King of Rock (Lions of Pride Island Book 1) (4 page)

B
eau sat
in his car while he waited for Stacy to go into her home and get her things together.

What had he been thinking, suggesting such an arrangement in the heat of the moment?

She’d been rejecting him, something he never saw coming, and he couldn’t just let her walk away. It wasn’t just the oracle thing, either. There was a connection between them. He was attracted to her. He liked the way she gave him crap, didn’t just fall over and fawn over him.

He liked the way she looked. Liked the way she boldly asked about the charity auction, even after slapping him. She had guts.

Still, his brother was going to be pissed when he heard what was going on.

It had been Beau’s only idea at the time, but it was risky. Who knew how the week would actually go? He was betting on his ability to win over any woman, but this was the one woman who didn’t seem affected by him in any way.

He grinned and rubbed his chin, remembering the kiss. No, there was one way she was
really
affected by him. Their lions were completely compatible. The sex would be off the charts hot. If she ever allowed that.

He didn’t want anything she didn’t. And he wasn’t going to push her any further. No matter how many times she gave him that needy, hungry look that said she wanted him physically but hated him mentally. If he wanted to win her over, he’d need to play the long game. Show her he could be trusted, get her to open up and say why she hated him despite not even knowing him, and then show her how great they could be as mates.

He trusted the oracle. He had to. The fate of the world depended on it. There was a lot of turmoil on Pride Island, and though it had been suppressed the past few years, there were still lions who felt the place of shifters was over the humans, not hiding among them. And enough charismatic lions controlling dragons and other shifter tribunals could pull that off.

Beau knew the truth, that power should be used to protect others, not rule them. But not everyone got that. Luckily, his brothers did, but they’d fought hard and lost a lot to stand for that ideal. He knew most people on the island would never know that, though.

She was probably one of them. He didn’t know how to make her understand that without telling her things she really shouldn’t be privy to unless she was his mate, which she hadn’t agreed to yet.

Maybe she never would. What would they do then?

His phone rang, and he picked it up with a sigh, knowing it would be his brother Ace, looking for an update, since he knew Beau was scheduled to meet with Stacy for the first time. Now he’d have to tell him it hadn’t gone as well as he’d thought, and his worry-prone brother would fly off the hook as usual.

“Hi, Ace,” he said.

“I told you to stop calling me that,” his brother said tersely. Then, after a pause, he added, “How’d it go?”

Beau snorted. “I’m fine. How are you?”

“I mean the mate thing,” Ace said.

Beau sighed. That was Axel. All business. “Not too well.”

Axel exhaled into the phone, his frustration and stress nearly palpable “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Beau said, watching the house to make sure she wasn’t on her way out yet. “She hated me from the start.”

“Did she say why?” Axel said, sounding as puzzled as Beau felt.

“No,” Beau said. “Might be something about the family? I can’t tell. I think it’s a general resistance to anything to do with the island. At least I hope it is.” He scratched his head. “That would be easier to overcome.”

“So what are you going to do?” his brother asked flatly. “We can’t afford for this to go wrong.”

“I know,” Beau replied, annoyed at his brother’s lack of trust. He couldn’t just force the issue. But he knew his brother carried immense burdens on his shoulders, and it often made him grumpy and hard to deal with. Heaven help the woman the oracle matched him with when it was time. Beau secretly hoped it was someone who could help Ace lighten up.

“I asked what are you going to do?”

“I heard you,” Beau retorted, leaning back in the chair and keeping his eyes on the house. “Look, I have it under control, I think.”

“What did you do?” Ace asked again, suspiciously.

“I sort of… asked her to stay at my house.”

“What? Why would she do that if she hates you?” Ace asked. “You aren’t just using your body…”

“No,” Beau said, amused. “We made a deal. I’m donating to her charity.”

“How much?” Ace asked.

“A million dollars. My own money.”

“Cool,” Ace said. “Charity is always good.”

Not to mention their family had plenty at their disposal. Money was never a problem. Winning the right mate was. “Anyway, I’m also willing to do this auction,” he said.

Ace was quiet for a moment. “I thought you hated those kinds of things.”

“I do,” Beau said. “It always felt sort of like I’d be betraying my mate. But hey, if my mate is the one asking…”

“Then you’re okay being a piece of meat?” Ace asked.

“Let’s be honest,” Beau said. “I’m a piece of meat to a lot of the world. It’s how I have all that influence you like me to have.”

Ace sighed. “True.”

Beau rankled slightly at that, but it was the truth. As much as he liked his music and being out in the world and off the island, he knew there were ulterior motives to everything. He needed to be someone who could go anywhere and do anything. Who he was inside didn’t so much matter. The fact that he could win people over with his looks and talent did.

But maybe that’s why he was looking forward to this week alone. He could help Stacy see the man inside. Maybe a man he didn’t know any longer, because it was hard to separate himself from the public persona. And he wanted his future mate to know more than that about him.

“This is a big risk you’re taking,” Ace said.

“She was going to walk out on me,” Beau explained.

Ace laughed at that. “A woman walking out on you? I don’t believe it.” He exhaled. “The oracle must have a sense of humor.”

“Hey, aside from the fact that she hates me, she’s basically perfect.” Beau chuckled.

“I see,” Ace said. “Well, I expect updates. And don’t blow it. You know what’s at stake.”

Beau did. But he also knew everything at stake didn’t override the needs of one person. Stacy still had a right to choose who she wanted, and he just needed to make sure he was that man.

He hoped she could like him for him, but he was willing to be whatever she needed. He saw light from the front door as she opened it, and he hopped out of the car to help with her bags.

“She’s on her way out. I gotta go,” he told his brother. “Take care. Love you man.”

“You, too,” his brother replied in a surly tone. “And don’t screw up.”

Beau hung up on him as he walked up the front steps to take Stacy’s bags from her hands. She looked up at him in harried confusion, as if she hadn’t been expecting him to help, but then simply clutched only her purse and followed him to the car.

She sat in the front seat, and he was glad he drove a Volvo for the soft leather seats and the little sigh she let out as she sank into the them. It wasn’t exactly the car people expected from a celebrity, but he loved how comfy the interior was and the fact that his manager trusted him to drive it on his own.

She looked over at him with tired eyes, and he wondered if maybe he should have given her the night at her house. But then she might have thought about it and changed her mind.

Truthfully, he probably would have agreed to the charity auction and still donated the money on his own if she’d asked him to. But he was glad he had a chance to win his mate instead.

“I have people at the mansion who can go pick up anything you need, so if you discover you forgot something or you’re missing anything, just let me know, okay?”

She nodded. A few strands of her dark hair fell out of her tight ponytail and waved slightly in the humid night air. He wanted to reach out and brush one back but knew it wouldn’t be welcome. He had to overcome her prejudice toward him first.

“We’re sleeping in separate rooms,” she said as they got onto the highway and he sped up. “And no sex.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “At all? Even if you beg me?”

She clenched her legs together in that way she kept doing whenever something sexy came up, and he felt himself grow a little hard in response.

Calm down, Beau. You aren’t a schoolboy
. But being with his mate could apparently make him feel that way.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine without it for a week,” she said. “After all, I’m sure you can get it whenever you want it.”

He shrugged. There was no good answer to that. He guessed his number was a lot lower than she thought. When he was younger, he’d given in to more aggressive women out of sheer pressure, but as he’d gotten older, he’d simply found little joy in the thought of physicality with anyone who wouldn’t be his mate. Mostly, he found joy in his music and went home alone to quiet nights in his mansion.

It would be nice to have someone around he didn’t have to hold back with. Except sexually, apparently.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t make promises. If you end up really wanting it, I don’t see myself saying no.”

She grumbled something under her breath.

“But there isn’t going to be any pressure. I want to be your mate, yes, but only if you want it. I want you to get to know me. I want to get to know you. If that involves some mutually pleasurable horizontal tango, so be it.”

She gave him a weird look, but he could swear she was fighting off a grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it called that.”

He shrugged and gave her a smirk. “It’s like a dance, right?”

She nodded and jealousy shot through him. Not that he had any right to be jealous of anything she’d done before mating him, but he was.

She was his. He could already feel that down to his bones.

They pulled up in front of his house, and he put in the code for the gate. His home was at the end of a very long, private road that had mansions on all sides, each with tremendous grounds and lots of privacy. As the lot at the end, he had the most.

He drove up the long driveway to the front of the house, and she just stared.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she finally said. “It’s like a palace.”

He grinned and got out of the car to help her out. She was gaping up at the building. “I guess it’s suitable, then, since I’m a prince, right?”

She gave him a glare, like she couldn’t believe he said that, and he couldn’t help savoring the short moment when her pretty, dark, mysterious eyes were locked on him.

He wanted her to look at him always.

“Are you going to show me my room?” she asked. “I think I’m already ready for bed.”

He frowned. “Already? Did the concert tire you out that much?”

She shrugged. “Just a long day.” She eyed him. “Or maybe the company.”

He had to laugh at that. His mate had a sassy mouth on her, and he liked it, even if he sort of wished it wasn’t only aimed at him. “All right, I’ll show you your room, and you can relax, or not.”

They walked in, and the house was quiet. Rogers and Moon were probably asleep in their quarters by now, assuming he wouldn’t be home early enough to need anything.

“I’m kind of surprised you drive yourself around,” she said.

“Just when I’m not touring,” he said. “When I’m going home. I like driving myself, and as long as I’m safe, my manager doesn’t complain. Plus, that car will practically stop itself from crashing. All high tech.”

She giggled. “You’re seriously so much odder than I expected.” Then she was serious again, trying not to look at him. Why was she fighting him so hard when it felt like everything could be so easy between them?

He took her up the stairs to the largest guest bedroom, hoping to impress her. When he opened the door and turned on the light, she gasped.

“It’s beautiful.” Then her tone turned bitter. “Then again, I suppose everything you have is beautiful.”

He looked at her, captivated by her presence in his home. It felt so right. “Yeah. Beautiful.”

She didn’t notice him staring as she walked around the room, looking at the designer furnishings, the thick, soft privacy curtains that would block out the sun. She pulled them aside and gazed out at the wide grounds, which were slowly rolling hills blanketed in soft, green grass. “It’s beautiful here. I guess it’s not a bad place to spend a week.”

“And your boss will be okay with you missing work?”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “Are you kidding me? To get Beau Hunt to be part of our auction? Not a problem.”

He grinned. That worked for him.

“Anyway,” she said, lightly fingering the edges of the curtains. “Can I be alone for a minute? I need to unpack.”

He took a step back, disappointed. But of course it made sense. She agreed to stay with him. Being with him every moment wasn’t part of the deal.

Stop being a fucking stalker
, he told himself.

But still, pulling himself away from her was like ripping epoxy off skin.

He rubbed the back of his neck. He could give her a night. He could use the rest, though he knew he’d probably just be up thinking about her and how to win her over tomorrow. Regardless, he should give her space.

Her short, curvy figure was still in front of the window, an attractive silhouette that pulled him forward. He felt his mouth go dry at the sheer, stunning want he felt for her.

Then he turned away.

“You’ll let me know if you need anything?” he asked. He thought about the kiss again and badly wanted another one.

She nodded, not looking at him.

With the greatest effort, he stepped outside her door and closed it gently behind him.

He resolved to go see what cook had left in the fridge for him. He’d need to eat if he wanted to keep his strength up with that vixen around. He had to somehow act patient when that was the last thing he felt.

Seven days to make her fall in love. But would that possibly be enough?

T
he next morning
Beau showed her around the house so she could know what she had at her disposal while there.

She’d known Beau was a prince back on the island and a rock star here in the States, but she was still surprised by the elegance of his estate, and the fun.

She could hardly wait to try out the pool downstairs. It was enormous, set in a solarium surrounded by glass so it felt like it was outside, but it was covered and temperature controlled. It was surrounded by waterfalls and slides, with a large hot tub off to the right surrounded by rocks, and looked like the perfect place to host a party.

Maybe taking time off work wouldn’t be so awful after all.

As they walked, she ate the breakfast Beau had brought her. A rich smoothie and bagel covered in strawberry cream cheese. Beau had made it clear he’d make sure she got enough to eat, and she’d already noticed from the way he stared at her curves that he liked his women a little more… generously endowed.

She flushed as she followed him across the main foyer to a door that led downstairs to the basement.

It didn’t matter what he liked. She wasn’t going to mate him. No matter how sexy or charming he was. And he could definitely be charming when he wanted to. She didn’t know if it was just an act, but he was so polite and kind to his staff. When the gardener had a question, he stepped to the side and listened intently, agreeing with the other man’s ideas. When the chef came to ask about lunch, he asked Stacy what she wanted, and then when Stacy had no preference, he told the chef to do what was easiest.

He just had an easy way of treating everyone like they were valued and important. She couldn’t help admiring that a little.

He was wearing much cleaner, straighter jeans and a regular sweatshirt that hid a lot of his muscular, unbelievable body, and she tried not to look at his ass.

Truthfully, she loved him clean cut like this. Like a regular person but fifty times better looking. It made her feel self-conscious, which was stupid because nothing about him said he felt she was less attractive.

And why was she even thinking that way? She had to just stay for a week and earn everything for the children. That’s what this was really about. She didn’t care about the island or the politics there or helping his family run it. And she wasn’t about to throw her life away just to help him by falling for him.

Even though falling for him was seeming like it would be more and more easy.

It was odd that she found the calm, quiet Beau who was showing her around the home way more attractive than the flashy Beau she saw onstage.

He flicked on the lights to show her they were in his recording studio. “This is where I come down to do my work.” He gave her a crooked grin, tucking hair behind his ear. “Then I can sing my heart out without bothering the staff.”

She doubted his voice could bother anyone, but it was just another way he was surprisingly thoughtful.

Careful, Stacy
, she told herself.
He’s just trying to win you over
.
That’s his job, if he wants to stay on top of the world.

He sat on a stool and picked up a guitar, strumming a couple notes. For a second, he seemed to lose himself, picking out a melody and closing his eyes to listen. She went still, just watching, and then his eyes snapped open in shock, and he set aside the guitar.

“Sorry,” he said. “As you can see, I’m easily distracted.”

“You really love music, then?” she asked, following him with folded arms. She might not like him as a person, but she had to admit his music had an effect on her. Just as it did on the rest of the world. There was just something… uplifting about it. Moving. Could he really be a bad person if he made it? If that came from him?

He let her go ahead of him back up the stairs as they finished the tour. Almost like he was staying behind her just in case she fell.

She could have sworn she could feel his protectiveness emanating around him like a cloud. Then again, she was important to his political future.

The doorbell rang as they got upstairs, and one of his staff brought over a note. She wondered if some of the workers here had come over from the island and were lions. It was hard to scent, as his scent was so dominant with his extremely strong lion blood.

He opened the note and read it over. “Ah. A challenge. Of course.” He asked the man who’d brought him the note for a pen and scribbled a reply before handing it back. Presumably to be delivered to someone waiting outside.

“What was that?” she asked.

He turned to her with a mild expression on his handsome face. “Word has gotten out that you were chosen by the oracle. That means I’m going to have challenges for you.”

Her jaw dropped. “What do you mean challenges?”

He frowned, folding his arms. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” He gestured around him. “That’s part of all this. I’ll keep anyone off you. Only heirs in other families can challenge me.”

“What about me?” she asked, exasperated. “Don’t I have any say in the matter?”

“Of course you do,” he said. “I’m only fighting for the right to be considered by you. Others might be fighting for other reasons, but I’m not going to let them take you. And then, if you reject me, they’re unlikely to care about you, since my family is no longer going to be in power. It’ll work out.”

She clenched her hands into fists. “Why does everything with lions have to be about fighting?”

He folded his arms and faced her, cocking his head. “Because some people want to use their power in bad ways. And if other people don’t fight them, then weaker people suffer.”

She nearly choked at his comment about weaker people but guessed for him, with his height and strength and blood, pretty much everyone felt weaker. She felt her cheeks heat and turned away from him. “So are you even going to be able to win this fight? You’re a rock star, not a soldier.”

He grinned. “I work out. And I keep my lion strong. What do you think the grounds and the huge privacy fences are for?”

“What about your staff?” she asked.

“They know not to go beyond the woods. They don’t ask questions.”

She swallowed. “I don’t want you to fight for me.”

“You want Rick Forrester to come for you?” he asked. “That’s who sent the letter. He, like others, assumes it’ll be easy for me to win you and the only way to stop me is to invoke the ancient rite of mate challenge.”

“We’re living in the twenty-first century,” she said. “For Pete’s sake.”

“Yet we’re still animals,” he said, putting his arms lightly on her shoulders. “But for the last time,
I’m going to protect you
. So don’t worry about it. Whether you choose me or not, you’ll be safe. Because if you mate me, no one can mess with you anymore. And if you turn me down, no one will care about messing with me enough to come after you.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “What a mess.”

“Hey,” he said, tilting up her chin. She looked up into his eyes, and it was hard not to be reassured by the caring there. The caring she’d seen him show for everyone so far.

Well, maybe it was a little different, given the heated glow shining there.

“Just try to relax,” he said. “Try to have some fun here.”

“Maybe I’ll explore,” she said. “Try out the pool.”

His eyes glowed. “That sounds like a good idea.”

She gave him a playful shove. “Stop it. No perving.”

He put out his big hands. “No perving, promise.”

She shook her head and walked back to her room, leaving him in the lobby, staring after her with folded arms.

He was so different than she’d expected. Yet he was still entrenched in lion society and all their stupid, archaic, counterproductive ways of dealing with things.

But he was offering to protect her. Something no one had really done before. Except once, when she was little, but that was a fluke, and she could barely remember. And she wouldn’t have been in trouble if it weren’t for his family.

Just like she wouldn’t have men after her right now if it weren’t for him being told to mate her.

A shiver went over her as she rummaged through her luggage for a swimsuit. Of all of the things she’d expected to happen this week, this was the last one.

But she might as well relax and take advantage of it. She might not like being here with Beau Hunt, might not like the chemistry between them and how easy it would be to allow herself to like him, but she knew she was safe.

So it was time to have some fun. After all, she had seven days to get through. If she didn’t distract herself, she’d go crazy thinking about him.

As she pulled on her swimsuit and looked at herself critically in the mirror, she wondered if she shouldn’t have told him about the fact that she was going swimming.

Because then he might join her, and she had a feeling the sight of Beau Hunt in a swimsuit was too much for her already pathetic control.

She’d just have to hope he wouldn’t be there.

* * *

B
ut of course
, Beau showed up. She barely had time to enjoy the perfectly cool water and fresh air in the solarium before he turned up at the entrance, dressed in a tee and shorts that showed off muscular calves and perfect feet, folding his arms and cocking his head as usual. It was like he knew that pose made his pecs bunch and emphasized the huge muscles in his arms.

He was almost too big to be real. As he walked forward, he reached for the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head. She opened her mouth to protest but shut up when she saw his abs gleaming in the sunlight coming through the glass overhead.

They were so… lick-able. Hard and ridged and defined. She felt the cat in her practically purr as she looked over at him. She swam back a bit in the pool, just in case he got in with her.

He just got onto a nearby lounge chair and pulled out a Kindle to read.

She scratched her head and stared at him, but he paid no attention. His entire beautiful body was on display, his handsome face focused on his reading material, his feet crossed in relaxation.

Had he really come down for his own purposes and not just to stare at her or try to win her over?

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her over his Kindle, and she felt sparks go through her. She dunked under the water in embarrassment, loving the cool feel of it, and when she surfaced, he was crouched at the edge of the pool, looking down at her with an amused smile.

“Having a good swim?” he asked.

She nodded, wiping water off her face and over her hair. “It’s nice here. Things could be worse. Aren’t you swimming?” she asked awkwardly. It’d be weird having him in the water, but it was odd having him just sitting there ignoring her, too.

“Do you want me to?” he asked. “I thought you might like to swim alone.”

She nodded. “But if you were going to interrupt my privacy anyway.”

He sat back down on the chair but set aside the e-reader. He reached his arms back lazily behind his head and stared at her. “Hey, I only have a week with you. Might as well make the best of it.” He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of a pocket and slid them on. “Nice day, too.”

“Are you just wearing those so you can creep at me from behind them?” she asked.

He grinned. “How’d you know?”

She scoffed in offense, and he lowered them, giving her an amused glare.

“Do you really think if I wanted to look at you, I wouldn’t just do it openly? No. I was wearing them to rest my eyes.”

“Bullshit,” she muttered.

“Fine,” he said, putting them aside. “I was wearing them to look cool.”

She pursed her lips.

“And maybe just a little so I could check you out without being a creep.”

“Creep,” she muttered. But she couldn’t help finding it a little bit flattering that such a handsome man was acting so smitten with her. When she took who he was out of the equation—his family, his career—and just hung out with him as a guy, it was a startlingly different experience.

She felt almost… drawn to him. “You can come in if you want. It’s a hot day. The water’s nice.”

He tilted his head. “I don’t know. Most cats don’t like water. I’m surprised you like it that much.”

She frowned. “You don’t?”

“Nope,” he said. “But you’re welcome to it.”

“Wait, you’re afraid of the water?” she teased, splashing at him. “Can’t swim?” She didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she suddenly felt playful in the face of his reticence.

He frowned. “That’s ridiculous. I can swim.”

“Can you?” she asked.

“Yes,” he insisted, brushing his hair back with elegant fingers. “I just don’t want to.”

“Sure,” she said. “Anyway, if you don’t like the water, why do you have this pool?”

He grinned at her. “Perfect for guests. Especially beautiful ladies.”

She was surprised by the strength of the jealousy that ran through her, imagining other women here with him. She turned her back to him and swam to the other side of the pool, feeling suddenly like she had to catch her breath. What on earth was wrong with her?

She heard a light splash and then turned to see him catching up to her, cutting easily through the water. He stood when he reached her, since the water was shallow on this side of the pool. She stood as well, looking up at him.