financial
triumphs and saddle skills. Evidently, he had been a playboy extraordinaire for
years and no one was surprised to see him with two women at a time. He was even
more popular in cowboy circles because he was a bronc-riding champion ten years
in a row.

Well, what most of those people didn’t know was that he was
a jerk and a heartless libertine. She had learned that lesson firsthand. He’d
been sending a dozen roses to her place of work every day for the last two
days. She had blushed mightily when the first set was delivered, drawing
whistles and calls from everyone in the bar. But the second night, one look at
the roses and she had stolen outside to weep silently, her anguish rocking her
body. She loved him, she knew; but that also meant he had the power to hurt
her.

A prickling sensation at the back of her neck made her pause
in her strides but when she turned around, the hallway was empty. She needed to
freshen up quickly and rush downstairs to perform. Being a country singer
certainly had its perks—for instance, it put food on her table—but when she was
depressed, singing was the last thing she wanted to do. She just wanted to curl
up in a ball and sob her heart out.

“Sobbing doesn’t pay the bills, honey,” she murmured to
herself as she hurriedly shrugged out of her tattered jeans and tee-shirt and
slipped into a slinky black dress that hugged her body like a second skin and
heavily pronounced all her curves.

Leila bit her lips as she turned this way and that in front
of the mirror. It was a decent enough dress, but was it too revealing?

A harsh knock sounded at the door and she rolled her eyes.
The manager at this hotel was a royal pain in the ass, and he seemed to think
that she was supposed to be the very first person to arrive for the
performance.

“Leila,” the unsmiling man on the other side breathed the
moment she opened the door.

“Jason! How the hell did you find me?” she grated, her heart
clutching painfully in her chest as she glared at him.

Was it her imagination, or was he somewhat thinner than she
remembered?

“I just wanted to explain what happened. It was a misunderstanding,
nothing more.”

Leila glared back at him, “Good for you. Now get out!”

“I didn’t forget that night. I knew something good and
profound had happened I was just fuzzy on the details.”

Just like that, her anger returned. Her eyes glittered at him
as she pouted, “You couldn’t remember we slept together! It’s in the past. No
need to rehash that now.”

She turned her head away, waiting for him to walk out of the
room and out of her life. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of
seeing the tears glistening in her eyes.

“What I mean is, I took a lot of booze and then you must
have given me aspirin at some point—”

“I gave you aspirin for the bump on your head,” she said
defensively, leaning back to put some much-needed space between them. “Now you’re
going to hold onto that?”

His turquoise gaze slanted over her smooth features, her sad
eyes, her pouty mouth and he felt his heart tighten in his chest.

“Give me another chance Leila,” he said softly. “You’re the
best thing that’s happened to me in a while. That was the first night I slept
peacefully without any nightmares.”

Leila chewed at her lips. He looked honest enough that she
wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t let go of something that was eating
away at her.

“Who the hell is
Fiona
?”

Unbearable sadness crossed his features, and then he said,
“Why don’t we sit down and talk about this somewhere else? Like over lunch?”

“No. Here!” she insisted with childish petulance.

He grinned. She was as cute as a button.

“Fiona was my wife who ran off with my best friend and got
killed in a freak accident as they drove off.” He waited to feel the familiar
pain in his chest, but all he felt was just a hollow sadness at two lives
wasted and nothing more. No bitterness; nothing.

He looked at her, “I was bitter for a long while. Hell, I
was bitter until I met
you
. But somehow you healed me. You are good,
pure, smart, funny and sexy as hell.”

Leila blushed. “Oh stop. I’m fat.”

“You’ve got a body that could tempt a eunuch and make a monk
stare; and I love you just the way you are. You are the sexiest, most beautiful
woman alive.”

Leila stared into his eyes; sincerity blazed back at her.
He
loves me? How?

Jason seemed to read her mind because he said softly,
“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. Is it any wonder that I
love you?”

Leila’s reservations melted away, as she leaned into him and
lifted her face for his kiss.

That was all the encouragement Jason needed. With a rough
hungry sound, he tumbled her onto the bed and rolled her onto her back, easily
fitting his slender hips between her legs. Leila inhaled sharply at the feel of
his hard masculine length against her. Their hands jointly made quick work of
their clothes and they were naked in each other’s arms in record time.

Then she instinctively pushed her breasts into his face,
wanting to feel that exquisite sucking he did so well. Jason obliged
immediately, his lips licking and flicking over her nipple.

Frenzied need pulsed through Leila as Jason’s callused palms
caressed every inch of her satiny skin in a mixture of wonder and desire. She
writhed against him as craving roared through her before pooling in her moist
center.

Leila cradled his head, holding him tighter against her
breasts as she pleaded, “Fuck me now, Jason!”

That was all the encouragement Jason needed as he thrust
into her in one sure masterful stroke that joined them perfectly and sheathed
him to the hilt.

“I love you,” he murmured, his blue eyes clashing with her
green ones.

Leila grinned at him, her heart bursting with happiness as
she said the words he longed to hear, “I love you too, Jason. Always and
forever.”

THE END

“OK, I guess that's everything,” Olivia sighed as she closed
the trunk of her navy blue Focus. She turned to Michelle, the young woman
standing behind her, and wrapped her arms around her tightly. The two had been
roommates, classmates and best friends for the past three years. Olivia
swallowed hard, fighting back tears that were brimming in her blue-green eyes.

“I'm going to miss you so much,” Michelle choked, and Olivia
nodded in reciprocation.

Olivia felt like the proverbial lion with her tail tucked
between her legs. She couldn't believe she was heading for home. No doubt, her
family would view her as the petulant child, determined to do things her own
way until she realized mommy and daddy had known best all along. She'd driven
away from her family's ranch three years ago toward a better life; a life in
the glamorous fashion industry—or a two-year program at a prestigious fashion
school to be precise.

She'd decided there was no way she was going to spend her
life surrounded by cows, horses, chickens, goats and every other animal that
made her feel like she was living in a petting zoo. “And somehow that seemed
unfair,” Olivia thought ironically. With the nearest neighbor living miles down
the road, Olivia was the only creature on her parents' ranch who was not
getting any petting.

But, a year after graduating at the top of her class and
absolutely no job prospects in sight—unless one would call a part-time job at
the local Walmart a prospect—and Olivia was forced to admit defeat. Nearly
penniless, she was using the last of her meager savings to make the shameful
trek home.

“Just think, I'll be the most stylish woman on the ranch.
And you never know. One day Diane Von Furstenberg's car might break down right
outside and she'll be so impressed with the fashionable girl who gives her car
a boost that she'll take me under her wing. I could be designing for one of the
most prestigious fashion houses in no time,” Olivia tried to lighten the mood.

She released Michelle then and slowly made her way to the
driver's side door. Olivia waved goodbye, slid into the car and slowly drove
out of the apartment building's parking lot. And in just a few short hours,
she'd be pulling into the ranch's long front drive.

“It isn't all bad,” she reassured herself as she drove.

In truth, she'd missed her family terribly, finding it
strange and difficult to see them so infrequently. She had assumed she'd get
used to it, but even now as she drove home in defeat, she knew that at least a
small part of her was already excited to see her parents once again. They had
empathized with her when she called to tell them she'd be moving back home, but
the tone in their voices was hard to miss—they were sad to hear their daughter
was struggling but obviously happy to have her back. Olivia smiled. She
supposed she could have it worse. Sure, she'd bombed in the real world, but her
family was right there waiting for her with open arms.

Still, she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do
now, and her thoughts meandered through the limited possibilities as she merged
onto the highway that would lead her home. “Do I resign myself to an ordinary
life on the ranch?” she wondered. “Bring modern fashion to the countryside in
hopes of eking out a meager existence dressing the local ranchers in style? I
could always become the first fashion designer for farm animals,” she
considered wryly, and then giggled aloud at the ridiculous images the thought
brought to mind.

It was enough to jostle Olivia out of her misery. “That's
the end of it,” she determined as, hours later, she pulled off the highway and
onto the road that was so familiar. Just twenty more minutes and she'd be home,
and she would sulk no more. Sure, she had no idea what lay ahead of her, but
she was young and had time to figure it out.

A smile returned, as she used up the brief remaining moments
of the drive to reminisce over her years away from home. She'd left the ranch
an inexperienced juvenile, eager to sample everything the big city and life in
the fast lane had to offer. She'd met a multitude of wonderful people—and a few
creeps and degenerates—along the way. She'd grown in so many ways over the past
three years that, even if her adventure in fashion ended here, she was a better
person for it.

Olivia took a deep breath as she spied the gates that marked
the entrance to her parents' ranch, and she whispered as she exhaled, “Home.”
Another minute and she had pressed the buzzer and the gates had opened before
her. She began to ascend the long drive to the sprawling house at the top,
vaguely able to make out the two figures awaiting her on the front porch—her
parents, no doubt. But her attention was drawn elsewhere.

A new figure appeared from beyond the side of the house,
moving easily but deliberately toward the home's front porch. Even after such a
long absence, she would recognize his confident stride anywhere. Dean. She'd
spent countless hours watching him throughout her teen years and even more
conjuring images of him in her adolescent fantasies. Oh, she'd almost forgotten
how hot and bothered he'd made her, but it was coming back to her quickly now.

Olivia had never been quick to envy—she was generally happy
to see others get, even when she didn't, but she remembered one evening Dean
had forced her to succumb to the green-eyed monster. She'd been sixteen at the
time. She had walked into the horse stalls late in the day to find him brushing
down one of the family's horses after a hard ride. She'd never before thought
she could be so jealous of a horse. She'd stood there, unable to move or tear
her gaze away, watching the taut, sinewy muscles of his arms flex as he moved
along the horse's body. He'd obviously gotten a good workout too; his naked
torso still glistening with sweat. God, how she'd wished she was the horse
right then. Hell, she would have been happy to be the T-shirt casually draped
over his shoulder. He spoke and her eyes were drawn to his lips, watching them
move as he talked softly to the horse. Until then, she had no idea a man's lips
could be so captivating, but her body had begun to ache and throb as she
imagined all the wicked things those lips could do to her.

Olivia shook her head, trying to stem the flow of arousal
that had begun to course through her veins and force her thoughts back to the
present. She'd been just twelve years old when nineteen-year-old Dean had first
come to work on the ranch, and only a doe-eyed virgin seventeen-year-old when
he'd left at twenty four to attend to some family matter. He'd never seen her
as anything other than the rancher's kid. Olivia had left for college while he
was still away, but seeing him now told her absolutely nothing had changed.
“Damn!” she cursed quietly, begrudgingly acknowledging her hopeless infatuation
with her parents' number one horse wrangler.

She slowed as she approached the top of the drive, giving
herself an extra moment to regain her composure. Dean had reached the porch at
the same time she slid her car into park, and she watched as he spoke with her
father, doing her best to keep her gaze from settling on his lips.

“Enough! Let's go, Olivia,” she chided herself, forcing the
car door open and stepping out onto the pavement.

Dean had just begun to turn away, heading back in the
direction from which he'd emerged. But he saw her then and stopped, and Olivia
could have sworn his mouth dropped open for the briefest of seconds. His eyes
swept down her body and back up to meet her eyes as she ran her fingers
nervously though her long, auburn tresses. Dean's jaw took on a harder edge
before he turned quickly and headed around the side of the house.

It happened so fast that Olivia wondered if perhaps she'd
imagined his response to her; years of longing leaving her just a smidge
delusional. But her parents were already descending the front steps, hurrying
toward her, and just seconds later she was wrapped in her mother's arms. She
forced Dean to the back of her mind once again. It seemed inappropriate to be
thinking about the hot horse wrangler as her father leaned down to kiss her
forehead.

“Hi Mom. Hey Dad,” she greeted them, returning her mother's
hug and kissing her father's cheek. “I've missed you guys.”

“And we've missed you terribly,” Olivia's mother uttered as
she fought against the tears welling in her eyes, squeezing her daughter tight
for one more moment before releasing her hold. “We're so sorry it didn't work
out like you'd hoped, but you're here now, and we'll figure something out.
Miracles happen, Olivia,” her mom told her emphatically.

From birth, everyone had called Olivia the miracle baby. Her
parents, Christine and Robert, were much older than most, told for years they
would never conceive a child of their own. And then one day, years after giving
up on ever having a baby, Christine had surprised everyone by announcing she
was pregnant.

Can't argue over miracles with Mom
, Olivia thought
wryly, nodding her acquiescence instead. 

Robert turned toward the house, leading the small group
inside and out of the blazing heat of the midsummer's sun.

“So, your mother has a surprise for you, Olivia. Might as
well get it out of the way now, Christine,” he mentioned as casually as he
could manage. She eyed her mother suspiciously.

“Well, you know we're just so glad to have you back home for
now, Olivia. And there are others here who have missed you while you've been
away, too.” Christine paused, but Olivia remained silent, waiting for her
mother to continue.

“I know you're not one for big parties and such, but I was
just thinking a little gathering to welcome you home wasn't too much,”
Christine smiled innocently.

“And all the fun starts in a little over five hours,” Robert
grinned, no doubt knowing Christine had planned on breaking that part to their
daughter more gently, but unable to resist getting his wife into a little
trouble.

Olivia feigned an angry look, but couldn't help joining in
her father's joviality with a grin of her own. Truth be told, she'd become much
more accustomed to large crowds since going away to school. While the college
campus wasn't large, she'd attended her fair share of parties both on-campus
and off, and even frequented the occasional nightclub to further her worldly
experience in the big city.

“It's OK, Mom. I know you couldn't resist,” Olivia smiled
and kissed her mother's cheek before turning past the main foyer and through
the open concept living area toward her bedroom beyond. She paused mid-step,
realizing her parents might have changed things around while she'd been gone;
perhaps they'd turned her bedroom into a sewing room, or replaced her bed with
a billiard's table. Her parents must have understood her hesitation.

“Of course it's still your room. You'll always have a place
here at home,” Christine assured her.

Olivia smiled brightly and then continued to her room with
her rolling luggage in tow. Closing the door behind her, she rolled the luggage
to the bed and immediately began stripping off the viscose dress clinging to
her heated skin. She unzipped her luggage, rummaging for a cotton sundress and
then continued onto the window, enjoying the coolness of the room's air
conditioning on her naked flesh. She pulled the curtains aside—there was seldom
anyone so near to the house in the rear yard. As she looked around, it
surprised her to find the familiar scene outside so comforting. It's as if
she'd been away out of necessity for all these years and just now coming home
to the place she'd missed so much.

“Strange,” she thought, feeling rather perplexed. Had she
really just been the petulant child, determined to do things differently? Is
this where she had belonged all along?

Her thoughts changed direction quickly as she saw Dean
striding through the yard. God, he was gorgeous. Over six feet tall, broad
shouldered, sinewy muscle everywhere. Olivia could feel her satin thong getting
wetter with every second she continued to stare at the cowboy Adonis in the
yard. Funny though, she remembered him spending a whole lot more time with the
horses when she was here last, and less time looking like he was running the
place...

Oh, hell!
That was it, wasn't it? Her dad was in his
sixties, and his daughter had shown absolutely no interest in taking over the
ranch. Dean looked like he was running the ranch because he
was.
The
idea of Dean permanently ensconced at the ranch both aroused and frustrated
her; drooling over him day-in, day-out—no person should be subjected to such
torture.

Olivia raised her arm, reaching for the curtain's edge, but
her movement must have caught Dean's attention and his eyes found hers
instantly before traveling down her body. She knew she should move away from
the window or close the curtain in a hurry, but she stood there, clad in a
skimpy satin bra and thong. And when his heated gaze returned to her eyes she
forced herself to meet him there, staring back like the young, desirable woman
she was, no longer the doe-eyed teenager. She'd never been so bold in her life,
and a thrill coursed through her body knowing he was looking at her. But he
didn't stop. Was he as aroused as she was? Or was he having fun with her,
seeing if he could make her squirm? The thought of the latter made her blush
profusely and she darted away from the window. But, not before she saw the
corners of his lips pull up in a sexy smile, leaving Olivia quite certain he
must have been toying with her.

She stretched out her arm to close the curtain and then
crossed the room to sink down on the bed.
Damn! I'm not here twenty minutes
and the guy's already got me acting loopy! Of course it was a joke...I'm still
just that little kid to him, right?

Olivia closed her eyes, breathing deeply—an exercise she'd
learned when stress overcame her at school—and waited for her calm to reemerge.
It was one silly encounter at a window—not the end of the world.