Rock Steady (32 page)

“Ramsey…I really just want a band.” Jewel tried to sound enticing. “So I can work with it on.”

“Not a chance,” Ramsey replied as he picked up a huge diamond with a set of jeweler’s tweezers. “I want Morcant to see a rock on your finger the size of Texas.”

“And men claim women are the ones who insist on a diamond engagement ring.”

Ramsey wiggled the diamond gently so it caught the light. There was a bump as one of the reporters trying to get a shot of them inside the jewelry shop hit the window because he was being jostled by the rest of the pack of paparazzi.

Still, the little polished rock was dazzling. She felt herself melting, but honestly, it was because Ramsey was there. He carried the diamond over to her hand, letting her see it over her ring finger.

Her composure shredded, the reality of the moment filling her eyes with tears and her heart with love.

“That’s the one,” Ramsey said, but he wasn’t looking at the diamond. He was looking into her eyes, his dark eyes glittering with love. “The only one for me.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “And I plan to make sure you never forget it.”

His eyes narrowed. “School me, baby.”

That was exactly what she planned to do.

* * *

Jewel groaned. Her cheeks heated, and Ramsey wore his smug victory grin. She looked over toward the cockpit door.

“It’s not thick enough. They heard you…screaming,” Ramsey cooed next to her ear as he settled back onto his back on the private jet’s sofa. The thing slid out to make a bed. The fabric was slightly stiff against her bare skin, but most of her body was lying on top of Ramsey, so it didn’t really matter.

Nothing really mattered when they were in each other’s arms. Her new engagement ring had twisted on her finger. She tried to turn it, but her right hand was pinned against Ramsey’s side. He reached up and centered the ring.

“Still think it’s too big?” he asked as he squeezed her hand.

She smiled, nuzzling against his chest. “It’s growing on me.”

“Wish your dad had let me buy that one your mother picked out.”

“Well, you know that had about as much chance of happening as you letting Quinn Morcant pay for mine.”

Ramsey snorted. Jewel laughed at him. “Just put my dad to work. He hates being retired.” She sighed. “Guess I’m asking for nepotism. See? You start getting me things, and I lose all sense of boundaries.”

He smoothed the hair back from her face. “Lay your demands on me, baby. I’ll satisfy you.”

She made a soft little sound and let her eyes close. “You certainly did.”

“And I plan to do it again and again,” he insisted. “Getting your dad a job will just be part of making sure you can’t escape me.”

She lifted her hand and slapped him mockingly on the chest. He covered her hand with his, holding it still.

The plane engines droned on, the aircraft vibrating just enough to rock them both to sleep. Ramsey kept his eyes open longer, fighting to stay awake so he could savor the feeling of her in his arms.

He was the luckiest damned fool alive.

* * *

Taz sat in his hotel suite, staring at his phone. A Facebook page was open, a notification of a friend request having been approved, keeping his full attention.

Joi Sun Kim had accepted his request.

After two years.

Why?

The question fascinated him as much as it frustrated him. What did she want? He grunted and closed the application. Damned if he had any clue. All he knew was he wanted her. Wanted her so badly, three years of rejection hadn’t dulled the urge. She still filled his dreams. Success in the music world had somehow translated into disgrace in her family’s eyes. They had forbidden her to see him, talk to him, marry him.

He should move on.

But he couldn’t.

Taz opened Facebook again and punched in her name so her page came up. Maybe she’d approved his friend request so he’d see that she’d settled down with some other guy. It would hurt like shit, but maybe it would be better to see the evidence of her with a husband. Maybe that would end his obsession with her.

Instead, all he saw was her face, and it cut him to the bone. Her sparkling eyes, her whimsical smile, and the way her spirit came across in the form of cute animal pictures and encouraging sayings on her Facebook wall.

He still loved her.

There was no doubt about it.

Order Dawn Ryder’s first book
in the Rock Band series

Rock Me Two Times

On sale now

Keep reading for an excerpt from the first book in Dawn Ryder’s Rock Band series

Rock Me Two Times

“Katie…sweetie…”

Kate Napier raised her head, shifting her focus from the strips of leather she had pushed under the industrial sewing machine she was using. Her partner only called her sweetie when he was nervous about something.

One look at Percy Lynwood confirmed it. All six foot four of him hovered in the doorway between the machine shop and the cutting room of their design studio. He was pulling on the measuring tape draped around his neck, looking at her with pleading eyes. She looked past him to find that their staff members had suspiciously disappeared into the prep room at the back of the building.

“This is part of the Stanton order, Percy,” she warned him. “He wants it for Sturgis in two weeks.”

Percy wrung his hands, looking like a gigantic teddy bear with his naturally curly hair framing his forehead. He shifted from side to side before taking a stiff breath and stepping onto the concrete floor of the machine shop.

“I know,
sweetie
…”

Kate flattened her hands on the edge of the sewing machine table and narrowed her eyes. Percy grimaced and lifted his hands to keep her from arguing further.

“I’ll put Paula on it,” he said in a rush. “Giles just called with an emergency.”

She took the opportunity to stand up and stretch her lower back, arching all the way until her neck popped.

“Leather is my department. No offense to Paula, but she doesn’t fit ass like I do,” Kate said.

“Definitely not,” Percy agreed. “But this is an emergency on an epic scale,” he finished with a flurry of his hands.

Kate lowered her chin and locked gazes with Percy. His tone was downright miserable. “Okay, so what is stressing you out so bad?”

“It’s the Toxsin account.”

Kate lifted her hand and pointed to the wall behind Percy. Her personal operating rules were on a corkboard. Number one: no cuts to the front of the line.

“I know about your rules, Kate, but this is urgent!” Percy was back to wringing his hands. “Toxsin is going on stage in four hours, and there is some sort of problem with the lead singer’s leather pants.”

“As in Syon Braden?” Kate asked.

Percy nodded. “The Marquis.” He supplied the stage name of the man currently topping preeminent entertainer lists around the globe with a breathless sigh.

She moved around the large industrial sewing machine and jabbed her finger again at the corkboard on the wall that had her name on it. “Rule number two: I don’t do rock stars. Besides, are you really telling me that you don’t want to get your hands on the Marquis?”

Percy cracked a saucy grin through his worried expression. “You know I do, and I think even Steve will forgive me for it as long as I share every last succulent detail. That Syon is an animal.” Percy made a soft sound that was a cross between a moan and a growl.

“Glad we got that squared away.” Kate turned and headed for the leather pants destined for the biker paradise known as Sturgis. The end-of-summer rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota, drew bikers from all over the world. Making leatherwear for attendees was her bread and butter. “Have a blast with the Marquis.”

“But, Kate,” Percy whimpered again. “Showtime is seven, and they are playing the Staples Center downtown.”

“Ahhh…” Kate turned to look at the large clock on the wall next to her corkboard. Every staff member had a corkboard. Schedules were posted there, along with any rule anyone felt they couldn’t live with being violated. The boards kept the peace pretty well, but the clock read three sharp.

“With afternoon traffic, which will be even worse than usual with Toxsin playing, I’ll never make it down there in time. They’ve been sold out for months,” Percy explained.

“So why did Giles call us? It’s his account, his premiere account. Why isn’t he flying out to defend his turf?” Percy’s costume college buddy had jumped through flaming hoops to score the account with Toxsin.

Percy spread his hands in a pleading gesture. “Because he’s in New York, and it’s an emergency. They need something fixed immediately. He wouldn’t trust just anyone to deal with them. That’s why he called us.”

“Giles called you, not us.” Kate propped her hand on her hip. “I’m still a little sketchy on why you need me for this, Percy. I don’t drive any faster than you do.”

“They’re sending a helicopter from the Staples Center. That’s how desperate they are.” Percy looked miserable again. “You know I can’t stand heights.”

Kate’s stomach knotted. Percy could get woozy on the third story of their building if he got too close to a window. He’d turn green just looking at a helicopter.

Shit.

“Wear a blindfold and think about what you’ll get for your courage,” she said.

Percy gave a sigh, which was pitiful until she coupled it with his overall size. He had the body of a linebacker and the heart of a 1950s suburban housewife. A mouse sighting would send him screaming. When it came to his marriage with his husband, Steve, Percy was the wife all the way.

“I tried the blindfold in Alaska, but I still threw up all over Steve before we finished the helicopter tour of the glacier. And it was his birthday present too. I tried so hard.” He shook his head sadly.

The knot in her stomach was tightening with the help of guilt. She did love Percy, but rock stars drove her insane. She chewed on her lower lip as her partner looked at her pleadingly.
Yup, hungry, starving baby bear.

“Take a bucket,” she suggested.

“I’ll arrive as weak as an infant and light-headed. Definitely not professional.” He pointed at the three phrases posted above everyone’s corkboards. They were the operating foundation of their business, Timeless Custom Creations:

Always push the creative boundaries.

Always wow the customer.

Always be professional.

“Shit,” she cussed as the word
professional
cut through her personal phobias. “Just…craptastic!”

Percy sent her a relieved look. She was folding, and he knew it. “I always fucking cave in when it’s our image on the line,” she said. “Giles is so going to owe me.”

Percy tried to soothe her. “You’ll be just fine, sweetie.”

“Don’t ‘sweetie’ me.” She pointed at him. “You’d better tell them I’m a lesbian, because if even one of those arrogant asshats pinches my butt, I’m going warrior princess on them.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Hardly. You’re so strictly dick, I get jealous when you sit next to Steve at lunch.”

“I’m not a home wrecker,” she defended herself.

“But you are a little uptight lately…maybe it will be good for you.” Percy was back to being saucy. “Find out if they know how to use those succulent bodies for more than dancing. You know, just ’cause you got great buns doesn’t mean you know how to fuck worth—”

He ducked when Kate chucked a chair cushion at him. It collided with the wall, making a soft, unsatisfying sound before sliding to the floor.

Percy was laughing when he peeked between his hands at her. “Is that a definite no? Because the Marquis does have a whole lot of yumminess going on. I bet he could make you forget all about Todd—”

“Rule number five, no kissing on the first date,” Kate reminded him.

“Technically, it’s not a date,” Percy pointed out with a smirk. “You should exploit that loophole darling, or let it exploit you!”

Kate groaned and stomped off to take a shower. Working with leather was a sweaty business. The water restored her confidence in her appearance, but she was still chewing on her discontentment when she heard the helicopter landing in the back parking lot.

Rock stars. Jeez.
Just what she didn’t need. Todd and his two-timing had been more than enough.

But at least she could dress how she liked. She pulled on a pair of leather pants and tightened the laces that ran up their sides from ankle to hip. They fit her like a second skin, and she admired the way the blood-orange leather cupped her ass.

No one fit leather like she did. She couldn’t help it. She loved the stuff—the scent, the feel, and most especially, the look. She added a thin silk tank top that fluttered over her buns like a teasing veil, ending right at the curve of her butt, and shrugged into a leather corset top with brass closures. Once it was tight, her cleavage was halfway to her chin.

Perfect.
At least she had one good thing to say about rock stars: they had good taste in clothing.

* * *

“You’ve got a full set kit.” Percy pointed at the black cases being loaded into the helicopter. “So no matter what the issue is, you should be fine.”

Kate wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but the sleek black aircraft in her parking lot wasn’t it. The thing was plenty big enough for the eight heavy-duty traveling cases that made up their “on set” kit. The pilot hadn’t even needed to disembark, because he had two burly assistants to help him load everything. They were outfitted in tuxes, and
not
the off-the-rack variety. She knew a custom job when she saw one. They kept those suit jackets on even as they lifted and stowed her gear, which meant only one thing: they were bodyguards too. Had to have something to hide their chest harnesses.

“I am so jealous,” Percy whined. “These guys are premium…”

Kate rolled her eyes. “There will be at least a hundred starstruck fangirls willing to grease their poles just for the chance to get near the band.”

“I know, Katie girl, but I have to admit that I wouldn’t mind playing games with any of them.” He made a sound of enjoyment and smacked his lips.