How to Catch a (Rock) Star (The Dead Hour #1) (16 page)

‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I should have, I know but I just felt like such an asshole, conforming to the stereotype.’

Lillie smiled and slid across the seat to put her arms around him.

‘I can’t tell you how relieved I am,’ she said. ‘Not that I want you to be an addict or anything,’ she clarified,‘but I was imagining all kinds of things.’

She kissed him gently, glad he had finally opened up to her. He responded slowly, hesitant, and she kissed him harder, wanting him to know that she understood and didn’t mind. When the kiss ended, she stayed cuddled up to him, thinking how cool automatics were; no handbrake to get between them. Jed drove the short distance home, parking the car in the drive and kissing her forehead before getting out of the car.

Well, that was a load off her mind, Lillie thought, smiling as she followed Jed into the house, fending off Axle and Slash on the way to the kitchen.

‘Hi Sandra,’ she sang out, feeling relieved that Jed wasn’t keeping something sinister from her.

‘Hey honey, did you have a nice day? What do you think of our little town then?’

‘It’s really beautiful,’ Lillie said, sitting down at the massive island in the middle of the kitchen. ‘I had a great burger at Hank’s, bloody and delicious. Johnny was really unimpressed,’ she laughed, picking up a home-made butterscotch chip cookie from the bowl in front of her. She was going to need a serious diet after staying here for a couple of days.

‘Mmmm, these are amazing,’ she said, mouth full and holding up the cookie.

Sandra smiled and thanked her, asking if she wanted a glass of milk to go with it. Lillie nodded, secretly delighted at the thought of having cookies and milk in a real life American kitchen. She took a big gulp of milk and another bite of her cookie.

‘So, shall we take some of those to go?’

Lillie looked at Jed, confused.

‘I thought I’d book us a room at the guest house in town for tonight.’ He attempted to look casual but failed and Lillie covered her half full mouth with her hand to ask him why. He darted a quick look at Sandra, who had suddenly found something very interesting in her sink.

‘Well, I thought we might go out tonight and it would just be easier to stay in town.’

His face took on a slight pink glow and Lillie realised he was blushing. It was only the second time she had seen him do it. She felt her face heat up in response and thought how ridiculous that was.

Sandra was still concentrating on something in the sink. Lillie frowned and suggested they just get a taxi back here. He seemed to flounder for an answer and Lillie could almost hear his brain trying to come up with a reason why they couldn’t.

‘Oh honey, there’s only one cabbie round town and he sometimes doesn’t work midweek. He’s a funny old sort.’ Sandra came to Jed’s rescue, leaning against the sink which had, until recently, held so much fascination for her.

Lillie let the sceptical look stay on her face and said she would go and pack up her things.

Jed jumped up and said he’d come with her, after all, he needed to chuck some stuff in a bag too. Lillie narrowed her eyes but led the way, suspicious at this sudden change of plans. Jed chatted away at her back, telling her how he wanted to take her to his favourite restaurant in town and then meet up with some old school buddies for drinks.

Jed started shoving clothes into a bag when they reached his room.

‘You get the toiletries and stuff, I’ll pack some clothes for you.’ He noted her ‘I don’t think so’ expression and promised she would be suitably impressed with his choices.

‘Nothing slutty,’ Lillie warned him as she went into the bathroom. He grinned back at her and she sighed as she turned towards the mirror. She pushed her fringe back and wished she had had it cut in Sweden. She was nervous about meeting Jed’s old friends and wondered what they were like. Probably all super cool, arty types who –

‘What ya doing?’ Jed said, startling her. Lillie stood up straight as he moved behind her.

‘Errr, nothing, just getting my toothbrush, your toothbrush,’ she babbled, grabbing their toothbrushes and holding them up as proof.

Jed wrapped his arms around her and put his chin on her head, trapping her against the counter. They stared at each other in the mirror and she was just starting to feel the need to say something when he suddenly broke eye contact, kissing her hair and disappearing back into his bedroom. Lillie stared at herself for a few seconds more, raising an eyebrow to herself. She shoved the toothbrushes in a bag and followed him out.

‘Okay, let’s hit the motherfuckin’ road!’ he said, putting the wash bag and her make-up in a duffel bag and holding his hand out to her.

‘Where are we going for dinner?’ Lillie asked as they went downstairs.

‘It’s this great little Italian place off Main Street. You’ll love it. It kind of reminds me of that club where we met,’ he paused, trying to remember the name.

‘The Cavern?’

‘Yeah, yeah. You know, real small, dark red walls, chandeliers and candles. Very romantic, good food. Great desserts,’ he said, smiling at her.

‘Mom! We’re going now,’ he waited for Sandra to appear. ‘We’ll be back tomorrow lunchtime to go out on the lake. Say bye to Dad for me.’ He kissed her goodbye, the dogs trying to get in between them, weaving in and out of everyone’s legs and thrusting wet muzzles into hips and thighs. Lillie hugged Sandra goodbye and thanked her for the cookies as Jed ushered her out the door, shoving the dogs out of the way.

When they got back in the car, she told him how she had always wanted a dog but her mum had always refused to have one. Too much work, she added.

‘Well, when the tour’s over and everything’s settled down, we can get a dog if you want,’ he said, glancing at her. ‘Or two,’ he amended, mistaking the look on her face for disappointment. She wasn’t used to boys being so unafraid to talk about the future in terms of a real and long–term relationship.

‘I want big dogs,’ she said, recovering from her momentary shock. ‘Ridgebacks or Rottweilers,’ she clarified.

‘Cool. I don’t much care for small yappy dogs,’ Jed said, much to her relief. ‘What shall we call them?’

‘You are not naming them, that’s for sure!’ Lillie laughed as Jed turned to her with a look of mock outrage on his face. ‘
There will be no Sid and Nancy or whoever you’re thinking
of!’

They checked into a beautiful guesthouse and were shown to a huge room with a massive four poster bed. A big old-fashioned copper bath stood at the bottom of it and floor to ceiling windows let in the last of the day’s golden sun, throwing a muted orange glow around the room.

As soon as the door was closed, they were on the bed, eager to feel bare skin without parents lurking behind closed doors. Afterwards, they took a bath together, Lillie leaning her back against Jed’s chest and enjoying the heaviness of his arms wrapped around her, the warm water enveloping them, the candlelight flickering. It was with rather a lot of reluctance that she finally agreed to get out of the bath and dress for dinner.

Lillie stood in her towel as Jed presented her with the outfit he had packed for her. He held a short, fitted, emerald green dress in front of his body with a very pleased look on his face.

‘I think it might be a little small,’ Lillie said, smiling at his confusion. ‘And perhaps not quite your colour.’

She laughed as his face cleared and he groaned, giving her the dress and turning back to the bag, rummaging around and holding out something else with a flourish. Lillie took it, admiring the cobalt blue colour as she realised it was lace edged underwear – a delicate pair of silk boy shorts and a matching three-quarter cup bra.

‘Oh Jed, it’s beautiful,’ she checked the label, ‘French! And the right size!’ She grinned up at him and dropped her towel, holding up her hand to ward him off whilst she put it on. She twirled for him, watching his eyes light up with a naughty glint.

‘We’ll be late,’ she said, reaching for the dress and stepping into it before he could remove the gorgeous underwear.

‘Later,’ she promised, turning so he could zip her up.

As she put on her make-up, Lillie considered how lucky she was to have found Jed after the nightmare of Married Matt. He was not only funny, kind and talented both in and out of the bedroom, but also truly excellent at surprise presents. She touched her heart pendant and took another peek at the beautiful lingerie he had bought. And now, he had truly laid himself bare, divulging his dark secret which wasn’t anywhere near as terrible as the things she had been torturing herself with. She checked her reflection one last time and smiled at herself in the mirror. Things were finally perfect.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

The most delicious smell of garlic and roasted tomatoes wafted around the small restaurant and Jed breathed it in, eager for some fantastic Italian food. He noted with a proud smugness that his mom’s paintings were still on the dark red walls of the restaurant. He saw that one of his was there too but with no price tag. Mario greeted him with his usual over exuberance, lavishing compliments on Lillie who, true to form, blushed and stuttered her thanks.

He led them to a table tucked into the corner, away from the other diners and pulled Lillie’s chair out for her, shaking out the starched white linen serviette with over the top fanfare before laying it in her lap. He insisted on the meal being on the house and both Jed and Lillie indulged in three courses, Lillie pushing the scant remnants of her Mississippi Mud Pie towards Jed before leaning back in her chair and rubbing her stomach. Jed laughed and finished it off, two whole mouthfuls. God, it was rich. Not for the first time, he wondered where she put it all. He left a large tip and thanked Mario for the amazing meal, exchanging hugs and kisses and promising him a signed photo of the band for his wall.

Jed hoped Jessica wouldn’t be in the bar with the rest of his old buddies. He’d have to make sure Lillie stayed away from her. Or, more likely, the other way around. He knew Lillie was nervous about meeting them all and had promised her they would only stay for a couple of drinks.

He gripped her hand tightly and opened the door, raising his hand at a few people he knew, nodding his head at others but not stopping to make conversation. He led Lillie to the back of the bar, where he knew his crowd would be gathered.

Spotting Chris’ head, he turned back to Lillie and gave her a reassuring smile before closing the gap between them and the large table of his friends. The nearest reached out to pat his arm and he held onto Lillie, squeezing her hand.

‘Hey guys. Great to be home,’ he said, smiling widely. He turned to Lillie, ‘this is Lil. Lil, this is everyone. You don’t need to know their names.’ He laughed as missiles flew towards him and he ducked out of their way, waving off the shouts of mock outrage.

Lillie slid into the chair next to Johnny and Jed took the one beside her, his heart racing as he noticed Jessica sat in the corner. She was staring at him and he tried his hardest not to look at her impressive cleavage spilling over the red bustier she was wearing. He knew she would be wearing dark blue super skinny jeans and huge heels that would make her legs look miles long. He risked a glance at Lillie, hoping she hadn’t noticed Jessica staring at him; of course she had, she was busy taking in the china doll complexion, bobbed 20’s style black hair and heavy fringe and the massive, heavily made up blue eyes.

Jessica was pretty hot, he supposed. Okay, really hot. If you liked that sort of thing. Which Johnny did, but Jed didn’t get; she was so… overt. Plus, there was the whole thing about how she was weirdly obsessed with him. It made him feel uncomfortable, the way she stared at him, using Johnny to try and get to him. And yet, Johnny still went there on a regular basis. Either he didn’t care or Jessica was so good in the sack that he overlooked that small fact. Whichever it was, Jed needed to enlist Johnny’s help in keeping her away from Lillie.

He took his chance when Lillie got involved in an intense conversation with a couple of his old school buddies, leaning behind her chair and tugging Johnny’s sleeve.

‘Dude, I need you to fill Lil in on Jessica and keep them away from each other,’ he whispered. Johnny nodded and they both turned in time to watch Jessica get up from the table, leaning forwards as she stood up. Jed couldn’t help himself, his eyes widened as he got a great view of her breasts. He looked up quickly to see Jessica smirking at him as she wiggled her perfect round ass whilst making her way past the table. He shared a look with Johnny whose eyes followed her to the bathroom. Jed shook his head at him and Johnny grinned.

‘Totally worth it, man. She’s hot. And fucking amazing in bed,’ Johnny said.

‘She’s obvious,’ Jed said, ‘and a bitch.’

‘Yeah, but like I said, hot. And she likes some freaky shit too,’ he replied, raising an eyebrow. ‘One time, she asked me to – ‘

Jed shut him up with a pointed look at Lillie’s back and Johnny nodded and put his finger to his lips.

‘I’ll tell you some other time,’ he whispered. Jed shook his head again and joined in the conversation, taking Lillie’s hand under the table.

He was grateful when Johnny engaged Jessica in conversation, even though he knew he was putting the moves on her. Successfully. When time was called, Jessica tried to get him to come back to hers for drinks with the rest of them, but he wasn’t about to take that chance and besides, he had a four poster bed to make use of.

Jessica shot a poisonous look at Lillie and Jed silently cursed her. He knew Johnny had told Lillie about Jessica and her obsession with him and made it clear that he had never slept with her, but still. Lillie could be so paranoid, she might not have believed him. He braced himself for the barrage of questions he knew were coming his way, waving everyone off before heading in the opposite direction to the guest house.

‘Are Johnny and that girl Jessica going to hook up tonight?’

Jed smiled inwardly at his prediction of questions.

‘Yeah, probably.’

‘But Johnny said that she has a thing for you. Why would he sleep with someone who wants to sleep with his friend?’

‘Well, you’ll have to ask him that. I have no idea.’ Jed wished she would drop it.

To distract her, he pulled her into an alley, pressing her up against the wall. He kissed her hard, sliding the silk shorts down her thighs. He was surprised when she shimmied out of them and he bent down to pick them up, staying on his knees and gently nipping her inner thighs as she parted her legs to let him run his tongue over her. God, she always tasted so fucking good, he thought as he flicked her with his tongue, sliding a finger inside her, vaguely noticing her grab his hair as he quickly brought her to orgasm.

He rose to his feet, kissing her deeply as he undid his jeans with one hand, pulling a condom out of his back packet and swiftly putting it on. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her breathing shallow. He kissed her neck, breathing her in as he pushed inside her, his excitement rising as she moaned quietly. He couldn’t help himself, he fucked her hard, taking pleasure in her strangled gasps and moans as he plunged deep into her. She was pushing against him, her hips grinding into his and she forced his lips to hers. Their mouths would be bruised tomorrow. He came too quickly, burying his head in her neck to muffle his groans.

He stayed there a while, chest heaving, listening to her laboured breathing, smelling her perfume and the musky scent of them together, before he lowered her to the ground, smoothing her dress over her legs and removing the condom before buttoning his jeans. He stepped in close to her and she lifted her face to his as they smiled at each other. He was about to kiss her when a flash of light and the unmistakeable sound of a camera invaded the moment.

‘Fuck,’ Jed hissed, glancing at Lillie, who was frozen in horror. He took off after the photographer but he was long gone. God damn teenagers and their big lungs, he thought as he turned back. How long had the little pervert been watching?

Lillie was waiting for him, pale and shaking. He shook his head. ‘Man, he was quick,’ he panted, putting his arms around her.

‘Do you think he was there the whole time?’ she muttered into his chest.

‘No. More hits for a photo of us having sex than for one of us about to kiss. I’ll check the usual sites tomorrow.’ He kissed her hair and rubbed her arms. ‘C’mon, let’s get back to the room,’ he said, ‘I’ll warm you up and make you forget all about peeping toms, I promise.’

Lillie looked up at him and he could tell she didn’t believe him about the kid not being there until the end. He couldn’t be sure himself. But he sure hoped not. It would not look good for him to be caught on camera having sex with Lillie in an alley. In fact, it would be a goddamn disaster.